And so to the weather report!!! Its been Hot. Yes HOT. 18c hot!! An Early spring!. (It can't last) And so we have been backing!!!! Last week I lent over Lily (no reaction), and got on Charlie (no reaction). A couple of days later, Shona came over, and sat on Lil. Again no reaction. Meanwhile i got on Charlie on the qt, no holder etc. No reaction. This is all brilliant.
Shona on Lily
Me on Charlie Then it was Saturday!!!! Sammi's Birthday Party. Before the party there was lessons. All the ponies were in, doing various things. Eli brought Twix, her very handsome bay gelding. Not sure if it was the presence of another boy, the warm weather, some spring grass or what. But the Big herd went wrong!! First up I tacked up Charlie to join in a lesson with Tia on board (small, quiet and light). He was nothing short of a GIT. He was behaving like a teenage boy, throwing his toys out of the pram. He had a serious case of FOMO. The parrot mouth was present, and he just wanted to be somewhere else. So I ended up just leading him in the lesson and on the Walk Out. When I turned him out......
Next up Daisy and Lu..... Between lessons and Party, we thought we would let Chanice Who Helps On Saturdays, and Grace (Eli's 2nd daughter), ride the mares. Lu was already tacked up, so went up to the school, while I tacked up Daisy. Jo thought I would be using the western saddle which takes a while, and as Lu was a bit full of it, went for quick ride down the lane. Meanwhile I thought she was waiting for us, so opted for quick English tack. Daisy was already agitated, so I told Chanice Who Helps On Saturdays, to take her up to school while I grabbed a drink. I meant lead her up, but Chanice had hopped up already. When we got to school I realised Jo had gone out. At this point I should have got Chanice off. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?? EXCEPT.... Daisy may get excited.....But its never unseating! And Chanice has been riding her a long time and knows her as well as I do, and can cope with her. And so... i told Chanice to do her usual circling, cones, disengaging Daisys rear end, chill, relax etc. They understand each other. Normally. Daisy had started to relax, when she heard Lu coming up the drive. Daisy went nuts!! She must have thought she was at a rodeo!!! She went into proper bronc mode....Never thought she had it in her. Chanice did really well and sat out the broncing, until Daisy finished with a huge buck, and face planted poor Chanice. Chanice has had a few falls with us (learning process), and usually gets up and laughs. Daisy normally stops and waits. This was different. Chanice didn't get straight up...or laugh...and was pouring with blood from her nose. Daisy was galloping round wildly! We caught the pony, and helped Chanice to the tack-room, just as the Birthday Girl turned up!! All turned out Ok. Chanice went off to A&E and was just bruised. The Party Ponies behaved and Sammi had a good Birthday Party. So we concentrated on Daisys odd behaviour. We put it down to Spring Grass, but were not happy with her reaction to Lu being missing. So we have turned her out with the minis and fenced a large gap between them and Lu. Buddy sour horses not allowed! Its not something we expect, as they all get worked alone, and go off to different places. Having brought Daisy in and lunged her for 2 days, I hacked her out today with Jo and Lu. Its what she needed. Slightly "springy", but normal Daisy we were out for an Hour and a Half, in the glorious sunshine. It was really nice to be hacking along the country lanes in t-shirts!! But this is England. Expect rain or snow by next week!
Just a quickie...... Welcome back to the weather Channel!! After a very mild Winter, we finally got Snow....for a day. But that was followed by Storm Eric. Three days of 20-30mph winds, gusting up to 50mph. Now my dodgy lungs and dicky ticker just cannot cope with wind. It literally leaves me gasping for breath, so I had to take my Holiday Week in the Top Barn 12 week Challenge. Just in case you are slightly interested, today dawned calm and sunny, with a high of 9c!! Work with Charlie began again (well actually, we had a play, while i drunk my coffee).
And a sort of review.........Last year at a pop up tack shop at a show, I bought a SoloRake, made by SoloComb. I always liked SoloCombs, so I thought the rake would help me with the thick dreads that is Charlies mane. Having chopped it all off last Summer, to help him stay cool, it has grown again. So last week I took to him with the SoloRake. Maybe its only meant for coats?? The blade is good and strong, so I started raking his mane. To my surprise, it broke. The handle is made of plastic (a weak point), and i was literally left holding the handle, while the rake was in Charlies mane. I have emailed SoloComb, so watch this space for their reply.
Finally as part of the Top Barn 12 Week Challenge, I have entered an On-line show. I had never heard of On-line shows before..... Back in the day we took the horse to a show-ground, having got up at stupid-o-clock, to bath, plait etc. We then had to hope the bugger wouldn't get too excited, and behave itself! Having spent all day in inevitable blazing heat, dressed up to the nines in thick woollen show jackets, we then spent 3 hours loading the bugger to come home (or was that only me?), with a sunburnt neck (from the hairnetted hair), to finally arrive home at midnight, then having to unload the lorry and bed the horse down before finally falling into bed clutching a 6th place rosette. So, does anyone know of any good On-line showing sites? The one i found had a class for the dirtiest pony!!!!!! I entered this.....
So as you all know, Molly was an odd rescue case!! Loaned to the Rda from a friend of mine (the lovely Rachel), Molly had become very grumpy and unhappy. So Jo and I took her in for a while to 'fix' her, before she went home. She settled in well with the herd, but objected to being tacked up. Initially she wolfed her food, but then refused it. She refused to wear a rug, and although ok with me, laid her ears back every time Jo touched her. Oh yes a challenge. She was a bit lean, tucked up from stress and full of thread worms. So we wormed her, and let her be. Jo made a point of spending time with her. After a few weeks, I took her out for a ride with the other big mares (see previous blog). Still not a happy girl. As she was trying to kick me while I slowly girthed her up, we decided she looked like a girl with ulcers. This was NOT the Molly I knew. So we put her on a daily feed of warm bran mash, with Ulcer Guard, Liquorice and Camomile....which she lapped up. Jo brought her out for her feed every day, so she could bond with her. Within a week the change was astounding. At last we had a happy horse! Unless we took Lily out of the field. Despite the others being there, and hay on offer, Molly still cleared the 5ft fencing to try and find Lil. We have always said, nothing over 14.2hh as we are set up for ponies. We put up a double fence 'Molly Baffler'. Landlord NOT happy!! The time was right for Molly to go home. Looking at the pictures when she arrived, compared to recent pics, the change was amazing. I always felt Molly was missing Rachel. Even when she seemed happy, there was sometimes a wistful look about her, like she wished she could go home. So Rachel came to collect her. She has settled in at home, like she had never been away, and has a new friend to hack her out, so its all turned out well. I miss her, peering over the fence, waiting for breakfast, but am happy to have returned a physically fixed horse to her owner.
Molly the day after she arrived.
Molly 3 months later. And so it snowed. Thankfully a tiny amount compared to last year!! We have been soo lucky. Kent (just across the Thames Estuary), Wales and the West Country seem to have suffered big time. We have been really lucky!
I have continued to work Charlie for the Top Barn 12 Week Challenge. We have had some fun...and some progress. I have discovered I have a Comedy Pony, who is very popular on the Top Barn site. Check out my You Tube Channel (as I am incapable of posting the vids on here!!). Anyway today showed the meaning of the Handler Lowering their energy. You may have heard this saying, and not understood it. Todays video (if you can find it) shows what it means.. Charlie got out of the wrong side of bed this morning. Maybe I did too. Anyway he started being pushy...which pushes my buttons...I start becoming less patient (my energy levels rise), he feels it as a challenge....and we have conflict. Some trainers relish conflict as a chance to exert their dominance. However I would rather have a partnership.....with mutual trust. I do not want to dominate my pony. I want us to work as a team. So time to walk away, take deep breaths, have a break. I chose to change what we were doing. As a friend had arrived, I was chatting away, as I tacked Charlie up. No pressure, my energy levels dropped.....and so Charlie relaxed and stood, loose, while I saddled and bridled him. And thats what trainers mean when they say Drop your Energy Level.
