Bella & Stormy 2025

Thu 3rd

 

S&B watching with interest the shepherd moving a big herd of sheep a couple of fields away. They used to be worried by all the commotion, noise etc but now are generally just interested in what’s going on.

 

 

 

Good old cooler weather today…yeehaa…time for a ride 😉

Me, S&B LOVE cooler weather, no flies, midges or heat 😉

SO I had a lovely ride on Bella this morning. Nice walk through the round pens, then circles in trot up and down the field with Bella popping in a couple of canter transitions. Then finished off by walking completely around the field to cool off.

 

 

 

 

Cleaning the field after my ride and S&B just chilling out and then having a wee nap 😉

 

Love these two big dollops <3

 

 

 

 

And that’s a new agility course set up in a bigger area now….ready for some more fun with S&B 😉

 

 

Sat 5th

I put Storm and Bella into the round pens this morning (one in each) to allow them to grab a bit of grazing before being ridden. I do this to help them concentrate when riding and not trying to grab for the grass 😉

I rode first so she didn’t have too much grass. Our session was really good with a nice walk warmup then trot the length of the field with some canter across the width of the field after 😉 Her canter is really coming along and she was going from walk on the curves to canter without doing trot at all…this shows me how balanced and fit she is 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THEN I had a lot of fun riding Stormy. He’s no spring chicken anymore so we don’t do fast long work, he prefers to have his brain exercised SO we did some rope around circles.

 

 

 

 

 

This is where I have a rope attached to a moving ring on a post that is put into the ground. I take the rope and walk away from it on Stormy and then circle with the rope in my hand. I helps for some great focus on the shape of the circle and also that we can leg yield in and out of the circle to see the rope going slack then taught 😉

 

 

 

 

 

After this I picked up the flag and we walked and trotted around the field flapping the flag and he didn’t bat an eyelid 😉 What a star <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tues 8th

Today it was warm but there’s a nice breeze blowing around the fields so we decided to go and ride S&B around the new agility layout I put together the other day.

Here’s Mark and Stormy, who went first today.

 

Front feet in hula hoop then pick up flag and walk around with it back to the hoop

 

 

 

 

Trot weave then through the bunting corner

 

 

 

 

Jump then to the trye gap, halt and back up in gap

 

 

 

 

Then over the tarp and trot over poles

 

 

 

 

Sidepass the drain tube and turn to go under the curtain

 

 

 

 

Over the flat plastic bottles and turn right to go under the arch

 

 

 

4 feet in hula hoop (well 3 feet is pretty darned good) and then stop over the pole and backup

 

 

 

 

THEN IT WAS BELLA AND MY TURN….

 

Mostly trot work through the agility, then walk up the big hill and do a couple of small fig 8’s and a big fig 8 to finish 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front feet in hula hoop, pick up flag and walk circle while flapping it

 

 

 

 

 

Trot through weave, she’s so slick doing this now 😉 and through bunting corner

 

 

 

 

Jump 🙂 Yeehaa and trot to the tyre gap, halt and backup

 

 

 

 

Trot over the tarp (not done this much before so very pleased she trotted over it for me)
trotted over the 4 poles, she elevates and looks fab when she does trotting poles

 

 

 

 

Sidepass over drain tube then under the curtain

 

 

 

 

First time trotting over the bottle bank (Yeehaa) 🙂 and then under the arch

 

 

 

 

4 feet in 2 hulahoops…well we didn’t quite manage this as Stormy had put them too far apart but she tried her best.
Then stop over pole, backup and trot on

 

 

 

We went up the hill at the end and did a couple of small fig 8’s around some long grass
And then did a lovely big fig 8 when we got down off the hill again 😉

 

 

 

S&B and me….what superb horses they are 😉

 

 

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy.co.uk

 

 

Mon 2nd

We’ve had days of on/off drizzle, heavy rain and winds again so the horses have had some time off 😉 Today though, we have mild temps, wee breeze and dry weather SO I went and fed them this morning and cleaned the field. I then tacked them both up and took them out of the field. I walked them a quarter of the way back to the house (up the big hill and to the first gateway) where then I mounted Stormy and lead Bella all the way home.

 

Every opportunity to snatch at some delicious grazing, there are some fab cow parsley plants about at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding Stormy and leading Bella…both did a fab job sticking together and keeping the same gait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stormy loves a wee canter at this hillock in front of the house….managed to keep Bella up with him in trot 😉

I put them into the home paddock for an hours rest/grazing where they did actually rest for quite a bit of it. Then Mark and I tacked them back up and we rode them back to the big field together 😉

 

 

Love ride, not too long as we were both tired from some home decorating and doing odd jobs this time of year but just great to get out together for a wee ride on the big monsters 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella had a bit of trot energy once back in the big field so we did some nice trot circles 😉 Nice end to a nice rie 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weds 4th

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BOY STORMY…today is his 22nd Birthday so here’s some pics of him from baby to now to celebrate his wonderful life so far 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What an amazing 21yrs together (we got him at 11 months old), he’s been such a joy to learn from him and train him into the happy, athletic, cheeky boy he is today. He thoroughly enjoys human company, especially his dad, Mark, for whom he has a big soft spot. He enjoys using his brain and agility is a sport he has fun doing with us. He also enjoys getting out on a hack, not so much for the journey, but for the cheeky snatches at greenery he can get along the way. He’s taught me so much over the 21yrs of owning him (we got him at 11 months old)  for which I’m eternally grateful as I take all my knowledge out to students all over Scotland 😉

 

Fri 6th

 

I’m swooshing off to Aberdeenshire for a long weekend teaching horsemanship so today is the last day for a wee ride for a few days 😉

While it’s sunny and not raining (expecting it later on,) I have a wee short exercise session with Bella.

We start off by doing a super good groom to get the dirt and dust off her coat and tidy her mane, tail and feathers. Then I tack up and we walk around the field (using S2M w/h/bk) checking on the agility equipment, making sure it’s all in place, standing upright and not damaged.

 

 

She then sidles up to the mounting barrel and I get on 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a really lovely 20 min ride working in halt, backup, walk, trot & canter.

We also use some forehand turns and hindquarter turns through a weave and going around, through or over the agility obstacles.

 

 

Now I’m ready and relaxed to go out teaching…..see you next week 😉

 

 

 

Sun 15th

Today I moved ALL the agility obstacles off the big field and into the ‘agility arena’ area. It took quite a while but it will now be easier to work online or at liberty with S&B (ie. not so much walking for me 🙂 ) lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve set up a bunting corner, a jump, a drainage tube for sidepass, tyre stacks for a narrow gap, a tarp, 4 trot poles, the arch, the curtain, jump wings for a weave and fig 8’s with tall flags by 4 of them. I also have a single pole for changes of gait and 2 parallel poles for a straight backup.

After this I wanted to ride Storm and/or Bella but didn’t have huge amounts of time. Decided to work both of them together, which was inspired, as it not only gave them both some exercise physically it also helped us practise our riding/leading skills.

 

Firstly I saddled and rode Stormy while leading Bella and then I put the saddle on her (shorter girth) and rode her while leading Storm. At the end I let Stormy go so he could graze a bit while Bella and I did some canter work 😉 Very happy, but tired, bunny today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding Stormy while leading Bella

 

 

 

 

Bella did excellently staying by Storm’s side and I made sure she lead from both sides.

She snuck a drink from the barrel where rainwater collected last night.

 

 

Then I rode Bella while leading Stormy 😉 🙂 Both sessions had some really nice forward walk and medium trotting around the cones in a weave….very happy bunny today 😉

 

 

Stormy did very well being led from Bella and she is getting much better at it too 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end I let Stormy off to grab some grazing in the big area which is cut off now it’s Summer, he really really enjoyed it.

I tied Storm’s reins onto the front of Bella’s saddle to get her used to carrying things which bump about on her shoulder or rump.

Bella and I had fun with some jumps and canter straight lines and also canter weaves 😉

We ended on a great note and I then just hung out with her while she snatched some grazing too before putting them back on the track (less grazing so they don’t get fat or laminitis).

 

 

 

 

Wed 18th

Today S&B had a scheduled therapy session with lovely friend Emily. They both LOVE these sessions and we bring them up to the house to make it easier for Emily to get to them. The ride up was really lovely and both S&B had a spring in their steps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was hard for Bella to stand still for her session as the midges made an annoying appearance but Emily managed to give her a good session.

Stormy was as calm as ever, the midges not making him move at all (I think midges like the ladies more anyway, our blood must be sweeter. lol)

After their session I walked them both back to their big field for their dinner and juicy apples 😉

 

 

 

Sat 21st

Been busy out teaching lessons recently but really nice to get a bit of agility done today with both S&B now that the course is up and ready to go.

I started with a good agility ride on Bella (pics taken from not so good video where battery gave up on me after 6 mins ;( ) oops. BUT we did all the obstacles, some trot and a nice wee canter too.

 

 

 

 

 

THEN I brought Stormy in for some Liberty fun….he LOVES Liberty and loves to show off his skills 😉

 

< Front feet in hulahoop

Under umbrella >

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

< Umbrella all around him, flapped it too

Familiarisation with the flag >

 

 

 

 

< Flag all around him, flapping it noisily too

Into the tyre narrow gap and halt >

 

 

 

 

< Backup in narrow gap with me at a distance

Weave through 6 obstacles with flags >

 

 

 

 

 

 

< Through narrow bunting corner…he LOVES doing this one 😉

Draw towards me under the curtain >

 

 

 

 

< Trotting over poles

then trotted onto the tarp >

 

 

 

 

< And a beautiful halt on the tarp 😉

Under the arch towards me >

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 29th

Lovely day for a bit of ridden agility….warm but not hot (like yesterday) and a really nice breeze blowing the flies away  😉

Just a nice quick session, nothing strenuous but a lot of fun for all of us <3

Nice connected moment before we ride. Front foot in hulahoop then move the hindquarters to the left or right. Flag familiarisation.

 

 

 

 

 

Back through narrow gap (I kicked some top tyres off for fun too, she was a star). Familiarisation with an umbrella (FIRST TIME we’ve ever done this. Under the arch.

 

 

 

 

 

Under arch the other way. Weave in walk/trot 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Halt on tarp, backup then trot over it. Trot over 4 poles then under the curtain….it seemed very low today.

 

 

 

 

 

Over a pole with front feet, halt then back off it. THEN JUMP. SIdepass over drainpipe both ways.

 

 

 

 

 

AND CANTER….and do the jump again 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

AND THEN MARK AND STORMY HAVE A GO….same obstacles 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me and Big Stormy then Mark bringing Stormy at liberty back to the water and shelter 😉

 

 

 

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy.co.uk

 

 

 

Sat 3rd

Well…what do you do when you decide to ride BUT (1) you changed the field cone/tyre pattern from 2 circles to a long long straight weave line (2) the horses across the glen for some reason are whinneying and (3) it’s blowing a complete hoolie?????

YUP…you try to ride for a couple of mins then decide everything is just too much of a distraction for wee Bella so go and play online with her instead 🙂

Changed jump wings/poles from a ‘course’ set up to a ‘serpentine’ set up

 

 

 

 

Used to have two ‘circles’ of 8 cones and 8 piles of tyres.

Today I changed this set up, after at least 10yrs of it being this way, to where I had a long long 12 cone weave set up 🙂

Bella was very confused and rightly worried that things had changed so drastically (letting her graze the area for the next day has helped her get used to the new pattern set up) 🙂

 

 

Me and the kids 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

< 2 mins riding, the rest was on foot with Bella online playing and familiarising her to the new set up

 

AND playing helped her focus and relax >

 

 

 

 

Mon 5th

Today is like chalk to cheese from the weekend. We have sunshine and blue skies today 😉

I started off giving Bella a good groom, she still has old hair coming out from her Winter coat but is nearly into her Spring coat now. We then did a small play session with some walk/trot fig 8’s to check willingness, transitions, curves and connection.

 

 

 

 

Then we did some slow ridden checks and warm up using the jump wings and poles for curves, transitions and moving the forehand and hindquarters independently.

 

 

 

 

Onto the main riding session and we were determined to do the 12 cone weave…it’s so lovely to have such a big space to train in an it feels so much wider/larger now the old cone/tyre circles are changed to a cone line for weave/fig 8’s and some work with canter too. We started in trot doing close-to weaves around the cones. On the way back we upped the trot to a big trot and did more of a squiggly snake serpentine weave thereby doing more arc’s, changing my trot diagonal rising in the saddle and getting more curve in Bella’s body. When she felt stiff, mostly going to the right, I put in a circle around cones and then continued. We ended with a wee canter 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wed 7th

2nd attempt at the 12 cone weave. Went much better than yesterday as Bella gets used to the change 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thu 8th

Today, I decided to not do any particular pattern as I felt Bella was getting a bit bored doing the same thing SO we did P2P’s around the field. The only things I was concerned about getting was (1) focus (2) straight to the stopping point (3) better halts where she actually halts well and relaxes into the halt and not keep antsy-ing about trying to move off (4) and once we start off again that she trots (because if she wants to move her feet and has trouble relaxing into her halt then she can use that energy to trot to the next point) 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 11th

We have a lovely day with a bit of sunshine and a nice cool breeze…perfect for a wee ride, and Mark joined us today too.

 

Stormy and Mark enjoying riding bareback today 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Bella and I started off with some trot serpentines using the 12 cones as markers for where to change our curve/diagonals 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then started working on some canter serpentines….this included halts between each change of direction (in the centre by the cones). This helps to teach relaxation between the canter half circles so that Bella starts to look for relaxation at this point and then also to take that relaxation into the canter semi-circle too. At the moment she was bracing against the arc and then rushing canter (thereby not always getting the correct canter lead) SO the halt in the middle allowed us both to think, calm and re think the next arc 😉

Some pics of the halts we did:

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s some pics of the canter today:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And at the end to get our brains back onto something small we did some sidepass over a tube…lovely to end on a good note and a lovely walk to cool down too 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thurs 15th

 

So, I managed to get up really early this morning to go and feed S&B and to snatch a ride before the sun got hot. Always feels good doing this 😉

I was only going to ride the perimeter of the field in walk and then trot BUT as always happens, plans go out of the window.

Bella was doing well when she decided there was a tiger in the low stone wall, did a wee hop, jump and canter to show her spook. I decided to not stop her as I would have done previously but to ASK her to CONTINUE CANTERING the field to show that I was ready for canter and to make a good thing out of a silly thing 😉

I then asked her to trot the field, then canter, trot and then canter the field again 😉 The canter on the map is red 😉 🙂

She did so well and we got to relax and enjoy the canter more and more. This year’s cantering the rail/field has had a good start today.

 

 

 

< Stormy having a wee chat with Bella before we start our ride.

 

Bella checking out the cows and calves that were just moved to this field below ours >

 

 

 

 

 

Bella after our ride and after I put some water on her sweaty back and groomed her again 😉

Yawning is not about tiredness but about processing thoughts, lessons and sometimes a release from stress
(learning can be stressful so teaching slowly and carefully through relaxation and allowing each horse to show how much processing time they need and allow them that time is ultra important).

Bella hasn’t done this sort of yawn for years so today and our relaxed multiple canters across the field was a lesson needed for us both.

 

 

 

 

Bella in thinking mode and mentally tired. She took a few mins on her own and then came for a peppermint and a hug. Then she drifted off to find Stormy and they both went to the shelter to rest and escape the morning sun 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Fri 16th

 

Storm & Bella strategically find the shadows in the shelter this morning….it’s very hot up here.

 

 

Bella putting 4 feet on large pedestal and then first left front then right front on small pedestal for some apple slices 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stormy did the pedestal for apple slices too 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As S&B now off the main field area and on the track for the Summer so I spent the morning putting out some agility obstacles around that area.

< Jump. Archway. Tarp >

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

< 4 Flags. Drain tube. Curtain >

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

< Long narrow gap. Trot poles. Low trot pole >

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

< 12 cone weave. Pole which I attach a rope too. I hold the rope and circle around in walk, trot then canter. Circles rely on me and horse synchronising on the circle as I try to ride it one handed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S&B chilling out on a wee hill just before I went off for my breakfast 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 18th

We have a really nice strong breeze this morning so I get out and feed S&B early and then go to catch Bella for a ride. She decided to not want to be caught just now so I ask Stormy if he wants to be with me…he said ‘OK MUM’ 😉

 

 

I groom and saddle him and then do a bit of play in the field we’ve cordoned off and I’ve put the agility obstacles up in.

He did so well, he never forgets anything and did a lot of the obstacles before I got on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice slow wander about the field popping over a tarp, under the curtain, through a narrow gap….he did so well 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then caught Bella, who was hanging out in the shelter, and did the same with her.

Again, just walking about but some nice work through the obstacle course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun 25th

 

SO, after days of stonkingly hot weather and then nights of hard rain we have a nice day today…..a nice breeze, cool air and some sunshine.

 

We also upped the ante on training too…today I want to try some Canter P2P’s….

We start with walk/trot warm up exercises using the P2P principles so that the pattern is instilled first.

 

 

 

 

Then we try some Canter P2P’s….and didn’t we do well. Yes some of it was in trot and I took what Bella wanted to offer thereby making our exercise fun and not a ‘task’ 😉

Having the pattern down nicely but changing it up so that it’s not boring I made sure Bella had the 3 things she needed which are:

‘Direction. Speed. Destination’

AND having that destination was great to teach her to relax, calm down after the high energy canter pace. She can get a bit antsy and not wanting to keep her feet still after a bit of canter so this was a great exercise for us to learn relaxation after exertion 😉

 

 

 

Bella and Stormy relaxing in the sunny breeze…no flies makes horses happy this time of year 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

 

 

• Shelley – HorseSavvy.co.uk