D-Day

Tomorrow is D-Day for the ponies, only they've no idea - especially as I haven't seen them since friday...talk about lulling the poor sods into a false sense of security. I got the green light to move them back to a field near my house/the yard + arenas!

The above photo is the reason I haven't seen the little darlings since friday - I have been at Rock a Field a 3 day music festival here in Lux. I was very sorry to miss Bombay Bicycle Club on friday but loved seeing Foster the People, Ellie Goulding, Foals & Skrillex were amazing yesterday. Saw Haim & Chvrches today and we're heading back later to see KINGS OF LEON! We did get drowned a couple of times yesterday, but that's all part of the fun of open air music festivals.

I did get a fun spin in on Friday, despite torrential rain after tacking up & just before mounting and Kika throwing a bitch fit as I ligned her up to mount from the horse box the rain really started hammering and the other two horses in the field started running like lunatics. So rather than get into a fight with her and get us both worked up; I hand-walked into the woods and mounted once she calmed herself - which was about 5minutes later. She is so silly!

Although she settled and we were on our happy hacking way for our last spin in these woods with my baby sister riding Nancy. Kika "accidently" whacked my knee off a tree as we scrambled up a bank following our river crossing. Thems the joys of happenings on horseback. It actually balances things out somewhat as my other knee had a run in with a gate a few years back before we left Ireland - now...who says my horse loves me? ;-)

Which got me thinking about Sprinkler Bandit's (sorry i can't link as am posting from my phone) post about riding alone and trusting our horses. Two years ago, K & i couldn't have recovered from her fit so quickly, nor ridden the rest of our hack on the buckle. She was wonderfully relaxed and led 3/4 of the way including down a trail she historically doesn't like.
I feel like we are finally in a good place where we both trust each other and know how to handle the other ones irrational mood spins. I am now better at handling her meltdowns and getting us back on track aka my agenda.
So far so good with Nancy, although she is now coming into her teen phase (5-7years of age) so i shall keep a closer eye on her under saddle behaviours so that i hopefully don't get caught out like i did with Miss K.
Fingers crossed i can keep us all on track as we get back into arena work with the pair of them.

Sacred Saddle Time :)

Yay for long weekends, the sister and the mammy!

Yep i got THREE spins in over the weekend, 2 with my sister Saturday & Sunday then another with my mother on Monday.
Family are the best and both equine girls were amazing too!

Nancy carted my family members around and I got to play with Kika, who was amazing and got braver each ride. The first one she was a right scardey cat & needed younger Nancy to lead the way a couple of times on our first spin.
She made me laugh out loud when I had her concentrate and she was solely focused on me , practicing her leg yielding, shoulder-ins and maintaining contact at the walk - it was too hot & the girls are too unfit to ask more of them. That when I took a wrong turn and ended up back on the same path going in the same direction but K was now on a loose rein - all the patches of sunlight & branches were suddenly terrifying and required the hairy eyeball as she hadn't seen them first time due to concentration. I LOVE THIS HORSE - she is such a character!

Hanging out in cool river water after first spin on Sat

Sunday's spin was a lot better, she was much braver and only threw a mini-spaz fit due to flies bugging her and as they are the bloodsuckers i don't blame her for almost tripping herself up by trying to scratch her head/nose off her legs - even if we were trying to trot so that we could get away from the wretched creatures.
Nancy on the other hand took full advantage of my sis being super sweet with her and took C for a walk rather than C riding her - they zig-zagged & weaved all over the place as K strode along on a loose rein wondering what was taking N so long.

Monday my mother joined me to take N for her spin as "Baby Sister" hadn't come home from her friend's house after Lux's National day (hence fireworks pics). The flies were absolutely horrendous this day so we stuck to the routes that we hoped would have us least affected - however the beggars still found my poor ponios, so shall have to dig out my "knight" horse fly rugs for riding in the future.

Kika was the best and bravest she has been to hack in the woods - marching ahead of N and on the buckle no less. N on the other hand dawdled trying to convince my mama that she was allowed mouthfuls here & there - the mama was having none of it but it was still a funny turn of events - no misbehaving but N was just chancing her arm (hoof?)

Actually an "old" photo - taken last week with those in previous post

I also got great news yesterday as the Yard Owner answered positively for the girls return to a field closer to the yard/arenas and thus my house - yipee! *happy-dance*
I just have to check the field this evening as YO is worried that there hasn't been enough growth since they cut hay off the field at the end of last month - but as you can tell from the size of my girls in the photos (they look like elephants/houses/pregnant with triplets - whatever you want to use to describe them has all been said by me of late) any lack of grass growth will be more of a blessing than a curse in my book! :)

Shiney & F-A-T!

No News

The saying usually goes that "no news is good news", dunno if that applies here but no news is deff not bad news so I'll take that as a win I guess.

Mama and N having a chat

I haven't managed to ride either girl since my last update as work has just been cray-cray & I haven't gotten out of the office before 7.30pm every evening!
Bah Humbug

However I have gotten out a couple of evenings to pet them, stuff them with carrots & slather their hoofs in the hopes they don't dry out & crack.

My "little" Nancy after our spin leading K a few weeks back

I'm really hoping I can get them back to a field near the yard at the end of this month so that I can get to them easier & have access to the arenas even if I've to work late!

Tardy Tidings

Where does the time be going?!
I have been back from my amazing Canada trip for 2 weeks and have been a very busy bee at work so sadly I have barely seen my girls. Although I have gotten a couple of hacks in, but really nowhere near how much I would like.

I did my first solo hack with both girls and they were angels. I ride Nancy & lead Kika, because despite being 5 years younger than Kika; Nancy is the more reliable ride in the great outdoors. She is such a steady eddie, a wonderfully calm counterpart to silly sod Kika. Plus K dozes when walking on the lead alongside another horse so she freaks out at things less (read hardly ever vs almost always when i ride her - gotta love her silly antics)
N was very cute and uncertain about tree trunks that had been cut and would slow down to gawk at them but when i closed my calves she'd bravely walk by while giving them a googly eye & a bit of a swerve.

Hacking with my two girls

My mother came for a spin on Nancy while i rode Kika on Monday (yay for bank holidays), it was roasting here this weekend and i sadly hadn't managed to ride either girl Sat or Sunday although i did have a sneaky sit up on Nancy bareback on Friday evening under my mother's watchful eye. It was my first time clambering up on N without tack - she wasn't sure what i was doing up there but dealt with it with her usual stoic'ness. We went for a 2-hour stroll in the woods to try and cool the girls down as the shade & water are not near each other in the field and the horses wisely stay near the water on hot days - but this means no shade...so we strolled in the shade of the trees for 2 hours passing through streams for fresh cool water - although neither girl would drink.
Funny bunnies!

As always N was a superstar for my mama, even giving Kika a lead past who knows what she saw on a path she has been on so many times there really wasn't anything to fear. But K stopped stock still & couldn't possibly take another step forward despite my legs, voice and schooling whip...on the upside she didn't put on the super reverse or threaten to rear, so major improvements on her "spooking".

K playing nice with my friend's dog

It may sound like i'm complaining about K, but i really am super proud of her and both of them in fact as they have had so little work the last two months the fact i can clamber up and go for a hack alone with the two of them or with someone who rides rarely (my mama) is a testament to their wonderful characters & level-headedness.

I am hoping to move them back to a field on the yard at the end of this month as that is 10mins walk from home vs 10mins drive. Considering the late hours i've been putting in at work (I have over 29hours overtime since coming back from Canada), i sadly don't have the motivation to haul myself out in the woods every evening.
I shall still take them both hacking at the weekends when we get back to the barn, but i will also have the option of doing arena work in the evenings - weirdly perhaps this is much more appealing to me after a long days work...yep, i think there is something wrong with me!

Also - in case you don't follow me on instagram - here is a LINK to see all the photos from my fab trip to Canada!
PS: my apologies to those who have already seen the photos in this post on instagram!
PPS: I must also apologise for my poor blogging & following, I really do hope to get caught up! I have to go back to April for some of your wonderful blogs *blush*