Riding again

Well I have ridden more in the last few days than I have in the last 10 months!
A combination of things happened this past week or so. After the Haflinger Spring Show I suddenly felt a bit more confident about things - or at least like I was ready to move on a bit. Pete said: 'Can you just get on with riding again now?' and then Alfie had the first signs of laminitis last week when I stupidly left him out on a teensy bit more grass than he is used to and we had a day of rain on dry ground, followed by a day of beautiful sunshine.
I went down last Wednesday evening to find him a bit uncomfortable on his off fore and I could feel that telltale bounding pulse around his fetlock - panic! I left him in for 24 hrs and fortunately it appears I caught it in time. Since then (apart from the last 24 hrs) I have changed his routine and brought him in during the day - much to his disgust - and put him out at night. I was furious with myself.
So then I thought I ought to exercise him a bit more to keep his weight down. I had been lungeing him but hadn't ridden him since my first 2 tries, but apart from the ground being hard and it not being very good for his legs, I don't want to end up with a super fit horse that I haven't sat on!!!
So, I rode last Friday, Sat and Monday. I actually rode too - asked him for a bit more effort and had a plan of what I wanted to achieve. Not that we brilliantly achieved everything by any stretch - even turning a corner was a bit of a challenge if Alfie was gazing in the other direction!! But he seemed to enjoy the work.
I forced myself to ride Saturday as I am still a bit nervous about falling off and seem to get into the mindset of - well I rode yesterday and that was good so maybe I shouldn't push my luck and ride again today. It might be the day I fall off - so I got on again!! I feel better once I am on and am loving my new saddle. I even got some fantastic jog from Alfie despite the bumpy field. He had never really cottoned onto the slow, relaxed jog. He always wants to go at Alfie speed which is not hanging around.  Maybe the comfortable saddle is helping relax his back and swing along.

I do need to smile a bit more though instead of concentrating so hard!! I really do enjoy riding him I think - not that you would think so from these photos!!



Nice jog Alfie




How NOT to turn your pony by AC

Pay attention Alf (how grumpy can I look!!!)

 Oh - one problem - I can't lope anymore!! He can. No bucks, squeals or anything, but I have turned into a bouncy sack of potatoes banging up and down on the saddle. Can't do too much in the bumpy field so I am looking forward to going to Bruce's in July and spending some time working on this in the arena.
These pics have also been useful to me to see what I am doing wrong - note to self: Don't lean towards the way I am trying to turn - lift up instead, when trying to teach Alfie about neck reining, it is not his fault when he turns his head to the left instead of turning his shoulders to the right. It is because I am not pushing my hands far enough forward and am pulling his head around. Oh yes. And SMILE a bit more!! (And do some sit ups!!!)

Getting rid of ghosts

I am glad we did it. On the way up to the college (well from about Warwick) I couldn’t get out of my mind that last time I had come up this road was in an ambulance, then when we were going down the drive over the speed bumps, I could really remember the ambulance going over those and the driver apologising to me. So by the time I got there, I was feeling OK but it was very much on my mind. Very very much. I wasn’t at all nervous of doing the stuff with Alfie, but there was this whole other THING there that I had to deal with.

We did the in hand training first which was good. Both Alfie and BB were a bit on their toes and fidgety as we had left them on the lorry til the last minute (bit of a mistake!!) and it was absolutely blowing a GALE. Fed up of this wind. It was in the covered arena which was rattling and banging, so all things considered they were very good. Anyway, we had to stand up the top end – right by where it happened. I could turn and look at the path, the hump he slipped over on, etc. It was like I had to. When I was waiting for my turn, I just took him over there and stood by the fence and looked out on to it. I went through picturing everything, worked out which bit of slope he had slipped on, where he must have moved to for me to be sat where I ended up, how it must have been, how it looked, how everyone in the covered arena had to stop their dressage etc etc. Then I talked quietly to Alfie about it and then told him it was all OK now and we would be fine together – and then I felt much better and it wasn’t the overriding thing in my head any more. Definitely felt I had needed to do that.

In fact it is a bit odd now, it is almost like I have done everything – handled Alfie, ridden alfie, ridden another horse, been back to the college........sort of feel empty (but not in a bad way) just in a weird way. Almost like it has been so much part of me for so long and that has kind of been something to hang on to – almost an excuse for things I suppose in a way – so whilst I am now hugely glad I have been there and got it over with, I feel a bit like my crutch has gone too. I don’t know if that makes any sense. I am probably over analysing again.

The other REALLY weird thing is this. When I had gone through it in my head and realised it was almost the therapy I needed and it was almost the last major hurdle I had to face,  Alfie did a great big sigh and yawned. He felt very still. He definitely remembered something had happened. I am sure he won't remember what but horses can tell so much and I know him so well it was almost like I had a brief fleeting glimpse of his feelings.

Weird.

So, Margaret davenport was doing the training. She said Alfie ran out really well. Then we did the show class and Jane was judging that. It was a huge class – 12 in it. It took an hour and quarter to judge and must have been really hard. I saw Jane after and she explained more about the judging and things she was looking for. Alfie only came 10^th out of 12 (!) but I knew he wouldn’t do well as all the others were a bit taller, more slender and with plenty of wither – more the ‘riding type’ they so favour now. However they all moved beautifully and Alfie was a bit more like a pony with a leg at each corner!! Bless him.

When Jane judged him, she was with Kim and she was saying outloud his good and bad points. She told me she was pulling my horse apart but it wasn’t anything she wouldn’t say to my face!!! It was the stuff I knew really – flat and very wide across the withers, fat around the shoulder (no riding!), wide ribcage, but in proportion. Nice straight legs. Not quite what she was looking for though in ‘type’ but not a bad horse at all.

I think I will stick to Western!!

It was fun going in Helen’s lorry. Felt very posh and Alfie travelled brilliantly in it considering he has never been in one before. It was cool as she has a camera so you can watch them. I was riveted!! On the way back they both dozed off with their chins resting in the tack lockers in front of them!!

A good day. Sadly photos will have to wait as I left my new show jacket, Alfie's passport and my camera in Helen's lorry!