1st weekend in March plans

[Sheep]

No plans for me, OH has taken possession of his horse ? he’s planning to hack after work today and then off for some very light xc schooling tomorrow, on a surface so don’t need to worry too much about the ground which is nice! I’ll be photographer. Then on Sunday we might go to the gallops, just to get a feel for his current fitness level, without pushing too much. By gallop I think it’ll be more “leisurely cantering” ?

 

[palo1]

Ha I’ve done it the other way round, just getting ready to show now so will have had 4.5 months out of them. Keeps me sane ? Have you got some decent booties?

No, I have sold all my boots bar some Cavallos. Having shelled out literally thousands of pounds trying to find something to work with the very extravagant action of my arab-y horse and having lost boots of all brands all over the UK (including 2 at the Man V Horse competition one year) I just gave up and went Old Skool!! Cavallos are fine for most things and it is easier to get off, remove them and put them in the hedge for later retrieval than trying to find something that will work on the hilly, off road stuff we have here. I am at peace with that and happy to take things slowly. Alw's feet are made of something else entirely too - hard as nails bless her but I still did too much road work last time she was unshod. This time she doesn't need to do the road work in an educational sense so fingers crossed that she doesn't need boots at all. The cavallos that are the only thing that work for my older horse just spin in circles on her hard little welsh feet and I am not desperate to get back into the boot experimentation game tbh!!

 

[oldie48]

He is sweet, if slightly neurotic he's on loan, hopefully a long term thing as I'm quite keen on him already. He is 8, absurdly well bred for dressage - a much nicer horse than i could have paid for. His owner has had him since he was a tiddler but feels he's not the right horse for her. Does not want to sell him. He's had spells of being ridden by other people but been off work since last year. He's a nice chap but quite sharp and a bit prone to winding himself up. I would say his basics aren't really established but he's very capable. I am pretty confident that his knots will unravel with some consistent work and I'm looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together

He seems perfect for you and he's lucky to find you!

 

[oldie48]

I had a good session on Mr D this morning. I'm feeling a lot fitter so I'm able to maintain the trot and canter work better and the 2x weekly pilates is definitely improving my position and I'm able to stay in sitting trot for longer periods AND still use my legs! Good exercise for improving leg yield is leg yield from the centre line and then put in a 10m circle in the opposite direction part way through and then pick up the leg yield again. I found it really helped to stop the Q's trailing and kept the outside shoulder up. I'm hacking him out over the weekend and then schooling again on Monday. I'm thinking I might have a go at an online elem test as the quality of his work is really getting quite good for a pair of oldies!

 

[scats]

Quick stretch on P this morning and she was saintly.

Dreadful photo as her head looks huge, but I’m pleased with her weight loss. Ribs easily felt, and visible when she moves, which is what I wanted coming into spring.

 

[palo1]

No Official Plans but more getting-to-know-you with new pony Quiz and some more low key skool for Frank. Can't do anything in the week with him really because the arena is busy so we will see if he remembers last weekend's lessons

Very importantly, Q needs to learn how to pose to have his photo taken!! he's either 2mm from my face or walking off

Just brilliant! He looks lovely and is very lucky to have you taking the reins.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Hacking ? On Saturday I've planned a ride that should take me via a pub. What a hard life ? On Sunday, hacking to a friend to do some interval work together.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Nothing. Truck is in the garage

 

[Ambers Echo]

Times are out for dressage and there is 1 in the first class and 2 in the second! So it should be nice and quiet for our first attempt. And unless we actually get eliminated (quite hard in dressage) - 2 frillies! Not that I'll collect them but still. A nice low pressure experience for us. I am most interested in the comments. My RI is riding the first class and I am riding the 2nd so I can see what judges think of Lottie with a proper rider on her and then see how we go together. Very excited. x

 

[palo1]

Times are out for dressage and there is 1 in the first class and 2 in the second! So it should be nice and quiet for our first attempt. And unless we actually get eliminated (quite hard in dressage) - 2 frillies! Not that I'll collect them but still. A nice low pressure experience for us. I am most interested in the comments. My RI is riding the first class and I am riding the 2nd so I can see what judges think of Lottie with a proper rider on her and then see how we go together. Very excited. x

Hope you have a fab time

 

[Michen]

What a way to finish the week!

 

[Petmurf]

Hacking tomorrow and upping the distance to get him and me fitter.

Nothing on Sunday at the moment, maybe a massage for the boy but I’m going to the gym

 

[Accidental Eventer]

We had a jump yesterday, bush ride today, bush ride tomorrow, and a comp on Monday! Henrys first of the season, I had entered 2 jump rounds and a dressage test, but looks to be a long day, so I think i will just do the dressage test and do some jumping another time!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Had a good time at the clinic, just 2 of us there. Sadly the other horse went very awry after 20 mins so rider took it out after being v hurriedly and nastily dumped. So B and I had the rest as a busy individual lesson, finished popping round a 70 to 75 course v nicely. Was v chuffed as trainer last saw us almost exactly 2 years ago when steering was rather iffy and out of control speeding was Bs remit. He was v complimentary about our rhythm and balance, I even remembered to not bury my hands!

Got home to find an email telling me that from my 1 foray at winter stressage back in December, that we've qualified for their winter dressage series final! Yikes! Best I book a flat lesson I think! Its 'just' an intro, but its the only one I've done on a surface and at a busy show centre lol, friend was supposed to ride but went down with covid 3 days before!

 

[CanteringCarrot]

wanted to add something to my post but new text was added and the rest deleted... I cannot HHO on a tablet, apparently. Will repost again later.

Summary: it's been a good weekend ?

 

[Ambers Echo]

So so happy with Lottie today. I could not be more proud of her and have written a comp report. Headlines though: she was saner out than at home and she got a 69.5 (RI riding) and 67.3 (me riding). Oh and she initially thought the boards were mini show jumps

Love my lovely horse.

 

[Michen]

I thought I’d broken Boggle today. He had a dressage lesson thurs, then gallops last night, then a tiny 60/70cm sj clinic to ease him back into jumping today and a pole clinic tomorrow.

Went in and he was all… relaxed. Off my leg but just like he would be at home not out. Then we started jumping and he ramped things up somewhat in his Boggle “I’ve got this just sit there and shut up” kind of way.

Instructor was fab and said he still looked too keen which made me giggle ?. He is just sooooo much better with a job to do, he’s been a nightmare recently with far too much energy yet the minute he’s out and about it’s like he’s flooded with endorphins and just nicer to then hack, school, anything.

God help me what am I going to do when he needs to cut back and not compete ?

He has come out this year even better than last, every year he just improves even though he’s technically got more ailments!

 

[milliepops]

Sharp as a sharp thing this afternoon i think when we find the right way to work together it'll be very enjoyable but at the moment i just have to remember that i'm usually pretty sticky and have experience of improving stressheads! May need to look for some sticky bum jods again just to put the odds in my favour though

Posing is easier outside, apparently.

 

[Caol Ila]

Knackered as I write this. Upped our hacking distance from 13k to circa 15/16 and time to around four hours. Rode to an access point that takes you to a whole new trail system (new to ride…I’ve hiked it) and recce’d a major road crossing. The road will go easy enough, so you can do some big distances if you and your horse are fit enough.

He lost a boot. We took off the other one and did it all barefoot, with me leading him over the rocky sections. It’s one way to get my hillwalking fitness back. Would have been a bit easier with boots, but we managed. Luckily, we found the boot on the return journey. Those Viper Renegades are bloody expensive so I was happy about that.

 

[ycbm]

I've got no plans until we get into livery April/May and everything is settled again, so it was nice to get a short schooling session in this morning for the first time in 2 months. He was lovely, getting much stronger at 7. He also did his first ever real spook and it was a huge one! He was upset at a piece of wall that had fallen next to the arena because a rabbit had burrowed under it. Normally I'd be stressed about getting rid of the rabbits and rebuilding the wall but I was able to look at it and smile and say "someone else's problem ".

Our football team won again today as well, making it almost impossible not to get promoted this year
.

 

[Roxylola]

Glad you retrieved your boot CI
Charlie was mega on his lesson, canter 10m circles, shoulder fore in canter, walk canter, canter walk, somethings that think they might be half pass amd travers one day. They're not recognisable yet but working them improves everything else and the feel is right. So pleased with him. I'm hoping to keep my BD membership all year this year and probably keep my eventing unaffiliated

 

[Pippity]

Hacking! Four months off work has had the inevitable effect on Blue's fitness, so it's the long slog to build it back up. We're currently managing about 10km with a quarter or so in trot, and she comes back tired but still keen to do a bit more. In the school, she tries to throw in the towel after ten minutes, but she's always preferred hacking to schooling.

I'm paying someone to hack her a couple of times during the week, until the evenings are light enough for me to take her out. The good news is that she hacks alone with the pro with no wobbles, which confirms that my problems hacking her solo are entirely down to me. I need to work on pretending to be confident even when I'm not! (I'm sure the pro says this to everyone, but it's nice to be told that your horse is comfortable, responsive, and a lovely ride.)

 

[Bernster]

Not only survived our xc outing, but thrived ?. Another confidence building outing. I was worried he’d be a bit wired but he was really good. Quiet to tack up (in the lorry seems to be better), bit tense and distracted by the other horses as we warmed up but he kept a lid on it. Miles better than our xc last year. We had a blast, did a few meatier (for me) fences, tried a few different lines, then went over to the smaller fences to put some fences together, and finished off in the water. He was brilliant.

He does jump a bit oddly, like a stag, but he’s 13 so I’m not sure how much this is going to change. Vids from his prior home are pretty much the same and he’s a pretty consistent clear round horse so ?‍

 

[Sheep]

We had a lovely morning out xc schooling. Big horse can be a bit spooky at water (a fantastic trait in a horse that is supposed to be for eventing) but he was super keen today and once he had seen it, he was flying - absolutely delighted with that. He was very jolly!
Here’s a couple of pics - note I was photographer, not jockey ?

 

[scats]

I didn’t ride yesterday. I snoozed my alarm one too many times to ride before work, and then I was too shattered after a day of grooming to ride in the evening. Bit annoyed with myself because the weather was lovely, but I’m having a major bladder flare up at the moment and it has left me a bit out of sorts, so I’ve let myself off.

Our sheep, who come for the winter, are going this week, which means we get the whole of the farm back. When they are here, we are stuck to the headlands because of the fencing so it’s always great when they go because we get free roam again and the fitness work can commence. Plus we don’t have to babysit sheep and constantly alert the farmer to the escapees.

 

[LEC]

Was supposed to jump 90/1m BS but my canter was a bit off in BN but the course for 1m was horrible and would not have suited what I need at the moment with everything being a turn or a dog leg. I don’t have an arena and it’s too wet for grass so I am stuck at the moment of not being able to jump so just need to be patient until I can get my jumps out on grass.
Picked up 77% at BD for novice 34 so a good end to the day. Threw some marks away as well so can easily pick those up.

 

[scats]

Out by 8am. Amazing what a bit of sunshine and light mornings does to the general population. We’ve hacked at the same time all winter and barely met a soul, but everyone was out and about today.

We badly timed it and ended up hacking with a DPD driver who, despite being quite friendly and smiling at Millie, had no awareness of horses and kept starting his engine when we were right next to him and whizzing past. He seemed to drop about a million parcels off in the road we were in so we kept overtaking each other at various places. Sick of the sight of each other by the end I think! Millie was a bit wired, we did some sideways jogging and a half hour walking route took us 20 minutes. Good for her to encounter busier roads though, so I wasn’t too concerned.

 

[Michen]

Cute little dude

 

[palo1]

Sharp as a sharp thing this afternoon i think when we find the right way to work together it'll be very enjoyable but at the moment i just have to remember that i'm usually pretty sticky and have experience of improving stressheads! May need to look for some sticky bum jods again just to put the odds in my favour though

Posing is easier outside, apparently.

He looks very fancy!!

 

[Ambers Echo]

Michen that is a gorgeous picture!