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Thu 1st – HAPPY AUGUST EVERYONE 🙂

 

Today I decided to do the horses morning routine and then saddle them both and ride Stormy and lead Bella back to the house.

This is a great way of taking our training outside the field, give S&B a change of environment and also give Mark a hack on Stormy 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

S&B ready to rock’n’roll.

Grazing along the route back to home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home with Mark waiting for us 🙂 He’s just walked the dog and is ready to ride back to the field as soon as I arrive 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ride back home not bad at all, lots of snatching for grass and we managed to stay calm while a super fast, noisy, low flying jet went overhead 🙁 🙂 phew……Bella a bit upset but she listened to me and we stayed calm and relaxed and she got some grazing as a reward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keeping them off the grass more we then allow them to munch on the thistles they love…me and Mark on S&B, side by side looking at the scenery is one of my favourite things to do on a hack 😉

 

 

 

 

Mark looking peaceful and happy while Storm munches away. They were a little behind me and Bella so I took the opportunity to turn left onto this wee bit of open field and had a nice trot then a lovely couple of canters before re-joining M&S on the track 😉 I LOVE that me and B can do this spontaneously now 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly home and then through gateway and we’re there 😉

 

Rode them down the field hill and straight to their water trough where they both had a wee drink.

Bella checked in with Mark <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 4th

 

Fab breezy cool morning this morning so Bella and I had a lovely agility play session.

It’s been a while since play so it was a good thing to change our morning riding pattern.

 

We started with the hulahoop, archway, curtain and flag….

 

 

 

 

….then we played with extreme familiarisation (motion, energy, noise and touch) with a hand held flag all around her…she just carried on munching grass 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then some bottles underfoot (trot and then canter…whoop whoop) and sidepassing over the drainpips.

 

 

Some fun also with a narrow bunting lane and circles in trot.

 

 

 

 

I then used a jump wing to mount and did the whole agility in walk and trot.

Finally we did some ridden walk and trot flag familiarisation which we’ve not done for a while 😉

Bella was a super star and I think she enjoyed the change in training today

 

 

 

 

Last part of the morning was with S&B playing around with our tyre pedestals, grooming each other and finally I took Stormy into the big field to munch on thistles (his reward as Bella had a ton of grazing while playing today)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sat 10th

Well it’s been 6 days since riding due to weather and also a trip up to Aboyne to visit the World Horse Welfare where me, Mark and Beau had a lovely lunch but also we took/donated all our old 6’6″ rugs from horses who have passed over (Tara, Solly, Holly). They always appreciate donations of equipment of ££ and the equipment they get is either used for the horses they save (especially rugs) or they clean them and sell them to the public for much cheaper than new so they get ££ either way 😉 It always feels good to donate to a charity that’s close to the heart <3

SO….today, the weather has been grey days, on/off drizzle or rain with splashes of hot sunshine so just managing to take the opportunities to play or ride when I can 😉 Today was that day. They both came back to being ridden as if we’d just ridden yesterday, which is always a joy but because it’s been nearly a week we took it easy and just asked for stretching of legs, length of strides etc.

 

 

Nice and easy with Stormy today, he was a bit slow to start but ended well and managed some nice trot but we always just try to stretch in walk with him as he is 21yrs old now and not a spring chicken 😉 lol

 

 

 

 

 

Bella had a wee play before we rode and then she did very nicely, stretching out in walk as we went, smoothly transitioning into trot for a long stretch and finished with some nice balanced canter around the round pens.

Wasn’t long but was perfect to re-connect to my beauty <3

 

 

 

 

 

I leave them in the shade of their shelter as the sun starts to heat up.

 

 

 

Mon 13th

 

Yesterday was a wash out as the rain was torrential with thunder (no lightning) and I had a ‘sofa day’.

Today I knew it was going to be drizzly – rain SO up and out to get a short ride on Bella 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Bella did fabulous bullseye into leg yields (turning in to a small circle then forwards and sideways making circle bigger)

Also trot weave on a loose rein to check our balance.

I then asked her to trot the round pens keeping a good strong rhythm but asking to stretch her legs which she did nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wed 14th

1. We start with her normal walk (or trot later) and that is our standard ‘medium’ walk.
2. I then lower my energy and breathing, get my butterfly to become smaller and toward the centre of my core while pulsing slower with it’s wings. I put in a small half halt on one rein and see if we can get our slow walk. I then release the hold on the reins and allow medium walk again as a reward. I practise this off/on for a full walk around the field.
3. To find our fast walk I ask my energy to think bigger, bring my core butterfly to increase in size and pulse more. I then give a verbal ‘kiss’ cue and then touch her sides with one heel then the other and wait. If it works then I leave it and allow my hips and shoulders to move faster with her, if it didn’t work then I repeat all the steps and try to get that deeper connection we need for this training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mon 19th

 

A nice, early, quick, morning exercise for me and Bella today.

Circles again, trying to make them better, easier transitions and smoother.

We did well today….12 mins 51 secs / 1.2 km / 922 strides / 38 transitions 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Bella munching on some grass after her exercise this morning and then both S&B on a strip of new grazing on the track. It seems that Autumn has come here early (or partially early)  and grass is slowing down it’s growth rate SO a wee bit more grazing on the track is much appreciated by them both 😉

 

 

Really lovely 20 min ride to sweep some cobwebs away, reconnect and have a bit of fun.

 

 

 

 

Fri 30th

Well gosh-a-roonie, it’s nearly September and Autumn is upon us. WOW. I hope you’ve all had a good Summer with your horses (albeit, like us you may have had storms, high winds and plenty of rain! 🙁 ) Here’s to a good Autumn with nice breezes that take away the flies, dry days that allow us daily riding adventures and good health for us and our equines so going into Winter is an easy transition 😉

 

Today….well I rode both S&B this morning. Starting with Stormy….

 

We did a nice 18 min ride working mostly in walk but it was a good medium walk with a purpose.

A couple of trots around arc’s as we did a very large weave/circle game.

He was more willing that the last time we rode out, he wasn’t so stiff and he didn’t grab at grass so much 😉 🙂

I enjoyed our ride out a lot today 😉

 

 

 

 

Me and my gorgeous big boy 🙂

 

Standing perfectly at the mounting block for me

 

 

 

 

Eating some grass I rewarded him with he looked lovingly at Bella 😉

 

After our ride I took him down the track to take his tack off and he walked beautifully beside the quad bike as I drove 😉

 

 

 

 

 

AND BELLA….

 

Today Bella & I had a nice ride today too. A round of walk weave/circles to warm up and then two rounds of trotting weave/circles.

 

She was light and well balanced in the gaits, listening nicely to my cues and eager to please.

 

Ready to ride, Stormy, already having been ridden, happy to rest near the shelter for our return 😉

 

 

 

Riding one handed turns….cues for turning are my focus so turning towards the way I want to go by looking with my eyes, inside shoulder back, belly button looking in right direction (all helping to put my weight in the saddle in the right place) then some light pressure along my outside leg, keeping my inside leg firm on the inside of Bella’s side. IF my focus cues and legs don’t make an impression then I’ll lightly, and quickly, use an inside rein upwards then release and repeat all the above as much as needed. Usually turning just requires me to look, bend my body where I want us to go and get my weight in the saddle right

 

 

 

 

 

Bella’s gorgeous face from the saddle…I love this big girlie so much <3

Bella grabbing some thistles as her reward for being a super star 😉

 

S&B given a new strip of grazing today 😉 🙂 🙂

 

 

 

 

Sat 31st

Bella showing huge amounts of curiosity towards the mat

Both S&B put a foot on it together…I’m using +R (positive reinforcement) in their training regularly now, especially with new things. The reinforcement with treats (done properly and not as a bribe) is very powerful and they learn quickly without negativity 😉

 

 

Bella then put both front feet on the mat while Stormy watched.

THEN Bella put all 4 feet on the mat which is not only hugely clever but hard as she only just fit on it.

 

 

Both S&B put their front feet on it together which was fabulous 😉

Then I fold the mat once to make one bit higher, one bit lower….

 

 

Bella put front feet on the mat, one foot on the high bit, one foot on the short bit…

while Storm put one foot on the lower mat to prove he can do it too 😉

THEN I fold the mat up so it’s smaller and 3 times higher…Bella tests it with one front foot first.

 

I ask her to try both front feet and she did it very well….Stormy then did it too 🙂 <3 🙂

I can take this mat out to students now S&B have tested it for me 😉

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

Wed 3rd

Great way to spend this morning….riding both Storm then Bella 😉 The weather is perfect for it, damp, cool, grey, breezy…no flies…fabulous 😉

 

 

 

 

First ride is Storm. Just use the field to move him about, stretch his long legs so we didn’t need to go fast, just work on getting a good walk going. He offered some trot which was lovely and then a couple of small canters 😉 He got to graze in the round pen for a reward after our ride. I then rode Bella 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Bella we start off stretching her legs with a good solid walk out. Then to get her fitness up we work on sustaining her trot and we got a lovely big fig 8 of trot with very few stops and when she did it was quickly back into trot again. The ride wasn’t as long as some other rides but it was a great start on getting longer periods of trot which later on will bring more canter once we’ve got fitness under our belts 😉

 

Fri 7th

Today I had some fun doing some agility tasks with Bella (then Stormy afterwards) 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feet in hula hoop. Flag familiarisation. Sidepass over drainage tube.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forward then back through arch. Touch flag with nose. Trot towards me through curtain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sidle over a pole. Trot onto tarp then halt. Jump

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into parallel poles, halt then back up. Back up through scary corner with bunting. Fig 8 in trot.

 

 

Bella ended with some nice sidling to a mounting block and then stepping on the flag which was flapping about on the ground 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storm did the same round….feet in hoop. Flag familiarisation. Halt on tarp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trot towards me under arch. Backup through curtain. Sidle over pole.

 

 

 

Backed up through the scary corner and both had the reward of some grazing on long grass in the agility arena 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 7th

 

I knew today was going to be hot but also knew that the next few days I would be doing other things SO early this morning was perfect for a short ride.

Why a short ride? WELL…..It was already starting to get hot at 8am this morning and I knew if I set a good, quick goal that was achievable, then it would be a perfect ride. SO, what was the goal?

The goal was to warm up with the roundpens in walk and then in trot. The big goal was to then just canter around the roundpens, with a short trot section in the middle between circles. This is called a SLC (Simple lead change) and guess what…..Bella was a super star and just did it for me.

After she did it I jumped off, gave her a big hug and leg her graze as her reward for being such a super-douper, balanced partner 😉

Could not love her more, she has come so far over the 5yrs of having her in our lives. She is the perfect partner to me and to Big Stormy too <3

 

 

Mon 8th

So, today I had one of my student/friends over to visit S&B. I do this now and then on an ‘special invite’ only basis. It’s usually students I classify as good friends but also those that have enough knowledge, kindness and willingness to learn that I invite and Belinda is one of those 😉 🙂

She took on the challenge to play and sit on Stormy and took that challenge with both hands to the point where she was happy to ride Storm in walk and trot with me giving her some instruction through the play into the riding 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storm was quite grass orientated.                                      Stormy looks ENORMOUS and as Belinda said, ‘he IS enormous’ 😉 lol.      Having fun with some agility obstacles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manged to get on Storm well.                                        Belinda looks like a wee kid on a pony 😉 lol.        And laughing through the big trot Storm delivers 😉

 

 

Thu 11th

 

Bella needed her 2nd dectomax injection today, the follow up for mites in her leg feathers.
SO, opportunity to ride Stormy and lead Bella back to the house 😉

 

 

 

Stormy rode very well and Bella followed beautifully.

I love that she is so happy to just follow Stormy, keeping her feet off the stony track and on the grass verge 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Got to the house in plenty of time for them to have a graze in the home paddock before the vet came at around midday.

 

 

 

After vet had been we saddled Stormy back up and Mark rode him back to the big field while I walked Bella 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of really long grass along the route home, S&B have learned the art of swiping for the grass heads while still walking 😉 lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella and I opened the gates for Storm and Mark 😉 Look at that fabulously thick, long tail 😉 Great fly swisher
(I hate when draft horse owners cut their horses tails for silly shows, they need them for flies so we let them grow as long as they can) 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark and Storm had a nice canter and some trot along the route. Really enjoy being out with the the boys and my beautiful girl Bella <3

 

 

 

 

 

And back in the big paddocks 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 12th

 

Today I washed Bella’s feet. Firstly to help clean them from all the oil and sudocrem we’ve been putting on them to heal the cuts and get ride of the mites.

Bella was a super star and showed how well our connection training has come along over the years….she put her foot in the tall bucket with water and allowed me to wash her feet individually with much gusto. She has never put her foot in a bucket this tall nor with water in it SO I’m a very proud momma with her trusting me. I think she knew this was all for her good and probably the warm water was soothing.

I then towel dried them and put a mix of hibiscrub on them to help with any mites that may be left there (not that I think there are any there now) 🙂

Mark later on put some sudocrem on the wee crack she has on her front left and crusty scabby bit on her hind left 😉

 

 

Sun 14th

 

Very early ride this morning with Ms Bella. She was fab. Just kept it to walk and mostly trot, marking out the next pattern we’ll be doing later on in canter….the long side of the field (we’ve already done the short side) so this will be about holding canter for longer and we’ll try it out when the weather is cooler/breezier and when the flies are so nasty.

 

Before and after the ride Bella got some grazing, Stormy on the other hand grazed the whole time in the round pen 😉

 

 

 

 

Tues 17th

 

GREAT NEWS….TODAY MY NEW BOOK IS BEING PUBLISHED ON AMAZON 🙂

I’m so proud of finally getting my book into print. It has my Horsemanship training techniques, my articles, quotes and fun agility bits.

The hardback is a good deal and lovely quality, the paperback needs to be put under a heavy book for a while as the cover can curl at the start.

Just go to Amazon and look up Shelley Newton-Carter or click on the link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=shelley+newton-carter&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

 

 

 

Thurs 18th

Another early morning ride on Bella and then Stormy 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 21st

 

Lovely ride with Bella today. We did a lot of different shapes, patterns and gaits and she felt very soft and light 😉

 

For a reward she wanted small thistles so I let her grab as many as she wanted 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storm, as always, just looked fabulous <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tues 23rd

 

SO, today….I needed to get samples for worm count and that often means hanging around until they’ve pooped. Today I decide to ride B then S as I know movement can often help that process along SO…..

 

 

I have a lovely ride on Bella first….she provides the sample quickly, as she always does, but I continue with the exercise as we both need it. She was fab and she wanted small thistles for her reward so I let her grab a load while still waiting for Stormy’s sample.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ride Stormy with a loose rein and a passenger lesson (he goes where he wants and I have no say about it apart from asking him to stay in walk). It was fun but he didn’t give me a sample so I pop him back into his round pen and 15 mins later he delivers 😉 🙂 All samples sent off now and hopefully all good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 26th

OMG, what was going to just be a quick exercise ride turned into a great ride.

Doing some walk trot transitions Bella put in a walk to canter transition I asked her to do it 5 more times and YES…BELLA can do WALK TO CANTER TRANSITIONS I’m over the moon.

So proud of her but also buzzing on a high of her achievements since being owned by her for 5 yrs now She melts my heart every time I think of her

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

 

 

 

Mon 29th

 

Another lovely morning ride on Bella. Today we did a long walk warm up where I asked her now and then to lengthen her walk stride so we were  going medium walk to fast walk on and off.

After the walk we went in to some trot where I changed my diagonal every 6 strides on the up beat. This means that as we trot I count 6 strides and either sit down or stand up for a count of two. This helps to balance up muscles on me and Bella as staying on the same diagonal can be detrimental to muscles and symmetry for us both.

The last bit we were testing some walk to canter transitions but with a twist of counting 6 strides of canter, 10 strides of walk (or trot). She did the up gaits well but mostly wanted to come down from canter to trot and that’s fine with me as it’s difficult to come from canter down to walk for a heavy horse….her upwards trans were near perfect again and she felt very balanced and relaxed doing them so I’m a happy bunny 😉

 

 

 

Storm’s ride was just a basic stretch of his legs today, a bit of trot and a nice canter back to the mounting block to end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They both had some grazing time today but as a reward we stopped at the small thistles they just adore eating at the moment. Then when back on their field track they mutually groomed 😉

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

 

 

Sat 1st June

SO…it’s been a while since I have had time to spend with S&B as I’ve been doing some private teaching and also agility clinic last weekend in Moray so it was lovely to be able to spend time with them today. Unfortunately it was without any play or riding as we needed to do a couple of maintenance tasks today. Mark cleared the old hay and wet patches from in front of the shelter and allowing the fabulous sunshine to dry the area out and I had to help Bella. She has got a few scabby bits on her legs, in the feathery bits. It can be just general scurfyness getting itchy which she’s rubbed or it could be mites again SO…my job was to make it easier to see what’s going on so we can treat it and get the vet in if necessary. I don’t have horse clippers (and Bella may not be clipper trained) and she needed it done today SO I used my very sharp, but safe, dog scissors and cut them all off.

It took quite a while to get it all clear, she has a LOT of leg feather, and I washed her lower legs with warm water and head & shoulders shampoo. She was such a good girl, standing pretty much stock still the whole time. She now looks more like a ‘heavy hunter’ type than a ‘draft horse’ 😉

 

< Before, all hair and not able to see how many scabs she has or how bad they are.

This is all the hair in a bucket after I cut them off >

 

 

 

 

< Feathers gone and washed clean. Dried with a towel and the sunshine did the rest.

Bella looks pretty nice without her hairy legs 😉 >

 

 

 

 

Sun 2nd

 

It’s been well over a week since riding Bella and early this morning, after their breakfast, I wanted to see how she was feeling today and to check any ‘unsoundness’ that may be still there….

 

 

 

Well…..all went beautifully. She was happy to move forward in walk and to extend that walk so it was faster and then after about 15 mins I asked if she wanted to trot and TROT she did….sound, happy and beautifully rhythmic 😉 YEEHAA 😉 Am hoping that’ll be the last of her unsoundness and we can have some nice, fun, rides together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tues 4th

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 6th

Today was Bella’s turn for some ridden exercise. Not much to talk about, just getting both of us fitter as we go 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 9th

 

Another lovely day for riding so Mark and I get out with Bella and Stormy. Mark and Stormy did a wee bit with us but then Bella and I carried on as we needed more time to find our relaxation, curves and soft transitions.

You can see from the ride map that we did a LOT of going back and forward, circles and testing our canter for relaxation, which took time as she was a bit ‘fresh’ on the long grass BUT we got there in the end 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella and me working on our connection through transitions.

 

 

 

 

The last couple of short canters were really lovely, calm, collected and connected 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Wed 12th

Well today I had a local lady visit to see what I do, how I train, my horses. I cannot tell you how proud I am of Bella (online) and Stormy (at liberty) and how fantastically well they went around the new agility course I put together yesterday for this event. I don’t have any pictures but I have a whole lotta love in my heart for my two beauties. I think the lady was impressed, if not just for the moves they did, the tasks and the smooth gait changes they both did BUT because we were working on longish grass and the didn’t once run off or grab for it 😉

The obstacles we did were:

1. Trot onto tarp, halt then familiarise with flag
2. Jump
3. Walk between parallel poles with scrunched plastic bottles in
4. Go through bunting corner
5. Place 2 front feet in hulahoop
6. Weave in trot
7. Trot to single pole, halt with pole underneath belly, ask for backup off pole
8. Underneath curtain, halt then back up
9. Fig 8’s around and between 4 flags together
10. Trot under archway
11. Sidepass over drainage pipe
12. Place one front foot on a wooden block

 

Thurs 13th

 

Well today I started off doing some play with Bella, saddled and ready to ride but made sure we had our connection and checking out her gait transitions. I used the coloured jump wings (like I do when riding) for some online P2P’s. She did some lovely walk, trot and canter transition P2P’s and so I got on her for a nice ride.

 

As you can see from the ‘ride map’ we did a good half hour session with much more canter in it than usual and her canter today was smooth, rhythmic and so sittable-to 😉 I made sure she did some nice walk warming up (around the round pens) and then same for cooling down after our session.

 

 

 

She was a start today 😉 Really lovely P2P’s, lovely to smooth transitions and happy rider and pony today <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 14th

It’s always good to remember to mix thing sup with horses. I try to mix up training, undemanding time and fun things like agility or in-hand grazing. Today S&B came out with me in-hand for some grazing on the track above their field. There is a lot of wonderful wild flowers and herbs such as cow parsley, all in it’s prime at the moment….they LOVED it 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue 18th

Got out today with Bella and managed to progress our canter work. Firstly I allowed Bella and Stormy to graze in their own round pens, this allows Bella to get what she wants, more grass, while I sorted out the field and got the saddle etc ready. Once she’s had grazing I can start to ride her with less P2P stops/graze 😉 Secondly I have a plan for a short but faster session 🙂 This hopefully will motivate her to canter more as she will learn that it’s more about effort, speed now and not learning accuracy 😉

 

Grazing ponies 🙂

 

 

 

 

You can see from the riding maps that we walked/trotted around the round pens first to warm up

Then we trotted as much as possible the serpentine pattern at the top where the field has no obstacles apart from jump wings to show me where to go to and where to turn.

Then the aim was canter the straight bits across the field with trotting around the turns. I think we did pretty well, she had one wee YEEHAA in the middle but came down to trot/walk easily and we redid that section and continued on nicely.

For a first attempt I’m very pleased and proud of the progress in canter work.

 

 

Bella looking at the open space to serpentine in.

Having a wee photo moment with S&B after my ride 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 21st

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE EVERYONE. 

Went out with Mark to see horses early this morning as I wanted to trim down Bella’s leg hair so we can continue working on mending her sore heels/pastern area where she has some sores. We’ve got the vet coming hopefully next week to give her an injection to sort out leg mites, which is what we think she has again…vet will confirm when they come but waiting for injection which they’ve run out of SO we need to keep managing her legs to keep her comfortable until vet can come 😉

After doing Bella’s legs, getting her comfortable and putting a ton of fly spray on her, I decide to groom and ride Stormy. Always up for taking the opportunity when it arises and it was a lot of fun. He was light, started stretching those long legs and seemed to be enjoying our ride as much as I was…he also got a bit of grazing as a thank you which he LOVED 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 23rd

Morning cool means time for a wee ride 😉

 

1. Start with a nice bit of grazing for S&B
2. Saddle and fly spray Bella
3. Play with circles in walk, trot and canter to make sure all ready to ride
4. Mount and ride some walm up exercises (walk circle, walk circle with leg yields, back to track and trot, repeat on other side)
5. Then I ask for full circles of trot
6. Finally ask for full circles of canter (which she did going to the left but needed a slightly longer time going to the right to depart in canter)

 

 

Not a long ride, the sun was just starting to be hot by the time we ended BUT it was a progressive ride.

A good, solid warm up, great trot round pens and then great canter, can be better but I’m very happy with her canter circles today 😉

 

 

 

 

Bella resting up in the shelter after her graze/ride (Storm got to just graze, lucky boy) 🙂

 

 

 

Thurs 27th

 

Bring horses home today, I walk then ride Stormy and lead Bella off him 😉 She is a fab lead horse 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then after they have some time in the home paddock we bring them home, this time Mark rides his Stormy and I lead Bella.

I lead her as she had a vet inject a solution to rid her of mites on her legs 😉 She was SO good with the vet, no fuss and stood still to be checked over 😉 Love this girl, she does me proud 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 30th

 

Today I went out early-ish to do S&B’s breakfast.

I then put them in their round pens, got my riding boots and hat on, got Bella out of the pen and saddled her.

I then asked her to do some simple exercises to warm up then I mount and we have a great ride.

Bella’s canter work is really coming along now, much smoother with her transitions, rhythmic and balanced which has been helped with Mark’s trimming of her hooves over the last few months 😉

Love this big girl, she is the most genuine, beautiful soul and I love riding her.

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy