Saving Crownie

I've been busy.  Not riding.  Trying to save my horse.  My husband's horse.  Crownie.

She hasn't looked "right" for about a year now.  But with my own recovery from illness, I haven't had enough energy to do much more than standard care.  This year, in about April I got more serious though.

First, I ensured her diet was sufficient, and full of the right minerals.  But she did not improve.  Her worming program and teeth were up to date.

Then when she got what looked like an abcess in her eye, I called the vet out.  We looked at everything.  We reviewed her diet.  The vet checked her teeth.  We took bloods.  We took poo samples.  The vet left me with an oinment for her eyes.

Everything came back clear.  The bloods were excellent, except for low protein content.  The poo came back clear - that's right, no worms at all!

The eye ointment helped a bit, but the swelling around the eye remained.

I started reading.  Was it a Gutteral Puch infection?  Could it be Crohn's disease?  Or were her tear ducts simply blocked?

Then I started injecting her with vitamins.  25ml of vitamin C, 10ml of B complex, 10ml of vitamin B12 and 10ml of VAM.  I wanted to inject her with 10ml of B15 (DADA) as well, but this was very hard to get hold of.  That's a lot of needle pricks per day.  And on a poorly muscled horse you soon start running out of neck room.

I also washed out her eyes daily.  The whole routine took me about 1 hour.  I couldn't do it every day, but I did it about 4 to 5 days per week.

At night I paddocked her in the only paddock that has a stable.  And during the daytime I allowed her to graze the fresh, clean grass along the driveway.

After four weeks I called the vet out again.  He looked at her eyes, then started feeling further down her body.  Under her jaw, at her chest, in her groin.  In her groin?!  Panic!  He was checking her lymphatic system.  Finally, he called me over, and asked me to have a feel of a lump on her chest.  A lymph node.  It was enlarged.  Very enlarged.  "I think it's Cancer", he said.

I can't say that I panicked, or felt like crying, or felt gutted.  I had suspected as much.  And so, as much as I have tried, I may not be able to save Crownie.  There is only one way out of life for all of us, and Crownie isn't "young" any more.  She will be 20 in November.  Of course, many horses last longer than that, but she always seemed more fragile.  Even her coat was always softer than that of other horses, much to the delight of people who patted her.

For the time being I'll keep my routine of paddocking and feeding, although I will probably reduce the injections to once per week.  As my horses come back into work, I just won't have the time to do daily injections, and Crownie's a bit sick of them too.

When she is grazing the driveway she has direct access to the shed where I make up the horses' feed.  It is beautiful to be in the shed measuring out oaten and lucerne chaff, and to hear the click click of Crownie's shoes on the gravel as she comes to investigate.  It's priceless to hear her sniff the air as she approaches the shed door, and then to see the soft black nostrils poke gently through the doorway.

Friends of Melton Horse Trials

It's 6:39am in the morning, Dingo is on the float, and we're off to Melton.  We're thirty nine minutes late.  It's worked into the schedule, but still.

The drive is easy and uneventful, and we arrive in Melton, just as the sunshine breaks through the clouds, and I get a glimpse of the cross country jumps, as we enter the grounds.  They look well built, well maintained.  Gulp.  I mean really, what was I expecting?  A couple of rotten logs?

We park, settle in, saddle up and head for the dressage arena.  Recently, I have been very unhappy with my dressage, so I am not expecting much.  In addition, the clay grounds are squelchy and boggy.  I just focus on what the coach said in my last dressage lesson as I ride the test.  And I focus on harmony.  If nothing else, make it look like my pony and I are in harmony.  The second canter in the test actually rides really well, and I give the judge a smile as I do my final salute.  It feels mediocre, but it's over and done with.  Now onto the fun stuff.

I leave Dingo at the float, and walk the cross country course.  When I look at the size of the jumps, my eyes keep noticing the grade 3 jumps.  Then I catch myself, look at the tag on the jump, and realise I need to be doing the slightly smaller, grade 4 jump.  Three years ago, grade 3 jumps used to look so huge!  Massive.  A real ask.  Now I gaze at them with a certain ... well ... envy.  What happened?

The grade 4 cross country course looks great, with lots of scope for a gallop or two.  Jump three is a little seat, with a bright yellow plank at the front.  I think this will be the show stopper.  The other jumps of note are the drop - it just comes at you out of nowhere, the bounce could be an issue because it comes at the end of a long gallop, the concrete pipes might get a second look because of their white colour, and the brick wall.  It's solid brick.  None of this wooden box business painted to like like brick wall.  Solid, solid brick.  You really don't want a stop there.  There is also a water jump, but it looks quite nice and inviting.

I return to the float, saddle up for showjumping (as the organisers have scheduled this before cross country), and ride towards the warm up area.  Dingo is very relaxed and feels more at home than at home.  Then I notice a lone figure, on foot, heading straight towards me.  She looks familiar.  In fact, I know exactly who that is.  But, really?  Can it be?  I checked the starters list and her name wasn't there.  But it is.  It's K.  There's been a scratching, and her entry was only confirmed last night.  We greet with a hug and have a few laughs.  Then she watches my showjumping round on Dingo.  We go clear.  But I am not actually fully happy with the round.  Dingo doesn't feel like he's on the ball.  It's like he is too relaxed, and I feel like I have to carry him over a couple of the jumps.

Now I have a nice long break before cross country.  I get Dingo comfortable at the float with a nice biscuit of lucerne hay and an assortment of appropriate rugs, grab my lunch and go off to socialise with K and J at their float.

We check the scores so far, and lo and behold, after dressage and showjumping I am coming equal third!!!  My dressage score is amazing!  I cannot believe it.

Later we watch the grade 2 and grade 3 cross country.  The clay grounds are very wet, due to the recent rains, but the cross country seems to ride very well.  The ground is sticky rather than slippery.

I get Dingo ready for cross country, and we walk over to the warm up area.  The pony is super relaxed.  When you consider that a few years ago I was on a horse that had trouble keeping all four legs on the ground prior to cross country, then this is a really really nice change.  But I'm not happy because Dingo just wants to stand still and snooze, while I need all his joints to warm up.

We enter the start box, and I eye off the first jump, a mere 20 metres ahead of me.  Ten, nine.  I start my stop watch.  Three, two, one, go!  Yes, go!  I dig both heels in with zest, and follow it with a quick whip snap.  Dingo takes off with energy.  Four strides out from the third jump, the one I think might be a show stopper, I flick him with the whip again.  The pony takes off like the hounds of hell are after him.  He leaps over the fence and gallops.   Boy, does he gallop.  I lean back in the saddle and struggle to regain control over the next two jumps.  I slow him down to a trot as we approach the drop.  Child's play.  Then the water.  The water!?!  We never trained the water.  We trained puddles, yes, not drops into water.  Dingo stops, unsure of the surface in front of him.  He darts left, then right, then drops into it and goes through.

Then we're heading back towards the float, and he takes off at another uncontrollable gallop.  I slow him up, just before the bounce, and from there on we find our groove.  The course flows.  I feel the wind in my face, the sun on my back and my heart leaps for joy with every stride.  Before I know it we're over the brick wall and I check my watch.  Whoa!  I said whoa!  We're way, way too fast.  I slow Dingo to a steady canter, and we jump the last fence.

At the vet check, Dingo is huffing and puffing like a little steam engine.  But the vet gives me the thumbs up and says "one of the fittest I've seen".  Go figure.  Well, I better get myself a stethoscope, and stop relying on this "blowing" business.

As we walk back to the float, I stop and turn towards Dingo.  "Hey, you're on holidays now!  Why don't you take a joyous leap or something?".  He gazes at me, and continues his relaxed amble.  (He does take a leap, later on, at home.)

Well, that stop at the water has cost me two refusals.  Twenty points.  At least I didn't get any time penalties for going too fast.  I slip down to 12th.

I've had a fantastic day.  I drive home under time pressure.  My husband has invited me out to the pub for dinner, but I must be back before the pub kitchen closes.  I make it, and we enjoy a lovely dinner, with my daughter dressed up for the occasion in a sparkling fairy dress and ribbons in her hair.  Priceless.

The trouble with going to Melton?  It felt like a mere hop, skip and a jump away, and now I am eyeing off Colac (a further 2 hours away).

Dressage lesson

I have planned a dressage lesson for Dingo for the last three months.  And this month is coming to an end, and I still haven't had this planned lesson.  So I have finally put my foot down and rang my instructor and finally had the lesson.

Organising a dressage lesson at the moment is no simple task.  My arenas are out of action.  My instructor has an arena, but her parking area is out of action.  The pony club has an arena, but I don't have a key ... yet.  The other pony club is currently closed to the public.  Fortunately, there is a third pony club, and we were able to use their arena.  Phew.

Since the last dressage lesson, which was in April, I have diligently been practicing the rider balancing exercises, and I've been making outstanding progress.  Even if I do say so myself.  I thought I had mastered this position thing.

My instructor took one look at my progress, and without another word, proceeded to fix the next part of my position.  Yes, there is more.  When I quizzed her about it, she smiled and said that once I master the current exercises, then there is more still!

As she corrected my position, verbally prodding here, there and everywhere, Dingo relaxed, lowered his head, and added some spring to his stride.  The improvement was just amazing.  I can fully appreciate that a horse is able to work better for a more balanced rider, but the amount of difference these minute adjustments made was just remarkable.

My instructor did point out though that, as I have already noticed, Dingo is a sensitive horse, and such minute changes will feel really important to him.

Prior to having the lesson, I was agonising whether to invest in the dressage lesson, or in a cross country training session.  I only had the time and money to do one.  In this particular case, the dressage lesson was definitely the right choice, and it will in fact improve my cross country more than a cross country session would have.

Dressage in the State Forest

I have opted to stop using the top arena altogether, and I have been trying to do my dressage and show jumping in the bottom arena.  Well the ground there was sucky at best, and in general, Dingo just tried to run through it.  So at a recent Dream Team workshop, I asked the coach what she would do in my situation.

After gaining full understanding of what the ground was like, she said "take him out trail riding, but ... do dressage."  Basically, just ignore that you're on the trail, and do all your normal dressage as though you were going down the long side of the arena.  Honestly, the only thing you can't practice are circles.

So that is what I did.  And I must admit that it worked much better than expected.  I certainly thought the quality of work I got from my pony was far better than in a soggy and slippery paddock.

Teddy and the cows

I brought Teddy in to change his rug.  The cows were in the paddock behind him, and managed to crowd at the fence, thinking that I might give them something yummy.  With all this commotion behind him, Teddy just couldn't stand still.  And no, I wasn't able to change his rug.

So, on that occasion, he went back out into his paddock.  I brought him back in another time, changed his rug, and both he and Bess went out into the paddock with the cows.

In the evening, when the horses got fed, the cows started jostling with each other, head butting, pig rooting and jumping about.

Teddy took his head out of his feed bucket, and gaped at the cows.  Then he quickly galloped over to Bess and hid behind her.

Welcome Teddy

We have a new addition at the farm - a horse called Teddy.  A friend has decided to agist him with us, while she is unavailable to ride him.  In the meantime I am allowed to ride him.  With Lilly sill out on injury leave, and Dingo about to go out for his annual holiday, Teddy's arrival is perfect.

I picked him up from Yarrambat the other day.  Well, he loaded onto the float fine, but then rocked the float, and neighed for a decent hour of the two hour trip.  Then, he didn't know how to back off.

When I did manage to get him off the float, he stood tall, all 16.2hh of him, and shivered in his boots, wondering where in the world he was.  I felt very insignificant.  But, I did manage to worm him and put him in the paddock.

Then, I brought him a paddock mate - Bess looked like she was volunteering.  Well, did she take a liking to him.  I've never seen anything like it.  It's the middle of winter, and she was acting like a filly in spring time.

Wet arenas

It's been raining so much that both of my arenas are unusable.  (Both arenas are bits of paddock.)  I have actually officially stopped using the top arena.

All my jumps have been moved down to the bottom arena, and I still do use it, although sparingly.  Yes, it does wreck the arena surface when I use it, but quite frankly that arena is sufficiently not smooth, that I'm willing to put in a few more divits.

Just to give the right picture - from far away, the arena looks flat.  But when I try to set up jumps on it I struggle to make the wings stand up.  Where I use tyres as wings, I struggle to stop the poles rolling off the tyres.  Oh such fun.

The lack of smoothness alone, has an interesting side effect though.  If your horse is not travelling properly, then he keeps tripping.  Whereas, when he is stepping underneath himself, everything is fine.  The wetness just exaggerates that effect, and also makes it much harder work for your horse.  A bit like running in deep sand.

This has left me totally exasperated at times, but obviously has also improved the quality of my riding.  I do have to remember that the soft surface potentially makes the work harder for the horse, and so the sessions may need to be shorter, and the jumps a hole lower.

Like I said though, the work leaves divits in the arena.  It might be time to enquire with some neighbours whether I can use their arena.  The closest neighbour with an arena is more than 2km away.

The trouble with going to Melton

I've entered Dingo into the Friends of Melton Horse Trials, which, as you would expect, is held in Melton.  The problem with going to Melton is this. 

A few years ago, I drew an approximate circle around our farm, and looked at what venues and events were within that circle.  Initially, that circle was quite small, and only incorporated venues about one hour away.  Over time, that circle has grown somewhat bigger, but it still doesn't incorporate Melton.

By daring to go as far as Melton, that circle will expand considerably.  And either, I will come back thinking "that was exhausting, I'm never doing that again", or I will come back thinking "wow, what a hoot!" and forget about the distance travelled.

And the problem with that is, that I will be more likely to do more events, which are further away, and will keep me away from home.

Phoenix Short Course Horse Trials

We celebrated Mothers' Day yesterday, and today I took both horses to the Phoenix Short Course Horse Trials.

The start was ominous.  First of all, the cable that attaches the car electrics to the float electrics went missing.  I blamed its absence on my poor unsuspecting husband.  He blamed it on the men that serviced the car.  I saw it as a great excuse not to go.  My husband said "drive without it".  The cable was found.

Then the weather.  Just as I was pur pur purring up the last bit of the divide between Noojee and Powelltown, it started to pour.  And I mean, pour.  Sheets of rain.  Zero visibility.  Cats and dogs.  Kangaroos and wombats.  It poured.  My feelings sank to their lowest yet, and I really wondered what in the world I was doing out here.

Finally, full of retrospection, I arrived at the competition, and the elderly man at the gate asked with a smile "Have you come to win?".  "Young man," I replied, "I have every intention of winning".

I got the horses off the float, registered, showed my cards, helmet, crop, medical arm band and whatever else was required, and proceeded to walk the course.  A woman joined me, and I was glad to have company.  I always talk when I walk the course, so at least I would be talking to her, and not looking like I was going mad.

Now I will be very honest.  I was expecting a couple of piddly logs, maybe a half-baked water jump, and nothing more.  The reality was quite a challenging little course with a train crossing, a flower bed, a gate, a house (yes, blue walls, windows, doors, red roof and all ... just scaled down), and, what I believed to be the "showpiece of the course", a crate full of fresh, green, apples.

Of course, the weather was still being cheeky and it actually hailed while we were walking the course.

Dingo was scheduled to go first and I was very pleased to see that he settled down in the warm up.  In the dressage test, he almost seemed bored.  But that all changed when I showed him a warm up jump.  Then, off we went.  Well he was a good sport, wondering why we couldn't go faster, getting more worried about the jump judges than the jumps, and questioning me when jumping the rail crossing, and of course, the apple crate.  The showjumping course was a breeze, and as far as I could tell, we made good time.

Next up was Lil.  She sweated up early in her warm-up and I wasn't sure how much to walk her, and how much to trot her.  So I walked her for a while.  When we went back into trot she was visibly stiff on the right rein.  I kept her trotting, and the stiffness loosened up.  She did a calm dressage test, and I was happy.  Then we did our jumping warm-up and off we went, across country.  Lil's attitude was fantastic, and she really got quite a nice rhythm going.  Of course she gave the apple crate a massive look, and then a huge leap.  She also got a good look at the house with the red roof, but it wasn't the house that was the issue.  It was the churned up clay leading into the house jump.  We went clear, and she also made good time.

When the results were posted up, I couldn't believe my eyes.  Dingo had come first and Lilly came second.  I wondered whether the man at the entrance was interested in knowing?

Dingo got a really good dressage mark and then only had 7 time faults (in the XC and SJ, combined).  Lilly's dressage test was poorer, and she had 8 time faults.  All the other competitors had far more time faults.  I really wanted to jump up and down and scream, but I tried really hard to be the "good winner" and just sit there looking "wise".

I received a sash for each placing, as well as a little hamper (which included chocolates, yes!) for first place, and a bottle of wine for second place.  I felt very special.

In the end the weather was more of a nuisance to the organisers (and the jumps judges) than the competitors and the horses.  The format - short course - ran really well, and I think it should be adopted more often for the lower levels.  The format also made it very easy to compete with two horses, and I was able to manage really well just by myself.

Just before I got Lilly on the float she managed to kick out, and hurt her frog rather badly.  But that's a story for another post.  I'll just add that those chocolates might be really useful.

Cross Country Training

Today I went cross country training with both horses at one of our local cross country courses.

I had been here with Dingo in the past, but it was Lilly's first time.  Well she did wonder whether I really really wanted her to jump all these weird looking obstacles.  But I very quickly managed to work out that a simple flick with the whip, which more often than not hit my riding boot and made more sound than anything else, was enough to convince Lil that forwards, and preferably in a straight line and with some bascule, was the only way to go.

I always try to have someone along when training cross country, and today was no different.  My friend even managed to take a lovely snap of Lil and I - it's blurry because we were just going so fast.  ;)

Once I had cooled off after riding Lil, it was Dingo's turn.  I gave him a quick warm up and then off we went.  While with Lil I made her jump each jump about 4 or 5 times, there was no need for this with Dingo.  We still repeated some jumps, but the pony was a cross country machine.  He even trotted with pleasure through the water.  I also felt my seat improve with every jump, which means that Dingo's neck no longer feels dangerously short.

The Trail Ride Test

I thought I'd push the envelope a bit and I took Lilly for a trail ride today.  My cousins came up for the weekend, and they were keen to go riding.  Since the last two rides I did with them were rather short (as they were just getting used to their horses), I was determined to do a longer ride this time.

So off we went, into the state forest.  Walking, and trotting, and cantering and even going for a short gallop.  My cousins loved the gallop.

Lilly's soundness was maintained throughout the ride.  What surprised me was her willingness to be brave and go forward!  In the past, on these sorts of rides, she would sometimes have "chicken" moments, and I had to ask Crownie (and her rider) to take the lead.  Not so today.  Lilly led the whole way, without ever putting a foot wrong.

She loved all the fast work, and by the time we were doing the last canter she had enough sting out of her to just sit in and enjoy.  Enjoy the rocking motion, the fresh air in my face, the green trees whizzing by.

Faradic Treatments Completed

Yesterday we completed the Faradic treatments on Lilly.  When you now touch her in the girth area she stands calmly.  She used to come flying with her teeth!  But of course, the acid test is riding.

So I saddled her up (she still put her ears back and snapped when her girth was done up) and we ventured into the paddock.  Ahem.  I meant arena.

I lunged first - sure enough the lameness was totally gone.  She was as sound as a bell, trotting on both reins.  Then I jumped on and rode.  She seemed happy enough.  What amazed me though was that she was now willing to go forward.  And she could manage to do a 20m circle.

I am over the moon.

Intermittent Lameness

From the very first time I ever rode Lil I had this feeling that if I pushed her really hard (the way I push Dingo), then she would buck me off.  Or at least put in a really solid pigroot.

Now many trainers think I am just chicken.  But I'm not.  I know I am not.  And when I have a gut feeling there is a reason for it.  Finding the reason is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So I rode Lil with some suspicion and care until one day I went for a trail ride and she pulled up lame.  I couldn't see anything wrong with her leg, but gave her a break.  After four weeks she was sill "stiff" but not lame, and I started riding her again.  But she felt "stiff".  I had trouble doing a 20m circle on her.

Then, after more intensive riding, the lameness returned.  Six weeks break and the lameness was dimished but not totally gone.  You could see the head nodding in trot on the right rein.

Finally I called out the chiropractor.  He adjusted her spine in one spot, and then touched her rib cage just where the girth goes.

"And here is the source of your lameness" he said, as Lil almost ripped his head off.

"There?!!", I gasped thinking he was crazy.  I had expected the spine, the shoulder, the joints, but not the rib cage.  Mind you, if this really is the problem, then it would explain why Lil hates the saddle, and the girth, so much.

"Yep.  There is a muscle here, and if it gets injured it never heals.  You need to treat it with a Faradic machine. Three treatments of 15 minutes each, on three consicutive days should do it.  I've had a 100% success rate so far, and it never re-occurs."

Apparently, the said injury causes different issues in different horses - such as rushing forward, bucking, pigrooting and head tossing.  And a lot of vets fail to find it.

So we made the dates to fix the problem.  I shifted all my other plans so that Lilly's treatment could go ahead, and continued to wonder how many other horses are out there with the same problem, sending their owners mad and possibly broke in the process.  And, how many instructors are there telling their pupils to just "push" the horse through it?

Cross Country

A couple of weekends ago I went cross country training with Dingo.  I managed to convince a friend to come with me.  I really don't think it's sensible to train cross country alone.

We went to one of the local pony clubs that is lucky enough to have a cross country course.  The range of jumps was very diverse, and you could really challenge yourself with logs and ditches.

At home, Dingo is now jumping 70cm.  But cross country is a whole different affair, and we went right back to the littlelest logs we could find.

When it came to the water jump, I was really thankful for my friend.  Her horse is more experienced, and he happily waded into the water.  Dingo wasn't that keen on the water, but was happy to follow the other horse.  Once he discovered it was all safe I think he found it quite a lot of fun.

It was a great day out, and I am really annoyed that that particular cross country course is now closed in preparation for a competition.  I cannot wait to go again!

The 30 day challenge

I have been challenged to ride without stirrups for 30 days.  And you know me and these sort of challenges.  I love them.  So I have taken it up.  At least with Dingo, and in dressage.

So, I have duly detached said stirrups from the saddle.  It feels weird to be sitting in a saddle without any stirrups.  But, you can't sit around looking at the view forever, so off we went at a walk.  Then the trot.  Whoa!  This little pony thinks that if he goes fast enough he will just bounce me out altogether.  And this is where the whole seat and half halt thing came in.  I sat in the saddle, and half halted until I was blue in the face, but eventually we got a lovely trot, that I could comfortably (OMG! Really?) sit to.  And I had a totally lose rein!

Since the trot was now so good, we tried the canter.  This was an amazing experience.  It made me realise just how flat Dingo normally is.  This canter was just amazing.  It was as light and fluffy as drifting along on a cloud.  This is what riding is all about!

Now I am absolutely hooked on riding "sans stirrups".  So much so, that now Lil is on a mission plan to ride without stirrups within about 4 weeks.

What I don't understand is this.  Three years ago, I went to a riding instructor and said "there is a problem with my seat and I want to fix it".  Which part did she not understand?  There was a problem with my seat, and riding without stirrups has fixed it.

Lang Lang Show Fun Ring

Last year I took Sabina to a show.  I put her in with the professionals, and let her have a go.  She came back with a few ribbons, but when we got home, she commented that she was kind of hoping for more ribbons, and some different colours.  Not just white.

So this year I attacked the whole thing from a different perspective, and took her into the fun ring at the Lang Lang Show.  I kind of expected 6 other ponies in the ring, with a couple of dirty kids, and an opportunity for Sabina to "clean up".

To make sure we really had the best chance, we washed and scrubbed Tornado till he was sparkling, then wrapped him up in cotton rugs from head to toe.

Upon arrival to the show we had our first "show stopper".  The show was so packed, that we pretty much couldn't find a parking spot.  I had never envisaged this, and so we missed our first class.

Finally, with unbreakable smiles on our faces we rocked up to the fun ring.  Show stopper number two ... so much for the 6 grubby ponies.  There were about 20 immaculately turned out ponies, scrubbed squeeky clean, with manicured tails, and riders to match.  Fawn jodhpurs, long sleeved shirts, stocks, matching vests, jackets, you name it.  And, there was Sabina in her pony club uniform.

Never mind.  We held our heads high and proud and joined in the "fun".  In the end Sabina competed in 5 classes, and she got four different coloured ribbons.  After class number 5, she cracked it, as in her opinion Tornado had the longest tail but the judge seemed to fail to notice this fact.  So we called it a day.

When we got home, my husband enthusiastically asked "So, how was it?  Did you have fun?"

"No!", Sabina replied flatly.  "It was just walk and trot.  We didn't get to gallop.  It was no fun at all!"  And she stormed off towards the house.

You see, the problem was that just a mere day or two before the show she was riding Tornado in the top arena.  The seven acre haying paddock.  And he took off on her.  Full gallop, and pretty much as fast as a mini can go.  I sat there, on my horse, and just screamed at her "Look up and hold on.  And look UP!".

The next thing I heard was ecstatic giggles, as the pony finally pulled up to a stop at the gate.

"Ok, just walk him back", I instructed.

But no.  I saw a distinct kick (from Sabina), and the pony was back in full gallop, Sabina giggling all the way to the next gate.  Needless to say, this went on for some time.

Like mother, like daughter.  Eventing, here we come.

Dream Team

I have joined the Dream Team.  The thinking behind it is that I need some guidance how to achieve my goals, and how to achieve them fast.  So far we have had one workshop, and I think it's just FANTASTIC!!!

I would easily say, that it's the best thing I've done (towards achieving my riding goals) since buying a horse.

The down side of it, is that to do it, and do it properly (which is what I intend to do) is going to take up quite a lot of time.  And I just don't know how much time I will have left to maintain this blog.

I am not going to stop writing, but, at least for this year, Dream Team comes ahead of blog.