excellent lesson

i half thought i might end up cancelling lesson - Sooty kitten got stuck in a very tall unclimbable conifer Sunday night and by yesterday evening was right at the very top being blown about and hanging on in there, and there was a good possibility that the fire brigade might have had to come get him. happily he came down this morning, phew.  and now knows how to get down again and will have learnt a lot.  none the worse for his adventure, i don't think, but he smelt nicely of conifer!

so lesson went ahead as planned, albeit RI was unconvinced by my telling her it wasn't raining at mine - it was teeming down at hers, 30 miles south!  but we timed it well, rain didn't start until after we'd finished and i got vaguely damp turning M out again...

so, the lesson.

RI was very pleased at both his and my improvement. I was pleased she thought so as we haven't done a huge amount since last lesson, given the time of year/dark nights/weather/ name the winter excuse!  but as she said, a little can go a long way.

i didn't want to bother with trot, due to the high winds, and the mares occasionally hoolying about in next field, didn't want to risk winding teh boy up. so we worked on transitions within the walk, flexing right and left, trying to feel for LY and SI (i'm not good at either, but no doubt we'll get there!).

The only real mistake i made was putting too thin a pair of gloves on, so we stopped the ridden work after about 35/40 minutes and i went and got the lunge line etc and my warmer gloves.  Have had a massive issue with M not lunging for me.

It transpires that i'm actually protecting bits of my own body (shoulders and wrists). to get to be high energy enough to get him to lunge for me, i have to strain them more than is good for them.

So we'll do as before, leave the lunging to Gaynor.  Such a shame, as lunging is so useful and i can lunge any other horse.... just not my own.

hey ho.

but you should have seen him - letting off steam big time, full pelt and bucking all the way!  then back to me, barely moving!

so all round happy with it, and then when i turned him out again he went fly bucking up the field to his mates...

a good weekend

and the weather cooperated as well..

yesterday, arena again (it's a bog everywhere out).  lots of walk, changing directions, arena patterns, that sort of stuff, and he was listening to me directionally after a couple of false starts... and trot at the end as well, which pleased me as last time i couldn't quite get it....

but it was coooold... when i'd been tacking up etc got really warm, so took jacket off thinking that would be fine - but we'd been sheltered and the arena had a slight breeze with a horrid nip in it that my sweater wasn't thick enough for...

so i was pleased to survive the 1/2 hour i rode.

today was G's day, but i went down anyway and picked her up on the way...

when she gets on he lights up a bit, totally different to when i get on, and is not impressed when he has to have girth done up more (i ensure it's done as much as i need when i ride, but it's a different set up, slightly...)

so she went out, and was going to go up to another yard with an indoor, so i would drive over - was somewhat worried when they didn't appear, although i had seen them go along the bottom (hi viz standing out!) until G rang to say she'd gone back to yard as she thought it was getting too dark..
i keep telling her, do the stable after the ride, not before....

i've a lesson tuesday, but not sure the weather will hold for it; forecasting heavy rain :-(

first hard frost of the winter

actually it turned out a still day, and i should have ridden... but i didn't. bad me.  there was a reason . M had had to have a lighter weight rug on last night as the catch on the other one broke and couldn't get repaired until today, and i thought he'd much rather just get in and eat (with the mended rug on)... think i was right about that!

Merry Christmas

And I can't remember the last time I rode Christmas day, pleased to say I managed that today

Had enough time after dinner and the weather was kind

the mudlark

i always say, rugs are for keeping them clean - and thank goodness he'd had a rug on today, and we were very pleased he'd kept his head out of it... the rug got hosed off whilst still on him, and his legs as well...

G's day today, but i went down wtih the new shavings, and because we needed to sort out the storage as effective tomorrow big round bale of haylage is arriving, he'll be better on it. our normal suppliers of small square have let us down - one because his wrapper broke and he ain't mended it yet, very surprised as he has done a really good trade in small bales for years.....the other, cos we're the only people who have asked and no point breaking a big one as what he doesnt' sell to us will then go off.

:-(

hoping the big round will last and not be wasted#

anyway, G had new saddle pad, shimmable, much better than previous set up (which wouldn't stay put whatever we did...)

it looked good, she looked good, he looked good (once he'd stood still to have the girth tightened once she was on!)

i then cleared the huge amount of leaves that had built up between the door to our storage and the tractor shed - no one else was going to, and if they rot down they'll also rot the wooden wall!  5 barrow loads..... under which was buried a dead crop...

well if it's not one thing

it's another....

dire evening and morning, electrical disaster and no heating (thank AGA and a gas fire for some warmth!) electrics finally sorted by 2.30 ish..... but man will have ot come back in the new year.  and i'll have to move into the spare bedroom i think..

anyway, that for now.

so finally made it to yard and mucked out etc, got on, rode (after i'd scraped the mud off!) - havin left rug inside out (i fold back and then pull off over the quarters, easier to put back on) over the stable door.....which was open...

so after 10 minutes it starts raining - i ws going to get soaked, M was going to get soaked, but more importantly the rug was going to get soaked...

oh well, at least i got 10 minutes, and no stops blocks or anything of that nautre!

an inactive week

any plans for tuesday fried by not being well.  g's plans for yesterday fried again by the arena already being in use.  my plans for today fried by a need to come home and meet the  joiner about some work he's been doing in the house. tomorrow got to go to mother's after work.  saturday will be working - an extra day, and it means i miss my weekend day, but it's worth it and if it goes well there'll be more where that came from ... will improve the finances a bit!

in hand in the dark

thought it had been a while since we'd done that, so did 5 minutes - not a lot, and not sure how worth while it was as my left shoulder decided pain was good... but M was reaching down for the bit, which is what we want. i finish these short sessions with flexions, which he likes; some would say do them first, but i find he is less able to to them first than second but no doubt in due course that'll be the other way round.  and he was shiny under the lights....

successful afternooon

seemed to have got the saddle right before getting on and we kept moving - once we could get in to the arena, someone was having a lesson!  i did give a passing thought to going out, but as i went to ask the plan the pony in question was misbehaving badly just tied up, so i thought discretion was the better part ... and anyway i want to be sure we're on the right track and i'm right, as well as the saddle right

i think there's still the odd tweaking to do but part of it is as things bed down, so to speak...

anyway, lots of walk patterns.  i was doing something wrong asking for trot, as i didn't get it =- probably trying too hard again! but a successful half hour...

RIP Madiba

the world is now a much worse place.

all other news (of which there's not a lot from here due to the weather) pales into insignificance....

tchah

to me, not the horse...

last night, for some reason, i was really struggling to stay awake so didn't do anything.

i was clearly tired as this morning when the alarm went off i was sure it was saturday and reset the alarm to saturday time, and was about to dress to do saturday turnout when i realised it is in fact tuesday... doh!  time to shower, dress properly for turn out and then work...

and then left my phone at home when i nipped home at lunchtime to make the sandwiches i hadn't had time to make this morning.

so couldn't ring the joiner who was coming this evening to collect key to start work tomorrow...

so didn't do anything tonight thinking i had to get home for joiner...

who didn't come till about 7.20 pm....

doh.......

and another 4 times

setting the saddle up
i clearly got something wrong........ every time i got on it went awry, and i could see that it had (and he told me, of course)
eventually sorted on the 4th attempt... must try harder to get it right first time!

TBF, wasn't assisted when first tacking up by his insistence on moving about... but still..

once i did get it right, we were moving and working but by that time all i was concentrating on was not trying too hard and getting to a point where we stopped when i said, not when he said - which frankly is easy if i set the dratted saddle right in the first place!

then i came home and baked... sweet mince pies with orange pastry.