Don't Try This At Home!!!!

Ok, so being on an enforced go slow, on Sunday I fitted the harness on Charlie, and went for a very short long rein.  He wasn't too keen about the crupper.....but they never are.
However yesterday I got bored lunging (him too), so started stopping him at the mounting block and leaning over.  I should point out I had the western saddle on for a bit of weight. Now Charlie always backs up at the mounting block, so to position his head by mine. Any tips for this gratefully received.....as I have now tried everything to get him to stand in place while I get up on the block.

And so....I had this blonde idea.....Please look away now if are in any way sensible, related to me or worried about my health (mental or otherwise).
I took Charlie and the mounting block to the gate.  I put the lunge line round the bars of the gate, holding the loose end. There was a hedge behind him, a gate to his offside, the block to his nearside. I put a leg over, lunge line in one hand, phone in other (like you do, when you have already stated out loud that "This could end in disaster", and thinking of this blog).
Charlie backed into the hedge, leapt forward and this being a high backed western saddle, my right leg got caught on the cantle. By now the mounting block pinged out from under my left leg, leaving me hanging. I could have let go and landed on my back, but I didn't fancy that, so I lunged forward, pulling on the horn to pull myself up......onto a panicking pony. A quick shuffle and I dismounted, somewhere under his neck, and dropping the line. It would have all been fine, except while legging it away from the mad woman, Charlie kicked back, catching my ankle.  Result swollen ankle and big bruise.

However.....I did accidentally press the video record button on my phone! And I did have long tough boots on. (Although maybe if I wasn't wearing the boots my leg wouldn't have got stuck!). 

So the moral of this story is; Don't mount your young pony whilst he is tied to a gate. It never was a good idea!

Charlie Backed (Again), What Show?, Bloody PH, Papermill Progress And A Book!

I know, its been a long time since the last update!!!!  Going back....the Suffolk Show. Hmmmmm.. At 6am we arrived at the yard. Everything was ready. Jo put the coffee on, I went to get Lu in.  She was lying down.  She got up, limped a bit.  Oh No!  I told myself and the pony that she was just a bit stiff, had a dead leg etc etc...The excuses you make to yourself when you can't accept the truth.
By the time we were coming down the hill, it was obvious! Lulu who has never been sick or lame in nine years.....was lame on the day of the Suffolk Show! I walked her about in hand, desperately hoping she would come sound. No. Lunged her....still lame.  Not hopping, but definitely not sound. We turned her loose while we had a coffee.....I kept going out and checking, but no cigar. Disappointing? Hell yeah.  We consoled ourselves with lunch at Gracies in Leiston (well worth a visit by the way).  Lu is still oddly unsound.  Its very intermittent. 
She was sound the day after the show, then not.  We took her to the vet. I ran up the concrete as fast as, I could hear from the rhythmic hoof sound that she was fine. But even now she is slightly noddy in trot.  Its a mystery for sure.

And Charlie?? Well what a boy!! My brave friend Sarah has been helping me. With me at his head, she has sat on him, and even ridden him round the work area several times.  He has worked out where his feet go and even seemed really proud of himself.  Our next mission was for Sarah to lead him, while I rode.

And that's when my bloody lungs/heart got in the way. PH is a progressive condition, but as I have been stable for 6 years, I had pretty much forgotten I had it except for the tablets three times a day. I kind of knew I was a bit worse, but put it down to a chest infection (in the winter), the wind, the heat....You know, the excuses you make to yourself when you can't accept the truth!!  A trip to Papworth last week shocked me despite the self denial. After two days of tests the docs said my heart had enlarged and was in danger of failing. Basically PH has caught up with me. They wanted me to have a Hickman Line in (drugs infused directly into the heart 24/7 via a pump worn at the waist and an intravenous line into the heart.  Not being ready for that I said I'd think about it and legged it. They have since phoned with alternatives - one being a drug trial, and the other a new drug, but in the meantime, No backing or riding dangerous horses!!! It's given me a lot to think about.......I now have a harness thanks to Hollesley Rda and a cart, so can begin teaching him to drive.  As I can't expect Sarah to continue riding him, I am trying to get him to Boot Camp.....Summer at a local riding school.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to slow down, I have written The Ridgeway Romp. A tale of 2 idiots (me and my mate Tess), riding The Ridgeway in ballgowns on my slightly quirky ponies in 2007.  It is mostly the Blog Tess wrote at the time, with some infill from myself.  It is now published on Amazon......Please check it out...

Finally the Papermill ponies have been fenced in, and all bar a few who are having veterinary treatment, are off tether.....This has been a long hard road for the girls that started the group, and they now have Asbos for harassment!!!!! But it just goes to show what can be achieved via social media!

Bungee Cords on Gates Plus A Pony With The Mentality Of A Teenage Boy Equals Disaster!

Its safe to say since Charlie turned 5 he has turned into a bit of a rebellious teenage boy! He seems to have realised his strength now and has the odd teenage tantrum, throwing his toys out of the pram and stomping off!  He was really arsy about having sunblock on his nose (again).....I mean really?  Would he rather have a crispy sore nose?  I think not. Unfortunately my horse communication stops rather short of trying to explain that to him. 

So yesterday when I went to catch him he legged it. Something he hasn't done since last summer!! Although he gave in quickly, it possibly didn't bode well. Now we have a bungee cord on the gate to tie him to. This has stemmed from him pulling back and breaking hundreds of bits of baler twine. DELIBERATELY I may add.  Just because he realised if he leaned back the string would break and it was a bit of a joke to him. So secured to said Bungee, I started to plait his forelock...nothing fancy, just so he could see. He pulled back very hard, the bungee stretched to maximum, and the gate popped open....smacking me from behind with all the force of a freight train, sending me flying!  The worst pain was from my calf/shin.  It happened to be the one that was smashed up in a previous life and is a little fragile. So for a few minutes I just knelt there, whilst finishing the plait and rubbing my calf, wondering weather it was safe to put any weight on it.  Charlie being very concerned and kept nuzzling and nudging me. When that didn't get me up he pawed at me!!  I couldn't be cross, but my boy is not too subtle!

We had a rather wild session.  He pulled too hard on the lunge, in my hobbling state, so I let him free-school over the jumps, which meant we had another hose down fight as he got hot. Meanwhile in the next field Jo was lunging Daisy, who has just been shod after another bout of Seedy Toe.  Feeling rather well in herself she hurtled around with Jo water-skiing behind her.....Setting a fine example from a mature mare to a young lad!

With the Suffolk Show tomorrow Jo got Lu in for another bath, while I had a much calmer session with Charlie.  But not before Jo stabbed herself in the leg very deeply with the secateurs!  As neither of us are capable of running tomorrow Shona is very kindly stepping into the ring for that part.  When she rang to see if we needed help, we told her to stay in bed all day so to avoid injury!!!!  But her boys wanted to see the dogs, so we made sure she was very safely away from attacking gates and marauding ponies. 

Thankfully Charlie was very chilled today and we had a very reasonable long reining session followed by him standing quietly at the mounting block as I hung over him.  He then stood very quietly watching Lu being rinsed with the hose, and enjoying the fuss of some real teenage boys.

So with the lorry packed and ready, I may well be off to bed very soon as we have a 6am start!!!! YAWN.

Full of power!!

Much Calmer

Scorchio.......Baths and Supermarket Trips

At last summer is here.....Its been Scorchio.  So much activity on our behalves.
Baths for one.. Not sure Charlie has ever had a bath, but I was determined to get him clean, and cure the hose pipe fear.  So as Jo bathed Lulu with the hose, Charlie had a bucket bath.....No problem (even tipping buckets over him). He was still wary of the hose though.  Why???? Who knows. He has been seen to drink from a tub while it is being filled up with the hose. So once he had been bathed i took a small piece of cut off hose and ran it all over him. No reaction. Next step, Get a small trickle coming out of main hose and run it over his already wet body.  A small reaction, a rear, a double strike out with front legs, then actually finding it nice.

The following day I worked him loose over some small jumps.  He loved it. He even went off when I had walked away and popped them again. As it was Scorchio he was very sweaty so I got the hose running again slightly faster this time. And low and behold much snorting, growling, sighing and rearing. Now I have been taking things very slowly with this boy. I understand his fear, the facts he is a long way behind 4 year olds that have been bathed, trimmed, long-reined and shown since they are 5 months old.  But he does push his boundaries sometimes. I know him very well and can tell fear from coltish tantrums.  I heard the growly grunty sigh and saw the look in his eye.  This was just a tantrum.  So this time I held the lead rope close and carried on hosing him regardless.  For just a second he stood and admitted it was quite nice on a hot day!

As we are off to the Suffolk Show next week with Lulu, we thought she better have a trip out in the Lorry.  Jo had to pick up a parcel from Leiston, so we combined the two.  No-where to park a lorry in the high street so we parked in the Co-op car park.  Jo went off to the Post Office, and as Lu neighed I went and checked....happily eating hay.  Windows in truck open, Dogs hanging out of windows, me in passenger seat.  And so a lady came along and said, "Are they ok?"  "The dogs?" I said, "yes they are fine".  "No", said the lady, "The Horses" "Er yes she is fine", I said. "Well its awfully hot" said the lady huffily, and stalked off.  It then occurred to me she must have thought we were doing our weekly shop or something!!

After we had put Lu back after her shopping trip, we left the Lorry open.  Walking past it with Charlie on my way to the tack room I let him sniff the ramp while I stood on it.  Two seconds later he loaded himself, turned his quarters in and started pulling on the Hay net. On the way back out to the field, he again loaded himself, this time in front of me.  I slung the lead rope over his next and said, "whoa boy, we're going this way", whereupon he calmly backed down.  What a Star.  On the way out we had a few selfies.

Shetland Wrestling and Hope For The Papermill Lane Ponies

Have you ever tried to put a muzzle on a Shetland Pony? Easy right? Well Sweet Pea is something else. Yesterday Jo managed it in about 20 minutes with no lasting injuries. I had put a controller head collar on Sweet Pea...which didn't work anyway. Despite being smaller than a large dog, she is a champion rearer. Up she went. Down went Jo. I just went with the pony in a very helpless manner. After much wrestling Jo got the muzzle on. It was then I realised the headcollar wouldn't come off. Off came the muzzle. Off went Sweet Pea. Oddly I caught her with a lunge-line. More Wrestling. She rears so high she goes over backwards....and doesn't care! Lucky she's not 16.2hh really. Eventually Jo wrangled the muzzle back on. Sadly there are no pictures as it takes 2 pairs of hands to get the job done. 
This week I have been working on trust with Charlie. We went out for a "hack" at the weekend, with Meg and her daughter riding, and Jo and the dogs on foot. I spent most of the time leaning on Charlie and steering from a normal riding position. Arm-ache!!
Great news for the Papermill Lane Ponies this week. The council are at last fencing the footpaths, which effectively encloses the ponies so they can come off tether. Its been a long hard fight, and now I need to lay in a dark room for a month!!

A Few Steps Back and Spare Legs

So after Charlies' awesome behaviour its inevitable that we have gone backwards again. I mean if it were all smooth sailing it just wouldn't be Charlie!
On Good Friday we had Meg to ride Daisy. We got all the ponies ready and with Jo at Charlies' head I mounted......Nothing. Cool, relaxed, solid.  I got off. I got on again. Suddenly Wham, spun round and started bucking. While Jo held on, I again thought I could sit it. We all felt the big one building up and Jo shouted "Get Off". I just swung my leg over as the explosion happened. Rather ungraceful dismount which saw me land at Charlies' feet (AGAIN). I spent the next 5 minutes laying over his back and rubbing his off side belly....while he panicked. He really does panic. Its not naughtiness.
Anyway we all set off on a hack with me leading Charlie.  Halfway I turned back and made my way home. Charlie threw a 3 year old colt tantrum. Boy did he throw his toys out of the pram!  Rearing, snorting, spinning, hummpphing! Is that even a word? You know the noise they make when angry. We made it back!

Having read a million forems and watched a load of videos on you tube of horses quietly being backed i have decided he is just not ready. So yesterday i brought him in alone.....That in itself caused tantrums. Striking out with his foreleg and rearing. I just stood back and waited until he was quiet. Tacked up with the Western saddle and 2 bags of soil hanging off the horn, we had a lunge.  Charlie took off bucking, and the carrier bags broke!!

Remembered my dim and distant past of backing a pony as a child that had been ridden by a straw man. Went home and made a "pair of legs".  Brought Himself in today.....Quiet.  Tacked up in English saddle. Quiet. Plonked on 'spare legs'.  Quiet.  Longreined. Quiet.....Despite the half dummy being a bad rider. She kept losing a stirrup and the boot banged against Charlies' front leg. NO REACTION!!! Will keep adding weight to my 'spare legs' and maybe a body.....or I could lose 4 stone!!! Any ideas ??????

"I'm Bored"

Spare Legs

Road Closed, New RDA Ponies and a Papermill Update

Finally Bt have connected my internet so its time for a catch up. Quite a lot has been happening. First the Road Closed incident.  Due to a water leak Essex and Suffolk Water had to close the road just up the hill from the yard. It caused quite a kerfuffle I can tell you. Anyway as what is normally a busy road, was closed we took Charlie and Lu out in hand to inspect all the scary roadsigns and men in holes etc. As the road was closed I let Scrumpy follow at a discreet distance. Charlie was a star. He sniffed the drain holes suspiciously, and scared himself by standing on a somewhat bouncy cats eye. But then as we were talking to the workmen, a car appeared.......followed by another 7 !!!!  Seems they didn't believe the road was actually closed. We made our way back down the line of traffic, explaining that the road really did have a huge trench across it and giving helpful directions.  By this time I was slightly worried about Scrumpy who was mooching about among the cars with all the roadsense of a pheasant. The ponies accepted some mints from a very nice car driver and people started turning around. One woman pipped her horn several times for some reason. Charlie didn't bat an eyelid. Turns out the overnight closure was fun.....Someone ignored all the signs, moved the barriers and drove straight into the hole!!  We also heard there was a fight and the police had to be called!!!

Charlie has continued to be brilliant with the long reining so the other day, with Mark the Mechanic and part time horse whisperer, at his head, with carrots, I got on and off a couple of times....just sitting quietly for a bit each time. No drama. This time he was completely relaxed.....Charlie that is.  Not sure about Mark!!

We have had a couple of lucky finds for the Rda.  We acquired Maddie, a 13hh bay New Forest, who I rode in a lesson. Poor little thing. As my feet wouldn't fit in the stirrups, my legs just hung down almost to the ground. She didn't raise an eyebrow as we rode around stands and threw sponge dice around. We also have Molly on loan from an old friend of mine. Another bay mare, but Molly is 15.2hh Cleveland Bay x Shire and is a fantastic stamp of a mare. Having hacked her out with a disabled client, and found her to be very laidback, she has been used in a real lesson now. Over Easter we picked up Stormin' Norman who has settled in nicely.  Just need another driving pony now.

At Papermill Lane things have been happening. Three of us went on a reccy last week up to the other site attached to West Meadows Traveller site. A bit rash to get so close, but someone has to.  We found a foal discarded in the rubbish, unable to get up, and a filly with barbed wire around its hind legs. A young lad appeared and I told him I would help him remove the wire. He went to get his dad, who owns all the ponies, where again I offered to give him a hand. He was more interested in chasing us off "his" land.  Of course we phoned the RSPCA, Redwings and WHW.  Redwings are now cataloging all the ponies. In the meantime, I posted the pictures everywhere and got 17404 views! This seems to have stirred things up, with a lot of horse movement over the last week. We are not entirely sure where they have gone, but Redwings seem to be on it at last, admitting that several horses needed attention.  Not sure the owner is at all happy, as he went after 3 ladies on Friday, before hunting me down somewhere else. We vidioed each other. I posted mine on You Tube, but it was taken down for breaching harassment laws.......Funny that, as he came looking for me!!!

Charlie and Lu inspecting road signs.

Charlie Full of the joys of spring

Hacking out on Molly.

Discarded in the rubbish....Foal at West Meadows