Normal service has been resumed

Thank the bloody Lord! Will get to that bit in a min....meanwhile....

Got to the yard this morning, and Ted was going wild again - not good, I actually saw him with my own eyes today and I can completely understand why Ellen was so freaked out! Ted had also today double barrelled the door and cut his coronet band, idiot, so I was NOT impressed with him. As soon as I walked into the stable he stopped his odd bouncing on the spot (think rocking horse on steroids) and led down to the field like a lamb, as usual...grrr! So I was perplexed and had a good think about what has been changed. Different field with more grass, and I have been giving him echinacea for the last 4 days. I put up a post on HHO asking if anyone had had an adverse horse reaction with echinacea and really thought I would be laughed off the board, but no, it is apparently known to make them a bit loony, so, fingers crossed, we have worked out that problem - yay!

Went to Witney and then came back and the weather was better so I met Sarah down at the yard and we took Ted up to the school. He was maybe 3% better up the road but it is still a work in progress. Sarah rode him and was very complimentary with how he was going so I told her to do some lateral work and he just took the piss, so I got on. Now, I wasn't expecting anything much as my back is knackered and my sciatica is really playing up, but OMG I got him immediately and did some passable lateral work and flying change work and I was very, very pleased with him. Sarah said we are looking good together too, so that really made me happy as today I felt as though I CAN ride. Maybe now we are ready to do more schoolwork again :-D

There is a qualifier at Blewbury a week on Sunday so am going to aim for that, and also dressage at Blue Cross a week on Friday, so, PLEASE NO INJURIES!

Hmmmm

Hmmmm, and hummmm again.

I have come to the conclusion that I cannot ride. I don't know why, but I reckon my body is completely working against me. I cannot open my hips, I keep catching myself drawing my lower leg up, things just don't seem to come as easily as they used to and it sucks. I would like to please go back to effortless riding - ever since I did that damn Mary Wanless clinic (what is it, 4 years ago now?!) I over analyse everything and that doesn't make me a natural rider, and I so want to be. I would love to go be a WP for a couple of months and have the opportunity to ride for 3/4 hours a day again like I used to as I reckon that would sort me.

Nothing bad has happened BTW, just me feeling useless. Yesterday 7 of us hacked out together on a 2 hour ride and it was fun. Apart from Ted being totally wound up by another horse who insisted on going in front of me until I made my thoughts clear and took the lead instead. He was very sweet but oh so nappy, he would NOT go past the other horses unless he had company, and this backward attitude really sucks. You kick him on to catch up and he stops dead before he is a nose in front and, quite frankly, there is nothing I can do about it. I think I am going to have to take him in hand now and beat him a little as I know he trusts me (goes through things and past things that are uber scary) but he needs to trust himself. And HOW do you insist on making a horse breath? I have never known a horse for holding his breath like him. I am going to get some Coligone and put him on that and see if it helps, but I don't want him more *quiet* just bolder. I suppose hunting WILL help with that, but it is a long way off yet.

This morning I got a call at 9.15am whilst I was straddling the flat pack unit I was putting up "Louise it is Ellen, I am stuck outside your stable (cue me pulling a face) and I cannot move as your horse is going mad"

"Ellen, what is he doing"

"He is cantering back and forth and rearing up and I think he might come over the door and I cannot face the thought of him injuring himself again"

"Is everything else out?"

"No"

"Ignore him, I will be down in 15 mins"

I get there expecting him to be fine (he was) but his mats were all pushed forwards out of the door and you could see where he had been going up and down and he had marked the concrete. I have NO idea why he is doing this, the idiot. Stuck his headcollar on and he was, as usual, the perfect saint to take to the field. He only ever plays up when Ellen is on the yard alone, poss because she has the pony he is in love with, but she didn't even leave the yard!

Got him in tonight and he was subdude. Usually he goes straight for a wee, but didn't, just stood fussing me and being nice! Made horrific faces at me when rugging (I went back down 2 hours after bring in) and hadn't touched his hay either, so I think Mr T ate too much grass today!

Will ride and school tomorrow and prob do a little jumping too - yay!

Good girl

See, here I am again, blogging away even though I have nothing to say!

Yesterday: Rode, went for a good canter, Ted broncked a bit, was hilarious and made me LOL. Spent the evening listening to music and drinking wine.

Today: SPA DAY! We opened the LL Cool J spa at the yard (Louise Louize Cool Jackie ;-) ) and bathed and tidied all the ponies - fun times. Then we had a BBQ and Bacardi Breezers and sunbathed, I was a little pink but am already back to albino - bad times.

Now sitting listening to the Chart Show on Radio 1, eating Chilli Heatwave Doritos and drinking rose Blossom Hill, which is like pop. Have lost the children, cannot hear them in the park and really I should go and investigate but cannot be arsed.

I just drank a fly...nice...

Musings, but with wine, no tea...

Good day! Rode this morning and Ted was, TBH, a little nappy and silly but after not being out around the farm for 1 day shy of 2 weeks he couldn't really be blamed. Not 100% sure about my saddle if I am completely honest. It is VERY flat and VERY without support, so I am certainly going to go for a different design when the time comes to change it. I should have listened to Claire about stirrup leather lengths and gone for longer too, as even on the first hole they are very short - lesson learnt.

Took J for his MRI scan and then we went to Hatherop sports day. Sadly we missed every one of Benjy's events bar the tug of war, in which he was awesome and they won their battles so that was good. Great cake too! I must put more time into meeting up with the mothers there as there are some really nice characters that I am sure I will enjoy spending time with.

Bit of trouble in the village again tonight when a stone came flying past my head. I ran round to the playing field and the usual suspects were playing footie in the court. They all denied throwing anything and I couldn't see anyone else who could have done it. Fact is one of them prob just hurled a stone out, but it is the lying that pisses me off. It isn't the first time we have had things thrown into the garden and J has had enough, he is very worked up about it which really isn't helpful...

Been thinking today about the future lots. Money is running out and it is time to really settle with some ongoing future plans about what we want and need for our family. I know I need to start writing again, but I don't seem to start even though I am bursting with ideas. The boys are very, very enthusiastic about my stories of Flumpalump and Matilda (don't laugh) but what if everyone else thinks they suck? And I have had a great synopsis for an adult book brewing in my head, but again, I cannot face failure. I don't know why age starts to make you worried about acceptance, I certainly never used to give a flying monkey's arse whether or not people thought what I wrote was good, but now I really do. I am also feeling inherently lazy, which doesn't help. But something HAS to give an I owe it to us all to at least try I supppose.

Half term begins today, boo hiss and yay rolled into one. Jamie's family are over on Tuesday, so I want to ensure the house is 100% perfect for that as I know he cares (as do I, I have had enough critisism to last me a lifetime). Amanda's on Friday and Mrs P is coming too. She and her hubby are Benj's absent godparents, so that will be a little tricky. I really have nothing to say to her anymore as I am afraid I do hurt that she hasn't ever bothered to send him a card on his birthday or at Christmas since we moved here.

There we go, running out of battery, being eaten alive by midges, time to go in. God I sound boring!

Saddle sorted

Goodo! Sederholm Selected came out this morning to look at the Butet. Prior to this Ted had apparently been cantering and rearing around his stable, so I chucked him on the horse walker for 30 mins while I mucked out, wondering whether having the saddler out the first day back in work was a good idea...I never make my life easy!

Anyway, Claire thought the saddle looked AOK over the wither (and I have to admit that I did too, maybe the time off has helped???) but it was sitting everso slightly downhill, which I agreed with too! Got him tacked up, fidgit bag, got on saying my prayers but he was a dude and very well behaved all session!

1st good thing) 18inch is deffo the right size for me

So I ride round and we agree we can prob do better, so I tried a new saddle with hidden knee blocks and a deeper seat. It was really nice, very squidgy knees and prob more comfortable to hunt in, but I would need it made, £600 MORE money - bloody eeek. Claire was at pains to point out that the saddle I had bought really wasn't that bad. We had a long, long chat and I decided that I am going to keep it for 3 months and then we will reassess as hopefully he will have far better muscle coverage over his back by then, and we can try double flaps, knee rolls, literally every different type. She left me a Mattes pad that we put a couple of inserts in which made me feel that the saddle was spot on, from on and off the horse, so happy days.

Now I just have to look after it well so it does not depreciate!!!

I am a really bad blogger!

17 days and no update - sorry!

So what has been happening. Well it was my birthday and that was lovely although it rained and we had to dash in and out and in again! Vix ended up staying as she drank wine all afternoon, so we had a drunken Next Top Model viewing sesh.

During that week Ted was good - he had a chiro visit from Ollie Harbour and he confirmed my thoughts that a) the WOW does not fit at all, b) the reason for the lack of muscle over the back is tension in his hindquarters and c) he really needs to be far more flexible through his body. So all good stuff to work on and we arranged for Cat Dartnell to come and massage him before him seeing Ollie again so he would let go a bit for Ollie to actually work properly.

Then it was Badders weekend - woohoo! Sally and Jules came up as usual and I had a suprise visitor in the way of Klare on the Friday night which was fab as we haven't seen each other in far too long. Badders almost went by the wayside as Jules fell ill, but he soldiered on. We had a fun day as usual although the weather wasn't of the tanning variety. I went to the WOW stand to speak to David by got completely rail roaded by some new girl there and with this in mind made my way to Sederholm Selected stand and ended up buying a year old Butet, Prestige girth and a matching bridle! As Amy had had a Butet for Ted they knew what I needed, however Sally and I popped it on him on the Sunday (in the stable, it was raining LOL) and we both agreed that it is too tight behind the wither - damn, damn, damn.

So Sunday was ticking by nicely, I texted Kt and arranged to ride with her at 4.30 as I hadn't ridden all weekend (I share a field with her and she does Ted at the weekend evenings for me so I can have family time) and as I got in the car to go to the yard my phone beeped and it was a message saying that Ted had brought himself in again. HUMPH, not happy Weezy at all. Got to yard and was told he was fine, he had walked up the lane and a woman had seen him jump out and thought he had caught a foot but nothing untoward. Went into the stable and saw two drops of blood on his off hind fetlock...and looked up and SHIT, a hole and a flap and blood. Now, I am never one to worry or panic, so I had a good look expecting just to clean and treat, then I realised that I could get my finger to the knuckle in the hole and the flap was just not the type of thing to leave, so Sunday call out it was.

Vet arrived, Tash, having been up most of the weekend and on her way to PTS a poy with grass sickness, so not in the most jolly of moods....her mood got worse as Ted booted her one as she listened to his heart - oh dear. So we sedate him, he won't go under, we give him enough for an elephant and BAM, he is deffo not of this world. And he keeps falling over. And I am worried sick that he is going to fall on Tash and pin her to the wall. Not a good time. Anyway, she cleaned it up and stitched it and advised that he stay in until Friday and stitches out in 10 days. Grand. Pissed off. Big time.

BTW reason Ted jumped out was because Kt had brought her mare in and left him, why, I don't know, prob because she knew I was coming down shortly, but Ted doesn't tolerate waiting. He hadn't been hooning or given anyone any idea that escape was on his mind - damn horse. I went to look at the gate and oh golly, this was no *leaving a hoof*, he had obv come down on it rather hard... You cannot see the whole picture from the photo, but the gate is really buckled and rather knackered!







This was his leg after stitching - I stupidly forgot to take one before! He caught his stifle on the plastic covered upright of the gate, there was plenty of hair left there to alert us to this fact LOL!










So I had to contact Ben (SJ lesson), Vix (Anna Ross Davies lesson) and pull out of Ciren Part fun ride and got all stroppy and peed off that our first week of *doing* had been thwarted! He was a model patient though and didn't get too mad until Jonny came on Tuesday to do his teeth - bad idea, he smelt of Hibiscrub and Ted was having absolutely NOTHING to do with him and learnt very quickly how to toss the gag over his ears and back and completely and utterly refuse to co operate, so teeth rasping was abandoned LOL!

Cat came on Weds and he had a 2 hour massage that brought up a whole host of problems - a LOT of muscular damage/tension throughout his hind quarters as Ollie had said, but also prob as a result of hanging himself on the gate. She was very, very thorough and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her (and Ollie of course!). Ted relaxed into it after about 1 hour 55 mins - seriously he is such a tense horse, he doesn't breath or just let himself go - it is a good job he is so aminable (that so isn't spelt correctly!) to ride as otherwise he would be lethal!

Shoes were done on Thursm, new farrier, I liked his shoeing but his personal life is a mess and he really needs to leave that at home - enough said on that one, but a 40 min convo on the phone isnt on.

Friday came and I was expecting a rocket to come out of the stable, but no, he was as good as gold. He really has been throughout! I have had him on restricted TO, 5 hours max, and he is coming in starving so that is enough for now.

Ollie came again on Monday and was rather horrified by Ted's back - Cat managed to release stuff which has uncovered a whole host of other issues - eeek! The back spasms were again very evident. Sederholm are coming tomorrow to sort saddle and then really it will be a matter of remedial riding to try and get him to stretch and lengthen himself. I got Equissaged by Ollie and Wayne, which was rather scrummy too! Two gorgeous gay men prodding your bottom is a great end to a day ;-)

So yes, bit of a crappy 2 weeks really. Vet is due out today to remove stitches, God only knows what time that will be!

A glorious day!

So I felt dreadful yesterday and this morning, my heart is really out of sync ATM, but must push on through it, it is debhilitating to a point, but I cannot let it stop me from getting on.

So, this morning I got to the yard 30 mins before riding and gave Ted some Alfa Chaff and mucked out. He was MUCH better to saddle, didn't fidget or snap, so happy days. We went to Weald and had a really, really great ride :-D Ted was way more responsive, we worked between long and low and up and together and he did all that was asked. Did some shoulder-in, travers and leg yielding along the lanes and all was great. Went for a great canter too and he was gung ho but safe, and then we cantered back at a slower pace and again he was spot on. I really feel that the chaff helped a lot, so I will continue to do this for now if I am not riding him off the field. I am totally in love with Ted.

Mandy and Louis are over this arvo for a roast and so Jamie has gone out to hunt a big rib of beef (yummy) and then tomorrow is the small BBQ - yay. Benjy sadly has to go to school, but that means I will be up and can chuck Ted out for 3 hours before riding rather than leave him in stressing. Am looking forward to it all!

Oh Happy Days!

*Jazz Hands*

Friday - rode but not a long un. Ted mini bucked up the drive as he wanted to go right but I made him go straight - for a moment I really did think that I was going to end up sitting with Jackie on Monty, but I rode him through it and then he was OK. I cannot discount that it may be the saddle, some horses hate Flair. Had a good canter and then bumped into another 2 people out hacking, so Ted had to show off a bit after we had been stood chatting for a couple of mins, LOL! He strode out on the way home, I practised some lateral work going left and right down the track and he was really responsive, so I was happy :-)

Today I was going to ride but I was at the yard by 8.30 and Louize turned up at the same time so we chucked them out as I was fighting time anyway as I was expecting Amanda at 12. We had SUCH a nice afternoon, the children all really got on and it was great catching up with Amanda, I forgot how much I missed her TBH, so we have agreed to see a lot more of each other, especially as the children play so well together and she is only in Beckley!

Went down the yard at 4.30 so I could get in before Ted had time to make Bridie go wild again (she is in love and has taken to being a prat going passed his field), it was such a lovely afternoon that I chucked on my breeches and decided to walk him down to the school for a good moral-boosting (for him) session. Kirsten turned up with Michelle as I arrived and fell instantly in love with Ted so she grabbed a hat and I jocked her up on him so he had me to lead and give him confidence and her legs to urge him on from the saddle - it worked really well. He was hesitant and backward thinking, but he didn't freeze at all so it was a very good exercise. I let K ride him for a bit and then I jumped on and gave him a quick drilling, which made us both ache I think, but he went SO SO well and I was very pleased (but I need my back doing as I am deffo out of balance over my pelvis). He walked back down to the yard well and was very pleased with himself - yay! So all bodes well for him and his breakdowns, I think he will be happily hacking down there by next weekend...fingers crossed!