Me and P

[Feawen]

We did it! Bounce, bounce. I had been mulling over trying a proper pole-work session with P in the jumping arena, and introducing him to some raised poles/tiny jumps. This wouldn’t be a big deal to me on most horses, but P is quirky, and being ridden in the back school, poles and jumping are all things his owner doesn’t do with him.

We have been building up to working in the scary school in hand and under saddle, and have been incorporating poles in that, but he still has stressy moments and I haven’t done a full schooling session in there yet. I feel like I’ve taken so much time and care to get things right that I don’t want to upset the balance now. On the other hand, I had a rare opportunity to have Dan come with me to the stables and help, so in that sense it was a good day to have a go, with someone on hand to help me move poles etc. So I had a plan in mind about trying the exercise my RI recommended, but also I was prepared to change it if P was stressed or overwhelmed.

P was pretty good - very forward going with a few pingy moments but he was neither panicky nor naughty. I am so pleased and proud of us all. With P for his willingness, co-operation and relative calm. With myself for keeping my head and making sensible decisions about how much to do. And with Dan for all his help and patience.

All the excitement produced some quite impressive extensions:



And some brisk canters:



And we gave the first pole plenty of space:



But got calmer as we went along:



And we finished with a tiny hop each way:

 

[Feawen]

I rode P this evening and it was a bit of a come-down after our exceptionally good day on Saturday. Part of the art of riding is dealing with these peaks and troughs – not every ride can or should involve mastering a new challenge or lots of excitement. However, I wasn’t in a great mood and P felt a little flat after his bouncy enthusiasm in our pole-work session. For the first time I actually gave him a sharp tap with my schooling whip – he was doing a pathetic, piddly little canter with no impulsion, I put my leg on to ask him to put a bit more effort in, but he ignored me and then a stride later fell awkwardly out of canter. If I hadn’t cued for more impulsion I’d have just rebalanced and asked again, but in the circumstances I felt my aid needed reinforcement, so I tapped him.

P bounced back into canter with a little buck, and was a more forward-thinking but also a tenser horse for the rest of our ride. I think that the balance between those extremes will be key to getting the best work from him – he needs to be forward but not anxious and rushing. I don’t regret tapping him – I’m happy that it was a reasonably response and that I didn’t hurt him, but I’ve also learned it has consequences for the rest of the ride.

 

[Feawen]

Lovely long hack this Saturday, all on our own, with a few challenges thrown in. We started well, with a nice long trot along the river bank. Then I realised that the bank had got rather high, and that the path I should have been on was in the field about 4 feet below us. I was feeling relaxed and enjoying myself, but apparently I was a bit too relaxed and not paying enough attention.

We followed the river a little further until there was an opportunity to scramble safely down – though P decided at the last moment to spring gleefully off the top of the bank instead of walking down the slope. I just about managed to slip my reins to avoid catching his mouth. And then, of course, he sensed freedom and cantered off for a few strides while I gathered my knitting.

I had planned to ride a roughly circular route through the fields round to a back entrance to the yard - but a big tractor with spraying arms was coming towards us in the distance from that direction, so I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and circled away. We followed wheelings in a square through the crop field instead, bringing us back onto the river path without turning round on the spot. A friend used to call these lollipop rides – where there is no opportunity for a circular ride so you make a wide circle at the end before heading back the way you came .

In the meantime, the tractor had flanked us, and was doing something agricultural in the crop field right next to the road. And, just a little further up, was the yard owner on a ride-on lawn mower cutting the verge. P hesitated slightly so I pushed him up into trot and we went past in a brisk but controlled manner. Bravo P! Rather than clatter back into the yard I decided to walk up to the next entrance to turn in and walk back past the turnout paddocks.

Tractor dodging (actually taken on a different day, when I had Dan with me on foot, but there are usually tractors to dodge!):

 

[Feawen]

We had a better schooling session on Monday evening. P started off a little stuffy – holding himself prettily but lacking impulsion. We worked on some stretching exercises – gathering him on a larger circle then spiralling in and gradually lengthening his frame on a 15m circle then moving back out to the bigger circle then ‘large’ in a sort of free trot on a long rein. After repeating the exercise a couple of times each way in trot, we tried in canter.

At the first attempt he was inclined to drop out of canter as soon as I invited him to stretch. But after one untidy downward transition and a brrr! From me he got the idea that he was to keep going. This was a great exercise that I must remember to use again – we ended with a super, elastic, ground-covering canter that I could gather up by half-halting or invite to stretch by offering my hands down and forwards. The canter work, as it often does, improved the trot dramatically too.

 

[Feawen]

We are planning an outing! Specifically, we're going showing.

Cue endless faffing with the schedule on my part, trying to figure out which classes we are eligible for, and where P might excel. To my surprise we are eligible for the novice pony class. I feel mildly awkward about this as although eligible for the class he is an established 13 year old, not really a novice, and has competed at (though not won) some important classes. But on the other hand this is my first attempt at proper showing so maybe I’ll balance him out. He is also a registered part bred arab so we can do the part breed class.

We will need a snaffle for the novice pony class, and a double bridle for the part breeds. Given that so far I have ridden P in a bubble gag (just one hole down from the snaffle ring, so minor leverage, but still) the snaffle is going to need practice. Given that I last used a double bridle about 12 years ago, that might need a refresher too.

I have most of the clothes I need from when I used to occasionally compete at dressage, except for some canary britches, which are easily bought. Luckily P is the right type to show in a navy jacket and sparkly browband.

The last time I tried showing was 20 years ago, on my wicked welsh pony, who bucked continually until the judge asked me to leave the ring because we were upsetting the other children. Let's hope this attempt goes more smoothly.

 

[Feawen]

Life got busy and I haven't updated this diary in a while - I'm almost further behind current events than when I started! But here's a summary.


We did go to a show, where P behaved impeccably, to the astonishment of his owner and everybody else who's ever met him . It was an extraordinarily hot day and he clearly felt less leapy-abouty than normal.


It was a very quiet day at the showground, so we did rather well in some very small classes, including qualifying for a bunch of things - Equifest, Royal London Show and ESUK. Here is the shiny pony doing his thing:



For a few reasons we decided not to take up our place at the shows we qualified for - partly my lack of experience in the show ring (and frankly lack of enthusiasm - I always enjoy riding P but I'm not sure I really "get" showing). And partly due to the extreme heat that I and P’s owner both find totally energy-sapping (even though P doesn’t).


I’ve focused instead on riding P at home, continuing hacking him (sadly mostly in walk), doing some pole work, and schooling. His walk-to-canter is coming on leaps and bounds (sometimes literally – he finds it quite exciting).


I’ve also been riding B fairly often. Rather to my surprise, we have really gelled – at 15hh he is physically a good fit for me, which helps, and I feel like he has tuned into my aids extremely quickly. When I first met B I thought he was a rather nervous and reactive horse, but as he has come out of his shell with me a bolder, more inquisitive side to his personality has emerged, which I like a lot!

 

[Feawen]

A bittersweet closing post to my diary.

My partner and I have bought a house together! It's been an exciting and bumpy journey, but we finally moved in to our new place on New Year's Eve. We have relocated about 50 miles away, bringing both our commutes down to under an hour, which is a great relief. It was the right decision for us but I was very sad to leave my share horses and their wonderful owner behind.

I continued to share them through the autumn until we left, and had several adventures! B and I went out on hound exercises, which was tremendous fun if a lot more exciting than the trot round the fields it was billed as . I also introduced him to the idea of jumping courses at home, then took him out to a few little low key jumping competitions, where he consistently won his (admittedly itty-bitty) classes. We also went cross country schooling, which he found quite overwhelming at first, but once he started to get the idea he relaxed and I think even enjoyed himself. His owner has been incredibly supportive, she isn't into jumping herself, which is why B hadn't done a lot before, but really encouraged us to get going and enjoy ourselves.

And my relationship with B transformed too - he's gone from a grumpy so-and-so who I struggled to catch to a horse who canters over to me in the field to rest his head on my shoulder. It's amazing the different some shared experiences and mutual trust can make.

I also continued spending time with P, though sadly he has had some soundness issues, so was in and out of light work from October. After many tests his owner and her vet seem to have identified and treated the problem, and we all have our fingers crossed for a successful rehab.

Since I moved, I have popped back to see the horses a couple of times, but it is too far to make a regular trip (50 miles isn't a great distance but the traffic is awful at peak times - ridiculously it can be a 2 hour drive!) I miss them dreadfully, their owner even raised the idea of my bringing B with me on full loan, but ultimately we realised our mutual circumstances don't quite fit.

There has been so much uncertainty over the house and then the horse that I haven't been posting as I wasn't sure what I wanted to share, even with the small forum here. But I am finally out the other side, with a house but no horse, and just starting to think about the idea of finding my next sharing adventure...



First few xc jumps were a bit tricky



Still a touch suspicious but getting the idea

 

[selside]

You will find something when you're good and ready. It seems as if your share arrangement was beneficial to both sides - a real win win for the owner, the horses and you too. Sorry but the first photo is really funny. Just look at the expression on his face! "OMG - really?? O, well - I trust you, let's have a go, but there's no way I'm touching THAT scary thing!"

 

[Feawen]

Thank you Selside. I have so enjoyed riding both horses. And yes that photo had me in stitches when I first saw it - that “what have you got us into now?!” expression

 

[Trewsers]

A bittersweet closing post to my diary.

My partner and I have bought a house together! It's been an exciting and bumpy journey, but we finally moved in to our new place on New Year's Eve. We have relocated about 50 miles away, bringing both our commutes down to under an hour, which is a great relief. It was the right decision for us but I was very sad to leave my share horses and their wonderful owner behind.

I continued to share them through the autumn until we left, and had several adventures! B and I went out on hound exercises, which was tremendous fun if a lot more exciting than the trot round the fields it was billed as . I also introduced him to the idea of jumping courses at home, then took him out to a few little low key jumping competitions, where he consistently won his (admittedly itty-bitty) classes. We also went cross country schooling, which he found quite overwhelming at first, but once he started to get the idea he relaxed and I think even enjoyed himself. His owner has been incredibly supportive, she isn't into jumping herself, which is why B hadn't done a lot before, but really encouraged us to get going and enjoy ourselves.

And my relationship with B transformed too - he's gone from a grumpy so-and-so who I struggled to catch to a horse who canters over to me in the field to rest his head on my shoulder. It's amazing the different some shared experiences and mutual trust can make.

I also continued spending time with P, though sadly he has had some soundness issues, so was in and out of light work from October. After many tests his owner and her vet seem to have identified and treated the problem, and we all have our fingers crossed for a successful rehab.

Since I moved, I have popped back to see the horses a couple of times, but it is too far to make a regular trip (50 miles isn't a great distance but the traffic is awful at peak times - ridiculously it can be a 2 hour drive!) I miss them dreadfully, their owner even raised the idea of my bringing B with me on full loan, but ultimately we realised our mutual circumstances don't quite fit.

There has been so much uncertainty over the house and then the horse that I haven't been posting as I wasn't sure what I wanted to share, even with the small forum here. But I am finally out the other side, with a house but no horse, and just starting to think about the idea of finding my next sharing adventure...

View attachment 97695

First few xc jumps were a bit tricky

View attachment 97696

Still a touch suspicious but getting the idea

Aw shame it is too far. But needs must and your commute sounds more doable. Hope you find another share as and when.

 

[Feawen]

Aw shame it is too far. But needs must and your commute sounds more doable. Hope you find another share as and when.

Thanks Trewsers - I’m keeping an eye on local Facebook groups for share ads, but I’m not in any hurry, hopefully the right horse will come along

 

[OwnedbyChanter]

Amazing story a sad ending but the right thing for you at this time.

Good luck with house and I hope you find another share.

 

[Feawen]

Thank you OwnedbyChanter, I hope so too! I feel very lucky to have had the chance to ride two beautiful and talented horses. I don't expect to find the same again but hopefully I will find another horse to spend time with and have fun with.