Harry horse & Charlie adventures! Horse chat & much more! Everyone welcome!

[Yorkshire Coop]

Yesterday was a total bust on a practice session! Was absolutely honking it down with rain so we gave it a miss and had to head straight into the test this evening with what practice we’d had! Was a little nervous as it’s been many a year since I’ve done a competition of any kind!
Lottie was a gem and to my total shock we got first place in the intro A class! So pleased with Lottie with how she went for our first time together but we have a few pointers we need to work on for future tests.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Kim

Got my fingers for you tonight for the dressage.... hope it goes well and Lottie is a star. Wow! Have you been busy with the flags! You put me to shame! I have my first in a month to fly for tonight.

I have been out for a little hack on Arthur. Ian accompanied me on Zak. Arthur was rather nappy and unresponsive on the way out and it was very start and stop but he clearly has a good inbuilt homing mechanism because the minute we were on our way home he was off and quite happy to leave Zak behind and we even had a little canter at one point. It is going to take time to build his confidence but he was mostly pretty good. He certainly went very well barefoot..... no sign of any soreness or discomfort, unlike poor Zak who had pulled his front shoes off in the field but Ian was not accepting that as an excuse for being ridden! I think we may put Arthur in the carriage with Ernie tomorrow and see how he drives. I would prefer to put him in with Zak but Ernie is bigger and stronger and will easily do all the work so Arthur just needs to jog along beside him.
Anyway, I hope you have a lovely bank holiday weekend and enjoy flying more flags.XX

 

[rebrascora]

Oh WOW!!!!! Well done you! First place... WooHoo!! Congrats to you and Lottie.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Congrats on your 1st place ribbon!
Go Lottie!

In the US, 1st place ribbon is usually blue. I thought you got a second, which would have been great, but first is just that much more satisfying!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi Kim

Got my fingers for you tonight for the dressage.... hope it goes well and Lottie is a star. Wow! Have you been busy with the flags! You put me to shame! I have my first in a month to fly for tonight. View attachment 1761889 I have been out for a little hack on Arthur. Ian accompanied me on Zak. Arthur was rather nappy and unresponsive on the way out and it was very start and stop but he clearly has a good inbuilt homing mechanism because the minute we were on our way home he was off and quite happy to leave Zak behind and we even had a little canter at one point. It is going to take time to build his confidence but he was mostly pretty good. He certainly went very well barefoot..... no sign of any soreness or discomfort, unlike poor Zak who had pulled his front shoes off in the field but Ian was not accepting that as an excuse for being ridden! I think we may put Arthur in the carriage with Ernie tomorrow and see how he drives. I would prefer to put him in with Zak but Ernie is bigger and stronger and will easily do all the work so Arthur just needs to jog along beside him.
Anyway, I hope you have a lovely bank holiday weekend and enjoy flying more flags.XX

Oh WOW!!!!! Well done you! First place... WooHoo!! Congrats to you and Lottie.

Hi Barbara! So good to hear from you. Not putting you to shame at all as I’m sure things are still getting in some kind of routine for you. I hope that side of things is all going ok

Good to read you have been able to get out on Arthur & to see that flag fly! He sounds a lovely boy & that he went well for a baby. I do feel sorry for poor Zak though and no shoes! I’m a total soft touch like that & Ian would probably be pulling his hair out at someone like me! Will it be Arthur’s first time in the carriage today? I hope it all goes well and is a good experience for him. We actually came across a pony & trap the other day whilst out hacking. The lovely lady pulled over into the verge for us as neither Harry or Abbie had ever seen one before. Abbie was very unsure and needed a minute to just stand and look at it to get her head round it! Harry was like a giraffe and I could feel his heart beating under me but we got passed all ok but both were like “what is that attached to that pony!”

Thank you for the congrats on the dressage! Still in shock this morning about it! Going to find out today how many were actually doing intro A! Might have only been me But non the less I’m pretty happy with the 69.5% mark.

Hope you too have a good bank holiday and can avoid those possible wintery showers that are just mad for May!

Catch you soon Barbara xx

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Congrats on your 1st place ribbon!
Go Lottie!

In the US, 1st place ribbon is usually blue. I thought you got a second, which would have been great, but first is just that much more satisfying!

Thank you Wishing! Super pleased with Lottie! I might not want to give my friend her pony back once she’s back from maternity leave!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

There was 6 in the Intro A class so not too bad and I wasn’t the only one! Kelly got a video but missed the first part! I can see all the points now that I need to work on!

 

[rebrascora]

Hi again Kim
Even more impressed seeing you and Lottie perform your test. She does have a really nice way of going and you look so professional. Has this success spurred you on to do more dressage? You should! Would you not consider doing a test on Harry too?

It is a colder day here today and the wind has picked up so I'm not sure if we will be driving Arthur with Ernie, but we do need to get Ernie out in a cart because he will be going to the Driving club meet tomorrow instead of Zak, since Zak is missing shoes. I will have the job of catching him which may prove interesting. He will be difficult after being caught and worked today..... if we are able to catch him today. He has had a couple of months off and once the grass comes through he has a tendency to be evasive. I usually sit down in the field with a bag of treats and rustle it and wait for him to come to me, but it can be a test of time and patience and when you need to be loaded up and gone, they both sometimes run out before you are successful! Zak on the other hand is always in your face when you go in the field and usually makes it more difficult to catch Ernie. I usually have more success than Ian with catching Ernie but not guaranteed as he is getting wise to my tricks.
Yes, Arthur has been driven before we got him but if his driving is anything like his riding, it will be "interesting" to say the least. I think he will have been hitched to a sulky and then just sent on until he was tired enough to stop. This is another good reason to put him in with Ernie who will hold him if he tries to bolt far better than Ian could hold him on his mouth and also hopefully give him confidence if he does get anxious. I would prefer to take him out with Zak as he is by far the most steady, reliable and calming horse and they have already met each other but his feet will not stand up to more barefoot work and the farrier is very busy at the mo, so it may be a week or so before he gets new shoes and Ian is in a hurry to see how Arthur goes! Will let you know how we get on as and when it happens. X

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@rebrascora Thanks Barbara but professional I’m definitely not Yes it’s spurred me on to do some more with Lottie whilst I have use of her but I’m not sure about Harry! He’s not keen on that arena and hates that top right hand corner in there. Don’t know why He doesn’t bend well and in general the school is not his happiest place. But we shall see.. watch this space

Did you manage to get out with Ernie & Arthur today? I’m guessing it’s all dependent on being able to catch the beastie’s! Got a couple at the farm like that, you are so near & yet so far with them! It’s been very windy down here today too and very unseasonable! In open spots that wind has been bitter and nothing like May. I was hoping to have Harry & Bran turned out by now but they are still ready to come in at T time. Some of the showers have been heavy too. Seriously thinking about getting some winter clothes again

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Kim

Pleased to hear that you are feeling motivated to continue with Lottie. The judge obviously also felt that she has ability to go further with her dressage from her comments. Has her owner ever competed with her?

Well done for managing to get your beasties past the horse and cart the other day. I know it can be a really scary sight for ridden horses that have no experience of driving and even some driving horses when they are out being ridden in an open (unblinkered) bridle can find it difficult.

We had a few set backs yesterday which meant that we didn't do anything with Arthur. It took over an hour to catch Ernie and even after taking the other two out and going in with a bucket of feed, he still would not come.... even when we put the bucket down and walked away from it and stood 30 feet back off it, he still smelled a trap and would not go for it. Eventually I figured out a natural horsemanship technique where a persistently followed after him staring at his bottom and as soon as he turned and looked at be I backed off and/or looked away, gave him the opportunity to come to me and if he didn't I walked towards his bot and stared hard at it. We did quite a bit of circling like this even to the point that he stood and just kept moving his back end away and keeping his head towards me and then I would turn and approach from the other side and he would slowly swivel on his front end and move the back end away in that direction. When I got close enough to touch him, I gave him a treat and walked away rather than try to get a halter on. If he came with me he got another treat and if he didn't, I focussed on moving his back end away from me again and doing the circling until he let me touch him again and give him a tickle and a treat. I went through this several times before I put a halter on and then gave him a treat and took it off and walked away. I'm sure Ian was cross that I didn't bring him in as soon as I caught him the first time and it was tempting but again I did that several times before bringing him in. This morning it took me a tenth of the time using the same technique and Ian had already spent 10 mins trying to catch him before I got there. I love it when a natural horsemanship technique works over Ian's more conventional approach. It is a huge field and he would be quite happy to gallop round and avoid us all day if he wanted to.
By the time we brought him in last night and Ian re hogged his mane and we harnessed him up, there was just time to go 200yards along the road to make sure the harness settings were right and in that short distance the brakes on the carriage seized up and he was dragging it along the road with the tyres scudding on the tarmac, so that required more time and adjustment. It was 10pm before we got sorted and in the house to cook dinner, so Arthur had to wait for another day.

Pleased to report that my blood sugars are at last lowered and stabilizing and I am getting better at balancing the insulin to my food. The last few days have been much better so I am hoping I have cracked it and it is just a question of being disciplined with my diet now..... avoiding starchy carbohydrates like bread, porridge, pasta, rice and potatoes until the evening and then just having a small portion of them. I miss my porridge and toast, but then I enjoy an omelette or fried breakfast and just have a chunk of cheese or a few nuts at lunchtime and a proper evening meal with meat and fish and lots of veg., so it is not like I am deprived of nice food but it is hard sometimes when people are eating cake or scones or biscuits in front of me. I do feel better for no longer eating rubbish though and I'm really proud of having kicked my sugar habit!

Must head off and get dinner underway and then I have some weed killing to do after the insects have stopped flying for the day. I bought the weedkiller years ago before I became more environmentally aware, but my paddocks are getting overrun because I haven't used them for several years and I came to the conclusion it is better for me to use them up but not buy any more than for them to go into a landfill site, so I have been doing a bit of spraying each evening after the sun has gone down. May have a flag to fly tomorrow if we get Arthur out for another little ride, perhaps with Archie.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend, despite the cold weather. It seems such a far cry from the glorious Easter sunshine we had!