27/6/16 Red rosettes!

Following on from my last post Jack enjoyed a chilled out week in the field, eating too much, exercising too little and as a result getting a bit porky while I was away at the beginning of the month!  We had a lovely week away and whilst I wasn't so thrilled to be home to all the washing and back to work I was keen to get back to Jack!
Arriving home at lunchtime on the Saturday gave me time to get him in for a much needed brush and a lunge in the afternoon in the pessoa and he was certainly ready for the attention and work!
He lunged well and had plenty of energy stepping through, using his back and light on his feet.
It was really hot on the Sunday so I didn't ride until later in the evening, I took Jack down to the field by the river and gave him a good long walk, trot and canter round the field for an hour, the ground was too hard to gallop so I had to keep reminding Jack to take it steady!  I finished by taking him down into the river which was pretty low, he even trotted down the bank and straight into the water, good boy!!  A massive improvement as up until recently he would only go in with a lead!

Due to staff shortages I had stupidly agreed to do some overtime at work that week which meant I couldn't do anything with jack until later in the evening's however it was so hot during the day that that actually worked out ok. I lunged him again on the Monday as I was very short of time, hacked on the Tuesday and schooled on the wednesday.  The schooling session was one of our best yet with Jack doing some super trot work, very responsive with plenty of energy and lots of enthusiasm, adjustable and really trying.  I was beaming when I got off!  I then loose jumped him Thursday and was again really pleased with his energy, attitude and enthusiasm with him deciding he was having far too much fun to fit a stride in between my ground pole and the jump so he would just bounce it instead!!  A good way for him to be so positive to his fences as I was planning on taking him to some show jumping Saturday so wanted him thinking forwards!!
He had an gentle hack on Friday as I wanted to keep him fresh to jump the next day.
The jumping I was taking him to Saturday afternoon was organised and run by a local riding club, it was a casual competition not starting until 11am and didn't require bathing, plaiting or even show attire, you could just rock up straight out the field and have a go!  My kind of show!!
I got Jack in from the field at 12.30pm and then as usual had some drama with the trailer, this time it had been blocked in!  Fortunately my friend Cherry was at the farm and able to help me pull the trailer out by hand to hitch up and then with a quick brush we were ready to go.  I got him tacked up ready and then went to load,  Jack did have a bit of an issue loading but it didn't take too long and we were soon underway.  The show was within hacking distance but I needed to be back before 5pm so I took the trailer so I could stay later.  We were there in no time so I parked up and met up with my OH and little boy who came to cheer me on and take pictures.  It was very quiet with only a few people milling around so I quickly went off to find the secretaries tent and see what class they were on.  They were just finishing the 55cm class and I had wanted to start with the 65cm so I quickly paid and jumped on to warm up.  Despite being in a huge open field with plenty of distractions Jack behaved beautifully and was very relaxed, almost too relaxed really so I took him off for a bit of a gallop to get him a bit more excited!  He then warmed up nicely and jumped the warm up fences well.  This was only our 2nd time jumping on grass in open space and the 1st time excitement had got the better of Jack so it was nice to be able to ride and not simply cling on!! We went in to do our 1st round in the 65cm knowing a clear would win the class and managed to jump a slightly sticky but clear round for the win! Lots of pats for Jack but I knew I needed to get a better rhythm for the bigger fences.  We were also entered in the 75cm class so I look him back to the warm up and worked on his canter getting him more open and up to the bridle to help clear the bigger fences and again we jumped the only clear for another win!  The rhythm was there now and feeling confident we entered the 80cm class, this is the biggest class we have attempted so far since surgery and Jack cruised around for yet another lovely clear.  Definitely our best of the day, lovely rhythm, good strides and felt easy!  This time we had to jump off as there was another clear, they went first in the jump off, a nippy little pony who produced another clear with lots of tight turns but I felt the time was beatable.  I took Jack in and we went for it from the off but sadly we went too fast and flat to the now 85cm upright first fence and took out the top rail.  Still I couldn't be happier 3classes and 3clear rounds and just 1pole in the jump off, and 2red and a blue rosette, not a bad day at the office!
I felt elated, we have not jumped clear at 80cm before and now I know it's possible!
Unfortunately Jack decided he didn't much want to go home and took a fair bit of persuading to go back in the trailer, so a bit more loading practice needed!
He enjoyed a well deserved day off on the sunday!
So onto the next week and boy did it rain!  To be fair the ground needed it but not 7days of it!  I still managed to do something with Jack everyday but 1 but I felt our schooling session wasn't quite up to our usual standard of late, however the school was very wet and full of puddles and I put it down to that.  We got in a great fitness session down by the river having plenty of canters and even got some gallops in too now the ground had softened up.  Jack was super and felt fit and ready to go, unfortunately we don't have anything planned at the moment!

This last week started out with a frustrating schooling session where I felt we took a step back and I really struggled to get Jack as soft as normal especially down the left rein, he was falling through the left shoulder going very crooked and even did a few bucks in right canter.  This got me worried, what was the reason for this sudden drop in performance?

The next day it was a nice afternoon so I decided a bit of fun was in order and took him for a gallop round the fields, we were having great fun until some dogs came into the field chasing round jacks legs and upsetting him.  Once they had gone it took a while to settle him back down but we finished by jumping some of the piles of wood and hedge cuttings left by the farmer!  As we headed home I got a distressing call that my little boy had fallen while in the playground and needed to go to hospital so poor Jack got trotted all the way home then flung in his stable and left while I dashed to school and then hospital.  Luckily Claire was on her way to the farm and turned him out for me.  My little boy had broken his elbow and was put in a temporary plaster cast which meant the rest of the week was spent at home playing nurse with no ridding and a happy Jack getting fatter in the field!  

I did mange to ride on Saturday and decided to see if we could improve this left bend issue in the school.  I set out 4 poles on a circle and by the end of the warm up already felt he was better.  We worked on rhythm, bend and yielding to my left leg.  It actually turned out to be a super session and I came away much happier that I was just not riding anywhere near well enough last time and expecting Jack to carry me!  When I rode properly Jack did everything I asked and more!

We've got a couple of xc clinics booked in over the next few weeks and hopefully some more competitions after these.

Having fun, this is how it should be!!

Jack had a session with our fantastic physio last week for the first time in 4months.  I always look forward to Tamsyn's visits hoping she can see and feel the same sort of improvements in Jack as I do.  I really value her opinion and she has been so instrumental in getting Jack right, I don't know where I'd be without her!  With how well Jack has been going for me in the last few months I was keen to find if he has been working and using himself correctly as I think!.  I'm pleased to say the answer was yes! Tamsyn gave him a good check over, working out a few sore and tight spots for him but she was very pleased with his progress since her last visit.  His top line is strong, he's put on muscle evenly on each side of his spine, no problems over his back, a little bit sore behind the saddle (due to now using the muscles in that area properly to collect more on the flat and to jump bigger fences) and a bit tight in his off hind hamstring.  She assured me these are all normal and due to him working harder and using himself better and he should be even better now!

As I lunged Jack the other day I studied his way of going, his stride, how he was using himself etc and I realised something - he has totally changed his way of going, he is much softer through his whole body, is taking more weight behind, much softer in his neck laterally and is freer through his shoulders!  This last week alone he has developed a more uphill way of going, particularly the canter.

I am having so much fun with him at the moment, this is how it should be! He is being such a good boy, working well, relaxed and happy and we are both enjoying ourselves more than I ever imagined possible back in the dark days when Kissing spines were making him a grumpy, unhappy and un-rideable horse.
This week we have enjoyed a couple of really nice hacks, once down to the river where we did about 30mins canter work (didn't gallop coz the ground was a bit hard) and then splashed down into the river to cool off, something we have never been able to do before without a lead but he went in happily all on his own so another big improvement!

I've also managed a fantastic jump session where Jack jumped up to 1.05m with ease as you can see from the pics below!  He was flying!  Such a huge improvement, from knocking down and refusing at tiny fences pre surgery to taking strides out and giving them plenty of air post op!  With a bit of Xc schooling I think we might just be ready for a little ode soon, he's fit and more than capable on the flat and show jumping!  However he has only seen solid fences once since his op so we need to rebuild a bit of confidence there before we try entering anything competitive.  

I love this pic although my lower leg is awful and I got a bit left behind I just love how he picked up a long one and cleared it with so much ease and with ears pricked!


Making nothing of 1.05m 

I was a little concerned as he seems a bit uncomfortable being shod this week, he has had some issues being shod behind since his operation, we think due to si pain, but he had shoes off over winter and when the first set went on 8weeks ago he seemed so much better so I thought we had cracked whatever was causing his discomfort, certainly he didn't seem to have a problem when tamsyn checked him and he's been working brilliantly so I was quite surprised to see him struggling.  It was when the farrier was picking up the near fore he was that seemed to bother him rather than the hinds so it maybe a completely different issue but I will need to keep an eye on it.

I'm now off on holiday for a week so he will be turned out 24/7, it probably won't do his waistline much good but it will do him good to switch off for a week relax and if he does have any little niggle causing him to be a bit uncomfortable hopefully the break will help it settle down.
We will see if there is anything which needs further investigation if he's still not right when I return 

Training camp update 3/5/16

At last, over the bank holiday weekend Jack and I finally got to take part in a training camp after having had to cancel the last one due to me getting pneumonia!

The venue was Brooksby college which is about an hour away with the trailer and we were to arrive at around 3.30pm to be ready to ride at 5pm.

I spent the morning getting everything ready and making sure my other half and little boy would be ok while I was gone!  (I did come home at nights!)

At lunchtime I went and got Jack in from the field, filled the boot of the car with all our gear and hitched up the trailer.  With everything ready I loaded him up and he went onto the trailer with only the slightest of hesitation.  Slightly later than planned we got underway.  We did get a bit suck in some bank holiday weekend traffic which slowed us further and we didn't arrive at the college until after 4pm.  Fortunately Jack wasn't too bother about the delays and had travelled well.  He was nice and calm when I unloaded him and then left him to go and find out where we needed to go.  I was greeted by the lovely staff and shown to our stable for the weekend, given a quick tour and left to settle in and unload all our stuff.  Despite being a little late we were not the last to arrive which made me feel better! 

We were given a choice for the Friday evening ride, we could go for a hack, take part in the show jumping competition they were running or school in the indoor arena.  As I thought we would be doing enough jumping and schooling thoughout the weekend I decided to hack out with 2 other campers and an instructor.  It was a lovely, relaxed ride and chance to get to know a couple of my fellow campers as well as the instructor who took us.  Jack was well behaved and we enjoyed the ride and having a chat about our horses and aims for the weekend.  The other ladies were great company and we had lots of giggles.
Back at the yard we settled the horses down and then headed up to the canteen for dinner, drinks, to organise groups for the weekend and have a quiz! 
Dinner was delicious and gave me a chance to meet the rest of the group some of whom had been jumping and others not ridden that evening.  It was a really mixed group but already very supportive.  Everyone else had come with friends so I was the only person without a mate but everyone was very friendly and made me feel very welcome!  The staff had provisionally organised groups based on the information we had provided in our application forms however as others wanted to stay together with friends the groups were moved around, as I didn't know anyone or their level of ability I really had no preference and was happy to just fit in wherever they may put me!
I ended up in a group with only 2 others and thought that would be good as a nice small group would mean more attention from the instructors!  We were then given the schedule for the weekend and saw that I would be SJ Sat morning, XC Sat afternoon and Dressage Sunday morning followed by Dressage and SJ competition Sunday afternoon.  There was also a feed and weigh in session on the Sat and plating/trimming demo plus a demo from a local eventer in the evening on jumping young horses.  On the Sunday there was also an Equi pilates session.  I was looking forward to all of it!

We finished Friday with a fun quiz on our groups and then final check of the horses before I finally left for home at 10pm!  I was home about 10.40pm and pretty much straight to bed as I would need to be up a 6am and on the road before 7am to be back to start yard duties at 7.30am!!  Almost everyone else was staying over in their lorries except me!

I arrived at the yard the bright and early the next morning having not had much sleep thanks to drinking too much tea and my little boy being up very early!  I fed and mucked out Jack who was chilled and happy in his stable and then headed for a delicious breakfast of bacon cob, toast, cereal and more tea!  We had until 10am to get ready for our first riding sessions.

I tacked Jack up ready for jumping and headed out to the large outdoor school with a full set of show jumps set up at a decent height, I was relived to discover this had been left by an eventer who had been for some practice early that morning and the fences where soon dropped to a more manageable height!
We were joined by a lady who was just coming for the day so there were 4 of us for our showjumping session.  I explained to the instructor that Jack had had kissing spines and I had to warm up very long and loose etc. so she didn't wonder what on earth I was doing as I pottered about not looking very much like I was about to jump!  Jack was wonderfully relaxed and nice and soft over his back whilst forward and listening.  He warmed up well and we were soon able to start popping the warm up fence.  We then went on to jumping some individual fences from around the course and then stringing a few together, there was a bit of everything to jump including doubles, related distances and dog legs as well as planks, plenty of fillers and brushes.  Throughout the session Jack jumped and behaved beautifully and I was absolutely thrilled with him, the instructor really liked him and the only thing she picked up for me to work on was my contact which I know is still a bit loose and could do with being stronger to help him out more.  I just hate picking him up to much as I like him to be nice and free to jump considering what he has been through but she is right there is nothing wrong with him now and it would help to have him more pushed up and together.
At the end of the session we jumped a course and I waited until last so she could put the jumps up for me to a decent 80cm course.  Jack jumped perfectly clearing everything and maintaining a lovely rhythm throughout.  I couldn't have asked for more and after an hour and a half of jumping he had not touched a pole.  What a fantastic ponio!

He was cooled off and put to bed for a bit while we had lunch and then took him up to the rehab barn to be weighed and assessed by a nutrition expert from Dodson and Horrell.  He was 522kgs and had a body score of 3.5 his ideal weight is 500kgs and a body score of 3 so he is slightly over but nothing too bad considering it is spring and the grass is so good.  She suggested I continue to bring him in during the day, feed soaked hay and muzzle at night and he should be able to loose that few extra pounds!

Next up we had a demo on plating up and a chance to have a little practice before our group got tacked up and ready for XC schooling in the afternoon.

I put Jack in his gag as he can be strong XC and breast plate and martingale for extra control and something to grab!  Someone had mentioned there were sheep but I wasn't expecting them to be in the actual XC field!  As we got down to the field the sheep were everywhere even on top of some of the jumps and Jack immediately slammed on the brakes and went to high tail it out of there!  Luckily the other 2 horses were much less bothered and we followed them down feeling like a fire breathing monster prancing and snorting, spinning with ears stuck up my nose and tail in the air.  The instructor herded the sheep away down 1 end away from us and out of sight.  I had been worried Jack wouldn't have the energy for xc after a long show jumping lesson in the morning but I soon realised if anything I had the opposite problem and was glad I hadn't tried to take him xc any fresher!  He was lively to say the least!  We leapt, bronced and spun our way throughout the warm up and I was grateful to still be on board after the first canter!!  I wasn't sure about jumping I will be honest!  We started by just walking through the water, Jack went straight in and paddled through like a pro so we went on to trotting and even cantering through, he was still messing about a bit in between but actually going through the water he was spot on.  Now it was time to pop the tiny x pole practice fence I had planned a nice steady trot into it however Jack had other plans and so instead we leapt about a bit, turned for the jump, galloped flat out at it, jumped easily and then bronced on landing with head between knees!  Somehow we did not part company and I managed to get a hold of him and get his head up and send him on before he could send me into orbit.  The next few jumps were spent trying to keep his head up on landing and maintaining the forward momentum.  Thankfully things did improve!
We went on to jumping a small log then several rails, roll tops and logs.  The jumping was actually very good and other than 1 refusal at a roll top which I think was more a sheep issue then a jump issue he jumped everything 1st time.  He was still misbehaving between fences quite a lot and the stopping and starting wasn't really suiting him!  It was a shame we were the most experienced pair as if I had had another to jump with I might have jumped a bit more but as it was we did enough and finished on a good note jumping a little course without any stopping to leap or Bronc so a good note to end.  Even after 3 hrs of jumping Jack was still full of himself on the way back and still pulled all the way home!  He was fitter than I thought!
Back at the stables I washed him off and left him to chill while I had a well deserved cuppa!

After dinner we had a demo on introducing young horses to jumping by a local eventer jo shields, she had brought along 2 gorgeous horses both young but at different stages of training and very different characters.  It was very interesting to watch her working them, how she dealt with each issue and broke things down to make it easier for the horse to understand what it's meant to do. It was a very useful demo and although Jacks not a young horse it gave me some ideas to try with him.
It was finished at 8.30pm so I was home much earlier and into bed ready for another early start!

Morning routine was the same Sunday and Jack was sorted and fed by 8.30am then it was riders breakfast time before getting ready for riding at 10am during breakfast we were asked what dressage test we wanted to ride and what height to jump in the competition that afternoon, I chose the Novice test and 75cm jumping.  It was my groups turn for a dressage lesson, we had an hour and a half group lesson with 1 instructor while another instructor took us off individually for approx. 30min 121 lessons.  In the group lesson we worked on transitions and I had my 121 lesson last so we had already done an hours work by the time I went in!  Jack was still feeling good and as we had a novice test to ride in the afternoon as asked for us to work on lightening the forehand our medium trots as I felt that would be our weakest movement.  The lesson was fantastic and I really felt Jack sitting more and much more uphill than usual.  The mediums also improved greatly and I was really pleased, they had much more power and balance and the instructor said he was really flicking his toes, we also received some lovely comments from fellow campers that had come to watch :) good work Jack!
There are 2 main things I need to work on, a shorter contact and me looking up, both of which will improve our general way of going.  I am being a bit too nice to Jack and not riding with a short enough rein contact and I have developed a bad habit of looking down!  The result of only a hand full of lessons in the last few years!

During lunch we were given our times for our dressage tests and show jumping rounds in the afternoon and time to try to memorise our tests although we were allowed a caller.  It was Novice 27 and quite an easy one to remember but I did ask for a caller just in case!

I had a while before needing to warm up for my test and as he had worked really hard all weekend I didn't want to do too much before hand and ruin all our hard work so I decided a 25min gentle warm up would be plenty.  I took my time getting ready and then headed for the warm up to find they were running a bit late so just had a walk round on a long rein so a while.  Jack was nice and relaxed in the warm up and when I picked him up and rode him into the contact he picked up where had left off in our mornings lesson much more forward and up into the contact and he felt lovely.  This continued into our test and I was thrilled with him, the test flowed and we did everything in the right place the mediums felt powerful and we managed to maintain the quality in the transition back to working paces, all in all a good test.  I felt I had probably not picked up the contact enough after the free walk and so maybe thrown away a few marks there but in general I was very pleased with how it had gone and how well Jack felt, he was just trying his best for me the whole way what more could I ask for!

Onto the jumping as we only had a about 20minutes to wait so I headed straight for the outside arena to see where they were in the running order and quickly walk the course then it was time to get back on for the last time.  I only popped a couple of warm up fences not wanting to over do it and then went straight in to jump.  I'm so annoyed with myself about the first fence as I rode it like a sack on spuds and delivered Jack on an impossible stride, he tried his best to jump it but unfortunately we had the top rail off.  It gave us both a wake up call and we flew around the rest of the course clearing everything with ease and really enjoying ourselves. 

I put Jack away and left him to chill while I packed the car and hitched up the trailer then it was time to go and get our results where I was thrilled to find out we had won!!  What a great way to end a fabulous and fun weekend :) I've made some great friends and had a wonderful time, I will definitely be doing it again and highly recommend it to anyone, we've come away having built confidence and learnt loads.

Back at home I have been working on riding in open fields without Jack getting so excited!  We've been galloping across some of the open field on the farm and I even took Jack for a paddle in the river on our own and he went in first time no hesitation at all.  I never thought I'd see the day after some of the battles I've had getting him into water in the past!  It just goes to show how far we have come and how much happier and more trust we have in each other

A few pics of camp 

 

Looking forward by looking back 18/4/16

I love writing my blog, it is really helpful looking back over my previous updates and reminding myself just how far we have come.  The improvement it immense and I'm so happy with Jack at the moment, he is trying so hard and improving and getting stronger every single time I ride him, it's easy to forget that at the end of 2014/early 2015 he was dangerous and unrideable. 

Whilst I wish it had not happened to my horse and it has been a really hard journey at times I have learned so so much about my horse and rehabilitation during the last couple of years.  It's a constant learning curve and I by no means think I know it all now, far from it, but I have learnt one really really valuable lesson and that is to listen to my horse, he is not a horrible horse that just doesn't want to be ridden, he is a willing horse given time, patience, the right tools to do the job he is being asked and correct riding.

So with how well he has been going at home I decided it was time to enter a competition again.  My friend had asked me to ride her horse in a combined training competition at a college not too far from me so I though I might as well take Jack along too!

I entered the intro A and 60cm SJ on Jay and Prelim 12 and 70cm SJ on Jack, Jay is very inexperienced and spooky so wanted to keep things simple for him while Jack found 60cm very easy last time out and has been jumping comfortably at upto 1m at home so I felt a step up to 70cm would be well within his capabilities as would a prelim test.

In the week before the competition Jack was going really well and I was extremely pleased with both his flat work and his jumping so I was hopeful for a good competition on him.  It took me ages to get him cleaned up, everytime he changes his coat he gets lighter and lighter, the horse I brought 5 years ago was almost black and easy to keep clean, he is now almost white and always looks filthy!!

I was a little concerned when I got our times through on the Friday before the comp as I only had 20minutes between jumping Jay and dressaging on Jack!  I usually warm Jack up for a good 30minutes before I pick him up and push him together too much and was worried only 20minutes warm up would not give me time to get him working at his best.  I contacted the organiser and she told me not to worry as it was her mistake and to just jump Jay and do my dressage on Jack whenever we were ready - phew! 

So Saturday was spent scrubbing and cleaning ponies and tack ready for Sundays competition.

Sunday was an early start with my dressage on Jay at 9.20am so I was down at the farm for 6.30am to get Jack plaited, loaded and on the road for 7.30am.  As always seems to be the way there was drama to be had before we got underway!!  Firstly I had not anticipated the freezing conditions and found the trailer hitched frozen solid when I arrived so had to run back and forth to the toilet getting luke warm water (that is the best we get!) to try to defrost it!  After 3 goes the lock came open and I was ready to hitch up when I noticed my hand brake handle was bent double!  My trailer is the last in the line before the work vans and we can only imagine one of the vans had hit it when they were parking and bent it.  Luckily the hand brake still worked and the brakes had not seized on so it cant have been like it long.  There was not other damage so with stress levels elevated I finally got hitched up and could start getting Jack ready!  I quickly plaited him up and removed the stable stains as best I could, threw on a light rug and loaded him up.  Thanks to our recent loading practice he went straight on - yay!  And we were underway!
The journey was uneventful and we arrived as planned at about 8.30am, stress levels now reduced to slightly more normal!  I had a quick look around to find out where the dressage and jumping warm up and arenas where and then left Lucy to tack up Jay while I walked the show jumping course.  It was a nice course with plenty of space, no tight or tricky lines and I was confident it would not pose too may problems.

I got on Jay and warmed him up in the indoor with a couple of other horses, he was on his toes but well behaved and warmed up nicely, when we went through to do our test he had few little spooks but nothing major and not bad at all considering he had never been indoors before!  We trotted round a couple of times and he settled well then the horn went and we were in trotting down the centre line towards the judges car, he performed a beautiful test, the rhythm was consistent, contact consistent and we did everything where it was meant to be done, I was thrilled with him and knew it was a good test.  Fortuantely the judge agreed and we went into to lead.  I then quickly tacked up Jack and then took Jay down to the jumping arena.  Going into the jumping I found out we had maintained the lead and were 4 faults in front of 2nd place!   Jay warmed up well over the practice fences and we were 2nd to jump.  The first horse and rider went in and I took Jay over to the gate ready to go in next, just as the horse refused the first fence depositing it rider who had taken its bridle off in the fall in the middle of the jump and sending poles flying, it took a good while to get the rider who was fortunately unhurt back on her feet, catch the loose bridleless horse and rebuild the fence.  fortunately I'm not a nervous rider but the poor girl after me was having kittens!

I took Jay in and Lucy his owner had warned me to show him the brush as he had been eliminated at that the previous week with another rider so while I waited for the bell I walked him up to the brush which he seem less than bother by, the bell went and we were off and cantering towards the first jump, Jay spooked left and right stopped and leapt over throwing me out the saddle but we stayed together and made it to the otherside with all the poles still up, he was still spooking at fence 2 and I had to ride him quite hard to get him over, we were also heading towards the collecting ring for fence 3 right by the gate, on landing Jay took off towards the other horses and I lost control going flat out straight past fence 3 and had to circle back but he cleared it nicely at the 2nd attempt, he then settled and I managed to maintain the control a little better for the rest of the round, unfortunately speed was a bit of an issue and we knocked 2 fences down, both the 2nd parts of a double where he just got too fast and flat to the 2nd part.  A real shame as this dropped us from 1st to 6th but a lot of lessons learnt and we will certainly be changing his bit for jumping in the future as a snaffle is just not strong enough!

I then had to quickly jump on to Jack and warm him up for his Dressage test.  I usually warm up for a good 30minutes at home but as I knew I didn't have this long I tested him with a quicker warm up at home the day before and he had been ok with it so I was feeling fairly confident.  He was slightly behind my leg and a little spooky but all in all going ok and before I knew it it was time for us to go in.  I was a little disappointed with the test as he wasn't going nearly as well as I know he can do, he was very behind my leg in the trot and on his forehand, the canter was ok and the walk good, I was actually surprised to find we had managed a score of 30!  I had been expecting at least a 35!  Obviously it didn't look as bad as it felt but how exciting that he can score 70% when he not going well, just think what he could manage if he performs as well in the arena as at home!
So feeling very please and in joint 3rd place we went on to the jumping and well Jack just excelled himself!  He cantered round in a beautiful rhythm and cleared everything with ease with his ears pricked and a smile on both our faces!  I was absolutely thrilled with him, he met every jump on a good stride and he didn't look, spook or falter at anything.  As the leaders also jumped clear we maintained 3rd place yay! Ok it was only a 70cm class but the turn around in his attitude and ability is beyond belief, he would never have been able to do this before his operation and it has taken a while to build his confidence back up but wow the round made everything worth while! 
I'm so excited as I know he has so much more to give now and he is actually happy and enjoying himself!

Next up we have a weekend camp at the end of the month where I hope to build his confidence to the same levels over xc fences and then hoping to do a hunter trial or unaffiliated ODE in May if all is going well.

Eeek so much to look forward to with my super boy :)

27/4/16 Exciting plans

I'm very excited that this weekend sees us finally taking part in a 3 discipline boot camp, some intensive training is just what we need to help us step up another level and keep our confidence high.  We have only actually had 2 lessons since Jack's surgery as until recently I didn't feel like we would benefit that much but now we are most definitely firing on all cylinders and ready to be pushed!
We were originally booked to do one at the end of January with our usual instructor but with me having had pneumonia and so Jack having had most of January off slumming it in the field we had to cancel.  Unfortunately my instructor only does camps in winter so I didn't think I would be able to go to one but luckily we have managed to get a place on one at a fairly local equine college which has lovely facilities including a full BE xc course so I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm not so excited by the weather forecast as for this week it is rain, sleet, snow, wind and more rain!! I'm hoping it's not as bad as all that by the weekend and that the ground holds up so we are able to get out on the Xc course at last as this is my main aim of the weekend!
Now I just need to get everything organised!

Jack has been on great form again this week, he has schooled well, jumped fantastic, enjoyed hacks and lunged over poles.  Our jumping this week put a huge smile on my face as we flew round jumping a decent 90cm spread and a 1m upright as well as a double of skinny brushes.  He gave me a fantastic feeling over the fences and was keen but not silly.  We had a little discussion about cutting corners as Jack obviously felt that getting a good turn and being straight to the fence were not as important as I did but other than that he was spot on and when I rode the turn better instead of just expecting him to go into the corner he responded with a much more balanced turn and straight approach to the fence.  I was thrilled with how easy he made 1m feel.  I am also finding it easier and easier to see and ride a good stride as he is taking me into the fences.  Pre surgery Jack would have had me kicking and praying and unless we were in a perfect take off position he would stop.  Even when he did jump it was awkward and jerky, often unseated me and/or sent poles flying.  It had made jumping a really unpleasurable experience and prior to diagnosis I had decided he either just hated jumping or I was affecting him so badly with something I was doing I was causing him not to be able to jump.  Fast forward 14months and jumping is a totally different experience!  We both jump round with smiles on our faces and really enjoy ourselves!  I can't tell you how massive the difference is!
It seems so obvious now but at the time I didn't know any different and I thought Jack was just careless and not good at or didn't like jumping!  I have to admit though even though he is going so well I still keep expecting the wheels to fall off and he revert back to the horse that couldn't walk a circuit of the ménage without rearing.  I'm always really grateful when I get off him and we have had another good ride, I will never take a nice, uneventful ride for granted again.

Following our camp, if all goes well and he jumps the XC fences as well as he has been jumping the SJ fences, then the plan is to do a hunter trial or unaffiliated ODE in May and hopefully do some BE80's in the latter half of the eventing season.  Exciting stuff!

Having some help down the farm!

Enjoying a lovely sunny hack

 Working well over raised poles in the Pessoa

27/3/16 A roller coaster few weeks!

Rather annoyingly, when he has been going so well, work with Jack had stalled in the last few weeks as he suddenly became very foot sore.  Nothing to worry about, it was expected as it happens about this time every year and tells me it's time to get him some shoes back on as he is barefoot through the Winter.  Unfortunately my farrier had been unable to fit us in at a time I could manage so Jack had a bit of an easy time of it for a couple of weeks while we waited.  We managed the odd little hack, a small amount of schooling and a couple of lunges but I didn't want to push him when his feet were sore.  It did give me the time to do a bit more ground work with him in the arena and we also managed to do a bit of much needed trailer loading practice.  He has always loaded well onto lorries but has never liked the trailer much.  Whilst I would love to be able to buy him a lorry I just don't have the money so I need him to get used to travelling in the trailer!  He did get better at loading for a while but then he had a year of only ever going to the vets in trailer and he became difficult to load again.  We've not had it much need to travel since but when we have he has not wanted to load so I decided now was a good time to tackle the loading issues and spent a few days loading and feeding him in the trailer.  The first day he hesitated for a while before loading the first time but then went straight on each time after that, the next day we had no hesitation at all and he now trots in happily next to me so real progress was made but we need to keep up the practice more frequently so he doesn't revert back.  It's nice to take the pressure off every now and again so Jack doesn't become bored or resent his work so it's actually not been bad to have a more relaxed couple of weeks however we now need to get back on it as we have entered a competition!!

I'm riding my best friends pony in a combined training competition in a few weeks so I decided as I'm going I might as well take Jack along and do a class on him too so we've got a few weeks to prepare for that, its only a prelim test and 70cm show jumping and he is comfy jumping around 1m at home (well he was before his feet became sore) so this shouldn't be an issue for him.

With a competition now to aim at work to get ready has begun, not only to get Jack performing at his best but also looking presentable, he's been rather roughed off this winter!  He needs a good bath, mane pulled, legs trimmed and mane and tail tidied up so he looks half decent at least!  He hates his mane being pulled and I have to twitch him to get it done so it takes a few days.  I'm looking forward to having a less scruffy pony at the end of it!

I tried not to worry when Jack was foot sore but as anyone who has had a horse with Kissing spines knows owner paranoia is a major issue when ever our horse has a problem no matter how small.  Jack gets foot sore every spring, it's not unusual but I started to convince myself there might be other causes, that he had lost his sparkle and maybe I should be calling the vet instead of the farrier.  I really didnt need to worry though, since having his shoes back on this week he's got a spring back in his step and he is feeling fab!  I schooled him today and I put some poles out as this always seems to help get him moving more forward and engaging his hind end.  I set out 3poles 1 canter stride apart on one side of the menage and then 2 poles an unknown distance apart on the opposite side.  Having warmed up in walk and trot and over the poles I then cantered him over them and counted the number of strides between the 2 poles and we got 8 on each rein.  This then gave me something to work on as I adjusted his stride to fit in first less strides, we managed 7 on each rein and even managed a 6 on the right rein!  I think the reason we didn't manage 6 strides on a left is because I had positioned the first pole too close to the corner off the left rein so we couldn't really get going before the pole like we could to the right.  We then did a bit more work to collect him and got 9 and 10 strides in on each rein.  This is a huge improvement as adjusting his stride has always been a struggle and resulted in Jack rushing onto his forehand and loosing the quality of the pace.  I'm so pleased with him!
After that I stretched him in canter and he was so loose and did a lovely stretch right over his back and much softer laterally in his neck too.
The improvements this horse is making are really exciting me I just hope I can show him off to his best in a couple of weeks, he's more than ready for it I just need to practice riding a test as it's been over 2 years since I last did one!

In the mean time finally here are the images from a professional photo shoot we had done last Autumn after winning a facebook competition:

10/3/16 - Jack just keeps getting better :)

I have had the most wonderful few weeks with Jack since my last blog, he is going so well, hacking, lunging, schooling and jumping are all better than ever and I am enjoying riding him so much - this is how it should be!!  He is so much fun to ride and it never feels like a chore.  He is pretty much back to full fitness now and is looking trim and healthier than he ever has before.  His winter break really seems to have done his body and mind the world of good and he has come back mentally and physically stronger.

I've even managed to ride with friends this week to so I also have photo and video evidence of how nicely he is working at the moment :) It's been great to see for myself that he actually looks better too!  Whilst I have felt that he is working so much better its nice to actually see it for myself!
What's really exciting is I know that whilst he is getting better and better there is still so much more to come :)

On the flat I am using ground poles to help build his top line and core muscles, as a result he is getting stronger and able to hold his frame for longer, he's much more flexible, responsive and adjustable.  He has honestly never felt so good.  He always struggles with lightening his forehand and he is built quite downhill anyway but I'm now seeing and feeling improvements every time I ride him.  There is no hesitation when I ask for a transition or more impulsion and he has much more bounce and energy in his paces, this in turn helps me to think about my own position and make little adjustments to improve things even further.  I'm so excited by how much he is improving but I know I must be careful not to push for too much too soon so I am avoiding schooling more then twice a week. 

I am continuing to use poles once a week when I lunge in the pessoa too, I use different exercises each time and find it really perks Jack up, he has to think for himself and adjust his stride so its good for his mind as well as his body.

On the weekend we managed to jump with a friend, I've not jumped him under saddle in nearly 3 months but I loose jumped him a couple of weeks ago and he was brilliant so I was looking forward to seeing if the improvements were as good under saddle.  It's safe to say the answer is yes!  He blew me away with how well he jumped and far exceeded my expectations.  He was suddenly able to use his shoulders and back and bascule over the fence releasing behind, the difference in his jump was immense, for the first time in years I didn't feel like I was being launched out of the saddle!  He has always been very tricky to jump and would often stop, even when he did jump I was always getting thrown up in the air or left behind as he couldn't use his back so would try to cat leap with all 4 feet at the same time!  I thought it was just me and I was rubbish at jumping but now I know I'm not - I can actually jump and stay in balance with my horse!!  We set out 5 fences across the E - B line of the ménage 2 on angles so we could ride a nice flowing course of 5 jumps with 1 double and all the fences were nice and small to start with both horses warmed up well and jumped all the fences individually before jumping them as a course.  Jack just made it feel far too easy so we put all the fences up and had another go.  Again Jack jumped round like a pro well within our comfort zone.  We decided to put the fences up once more and then leave it for the day as the grey clouds were gathering above us and looking very threatening!  The 2nd part of the double and the 3rd fence were now 95cm high!  As I set out to jump round again the heavens opened and a hale storm ensued but Jack bless him just put his head down and kept going.  We go very close to the first fence and in the past Jack would more than likely have stopped or knocked it down with his front legs but not now, he never even hesitated, he just tucked his legs up quick and twisted his body to clear the fence!  He jumped through the double beautifully making it feel like it was only about 50cm!  Again he got a little deep to the bigger 3rd fence but still cleared it with ease and finished nicely over the gate and skinny.  We had jumped all those fences and never touched a pole, he has never been what I thought was a careful horse but he was really pinging and picking up his toes.
As we were with a friend I got videos and photos again too!

We also got to join the Sunday morning hack this week so early Sunday morning 4 of us headed out together, this is the first time in over 3 months that we have managed to hack with anyone else!!  Jack was a little excited but very well behaved and both lead and followed.  We had lots of trotting and some canter where possible and I was pleased with how well Jack felt, he didn't feel tired or like he was struggling at all.  He was the most sensible out of the 4 and lead the way when there was some scary building work by the side of the road.

So I think it is safe to say the magnetic boots and rugs we have been using lately are definitely having a positive effect and I will be using them daily to keep Jack happy and able to work to his best ability.

It's taken a long time and a lot of effort but my horse if feeling better than ever and I can start to believe we might achieve what I brought him for and compete at eventing after all :)