PolarSkye
Well-Known Member
Like a lot of you, I am looking back on 2013 and taking stock . . . it's been a year of highs and lows . . . I've made some shabby decisions and Kal has disappointed us sometimes, but ultimately it's been a year of immense progress.
We started the year in mid January with him being kicked in the field and ending up in horsepital for a week having his hock joint flushed. The vet told me later that if we hadn't gotten him there that day, he would have died . . . a sobering thought. However, my stoic boy didn't take a lame step after surgery and recovered well enough to be in a pen in the field a mere three weeks after surgery (although he paced so much and rolled so much that he went from being a grey in a bright blue rug to being a bay with a white blaze in a brown rug
).
In February he was well enough to go to Frensham Manor for his first stressage test . . . he distinguished himself by escaping from the lorry and legging it down the drive, when we got him back it took three of us twenty minutes to put his saddle on and he managed to do most of an Intro test in canter . . . but he had a smile on his face
. He also went back to his old yard for a clinic with Paul Tapner, in which he distinguished himself by being the only horse in the class not to touch a pole or stop in front of a fence . . . bless him.
We did some more stressage - took him to Wellington where he did a horrendous test in the pokey little school next to the nosebag (not helped by the workmen in the corner of the school) and then excelled himself in the Duke's Hall. We took him XC schooling to Tweseldown and Wheatlands (with varying results) and went out SJ'ing/combined training and ODE at various venues (Snowball, Pachesham, Wheelers, Crofton Manor, etc). Jumping is Kal's thing, XC is Z's and dressage is not a favourite of either of them, but Z worked hard to school him up at home and improve their way of going. We had two problems, though . . . Z was stuck wrt how to improve him on the flat . . . and Kal was unpredictable both in the SJ arena and out on the XC course - still exhibiting that wicked drop and spin move that both of us (Z and I) hate.
We took him Tweseldown to do a Hunter Trial and after hesitating in front of the first few fences (but not actually running out) he flew round with a great big smile on his face . . . and he did his first double clear in a combined training at Snowball proving that he could knuckle down and jump without being a prat.
We struck gold in March when our new dressage coach appeared in the form of a new livery at the yard we were then occupying . . . she took us on and improved our dressage score by 14 percent in just five weeks . . . but before that she came with us to Tweseldown where we had entered him in a UA ODE. The rain was torrential - the dressage warm-up was a ploughed field, the SJ warm-up was a bog and we (wisely) pulled him after the dressage because we didn't want him to slip and frighten himself (he was then unshod behind and wasn't wearing studs). We made the right decision - two weeks later at Pachesham (admittedly a much smaller show) he performed his best ever dressage test and came second in a little UA ODE, going double clear in both SJ and XC. I cried - Z did a victory dance.
He had a slow summer . . . he caught a virus and was flat as a pancake, and Z's daughters were home from school . . . but after a rest and some linseed he picked up, Z's kids went back to school and we got back into the groove . . . we were out and about but were suffering from first fence-itis . . . he was chucking away silly faults simply by being an idiot in front of the first couple of fences . . . and for no reason we could see. It was hugely frustrating because he is such a careful, scopey horse. In addition, we weren't jumping much at home because it was a bit of a pain logistically.
Yard politics meant I was keen to move, I found us a lovely new home on a private yard with just the YO and one other livery, a school with a huge set of BSJA showjumps, closer to home and much more relaxed in terms of what we could (and couldn't) do in the school. In addition, YO recommended a jump trainer to us . . . we haven't looked back! Kal jumps at least twice a week . . . jump trainer has sorted out the stopping issues . . . Kal has been hunting (which he loves) . . . yard has a washroom with hot shower and solarium (which I am finding a massive bonus when getting a grey ready to hunt/compete/go to a clinic in the winter) and Kal has probably never been fitter.
We end the year with a bit, happy, healthy horse who is going better than I could ever have imagined. He went to a second clinic with Paul Tapner a couple of weeks ago in which Paul complimented our jump trainer and said Kal looks so much fitter and stronger than when we saw him in January.
We might not have completely cracked his XC issues (he is a nosy so-and-so and lacks attention), but we've made a good start of getting the best out of him SJ and DR and we have two good trainers on board . . . and I am very excited about the upcoming eventing season.
Thank you for reading - didn't mean for it to be a novel
.
P
We started the year in mid January with him being kicked in the field and ending up in horsepital for a week having his hock joint flushed. The vet told me later that if we hadn't gotten him there that day, he would have died . . . a sobering thought. However, my stoic boy didn't take a lame step after surgery and recovered well enough to be in a pen in the field a mere three weeks after surgery (although he paced so much and rolled so much that he went from being a grey in a bright blue rug to being a bay with a white blaze in a brown rug
). In February he was well enough to go to Frensham Manor for his first stressage test . . . he distinguished himself by escaping from the lorry and legging it down the drive, when we got him back it took three of us twenty minutes to put his saddle on and he managed to do most of an Intro test in canter . . . but he had a smile on his face
. He also went back to his old yard for a clinic with Paul Tapner, in which he distinguished himself by being the only horse in the class not to touch a pole or stop in front of a fence . . . bless him.We did some more stressage - took him to Wellington where he did a horrendous test in the pokey little school next to the nosebag (not helped by the workmen in the corner of the school) and then excelled himself in the Duke's Hall. We took him XC schooling to Tweseldown and Wheatlands (with varying results) and went out SJ'ing/combined training and ODE at various venues (Snowball, Pachesham, Wheelers, Crofton Manor, etc). Jumping is Kal's thing, XC is Z's and dressage is not a favourite of either of them, but Z worked hard to school him up at home and improve their way of going. We had two problems, though . . . Z was stuck wrt how to improve him on the flat . . . and Kal was unpredictable both in the SJ arena and out on the XC course - still exhibiting that wicked drop and spin move that both of us (Z and I) hate.
We took him Tweseldown to do a Hunter Trial and after hesitating in front of the first few fences (but not actually running out) he flew round with a great big smile on his face . . . and he did his first double clear in a combined training at Snowball proving that he could knuckle down and jump without being a prat.
We struck gold in March when our new dressage coach appeared in the form of a new livery at the yard we were then occupying . . . she took us on and improved our dressage score by 14 percent in just five weeks . . . but before that she came with us to Tweseldown where we had entered him in a UA ODE. The rain was torrential - the dressage warm-up was a ploughed field, the SJ warm-up was a bog and we (wisely) pulled him after the dressage because we didn't want him to slip and frighten himself (he was then unshod behind and wasn't wearing studs). We made the right decision - two weeks later at Pachesham (admittedly a much smaller show) he performed his best ever dressage test and came second in a little UA ODE, going double clear in both SJ and XC. I cried - Z did a victory dance
.He had a slow summer . . . he caught a virus and was flat as a pancake, and Z's daughters were home from school . . . but after a rest and some linseed he picked up, Z's kids went back to school and we got back into the groove . . . we were out and about but were suffering from first fence-itis . . . he was chucking away silly faults simply by being an idiot in front of the first couple of fences . . . and for no reason we could see. It was hugely frustrating because he is such a careful, scopey horse. In addition, we weren't jumping much at home because it was a bit of a pain logistically.
Yard politics meant I was keen to move, I found us a lovely new home on a private yard with just the YO and one other livery, a school with a huge set of BSJA showjumps, closer to home and much more relaxed in terms of what we could (and couldn't) do in the school. In addition, YO recommended a jump trainer to us . . . we haven't looked back! Kal jumps at least twice a week . . . jump trainer has sorted out the stopping issues . . . Kal has been hunting (which he loves) . . . yard has a washroom with hot shower and solarium (which I am finding a massive bonus when getting a grey ready to hunt/compete/go to a clinic in the winter) and Kal has probably never been fitter.
We end the year with a bit, happy, healthy horse who is going better than I could ever have imagined. He went to a second clinic with Paul Tapner a couple of weeks ago in which Paul complimented our jump trainer and said Kal looks so much fitter and stronger than when we saw him in January.
We might not have completely cracked his XC issues (he is a nosy so-and-so and lacks attention), but we've made a good start of getting the best out of him SJ and DR and we have two good trainers on board . . . and I am very excited about the upcoming eventing season
.Thank you for reading - didn't mean for it to be a novel
.P
