Thursday 28th February
Well it's not only the end of February but it's Mark and My 16th Wedding Anniversary today, so to celebrate Mark first went out on Holly for a short, quite hack and I then went out with Tara ;)
Holly and Mark went out quite and calm but Holly had a yeehaa Spring moment on the way back, she usually SO excited about coming home! lol. I, on the other hand, forgot to take my halter out to get Tara so rode Bareback and Bridleless today, lucky I had a neck rein. It was fun and if any of the other horses I would have gone back for the halter but with Tara, on a hack around our house, not a problem ;)
Here's the pic's from today:
Wednesday 27th February
Mark did quite a lot of poo picking in the paddock today and I groomed all 4 of the horses, mainly because they were covered in mud...seems they've started slowly moulting and they love mud baths for helping with this. Grooming them took quite a time as the boys were caked in mud but it was lovely to see them clean afterwards.
All I had time for today was a nice short hack out on Tara which was lovely, she had a nice canter too...yeehaa ;)
Tuesday 26th February
Another fabulously sunny day, again not too chilly so me out without thermals, fleece hat/gloves or jacket ;) Liking this a LOT.
Plan is again to play with horses, in different places for environment exposure and just the 7 games for Holly and Stormy, Solly gets a little bit more work with his friendly game today, just pushing the edges of our comfort zones out more as I want to get him back to ridden work asap when down in the main field. SO, here are pics of today's fun:
HOLLY
Nice circling game, calm, responsive and no head tossing! lol
Holly doing a great yo-yo game, I will be asking for a bit more energy with this game when down in the big field this year, but don't want to do it here with the snow about still, we need to just up the game a bit for her, lightness with energy backing up ;)
Holly backing in/out of small gateway to field, I did this whilst asking Stormy to catch me in the field then haltering him and bringing him out with Holly.
Brought both horses to the small paddock in front of the house, I then set Holly free to roam and graze here but took Stormy back out to play with him. Holly was nice and calm even though on her own in the paddock but she could see Stormy....later in Stormy's session Solly and Tara went through the back house paddocks to be with her over the fence of paddock 1.....Holly seemed fine without them but they needed her....ahh ;)
STORMY
Stormy's session started with basic games of friendly, porcupine, driving and then went to squeezing over the burn which he loved ;)
and what a FAB jump this was, lower ground to higher ground...great :)
Circling game walk one lap, COD, walk other way, then COD, trot two laps, COD, trot two the other way ;) FAB
His COD's were good, and we did some fig 8's too
SOLLY
Backing up a hill to the track...too his time, slowly and carefully, looking behind him often....good boy ;)
Circling game was good on uneven ground but had to laugh as he took his time whilst grabbing mouthfuls of grass on the way around...lol
Standing on the track bank...makeshift pedastal ;)
Sidling up to bank for mounting...wanted to make sure this was in place again, been playing with him for a few days and wanted to remind him regularly that ridden work is not far away ;)
Xtreme friendly game.....over his back and then movingmy legs about which he thought was fun ;) Key here was to jump up onto his back, wait and him NOT grab for the grazing on the bank...took a while for him to take his responsibilities seriously BUT once he got it I jumped off and allowed him to graze for a while ;)
TARA
Nice ride out in front of the house, today asking for a bit more energy when we trotted ;)
Good trot here, I MUST try to not lean back....funny on her this 'feels' upright to me but that's why it's good to get pics done as then I can readjust my brain to what is really happening...habits ;(
On the home stretch...lovely quick ride ;)
Monday 25th February
Lovely sunny day today and there's some warmth in it too. SO, decide that today is the beginning of starting to do something with the horses. My plan is to bring them back into some play before taking them back down to the main field so that my play connection is there and then we can get back to where we were before winter earlier. I know that there will probably be maybe a week of them yeehaa-ing around the big field when they get back and I will allow them to do that so that they've stretched their bodies and minds before riding them again ;)
SO, today I wanted to ride Tara gently, get my own fitness, balance and flexibility working again through being at one on her and then get some play in with Stormy. Beginnings will be just to play all 7 games but each time in a different place and then slowly doing 7 games in different zones of the horses body, higher gaits and more flexibility SO, today is the start, just basic games in different place ;)
Here's some pics:
Enjoying being with Tara out in the meadow,
still some snow there so a good gentle ride over that
still some snow there so a good gentle ride over that
Bit of trot along the clear track, felt good
which she does nicely ;)
Ride back the way we came but then turning left near the trees....
....and then heading up the hill behind the house
see the herd but we're in a grazing place...
my task is to play but only give him one place
to graze as a treat!!
Sunday 24th February
Today the SUN IS SHINING....YES...a smile has been on my face all day and to top it off when I groomed Solly to get off his early morning mud bath caked onto his fur I saw he is moulting...Spring IS close by, he doesn't moult unless he needs to ;)
So, today I finished off trimming Tara's hooves and they're all now done for the next month or so and then I rode her out. This is the first time I've ridden since Dec 7th....2 1/2 months....and by golly it felt FAB. Dear Tara was nicely energetic and has lost a nice amount of weight since Autumn last year so that was great. We didn't go far, in fact we didn't go out of sight of the herd as they started to wonder where she was going without them but I went back and forth over the same ground to get some more ground under our feet and it was good.
So, today I finished off trimming Tara's hooves and they're all now done for the next month or so and then I rode her out. This is the first time I've ridden since Dec 7th....2 1/2 months....and by golly it felt FAB. Dear Tara was nicely energetic and has lost a nice amount of weight since Autumn last year so that was great. We didn't go far, in fact we didn't go out of sight of the herd as they started to wonder where she was going without them but I went back and forth over the same ground to get some more ground under our feet and it was good.
Tara and me out on the snowy meadow
Tara and me getting back into balance with each other
Tara and me back home ;)
I then cleaned the trimming rasps and put the equipment away and Solly kept coming up to me with his very intense stares he gives me when he's connecting to me. I ask him if he wants to play and stood up and asked him to follow me to the middle of the track at liberty. There I groomed him at liberty and he didn't move an inch, I take this as wanting to be with me and yes from him that he wants to interact. SO, the grooming went well, he was totally caked in dry mud from a breakfast mud roll after taking his light weight rug off this morning so it was great to connect with him whilst grooming and then I put him on a normal 22' line and picked up my stick/string and we just played in that spot, just outside the garden gate and the field.
He played all 7 games beautifully, we didn't do too much stressful or fast stuff, just the basic's but with refinement and with lightness.
FRIENDLY: all around him, loose rope, tossed rope over his head from Z5 a few times and he just stood and yawned.
FRIENDLY: all around him, loose rope, tossed rope over his head from Z5 a few times and he just stood and yawned.
PORCUPINE: Hindquarter and forehand both light and quite precise too, very pleased with that. Backing up from the headcollar too was light, polite and with nice flexion.
DRIVING: Used this to get him into position for sideways and also circling, he really worked from my thoughts and energy, hardly had to use much body cue at all ;)
YO-YO: So light, I was on the end of the 22' and didn't have to use anything more than thought and energy for him to step back beautifully.
CIRCLING: He did nice walk two laps, change of direction (COD), two laps other way, COD, trot one lap, COD, trot the other way and then come back to me with engagement and with a happy trot. Great. We also did some circles with more engagement, where I ask his head to be inside the circle more, hindlegs slightly crossing over and more bend in his barrel. Then I asked him to circle in walk with me holding the headcollar slightly in to represent me riding with connection, so that he gets used to engaging hindquarters whilst tucking nose in and he did that for 4-6 steps and I released and praised him lots. Cool ;)
SQUEEZE: Between me and the fence a couple of times in walk and a couple of times in trot. Nice, easy, light, respectful of my space and ears pricked nicely forward.
SIDEWAYS: Did a good sideways away and towards one way, turned around 180* and then did sideways away and towards the other day...only about 10 steps but pretty nicely done.
Very happy with our play session today, I was using hardly any noticeable phases and he was very happy to interact which was FAB :)
about him limbering up before a play session,
starting off nicely....
....and then really, really low and tucked his head in too ;))
FAB
Saturday 23rd February
Today we put up a small make shift paddock outside the house for the horses to graze in whilst we trimmed hooves. They enjoyed the grass and change of scene and the two we were trimming were good standing still and the two loose were good at just being calm and not disturbing the ones we were trimming ;)
When we let them all loose and they'd been munching grass for a while they all got a spring in their toes and had a little 'yeehaa' moment which was fun to see. They know Spring is coming soon and can't wait to get back to their main grazing field...hopefully it won't be too long now, maybe mid March to beginning of April. Here they are having some fun....
And at feeding time Solly thought this was fun to do....
glad Holly had finished her dinner before he did it! lol
glad Holly had finished her dinner before he did it! lol
Tuesday 19th February
Second day of sunshine with blue skies and today is slightly warmer than yesterday. Stormy and Tara have had their rugs off full time for the last 3 days/nights and Holly and Solly have been rug-free during the day with light rugs going on over night for now.
The boys eagerly awaiting their breakfast this morning
Mark and Holly enjoying the sunshine
I went out around lunch time to
trim Solly's front hooves (backs tomorrow) and to trim Tara's moustache!
lol. I then haltered them both up and Mark came and haltered his two up and we went for a walk together. There was snow over bits of the track but at the top of the hill behind our house there was some grazing and hard standing ground ;)
Haltered and ready to go ;)
Mark with Stormy and Holly going up the track
Horses enjoying hard ground and some nice grazing
Solly and Tara getting stuck in to some grazing
Me enjoying the sunshine and being out with the herd again
Saturday 16th February
Hello everyone, been a while since putting anything on the blog but not much to say really. Have not played or ridden a horse since mid December apart from some sledging with big Stormy, it's hard but I'm trying to take this time to spend undemanding time with the herd, grooming and just being with them when it's not too cold that it freezes me. This last week we've been taking their rugs off during the day as we have had a few slightly warmer sunny days with blue skies. The snow is still very much here with us and it's going to take quite a time to go (lots of warm days or lots or rainy days!) so we can't really do much until that allows us to walk on the track more.
So, for now, here are just some pics from the last week or so to show how the herd are doing....Enjoy ;)
Solly standing on the small hillock in paddock 1...
they really don't like walking in mud up to their knees ;(
they really don't like walking in mud up to their knees ;(
Herd voted with their hooves....staying in the much better,
non-muddy paddock 3. We have to wheel barrow their food
and hay but it's much nicer for them so that's cool ;)
non-muddy paddock 3. We have to wheel barrow their food
and hay but it's much nicer for them so that's cool ;)
Horses enjoying their daily hay
All calm and well albeit snow cover
is pretty deep, the paddock seems
to be holding out okay ;)
is pretty deep, the paddock seems
to be holding out okay ;)
Solly and me enjoying some sunshine and hugs
Tara out of her rug during the daytime now ;)
Even Holly having some time 'naked' at the moment ;)
Solly enjoying some naked time too ;)
Big Stormy looking good naked ;))
The Naked Herd....hard to see the two
white boys in the snow though! lol
white boys in the snow though! lol
My latest Horse Head Snow Sculpture ;)
Saturday 2nd February
Yeehaa....we have blue skies and some sunshine, not hot but definitely rug-off day for the horses ;) Also managed to take out Stormy, Solly and Tara individually on the 200yds or so of track that is snow-free at the moment. The boys got some fun play down and back on the road which they enjoyed and needed, I used this to get their focus onto me and to get our inner connection working well. With Tara I just rode her slowly bareback to a good grazing spot and then back. They really enjoyed a nice grazing patch of 'heather' today, nice treat for them.
When riding Tara back Mark had come out and haltered Holly up and we spent a while grazing the girls together...here's some pics ;)
STORMY
Gorgeous Stormy
Going up and down the road banks
Backing through the gateway
Front feet on a small stone pedastal
Coming down a bank
Backing along the track
At his heather grazing patch ;)
Walking down a steep bank
Walking up the steep bank back to the track
Sideways along the track
Backing from the gateway around the cattle grid
Walking up on the road bank
Coming down off the track bank ;)
~~~~~~~
SOLLY
Up the track bank
Down the track bank! lol
Smelling his way through the gateway!
Backing through gateway
Little bit of trot, taking a
GOOD look at the frozen loch!!
Front feet on stone pedastal
The good bit: grazing the heather ;)
Going home, still fascinated by the frozen loch ;)
Walking down the bank and doing great
Coming back up to the road....LOVE
that we can ask our horses to walk a
different path from us when out walking ;)
that we can ask our horses to walk a
different path from us when out walking ;)
Going up the hillock off the track
Walking on the hillock ABOVE the track ;)
Backing through the gateway
~~~~~~~~~~
TARA
Riding bareback down the clear track
Grazing Heather....Tara's idea of heaven ;)
~~~~~~~~
HOLLY
Mark brings Holly down to stretch her legs
outside the field.....the boys wondered where
the girls were going without them! lol
outside the field.....the boys wondered where
the girls were going without them! lol
Holly and Tara grazing the heather
on the hillock above the track ;)
on the hillock above the track ;)
We didn't do a lot but it was just fabulous to be out with the horses individually and to get re-connected to them all. Walking them on solid ground, not snow, was good and they all enjoyed themselves and the heather which they don't normally get in the fields they're in. All good fun and hopefully gave them a nice change too ;)
Friday 1st February
Been a while since being on here as our snowfall was pretty heavy (from 12"-18") and with drifts (from 2'-4' deep) so it took a while before we got dug out by the estate's fabulous tractor and handyman extraordinaire ;) But the tracks are clear now, more hay has been got and the horses are getting muddy with the snow melting now...just can't win, snow or mud...one or the other! lol
So, just been doing the necessary's...walking dogs, feeding horses and not even able to poo pick at moment. No riding and no play and am missing that a LOT but can't do anything else at moment ;(
I managed to get out and make some 'Snow Horse' sculptures, a couple of head images and today a life sized horse. Wanted to make it more 3D but the snow wasn't sticky enough to put a head together without it falling apart So managed a nearly 3D one but laying down on the snow pile...anyway, here's some pictures of what we've been up to the last couple of days ;)
So, just been doing the necessary's...walking dogs, feeding horses and not even able to poo pick at moment. No riding and no play and am missing that a LOT but can't do anything else at moment ;(
I managed to get out and make some 'Snow Horse' sculptures, a couple of head images and today a life sized horse. Wanted to make it more 3D but the snow wasn't sticky enough to put a head together without it falling apart So managed a nearly 3D one but laying down on the snow pile...anyway, here's some pictures of what we've been up to the last couple of days ;)
Snow Horse laying down
Me finishing off the Snow Horse ;)
Tara and Solly getting ready to get out and graze a bit
Mark with Stormy and Holly on the little
bit of grazing popping up from the snow
bit of grazing popping up from the snow
Solly spots the snow sculpture...wonder what he though it was! lol
Solly and Stormy back in field, rugless for the afternoon,
they appreciated it by having a small yeehaa play about ;)
they appreciated it by having a small yeehaa play about ;)
Yesterdays Snow Horse Sculpture -
a chess piece 'Knight'
a chess piece 'Knight'
Other side of 'Knight' Sculpture
First Snow Horse Head sculpture
2nd Snow Horse Head sculpture
