Insomnia..

anyone get it and how do you cure it...soon as i come back to work I cant sleep and its killing me:(

Anyway ive still managed to get both boys worked yesterday and today even though I didnt really feel like it!
Yesterday Polo had a hack out with Ellie and he was footy,his frogs are in tatters with all the wet and mud and its obviously bothering.He was avoiding all the muddy bits and just not walking out very well although he still wanted to canter along the verge.
Ive decided to bring them in over night for at least this week possibly longer the weather forecast is for more rain and I Polo seems totally fed up of the muddy conditions.They have the shed with a concrete floor but the area around it is very muddy so I think a week or so in,or until the field dries out a bit is in order!
AliG had a rope circling session I stepped it up a gear and asked for a good forward trot and some canter,he moves lovely.Argued a little about cantering right but minimal I think he's realising there's little point to it (mum's more determind he he) he's being very sensitive and focused and a few times I just had to hold my gaze on his bum and he disengaged and turned to face me AND without coming into me but staying on the circle...pretty good I reckon!

Today I was looking for excuses not to ride but Jo's offered to ride Polo once or twice a week so he and Ali can go out together (it helps me get them both exercised in one go too),she was keen to ride so i gave me the push to get motivated.
We had a very pleasant hack out both boys were very good.AliG actually had a lovely swinging forward walk for a good portion of the way,Polo had his boots on so was much happier too.
One funny moment involved a wagon coming along the lane and me saying to Jo tuck Polo on the verge behind AliG and he'll be fine cos I know Ali wont bat and eye at it:)))
One thing, when we are coming down hills Ali tends to rush a bit and on the steeper hill he seems to get agitated...do you reckon this is just him still being weak and unbalanced or possible feeling his leg still?(im probably fussing there though)
We had a short trot too AliG astonished as Polo shot off at a rate of knots but did he panic or speed up to try and catch him??err noooo dont be silly he just continued to trot steadily along!

So they are in for the first time this winter hopefully not for too long but I cant really complain if its for a month or so.

Chill out day today.

I had a few things to do today so they both had a couple of hours in the stable (so Polo could have his snooze) fed then turned out.

They both had a hack yesterday.
Polo first, took the dogs and were out for an hour and a half.He was very forward once he got going,he takes a little while to wake up when Ive led him along with the dogs cos he just puts his nose on my back then plods along following me.If there's one thing I can say is he trusts me 100% so knows he can follow me totally switched off.
Our cantering was seriously hampered by lots of people being out with their dogs along 'our' canter tracks..most inconsiderate!:))But it did give Buster lots of practice at walking past people and dogs without running up to them barking which he did fabulous with the help of food of course:)
We also ripped the gaitor off one of his boots when we did manage to canter so will have to order a new one...im using the boots on the longer rides with the ground being so wet his frogs are a bit tatty at the minute.
Tried to get a few pics of the dogs while I was riding they havent come out well as they were all blurred with being on the move..this is Buster looking for treats..












This is Mouse's usual position right on Polo's heels..couldnt get anything decent of Minx as she's always off infront and in the bushes hunting!













AliG then had a half hour hack along past the riding school by himself. He didnt put a foot wrong walking well and we had a couple of little trots,he sped up a little when heading for home and tried to jog a couple of times which I corrected even though it feels quite nice as he's so collected and comfortable...I seem to like all the naughty stuff dont I!!
He was gushed at while riding past the riding school, a few of the girls were outside and stopped me asking what breed he was and his name..apparently he's a "seriously sexy pone":)

Thanks Crunchie its Friday!

Havent done much the past few days with all the rain and wind so today I was determind to be productive.

Did my cleaning as soon as I got in from work then headed up to the farm. Did my usual poo picking then tacked AliG up hoping the school would be free when I rode over...it wasnt my friend was having a lesson but it was just about finished so we waited.
Ali had a little bit of attitude on him as he just wanted to spend the time wandering around gazing at the horses in the field around the school so he got a few taps with the whip to which he does a little toss and flick of his head in disgust:))
He settled down but does get distracted so easily and his work is a bit inconsistent in that he will focus for a few minutes but then you can almost feel him drifting off again.Got some very nice work in trot and then we had a little canter on each rein at the end.He has this habit of getting really close to the arena fence where im hitting it with my leg and foot which he did when we cantered down the long side so I gave him tap to move him over it was a weird cos his seemed to suspend the canter and it felt like we were 5ft off the ground.... but I did like it!

I then took Polo over,I decided to put him pelham in to see if I could get a bit more softness and steady him up without having to resort to a strong contact at times.He was very forward when we got in so I did some lateral work to get him thinking then some trot which he wanted to power around.I kept giving him little squeezes which helped but lots of transitions seems to be the key for him. So we did lots of the walk to halt,halt to trot,reinback to walk or trot etc..it was really harnessing his power and gets him using himself,towards the end when he was going into trot the sensation was incredible.He was bit more unbalanced on the left rein and took longer to settle but we got there.
Halfway through the neddies in the field all started galloping up towards the school well this got Polo's attention and he was snorting and passaging around feet barely touching the ground.I did what Ryan had told me to do and kept him working channelling the energy.I was laughing my head off as I get a twisted buzz from being slightly out of control at times but was half expecting a huge buck or spin and to go flying..but luckily he didnt do anything nasty!
Had a little canter towards the end,he's struggling to collect even slightly after doing no school work for such a long time, it doesnt come naturally to him anyway the way he's bred, but it felt more balanced then last time.Will have to play a bit more with his canter on hacks shortening it and stop galloping around all the time:))

Enjoyed it today they were so different but equally good fun.

We were lucky today!

I was up most of last night with a chronic pain at the top of my back between my shoulder blades,ive had what I 'think' could be a trapped nerve in my shoulder for a week but for some reason it seems to have moved and was really painfull through the night!
Anyway this morning I thought I was going to have to go to hospital it was so bad but then as I got going seemed to ease up so I discarded that idea (hate doctors and hospitals and well any form of treatment).I got to the farm poo picked but doing it in several trips instead of one huge barrow then thought sod it im going to ride and if it gets worse I have to do something about it!
I took the dogs so walked along the lane leading them and Polo then got on at the start of the tracks telling Polo to go easy with me,which he did walking like a donkey which irritated me(poor lad cant win can he).We got down the hills so I moved him up into trot and kept thinking whats going on, I was having to push him forward all the time which isnt like him,he usually looks for an excuse to nap but doesnt grind to a halt.Well after a few minutes I looked down to his left side and mmm hadnt the exercise sheet come loose from the right strap so was trailing along dangling between his legs!:0 I totally forgot i'd put it on and had looked back earlier to check on the dogs and it wasnt over his bum then so it had been dragging for a while.We were really lucky he could have got in a right knot and fell,bless him he'd trotted along for ages with it dragging and did nothing other than try to stop...how they deal with my scattiness at times is beyond me!
He was much happier for the rest of the way for some reason:0 We had a cracking canter along the track.. Buster is FAST he kept up running alongside Polo, the girls were behind and caught up when we slowed down,they love coming out with the horse.

Im loaded up with painkillers and one of the lads has filled my hotwater bottle to put on my shoulders so fingers crossed sleep is on the cards tonight.
Its blowing a gale outside......

Back to work!:((((

Oh dear im seriously depressed had insomnia for the past 4/5nights at the thought of coming back to work..it aint healthy to feel that depressed about it is it!?!?!

Anyway my dad,god love him,came and fixed my gates on the back yard of the house when I got back from the beach yesterday so I was running pretty short on time.Polo got a quick flick over then tacked up and out for a quickie.
He is a queer one for sure!I rode along the lane which meets the main road,didnt have more than 20mins till it was dark so instead of going further I turned off right and went along into a little housing estate to see where it would lead.Now coming up the road we'd trotted with him looking for an excuse to nap and stop,soon as we turned off into the estate..which he'd never been along before...he started striding out as if you say 'ooohh never been along here before how interesting'.
Anyway it didnt go far and was a dead end!:)))

Today the trimmer came to do Ali and Ellie.Ali was much better although still trying to snatch his leg away if he could get away with it but trimmer did say he improves each time she comes.I told her how he'd nearly sat on me then stood on my foot so he'd got walloped..she fully agreed with my response to this:)))
I didnt have a much time at the this point so took him in the school for 20minutes of ground work,he was pretty darn good and was going right with nothing more than a scowl on his face as an objection!

Boohoo Im at work and have chronic heartburn have no tablets AND probably wont be able to get to sleep....I love my job!:0

All eyes on the 'G' man.

Didnt get time to ride yesterday as my dad came to fit a dog flap in my back door at home..It turned out to be a real faff on as the door is PVC and the flap was slightly too big to fit in the moulded door panel so needed trimming down and because its plastic and brittle it kept cracking.Eventually we got it in and mmmm well its too blumming small for my dogs...oh I was mad! Buster and Minx will go through it,Buster bursts through it and has already pulled the door off once.Mouse the little princess wont use it full stop even with me bribing her with food and then holding it open and lifting her through what felt like a million times!Im sure she's not a terrier she hates mud,cold,wet,doesnt hunt and waits for you to open gates as she couldnt possibly squeeze under.
Anyway ive bought a bigger flap and ordered a new,unmoulded panel for the door.Luckily M's hubby works at a PVC window/door firm so they'll fit the flap for me and i'll get it cheap:)


Plan today was to do a short lunge/rope work session with AliG then ride Polo for a quickie as I was going to help my friend trim her horses.
As usual the school was full so had decided to ride Polo then see if the school was free afterwards.I cant moan about the school cos im not on that yard and even though our YO is jealous and a complete c#w to the other YO he was nice enough to say we can use his school but I dont like to take the mick so only go in if none of his liveries are using it.
Anyway Jo arrived and asked if I wanted to join her for a ride along with her little girl and the dinky loan pony.Well I thought Ali would probably be better suited to going as Polo walks quite fast and the poor pone might struggle plus he'd probably be more sensible so like all best laid plans the ground work idea went out the window:)))
On the way out some people from the other yard set off on a hack at the same time so AliG was very perky and bouncy wanting to catch them.Ive found Ali is much better when he's infront cos as soon as he goes behind he starts to dawdle so he led the whole ride.He had a little uncertain moment at the sheep he hesitated,stopped to have a look and think then continued on perfectly calmly.Further along the lane there was a loose sheep running around so Jo got off to open a gate to its field(it took off down the lane running!) I held her daughter on the lead rein while she did this..so at 3 AliG is a lead pony,not bad eh!:)
On the way back the sheep was running along infront of us all the way trying to find a way back into its field,they really are silly animals, anyway it helped Ali with his sheep puzzlement,he kept speeding up trying to catch the thing im sure he was trying to 'get' it in the end.
By the time we got back,after all the faffing with the sheep I didnt have time to ride Polo they both got fed then turned out..sure he wasnt too disappointed:))

Tomorrow im meeting the girl who's got Buster's brother at the beach so i'll try and get some pics of them,then hopefully riding Polo.

Foiled again by the weather!

We've had snow,sleet and hail off and on all day today so got nothing done with the neds.I went up this morning did the field then hung around a bit waiting to see if it would ease up gave up so went and did my shopping thinking i'd go back if it improved.Unpacked shopping and it seemed to be brightening up but no sooner had I got to the yard it started again so I fed the boys turned them out with lots of haylage in their shed for the night.I dont mind riding in the snow,infact I love it but it was driving down making it pretty unpleasant!

Yesterday was a good day however I rode Polo first taking the dogs with us,it was cold and blustery but he was very good.He was keen to gallop along the grass verges but it was far too slippery so I kept him to a steady trot(well as steady as Polo trots!) much to his annoyance.The horse's in one of the fields we past started tearing around which resulted in much excitement from Polo,lots of snorting and tail in the air.

The school was actually free so I then took AliG in for 25mins for a schooling session.He started off distracted and slooowww so I did lots of serpentines,some leg yielding which he did very well and some halt to walk asking for an instant response.We did a little bit in trot then I couldnt help myself and asked for a few stride in canter on each rein.Its felt very strange because Ive not cantered on him for ages and Polo's canter is VERY different.Hard to describe but its like he's in the air for ages I suppose it feels a bit like being on a rocking horse!:)He's going to find collection so easy which he should given his breeding but ive never rode any horse that feels like this or works in such an effortless outline.


Finally a pic of me foot this was taken the day after it happened its gone a darker colour now and is itching like mad!