2nd week of June plans

Ample Prosecco

Ample Prosecco

Still wittering on
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Another weekend, another camp! I seem to live at camps these days as I am running 1 or 2 every month, and they are 3-4 days long. Myka is coming along for the ride again. This time I plan to actually get on her, assuming she's calm and focused and all our 'pre-flight checks' are passed nicely. That would feel like a fab milestone! I plan to mount in the arena, then if she seems fine, to ride back to the stable block. And do that Fri/Sat/Sun with a slightly longer route back to the stables each time.

What is everyone else up to?
 
Got splatted in my jump lesson today. It was only 60cm but apparently we did a lot higher and then celebrated by exploding bucks on landing. He was superb for the rest of the lesson thankfully.

RC dressage Sunday. It's Areas & on grass so no idea how busy or what the surface will be like but I've set myself the low challenge of turn up, don't get bucked off!

Enjoy camp!
 
Not a lot horsey wise, though have got 4 to do as friend going away. Partridge chick's arriving tomorrow, need to make a pen for 18 week old guinea fowl and their chicken mum! Then of course trying to keep the pup under control!! Enjoy everyone!
 
Grooming for a friend at a show Saturday AM, then have a target training clinic in the afternoon! Heavy rain forecast all day so may end up doing neither, or get drowned doing both 😂 My Nans 92nd birthday on Sunday so pony may be a little neglected which will delight her.

Especially after this last night 😂 we helped rescue an escaped calf on the way home tho, so we were meant to go despite the rain.
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Jumping with Green TB tonight and hopefully finding time to lunge Enormosaurus as well. I think Enormosaurus may have marginally lost weight since the new fencing is stopping her getting out for midnight snacks, as I didn't have to fight quite so much to do up her girth (this girth fitted her absolutely fine when I bought it!).
Saturday will be jumping Enormosaurus, hacking Green TB and then helping with pony rides for the school fete. Then off to the cinema with my sister - it feels like forever since I actually got to really spend time with her, but I suppose that's what having two young kids does to a person.
Sunday is competition day at the riding school and I'll be riding Green TB in the 65cm class. I'm mostly looking for good behaviour and not bothered about the results. She has already competed without issue with her owner, but that was before things went pear shaped between them. Enormosaurus is getting a break from competing as she behaved so well last weekend and I don't really think she has much to gain from competing at home so I'll take her to the next away competition.
Oh and my girls have the dentist today.
 
The plan was to ride but having fallen down the stairs quite spectacularly at home, I'm now nursing a very sore lower back and hip.....

Completely bummed as really wanted to get Baggs out for a blast but no point in riding when I'm in a lot of pain, he's quite bouncy so that won't help and he can be sharp if he spooks - so as much as I want to go for a ride, I'm putting on my sensible adult hat and not going to.....

Instead I'm going to give both boys a really good groom, now that all their winter coat has finally buggered off, I can proper get down to the skin and give both boys a good massage/scratchy session whilst grooming them :) Also means I can take things at my pace and if I start to hurt too much, I can take a break before continuing.

Hoping that I stop aching enough for a groundwork session with Rabbit, it's been a few weeks since his last one and I just would like to give him a quick tune up - he's gone bum high AGAIN so no point in doing anything else with him x
 
Arena currently has a digger in it (exciting!) so it isn’t really useable atm, so not sure what riding I’ll get done - there has been lots of rain so not keen on riding in field. It drains well but might be a bit slippery underfoot!
Taking mare to vets tomorrow for a scan to see how things are looking & to make a plan around when to inseminate. I think that’ll probably be next week, but let’s see!
 
Hubby is away on a football coaching course which means I have sole charge of the 3 munchkins so pony time will be somewhat curtailed this weekend!
However eldest teen and I will escape for a hack on the share horses saturday evening, which will be nice and then on a more exciting note I'm off to see a girl on Sunday who I used to work with for 9 years but haven't seen for at least 10 after she contacted me about a horse she is looking to loan/sell. I'm not interested in buying (all info on another thread!) but am going over openminded about having her on loan, she sounds a lovely mare albeit a little smaller than we were looking for at 15hh. I'll report back!
Will be seeing coblet both days also, and hoping his mood has improved now this rain has stopped. On the whole he is enjoying his retired, roughed off life on a hill but still think's he's made of sugar and needs to be brought inside when it rains which isn't an option for him. The lady whose house he is at says he stands by the hedge and shouts at every dog walker that goes past!! He's lost weight and is actually looking fairly sound, so I may even take him out the field for a short walk/hedgerow snack session!
 
Two lessons for me today!

Lesson number one is done, at usual RS. I'm back on Mr big ID and finally riding more forwards! I'm not ready to canter him juuuust yet but today was the first time I thought we had a trot enough to go up into canter from. It's taken a long time to get to this point and I still felt a little worried at times, but mostly enjoyed him being more off my leg and having a bit more connection. Less hard work too. Just need to get consistent now!

Lesson number two is later at an RS I hacked out with a couple of times last year. I'm going for an assessment lesson this time to see if I can work with them on one of my hacking goals which is specific to their location.
 
Very little planned here, which after a stressful week at work is quite a relief! Quick lesson this evening, then some hacking and schooling over the weekend. And a big garden / driveway tidy as we're building a porch so have a skip here (I'm weirdly excited about that, we have loads of random cr*p that needs throwing out!).
 
Lesson yesterday but no weekend plans rubbish week at work and anxiety is all over the shop 😬

Lesson was good, walk is excellent now loose and swinging. Left rein shoulder-in actually field very easy right not so much. Need to practice traver a bit more as not sure my weight aids are as effective as they could be and she likes a nice clear seat aid. Trot leg yield also feels easier but I wasn't in the right head space for too much cantering which is frustrating. Left canter was lovely need to work on the strength.
 
Started early with saddle fit yesterday, which shows I could really do with changing Ambers saddle. Instead of being excited by all my choices I am instead looking at the bank balance and asking what the most budget option that would work will cost. I agree it needs to be done and my existing saddle is likely to fit my youngster, but I can't get excited about the new one due to the expense. Thankfully we can pad and shim current one to tick over whilst new one is ordered.
We had a nice hack out after work yesterday with only one unscheduled jump into the corn field, I can't blame her, bright wight paper flapping about suddenly in front of her spooked her.
Then today Amber had her vaccination so she gets today off and might just do a liberty session tomorrow depending on how she is. So that means I'm free to paint her stable, just the back wall as the other sides are loddon panels and bars, if I' feeling really strong I might try and move one of her stable matts as my summer project is to get the floor clean underneath. I brought the matts off the previous user of the stable and they're great in that they do not move, but not great because they're very, very heavy.
I need to do a tack shop run to at least get some more treats then get packed ready to head to camp on Wednesday.

I also need to see my sister and my in laws at some point. It's going to be a busy one.
 
Second lesson done. Boom! What a lucky girl I am. This would have been unthinkable this time last year; I used to get home from one lesson and feel really quite unwell on the sofa for the rest of the day.

RS 2 is quite a bit busier than my usual RS. I got quite anxious at the beginning of my lesson and again at the end walking on a long rein. But I'm being kind to myself and pleased with having done it. The horse was lovely and the instructor happy for it to be a low pressure, walk only session. I think riding in a busier place sometimes will help me practice tuning out background noise and focusing on the horse and what we're doing.

My canter hack feels a loooooong way off! But I'm nothing if not persistent and as above, there was a point that riding at all felt barely possible so I hope to keep chipping away and working towards it.
 
Super happy with Myka! Rode in one of the arenas with a grid lesson going on next door and she was fab!

Then hacked back to the stable block. Mini spook at a grit bin but otherwise she was fine. Baby pony growing up!!

And photo Jo was there to take some pics so I’m looking forward to seeing those.
 

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smolmaus said:
Grooming for a friend at a show Saturday AM, then have a target training clinic in the afternoon! Heavy rain forecast all day so may end up doing neither, or get drowned doing both 😂 My Nans 92nd birthday on Sunday so pony may be a little neglected which will delight her.
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Okay so show is back on, absolute legend of a farrier came out at 8pm to nail it back on and check she didn't actually poke a hole in herself

And target training cancelled due to another yellow storm warning 😂 dont know if I'm coming or going!!!!

Had a gorgeous hack in the brief lovely weather tonight though 💕
 
Trying to do something in apocalyptic weather (probably 20 minutes of lunging) with Hermosa on Saturday, before going down to Ayrshire to see a friend who left our yard because she's living the dream and bought her own horse property.

Sunday, try to do something with both of them.

I think Fin really enjoyed being #1 pony over these last two weeks, but now Hermosa is under vet's orders to get her butt kicked, but is also on limited turnout, and it's all feeling like a lot.

It doesn't help that Fin won't hack solo, and we are seriously short of hacking buddies. My best friend is leaving the yard on Saturday - her younger horse is injured and may never be ridden again, and her old guy isn't far from retirement, so it's the right decision for her (and totally sucks). Our yard is expensive, and if you can't use their beautiful arena and Mugdock, there is no point in being there. At the moment, the yard just doesn't have the same big happy hacker crowd it used to. I will miss my friend, and I will miss her wonderful horses who gave so much confidence to mine. Her move was a sudden decision after the vet school giving their prognosis on her young horse, so I didn't know our last hack was our last hack.

I keep reminding myself that Hermosa did some Doctor Who levels of bullet dodging with this laminitis sh1t, and so long as I am anal about diet, excercise, and turnout, we will hopefully outrun the EMS Daleks, but we will always be running.
 
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I'm sorry to hear about Hermosa.
I feel you with the lack of hacking companions lately although mostly it's due to my ineptitude and anxiety that we don't hack alone. It's really made me wonder if I could manage a second horse but there's no guarantees I'd be brave enough to hack them solo either. We've had a lot of politics re the use of the school as well lately so I feel like I'm barely riding let alone making the most of access to the forest and mountain.
Myka looks stunning as ever.
Got a gig on Monday night Yeah Yeah Yeahs who I've wanted to see live since I was 18 🤩
 
Might venture back in here, we’ve managed to do something the last three weekends 🙌🏻. Dressage the last two and then showing yesterday at a local Agri show.

Wasn’t going up go as I woke up to thunder and rain 🤣🙈, but the forecast did seem ok for the day…

1/1 Ridden Part Bred Arabs
1/2 open Novice Riding Horse
Champion of the hunter/ Riding horse section
Reserve Champion of the Open Ridden Showing

Clever Beryl 🥰.
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southerncomfort said:
Mostly hacking, but also...

going to see Stereophonics tomorrow night!!

First stadium gig, but we're right at the back. At least we'll be dry if the heaven's open!
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Stereophonics were awesome! Kelly Jones is glorious! Didn't rain!

Supposed to be going hacking now but absolutely knackered.

Have a good day everyone. 🙂
 
Won our class at riding club regionals but they accidentally withdrew me from my 2nd class. It was dressage on grass and the ground was atrocious - a BE event was held last week and although they'd moved the arenas it was rutted and solid. It would have been damp enough last Sunday to roll after BE but zero sign of that.

I could feel him backing off in the warm up and judge said "ran out of energy" in our last trot movement. It wasn't energy - the pony is fit - but he was feeling very tentative. So secretly relieved to find the screw up with the second entry.

Apparently it's highly likely I'll get an invite to go to Lincs for the finals. It's 3.5 hours away so highly unlikely I'll be attending!
 
We went to an RC low key flatwork clinic not far away. Loaded 2nd time to leave & 1st time to come home, so can't argue with that! We had a very trying year involving a lot of getting bucked off, planting or doing Spanish riding school when attempting groundwork & not even being able to tack up without 'antics'. Anyway, we started on the kpu diet & it took 6 weeks to transform her from being completely impossible in-hand & under saddle & being advised to sell her before I get myself killed to working safely under saddle. A couple of months on & we're back to doing low level pottering at clinics. She has totally lost the unpredictability & giddiness. We are not there yet but I am enjoying riding her again rather than wondering if I'm going to meet a sticky end. She is now 17.2... ! :-0
 
We’ve had a lovely weekend, despite the torrential rain yesterday, which we managed to mostly dodge.

We had a good schooling session yesterday, and I’ve started reintroducing some trot work, which went well. There were three very cute oyster catcher chicks in the school, with one of their parents, and Curly was very curious about them. Then today, we went out for a hack with one of the other liveries. He had a tiny look at a feed bag caught on a fence that was flapping in the wind, but otherwise was very chilled.

I’m feeling so much more confident hacking than I was. We’ve been out three times this week, compared with zero times between mid-January, when I had my fall, and last weekend.
 
Friday night after work took Mr H to the beach. He was very brave about getting his feet wet (he doesn’t like welsh cob eating sharks!)

Yesterday we went on a fun ride at the northern end of Ullswater. Mr H was very excited and the views from the top of the fell were spectacular. We were out about 3 hours and I slept well last night!
 
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