Tired......

.......tonight after working all afternoon (hehe, I'm not used to it) finishing the horse shelter. The new fencing is in, the old fencing is out and the guttering is up.  We brought the horses in whilst we removed the old fencing and tidied it all up and it was just starting to go dark by the time we'd finished and put them back out. Lots of snorting and investigating before they headed off down the field. Hopefully I'll get some pics tomorrow.

I rode Anky in the school today and she was very good, but quite nervous with the toot tooting of the chasse getting closer. It's a while since I rode her and I was pleasantly surprised at how good she felt, forward, and soft in her mouth.  I got off mid session and we had ten minutes in-hand where I managed to get her to relax and stretch and lower her head and neck. When I got back on she was a little more relaxed and responsive.

I decided that discretion was the better part of valour so had a short in-hand session inside with Remy. He gave me some lovely flexions from a very light feel and was lovely and soft in his mouth.

Spooks (not the spy kind)

It's been nearly a week since I last rode, so today I took Anky into the school and we worked on relaxation and bending. Slowly, slowly she's starting to release and give. We finished with a short trot on both reins and we got  some stretch down for a few strides, inconsistent but coming better.

I took Remy in the school and after a short in-hand session I got on. I was on for all of 30 seconds. I don't know what he spooked at, but he suddenly shot forwards and spun round, unbalanced me, which, I think frightened him more and he set off!
Where was my neck strap? I'd forgotten to put it on!
All I could think was,  'he's heading for the fence', which he was, and, 'I don't want to pull on his mouth', which, I don't know if I did or not!
Of course, before I could blink we were at the fence and I was wondering if he was going to try and jump it! He didn't, he just turned sharply and by this time my self self preservation/kamikaze/call it what you will instincts set in and I was looking for a way to get off.
I know, I wish I could overcome them, and , with Anky,who I know very well, I do,  but with an unknown quantity, my instinct is to get my feet back on the ground as quickly as possible. I don't know quite how I got off him, it all happened too fast, but it involved the fence, several splinters and a grazed leg. Both the fence and I are a little worse for wear,  but Remy seems ok. He trotted around the school as I hit the ground, and then came to me when I called him.
I got straight back on and he was fine so we continued with moving him around the school with walk/halt transitions and lots of changes of direction, then a couple of reinbacks and shoulder-in on the circle on both reins to finish.
Jim was up at the school, so he walked with me and  I rode him back down the lane home.
So, our first spook.  I'm glad it's over with and I'm really pleased at the way he calmed down so quickly after it. I'm sure that I could have dealt with it better, and I hope  that I deal with the next one a little better!
Next time I ride I will remember to put on the neckstrap and we'll work a little, using it for walk and halt transitions.

Oh what a beautiful morning............

What a beautiful morning it was.
Cool and fresh.
Remy in the school, responsive on the lunge, forward and relaxed in-hand, lots to work on, but it felt right today.
Anky in the school, a short lungeing session followed by a ridden session, some nice relaxation and some nice leg yield steps.
What a bloody awful, time-wasting afternoon it was.
I never want to see a strimmer again (which is going to be difficult as I have so much work to do with the bloody useless thing) after an afternoon of, first of all not starting, then starting and stopping, then not starting again........get the picture.........all in all I managed an hour of actual strimming (well, not strimming, but brushcutting the briar - an absolutely, bloody awful job) out of the whole afternoon.
Apparently there's a knack to it and I don't have it, AND, I'm not a very patient person - a recipe for disaster. I'd decided to go up to the Brico for one that actually worked until I realised how much the bloody things cost!!!!!

A busy morning

I took Anky up to the school and we worked in-hand, concentrating on relaxation. She was very tense and distracted but I used the massage to encourage her to relax and stretch down. It took a while but eventually she gave and almost immediately started to relax and stretch. We kept losing it as she raised her head in response to something she'd either seen or heard ,the muscles in her neck going completely rigid, but we continued with the massage and after each distraction she relaxed more quickly, to the point where I could move her around the school, keeping longer and longer periods of relaxation, using circles and a little leg yield. After this I had a little sit on and we worked in walk encouraging the stretch down, changing the rein as soon as I got some softness, eventually working figure of eights with nice changes of bend.
I was pleased with the right rein, which felt much improved as soon as I got on, with genuine bend and softness. The left rein is trickier, Anky has a tendency to want to twist her neck and tip her nose to the inside, but with a little massage onboard, she started to relax and give a little. Trudi's got it absolutely right, the tenseness is most definately in her neck and not in her mouth. A good session which was spoiled slightly by Anky stretching and looking uncomfortable once back in the stable. She'd shown no discomfort during our session, but back in the stable she lay down and didn't eat her dinner.After about 10 minutes she got up so I took her out and lunged her very gently at trot which perked her up and she started wanting to eat the grass, so was obviously feeling better. Phew.
I then took Remy up to the school and worked in-hand on keeping his attention, not letting him walk through my hand and getting a quicker reaction. He was distracted, but after a while he started to listen, we worked around the perimeter of the school with small circles off the track, halt/walk transitions and lots of changes of rein. We finished our session with a much more focussed and relaxed horse and got a lovely leg yield on both reins. Hee heee!

Anky and Rem in the school

Trudi came over today and helped me with Anky and Remy. I haven't worked them for a couple of weeks and Trudi provided some much needed motivation. She worked Anky in-hand and ridden, concentrating on getting her to relax her neck and stretch down using massage just behind the poll and along the top of her neck. It had an irrisistable effect and I think the more we do the better Anky will be. I agree with Trudi that this could be the key to the work with her and once we have more consistent relaxation the quicker we'll progress.
Remy was chilled to the point of horizontal today, he's a good boy but he just has to learn to concentrate on what's being asked of him and give a quicker reaction. Ho hum, I've a lot to learn. Me, Anky and Remy, we all have a lot to learn.
Thanks Trudi, you're a pal!

Tripping poles :-)

Overcast this morning, but dry at least.
Bonbon's eye was much better this morning, most of the swelling has gone so panic over.
I took Anky up to the school for a lungeing session, same as yesterday but introduced some trotting poles. She was nice and relaxed and seemed fine.
I then went up with Remy. He was a mixture of couldn't be bothered and distracted today. He didn't want to go forward, yet was quick to spook at whatever he'd seen or heard down the field.
He had a bit of a spook away from the long side, but came straight back to me and halted calmly in front of me. After a short leading session with halts and changes of direction he was pretty calm and we managed to lunge on each rein with short bursts of trot. He was quite tense in the trot, but not naughty, just lacking forward.
I introduced him to the poles and we walked over them without a problem, but didn't bother to look at them. I'm not quite sure he knows where his feet are most of the time. :-)

Wed 9th Dec -Tom Widdicombe - Be With Your Horse

I've just started reading this book and I have to say I like it a lot. It's so easy to understand, to the point and makes a lot of sense. It gave me the inspiration to work with Anky , Remy and Bonbon today. Very short simple sessions, very quiet requests, getting their attention, asking to back up and standing still! Yes, I feel better already.

Collective noun for cyclists?

It's weekend so the chasse are out and about. They're not close today as I can only just hear the bangs, but I don't like riding out just in case I come across them, so I took Anky up to the school for a short in hand session.
She was quite edgy and distracted ( that's so NOT a surprise!!) but we did a little lead work and then some lunge work at walk and trot. She was quite full of herself which was good to see, and I really did want to see her moving as she's been well the last week or so and moving about so much better in the field. She was taking a longer stride in the walk and much less tight in her shoulder, and the transitions to trot and then back to walk were so much more fluid. Her physique is better also, she is losing the bloated belly and finally putting on some condition and topline, so, I am very much hoping we're finally getting there!!
I took Remy into the picadero and he was very calm and responsive until a group of cyclists( don't know if there is a collective noun for cyclists, perhaps I should say peloton as I'm in France!!!!) complete with lead car equipped with siren came past. He was quite worried about this, grew to a great height and started pawing and snorting. He then managed two or three revolutions at a lovely cadenced trot interspersed with the most beautiful canter. I let out the line a little and waited quietly until he came to a standstill, stock still, head in the air snorting. When he does something like this I realise what a big boy he is and I felt like a very little me stood on the end of the line. This doesn't worry me however and it was lovely to see him with so much presence, but,obviously I needed to get his attention and have him focus on me, so I walked from the centre of the circle and stood in front of him about 3 metres away (which was the only way I could get his attention without pulling on the headcollar), and asked him to come to me,which he did, so I started leading him around, changes of direction, halts, backing up until he was calm and totally focussed on me. All this was done on a loose line and I was so pleased that he'd refocussed on me so quickly and willingly.