It's been a pretty quiet few weeks with Jack, he first went lame nearly 3 weeks ago, he had the week off on bute as prescribed by the vet and seemed to be feeling better. After the bute finished I discussed with the vet and due to being on my own decided to lunge him gently in the ménage to assess whether the lameness was gone. I lunged him quietly in walk and trot and was very pleased to see that he appeared to be sound so after a further discussion with the vet was given the go ahead to slowly bring him back into work. I was to ride him in walk only in the ménage to start with and build up gradually over a week to 10 days if all was going well and any problems to let them know. Feeling excited about getting back on board I brought him in on Tuesday popped his magnetic back pad on and left him in for the day so he was ready to ride that night. Later that day I got to the yard a bit later than usual and found Jack unusually unsettled, its not like him to be jumpy and agitated but there was something definitely up with him. I got on with mucking out and grooming him and by the time I'd finished he seemed to have relax a bit. Before I got on board I did all the usual stretches I do with him before every ride - carrot stretches 2 each side, between his knees and to his chest, pelvis tilts and tail pulls then tacked up and he seemed to be back to normal. I was planning to get straight on and just do 20minutes in walk in a long and low outline and some lateral steps. As soon as I took him in the ménage he was very alert and on his toes. I always do some tight turns each way and back him up a few steps before I get on and he was rushing and over reacting to everything I was asking him to do. He was also wide eyed and snorting at something across the dark fields! I took him to the mounting block but he wouldn't stand still and I could tell getting on would not be a clever move. I considered if I should just turn him out and forget trying to ride but decided not as he was clearly in a mood and was likely to go charging around the field and do himself harm again if I did. Instead I grabbed a lunge line. This too was a bad move. He still went nuts belting round the circle, bucking, kicking, leaping and generally pratting about! This is really not like him. By the time he settled down for me to be able to assess how he was moving he was lame again. I have no way of knowing if he was lame before that or if it was the loony antics on the lunge that caused him to go lame again, either way I felt incredibly frustrated. I've no idea what caused him to behave like that but something had really got him wound up. I turned him out and decided to give him another day off and reassess again Thursday. When I went to check on him the next day there were fireworks going off and he was clearly bothered by them so maybe there had been some before I go there the previous day and thats what had upset him, I guess we will never know! I lunged him in tack Thursday and hallelujah he seemed sound again so I popped on board for 10 minutes just in walk and all was good. I felt happy that we could get on a gently bring him back into full work but not wanting to push him to hard too soon I gave him Friday off again. Saturday I lunged him again and he looked really good I even gave him a little canter and he was moving well. I also walked him over some ground poles as this is a good indication if his pelvis is tight but he was fine doing these. Again not wanting to push him to hard I gave him Sunday off and then took him for a little hack on Monday and he felt good I only did 20minutes in walk but he felt forward and happy and was swinging through his back. So full of hope I took my clippers with me to the yard yesterday to give him a clip as he is still in his full Winter woollies and the last thing I wanted to do was work him and get him sweaty and then turn him out and risk him getting a chill. I gave him a quick belly and neck clip as he is still living out and so I didn't want to take too much off then I tacked up ready to school. As soon as I took him into the school I could tell he wasn't right, when I turned him to the left he seemed very lame and wasn't much better to the right. There were a couple of guys from the farm still there so I grabbed one of them and asked him to trot Jack up for me already knowing he was going to be lame. Poor Jack was really bad, worse than when the vet saw him 2 weeks ago which is pretty worrying. One of the other liveries arrived and had a farrier coming so I asked him to take a quick look but he didn't find anything. She mentioned that Jack and his 2 field companions had been galloping about the field earlier in the day so it is possible he has done himself an injury then but like before there seems to be no sign to indicate what he's actually done. Another call to the vet and they are booked to come back tomorrow and have another look at him. I'm feeling pretty stressed about the whole thing. The vet is talking of scanning the tendons and I'm thinking of selling a kidney!!
Will update tomorrow/Friday after the vet has been, please send us positive healing vibes until then.
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
Monday, 24 October 2016
Jack update and jumping Jay 24/10/16
Jack is now nearing the end of his confinement as ordered by the vet last week so I will be trotting him up tonight to see how he is. The good news is that on Bute he has been looking sound and much more comfortable over his hips and pelvis so I'm keeping everything firmly crossed that this continues now he is being weaned of the pain killers. Vet is happy for us to try him tonight so we will see how that goes then make a plan.
He has been living out 24/7 in a tiny little paddock since last week which has actually not done his waistline any harm despite no work as he has had access to very little grass and I've been feeding hay in the field. We move onto our winter grazing soon and I want him on the lean side so he can stay out a bit more!
He's looking very hairy and scruffy now and still rug free so if he is able to get back to work my first job will be to clip him out and clean and tidy him up a bit!
While Jack has been off games I went to ride my friends pony this week, she has been doing really well and won lots of Dressage classes on him this year and one of the young girls on her yard has been doing a fair bit of jumping with him. I've not ridden him in 6 months and the improvements in his balance were really clear, he felt much more consistent and stronger. He's been jumping lots of lower level classes 50 - 60cm heights and has done well jumping a lot of clears recently. Jumping him felt a little strange at first as I've not ridden anything but Jack in 6months but we were soon enjoying ourselves and he jumped really nicely for me. We had a bit of trouble with a double which I had not sat him up enough for and he knocked both parts down with his front legs but when I got my act together and rode him up in to a stronger contact he jumped it beautifully. He is a great little eventing pony in the making and I'm hoping I might be able to steal him a bit next year and maybe do some arena eventing over winter!
Finally and very exciting news to finish is that this little blog has been selected as a finalist in the Haynet equine blogger of the year 2016 awards!! I still can't believe it! The winner is chosen 50% on public vote and 50% on judging panel decision so I am hoping everyone who reads this blog can get behind us and vote for us by following this link https://surveyplanet.com/57fbbe270fd7773010cf4632
It only takes a few seconds and your support would mean so much to me so thank you in advance for your awesome support!
He has been living out 24/7 in a tiny little paddock since last week which has actually not done his waistline any harm despite no work as he has had access to very little grass and I've been feeding hay in the field. We move onto our winter grazing soon and I want him on the lean side so he can stay out a bit more!
He's looking very hairy and scruffy now and still rug free so if he is able to get back to work my first job will be to clip him out and clean and tidy him up a bit!
While Jack has been off games I went to ride my friends pony this week, she has been doing really well and won lots of Dressage classes on him this year and one of the young girls on her yard has been doing a fair bit of jumping with him. I've not ridden him in 6 months and the improvements in his balance were really clear, he felt much more consistent and stronger. He's been jumping lots of lower level classes 50 - 60cm heights and has done well jumping a lot of clears recently. Jumping him felt a little strange at first as I've not ridden anything but Jack in 6months but we were soon enjoying ourselves and he jumped really nicely for me. We had a bit of trouble with a double which I had not sat him up enough for and he knocked both parts down with his front legs but when I got my act together and rode him up in to a stronger contact he jumped it beautifully. He is a great little eventing pony in the making and I'm hoping I might be able to steal him a bit next year and maybe do some arena eventing over winter!
It only takes a few seconds and your support would mean so much to me so thank you in advance for your awesome support!
Monday, 17 October 2016
Vet report instead of competition report 19/10/16
Sadly I am unable to write a competition update for you as worryingly Jack has been lame for the last few days meaning we had to withdraw from the combined training competition we had entered last weekend.
He had seem slightly unlevel on Wednesday night while I was out for a hack but it only lasted a few strides when we first started trotting and then disappeared so I assumed he had just stood on a stone or something and didn't give it too much thought. He was fine in the ménage on Thursday so I carried on as normal. My plan Friday was to clip him and then go for a short hack. This is where the problems started! Firstly I put some freshly sharpened blades my clippers only to find they would not cut at all and were still just a blunt as when I had dropped them off. My other blades were also blunt so frustrated I gave up on clipping and tacked up instead. As soon as I got on I felt something was wrong, I walked him across the yard and he just didn't feel right and when I asked him to trot he was reluctant and clearly lame so I jumped off, turned round and took him back into the barn. As there was no one else there to help me trot him up I grabbed a lunge line and headed out onto the flat concrete car park to see him moving on the hard ground, the verdict was lame and it looked like his near fore to me. Next I headed to the ménage to see if there was any difference on a softer surface. He was as bad if not worse in there so we returned to the barn to investigate. I could find no swelling, heat, lumps, obvious injuries and he was not reacting to being poked or prodded. With no idea what was causing the problem I cold hosed his leg and returned him to the field. Not knowing how long he might be out of action I then rang and withdrew from our combined training competition. Gutting when he has been going so well but there will be plenty of other times.
I had hoped for improvement over the weekend with paddock rest but sadly there has been no improvement. He was also very lacklustre and dull not showing much of an interest in anything which is unlike him, he's a chilled chap generally but not this much! In an attempt to prompt some sort of response I put him in the stable in the hope that that would provoke some swelling and help identify or at least locate the issue. Unfortunately there was still no sign and no improvement either.
So getting concerned I booked the vet for Tuesday afternoon, praying for a miracle to happen before they arrived but not holding my breath.
There is another little issue that has been bothering me a bit for the last couple of weeks where Jack seems to be uncomfortable when he goes to the toilet, so thought it would be good to get the vet to check that out too, it's probably nothing but its best to be sure.
So we have gone from being on great form and looking forward to stepping up a level from competing Prelim to Novice to being on complete rest.
The vet visit last night was a frustrating one which didn't reveal anything conclusive, the vet agreed that Jack is lame in his near fore but she also felt he was not right behind. She started trying to find the problem with the front leg first but after much poking and prodding, flexion tests and hoof testers nothing was found other than he was reactive to her squeezing the superficial flexor tendon but in both front legs not just the lame one! She was happy with is back but said his hind end is weak and found him sore over his hips and pelvis. He is usually sore here when our physio sees him too and seems to be an ongoing issue. This is very disappointing as I have worked tirelessly to improve his back end and I felt we were making real progress but she disagreed and I felt very disheartened. I'm not sure what else I can do to build the back end as we already used ground poles whenever we school or lunge, do lots of hacking and grid exercises jumping to strengthen him.
She was not sure if the lameness had cause him to be sore over his pelvis or if him being sore over his pelvis was causing the lameness, or even if the 2 were related at all.
The only good news is that she felt his other problem going to the toilet is most likely due to the pain in his hip/pelvis and should improve if we can get that sorted.
The plan for now is bute and rest for a week he's in the stable at the moment but as he finds this very stressful the vet has said it is ok for him to go out but in a very small stable sized paddock just in case it is a slightly pulled tendon. Will reassess next week and if he is sound in front he will need to see our physio and start gradual work again and see how he goes. Hopefully he responds well and we can then start building him back up.
With some bute in his system he already seemed more his cheeky self this morning pulling all his rugs off the fence while I mucked him out and undoing his rope!
Until next I will be keeping everything crossed for improvement!
He had seem slightly unlevel on Wednesday night while I was out for a hack but it only lasted a few strides when we first started trotting and then disappeared so I assumed he had just stood on a stone or something and didn't give it too much thought. He was fine in the ménage on Thursday so I carried on as normal. My plan Friday was to clip him and then go for a short hack. This is where the problems started! Firstly I put some freshly sharpened blades my clippers only to find they would not cut at all and were still just a blunt as when I had dropped them off. My other blades were also blunt so frustrated I gave up on clipping and tacked up instead. As soon as I got on I felt something was wrong, I walked him across the yard and he just didn't feel right and when I asked him to trot he was reluctant and clearly lame so I jumped off, turned round and took him back into the barn. As there was no one else there to help me trot him up I grabbed a lunge line and headed out onto the flat concrete car park to see him moving on the hard ground, the verdict was lame and it looked like his near fore to me. Next I headed to the ménage to see if there was any difference on a softer surface. He was as bad if not worse in there so we returned to the barn to investigate. I could find no swelling, heat, lumps, obvious injuries and he was not reacting to being poked or prodded. With no idea what was causing the problem I cold hosed his leg and returned him to the field. Not knowing how long he might be out of action I then rang and withdrew from our combined training competition. Gutting when he has been going so well but there will be plenty of other times.
I had hoped for improvement over the weekend with paddock rest but sadly there has been no improvement. He was also very lacklustre and dull not showing much of an interest in anything which is unlike him, he's a chilled chap generally but not this much! In an attempt to prompt some sort of response I put him in the stable in the hope that that would provoke some swelling and help identify or at least locate the issue. Unfortunately there was still no sign and no improvement either.
So getting concerned I booked the vet for Tuesday afternoon, praying for a miracle to happen before they arrived but not holding my breath.
There is another little issue that has been bothering me a bit for the last couple of weeks where Jack seems to be uncomfortable when he goes to the toilet, so thought it would be good to get the vet to check that out too, it's probably nothing but its best to be sure.
So we have gone from being on great form and looking forward to stepping up a level from competing Prelim to Novice to being on complete rest.
The vet visit last night was a frustrating one which didn't reveal anything conclusive, the vet agreed that Jack is lame in his near fore but she also felt he was not right behind. She started trying to find the problem with the front leg first but after much poking and prodding, flexion tests and hoof testers nothing was found other than he was reactive to her squeezing the superficial flexor tendon but in both front legs not just the lame one! She was happy with is back but said his hind end is weak and found him sore over his hips and pelvis. He is usually sore here when our physio sees him too and seems to be an ongoing issue. This is very disappointing as I have worked tirelessly to improve his back end and I felt we were making real progress but she disagreed and I felt very disheartened. I'm not sure what else I can do to build the back end as we already used ground poles whenever we school or lunge, do lots of hacking and grid exercises jumping to strengthen him.
She was not sure if the lameness had cause him to be sore over his pelvis or if him being sore over his pelvis was causing the lameness, or even if the 2 were related at all.
The only good news is that she felt his other problem going to the toilet is most likely due to the pain in his hip/pelvis and should improve if we can get that sorted.
The plan for now is bute and rest for a week he's in the stable at the moment but as he finds this very stressful the vet has said it is ok for him to go out but in a very small stable sized paddock just in case it is a slightly pulled tendon. Will reassess next week and if he is sound in front he will need to see our physio and start gradual work again and see how he goes. Hopefully he responds well and we can then start building him back up.
With some bute in his system he already seemed more his cheeky self this morning pulling all his rugs off the fence while I mucked him out and undoing his rope!
Until next I will be keeping everything crossed for improvement!
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Jack is back on form 10/10/16
I'm very lucky Jack is such a resilient little horse! Just 2 weeks ago he suffered a nasty injury to his mouth that really bothered him but sadly went unnoticed by me as it was inside his mouth (bad mother!). To make matters worse I made him event with the injury only finding it after arriving home having had a very frustrating day - no wonder poor Jack wasn't performing!
But Jack being Jack after a couple of days to let his mouth and any other soreness or stiffness settle down he was back to his usual self. The wound is healing nicely and looking healthy so were able to get back to normal much quicker than I expected. Its a good job he is so forgiving of me but I am so angry with myself for not realising there was something wrong sooner!
Once I was back on board and he was feeling good I enjoyed the most amazing schooling session on him where he felt fantastic in all 3 paces and produced some of his best ever work for me, he is feeling stronger and more adjustable all the time and his frame and top line have improved tremendously. I was on cloud 9 when I got off. I think having been through all we have in recent years it makes me appreciate a nice uneventful ride and I will never again take a well behaved horse that tries for granted.
Now the Winter months are fast approaching my thoughts turned to clipping, Winter feeding and that sort of thing so I recently contacted Bailey horse feeds for some tailored nutritional advice for Jack. I usually go for low calorie fibre feeds due to his tendency to put on weight easily but often find I need to give him a little extra through the Winter to keep his energy levels up. I was quite surprised by the nutritionist advice to start incorporating a performance balancer to his diet I had always gone for lite balancers in the past but when she worked out his requirements based on his height, weight, workload, type etc. she found he is not actually getting what he needs and suggested a performance balancer to give him all he needs in a economical way. I also received some free samples and a voucher so gave them a go and the results were very impressive so far. Jack has had lots of energy and enthusiasm but no silliness or fizzing up. This was obvious to see when I lunged him over the weekend and he had a bit of a leap and a buck on the lunge which he doesn't normally do and I wasn't having to chase him round to get him moving he was going lovely and forward under his own steam!
I have to admit I was a little nervous getting on him the next day in case he reacted the same way with me on board but I needn't of worried he was foot perfect!
I'm hanging on for clipping out just yet, he lives out and is still un rugged and doing very well. He's not sweating up when ridden so I shall wait a bit longer for that! It's also a job I hate so the longer I can put it off the better!
Yesterday I went for a hack with a friend and again found Jack to be much more energetic and free moving but he was perfectly behaved the whole ride taking the lead the whole way, no silly spooking and the canters back along the bridle path were so much fun, he was sensible but forward going, he felt really connected and I wasn't having to push or pull at all he just kept a lovely forward rhythm without getting too fast or backing off. I'm looking forward to another schooling session tonight and I've enter a combined training competition at the weekend so will update with how we get on next week. It will be our first competitive Novice dressage test since before his op but we are ready to step it up from prelim now.
I took this top picture of him a few days ago and thought how good he was looking so I had a look back through my phone and found a similar picture from last summer which is the bottom one below. Just looking at the 2 pictures side by side, although the lights not very good, I think you can really see the huge improvement in his topline and condition.
But Jack being Jack after a couple of days to let his mouth and any other soreness or stiffness settle down he was back to his usual self. The wound is healing nicely and looking healthy so were able to get back to normal much quicker than I expected. Its a good job he is so forgiving of me but I am so angry with myself for not realising there was something wrong sooner!
Once I was back on board and he was feeling good I enjoyed the most amazing schooling session on him where he felt fantastic in all 3 paces and produced some of his best ever work for me, he is feeling stronger and more adjustable all the time and his frame and top line have improved tremendously. I was on cloud 9 when I got off. I think having been through all we have in recent years it makes me appreciate a nice uneventful ride and I will never again take a well behaved horse that tries for granted.
Now the Winter months are fast approaching my thoughts turned to clipping, Winter feeding and that sort of thing so I recently contacted Bailey horse feeds for some tailored nutritional advice for Jack. I usually go for low calorie fibre feeds due to his tendency to put on weight easily but often find I need to give him a little extra through the Winter to keep his energy levels up. I was quite surprised by the nutritionist advice to start incorporating a performance balancer to his diet I had always gone for lite balancers in the past but when she worked out his requirements based on his height, weight, workload, type etc. she found he is not actually getting what he needs and suggested a performance balancer to give him all he needs in a economical way. I also received some free samples and a voucher so gave them a go and the results were very impressive so far. Jack has had lots of energy and enthusiasm but no silliness or fizzing up. This was obvious to see when I lunged him over the weekend and he had a bit of a leap and a buck on the lunge which he doesn't normally do and I wasn't having to chase him round to get him moving he was going lovely and forward under his own steam!
I have to admit I was a little nervous getting on him the next day in case he reacted the same way with me on board but I needn't of worried he was foot perfect!
I'm hanging on for clipping out just yet, he lives out and is still un rugged and doing very well. He's not sweating up when ridden so I shall wait a bit longer for that! It's also a job I hate so the longer I can put it off the better!
Yesterday I went for a hack with a friend and again found Jack to be much more energetic and free moving but he was perfectly behaved the whole ride taking the lead the whole way, no silly spooking and the canters back along the bridle path were so much fun, he was sensible but forward going, he felt really connected and I wasn't having to push or pull at all he just kept a lovely forward rhythm without getting too fast or backing off. I'm looking forward to another schooling session tonight and I've enter a combined training competition at the weekend so will update with how we get on next week. It will be our first competitive Novice dressage test since before his op but we are ready to step it up from prelim now.
I took this top picture of him a few days ago and thought how good he was looking so I had a look back through my phone and found a similar picture from last summer which is the bottom one below. Just looking at the 2 pictures side by side, although the lights not very good, I think you can really see the huge improvement in his topline and condition.
Monday, 3 October 2016
Finally eventing!! 25/9/16
Finally after months and months of planning, years of waiting, lots of preparation and good results all year the 25th Sept was the day of the big test for Jack and I, a full One day event held over a 80cm course. We have completed 1 one day event before back in 2012 before his kissing spines diagnosis which was only over a 70cm course, we did finish but on a cricket score after an ok dressage, 1 down show jumping and 2 refusals at the same fence + a shed load of time faults!
My aim with Jack has always been to event but after this event in 2012 I found out I was pregnant so it was put on the back burner while I had my little boy then, thanks to Kissing Spines, when I brought him back into work in 2013 he was never able to jump properly so it has never happened.
After surgery I hoped he would recover enough to event but I have really taken my time with him building his confidence and strength slowly to a point where I felt we were ready. He has been fab this year getting placed at every competition we have entered and only had 1 pole down all year in competition so I had pretty high hopes we could do this. He is jumping confidently at home and his flat work and jumping is the best it has ever been so a prelim test and 80cm sj/xc should be well within our capabilities.
I felt we were ready and walking the course Saturday afternoon I felt quite confident in our ability to complete the course. The only fence that worried me slightly was the step into water as I felt for an unaffiliated 80cm course that was a big ask when you are not expected to jump into water at BE until Novice level! We had however practiced jumping into water and not had any issues so although I was expecting Jack to have a look I though if I approach in a nice slow trot so he could have time to work it out we could do it.
The show jumping course looked nice and flowing with plenty of space and nothing scary with 1 double and a skinny to finish. I was confident walking it that this would be no trouble for us.
I bathed Jack ready the day before but decided to keep to his usual routine and turn him out over night so as not to upset him, I did however put a full neck lightweight rug on to keep him as clean as possible! We had very acceptable times of 1pm dressage 1.42pm SJ and 2.12pm XC so no silly early start which is always nice! I arrived at the farm with what I thought would be plenty of time to plait and load the car, load up Jack and be nice and early to take my time warming up for the dressage. As I turned into the farm drive my heart dropped, there was Jack grazing in the field with no rug on and absolutely covered in mud!! It had poured over night and he had had a good roll on both sides. Nightmare! He has never in 6years taken a rug off so of all the times to do it it had to be the night before a competition! For a moment I questioned my sanity, had I only imagined putting his rug on? Had someone thinking they were being helpful removed it as it was warming up? Had it been stolen off his back in the field? I couldn't see it anywhere and really didn't have time to go hunting for it so I grabbed Jack out of the field and set about trying to get him clean (again!) plaited and ready in record time. What should have been quite a leisurely morning with no stress from rushing soon turned into quite the opposite but in the end we got underway only about 15minutes later than planned so it wasn't to bad. On arriving my other half went off to get me booked in while I quickly tacked up and got myself ready for Dressage. Jack was being very well behaved and quiet to say we were out in a strange place but I didn't think anything of it. I was pleased I still had around half and hour to warm up as it takes this long to usually get Jack working well. I headed off to the Dressage warm up and let them know I was there, found which arena I was in and where to warm up. It was on grass which I wasn't expecting, I thought it would be in their indoor school! The ground was very slippery and quite churned up by the time I arrived and Jack wasn't warming up well, he felt lazy and was going against my hand not taking me forward and very hard work to get anything decent from him. I thought it was due to the ground as he did slip a few times. Just before my time I headed over to my arena only to find they were running late so I had to walk round for 10minutes until it was my turn. Jack perked up a bit as we trotted around the arena and in we went. I didn't have a caller so I had memorised the test, we performed an accurate test with all the transitions and movements in the right place and in the right pace etc. but I felt the whole test was far below par for what I know we can do and I was really disappointed and felt like we had gone back 2years although he was in no way naughty just not wanting to go forward and falling on his forehand.
Putting it behind us I quickly got ready to show jump and took him to warm up. The SJ was in the arena so I hoped he would feel more confident without the slippery ground to worry about but as I warmed him up he still didn't really seem to want to go, he was jumping but had no enthusiasm and if I had given him half a chance he would have just stood and gone to sleep! As we entered the arena and the bell went I was determined to get him moving, he wasn't bad and jumped everything but he was getting very close to most of the jumps and we had 1 down, he did improve as the round progressed and we finished with just 4 faults but again I felt disappointed, the course was easy and well within our capabilities. Was it just the fillers backing him off? He has been jumping far better than that both at home and at competition so why was he suddenly so negative today?
I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it as needed to change and get warmed up for XC in 30minutes. Again in the warm up Jack felt very flat and would quite happily of stood and grazed or slept rather then gallop and jump! I tried my best to wind him up a bit and get his blood up but he was struggling, had I majorly misjudged his fitness?? He really should have been able to complete a prelim dressage test a 8 jump showjumping course and still do XC so what was going wrong? I wasn't feeling very confident but I knew I had to ride positively to have any hope of getting round. The course started out quite intensively with 16 fences in 1 field so it was very twisty and turning with not much time between each fence. We set off out of the start box and with plenty of leg and a bit of whip we got over the first 2 fences but by the 3rd Jack was stalling and he stopped completely argh! I was so frustrated but circled and cleared it the 2nd time, then we got into a bit of a rhythm and made it to fence 13 a skinny without major issue but 13 turned out to be unlucky for us and we had another stop again clearing it on the 2nd attempt. 14 and 15 were no problem and then we got to 16 which was the fence I was most concerned about the step down into water! I slowed to a trot then Jack slowed to a walk but we managed to keep moving forwards and popped down nicely hurrah!! That was the end of the timed section but there were still 5 fences left these were spread out round the outside of 4 adjoining fields with much more space between them and room to get a decent pace up. We were a bit wobbly over the first which was a double but then we got moving and jumped the last 4 fences well with Jack actually taking me into the fences and feeling like he was actually starting to enjoy it so finished on a better note and wasn't too disappointed in the end. So lots to work on but its a start!
I went to look at my score and collect my dressage sheet to discover I had actually been in the lead after dressage with a great score of 27.7% over 3 marks ahead of 2nd place! So what I thought was an awful test obviously didn't look as bad as it felt! Just think what we could have scored on a good day!
On arrival home I discovered a possible reason for his sudden loss of performance, he had a big cut on the inside of the front of his mouth. It wouldn't have been affected by the bit but it was probably pretty sore. I then found his rug in the field with the leg straps torn but the chest and belly straps still done up. I don't know exactly what happened but it looks like the poor guy had managed to get caught up in the rug somehow had it round his front legs and neck/head, panicked and tried to run, tripped himself up and put his teeth through his lip! He must have been feeling pretty bashed up the next day and I made him event! So as you can imagine I felt pretty awful after finding out. Luckily his mouth is healing well and after a couple of days off I lunged him and he was fine. I've hacked him a couple of times and he felt like his usual self again and I jumped him yesterday and he was clearing 90cm no problem with his usual enthusiasm, he even looked after my friend who's terrified of jumping nursing her over 60cm which she hasn't jumped in years!
My aim with Jack has always been to event but after this event in 2012 I found out I was pregnant so it was put on the back burner while I had my little boy then, thanks to Kissing Spines, when I brought him back into work in 2013 he was never able to jump properly so it has never happened.
After surgery I hoped he would recover enough to event but I have really taken my time with him building his confidence and strength slowly to a point where I felt we were ready. He has been fab this year getting placed at every competition we have entered and only had 1 pole down all year in competition so I had pretty high hopes we could do this. He is jumping confidently at home and his flat work and jumping is the best it has ever been so a prelim test and 80cm sj/xc should be well within our capabilities.
I felt we were ready and walking the course Saturday afternoon I felt quite confident in our ability to complete the course. The only fence that worried me slightly was the step into water as I felt for an unaffiliated 80cm course that was a big ask when you are not expected to jump into water at BE until Novice level! We had however practiced jumping into water and not had any issues so although I was expecting Jack to have a look I though if I approach in a nice slow trot so he could have time to work it out we could do it.
The show jumping course looked nice and flowing with plenty of space and nothing scary with 1 double and a skinny to finish. I was confident walking it that this would be no trouble for us.
I bathed Jack ready the day before but decided to keep to his usual routine and turn him out over night so as not to upset him, I did however put a full neck lightweight rug on to keep him as clean as possible! We had very acceptable times of 1pm dressage 1.42pm SJ and 2.12pm XC so no silly early start which is always nice! I arrived at the farm with what I thought would be plenty of time to plait and load the car, load up Jack and be nice and early to take my time warming up for the dressage. As I turned into the farm drive my heart dropped, there was Jack grazing in the field with no rug on and absolutely covered in mud!! It had poured over night and he had had a good roll on both sides. Nightmare! He has never in 6years taken a rug off so of all the times to do it it had to be the night before a competition! For a moment I questioned my sanity, had I only imagined putting his rug on? Had someone thinking they were being helpful removed it as it was warming up? Had it been stolen off his back in the field? I couldn't see it anywhere and really didn't have time to go hunting for it so I grabbed Jack out of the field and set about trying to get him clean (again!) plaited and ready in record time. What should have been quite a leisurely morning with no stress from rushing soon turned into quite the opposite but in the end we got underway only about 15minutes later than planned so it wasn't to bad. On arriving my other half went off to get me booked in while I quickly tacked up and got myself ready for Dressage. Jack was being very well behaved and quiet to say we were out in a strange place but I didn't think anything of it. I was pleased I still had around half and hour to warm up as it takes this long to usually get Jack working well. I headed off to the Dressage warm up and let them know I was there, found which arena I was in and where to warm up. It was on grass which I wasn't expecting, I thought it would be in their indoor school! The ground was very slippery and quite churned up by the time I arrived and Jack wasn't warming up well, he felt lazy and was going against my hand not taking me forward and very hard work to get anything decent from him. I thought it was due to the ground as he did slip a few times. Just before my time I headed over to my arena only to find they were running late so I had to walk round for 10minutes until it was my turn. Jack perked up a bit as we trotted around the arena and in we went. I didn't have a caller so I had memorised the test, we performed an accurate test with all the transitions and movements in the right place and in the right pace etc. but I felt the whole test was far below par for what I know we can do and I was really disappointed and felt like we had gone back 2years although he was in no way naughty just not wanting to go forward and falling on his forehand.
Putting it behind us I quickly got ready to show jump and took him to warm up. The SJ was in the arena so I hoped he would feel more confident without the slippery ground to worry about but as I warmed him up he still didn't really seem to want to go, he was jumping but had no enthusiasm and if I had given him half a chance he would have just stood and gone to sleep! As we entered the arena and the bell went I was determined to get him moving, he wasn't bad and jumped everything but he was getting very close to most of the jumps and we had 1 down, he did improve as the round progressed and we finished with just 4 faults but again I felt disappointed, the course was easy and well within our capabilities. Was it just the fillers backing him off? He has been jumping far better than that both at home and at competition so why was he suddenly so negative today?
I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it as needed to change and get warmed up for XC in 30minutes. Again in the warm up Jack felt very flat and would quite happily of stood and grazed or slept rather then gallop and jump! I tried my best to wind him up a bit and get his blood up but he was struggling, had I majorly misjudged his fitness?? He really should have been able to complete a prelim dressage test a 8 jump showjumping course and still do XC so what was going wrong? I wasn't feeling very confident but I knew I had to ride positively to have any hope of getting round. The course started out quite intensively with 16 fences in 1 field so it was very twisty and turning with not much time between each fence. We set off out of the start box and with plenty of leg and a bit of whip we got over the first 2 fences but by the 3rd Jack was stalling and he stopped completely argh! I was so frustrated but circled and cleared it the 2nd time, then we got into a bit of a rhythm and made it to fence 13 a skinny without major issue but 13 turned out to be unlucky for us and we had another stop again clearing it on the 2nd attempt. 14 and 15 were no problem and then we got to 16 which was the fence I was most concerned about the step down into water! I slowed to a trot then Jack slowed to a walk but we managed to keep moving forwards and popped down nicely hurrah!! That was the end of the timed section but there were still 5 fences left these were spread out round the outside of 4 adjoining fields with much more space between them and room to get a decent pace up. We were a bit wobbly over the first which was a double but then we got moving and jumped the last 4 fences well with Jack actually taking me into the fences and feeling like he was actually starting to enjoy it so finished on a better note and wasn't too disappointed in the end. So lots to work on but its a start!
I went to look at my score and collect my dressage sheet to discover I had actually been in the lead after dressage with a great score of 27.7% over 3 marks ahead of 2nd place! So what I thought was an awful test obviously didn't look as bad as it felt! Just think what we could have scored on a good day!
On arrival home I discovered a possible reason for his sudden loss of performance, he had a big cut on the inside of the front of his mouth. It wouldn't have been affected by the bit but it was probably pretty sore. I then found his rug in the field with the leg straps torn but the chest and belly straps still done up. I don't know exactly what happened but it looks like the poor guy had managed to get caught up in the rug somehow had it round his front legs and neck/head, panicked and tried to run, tripped himself up and put his teeth through his lip! He must have been feeling pretty bashed up the next day and I made him event! So as you can imagine I felt pretty awful after finding out. Luckily his mouth is healing well and after a couple of days off I lunged him and he was fine. I've hacked him a couple of times and he felt like his usual self again and I jumped him yesterday and he was clearing 90cm no problem with his usual enthusiasm, he even looked after my friend who's terrified of jumping nursing her over 60cm which she hasn't jumped in years!
Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Another successful outing 23/8/16
Jack has been ticking over nicely recently, schooling well, jumping great, hacking nicely and generally being a dude!!
He had a few days off last week as I went away for a long weekend. The day before I went I jumped him, I set up some technical but small fences to get him thinking. One exercise was 2 fences 1 at E and the other at B I started by jumping each individually then linking the 2 together before jumping them on a 20m circle on each rein. I also set up 3 skinnies 1 on the centre line and 2 on diagonals so I could jump them a variety of ways and Jack didn't disappoint jumping everything easily.
As the weather has been pretty hot again since I came back we've been down to the river a couple of times, schooled and lunged. He's been fab so I decided to take him jumping at a local venue in a trailblazers 1st round. I've never done trailblazers before so I didn't really know what to expect! The show jumping wasn't due to start til after 12pm and I was entering the 4th class so wasn't expecting to need to be there early meaning I could get him ready in the morning. Having bathed and plaited and tidied him up a bit I managed to load him with not too much messing about and then we were on our way.
I was on my own and had not been to the venue before so I managed to miss the turning and have to perform and u turn in a gateway with a trailer!! Not the best start! I was feeling a little frazzled by the time I actually got there then I found myself having to reverse down the drive as I met another trailer coming out!! I'm getting the hang of reversing now though and actually it wasn't too bad!
Once parked I opened up the trailer but left Jack on board where he was safer while I had to leave him to go and pay my entries and work out where I was, what class they were on etc.
I was please to find there was not a huge amount of entries and so I quickly paid and went off to get Jack tacked up. He was happily munching away on his hay chilled as you like! Having tacked him up I hopped on and went down to the main ring to check how they were progressing, still 2 classes to go so I stood and watched a few jump to learn the course.
When it came to walking the course there was no one around to hold Jack for me, so having watched several jump I decided what the hell, I know the course I'll just go for it! I then wandered up to the warm up ring and gave Jack a nice long walk around to relax and loosen off. He was a little uptight about a small pony that was whizzing round and some people walking down the other side of the hedge but he soon settled and felt relaxed.
I gave him and walk, trot, canter and jump and was really pleased with how he was attacking the fences and taking long ones instead of his past trick of chipping one in! I then went back to see how close they were off starting my class. It was still a few to go then the course would be put up and another chance to walk it so I took him for another wander round and kept thinking maybe I should go back and walk the course!
I knew I was 8th to jump so once they restarted my class I jumped him another couple of times over the warm up fences and went down ready to go in. Having listened over the tannoy I knew there had only been 2 double clears when it came to our turn and they had both been quick. It was a 2 phase competition so if you went clear over the first 8 fences you went straight on and jumped the timed jump off section. Jack and I entered the ring ready to give it our best shot and feeling pretty confident but immediately Jack backed off my leg spooking at the banners and poles around the edge of the arena. The bell went and I could not get him to go past a pile of coloured poles on the floor!! Nightmare!! He was having a right mardy about them and was trying to back away and spin from them but I needed to pass them to get to the first fence! It felt like a life time and I was starting the think I was going to be eliminated for taking to long to jump the first fence! I was kicking and using the whip but he was just getting more wound up so I stopped and decided to let him look for a few seconds then tried again and thank god he went passed it and started listening! We turned to the first fence and that was it, we were off. He jumped beautifully making it feel really easy and we were clear over the first part of the course so after fence 8 my competitive side came out, I kicked him on and we flew over the double at 9 and got a tight turn to 10, so far so good! 11 was on a related distance and I had seen it was riding either 5 or 6 strides, obviously I'd not walked it but knowing Jack I knew he would try to get 6 in so I kicked on and went for 5 but he thought otherwise and got the 6 in anyway which slowed us down a bit, it did however mean that I could turn really tight to the final fence and through the finish for a double clear!! YAY!! With a few still to go we were in 2nd place and that is where we stayed :) it also meant we have qualified for the 2nd rounds - good Jack pony!! I'm absolutely thrilled with him!! He felt fantastic and we both came away having another confidence boosting experience and a qualification under our belt to boot! I couldn't really have asked for more except maybe no napping but you can't have everything!!
He had a few days off last week as I went away for a long weekend. The day before I went I jumped him, I set up some technical but small fences to get him thinking. One exercise was 2 fences 1 at E and the other at B I started by jumping each individually then linking the 2 together before jumping them on a 20m circle on each rein. I also set up 3 skinnies 1 on the centre line and 2 on diagonals so I could jump them a variety of ways and Jack didn't disappoint jumping everything easily.
As the weather has been pretty hot again since I came back we've been down to the river a couple of times, schooled and lunged. He's been fab so I decided to take him jumping at a local venue in a trailblazers 1st round. I've never done trailblazers before so I didn't really know what to expect! The show jumping wasn't due to start til after 12pm and I was entering the 4th class so wasn't expecting to need to be there early meaning I could get him ready in the morning. Having bathed and plaited and tidied him up a bit I managed to load him with not too much messing about and then we were on our way.
I was on my own and had not been to the venue before so I managed to miss the turning and have to perform and u turn in a gateway with a trailer!! Not the best start! I was feeling a little frazzled by the time I actually got there then I found myself having to reverse down the drive as I met another trailer coming out!! I'm getting the hang of reversing now though and actually it wasn't too bad!
Once parked I opened up the trailer but left Jack on board where he was safer while I had to leave him to go and pay my entries and work out where I was, what class they were on etc.
I was please to find there was not a huge amount of entries and so I quickly paid and went off to get Jack tacked up. He was happily munching away on his hay chilled as you like! Having tacked him up I hopped on and went down to the main ring to check how they were progressing, still 2 classes to go so I stood and watched a few jump to learn the course.
When it came to walking the course there was no one around to hold Jack for me, so having watched several jump I decided what the hell, I know the course I'll just go for it! I then wandered up to the warm up ring and gave Jack a nice long walk around to relax and loosen off. He was a little uptight about a small pony that was whizzing round and some people walking down the other side of the hedge but he soon settled and felt relaxed.
I gave him and walk, trot, canter and jump and was really pleased with how he was attacking the fences and taking long ones instead of his past trick of chipping one in! I then went back to see how close they were off starting my class. It was still a few to go then the course would be put up and another chance to walk it so I took him for another wander round and kept thinking maybe I should go back and walk the course!
I knew I was 8th to jump so once they restarted my class I jumped him another couple of times over the warm up fences and went down ready to go in. Having listened over the tannoy I knew there had only been 2 double clears when it came to our turn and they had both been quick. It was a 2 phase competition so if you went clear over the first 8 fences you went straight on and jumped the timed jump off section. Jack and I entered the ring ready to give it our best shot and feeling pretty confident but immediately Jack backed off my leg spooking at the banners and poles around the edge of the arena. The bell went and I could not get him to go past a pile of coloured poles on the floor!! Nightmare!! He was having a right mardy about them and was trying to back away and spin from them but I needed to pass them to get to the first fence! It felt like a life time and I was starting the think I was going to be eliminated for taking to long to jump the first fence! I was kicking and using the whip but he was just getting more wound up so I stopped and decided to let him look for a few seconds then tried again and thank god he went passed it and started listening! We turned to the first fence and that was it, we were off. He jumped beautifully making it feel really easy and we were clear over the first part of the course so after fence 8 my competitive side came out, I kicked him on and we flew over the double at 9 and got a tight turn to 10, so far so good! 11 was on a related distance and I had seen it was riding either 5 or 6 strides, obviously I'd not walked it but knowing Jack I knew he would try to get 6 in so I kicked on and went for 5 but he thought otherwise and got the 6 in anyway which slowed us down a bit, it did however mean that I could turn really tight to the final fence and through the finish for a double clear!! YAY!! With a few still to go we were in 2nd place and that is where we stayed :) it also meant we have qualified for the 2nd rounds - good Jack pony!! I'm absolutely thrilled with him!! He felt fantastic and we both came away having another confidence boosting experience and a qualification under our belt to boot! I couldn't really have asked for more except maybe no napping but you can't have everything!!
Tuesday, 2 August 2016
Anniversaries 2/8/16
This week Jack and I have 2 big anniversaries, as of 31st July I have owned him for 5 years! Where did that time go! This is us shortly after I brought him although I had had him on loan for over a year already at that point.
The 2nd is that as of 2/8/16 we have now reached 18months post KS surgery and I feel so lucky that this little horse is one of the success stories. At times its been hard and heart breaking and rehab has been far from smooth sailing with secondary issues with hocks and SI but I am thrilled with how well he currently feels. He is jumping and schooling better and better all the time getting stronger and more supple thanks to lots of ground work, hacking, strengthening work and stretching plus the support of a fantastic physio and a whole load of patience! I have to say despite the hiccups along the way it has also been the most rewarding thing I have ever done with a horse. To see and be part of such a transformation is a privilege. This horse was depressed and aloof due to being in so much pain before surgery, he just wanted to be left alone, didn't play with his field companions, had no energy or enthusiasm and would stand for hours with his head down looking thoroughly unhappy. He now greets me in the field with pricked ears and comes trotting to the gate, there is no grumpiness or reaction to being groomed or tacked up and ridden he is the best he has ever been.
We are looking to starting having some lessons in the next few weeks with a new instructor and will be taking part in some SJ shows before our first unaffiliated ODE in September - ekk!!
Due to the hot weather and hard ground I have mostly been hacking for the last few weeks but following a bit of rain and our hay field being cut I have been able to go for a good canter and gallop round the big field which has been great for Jacks fitness, it's on a slight incline so its quite hard work and also has a few steeper banks to really get him working from behind and strengthen his hind quarters. He finds it quite exciting and it took me an hour and 20mins to wear him out the other night but we had a blast galloping about!
Last night he schooled beautifully and we used 4 ground poles on a 20m circle working on rhythm in walk, trot and canter. It was the best he has done this exercise especially in canter where we were getting a lovely, even 4 strides between each pole and hitting them all spot on. Good Jack!
We had a great jumping session last week too with Jack really attacking the fences and keeping up a nice, forward rhythm. We jumped corners and brush spread and a skinny and it felt all very easy!
I love how confident he now feels jumping and I am able to adjust the stride and actually affect his way of going rather than just hoping we get there on a good stride!
More of the same this week hopefully :)
We are looking to starting having some lessons in the next few weeks with a new instructor and will be taking part in some SJ shows before our first unaffiliated ODE in September - ekk!!
Due to the hot weather and hard ground I have mostly been hacking for the last few weeks but following a bit of rain and our hay field being cut I have been able to go for a good canter and gallop round the big field which has been great for Jacks fitness, it's on a slight incline so its quite hard work and also has a few steeper banks to really get him working from behind and strengthen his hind quarters. He finds it quite exciting and it took me an hour and 20mins to wear him out the other night but we had a blast galloping about!
Last night he schooled beautifully and we used 4 ground poles on a 20m circle working on rhythm in walk, trot and canter. It was the best he has done this exercise especially in canter where we were getting a lovely, even 4 strides between each pole and hitting them all spot on. Good Jack!
We had a great jumping session last week too with Jack really attacking the fences and keeping up a nice, forward rhythm. We jumped corners and brush spread and a skinny and it felt all very easy!
I love how confident he now feels jumping and I am able to adjust the stride and actually affect his way of going rather than just hoping we get there on a good stride!
More of the same this week hopefully :)
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