So Thursday saw us off to the JR to find out about J's MRI scan on his knee...turns out it was buggered and the meniscus needed shaving so he could get his ROM back. Flashed his insurance and in came a lovely consultant and booked him in for Saturday or Tuesday, talk about service!!!
Ted 100% back to normal after the echinacea incident, went for a couple of nice hacks at the end of the week. Got a call on Friday to tell us that J could go in on Saturday, be there at 1, home around 6.30!
Saturday morning the girls and I went to the Ariat sale, everyone but me bought boots and tops :( Having big feet sucks! Then away I went to take J to The Manor in Oxford. Having never done private hospitals before I was rather amazed, more hotel than hospital and I reckon the thing that struck me the most was the fact you didn't have to pay for car parking LOL!!!! The boys and I waited with him for 2 hours and then left as they were taking him down for surgery. Mr Keys told me to come back around 6 - 7pm and J would walk out and be fine.
To cut a long story short, all was NOT fine. The op lasted 3 hours instead of 45mins and when we got there at 7pm it was rather obvious that J was in NO state to go anywhere :-( So I settled the boys down with the TV and sought out the nurse who told me that the op had gone on longer than usual, the meniscus was totally buggered and J was going to be in a LOT of pain :( He had had to have as much morphine as a human being is allowed per day...eeeek! At 9pm we finally left even though they wanted to keep him in it was SO SO hot in his room as the sun was beaming in. Got him home, he was still very spacey, watched the final of BGT, am SO glad that Diversity won :-D Put J to bed in the spare room and then lay in bed listening to something that has taken up residence in the loft...it is really creepy!
Sunday and I was at the yard for 7.40am, get me! On Ted by 8am and we schooled in the paddock. Now, after seemingly getting my mojo back I appear to have slightly lost it again as Ted did NOT know what to do with himself. We had some glimces of OK work, but a very big realisation that we are NOT ready to tackle a novice test on grass yet. I was rather glad that I had a lesson booked for today with Sarah as I knew I just wasn't really on the ball. BIG deal was I hacked him up the track and back after our session with minimal fuss - GOOD BOY!!!
Ted was out in the field by 9am and I was home by 10am to nurse J. Poor thing had had a very bad night and was in a LOT of pain and couldn't move unassisted :-( Popped down to Fiona's for a glass of wine and J's GP was there so had a quick chat about medication and realised we were not administrating enough, so happy days! Went home slightly skewy, watched Snakes on a Motherfucking Plane (I love it) and fell asleep listening to odd noises again, from both the spare room AND the loft!
This morning and my lesson. Got on Ted at my yard and started up the lane, all OK until we got to the boogey man's lair. And yes, he stopped, again. And yes he wouldn't move,
again. I think he now knows that if he backs towards the fence I will stop as a) I don't want to be shocked and b) if he backed into it we would fall down backwards into the field AND be shocked and I would die...So, I kicked, I cajouled, I waited, I praised, I growled, he threatened to go up, I whacked him, which provocked absolutely nothing, so I got off, shamefully whacked him again, and marched him up the lane in hand - him not breathing. Honestly, it is a real conundrum as he is genuinely scared and I don't think he is trying to be a complete knob as he sighs with relief when he can see me and doesn't try and fuck off back to the yard or anything, which would be bloody easy for him to do as he is big!
So, got to yard (Sarah following in car giggling at me) and went to get on on the mounting block. He thought he would b
e a tool and almost fell over as I got on, but all was fine once I was in the plate. Walked him round to encourage some rather important oxygen intact and then put Sarah on so she could get a feel. She likes him a lot, but agrees that he is hard work to make go correctly, 10 mins and she was knackered (her words!). I got on and we worked on me being more consistent and not being too soft. Ask a question, expect an immediate answer or give him a boot. Things that are absolutely obvious, and I know, but when I am schooling alone it takes me 2 seconds to react rather than .2 that is necessary. Got some good work, realised that full seat breeches and Butet + heat is rather difficult and sticky (Sarah advised me not to school in them in the summer, she doesn't, she said you just get too stuck at points, I agree!) and for some reason I am completely fluffing my trot/canter/trot transitions and have started leaning forward again or bouncing around like a complete novice. I don't know why, it could be because I find lessons terrifying for some reason LOL! Still it is something that I need to knuckle down to. Walk/Canter/Walk is absolutely fine. I do think trying to sit t/c/t transition in the Butet is hard and something I need to consider as I don't have the prob in my Sabre. Looking at pics I also see the saddle is lifting slightly behind, so need to have a proper look at that too.Hacked back to the yard, both of us dripping, he was iffy and hesitant but we got there with me on board and I was pleased.
This morning
