TableDancer
Well-Known Member
Following on from, S_J's post I've just got in from teaching T and S - first lesson for a thousand years just like everyone else, although she has done a few bits of walk and trot around the arena when she could and jumped at Hartpury on 28/12 which was their last proper outing. She (and I
) are sharply aware that Pony Trials time is approaching quickly and it's a big step up so we are anxious to make rapid progress without scaring the bejesus out of them
Inspired by S_J (thanks, mate
) we started with the 5 fence exercise, all on 21 foot for those interested. S is only 14 hands but is scopy with a long stride, and we have to practise making horse distances for BE. On the other hand, this line was approached off a very tight turn in my arena, and the fences were only 2'-2'6" so 24 foot would have been too long in my book...
They did just the first and just the 5th on the angle, then 1 and 4, 4 and 1, then 5 and 2 then 2 and 5. Coped very well, although can't help feeling it's a bit easier on a 14 hand-er than a 16 hand-er
Then did 1 to 3 with 3 as a pole on the ground, coped fine so graduated to 1 to 3 as a fence, then 4 to 2. Kept them all small, concentrated on rhythm and balance. T's main fault was a tendency to try and turn by pulling on the inside rein rather than guiding him around with wide hands and an opening rein so we worked on that. Didn't try 1-3-5 today as I thought they'd done surprisingly well and I'm not sure they are quite ready yet... They finished, like S_J, going straight down the line, which they found easy and enjoyed so it provided a bit of light relief
Then I altered the grid to pull 1 up to 10 feet from 2 making a bounce, and pulling 5 to make an oxer with 4, so it was short-ish bounce, 21 feet to upright, 21 feet to oxer. Gradually built the last two parts up to 1.10m. S found it very easy so I was working on T's position and keeping the approach short and bouncy (he likes to come off the turn and gallop
) S started getting a bit quick so I ended up putting the second part of the bounce up to about 90cm too to back him off a bit, but kept the entry small in case they c*cked it up. They did really well, so cue smiley T and pony, lots of polos and happy Mum
Sorry no photos/vid, I really must take some but I never think of it and get too involved in what we're doing
The good news I referred to concerns the 4yo Joe. 10 days ago in the worst of the snow he had an accident in the field. I'd been turning them out for a bit every single day on the basis that it would keep them sane and it worked a treat till then. Don't know what he did but I found him standing in the field drenched in sweat, shaking and holding a hind leg up
Thinking the worst, I went to gently lead him in and found to my surprise he could weight-bear. Left him in stable for an hour, having cleaned his many cuts, changed rugs etc, to see which way it would go... When I came back he was still bad, very distressed, unwilling to move etc so I called the vet. This was the day we had 8" of snow on the ground. First vet arrived, went to get second vet. We cajoled him to walk once around snowy yard and while he was sore he was clearly weight-bearing once again. In the absence of X rays and scans (no chance of getting lorry out) he was diagnosed as having slipped the tendon off his hock. While the long term prognosis for a return to work is reasonable with such an injury, they never recover as such and obviously there is a long healing and rehabilitation process with not much re-sale value at the end. Joe has been on boxrest all this week awaiting scans to confirm. Finally on Friday I managed to get the lorry out and get him to the vets. Those who know me will confirm that I have been increasingly upbeat during the wait as despite lengthy gropings of his hock, apart from some soft tissue swelling I couldn't feel any difference from the other one. In addition, he's become so cheerful I had to take him off the bute early to stop him beating his stable to smithereens every time the pony left him! But you don't really want to back your own judgement versus that of your vet (highly experienced ex-Langford referral orthopaedic consultant) so imagine my relief and delight when the scans confirm no major injury
Tendon in correct position and intact, just a bit of a bang and a wrench. 10 more days boxrest 6 weeks in field (which will do him no harm at all as he's a growing boy
) then back to normal
I feel a great weight has been lifted from me, so thought I should share the joy
Oh, and no anti-vets vibe, please, diagnosing correctly in the first place was nigh-on impossible in -6 degree temperature, 8" of snow, semi-dark stable and obviously neurotically pain-shy patient
They were as delighted as I was at the outcome and profusely apologetic, for which there was no need. Far better this way round than the other. Happy New Year folks
Oh and congratulations and mojitos all round for the couple of you who will have got this far
Inspired by S_J (thanks, mate
They did just the first and just the 5th on the angle, then 1 and 4, 4 and 1, then 5 and 2 then 2 and 5. Coped very well, although can't help feeling it's a bit easier on a 14 hand-er than a 16 hand-er
Then I altered the grid to pull 1 up to 10 feet from 2 making a bounce, and pulling 5 to make an oxer with 4, so it was short-ish bounce, 21 feet to upright, 21 feet to oxer. Gradually built the last two parts up to 1.10m. S found it very easy so I was working on T's position and keeping the approach short and bouncy (he likes to come off the turn and gallop
The good news I referred to concerns the 4yo Joe. 10 days ago in the worst of the snow he had an accident in the field. I'd been turning them out for a bit every single day on the basis that it would keep them sane and it worked a treat till then. Don't know what he did but I found him standing in the field drenched in sweat, shaking and holding a hind leg up
Oh, and no anti-vets vibe, please, diagnosing correctly in the first place was nigh-on impossible in -6 degree temperature, 8" of snow, semi-dark stable and obviously neurotically pain-shy patient
