40 Things for 40

Everyone likes to have fun at the yard, so on the last Sunday of each month, we take turns in organising an event. This time, it was Jackie's event and she organised a long hack which would involve lots of trotting, the occasional slightly-out-of-control-canter moment and jumping. In total, there were seven of us hacking out, plus Bundles the dog! The "boys" (Simon, John, Luke, Kyle and Dean) had planned on going down the pub, but decided that staying at the yard with a crate of beer and the quad would be much more fun! More on that later! After we tacked up and I finally managed to get on board mr-far-too-excited-to-stand-still-and-have-any-bloody-manners-Matti, we managed to pose for a photo: Sue & Misty, Lisa & Frankie, Me & Matti, Chloe & Brook, Paige & Nicky, Caitlin & Ali, Jackie & Marky We then set off on two hours of fun, adventure and excitement (and the occasional mishap!). Although I took little camera, I wasn't able to get many ...

So, I must have been feeling brave as I decided to ride Amber this morning before our hack. As some of the jumps were still up, but had been lowered, I thought I might jump one or two of them, depending on how she was. Warmed up and she was a bit lazy and nappy, so just took her over a pole on the ground at first. She did a huge jump over it, then started bucking (except Simon missed that bit on video), managed to get her head up and we carried on. Managed to pop her over a jump, at first she just walked over, then managed to get the hang of things and did a proper jump. Tried her over a different jump and she half jumped, then stopped, so she had her front legs on one side and her back legs on the other. Did have a laugh. Got her to jump it properly, then called it a day. Was very pleased with how she had done, clever pony. A little later, while I was hacking, Simon found Amber having a snooze in the field, think she was feeling a bit tired out:

After our scary hack from this morning, we decided carry on with our plan to do some jumping in the school. Simon had the video camera so was able to get some entertaining videos. Got Matti in and groomed and tacked up. Managed to get bridle over his ears for the first time, did up the noseband and throatlash, then attached the bit. Easy-Peasy...ish! I did have a slight meltdown at the size of jumps, but Sue promised to put them down for me if I still wasn't happy once in the school. Went in and warmed up, decided that jumps were still a little big, so some got lowered (I wasn't the only wimp though). Decided to try one. Matti ran out the first couple of times, but I think that was due to me feeling nervous. Sue put one end of the jump down, and we managed to jump that one. After that, Matti knew what to do and flew over the jumps. He knocked one, which dented his confidence a bit, but again, once we put one side down and popped over that, he became much happier. Toni and Sue t...

Went for a hack today with Sue, Jackie and Chloe to help plot the last part of the mega hack for Sunday. I decided to take Amber as I have not hacked her out for a little while. Managed to tack up ok and Amber was pretty keen to get going! Did quite a lot of trotting, which she kept up with, I really do not think I need the schooling whip out on hacks any more! Got to a 'canter place' and Marky and Misty zoomed off in fast trot, so Amber and Brook decided to start having a trot/ almost into canter race to keep up. While checking out the routes, it looked like we could ride across the 'dam' in the lake, so decided to give it a go. Misty had almost made it across  but then Marky suddenly disappeared up to his belly in mud. Amber was starting to sink too, but I managed to get her onto firmer ground. It felt like minutes, but was only seconds before Jackie was able to get off Marky and he managed to get up and they got across to the other side. Chloe and I went...

Today was a good day. Firstly, I was very happy that I did not have a hang-over this morning. Secondly, I met Paige, Jackie and Sue at the shack for brunch. Thirdly I rode today, twice! We decided to go over one of the dressage tests for the competition next week, Paige called out the moves for us. I was brave and went first. Matti did really well, was responsive to what I asked him and tried so hard for me, despite the school being a little boggy in places. I did struggle in the canter with him, because he has such a long stride, the corners appear far to quickly! Chloe and Jackie also did really well on Brook and Lady. Afterwards, Sue talked us through how to do a flying change and Jackie showed us on Lady. Chloe tried first and managed to do it on each rein, then it was my turn. Despite not having a clue, Matti understood my attempt at the aids and did one perfectly on each rein. I was so pleased with him. Clever pony! We also attempted to halt to canter, which again Matti ...

One of the pubs we go to has a curry night on a Wednesday. A curry and a drink is £4.99, so it's a very good deal. To carry on my birthday celebrations (and probably just as well), we arranged a night out with some of the people from the yard. Chloe, Paige, Sue, John, Jackie and Kyle were there and Luke joined us later. Was only a little embarrassed when Paige and Simon made sure that my dessert arrived with candles and everybody singing. We had a really fun night, some random conversations and possibly some that should be left at the pub!

Today I turned *cough* 32*cough* Day started out ok, went up to turn horses out, then met Paige and Sue at The Shack for a yummy birthday breakfast. What was very impressive was calling the doctors at 8.45am, and being offered an appointment for 9am! First of all, my results had come back all clear, meaning that I do not have an infection. Also it's most likely the antibiotics that are making me feel so shite. Finally, the doctor I saw admitted to being confused and so is going to arrange for me to have a CT scan to check out my kidneys. I know I am unique, but must I confuse the doctors every time they see me? Sigh. After the shack, we popped home as Simon had a bit of work to do then we decided to go to Robinsons. Unfortunately didn't get to buy anything as I suddenly felt exhausted and needed my bed! Despite  a fleece jumper, cosy joggers, socks, TWO duvets and a Blue-dog hot water bottle, I couldn't stop shivering. Simon went up to do the horses, bless him and he brou...

Matti moose-face

Apparently. I've felt like I've had flu ever since I started taking them, not to mention already feeling crappy from the pain. Oh well, nearly finished the course and will hopefully start to feel normal(ish) again soon. And do things. Like ride. And poo-pick. Rant over, normal service to resume shortly.

I've been suffering from a pain in my side for a couple of weeks now (actually I think it might be a bit longer than that). So, after much *ahem* encouragement, I finally made an appointment to see the doctor. After I explained the problem. he squiged, prodded and poked my side. Why? I told him where it hurts. Why do doctors feel the need to then poke you in the painful area then innocently ask 'does it hurt there?' when you're hanging off the bloody ceiling. He asked me to provide a pee sample (thankfully I could use the toilet rather than have to do it in front of him). Good job I decided not to go before being called in! All done, I then got called back in and he tested the sample. Then asked me to look over his shoulder to help him check the colours were the same on results table and dip-stick as he was red/ green colour-blind. Erm, that was not really that reassuring. He thought it looked like I had white cells present, which indicated an infection, so got a prescr...

I have decided to have a rethink on some of my 13 things, mainly combining and slight changes to some of them. 1. Get Crafty This one will remain the same, other than possibly adding some extra crafts to try. 2. Sage Course I am going to change this to "Courses", as I have already done an extra course and have signed up to do another one. I will also incorporate learning another language to this one as well. 3. Matti I am happy with the changes I already made to this one, so will keep this as it is (other than adding extra goals to the list as and when) 4. Photo A Day I am going to change this to a photo a week as I have not been able to get a photo for every day. I think this will mean that my photos for the project will be better overall. 5. Blossom Am happy to keep this one as is for now, although will not be doing as much with her at the moment due to focusing more on Amber and Matti. 6. Learn another Language I am going to add this to number two, so nee...

Turned out today and as the farrier was due, I managed to blag a pony day! Took Blue up with me too. Fed the horses in, then took feeds down to Sue's horses and Lady. Turned horses out, then mucked out and did haynets and water. Did want to catch up on poo-picking but stomach/ side pain was kicking off big stylee so had give up on that one. Bill the farrier arrived early afternoon, and Matti was first to get his new shoes on. Bill was very happy with how his hooves were looking. Matti was pretty good with having his feet done, but he wasn't so keen on having them rasped at the end. That might have been because Bill kept calling him a 'her'! I didn't have the heart to correct him though. Had a quick hack out with Paige and Paula afterwards and Matti was really good. Managed a nice controlled canter, and an unintentional canter when Tatty decided to have a canter/ buck. That was definitely a case of "well, she's cantering, so I will too!". As we were hea...

As Matti has lost a shoe, I decided to hack Amber out today. Well, I say decided, but didn't really have a lot of choice. That will teach me for writing that I need a butt kicking in my blog! So got all the ponies in and gave Amber a groom and tacked up. She was a cow with her bridle again, but that was partly due to me not remembering the right technique. Oh, and not working on the issue. Matti looked rather happy when I got the saddle out, but his face fell when I put it on Amber instead of him. Once we were ready, I put Matti and Blossom in with some haylege and off we set. Went with Sue, Paige and Lisa. Amber was pretty forward going today and we did a lot of trotting. And cantered, because Frankie did. Oh and almost took Frankie's head off, whoops. As you can tell, the extra feed as certainly helped her get some more energy. Especially as she was hardly sweating when we got back to the yard. Apart from trying to kill Frankie, Amber was really good today and I enjoyed our h...

When you plan not to plan! Confused yet (I know I am, just writing that!). Following on from my last blog entry, it was pointed out to me (cheers Sue :D ) that my cunning plan may have had a flaw or two. I need to stop worrying so much. I don't need to plan so much as otherwise if plans do not work out, I get pretty despondent about it. I really should not have upped the horses feed then stopped riding them (that worrying issue at work here).  To get them fit and toned, I need to work them. Rather than trying to work two or three in one day, it would be better to focus on one horse, then work one of the others afterwards if I have time. 20 minutes schooling is equal to an hour hacking. Hacking is probably better for the horses at the moment, I can do what schooling I want to do out on hacks (apart from practising dressage tests). Okay, so maybe more than one or two flaws. So, my new plan-which-is-not-really-a-plan is as follows: Aim to ride each horse 2-3 times a week, wi...

Can you guess what it is yet?

While I've been having a quiet week, I pulled out some (ok most) of my horse books and have been making up some exercise/ diet/ground work plans for the horses. My aim is to have them fit enough to cope with a two hour hack which will include trotting and cantering. To be fair, although Matti has been out on some long hacks, he was quite tired afterwards. To do this, I will be starting off with 20 minute schooling sessions and 30 minute slow hacks to work on flexibility, strength and stamina, then increasing over the next few weeks. I will also adjust their routine so that he has a small feed an hour before being worked and a haynet to munch while in. As I have learnt through my Equine Nutrition course, horses should eat around 2% of their body weight per day and at least 50 % of this should be forage (grass, hay, chaff etc). For a 500 kg horse, this means they should be eating around 10 kg a day and at least 5 kg of that should be forage. As both Amber and Matti need to put o...

Today I was feeling much better. As it was my turn to feed and turnout the horses, Simon dropped me off at the yard just after 8 am. He helped me to give the horses breakfasts, then went off to work. Turned all the horses out, made a cup of tea then mucked out. Had another cup of tea then did hay and waters. Decided to bring horses in at 11 am for some hay and to have their rugs off for a bit as the sun was quite warm. The wind wasn't so warm though. Brrr! As I thought I was feeling so much better, I decided to do some poo-picking in the field. Half way through the second wheel barrow, I realised that it was not such a good idea after all! Sue and Paige had arrived while I was in the field and Sue made eggs on toast, with eggs straight out the chickens (and ducks). I had a duck egg which was lovely. I then joined them on a road trip to pick up Jackie and we went into the big feed shop where Sue gets the horse feed from (I had never been there before and wanted t...

But at least I didn't need a vet! Since Sunday, I've been feeling rather rubbish with a migraine type headache, dizzy spells and that horrible pounding in my head whenever I try to move. On Sunday, Simon did the horses and spent the whole day at the yard bless him. I didn't get up until 1 pm, then by the time I had gotten dressed and got downstairs, I was ready for a nap again! I felt a little better on Monday. Simon was in Plymouth and although had hoped to be back in time to do the horses, he got held up down there. I have to admit that I got a cab to the yard as had already missed the last bus and was in no fit state to walk 5 miles. Got the horses tied up by the posts with help from Toni, and gave them some hay while I mucked out in record time. Well, by mucked out I mean I took out any non-mashed in poos and spread the clean stuff about a bit. Topped up waters and did haynets. Chucked Amber and Matti into their stables then fed Blossom. Once I put her back out, I fed t...

We are not amused!

I wasn't feeling to great today, so had a quiet day at the yard (well, after having a bit of an anxiety attack in Tesco :( ). Sue managed to "persuade" Simon to have a lesson though! He rode Misty and did very well, I think he is going to be one of those annoying people who can pick riding up in no time at all! He learnt how to walk on and stop, then started on steering. Add caption I was not able to get many photos as camera was struggling with the light. I think Simon enjoyed his lesson though and hopefully he can have another one next weekend. I had a go on Misty too, she is quite hard for a rider to ride as she responds to weight, rather than the traditional aids of reins and leg. It was very interesting for me though to experience a different way of riding and something that I can work on with my guys. Matti managed to demolish his water bucket and pull a rug onto the floor (then proceeded to pee and poo all over it). Thankfully I had a spare bucket that he can ...

Simon's first official lesson on Misty with Sue

Simon's first riding lesson!

On Wednesday, I was once again in the office and as we finished late, I didn't ride. We mucked out quickly and Simon did hays and brought them in while I made up feeds. Sorted out Blossom's hay and then we were pretty much done. We also met up with a lady we used to know from the previous yard who moved on a couple of years ago as she knows a couple of people on current yard. Talk about a small world! I think she was surprised (but in a good way) that I was now riding and that even Simon had ridden too. Simon was off to Manchester this morning and is staying overnight. Took Blue out for a long walk and then I went up the yard about 12pm as I had the phone and work was pretty quiet. Got the horses in (and discovered that I can answer the phone while leading two horses) and left them with big haynets while I did some poo-picking and mucked out. I wanted to give them a good groom, but it was drizzling so I wasn't able to. I had planned to ride, but decided to give them another...

Rode again today. The horses were happy to come in as I think they enjoy their extra haynet and getting pampered. Dare I say it, but I think they enjoy being ridden too! First up was Amber, bitting is getting better. I think she just likes to show me that she is a conscientious objector- just because she can. Rode her in the school for about 25 minutes. Did more trotting today and again working on getting her going forward and balanced. She was very good and a bit tired by the end of the session. I sponged her down afterwards as she was a little sweaty and once she'd dried off I put her back out without her rug on. Hacked out with 3 of the ladies at the yard on Matti today. We did 3 miles and was out for 50 minutes. Mainly walked with a couple of trots. Well, one of the trots might have involved some sideways cantering, but at least he was enjoying himself! He did seem a little tired when we got back though, so am worried it was a bit much for him. Think I will need to give him hal...

Although, to be honest, I don't really mind. I actually love my job and spending the day in the office. So that's where I was today, with Simon (who was doing his real job). The phone was pretty quiet, but we did have one job to get ready and a couple of quotes to do. I also managed to get some of my sage course done, eventually. For some reason the software will not run on Chrome or Internet Explorer any more  Had an 'online chat' with one of the advisor and have ended up installing Firefox. At least it works on that. After work, we went up to do the horses. As Simon drove up the lane, he stopped to call Amber over. She let out a big neigh and trotted over. When he started to move the car, she took off up the field in canter doing some bucks for good measure! Mucked out, topped up waters and filled haynets. Simon put up one of the tie rings in the corner of the stable. Where I normally hang her haynet means that she likes to dunk half of it in the water bucket, hope...

After mum left, and I had finished mucking out etc, I decided to bring the horses in for some hay and a groom. Simon arrived a while after so I decided to ride. First up was Matti. Tacked up fine (still happy with browband) and went into the school. Did more trot work today and was asking him (well trying) to carry his hocks underneath him more. Sometimes, especially in canter, it feels like his back legs are in the middle of last week! Walking Feeling Sleepy!  I decided to sit on Matti bareback for a few minutes, lets just say that he is not as well padded as Blossom! Look, no hands! Then I rode Amber. Although she was not so easy to tack up as yesterday, it did only take me a minute, I think again it was down to luck, but as long as I put her bridle on everyday, we should get there. Amber was a little better than yesterday in trot, we managed a circuit of the school on each rein without stopping or slowing down. Are we done now? I did ask if Simon wanted to ride either, but he di...

As Simon was having a boys weekend with his dad, I decided to have a girls weekend with mum. As I was on turnout duty, we agreed for mum to meet me at the yard. She arrived Saturday lunchtime and we headed off to our ritual visit to Robinsons! After collecting Blue, we went back up to the yard. I got the horses in for a haynet and to ride. Mum decided to have a go on Matti. I tacked him up in his new bridle, and although we still have to undo it and put on like a headcollar, he accepted the browband without a problem (first time I have tried him with one). Another goal achieved! Headed into the school and Matti was happy to be working again, although canter was a little fast to say the least. Mum then hopped on and did walk and trot. She enjoyed riding him, but found him a bit to forward going (she's used to a plod!). Getting to know you... Walking Being brave and having a trot Then I decided to ride Amber. I was expecting a battle with the bridle, but Amber was so busy trying to s...

Such a small thing, but Matti got a new bridle, and so yesterday we tried it on him. With the browband on. And he was fine! He was today too. So I think we can say that's another one crossed off of his list.

Cuddles with Matti, showing off his new bridle!

Mum riding Matti

Time Marches on (geddit?), so here is my review for February: 01. Get crafty This month I made one card, a scrapbook page and 2 digital pages. Impressed if I say so myself! 02. Finish Sage course I started off doing well on this, until the software started having odd issues, like being unable to type in the required boxes. Very odd, annoying and frustrating! 03. Matti Again, we've progressed well this month. New month is going to be focusing more on schooling to build up Matti's fitness and flexibility. We might even try some jumping! 04. Photo a day This one has been a bit hit and miss again, but I think I have taken a photo most days, even if they are boring ones! 05. Blossom We tackled long lining this month and Blossom was a little star. Again we are going to be focusing on school work to get her working correctly. 06. Learn another language I am still listening to the CD's regularly, but am struggling with remembering what's masculine and what's feminine!...

Yep, the ginger people have matching rugs now!