Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to 'all' my blog's readers! Quotation marks as I am not sure how many I have! Only four, so far, have made themselves known in the reader list. But, nevertheless, thank you for reading my ramblings on and here's to another year of horsey stuff and life! 

Things have started to improve again after my loss of confidence a couple of weeks ago. I have had a couple of booster lessons with Annika, private and in a group, to get going with R again. She has been trying to 'spook' at things but I have taken heed of Annika's advice and started to ride R with more purpose. If/when she has tried to look at something I have given her more leg or tapped with a whip to say "Oi, listen to me, you ARE going as I want you to go, no messing." And I think it has worked.

To round up the year with Rainbow, we took part in Christmas Dressage competition yesterday. First I wasn't going to do it, due to being busy with Christmas prep, but then I realised it might be my last chance to ride R before the Xmas break, and as the school is always reserved for competitors on the day, I knew I wouldn't otherwise have a chance of riding indoors. As my decision to take part was as quick as made on the day before, I didn't even have a chance to learn the test, so I asked for a reader. 

Fancy dress was optional. We donned reindeer antlers and I had a bit of tinsel around my neck. I didn't know if Rainbow would be afraid of the tinsel, so didn't put any on her, just in case. However, she seemed to be very interested in my tinsel and tried to eat it off my neck! So she's not scared. Tim came to help me with the preparations – attaching the antlers on both, and such. I also made him plait some of Rainbow's mane. He was doing as instructed but exclaimed that you can tell they've been done by a man. They were perhaps a little haphazard but I think we weren't exactly Grand Prix either :).

In order to get some extra points, I introduced myself and Rainbow to the judges as "Elina and 'Reindeer'... I mean Rainbow!" *cue laughter* ... Well I thought it was funny...

The rest of the test didn't go brilliantly, I only remembered the first two moves and after that had to rely on the reader. When we had to do two half circles from E to X and then X to B, my mind went blank as to which way I was meant to tackle it. So lost two points on that. Silly me! Anyway, overall, we didn't do much worse than last time: 57,39%. And, now we have done both W&T test A and B, so now we can start improving on both. I maintain the main thing is to do it, to make competition as routine as possible, then we can start improving on our craft.

In the warm up ring

Sorry, no pics or video of our actual performance. Tim didn't get my mobile phone to work for some reason. Perhaps it's for the better...

Results

Time to chill out

This week hasn't been easy. I have been feeling less confident and upbeat about anything horsey. The dark, busy time with work and impending Christmas, I don't think, are helping either. I feel I don't have enough hours in the day (especially daylight hours!) to complete all the stuff I want to – and I don't even have a nine-to-five job or children! I don't know how those who have manage it all... But I guess, at the moment, I do everything myself with Rainbow, so if I had other responsibilities I would delegate more possibly. 

After my last post, the week continued in tricky terms as my sore back and shaken confidence didn't make riding or doing anything with Rainbow that pleasurable. I rode her on Tuesday – after having given her the weekend off and having lunged her on Monday – and she seemed to take the mick in the school, by looking at poles and whatnot lying on the ground. I didn't feel strong enough, mentally, to take her on, although I now realise I should have. Scared I was, I guess. Really didn't want to fall off a second time in the same week. Then I tried to raise canter and R shook her head and leant downwards, as if to buck, so I quickly pulled on the reins and didn't attempt cantering again. I realise how cowardly this all seems. 

Falling off didn't bother me when I had my bump a few weeks ago, as I knew it was my balance error and R did nothing wrong. But when I know the horse has misbehaved and caused me falling off, it really affects my confidence. And the 'problem' with owning a horse is that I can't hand her back and just pick another for the next time. 

On Thursday I thought I'd lunge her again to give myself a break and to get R moving anyway. She went fine one way but when I changed reins she just began turning in and refusing to go in a circle. I tried to get her going for a bit but she just kept squaring up to me. I had to get help, as I knew I wouldn't be able to leave it at that. Some of the girls came to help but despite all of us trying in different ways she wasn't really having it. In the end she went the other direction with the lunge rein in her mouth, cantering like a wild horse, when one of the girls was trying to get her to obey... No, not like this... 

Then, a very experienced dressage instructor, who was about to start a lesson with someone else, and saw me struggling with R, said to just stand next to R and ask her to walk with you. Rainbow didn't want to move/do as she was told but kept reversing. Well eventually got her to move with me and the instructor said that at least this means you've won at least one battle with her. Next time I have to get help when lunging her and today Annika suggested that she just needs one good slap on the bum if she's not working – from me – as often you just need to show them who's boss. At the moment she is testing me and this week has been Rainbow's own little "Let's test 'mummy' and see if she's really worthy of the name 'mum'."-week. Yeah, thanks.

So my mood worsened as the week wore on. I got Claire to ride Rainbow for me on Friday, which was good as asked her to work her hard, as I had only been dilly-dallying with her most of the week so she hadn't had proper exercise, and not let her look at things in the school. Then, in my darkest moments, I have also been harbouring thoughts of turning Rainbow into sausage – so, hands up, I haven't been in the best place for 'harmonious horsemanship'. 

On Sunday, however, we had a hack with Denise and Zara. The exciting place came when we had to pass a stud farm, which we have passed many times, but Rainbow was super sensitive to all the sounds coming from the fields on both sides of the road. There were yearlings frolicking on one side but the hedgerow stopped R from seeing them, so she decided to side step along the road in an alarmed manner. I was trying to do my best sack-of-potatoes impression on her to keep her calm. Somehow I managed to control her, though at one point I nearly felt myself losing the moment. But falling on the tarmac wasn't an option in my mind. Luckily the rest of the hack was less eventful. Though, Zara, at one point, took dislike of a man cycling along a path with his two little sons, so I overtook Denise and Zara, as R wasn't bothered by them, so we lead them for a bit to get past the cyclists. The little victories I guess...!

Today I decided to have private lesson with Annika and was just honest about my feelings and asked her to give me a simple 'confidence booster' lesson with circles thrown in, as those we didn't perform well in the last dressage test. Annika just told me to ride Rainbow effectively and do lots of things with her – transitions, then circles, another transition, canter, trot, etc. Meaning that basically by giving Rainbow things to think about she'll have less time to spook at things. Annika also reminded me that Rainbow isn't a spooky horse, so it's just her excuse to misbehave. After a 30-minute lesson I was absolutely knackered. I think I wasn't only riding Rainbow and getting tired but I was also off-loading the bent-up frustrations I had harboured the whole week, so afterwards I felt tired but a lot more positive. It's amazing how a little lesson like that can instantly make you feel better and help you to put the negative thoughts aside and help put things in perspective. 

Like butter wouldn't melt... :). No but I wanted to show off my mum's present to Rainbow - a new rain turnout rug from Biltema (in Finland)! It's very well made and has all the clips one would wish for.

I am not saying R isn't going to test me again and that I am 100% back to what I was a few weeks ago, but I guess it's the eternal fluctuations in mood/confidence/horse/me that makes life interesting.

To finish off, I have added a link to my new favourite band's song, I Will Wait for You by Mumford & Sons. If you have never heard them, have a listen. Love this song, and I think it's upbeat melody as well as the poignant lyrics have actually helped me to have faith in me and Rainbow again. Time to chill out and slide into the holiday season and Christmas with a smile on my face.

Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait for You

And I came home
Like a stone
And I fell heavy into your arms
These days of darkness
Which we've known
Will blow away with this new sun

And I'll kneel down
Wait for now
And I'll kneel down
Know my ground

And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

So break my step
And relent
You forgave and I won't forget
Know what we've seen
And him with less
Now in some way
Shake the excess

But I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

So I'll be bold
As well as strong
And use my head alongside my heart
So tame my flesh
And fix my eyes
That tethered mind free from the lies

But I'll kneel down
Wait for now
I'll kneel down
Know my ground

Raise my hands
Paint my spirit gold
And bow my head
Keep my heart slow

Cause I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you

Lunging Rainbow

I thought I'd lunge Rainbow today as the lesson we try and do on Monday mornings was fully booked and I am also suffering from a slightly sore lower back thanks to Rainbow chucking me off on Friday (fallen off, again!, I hear you say... My thoughts exactly...). It was a very calm lesson and we were just trotting around the school and taking turns with others in doing some forehand turns at the other end of the school (in which she was very good at, despite never having done them before!). Anyway, I think it was just a strip of sunlight beaming in from the ceiling and perhaps our shadows moved in the light, so suddenly R decided it was too much and did a sharp evasion to the left while I was mid-air in doing the rising trot. Before I knew it, I was on the ground. Stupid horse.

So that's how I came to the decision today that lunging would be the best mild activity for both of us. As an extra bonus to a beautiful day outside, a friend agreed to film us, so here's the film. To jazz up the relatively mundane video of a horse going around in circles I put Robbie Williams' "Candy" soundtrack to it and added some snazzy transitions. I do have real work to get on with but I am clearly procrastinating by compiling silly videos instead... 

I claim not to be exactly like Candice in Robbie's song, even though I am fairly educated and sometimes struggle to count to ten ;)... However, the song has always struck a cord with me as it has been playing on the radio for the whole autumn and I've often heard it on my trips to the yard. 

No prizes for spotting words such as "Rainbows and her ponies" :)... Hey ho here we go!

Mud, mud, mud...

After my snowy weekend stint in Finland, I am left somewhat forlorn and disappointed about the local weather here. Life in the yard is a constant battle against mud and dirt. However, the little snow fall we had here yesterday, remarkably cheered me up. My chickens were so funny: being so young, they had never seen snow before, so even the little dusting on the ground made them suspicious and, bless, they tried to fly over the snowiest bits, in order to move from one part of the garden to another.

With this in mind when I went to the yard this morning – during the daylight hours, for a change! – I wasn't really overly surprised or shocked to have discovered a spot of mud fever in Rainbow's one hind foot. I was brushing off the dried up mud and picking her fetlocks to remove some stubborn lumps of mud, when I suddenly noticed the irritated, pinkish skin... "Oh, no, please no...", thinking to myself. Having never seen mud fever before – other than in photos – I asked for a second opinion from one of the girls. As such it was confirmed and I was instructed to gently wash it, dry it and then add anti-bac onto it. Fine, except the frozen taps due to the exceptionally cold weather and no clean towels at hand made the whole operation rather challenging. I had to boil some hot water in the warm room a couple of times, in order to wash the fetlock area and to make it a bit more comfortable for Rainbow. Didn't really have heart to splash ice-cold water on R's feet. 

I also had to get some stuff to put on the irritated skin. One of the girls told me to go and buy Hypocare in the shop... As I didn't have any other stuff at hand, I thought I'd give it a go, as the girl had told me it's "amazing stuff" and can be used for almost anything. 

www.horseware.com/hypocare

No mud spa (the paddock) for Rainbow for a few days, while I keep an eye on her feet. Will need to keep her as dry as possible for a while, too...  I hope I've caught it early, as the skin only looked a little irritated pink, not totally raging red or oozing anything, so that's good. 

But it's never fun to discover something like this and, especially, when I have tried to be sensible, so haven't over-washed her feet and always let the mud to dry before brushing it off. I have also kept her stable as clean and dry as possible, with plenty of straw bedding, which actually is brilliant stuff for cleaning. I often put R in her stable with muddy feet and by morning the straw has brushed them off and dried her feet too. Apparently, according to the shop-keeper, mud fever has been bad this year. So, possibly, I am not alone.  Ho hum. 

Weekend in Finland

This weekend, I popped in Finland to see my folks. I combined the visit with attending Johanna's birthday bash and I also wanted to see her new pony – and she had recently moved yards as well, so wanted to see their new abode, too. Now her trotting racing horse, Emmi, and the new pony, Kuu, live in the posh stables in Laukon Kartano (Laukko estate). It's a private livery yard and also a racing yard. The facilities are superb. For example, the stable Johanna's horse and pony live is so beautiful and roomy inside – just look at the width of that corridor in the middle! The stable, obviously, also has warm showering and wash-down area for horses, with warm water on tap. Ah, if only where I keep my horse... And the radio in the corner of the stable was playing to cheer up both horses and their humans ;).

Driving there through the estate

Laukko estate and fields

Posh stable

We arrived when the sun was already setting – around 3pm in Finland this time of year – so, unfortunately, we didn't quite manage hacking out around the estate. But we rode the horses in the outdoor arena under floodlights, for about 20–25 mins until I started to complain losing sensation in my fingers and toes... Well it was a 'mere' -17 Celsius, so rather nippy! I haven't ridden in such cold conditions – and in snow! – since I was a kid. Rather puts the complaints of cold weather in England into perspective... This morning it was 2 degrees here. 


It was lovely to ride Kuu (he's a Haflinger, originally from Belgium). He is only 4 and he seems very eager to please, but he is a bit basic in his skills at the moment, as even the tiniest squeeze of the leg results in rather enthusiastic 'jolt' forwards. I had to learn to just squeeze buttocks to get a gentler effect. He has been, so far, ridden with basic aids, so he always thinks leg means forward and nothing else – I couldn't get him to yield (though must be said, I am no expert either!). So we ended up trotting around until it got too cold to hold the reins. Kuu has also been taught a bit of reversing by Johanna and her friend, so when I asked him to stand, he instantly wanted to show me his new reversing skills, too! 

I believe that in this case, photos speak louder than words, so here a few pics:

Bijoux - aka Kuu in his box

Elina and Kuu

My feet rather sticking forward - I blame the cold!

Reversing when should be standing still :)

And staaaand...

Johanna getting Emmi ready

Kiss kiss

"I love you, Mummy!"

The day my heart sang

What a lovely Sunday. Yesterday, Tim and I popped in Belgium. Yes, Belgium. The country. We drove from Oxfordshire to Folkestone where we caught the Channel Tunnel (car train) and drove from Calais via Lille towards Brussels. We didn't have to go all the way to Brussels, but to a small town called Soignies. 

This trip was to do with vintage cars, which is the other passion in our household. We took some Riley car parts to a man in Belgium and in exchange he gave us a 1912 Fiat. Well, the Fiat is not in a proper car shape, but was only a chassis, engine block and front axle. But Tim thinks it's pretty neat, so what can I say.

Anyway, this trip meant that we drove around 550 miles in one day = 16 hours of sitting in the car, only to have a quick dinner in a roadside restaurant somewhere near Lille. Well, it was a road trip of sorts! As a thank you for my 'supportive girlfriend' act, I was rewarded with a breakfast in bed. Nice.

But I had to soon head off to the yard as I had agreed to go on a hack. The last few days have been awful here; really rainy – flooding and sorts – so today's sunny Sunday was a real rest-bite from the horrid weather of late. 

While I had been on my Tour de France and Belgium, I had given Rainbow a couple of days off. She got to spend them in the field, so today I found a happy and chilled horse in the stable. I was running a bit late so quickly tacked R up and headed out with Sharon + Lenny and Alison + Seamus. We had a lovely walk and trot hack around the nearby villages – winding up through the fields of a stud farm. The sun was out and even the wind wasn't as blowy as it had been. 

When we wound up back to the yard, it started to rain, so I would say we were really lucky.

I enjoyed today's hack and looking into the distance, and even though I felt a bit tired after yesterday's long day, I felt so lucky and happy to be sitting there on Rainbow and ambling through the beautiful countryside. Today my heart sang.

The only way is up

In the words of 1980s pop singer Yazz, The Only Way is Up...! Our dressage test didn't quite go to plan. We barely scraped together 58% of points. So we got a black 8th place rosette - last in our class that is - and a long list of comments from the judges on how to improve. 

I remembered the route correctly, so that was good. I had been practising it in our kitchen with Tim calling out the instructions and one of my cats casually lying in the middle of the floor, roughly where I was meant to halt for the end salute, over the G and X markers. Thanks Kay... Well, I can't blame the poor performance on my cat. 

Basically I need to get Rainbow moving with purpose and be forward thinking. Also bending to the right direction. She was also looking at the borders and letters occasionally, although I didn't want to ride her with super-tight rein, as I felt it's better to look more relaxed and fluid. Perhaps I was a bit too relaxed. 

So, lots of circles, loops and serpentines in our weekly flatwork practice from now on. Also, I think I need to stop the slightly flaky riding style, I admit to falling into occasionally, where I am not driving Rainbow forward with enough purpose. As a horse, she is on the slower and calmer side, and perhaps she knows that I am not constantly pushing her enough, so we end up plodding along. But, let's not also forget that she is also young and I am a novice, and we have only been together for 6 months, so I shouldn't be too hard on myself. 

I know it's common for 'losers' to say this, but the main thing is that we participated. But I believe that, as now that I have been in that competitive situation, I will know how to improve. Any amount of lessons can't make you perfect, as I believe you have to put what you've learned into practice and test out how it holds. It didn't hold brilliantly for us, but at least now I know where to go next in terms of training/practice.

This was the first test we did. I plan to do another test in December - it will be a fun Christmas themed fancy dress dressage day, so I am planning on putting antlers on Rainbow!

The best thing about yesterday was to, again, realise lovely my horse is: I have never plaited a mane before, so I was quite slow doing it. The entire time, as I fiddled along, she stood still, ever-patiently and calmly waiting for me to work through all of it, in the horribly cold and windy weather. 

At least we had a chance to look smart for the day, instead of the usual mud covering (on both of us).

A balancing act

I took an unfortunate tumble on Sunday. It was yet another show jumping day at our yard – there's either dressage or show jumping almost every weekend – but I wasn't taking part. Though, I wanted to use the back school before the competition started. 

We were casually trotting around the back school, on our own, and did a few transitions, etc. The back school had been set up as the warm up arena, so it had two low jumps in it. I thought I'd take the cross poles with Rainbow – as that's easy enough! Wrong! We cantered towards it and Rainbow wants to please, so she takes a mighty bouncy leap over the minuscule jump, I am not prepared, or well balanced it seems, so before I know it I am in mid-fall across the air on Rainbow's left side. I reach the ground. Rainbow stops and looks at me like "why are you on the floor?" I bounce right back up and go to her. We stand around for a few moments to decide if we are OK and then I decide to jump back on. 

The ever-compliant rider in me, and what's been hammered down my throat forever in riding is that always end on a good note. I wasn't particularly shaken by the fall, though, I had slightly bumped my head onto the ground, so I was thinking if I have a concussion. Anyway, decided to at least take the jump once more, this time prepared for the leap and end on a good note. Up we went towards the jump and Rainbow takes yet another leap. This time I hang on, just. Basically hugging Rainbow's neck with my face planted into her mane. Stylish. Luckily no one saw.

Last night we had Claire's lesson again and we were doing a bit of flatwork and then jumping too. It's amazing how the presence of an instructor makes you do things better. I think it must be the running commentary of instructions that are being shouted at me: "Go into jumping position!", "Keep weight to your heels!",  "Grab the neck strap. Now!", "Well done!"

Rainbow was jumping well and I didn't fall off. And when she took the cross poles in a slightly leapier way than the other jumps, I wasn't thrown off balance but let her do her thing underneath me. Alison, who was sharing my lesson, said that I looked good jumping but she reckoned that the reason Rainbow jumped the cross poles in a bouncier way was a timing issue – she looked like we got too close to it and then she had to bounce harder to go over the poles. Something I need to work on.

Claire also said that jump regularly, but perhaps it's better to have an instructor with me when I do it, so neither of us lose confidence, ensuring we jump the best we can. 

Righty ho, without further ado, I must dash as it's Dressage day and I have to go and try transform my muddy cob to a Grand Prix style dressage horse! 

Signed, sealed and... delivered?

Certainly signed and sealed but not sure if delivered, we'll see on Thursday.

I have now signed us up for our first Dressage test. My legs are going slightly jelly-like just thinking about it. Last night I pumped myself up full of online video tutorials on how to plait a mane... Next, I will try and find a video about the test we're doing - I have the test sheets already. This weekend's riding will be dedicated to learning the test.

We are doing British Dressage Walk & Trot B 2009. Nothing spectacular. My aim is to get the route right (i.e. remember it!) and hope that Rainbow doesn't freak out about the arena borders (she hasn't before when others have ridden her).

At least this now gives me a good excuse to travel to Robinsons, in Basingstoke, this weekend, to stock up all things dressage... I don't own a showjacket or white jodhs yet, and I think my old black riding boots that mum bought me when I was 9 (off the Kaupin Talli noticeboard, in Tampere), second hand, are a bit too old to be worn now. They still fit me, I kid you not! Mum clearly bought them for me with 'a little room to grow into', ummmmm... 20 years later they still fit me... Proves how little I have grown. I remember, they cost 50 Marks, which was a largish amount back then - and I think mum wanted to save a bit in boots (that I would grow out of!) as she had spent a small fortune on my beautiful and brand-new real-suede breeches (the whole bum bit was real suede) and an expensive safety riding hat. 

Robinsons is - I hear -'the Ikea of equine equipment stores'. Can't wait!

www.robinsonsequestrian.com

I think I have a happy horse...!

I am definitely a person that needs to take action, the quicker the better, but don't mean rushing (well, maybe sometimes...hopefully not often!). I mean when something becomes very clear to me – when something clicks – I need to put the ball rolling. My thoughts, as per my previous post, have been circling around Rainbow's feeding. To the point that I found my thoughts beginning to spin around my head as I was trying to figure it all out – by bedtime, my head was actually aching from all the mulling. Not that views on feeding are ever fully complete, they tend to evolve as things happen and life goes on, but I like to have the basics in my grasp – quickly – so I can build on them... Thanks also to my ever-patient 'penpal' and friend, Johanna, who gave some good advice and certainly food for thought. 

I am still deciding on various things and a lot of it is trial and error. Today, a friendly face at the yard said that try things out for yourself and see if you see any difference in R's behaviour, and try remember what you've given her so you'll know what might cause what. So, I am not for instance going down the route with oats yet, but to boost Rainbow's condition, I am going to keep her on the Horse & Pony Cubes (bizarrely, everyone calls them 'nuts' here) and Chaff (the chaff is there just as additional roughage to stop the horse from scoffing the nuts too fast), as that's what Rainbow has been on before and I know are fine for her. I might start giving her a portion of this morning and evening, as so far she has only had it in the evening.

Then, I went on a raid in the shop that is upstairs of our yard's manege building (veeery dangerous to have a horse tack and equipment store on the same premises as the yard, I can tell you...) and came out with the following items: Flaxoil, NAF Pink Powder, a salt stone and a rubber curry comb. 

The Flaxoil is for improving condition and should probably do miracles for R's coat and mane too... The Pink Powder is a vitamin supplement, which the shop keeper swore by as she had only stumbled upon it when a sales rep had left her a sample, but apparently her horse was doing so well on it and looked good, she is now a fan. It's just a basic balancer, which suits me fine; I am determined to keep things simple.

When I set up the salt lick to Rainbow's stable she was instantly on it and licking it for a long time and in a very concentrated manner. She must have been needing it. 

As for the curry comb, I have no idea why I bought it. Call it the Ikea-syndrome...

Without making my post any longer or more boring I have one more thing to say: I had a nice long day at the yard, as didn't have to work, so I ended up arriving at 10am and only went home at 2:30pm... Bliss. I hate when in the week, and in the winter, it's so dark and evenings are so short that I find myself rushing around trying to complete all the tasks in an efficient manner. I think Rainbow notices it as today we were both super chilled and just had a lovely day together. 

I lunged Rainbow today and she was absolutely wonderful. She listened to me and worked very well on both reins. I felt quite emotional (probably just PMT) when we did a bit on side reins and she trotted on beautifully in formation. Ah! This time I used head collar under her bridle from which I removed the noseband, and with the bit only attaching to the side reins. I think this worked well so will do that again.

As a thank you for work well done, R got a piece of carrot and then I took her to her paddock to enjoy rest of the afternoon rays. My friend now calls our paddock "The Mud Spa". The girls help themselves to several full-body mud massages and facials several times a week - I for one can't even remember the last time I had a facial... The girls have their priorities right!

Happy horse

Thoughts on nutrition and condition

"Biggest Loser" competition winner!

In horse owner's life there are always matters to solve. I am deliberately not calling them problems because that would be putting a negative slant to it, which I don't wish to apply. As a new horse owner, I there are even more matters to solve! 

This week, my mind has been occupied on the nutritional front as well as saddle-fitting. The two are interlinked as Rainbow has recently lost condition. First I noticed that I was able to pull her girth in higher and higher holes. First, I was pleased about this weight loss, as she was a little porky when I bought her; well, she hadn't been used as regularly as I now use her. We don't do lots of heavy work, but she does get ridden and/or moved good part of the week, minimum 4 times a week and max 6. Usually the weekly work consists of one or two 1-hour long riding lessons, and two to three smaller sessions and one hack. If I am busy with other life (as one, occasionally, has to remember that they have e.g. a boyfriend or friends even...!), then I give Rainbow, for example, a weekend off, which she - weather permitting - gets to spend with others in the mares field. And now that we have our little paddock, I endeavour to let her in there for a couple of hours each day, minimum (it's quite boggy at the moment, so we need to limit the time it's used to avoid completely ruining it - so annoying). So, she leads a reasonably varied and active life, but not overly hard work, I would say. 

Since September, when she bucked me off spectacularly, I was advised that perhaps the once-a-day hard-feed (1/2 scoop of each: pony nuts, mix and chaff) should be taken away from Rainbow, as she was clearly feeling a bit 'too good in herself' and this was showing as being a bit naughty. Hard to say, as I am only starting out, so I took heed and stopped the hard-feed, keeping her only on hay. She is a good-doer, a Warmblood X - and I think the other part, the father's side, which we don't know about, is cobby - she's certainly sensible for her age and her horsey-looking-yet-delicately-sized head makes me think she is a part cob. 

But in the last month and half, the slimming has increased. Don't get me wrong, she is still looking good but I have noticed definite reduction in the condition - now not only the belly but also her shoulders, around the withers, and a bit of the rump too. So I decided to take action. I have reintroduced the hard-feed to her daily intake, but omitted the mix, which is heating, apparently. Then I have thought of adding a bit of oil in her diet. Annika suggested corn oil - and so do certain horse books - but with a little research on my dear friend Google, I found information which pans use of corn oil due to its high Omega 6 content, which is actually inflammatory (to joints, etc), whereas what horses need is more of Omega 3! Who knew? Apparently, Omega 3 is what e.g. fresh spring grass is full of and its properties are anti-inflammatory. In oils, apparently flaxseed oil is one of the best with ratio of 50% Omega 3 to 15% Omega 6.  (My main source, though I am not taking it as gospel and nor should you!: www.holistichorse.com/Nutrition/making-sense-of-omegas-flax-hemp-fish-oil-something-else.html)

I also spoke to my vet about the condition, etc. and though she admitted not being an expert on all matters nutrition, she said that what I am suggesting doing sounds sensible. She also recommended looking at sugar beet (a.k.a. beet pulp), as that helps with condition without adding fizziness. 

As Rainbow is smaller around her shoulders and withers, the saddle, which was personally made for her formerly porkier frame and we only got from the saddlers in August, is now sitting a bit too tight around the pommel area. When I sit in the saddle I can hardly push two of my fingers under the pommel, and my fingers are small! But, before I get a saddler to re-stuff and re-shape it for us, I have decided to use a Shires Gel Pad Riser to alleviate the situation. I hope it works, as I have a feeling the tight saddle is also affecting R's performance; she's been rather reluctant and almost too calm of late... Could also be that she's lacking in energy.

I am also now giving her more hay, when stabled, so she has a chance to munch on hay most part of the day - just like horses should, really.

I will take some pictures of the saddle on Rainbow tomorrow and send them to the local saddle doctors, so they can have a preliminary look at the positioning and thus help decide if the Gel Riser is enough at this stage or if I should improve the saddle sooner rather than later. But what if I get the saddle improved soon and then Miss Pony piles on the pounds again - am I finding myself back in square one with the saddle and another hole in my pocket?

Lest we forget

Today is Remembrance Sunday here in the UK – a day of remembering those who have fallen in conflicts. The tradition is to wear a poppy as a symbol of remembrance. The best known poppy colour is red, but some people wear purple poppies to remember animals that have served and fallen in human conflicts. 

In Britain alone around a million horses were taken to the trenches in First World War. Only 62,000 returned. The horses were taken from their owners to serve the war effort, no questions asked and no two ways about it. They had to endure the same horrors as their human counterparts, and perhaps even more, given that they were the beasts of burden used for transport and carrying all the heaviest items, and without a logical understanding of why they had ended up there. There were also many heroic dogs – and even pigeons – that served in both World Wars. Today, British troops still use dogs in Afganistan and other war zones as bomb detectors, for example.

War Horse (a book, a play and a movie) depicts the events of the First World War and a story of one horse through the horrors of WWI. I hear it's a good movie, but I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch it. I cried even when the 30-second movie trailer featured on TV last autumn.

So, today, when I was ambling across the countryside with Rainbow and saw all those happy families and walkers with their dogs on this gloriously sunny late-autumn day, I was thankful. Thankful for those who have given their lives to protect our way of life. Possibly also without all those people and animals I would not be sitting on my horse, in England, enjoying the freedom that I have. 

Pack horses carrying ammunition in Flanders, from 'The Horse and the War' by Captain Lionel Edwards, published by Country Life in 1918.

The Animals in War Memorial

Next time I pop in London, I will go and have a look at this memorial that is at Brook Gate, Park Lane (near Hyde Park)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Been a busy week

I haven't had much to report recently on the horsey front, weeks seem to be rolling into one big mass of lessons, hacking out and us trying to learn how to go in formation...

A path which is part of our hack route near the yard.

My parents visited me last weekend, so Rainbow had a couple of days off. My personal horsey highlight from last weekend must be Sunday morning when mum came to the yard with me and helped me muck out Rainbow's stable! It was a rainy day, so help was most welcome and made the process a lot quicker. I taught mum how it's done - she's never mucked out a stable before - and soon she was declaring that when she retires she would be happy to come and 'work' for me as a stable hand. So I could just ride while mum cleans Rainbow's stable. Result - I'll take that! It must be a genetic thing, then, as I really don't mind mucking out in general. Yes it's sometimes hard work, but the positives of doing it really outweigh the negatives in my mind: for instance, it's great muscle-toning exercise.  Also, no matter how chilly I feel when I arrive at the yard, within a few minutes of poo picking and wheeling I am already peeling layers of clothing off. Since I have owned a horse, I haven't really worried about what I eat as I am slimmer and more toned than I have ever been. And, finally, it's highly satisfying to lead Rainbow back into her clean stable afterwards and see her do a 'complimentary' thank-you pee almost instantly... Too much information?!

Even though my weekend was pretty much taken over by parents and other activities, such as going to see the new James Bond film (superb, by the way), I did make sure we attended our fortnightly Claire's lesson on Monday evening. Mum and dad had the pleasure of watching us from the sidelines. I think they got a bit cold standing around a good part of the hour, but at least they saw their daughter on her new pony (I felt like I was 10 years old again).

The first half of the lesson was flatwork and I must say it is currently a bit of struggle: We weren't propelling forwards properly half of the time; steering/bending to the right seems like an alien concept to Rainbow at the moment; I can get her on the bit but not to stay there. It's all a bit 'fighty' with her at the moment when we try to work the basics. I mean she behaves but I can just sense it's not particularly fun for her. I have been feeling a bit at odds with her when in school, she's almost looking a bit reluctant when I lead her to the school. When I explained this to Claire she was just saying Rainbow being green and teamwork only really develops overtime. Sometimes working is hard and it's not always meant to be fun, but the sooner she learns to eg carry herself better, she's working more efficiently. I need to keep persisting with Rainbow and be stricter in asking for her to carry herself. This week, all of this just feels like a lot of hard work.

Then, when we jump a totally new horse emerges. Enthusiastic and complying. We did a couple of small cross-poles again and over we went like they were double the height. Claire praised us and said we look a lot better - apparently, I should have my parents watching more often if it produces such results. 

It's just over two weeks until the dressage test we're meant to be doing, so I will need to soon start rehearsing that with Rainbow. My aim won't be perfect formation all the time but to go the correct route, at least. Not feeling inspired this week but I am determined.

Field buddies Rainbow and Zara

Saturday was such a cold day and this was the only day my fellow field buddy, her partner  and I could do the electric fencing for our horses' new paddock we are now renting. 

The horses don't know how lucky they are; there we were, 9am on a cold Saturday morning, ready to do some fencing! After an hour and half of planning, cold and stiff fingers, pole planting, tape unreeling, securing corner fencing, connecting the battery to the energiser and one electric shock, we were pretty pleased with our efforts. We had to pop in a nearby tea room to warm up and enjoy a full English breakfast and a pot of tea before we let our girls out to test their new field. The paddock 'test-graze' went well – both rolled on the ground in turn before proceeding to taste testing the grass. 

If you're wondering the odd-shaped fenced area, it's because we are saving the ground from getting totally bogged over the winter, so we are only letting the girls in a certain parts of the paddock at a time – hoping that in the summer the ground is dry and sturdy enough to withstand grazing within the whole area. Oh the joys of living in a wet England (2012 has been rather exceptional on that front)!