Mylo & Myka

[Ample Prosecco]

And talking of her baby brother. He is an absolute gem. Picks things up really quickly. And pretty easy going. He's my Goldilocks horse - not too laid back (Felix) not too sharp (Myka) - just right!

Took him in-hand hacking, crossed a river, went past about 30 scouts playing hide and seek in the woods and popping up unexpectedly! Took it all in his stride. And his ground work is pretty good. He got the 'Joe' seal of approval anyway, when Joe last came up for a session and said he knows as much as he needs to now before I back him. Which isn't for another yeat. So we are just having fun playing around with bits and pieces.

 

[Mrs. Glittery Jingle Balls]

I am glad it has worked out the way you predicted. I think sometimes an owner probably has a deeper insight into what is going on with their horse and has a gut feeling how things are going, even when experience to others might suggest otherwise. Your intuition was correct, and she is looking stunning. Good luck with her going forward.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I am glad it has worked out the way you predicted. I think sometimes an owner probably has a deeper insight into what is going on with their horse and has a gut feeling how things are going, even when experience to others might suggest otherwise. Your intuition was correct, and she is looking stunning. Good luck with her going forward.

Thank-you. I did appreciate people were commenting out of concern and from ther own hard won experiences, and I did consider the comments carefully. But her behaviour was just shouting FEAR to me.

 

[Caski]

Genuine listening horsemanship, lovely to read about this.

 

[!CobsCan!]

they both look fantastic!! they are a testament to your training, and horsemanship

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Thankyou - Joe's training and horsemanship really!

 

[Cloball]

When did Mylo get so grown up!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I know! Where does the time go!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

First Intro Test with E-Riders...... Benchmark test mainly for comments. So happy with her! It was in a spooky indoor where she had never been before.

60.2% with marks from 7.5 down to 4. The 4's were for 'disobedience' AKA no I can't possibly get into that corner where the jumps are. And no I can't possibly halt at the end facing those people. And one missed trot transition.

Comments:

Lovely quality horse showing some lovely moments. Once more confident and on side your marks shall improve.

Bless her!

 

[SEL]

First Intro Test with E-Riders...... Benchmark test mainly for comments. So happy with her! It was in a spooky indoor where she had never been before.

60.2% with marks from 7.5 down to 4. The 4's were for 'disobedience' AKA no I can't possibly get into that corner where the jumps are. And no I can't possibly halt at the end facing those people. And one missed trot transition.

Comments:

Lovely quality horse showing some lovely moments. Once more confident and on side your marks shall improve.

Bless her!

Well done! Which Intro test did you have a go at? They may not include canter but some of them can be pretty technical (looking at you Intro 4)

I managed to get 6 points deducted for missing 2 x walk across the centre line movements. Total brain fade!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Sometimes wondered if this day would ever come. Solo hacking Myka round the farm ride! We even trotted. Proud of both of us

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Well done! Which Intro test did you have a go at? They may not include canter but some of them can be pretty technical (looking at you Intro 4)

I managed to get 6 points deducted for missing 2 x walk across the centre line movements. Total brain fade!

Into 1a. It was pretty straightforward but dressage gives me brain fade regularly!!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Saddle fit day! Back in June this fitter identified the poor fit and the failed tree. She sold me a new one but trying to fit it was -er - interesting! It was done as well as we could considering Myka wouldn’t cooperate. And the fitting was just done from the ground.

After 6 weeks I was ready to get back on and she came again to check it ridden. It was still a time consuming and slightly stressful process and I was only really sitting in it and ambling around a bit.

Then the trainer checked it again when she was away and the gullet was changed. This was a different fitter.

Today we checked it again because although I knew it had been adjusted recently I wanted it fitted to me as well as to Myka. There were positive changes in every way. 1) She didn’t object to any of it. 2) She has filled out and levelled up 3) I could finally ride properly in it to test it out! Despite riding at ‘bringing in time’ with horses walking behind the hedge and a girl on a pony show jumping in the arena I was in a 1/4 of. She was distracted but very well behaved.

I know how much progress she’s made but it was really nice to see that from an outside perspective!

I’m

 

[Ample Prosecco]

And we have lift off!

Mytk'a first jump. She was very confuzzled: "I can't move forward there's something in the way. Can't you see it?!!"

Then she overjumped and didn't quite know what to do with her back legs. Too much up, not enough forward! Then she popped it nicely. Main thing is she was calm and working it out, not freaking out.

I am so happy with her. I think all those months of foundation building and taking it sloooooooooooow mean she has learned how to learn. She understands there is an answer and is happy to try and figure it out. And she is accepting of new experiences. She has not yet put a foot wrong at Somerford beyond baby horse spooks at flappy things, other horses cantering up behind etc. But she dials back down quickly too. Next time we will let her follow another horse to help her get the idea. And we will use the tech arena sometime next week which has a lot of small fences too.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Our first canter together!

 

[Asha]

Really pleased for you . After everything you’ve bee through to get to this stage , you really deserve this . Onwards and upwards

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Really pleased for you . After everything you’ve bee through to get to this stage , you really deserve this . Onwards and upwards

Thank you! I am so pleased with her. She seems to have got her head round the whole being tacked up and ridden bit now. She just feels like a different horse.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

While hacking I went down to the Tech Arena where I knew @photo_jo was taking some pics of a clinic there. Cheekily got her to take a few of Myka and me. Thank-you Jo!
The instructor (who used to teach me on Lottie) also saw me and sent me a message later saying my new horse looks 'very calm and sensible!' I'll take that

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Yeehaa we have 5th gear!! She is feeling AMAZING! Myka you are fab!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

And I'd say this was a very successful first play in the tech arena at Somerford. Not with me on board! (She needs good confidence-giving experiences, not me getting left behind and catching her in the mouth). Won't be long though... We had all 3 arenas to ourselves. Benefits of heading out in Biblical weather! She can have a couple of days off now to process all that. So proud of her!

 

[j1ffy]

And I'd say this was a very successful first play in the tech arena at Somerford. Not with me on board! (She needs good confidence-giving experiences, not me getting left behind and catching her in the mouth). Won't be long though... We had all 3 arenas to ourselves. Benefits of heading out in Biblical weather! She can have a couple of days off now to process all that. So proud of her!

I’m in love with her canter - she floats!

She looks so happy trying new things there, what a change from her worried stages. Well done taking it slow and getting the foundations right, it looks like you’re reaping the rewards now!

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I'm honestly so happy with her. There have been plenty of times where I believed I'd made a mistake buying her. But I do love her, so I hope she carries on showing me that with time, patience and quality outside help, our partnership can work. She is giving me zero reasons to doubt her at the moment, so my trust in her is growing all the time. It was only Saturday that we had our first 2 canters up hill on the farm ride. And then yesterday our first canter in the arena which felt magical - I let her travel and she just opened up into a lovely forward XC canter. Then came back easily. She's a star. She feels very rideable as long as she's relaxed. And she's getting better and better at being put under some pressure, but not losing the plot, and dialling back down quickly once she has understood. She still startles at a fair few things when we hack somwehere new, or past a flappy bale or whatever, but she just does a funny 4 leg splayed giraffe-head plant, takes a moment to evaluate, and then relaxes again and walks on, rather than over-reacting. And she only does it for genuinely new things - rides she has done 3-4 times now are no issue. She hacks along on a loose rein happily. Her window of tolerance is so much bigger than it used to be.

 

[Titchy Reindeer]

She's a beauty and doing so well. I'm glad your patience has paid off. I'm also slightly (well a lot!) jealous of those installations.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

She's a beauty and doing so well. I'm glad your patience has paid off. I'm also slightly (well a lot!) jealous of those installations.

I’m only there very temporarily!! It’s expensive but the facilities are fantastic.

 

[Ample Prosecco]

And not forgetting the little guy…. Joe lesson today. But he’s retaining everything and there’s nothing else he needs to learn before backing so we just ran through a few patterns and kept the session short. Joe is not polite about horses he doesn’t like - he is actually pretty blunt. So when he gave Mylo a big cuddle and said he was a sweet, kind, willing, easy horse and a Very Very Good Boy, I know he means it.