2020!!

Right, it's been a while!! My motivation in writing has been seriously lacking of late! I have one post written from last month, but I need to give it a once over because I had that mad cold/flu and god knows what way my head was!!

See how delirious I look here!! Prime cold day, was only out of pjs and that was 1pm!

Rather than do a catch up post, I'm going to chat about the last few weeks, then later I might do a catch up, but to be honest, it's been pretty boring the last few months on the horsey front, you haven't missed out on anything!!

So anyhowsssssss I had that really annoying super cold over Christmas and the New Year, so although I was actually off work, I couldn't bloody ride. What a serious pain in the butt. I could just about muck out........I was just flaked, and full of mucus (delightful). CC was lame since before Christmas, it was very slight by the end, but still there. I had the farrier Brian Horohoe out and it turned out to be an abscess (thank god that's all it was!!) and he got it all out, it was right near the toe at that stage. He got a full set of shoes and was 100% a week later.

Cleaning and poulticing......

Hugs for the farrier!

 The darkness this winter was unreal. There were very little frosty mornings, so riding was restricted and forced to be on the weekends only. Fred was kept going over to the winter, to his delight (not!). CC took great delight in being off, getting fed and just having a roll.

Fred: I'm the one doing all the work around here!!

 

Fred :  😝😝

My jeep died and went to heaven at the end of last year, a really great way to end the year..........so I couldn't go anywhere with them. Usually I might tip over to Creagh Equestrian Centre to have a spin in the arena, but no.... And Fred isn't allowed to do much road work, well little to none really, so that meant only the field. Luckily, I was able to hack over to a neighbours and use their arena on occasion. The only thing is you're gone for hours, poor Fred!

Nearly home!

So Fred and I have been working on our flatwork and stressage. Trying to work on our canter. He's been having issues with the right rein canter. Rather than it being a physical issue, I think it's more a tension and suppleness one. He just isn't off my aids enough and then stresses out when he goes on the wrong leg and it's all a vicious circle.....He gets thick and strong and goes up higher, rather than forward. On the bright side we have been some lovely collected canter and some counter canter. I've been using the headlands of the field when I haven't been in the arena, so it can be difficult to practice. But you gotta use what you have!

Stretch down......

I finally got CC back in action, and boy was I happy to be out on him (see pic!!). He was full of energy, good energy for our hack! Bombing it down the road. The next day, he was less so, just, oh, we did this yesterday, I'm uninterested.....

Smiles all round!!

In January, myself and two friends went to a dressage talk about how judges mark tests; Through The Judges Eyes. It was organised by Simone Hession and the talk was by Vida Tansey. It was really interesting and the videos shown really highlighted why people get certain marks. It really showed me why we got the marks we did in our last outing, especially once I'd watched the video after. There was a full house at it, which was great. It's good to see things supported. I really hope there's more. I love those information nights.
At the end my friend Dani got some people to participate in a test for her thesis, me being one of them. She's testing whether your handedness affects your riding and whether it shows in your tests. I was very curious to know the answers for me!! The tests I did with her showed that I was very similar in my hand strengths, I'm a lefty (whoop whoop) but I use my right a fair bit for stuff too, so the results made sense.
The next day I rode CC and did a lot of lateral work with him, to test whether I felt a difference on either rein, if he was harder on one over the other. And he's not. He's very evenly balanced and very balanced overall, in my opinion. I found it harder with Fred, because whenever we do an exercise on one rein (regardless of which rein) he'll usually fight a bit on it. Then when you do it on the other rein he's fine because he knows what he's doing.....

Love this view

How fab does he look?!

The weeks have gone by in a haze of mucking out and feeding in the darkness. I barely got to see them, dark in the mornings and dark in the evenings. The pressure is on then to get everything you need done at the weekends.  I lost a whole Saturday (annoyingly) by looking at cars up in Dublin. But luckily I found one in Athlone on the way home. Before I even had the car in my hands I called up Vida for a lesson! I've been dying to get a lesson for ages, both for guidance and expertise.

My mornings are spent feeding

Joey doesn't share food!!

On Saturday, we had a visit from my sister and her family, and they brought their puppy- who's 5 times the size of Rusty!! A big golden retriever. The two horses were not sure at all what he was!! There was snorting and gawking all sides.
That evening I rode the two boys. First up was Fred. We were having our usual wrong leg issues. So I took away my stirrups, I've been doing that a lot lately because I ride my transitions much better without them. A lot of work to do on my part! So I did a LOT with no stirrups and boy did I feel it. I wanted to be ready for the morning and my lesson. I needed to really know what our issues were so that we'd stuff to work on.
Up next was CC, but it was really just fitness work we did. Of course it started raining, that horrible cold rain. Just walk, trot and canter for him. Walked him off with no stirrups and nearly landed on my ass. Twice..... **eye roll**.

Sunday morning is here!! It's lesson time!! Also first time to tow with new jeep, eek! It was a dreammmmmmmmm to tow with, you couldn't feel him behind and Fred is not light! I was so excited for my lesson - can you tell!? I knew it was going to be tough and I was going to be sweating - no thermals on today!! I was not wrong.
We did a LOT of sitting trot with stirrups. I felt like a beluga whale bouncing around on a surfboard. It was not pretty. But it did work. Eventually. Definitely something I can practice at home.......I have this habit of lifting my foot up in the stirrup and not just up, but sideways. It happens mostly on the left, but on both too. I really feel it jumping as well. I also walk on the outside of my feet, not very much, but enough. I would not pass a vet!!
We did shoulder-in and leg yield, in walk and trot. Of course he cantered on the right leg every time, bar once!! Show me up why don't ya Fred?! He needed a LOT of leg. I felt like I'd given birth to triplets after. There was a kind of silence between myself and Fred afterwards. We just kinda hugged with out heads. Both of us sweating and WRECKED. He was delighted to get back in the box.

My face after the lesson!!

 I flaked on riding CC later.........I was going to, but then I got a phone call and then it got dark 🙆

So instead, I got to work early and got to leave early and home in time to ride him for my first during the week ride of 2020!! It was baltic, but I'd a million layers on, so happy days! And he was a good boy, bar the two heart attacks he had.