Blog

Fri 1st

 

Well the start of October is a wet, wet, wet one. Both horses keeping dry in their shelter and today probably a no-go for play/riding but that’s okay. Connecting when feeding and fussing is a good session as far as I’m concerned 😉 <3

 

 

Sun 3rd

 

It’s been raining for a few days here so it was lovely to get out with Bella today. I decided to just groom and connect through ground play and not ride, the ground is still a bit wet and squishy SO…started off with some backing and sidepassing over a pole.

 

Lovely head down with some kisses and then went into some sidepass into a hq move.

 

 

 

And we did this on both sides 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

After some treats, hugs and kisses we did some lovely calm walk circles with a calm, smooth COD between left and right circles.

 

 

 

Then we did some trot circles, she had a bit of energy so just let her blow that off which she did really quickly which was lovely. She’s finding relaxation more and more now.

 

 

🙂

 

 

 

A break, some treats and kisses again then onto some rope around spins. She was so calm with the familiarisation toss of the rope over her head, the best she’s ever done it and she remembered exactly how to turn her hq’s towards with the rope pressure lightly on her quarters 🙂

 

 

Did this on both sides and she was fab on both sides 😉

 

 

 

Then we did some really lovely ‘stand still’ where I went under her belly

And to finish off we did some S2M teaching her our new thing of ‘backups straight into trot’ which she did brilliantly…will see how this goes with riding soon 😉

 

Sun 10th

At last….a nice day to be out and about with the horses. We’ve had a LOT of rain recently but today has an Autumnal crispness to it and nice ‘riding’ weather.

 

We had lovely sitting trot which says she’s able to relax and go slower in her trot, hold her frame and same for me too.

 

 

 

I set her up and then get out of her way so that she can trot the cloverleaf pattern.

My elbow to ‘mouth’ line and also seat to ear lines are much better today.

 

 

Even when I ask for a bit more energy in the trot we can still do sitting trot to it 😉

 

 

 

 

Mark and Stormy having fun together, think the horses have missed us.

 

 

 

 

Big hugs for a big hearted horse 😉

 

Lovey soft, light end to our fun riding 😉

 

 

Mon 11th

 

A nice crisp Autumnal day today and having put up a small agility course this morning we decided to try it out…first of all online 😉

 

Did really well with the water tray and the pole labyrinth and a great trot under the archway and some controlled trotting weave too.

 

 

Then onto some fig 8’s which went very well

 

 

 

 

Then onto sidepass over a pole with a sidepass towards afterwards 😉

 

 

 

Onto some flag familiarisation, with some good flag sounds due to the wind blowing and then 4 feet onto the pedestal. Bella was light, calm and fun.

 

Bella and I take a rest and watch Mark and Stormy do the course at liberty. Bella watches and hopefully this helps cement how liberty work works 😉

Stormy did fab with the water tray and managed a wee jump too.

 

He did the labyrinth his own way which included some really nice sidepassing over some poles and then a fab trot through the arch way.

 

 

Putting feet into/onto hulahoops wasn’t bad and trotting the weave was great.

 

 

 

Connecting with Mark with the weave. Continuing with fig 8’s went very well, not the easiest for him but his draw and drive are great.

 

 

 

His favourite, ‘sidepass’, over the big log.

 

 

 

and no problems at all with the flapping flag…..popping up on the pedestal with all 4 feet easily for a reward treat 🙂

 

 

 

 

Finally Bella and I tried some liberty too. She follows quite well if I walk backwards, here with the water tray and from the hulahoops to the arch 😉

 

When we go from drawing to connecting side-to-side then her energy goes up and she often wants to move faster than me and play.

 

 

So I just wait, still connected to her, until she comes back to me 😉

When she settles back to our close connection I sort of follow her for a bit with some S2M w/t around tyres

 

And then onto the pedestal with the flag.

 

She wants to have a bit of a yeehaa so off she goes kicking up her heels

 

and enjoying herself.

 

 

 

 

Lovely that she comes back to me and because I want to end on a note where we have a closer connection I put her back online for the last bit today 😉

 

And we end on some nice sidepassing over the drainage pipe….some draw/drive with fig 8’s…

 

 

 

She has a bit of a jump over a tyre but settles into the fig 8’s quickly and a nice note to end the session on.

 

 

Nice hug session to end on and then both Storm and Bella hand out with me a bit while I tidy up from the session 😉

 

 

 

Fri 15th

Today we just did a bit of arena training.

 

 

 

A few RtR in walk then trot and then onto some circles and fig 8’s in trot.

Always looking for relaxation and a nice curve in the body which went pretty well today.

 

Ended with some lovely agility tasks, sidepass over things, weave, leg yields,  onto pedestal and most importantly to take me back to the mounting block to dismount 😉

 

 

Sat 16th

 

A chilly start to the day but some sunshine and blue skies SO …… short hack out with Bella, Mark & Stormy 😉

And we’re off….

 

 

Along the track first with Stormy leading then Bella leading 😉

 

 

 

 

Nice to be able to ride side-by-side with Mark and Stormy on parts of the track.

 

 

 

Allowing Stormy to get ahead gave us the chance to catch up with some trot.

Lovely views for us to enjoy 😉

 

 

Mark & Stormy.

Near the middle of the hack…

 

 

 

 

Bella doing really well, this is the big hill behind our house and she did a lovely big trot up the last half of it.

 

 

 

Loving this wee hack, it’s a lovely track and the weather stayed with us all the way.

 

 

 

 

Mark & Stormy with Bella and me taking a rest and the turning point for home on the hack.

 

 

 

Bella was a very cheeky girlie…she saw Mark giving Stormy a treat so she shuffled up next to him and almost put her nose into his pocket to get one too!! LOL

We then got off and walked

them in-hand for a bit to give them a bit of a rest from being ridden.

Always lovely to find a big stone to remount from 🙂

And then we were back to their field 😉

 

 

Thurs 21st

Well I’ve been busy out and about teaching Natural Horsemanship, Agility and Bitless riding but it was just lovely to be back home with Bella today. I think she has missed me as much as I missed her and today was super light, soft and connected to me, connected to each other 😉

Easy feet into hulahoop

Nice long walk stride

 

 

 

Over pole and then nice soft DHQ

 

 

 

Sidepass to the left easy and soft

Leg yields through weave pattern light

 

 

One handed weave was really nice…listening to my seat weight and neck rein

Sidepass to the right wonderful

 

 

Tried sidepass over a pole long ways for the first time, this will later become a sidle over log 😉

One rein weave

 

One foot on small ped and then 4 feet on big ped 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Sat 23rd

 

Just a nice day to have a bit of a play with Bella today.

Nice leading game to start with, she is willing and happy to play 😉

 

Nice circles with a couple of jumps. She is much calmer and attentive today, she is growing in confidence with her training now.

 

 

Lovely sidepass over a low jump, this is a FIRST for her and she’s more confident with bigger things under her.

 

 

We then went on to walk and TROT calmly through a

narrow gateway…very nice to see her so calm. Then backup through gateway, another FIRST for us 😉

 

Continued to half circle by fence into sidepass along the fence….super flexible, soft and calm.

 

 

.

Fig 8’s around tyres in walk and trot went well and then she wanted to have a bit of a canter yeehaa which I just watched her do calmly 😉

 

 

 

She had her canter then came back to me and relaxed really nicely 😉

 

 

 

Then we just hung out together, she had a bit of grazing too

 

 

 

 

Love this big girlie so much, she is a fab lady <3

 

 

 

Thurs 28th

I trimmed Bella’s front feet and just had a quick impromptu bareback ride, she was super soft, light and flexible today 😉 lovely 😉

 

Sat 30th

 

Trimmed Bella’s hooves today so all good foot wise 😉

 

 

 

Then I had an short bareback ride on Bella. Lovely to be bareback again for a bit, really feel her back moving nicely.

 

 

 

We worked a bit on asking for more engagement with her hq’s, asking for some partial disengagement to get her back inside leg working hard and under her 😉

 

She did really well with this and we went and played with the pedestals which is one of her favourite things.

 

 

 

She is so clever, balancing herself on the big pedestal with 4 feet and then I asked her to put one front foot over a big log, the start of sidling a log 😉 🙂

 

 

Been an on/off month really, lots of rainy weather but some realy nice riding 😉

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

 

Sat 4th

 

A lovely day for a ride. Pony Stormy first off Bella then get to some play/work with Bella 😉

 

 

Drag the tyre for a bit and position it for us to do the ‘circling game’. This went really well, familiarisation and moving the rope around was good

 

Circles in walk and trot both ways went very well, must work on us getting the circles consistently circular though.

 

 

We did some really nice turns away and towards the rope and also some full 360’s with the rope around her rump and over her ears 😉

 

 

A lovely fun workout, really nice to feel some progress too

 

 

 

Loose rein for a bit and also some nice canter transitions

 

 

 

Big trotting and canter departs around the roundpens 😉

 

 

 

 

Love cantering through the long grass…this will be their standing hay for winter

 

 

A bit of a sloppy jump…..thinking it needs to be raised as she can trot over it easily now.

Then lead Stormy back to the track to end 😉

 

 

Sun 5th

 

Just a lovely day today as best friend Kat came to visit as not seen her since the beginning of lockdown 2020 and she took up the ‘sit on Stormy’ challenge too 😉

 

 

Kat is a good rider and is used to riding small and big horses so Stormy wasn’t such a big effort for her and Stormy was on his best behaviour.

 

We had a nice ride on the track first, playing with some obstacles and then went out into the grassy part of the field and played with some more obstacles and had fun with transitions

 

 

I think Kat enjoyed her Storm ride and it was lovely to ride with her.

 

 

 

Cantering on Stormy and Kat just laughed which was so funny 🙂

 

 

 

 

End of the ride and just lovely to see that big smile. Bella and I really enjoyed riding with Kat on Stormy…have to do it again sometime soon 😉

 

 

 

Mon 13th

 

A lovely day for a wee hack out today. Down in field near the river Bella stretches her legs

 

 

Enjoying the big field space, Bella wasn’t worried about where Stormy was but then he went up the narrow hill track and disappeared a bit with the red cattle feeder behind her Bella wasn’t sure of things…SO…I got off and walked her up the narrow track.

 

Once up the top I got back on and we had a nice walk and trot up this big field hill 😉

We got a nice view of the track back to the house

 

 

Mark and Stormy view their kingdom 😉

Then back on the usual track back to their field.

 

 

 

Nearly back to the field and then back on the track of the field. It was a nice shortish circular hack from the bottom of their field around to the top of their field 😉

 

 

 

Weds 15th

 

Today I took Storm and Bella out to do the same ride as last time but just me riding Stormy and leading Bella.

We started off in the ‘haugh’ field, Bella leading really well.

Stormy was still a bit worried by the end of the field with the cattle feeder but he got really close to it on his own by just going around it and ignoring it.

He didn’t want to ride up the narrow track up the hill, I think because his feet were a bit sore and it’s a very stony track SO I got off and walked them both up it and they were both calm and listening nicely.

At the top I used a tree stump to get back on Stormy and we carried on riding up the big hill together.

Stormy decided trotting and a bit of canter would be fun and it was fab to have Bella trot and canter with us without any tension on the lead rope 😉

Once at the top we just plodded along the top track back to the top of their field.

I washed them both down as it was a bit hot and Stormy got a bit stressed so was a bit sweaty, they enjoyed it and then Stormy rolled too 🙂

 

 

 

 

Thurs 16th

 

Hoof trimming day today and after I did Bella we went for a short ride around the big field.

We’ve not done this for a while and she was a bit sensitive….I think that she gets like this when in season.

But the ride was okay, nice walk and trot and she started listening to the rhythm and slowing her trot down to the point I could do some sitting trot 😉

Her flexibility was good and listening to my breathing in/out for transitions was very good.

Nice ride but need to do it  more again to make it ‘normal’ again 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sat 18th

Nice day for a wee hack and 3rd time this month we go out onto the flat ‘haugh’ field and try to actually ride up the scary narrow track. This track is a stony track so not the easiest, it also has a steep stony bank up on the right and a steep bank down on the left which has a thick farm electric fence on the left….even I don’t like it BUT it’s great to get this under our belt….

 

Walked down first hill, mounted off the bridge gate and then went around the big field. There were some sheep in the field so we kept away from them so they didn’t spook up the narrow gap with us 😉

 

The narrow gap 😉 YEAH…we both rode up it, no walking our horses today. SO proud of them both going up there and definitely helped with the consistent practise we’ve been putting in 😉

 

Letting Storm and Mark go ahead enough for us to trot to catch up 🙂

Stormy posing >>>

 

 

 

<<< more posing from Stormy 🙂

 

Bella watching Stormy come off the hill

 

 

Think Stormy bombed this pic! LOL

 

Treat for a good boy 😉

 

 

Going through the lovely sun dappled track back to the top of their field

 

 

 

Home is just around the corner….Mark managed to open the field gate whilst sitting on Stormy and we both rode down the track together 😉

What a fab wee hack out xxx

 

 

 

Tues 21st

 

Before riding with Storm and Mark (leap frog and side-by-side games) Bella and I did some ‘arena work’

 

 

We’re working on straightness and straightness on curves so we can start to get more consistency with our shapes in the arena.

 

 

Also working on getting more consistent trot so that we stay in the same rhythm for longer. Working on a slow trot I can sit to and also a faster trot I rise to 🙂

 

Nice wee jump to end on too.

 

 

 

 

Weds 22nd

Sun 1st August

Not being able to ride or play with the horses every day is hard for me as I get a bit of ‘cabin fever’ sitting around in the house. I just LOVE being out and about walking the dog or being with the horses so every now and then I just have to plonk my bottom on a horse and mosey about to get my horse-fix 😉

Today was one of those days, the clegs (horseflies) are bad still and it was warm enough for Bella to want to eat her dinner then stay inside the shelter waiting for the cool of the night SO I asked Stormy if he would mind me sitting on him and just ride around the track a bit. He did a great job of taking care of me as I just jumped up on his back and had his rope halter/rope on him. He helped me find my smile again and he got more treats for his reward 🙂 <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mon 2nd

Well, we have cool weather, no flies and a dullish day here…HOORAY….nice fun ride around the new field agility that I set up yesterday. There are some things Bella hasn’t done yet that she did with confidence today and I’m so proud of her 😉

 

 

< First off we did ‘touch it’ with her nose to the rope and tyre

and then to the flapping tarp >

 

 

 

 

 

 

< Then we did a lovely one handed weave through the flapping flags

 

and didn’t bat an eyelid going through/under the arch >

 

 

 

 

< We then plodded through the flapping bunting lane

 

and then walked/stopped/walked over the water tray >

 

 

 

 

 

< Next she did a fab sidepass left/halt/sidepass off right over this drainage tube

and a FIRST of going through/under the curtain…TWICE 🙂 🙂

 

 

 

 

< We then rode through the narrow gateway

and then did our one handed fig 8’s around the tall polyposts >

 

We also started a new thing of trot, try a few strides of canter IN the roundpen. I’m starting this so that she gets used to cantering a circle and inside the round pen she can’t wander off and go back to a straight line off the outside rail 🙂

 

 

 

< Then we sidled up to the fence and I grabbed the rope

while we did some nice circles dragging the tyre nicely

 

She did a fab job doing fig 8’s around the round pens whilst I held the flapping flag (on her shoulder, down by my foot, up on my shoulder and also over her rump ;>

 

 

 

< Next she sidled up to the tarp on the fence and we rode about with it sitting on her withers…another FIRST today

and then rode around a bit with it flapping down her sides, on her shoulders and also over her rump >

 

 

 

 

< Last but by no means least we popped a wee jump and had a lovely canter back to the mounting block 🙂

 

 

 

Tues 3rd

 

First time ponying Stormy from Bella…all went fabulously well

 

 

 

 

Then onto riding Bella round the agility course which is a lot of fun and using our games for a purpose now 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pony’d Stormy in walk and trot then gave Bella some time grazing as a reward 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Weds 4th

 

 

 

Another ponying start to today’s morning ride out and Bella doing really well with it 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then onto the field agility stuff but today we had another purpose as it’s supposed to be windy and raining on weekend so time to gather the obstacles up and put them safely on the side of the track. This was fun as we cantered over to the flag and took that back, then cantered to the tarp and brought that back too

and finally we cantered over to the tyre and walked that carefully back. Having the purpose is a great way of using all we’ve learned and we used a lot of stuff today including: sidling up to gateways and ropes on the fence, over tarps, under archways and through flapping curtains and flags, leg yielding when dragging the tyre

and also lovely transitions between backup, walk, trot and canter 😉

It’s really showing how good our foundation of ground work is and letting me know if we need more work in certain area’s. To be honest Bella is doing so well, her flexibility is fab, her transition and turning seat cues are great, her sideways and lateral moves are pretty solid now and we have a great partnership 😉

 

 

 

 

 

What a beautiful girl she is and It’s lovely that she and Stormy get on so well 😉 Love these two big beasties <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 5th

 

Another early morning ride with Bella….starting off with ponying Stormy to the long grass for a bit of a graze 😉

 

 

 

Put his leadrope on the fence and let Bella have a few mouthfulls of grass before we do some training 😉

 

All the agility obstacles are gone for a bit but we still have the big roundpens to play with SO I start with a fig 8 in walk around them, then trot with outside circles added for a bit of variety and Bella is getting so much more flexible now 😉

 

 

 

Then we do some canter around the pens but I only ask for half a circle each way as it’s only the start of cantering on an arch/circle. She did really well both ways.

 

 

And then I go and get Stormy back, pony him towards the track, jump off Bella, undo her saddle a couple of notches and allow her some grazing as a reward. Loving this big girl, she is so a cool cucumber and everything is coming together so nicely 😉

 

<3

 

 

 

 

Sat 7th

on/off rain last couple of days and more to come so just manage to pop down to Bella today and trimmed her hooves. I’ve been doing a bit of trimming every two weeks and it’s not only easier for me but it’s quicker for her and also keeping her feet balanced.

 

Mon 9th

Rain, rain and more rain….

 

This part of the track gets flooded a bit but it drains well down the hillock to a stream so that’s good. The horses had their dinner with me then made their way back to the shelter to keep dry. The rain didn’t last all night and they went back out onto the track to graze during the night 😉

 

 

Sat 14th 

Well I sprained my back on Wednesday so not a lot going on for me apart from resting, resting, resting until it’s better. Feeling sorry for myself but managed to get out to see the horses today which cheered me up no end. Watched as Mark exercised Stormy then asked him to lead Bella around for some exercise too which went very well…here’s some pics from their fun afternoon 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella and me hanging out together 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and what a fabulous jump Ms Bella did…first time jumping while being led and a first for Mark doing it too 🙂

 

 

 

 

Happy bunnies <3 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Mon 16th 

Today Mark did another great job riding Stormy and leading Bella on a wee hack to the house and back. My back is still a bit too tender to attempt riding at the moment but Mark did a great job ponying Bella so that he could get Stormy to the house to be trimmed by the farrier 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farrier trimming Storm’s hooves 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weds 18th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 19th

 

Giving treats at dinnertime the horses usually do some small bits of training…today they decided that trying to stand on the pedestal together was a good one 😉 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tue 24th

Been a while since riding but my back is feeling much better now and actually sitting on a moving horse in walk is quite theraputic as it moves my muscles without me tensing them. Some pics from today….

 

Ride Bella…lead Stormy for a bit….then I take Stormy’s lead off and we leave him grazing whilst we do a bit of transition work around the field 😉

 

 

 

Lovely look along the glen…LOVE those ears 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Catch Stormy again and lead him a bit more before going back onto the track 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weds 25th

Making up for lost time I manage to get out early again to ride first Stormy and then Bella 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Stormy I just plodded about, giving him a big of a stretch and flexing to both sides. We did a couple of agility bits which I put up again yesterday and then I took him back to the track to get Bella set up. Bella today did some lovely walk/trot transitions with some great halts and nice backups. We then did some nice cone leg yield weaves and not a bad left and right turn on the forehand 😉

We then did all the agility bits which included trotting over the tarp and through narrow bunting gap and onto the water tray with all 4 feet. Through the curtain which has 6 strands hanging down now…she walked first then trotted through so will practise this for relaxation throughout. We then played ‘touch it’ with her nose to the hanging tarp and the rope that is attached to the tyre (didn’t drag it today) and she did a really lovely trot weave through the tall flags. Next we did the jump, she had a bit of wind under her toes and she did a wee jumpity jump (not quite a buck) SO I used the round pens to trot around to get her calm and reconnected, did another jump nicely and then came back to the round pens and just trotted around them in a fig 8 on a loose rein until she relaxed again as she was power trotting a bit. It didn’t take her long and once she was reconnected I took her down the wee hill and cantered her up again with lovely relaxation, walked a bit and then let her relax grazing when I jumped off 😉

 

Thurs 27th

A lovely cool morning this morning so out to ride Bella again 🙂

 

Pony’d Storm for a bit first, then onto some fun play work. Sidepass along the fence was fab, light and easy peasy.

 

 

 

 

 

Using a rope on a tyre is great for (1) dragging and (2) using for circles. Bella’s first try in walk and then a bit of trot went well. I was using two hands but hope to start using one handed cues soon 😉

 

 

 

Fri 27th 

A really lovely ride again today, made it out in the afternoon and not too hot but didn’t do too much. Firstly pony’d Stormy off Bella again, did some walk and trot then left him to graze for a bit on his own 😉

 

 

Lovely trot around the field and then onto some fun agility…..under the arch…

 

 

 

 

….trot through the bunting lane and then onto the water tray (you can’t see it but she is squarely on it) ;)…

 

 

 

….then a fab relaxed walk through the curtain and then back up half way through it 😉 …

 

 

 

…then sidepass along the drainage tube and onto a nice wee jump….

 

 

 

 

…then we did 3/4 of a canter to the right around one of the round pens, down the hillock and canter left up the other side…

 

 

 

….lovely canter and onto riding with the flag in walk and then trot too 😉

 

 

 

…just love this big girlie…..pony’d Stormy back to the track afterwards too 😉 <3

 

 

 

 

 

Mon 30th

My pics first then the ones Mark took 🙂

 

SO today we took Bella and Stormy out for a short hack out in the fields by the river. It’s been empty of farm animals for a while now so it was a lovely opportunity to ride in some big grassy fields 😉

 

 

 

Bella and Storm really enjoyed themselves, Bella worked on walk and trot, circling around Stormy while he grazed. She did the ‘gateway’ no problem today, had problems last year with it.

 

 

 

 

She wasn’t phased when Stormy went in front or dragged behind, it was just lovely to be together riding somewhere different 😉

 

 

 

 

Took them both down the field to the water trough to get water after their ride out as they were thirsty.

Following Stormy on Bella

 

 

 

Stormy enjoyed being somewhere different, all horses can get a bit bored of doing the same things or just being in the same place so this was a lovely change for us all 😉

 

 

 

 

Riding out together cheers us all up and these fields were fab…nice and flat with grazing destinations along the way 🙂

 

 

 

 

We walked up the last hill..Stormy and Mark cantered up it big time…fab to see them having fun 😉

They drank together when back home in the field…so cute xxx

 

 

 

 

 

Tue 31st

The last day of August and another cooler day for a ride out. We decided to do the same wee hack out into the fields below where our horses are along the river 😉

 

Mark and I walked the horses down the first big hill and then mounted from a gate

 

 

 

Really lovely to get the horses moving in the big fields. We did lots of transitions of h/bkup/w/t and canter

 

 

 

Lots of destinations with grazing for rewards

 

 

 

 

Super fun and a lovely canter back up the hill to our field…first Stormy

 

 

 

 

and then Bella and me 😉 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly we did another FIRST today….leading Bella from the quad bike 😉

Then took them down to the water trough after the ride to let them drink…..

 

 

LOVE that they drink together…they’re a fabulous pair of beauties <3

 

 

 

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy