Pheww

Had a lesson tonight and boy it was tough I was lathered by then end.
We were working on getting AliG's neck softer and more flexible, because of his build and thick muscled neck he's rather fixed it in(thats the best way I can describe it).We did lots of flexions alternating to the outside and inside on the left and right rein its was driving me mad cos I just couldnt seem to coordinate my hands and legs tonight.D did lots on the ground alongside us taking the reins to work us both through it we were getting there by the end but I was frustrating myself more than anything else.
Ive arranged one for next week to see if we are any better I think we were both a bit tired from the long hack yesterday i'll make sure I do some gentle work the day before the lesson next week see if this makes a difference.
They are tag teaming each other getting the muzzles off last night Ali kept his on and Polo got his off it was the reverse the day before!

The best ever:)

AliG excelled himself today went out for a hack with Jo and her littl'in and its was the best hack ive had on him EVER. He led all the way and didnt put a foot wrong not even a moment where I thought he was reluctant to go further,plus I barely had to ask him on at all!
We went down the steps and along the track then instead of turning and doing a loop back up the road we turned down onto the lower tracks I thought if anything would cause a strop this would as we turned in the opposite direction to home but no he was quite happy.He hesistated as we approached the little wooden bridge over the street(not sure if he's been over this before?),ive learnt with him if I give him a minute to look he will think about it then cant resist the urge to have a close look this is totally different from Polo who worries the more he looks so you have to take the lead and ride him past whatevers spooking him.
We rode up though a small racing yard and he had a little spook as some cows were hiding behind the hedge and there was a tractor rattling around at too,I say a spook its a little wobble on the spot really:),then rode back towards the track he knows.He was creamcrackered by the time he got to the top of the hills so I led him along the lane home...it wasnt all for his benefit my hips and knees were killing me at this point probably cos he's soooo wide!

Tonight I rode Polo with the YO he was very well behave led all the way,as usual, he still doesnt feel 'right' but when he's trotting and cantering around the field you can barely tell anything's wrong with him?!?!
Im in a quandary of do I just forget this summer totally leave him till Autumn see how he is or do I keep going for gentle hacks a couple of times a week to see how he copes with improved fitness.Dont get me wrong he's not hopping lame but the best way to describe it is that he's lost the freeness to his movement (if that makes sense) he seemed to be throughly enjoying himself but I dont want to make matters worse.
I dont want to put him though a whole load of tests as he hates it and gets distressed but I might speak to the vet again and see what the options are for some less invasive explorations?She mentioned scanning his tendons and xrays...
YO just couldnt get her head round why I wouldnt trot or canter him!Her older ned is virtually crippled with his feet and makes a donkey look fast so I suppose if she's happy to ride him then she must think im neurotic for being so cautious.
Few weeks ago she'd asked for a sit on Polo as she's never rode a big horse before so I was cruel and put her on the spot at the bottom of the lane and asked her if she wanted to ride him the rest of the way.She spluttered a bit(she not a very confident rider but a bit of a know-it-all) but then couldnt think of an excuse not to so I gave her a leg up,she obviously gave him a kick and nearly papped herself as he shot forward I told her he's super sensitive and a squeeze is all you need,she couldnt believe how big he moves but said he was extremely comfortable.I however was not so comfortable on her pone,saddle was rock hard,horse was dead to the leg and just felt like putting one leg infront of the other was a huge effort!
Pleased with my day but pretty tired now.

Blogger may die..pic overload!

Had a fab day today my friend/workmate was emptying the flat she's been renting up here taking her things home for the summer,her boyfriend borrowed his dad's horse trailer for the move and they took me to the beach with AliG!:)
There was a bit of a sea fret to start with which lifted after we'd been there a little while its was still very warm the sea felt great.
I didnt want to risk damaging M's saddle,ive been borrowing while Ellie's away at stud,so it was basically a trip out but it was great fun.AliG was a bit blown away by it all dont think he could get his head round it all but seemed to enjoy himself.He would only go in the sea at first following me and nearly knocked me over at one point when a large wave came at him..obviously the spot I was standing in was the safest place to be but other than that he was excellent.
My brother met us down there with his GSD and Buster,I thought it was a bit much for Mouse as she's getting big now so she and Minx stayed with my Mum.Buster had a great time too he's into the swimming now and followed me and AliG in some deep water when we headed back.Didnt get that on the pics as my mate knocked the camera on my phone to video towards the end and for some reason they dont load on my laptop properly?
Anyway pic overload...........

Would you Adam and Eve it!

Well I received my new Fhoenix replacement,decided against risking another Vogue, and I cant quite believe this but the left flap is set on too far forward exactly the same as it was on the Vogue.Its about 2inchs further forward on the left than the right so its not exactly a tiny fault to have been missed,soon as I sat on the saddle I saw it instantly..im really cheesed off about this!
I paid postage to return the Vogue that was faulty and am going to have to pay postage AGAIN to return this plus its all the time and hassle.Emailed Gill but not had a reply yet im going to email Heather and tell her whats happened and go from there.
The saddle felt very nice and I dont think its as faulted as the Vogue was but ive paid enough and expect a perfect saddle.

Sad news my rabbit died last night he seemed a little quiet through the day but I thought it was because it had been so hot but obviously he had something else going on:(

AliG was funny the other day he had a right strop on then I added to his annoyance by expecting him to work.Took him in the field and did the rope circling work,he's so much forward now and rarely tries to stop he was still not amused but was actually working and responding very well.Jo was watching and one of he kids did 'something' which made Ali spook he leapt forward I hung on he skidded then fell over flat on his side he got up looking rather stunned!

Yesterday I took him in the school I stayed mainly in walk incase he was a bit sore from falling over.I concentrated on getting him to walk on staying in the same rhythm he's definitely starting to cotton on and im getting a much better quality walk,he does find it hard he was grunting and blowing just in walk.I was pleased with him definitely an improvement again from last time.

Had a dog day today and took them all off to the beach,my mum's three too it was a gorgeous day hot and sunny.Buster had his first swim which was hilarious because he jumped in a pool after the GSD not realising it was so deep so basically he had to learn to swim then and there:)He wasnt fazed at all and was swimming quite happily,Sky his granny is a proper water babe so maybe he's taken after her:)

Two more sleeps at work and then im off............

I have news!

Ive been neglecting blogs lately,are there less hours in the day or is it just me?,
my body is shutting down im sure because it knows holidays are close (one more week!) im feeling very tired and lacking in energy but not long to go and one whole month off:)

Anyway the news is im going to be a Granny!No I dont have a secret child who has given birth its Mouse:0
I didnt say anything until I knew for sure but they should be due anytime from the 11th of August I took her for a scan yesterday to make sure,even though I was 99.9% certain, and the good news is there is more than one and quite probably four!One would be bad as that would almost certainly mean a cesarean,it would be too big.
Mouse is definitely looking after herself she's very mellow,doesnt come in the field with the horse's and just lies watching me poo pick while the other two run around,very different from Minx who was still running around until the week before the pups came.
I warn you now im going to be a nervous wreck until its over and done with but everything crossed it will all go well and we should have puppies.:)))
Oh and Im hoping to keep another depending if OH is game..four I must be mad!!!:0

AliG has been a good boy this week had two longreining sessions and an hour in the school working on the things from our lesson.
He was getting a bit mad in the school as I was insisting he respond and go forward keeping the rhythm and did one small cow kick,mini buck type thing.He's having a laugh if he thinks that would do anything he's not seen the bucks ive sat on Polo..he's a true master:))
Denise said he just hasnt figured out that he keeps going until I ask for something else,typical baby, so to spent the next few weeks working on rhythm and getting a quick response to my aid.She reckons once he's 'got' this then life will be much easier as he should be thinking much more forward.There's a huge difference to his canter and me sitting to it when he's travelling better D said he was just bouncing up and down like a rocking horse without actually going anywhere which was why it was so difficult to ride.
I'll give him his due he's a bloody fast learner I feel like I only have to do something a couple of times and he's got it, the quality of the work feels better after every single session!

He did a good longreining session today out on the roads past a couple of buses,wagons plus 3horseboxes and trailers on the narrow lane..all without hesistation:)

I washed both their manes and tails today as ive been putting some itch stop stuff on and it was creating a bit of a build up..they looked lovely and silky at the end.
Trimmed Polo his feet have gone back a little, probably through the lack of work, nothing dramatic and nowhere near what they used to look like just frogs are slightly cruddy toes a touch longer than i'd like.

Muzzle's have been staying in place the past couple of day:)

Phew what a weekend

Im worn out and its only Monday!
On phone internet which is faffy to post so i'll keep it brief.
Saturday went to a dog show,its the local club where i never get placed and guess what true to form didnt get anything:) Had only entered Buster cos i didnt want to be there all day. We still had lots off positive comments from outside the ring just not in the ring. I noticed the Chairman &Treasurer of the club had entered their own show dont know anywhere else this would happen?
Anyway bit more practice for Buster who was very excited about it all for some reason.

Sunday i had a lesson on Ali with the lady from over the road. Its was very good she's a real task master but thats what i need as im terrible for losing focus it was very much along the lines of what i was doing when i was down at St Pirans which is great.

Lots of stuff going on at home as my sisters newborn has been poorly turns out he's lactose intolerant so the milk has been making him very ill poor little lad had a hernia with crying from the pain. Hopefully he'll be on the mend now.
Just to top things off my niece.the one who rode Polo with me, has been prolapsing when going to the toilet so she was in hospital today for an op.
She's fine but had to wait till 2in the afternoon for the op so was very upset with hunger..wouldnt you think they'd do a baby early!

Grrrrrr

They are BOTH now getting the muzzles off and Polo is looking more unsound!Well I reckon that confirms my lami theory...its been wet and warm and the grass has shot through seems too much of a coincidence.
Farmer is topping field as we speak and the fence has been done,at last, so tomorrow im making them a long thin strip with the electric fencing and abandoning the muzzles they have helped get a good bit of weight off AliG but if he's also getting it off its a waste of time!

Quick news as Ive got to get ready for work.
Rode AliG in the school on Monday I only had 30mins but he worked well his lateral work is coming on nicely the flexions have help with this he's so much more flexable and bendy:)
Polo had a walk out in hand which excited all the horse's in one of the fields who galloped around..Polo was bouncing and snorting which wasnt ideal.

Today my friend came and we longreined AliG ..he was excellent.Passed a huge tractor on the lane then went along a track he's never been before going under a dark narrow tunnel absolutely no hesistation I had to lead Polo through this tunnel the first couple of times.He walked out very well and seemed pleased to be going somewhere new we were out for well over and hour and had a trot heading home (we must be mad).
It was warm and humid so we were pretty hot and sweaty time we got back to the farm.
I wish I could have a few weeks of longreining 3/4times as week he enjoys it so much and it seems to be doing the job of getting him more forward thinking the problem is getting walkers to come with me I just wouldnt want to risk it by myself incase he got away from me on the road.

Success:)

Weight taped them both today and the muzzles are doing the trick,I couldnt wait till the weekend to see how much they'd lost.I knew AliG had lost some but he's dropped more than i'd thought infact its over 50kilo's!Polo's only dropped 15ish but i'd expected that as he's getting the muzzle off most nights at some point {sigh} and he's not in work ,plus he wasnt carrying as much weight as AliG in the first place.
Im really pleased Ali's accepted the muzzle brilliantly and although Polo doesnt like it he's been better getting it on the past couple of days..was worth all the sewing and stabbing myself with the needle.

My friend from work came longreining this week.AliG didnt put a foot wrong passed a tractor with a huge trailer while heading for home and he just walked past without hesitation.
I took Polo out for a walk inhand round the fields with the dogs for exercise which he seemed to enjoy,thats one good thing about him he'll follow me around anywhere like a lamb.

Today I gave them both a good brush then did some ropework with Ali in the field he finds its much harder to work with the temptation of grass to eat but he was pretty good.
Ended by doing some trotting inhand after a few initial 'I dont think so' moments he was trotting along behind me nicely.I did have to kick my trainers off as they were slip-on's and I couldnt run with them,I had a giggle to myself thinking what I must have looked like running round the field like an idiot no shoes on with AliG trailing behind looking baffled:)

IT WORKS!

Well AliG has definitely taken things on board from his trip out.

I had a session in the school on Monday started with the rope work which he was excellent at he has a new found respect for it:) Then tacked him up and spent some time working on his reaction to the leg using my home made 'wipwop thing' well boy he's got this only had to use it a couple of times.He shot forward a couple of times from halt to canter but then when he realised i'd only use it if he wasnt reacting to my leg it was only taking a squeeze of the leg and he was reacting instantly.Its the most forward he's been EVER in the school.

Yesterday we had a hack and he didnt put a foot wrong no scowling,napping infact on the way home Jo noticed i'd never had to kick him forward once for the whole ride.
His fitness is eventually starting to improve for the first time the hills heading home didnt kill him im very impressed with how quickly he cottons on and how accepting he is:)
Im sure the fitness is because he's losing weight the muzzle is working a treat for him and he's totally happy having it on..Polo however is not!
Its a right old battle getting it on and he's somehow managing to get it off.Up to now he's had it off every morning other than one AND its still fastened up.But I figure even if he's keeping it on for a couple of hours its better than nothing plus his weight isnt quite as bad as AliG's.Im going to weigh tape them both at the weekend im pretty sure Ali's lost a fair bit since I first started using them Polo not so much but he's not put any on so thats good