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.

want to see mirage's new pony!

Mine is suddenly fat, he would hate to be separated from the horse but I might have to ask if I can section a little area for him. I can't imagine needing to feed him ever again, and this could really help some of the 'behaviours'?

I've just had an eventful morning. I had a call yesterday to say someone wanted to come and look at my yard to see if they could film there - early this morning I get another call to say that a whole film crew are at the gates waiting to get in ! So in a very wet sand arena (it rained all night and arena looked more like a swimming pool in places) i've had horses galloping (and rolling) about all morning (much to the pleasure of all horses involved who couldn't quite believe their luck) being filmed for a Bengali film. The actor then wanted to ride one horse among the other loose horses against my better judgement (and with a disclaimer in place - imagine explaining that one to the insurance company!) I reluctantly agreed and Dhorse was an angel, he just trotted about avoiding the other 4 - even with rather loud music playing and a camera wizzing up and down on a rail. Am thinking of launching his career as a stunt horse now!

P.S. I second Mitchie - I want to see Mirages new pony too - sounds so cute!

Dappleton that sounds like lots of fun!

My mare is fat too. Have schooled Monday and.Sunday and I hurt :o hopefully it is working her as much as it is me!

Wow, it all sounds so exotic and glamorous at dappleton's. Keep up the good work supersonic!

My horse took about twenty minutes to waddle up to the gate. I can't feel his ribs at all. Better increase his work, definitely not feeding. How to get cortaflex in though?

Dappleton,that sounds very glamourous indeed.

I had a horrible day.I took Joshie on the lead rein to the next village,to see if he was as good in traffic as he seemed when we first viewed him.He was a bit nervy,but I put it down to being in a new place with new people,plus he hadn't been ridden for 4 months before we got him.We were going okay until a milk tanker hove into view,and he freaked out,jumping around and trying to make a run for it.The tanker driver was lovely and stopped the engine dead as soon as he saw me struggling to hold him.Thank God the girls weren't riding or they'd have been thrown badly.I managed to calm him down,but he was clearly unsettled as he kept trying to turn and head for home,but I made him carry on.

When we got home,I went around to Peter my lovely neighbour,who said he'd take him out again and see if it happened again.Joshie was a bit nervy and did a bit of staring,but didn't freak out again.Peter has suggested that the girls carry on riding him in the menage,but that we take him for a walk on the road every day while we have him on trial,so he can get used to it again.He thinks it is just a blip and it probably won't happen again,but if it does in the next 2 weeks,back he goes.

To compound matters,my friend has offered me her lovely safe been there done it all mare on loan for the dds,and if we hadn't found this one,I'd have her in a heartbeat,but I can't afford 2 ponies.I'm in a dilemma now,and don't know what to do.

Sorry to hear of your trauma Mirage. Does your neighbour/anyone nearby have a steady pony who could accompany you out on walks? Your pony would probably be more confident in company. Is the milk tanker a regular feature?

Good luck with your dilemma, if your friend isn't in a rush then maybe the nice mare could be a back-up plan if you decide you can't quite trust the pony?

He is a lovely colour Mitchie

Mirage, your neighbour sounds wonderful and I think his idea is great. Perhaps lunge him a bit before you walk him out as if he's generally feeling a bit full of himself he may make a big fuss over things he wouldn't normally. I agree that it may also take him a while to settle into a new home which is perhaps why he seemed to act differently when you tested him before you bought him. Another calm pony to follow (as older said) will certainly help to settle him quicker. Hopefully your friend can keep the offer of her pony on hold for you for a few weeks just as back up. Hope it works out, awaiting to here how the rest of the week goes for you.

Thankyou all.I'm still feeling awful about what happened,but Peter and I are taking him out again at 1.30 today and we'll see what happens.We did lunge him before his second [uneventful] trip out yesterday,and he was very laid back and calm,but he has a lot more grass in his paddock here than he was been used to,so who knows?

I have lost all confidence in him now,but haven't told the dds what happened,in case they get scared to get on him.I have said that if things don't work out and he goes back,they might be able to have friend's pony,and I'm going to ask if I can borrow her one day to see how they get on with her.It might take the edge off losing Joshie if we have a back up plan.Everyone but me thinks it was a blip,my mum,who I thought would freak out at the thought of her darling grandaughters being on an untraffic proof pony,reminded me that my old 13.2 mare once nearly had her in the ditch when confronted by a gritter,but never ever did it again.

I guess I'm so used to docile,plodding riding school ponies,that I've forgotten how unpredictable they can be in real life,Dh who has never had much to do with horses,adores Joshie and is very anti giving up on him,but I'm thinking,do I spend £1k on a lovely looking,easy going pony who is fine in every respect,but who I'll never trust on the road again,or loan the old,hairy,but reliable pony who has been passed down through the same family for years?

Friend has two people interested in loaning her mare,but is willing to put them off for a bit,as she'd rather us have her,but can't put them off for long and I don't want to mess her about.

Thanks again,I'm off to do some jobs and I'll post again later.

Mirage, he is still very new to you guys, that is not necessarily his normal self. I hope things work out.

EP - I got a personalised OS map online to find rides, you can put your postcode at the centre :) And yep - mare on profile. I need to find a sharer and am happy to move yards to suit said sharer so let me know if you know of anyone please! I can't afford my masters degree for next year, so need to look at ways to save money, and actually moving yards to suit a sharer will solve my not-entirely-happy-at-this-yard dilemma.

Am about to go and ride the mare now :)

Mirage - don't give up on him yet. He's probably still very unsettled - new home, new people and first exercise for quite a while - perhaps he's just had a bit of a sensory overload.

I've had my new horse for 3 months now, and he's still finding things a bit strange and I'm still getting used to him. A bond doesn't come instantly, and he'll pick up on your feelings if you're a bit anxious with him in the traffic.

I think lots of handling from you and dd's, and your wonderful neighbour, and lots of outings will probably settle him. After all a milk tanker is quite scary. Assuming he's driven by his tummy perhaps you could give him an apple or carrot or something when you've come back from a walk/ride. Talk to him lots and try hard to be relaxed when you meet things. Good luck.

Thanks Frostyfingers.We took him out again and he was fine until a bus came round a bend behind us,then did his sideways dance and tried to bolt.Lovely Peter grabbed him from me and calmed him down and after that we covered 3 miles without incident.Peter made me trot him up hills,and I was on my last legs-he is far fitter than me despite being 70.

We had to stop in the next village as he was surrounded by a crowd of admirers and he was very patient about standing around with people fussing over him.Then he had an hours rest before DD1 came home and was ready to ride him,but he'd obviously decided he'd done enough for the day.He'd only trot if I ran beside him and when I ran after him with the whip,telling him to 'get on',he did a little buck and a canter,before coming to a halt.We persevered,but DD1 was getting tired and hot,so we called it a day.

The lovely lady who lives opposite the paddock loves Joshie and thinks he is fabulous-she has a friend who is a very highly regarded horse expert and RI,and has arranged for her to come over on Friday,check Joshie over,including teeth,back and saddle,plus watch the dds ride him and give her honest opinion.This is apparently free as she owes lovely lady a backlog of favours.S hopefully we'll be a little wiser by then.

Thankyou for all the encouragement,it means a lot.

Sounds like he is doing well, mine are as traffic proof as possible (motorbikes can roar past, lorries within a hair's breadth, buses, combines etc) but even they are a tiny little bit spooky since I moved them. Although usually something silly in a hedge rather than vehicles. I agree with taking him out in bomb proof equine company as often as you possibly can and doing as much road work as practicable. It's still very early days and you can work around even quite serious fears of lorries or buses - ask them to stop so you can pass or go another way, for example, or you stop and let him watch it go past while you reassure him. My friend's pony who bolts whenever he sees a lorry is fun to hack, you just have to either tuck him in beside another horse, stop the lorry and scarper before he sees it, or go a different way. Obviously he isn't a candidate for masses of road work but he is a fab ride otherwise. Sounds like Joshie has plenty in his favour to redeem him?

Anyway still having far too much fun at new place. When will it stop feeling new and just be home? Maybe when I've learned all the hacks!

Rode out for three hours today and lovely lovely lovely log canters through the woods and then, I know you shouldn't, thought 'fuck it' and galloped up the hill home. He was so happy, have been up that hill a dozen times and he is always 'canter? Fast canter?' but it's always 'no, silly, trot' until now when the going is better. Didn't realise how well I'd trained him to gallop up every slight incline! There are odd times in life when everything makes sense and gallop for ages without worrying about brakes is one of them isn't it?

Mitchie - that's great that you and your horse are enjoying your new yard so much.....long may it continue Very jealous of your 3 hour hack - it's been pouring all day here. I did get togged up and ride out for an hour (Dpony wasn't impressed and walked with his head bent to one side, even when the rain eased off for a bit - trying to make me feel guilty!)

We ambled off in sunshine but galloped home in the rain, I love it. Was in jeans and jumper though and had stupidly crawled into bed in them, all damp and shivery now. I am seriously tempted to do the same route tomorrow but there was a hair raising sheep/rear/spin incident which was funny once it was over but not that amusing at the time.

Thankyou Mitchie.I'm envious of your lovely hack out,even with the sheep incident.

Yesterday I took Joshie out on my own,talk about being tested! We hadn't got out of the village [tiny place,less than 40 houses] when we were confronted by a sewage tanker noisly sucking out the drains,a bus and a recycling lorry.The lorry and the tanker caused a bit of a shy,but we carried on.Then we had a car stop and ask directions,no problem,then as they drove away a passenger leant out of the windows and started taking flash photos of us-you just couldn't make it up! J was steady though,although he did a bit of staring when someone walked in front of us with a long shiney metal ladder glinting in the sun,oh,then there were the puddles that you must never ever step in.Went to show him off to 2 horsey friends,one a RI and the other was the vet at the Army horse place at Melton and for the Household Cavalry,J was much admired.

The trip home was even more eventful,a bus coming up behind made him dance about a bit,much to the excitement of all the old girls on it,but we kept going,there was a b taxi driver who raced past and who I shouted at,J didn't bat an eyelid.Just as we got back home,over the bridge came a tractor with spray booms on,a loud landrover and a livestock wagon,one after the other.We stood in a gateway to let them pass,with no trouble.Back around the village,the tanker was still there,making even more noise,J didn't even appear to notice it.3 days ago a walk like that would have made me cry,now it is just funny.

I'm in daily contact with his owner and she said that it is very unlike him to be traffic shy,as he's done a lot of roadwork in the past,and she echoed what everyone here has said-new place,new people,new area,inexperienced handler=bad combination.She said that if something he wasn't happy about came up behind them on the road,she would turn him to face it or go in a gateway-so perhaps that explains why he doesn't like it when I keep him going.

He is a lovely boy otherwise,very very kind and gentle,the girls can go across the fields on their own to go in the paddock and fuss him,you don't have to catch him,he comes to you,will stand and be groomed,have his feet picked out nicely and is very affectionate.He is a gorgeous looking boy too,which is why our walks take so long.Horsey neighbour says it is a shame he isn't registered as he'd make a lovely show pony.He has the most lovely trot too.

Right,enough waffling about him,I'd better go and take him for our walk-wonder what we'll meet today?

He is so good, that sounds almost like flooding! Well done you and Joshie! How eventful was today's ride?

Mine was too long, by total accident (getting lost) did the endurance route but it was bliss. Am suffering already though, bandy legged, have ridden more in past two days than I normally would per horse per week. So much for my gradual fittening regime for sponsored ride, they did it with ease and still galloped up the hill home. I suppose the are used to between one and three hours a day so it was only an extra hour and a bit and they did have the option of ambling along on a long rein for a few miles at a time.

Mirage - glad to hear that things are going better, I think you will get over any traffic issues.

Mitchie - these rides you have just sound brilliant!!!

Just lunged the mare today because she had the farrier coming. DD had a riding lesson that didn't go very well - rode a nasty little pony who stopped and then cat leapt a jump, DD refused to jump after that and we are moving her back down a class for her to get her confidence back, and have requested that she rides another pony!

One of the other liveries at my yard works at the horsey college and has a saddle that she is selling for someone that she thought may fit Dmare. She tried it on today, it is very wide and was made to measure for another horse with low withers, but there was about a 6-7 finger gap from her withers to the saddle. She said that Dmare has the most non -existent withers she has ever seen. This doesn't surprise me, there really is no wither, she has huge, high shoulders and flat across the top, but my hopes of ever having anything but a treeless that fits her are actually quite slim :-/

I thought of you today when I rode through some neverendingwoods, how I used to read your posts and think 'would LOVE woods to ride in'. It's really hair raising bombing through actual woods though isn't it? Dodging low branches and weird holes. There are no jump fairies visiting there, only puddles to jump!

Isn't a treeless nice? I rode a percheron x in one and apart from feeling like a human t junction, it was like sitting in an armchair.

Ooooh, neverendingwoods sound nice! Our woods at the yard are only little :) And yes - low branches are scary, and I have a complete phobia of holes!!!

The treeless is comfy for long rides and in walk, but it doesn't give you a very secure seat for anything else, and it looks embarrassingly scruffy, but that may just be my paranoia!

Am trying to plot my route on a map, to see how far we went, am thrilled to discover that the really long bridleway is called waddlegoose lane! Wish that was my address, haven't been so excited since I found 'gobblecock' on OS map near Wickham Market - think it is a farm

Oh look it could be Waddlegoose house

I think Mitchie has found me a much better MN name! May have to become Waddlegoose. Can't be gobbecock as DH would have me done for false representation.

We rode out properly yesterday (trot and canter) for the first time in ages. Twas lovely, but have to get my mare fit all over again (she's not that bad, just a bit slack). Not a problem as GD's new pony needs to be much fitter. We spent the downtime at show today planning their regime. Lots of hills where we are!

I need to get new pony a saddle, but she'll change shape as she gets fit. Someone suggested a treeless, so what Manatee says is useful. Has anybody got a synthetic with changeable gullets? Are they any good, and could I sell on reasonably well once we know her 'proper' shape?