a walk out

i thought, after thursday's adventure, that a walk out in hand rund the same field would be a good plan.

so that's what i did.

nairy a twitch, so if he's remembered it, he hasn't associated it... matters might be different if there had been a random plane flying about just, but there wasn't

anyway, i was pleased, Gaynor was pleased i'd tried that, he was pleased, and he had a good old roll after i turned him out, you'd think he'd worked hard!

more terrified horse

G was on him - 4 planes - divebombing - formation flying, essentially. toss up whether it's the RAF or someone else practising for sunderland air show

either way, G and Monfil were in the middle of the 20 acre - which is a very big space and right next to the River Wear - when this all kicked off. She still doesn't know how she stayed on, especially as the saddle slipped slightly, or how she got him back to her...

:-(

https://www.facebook.com/claire.hodgson/posts/10202682002025770?comment_id=10202682603240800&offset=0&total_comments=8&notif_t=share_comment

for the video...taken by a friend a bit later, but of the same planes ...they were so loud i could hear them as i got out of the car 5 miles away!

calmed down and wet...

yesterday he'd calmed down hugely

i'd actually forgotten my keys so couldn't access my locker for riding hat.  so got lunge line, and took him in arena straight from field.

it wasn't totally "no problem" as he did look! but no sign of panics or terrors and i worked him up that end for a good 10 minutes, just in walk of course since he still won't lunge properly for me..

an occasional think about going faster when a lamb in the lamb hospital further over baa'ed -  i have to wonder if he thought the log pile was baaing?

anyway, pleased with that..

it then started raining overnight, and hasn't yet stopped

:-(

terrified horse!

I've never seen a horse as clearly terrified as M was today ....

they've put a pile of logs (large tree being cut down) in the mare's field, which is next to the arena... and it has got larger since i last saw it

anyway, plan for today was inhand as i'd overdone it walking around Richmond Castle today ....just as well.

when i first took him in he stopped as soon as he got to the gate, got somewhat het up but not uncontrollably so (thank goodness!) and clearly had his eye on the pile of logs

took him back, thinking put lungeline on to take him back round and let him loose int he arena to run round until he realizes the logpile ain't moving (it's not actually NEXT to the arena, just further out in the field...)

that was a mistake, he ran about at the gate end (which is very hard to close anyway) and was threatening to jump out.  trying to get the lungline reattached i ended up with loose horse in the yard, happily vaguely heading for the barn, at least i could keep him there whilst i bawled for help!

the ladies in the barn came down to help, i managed to get hand on bridle and we got lungeline re attached.... took him back in, one of the ladies did the needful (she's used to high jinks with hers, hadn't realized) and he half calmed down, but not wholly!

took him back round and took three of us to change bridle for headcollar, no way i was going to get fly mask on, and tea was not going to happen, so just turned him out and he galloped off to the others...

Gaynor says he was in donkey mode yesterday when she had him in there bareback!  and whilst he was vaguely concerned by the lamb hospital up the end beyond the raspberry patch, nothing like what he did today...

So all very strange.

he'll be going back in tomorrow, but I'll have my riding hat on and will be prepared for it...

from summer days to autumn rains

in one week!

:-(

Bareback

Shows up position issues.  Gaynor came to be an eye on the ground and I was relaxed by the end very pleas5.

The idea is to not only improve my riding but also to be able to ride without wrestling with poorly fitting saddle he's objecting to

stuck to the bareback pad

i got brave and tried it. i wasn't that stable on board, although did make it round to the arena, but found i couldn't get off again!  i was, in fact, stuck to the pad - which is suede seated, and i have sticky bum breeches....

do!

had to go back round to the mounting block and line up next to it so i could put the foot down and provide some traction for myself!

and, of course, need to work on positoin to get stability back....

fighting

resulting in bite on neck and swelling :-(

he woke up!

he'd been asleep for G on Sunday and wasn't that awake yesterday - we think lack of sleep caused by rain, of which there'd been a fair bit...

so today he felt more lively and more interested
and I got brave and went out on my own and didn't get nervous,  i was very pleased with myself.

tired lad....

but not because of work done, more because he's full of the new grass they were allowed on to last night, and possibly because it's been raining.....

the first pic is today - he really couldn't be bothered to move AT ALL, just stood there.....

the second was from last night, after we'd done a little bit of in hand work....

sunday and today not so good...

Gaynor managed to totally knack her shoulder overdoing the gardening....

I managed to seize everything up by doing too much gardening/car washing yesterday combined with standing on a hill today a the Zetland point to point, so i was seized up this evening - got on, and knew i shouldn't have done - and so did he!  so got off again. i could barely move a muscle...

more big grins

in the arena this afternoon.   having set up the saddle correctly, we kept going lots of trot work, lots of circles, walk/trot transitions, i even tried a SI (failed), a leg yield in walk (succeeded) and so on, all with another lass in there - it may be a small arena, but when you're paying attention to each other, it works.... a couple of times you'd have thought we'd been rehearsing something symmetrically posh!  purely by accident.....he worked hard, and i didn't which is also good.

much better than yesterday, when i failed to do the girth up properly and in any event, having sat wrongly at the office, was in pain, and in more pain by the end!  shouldn't have got on, but hey, 10 minues in walk is better than nothing at all....

was hoping for a lesson today, but i was the only one who said "yes" to the proposal and no point her coming from Manchester for 1...