Field Farewell

I was in Ireland from Wednesday 24/4/2013 till yesterday evening (29/4/2013) so have no newses to report on the girls other then they were good for the Guru in my absence and I saw them both last night and again at lunch time today and they are both in good form and actually happy to see me - i think.
Whickering counts as joy at seeing you right ... and not just that I am associated with turnout/feeding time! LOL!

Me loves you!

As the title of this post suggests today is the last time the girls will be in our winter turnout for 2013. As of tomorrow the three ladies officially get turned out until November 1st when they'll make their return to this winter safe haven.

O being cute - and LOOK finally some green to be seen!

The girls will be on limited turnout at first, a couple of hours tomorrow. We're thinking 11-15/16 o'clock - long enough for some photos in the am of happy-head-horseys then a lazy owner lunch at Pizza Hut on the corner, hopefully Kika won't join us there...And then back to the yard for perhaps some jumpy-jumping all going well! :D
Yay for May Day (1st of May - Journée du Travail) day off work!
For the rest of the week turnout they'll go out about 10-11am. The Guru has Thursday & Friday off work so no mad dash to the yard or stupid o'clock turnout for the girls on my part - 7am for turnout before breakfast is just mean or so they'd have you believe! The plan is to leave them out overnight as off Saturday, all going well with the other addition to the field...we'll have to see what Lady Kika makes of that, although she was turned out with this pony mare 2summers ago and O is used to going out with her so we'll have to wait and see where Nancy fits and what kind of pecking order will be established! Ah the joys of turnout & horse ownership...here's hoping there'll be no need for vets on speed dial!

Dapples!!!

I could have turned Kika out with O & N this afternoon, but I decided to be selfish as I know if I'd turned her out I'd probably be a lazy ass and not ride this evening...and I REALLY want a spin!

Grazing Girls

Only a week to go till the girls can return to 24/7 turnout and I cannot wait!
Not only are they happier (well I'm going off Kika here - although she has been so chilled this year I think she may *finally* be at one with her life) but I can have my lunch breaks to actually eat lunch & re-connect with my colleagues or meet up with friends in town etc - Actually I'll probably pile on the pounds considering I won't be doing my mad-dash across the city by bus & foot to turn the little darlings out.
Anyways, sorry, I am waffling again!

Kika & my shadows from Saturday evening

In preparation for full time turnout we tend to take the girls grazing in the weeks leading up to May 1st. Unfortunately the weather has been so cold & grass growth so poor until recently that we haven't had much opportunity. So the rush is now on to try and up the grass intake for both girls by hand-grazing so that when they do go out on grass next week they won't be sick from all the freshness.

Nancy chowing down

I was so proud of Nancy on Friday evening when these pictures were taken (Kika's pics come from Saturday's grazing session) - it had been Kika's day in the turnout on; so Nancy had been inside all day and I was apprehensive as to how she'd handle grazing when she hadn't been worked or anything beforehand. In wonderful Nancy-style, she was not phased in the slightest :-D Even when other horses were ridden past and horse boxes cleaned out nearby - she just kept the head down and grazed away to her hearts content.

Bad Mammy leaving straw in her tail!

Saturday was a bit of a mad day, I turned O & N out about 1pm before heading into town to meet friends for lunch before Luxembourg's annual Rubber Duck Race! 

Extra water was added to help the duckies along

For those who haven't been lucky enough to visit Lux before, you won't know that there is a valley in the middle of the city, or rather the city center is surrounded by a valley. Anyways, it's beautiful & in the middle of the valley is a little stream (called river) - and this is where they held the Rubber Duck Race - it's a charity event where you can "sponsor" the ducks and depending on where your duck finished the race you could win one of numerous prizes. I got there too late to sponsor a duck, but last year a friend won a fireplace...yeah those are the caliber of prizes! Eek! :-/

Oddly enough, considering how long my family has been in Luxembourg (23years now) - this was my first time going to the Duck Race!

Finish line - re-capturing the duckies

Sorry - back on track with the ponios!

Had a wonderful spin on Kika Saturday evening as N was in the turnout for the afternoon, I really tried to concentrate on improving Kika's trot as the Guru had commented after jumping on Wednesday that it wasn't great again - that K was taking shorter strides. My fault for having spent too much time sitting trotting on Tuesday between our transitions, sitting trot bunches K up and shortens her striding. We had a few discussions when cantering as she took offense to passing one of the corners in the top half of the arena - but only in canter, the silly sod! So we worked at it until she passed it without jigging inside and losing her outside bend - she is still opinionated as ever and let me know in her own special way that she didn't appreciate the reminder that I had a crop in my inside hand when I asked her kindly to keep on the track I wanted, lol!

Grazing after our spin on Saturday

When i took her for a half hour grazing session after our spin, she was good as gold and once more exhibited her maturity by not getting herself all wound up grazing alone or when a horsebox returned from competition or when two other horses joined us to be grazed by their owners. At this time last year I could only graze K with the lunge line on as she'd take fits of joyfulness and want to play with passing horses/birds whatever moved basically, lol!

Nancy was next for a workout, I tried to put my instructions from Wednesday into practice - namely not using the whole long side of the arena at any stage, but to keep circling so as to avoid building up speed - not to be continuously trying to slow her down with my hands when she invariably did build up speed & to use my voice more.
I am struggling a bit with Nancy when I am in the saddle, as I know what I should be doing and what I shouldn't be doing - but we are having a negative effect on each other where we are being suckered into doing the things we shouldn't be doing. I think we just need a break from arena work to build up a better relationship out hacking or something - we need a change of scenery before i ruin her wonderful friendly approach to life.

Recap

Sorry guys, I haven't been the best at updating this week - but have been good & ridden at least one of the girls each evening.
Unfortunately I have no new pics to share since Sunday, but I do have one i forgot to include in previous post - so that'll have to be the only reward for all the waffle that is sure to follow...apologies in advance!

Monday: I had a lesson on Nancy from the Guru, it didn't go great. The mare was in a mad rush and no matter how much i spoke to her trying to slower her with my voice and not my hands she seemed determined to ignore me. We did get some nice patches of work, but if you asked me what I was doing when it was going well in the hopes that i could repeat it again - you'd find me at a loss. I hate when that happens, as if i could bottle whatever I am doing when things are going good I could replicate it and be less of a mess more often - baby steps and we'll get there I'm told. :p
Main issues appear to be twofold;

• (a) I am gripping with my knees, BADLY, I have the bruises to prove it! This is bad for numerous reasons, mainly that my leg is then in the wrong position & I have little to no contact with her sides and of course the aforementioned bruises.

• (b) I cannot seem to break my reflex reaction that when she speeds up my hands close on the reins in an attempt to slow her down which then results in her giving me the metaphorical finger and pulling against me - being the baby tank she is going to grow into, this is a fight I am never going to come out of positively.

I really need to get my head around these issues!

Photo bribe & reward for reading this far

Tuesday: Was Nancy's day in the turnout, so Kika got ridden in the evening. I had been hoping for a flat lesson on her, but it didn't happen - no biggie. :)
We worked away on our own on w/t/c, circles, figures of eight & serpentines. During which I noticed that our transitions were a little sticky, so the plan for the spin was cemented and we set to work on sharpening up our transitions while continuing our circles, changes of rein, figures of eight & serpentines to keep things from getting stale. I also did most of our trot work in sitting trot, I also tried to really work on our inside bend on the right-hand rein as she has also become a little stiff on that side (used to be her better side) but I guess after putting more work onto her previously bad side, the 'good' side got a little left out/under worked. Lots of small circles and focus from me, should help us get back on track.
Actually now that I think about it, we had a problem of over-bending slightly on that rein during the winter months...guess I solved that a little too well, woopsy, lol!

Kika's course - as always please forgive poor paint skills

Wednesday: Was Jumping day for both girls!
Yes, you read correctly, Nancy & I had our first pop together. *dance*
Kika was first up, I rode her at the same time as another yard friend, N, we jumped together. Warmed up over the pole and cross pole @1 of each rein and from either side continuing to canter on landing. The pole then moved to the other side from the above paint re-creation and we jumped it down cantering around up over the bounce @2 which also had a pole before the first jump.
We then jumped up over one, cantered down past 4 and up through the line @3 coming back down over the oxer @4.
Our final course of the evening, as it was a lovely 19C yesterday so both riders & horses were sweating, ;-) ... was to come down through the bounce @2, over the oxer @4, up over 1 (which no longer had a ground pole in front of it), down through the line @3 and finished back up over 1 again.
I was very happy with K as we got all our turns, which although a lot less twisty then previous courses we've had to do, I could see my lines better and felt like I wasn't dropping her into the fences or setting her up wrong for them - happy days!

We started Nancy with the above polework from the deconstructed fences that K & I jumped. As we were still having speed issues, the first few times through the poles were a bit messy - but we both got our act together and sorted ourselves out.

We then got a cross where fence 3 was for Kika with a  ground pole in front, the Guru had us go up over the poles at 1 (above) and come down over the pole & cross pole. No problem first time, so she raised the cross pole after another time through it and instructed me to keep Nancy cantering after the fence, even if she landed on the wrong leg - just to get her used to cantering after a fence.

She also had to continuously remind me not to tort or canter the long side of the arena as that is where we run into our speeding issues, she has told me that until further notice I am not to ride Nancy in a straight line down the long sides of the arenas - but to continuously break it up with circles and changes of rein.

The cross then became a small vertical, which L had me ride in the same way at the cross, however she told me I am not riding Kika and to not put my leg on at take-off, she said Nancy has to figure it out for herself when to take off for the fence.
First time into it she didn't take off and took the pole with her, she may have scared or possibly hurt herself a little bit as next time she ducked out to the left. back again, without the trotting pole intro this time and we got over it despite again bulging to the left before the fence - not pretty but we jumped...sort off. She again wasn't really getting off the ground and took the poles with her.
L then told me that, like Kika she isn't jumping so to put my leg on to cue her when to jump like I would Kika - but at this stage she was tired and probably a little rattled from knocking the poles, we did it once more where she did make the effort to jump but still brought the poles with her and tagged the vertical at 3 from a canter on behind which she jumped very well, so we called it a day finishing on that good note.
L hopped up to walk her around to cool off while I tidied the poles, as N & L had cleared away those that we had used for Kika so it was only fair that I do my fair share of tidying also.

I really have to figure out how to stop my reflex reaction of trying to slow her down/stop her when she starts to run on and rather than closing my hands on the reins and getting into a fight with her but letting go of the pressure and slowing her with my voice/seat.
Although the evening was very good with both girls, i can't help feeling a little deflated that I can't get a better handle on myself and help the horses out rather than hinder them - I am terrified of ruining Nancy before we even get going - the summer of hacking in the woods cannot come fast enough for me. I need to unwind outside an arena where there is no pressure on us to stay out of other people's way or feeling like people may be watching and/or judging - cos I mean come on...In a yard environment there is always some level of b!tchiness going on somewhere & while I don't ever partake in it or hear about it - I am sure it happens - it can't not when there are close to 100 horses on livery with as many characters associated with them.

Sorry as usual, this has gone on way longer than I had intended - I should run another reward contest just for whoever read this post to the end! *blushing*

Super Sunshine & Contest Winner!

8.45pm last night - it was a gorgeous day!

 First off I want to say a mahoosive thank you to all who participated in the Celebratory Contest. I  had no idea we had so many anonymous readers, please don't be shy about posting comments in the future now that you have posted one - I LOVE hearing from readers!

And the winner is commenter number 12 -  Kathrin.
Congratulations, thank you for reading & commenting; I will be in touch to find out whether you would like a saddle pad or shirt & sort out the ordering of such. :-)

Right now that the official business has been dealt with, most will probably stop reading this post, but if you bear with me there will be more photos! :-P

If you're still reading I had a wonderful weekend, the weather was fabulous! Saturday was unfortunately a bit of a write off for me horse-riding wise though as I was out late on Friday night, I don't drink so not hungover just up way past my usual bedtime, lol. Didn't get to bed until about 4am when I am usually asleep at the latest by 11.30-12pm on a weekend!
After her quiet week of no work Nancy got a lunge Saturday evening, which in itself was a workout from me as she is a strong beasty and likes to try and go faster all the time - but we're getting better at listening to vocal commands and slowing down when asked. Kika was the lucky one and spent the day outside in the turnout area so I was naughty & didn't do anything with her on Saturday.

Ready for our hack

Sunday, the Guru & I had arranged to go for a hack in the woods in the morning - it was a glorious day. L & I were like 2 big kids, me more so than her as I am just a big child playing with my first "pony".

O & K playing nice on our hack

We had a blast hacking in the woods, both mares plodding along on the buckle. Kika & I even took the lead when we met cyclist, joggers & to go first up a potentially scary hill, hahaha. We had fun trotting side-by-side & with em behind - where Kika fearing ebing left behind resorted to pony-club still tiny steps in a vain attempt at speed - it was hilarious I could only laugh like a lunatic as i was fired out of the saddle faster then I could rise - what a bumpy ride! ;-)

Happy head - can you tell we were stopped under a long hanging branch?! Hahaha

We also got some lovely cantering stretches. Kika was a star to put up with my desire to splash through all the puddles that we came across.

O usually dislikes going through puddles as she can't see the bottom, but she followed Kika through yesterday. I think L's smile speaks a thousand words!

So now that you've an idea as to the puddles I was playing with - you'll understand why Kika's legs ended up looking like this...

I was on such a high after our 2 hour hack and feeling like such a kid that i couldn't resist attempting to do "around-the-world" on Kika. It used to be an exercise my aunt (who taught me how to ride) used to have us do as kids. Where you completely move around in the saddle, ideally someone holds the horse for you / but Kika was in good form so I chanced she'd stand still - which she dutifully did. It wasn't until I was facing backwards that I realised how long it has been since I did this particular exercise...my legs are considerably longer then they were then and took a lot more organising to sort myself out to get back the right way! *blushing*

Angel head after my silly around-the-wrold, getting too close as she wanted to nosy at phone

"Fine if I can't nosy at phone - I'll have to see what I can find on the floor...poor mistreated horse that I am"

Cleaned her up and turned herself & O out for a bit while I rode Nancy in the main arena, who got quite hot both in her attempts to canter when I wanted to trot and just hot in general as it was a gloriously sunny day - so she got her first shower since arriving in Lux and as with everything else we have done with her - she was an angel and possibly enjoyed it ... I know I'd have appreciated a shower by then, teehee!
Tied her outside for a few minutes to sunbathe & dry while I cleaned up her deposits from the arena, then swapped her for Kika in the turnout area and tied Kika up to sunbathe while I cleaned my tack & leather gear!

I think I've enough leather to be getting on with!

It would be embarassing to admit when my gear was last cleaned, but it has been ages as I am a lazy sod who like good weather to clean my gear so that I can sit outside and make it a pleasurable experience!

Nancy's clean bridle

L & I then walked her lovely pooches and decided to take Nancy & O from the field on the stroll with us so that we could let them graze afterwards. We do this every year to allow their stomachs & systems a chance to get re-acquainted with grass eating after the winter "indoors" so that they don't eat too much fresh grass when they first get out next month and make themselves sick!

Kika's clean bridle

Turned them back out while I helped L with pole work for another horse she rides (W), before going back to hang the haynets for today, refill the water in the turnout area and bring the girls in for the night.

Total time spent at the yard by me yesterday over 10 1/2 hours!
10.30am - 8.55ish woops! *teehee*

No News

No real news to report on the girls as we've had a pretty quiet week what with osteo visit on monday evening (LINK) which resulted in two days rest for Nancy and then the farrier came out on Thursday evening meaning new front shoes (well he actually put back on the ones she'd had on as they weren't too badly worn which is good news) for Miss Kika and a trim for Nancy.
All is well with her feet being barefoot & she was actually slightly less flat-footed which was great to hear; and we're going to keep a close eye on her over the summer months as we'll be doing a lot more hacking in the woods so we'll have to make sure she doesn't wear down her hooves too much.
I will of course pop shoes back on her if needs be -  I am not a monster, I will do what's best for my horses!

I couldn't deny this monster head anything - look at the he-uge ears! 

Nancy has had the quieter week of the two and two days back to back in the turnout area as her treat for going un-worked after the osteo...what a reward right?!
No work & more play-time!
Tuesday evening I ended up going to see Quartet in the cinema with my mother, which I loved...Think The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel but based around a gorgeous house in the UK for retired classical musicians & singers - it was a good laugh! Nice easy viewing for a wet spring evening.
The Guru very kindly brought the girls in and popped Miss Kika on the walker for me.

Loving her dappled summer coat - wonder how light it'll go and if she'll bleach if we get sunshine?

Wednesday I had made loose plans to jump Kika with the Guru's help, but as my work week felt like it should already be Friday I opted out of jumping for fear of falling off through tiredness and rode flat work in the main arena instead. For a horse that hadn't been sat on since Sunday she was a dream, and in fact had Thursday evening off work as well for farriers visit before being an absolute angel again when i had a sneaky quick spin during my lunch break on Friday - what a fab way to recharge the batteries!

Weather has taken a step towards spring this week and temps have come up above 10C during the day and not dropping much below at night...and we have been getting RAIN! I never thought I'd be so happy to see rain, but with the extended winter we've had this year (I mean seriously 5 months of ice, snow & COLD is wayyyyyy too long for me!) thee has been absolutely no opportunity for the grass to grow.
I was beginning to worry as the girls are supposed to be going out 24/7 from May 1st to October 31st - they prefer being outside & my bank balance prefers it too! *teehee*

Being the big mean owner that I am I made the executive decision to leave Kika naked as of Wednesday - figured it was time t rip off the band-aid and see how she coped. Her stable is in a sheltered corner and while the horse across the aisle has a window, her box is pretty cozy - plus if she was cold I figured she might stop making such a mess of her straw and lie in it to stay warm, making her stable easier to clean! ;-)
Nancy hasn't worn a rug when stabled as she wasn't clipped and I only popped the turnout on her when it was very cold, snowing or wet - she has a completely different coat to Kika at the moment so it will be interesting to see if it stays that way for her first full winter in Lux next year or if she'll come more in line with the fluff-monster that is Kika during winter.

Windswept on her first day out in the nip.

Before I go don't forget to check out my Celebratory Contest & be in with a chance to win a BLING saddle pad with thanks to Amanda @ Sweet Angel Equine - entries have to be in by tomorrow (Sunday 14th)!
I'll use an online randomizer & announce the winner on Monday - best of luck to all & thanks for reading!

Celebratory Contest

 Having reached 25 followers, small number for some - but we all have to start somewhere! ;-)

This post is to celebrate the increase in followers but also to celebrate Kika & I knowing each other 6 years! This is our owniversary week (post to follow I'm sure) I met Kika for the first time on the 10th of April 2007 & bought her/she arrived at my yard two days later - so extra cause for celebration!

I want to host a celebratory contest and promote a friends merchandise while I'm at it!
Amanda over at A Fat Girl & A Fat Horse makes lovely custom BLING saddle pads & custom t-shirts. I have a fab hoody of hers that i got a few years back & love, so I'm delighted to be able to promote her fab products by hosting a contest on my blog!

Links to her products: Sweet Angel Custom Bling Saddle Pads & the t-shirts are made to order so no images however here is a link to the designs available LINK. Unfortunately I am unable to view this page so hopefully it works for you guys - i think it might be because I am not an fb member!

To enter this contest simply comment on this blog post!

Each comment will be given a number and the one that the randomizer gives back to me from those parameters will win!
The winner will get a choice of a custom t-shirt OR a custom saddle pad, P&P will also be covered by me as part of your gift - so don't worry about it & chose whichever item you prefer!

Entries will be accepted until Sunday 14th of April, then we can sort out your order and get the ball rolling for your prize to arrive! :-D

Big THANK YOU to those who follow & read all my waffle. Kika, Nancy & I love having people to share our news with & offer us support, tips & advice!

UPDATE: You don't have to be a follower/subscribed to leave a comment or enter this contest. If you are a reader of my wordy blog you deserve a shot at a prize for perseverance!
Don't be shy, leave a comment to let me know if you'd like to be entered into the draw for the prize. Leave an e-mail address or something as well so that I can contact you if you are the winner! :D

Muchas Gracias!

Osteo Opinion

Borrowed from Google images - no copyright claimed!

Osteo visited the girls last night, I was curious to see what Nancy would make of the poking & prodding as I don't think she'd been seen before she left Ireland.

Kika was up first, and I am delighted to report that she was 100% straight & didn't require any work at all!
Nice one for my pocket ;-)
Osteo commented on how good she was looking and that she had muscled up well - basically to keep doing what we're doing. Happy Days!

Nancy was next and has another admirer to add to her fan club.
Thankfully there was nothing seriously out of line. The osteo did ask was she better going right-handed then left, she is, and fixed a little something in her neck.
She then explained that it is common in most young horses to have an asymmetric alignment stemming from the foetal position they had in the womb, so she worked her magic some more towards her back-end and prescribed two days off from riding.

I asked would it be ok to turn her out and she said of course that the best thing for horses after treatment is movement - so Nancy is going to have the next two days outside, sorry Keeks - just saddle time for you I'm afraid! :p

Short & sweet post today - if only they could all be as concise!

PS: I haven't forgotten about the contest i mentioned a few posts back...I have something in the works and will post about it when I have finalised the gift arrangements. :D