July - August 2012

I’ve been putting off writing my next blog installment for a while as things haven’t got much better over the last few months.

Donald

Sadly, although Donald soldiered on, his pedal bone continued to drop and it became clear that he was not going to recover from the damage caused by his laminitus. It was not a hard decision to make, as none of us wanted to see him suffer anymore and a life on box rest for him would have been no life at all. Mum made all the arrangements and Marta was so supportive on the day. We nerve blocked his feet and took him out to the field for one last graze with Taffy. The sun broke through the clouds and it was a perfect moment to say goodbye. I’ve had so many happy years with him and he taught me so much. My favourite memories are not only the Milton Keynes 3 day event and jumping the plane at RAF Halton but the 6am hacks before work in the summer. He is in horsey heaven now with Peter and Kirby.

Beautiful Donald

Guinness

Thankfully, Guinness has been brilliant recently and we decided to take him to Classic dressage for a couple of prelims. To say he was wild is an understatement!! One of the other competitors actually shrieked in the warm up arena whilst Guinness was leaping around and cantering backwards. It didn’t go well ….

Guinness ready to go to Patchetts

A few more lessons with Sue and Chloe and I decided to try and qualify for the Chiltern and Thames rider champs at Patchetts. I was aiming for a relaxed horse and a relaxed test but mine was almost too relaxed. I cannot fault Guinness though as he was so well behaved both in the warm up arena and standing quietly on the lorry. He was like a different horse from the one I rode at Classic. I’ve got to work on not tensing up when I enter the arena because as soon as I tense I instantly block Guinness and we stop going forward properly.

Guinness has avoided any further 'head stuck on the floor' episodes so far (touch wood!) and he has moved in to Donald's old stable so he is now next to Frosty and Taffy. He has also started to go back out with other horses although he is now in the 'quiet' group with only Taffy, Kenny and hopefully soon Frost will be joining them.

Guinness with Frosty his new stable buddy!

First Hack together

Joshua and I also went for our first hack together in July. Joshua rode Taffy and I rode Guinness and Dad came along to help Joshua just in case Guinness decided to be a plum! However, Guinness didn't put afoot wrong and Dad didn't need to help Joshua at all and it was lovely to be able to ride out together. 

Olympic fever!

To say I was excited about the Olympics is a huge understatement. I’d booked all the important equestrian days off work so I could watch the competition on TV. 

Chloe and I got a bit wet!

Chloe and I had tickets for the first two days of dressage at Greenwich Park and although on day 1 we got absolutely soaked during a torrential downpour, it is one of the most memorable events of my life! The atmosphere was….. unbelievable. 

Laura and Alf

Carl and Laura were brilliant and I cried tears of joy when Charlotte and Valegro performed their test to put Team GB into gold medal position after the first stage, but I also love Fuego for the Spanish!! I even managed to get my picture taken with Richard Davidson!!

Richard Davidson and I at Greenwich! (plugging Chiltern and Thames Rider)

Kittens!!!

Lastly, on a bit of a whim, I acquired 2 kittens!! They are called Enzo and Gallardo 9after the Ferrari and Lamborghini) and they are very cute and very naughty and have certainly kept me busy but Joshua absolutely loves them!

Enzo and Gallardo!

April - June 2012 It never rains but it pours!

It’s been a long time since I last updated my blog I know, but in all honesty it’s been a very difficult few months.

Shortly after my last blog,one week into starting my new job, Guinness had 3 episodes of getting his head stuck on the floor again on 3 successive days. Typically it was over the bank holiday Easter weekend and less than 2 weeks into me starting a new job, and the weekend I was booked in for my first event at Aston!!!!

This time though, it was much more severe and he was very ataxic (wobbly) and was clearly distressed. Whereas previously I was able to subside the episode by walking him in hand and encouraging him to move his head from side to side, on this occasion I could not move him for fear he was about to fall over.

After long discussions with my vet Mark, and Marcus Head at Liphook hospital in Newmarket, we sought advice from Richard Piercey, a specialist in equine neurological disorders at the Royal Veterinary College in Potters Bar. Dawny, Mum and I took Guinness to RVC for an assessment and it was discovered that the arthritis in Guinness neck has caused a narrowing of the channel in which his spinal chord is surrounded and this is the cause of his ataxia (wobblers). My whole world felt like it had suddenly collapsed in on itself!

For anyone who has followed all the struggles and difficulties we have overcome together it was heartbreaking to think that this could now be the end. We discussed a possible operation which would not only cure the arthritis in his neck (which causes the head to lock, stuck on the floor) but also would straighten up the vertebrae so that they no longer rubbed on his spinal cord (hence improving or possibly curing the ataxia) but not only is it very expensive, but it is very traumatic, with up to 1 year recovery time.

I thought long and hard for the next few weeks but ultimately, as his day to day life is in no way impeded by his condition, I decided it would be selfish to put him through the operation purely so I can still ride him competitively. I love him so much and he is only young and very talented but I think I have made the right decision.

The future outlook

I’ve been advised that to continue to ride Guinness could be unsafe but, lets face it, riding any horse can be unsafe, so Guinness and I started hacking round the woods.

Frustrating doesn’t even come close to how I feel as he feels and looks in the form of his life! Ultimately, the vets have said that I know him better than anyone else and that I have to use my judgement about how much he can do and how safe he is to ride. So we are taking it day by day, one step at a time and hopefully, if we could ever get back to doing a bit of local dressage, this would be the best possible outcome, however sadly any form of eventing career is no longer on the cards.

We’ve wrapped him in cotton wool to try and prevent any further episodes so now he is only turned out for short periods a day in a small paddock by himself and he is fed only from a corner manger or a high haynet to prevent him putting his head down for too long at a time. 

Guinness letting off some energy in the paddock

Watching him canter around and buck and leap in the paddock though, you wouldn’t think anything is wrong with him!

I know he will have another episode at some point but anything I can prevent them for as long as possible, is obviously a good thing. How severe the next episode is will be crucial to whether or not I can continue to ride my now ‘happy hacker’ or if he will be a spoilt in retirement like our other old boys.

A highlight of the last few months

As I do every year, I attended the Royal Windsor Horse show in the grounds of Windsor castle. I've been going every year since I was about 10 I think and I love the variety of horses and disciplines on display (and the shopping!). This year was extra special though as at the very last minute, I was able to go to the evening performance of the Queens diamond jubilee pageant on the Sunday when the Queen was attending. I owe a very big thank you to Rob Waine for thinking of me at the last minute. It was absolutely spectacular and something I will never forget. My personal favourite were the New South Wales mounted police who all rode black horses, immaculately turned out in white boots, white bridles, white tape on their platts and sparkling quarter markings!!

Old Boy Donald

My old horse Donald, who my Mum now cares for and hacks had his first case of laminitis, which we’ve now confirmed is cushings induced. He is 26 years old and 16.2h and it was touch and go for a few days. Marta, also from Park vets like Mark, was first on the scene and her emergency treatment has made all the difference. She gave IV pain relief but he still couldn’t lift any of his feet so we nerve blocked them to remove his shoes and place support pads under them. His bed is now nearly 18 inches deep in shavings, but the future is looking more positive for him I really glad to say. 

 Mummy looking after her biggest Baby (Donald)

Frosty on the mend

On a positive note, my sisters horse frosty who has been recovering from a suspensory injury for the last 9 months is back in work and has been immaculately behaved throughout including letting me sit on him bareback the other evening for a picture!

The Queens Diamond Jubilee and looking to the future

So it’s all been a bit crazy but watching the jubilee celebrations on TV this weekend, especially all those who endured the bad weather for the river pageant on Sunday reminds me how determined and resilient us Brits can be when we put our mind to it and when something is important to us. I’ve proudly hung a 5 ft flag in my front room window and revelled in singing our national anthem at full volume whilst waving a union jack whenever possible during these wonderful celebrations. Although at times things may seem bleak or unfair in one way or another, we must never forget how lucky we are in so many ways and be grateful for all the blessings we do have.

12th -23rd March More dressage, more XC and the dreaded pigs!!!

We've had another busy week!

Physiotherapy

Guinness had a couple of days off after the eventer trial and Anna (www.annajohnson.co.uk) came to give Guinness his 2^nd session of Physio. She was very pleased with how well Guinness was following his treatment and although he was a bit grumpy about being touched and poked at first, he relaxed in to it by the end.

Lesson with Sue Edwards

We had our first lesson with Sue Edwards since before Christmas and needless to say, I’ve got some catching up to do! I’ve slipped back in to several bad habits and Sue quickly corrected me for being too soft on Guinness and not taking a strong enough contact and being inconsistent. It was all too ‘woolly’ and Sue was pretty tough on me but I obviously needed it!

More Affiliated Dressage at Windmill

The next day we had more Affiliated Dressage at Windmill Farm, as I chase another 1^st placing in a Prelim to qualify for the Regionals. It was all a bit of a rush for the first class and Guinness practically came straight off the lorry and into his first test, which was unsurprisingly, lacking in energy. We scraped 62.9% and 3^rd place. In the next class Guinness was more energetic and I was feeling braver with my contact. We improved our score to 65.08% which was good enough for 2^nd out of 9 starters…

Looking back at the video, I can see much more clearly where I’m going wrong. It’s amazing how different it looks to how it feels. From the video I can see that Guinness could be much more forward and how long my reins are! This was a surprise as they don’t ever feel long, but it’s clear on the video that I need to start asking for more so that he develops the muscles to take more weight behind so that, especially in canter, he falls less on to the forehand.

Cross Country Practice at Rosehill

On Sunday I‘d organized to go back to Rosehill. I was keen to get Guinness down the steps we had trouble at previously and try some of the bigger fences.  It was great fun going with other people from my yard – Joules took Dawn’s horse ‘Big’ and James came on his horse ‘Kudys’ with another of the liveries, Anne on Finlay. Although, we are all at different levels we jumped a variety of fences. I was super pleased with Guinness who jumped several of the open fences including the coffin, the sunken road and some decent ditches. 

He even jumped straight in to the water! The steps did take a while to negotiate, as Guinness was very skeptical about where all his legs would go on the way down. After a couple of times we were bouncing down them like pros!!!

Flatwork and Hacking

This week we’ve continued to work on our flatwork which has improved remarkably since I’ve started asking Guinness for more in all aspects and he feels absolutely amazing! The hacking has taken a bit of a backwards step though as we had a particularly difficult hack past the pigs this week in which, after Guinness practically sat down on the road after all his usual antics failed to unseat me (bucking/ rearing/ broncing/ spinning/ reversing at high speed and a move I like to call the ‘star jump’) I had to resort to getting off and leading him past the scary monsters and even then I had to drag him!!  We walked past them several times, on foot and backwards which I think probably only made him more upset and tense so the next day we took Chloe and my first pony (a 13.1h welsh pony called Taffy) for moral support. Guinness used Taffy as an equine shield the first time we went past, literally trying to hide behind a pony half his size!  This is something we need to go over again it seems……. But hey – that’s horses for you!

The weather has been lovely this week and the horses went out naked for the first time this year! Cue cute pictures of horses grooming each other and playing!

Another lesson with Sue

I was very lucky that Sue was back only a week later to teach so I made sure I booked another lesson. Sue was very pleased with how much I’d taken on from the previous lesson and described my trot at one point as ‘stunning’! We worked on transitions mostly. My upward transitions are pretty good, but downwards needs some improvement as, especially trot to walk is not forward enough. We did a bit of work in sitting trot as well, as Guinness was preempting a transition whenever I sat so this was the first step. Once he was settled in the sitting trot we worked on keeping him rounder in the transition and thinking of ‘forwards’ to walk. By the end, these were much improved and I was very pleased with myself.

Next…..

We are aiming to go back to windmill for more dressage and I’m entered for an Intro at Aston in early April which will be my main focus over the next few weeks! Fingers crossed, we can pull it all together when it counts!!!

23rd February – 11th March Busy, busy, busy!

Well, it’s been very busy since my last blog. Guinness has been working brilliantly at home and he’s really starting to take the contact forward and down. This means we now have much better control of the shoulder and are much straighter in all aspects of our work.

We’ve also been doing lots of hacking now that it’s light enough to fit a 30 minute trip round the woods before work and Guinness confidence and trust in me continues to grow. We’ve even been past the scary pigs by ourselves a few times!

Dressage at Waylands

On Sunday 26^th February, Guinness and I hacked up to Waylands to get some dressage practice. It was organized by Susie and Marcus Bicknell who raise funds to maintain the fabulous tracks and bridleways we are blessed with in Hodgemoor Wood. I'd entered Guinness for the novice but even though we’d been there a few weeks prior for jumping practice, Guinness was fresh and high on adrenalin and was quite spooky. He managed a few of his trade mark leaps in the warm up just for good measure as well. Despite this, we managed to keep it together during the actual test and I was very pleased with 68.85% to win the class. Not a bad way to start the year!

First Affiliated Dressage Competition on a very special day

So it was off to Windmill Farm on Wednesday 7^th March for our first British Dressage Competition and it also happened to be Guinness 6^th Birthday! The weather was not on our side though… thankfully Kevin Malyon, who runs a livery yard round the corner in Seer Green gave me a lift up there. As I warmed up for my first class the wind was blowing a gale and the rain had soaked me through. Guinness wasn’t very impressed and combined with the adrenalin of a new venue, meant I had to sit tight a couple of times during the warm up! Needless to say he wasn’t as relaxed or forward as he could have been in the test but it was reasonably neat and accurate.

In the second test I pushed for more impulsion but consequently lost a little balance and rhythm. This is something I need to continue to work on at home, but the buck in the canter transition didn’t help our cause.

I was delighted to discover I came 1^st in the first test with 66.95% and 3^rd in the 2^nd, with 61.81%. Clever pony… however Kevin was already on his way back to pick up his horse for a later class so despite the rain, Guinness and I hacked home. We were both very wet and tired by the time we got back but it was well worth it and Guinness ate almost half a bag of carrots (well, it was his birthday after all!)

Jumpy jumpy!!!

On Sunday 11^th March we went to Rosehill for the Thames Valley Riding Club Eventer Trial, the going was perfect and the sun shone all day. I’ve not done one of these with Guinness before but the format suited him as there is no waiting around between showjumping and cross country. Guinness warmed up well and jumped the best showjumping round we’ve ever done, a beautiful and very careful clear. 

On the Cross country, he went straight through the start without any disagreements and although he backed off a few fences, he tried his little heart out and jumped a couple when many others would have stopped. Unfortunately the 4 steps down (we’ve never done 4 in a row before!!!!) was a little too much but the very kind stewards allowed us to continue. 

We jumped the sunken road, several ditches, banks, and although he only walked in, conquered the water as well so I was grinning from ear to ear! He also didn’t disgrace himself at the lorry and stood calmly and quietly throughout, he was an absolute pleasure.

Marcus and Susie Bicknell from Hodgemoor were also there and Marcus came home with  a beautiful purple rosette!!

Next on the calendar is more British Dressage at Windmill to see if we can get another 1^st placing in the Prelim to qualify for the Regionals and then maybe some more cross country practice.

Also I’ve got my first lesson with Sue on Guinness since before Christmas which I’m really looking forward to……

11th - 22nd February - Riding in the snow, Jumping and Disneyland!

Hacking in the snow!

On Saturday morning there was still snow everywhere and it was all getting a bit frustrating. The boys were going out in the field everyday but I was desperate to ride. Guinness has little, fairly flat thoroughbred feet and I noticed when walking him through the snow he didn’t really suffer with snow balling up in his shoes or get ‘snow stilts’. Our yard is only a 10 metres walk down a quiet country lane to direct access into acres of woodland. The woodland was still full of thick snow and so I decided to brave it!!

I tacked Guinness up (including 2 exercise sheets and loads of florescent gear) and walked him in hand down the lane. Once in the woods, the snow was surprisingly deep and not slippery at all. I mounted at the entrance to the woods and Guinness marched on. It was so beautiful I can’t describe it. It was deadly silent apart from the crunching of hooves in the snow. Guinness was completely unfazed by hacking out on the ‘white stuff’ and didn’t put a foot wrong. When we got to the track where we usually trot, Guinness automatically started trotting. I’d been poodling along, holding the buckle of the reins, looking at all the different animal footprints in the snow so could do nothing immediately to stop him. He wasn’t slipping or unsteady at all so we carried on trotting up the track and even did a few strides of canter before walking back towards home. It was brilliant!!!!

Jumping practise

By Sunday much of the snow on the lane had started to melt. Joules (riding Big) and I hired out Waylands indoor school for an hour to do some jumping, and Martina and Dawn came along to help put up the jumps and film.

We began with canter poles and bounces and progressed onto doubles. They have some brightly coloured fillers and a water tray, all of which Guinness took in his stride. It was really fun to jump again and I think Guinness enjoyed it too. After about 40 minutes Guinness was quite tired but I was very pleased with him.

Half Term Trip

In half term week, Dave, Joshua and I had 3 nights away in Disneyland Paris (Joshua’s 8^th birthday present). It was exhausting but I have some great memories to keep, most vividly, Joshua doing his first ‘loop the loop’ on the Aerosmith Rock n’ Roll rollercoaster (and then 3 more times before we came home!!) and meeting ‘Sully’ from Monsters Inc!

Chloe babysits Guinness

Whilst I was away, Chloe was in charge of looking after and exercising Guinness. On the Saturday I had booked a lesson for her with my trainer Sue Edwards. If Chloe is going to start riding Guinness more it’s important we both ask in the same ways and are working on the same principles. Chloe said she was very nervous as it was windy and rainy and she was worried Guinness might be ‘light footed’. Guinness was excellent though and Chloe thoroughly enjoyed it. She realised how tense she rides in her back and her thighs and also how to engage Guinness with her body instead of her legs. She gained a lot of confidence from her lesson and hopefully she will start riding him a little each week. She’s already said she’d like another lesson in 3 weeks when Sue next comes.

Back to work...

When I got back from Disneyland, despite being exhausted, I was eager to ride again. On the Monday evening, I couldn’t wait to finish work so I could see Guinness and he seemed pleased to see me. I gave him a thorough groom before I rode. We stuck to the basics and worked on relaxation and softness over the back. Guinness was a little hesitant to take the contact down and forward at first, but gradually he took the contact more and more and produced some lovely work by the end.

Tuesday I lunged Guinness for 25 minutes, mostly trot and canter work, with walk breaks interspersed. Despite his brief break after his hospital trip and then with the snow, even after a few laps at speed (and a few bucks) he wasn’t even breathing more heavily than normal, so this is an encouraging sign he hasn’t lost much fitness.

Wednesday I woke up several times before my alarm went off at 5.10am (I know- I’m crazy!), as I was excited to have my first ‘early morning’ hack before work of the year. It’s now light enough at 6.45am to fit a 45 minute hack round the woods. Guinness was full of beans and we trotted and cantered through the woods.  I wasn’t alone as the woods was a hive of activity for the local wildlife; a fox trotted across my path, a couple of munkjack deer darted through the thicket next to me and lots of squirrels were busy darting up and down trees all over the place. We really are extremely lucky to have such a wonderful woodland with such excellent bridle paths right on our doorstep!

This weekend I’m going to go to the Hodgemoor Riding Association Dressage competition at Waylands and if this goes well the aim is to finally do our first British Dressage competition at Windmill in March – finger crossed! 

1st - 10th February - Physio, first ride in 20days and then Snow!!

Visit from the Physio

Anna Johnson the equine physiotherapist ( www.annajohnson.co.uk) came to see Guinness on Thursday 2^nd February. Guinness was completely sound (always a relief) and Anna did some stretches to test his manoeuvrability. Using a carrot we encouraged his neck in all different directions. He was slightly stiffer flexing to the left, but only minutely.

I’ve never had Anna before as Guinness has his regular massages from Ros and I know she will always pick up on anything more serious, but Anna was lovely. I must have told her my whole life story before she left and she was very fond of Guinness (even though he made a few ugly faces when she did the ‘slapping’ bit!).She was more than happy for Guinness to come back in to work which was exactly what I wanted to hear!

Guinness and Anna

The weather forecast said the snow was coming on Saturday night so I wasn’t going to take any chances. On Saturday morning after Guinness had eaten his breakfast and I’d mucked out and done all my jobs I got the tack out….

First ride in 3 weeks!

Guinness was so excited, he was prancing up and down in his stable and I struggled to get his boots on as he wouldn’t stand still!  When I lifted the bridle up to put it on, he opened his mouth wide (as if he was saying ‘ahhhhhhh’ in the dentist’s chair!) and couldn’t wait to get out the stable. I was limited to walking for the first few day and I was dubious if I would be ale to keep him in walk! Once I mounted, he marched off down the yard out on to the lane, then saw 2 new red signs just outside the gate and decided to make a run back for home!  Cheeky….. I turned him around and he shuffled sideways past the new scary monsters and we made our way into the woods. Despite the fact he’d not been ridden for 20 days, he was so grown up and well behaved. We marched through the woods on a long rein, and although I could feel the energy beneath me and he was watching the bushes with eagle eyes whenever a bird or squirrel rustled the leaves, he never acted on it. I know I say this often, but I’m so proud of how far we’ve come with our hacking. It took a long time and a lot of patience but I feel he now trusts me as well as respects me and consequently hacking has become a pleasure.

Guinness before the snow came (happy to see his Mummy)

Snow!

As predicted, everything was covered in white the following morning. I rugged Guinness up in the afternoon and took him down to the lunge arena to stretch his legs. I let him loose and we played tag for 10 minutes, first me chasing him then him chasing me. Playing together in the snow was really enjoyable. Guinness spent most of the day tucked up in his stable with lots of haynets and didn’t seem to mind too much.

Widmer in the snow.....so beautiful!

Back to Flatwork

By Tuesday, a track around the edge of the school had been cleared of snow. I was desperate to ride again so Guinness and I did lots of walk and suppling work. We practised our shoulder in, shoulder fore and travers down the long sides. In trot he felt a bit ‘stuffy’ and wasn’t really coming through from behind or working over his back as well as he was before his treatment. He was also evading the contact and twisting his head. It was bitterly freezing and my fingers were numb from the knuckles down, so after 20 minutes we called it an evening.

On Thursday evening we went back in the school. It wasn’t as cold but the snow had started falling again. Again, he felt stuffy and wiggly and I couldn’t keep him straight on the long sides. The slightest touch of my leg sent him sideways and getting the correct bend on the corners was impossible. I could feel I was tensing up and this wasn’t going to help. I realised I was all on my own and it was very peaceful and with the snow starting to fall, I decided to start singing ‘let it snow’. This relaxed me and I let Guinness out on a longer rein (about 1/3 of the way to free walk on a long rein) and just let him march on. He produced a fantastic walk and I just concentrated on keeping my hands really still, sitting quietly, and keeping my legs completely away from his sides whilst asking for the impulsion with my seat. I used the mirrors and followed the track trying to stay as straight as possible. It worked!! Then we did this in trot, all very relaxed on a longish rein. Although he felt like he was really low in front, when I looked in the mirror he was still in a beautiful outline and relaxed in his mouth and in the contact. I concentrated on looking up, keeping an even (if somewhat light) contact in both hands and staying straight both down the long sides and round the corners. In hindsight, lots of lateral work was probably not the best thing to have done on Tuesday as his first venture back into the school after his break and I expect this confused things.

After a walk break, next we worked on our transitions. Guinness was nice and relaxed now and our trot to walk transitions were excellent using only my breathing. Trot-halt –trot and trot-walk-trot all went very well. By the end I had a much more ‘normal’ head carriage and a stronger, consistent contact in both reins whilst still being relaxed. He produced some great trot work as I could really feel him powering through from behind and swinging over his back. I was very pleased.

It reminded me of Sue telling me not to be afraid to take a step back when you need to. If I had pushed on with a stronger contact and tried to push him to go forward more I wouldn’t have got anywhere today, but by taking a step back, allowing Guinness to stretch into a longer contact first and find his rhythm, by the end he was beautifully engaged without ever having to use my leg.

Playtime in the snow!

On Friday morning there was a fresh blanket of snow and Guinness, Big and Remi couldn’t wait to get out and roll in the stuff. 

Remi rolling....

then Guinness had to copy!

I’ll be glad when the snow has finally gone but the boys don’t seem to mind an easy life at the moment!

Lastly, I would just like to say huge congratulations to my friend Ros (www.horseandhand.co.uk) he gave birth to a beautiful little girl on Monday 6^th February. Can’t wait to meet her!

P.s  Feel free to comment - it would be great to know what our followers think of our blog :-)

The Waiting Game - 22nd - 31st January

 The last week has been hard. I’m not used to not being able to ride Guinness and pottering around is not my forte! Still - I’ve taken the winter rugs to the repairers/ cleaners, sorted out my boxes, cleaned my tack and boots (well, not quite yet but I’m going to!), given Guinness lots of grooms….. but I can’t wait to get back on!! God knows how people (like my sister Chloe) who’ horses are off for months and months cope! It’s only been 10 days and we are both going stir-crazy!!

 Guinness enjoying a haynet in his paddock

Guinness too has been feeling the boredom. He was in a little paddock by himself for a few hours a day with a haynet which I had been threading carrots in to daily to add to his entertainment levels, but he was clearly getting bored of his being in his stable. I decided to put him back out with Big and Remi a few days early and Guinness couldn’t wait to hang out with his friends again, rearing up and making it near impossible for Chloe to get his headcollar off!!!  Clearly he doesn’t think he’s got anything wrong with himself!!!

Anna Johnson the Physiotherapist is due on Thursday and Fraser is coming to do Guinness shoes on Monday so all fingers are crossed that we can get on track soon.

Lesson on Remi – pole work

Thankfully Remi has been a pleasure recently. After his time off after our visit to Rossdales, he was a little tense again, but quickly got back into the routine, of bending, relaxing and softening. In my lesson with Sue, we got some poles out and used these as problem solving exercise and also to test Remi’s confidence in me as a rider. At first when we got them out, even though we didn’t go near them I could feel Remi tense through his back and shorten his stride. So I just completely ignored them and carried on exactly the same as before until he forgot about them.

We then circled around them until we were now quite close without any tension. Then came the moment of truth, walking over one! Remi can walk over poles but he is scared, so ‘making him’ doesn’t really achieve anything. Our aim was to get Remi to walk over the poles without fear or tension, so that he not only showed the confidence in me as a rider, that what I was asking was safe, but that also he could judge the situation and decide for himself.

When we walked up to the first pole I let Remi walk as slowly as he wanted and ensured I didn’t touch him with my leg. He stopped a few strides away and hollowed. I encouraged him to lower his head and look at the problem. When he edged forward, I gave him a big rub and told him how brave he was! We got to the edge of the pole and Remi took a few moments, clearly thinking about his current situation and the best way to get out of it, you could almost see the cogs turning in his brain. This is what we were aiming for. He wasn’t panicking or evading (as I wasn’t giving him any aids to evade!) but was thinking. Eventually, I offered a little encouragement and quietly whispered ‘walk on’ at which he took one very large step over the pole. He didn’t break into trot or rush off and after all the praise and rubs he was clearly very proud of himself!!! Next time he walked straight over and I did this again and again and again whilst chatting away to Sue, not really paying much attention to Remi. Whereas previously every time he walked over the pole he gave it plenty of clearance, by the end he was so relaxed that he actually knocked it once.

When we came to a different pole, Remi needed a few moments to assess the ‘new’ situation, but didn’t take as long to walk on and get lots of cuddles. By the end we were walking over difference poles, in different directions, without Remi ever hollowing, tensing or changing his rhythm. I think I can honestly say Remi enjoyed this lesson as much as I did and by the end of it almost looked smug with how well he had done.

Joshua continues to gain confidence in trot

Joshua has also been making great progress in his lessons with Jodie. At the weekend his grandparents came to watch his lesson and were very proud! His hands are still a little wobbly but it's hard trying to multi-task, steering and rising trot at the same time!! He's such a natural and after only 4 lessons, I think he will be showing me up in the not too distant future. 

Taffy and Josh (last summer.. he has proper boots and chaps now!)

Taffy is such a star though, and we are so lucky to have such a wonderful pony in our family. He was my first pony when I was ten years old and took me to the BSJA British novice finals when I was 12. Now my son is learning to ride on him and he will enjoy the rest of his (hopefully many) days to come in as much luxury as we can provide, as he owes us nothing.

Guinness goes to Rossdales Equine Clinic in Newmarket

1^st – 21st January

Guinness and I have been keeping busy the last few week.

I finally got the confirmation from my insurer that Guinness could go to Rossdales for investigation which was great news, although I had a couple of weeks to wait until my appointment.

So we kept ourselves busy. We’ve been hacking although we’ve been limited to the woods as the weather was so cold that the roads were slippery in the frost most mornings. We’ve also been working on our flatwork a lot.

More progress with our flatwork

Guinness is so sensitive in the mouth that he tends to come behind the vertical and back off a proper contact. I’ve found that if I start with 10-15mins walk work this helps. I must ensure I am consistent in my approach and keep and even contact in both reins and only soften when he does, and by constantly alternating between medium walk and free walk on a long rein, I encourage him to take the contact down and forwards more and more. I also use serpentines, and 10m circles to keep the contact and control the shoulders in the turns better although I have to be very conscious of what my legs are doing at all times, as if I use my inside leg at the wrong moment Guinness goes straight into a lateral movement.

I repeat this in trot next, a good working trot again with an even contact in both reins, alternated with long and low. Serpentines and 10m circles to control the bend.

Canter is easier for him and he is learning to sit and bring his hind quarters more underneath him although until the muscles are more developed in this area I only ask for a few strides at a time. As always, frequent breaks to stretch and lots of praise make the work very rewarding for the both of us.

The improved contact has made several things much easier. Not only can I control the shoulders on the turns more effectively but our lateral work has greatly improved. Before, because our contact was a bit ‘fluffy’ I struggled to control the amount of neck bend and as a consequence he would often fall out the shoulder or over-bent. Now I can keep the correct amount of bend and Guinness extends in his crossing over beautifully when he gets the support and balance from me.

Guinness still struggles to keep as much impulsion in the lateral movements as the normal movements so I’ve been using medium trot down the long sides and across the diagonal to energise the trot gain, before trotting up the centre line and leg yielding back to the side. This has done wonders and not only has the rhythm in the lateral work improved, but also it helps me to get enough forward as well as lateral movement (whereas previously we could do the lateral but didn’t travel forward enough).

So overall Guinness is making great progress and when I watch back the video from Patchetts in November I can already see a noticeable difference.

Off to horsey hospital

On Wednesday 18^th January we took Remi and Guinness to Rossdales. Remi came along to have a check up from the vet who did his kissing spine operation many years ago, so it was nice Guinness had some company for the journey. However, they were stabled in different yards and both Guinness and Remi were noticeably agitated to be separated and were calling to each other constantly. Guinness settled down once I got him a haynet, but Remi wasn’t so easily clamed!

Guinness was thoroughly examined and they walked and trotted him up. Then he was longed on both a soft and a hard surface and the vet, Marcus, said he was perfectly sound (which in itself was a relief!) They took Guinness straight in to have an X-ray of his neck and before long, Marcus was talking us through the pictures. Guinness had a noticeable area between the C6 and C7 vertebra which was irregular and most likely arthritis. Arthritis is not uncommon in young horses, particularly thoroughbreds, and is probably the site of an injury as a foal. Consequently, the bone damage has repaired in an irregular fashion. The most likely cause of the ‘head stuck on the floor’ issue is that the tissues in this area are inflamed and at times, perhaps when he tweaks it and the muscles go in to spasm, the nerve gets pinched.

Guinness stayed at Rossdales to have a bone scan the following day to verify the extent of the inflammation and arthritis.

Guinness in his stable at Rossdales

Although at first I panicked, the treatment and prognosis for this is very positive. First a steroid is injected in to the joint to reduce the inflammation and in most cases this only needs to be done the once. Then physio and exercises are used to manage the area and going forward, there is no reason he cannot continue to do what he is doing and enjoy competition for many years to come. Ultimately, he may start to feel the symptoms of old age in this area first, but hopefully that’s a long way off.

In some ways I was relieved to finally know what the problem was and at least we can rule out that it is anything neurological which was my worst fear!

On Saturday we left early to collect Guinness from Rossdales. I couldn’t wait to see him!!!

Pleased to be bringing my baby home

Last time we travelled Guinness on his own (over a year ago now), he got very upset and was rearing and kicking most of the way. Seeing as he is a bit older now and done a lot more lorry journeys since then we decided he didn’t need a travel companion on the way home. The Vet gave him a little sedative just before we left which definitely helped but we didn’t hear a peep out of him the whole 2 hour journey (except when we had to stop at the petrol station!) so I was very proud of his grown up behaviour. Massive thanks to Dawn (as usual!) who used most of her Saturday driving the lorry to Cambridgeshire and back with me.

'Are we home???'

So Guinness will be on restricted grazing for the next 2 weeks, as we don’t want his head down to long at a time, and he will also be off work but I’ve got Remi to ride while Martina is in the USA next week and it will give me some time to start planning fitness work and which events I want to aim for in 2012!!

17th December - 1st January 2012 - Christmas Break

Ticking over 

Well, Guinness has been having a fairly laid back time with a bit of longing and schooling but generally just chilling out. His winter coat has almost completely grown back through now and he resembles a fluffy highland pony!!

With the winter grass fast running out, the horses have taken to entertaining themselves in the field. On daily basis Guinness likes to test the limits of how much mud he can cover himself in and one week the grooms at the stable were completely perplexed when they went to catch him in, only to find him standing in his summer sheet. His New Zealand was lying in the mud, with no damage other than a broken fillet string, with all the buckles still in tact and done up (Neck straps, chest straps and belly straps)!!! His summer sheet has been added to the pile of rugs waiting to go off to the cleaners/ menders!!!

Christmas Dressage

I’ve been keeping myself busy by arranging a Christmas dressage competition at my yard between Christmas and New Year. There’s a lot more to organise than people realise. There’s rosettes and test sheets to order, book a judge, arrange refreshments, create a schedule and entry form, publicity, entries and start times, writers, scorers, the list goes on and on… but it will be worth it as all proceeds are going to ‘The Brooke’. Also, I’ve persuaded my Mum to do her first ever dressage competition on my old boy Donald. I’ve been giving her lessons each week, just working on basics – rhythm, transitions, steering!! I’m pleased to say she’s come on leaps and bounds and has been practising hard so I will be very proud to award her a rosette on the day. Joshua (my 8 year old son) is also going to do his first dressage competition on Taffy.

Remi

My friend Martina has now gone to Germany for Christmas with her father and so I am looking after and exercising her horse Remi whilst she is away. Remi is quite a sensitive soul and so first I had a lesson with Sue on him. He is one of those horses who fret about everything and his instinct is to run away when he gets scared. Sue and I worked on building his confidence and I’m quietly confident I will be able to do the walk-trot test on him next week (finger crossed).

Christmas Day

On Christmas day after I’d done all my mucking out and jobs, the Adams family went out for a Christmas day ride, complete with my Dad riding Dawn’s horse Big. Dad has only ridden a few times so we took it easy but it was lovely to all hack out together.

Joshua starts riding lessons

Joshua also had his first few lessons with Jodie Maile over the Christmas period and in 2 lessons, he’s gone from trotting on the lunge, holding on to the front of the saddle to trotting around the arena by himself doing rising trot! I know all Mum’s think their children are brilliant but I’m sure it took me much longer to master rising trot – he’s just got such great balance!

Competition Day

The big day arrived and the Christmas dressage went well and ran to time. Everyone enjoyed themselves and I was particularly proud of Remi staying very relaxed throughout his test.

Mum also did a great job in her test and Chloe won the novice class on Merlot. Guinness made a good attempt in the Elementary for 2^nd but was somewhat distracted as the rest of the yard got fed their dinner!

I’m still waiting for approval to send Guinness off to Rossdales for an investigation in to the ‘head stuck on the floor’ thing but I think I’ll have to wait until New Year now.