Crazy ginger pony; back in business!

Today was a very good day (look at me being all positive, high five me, I rock)! All the ponies, apart from Ronaldo obviously, were worked which is always a sign of a successful day. Sunny was a bit quiet and really didn't seem himself on the lunge although he did learn that he can go over poles and they will not kill him despite what he seems to believe. He then promptly proceeded to show us that actually he did feel fine and dandy after all by making a swift exit into the garden at high speed. Oddly enough he perked up significantly after this little adventure... aaah Sundance. 
  Jack did some schooling over a poles exercise in which I set up a makeshift arena with the help of some poles to work on both straight lines and bending. I warmed him up with the draw reins just as a slight helping hand and he went really nice and then took them off for the rest of the session. Walk and canter he is coming on nicely and is where I'd expect him to be, his trot, as always is most definitely a work in progress still, however there was definitely a slight improvement today, even if it was only the tiniest bit of a difference. I was able to ride him on a loose rein in trot and he did quite a bit of stretching and relaxing through his neck which is a massive deal for him! Still a long, long way to go and I guess for anyone who doesn't know him it doesn't make sense that this would be a big deal, but hey ho, it's a positive small step in the right direction. I just need to learn to ride through my seat and legs rather than hanging onto my reins which I hate that I do on him as I don't seem to do it on any other horse, but at least I know what I need to work on, so we can take the positives from today and move forward from this! He also got a new bridle today, eeeh how exciting! A massive thank you to Emma for lending me the money so he didn't miss out on his shiny new, (v, v tiny, pony size) bridle (yes, that's correct my 15.1hh now owns two pony bridles. Kind of embarrassing really). It was a massive bargain, £60 off the original price and it has quite clearly never been used, it doesn't even look like it's been tried on for size, oh Jack you are a jammy bugger! 

he's a handsome fella 

more of this please!! 

Then to finish off with a had a jump on Sparkie pony who had been waiting, not necessarily patiently, all day to have his turn and had helped me set up poles and jumps for everyone else but him, so when was it going to be his turn please and thank you!!!??? The last time I jumped him at home properly was in December, so it has been a while and I didn't realise just how much we both missed it. He was bloody awesome (he always is). However I am clearly very out of practice at sitting to his crazy strides (notice how I specifically placed ground poles closer to the jump? Yeh Sparkie didn't either). Is he the best thing since sliced bread because I very well think he could be... 

I apologise profusely pony

bloody nutter

we can jump skinnies we can!! little pro!!

Picking dem knees up

Busy couple of days with the ponies! Yesterday was Sunny and Sparkies turn. Both have had quite a bit of time off (can count the amount of times sparks has been ridden this year on one hand!) but they were both super considering. 

After his massage last week sparkie felt like he moved a lot better and was nowhere near as tense as he usually is. With how much time off he's had I wasn't 100% sure what to expect from him but he was SO perfect. Had a bit of a wobble again the last couple of days so being back on the princess pony was exactly what I needed to put a smile back on my face, he honestly is my little hero. He schooled really nicely (as nice as his schooling ever gets haha) and did some raised poles as recommended last week beautifully, he felt like he was on springs it was super cute! Finished with popping a small jump again absolutely perfecto and having a little canter around the field. Whenever I'm feeling a little bit sad a ride on my best friend always helps. 

Then today I went up the yard nice and early to try and miss the rain (we just caught the tail end boooooo) and pessoaed both ponies. Jack is not a massive fan of the pessoa so I was fully expecting him to be a tit but he was actually a super good boy, couldn't have faulted him in any way he was a little super star and worked lovely! He also did some raised trotting poles and for his first time having a crack at them he was fab, what a good boy. Sparkie was also a star again, he was trotting around like a little pro and nailed the poles every time, very good ponies today!!! 

Baby horse saves bef's ass take two

This seems to be becoming a regular occurrence. 
Took Jack Arena Eventing today. Decided to be be brave and enter the 75cm which is the biggest class he's done so far however any braveness I was in possession of in 2014 has gone on what I hope is a temporary holiday and I wasn't feeling quite so brave today (can I not just do the 50cm please and thank you). Jack was a complete saint and saved me multiple times, I was an absolute wreck before we entered the ring and had pretty much decided that if he stopped at the first fence that was cool I'd rather just go home and have a cry and be a loser in general really. However, as usual he is a completely different horse when in the ring, he has a job to do and he loves it he switches on 100% and was a little super star. He was kind of like 'it's cool Mum, you just be a passenger, I got this, I can do a much better job without you to be honest!'. We had a few run outs which were due to a general lack of steering due to rider shitting bricks, but he jumped so well and was such a pleasure, not phased by the water or the fillers or anything and actually jumped loads better over that height (as in actually jumped. Not just skipped merrily over the top). He was a very nice pony to be around today and I love him lots and apologise for the prune of a rider plonked on top. 

Yesterday I went to play ponies in the sun with Lottie and had such a lovely day! Big thank you to one of the liveries at her yard for letting me have a play on her horse Paddy he was lovely and I wish to take him home. I also wish to take Star home because he is 100% one of the coolest horses I've ever met. More days like yesterday please!

because sometimes we just need a good old kick up the arse

Had a very busy two days with the ponies; busy days are my favourite! Yesterday we took Jack to Watt Meadow for some sj schooling. Now I'm going to be completely honest and say this didn't start off in the best way. In all fairness to him he warmed up lovely in a very spooky arena right next to a very busy road, I had him completely on buckle end which is quite a big deal as he's usually super tense and strong so that was nice but then as soon as we started jumping things went out the side door a little. The lags few rides haven't been the most spectacular and it looked like it was going to be another shitty day, he was completely uninterested and felt completely backwards coming into a fence. Now he is a horse that without a doubt loves his job, he is usually pulling me towards fences with his ears forward and wouldn't think twice about stopping so this was very, very out of character and kind of a big flashing warning sign that something needed to be done. Without a doubt I was the problem, without going into detail because I don't believe the internet is the place for sharing your private life, things haven't been all gravy lately and I've always believed that horses 100% pick up on your mood; I didn't want to be there and to jump so neither did Jack which is fair enough. So I decided to take a different approach to the whole outing and to sit back, put a smile on my face and try and remember exactly why I love horses. I just let him take charge and sat quiet and stopped interfering. I can honestly say that the difference within five minutes says a whole lot for how mind sight plays a role in horse riding because the minute I started to relax and enjoy myself again he was like a different horse, back to the old Jack, flying round everything and tanking me towards fences a few minutes ago he wouldn't even trot over. We finished doing a 2ft9 course of 11/12 jumps a few times and he went so beautifully round it, by far the best he's ever jumped round a course. It's not like me to be overly cheesey but I have to give him his due because I was in desperate need of having a great time and laughing and smiling on a horse again, so thank you for my wonderful baby pony for fixing me a little. I promise I will try and be a happier bef from now on so I can have happy, awesome ponies. 

 Then today the ponies all (minus Ronald) had a visit from a very nice (Sunny begs to differ) lady to have a sports massage! They were all very good ponies and I was especially super proud of Jack for being a grown up and letting a stranger poke and prod him; he even had a little nap at some points! For anyone who knows how stressy he is on the ground you will realise this is v impressive. Sparkie was more interested in trying to eat the straw in the stable and begging for treats but he was a good boy (when is he not?) 

I loves them lots. Cheers ponies you da bestest ❤️💙

New clothes

Jack has a grown up boy saddle! 

The saddler came out on Tuesday to measure him up (which can I add he was a super good boy for!) and she had this one with her that fitted both him and me perfectly so I brought it on the day. It isn't really what I was looking for unfortunately, but still looks very smart and fits so, so much better than what we were working with before so hey ho, at least he finally has a proper saddle! I rode him in it properly for the first time yesterday and I finally felt like I had a semi decent leg position on him which has been a problem I've been trying to crack for the past few years haha, he was a very good boy and jumped nicely, just had a few stops here and there which were completely my fault as my confidence has hit a complete low at the minute, I would quite happily let the horses live out in the field being content and stuffing their faces and pack riding in completely.... Oh well, we shall crack on and move on and try and keep smiling!

I cannot think of a witty or creative title as I am a very tired Bef

(I apologise for the title) 

So yesterday I took Jack out SJ schooling at an indoor school near me (with the help of my glamorous assistants Emma and Mother). It was a new venue I hadn't tried before and would definitely recommend Priory, the staff were very friendly and the stables looked nice enough for me to live in myself! I was originally going to book the outdoor but my Dad suggest to book the indoor because a) the weather and b) Jack doesn't have that much experience with indoors and gets quite tense in the one at Ashwood so it's something we need to work on. He was a super star, we had a few minor disagreements but I cannot fault him for this as he just messed a stride, completely missed his spot and being the trooper he is decided to still plow himself through, totalling the jump and actually hitting himself in the face with a pole. He's usually a very confident horse (for his age!) but understandably it gave him a bit of a fright so we had a few stops and poles but it's the first proper jumping session we've had away from home and the first proper jumping session in a good couple of months, so we were both a little rusty (me more so than him definitely!) Was very, very pleased with him though, he had a great attitude to all that he was asked to do as usual, wasn't bothered by the new poles or wings that he hadn't seen before and ended on a 90cm course which is the biggest course we've ever jumped around. Just got to keep working away at now, but we're making progress I like to think! He's also in a new bit now (A cambridge mouth pelham) which he is miles more relaxed in and has already started to settle more on the flat in just two sessions which is very nice to feel. Once again, we got on the trailer in 5 minutes both ways also, so good baby horse! 
 Hopefully next week we're going to try the new Arena Eventing XC Technique at Someford; don't worry, Sparkie will have a turn to go out and play soon, I do feel a little bit bad and maybe that I'm leaving him out sometimes but he had such a busy summer last year with only one week off so it's nice for him to have a nice chilled winter to relax for a bit. He is happy being his usual super cute self in the field for now whilst we try to make a mark on our flatwork :) 

  

Arena Eventing take two...

On Sunday we headed off to Ashwood again to play at Arena Eventing but this time I decided to bite the bullet and take both my boys. I've only ever taken them out both together (with me riding both of them) once both before so this was kind of a trial run. We had a few glitches and stressful moments but this was always going to be the way until we get into the swing of things, its just going to take some practice to get there! No placings (although I think Jack was just out of it and came 7th?) but they were both very good boys. Sparkie flew round the first half of the course and would have completely walked it if he hadn't started napping in the corner which caused him to have a couple of run outs. Once he'd been told to get on with his job and had a little smack on the shoulder he was back to flying round, so it's a shame he had his little tantrum but we can work on this in the future! 

Jack was a bit of a handful on the ground as he gets separation anxiety quite badly so was being a bit of a plonker, so hats off to my mum and Emma for dealing with him! He was a lot more settled once I was on him, although still very attached to Sparkie; when he's like that it makes me want to not take him out because he's such a pain in the arse but the only way for him to learn is to keep going I guess- the best practice is ring practice. Unfortunately due to his girth mysteriously going missing he's borrowing one at the moment which is miles to big to his saddle would not stay put which was super distracting when we got into the ring. Also my skull cap is slightly too big and kept slipping down which a) is super annoying because I can't see where I'm going and b) super painful as I have excess brain fluid at the top of the nose which is now nice and swollen, cheers skull cap! Feel like I am making a lot of excuses there, but it made it quite hard to ride him haha, kind of had to just sit still and hope for the best so considering he was pretty amazing and flew round with just one run out as his saddle had slipped to a position that he couldn't have jumped out; he jumped it no problem second time round so really he was just saving my arse by running out! He found the jumps far too easy though so maybe next time we need to try the next class up! It took us less than 10 minutes to load him either way as well, good Jack pony; just to learn to keep all four feet on the ground all the time now.