contemplating haynet

bathtime!

mega hot day (and forecast for more of the same tomorrow) so since i don't think i should be riding again yet (mega bruise, and back quite sore above the bra strap area) i thought i'd give him his first (and probably only) bath of the year.. he seemed to enjoy that - he loves drinking out the hose end, and is the first horse i've had i can safely aim the hose to the top of the neck at the poll ....

then we went out in hand down to the ford, gaynor was riding charlie - that was the drying off walk out ...i'd been meaning to do that, as that's the track i had the fall on ....no bother (and a lot less pheasants for some reason)

a lovely bruise

that i can't see, thankfully!  but moving ok, so just bruising i think! and possbly a pulled muscle or soemthing round a rib - coul hd have been a whole lot worse.

running late tonight as partner wanted an early tea, so just brought in, fed, turned out again...

a crashing fall....

pootling along on the buckle end, all quite happy, talking to friend about the safety or otherwise of western saddles and just how much do you want to be fixed in a saddle...

next second, monf is spooked up and off with no warning and i'm out the back door landing on my left buttock....i do rather think he'd stood on a pheasant that, as they do, came out in a rush under his feet... 

it's the only thing that makes any sense whatsoever, and i was vaguely aware of something not solid under him, if you see what i mean...

and unhelpfully, i landed on the gravel track...

doh.....

after some bellows of pain from me i was able to get up, thank goodness, and even  more thank goodness friend's horse had not been spooked and she was able to grab monf before he got away.

we were nearly back to yard at this point anyway - had only gone along the drive, and had been vaguely wondering whether the 20 acre would be a plan or not (given the number of pheasants underfoot) when the decision was made by the arrival of tractor and combine from the other direction, going into 20 acre, so we'd turned round...

the go slower seat...

is what i have at the moment... trying too hard, do i think?  probably....

but at least i got on again and pottered round the yard... at one point we set off purposefully but he stopped dead at the lane end...

far too late at night to have an argument, as everyone busy leaving ..

was thinking it's interesting how patterns of activity change at the yard... in years past, there was ALWAYS someone there riding about the same time as me, now there's hardly anyone ...people seem to be able to get away from work earlier...

so that was last night.

this morning, got up and found i'd hurt my knee whilst sleeping - weird.  still hurting so didn't ride on the grounds that whatever i'd done to it would  not be helped by extra strain..

rode charlie!

but my timing was VERY bad... got into the arena, and couldn't see a thing - blinded by the sun heading towards A!

then realised the saddle had slipped  back... it felt wrong in consequence...

so got of and tried what he thought of a bit of in hand work & flexions (he's never done that) until we were distracted by YO's dog coming in to ask for her belly rubbed ...at least that got charlies head to the floor, he wasn't giving to bring it down...

yesterday's plan today..

yesterday's plan was ride Monfils, but that was stymied by the rain

so rode him this evening, in new second hand vogue gp that i bought from my friend Steph - and after a lovely afternoon in alnwick catching up and spending money...(that is, on top of the money i spent on the saddle, oops!).

made a start on partner's xmas box in the farmway sale (nice jacket).  Monfils also got a new nuumed shimmy numnah for the new saddle (to which more shims had to be added), a pair of cob cheekpieces (current ones are really too long for his head...) and i got  a new AGA kettle to put on the AGA.

and books, from our favourite Barter Books - a first edition of Elwyn Hartley Edwards Saddlery (to add to the two later editions i already own, it is different and will be interesting to read) and the Marquis MacSwiney of Machanaglass book Training Horses from the Ground with an intro by Sylvia Stanier; have wanted that for ages, hard to find. and neither of those were expensive... with a Patricia Cornwell Scarpetta that i didn't have, under £19 the three.

Monfils was pretty good for the saddle trying on ... a shade sticky on the first mounting attempt, but then fine round to the arena ... where i got off after two circuits as not only was it more than clear that i needed more shimming, but it was also clear that he had been disturbed by YO + YO's wife + there two dogs in field... back round, find the extra shims, sort out, re tack up , stood perfectly, then pottered round the yard to try the saddle out with the new arrangement..

the idea of getting a GP is that, really, a dressage is hopeless given all the hills we have to go up and down on the land.... not really secure enough when going down! legs can't go in right place, balance goes awry, etc...

see how we do, but i might sell the dressage, as really the GP does as good a job, and its a VSD style...

have decided to get one of the tack lockers that people buy to put in trailers - will take two saddles (and my other stuff) is lockable and will be able to be locked to wall as well...and will protect them from spiders and damp!