Thursday 27 November 2014

Monster Mare No More

I hope she doesn't prove me wrong the first chance she gets for saying this "out loud" but i think i am finally comfortable saying that Kika and i are back in a very happy place where I trust her as close to implicitly as i think i ever will again after our turbulent months (or was it years) in the aftermath of her move to Lux.

Awkward mirror selfies
I hopped on her this evening after not having sat on her in 15 days (sorry insta - i wasn't using my brain when I posted). She did get turned out from 1pm to 7-7.30 for 12 of those days, I was too poorly last week to go on my lunchtime trek on the 3 missing days. And she came for one walk in the woods on a "leash" while i rode Nancy. This kind of a break would most definitely not have been possible with Kika during the winter months a few years ago. She thankfully had mellowed and we are back to being in a good place together again.


Now don't get me wrong, neither one of us was perfect this evening. In fact we ended up working another 15 - 20 minutes longer from when I anticipated stopping with the idea that if she gave me a nice bend for a 20m circle in trot we could finish up...something she had done without issue numerous times prior this evening. Perhaps something changed in my body language but it took considerably longer for us to get on the same page & finish up.

"We've done good" - Kika

Still not bad by any means, at no stage did she threaten to rear or pitch any sort of a fit. The worst she did was get excited at the prospect of canter work and showed off some Hackney-style trotting skills which just made me laugh. We overcame this with walk/trot transitions till her trot was good, balanced and she was attentive to me and  o longer anticipating.

All photos taken post ride

If further proof of her transformation, or should this perhaps be reformation, were needed...I rode in my glasses! I never ride in my goggles if i can help it as they can slide down my pinocchio nose because they are a little loose and i had almost lost them a couple of times in her spook & spin phase. Including one memorable time i managed to catch them just before they went flying when we were hacking in the woods - that would have been a disaster & is actually the main reason I stopped riding in my glasses and why I prefer to stick to contact lenses nowadays.

Still easily distracted & not a fan of standing still - but i ♡ her

In saying that I do still do barn chores in my goggles if I'm not planning to ride. Miss Kika knocked them off my face only last weekend when I was putting on her rug prior to turnout on Sunday. Thankfully my mother had accompanied me (ref matchy-matchy photos with Nancy a few posts back) and was able to pick them up off the floor of the stable before either K or i moved & risked standing on them. Of course they fell in the straw in the doorway to her box where visibility is bad anyway & worse if you need the darn things to see in the first place hahaha

20 comments:

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    1. I had he biggest smile on my face & kept giggling at her antics. I am so happy & proud of how far we have come considering I was terrified to ride her at one stage.

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  2. Glasses are a big pain in the butt, but hubby likes his better than contact. :) I'm glad you and Kika are in a good place together! I love your saddle pad by the way.

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    1. I much prefer my contacts, in fact I'd love to not have to wear either but the thought of laser eye surgery freaks me out as I'd have to be awake - le scaresville
      Both girls are great fun ♡

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    2. My hubby wants to do the eyes surgery!! Even though he would have to be awake... that would freak me out!! Sadly we can't afford it. Maybe someday. :)

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    3. I can think of better things to spend the kind of money it costs on; namely horsey things or holidays...but really now any spare coinage is being syphoned into savings for furnishings etc for the flat

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    4. Yeah that's how I feel too, but it's not my eyes so it's not fair for me to say to him, no you can't have eye surgery because I want more horse stuff LOL. For now it's a non issue since we just do not have the money!! I understand the money drain on furnishings. We just put our bed frame together. I think we're done with the big purchases but it takes a while to recover from furnishing houses/apartments and building them. :) We will have spare change again someday!

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  3. Awww, so glad to hear that you two are coming along to a good place! She's such a pretty, pretty girl! :)

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    1. Thanks Jenj, now to hopefully kick on and start improving & eradicating my awful nasty habits!

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  4. yay - so glad Kika is doing so well! must be a huge relief :) i really dislike riding in classes too - they always get fogged up in the winter lol!

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    1. It has become a pleasure to ride her, for quite a while it was a chore and a huge hurdle of fear was always lurking in my brain. Now we understand each other better and have opened more solid lines of communication.
      It has been so long since I rode in glasses that I didn't realise that would happen - but males total sense now that you mention it. A handy reminder to not be lazy again and always ride in my contacts as it's only getting colder from here :(

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  5. I'm so happy to hear you and Kika are in such a good place :) I wear glasses too and have lost/broken them many times at the barn. Contact lenses really irritate my eyes but the glasses bug me even more at the barn.

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    1. Sounds like laser surgery might be in your future ☺

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  6. Yay Kika!! So glad she's finally amicable and happy <3

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    1. Long may it last, although I haven't managed to climb back on either girl since so their good humour with me may run out *legasp*

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  7. So happy to hear that you and Kika are doing so well! Yay!

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    1. Thanks, it is such a good feeling.
      ♡ my girls

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  8. She is such a pretty mare and I'm glad that she has brains behind all of the beauty :) BTW I'm highly jealous of your mirror selfies. I've tried and failed miserably. Not that Indy makes it easy and I haven't been riding Winn in the arenas with the mirrors, but still. I can't even get one good one. It's pathetic.

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    1. She has more brains than I can handle, but i think we have reached an agreement. ;-)
      My girls love standing still, although K faff with her head/neck/looking around. There are many selfie fails that don't get shared! Keep trying, perceverance pays ☺

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