Equitana I - Daytime

As mentioned in my previous post I spent 2 days/1 night in Essen in Germany at the mahoosive Equine trade fair that is Equitana! This was my first year going and man was i blown away - the amount of trade stands was crazy! 12 Halls in a huge expo center, boy was I glad we had the two days to mosy around!

I was very well behaved on the spending front as, although that had more to do with the fact that I didn't have the pennies to spare than a reflection on the goods on offer. The girls I went with were much better spenders than I was, ;-)

 Kika's new bit









I picked up the bit i wanted for Kika & a pair of reins for Nancy...last of the big spenders I am!
Although I was exceedingly good on not buying equine things for the sake of it - I did still end up spending more money than expected due to shepherding/ enclosed/ trapped situation that was being in the halls and limited in where you could get drinks/food!
Those prices were the cripplers and where most of my money was spent! :(

On to the photos now with less words from me I hope!
Phew - I hear readers sigh, can't say I blame you as my posts do tend to be waffly! I must apologise for my previous post, I didn't realise how long it was until after I hit poot! Woopsy!

Each hall had at least one arena/display area which hilighted different breeds/disciplines & were often educational...or so I gather. It was all in German and I couldn't understand everything! *blush*
I should probably start back at classes! :p

Bones & muscles painted onto horse for display on physiology

Lovely Friesian

Fluffy mini-shetlands!

Western display

Iberian horses - Baroque Cup Class

His outfit was class - attention to detail & commitment to character included boots!!

Highlighting the versatility of the Friesan breed:

4-horse

6-horse

Solo

 

 

Then came the Icelandics:

And finally for this post some heavy horses - looking all spiffy.

Next post will have photos & mini-videos of the Show which was on Saturday night showcasing wonderful horsemanship & equine/human relationships!

PS: Apologies for fuzzyness of some of the photos - you wouldn't believe how cold it was in that arena - that and I was again getting used to having my camera phone back again - sorry quality isn't better! :/

Awfully Apologetic

As per title I am so sorry for the radio silence from Luxembourg this week - as hoped in last blog post I was granted this week off work up to and including Monday 25th - HAPPY DAYS!
Have hung out with my girls and clocked up some much needed saddle time on both - as well as running around like a headless chicken trying to get stuff sorted during office hours around turnout times & finally starting to learn to drive!
Phew!
I managed to squeeze in 5 and a half hours driving time - fingers crossed I can keep it up and finally put that bad baby to bed. Buying a car will be a whole other ball game, and we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but so long as I can pass the test I can move the girls to a cheaper off-site turnout area for part of the summer and save up some much needed pennies!

Nancy caught napping in her stable this morning - I guess she's feeling the effects of the increased workload this week ;)

I'll do my best to try and keep this brief, although quite a bit of time has passed since my last update - however I won't go back that far with this update - mostly because the Thursday & Friday after that post...I didn't make it to the barn due to the previously mentioned social occasions surrounding St Patrick's day...which were great fun. ;-)
Kika was however ridden on the Friday as L was hanging for a spin on Miss K...makes me smile that someone other than me wants to ride my girl; a year and a half ago people would run when they saw us coming...nowdays there are a lot more welcoming, lol, am very proud of my girl and uber-thankful to L (The Guru) for all her help in getting Kika & I on the straight and narrow!

Right sorry...back on track with the update!

Saturday: I managed to squeeze in a spin on Nancy in the morning, and finally got my backside in the jumping saddle my friend M is lending me in the hopes it suits myself & Nancy and that I buy it off her. ;) Nancy continued to be her star-self and despite snow (again) melting off the arena roof and the other horses in the arena getting spooked she just cocked an ear the odd time but continued on her merry way. We only worked on walk & trot that day as it had been a while since I had ridden her and it was my first time in the saddle.

Sunday: Ended up being a no-barn day for me, after having been at the Relay for Life walk/run-a-thon from 2.30am till after 6am Saturday night/Sunday morning and then an Irish Ceili (dance) from 3pm to 6pm...I didn't make it to the barn at all on Sunday - however I avoided the attack of the guilts as I knew I had the whole week off to make it up to the girls and myself!

Monday: Rode Kika in the morning before turning her out for the afternoon with L's horse O. She was a very good girl, and worked like a dream despite snow still falling from the arena roof - which previously has blown her brain and she couldn't be convinced that it wasn't a horse eating monster out to get her...mind you this snow-melt was a lot quieter in it's business of sliding off the roof. The sound of it was probably also masked by the fact that at least 2 separate farriers were at work on the premises while I rode and they made plenty of other sounds which all blended into background noise!
I had a spin on Nancy that evening in the main arena while L rode another horse - so she gave me a few pointers...namely that the jumping saddle I was trying didn't do anything for my lower leg position and that my foot was practically glued to poor Nancy's shoulder blade - talk about knocking the pair of us off balance!
However in saying that, I did venture back up to canter with N and we got some lovely work as i sat into the saddle for the first time - previously I had always cantered Nancy in 2-point (my backside out of the saddle) in an attempt to allow her find her own balance without my interference. Her canter when you sit into her is lovely and smooth - I cannot wait to work on it more with her!

Not sure if you can see Kika's hairs on the saddle pad or the pile of her fur that is on the floor having been removed from the other side of said saddle pad ;)

Tuesday: I sneakily spent pretty much the whole day at the barn! I arrived about 10.30-11 and didn't go home again until close on 6pm! It was a lovely dry, sunny day - so i spent the day fawning over the girls. Giving them each a proper grooming before and after their spins - thankfully neither is shedding as much as before... yet they are both still prone to hair loss ;) (See picture above)
Both girls were super stars to be ridden, as it was Nancy's day in the turnout area I rode her first, trying to be more aware of my positioning in the saddle and hoping to keep my lower leg where it was supposed to be, by not allowing it to swing forward therefore tipping me off balance...it's a work in progress!
Got some more lovely walk/trot/canter work done with her, plenty of circles, changes of rein and the odd serpentine. Mostly in walk on that day as we were using a smaller arena and our steering isn't always the best as she can attempt to resist me at times by locking her jaw & refusing to bend...as I said a work in progress - for once I didn't mean just me! ;)
I faffed over Nancy for a bit afterwards and then turned herself & O out, then came back to the barn once their hay & water situation was sorted outside and faffed over Kika for ages. Giving her a proper pre-ridden work groom - which I had been avoiding doing prior to riding in previous weeks as she'd been shedding so much it was just easier to groom her afterwards. I had hoped to ride Kika in the main arena as it is larger and has mirrors the whole way along the back-wall...A tool I am getting better at using to correct myself when I can! However a fellow livery on her young horse & the two working pupils had just joined her so I took myself and Kika off to the smaller arena which i actually prefer as I find the ground less hard underfoot. Again Kika was a superstar! Can you tell this is going to be an "I LOVE MY HORSES" post?
Hahaha

Wednesday: Kika & O went out by 10am and I managed to squeeze in a condensed spin on Nancy in the main arena before I had to be in town for a driving lesson. Again we worked on more of the same and as we were in the arena with full wall of mirrors I was better able to keep an eye on myself and correct my lower leg when it snuck out of position.
It was a miserable wet day, I'll bet Nancy was only too happy to have not been out in it. I had myself a bit of a lazy evening and didn't ride Kika on wednesday as the arenas are always more crowded on a wednesday due to one being pretty much reserved for jumping with an outside instructor and course set up.

Miss Kika today falling pray to the paparazzi that is me!

Thursday: I turned Nancy & O out about 11am before pottering off into town for another driving lesson - three lessons/ three different driving conditions!
Day 1 - Monday: Fog & salt needed on the roads as icy patches...thankfully I didn't find one!
Day 2 - Wednesday: Pouring rain which weirdly made it difficult to see the road markings in the wing mirror.
Day 3 - Thursday: Clear day and almost kind of sunny - although not sunglasses glare, thankfully!
Sorry I digress, but I am glad to have the opportunity to tackle different weather conditions under lesson protection of having the instructor in the car with me with his own set of pedals on the passenger side so that he can get me out of trouble if necessary!

Right back on track!

Rode Kika first yesterday as she was in the stable all day, place was weirdly busy - although maybe it was just the time of day as I wouldn't normally have been at the yard at that time on a week day. More likely though is that the Easter School Holidays started yesterday and perhaps people were getting their spins in before heading off on holidays for the week/2 weeks - I don't know how long people are off for!
There were 7 of us in the arena, 3 of which getting private lessons through headsets - to say indicators and traffic lights would have been helpful is an understatement!
I am just so glad that Kika and I have found a new level of maturity & concentration (not to mention brakes & patience) which allowed us to navigate the carnage! I will not pretend that we were anywhere near foot perfect, but Kika of 18months ago would not have been able to handle that situation - her brain would have been fried!
We got some lovely, calm, responsive walk/trot/canter, circles, changes of rein, figures of eight & serpentines slotted in around the many other riders - and only once almost collided with another rider - which all things considered I think counts as a major success ;-)

I put herself away, sorted the stables and went to get Nancy & O from the field, threw the tack on Nancy and had a spin in the same arena but this time I had it all to myself...well almost. The darn yard cat was loitering about and scared the poor baby at one stage - snow falling off the roof out of sight sounding like an avalanche, horses getting out of their lunging gear and/or horses in general misbehaving when she's been ridden aren't a problem for level headed Nancy...she might cock an ear in the direction. However the yard cat skulking...NO THANK YOU - says Nancy. It's funny how their minds work!
We got some lovely work done despite the distraction, plenty mini-arguments about turning and bending - but the positives completely outweighed the negatives as although we had our flight/mode after the cat surprised her despite having just given me the best trotted serpentines we'd managed to date - she quickly settled back down and we moved up to some very nice canter work. Her canter is just so nice, I could sit it all day - I even felt better in the saddle during the whole spin as I tried to be more aware of my position and in fact noticed that my heels were down better then they have been for a long while!

We're coming to the end of this marathon post *ahem*NOVEL*ahem*!

I rode both girls again this evening, starting with Nancy in the smaller arena as again the main arena was just too busy. Canter work was good, trot work sometimes left a bit to be desired - hoping The Guru might be able to give us a lesson next week (she was ill today so plan had to be scrapped) to tell me where I am going wrong with Nancy when asking for turns &/or bend at times as she can try to fight me and lock her jaw. Probably a bit of mis-communication from me and stubbornness from her - however I don't want to create any bad habits so I'd rather nip this in the bud!
By the time I brought Kika in from the field & tacked her up etc we were practically the only ones at the yard and in fact the only ones in the main arena. She worked like a dream - I cannot begin to express how great she has been all week - again I am hopeful that the Guru might be able to give us a few more pointers soon so that I can have new stuff to work on with her so that we don't get stuck in a rut. In fact I almost hope my mother or someone might be able to watch one day and maybe nab a few videos so that I can see for myself whether it looks as good as it feels - although knowing Kika and myself if we felt anyone watching us we'd (read:I'd) probably tense up and ride like a plank!

The two girls are getting the weekend off as L, S (another yard friend) and I are heading off to EQUITANA (LINK) in the morning. A mahoosive Equine trade fair with displays & exhibitions on. We leave Lux tomorrow morning at 8am, spend the day mosying around the stalls - tomorrow night we've tickets to one of the shows, we'll stay overnight in a hotel spend Sunday nosying about the stands again and then come back to Lux at some stage on Sunday. I booked Monday off work also as I don't know what time we'll be back on Sunday. My mother & L's father will be playing babysitters to the three horses and turning them out/ bringing them in while we are away.

My shopping list is very reserved and I really only NEED an eggbutt bit for Kika as her loose ring is catching her - I've been meaning to change it for months but have been naughty and held off so that I could hopefully snag a bargain at Equitana. If I find a cheap(ish) bridle with reins for Nancy I'll consider picking one up although funds are tight for the rest of the month and she has a perfectly usable bridle - so jury is out on that one. Only other thing I'd consider purchasing are bell boots for Nancy as the pair i ordered a few months back are too big and keep turning on her - so useless really!

Fingers crossed all goes well and that I can be good and not spend money I don't have on stuff I don't need...famous last words!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Thermal Themometer

Quick funny to start with - With Winter's return vets mustn't forget to warm thermometers!

Despite my joy & thinking Spring had sprung last week - blue skies & 15C temps teased me. The snow returned with a vengeance (10 to 15cms fell during the night-day-night) yesterday and the cold is back with a bang today, it was -4C this morning as I made my way to work with temps rumoured to drop to lows of -10C/-11C over the coming days - Oh Happy day...NOT!

Right enough whinging out of me - on to horsey news which is why people read this drivel I type!
Not much to report I'm afraid as my backside barely touched the saddle in recent days, I had a spin on Nancy last Thursday - then didn't sit on a horse again until last night when Kika was the "lucky" one.
I ad a mad busy weekend as my "baby" sister partook in the selection proceedings for the Luxembourg Rose for the Rose of Tralee competition held in Ireland in August every year.
For those who haven't heard of this "beauty" contest before, although more often billed as a personality contest and there is no simsuit section! It is an annual gathering/contest for young ladies with Irish connections/heritage from around the world with many places being represented including Australian, NZ & American states as well as numerous European and other countries - our organisation's webpage describes it better then I can! LINK
So we had a full house as family and friends descended upon on and we all turned out to support her at the Ball on Saturday night, she didn't win so won't represent Luxembourg in the next round in Portlaoise (Ireland) in June. We are all very proud of how well she did, she really surprised me as I have always viewed her as my "baby" sister and finally truly saw her for the poised young lady she has become - gosh am I soppy or what?!

Unfortunately Sunday I was sick :(
Not hungover as I don't drink alcoholic beverages (gave them up when i turned 21 to have the extra funds for Kika), but the whole day was wasted in bed as I just didn't have the energy to get up which was bitterly disappointing as I had promised my sister's friend a spin on one of the girls and my cousin whose mother bred Nancy was over and I had hoped to allow her a spin also - if she'd wanted...wasn't to be though! :(
I still wasn't right Monday or Tuesday, but due to system change over in work and yours truly having been one of only two guinea pig testers for our unit I couldn't not go to work and leave my fellow testee alone to deal with the carnage!

Ack - sorry, this is as always getting long-winded despite my promise of not having much to report on the Equine front! I guess I'm just painting  verbal picture to set the scene as to why there is so little to report on the Ladies.

Vet came on Friday evening to examine splint-type lump on the inside of Kika's left foreleg, which had been pointed out to me by my farrier. There was no heat in the leg, it hadn't changed shape in the time between the farrier's visit and the vet arriving (about a week) and although not 100% when initially under saddle she did work normally once warmed up.
She gave me a gel to be applied to Kika's leg twice a day for 12 days and recommended walking for Kika, either hand walking or under saddle she said would also be ok. My vet can be over cautious, and while I did give Kika an easy weekend (although I had planned to sit on her on Sunday) to allow her get used to the sensation or whatever effect the gel has on her leg - I hope to continue riding her although with a decreased workload - as I cannot give Kika 12 days hand-walking & turnout alone or when she is brought back to work she'll have gotten to used to the easy life and might return to temper tantrum ways when asked to increase the workload again.
So i plan to keep her ticking over with some walk/trot & if she feels ok - maybe the odd canter., but deff no more than that!

Sat up on her last night, she hadn't been ridden since our jumping lesson last Wednesday. And although she was a bit fresh and wanted to do more (yesterday wasn't a turn out day for her so she had excess energy) - she did manage to contain her exuberance and we kept to a good walk with circles, serpentines, figures of eight etc. With two trot circles on each rein where she didn't take a lame step!
Baby steps and we'll see where we are once the treatment is over and whether or not the growth/bump will have decreased in size/been reabsorbed by the leg.

Nancy was ridden on Saturday by The Guru (L), in the jumping saddle I have to try that another yard friend is selling. She was happy with the fit and how the mare went in it, I asked if she'd found it a bit tight on the withers as when the friend who is selling the saddle (M) and I sat it on N the weekend before we thought it might get a little cozy with rider weight added to the mix. However L said it seemed fine to her, next step now is for me to get a chance to sit in it and see if it suits me as well as the horse - could be an issue as although it is same style as Kika's GP (including Biomex seat - woohoo); the lady selling it has considerably shorter legs than I and I am not sure if the saddle was altered to reflect that or not...we shall see when I get a chance to ride in it myself.

Reason for there being such a question mark over my riding in the coming days is that it is St Patrick's Week!
Let me tell you that as an Irish Ex-Pat living abroad this is a nightmare time as there is so much going on & organisation involved in and around the day itself that usually come the 17th of March I am worn out of all things green, ;-)
It all kicks off officially tomorrow with a lunchtime do at the Embassy, then after work tomorrow evening the Irish Judges have invited all the Irish staff of the Court for some nibbles and drinks. Friday is the "unofficial' Court Paddy's day party, where a few of us band together to organise Irish Coffees, typical nibbles, crisps & beverages etc for friends and colleagues. Saturday there is a sporting event to showcase Hurling, Camogie and Gaelic Football and then Sunday is the day itself which will be celebrated by a Ceili Mór put on by the traditional music and dance group.

It's all go-go go!

And if that isn't enough, the annual Cancer Fundraising Relay event is on Saturday to Sunday (24hour walk/run-a-thon), I'm walking for two teams and will be there from 2.45am Sunday morning until after 6am - but it is great fun.
Phew! I've just put in for next week off - here's hoping the boss approves as I think I'm going to need to do some serious catch-up on sleep & pony time!

Jump For Joy

As always - apologies for poor artistic ability

Kika and I had a jumping lesson last night over the above plethora of fences. I guess I'll start with a brief breakdown of the obstacles themselves ... nothing too fancy mind.

A - Cross Pole

B - Vertical

C - Vertical

D - Vertical with a cross pole bar on one side - plays with eyeline

E - Vertical

F - Oxer

G - Ground pole and triple/bounce type combination

Unfortunately I can't remember exactly each combination of fences we did nor the courses, but I'll try to talk through them as I think of them.

First off Kika was an angel, considering how little ridden work she has received in the last two weeks not to mention how long it seems since we last jumper, she didn't put a toe out of line. Our mistakes were (as always) all mine - namely that I forget i am capable of riding & steering when faced with a course of fences!
Things to remember:
- Ride a straight line after the fence
- I ride the horse - she doesn't take me where she wants!
- SIT UP BETWEEN FENCES!

Warmed up w/t/c on the flat while L and N (another yard friend) put away their horses - I was the gopher while the rode, fixing poles etc and then they helped me out and stuck around to help tidy everything away again afterwards.

Jumped A up the arena twice, initially there was a trotting pole leading into it which was then swapped sides and I jumped it down twice - tacking on F (the oxer) up the arena after jumping A down. But Kika and I had to circle, back to trot and strike off again on the correct canter lead as we couldn't land on the right lead after A. I say we, I wasn't asking for a particular lead as I don't know how, she usually lands correctly but didn't want to play ball last night - so we circled and re-grouped...no biggie!

Next we jumped A down, E up to B turn between C & D to jump the oxer at F.

Then changed tack and trotted over the ground pole and combination at G cantering on D, looping back to B then E.

A couple different combinations of fences and lines which i have since forgotten, but I do remember the course we ended with.

Down over A starting from canter, up over E then B, between fences down over the oxer at F, back to trot and over the ground pole & bounce on to D - tight loop back to C and finish over E. Kika and I struggled with the turn back to C initially, but got it second time around and finished on a good note.

Lucky Nancy has been on a bit of a break since Sunday's almost hour marathon session as it has been a mental week where I have no idea where the days are going - I cannot believe it is already Thursday!
I'm hoping to get a spin on both girls this evening. But as Kika is out in the field this afternoon, it is not the end of the world if she doesn't get ridden - today is a Nancy day, to make up for the 'abandonment' and lack of riding so far this week. Who knows, I might even get to try the "new" saddle ;-)

Spring has Sprung

Blue skies have returned and the sun has snuck out - but for how long is anyone's guess - still i shall not complain and will soak up the VitD while I can.

The geese have been flying overhead in their droves - this is the surest sign in my book that spring is indeed here and that means that summer won't be far behind - so really I must get the finger out and get cracking on these driving lessons if I hope to move the two girlies off-site for their summer turn out to save me some pennies!

Quick google search gave me this - no copyrights claimed by me!

Other positive signs that spring & summer are not far away...I turned Kika out in her lightest rug today as it is a balmy 12C with the sun out - glorious day. i was hard pushed to treck back across town to go back to work after letting them out on my lunch break - but I am a good girl and did!

I also managed to have my first hack in the woods of the year on Sunday, Kika & I, L & her  horse O and her two dogs all set off on a merry jaunt Sunday morning. Paths were mostly clear of snow and ice although there were some bits of forest which musn't get as much sun as the others as they were still quite slippy, I actually had to get down at one stage to lead Bambi on Ice (Kika) over a patch of path as she has no regard for how she walks on ice and i didn't fancy landing under her if she lost her footing - silly sod!

Another google steal - no copyrights claimed

Next weekend I hope to get Nancy out into the woods to see what she makes of this hacking lark, here's hoping she takes it all in her stride as she has done with everything so far - the only thing she has thus far shown a particular dislike to is the walker - but we have only tried her in that twice ... so I haven't exactly been consistent with that training - but so long as she can be turned out ever second day (alternating with Kika) and is good under saddle, I honestly can't see the point in putting either of them on the walker unless i absolutely have no time to move them - which fingers crossed won't happen!
However Nancy's woods outing will very much depend on whether the Jumping saddle another yard friend is selling will fit her. Sat the saddle on her back on Sunday but didn't ride her in it - seemed an ok fit from behind but it might be a little tight in front when rider weight is added to the equation - don't know if a riser would work as a stop gap for now if saddle fit alright other than that. Shall see what another pair of eyes on the ground thinks when hopefully L and I have a look at it this evening. We had hoped to try it last night, but a meeting I was at ran long and I shamefully didn't make it to see my girls at all last night!
My own saddle fitter also sold this saddle to my friend and said he will come back in a week or two to check my GP fit on Kika so he could also have a look at this new one and see what he thinks. The friend is being very good, offering me a good price and unlimited use until it does sell if it fits - so we shall see what happens there. Obviously my horse's welfare will come first and I wouldn't dream of using a badly fitting saddle after the drama when I was sold an ill-fitting saddle for Kika!
I hope to never face that again! :(

Other than that I had a wonderful weekend, got 2 lovely spins on both girls on Friday evening. It was my first time on Kika's back since the previous Sunday when she had felt off under saddle - she was still a bit iffy at first but worked out of it. My "baby" sister was there and snapped a few pics - unfortunately only 1 came out not blurry - but she hasn't sent it to me yet. I will share it when I get it! :D
Kika rode like a dream, I actually got too caught up in how well she was working that I lost track of time and was almost very late for my friends birthday dinner - instead i managed to be only 10 minutes late!

I rode Kika again on Saturday evening, but I really should have just left her alone as I was exhausted and it wasn't warm that evening - I also decided to see what she would be like to ride if i didn't use the martingale...lets just say it wasn't a great night for us - but no bad behaviour or spooking or anything - more so just lack of concentration and definition from me. I really was too tired and should have left well enough alone - we more than made up for things with our nice hack Sunday morning.

I also rode Nancy for nearly an hour on Sunday afternoon - again kind of lost track of time, but not in the good way that I did with Kika on Friday. Nancy has decided she can't walk under saddle (or on the lunge for that matter) but every couple of strides she tries to break into trot - I haven't had eyes on the ground for a few weeks and am not sure if it is something I am doing wrong or if it is Nancy's own doing. The plan was again for L to have a look at us last night, but as i didn't make it to the yard last night I hope we can tackle things tonight. :D

Apologies for yet another picture-less update, I have heard no news about my phone and will in fact head into the shop after work this evening to see if they can tell me anything! Fingers crossed - I miss being able to take & share photos with you guys!

Weird Week

Last week was a bit of a weird week - thankfully L had the week off work to move into her new house...Oh the excitement! But what this meant for me was that I could utilise my lunch breaks to eat and catch up with colleagues & non-horsey friends - rather than make my mad-dash across town on the buses to turn out ponies on my lunch break.
However that is not what made last week weird, what was weird was that between one thing and another I didn't get much riding done at all - in fact my backside was only in the saddle Monday evening (Kika) and wasn't back in the saddle until Sunday when I got to sit on both girls again.

L was, as always, an absolute angel and would take Kika for a walk in the woods when she was hacking her own mare. She also had a spin on Nancy on Wednesday to check out the steering - she agreed with me that she wasn't as well behaved as she had been the previous time she rode her. Nancy, like all young horses has her up and down days. For example, Sunday was a very good UP day - but last night (Monday) a bit of a down day...baby steps and it'll all come together. :D
So while Nancy and I have our disagreements about her gritting her teeth and/or locking her jaw when we are working, she really is a great girl for such a young greeny baby (see below for drama she hasn't batted an eyelid at while being ridden)!

Blacksmith was out this morning, so I had morning off work, bit of a lie in = happy days!
Kika has her new front shoes with tiny stud-type things to stop her slipping on the concrete - and Nancy had all four shoes taken off. We are going to try her barefoot and see whats he makes of it. Considering her first set of shoes were only put on in November/December I don't think she got too accustomed to them - but we'll keep a close eye on her feet and make sure they don't get too small or wind up hurting her. Bless her cotton socks, she's a bit of a martyr, looks like she had a small abscess/reaction to where the nails were in one of her front shoes - so methinks she might be happy to be barefoot again. However blacksmith said she has quite flat feet - so we'll keep a close eye on her and make sure being barefoot doesn't negatively affect her hooves!

Saddle fitter is coming back this evening with my GP which has come back from Stubben in Switzerland - not sure if I'll be riding in it this evening though as it has been altered to better fit Kika, but she wasn't 100% sound when i sat up on Sunday. She was fine in walk, and good to trot on her "bad" rein, however was quite sore when asked to trot on her "good" rein - so I mostly stuck to walk work (seeing as we were tacked up and in the arena) - got plenty circles, volts & serpentines worked on in walk, which makes a nice change for us as I tend to forget to work the walk and concentrate on trotting - SHAME ON ME!
I had hoped to pop her on the lunge last night to see how she moved from the ground - but I ran out of time. I don't feel too guilty about this though as herself and Nancy take it in turns to join L's horse O in the turnout area for the afternoon/days and yesterday was Kika's day outside so she wasn't stuck in her stable all day.

Things to add to the "Nancy" isn't bothered by when being ridden list:
- Snow melt falling off the roof
- Horses managing to get out of the cavesson while lunging
- Horses bucking on the lunge while she is being ridden alongside them

She is such a good girl when it comes to 'surprises' under saddle that you'd almost forget she's so young - the other one can be considerably less sensible.
Nancy is cool as a cucumber!

My sister is back for a week and a bit from Thursday evening, she will def be wanting to visit teh girls as she hasn't been abck since Nancy arrived. Hopefully I will be able to convince her to snap a few pics of us - as I feel terrible that the blog has been very wordy of late with no pictures to reward readers! I must contact the phone shop and see if there is any sign of my SIII!

January Stage Day 1

I am finally managing to get these videos up on the blog/online. Following on from the videos of L & Kika during the November weekend with an external trainer (LINK) - below will follow the videos from their second weekend with the same trainer which took place towards the end of January (LINK).

These videos are all from Day 1 of the stage and were taken o my phone - which for the first few videos I forgot I could use the zoom on - so apologies if they look like midgets and are too far away to see anything clearly!
All videos are in and around the 1 minute marker for length which i hoped would make it easier to get them off my phone and online - let's see if it works!

First vid- Some trotting at start of lesson

Unfortunately for them, their allocated lesson time coincided with others using the main arena - so there was some steering required - Kika is the one in yellow, ;)

Second vid - Good side canter work

Third vid - Poorer side canter work - yes I did find the zoom for this video...from here on vids should hopefully be nicer to watch - although I still move a bit too much and they might make you a little seasick...or at least they do me - kind of! :/

Fourth vid - trying to get her head & limbs around a more extended trot - you'll notice she gets confused and breaks into canter. We have been doing a lot of work on the lunge and under saddle to get her to take longer strides in trot - although putting the front shoes back on her after Christmas have definitely helped. Still plenty to work on :)

Fifth vid - show how Kika is always questioning and thinking while she works. Head tossing a bit at the start and tail swishing is her way of saying - "Leave me alone I'm getting tired of this concentrating lark!" But she is still a very good girl and does what she's told without any of the fuss from the November videos!

Sixth vid - some more poorer side cantering, again with some resistance as she tired near the end - but again I was so proud of her for continuing to behave even though she was exhausted.

Seventh and final vid = some more attempted extended trot work towards the end.

Unfortunately I don't have the video footage from Day 2 yet - hopefully you have enjoyed the tidbits offered above. Please no comments on the rider as it is not me - but hopefully anyone who has been following my blog with Kika for a while will see the improvement in the horse that I can see with my very biased opinion. ;-)

In up to date news - well I don't really have much to say about this week so far, I had a meeting last night so didn't make it to the barn at all, L very kindly looked after the girls for me and tonight the blacksmith is coming so they won't be ridden/worked either. Tomorrow evening I have to go to something after work and will be unlikely to be able to excercise them and as all these things invariably tend to happen in the same week - I have a hairdresser's appointment for Friday after work and will be unlikely to be able to fit in more than lunge work that evening!
Saturday is a yard show day - so place will be jammers - but that hopefully means it will be quiet in by evening time and I should manage to get some more substantial work into them then!
Fingers crossed - this week is shaping up like a bit of a right off work-wise with the horses...But I shan't complain as they are both in good health and good form, so there is no reason we won't pick back up where we left off when I can get my backside back in the saddle! :-D