Bella & Stormy (2024)

Tues 1st

Well it’s been 12 days since I’ve ridden Bella (not counting twice we tried but she was a bit unsound so didn’t continue)

I’ve been looking after things here at home (S&B, dog, stove etc) while Mark recovers from his knee replacement (he’s doing very well so far 😉 ) SO today I just grabbed the chance to ride while the sun was out and there wasn’t any wind 😉

As you can see from the ride chart today she didn’t go far….she started out ok but then was quite ‘antsy’ so we just worked on trying to find softness and some partnership together through circles, fig 8’s and just waiting for those good moments 😉

On a good note I managed to get the agility obstacles in the agility area ready to have some playtime with S&B 🙂

AND…..dinner time, around 5pm. I’ve been calling them up the big hill each night so they get some faster exercise as I’ve not been doing much play or riding at the moment. Yesterday it started to drizzle a bit SO I stood there under an umbrella. Now, both S&B are used to umbrella’s BUT they’re not used to one up the hill, which proves that their environment needs to be expanded with strange things or they only get used to new things in one or two places (agility arena or big field). This was a fun thing to do as I just stood my ground and called them. They both came half way up the hill and then stood still watching and waiting to decide what to do. This is their normal instinct, to be wary of strange things. It’s often called ‘napping’ in the horse world, I call it a ‘threshold’ and if you just wait, allow them to get over their scepticism and find their curiosity and bravery then they can over come most things. They did just that and after about 5 mins they both came up the hill to get their dinners.

While they were eating I played around with the umbrella with no concerns from Storm or Bella.

We even had a bit of fun with the umbrella’s without any concerns at all 🙂

< Bella being very brave and not concerned about it.

Stormy saying nitey nite 😉 >

Weds 2nd

Breakfast with S&B this morning 😉 nice and early to watch the sunrise 😉

I then had to get back home to take delivery of some coal for the stove which Mark can’t do at the moment and then I went back down to the horses for some play, riding and cleaning the field. 

Our ride was very similar to yesterday…antsy and not the best. We finished on a good note after I spend a lot of time circling, fig 8’s and asking for her to partner up with me with every little thing such as the curve of our bodies, the line of our walk/trotting, the tip of her nose and where her head was. We managed to end on a good note by not asking too much but asking for good things 😉

After I cleaned the field (and while I’m cleaning) Bella often comes up for some scratches and cuddles. Recently I’ve been just jumping on her back from the quad bike 😉 This is a great form of trust between us and in this ‘arena’ area she was fine, calm and happy to have me up there.

Next time I ride I will do it in the ‘arena’ area and hopefully we’ll have a nice, partnered ride.
I do think that Autumn, like Spring, has her hormones up a lot. In Spring she would have had a foal, in Autumn she would probably have had it taken away from her (around 6 months old….too young IMHO, should be 11-12 months with natural weaning but that’s the horse industry for you 🙁 )

This evening at dinner time neither Storm nor Bella batted an eyelid at the umbrella I was holding at their dinner site…..fabulous 🙂

S&B happily grazing together down the big hill after their dinner time <3

Thurs 3rd

Tues 3rd

Well, what a GREAT way to start September. Good weather (we like it cooler) and an afternoon exercise session that Mark came along to see our progress 😉

One handed, loose rein, walking warm up where we both settle in to our semi-circle pattern along the whole field.

One handed to two handed, loose rein to contact rein, trotting to help us find our balance, flexibility, energy and focus.

….and then onto CANTER. Very in-sync today and through our balance and raised inside rein we do SLC’s (Simple lead changes) all along the field. FABULOUS 🙂 all our practise and work going exactly where I wanted it to go 🙂 I LOVE it when a PLAN comes TOGETHER 🙂

1. Circle to right, correct right canter leg lead.    2. Circle to the left, correct left canter leg lead.    4. Circle to the right again, correct right canter leg lead.

SLC’s are where we do a half circle to the right on the correct canter lead, come down to a trot or walk for a few strides and then do a half circle to the left with the correct canter lead. We managed to do 4 down one way and then 4.5 going back down the other way 😉

I use these 5 circle patterns in the field to do large semi-circular weave’s up and down the field.

A kiss for the bestest girlie in the world

Me and S&B (Stormy spent the time munching grass in the field while Bella and I did our exercise)

Thurs 5th

Bella and I have got on really well with our canter circles, curved weaves and simple lead changes over the last few weeks so to keep things fresh we will now give that a rest and I will put the agility obstacles out in the big field so we can work on having fun with our walk, trot and canter transitions 😉 Always working on making training fun by mixing things up so that the curiosity, communication, confidence and connection keeps growing for that special partnership 🙂

SO…today, to change the pattern (make a habit, break a habit, make a new habit) I took S&B out for a walk in the field next to ours, they’ve not been in this field for quite a while as it usually has cattle or sheep in it but there’s been nothing for a while now, and no shooting yet either. They LOVED it, lots of lush grass and stretched their legs well too, mine too 😉 Keepin’ it FRESH 🙂

Sat 7th

Early morning ride today as it’s stonkingly hot up here at the moment….

We did some walk passenger lesson where Bella wandered about where she wanted and then I asked her to walk around the field a bit,

worked on some nice turns using weight, focus and less and less rein 😉

Then we did some trot clover leaf pattern which we’ve not done for quite a while but she remembered it well and kept in trot most of the time around each full pattern (going left around all 4 to start with a grazing break and then around to the right all 4) 🙂

Lovely nice ride today, pretty smooth, canter easy to move into and so balanced and light now 😉

Weds 11TH

Just to show that even with well trained horses sometimes circumstances say get off and try again another day. Today was that day.

 

I rode Storm for about 10 mins but something was getting him worried, the high wind, the farmer shouting at his dogs and sheep running about in a nearby field or something I just couldn’t see, hear or smell….SO…I got off. I used the opportunity to play a bit with the agility obstacles I’d put out in the field yesterday but he was very distracted.

And home….what a lovely way to spend a few hours 🙂

Tues 17th

Back home and ride S&B back to their big field with Mark 😉

Stormy having a well deserved roll after his ride 😉

Thu 19th

Started off ride with Bella with some warming up exercises and enjoying the sunshine and the shadow following us about 😉

THEN…we went and familiarised ourselves with where all the agility obstacles are and play with them a wee bit.

2 different narrow gaps, one straight and one in a corner.

Also the tarp set up.

Hula hoop, 6 cones for walk, trot and hopefully canter weaves.

Post with rope to do rope circles with and drain for sidepassing over.

Lovely shadows of me and Bella.

Narrow gap with poles and also tyres…..nice halts between both.

Lovely to see Stormy waiting for us when we were riding

and Bella gets a wee bit of grazing for her effort today.

Sun 22nd

I forgot my phone this morning so no riding pics or Equilab stats today BUT rode both B&S for fun using the agility obstacles as we went around the field 😉

Gorgeous Bella ready to ride

Handsome Mr Stormy ready to rock’n’roll too <3

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Wed 25th

Keeping the home fires going and looking after S&B and walking Beau on own at the moment as Mark is in hospital after his first knee replacement surgery.

He’ll be home in a few days hopefully but I will continue with everything until he’s fit to start helping out again.

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

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.

Something to be working on but not fixated on so it continues to be fun and not a chore 

This morning’s rides were all about circles….

Bella

Walk 5 circles to warm up. Trot 5 circles to stretch out. Try some canter half circles to see how she does without the roundpens to support the angles.

Stormy

Just allowing him to walk at his own pace around the circles, ask for a bit of trot but allowing him to walk if/when he wants. He was a bit stiff and slow today so just exercising to keep his muscles and joints working at a slightly faster pace than his grazing

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

A little bit of liberty fun today with a new agility obstacle

I’ve had this ‘exercise’ mat gathering dust in the house for a few years so decided to put it to good use today….both S&B had fun with it and showed their ‘curiosity, confidence and connection’

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