Riding Blues

[JustJazz]

Feeling a little down today after riding dpony. He's getting increasingly sour hacking out/ doing any work. Today I could get him barely out of walk. He only gets ridden at the weekends at the mo (he is 20 now, but recently had a check over with the vet which he passed with flying colours).

I do try & vary his routes & do a little lunging/ jumping a few logs etc. & over the summer I took him out to a local SJ comps & he came alive again. The last one was in Oct. I don't have a school at the yard to do SJ at home.

I don't have anyone to hack out with & one of the YOs can be very rude to me at times (& sometimes fine), so I take that with a pinch of salt.

I'm at a loss as to what to do to perk us both up- a change of yard & change of scenery, or just to try & get out & about with the trailer.

Any suggestions welcome.

[Wolfiefan]

You sound down in the dumps! I feel the same at the mo but that is lack of riding opportunity at the moment. I would love to do a beach ride. Are there any local places you can hire a school and jumps or a local x country course?
Here's dreaming of sunny days and light evenings!

[JustJazz]

I've thought of hiring XC as DD and DH can watch as well (DD who's 2, loves going out in the trailer and watch dpony jump).

I'm lucky that I could do a beach ride at Studland which is not THAT far away (although I'm not sure how the dpony would cope with the journey on the chain ferry over), it just seems like it wouldn't be the same if I was riding on my own. If you're down my way, I'll meet you there!

I guess we (me & dpony) would just love some company. A 2 hr plod doesn't seem so bad if you're having a gossip! I used to have a few good riding buddies but they moved on (two gave up, one emigrated).

[Wolfiefan]

Ferry sounds fun! Unfortunately I'm in Gloucestershire and don't have a horse either! Trying to get back into riding but having to make do with sending advice to others and occasional cuddles with a relative's horse. Do you think it's too late to hope Father Christmas will get me that pony I wanted more than 30 years ago? Sigh!

[JustJazz]

That Father Christmas, so unreliable! I asked for years, but all I got were pictures of horse for my room! Hope you do get back to riding soon & thanks for the advice!

[BlueChampagne]

Poor you, JustJazz. Trying to get out and about with the trailer sounds like the easiest option to start with. Do you have a local bridleways group that could introduce you to more happy hackers and new routes? If you can offer transport, I'm sure you'll be popular! Endurance riding groups tend to offer rides over the winter, or what about indoor SJ events? Or Trec? Or UK Chasers?

[dappleton]

do you have anywhere you can school him? even if just a paddock - if so you can do online competitions such as Interdressage - it might help if you have something to work towards like practicing a test or show routine???

[JustJazz]

Thanks for your replies BlueChampagne & dappleton.

There's no bridleway group in this area that I've found yet.Although I've only a single trailer, so I can't take anyone with me. Indoor SJ tend to be quite a long way away, trec even further. I used to do winter SJ leagues, so as DD is a bit older, I'll see if some of them are still running.

I did look into Endurance rides as there's a lively couple of groups near here and I was really keen on trying a few out, so that's a good idea, I'll look it up again.

I'm sometimes allowed to school in the paddock, so when I can, I do. I'm pretty sure we'd come last if we tried interdressage!

I think I've let the thing thing with the YO get to me a bit. She can be very moody. Somedays, she can barely bring herself to say hello to me (and won't even look at me), somedays she'll chat for hours. I probably need to pull my finger out & get dpony clipped.

I really love riding in winter wrapped up in loads of layers, so it's really not the weather getting me down.

Thanks ladies for helping me with ideas to lift me out of the gloom!