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.

will you ride tomorrow? Is that you A?

yeah, have one somewhere - think it helped during cold winter bursts of freshness. Thing is am happy with gag on snaffle ring, but I suppose should respond to sharer's concerns if she is less than happy. She is difficult to communicate with on this issue, it's quite nuanced isn't it and she has black and white hierarchy of bits in mind, not able to take on board horse's history, shape of mouth, type of work etc

am hiding under duvet feeling quite sick and headachy and utterly exhausted, or not so utterly I lack strength to use iPad obviously. Hopefully this means I have some sort of germ rather than an imaginary mental disorder for a change :)

Yes, this is Alice, got my HP name on.

I wonder if your sharer feels embarrassed that she is struggling? My friend fell off my horse last week, nothing major, he just whipped round but I felt terrible. DH rode him. Yesterday and I am so proud of them. There has been such an improvement considering exercise has been a bit thin on the ground lately. Going up there in a minute.

We have entered the heath ride! Eek!

Sorry you're feeling rough Mitchie, hope it goes quickly. Have you considered a double bridle rather than a pelham - bit of a handful (and lots to clean) but it can be effective, and if you're sharer is nervous of a stronger bit it could be a compromise. It's probably worth having a go with the waterford first though, since you have one.

Had a good ride today although still bothered by horseflies. Dhorse seems a bit lethargic, I think he's just a bit bored as he perked up when he saw some ponies and traps on an outing - hopefully next week's fun ride will entertain him enough.

I'm aching all over - it's amazing how stiff I am after 2 weeks off, I'm walking a bit like a cowboy at the moment which will no doubt entertain the non riding members of the office this week!

Strangely we haven't had a problem with flies at all this year, we haven't even needed to get the fly masks out and they usually need them on every day in the summer.

Had wonderful day at Trinity Park (Ipswich) today. DD got asked to ride 3 ponies for a professional producer and it was lovely to just turn up without any preparation of pony/tack.

DD hadn't even sat on the ponies beforehand but won (and was champion) on two of them and was 2nd (and reserve champion) on the other. Great day had by all in the sunshine (eventually!) and DD thrilled to be covered in rosettes!

I'm still lurking and reading this thread with interest.Hope that you feel better soon Mitchie.

We've been to Dorset for a week in the rain and gales,but are back in sunny Leicestershire again [am currently on pc in the sunny garden].The dds went and rode their new pony again the night before we went away,and she was as good as gold on a busy road.We took my mum with us,as she wants to be able to take the dds out riding too,whilst I'm at work over the holidays,and wanted to be sure that she could cope.She loved new pony and says she'll feel confident out and about with her.

The girl who currently owns her has used her for rounding up sheep,which made me prick up my ears.Every January I have to help my dad on the farm,it is always filthy weather,knee deep mud and you risk getting knocked over by dim witted sheep barging at you to get at the feed.The thought of being able to ride through them unscathed is very appealing.

Hopefully new pony will be coming this week .I have bought a pair of jodhpurs from ebay,just in case..........

Mirage, new pony sounds lovely! Fingers crossed she's better than the last! Are you planning to ride new pony or just got jods with plans? (I predict pony number two so you can ride with dds, that's what happened to us, and now we've got four, don't say you weren't warned!)

Butkin, your dd sounds like a lovely rider!! well done to her, you must be very proud

We took new pony and old pony to a show today: new pony behaved beautifully but not much of a clue in the ring, old pony also beautifully well behaved and stayed on the bit through a whole showing class (see previous traumas!) and also jumped really nicely. Gd found two ponies hard going, and so did we [need knackered emoticon] Bit of a dilemma about which one's going to camp, but on balance new pony will probably get a lot from it, and we can alway swap if necessary.

DH's mare is a bit stiff in the hind (tried to kick old pony, so serve her right) and mine is being a bit of a pain when she has to lead the ride (which she has to for new pony, because she's new)

Mitchie, is this the sharer you're a bit unure about, or the other one? I think tack is your call, not sharer's

Going to practice a bit of dressage with Fell mare tomorrow (pony club level 1

What a good day for your dd,Butkin.I bet she's chuffed to bits.
Olderyetwider,I might ride new pony,as she is 13hh so big enough,it is over 10 years since I last rode though,and 32 years since I had my own pony..We can't keep more than one pony in our village,but my mum has said that if we want another pony in future,there is no reason why we can't keep them both at their farm a mile away,she has even offered to help us buy a 2nd pony if we want to.One is enough for me at the minute though.

I'm still in touch with the last pony's owner,and she has decided not to sell him now,as she missed him too much,so that had a happy ending,thank goodness.

Well done at the show today, It sounds exhausting,but a lot of fun.

Sounds like a great weekend was had by all - congratulations to Butkin and family. Mirage - this pony sounds like a much better one, as Older says you are starting on the slippery slope of multiple horse ownership. You can always justify having more than one by pointing out that they are herd animals......

Having a mini sleep-depriving crisis here. My latest horse (the gorgeous beast on my profile) has many, many issues - i've sorted out all his basic ex-racehorse problems i.e. pulling, leaning, spinning about etc but he has intermittent lameness (in trot with rider on board only), keeps knapping when I put my leg on (turns around with ears flat back - in pain I should imagine)and he has NO concentration - everything is more interesting than what he is supposed to be doing! So i've stopped riding him until the vet comes, has already had his teeth done and no problems there, i've fiddled about with the saddle but can't see any problem to cause this type of response and he's had a equine-touch thingy done on him which showed up no major problems other than a bit of stiffness in one knee and a possible problem in his jaw (which dentist didn't agree with and as he's softer in his mouth now I don't think this is much of an issue). At the same time i've been offered a healthy 3yr old that only raced once and is just too slow, they're going to put him down if he's doesn't find a home ! I can't keep both and whichever I don't take/keep will almost definately have to be put to sleep! So sad, what a decision to make.

Oh dappleton,what a dilemma! I hope that the vet's visit throws some light on things.
Frostfingers,you are right,I can see it happening.Thing is,grandad and great grandad on my dad's side were big horsemen/dealers,great grandad on mum's side bred connemaras and bought them over from Ireland and mum used to ride them for him,so my excuse would be that it is genetic!

I've a question for you horsey experts,new pony is 20,has been shod for the past 3 years as her current owners ride her on the road a lot and she was shod when they bought her.They kept shoeing her because the previous owners did and they didn't want to start causing her problems if she wasn't used to being barefoot.She was kept at the bottom of a slope that got icy in winter and were worried about her slipping and falling,which was another reason too.My gut feeling is to keep her shod,purely because it is what she is used to,but we won't be doing as much road work and have no slippery slopes,so am humming and hawing about if they are really necessary.I don't want to end up with a lame pony just for the sake of the cost of shoes though.If anyone has any thoughts or advice I'd be very interested to hear them.Thanks

Many thanks for your kind words - DD got to keep the 20 quid prizemoney she won for the owners so I've told her that means she's no longer an amateur

Well done Older - you'll soon be needing a bigger horsebox as well!

Dappleton - a tricky one. I think I'd take the new one and lose the old one if you think the problems are too difficult. I know it isn't easy to be this calculating if you are close to an animal but at the end of the day if you can only keep one it should be the one sound/fit enough to do the job for you.

Mirage-can you ask the farrier's opinion when she next needs to be shoed? Dpony came to us with front shoes but we don't really go on roads so wondered if he could do without. Farrier had a look, thought he'd be fine (which he has) so we've not bothered since. Dpony only 5 though so might make a difference.

Our pony came with a full set which I dropped to front only until we knew how much work he was going to get and whilst he was pootling in the field on the lead rein. I found that as soon as we started more serious exercise we needed all four on, but now he's down to being a field ornament they're off and he's trimmed around every 12 weeks. He has great feet, and we've been lucky. As ML says ask your farrier his opinion as to what is best for you and pony.

Dappleton - I'm with Butkin I think. It's a hard, hard decision but you have to look at what is best for you as well as both the horses and if your existing one isn't getting much exercise and there is no obvious reason for the problems he's having then I think the pts option is a realistic one. So very hard though, and I really sympathise.

mirage, butkin, frosty - thank you all for your words of support, it means a lot. I think deep-down I know the 3yr old is really the better option, I just needed to hear it from someone else!

The vet is coming on Thursday so i'll then be able to make an informed decision then.

not ridden for what seems like aaages (had a fall 2 weeks ago whilst mounting - Big B decided to beggar off and I tumbled, minor damage only...bruising and scraping to hands and knee)

Been out twice since then but time's against me at the moment...

Bought my first ever secondhand saddle today for Li'l B - lovely Yorkshire lady brought out a selection, she brings them over from the UK (I'm in Ireland) so they're all nice old English leather. Only one that fitted him well was a show-saddle so that was the one. Now I'm wracked with nerves... DD is 12 and does the odd bit of hacking once or twice a week, I also ride Li'l B occasionally, will a show saddle be OK d'you think ?? had a ride on it and it's lovely and comfy.

CailinBainne,that saddle sounds just lovely!
Frostyfingers and marialuisa,thankyou for your advice,I'll see what the farrier says when he comes.The pony is here now,they brought her over tonight and she is happily filling her face in the little paddock.The vendors have helpfully put some notes in with her passport and stae that she is normally shod every 6-12 weeks,depending on the amount of roadwork she has done.They had her shod 2 weeks ago,so we've got a while yet.

Dappleton - what a hard decision, I am sure you will do the right thing.

I rode the mare today, round the woods, the woods or the school are all I will have time for over the summer holidays :-/

Show saddle should be fine Cailin. DD only has her Fylde suede show saddle and uses it for everything - certainly hacking, pony club and small level jumping as well as showing. She wouldn't know how to cope with a knee roll!
The Fylde people say they encourage all their riders to use their saddles for everything.

The only time we had a problem with her show saddle was when she qualified for the PC zone final in the Mounted Games team. At the tack check they said our saddle was "too close fitting". We had to go and put some gel pads under the pommel to raise it up.

We weren't amused as our saddle was made to measure for DD's pony and some other kids were just bouncing around on cheap general-purpose saddles which fitted where they touched!

DD also does everything in her show saddle and has no problems. Our PC must be more relaxed Butkin, as she was cleared for ODE with it! DD had to ride a friend's pony who has a synthetic wintec saddle with huge knee rolls-she just couldn't trot at all and kept muttering "stupid knee rolls in the way" as she went round.

You can pull the knee rolls off a Wintec, they are only held on with velcro!

Rode on Friday in a major comp and came third got to do a mounted prize giving/lap of honour which was fab. Been at work since so schooled on Monday for 30 mins. Riding tomorrow and doing prelim 14 on Friday night

Ruddy horses - all ready bar clean tack and one last long ride for 15 mile fun ride on Sunday and dhorse came in this morning with a loose nail and lame. The farrier is whizzing out tomorrow and hopefully he'll be fine, but knowing my luck there will be a hole or something and he'll be too sore....grrr!

Oh no Frostyfingers,I hope it is easily resolved.What bad luck.

The dds rode their new pony for the first time yesterday,and she was lovely,put up with my hamfisted tacking up very patiently.They had such fun that today they both insisted that they could ride without me walking alongside,and managed quite well.She has tried it on a bit by stopping to gaze longingly at the calves in the next field,or walking over to stand next to me instead of going where she is meant to,but that is ponies for you.DD1 is half the size of the pony's last rider,so will have to work a bit harder to make her do what she wants.We finished the session with DD1 trying a few jumps-I ran alongside and jumped too for the first one,then stopped just before the second,pony stopped too,the crafty madam,and DD1 ended up hanging off her neck.She refused the next one,but jumped the last with me alongside,so we ended on a good note.

I struggled to get her to accept the bit when I tacked her up today,and after a bit of a fight,managed it.Afterwards I realised that my hands smelt of sunlotion and the poor old girl probably thought that I was trying to dose her with some nasty tasting medicine.Oh well,I'll know better next time!

I'll put some photos of her on my profile.

Brighthair well done! Bet the lap of honour was brill

Frosty what a shame, hope he is ok for the ride.

Mirage your pony sounds like a sweetie. She must like you if she didn't want to jump without you . My dhorse is the same, he loves my instructor. On Weds he was listening to me quite well while I was warming up before my lesson and as soon as the instructor appeared he just wanted to follow her around with a soppy expression on his face!

I had a lovely ride today, things are going really well since dhorse and I got to the other yard for our 'hols'. I'm gradually getting less terrified tense and he is settling down and behaving so it's win-win.
Yesterday I finally managed to lunge him without him rolling ha ha so he's improving there too. Still got to show him the evil horse killers cows but I'm building up to that! The brand-new jumping paddock is now officially open so I plan to have a go over some tiny poles (about 6" probably) next week, only problem is it's school hols so there are always loads of super-confident tiny tots in there at the mo and they won't appreciate me putting the jumps down.