Yikes its blowing a gale!

Wow its really windy today,the plan was to go in the school but when we went over it was booked for lessons all morning so we went out for a hack instead. Now Polo isnt usually any spookier in the wind but it was more than windy today so I wasnt entirely confident we'd return at the same time:0
Marina said why not go around the fields (Ali's long reining fields) so I was feeling even less optimistic,open fields usually = several bucks and taking off ,but I said we'd give it a go.He was on his toes for the first 5/10mins but didnt feel like he was in spook mode so we ended up having a nice ride we had a good long trot which always helps settle him,I did feel like I was going to get blown off him at one point though;)
AliG had a relaxing day,im toying with having a short ride in the school on him on Friday but still not sure if its a bit too soon, the splint is a fair size and although Jo thought it was slightly smaller yesterday she reckoned it looked like it had 'changed' shape slightly if that makes sense?

Buster's little coat came this morning the girls have one for when its cold and they get locked in the stable when I ride..i'll have to take a picture they are like mini horse rugs and look so cute!

Bit of road work.

Jo managed to free herself this morning so text to say she could come out with AliG for his long reining.Decided to walk along the lane and hit the roads today,he seemed totally unfazed when I was riding him but that was alongside another horse so thought it was time to see what he's like by himself.He was unsettled going out calling for his pals and when we passed other horse's in the fields but it didnt affect his behaviour and he was his usual sensible self.He had one spook at the corner of the lane as an old woman was feeding the donkeys over the fence,dont think he could work out what was going on plus the sun was really low so doubt that helped matters.He tried to turn but I stopped him no problem then Jo went infront and led him past to show him it was ok.He was absolutely fine on the roads dont think traffic will be a problem for him but I want to do more,just a pity we've got to walk for a about a mile along the lane to get to the busier road!
I now have a huge blister on my foot where my boots have had a hole in the insole and rubbed so im hobbling around and also got a headache with squinting in the sun..the things you do eh!
Polo had the day off today.

What an annoying morning!

I promised I'd take my mum up to the vets with her recently aquired German Shepard dog for his vaccinations so I made the appointment for 9.40 am thinking I'd get up and down in an hour then ride and hopefully longrein Ali.
Ended up taking all morning cos the vet was running late,one of the reasons why I use this vet is he takes his time and doesnt act like its all about money(he was fantastic when Minx had to have her ceasarian) but it does tend to mean he's always running late. I then had my Mum panicking cos she couldnt find her house keys,luckily she found them still in the lock at the front door even more luckily no one had discovered them and burgled the house:0
I got some sedatives for Minx while I was there,she's terrified of fireworks so these should help with Bonfire night,trouble is they are going off already!

Time I got to the yard Jo was tacked up waiting for me so I quickly got Polo ready and went out for an hour,he nearly had two spins on me but its windy and he was good for the rest of the way so i'll let him off this time.
Didnt have time to long rein cos im back to work today ;(, im trying to find a 'walker' for tomorrow to come with us but im struggling up to now cos everyone seems to be busy or working...why cant I win the lottery {sigh} work does kind of get in the way of things I want to do;))

Well he suprised me;)

Polo collected his 'mate' from the yard today and he was sensible throughout the whole ride!
My friend couldnt get her horse off the yard mind even following Polo so her YO ended up leading her off .What a pain this horse is,he's genuinely not scared of anything just completely spoilt rotten he just says "er not today thanks!" and my friend and her niece(who actually owns him) are too scared to get after him.I wouldnt have the patience im afraid, at least I know when Polo has a hissy fit he genuinely 'thinks' he's scared:)))

Not much else horsey to report AliG got fed and brushed then I turned them out without rugs on as it was such a nice day,went back up at 4 to put them on..dark nights I hate them!;(

Oh I met the girl who took Minx's other pup at the beach today,its the second time we've met up since she took him. Harvey gets really excited when he sees my gang,Buster had a bark at him then remembered who he was after that they ran around for over an hour playing in the sea and digging in the sand.

More Long Reining!

AliG had another long reining session, we went out for about three quarters of an hour and he throughly enjoyed himself.The only problem we have (if you can call it that)is he spends half the time with his nose on the ground!He literal sniffs everything he sees its not that he's being greedy and trying to eat he just sniffs leaves,rubbish and other horse's poo's im wondering if I should put side reins,not to hold him in an outline(he does that perfectly well himself {she says smugly}).... just to keep his nose off the ground?
It was a bit windy and he had a spook at someone rattling around on the otherside of the fence which is perfectly understandable(in the nudist bit..ahem) but just froze for a moment..looked...thought ..then carried on,you can really see this horse using his brain its fab!
I lifted his bed and put some of the disenfectant down that I bought from the Simple Systems supplier,it smells absolutely gorgeous and hangs around for days,expensive but very concentrated so lasts for ages.
Polo had the day off, he loves a couple of hours in the stable to sleep I barely get him through the door and he's down catching some zzz! So he just chilled for a while with his magnetic boots on looking smug as it was Ali's turn to work.He's looking really well again which is great and the swelling has pretty much gone from his side so it obviously needed one more lancing.
Its funny but when you turn them out Ali hangs around at the gate,he'll stay there until you walk away from him ..my brother was laughing saying he doesnt want to go out cos he doesnt like the cold coming from Spain!

Tomorrow im riding with my friend,she's got the horse who doesnt like to leave its yard so im going to collect her..should be 'interesting' with Polo's present mood!;00

Work this one out if you can...

...how is it that ive had a week off work and yet I seem to have less time?!?!Anyway thats my excuse for not keeping the blog updated:))))
Trying to think what we've been upto this week its all a bit of a blur to be honest.I'll start with AliG as he's done less and goes without saying is 'Mr Perfect' so less to report!
Well AliG has had a couple of long reining session's this week with my brother and dog in-tow.On Monday we went into 'our' usual stubble field to find tractors ploughing it (how inconsiderate of them), so we turned round to come back out when one of the idiot drivers followed us out the field he came far to close but Ali didnt react other than a tiny little jump,Polo would have freaked.We then detoured up the lane past the neighbours house with the little dog that ambushes all the horse's ,no reaction,past the horse's in the fields who got really excited to see a horse being long reined so started bucking and galloping round the fields.Well AliG at this point lost the plot and.....................hehe did I get you? well obviously there was no reaction!
Just thinking maybe its not the long reining that seems to excite the other horse's it could be the fact he's sooo lush?!?
Hopefully roping brother in to help again tomorrow I wanted to have a couple of short sessions in the school this week with him but all the kids have been off so the arena has been in use everytime I pass plus his splint looks a bit bigger to me so thought best not(sure its not just my eyes).

Polo's been ridden most days which he thinks is extremely unfair,dont think the fact Alig gets his feed ball with treats in helps,it keeps AliG happy when he's left in by himself;).
Oh and Polo's going into manic mode again for some reason;(.
Im not ruling out the ulcer because although he's been getting the Ranitidene I dont think he's getting enough(works out so expensive) so im going to order the human omprazole and try this ,might as well pay for the good stuff to give it a proper chance of success.Ive also read on IHDG someone made up a herbal ulcer treatment they were recommended with good success so its something to look into if I see results.
It could also be that im 'trying' to take it easy with him and he needs more work,today we had a shortish route planned but he was just acting like a spooky nutter on the way out so we took a de-tour coming back up the hills and had a bit of a blast.I know probably shouldnt but he feels sound on half a bute every other day and I cant see the point in letting him escalate things and kill me :0 ... he walked home on a loose rein no more shying.
Polo had his feet done yesterday,im so pleased with them he actually has proper frogs now which I never thought would happen.I barely have to think about his feet other than monthly trimming and the odd spray with Cider vinegar/tea tree oil so thats cool;)
I also clipped his neck and chest out yesterday,just a really low one cos he's been sweating quite a bit,Ali watched all this with interest.

Right thats me updated for now..trimmed my mates 4horses today too so ready for a hot bath.

Were does the time go!?!?

I havent updated since Monday!

All these extra hours at work and having two horse's doesnt leave much time for anything else at the moment...and im feeling pretty tired.But im off for a whole week now so that should give me time to get some decent nights sleep and rest ,well thats the theory ive got some decorating I want to do while im off;)



Rode Polo several times this week,one day in the school.He felt a bit rubbish and stiff so I did loads of walking,leg yield,turn on he forehand etc to start with then a bit of trot work.He spotted a tiny plastic bag blowing around outside the school so started fixating on this trying to shoot off up the school!'Killer bag' eventually landed in the school I let him sniff it (with much snorting) but he continued to spook at it so I did lots of circles around the 'killer bag' gradually getting him closer and still working in a semi-sane way,without him trying to shoot away.So in the end he worked longer and hard than i'd intended but I figure if he can spin and shoot up the school he's not feeling that bad!



Had a longish hack on him yesterday all in walk,we came up a steep hill heading towards home and as usual Polo powered his way up.Im a bit confused actually as the vet reckoned he'd struggle with hills as he'd have to use his hocks didnt seem like they were causing him any pain thoug ,he's on one bute every other day now so not a huge dose that would make him seem better than he is I dont reckon?



Today I rode Polo first,my brother came with my dogs and his GSD.Minx and Mouse were very excited as they havent been out with Polo for ages,Buster stayed on the lead with my brother as this was his first 'proper' going out with the horse.We went into the fields where I long rein AliG then down a lane which leads you to a track which runs between two field.I rode down the track on Polo (with Minx and Mouse following) told my brother to turn back half way as we'd canter back up to the top.Its a really good canter place for Polo as he's enclosed on either side by a hedge so no spooking a shooting sideways across an open field,which is his usual course of action!:0

Well as soon as I turned Polo he leapt up off all fours,head down and bucked,obviously sensing the gallop opportunity,I pulled his head up grabbed a lump of mane and kicked him on.He took off like a bat out of hell ,I had to scream at my brother to get out of the way as we were up on him so quickly I thought we'd mow him down.Polo usually has excellent brakes but today he was just off, pity the track wasnt longer or I could have let him go properly;)

He was very on his toes after but walked home reasonably sensibly,it wasnt what i'd intended as im 'trying' to build him back up but he obviously feels good enough in himself and wants more fun..none of this 'walking' malarky:))))



AliG hasnt done a huge amount this week as ive had no-one to help me longrein him but he got his feet trimmed and was ALOT better behaved.The trimmer said he has fantastic,hard feet with lots of concavity but the heels have come back up a bit so im going to keep taking them down every couple of weeks so they dont bounce back up inbetween trims.

AliG had a longreining session today,we are both really enjoying it!He was feeling rather fresh so we had two short trots which was fun,im just pleased he doesnt trot like Polo or i'd never keep up:0.A bird flew out on him when we were having the second trot which could have been dodgy but he never spins just does a semi stop then carrys on.I reckon he's going to be a very brave boy to hack out on as he really 'thinks' about things and doesnt just react plus all this longreining is bound to give him lots of confidence in being out by himself(not that I think that was ever going to be an issue with him).



They are both out without their rugs on as its been a lovely sunny day but im going back up late to put them on as its really cold over night.