What have you done with your horses this week?

[Ormsweird]

Lots of grooming for the cob! Washed his legs, treated his malenders and.. Nothing else at all. Husband has had chest infection and I broke my toe on New Years day. Kiddo refuses to ride and with my foot I can't lead her anyway.

Cob is loving it!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Fed them, watered them and that's about it! That is how every winter goes for me! I don't ride. It's dark when I go to work, dark when I get home, I don't have a school and the roads are horrendous, plus I am a single entity so no one to ride out with.

I will be clipping the wee coloured job, and maybe the Gray one tomorrow. The shetland will be broken to ride as soon as the ground softens up again. The Gray one will be doing nothing I just can't be faffed with a moulting grey tb in the spring!

I get my riding fix at work, my 2 special boys are back in work after a couple of months off so they are keeping my stomach muscles busy!

 

[tiga71]

Luckily i work for myself so work around my horsey time.

Sunday - hacked out younger horse to pub
Monday - took oldie up on the Downs for a long gallopy hack
Tues - flat lesson on younger horse
Wed - took both horses to the Downs for a fittening ride - mainly walk and trot (with friend riding one)
Today - clipped younger horse, quick lesson on oldie
Tomorrow - hack out younger horse
Sat - hack in Windsor park on oldie
Sun - poles clinic on younger one

 

[LHIS]

Nothing for the past 4 days. Everything is frozen, I can't feel my hands and my horse is filthy, and I can't put a rug on him because one other he's turned out with rips his rugs. Horse doesn't seem bothered in the slightest.

 

[Sukistokes2]

Monday, last day off before work, went out on a nice hack on Kevin, trying out our new saddle. After that back to work, so just cleaned them, got them in and fed them. Looking forward to the weekend. Going to get a lesson in, a couple of hacks and some dressage writing, weather permitting.

 

[the_nag]

Glad I'm not the only one not doing much apart from mucking out feeding etc etc... they have had a Christmas holiday now need to get back on when weather gets better. Need motivation

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Friday hacked Doodle and Topaz.
Saturday schooled baby horse.
Sunday nothing with any of them!
Monday hacked baby horse solo.
Tuesday schooled baby horse + Topaz got lunged.
Wednesday schooled Topaz.
Thursday hacked Topaz and Skylla.
Friday school Topaz or hack Doodle.

Weekend would ideally involve going to somewhere for a good hack but the box is still on sick leave . Doodle however will definitely be ridden as she's not been ridden since last Friday. Having three in work is too much, so thank god she's good just doing the odd hack here and there!

Keep thinking if I write down a schedule for them it will organise myself better...

 

[scrapster]

Haven't ridden this week, had physio New Year's Eve and been at work since. So it's just general care for then both. Had farrier today, need to get my bum in gear. The retired one needs a little spruce up (he's only 10) and I need to do some inhand work with him as he gets bored (he did take himself over poles today whilst waiting for farrier!) other lad needs a tidy up too, fed up of mud! I need to find my brave pants and take him in my neighbours arena, but my other lad has made me lose my confidence in arena. Hacking this weekend and hoping for summer to arrive !

 

[rachk89]

Nothing. Horse is being seen by vet tomorrow to make sure his back is fine and give him a health check and his annual vaccinations. Not riding til I know his back is OK. I think though that my photos on another thread were bad ones as I checked him recently and it didnt look as bad, not as under muscled. Shall see tomorrow.

Plus I have been on lates at work and when on lates I can't ride. Don't even get to see him when on lates hence why I hate them so much and whine at my boss every time I am on them haha. Will hack him this weekend if he isn't a ball of energy.

 

[fornema]

Work full time (9-5.30), my 2 horses live 10 miles away, see them twice a day everyday with no family in area - i think i am slightly more obsessed by them than most as my life revolves around them but i make sure i spend proper time with them everyday, especially if school frozen (only a couple of days this year). I ride pony at least 4 days a week, youngster 3 days and both will have a long and low lunge session.

Friday - One ridden, one lunged.
Saturday - Both hacked out.
Sunday - Torrential rain all day enforced day off
Monday - Both had a ridden polework session
Tuesday - 2 x lunging sessions
Weds - Day off
Thurs - Both ridden

 

[Bernster]

Not much ! Had a nice longish hack on Monday but that's it. Was due to have a lesson yesterday but the school started to freeze over, sharer rode on Tuesday and then I had work stuff the other days. Booooo. F gets ridden by the yard so he gets plenty of exercise, just not always with me.

Hoping to do xc course hire tomorrow though and another nice fittening hack on Sunday. Plus play with my horsey Xmas presents which I haven't had chance to do yet. V sad but I got lots of storage bags for my rugs so I'm looking forward to tidying up my tack area!

I've spent my time wisely though, been planning our training for Wobbleberry and am sorted trough to the end of March now ��

 

[fattylumpkin]

Today's ride in the snow! -23C. I'd be lying if I said it was a comfortable experience, but the hippo loves it

 

[Luci07]

Nothing. Mine managed to slice open one of his nostrils on New Year's Day, so box rest and no riding. My "action" is to watch money disappearing in bedding costs with no riding at the moment.

 

[rosiesowner]

NYE: Had the worst ride I've ever had on Chilli. Uncontrollable, snorty, stressed horse who usually loves jumping didn't want to go near a fence and when she did it was with no control or style. I cried but thanked God for the mild night (11 degrees!!) as I wiped her down with NAF Warming Wash and told her I was sorry for making her do something that made her so unhappy... Dramatic much?!

NYD: Took her for a relaxed hack. Got nothing productive done but made a plan of action in my head which included rerouting from JAS at the end of the month to simply going out to arena hire somewhere for a lesson. Sadly can't make the dates for a Ros Canter clinic as at £20 they're absolutely affordable and her facilities are fab. Began to reduce her feed a little (conditioning mix as she looked terrible at the start of winter-clearly had a little too much energy for her lol).

Mon: I gave her a day off as it was a turnout day. Spent some time just relaxing with her. Took her conditioning mix down a little more.

Tue: Did some polework, warmed up lovely if a little too forward but nothing unmanageable. Went over the poles (some normal, some in a zigzag pattern) with no fuss. Then four other liveries joined us in the indoor and her brain melted again! She proceeded to bounce the normal poles like tiny jumps and jump the zigzags like two corners. It was an achievement just to negotiate them normally. Again, after not doing much work she was absolutely fizzed up and sweating. The feed went down a little again. I wanted to do it gradually instead of going straight from giving her a bit to not lots!

Wed: Was incredibly tired after college and resisted the urge to give her the day off because she'd been out in the field all day and therefore moving about. Instead I popped her in the Pessoa and tried a different set-up with it once she had warmed up without it on. Rather than having it going through her front legs, I had it so that it went through the bit and then back up to the ring just above where the rope loops through to go to the bit IYSWIM. She was really happy with this and worked up and into it but still stretching rather than getting downhill because it's going between her legs. A happy evening. I was pleased with her and smiled for the first time in a few days!

Thu: Yesterday I took her into the school and did some work in there. I must say I do think her feed has been the issue as it's been the only thing to have changed before her behaviour became so uncontrollable. I can honest to goodness say she didn't miss a single beat. Even though she normally gets so excited after cantering and takes a while to settle back into trot and walk work she took half the time she ever would, even under normal circumstances. She was off my leg but not too forwards and an absolute pleasure to ride, really seeking my hand and taking me forward but in a good way. I took her for a walk around the grounds to cool off and felt happy for the first time in a couple of weeks. It's amazing how closely linked my happiness is to my horse's happiness/performance.

It made me incredibly sad to know she wasn't enjoying her work and was becoming so stressed as she is usually such a workoholic. I am also proud of myself for motivating myself not to give her the days off she didn't need. Despite being physically fit and healthy, my mental state often leaves me feeling like I just want to curl up in the dark and do the bare minimum. Especially after work (at the yard where she lives) as we do work hard to keep our liveries and school customers happy



I too really want to rebuild my confidence-personally, with jumping as before her questionable behaviour I was confidently jumping tracks of 1m on her. Pipsqueak for her but a big deal for me

In a way although I was so excited to start the season with some JAS it's probably money better spent going out somewhere different to hire a full course of jumps with fillers etc. (because let's face it, who can actually be bothered to set a full course w/fillers etc at home-especially when you have to put it away afterwards?!) It just means there's no pressure and I can take it at my own pace.

I believe in you! If I can write such a long reply just to avoid doing my college assignments then we can both do anything we set our minds to!

Best wishes for you and your horses in this new year full of possibilities...
H and Chilli xx

 

[Amye]

I also lack a bit of motivation over winter (when i'm at work) but force myself to do *something* with him.

Had a bit of time off at NY so got to hack more. The last week we've done:

Friday: Nice 2 1/2 hour hack with mum. We borrowed a horse and mum rode J. Both very well behaved.

Saturday: Took my boy out by himself for an hour (this was actually a bit of an achievement. He does hack alone, but this particular route there's a farm on the road he doesn't like and I have only ever gone in company, whether horse or on foot, so he goes past nicely. Today I decided I wanted to go it alone and we survived!)

Sunday: 2 hour hack with my OH on foot.

Monday: OH rode J in the school while I supervised.

Tuesday: Long-reined J

Wednesday: Mum came up again and she schooled for half an hour then we swapped. We played 'pick up sticks' and placed poles in the middle criss-crossed and we had to choose a line and walk/trot over it letting the pony pick his way through.

Thursday: Good groom and a cuddle.

Friday: Got the indoor booked tonight so we might play at some polework or jumping (when i say jumping I mean tiny teeny jumps ).

Actually quite a different week - mostly I just ride J and my OH rides once on a weekend. My mum comes up once a month and we hack or school but she squeezed two in in a week with is a rarity!

 

[Damnation]

Tuesday: Called Vet for advice.

Wednesday: Vet came out, still none the wiser.

Friday: Ring insurance company to see if that leg is excluded or not!

 

[jumping.jack_flash]

So... I was relieved to realise having time off from riding, exercising was okay (especially as 4.45 am weekday starts!) - as I took comfort in the posts that everyone else was (so I thought) doing the same....

Until...

....fantastic pictures of FfionWinnie and fattyLumper =]

Brilliant, so brilliant... I aim to leave the office and do something with my horse apart from the mundane jobs....

 

[FestiveFuzz]

I welcomed my new boy last week and had intended to have a lesson every day this week to help get us off to the best possible start. Unfortunately the weather has been against us and the ground has been frozen solid since Tuesday so I've had lots of practice using the horsewalker instead. Hoping the ground thaws a little at the weekend.

Here's a couple of pics from our first two rides though...

 

[wingedhorse]

Food poisoning over just before and over Christmas for me :-(

Christmas eve - Fancy dress hack Christmas Eve (after throwing up after tacking up!) – both ponies rather wild
Christmas day – so ill husband drove and helped with chores – no riding
Boxing day - Pony 2 lost a shoe on Christmas day, which put paid to Boxing day hack. Sharer schooled Pony 1 on Boxing Day instead, whilst I still felt ill.
Tuesday 27th my instructor forgot to come and teach me on Pony 1 (schooled anyway), Pony 2 had shoe back on
Wednesday 28th sharers hacked both
Thursday 29th nothing
Friday 30th – instructor cancelled lessons (good reason) went on long slow hack with both (which was a lot icier than expected)
Saturday 31st too foggy to hack, sharer and I schooled.
Sunday 1st nothing
Monday 2nd Pony 2 to Merrist Wood (music floorplan practise) pony 1 day off
Tuesday 3th nothing
Wednesday 4th lunged pony 1
Thursday 5th schooled pony 2
Friday 6th – too frosty – school and lane frozen before work, sharers will hack both later once melted

I have a pair of sharers that hack Mondays and Fridays which really helps. And an adhoc sharer. I aim for both to work 6 days a week sometimes schooling morning, hacking same afternoon, but food poisoning and feeling grim and ice has rather got in the way this week.

 

[skint1]

This week I've gone on 3 early morning hacks with a yard friend and I had a lesson in the school with my daughter last night. I really like the early morning hacks because you rarely meet anything challenging and they're short so I can work on my riding without getting too tired. I probably won't ride over the weekend, but maybe have another lesson with my daughter on Sunday.

I'm struggling a bit with confidence again, I had a fall in late October and knacked my ankle (that was my own fault, girth not done up properly) and then we've had 3 incidents out hacking where I couldn't easily get him past various things (random cluster of red balloons, frolicking sheep and trials bikes) and I got a bit upset, reverted to my fetal position and took far too long to get a grip of myself and carry on, Happily for me, he doesn't do anything too dreadful in these moments, he spins and goes backward and scoots off for a few yards but I am feeling like I've really let my boy down again in terms of being a leader

 

[Annagain]

I welcomed my new boy last week and had intended to have a lesson every day this week to help get us off to the best possible start. Unfortunately the weather has been against us and the ground has been frozen solid since Tuesday so I've had lots of practice using the horsewalker instead. Hoping the ground thaws a little at the weekend.

I'd missed this news. He looks lovely. Congrats! Have you bought him or is he on loan?

 

[atropa]

Thank you so much for all the replies guys, it really helps to read that some of us are in the same boat with confidence issues, weather issues, horse or people illness issues. On the other hand it's really inspiring to read what those of us who have been riding/working have been up to, and some great ideas for things I haven't tried before. I'm very jealous of people who can hack to beaches!

Last night I put the brave bossy pants on and lunged my older mare over some poles, she has been a real madam recently lunging on her right rein as she often gets tight through her hindquarters on that side, made worse this year by 6 months of boxrest last summer (don't worry, all investigated by vet and physio and had the okay to push through it). Hogmanay we had an awful time where she was very spooky and challenging when I was attempting to lunge her, and I ended up having to have my novice OH sort her out instead. Last night we were alone and she did have a couple of tantrums but I stuck to my guns and pushed through.

Today they're both having a day off as I'm going out for dinner with my OH and some friends, but have made plans with OH tomorrow to go to yard early and get them both ridden between us. He doesn't actually ride but has just bought himself a hat as he is keen to come hacking with me, bless. On Sunday I've arranged for one of my friends to come and ride my older one whilst I ride my younger mare, we plan to hack out with several people from my yard which will be interesting. I don't usually like hacking in a big group and haven't done it for several years but at least there will be loads of people to call the ambulance if I fall off.

 

[Annagain]

Thank you so much for all the replies guys, it really helps to read that some of us are in the same boat with confidence issues, weather issues, horse or people illness issues. On the other hand it's really inspiring to read what those of us who have been riding/working have been up to, and some great ideas for things I haven't tried before. I'm very jealous of people who can hack to beaches!

Last night I put the brave bossy pants on and lunged my older mare over some poles, she has been a real madam recently lunging on her right rein as she often gets tight through her hindquarters on that side, made worse this year by 6 months of boxrest last summer (don't worry, all investigated by vet and physio and had the okay to push through it). Hogmanay we had an awful time where she was very spooky and challenging when I was attempting to lunge her, and I ended up having to have my novice OH sort her out instead. Last night we were alone and she did have a couple of tantrums but I stuck to my guns and pushed through.

Today they're both having a day off as I'm going out for dinner with my OH and some friends, but have made plans with OH tomorrow to go to yard early and get them both ridden between us. He doesn't actually ride but has just bought himself a hat as he is keen to come hacking with me, bless. On Sunday I've arranged for one of my friends to come and ride my older one whilst I ride my younger mare, we plan to hack out with several people from my yard which will be interesting. I don't usually like hacking in a big group and haven't done it for several years but at least there will be loads of people to call the ambulance if I fall off.

You'll be fine - just tell them you're a bit nervous and you'd like to be in front / behind (wherever you prefer) and would they mind accommodating you. I have a horse who likes to be in front but if one particular livery rides with us, he has to go behind and put up with it as she gets very nervous following anyone as she thinks her horse will start to race. Cantering in open spaces is a challenge but he has to lump it and that's that!

 

[atropa]

You'll be fine - just tell them you're a bit nervous and you'd like to be in front / behind (wherever you prefer) and would they mind accommodating you. I have a horse who likes to be in front but if one particular livery rides with us, he has to go behind and put up with it as she gets very nervous following anyone as she thinks her horse will start to race. Cantering in open spaces is a challenge but he has to lump it and that's that!

Thanks, luckily everyone on my yard knows that my horses aren't currently up to a big gallop hack and I've said that it's specifically just going to be walking and a bit of trotting so it should all be fine I had some serious issues with my old boy a few years ago where inconsiderate fellow hackers would keep cantering off and he would tank off after them which terrified me several times - this was DESPITE me explicitly saying that I didn't want to go faster than a trot. Thankfully that lot have left now, and I have mostly overcome my hacking fears...just the odd occasion where my confidence is low in general they sneak back in.

 

[claracanter]

Winter is pretty demotivating. I have two horses in work.

NYE lesson on Ted. He was in an explosive mood, I could tell as soon as I got on, so got off and lunged him. Cue lots of bucks and squeals and when he calmed down and gave me a couple of sensible trot to canter transitions I felt it was safe to get on. Instructor had never seen him this bad before but the 'actual' lesson was one of the best he's done since being in the new bit. She said he is very correct, just needs to give a bit more submission through his poll but his back end is moving through really well.

NYD Both horses had the day off

Monday. Hacked out both horses. Ted was good and we did a short hack. Took Lenny on a longer one but met some of the other livers coming the other way. Lenny was very nappy but did eventually go forward. The rest of the right was very forward, with a huge spooky trot.

Tuesday. Had a jumping lesson on Lenny. In the flatwork at the beginning he was very wired and Instructor said he was a different horse. I have put his recent behaviour down to cold, wind and the cushings tablets kicking it. Anyway he jumped really nicely , I haven't quite got my eye in yet but he despite my crappy timing he felt amazing.

Wednesday. Schooled Ted. It was very windy and they were shooting close by. He was quite settled but we stuck mainly to trot and had a short quality session working on correct bend and lifting through the shoulder to get that wonderful light trot.

Thursday. Work conspired against me and I didn't have time to get to the yard

Friday. Didn't feel too good so lunged both horses. Ted was a star and his hock action on the lunge is so good now. He is really through. Lunged for the first time in the bungee and he much preferred it to the pessoa. Only one buck.
Lenny was very floaty and silly but he moves so beautifully on the lunge. As soon as you pick up the lunge whip to get him to go forward he has an explosion and turned him backside right in towards you. I wonder what has happened to him in the past.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

I'd missed this news. He looks lovely. Congrats! Have you bought him or is he on loan?

Ah that's because I've kinda been scared to post an official thread about him in case I jinx things. Thanks to my awesome trainer and his wonderful owner I was given the opportunity to have him on full loan, with an option to possibly buy him in a year. I actually only met him the day he arrived, so those pics were literally the first and second time I rode him...a huge leap from the girl this time last year who felt anxious at the thought of viewing unknown horses. He's awesome though, just trying to get to grips with a horse that knows way more than me.

And before anyone panics, Pops is still with us and enjoying her life as a lady of luxury.

 

[DD]

mine have been fed and watered and brought into the stable the other day for a few hours a quick rug off and brush over then turned out again. that's all

 

[Fairynuff]

I had mine put down yesterday, he broke his shoulder out in the paddock Rather ended the the day for me

 

[ljohnsonsj]

I've 2 extra fit show jumpers and a 4yo newly broken that needs work but due to less than ideal facilities and a constantly frozen school they've done nothing! We are moving yards tomorrow to somewhere with better facilities and lots of turn out available so looking forwards to getting going again!

 

[skint1]

I had mine put down yesterday, he broke his shoulder out in the paddock Rather ended the the day for me

Oh goodness, I am so sorry to hear this, how awful for you. xx