Riding log - anyone interested?

[SupersonicDave]

Saw this on a horse forum and thought it would be a good idea.

Basically i need a bit of help with motivation (too much to do, not enough hours in the day etc) and can get a bit stuck in a rut wrt schooling/hacking/lunging.

So, today i am riding out my mare, a friend is riding my gelding, and we are going to ride through the village and back across some grassy tracks. Want to concentrate on keeping my mare calm, especially on the grass.

EP - haha, nooo, not in training, although endurance riding would be fun :) We went to Dunsford Woods. We got there through the lanes behind Tedburn, near some place called Great Fulford, and went along the bridlepath along the river to Steps Bridge...we came back through a bridlepath that started somewhere called Sowton Mills, and is clearly marked on a map, but I must have taken a wrong turn because when I came out it was a footpath and I was further up the road than I thought I would be from the map! EP - if you know this bridlepath, please do advise! I think maybe I went wrong at some cottages! And well done on the sponsored ride, it does sound fun :)

Mitchie - At least you got to go a bit faster now the ground is not too hard :)

For once, I actually couldn't be bothered to ride after work.

Well I've just come back from a very expensive trip to the saddlers. I took new horse down for a fitting and it was fascinating watching the fitter at work. He was very good at demonstrating and explaining what was going on and what was needed so now I'm the proud owner of a shiny new Albion saddle (gulp) - dh doesn't know yet.....

It was a perfect fit for horse, and so much more comfortable than the old one, so I'm hoping now that new horse will be more settled and move more freely - his back and muscles were sore from the old one, which was easy to see once he showed me! We go back for a re-fit in a month's time, and restuffing is included if necessary, and again in 3 month's.

So I look forward to a more comfy ride now, even if I'm ££££'s poorer for it!

Oh but a comfy ride is worth the money. I have a nasty treeless saddle but literally no spare money for a new one. Most upsetting.

Just did a quick ride around the woods after work. It was soooooooo hot.

I have new saddle envy! Our fitter is coming on Monday, but it is to fit our current saddles, can't afford new ones.

Rode mare out last night with someone from work and even managed to canter. Mare was very good and only tried to do little bucks because she was excited :o

Just popping in on this thread prior to picking our new pony up in a weeks time.
The cows thing made me laugh and reminded me of a horse called Denzil that I once knew.He was spooky about sheep,which is a problem around here as there are 1000's of them.So his owner would borrow a few and put them in Denzil's paddock until he got used to them,then take the sheep out.All was well until a few months later,when Denzil would forget that he was no longer scared of sheep,and the whole process would start all over again.Horses are funny things.

I've been camping but I have ridden! Had a gorgeous ride through the woods in Exmoor on a lovely piebald cob and saw three deer very close up. Oh it was so nice to get off the road and they've had rain so everything was so lush and the ground lovely and springy. I cantered! And I enjoyed it, even kicked on a bit! I really didn't want to come home. I kept wondering if I'd ever be able to take dhorse there for a holiday (after lottery win) and whether deer would have the same effect on him as cows.

Back now to hard ground and parched allotment. And the hay hasn't been delivered. And i've got a massive pile of washing.

Had a fantastic ride spoiled by an idiot car driver yesterday. I rode in the woods for a couple of hours and then on the way home, just out of the village speed limit a car came up behind me. I put my arm out to slow him, and warn that there was a car coming, but instead of holding back a few seconds the prat accelerated past me, hit my stirrup with his wing mirror, forced the oncoming car to slam it's brakes on and just disappeared into the distance.

Luckily new horse, despite having wobblies about drain covers again, didn't flinch or react and was an absolute star. I was very shaken and kept thinking about what could have happened which frightened me to bits, but this time we got away with it.

There is no way he couldn't have seen me, hi viz, good visibility - he just decided he couldn't be bothered to wait (or to have a laugh and see what happened) and to hell with the consequences.....

Just been out for a quiet hack and new horse (soon to be dhorse!) was fine when we met a car, so hopefully he's forgotten about it.

what an idiot, don't you wish we could train our horses to double barrel cars that do that? If it wouldn't hurt the horse - or a schooling whip across the side of the car makes the driver jump but am never quick enough. Plus whip is usually tucked into one of my boots anyway. Maybe we could form some sort of equestrian militia, just ride around heavily visibly armed with automatic or semi-automatic weapons and utterly draped in ammo? Our yellow hivis things could be made of Kevlar or similar. We could still be polite to the courteous drivers, but lob grenades at the others.

Pixel your holiday sounds great (maybe even the camping part?) especially springy tracks, lucky thing.

Moved late afternoon yesterday and rode out for first time today, I now know beyond any doubt that horse is not a fan of sheep. Which is a pity really as we were surrounded. Think he will get the hang of it. They were both amazing, oh and the hacks just go on and on and on and there are jump fairies (ground too hard but our day will come) AND WOODS. Actual woodland! Have only tried one route with sharer A, not sure whether to repeat tomorrow with sharer B or try new one. Asked another livery where a particular track led and she said 'our cross country field'. Had no idea there was cross country field! I'm completely blissed out :)

That does sound lovely Pixel.

Frosty - I hate fuckwit drivers. So bloody selfish. I do hit out at cars with my whip if they get too close but have never made contact. Probably a good thing because a road rage incident could well follow :-/

Mitchie - I just asked on your moving thread if horses were moved yet, obviously yes :) OMFG the rides there sound AMAZING!!!

I lunged the mare today, with no rider, and then with DD on her. DD had her first lesson yesterday in the next group up, they were jumping and she wasn't doing too well, she kept just sitting as normal over the jumps, so was just getting catapulted onto the pony's neck every time. So today I lunged her over a little pole in the school (no jumping allowed in the school - sigh). Then I free schooled the mare and she was jumping the pole, such a deviant pony :)

Afterwards I as talking in the yard to another livery who has been there something like 17 years. She said they used to be allowed to jump in the school, and also that there used to be a cross country course in one of the fields! I WANT THESE THINGS BACK!!!

I mean I free schooled once DD was off, with her on would have been a bit dangerous

Haven't left the farm yet, we just went round our new field and the next but took an hour (at walk), there are about six routes like that around the farm plus the public bridleways and if we venture to the village and cross the high st there is a whole amazing world of gallops and woods apparently.

Did have small chuckle at idea of free schooling with small person on board! Am too chicken to go into our new school, it's surrounded by over exuberant young cobs (stunning) and our pony would burst with excitement every time they moved and probably rodeo to death when they gallop up and down their field.

Oh there is a horse walker too, that could save lives in the winter? Asked how much but is FREE. Hooray :)

Hey :)

Mitchy that sounds fab!

Frosty omg! That sounds scary. Glad all is going well with your horse.

Manatee we got stopped from jumping in the school at one yard because they had it all redone and one idiot said that if we jumped on the surface it would wreck it (she was a dressage 'enthusiast' )

Lunged mare today but she was a bit flat, loose schooled gelding over a jump and he had a whale of a time!

SSD - I think that may well be what has happened here. The women I was talking to said it got banned around the time it was resurfaced, and suchabody (someone I have never heard of so I assume has since left!) was 'in to dressage'. Grr.

Hi everyone!

Frosty thats terrible, wish all these idiots could be banned from driving for life! I am soooo happy to hear that new horse is well on his way to being Dhorse, I posted on your old thread when you weren't sure whether to take on an ex-racer and was so exicited for you when you did -glad all the hard work is starting to pay off (drain covers aside )

Pixel your holiday sounds fantastic, I can't stand camping but think I could probably cope if it meant riding through the woods in Exmoor. The ground here is permanently hard (it's 30C most of the year) and I do have moments when I think it'd be really nice to return to England just so I could have a good gallop!

Mitchy

manatee and SSD am impressed with all this free schooling, my lot would just knock me over (or ignore me completely!)

Its been a week since I last posted and haven't ridden half as much as I had hoped as there never seems to be time. I have been busy trying to get a sand track put down around the perimeter of an orchard so I can have a canter outside the arena without worrying about hard, rocky ground, tested it out with one of my ponies and it was fab just to let him go and not worry. This weeks task is to start re-schooling my latest addition, another ex-racer, who is currently a bit to enthusiastic about life considering my lack of riding in recent months, so expect my next post to contain details of lots of bruises!

Dappleton - the word 'schooling' is a bit misleading, she cantered and occasionally galloped around around the school, bucking like a loony and stopping at the gate end, where my strategically positioned DCs were waving their arms and shouting at her! I don't do it often, but she struggles to canter on the lunge (heavy cobby thing!).
The sand track sounds great, where I am, the tracks are either swampy, or rock hard, not great!
Good luck with the ex-racer :)

Manatee, my two are the same, hoon around and stop at the gate :o
Strangely my mare struggles on the lunge too, but she is.not cobby, just stubborn!

Saddle fitter this aftetnoon.

Back is insanely painful today, not sure if from lugging stuff around over weekend (unlikely really as am v careful about lifting stuff plus had loads of help from the more able bodied) or riding wiggly horse yesterday, think the latter. Spasms between waist and shoulder blades, either side of where my spine would be if I had one, it's so frustrating and limiting. I really need to keep riding during this settling in period I think but what could I have done to cause this?

Youch Mitchie, that is not good :( You need to rest really, I'm sure the horses will settle in fine either way.

I have been riding in the school, I thought the DCs were back at school today so I had expected a lovely relaxed day,and hacking out, but not so :s

Mitchy - Ibuprofen and some ice on the sore bit? My poor horse having just gone out has galloped in demanding his all in one fly suit on as the horse flies have appeared from nowhere so I've had to interrupt important work stuff and zip him in. He hates the fly spay too, but he (and I) have now had a good covering!

No riding until Wednesday, and I'm hoping it'll be nice on Sunday for our 15 mile fun ride.

Have done those warm patch things and though not supposed to take NSAIDs have indulged (and every other painkiller and benzo I could find). God forbid I should ever have any sort of serious chronic condition that causes pain, am shit at acting like a normal human and regress to some sort of wounded animal type state.

Wonder if it just a core strength thing, anyway thanks, am mobile and will see about riding out at walk. He won't be so wiggly once he gets used to all the sheep.

My sister is a great believer in Pilates - I've never tried it, but she swears by it for all sorts of riding aches and pains.

Mitchy, poor you. My sister is having treatment for her back atm and hasn't been able to ride at all for a couple of months. She's now been told she can start off very gently 10 mins at a time and working up. Not sure what dpony will think of that plan judging by the way he was haring round the field yesterday (so wish I'd had a camera). I don't think he realised it was his 22nd birthday!

Dappleton, you would like camping on this site I guarantee, I've been going there since I was a child and it's so lovely, surrounded by oakwoods with a little stream running through that the children play in. Best of all the stables are on the site. It is fab camping somewhere where practically everyone is wandering around in jods.

Thank you :) sympathy has cheered me up a bit.

Rode out (quite spaced out) and it was bliss, I'm so happy about the new place - it's better than I could have imagined, at least the hacking and the price and the freedom from poo picking, the automatic watering and the extremely relaxed people at the helm. Almost feels like coming out of an abusive relationship, like I can breathe again.

Anyway did just under hour hack, then got friends to school them both so they had a canter etc., tracks not soft despite rain today.

My field/gate thing is worse than ever though, don't understand. It is irrational. My insides just turn to cold, churning liquid and I freeze :(

Happy 22nd birthday dpony, glad you are in no hurry to act your age!

Thanks Mitchy, I think it's a welsh thing, our first pony was just the same at 35!

Your new place sounds like heaven. Hopefully the lack of poo picking will help your back get better? Mine isn't too good atm but I know that is down to 5 hours driving followed by barrowing a load of hay and stacking it in a haystore where you can't stand up straight without bashing your head! Slight miscalculation when my stepdad built it, as he soon found out when my mum ended up in hospital with severe concussion. Now we are all so paranoid we walk about doubled over like a family of trolls.