Sun 1st
Hanging out with Stormy waiting for the rain to pass. Thank goodness for familiarisation with umbrella’s over the years as it kept us both dry today…and my jacket over the saddle helped too 🙂 🙂
Lovely ride with Stormy today…just worked on straight lines and curves through serpentines across the field 😉
Really pleased today that Bella was calm and happy to be in the big field area (where she was spooking over the last 4 days).
After some nice calm horse play she was ready to ride and happy to be ridden today 😉 🙂 phew 😉 😉
Calm, attentive, lovely forward walk. Calm, attentive, lovely bouncy trot and to finish on a lovely, calm, balanced canter 😉
In-hand grazing after work is always a welcome reward for S&B 🙂
Tues 3rd
SO…..nice autumnal weather of cool breeze and time to get out with Bella for a wee ride 😉
Found my Equilab app working again today (YEEHAA) 😉
As seen on map I did a LOT of circles, fig 8’s and weaves today, working on the important straight lines and curves/turns 😉
FIRST TODAY: trying out some shoulder-in (a dressage move) that helps with flexibility and balance.
Some FABULOUS one handed sidepassing over the pole….so light and easy today.
Serpentines through obstacles with a BIG trot which was lovely to ride.
Leg yields through a weave pattern. Leg yields are a sideways move while still going forward 😉
AND then some really lovely calm canter 😉 🙂
Big smiles for me and big treat rewards for Bella 🙂
Fri 6th
Not a bad day weather wise and with 2 days of heavy rain forecast for the weekend Mark and I decided that a play day was in order before we’re home bound SO that’s exactly what we did. I’d already wet up an agility course but for today we played ‘challenges’. This is where one of us does a task on one obstacle then challenges the other to use the same obstacle but to do a different challenge. It motivates us and also gets our imaginations working 🙂 Pics are first of me and Bella, then Mark and Stormy 🙂
- sidle over pole, then back up off it
- Back up under arch, then draw back
3. Jump, change of direction, jump again
4. Fig 8 around tyres
5. Front feet in hula hoop and turn hindquarters a full 360*
6. Fig 8 under and around curtain
7. Walk into bunting lane, halt and back up out then trot through it
8a. Through narrow lane, turn hq’s, move fh to fence……
8b. …sidepass along fence
8c….repeat 8a&b other way 😉
8d…also sidepass
9. Touch flag from distance
10. Familiarisation all over with flag 😉
Doesn’t Bella look quite pleased with herself 🙂
AND…now Mark and Stormy…
- Sidepass around pole
2. Fig 8 under and around archway
3. Jump then back up to pole
4. Fig 8 around tyres (the only one we did the same task)
5. Backup under curtain then draw towards
6. Walk into bunting lane then back up out of it
7. Flag familiarisation while backing up through narrow gap 😉 🙂 🙂
Fri 13th
SO…it’s been a week since getting out and about with S&B because I have had a painful right shoulder. Not sure what I did, probably all the wood splitting and stacking we’ve been doing for our Winter stock. Whatever it was it’s been painful so I gave myself some needed ‘box rest’ and bought a shoulder support brace, which has been helping.
We managed to get out today, before I went completely stir crazy or having too much equine-withdrawal symptoms! LOL. Was going to sit and plod around on Bella or Stormy but the wind was blowing a hoolie and the estate gamekeeper was out again shooting (something) 🙁 so they were a bit on their toes and we thought it safer to not ride but to give them both good grooms and have a wee play. Here are some pics from the play sessions.
Sat 14th
Fun to get out with S&B today…..although pretty darn cold and WINDY…..brugggghhhh
Mark and Stormy just plodded about, at least it kept Mark’s butt warm 🙂 lol
Following each other gives them the motivation to go faster
Bella was in top good form today, she looked after me as I still have my shoulder brace on today 😉
Really lovely soft, light turns in the trotting weave 😉 🙂
Jumping nicely with a very smooth depart away from it
Using the agility obstacles for transitions (walk, backup, trot through) and motivation to get to the next one
Big arena fig 8’s….not as circular as I’d like but she was wiling and light 😉
I got off in the middle of the arena as she did such a good job and after so many days off I’m grateful she comes back into work so nicely for me <3
Mark and the handsome Mr Stormy 🙂
Sun 15th
SO…..today….going to ride again to get back into the swing of things 😉
Nothing too serious but start off with some ground work to make sure we’re connected
and that she has the transitions I need today.
Mr Stormy doing his thing….he wanted to get Mark’s attention and did so with his liberty pedestal fun…look at that ‘give me a treat dad’ stare 😉
We rode a lovely warm up and went straight into CANTER FIG 8’s
Here we are going around a round pen to the left with a fabulously correct left lead 😉
AND then going around the 2nd round pen to the right….
with the correct right lead 😉 🙂 🙂 yeehaaa 😉 🙂 🙂
Doing some fun trotting DHQ (hindquarter turn) fig 8’s…this is where we do a fig 8 pattern
but instead of doing big circles we go to the obstacle, do a quick hindquarter yield
(instead of a forehand, normal turn) which brings us down from trot to walk, the hq’s
swing out making the turn tight and then we go straight into trot and forward to the
next obstacle to do the same again on the other rein.
To finish we did two beautiful jumps….notice that the jump pole is now ONE slot HIGHER!!
Bella didn’t really jump much higher than she does when it’s one slot lower BUT it looked so much
higher to me so it was a mental challenge for me really 😉
Did this play session before riding too…
Love this big girlie, she’s very special 
Mon 16th
Just bought a new ‘orange’ tarpaulin as old blue one got holes in it SO decided to just test out Storm & Bella with it. They didn’t baulk at the colour at all 😉 🙂
Thurs 19th – STORM BABET (day 1)
Storm Babet hits us today, torrential rain (lots of flooding around the country but okay here at home) and very strong winds (no where near Storm Arwen strength though) SO, I walk the dog and Mark does the horses a(s my shoulder is still a bit sore). After a day of this weather Mark puts medium rugs on Storm and Bella and they were very happy to have them on for the night tonight 😉
Friday 20th – STORM BABET (day 2)
Go down in the afternoon while there’s a bit of a lull in the awful wind and rain to change rugs as yesterdays red ones are sopping wet and heavy (dry underneath for them) and it gives us a chance to give them both a really thorough groom and scratch up 😉
Saturday 21st – STORM BABET (day 3)
We change their medium rugs again for lighter ones today in prep of rain to come today. It actually never materialised so lighter rugs were a good call so they didn’t sweat 😉
You can see the shelter is strapped down with very long, large, lorry straps. We do this every Winter to keep it safe in high winds and it did fabulously well during Storm Arwen. The straps are attached by hooks to metal spiral spikes that go about 3′ into the ground 😉 We put them on before Storm Babet and will now leave them on until Spring next year 😉
Sun 22nd
yeehaa…. Today we have beautiful blue skies and SUN 😉 After all the bad weather and storm I gave Mark a lie-in this morning and did all the animal stuff and while doing the horses I decided that maybe if Bella’s not tired from the storm I would ride her. She was sleepy for quite a while but then after poo picking the field she woke up and went back to grazing so I decided that ‘yes’, I’d ride 😉
Bella groomed and tacked up waiting for me to bring her to the ‘barrel’ mounting block. Stormy decided to follow us…he’s waiting for treats 😉 lol
Such a lovely, calm, peaceful ride. Bella as always was a star and did some nice walk/trot transitions, leg yields and serpentines across the field 🙂
Bella after our ride, she just knows going onto the pedestal brings nice treats 😉 She’s a very clever girlie. Love her to bits <3
END OF OCTOBER….the weather has been rain, rain and more rain with hints of drizzle and plenty of wind SO not much went on play/riding wise 🙂
- Shelley – HorseSavvy