do i have my mojo back?

not before time if so...

had an excellent session this afternoon...

decided on no walk at all - well, not much - into the arena and straight into trot... circles, serpentine! diagnoals, e - b changes of rein, figures of 8... then walk trot walk transitions, but not  much walking and he kept forward... my rise was right, he was metronomic - someone confirmed he looked very symettrical (that someone is an angler, not a rider!)

when i finally stopped, he knew it and stopped, LOL, but i was so pleased...

before that, had intended to try with the bareback pad as G said she'd had good results with that, but frankly, he didnt' want me bareback and i felt very insecure!

in the meantime, frustrations elsewhere.  getting anew (brand new) car... it's there, it's taxed, it just hasn't been trhough the pre delivery service.  particularly pissed as the end of month is tomorrow, so essentially i lose one months' road tax and can't get the car!  gggrrrhhhh  and the salesman doesn't ring me back when he says he's going to, so not happy with him particularly.  never mind, if i get it on monday that'll do, but it would have been good to be able to take it for a drive tomorrow, since i won't have time trhough the week!

and other bad news - we have no electricity in the house!  AAARRRGGGHHH.  happily, cooking is on gas, so hot water from kettle, neighbour away for weekend and we have keys, they're happy for us to use whatever facilities we need (shower!  charging laptop!).  electrician did come out last night, i was very impressed, and thought he'd sorted it, but he'd no sooner left the street at well gone 10 when it died again... i am not interrupting his weekend as he andhis family have a big event on so will text him tomorrow night and hope he can come monday. we know what's wrong ... he thought the temp fix would hold us, but it didn't....

turn on the forehand

he's getting the hang of that

wasn't what i started out wanting, but we ended up doing it..

we think we might have a new horse after the shoes go on on Tuesday...

Simba came home

the vet agreed she doesn't have too much longer, so we'll keep a close eye and anticipate that she won't make the winter... so long as there's no serious deterioration in the meantime....

In the meantime, Monfils lost his fly mask AGAIN..... :-(  he surely knows he needs it but that doesn't stop him divesting himself of it..

so it's decided

farrier will come next tuesday and he'll be shod all round...

trimmer reckons it's all the wet (i'll agree with that) and could see where i was coming from ...

worked out that the last set of shoes i had on a horse was spring 2006, when I took Molly's off (not counting, of course, the set that Monfils arrived with... which didn't match anyway).

he was quite boingy whilst he was in (wrong time of day doesn't help, LOL!  totally out of routine and only one in at that point) and when i turned him out again he galloped up the field full pelt to get back to his mates.....

tomorrow i take elder cat to vet's after work; not at all sure that she'll come home, she keeps having seizures more and more often...

rain stopped play

very heavy showers and rainstorms with only very short gaps between - during one of which i was able to check him over etc at the field gate.... not worth thinking about doing anything, a drenching would have occurred...

And, at 22,05 pm, i remember the loaf that should have gone in the oven about 20.30......oops  it had over-risen and i think this will be a disaster.... and will now have to stay up until 10.35 to see what the result in fact is!

learning to growl

last night was a good idea (as well as the shorter stirrups)

didn't go straight in the arena, went along the back drive and back first (in default of the arena being available, someone was in it freeschooling, and i did ask a couple if they were going out, but they were going to do more than i wanted to...)

i did intend to go through the ford, which he has been through loads of times with me on (in company) and with gaynor (on his own).  but he wasn't having it.  benefit of the doubt, it may have been the way the light was/wasn't, but whatever ...

we had a nice ride anyway, with some trot back on the bits of the track that aren't covered in stones..

then back in the arena, and last night is paying off, i was able to keep him going despite two attempts by him to stop, and we ended with some nice trot/walk/trot transitions...

i need to now work on my rising - oddly, it was perfect coming up the hill on the track, but no where near on the flat in the arena! ... and keep this going

then turnout was into a different field which had some grass... i was expecting him to go charging up the top to find the others, but no - eat ... roll - roll again and eat before getting up - walk about, eat... all with the lambs watching (they've moved themselves into this field!).  a couple of times he heard a horse whinny from the top of the hill, but didn't go off to find them.  seemed very happy to have lots of grass... we might need to muzzle!

shorten the stirrups

by one hole...

now why didn't i figure that that would put me in better position, more secure?  you tell me.

we started off ok -walked briskly round then up into trot - so i'm half way round a "20 metre circle" (quotes because in fact it isn't, given the size of arena!) when he stops...


gggggrrrrrrhhhhhhh

lots of small turns on forehand, but still no forward movement ....

gggggrrrrrhhhhhh

friend turns up and he won't even move for being chased.

she goes to get her hat, i get off.  saddle has slipped back a shade so i sort that out, she gets on, he trots, canters, both reins, not pleased (you should have seen his face!)

i get back on.... with the shorter stirrup length...

he goes.

we get lots of trot

i come down to walk he thinks about stopping i growl at him he goes

more trot, diagonals both ways...

we come down to walk - he want to stop - we walk back to stable (TBF, i usually do get off in arena anyway as its' a softer landing!)

more secure with shorter stirrup, friend said a better picture and i maintained contact with mouth better....