Went for a wander

The weather has been lovely over the past week (actually too warm for me, but I better not complain about it). Today when I went up to the stables it was raining and showing no sign of clearing up. By the time I had finished mucking out, the rain still hadn't gone off, but I had planned to hack Wolfie and didn't want the weather to stop us. I put on my waterproofs and we headed off. We headed up to the Castle and into the forestry. Wolfie was very keen and happy to be out. We explored some of the trails that I had walked on foot. We found a nice long canter track and found a few more paths that I want to explore. I knew there was a way back down onto a different road at the castle, but I've never walked it. We followed one track in the direction of the road, we ended up in a small forest, I got off as I couldn't really see where the path was going. It ended up leading onto a very steep, muddy hill. I didn't go down it as I didn't know where it would finish at the bottom and I figured me and Wolfie would end up sliding down on out bottoms! I ended up pretty much having to go home the way I came so I will have to back up on foot and have a look. I like to ride loops and vary the way out and the way home. Wolfie was very good. He seems to get a bit spooky and upset when I get off and lead him from the ground, I'm not quite sure why as he settles as soon as I get back on. Maybe it's because he's not used to me being on the ground in unfamiliar surroundings and feels more secure with his rider on top. I'll try and get off a bit more and lead him intermittently whilst we are out to try and build his confidence. There is a way up to the castle which would cut about 1 mile, maybe more off the trip. There is a public right of way, which goes past a house which sits next to the railway line. I have never used it as you have to pass through the garden of the house. It is however a right of way and would allow for more time up in the forestry so I think I'm just going to use it. I'm keeping my eye out all the time for any little logs which we could have a little jump over. Again today, he negotiated all sorts of different terrain. Stepping over any logs or obstacles on the path. Sometimes in marshy or muddy areas, he doesn't know before stepping over if it's 6 inches or 6 foot deep, but he is very brave about it. We covered almost 14km today. Wolfie really was born to do this type of work. He is a cheeky, mischevious character, but he is very, very honest. On days like today, my heart bursts with pride at him. I'm lunging him once a week in side reins or long reining and doing a little in hand work. I'm schooling once or twice a week. I find the school we have difficult to ride Wolfie in. The surface is very deep and Wolfie has never liked it. It's a small school and the fence leans inwards (I know!) meaning you almost have to use the three quarter line as the outside track to prevent getting knee capped on the fence, and in turn this lessens the limited space there is already. Walk and trot is doable but canter is impossible at the moment. I have rarely cantered him in there as it is so small. He is unbalanced, which encourages him to speed up. One of the girls at the yard hit the nail on the head the other day by saying his canter was just too big for the school. At the moment it is. He has a huge stride and he only just gets a few strides, doesn't even get a chance to establish any rythmn and the corner appears and neither he or I are prepared for it. A balanced horse would manage but I am leaving canter at the moment until lambing is over and I can ride in the fields again. I would much rather school in a flatter part of one of the fields.

Some photographs of the forestry today

Who's been sleeping in my bed?

When I got to the yard yesterday, I had a strange feeling that someone was there, even though I was the only person and all the horses were in the fields. I was walking down to Wolfie's stable when a little head popped out of Wolfie's stable doorway.

The stable door had been left open and the sheep must have found a bit of shade from the sun inside the stable.

Zoe came up last week to help me muck out and Buttons had his first ride of the year (and since his laminitis). Both Zoe and Buttons thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Only Wolfie was put out as he didn't get to go.

Wolfie has been demolishing buckets again. I've had to chuck two in the last few weeks. I don't know how he does it, but he manages to turn them completely inside out.

Wolfie has been working consistently since my last post and I'll blog in more detail soon. I'm on holiday for a week so I'm hoping to get a lot of riding done, starting with a long hack tomorrow. The horses should be going out 24 /7 for summer a week today. It's been a long time coming. Personally I think they should have been out weeks ago, but it's not my decision. I need to sort out some electric fencing for Buttons as he won't be going straight into the summer field straight away. I also need to order him a grazing muzzle (I'm not sure if it will work, am almost certain he will get it off in minutes but feel it is worth a go) and get various fly sprays etc. I'm thinking of getting Wolfie a full face and muzzle fly mask which also keeps a lot of the UV rays out. As he has such a pink muzzle he gets sun burned really easily. If I put sun cream on him he usually rubs it off within minutes on the nearest object, which is normally me.

Clocking up the miles

Now that there is more daylight, I have been able to get Wolfie out and work him for longer. On Monday and Tuesday we hacked. Wednesday he had a rest day, I lunged him in side reins on Thursday and we hacked Friday, Saturday and today. I've introduced more trot and yesterday and today we had a couple of canters. Wolfie is absolutely thriving on the work. He has been outstanding this week. Wolfie is evidently a horse that needs work and lots of it. He really has been a pleasure and great fun to be with. He's been hacking with different horses from the yard, boldly crossing the 'scarey' bridge, and really striding out. Wolfie has one of the most amazing walks I've ever felt in a horse. We've been averaging 5 miles per hack and varying our routes. I'll continue to increase his workload as he gets fitter and introduce more schooling. I'll keep introducing more trot and canter and extend the distance on the hacks we mainly walk on and add more hillwork. I really want to keep it varied for him. I've got an app on my phone which measures the distance we are covering. I really want to get back up into the forrestry, but I'd like him to be a bit fitter before going up. It's a fair distance to get there and if I want to do some faster work whilst I'm up there I want him to be prepared. I've been up on foot and have a good idea of some good tracks. Some of it is quite rough terrain and a tired horse is more likely to make a mistake or end up injured. I just need to continue to monitor his recovery times and he will let me know how he is feeling. Yesterday I was hacking with another girl from the yard. We met J. and C on route returning from their hack. I wondered if Wolfie would try and nap back towards the other horses heading for home, but no, he barely gave them a second glance as he continued on. We have been hacking with other horses, and today is the first time I've hacked on my own for a while. I wondered again if he would notice or be funny about it, but no, I got on and he marched off without hesitation. I'm definitely feeling the effects more than wolfie. I'm shattered. The horses are still in, so I'm still mucking out at night as well. But it's defintely worth it as I'm already seeing the benefits.

Mad as a March hare

The weather has been amazing this week and with the nights getting longer, I've actually been able to work Wolfie every night this week. Spring is here and Wolfie knows it. He's been somewhat 'difficult' this week. I'm putting it down to the change in season, better weather, increased daylight. The grass is growing in the summer field, there is greenery sprouting everywhere and he's still stuck in his winter field which is completely poached. He's bored and when Wolfie gets bored it means only one thing, mischief. I managed to get him out for a slightly longer hack on Monday and Tuesday. Both times as soon as I've got on and started walking, I've known straight away that he's been looking for an 'excuse' to be silly. He got it on Monday when a rabbit darted out from under a fence across his path. He shied violently sideways, span around and managed to set J. off too. He then took off, I pulled him up and he stuck his head between his knees and bucked. He was then pretty well behaved for the rest of the hack but this has set the presedence as he now stares at the area where the rabbit was constantly waiting for another one, as rabbits bounce around there all the time, he doesn't have to wait long till one appears and then he spooks. It's in good spirits and seems almost like a game to him. Not a game I enjoy though. If he wasn't quite so excuberant about his games, it wouldn't be so bad.

He was shod yesterday and was pretty naughty. He was fidgeting, spooking at nothing and at one point span and took off. I didn't even realise what was happening until he screeched to a halt about 10 yards along and my feet hit the ground. He then casually walked back like nothing had happened. I lunged him last night and tonight I schooled him. He's on a complete fibre diet, he doesn't get any concentrates and he certainly won't be until, well until I feel that he requires it, despite his increasing workload. Hopefully after the clocks change this week I'll be able to work him for longer.

I brought him in tonight and tied him up at the trailer with a haynet and left him there whilst I mucked out, just keeping an eye on him. He was relaxed and just stood eating his hay, even when the other horses were brought in from the field. I will start tying him up at the trailer and tacking him up as at the moment he only ever gets tacked up in his stable.

He worked well in the school tonight. I worked him in and walk and trot and then we worked the last twenty minutes in walk, concentrating on just asking him to relax and soften. I have to be much more consistent in my rein contact and clearer in what I'm asking him. For all he is full of bravado, he doesn't like to make mistakes or get it 'wrong' and worries and tenses. A couple of times I felt that I had confused him tonight and I really don't want to do that when he is trying. Like most young horses he takes time to warm up and settle, but I always seem to get the best work out of him in the last 5 minutes of any session. I got off, slackened his girth and we did a little leg yield and shoulder in, backing up and just placing his feet in hand which he seemed to really enjoy.

Buttons is great. He's the slimmest he's ever been. His coat is coming out thick and fast, every time I brush him, mountains of hair comes out, but when you look at him, his coat just looks as thick and huge as ever. The farrier commented yesterday on how well he was looking.

Without a hitch

I hitched the trailer up on Friday to have a little practice loading Wolfie. I wasn't really too sure what he would make of it this time. However, I needn't have worried, he bounced up the ramp bursting with enthusiasm. I tied him up and he had a little sniff and a look around. He ate a couple of carrots and I took him back off. He actually looked a bit bemused when I led him back down the ramp, I think he thought he was going somewhere!

Trailer happy!

An amazing thing has happened. I have a trailer, my very own trailer! It still hasn't sunk in and even as I type this, it still doesn't seem real. We picked it up last night and today as I was mucking out, every time I walked past it, I smiled at it. This really is a dream come true and will enable me to do so much more with Wolfie. This wouldn't have been at all possible if it hadn't been for the kindness of my family, for which I am so grateful. It's an Ifor Williams 505 Hunter. I think it will take a while before it really feels like ours. Like my saddle for example. Although I loved my saddle from the minute I got it, now that it has been used and broken in, there are creases in the leather and a few marks, it feels completely like our saddle and I love it even more if that's possible. I feel like I know it and I trust it.

So Wolfie and Buttons have got some wheels. I need to take it out a few times empty just to get used to towing it and build my confidence up. I'll hitch it up and practice loading. Wolfie has never had a problem loading in the past for the few times he has been in a trailer (touch wood) so hopefully that will continue to be the case. I can't even begin to explain how excited I am.

I've managed to ride Wolfie almost every night this week. He's been very good. I'm concentrating again on building his confidence. The word 'can't' is not in our training vocabulary. He's enjoying getting out. I have started introducing trot along the straight, flat parts of the fields. He bounces into trot and takes off in extended trot, on Monday I was half halting and asking him to soften, slow and bring his weight back every second or third stride, tonight it was every 6 or 7 strides, so it is improving but it's time to get into the school a few nights a week now and continue his education.

He's been out without his rug on every day this week as it has been dry and fairly mild during the day. It will now take a chisel to get all the caked dried mud off. He doesn't entertain any sort of brushes or grooming. I use a very soft body brush and a sheepskin mit to do his saddle and girth area. The rest of him can stay dirty for the moment.

When dreams don't come true

I rode Wolfie today.  He's only been ridden once over the last week, due to the weather and me being very unmotivated.  It was a nice day and I had planned to go along the road onto the line.  However, within minutes of getting on I realised he was way to fresh and changed my mind and headed up the hill.  He was looking at everything and leaping sideways, but he didn't back up or try and spin.  We passed a bonfire which was crackling and the wind kept changing and blowing the smoke in different directions.  He stopped a couple of times, but then walked forward when asked.  Very brave.  We went further up the hill than we've been recently.  We haven't been up there since last year and we used to canter quite a lot.  He took off with me a couple of times and when I pulled him up, he stuck his head between his knees and bucked.  I know the only answer to this is to ride him every day.  He was happy to be out.

 

Lidl had some horse stuff in last week.  I got a summer sheet, a fly rug, a set of travelling boots and a set of stable bandages for about twenty quid.  I don't know how long they will last, but seeing as Wolfie wrecks the good quality stuff he gets, it doesn't really matter.  I'm really pleased with them, particularly the travelling boots, I ended up going back and getting another set and another summer sheet.  Wolfie has never worn travelling boots before.  He was walking in them like he was on the moon.

Wolfie modelling his travelling boots

One of his summer sheets

Pretty boy

Just randomly, a picture of Wolfie's hind quarters.  He has one little patch that has stayed brown (the colour all his markings were when he was a foal).



Buttons is back on full day turn out.  We've had persistent heavy rain for the last couple of weeks which has evidently washed or leached all the sugars from the grass.  He is keen to get out but also keen to get back in and eat his soaked hay.  Wolfie is eating more at the moment than he has all winter.

I went to catch Buttons in today and he was sun bathing.

 

It's a case now of monitoring Buttons very carefully, especially with the spring grass coming through.  I'm basically taking each day as it comes with him with regards to his turn out and keeping a very close eye on him.  I'm still contemplating the grazing muzzle.  I've read that speedi beet helps to regulate the acid balance in the hind gut and can be fed to laminitics before turn out to fill them up a bit before going on the grass.  The horses are craving greenery.  I'm thinking of getting them some herbs online to add to their feed, including rosehips etc.  I'm still trawling through the ingredients on the backs of feed backs, it's amazing how much 'hidden' sugars there are.  Buttons isn't getting fed anything that hasn't been approved by the laminitis trust.