Mon 1st April

 

 

After a few days up at the house for S&B today we rode them back to their big field

 

Nice breezy weather but not chilly so made for a lovely ride

 

 

 

 

S&B both happy to be going back to the big field, they love it there with lots of space to roam

 

Went through the field with Highland cows and their calves, luckily none on the track

 

 

 

Bella did an outstanding job going next to gates to allow me off to open them and then to get back on too 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Gate open to the field so we were able to just ride in and down the big hill to the shelter

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 4th

 

 

Lovely day for some exercise. First worked Stormy, mostly walk, just getting his legs to move faster than when he spends all day grazing 😉

 

He did very well and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

I then did similar patterns but more trot work with Ms Bella. She slowly got into it and understood the patterns of small circls off big circles but looking at the ‘map’ I can see that we need to work on the word ‘circle’, hahaha.

 

Enjoyed just being out and riding my beautiful girlie. She brings a huge smile on my face, they both do 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stretching before being ridden….2 feet on the pedestal and then 4 feet on the pedestal 😉

 

Bella ‘parked’ at the mounting block waiting patiently for me to jump on board 😉

 

 

 

Mon 8th

Yeehaa…between the days of rain and wind we have some blue skies and puffy clouds today. Not wanting to miss an opportunity I scoot out and ride Storm then Bella 🙂

 

Stormy:

Mostly walk with a bit of trot and a short canter at the end this was mainly to help Stormy stretch his legs. He’s 21yrs young now so I try not to tax him with anything fast or intricate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella:

Started big fig 8’s around the field in walk, 2nd set was in trot and after a wee rest we did a 3rd set in trot with nice amounts of canter 😉

So pleased we have started to do some canter AND I am pretty pleased that from the ‘map’ I can see we kept to the same path most of the time 😉

 

 

 

 

Thurs 11th

Early morning ride to the house today with Storm, Bella and Mark 😉 What a glorious day it is too, lovely to see our shadow as we ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managed to clamber onto a dyke wall today to remount Bella…she is such a supa-star and sidled to it like we’d done it a thousand times 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy at home for the day now  😉

 

 

 

Sun 14th 

S&B stayed at the house for a couple of days but went home to their big field today. It’s not often we ride when it’s raining but it’s just been one of those months. The track is getting very muddy, not mostly from the rain but from the Highland cattle that have been in the field since December through all the bad weather. S&B did very well not slipping. There is one gateway that is always open and recently I have tied the ‘horsey’ sprung gateway back SO today we went through that gap which is mud free compared to the main gateway. S&B did very well going through it and took care not to bang our feet on the gate posts 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tues 16th

 

Today Mark and I had a few things to do about the field (renew palettes under sheds which hold some bits of agility in and then clearing old hay from their shelter). I noticed Bella laying down near Stormy, who was lovingly watching over her, so I didn’t have the heart to get her up for a ride SO, I took the opportunity to put together our first 2024 agility course 😉

 

 

 

Agility course 2024/1

(the flags and curtain only get put into place when we are playing in the area as it’s still open to S&B and with Stormy being overly curious he is liable to break them or hurt himself on them)

This is the course:

1. 2 front feet in hula hoop  2. weave in walk/trot  3. walk/trot/backup through bunting lane  4. trotting poles  5. flag fig 8’s  6. jump  7. walk/trot/halt/backup tarp  8. curtain  9. stand in box  10. flag familiarisation.

I hope to start working on this online tomorrow, then try some bits at liberty and then riding it 😉

 

Fri 19th

After spending some time out and about teaching agility to students it was about time I tried my own agility course today. It was pretty windy and we had absolutely no practise around the course but it just felt good to give it a go….here are Bella and Storm’s first Agility play for 2024 😉

Bella…Score 87%

 

Stormy…..91%

 

Sat 20th

Lovely day for a ride today so went and had a nice time with Bella. It feels like we’ve started our riding year again as she has lost muscle since Feb (when we did quite a bit of riding) but the grass has started coming up so hoping this continues to build our fitness up again.

 

We did more walk than trot, hopefully that will change soon to more trot. She was such a good girl and we started riding with the flag again. Walk with the flag fully out and moving around her and then in trot with the flag half open so we can build up familiarisation with the noise of it in the wind 😉

 

 

 

 

 

I also trimmed her extensively long jaw line hair as it was getting caught in her bridle (not the whiskers which are very necessary when grazing etc), She looks super sleek now <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tues 23rd

Managed to get S&B’s worm count done this morning, took the samples to the postbox then came back to ride S&B.

I rode Stormy first, he was a bit stiff in his legs to start with but with a gentle start in walk and then moved into a faster walk he started to loosen up a bit. He did some nice trot after that and he sprung into canter to finish off 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then tacked Bella up and started her off the same as Storm, some nice gentle walk moving into a faster walk. I then asked her for some trot but she was quite reluctant, this is not like Bella at all, so we went back into walk and I asked a couple of times more for trot. She was reluctant, stiff and felt very ‘off-ish’, she even tried to offer canter as an alternative but I could feel she wasn’t ‘right’ so dismounted and untacked her.

 

When leaving I asked S&B to follow e and the quad bike for some treats…Bella walked and again very reluctant to go up into trot and when she managed a couple of steps she seemed lame on her front right foot/leg.

I’m going to give her a week off and then try again, if she is still ‘off’ and feeling lame then I’ll get the vet in to have a look at her ;(

 

 

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

 

Thurs 1st

 

Well, February is here and like last year we’ve got some dry weather (so far anyway). Taking advantage of this mildness I pop on Bella and have a cheeky wee ride. This time in the ‘arena’ where the tyres are in corners and centre. She was a bit ‘fresh’ but by keeping it to curves/circling around the tyres when she was ‘up’ and doing the straight lines when she was calm worked very nicely 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sat 3rd

Managed a lovely play session with Bella, Storm and Mark. Just went through some challenges (where I do a task then challenge Mark/Storm to copy or improve what I did) 🙂 It was a lot of fun and it was fabulous to see both Storm and Bella happy to play, calm and motivated 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wed 7th

Really really cold again here. S&B had rugs on overnight but take them off during the day as the sun is shining beautifully for us 😉 Yesterday Mark and I trimmed S&B’s front feet, we could not do the backs as both horses spooked and we didn’t want to risk being under them doing feet if they spooked again. Could not see what they spooked at but it was very very windy and that always affects them SO…I trimmed Bella’s back feet this morning after poo picking the field and Mark did Stormy this afternoon while I groomed and rode Bella 😉

 

Did some nice ONE HANDED RIDING: in and back out of narrow gap

Again one handed riding: sidepassing around the jump 😉

 

 

 

 

One Handed Riding: Weave

Back to regular riding where we did some lovely leg yield weaving 😉

 

 

 

 

Just a very short trot as ground hard…..trot poles on a curve, encouraging more stretching of the outside legs 😉

 

 

 

 

Sun 11th

 

Mild weather and some sunshine today so great chance to give both S&B good grooming sessions (Stormy is moulting big time already) and get some time in the saddle too 🙂

 

 

 

 

First off I rode Stormy. From his session I was aiming for some motivation and straight lines SO I used P2Ps (Point 2 Points) and as soon as he realised he got to stop, and get a treat often, when we got to our destination he started to go faster each time…fab 😉 He did a lot of trot and a few bits of canter which I didn’t ask for, but his motivation was easy to get when I use the right game 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THEN….Bella’s turn for a ride. Today I was looking to help her find her curve on a bend so we did part of circles and circles…around obstacles to help her get more balanced in the bends 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mon 12th

Again we have mild, sunny weather so time for some more saddle time. Bella only today and working on those curves, bends and circles for that all important body flex around my inside leg These shapes will help us become straighter and is important after not doing much during Winter

 

 

 

Had a nice little play session first and Bella knew just how clever she was when she sidled over the log 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice walking around the field, getting there on the shapes of the circles and a wee bit of trot too. Don’t want to do too much or she’ll become sweaty (thick coat at the moment) so it’s a balance of getting some movement without overdoing it 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Doing some fig 8’s around the round pens we start off with her stretching out and down a bit and me stroking her from the withers up her mane crest which helps her relax into the stretch.

 

 

 

We then went and did some trot fig 8’s in the field with the narrow gap making up the centre….it required focus and accuracy but was a lot of fun and our circle ‘arc’ got much nicer.

 

 

 

 

Tarp and then poles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark and Storm worked at Liberty as they always do…he was making up his own games with the black tube 😉 lol

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 23rd

 

 

Sunshine and blue skies today…although pretty chilly it’s still a good day to be out and about with S&B.

Didn’t want to do too much or work too fast as ground still a bit hard-ish.

Stormy did a great job working with straight lines and some curves and he decided trotting would be fun so I took his idea and just went with it 😉

 

 

 

 

Sunshine and Shadows

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella was a bit distracted after my ride with Stormy due to a telephone engineer van sitting on the road with a flashing light for a while.

But as soon as it went I saddled up and had a lovely ride. Just walk but trying to concentrate on curves, leg yields into bigger curves then changing the curve 😉

She did really well, then the van came back, her head went up and it was a good time to stop, take her tack off and praise her for being such a good girl for me 😉

 

 

 

 

Mon 26th

 

 

It’s gone very chilly up here again although a beautiful blue sky with sunshine always gets us out with S&B 🙂

 

 

 

 

Mark/Stormy enjoying some riding time.

We started off with some ‘leap frog’ where we walk in line and the back horse/rider then trots past the front horse/rider, gets back in line and transitions back to walk. Then the back horse does the same and so on…it’s a great game for holding each horse in walk whilst the other one trots past and for each horse to listen to it’s rider more.

 

 

 

We then did some individual agility bits which was fun.

Bella sidepassing over big tube and then watching Stormy doing cone weaving.

 

 

 

 

Storm doing transitions on the tarp and then walking over the ‘trot poles’…..he didn’t want to trot over them 😉

 

 

 

 

 

A moment where Bella/Me sidled up to Storm/Mark 😉

Then a few bits of Bella on her own while Mark took pics of us….

 

 

 

 

Bella in the pole square: first a turn on the forehand to the right and then to the left
(Turn on the forehand = holding the front legs still while the back legs move to the right and/or left making a circle with the back legs). You can also do a turn on the hindquarters which involves keeping back legs still and moving front legs in to right and left….this will be a move we do more of later in the year as it’s harder to do.

 

 

 

Here Bella is circling around the weave cones in trot, she was ok going to the left but when we went to the right she just didn’t ‘feel right’ so we stopped the session as if she’s just a bit sore I don’t want to make anything worse.

Once unsaddled etc I checked her feet, shoulders and leg stretches where she was a bit more reluctant to stretch her front left leg. I’ll give her a few days off and see how she goes after a rest up.

 

 

 

Thurs 29th

 

 

Yeehaa…..rode Bella today and she’s back to her normal happy riding horse self after being a bit ‘off’ last time

So glad she was happy to be ridden and not feeling odd

 

 

 

 

 

Rode Stormy too which was fun…just walk around the round pens and then trotting the straight lines around the big field

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy

 

 

 

HAPPY 2024 EVERYONE

 

Thurs 4th

 

 

Today the weeks forecast looks calm, dry and mild SO…..walking S&B back to their big field 😉

 

 

 

 

 

They were both calm but looking around regularly, they saw a herd of fallow deer and then

they saw the view, down the glen, the same view they get from their big field 😉

 

 

 

Checking out everything as they walk…..the long 22′ ropes got a bit tangled as I walked and they changed sides SO I stopped and sorted them out while they checked out the view 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Uphill a bit here and they both stayed calm for me on this bit, they like to trot/canter this part when ridden.

I decided not to ride Storm and lead Bella as it was quite slippery with wet mud on the track.

 

 

 

 

Nearly home……then Stormy has a good look at ‘his’ field from the top of the hill….excited 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Free at the top of the field they both trot/canter down the big hill

Both had a nice big roll (Stormy is filthy now) and then got down to grazing 😉

 

 

 

 

Sun 8th

Today was a sunny cold day but without rain it’s perfect for trimming Bella’s hooves.

She is such a good girl standing still for me while I do the work. I put this ‘knee sock’ over her feathers to keep them out of the way…works really well too 😉

 

 

Unfortunately there was a lot of other folk doing stuff nearby today too….a farmer working in the field opposite, his trailer banging and shaking while he went up and down the field. Also opposite us was a digger machine making quite a noise, moving logs and rubbish and putting them on a big fire. The fire was creating quite a lot of smoke and also whatever he was putting on it was making a loud noise…spitting and popping.

 

Dear Bella was a little perplexed and put out, her head going high up so she could use the lower part of her eye to see in the distance. I couldn’t get her attention to pick her feet up and knew that if I did get her foot up it wouldn’t be safe as she wasn’t paying attention to me SO I took her to play with the agility obstacles. Doing some small ‘brain games’ really helps to get a horses attention, to re-connect to the handler so this is what we did. Just in walk with some sidepass and backups too but it consisted of moving in walk, watching where she was going, stopping and praising regularly to help her realise I was calm and looking after her 😉 It worked really well and soon I took her back to continue trimming her hooves 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the agility course I set up for S&B. I draw these regularly to give me a clear view of how to set up some obstacles. This course involves 4 trotting poles, 5 cones for a weave and fig 8’s, a hulahoop,  a high narrow gap made up of 4 jump wings with poles on the top to make a lane, a jump and a tarp held down with parallel wooden poles.

I put the obstacles close-ish together, it makes it easier for me to work online with S&B and can be enlarged later on when we start out fitness program for the year.

 

 

 

 

Mon 9th

The last few days have been very very cold and the nights are way below zero. S&B did the first 2 nights on their own okay but yesterday they seemed quite tired. They don’t have to try so hard to stay warm and to make the feed and hay we give them work easier for them we have been rugging them at night (off during the day to enjoy the sunshine). They can survive well but we feel they don’t have to try so hard if we can help them along a bit 😉

 

 

 

 

Thurs 11th

 

Sun was out today…yeehaa. But underfoot the ground is rock hard SO took it easy.

First I played with Bella and Stormy (Bella’s video at below) to get their legs moving slowly and their brains connected.

 

 

 

 

 

While playing with Stormy Bella wanted to join in too, at liberty 😉 She’s so funny

Storm did fabulously with drive and draw between the narrow gap poles and also putting his feet straight into the hulahoop 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

BAREBACK RIDING….well, sitting on and having fun plodding about. We did fig 8 in walk around the big round pens, nothing more, just a lovely connection to his feet while listening to the 1-2-3-4 of his hooves on the ground  😉

Shadow Storm kept us company.

 

 

 

 

Always brings a big smile to my face….Stormy waiting patiently for his treat after that sort plod

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then exactly the same with Bella….yup BAREBACK too, which we’ve not done a lot of but it felt right and it was lovely to really feel her back swinging with her big walk stride 😉

 

 

 

 

Both S&B waiting patiently for their treats after my ride on Bella 😉 they’re so adorable, love them to bits <3

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 12th

 

Sunshine today but -8* this morning!!! v.v.cold.

 

 

 

 

 

S&B have still been having their big rugs on over night and will continue to do so until it starts to warm up a bit. Before doing their yearly worming syringe for encysted worms we had a short play session. I worked with Bella in her halter but the rope was around her neck, Mark played with Stormy at liberty and then I had another BAREBACK short walk fig 8 ride on Bella around the round pens 😉

 

 

 

Brain work for the horses…..draw towards, backing up, sidepass, weave, fig 8’s and over poles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella didn’t bat an eyelid at my ‘unicorn’ hat 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storm looks HUGE in this pic, his head went up when he noticed a LandRover on the track above their field…I didn’t even hear it but the horses notice EVERYTHING 🙂

 

 

 

 

Lovely to plod around again 😉 Enjoying some bareback work too…once we start working for fitness I’ll have the saddle back on 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Mon 15th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 18th

Not a lot going on with S&B at the moment but we did manage to get their rugs off today and give them a really thorough groom. They loved it and they have spent the day ‘naked’ with rugs going back on tonight 😉

 

 

Managed to get out today and set up 2 agility courses. One, where I placed it before xmas, and one in a round pen for some liberty play.

 

But as it’s been a while since any play and S&B both wanted to play at liberty with the main obstacles so I obliged 😉 Mostly with Bella but then Stormy figured it’s where the treats were being given out. lol

Bella did some liberty weave, front feet in hulahoop, on/off tarp, in and back up through narrow gap and the jump.

 

 

I then did a quick walk ride with Stormy around the round pens. There was no real ‘goal’ as such, just me getting into sync with his footfalls and rhythm. It’s the best way to get rid of any sacral illiac stiffness in me and brings back my smile in a second 😉 Great wee play/ride and stopped me getting a bit stir crazy being inside so much 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grooming brushes at the ready…..Storm loves to get muddy so it’s more for him but a good routine of brushing is essential to keep a horses hair and skin in good order. I don’t like to ‘wash’ horses much as ours are outside 24/7 so need their natural oils to be waterproof but brushing keeps the dust and debris from their skin and makes sure nothing rubs underneath the bridle or saddle when working 😉