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)!

My horse heroes

As a novice horse owner and rider I am always looking for information on various issues or bafflements I come across in my horsey life – and there are many. Google is a good reference source, but one has to remember that all and sundry can post their opinion there and it has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It's good to have horse heroes; those people in our everyday lives who excel at something we want to become good at, or whose methods are effective and seem to produce results in how we feel is the best way to work with our horses. One size does not fit all, but I come from the general view that horses are honest creatures, whose intention is not to be 'bad' or 'plotting'. They are a result of their genes, upbringing and training, as well as the experiences they've had, in fact, exactly like us (except that we are the ones with the ability to be bad or plotting). 

Sure, they might test your leadership, especially when new to you, or perhaps young, but it's their natural heard behaviour; they always need a leader that will show how to do things and how to navigate life. For us humans, owners and riders, the challenge is to be worthy of that trust and show leadership qualities the horse is comfortable looking up to – or down, as we're quite a bit smaller than them(!) – but I think consistency is the key. Also, rather paradoxically to consistency, another thing important for a good leader is to not get set in his ways, but to have an open mind and be willing to listen and learn, especially to learn to do things differently if something isn't working. And did I mention praise? Who can honestly say they have produced their best work when they haven't been praised but perhaps been put down or criticised? Not me. We all seek approval most of the time, and we flourish when we are told we are doing something well, gaining more confidence as we go. 

The challenge for me is that there are as many opinions and ways of doing things as there are people doing it. It is a balancing act to seek for advice and get someone to teach you things, as well as thinking for yourself and using your instincts. So, based on this week's activities and thoughts I have had, I decided cobble up a list of my horsey heroes.

Claire

We had a good Claire's lesson again on Monday with a bit of flatwork and small jumping at the end. I think R is a bit of jumper as I could sense her almost blossoming when she got presented with two cross poles at the end of our lesson. She sped up and took a major jump over a very low set of cross poles! My technique needs some honing and I need to really get my weight down to my legs when jumping. Claire also told me to extend my hands to R's ears and take the jumping position well ahead. I understand this is obviously exaggerating the movement and jumping position but something I struggled with as, apparently, I just jabbed my arms quickly forward and then back, which wasn't what she intended... Oh dear. Well, something to work on for the next time. I will do some pole work by ourselves this and next week. However, I always finish Claire's lessons on a high and always feel that I have learned something valuable, and I feel that we have achieved something again. It's great.

Rider in the mist

We also had lovely hack out on Tuesday with R. We went with Alison and Seamus. It was a foggy morning but we decided to head out to the fields and stay below the 'clouds'.  We were riding on the road in between fields as many bridleways are a bit too muddy at the moment. It's been a soggy week. It should be clearing by the weekend and the temperatures are meant to plummet down to near zero and minus temps in the night. So, cold by English standards. 

One of the most interesting sights we saw on our hack was another horse, and a lady riding him, cantering across the stubble field appearing from the mist, with two dogs running behind the horse. She looked so brave and seemed to have a fab time with her horse. Our horses spotted them before we did, so when we saw them approaching we slowed down and waited for the rider in the mist with two hounds to pass us. The lady slowed down as she came to where we were and we exchanged a few words. She was training her horse for some competitions so increasing fitness by doing some fast-paced hacking. It's definitely something I would like to be able to do one day; canter across the fields in the mist. I will let you know when it happens!

Annika

I was learning to lunge again yesterday, after very successfully purchasing a second-hand roller training set on eBay for under £14, including postage! New ones would be £30+ (not including postage) and not include side reins and crupper, etc. I am not using the crupper though.  The set had been hardly used and looked very clean/unscathed, so it was a great find.

I have been asking Annika teach me lunging. I have seen it being done and I have been shown by a couple of people before, but I think Annika is a pretty good horse hero for me, as she has been doing it for a long time and in her resident training instructor capacity handles a multitude of horses every day. She's not pushy with her opinions or patronising, and I am yet to ask her a question she couldn't answer, so I hold her professionalism in high regard.

The lunging went overall well; Rainbow was a good girl mostly, but played up a bit at the beginning. Annika got her going. We warmed R up before connecting the side reins. Then I had a go. R was going quite fast and cantering very easily. Occasionally, it took me a long time to get her to listen to my voice commands, especially when I asked her to go down to walk from trot. I will try to make lunging a weekly occurrence, so we get some lunging time under our belts and I will become more confident at it.

Jane

Rainbow was working in her bridle with the lunge rein going over her head from one side to another. The owner of our yard, Jane, had been watching me lunging R and afterwards Jane said that she noticed R was lifting her head, which indicated that she didn't like the lunge rein over her head. Jane recommended that to keep her mouth nice I should not connect the lunge rein to the bit but have a head collar or cavesson – only connecting the side reins to the bit. Other people may use bridle directly (which is how I have been shown, hence yesterday's set up) which in Jane's opinion is laziness, as they can't be bothered with collars/cavessons. This ignited a need to know more...

I set about researching the matter on Google and surely there are lots of advice for everything, so it's obviously a bit confusing. Anyway, I agree with Jane that I want to keep Rainbow's mouth nice and I don't want to do the lunging in a way that is uncomfortable to her. Ideally, I would like to help Rainbow learn to work on the lunge and to engage her behind in the way that will eventually get her to work in formation, also when I ride her. 

Jane's advice was really useful and I appreciate that she voiced what she had noticed, as otherwise I might have just continued in the same way, not noticing that Rainbow wasn't comfortable. So I will set her up with a cavesson next time and be more mindful of how she's holding her head and how she is working. I might ask Jane to come and watch next time, so she can also have a look too.

Horse Heroes

I also found a very good website called Horse Heroes, which inspired this post, as I found a super video by Laura Bechtolsheimer (one of the Team Dressage gold medallists in this year's Olympic Games) on 'Lungeing a young horse'. The website does charge for its videos, but I am trying it out for a month (at £4.50/month).

In the video, Laura shows how to lunge a young horse, but she doesn't use a roller! This threw all my ideas up in the air again, and now I am not sure what to think. She's using a piece of equipment which I found to be called Kavalkade Ho Lunging Aid. 

The fact that Laura slightly pans side reins and draw reins has now made me re-evaluate how I am going to be doing things. I might investigate the Lunging Aid and if I can buy it at a good price, I might give it a go. 

Lungeing a young horse, with Laura Bechtolsheimer

The Horse Heroes video website contains 'how to' guides for horse lovers, presented by people who actually know what they're talking about, professional trainers and riders at the top of their game. I find YouTube, for example, a bit tricky as anyone can post there, so I don't always trust the videos there.

Another video I found on Horse Heroes is how to ride a spooky horse. Rainbow is not spooky as such but they all have their moments. Again, the video totally threw my ideas of how to do things upside-down, but totally makes sense when shown in a new light. I will be practising!

Richard Maxwell shows how to ride a spooky horse


Anyway, something to mull over for while on the lunging front... If I have any regular readers with knowledge/opinions on lunging and training aids, please post a comment. I would welcome some conversation. 


Until next time! I will love you and leave you with a soggy autumn pic, a view from my office window. No prizes for spotting a soggy chicken, or two...!

Land management

I am becoming fully fledged in farming and land management. With acquiring animals such as chickens and a horse in one year, I have quickly been introduced to different types of fencing and housing suited to the needs of each animal. I am now regularly browsing the internet for the best deal on a type of fence and I can be found traipsing across a piece of land, measuring it as I go. Then, standing still and looking contemplative, making notes. It helps to picture this taking place on a soggiest day and I am always wearing wellies or boots – actually, I seem to wear them regardless of the weather.

There are big fields – one for mares and another for geldings – that are free to use at our yard, but they are a fair walk away from the main stable building, so they tend to be used for longer term outings like a whole day, not just a few hours, as getting there and back takes probably at least 20 mins in total. I wouldn't take Rainbow there while I muck out, for instance. So, if I can, I let her out in the back school for a bit when I clean her box. But, due to the number of horses using the back school, it needs to have a quick turnover time, giving Rainbow only about 20–30 mins in there, which I don't think is enough. It doesn't quite satisfy my ideals of horse keeping and the fact that I'd like to give Rainbow as much as outdoor time as I can, hence the idea to rent a smaller paddock field near the stables has been brewing for a while.

They're not super-cheap, but work out at around £1.36 per day if you rent one (£500/pa). Personal fields are a bit like gold dust at our yard, as you can only really get one when someone moves yard. But, we have managed to snap up one and it will be half the cost, as a friend and I have decided to go into cahoots to rent one together! We both only have a horse each, both are mares, and they have spent time together in the big field, so they should get on. The field will be mainly used as a horsey weekday pied-a-terre, so the girls will still get to use the big mares field when they are having full days or weekends off, but this smaller field will be handy for shorter outings during the week.

With a new field we've quickly had to acquire some equipment: although the field does come with solid fencing around it, we've been asked to put some electric fencing around to protect the solid barriers from potential crib biting, etc. Part of the field is also a bit soggy at the moment, so we are likely to split the field up an let the horses only in one part of it, especially over the winter, to avoid over-grazing and the ground becoming a complete bog. Land management, you see.

So, there was me, yesterday afternoon, with Denise and her partner Ian, traipsing across the new field, looking at the condition of the ground, checking the fencing, calculating the electric fencing needed for the whole area. It was soggy, we we wearing wellies, and we all looked contemplative.

But yay! our girls are having their own field! Never, ever thought that a fairly flat piece of grassy land would excite me quite as much as it does.

What are the best days made of?

They are made of spending time with our loved ones and that includes those of the furry kind. I had one of those this morning... 

I was meant to attend a lesson this morning but it had been fully booked, so Dawn and I decided to go  out for a hack instead. It was perfect, lovely still and quiet morning, no wind. Rainbow was really chilled out and so was I, which I think why she was too – they really feed off our moods, don't they?

I am not proficient at whipping my mobile out of my pocket and take snaps as I ride, so in order to have some proof of our lovely hack, a friend took a picture of us when we rocked back to the yard.

Lovely hack out - sorry about the 'realism' of the muck heap behind us!

Dawn and Rodney, Elina and Rainbow

Tim came to meet me at the stables to measure Rainbow's box after we got back from our outing. I am planning on putting some rubber matting in Rainbow's stable, as it currently is just a concrete floor and I know it's not the best for their joints in the long term, and in terms of general comfort. I do always supply her with a good and generous straw bed but I am aware that despite my best efforts, by the next day, when I am back, Rainbow has managed to rather flatten the bedding, often just standing on nearly bare concrete. 

Tim was super helpful and we quickly measured the stable while Rainbow was waiting outside and performing her party trick of opening and closing the lid of her storage trunk in rather a brisk manner. Tim hadn't seen it before and found it rather amusing. I find it less so, as she's nearly already knackered the box in the 3 plus months I've had it... I feel that every time she inadvertently manhandles it, I take it personally, as I feel she's saying "Well no wonder, serves you right for having bought cheap c***p on eBay again!"  

I can see a new storage trunk being on our Christmas wish list. When I was a 'normal' person, my Christmas wish list used to contain items such as clothes, books, woolly socks, perhaps a DVD or a gadget, and some chocolate... Now, I dream about agricultural equipment. This year's list already contains the following items: a sturdy wheelbarrow, a pitching fork, a broom and some rubber matting. And no, it's not equipment for a re-enactment of an elaborate theme from Fifty Shades of Gray! I just want to shovel Rainbow's muck out more efficiently.

Showjumping

It's been a busy few days with horsey stuff and here's the low-down: 

Saturday we went out hacking – more on that can be found in my previous post: Winter howling at my face

Sunday was a showjumping day at our stables. I entered Rainbow for 60cm class. I wasn't riding her as I wanted someone good, Annika, to take her around – also because Rainbow hasn't done a sj competition since spring – and, quite honestly, I am not ready to compete yet. I want to practise more before I will do it in front of people. But, in the meantime, I feel I need to let Rainbow have experiences and it will also make our jumping work easier in the future if she doesn't have a long break from it before I get my stuff together.

Anyhoo... The 60cm class she entered, and she went around alright, gaining 2nd place in her class! Fantabulous. So chuffed. This is the video of it... All the seasoned horsey people watching this will find the height of the jumps rather underwhelming and the style of Rainbow's jump not so consistent, but I am a proud owner. Besides, she won a 'major' money prize too: £7.50! I went home to my other half and said "Look, we won a prize – see, horses don't only consume our hard-earned cash but can actually make some!" However, I couldn't hide from him that the entry fee had been £10, so we were still £2.50 on the minus...What can I say, he's a bloody accountant!

Winning horse and proud owner

Today I decided to practise a bit of lunging with Rainbow. I am by no means an expert and I have only been shown a couple of times how it's done, but today I decided to give it a go myself. I took Rainbow out to the sand school and she started walking around me in a circle without any fight. Previously she had been playing up a bit and squaring up towards the lunger. Initially, I figured, the reason for this was probably the novelty of it, as I don't think anyone had been doing it with her for a long time. Probably last when she had been broken and trained for riding... But, as lunging is a good form of exercise for them, helping with muscle strength, etc., it's definitely something I want to master. We already have brushing boots and a lunge rein. Now I need to purchase a roller. Rainbow's winnings can go towards that.

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And just as a completely additional note, as I can't resist: My friend in Finland had some pictures taken of her and her horse, inspired by fantasy/tales, etc.  – this is just the taster picture, but all I can say is Wow! Check. it. out.

Once upon a time

Winter howling at my face

It's been a weekend of cold weather (by English standards – last night it went down to *shock horror* zero degrees celsius!) and sunny days. Except for hailstones, which luckily didn't fall yesterday on Blewbury, but our own garden was covered in icy bits that looked a bit like rock salt to me.


Saturday was again one of these gloriously sunny days to start with, so friend of mine Alison and I decided to take our horses for a genteel lady hack – mainly consisting of walking and a bit of trotting, with the emphasis on good conversation and not so much on sportiness or sweat, on both ours and the horses' part – around the nearby villages, known as the Astons. Those readers that are outside England, I can say that our route took us through a proper chocolate box village, which you can usually see in imported British TV series, such as Inspector Morse / Lewis / Midsomer Murders, etc. which are so quaint, complete with thatched roofs, manicured lawns and a pretty church in the middle... No murders here, though. 

It's a lovely sound to hear the clippity clop of horses' hooves emanating from the road and echoing around the narrow roads in between the cottages walls. Rainbow even had a look into a window we were passing which had some decorative statuettes on the window sill, as she wasn't sure what to think of them ... I was thinking, please don't freak out about something that's inside a cute cottage and which window was below our girth level... Travelling on horse is ideal through posh villages, as you are high enough to have a good nose over people's hedges! Also a good way to find a new house, if you have a million or so to spend.

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The temperature has dropped to almost freezing at night which means that in Britain we think we are in the depths of winter and so the arsenal of horse rugs are suddenly whipped out and all the horses are sporting various equine fashions. This year, biggest fashionistas are lucky to be wearing cutesy polka dot style by Joules*/Weatherbeeta I have to say that although cute it may be, the 'street cred' of a big horse could somewhat be undermined... Just saying. Though, having said that a friend of mine has one for her horse and it looks cute! Luckily the horse is a mare, called Zara and a really lovely horse, so it fits. For a large 17 hand ex-racer gelding though, not so sure...

(*Joules is actually a chain of posh country-style fashion shops and which I admit to being partial to, but only mostly buying during their sale as I can't afford/don't want to pay full prices, which are rather inflated in my mind – but do have a look if you want to know how a bit posh, possibly horsey, country girl should dress: www.joules.com)

Joules and Weatherbeeta rugs - available in various outlets

But, since I can't be seen to be different – I haven't yet told people 'horror stories' of Finnish winters and how, somehow, the horses do survive, even if the temperatures are as low as -15–30... And how Finns still pretty much use similar winter rugs on their horses as we do here in the UK – so bought Rainbow a new turnout rug, so she wouldn't feel out of place among all these Christy Turlingtons and Kate Mosses of the equine world. After a bit of online research decided to bag a bargain on Amazon at £42.95, Shires Tempest Medium weight rug:

Shires Tempest Medium weight turnout rug - Amazon (horse in the pic is not Rainbow)

Bish bash bosh and the horse is snug again! The rug fits Rainbow fine but I did make a little classic online purchase mistake by not reading the description quite as closely as I should have; the neck piece is connected to the rug all the time, so it's not detachable. Not ideal. So even if it's not raining horizontally all the time and the horse doesn't have endure much colder than 0 degrees on most days, Rainbow is definitely looking like she's ready for an antarctic expedition anytime. 

Even the muck heap looks mystical in the early-morning mist.

Making progress

I am having a good week with Rainbow. We kicked the week off with a private lesson with Claire Deuten - who is an international event rider. 

Claire has been coming to our yard once a week since August. We have been doing flatwork with Rainbow and most of the time Claire has been showing me how to get Rainbow on the bit. We are definitely the most novicey pair of all Claire's clients at our yard, so when others do very brave jumping, etc. we doddle around the school, trying desperately to stay in formation. But, hey ho, these things take time and I just need to remember that if I use e.g. a skiing analogy, I wouldn't attempt black run if all I can do is just about turn in a rhythm but even my legs aren't that close together and I tend to go slightly ploughy in a tricky situation... As a skier, I would consider myself as a fairly competent red-black run skier, who wants to tackle ungroomed and powder next, so I need to remember what it was like to be a novice/intermediate skier - and that's what I am with riding. 

I have been riding a lot in the last 12 months, and before that as a child and teenager, so I am OK and probably more competent than I give myself credit for, but I need to be more forgiving myself and be genuinely proud of every bit of progress we make.

The first Claire's lesson in early Sept I couldn't really get Rainbow on the bit at all. I have been taught it before, but I just didn't have the feel for it and how to actually properly ask for it from Rainbow. I am also short and small-built, so I am not the strongest (not that one needs to be super-strong as such) and when I try hard, I get knackered really quickly. Also partly due to trying so hard that I forget to breathe! Claire keeps saying to me when Rainbow and I are moving around the school that "Breathe, Elina! Don't forget to breathe." 

Claire has been riding first on each lesson to help Rainbow become softer and get her to understand what's being asked. Then I have had a go and we've worked on from there. 

The improvement has been immense: first lesson only Claire managed to get Rainbow on the bit and I hardly did at all. The second lesson I couldn't get Rainbow on the bit until Claire had first 'warmed' her up, then I managed to do it and we actually went around the whole school around, on the bit, on both reins in turn. Brilliant. I felt so good after that.

Ever since, I have been able to produce the results on my own - which I wasn't before, only under supervision from instructor. Although the very action takes a lot out from both of us (as also Rainbow needs to learn to carry herself differently, and developing that takes time), Claire has properly taught me the feeling of being collected. I now know how to ask for it and when to soften myself, as well as when to ask again if Rainbow drops off. 

This week, I wanted to have a go first with Rainbow and after a bit of persuasion we actually managed it. Rainbow softened to me quite easily and we managed to go around on both reins. The right rein is our bugbear as I think Rainbow is weaker on that side and I am not strong enough to give her enough leg. But we will persist!

Claire rode Rainbow at the end of the lesson and the progress was remarkable. Rainbow looked much more consistent in trot and stayed soft - none of that trying to lift her head and go hollow. The proof of the pudding was in the canter as Claire managed to get her to stay in formation in canter, which has never happened before. Not even last time Claire rode Rainbow. 

All of this in 3 lessons with Claire. With this rate Rio 2016 seems quite attainable! ;) 

No but really, this has given me such a boost that I have decided to do our first dressage test next month. So watch this space...



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I thought I'd add a little video of Rainbow a couple of weeks back. This was Claire riding her and although she was resisting a bit occasionally it was pretty good. This week, no resisting - shame I didn't video it for "before and after" effect. Very proud of my pony.

Dressage!

Today it was Dressage day at our yard. Just an unaffiliated competition, but it always gives a little buzz to the place. People make the effort with platting their horses' manes and wear smart jackets and jodhs for the occasion. It's really lovely to see.  I haven't plucked up the courage yet to take part in a competition yet, but I just may have to for the next one, which is in November. Rainbow, however, is an old hand, as Annika has done it with her a few times... So it may be her taking me around the arena.

Rainbow wasn't taking part today; I chucked her in the field yesterday so she's having  weekend off. I volunteered as a writer for the judge. The first one was Walk and Trot B test with Annika and then one of the ladies forwent her turn to write for the Preliminary 10 test, so I got to write on two tests. 

It was very good to hear what the judges are looking for and I think I did start to develop an eye for what was good and what was not so – when I managed to glance up from making the notes! Basic two points I took away today are: 

1. Accuracy in the movements and route. So this means good-shape circles, going around the corners properly, and straight lines (especially along the centre line). "These are 'easy' points to collect, which will help with the overall mark, so it would be silly to not to be accurate with the route", the judge told me.
   
2. Pace. Have an even pace. If the horse isn't quite in the formation (e.g. on the bit), it's not so detrimental in the lower level tests, but they should be propelling forward and look active. This will also help with the 'lightness' and to look more collected.

Then some additional points worth considering/remembering:

• Stretch in free rein. When in free rein the horse's head should go down and stretch, he/she should look relaxed when walking forward. Minimal interference with the hands, that is. 
• Transitions. This is part of the accuracy point, too, but also sharpness in transitions. So, e.g. if cantering, they should not run into the canter (I need to work on this!) but make the transitions clearly and quickly.
  
• Bend. Make sure the horse is bending in the correct way and isn't dropping shoulder or quarters, especially in corners.

Next weekend we have show jumping! I have asked Annika to ride Rainbow around, as I am not yet ready to take part in such activities. But I will be eagerly watching from the sidelines.

Here some pics from today – not brilliant quality as I was sitting in the judge's box and the glass is a bit mucky: 

 The arena.

 The judges and writers are handsomely rewarded... In food: hot beverages and nibbles!

Claire and Fleur coming into the arena.

I love autumn!

I like England in September–October. It is, in fact, one of the most glorious times of year here. The unsettled and disappointing summer weather has passed but we are left with majestically sunny days and cosily nippy nights.  During the day, it makes you want to go out and do 'stuff'. And, in the evening, it's lovely to curl up in front of the fire with a glass of vino in one hand, a contented cat in the lap and Strictly on the telly. We also topped it off with a curry last night, so perfect! 

This morning I woke up to a sunny, misty field with three deer in it. I need to get my blog-writer head in gear and learn to take more photos – quicker – but I took this a bit later, just moments ago. 

View from our bedroom window this morning.

We have also had quite a few rainy days, with enormous amounts of rain falling to the detriment of some areas of the country. So it has not all been great for everyone. We have been lucky here in Oxfordshire and haven't been inundated, but I did have to watch my footing this morning in the chicken run, when letting the girls out, as it was a bit squitchy muddy underfoot, and I really didn't want to dip myself in the chicken poo! (I didn't) 

The competitive dance of sunshine and rain has also created some great rainbows in between. I am now kicking myself as was at the yard a couple of days ago and had let my own ray of sunshine, Rainbow, in the Back School (a fenced area where the horses are let out for a bit every day). After I had mucked out and went over to her to catch her, she was standing by the opposite gate watching some horses over on the other side. But I happened to look up and saw a perfect rainbow in the distance over the fields. I exclaimed to Rainbow, "Rainbow, look, a rainbow!" - and I think she looked up. Bless. ...I really should have taken a picture of Rainbow with a rainbow... 

This weekend is rather exciting; I have been roped into writing for a dressage judge tomorrow at Blewbury Centre's unaffiliated dressage competition! Well, the judge is my instructor/friend Annika and she has previously mentioned to me that it might be a good idea to write for a judge as you get to hear and see what the judges are looking for, which will also help with doing the test myself one day. So I volunteered! I get to sit in a warm glass booth and watching the horses go around from the best seat in the house. Plus, I think I heard someone say we'd be waited on hand and foot tea and other nibbles. That's my Sunday sorted!

Woolly socks, fire, cat and Sunday papers. The perfect weekend (after a hack out in the sunshine with the horse, of course!)

So much to tell, so little time

I went on to a riding course/clinic last weekend in Suffolk and had a fantastic time there. Basically, I felt that I need to work on my 'jitters' which I get when I anticipate the action of riding (especially hacking out) and when I am about to go to the yard. 

It's a bit annoying to be feeling unduly nervous about something that is so dear to me, especially as Rainbow too is so lovely, so I figured that a course might help. So I went on Enjoy Riding course, run by lovely Caroline. 

Most of the course was about visualisations and working on the thought processes, and brain, that cause this kind of over reaction to something rather mundane. Anyway, without explaining everything in total detail, as it would be pointless as some people might think what's the point if you feel nervous then why do you do it, and so on. I am not here to explain it to those as they clearly don't have the love of horses as I do. So I see this is a challenge which I want to address and overcome. 

It must be said that my nerves are mainly 'anticipatory', so the notion of going there and doing stuff is the thing for me. Once I am in the saddle, I am usually fine. 

The course was fantabulous. The weather was perfect and we rode on both days out on the heathlands in near Suffolk coast, in Hollesley. It was horse-riding heaven; no roads, no traffic... Ah! I think we need to start looking for properties in Suffolk... 

After the two days I felt so positive and empowered about the whole thing. I do realise that the hard work is to be done at home with Rainbow, in our own environment, but for the first time someone helped me put things into perspective and to look at it from a new angle. I now have a 'toolbox' full of tools, and it feels good. 

I am going to get some pictures from Caroline hopefully soon, so will update them here and will also be updating on how I get on with my tools. :)

Some pictures from Suffolk - Enjoy Riding (www.enjoyriding.com )

Before we set off on our first hack.

Beautiful Suffolk heathlands.

The 'students'.

Well, hello...!

I have been accosted into writing a blog about my horse by a friend (http://myamaterasu.blogspot.co.uk/ - check hers out if you are fluent in Finnish, I am!). Well, it's not all her doing, the thought has crossed my mind before too, but I wasn't sure if I had anything important or interesting to say, so I gave it up... Perhaps some sort of a stage fright. Anyway, now I seem to have a new slant on things and I might as well document it somehow. Basically this is my way of recording a diary of Rainbow and I, and whatever we happen to be doing together.

Also, must be noted that there's obviously nothing 'special' about owning horse, per se, and I am not one to write this blog to show off somehow. My intention is to be honest about my writing and it's just a little blog among many other similar, and not-so-smilar, ones (the others are most definitely more glamorous too!).

Another reason why I thought I'd write this blog is that I am a Finn living in England. Again, granted, this is nothing special in today's world, whereas even not that long ago as in the 90s it might have been considered mildly exotic (look at Kyra Kyrklynd). I realise I was born too late – no exotism for me – now all and sundry can move to England at a moment's notice! 

I was born and bred in Finland, but came to England in 2002 to study at university, and it seems I am still here. It's difficult to leave when one acquires a boyfriend, two cats, four chickens, a business and a horse...! Try packing them into Ryanair-approved hand luggage and head back to Tampere. For example, my healthy, plump hens alone wouldn't pass Ryanair's hand luggage size and shape rules, never mind trying to shove a horse under the seat in front... So I am stuck.

So my writing might also interest those who are Finnish and want to have a peek into horsey life in England. I am not saying it's at all glamorous or somehow better than in Finland. Not at all. I, for one, think Finnish stable buildings generally are much more swish – at least in comparison to where I currently choose to house my girl... Of course, there are posh stable yards in England, I just can't afford to move into one. Or, if I did, we would have to sell our house and move in with Rainbow in her box... Chickens and all...

So, welcome... Let's see where this takes us!