hapless hacking and Actual Riding log

[Mitchy1nge]

is the riding log full now? Haven't seen it for ages.

Anyway we (well, me and the horse) are back in very light work at last, 2013 can finally begin!

What are your goals?

[Pixel]

Oh well I just wondered, sorry.

[frostyfingers]

No need to be sorry, it's a good question! We're mostly orchards and wheat but immediately next to him is just plain grass with sheep so no obvious triggers. Whilst doing the ironing just now I totted up a rough estimate of his vet bills in the last three years, not including the usual vaccinations and teeth and it comes to the eye watering sum of about £7k (thank god for insurance) which is way more than I paid for him.

I suspect it won't be worth insuring him next year as the premium will have yet more exclusions and be pretty hefty, to be fair I can't blame them!

[Pixel]

Crikey that is a lot. Always best to NOT add these things up I find!

What a shame he's had so many problems. As you say, if it was one thing at a time it wouldn't be so bad but it must seem never-ending.

[frostyfingers]

Just picked up the antibiotics and nearly fainted when the receptionist said that's £329 (500ml)...... Fortunately head vet was there and said that wasn't right, but even so it was a 1/3rd of that. I'm guarding it with my life - it has to be given orally so I have to syringe it down which is going to be interesting. It had better turn him into Champion the Wonder Horse at that price.

[matildasquared]

I hope this is the right place to make a note of my first riding lesson today!

I had a little panic attack hesitation upon mounting but once I was on I was fine. I had an excellent instructor who took great care to explain correct posture and how to keep a good seat whilst walking. Eventually she let go of the lead and I walked the horse around the school, doing some simple diagonals.

I've been on horses before but I feel like today was the first time I actually rode. Such a great time! When I got off I gave the horse a hug and a kiss for being so lovely and chilled out, which was probably very dorky but I don't care.

The bad news is that they don't offer group lessons or semi-private sessions for absolute beginners, which makes sense. So I will need to look at the budget and see whether I can afford private lessons for a time.

[frostyfingers]

Tis a long, slippery and expensive slope Matilda, before you know it you'll have a horse and be spending ££££'s on antibiotics on the damn thing!

Seriously though, congratulations on your first lesson - it is one of the most rewarding things, when you have a lesson go well.

[matildasquared]

Thank you!

My income is way too low for horse ownership (thanks, legal aid)!

My goal is to get skilled enough to 1. participate in hacks (organised through the stables) and 2. exercise friends' horses, should the occasion arise.

I also hope to continue volunteering with RDA and maybe "horse-sit" for neighbours when they go on holiday, that sort of thing.

But then again, if the right horse-share opportunity came up ...

[frostyfingers]

I thought that after all my doom and gloom I ought to update a little. Dhorse finished 16 days worth of outrageously expensive antibiotics plus his 4th (I think) tub of Sputulosyn and seems to be ok so far. We've had 5 gentle hacks of about 45 minutes to an hour at a steady walk and he hasn't yet coughed....... I'm absolutely paranoid though, he's got a slightly runny nose and I'm watching it nervously!

The horse flies are appalling, even when I'm riding early so it's been a bit of a torture bumbling along being attached by swarms of the blighters, but hopefully we'll get trotting in the next month without incident!

I went to the Three Counties Show last Saturday and came across the most enormous horses - they were "Canadian Belgians" being driven by someone called David Mouland and they were 19.2hh - I kid you not! Beautiful sorrel colour with blonde mane and tail, they were stunning (as was the horse box they came in too - it was massive). It was a great day out with some absolutely gorgeous animals on show.

[frostyfingers]

Attached? Attacked!

[frostyfingers]

I thought I'd better bump this up, it seems to have gone very quiet on here! Dhorse coughed again just before I went on holiday in mid July but after a further set of antibiotics/sputulosyn seems to be ok. I've upped his work and he's now walking and trotting - he does hate his fitness regime and makes the whole process very tortuous! I'm lunging him a bit as well for variety but we've no properly level ground so I have to be very careful.

We went on a fun ride yesterday, his first outing since April, his second in the lorry, and my first solo outing in the lorry so I was quite stressed, even though it wasn't far. He travelled fine but rather lost the plot when I got there and parked - I think the fact he can see out doesn't help - he leans back and scrabbles with both his front feet which makes a horrible noise and rocks the lorry like hell. I whipped him out as quick as I could and he then danced around on the end of the rope while I waited for my companion.

The 11 miles of the ride were spent at passage and piaffe, with the occasional capriole and general arsing about. I felt a bit sick for a while with all the jiggling, and even when we got back it took about 3 minutes before he stopped prancing and I could get off. As soon as he was back on the lorry he was scrabbling again, it's horrendous and I'm not sure how to stop it. He did it in the trailer too, which was worse as that really rocked, it's excitement mixed with frustration I think. It's not the travelling as he stands well and is not sweaty at all on arrival (and I drive very slowly, much to the annoyance of everyone else on the road).

There's another ride next week but it's over an hour and a half away and whilst I think the outing would be good for him, I'm not sure 3 hours in a lorry is worth 2 hours riding.....

[mrslaughan]

Oh Frosty - sounds "exciting"....I have no advice, other than maybe some rescue remedy.

My life has been very short of riding, combination of giving up my share (due to his injury and owners denial about the whole thing, and school hol's). Had horsey time though, as been taking ds to see his pony....I have had the odd lesson.

In the process of looking for a horse for myself...think I have found one, but have been a little detached about the whole thing.....think that is due to a couple I have been v excited about, but then they have failed their vettings, so fingers crossed for me!!

[todayisnottheday]

Hi everyone, thought I'd join with my trials and tribulations! I've taken on dds pony (dm) as she's lost interest and ds pony (dp) has just returned from loan. Dm suffers from sticky stifle and had all winter and spring off with dd so she's the worst she's ever been with her stifle. I've been bringing her back into work very slowly to try and build muscle without sending her lame. It's been very two forward one back but we were finally getting there when she threw both front shoes and the hole from last year's abscess cracked! Now she's off again and we're back to square one! Frustrating as we're now losing the nights, I'd wanted her fit enough that I could lunge her some days in winter to help keep her fit but that's not going to happen now

On a positive note ds is doing great with dp. He went on loan because ds was finding him too fast and excitable but a few months seems to have done wonders for them today is day 3 and we're off to do some jumping. They've done more in 3 days than they did in a month before the loan! Dp seems pleased, it seems the loan has involved lots of galloping about, jumping huge jumps and little interaction or quality time. Although dp is a grumpy beast he does like attention so he's unwound very fast and is being a sweetheart. Dm still hates him sadly which is a shame because he luffs her

[frostyfingers]

Could someone just remind me why I have a horse please? Last Saturday we managed a couple of hours autumn hunting but in the process dhorse loosened a hind shoe, I couldn't budge it but it was clinking a bit. I texted the farrier and asked him to come over on Sun (which is a working day for him) to whip it off but on Saturday afternoon I discovered horse standing in field waving his back leg around. He'd managed to twist the shoe off and stand on the toe clip. Cue expensive Saturday call out from the vet, injections & painkillers and instructions to poultice for a while and call back in. So this morning he was pretty sound, with the poultice still on so I thought optimistically we might get the shoe back on at the weekend.

Ha, bloody ha! I heard dhorse neighing after lunch, went out to see him standing holding the front leg up - exactly the same thing, only this time he'd punctured his sole with the nail. So, the vet comes out again, digs a hole, gives me dire warnings about fracturing things and bone infections and further instructions for poulticing and antibiotics.

The only plus point is that she's happy the back foot is fine, so instead of a 2 legged horse I have a 3 legged horse.

[mrslaughan]

ooohhhh frosty...we are about to take the plunge and buy for me and dh......but its stories like these that make me ask myself "am I mad?!

[frostyfingers]

And the pony had colic this morning - it's all doing my head in atm!

[Pixel]

mrslaughan, are you inferring that we are all mad?

Poor Frosty is having a terrible time 'tis true, but it's not always like that honest! .
How did it go with the horse you were interested in?

[mrslaughan]

I am looking at her half sister, 5 rising 6.....still a little younger than I wanted, BUT has a super temperament and I am keeping her (if she passes her vetting tomorrow) in a livery situation where I will have tonnes of back up (paying for it obviously, but will need it)

As we have had a couple of horses fail vettings, I am trying to not get too excited........

[Pixel]

She sounds lovely, (young but hopefully getting past any teenage tantrums by now), hope all goes well tomorrow .

[frostyfingers]

Good luck Mrs Laughan - she sounds nice. I've just had a run of bad luck really, the summer hasn't been great and just when I thought we were on track this happens. I've never had a horse lose a shoe and tread on it before so twice in a week has to be an exception, and now the pony has had colic I think I've had my run of 3 bad things for now!

The farrier came last night and spent an hour fitting a shoe to the back foot which had the initial injury - dhorse now has a front shoe on it, as there was no way a back shoe would go (nowhere for the toe clip to hang on to). It's not a brilliant fit and the shoe itself is a bit exposed at the side so I've put an overreach boot on to prevent him standing on it.

He'd pulled two poultices off the front foot yesterday (he sort of stands with this feet close together and shuffles them up and down until he gets it off) so I thought I'd hot tub it for a while to try and give it a good clean - no chance, every time I went near him he went up and pulled back. He's been hot tubbed before but wasn't having it this time. After another 20 minutes I managed to get another poultice on and although he went out in the field like a rocket amazingly it's still on this morning. So that's progress, hopefully if nothing erupts in the next 24 hours the shoe can go back on early next week......

The pony seems fine this morning, he's had a night out in the paddock and a little breakfast - I think I caught it quickly enough, thank goodness. He was fine and eating yesterday morning at 9.30, by 11.30 he was down so it didn't have a chance to really take hold.

So feeling a little more positive this morning - and on the plus side the wheat is being harvested on the farm so I'll have a few more fields to ride round for a bit.

[mrslaughan]

well she failed :-( she had had to be brought back to the yard where I first viewed her. Turned up, to find scrapes on her legs, to be told they're just superficial, blah de blah......straight away I wondered why I hadn't been told. Well she is also lame in that leg......I mean really, why waste everyones time...I am such a novice and I could spot it, didn't they think the vet wouldn't?

It has been such an overall bad week that this just really tops it off, and I am right royally pissed. A big glass of wine is called for once I have the kids in bed (oh god thats hours away..............)

[frostyfingers]

Oh what a shame - is the lameness a result of the scrapes and therefore short term, or did the vet think it was something more sinister? Did they say what had happened to cause them? Remember the vet passes them just at that moment in time, so if you're really keen it may be worth keeping in touch and seeing her again in a week or two's time. What exactly are you looking for - I lurve horse hunting......

Had the fright of my life a couple of hours ago as the farm manager sent me a text asking if the pony is meant to be lying down - I ran down to the field, hauled him up and he stood there yawning, poor bugger I'd interrupted his morning snooze! I was so convinced that he was colicking again I didn't think it was anything as simple as a quick lie down!

[mrslaughan]

Apparently a rig got into her field and chased her around, got her foot/leg caught in fencing......it is more puffy than the other and he is not sure there is not a wingall......he feels there is enough there that we should leave it....that the lameness may or may not be a result of the incident, but there is something more there than a superficial wounds. (he also found a sarcoid that he is not sure has not had some treatment on it.....he is not really opposed to sarcoids, but felt this one would be a risk)

They delayed the vetting because she supposedly lost a shoe - it can happen - but now I am suspicious.

She is really nice, but just feel there is too much to proceed....plus they would have to bring her back up, and if they can't be honest about how she is today, I don't feel I can trust them.

[frostyfingers]

Ah, best left then, you're right. If the vet thinks there's more there then you def need to stay away, and tbh the mere mention of a sarcoid makes me run a while. My previous horse developed them (not present when I bought him), and I lost him horribly to them. Also, if there's no trust then it's just not worth it. There are plenty of horses around, it just takes time.

Are you looking on national or local websites - I found mine on a local site and it was great because I knew people who knew the sellers, and coincidentally recently moved to within about 10 miles of them and bump into them quite often. I felt that the knowledge that I wasn't far away would deter anyone from trying to pull a fast one!

[frostyfingers]

Run a while? MILE!

[mrslaughan]

she was actually originally at the same yard, that I am looking at keeping Dhorse, when I find him/her. The person that runs the part of the yard I would be in will help me find something and also be my trainer. There is also a prof rider who will do schooling.
I want to do low level dressage competitions, hacking doesn't "do it" for me, but realise that is something I need to do when I have my own.
I am quite a nervous person (which I keep v well hidden), so horses temperament is really important...actually I think the most important thing...which is hard when you don't know it.

My husband will also ride it, and he would like to do some jumping. He also doesn't want a cob, and I have to say there are a fair number of bolshy cobs out there, which would rule them out on the temperament front.

the mare we were looking at is younger than we thought we would look at, but had a fab temperament with a v trainable attitude.

So will look on horse quest and also I imagine that lady that runs the yard will keep an eye out locally. Only thing is she really is a fan of warmbloods and I would (I think) like to spread the net to incl irish sport types......I do like something with a bit of ID.......Though having said that my current horse crush is Westphalans