Bella & Stormy (2023)

WOW…it’s AUGUST ALREADY!!!!! how’d that happen? 😉

Tues 1st

 

At last we have some perfect hacking out weather…not too hot, nice breeze to keep the flies away and dry 😉

Storm and Bella ready to ride out….

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella enjoyed the ride…well, the nibbles along the way I should say…first there were fabulously fresh, ripe raspberries with leaves and then she enjoyed nibble height small thistles ready for the taking 😉 🙂 Stormy nibbled a lot too 😉

We walked to the ‘wooden bridge’ which is a good place to turn back for home and not too much that they were tired out….building up stamina for longer journeys takes time and patience 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then a nice jaunty ride back home where we had a faster walk and active trotting

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND a lovely canter on the home stretch for Bella and a slow plod from Stormy 😉 🙂 LOL

 

 

 

 

Wed 2nd

 

Just a bit of exercise for Bella today, mostly walk to just get her moving about.

It was quite windy and she was on ‘alert’ at one point…where we did a lot of going back and forth in the middle of the field plan. It helped to reconnect her to me and by changing directions regularly it kept her mind on the job too 😉

 

 

 

 

 

No problems with the flags being in a different formation today….grazing is always a fun way to get a horse used to changes. She rode through it well too…this ‘box’ formation gives us circling, fig 8’s and clover leaf pattern in w/t/c so will be fun doing that and a change is always as good as a rest, as they say 😉

 

 

Thurs 3rd

Today was a lot of fun as Mark and I rode together around the new field agility arrangement….didn’t get pics as too focused on playing with the obstacles 😉 BUT after that Bella and I had a lot of fun doing some FIRSTS…first to canter through the flapping flag box, first to canter through the bunting lane and first to canter over the tarp 😉

 

Short bit of leading Storm from Bella to start with 😉

 

 

 

 

Canter through the flapping flag box 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did a bit of flag work but it was SO windy I didn’t get to ride with it today

 

 

 

 

Canter through a bunting narrow lane

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cantering over the tarp 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued cantering……both of us having a lot of fun cantering more 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stormy and Mark enjoying their obstacle play time 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tues 8th

 

Lovely to ride big Stormy early this morning. We did a lot of the field obstacles but weren’t in a hurry or with any main agenda. Just a lovely plod around together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then I had a lovely ride on Ms Bella too 😉 We did a lot of the obstacles and put in some halt or backup transitions halfway through a lot of them 🙂

 

 

 

Into the bunting lane and halt for 5 seconds before moving on…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…same for the tarpaulin….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and again with the low lane with log in the middle but we also popped in a halt over the log, backup off log then move on again 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and again with the flapping curtain….with this one she took advantage of the halt and snatched some grazing with was fab…shows she was relaxed and calm even with the flapping plastic curtain bits all around her 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

…last, but not least, the very low archway which we just plodded slowly through 😉

We also did some nice moves through the flapping flag ‘box’, popped a jump and did some canter ‘Point 2 Point’ game 😉

 

 

 

 

Thurs 10th

 

 

Walk, trot and cantered all over the field arena today….It was a bit muggy weather wise but we spent a lot of time working on the flag familiarisation. The work went up a level in energy today and it was fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flag work going well. More familiarisation and body work and also the energy with it flapping while we walk and trotted about the field 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 13th

 

 

Today I started off by riding big Stormy. He was light and responsive and we did some nice walk, trot and canter but first we managed to escort a lamb from the field next door back to it’s field as it had squeezed into our field through the fence. He did a great job 😉

 

We then did a great job following the hares in the field…always fun to challenge ourselves 😉

 

 

 

Then we followed Bella who walked with us along the fence line and finally Storm got some of the lovely thistle heads which are very edible at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THEN it was Bella’s turn. Now, we’ve been upping the amount of time we ride but today I changed that up to where we did less time but more canter 😉 I used the ‘Point 2 Point’ game to help motivate her to canter more and we got a lot of it, both ways. Very impressed that she cantered the WHOLE long fence line…whoop whoop 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big hugs with Ms Bella after our ride <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mon 14th

Best friend Kat visited us today and Mark lent her Stormy to ride again. Storm always has fun with Kat and she gets the best out of him so it’s a lovely combo and I love watching them together 🙂

We did things together (Me on Bella) like riding side by side, follow the leader and leap frog but also we did a lot of coping things, like cantering through the bunting lane and flag box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella and I had a lot of fun with Kat and Stormy and I was very proud of Bella for the canter work and for Stormy for taking good care of Kat 😉

 

(This pic I was giggling so much as Bella started the hill canter then put in a HUGE burst of energy from her powerful hindquarters and it took me by surprise but also made me giggle) 🙂

 

 

 

 

Thurs 17th 

 

 

Today we painted the horses shelter to give it some more protection from the weather that constantly buffers up on it’s sides 😉

(Also gave it a 2nd coat on Weds 23rd) 🙂

 

 

 

Tues 22nd

 

Well, it’s been a whole eek of rainy days since riding Bella last but thank goodness for some dry warmish weather today so that I could get a nice ride in after trimming her hooves 😉

 

 

 

1. Start with a nice active walk and allowing Bella to go where she wants. Not working on anything specific, just getting our connection back.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Second stage is where we get more precision doing straight lines and nice bends. Working on getting both of these better 😉

3. Lastly we worked on making the gaits better. Nice strong walk, rhythmic trot and balanced canter.

 

 

 

 

Task today: Get naughty young sheep out of our field the same way they got in….they push through the 5 wire fence and it’s really annoying! SO…Bella became a good shepherd, driving them back to the fence and quietly waiting while they sorted out going through the fence.

 

 

 

 

 

Familiarisation to driving the sheep. Familiarisation to the noise of the sheep going through the fence. Familiarisation of her getting used to me shouting ‘out, out, out’ regularly to help move them away.

Bella was a star and she got some grazing as a treat for being a good sheep horsey <3

 

 

 

 

Sun 27th

Lovely day for a ride today. Took Stormy around the field for some fun with the flags and then chasing naughty sheep out of the field again…..THEN I did similar with Bella but also did w/t/c around the round pens in a fig 8 pattern 😉 Yeehaa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gave them some hay this afternoon as they have been eating some of the wood logs in the field so must be needing either some vits/mins, some roughage or something to cut their teeth on! They really enjoyed it 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 31st (end of August ALREADY!!!)

 

Before the canter leads we did some really nice, calm walk, trot and canter and some tight circle clover leaf patterns 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OH….and our flag work is progressing really well. Worked on familiarisation at standstill then walk and then trot 😉

 

 

 

OH…and I forgot I’d filmed this: Stormy doing a fab halt on a breath out from me 😉 Riding bareback, bitless and one handed he is a gem. Check out my cue on his mane for him to graze and that he doesn’t try to snatch at it before I give him this cue….this is called good training. lol 😉

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

Sat 1st

 

Good start to the month for us….rode Bella bareback after giving her a really good groom.

Mark gave Stormy a thorough groom too 😉

Did some nice easy turns using more forehand (working towards turns on the hq’s)

 

 

 

We did a lot more trotting today bareback too 🙂

The sun came out for us but still a really lovely strong breeze blowing which was fab.

 

 

 

 

Working on walk and trot leg yields across the arena, trying not to loose my balance as she moved sideways.

Gave her a few reward stops to grab some of the lush long grass she loves too.

 

 

 

Finally a big friend hug from Bella and then from Stormy too xxxx

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 2nd

 

 

Lovely cool, breezy weather and a lovely cool, breezy ride with Ms Bella this morning.

For some reason the Equilab app didn’t collect some of the data (distance, speed etc), not sure why? hey ho.

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely ride with multiple serpentines first in walk across the length of the field and then with trot over the width of the field.

 

Bella enjoys some of the long mature grass as a reward after our exercise 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Bella and Stormy grooming <3

 

 

 

 

 

Mon 3rd

Yesterday my best friend and horsewoman Kat, who lives in the Borders came to visit and to catch up on everything in our lives. I don’t get to see her often so it’s always a wonderful, chatty time when we get together 😉 She slept over and today we had a lovely time with Storm and Bella. It was also a FIRST for ME and BELLA as I invited Kat to ride her. No one, apart from Mark years ago, has ridden Bella so it was a chance to see how well she went with Kat. I trust Kat implicitly with S&B, she has trained with me and we have the same ‘feel’ for sympathetic bitless riding. Bella went really well with Kat and Kat really loved Bella so it was a lovely win-win situation and I felt like a really proud momma bear watching my best friend and best horse enjoy riding together <3 😉 xxxx

Here are some pics of us all….First Kat with Storm then Kat with Bella and then a couple of me 😉

 

 

 

 

Me and Bella with Kat on Storm 😉

 

 

Thurs 6th

 

Nice bit of early morning exercise with Bella this morning.

In the arena and hill area again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice flat work with forward walk and rhythmic trot going well. Fig 8’s not bad either.

Then up the hill where Bella is rewarded with some grazing of the lovely long grasses.

Stormy whinney’s to her as she went out of his sight but he saw us coming down the hill so was fine.

 

 

 

 

 

Riding with the flag is going very well…slow and steady is winning her trust and confidence.

We did walk and then trot with the flag starting out closed in my hand and then half open with me holding the stick and the ends so it doesn’t flap too much. Bella was a star and she regularly touched it with her nose for a treat reward 😉

 

It’ll be 4 days ’til I see them again now as off to teach in Aberdeenshire from Fri – Mon. Gonna miss them SO much <3

 

 

 

Leave B&S grazing peacefully together…they are such lovely horses, inside and out 🙂

 

 

 

Thurs 13th

 

Today we just had a short potter about the field, it’s good to be back home after my teaching away, so just taking it slowly getting back into the swing of things 😉

 

 

 

 

 Just like I’d never been away 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 16th

Dodging rain this week but Mark/Storm and Me/Bella did a quick pedestal challenge after clearing the ragwort in the field 😉

 

 

Took a while for Bella but we’ve not practised it recently…..amazing when she did it 😉

 

 

 

 

Storm just went up first time…show off 😉 He also showed he can do one foot on the smaller pedestal….again, show off 🙂 Lol

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 21st

Well, we’ve not only had horrible rainy, drizzly weather but I also tweaked my back badly where I  just had to take some time off so as not to make it worse 😉 

Today I was feeling a bit better with my back and decided to jump on Stormy for wee ride after a bit of a play session (all after doing S&B’s worm counts)

 

Groomed and ready to play

 

 

 

Such a good boy, think he enjoyed being number 1 for a change 😉

 

 

 

Ready to rock’n’roll….lovely ride with Mr Big, we moved Bella about for a while so worked both of them….Stormy thought he was a western horsey moving her about 😉 lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sat 22nd

 

Back feeling better….grab a ride on beautiful big Bella 😉

Lovely weave in trot…sitting trot fine with my back too 🙂

 

 

 

 

Finding some nice curves in trot and then a nice canter 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Mark and Storm enjoy a plod about too 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Bella watching the Scottish electricity vehicle in the field below ours….lots of interesting things going on with that 😉

Storm/Mark and Bella/Me play ‘leap frog’ around the field 😉

 

 

 

 

Mon 24th

Yeehaa….back into a good routine again with Bella now back is feeling better.

 

Bella ‘parks’ beautifully…near obstacles or at the mounting block. Waiting patiently for me to come and get her…and all that LONG GRASS about…what a clever girl she is 🙂

 

 

 

Much more canter today 😉 YEEHAA…..LOVE it when ‘practise makes progress’ and when it feels good doing it it’s even better.

Super smooth transitions from walk to trot and also trot to canter and back down again 😉 🙂

 

 

 

Watching the cattle and sheep in the field below ours

 

AND…all important rewards often for good work…she’s LOVING the small thistles at the moment so I find them for her…this helps make our partnership even stronger 😉

 

 

 

Weds 26th

 

 

 

Started off trimming Bella’s hooves. A great use of an agility obstacle (tarp) putting it to the purpose of catching all the trimmings so as to keep the field shelter clean worked really well. I love it when a play thing becomes useful…most of them should 😉

 

 

 

 

After trimming hooves today but then I had a short bareback ride with Bella.

Mostly in walk and just working on being straight on the straight bits and doing nice arc’s on the turns 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working on the slow, small bits ALWAYS make the fancier bits later on work better…it’s getting the foundation down so that new layers can be placed on top 😉

 

Bella enjoyed the ride just as much as I did as every time she did a nice arc she got to take some grass as a reward 😉

 

 

 

 

After this I made a short video of the agility task ‘4 buckets, 4 hooves’ which a lot of my students have been having trouble with….this is Bella having a go…

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

 

Thu 1st

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Started the lovely cool day off with some play with Bella going under the curtain, halt under it, backing out of it and then drawing to me in trot 😉

It’s been a while since doing the curtain and she was perfect. We then had a short but effective ride working on getting my body dynamics right so that she could get her body dynamics right 😉

 

 

 

Then in the afternoon Mark rode Stormy and lead Bella back home. Bella has a physio treatment tomorrow afternoon so it’s easier to have them handy at home when Emily comes to see her 😉

< Bella cantering to Storm’s big trot 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 2nd

Today Bella had a fabulous physio from Emily. She has been coming once a year at around this time of year for a while now and it really helps Bella get her body back into ‘shape’ and ready to start training again. Emily thinks she either goes a bit ‘squint’ from the rest time over winter or it could be because of all the spring/summer grass coming in. Whatever the reason the physio Emily gives her really works well. Bella, and Stormy, will go back to the big field a few hours after the workout and Bella will have a few days off 😉

 

Mark with the babies 😉

Bella really enjoyed pruning the beech hedges around the paddocks.

 

 

 

 

 

Bella really enjoyed her physio, sleepy eyes, licking of lips and yawning. She pushed into the workout, relaxed

and hopefully feeling ready to start training again soon 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Walked S&B home to their big field in the afternoon

 

 

 

 

 

Tues 6th

 

 

Booming across the glen with a bird/deer scarer and estate gamekeeper and friend

shooting goodness knows what….very unpredictable and annoying to be honest.

 

 

 

I decide not to ride Bella as I didn’t want to upset her or have an accident.

Instead Bella and I go around playing with the obstacles while Mark and Stormy ride them 😉

 

 

 

 

Storm and Mark had a great time, did the obstacles very well and found fun with the

rope circle where they had to keep the rope off the floor doing circles…..they had to use

forward, leg yields and good rope skills when changing direction 😉

 

 

 

When they did ridden familiarisation with the flag Bella and I walked behind and then next to them to help her get used to the flag being above her and with the noise too 😉

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile Bella’s new fun thing is to put her face into flags 😉 She gets treat trained with new things so this is a huge and fun thing for her to do…even from a distance AND getting used to the noise and movement of flags all the time, at least in the face (hopefully get her used to this in the saddle area next and then on her bum 😉 )

 

 

 

 

 

Wed 7th

No pics today but that’s because I was really just concentrating on working with Bella….straight lines and curves as always. It’s the basic that always need working on and once they’re there it all becomes better. She did some lovely fluid fast walk, balanced trot and one really nice canter 😉 There was two ‘booms’ of the deer scarer while we rode but luckily we’ve both started to get used to it, although it’s unpredictable, the noise itself isn’t so scary now.

 

Fri 9th

 

A day to do some trimming. Ms Bella is needing her hooves trimmed around every 2-3 weeks at this time of year…I try to do it as often as possible as then I have less work to do and it keeps her more balanced.

 

 

 

 

Sat 10th

This morning I managed to have a lovely lesson with Bella before it started to get too hot to move.

 

Just found, and started using, this fab Equilab app. It really shows where we rode, how far, how long, how many steps, transitions etc etc. I love a bit of statistic-ation and it will help me know how we’re progressing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella did do a skip and a hop of canter but she’s a clever girl and didn’t continue as the ground is just too hard at the moment and it could really affect her feet and legs SO we kept to mostly walk but it was a good walk. The field fig 8’s are quite large and while we did 4 of them we utilized a few of the field agility obstacles along the way 😉 it was a lot of fun 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the ride I put her fly mask on to help her with the problem of large and pesky wee flies. It also helps to reduce UV to her face and I hope it helps her. I lead her off the quad bike in walk to the water trough, she is getting SO good at this now 😉 Stormy followed at liberty and they both had a long drink of fresh stream water.

 

 

I left them both near the trough enjoying some grazing together 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 11th

 

Finished trimming Bella’s hooves today, I usually do the fronts one day and then the backs the next day…..just can’t do all 4 in one day any longer, my back needs a break.

I then got Bella ready for a short bareback ride….this helps get my back into shape after being under her trimming

 

 

 

 

The ride was smooth and sweet. Lovely walk and a bit of trot. Didn’t actually do much or go far, but it’s just my little treat after trimming her feet 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stormy followed us around for a bit too which was really lovely. I love my life and these two beauties so much <3

 

 

 

 

 

Tue 13th

 

SO, today I got up at 6am to get the horses breakfast and to get in a ride before it gets too hot to even think! It was a lovely start to the day, cool and with a hint of a nice breeze.

Bella did really well. We did a different pattern in the field today and from the Equilab stats we did fewer transitions with less time BUT did more trot, more mileage and more strides…fab 😉

 

Bella ready to rock and roll around 7am this morning 😉

 

 

 

 

Fab ride, straighter, focused and cool. Also no treats until near the mounting block to get on or off…makes her even sweeter on the mounting block now 😉

 

I left S&B standing having a snooze together <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 15th

 

SO…up at 5.50am this morning and out to feed S&B their breakfast.

THEN I get Bella ready to ride. Groom, fly spray and tack up.

 

Decided to ride in my ‘arena’ today. It’s a largish area which I can work ‘dressage’ exercises in, open on one side that goes up the hill (you can see this on the Equilab map, the bit like a long tail is the hill we went up)

 

 

 

This was this hill bit, she did a bit of canter going up but decided it was too much like hard work (or hard ground) but we got a great view at the top and she got a reward of the long grass she adores 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also did a bit of flag work. Not done this for a while so we started with familiarisation at standstill with it all wrapped up. Then I worked on this whilst at walk and then I unfolded it, held the free corner at the handle and worked on that with her at walk and then 6 strides of trot. She remembered to touch the flag often and got a treat for it each time, she stops to do this so it’s installing a stop and touch flag for later on when we work on it flapping about 😉

Finished on a good note and was very happy with the restart of this work.

 

 

 

 

Final cool down work with me stirrup-less to lengthen my legs and relax and also did this with some passenger lesson for Bella. This is where we stay in walk and I have no ‘control’ over where she goes, I just sit and enjoy her moving about. With horses that are over trained they often just go in circles to the left but because Bella isn’t micro-managed she’s happy to wander about to the left and right and far and wide 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 18th

 

 

LOVE this riding app I’m using (Equilab), the stats are great and when I clicked on the map it came up with a closer look of the actual field….the small black box near the centre bottom is the horses field shelter which shows the size of field I work in 😉

Today we have again more mileage and more time. I’m putting a timer on my phone to tell me when we’ve done 30 mins which is helping me to relax into it and not wear or check a watch 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely and cool this time of morning and it was a joy to ride, think Bella really appreciated it too.

Still working on flags, firstly with the big ones used as a weave and also for her to ‘touch it’ with her nose for a treat …really going well with that 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Getting Bella used to sidling up to where I get and place the hold-able flag 😉 She straight away put her nose on it when I lifted it up 😉

 

 

We rode around the round pens, in walk, with me holding the flag firstly at her shoulder (the end bits in my hand to make flapping minimum for now), the I put it over my shoulder and rode with hit there……on both sides 😉 Really REALLY happy with the flag riding progress today, all going according to plan.

 

 

 

I then rode Stormy so that he didn’t feel left out, also to keep him fit and happy. I used the P2P (Point 2 Point) exercise and used the long seeding grass as the points to go to around the field so that his motivation was the reward of a wee graze 😉 It worked really well and he started striding out well in walk and then had a small trot. The ground is really so hard I’m not doing too much fast work with either S or B at the moment.

Had some flappy flag fun with him too which was enjoyable.

 

 

 

Tues 20th

 

 

Early start again today, grey skies and rain yesterday BUT it looks like it may get ‘clammy’ here later so early ride is best.

Started with familiarisation of the flag, firstly at the nose, but then backing up and sidling towards it with the mid section and rear end 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Bella tacked up and ready to rock and roll.

 

 

 

Field riding exercises again today. 3km ridden with 1.7km of walk and 1.1km of trot.

The ground is still so hard, even after a bit of rain yesterday. I hope we get more rain soon so that the ground softens a bit

and Bella finds it easier to start doing her big trot and canter work again 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 22nd

 

Another 5.30am start to the day, lovely and cool with a nice slight breeze.

We did more mileage, longer time and a bit more canter (she decided to do some, I’m not asking at moment due to hard ground)

We started off with straight lines (trot) and small-ish circles (walk) and after doing some nice transitions I decide to try out the ‘rope circle’ gadget. It’s a rope attached to an upright post which we hold onto and circle around. It helps us work on precision with circles and we often use leg yields to get us back out onto the circle the rope length gives us.

I then decided to go out into the next field for a change of scene and for some fun.

 

 

 

First pic shows us heading towards the next field gate 😉 Yeehaa…

Into the next field and I take advantage of the long grass by using it in P2P’s (going to a nice spot and allowing 2-3 mouthfuls of grass then continuing). It works really well and motivates her to get to the next spot 😉 This field also has some nice gentle hills so plenty of workout opportunities.

I think Bella really enjoyed the change of scene as she gave me a lovely long striding canter back up to the gate towards the end. She finds cantering up a hill easier than walking it 😉

 

 

 

 

Grass for a reward at the end and a good groom with some water on the dandy brush to get the girth strap and neck sweat off her. She then went into the shelter for a rest out of the sun which was starting to get a bit warm…Storm joined her in there <3

 

 

Sat 24th

 

Today was Storm’s ride out day. I’m trying to ride him at least once a week to keep him warmed up for Mark to ride when it gets cooler in the afternoons.

He did well but wanted to start off near Bella and the field so I just asked him to circle, fig 8 or serpentine back and forward, towards then away from his comfort zone. After a while he wanted to go further to see what the grass was like so that motivated him nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was quite disconcerting to be higher than the deer fencing with Storm…weird.

Some reward grazing afterwards too, which he always loves <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella, today, did ground work. I didn’t fancy riding as there are a lot of cleggs (horseflies) biting both her and me, they seem to be attracted to us…but also because we have the TABANUS BOVINUS back. This is the largest horsefly in the world and is annoying, noisy and takes blood to reproduce SO Bella is not keen on it coming close 🙁

SO, after some nice walk, trot and canter ground work we did some nice familiarisation with a flyswatter. She got a treat for touching it (treat/clicker training +R techniques) and I went from asking her to touch it to asking her to allow me to firstly touch her with it, her touching it and treat to then me tapping her with it, her touching it and treat so she got to associate me tapping her with it to having a treat. Building up from this I managed to actually swat a few horseflies on her with the swatter without her panicking or reacting to it. I know that she associates me swatting horseflies with my hand with something good and she often pushes herself towards me where a horsefly is biting so that I can swat it for her, I think the swatter will become the same after a while 😉

 

 

Bella touching the swatter even at liberty after our online session. She totally gets that touching this gets her a treat 😉

 

Pic of TABANUS BOVINUS…nasty big thing and drives us all crazy at this time of year ;( 🙁 🙁

 

 

 

 

 

Tues 27th

 

Grey skies, cool breeze and not a fly in sight…YEEHAA…time for a BAREBACK RIDE on Bella this morning.

No Equilab pics of stats today as my phone was almost out of charge (oops) but we did some nice walk and trot work.

 

 

Straight lines in trot with small circles in walk along the arena fence line. It was lovely to really connect with my seat to her back and get together more with our bends/curves and circling. She did really well and got some lovely long grass, thistle and nettle treats along the way.

I think we worked for about 25 mins and managed to stop before it started to rain 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storm and Bella have a nice groom as I leave for home 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Wed 28th

Bella ready to ride. For a change I used a thicker pad but I prefer our normal set up….was good to try 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Some fab trot fig 8’s and then some nice w/t and canter serpentine bits 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 29th

 

Today Mark did the horses breakfast and poo picking and then had a nice active ride on Stormy. Hopefully soon the weather will be cooler in the afternoon and we’ll be riding together again 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to see B&S this afternoon for some horsey hugs and to trim Bella’s feet. It’s been nearly 3 weeks since last done so nothing on height of hoof needing done so much but her toes grow long so a lot of ‘backing up’ done 😉

We had some sun, heat and some rain too but luckily Bella and I were in the shelter keeping away from the flies while trimming.

 

 

Fri 30th….last day of June 😉

 

Today we did two part of our morning ride, this was because I got off when the farmer brought a huge bleeting herd of sheep into the field next to us. I thought he was bringing cattle which can often canter and buck into the field when pushed by the farmer, dogs and quad bike BUT it was only sheep….rather be safe than sorry and if it happens again I know Bella will be fine with it and I’ll stay on 😉

 

SO….the stats say we did a good amount of time, nearly 30 mins, did 2.6km and incorporated more canter. I trimmed her hooves yesterday, backed the long toes back and took a bit of length off the hooves and she was much more balanced and steady today so she offered canter and I took it 😉

 

 

 

I LOVE that Bella not only sidles up to the mounting block and stands still for me to get on BUT she also does it for me to dismount too 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great ride with some good forward walk, energetic trot and smooth canter. The weather was lovely for riding too, cool, grey skies and worthy of a good jacket.

 

 

 

 

 

This was the point when I got off, took Bella back to Stormy on the field ‘track’ and they both wanted to get onto the pedestal for a treat….it took their minds off the noisy farmer and connected them back to me. S&B looking at the sheep while they ran about bleating…I went back to riding once they’d settled down 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy – See you in July 😉