atropa
Well-Known Member
I have been given the go ahead by my vet to start bringing my navicular mare back into work for the first time since her diagnosis. He warned me against riding her on very deep ground, and also against going faster than a walk on hard surfaces at the minute.
I wasn't expecting her to be able to be ridden again so quickly, and unfortunately she is currently kept at a yard with less than ideal riding facilities for this kind of thing. I have at my disposal:
- one smallish (possibly 20x30?), extremely deep outdoor woodchip school
- a hardcored/grassy area of the yard I could walk around
- a few reasonably level, sloping fields which I could ride in provided they are dry enough (they were perfect yesterday but unfortunately it has now been raining all night and due to rain all weekend)
- hacking wise, two very busy, very fast roads which terrify me (traffic comes off the motorway and shoots down them, giant lorries etc). My horse isn't spooky in traffic but picks up badly on my nerves and plays up. These roads lead to two forests with hardcore tracks, about 5 minutes walk and 20 minutes walk away respectively.
I will of course be starting out very, very slowly with 5 minutes work at a time at first as she has been out of work for a long time, but is anyone able to suggest a possible workable routine with the above facilities? Obviously I would prefer to do straight line work with her, but this might not always be possible if the school and yard are my only options during rainy periods.
The roads terrify me, but I wondered about possibly using them absolute last thing at night when they are quieter, or even hiring a pro to hack her out on them a few times a week when she's up to it.
I don't have access to a trailer but could hire one possibly a few times a month to box to more suitable hacking if this would help.
I'll be looking for somewhere more suitable for her to livery but unfortunately from past experience this is likely to be a long, slow and painful process in the area I'm in, and additionally complicated by the fact that I can't move her outside of her current farrier's covered area at the moment.
I wasn't expecting her to be able to be ridden again so quickly, and unfortunately she is currently kept at a yard with less than ideal riding facilities for this kind of thing. I have at my disposal:
- one smallish (possibly 20x30?), extremely deep outdoor woodchip school
- a hardcored/grassy area of the yard I could walk around
- a few reasonably level, sloping fields which I could ride in provided they are dry enough (they were perfect yesterday but unfortunately it has now been raining all night and due to rain all weekend)
- hacking wise, two very busy, very fast roads which terrify me (traffic comes off the motorway and shoots down them, giant lorries etc). My horse isn't spooky in traffic but picks up badly on my nerves and plays up. These roads lead to two forests with hardcore tracks, about 5 minutes walk and 20 minutes walk away respectively.
I will of course be starting out very, very slowly with 5 minutes work at a time at first as she has been out of work for a long time, but is anyone able to suggest a possible workable routine with the above facilities? Obviously I would prefer to do straight line work with her, but this might not always be possible if the school and yard are my only options during rainy periods.
The roads terrify me, but I wondered about possibly using them absolute last thing at night when they are quieter, or even hiring a pro to hack her out on them a few times a week when she's up to it.
I don't have access to a trailer but could hire one possibly a few times a month to box to more suitable hacking if this would help.
I'll be looking for somewhere more suitable for her to livery but unfortunately from past experience this is likely to be a long, slow and painful process in the area I'm in, and additionally complicated by the fact that I can't move her outside of her current farrier's covered area at the moment.