First jump lesson (in Finland that is)

Yesterday we had our first jumping lesson. I have noticed that Rainbow has been a bit reluctant to be working hard of late. Not that I have pushed her too much as I realise it's not been that long in the new surroundings and also the 24/7 field life is probably a bit tiring for her... and the changes in temperature (last week and the week before it was sunny and closer to 30 degrees here and yesterday barely 10 with northernly wind and a flurry of sleet!) have probably affected her a bit too. But, after running out of ideas on Sunday what to 'hone' in the school, on the flat, I decided to pull myself up by the bootstraps and book in a jumping lesson. 

I jumped together with two other girls who are about half my age, but no matter! They were more advanced than me and Rainbow, easily jumping 80–100cm with their horses. Although, once, one of the girls fell off as her horse wasn't so sure about the height of one of the jumps, so he half refused and half ploughed through the fence. She was soon back up and going over the same fence. Very impressive!

This is image is not from yesterday's lesson. Just for decoration.

But our new instructor rather pushed us too and even though I had said at the beginning that I'll only do easy cross poles and such, 'confidence building' stuff, by the end of it we were easily going over 60–70cm ourselves, including doubles and oxers. 

Being a first lesson for a good two or three months at least, I was very nervous and forgot to breathe most of the hour-long lesson (which makes any performance a bit hard) and forgot to look up ahead instead of staring at the jump. The new instructor was very good at shouting at me, so I did start getting grip of the jumping again and remembered to stare at the trees in the distance instead of worrying about the jump in front. Rainbow, as usual, did her best and despite taking a few leaps (I wasn't riding her forward enough), she was very good and genuine. Tried her hardest and worked for mummy in the best way she could. 

Not used to whole-hour jumping lessons we were both slightly knackered afterwards. For when we stopped jumping the 'cool down' was going over cavalettis in trot and canter! I was so tired I was just bopping along in the saddle, hardly any rein contact and hardly could even make Rainbow raise canter. We had to canter over three cavalettis set up on a three-leaf serpentine across the school. It wasn't pretty. My legs were jelly, Rainbow was trotting along, hardly wanting to canter and my abs were screaming too. 

Good lesson! Back for more next week! 

Sunday ride

A double post today but no matter... Here just some general riding photos of me riding Rainbow yesterday.  
I had a house-warming party to my family in the afternoon, so didn't manage to head to the yard until evening. Mum came along, so I had someone snapping a few pics for me ... Some clear benefits of having family closer! ;)

It was a fairly short ride but managed to get her to work a bit... However it wasn't particularly enthusiastic working or very pretty at times either. She'd rather just stuff her face all day in the field than get ridden.

Rainbow walking towards us, mum talking to her.

Mum and Rainbow in the summer evening sun.

Paradise hack

What else to do on a Friday evening than head out for some quality time with your horse and a few new friends. I managed to tag along onto a hack which ended up being five of us altogether. We went to see a new 'canter straight' which one of our group had been to and knew the route. The route took us through the deepest of forest, some country lanes, eventually winding up to an undulating but dead-straight sand road which isn't used by cars. 

Most readers are probably aware of my hesitance over cantering Rainbow on a hack because, in the past, she has had tendencies of bucking when excited. Especially when behind others. So I was again concerned but also thought that I should take advantage of the situation, as the places are new for Rainbow and she's been very horizontal because of spending all her time in the field. Plus the canter straight was a road with uphill bit, so we would be cantering upwards and on a sandy ground, no grass ground to excite an English horse! Besides, I like cantering. Speed I don't have a problem with (as long as breaks work) but bucking I do (because I often don't stay on).

First part of the hack was through a deep forest with a very small meandering path passing trees very close by and nothing except nature surrounding us. There had been a bear sighting a couple of weeks back, so we decided to talk loudly, just in case :)... But none of the horses seemed to be noticing anything 'extra' so all were very calmly tracking after one another on the path. For Rainbow it was hard work, as she clearly wasn't used to picking her way around a forest floor. But I hope it was somewhat 'enjoyable' for her in being new and refreshing, maybe?

Finally we got to the canter straight and decided to pick up a trot and then move into a canter uphill. All I can say that Rainbow was exceptional. Not only were we out with four other people and horses – we've never even been in a group of that size out on a hack before, so was worried she'd really play up through excitement – but we were behind her field friend, a Finn Horse, so I stuck behind them and off we went. Cantered along and I noticed I even encouraged Rainbow to speed up! We did two or three canters and by the end the road – it's around a 2 km dead straight road! – we turned back. Couple of the horses, luckily not mine, was getting a bit warm, so we decided to stop canters while we were all still enjoying ourselves.

Canter straight – walking back

A Finn Horse and a typical Finnish country scene

Heading home

Bit tired after the hack...!

Wetter than wetter riding lesson... first lesson in over a month!

Last night we joined in a lesson, a first one for over a month. Last time we had a lesson was in England a day before Rainbow's tack and my move load departed for Finland. So rusty and lazy was the theme of the day. Not made any easier by it having rained all day and still continuing to rain, when we were meant to have our lesson. We are sensitive types; used to only pootling around an indoor school when the skies show any hint of dampness...

I think Rainbow was quite dismayed at the prospect of having to trot around an outdoor sand school where lots and lots of mini-puddles had formed in the hoof prints around the school. The surface was soft and mushy, and I was also a little hesitant first as wasn't sure how soft the surface really was. One end of the school was OK, so despite the splashing water and Rainbow having to traipse across puddles as we went, we continued. 

We also had a new instructor, naturally. She was very good and very quickly identified our pet problems. She spotted that Rainbow is reluctant to bend and a little stubborn. She identified that I tend to pump my legs. All good then, it's obvious to all of us! Doesn't matter which country I ride in, I have the same faults. ;)

It was also interesting to be taught in Finnish. It's obviously my mother tongue, but all horse terminology that I have learned is actually in English, even though I did ride in Finland as a child, I had forgotten so much over the 15-year break that I had to learn most things again. So, same again, I have to learn them in Finnish again.

Also our new instructor used a lot of the word 'asettaa', which I googled in English and is 'setting the horse's head'. This is a precursor for true collection. Actually a very good exercise for us and for getting Rainbow to bend around the inside leg and follow the curve of the circle we are travelling. This was quite challenging for me first, especially when approaching the exercise from a slightly new angle and the idea of setting the horse (which I probably have been told to do but not strictly calling it that), but once I got the feel for it and pushed Rainbow around the inside leg and didn't let up, things started to happen. Not only did she travel eventually nicely collected/set – although she did have to be reminded almost all the time and I had to work hard to stop her from falling in or out, but that's Rainbow – and me – for now.

After the lesson I was a bit shocked about the sandy and muddy state of Rainbow's legs and tack under the belly...! I have never had to really clean the horse and the tack after a ride in a school! The saddle got a bit wet too, so I am thinking of going there today and give it a good clean and oiling. Overdue anyway, admittedly...

No pics of our lesson as I possibly couldn't make anyone stand in the rain to take them, but here just a couple of pics of R after the lesson when she was dozing off in her stable after being wet and tired all day... I felt a bit bad turning her back out to the field, but as there are no horses staying indoors in the summer season, I had to. I took pity and put a raincoat on her after she had dried under the cooler fleece a bit. Hope that made her feel a bit better... 

All good except my horse has come out in lumps and bumps

Not to worry, nothing too sinister; however it seems my horses immunity is not currently up to scratch to ward off insect bites here in Finland. Over the past week she has come up in lumps and bumps pretty much all over her neck, back and belly. 

I am not the one to wrap her in cotton wool, as I think horses should be able to cope with being outside – especially in the loveliest part of the year, summer! But I had to relent, as flies were bothering her eyes and the undercarriage was quite mightily bumpy... Soon enough I was advised to mix some tar in some plain skin cream (Tummeli), which I slapped on the bumpy skin. 

Rainbow isn't showing signs of being sore or itchy, but I reckoned that such a number on bumps must be uncomfortable. The day before yesterday I totally relented and drove to a shop to buy some 'better' ointment and also grabbed a fly rug for her to wear for a while. Very pleased, as, by doing this, applying Nylanders Hästkräm mixed in with some cooking oil and putting the fly rug on top she is now visibly less bumpy and hopefully not feeling too uncomfortable.

The warm weather and also being now outside 24/7 is also affecting her. She's feeling and looking a bit tired. I hope it will pass and she doesn't feel quite so overwhelmed by the fresh air for too long. However, it has been rather warm, too, so no wonder. I have been feeling it as well. 

But then, in other news. We went out for our first hack on Sunday. Yay! With four new friends! (Two horses and two riders). I was hesitant at first and said to my friends that let's just walk around some really short route and they can then drop us back off at the yard and continue somewhere themselves. But, as we set off, it soon became quite obvious that nothing was wondrous or scary to Rainbow and she was quite happy to be ambling behind our Finn horse friend and in front of the other warmblood friend, so we continue the whole way with our friends in the end. We went up and down a hilly forest track. The sun was shining and rays sifting through the woods in the forest. There were no cars, other people or anything. We just trotted along in the sunshine. Bliss. 

I was ecstatic afterwards, telling everyone on Facebook how wonderful my horse is and how wonderful a hack we had. A fab start. Hope there's more to come !

Learning new routines

Tomorrow it's a week since Rainbow arrived. Such a short time but I think we are getting in the swing of things. Good care and regularity of life are big components of horse (and owner) happiness.

I really need to learn away from my slightly fitful and worried thinking of Rainbow not being looked after. I still want to rush to the yard in the middle of the day to check she's definitely been taken out to the field and that all is well. In her old place, although I don't want to badmouth anything or anyone here, the pace of the yard wasn't as organised and regular, so there were lots of occasions things didn't get done if I didn't very explicitly ask for something. And sometimes simplest of things, like removing a night rug when it was warm in the daytime just didn't happen. Horses stood in their stables all day, with maybe a 20–30-minute outing in the back school, if they were lucky. The onus on the owner to ensure regular outings and to get her horse exercise was great. And I felt it. In response, I became an early riser... Or I worried all through the day how she is doing and have they definitely taken the rug off/fed her/turned her out as requested. So no wonder my old habits die hard and my brain is still sending me warning signals to go and check... And I rode and exercised R at least 6 times a week.

Coming to greet me.

But now, I needn't worry; Rainbow is taken care of. By the time I usually get to the yard in the middle of the day (I tend to work the morning and then pop out for some horsey-time and return home to work a bit more in the late afternoon) all the stables are empty. All horses are out in their paddocks or fields. The summer field season has now begun in Finland, which means most horses live out 24/7 from the 1st June to 31st August. Three whole months outside. In the autumn and winter season they stay the nights in stables but still get turned out around 7am and brought in around 5–6pm... I am still in awe. 

Today, I rode Rainbow for the second time. Yesterday, she went really nicely and there was no silliness or any spookiness. I was nervous. But we both soon relaxed and I managed to get in a nice bit of work. Today, I was a bit braver and asked a bit more of her in terms of work and also did a longer session. We also cantered. It was a bit doink-doink and not very rolling or relaxed (mainly me) but at least we raised canter. I mainly concentrated on getting R concentrating, which she did marvellously, and to collect herself. Left rein was a bit so and so but the right rein was rather lovely. Which is also surprising as the right rein is usually the crap one. Maybe it's something to do which side the country we're in drives – so maybe the right rein is better in Finland and the left in England...! ;) Both better in walk and I always seem to have to work harder with her in trot to ask her collect herself. This relative ease of riding and working with Rainbow is surprising as we've both had closer to a month off in and under the saddle. And the new place, I thought, would cause her more palpitations. She's only once done a little jump when we were surprised by two dogs as we came around a corner. So fair enough really.

I am though giving her time and will take it relatively easy for a bit, until we've seen a bit more... But I have asked a couple of new friends at the yard to take us out for a little walkabout on Sunday... So let's see how that goes :)

First few days in Finland

Much better day yesterday. Have been working Rainbow from the ground for the first few days. We've been walking around and looking at things. Little foals seem to puzzle her ! 

She didn't speed gallop on the lunge today, like she did on Sat... And actually went really nicely on the side reins, working on the bit. Good girl. Very proud.

She's also made it to the mares field now. She's being chased a bit but she doesn't seem too bothered and look at this picture! No filters used on the image. Absolutely gorgeous.

Finalist

My blog post has been selected as one of the finalists. Very humbling. Thank you. :)

http://www.laukonhevoskuntoutus.com/2014/06/bloggauskilpailun-finalistit-selvilla.html

My blog post here: http://bluenna.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/looking-after-my-horse.html