b******* flies

despite the large quantities of fly repellent - should have put even more on and even then not sure it would have helped..

went up to top field with a friend on her pony (and friend's mother on foot) we were just going to walk round the fields and back down t'other side, a circle...

a gentle but warm breeze as we set off up the hil past our grazing field; got through into top field and wind died, and flies started swarming round and swarming round.

Basically, it's just not worth the hassle at that point as M get himself really stressed with them, plus he'd been bitten by a horse fly i think somewhere on his chest...

so, again, i got off and led him the rest of the way, and he continued to be hacked off by the flies (but at least he wasn't going too fast for me this time!)

and i'm going to get some coligone and we'll see where we are re ulcers...

schooling in the field

it was Gaynor's day today ... i went down to give her the money for the farrier, for tomorrow ... and saw them set off ... field having more space and no stones! than the arena.....

she tells me he took a while to settle

however, before that, he bit her when she was girthing up, same side he bit me in a few weeks ago - that is, his right, the offside...

mmmmmm

IMHO, he only will do that because something hurts....

so, you may well be right, jean, and i shall investigate ulcer meds...

a nice trot out

once i'd tapped him under the willow - think he'd rather have gone the other way, which would be fair enough but every time i try and do a gate i discover my wrist isn't strong enough, despite it being 3 years since injury!  and there's gates the other way.

so a trot to the ford, going nicely through some puddles (including one the full width of the track) and back

i dunno about ulcers, jean - surely if it were ulcers he'd do the same when out? and he doesn't...

wet or what?

knew it was going to as it was raining when we got up, and the forecast showed, correctly, a very large band of torrential downpour heading our way.

euch.

no lesson :-(

Bekcy HOlden was booked to come - not just to me, several other people up this way ....

her car died on the outside lane of the motorway (eek) and the AA man couldn't mend it, she had to be towed home....

been looking forward to that...

So G & I went and played with the boy anyway.....and of course, we no sooner got there than the wind dropped and we ended up a good bit hotter than we'd anticipate.d.


we both rode, me first - i wasn't at all sure how the knee was, TBH, after last week, but it was fine! (i've been keeping the painkillers going anyway) and i was please G was watching when, half way round a trot circle, M stopped dead.  and it was an active forward trot as well!  don't think she'd realised that when i said he did that, that was what he did.. no slowing down to give you warning!

but he only did it the once, thank goodness, so i had a good 10 minutes and then when i did stop did so at X  .... away from the gate, LOL.

24 degrees C in the shade

said the car thermometer, and no breeze - the breeze on the hill in the field was a hot one - so nothing much done.

I DID take him in the arena to try the lunge (thought the knee needed another day if i want it right for lesson on Sunday), but,  no breeze across from the field either, and he said "you're having a laugh, aren't you?" in a desultory, it's too hot, kind of way...

BUT we're going to have to keep an eye on off hind... perils of shoeing again, the can work slightly loose......

oops... .my knee.....

so yesterday, which was G's day, it poured down ... my plan for mowing the lawn didn't happen, and G's plan to ride didn't happen...

so i'm standing at the breakfast bar reading a book whilst my dinner cooked, as you do .....

and managed to hurt my left knee whilst standing still.....

how did i do that?  no clue, unless it was TOO straight puttin gthe knee at a slightly odd angle...

doh....

improving slowly overnight and tonight, but not fit to ride so G did today what she wanted to do yesterday (although, TBH, getting soaked was probably the better option, as it was like a sauna today with loads of flies but no rain...)

whilst i pottered off home (having given her a jar of that jam i made the other night) to make more jam (we've LOADS of blackcurrants) and try not to hurt my knee again....

hope it sorts quickly, I've a lesson booked Sunday with Becky Holden ... if it doesn't, guess G will be having the lesson, not me!