Spring is Springing, A Hack, and The Horse That Will Not Back Up

Dare I say it????? Spring Seems to be Springing!!!  Today both Chanice (Who Helps on Saturdays Which Is Now Sundays) and I were both down to T-Shirts by the end of the morning!!!  I also stripped off to a T-shirt on Wednesday which reminded me I should start wearing a bra again!!!  I have been bra-less since cracking my ribs as the band pushed against the cracks and hurt. 

And so Monday was a momentous occasion.  Jo and I hacked out on Lu and Daisy together!!!! For the first time since last April, after which she went lame with the most horrendous bout of laminitus caused by her EMS.  For those who have not followed the blog, we spent months getting her right, padded back to front shoes, homeopathy, steamed hay, a restricted paddock etc, only for her to get an abcess in a hind, which took weeks of cutting back and poulticing. We then started to work on building up her lost muscles in hand. I crazed the Farrier to let me ride her, but he didn't want us to rush things. Considering the Vet said we may never be able to ride her again, and we had even booked the Knackerman, initially thinking the abcess was a pulled Suspensory Ligament, I was patient.  As soon as she was given to all clear to be ridden I went down with my Heart damaging Chest Infection.  Meg rode her a couple of times.

Finally on Monday I felt well enough to give it a go!!  It was a lovely ride. It felt so good to be out on Daisy again.  She jogged and strode out, ears pricked and thoroughly enjoyed herself. I was so happy to be doing something that at one time I didn't think I would be doing again. She may have no brakes, little steering and the odd frilly moment, but I love her to bits, and being able to hack her out again is a dream come true. There is a very edited video to watch on East Suffolk Ponies Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/charliehorseandfriends/?ref=aymt_homepage

Jo and Lulu are still going strong in The Top Barn Challenge.  There is one Plus Challenge we cannot get Lu to do, and that's back up in a semi circle.  All the others will back up easily. While playing with the Mini Herd, in their paddock perfecting them saying "Please", I checked them backing up. Yup they all do it on command.  I had Charlie in on Tuesday, running through our tricks, and starting the foundation of a new trick. I asked him to back a semi circle, loose and with my hands in my pocket. Yup...No problem! But Lulu? No way. I have never met a horse that will not yield to pressure. Until Lu. Most horses will back away from a finger in the chest, or a little pressure on the lead rope. Failing that swinging a rope towards them, or walking towards them with purpose will work. The idea being to get the pressure down to just moving a foot towards them will cause them to a back up a step, or just using the words "Back Up".

Lu WILL NOT submit to anything!!  A poke in the chest results in her walking forwards. A waggle of the rope.....Nothing. Pressure on the lead rope may get 2 or 3 backwards steps, but that's it. Getting really dominant just provokes her into barging into you, ears back. We have come to the conclusion that she is THE most dominant mare ever.  She is most definitely the herd leader, and does not expect even the humans in the herd to tell her where to place her feet.  It would be a problem except in all other ways she is polite and respectful. I guess backing is just a step too far!

The weekend finished well, with a friend from school visiting and having her first ever hack on Daisy, accompanied by Jo and Lu, Nancy and Mini (with Meg) and myself leading Charlie.  Today Chanice (who helps on Sundays now) rode Daisy and lead Mini as an experiment which all went well.

There is a new Trick Video available on YouTube https://youtu.be/eqgl0IM9Aqw