Ok so it's been a while!

HufflyPuffly

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It has been a while since I dared enter a post of my own on here!

In truth I was having a wobble of confidence after the Area Festival Championships :( . Our scores weren't improving and I just felt I was hitting a wall all the time, with no progress really being shown. Although we weren't doing badly, and at home we were plodding along it just felt like we weren't together or really getting 'it'. So I decided that although there was nothing obviously wrong, a check to make sure all was well with Topaz would put my mind at rest, and bless her she is so strong and generous. Her saddle wasn't fitting and therefore a sore back was the result :(:( feel terrible to have struggled for so long!

She had a total of three weeks off, a regime of rehab (stretches, in-hand work, pole work and long and low), a new saddle ( :eek: at the price of 'the' perfect saddle) and we got the all clear from the physio so we were back! We have new stretches to continue to do before work and also invested in a massage pad to keep things soft and relaxed, but I now feel we are there and everything just feels wow again.

Had some amazing lessons with my instructor at her fabulous new premises and been out to test the waters competition wise, with decent scores considering we've had a few months off competing (mid 60’s). So summer regionals became out of reach but we're now looking to go to the area festivals again and may have booked in for our medium debut

Hopefully we're back on track, and I won't wait so long struggling before I get some checks done in the future!
Pictures to make it interesting and I promise to report back on our medium debut!

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Topaz fully refusing to partake in matchy matchy photos:D
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Unintentional 'rolkur' shot ;):o, she does like to duck below the contact a bit but i think this is more an unfortunate angle!
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Onto the other ladies and Doodle is enjoying her retirement a bit too much. She’s had an on-going sprain injury to her fetlock from April, scans, x-rays, etc show nothing seriously injured but the fat leg and limping show Doodle is milking it for all its worth and is very definitely enjoying the world of pampering, even if she does have to stay in a bit more than she would like! Any tips on keeping a neurotic veteran on box rest would be gladly taken, she will not stay in longer than overnight and just preforms canter pirouettes if forced to stay in (and yes she has company) which is less than helpful to the type of injury she has, sedating made no difference and she was a bit colic’y when we tried! Fingers crossed the last set back will be short-lived!

Skylla looks so much better and turned three this month, so wolf teeth out Monday and then let backing commence! Well a start at least as she’s fairly immature still, she’s done lots of ground work already and recently had a little go at being lunged with a roller and then a saddle on. She’s fine standing still and walking but trotting and cantering are very exciting for the moment, so lots of desensitising to do. I’m still unsure of what work has been done with her as when I bought her as I was told they had started lunging as they thought she was a year older, which judging by her reaction to it she has definitely done before. However I’m just not sure if she’s had a saddle on before as she’s very suspicious of it when moving which could be she’s never had one on or she’s had a bad experience? Slowly slowly with this one I think.

Playing at dressage ponies ;) Skylla was not sure!
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Birthday pictures showing a still gangly looking baby
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We also had another baby visit the yard:
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Though this one went off to the rescue center until its old enough and big enough for release.

Epic update done, hope you enjoyed the round up :).

x x
 
Such a lovely update... gorgeous horses, hope Doodle heals quickly too :-) Don't beat yourself up about not realising your saddle was off for a while, happens to us all, sometimes you can just forget to look at the whole picture until there is a light bulb moment. Onwards and upwards !!
 
Such a lovely update... gorgeous horses, hope Doodle heals quickly too :-) Don't beat yourself up about not realising your saddle was off for a while, happens to us all, sometimes you can just forget to look at the whole picture until there is a light bulb moment. Onwards and upwards !!

Thank you, Doodle is refusing to do any thing quickly at the moment, well until her leg feels better and then she hoons round the field again :(. Might try a pen in the field again so its box rest outside but she bust her way out last time as she felt she was being left on her own!
Trouble is I had thought the saddle was moving a bit too much, but everyone said it looked fine to them until I got the saddle fitter to look :(. It was a kick up the bum that trying to save money in the short term wont save any in the long term and I should have just splashed out the first time for a perfect fit (Topaz is super awkward shape so needs a specalist touch) then we won't have had the issues! She feels amazing at the moment though so I'm hoping our scores will reflect it.


Lovely, looking forward to hearing about your return to competition! Horses looking great :) also please keep us posted on Skylla!

Thank you, I'm a little bit terrified about the medium but shall crack on as Topaz feels great at the moment. I think Skylla will get more mentions when she's doing more, it might be a little boring posting I groomed her and petted her again :D.

x x
 
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