winter wonderland...

have to say, much as i want another horse, in this weather i am happy not to have to go out:

it's not that it's hugely deep - about 5" all told, i reckon, where it is undisturbed/not compacted - it's that the roads are not clever and hills turn to ice rinks.

pi pi piano, piano, piano

now the owner of a digital piano - it will be delivered on monday

also some new breeches! in the sale, on my way home from york

and had a lovely lunch with some fellow lawyers ....

i know i'm missing

but not, i hope, forever. it just seems a bit "nothing to write home about" when the days have a lot of sameness about them and no 5th horse yet to write anything about....

s/he will come in due course, of course..

in the meantime, day trip to york tomorrow, despite the snow - unless we get huge amounts dumped on us, that is, which i would have thought unlikely.

but i'll be careful

Paul Belasik Clinic write up

From Saturday - didn't go back on Sunday as we hadn't booked for it

What a nice man.

He regularly stopped to explain the theory of what he was saying to the rider.

He had a remote mic, so we could all hear what he was saying, which made it a much better experience all round.

I got a lot out of it, and took some notes, so distilled – and of course, this is only what I got out of it, others might have thought other points more important.

Hands up - keep neck up by raising the hands. We all all regularly told to keep hands down, but if you look at the top riders, they are up. PB once did some research and found that most top riders have their hands about 6” above the pommel, not the 4 – 5 we are normally told.

With a young horse, rhythm is very important and the horse has to find a balanced cadence – aim for the same quality on a young horse as you would on an older horse, otherwise you won’t get it later. You need to teach the horse so his back his stronger and equal behind as in front. I specifically asked when he would start asking the youngster for a higher frame, given that we are all generally told to look for a lower “novice” frame – he said, from early start, as otherwise, how is the horse going to be able to do it once you do ask later?

On transitions – be sure the horse stays with the contact, keep the uphill in the step. On trot/halt transitions, push up in back and use the back to nail the halt. The halt must be instant – take a shorter rein and ensure he accepts the contact, don’t let his head go down into the transition down or up.

On a slightly stress horse (the one in question looked pretty calm, but owner/rider said he had a bit of history, and the owner/rider hadn’t expected to be riding the clinic at all!) - the more the horse has to step out, the more it has to relax and breathe. Push for more impulsion to assist in relaxation, push the horse out to the hand.

On pirouettes (for those getting that far! I could only dream…) don’t train pirouette with small steps, that will come with time. The Pirouette comes from the horse jumping over behind, not from front bend, and the horse should feel stiff back to front. The movement feels a lot bigger than it looks.

On position: sit up straight, he likes lines down sleeves so he can see what the arm is doing! Do not get pulled forward - he showed how that was possible if you weren’t straight, with the benefit of a guinea pig and a lungeline. To get the arm/hand position right – hold arms up and out as if you were holding a big beach ball, then put the hands down – ensures that your chest/shoulders are right. Feel as though hand attached to back. Grip with thighs and drape lower leg, not grip with calf – pointed out that the SRS riders who say they don’t grip with thigh are in fact incorrect, they have just forgotten that that is what they do ….


and finally, on Totilas' trot:

"horse hollow in back disunited totally unnatural - it is quite incorrect"

paul belasik & Waldemar Seunig

twice a year Paul Belasik takes a clinic in Scotland.

went on Saturday to "audit" (i.e., spectate - why is it called auditing?)

very impressed

and what a nice bloke

report once i've reviewed my notes and pulled my thoughts together

and on the way home, called at Border Books in Alnwick, large 2nd hand bookshop - copy of Seunig for £7.60

they still have the copy of Mrs Houblon's Side Saddle they had last time i was in ... couldn't quite persuade myself to get it...next time i should, if it's still there...

been on a horse!

the planned lunge lesson didn't happen, due to natasha having to stay at her yard to keep an eye on a horse having colic and i went over there instead, just to say we can re-arrange (not allowed to lunge in the arena where she is) - by this time my day was running late as well - horse was doing a lot better, so we decided, let's just get me on - so got red in from the field, got mud off, got him tacked up, tash rode for 5 just to be sure he was still his normal plod

then for me

well - he's 17hh 1" getting ON was interesting, no proper moutning block, my legs wouldnt' go high enough finished up putting a jump block on top of the large masonry block and on from there.

fine when on, no problems - walk only - 20 minutes circles, straight lines, practice whether i can get sideways, ....

then getting off - now that WAS a problem. i didn't have faith in my left wrist, AND the saddle was higher at both front and back than I'm used to - plus the height .... um.....i could not get my right leg high enough and back, leaning forward my belly was well poked by the pommel .... i was losing my nerve for getting off, as well as being wholly stuck.

finished up putting one of those tall yellow plastic jump things that look like steps next to the horse, so i could put my left foot on that and thus get my right up and over - we KNOW that's not the safest way, but it was as it goes much safer (and effective) than any other option that presented itself. and it forms steps to get down - tash footed it of course -- phew.

next time hopefully we can do it at my yard, where there is a proper height mounting (and dismouting!) block, and possibly with my saddle...

but i was fine whilst on him!

Thank you very much natasha & red....

friday morning...

lunge lesson....

weather permitting.

discovered i have holiday to take before the end of the year, so taking it...

since when

was pilates such a dangerous activity that someone running a "multi level class" wouldn't want me.

well hacked off.

thought the point of pilates was that it's gentle exercise specifically tailored to help strengthen relevant muscles...

my stable has a horse in it....

but before you all get excited, it's not mine- one of the grass liveries has developed an abcess and is in mine temporarily whilst he's put right again, he looked very sorry for himself!

pilates

they run pilates classes where i swim, so i'm going to start doing those as well - monday nights, 7.30 - and i'll swim as well...

still waiting to hear from RI. :-(

what next, one has to ask...

facebookers will be vaguely up to date...

the new to me car is currently at the dealers, dismantled - timing belt problems they say - it had been giving me grief overrevving, think i got to that on Monday? breaking down at work?

anyway, took it up yesterday morning, chap put computer on it and said, can't drive that anywhere! so they had to lend me a car to get about it.

then last night my ma had an accident in my street and i was at local A & E until well gone midnight, didn't get home after taking her home until 2 am - at which point i finally got an opportunity to eat SOMETHING, not having had anything since lunch (which was at noon ....)

plus I'm not convinced the left arm likes this automatic I've been loaned - it's the older fashioned sort where you do in fact have to move a gear stick into neutral, and i can feel it - which at least shows i was right to go the automatic route.

hopefully i'll get mine back saturday....

horse still lame...

I rang RI today; Del still hasn't recovered from his abscess, it was a deep one and taking a while to come right....

So she's having a think about what else we could do...

Another friend is having to sell her horse and the bairn's pony, which is a great shame - another split with partner - nice horse but more money than I've got :-(

in the meantime, we were thinking the other week getting back into the piano (i used to have one until i sold my last house and we found the frame was broken!) would help the fingers/wrist, a thought with which physio agreed, so yesterday went to look at digital pianos.

they are rather nice, and with the harpsichord effect the Mozart would sound like it did when he wrote it...

something under £400 will do it, i reckon... but eBay isn't offering a lot in the way of deals, really, without driving to the other end of the country to collect

haven't heard

about my potential lessons following text to RI yesterday.... :-(

but in the meantime, and despite the lovely weather, got caught up on some domestic chores

but made a BIG mistake - put three loads of washing through at 60 degrees instead of 40, am SOOOO hoping i haven't shrunk my work trousers.., i clean forgot that the previous load had been towels, which do go at 60 ...

i think

i have worked out how to blog from android mobile
if so good
waiting to hear from ri who i texted today

discharged

from orthopaedic follow up

and from physio, the latter with some more exercises and recommendations

both, of course, said if i need to go back then make appropriate arrangements, ortho via gp, physio just ring up

YAY!

need more strengthening work, of course, hence the more exercises, but all good stuff ...

and consultant said "yes we'll let you ride again" - well, as if he has any say, LOL

now, must find out how Del horse is doing with that abcess ...

back in the swim....

and despite the fact i hadn't been since last thursday, i felt as though the first few lengths were at notably better energy levels, despite having to swim round people....

my thumb is hugely better in terms of movement, can now reach the base of the little finger with no difficulty, still twinges sometimes on odd movements but that's to be expected.

all i want now is to start lessons with RI....