Time for a giggle N23

Time for a giggle.. serious giggle mind.... Nov 23 test arrived in the post from Sparsholt EC. 

Glad I left an envelope despite thinking it wasn't worth the read when we were travelling home that day.
It was a low marking class but I felt judge was very fair and generally comments reflected marks.

A little disappointing with the 4 for my first attempt of Med Trot change rein, but if it looked as awful as it felt, then justified I guess, although he didn't break the trot just got very heavy in front and the next attempt got a 5.5. We know we dont have that established by a long way as yet. It will come when Alfie works out what is needed.

He did hollow in his canter G&R and I felt out of control in the first Med canter back to working trans. Considering in the second Med where I totally lost it, instead of coming back to working canter we crashed back down to trot so the 4 was generous for the one.

I love the understated comment at the end halt 'Needs to be more att in halt' I wonder what gave that away the slamming on the brakes when nothing happened when I politely asked or the quarters swinging to one side as horses head comes up to see what is going on elsewhere.

The bad bits were bad but not all the test was bad. A few 7s dropped in for the trot
The giggle moment of reading the test was the walk 7s whooo hooooo. Put my finger on the line to read across just to make sure they had made their way onto the sheet. Yes indeed 7s for our walk.
Does this mean we have finally got a walk worthy of a dressage test... Watch this space and all hooves crossed this is the start of great walking

Naughty Ninja

The Orange Ninja has been up to tricks again

Digging holes in his bed at night

Helping out with the rug organizing

Designed his own turn out rug ventilation

Then designed his own off the wither look turn out rug

Getting himself into places he should not be
For such a small scratch this one produced quite a lot of blood

You have to be careful as he is always playing with wheelbarrows.
I left the full one unattended for only a minute whilst I got the fork to spread the bedding

Then gives me that innocent eye and all is forgiven

Renapur Review

Being Part of the legupfortalent progamme means I get lovely goodies from Renapur

I have always used the cleaner and try to get the Balsam when on offer at a show but now I have my own special pack to keep me going. 

Along with the RenaSan goodies I have already received my tack is fully protected from all the elements

The Leather Cleaner is great natural way to clean and doesn’t strip away the leather. Although I do have to admit I forget to dilute it when I am in a hurry and as it’s effective with up to 50 times water I really should be more savvy

In the damp wet conditions I firstly spray with Renasan and wipe off all that horrid stitch eating mould you find. 

That furry stuff seems to suddenly spring out of nowhere when you got put your tack on.

The Renapur Leather Balsam is fantastic for that older tack that needs some tlc and nourishment. 

I was about to throw away a drop noseband and a pair of spur straps I thought were coming to the ends of their days. 

After two treatments of the Balsam both items have been restored and could even be passed as part of my good tack rather than my tattier working tack

Hands as soft as Balsam !

The hands that do leather are as soft as your chaps with mild natural balsam

A little goes a long way with all these products and after cleaning your tack your hands don’t feel dry and rough. The Jojoba oil and Avocado oil does a mean job of conditioning my skin as well.

The Balsam has polished up and waterproofed my leather show chaps and boots to perfection, even giving them that new look.

I have a few items I have had in storage and some items from a friend that have been stored in a bundle so the first job before posting sale pics will be to restore their softness and make them look as good as new.  

  

Bye bye those days of polish n buff with sweat and arm ache to get a shine

One product I haven’t used before is the Renapur Hi-Shine. This is Carnauba wax, derived from the leaves of the Copernicia Prunifera a Brazilian palm plant. It also contains a mild cleansing agent to dissolve surface grease and grime and tea tree oil to actively protect your leather and stitching by killing the spores of mould or mildew.

I have had a little tester session on my show bridle and it gives a strong natural shine with hardly any effort from me.

I am saving the rest for 2016 for when my RoR showing season begins

 

 

Not having much spare cash around I keep odd pairs of boots in a cupboard at home, much to my husband amusement as I am forever wearing out the same foot. 

But I have finally after years of saving lots of left boots made up a pair to keep me going.

Ok so one is black and one is brown but who is going to see me mucking out in the winter darkness

Thanks to Renapur I have given a left boot back new life and kept a right boot going a little bit longer for this winter. 

Last week on Face Book Renapur announced a Suede, Nubuck Protector. So that needs to go on my Xmas list for my chaps and dressage saddle

November Catch Up with a few Mumaathel outings

November has been jam packed for myself and Alfie.

As the wind starts to blow the leaves and helicopters off the trees my mornings and weekends have been spent raking up the fields so the horse's don't eat any of those horrid poisons.
When we notice more helicopters than we can handle at any one time blowing onto the fields we add a dose of Charcoal to the feeds to help mop up any toxins that might get into their system. 
Dad kindly paid for all the paddock trees to have a much needed trim back this year. I have noticed such a big difference. I feel so much happier and more confident that my fields are a much safer place for the horses to be. 

 

          Outfit Blog on FB 







We have been showing off some of our fab outfits from Premier Equine. We have been so lucky winning such a massive competition. The full wardrobe for myself and Alfie has been a really fantastic early Xmas Pressie. Both me and the horses only get a new wardrobe when friends give us clothes they no longer want / need or if we can find bargain discount brands to buy. So to get a full brand spanking sparkling new wardrobe for us both was an absolutely smashing surprise.

Alfie decided to help the farrier again this month by taking his front shoe off. 
Luckily only a day's wait before new shoes were due. 
So on went the boot just to make sure no bruising occurred.







We had a bit of a scary moment  one day when stray happy birthday helium balloons landed in the field next door. A lot of snorting and running around but luckily no accidents/injuries to horses or fencing.
******** Did you know Helium is an irreplaceable element used for MRIs

Started our new walking routine with hubby (without Alfie). Just once a week round the village after work. But it was a good excuse to pop into the Sports Direct Sales and treat myself to some walking boots and his n hers florescent jackets. 
Xmas pressies sorted. Gosh we know how to treat ourselves ahahhahahahhaaaaahhha

My car was broken into so that meant November was a tad expensive with a new back window unit needed for my car. Luckily Dad let me use the Terrano to get to work so I didn't need to hire a car. Still really annoying, why anyone would go onto a private drive that has a security light on, and have the nerve to smash and grab whilst the residents were in. They didn't get my handbag but they got a bag with my diary in it which I live and breath by. The bag also had a few personnel details within some of the paperwork as I had been sorting out the house insurance that day. Then I realized they had got away with my vouchers Alfie had won at various shows. No value to anyone else but to me over £100 of vouchers towards entries I was about to send off. 
Although I had to go through all the worry and panic, November has been a very lucky month. The bag was thrown over a garden wall down a local footpath and thanks to a plea on facebook I got the bag and its contents back. All a bit soggy from the downpours but once dried out all the vouchers were still use-able. PHEW


When I added up how much the Stromsholm vouchers were worth I was speechless. 

Clever Alfie only managed to win a new outfit for me hubby and dad, as well as a few items for his hoof care. 

As part of the Legupfortalent Scheme we are given a Renapur pack of goodies. 
I have been spraying all my leather with RenaSan due to the damp mould starting to settle around the stitching. 
A few blasts of the spray and we bid farewell to the mould. 
With dark evenings preventing me from riding all my tack has had some much needed TLC and my boots have had a good buff with Renapur to add a much needed waterproof layer. 

One boot may be black and the other brown but no one will notice in the dark 
Hubby laughs 'cause I have a cupboard full of odd boots. well the collection has paid off, I have made a new 'old' pair. Every penny saved = more pennies for pony playtime.



Alfie has been busy competing gather RoR League points
We had our final draft run through of our new DTM floorplan at the RoR clinic. Can't wait to get my finished CD back from Amanda Birch Dressage Music
We have been out attempting the odd Novice test Unaffiliated with some lovely comments from the judges. 

We had a few Racehorse moments at our last BD comp of the year. Luckily we didn't need those last minute regional points. Wasn't quite the high we wanted to leave 2015 with but its all good experience.

Mr A was struggling more than normal with his straightness so being unsettled generally created tightness in both tests. I was quite hard on myself and Alfie in the warm up as things werent going to plan, but we did stick to the plan, just about, and found some togetherness eventually. Although we never truly secured the confidence through into the contact. 

After the show we watched the Video (such a valuable tool). It wasnt all that bad, some good work on the left rein and some good canter work. I reminded myself we had a 3rd and 4th at the same venue the week before. So I told myself If I end a bad day on 64% that's not exactly disastrous... Just feels like it when you are there at the time and that horrid free walk jig jog reappears after a long absence!! 

Imperial Coffee Nov Update

November has the wet mud theme. 

31st Oct I allowed an hour to get the ninja worked before we headed off to the show with Alfie. I spent the whole hour brushing, so no time to exercise. 

It may be mild weather but with a full time job and lack of daylight the lightweight rug has come out of the wardrobe. It means I can exercise him rather than spend all my free time cleaning him 

This was his clean side. 

A little apprehensive for today (1st Nov) after a week with no work but need not have worried. He wasn't particular confident on the slippery grass but gave me some trot work when I asked for it. A few sticky moments where he needed time to think but we got through them. Another big step forward for the orange ninja and my confidence.

Hopefully this is the start of positive new beginnings. After two weeks off, and onto the fresh grass today (Nov 14th) we girthed up without a twinge. Fields super muddy so we only did some walk / halt transitions but big steps in the right direction.

We normally have to do the girth up super slowly but today went straight onto third hole. Which also means fingers crossed some of that belly is one the move as well.
Weigh Tape tomorrow to check we are within our targets....... 

Weigh Tape... Oppps well no weight gain but no loss either. Still that is positive

18th Nov we found the brave pants, or was it just stupidity, who knows but we survived. Took the ninja down to Blewbury for some skl hire in the rain and high cold winds.
Tractor unloading hay.. not an issue.
Car driver reasonably fast through a puddle up close to back of trailer... not an issue.
Flapping plastic on a stack of shavings a little bit of an issue with the path narrowed by a van parked, but we got through with a few snorts and tail lifting.
Noises from the stables extremely scarey!!!!

Not the ideal weather to take the Ninja out of his comfort zone but needed to be done at some point so heck why not today.
A bit disappointing we didn't get any trot work, but we were on hyper alert, so to get onboard and walk round with him finally listening to me and not what was going on elsewhere was a good note to finish on. 

Nov 20th Decided we needed another trip out before we compete in the Intro at the weekend.

Not the run through hoped for before Sunday. But there was lots going on and we didnt have a complete melt down, that's a positive. 

Got on almost straight away after a few lunge circles to stretch out whilst girth being done up. Did get into trot so that's a positive, stayed on that's a positive. 

Doubling supl dose for the next few days as not sure if he was just upset with new routine or uncomfortable as we had some gulping of air again when asked to trot. 

Traveled nice and quietly to and from venue so that's another positive

22nd Nov well we did it we went and competed in the intro class. One moment in the warm up I was glad to be on the end of a lunge line and not on board but it came to nothing in the end. Mounted in the arena so his first trot of the day was down the CL so a bit sticky. I cant blame him for the irregular contact as I didn't get my confidence till second half of the test when all of a sudden we both found our confidence and forward button so much so the attempt to halt at the end was shocking. 

Decided to let him watch the others in the warm up afterwards but actually ended up walking around with another horse cantering around him.
All in All very happy and now looking at the next date we can venture out together

And we got to show off our CHN Magazine Saddle Cloth which reminded us we can do this. He even won one of the CHN Style Ridden Qualifiers a few years ago.

Global Herbs Ltd have kindly let us take part in a Brewers Yeast Trial. This is one of their new products and we are quite excited to do a field test for them. 

We have entered another local Intro class for the 20th Dec. Lets see if the Brewers Yeast is the magic potion we have been hoping to find.

27th Nov.. yes that day when we all hoped to find bargains but not sure we have enough in the account to keep pressing yes.... I lasted till about 10.30pm and then gave in and pressed buy. So on its way is a brand spanking new Back on Track Rug for the Ninja... God I hope it's worth it... lots of £££££ just gone out my account. 

Throughout November the Ginger Ninja has still kept up his cheeky side. 

At the beginning of the month I planted some lovely young herb cuttings to fill the hedge gaps. Whilst mucking out a few days later I noticed odd earth clumps dotted about. Then I realized I was looking at the left over root system with no cutting tops left... He only went and ate all of them. 

So I got some bigger Lavender cuttings as they are supposed to deter them from pulling the whole plant up... Well my lovely stripped and prepared cuttings I left by the tack room door didn't even make it past the field gate. 

uhmmmm culprit in the act !!!!! 

The Ninja Sarcoids are now famous 

I finally got to shout about the sarcoid product we had on trial from Feedmark. This was a great trial with great results. 

We have some blemishes still by his eye and a small shriveled section on his chest to get gone but overall super happy with the results and the reset of his immune system. 

Just waiting for the Feedmark days of Christmas offer so we can buy some more. 

Here is our full sarcoid story 

Sarcoids: The ugly bits The gory bits and The finally getting better bits

RoR Awards Nights 2015 - Photo Montage I can change

Upping it to Novice

Survived our Addington Novice The other weekend. 9th with 66.43% The best bit was bringing home the highest placed racehorse rosette for the class and showing off our new Stromsholm Hoodie from our previous winning vouchers

N27 has lots to think about when your used to plodding around doing a very comfy basic Prelim.

Bit gutted I couldn’t correct the 1/4s on the initial CL but he felt so much more active and soft overall now his saddle has been readjusted.

A few weeks ago the walk jig jog had returned so over the moon being back into the 6s for his walk. The stretch will come one day.

I actually managed to sit to his trot in and out of the transitions and after the hard work we have put in recently it was so lovely to feel him let me in.

Last night’s devil appeared briefly in the prelim when he mistook my half halt prep for the walk for another canter !!!

The first centre line comment was a little quick. Yep that will be me sitting there hoping we weren’t about to take off.

Luckily the Judge liked the energy and didn’t penalise us too much when the balance went a bit off in his quicker moments.

End comment was delightful horse. And this delightful horses managed to bag himself 74.79% luvly jubly. Nice points added onto the RoR league sheet.

Now to conquer the halt step back and establish balance for the grand finishes.

Imperial Coffee and Mumaathel: The all important back up team

Imperial Coffee and Mumaathel: The all important back up team: Very blessed to have a brilliant support team behind me and they are my parents. (and husband when needed)  Friday Dad came with me to ta...

Ninja Confidence

It’s a funny thing you have all the bags of confidence in the world one day and the next day it’s all gone…

My Orange Ninja has some diary dates at last. Only down to the local centre where he feels safe but it’s a good start and a massive step from where we were last year. We have finally got his feed and routine sussed; we have also found a calmer he seems to respond to.

I have been dealing with the unexpected for the last 2-3 years and I am determined no returns to A&E will be needed.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but learning from experiences is such a valuable tool. I know now my boy jumps at the silliest of things, normally pigeons!!

So lesson one expect the unexpected: You can’t be prepared for every event, spook or squeal, but, if you know your horse well you can at least prepare. I never go anywhere without my neck strap and luckily my ninja luvs a human on the floor by his side to give him confidence so a groom/helper on the day of a show is an absolute must for him.

Anxiety:boy does this creep up on you when you least expect it. It doesn’t take long after a few sharp spins and those 180 turns with a leap that leave you dwelling on what you could have done or what went wrong.

Best thing you can do is stop thinking about it yes it’s difficult but if you can think of something else and practice your breathing, and you will soon start to convince your body to relax, and you will be less likely to contribute to the next spook.

Last year I had the privilege of being invited to the TSR short listed talent show. I was on my other horse, the ex-racer, but the same principles apply as he was forever getting into hot head mood and not walking round the arena. I was told to imagine a party in my head so I started having conversations with myself and singing silly songs about fruit and veg… yes you need to do what it takes J

Start doing this out loud and you will soon be having your party silently in your head and no one else will know, unless you’re having so much fun and suddenly burst into a mass giggle.

Visualize:When I teach canter to beginners I ask them to imagine a really big hill they are cantering up and there is a far away horizon they are aiming for which has a gorgeous rainbow at the end. I really must take some of my own advice.

This is such a powerful technique for any situation, whether hacking and you see an object that might cause a spook or your schooling in the field and a row of pigeons are sitting on the fence your about to ride past.

This will help you build on your own positive energy and relaxation.

Happy Feet

The wise words we have all read in magazines…. Control his feet.. It is so true but also for my cheeky ninja I have to pay close attention to his head and shoulders. If he is upset he has to lift and then lower his head to buck or leap. Controlling his shoulders and foot direction has been a really big help this year. We had a couple of sessions with Jason Webb and learnt how to put the horse into a controlled small circle/turn and stop exercise to regain concentration. This way they can settle themselves which in turn gives them more confidence to relax and trust the rider.

And one of the biggest recaps from Jason was to assert the ground rules. (that’s a blog all of its own)

Breath 

We took the Ex-racer to RoR camp this year and we introduced him to some music. I have always worked around the yard with the radio on and have it sitting on the fence when I am riding in the field. Whilst we were working on our rhythm and tempo with the music’s help I realized I don’t breathe properly. Such a simple just very important thing. An amazing difference in my horses walk out if I breath naturally compared to holding my breath whilst I anticipate him jig jogging

The other day I was leading the two boys out to the field and checked my breathing at one point I was holding my breath in anticipation of the ninja leaping and lunging on the fresh grass path The moment I started breathing with a relaxed deep technique I noticed he also stopped pulling at me.

Now when I walk up to him with his saddle I work round the corner from the tack room exhaling calmly having taken a deep relaxation breath in.

It certainly seems to work when I approach him with a spray bottle!!

Simples!

Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Just stand still, reassess your breathing, give your horse time to think and sometimes that’s all they need to realize the world is not against them.

My ninja can over think and if you give him time out he will often take a deep breath himself and a big step forward and relax.

Diary 

Start blogging and/or keep a diary. It is amazing to look back at what you have achieved.

If you are feeling low this is such a powerful tool

Be honest, sometimes you just need help.

Watching someone else ride your horse confidently forward can work by giving you back the ‘I can’.

Be realistic with your goals. Last year was to get back on and ride with confidence myself. We even got round the block and left the safety of the yard confines with the ninja.

This year is to go out and do a couple of intro tests and if we complete the test we have succeeded

Check out this Sway! "Roaring about Links, News and Reviews"

Check out this Sway! "Roaring about Links, News and Reviews"

Check out this Sway! "Sarcoids: The ugly bits The gory bits and The finally getting better bits"

Check out this Sway! "Sarcoids: The ugly bits The gory bits and The finally getting better bits"

Check out this Sway! "Mumaathel Race horse to Riding horse"

Check out this Sway! "Mumaathel Race horse to Riding horse"

Check out this Sway! "Routine For a Healthier Tummy"

Check out this Sway! "Routine For a Healthier Tummy"

Check out this Sway! "Imperial Coffee: The Journey so far"

Check out this Sway! "Imperial Coffee: The Journey so far"

Mumaathel's lesson and show debrief

Very good training day and show debrief yesterday

From the second review of the competition videos I watched me closely and I noticed I was slipping to the side and our overall horse/rider straightness wasn’t the best it could be at times.

Alfie has been compensating a bit lately but now his saddle has been adjusted he does feel much easier to tweak.

With the saddle adjusted I can sit a lot taller, just wish I could control my position at competitions those horrid habits keep creeping back in.

Training session was the other way round compared to show day he was a bit ploddy and croup high to warm up and then he sprang into action and starting running off. 

Once settled we used the session to readdress our straightness and how as I rider I should be able to feel every footfall.

Once we had ‘togetherness’ we moved onto the ¾ lines and starting asking for a bit more trot before half halting to rebalance the turns at each end. Soon we were executing the bigger trot all the way round with balance on the curves and straightness on the long sides.

The improvement at the end of the session did give me pause for thought on the tests the day before and although I preferred the second test as a ride I can now see where he was falling short on the marks.

I need to go into next weekend’s test thinking forward, thinking confidence, thinking tall, thinking horse’s shoulders positioned not quarters corrected. Novice test here we come we can do this!!!!!!!

One thing my trainer did notice from the ground was with the saddle adjusted she thinks the girth is touching too close when the foreleg comes back, so more shopping for a lovely rolled girth sleeve is needed, so we can make the sensitive boy is comfy, so no excuses.

(look at the concentration face planning the corner)

Feel versus scores always a good debate

Today we ventured off to a venue that we have competed at with the RC but today was our first BD there.

OMG the talent was frustrating fantastic but also in a good way something to aspire to

Having competed at our first ever BD regional in the summer we were not put off by the posh pony warm ups. I just kept remembering that somehow we pulled off a decent 12^th place in our Regional section, despite rider going a bit wonky and horse disliking the ornamental trees (but that’s another blog)

Today first test scores came out 68.75 uhmm I thought that’s ok we are staying with Mr consistent. Normal judge comments, we fidgeted the end halt and needed more FW stretch. But I had come out the test thinking he had run away with me a bit. I felt I was struggling to stay calm and relaxed in my own body so he wouldn’t yak against me.

Popped back into the warm up to try and get a deeper stretchy trot and canter to set us back up for the second test with more togetherness.

I came out the second test really pleased with our start middle and end, thought I had maintained my relaxation. Hindsight I probably reined it in too much in the second test and should have just kicked on for the same activity I had in the first test. Alfie can go into tight necked race horse mode if I ask for too much but also at the other end of the scale it can be a fine between under control and being boring. The scores went up, yes a different judge, a different perspective, but, oh dear here comes deflated me with my 64.04%. Where had all my 6.5 and 7s gone?

How did I not feel the quarters swinging down the first CL and certainly didn’t feel like we were on the forehand in his second canter. Couldn’t see either on the video play back, but that was being taken on angle at the arena corner so a different view from what the judge was seeing.  We all know that a Judge at C and a Judge at H and a Judge at E can all have different views of the same move.

My advice. Always look at the bigger picture. No rosette this weekend but I have been on a good roll lately with scores staying reasonably consistent with not too many bloomers.

I am a competitive Amateur that for one reason or the other has let her core and general position get sloppy. Having a super dressage horse in the making has made me realize I need to buck up and step up. I can’t ride him like an Amateur I have to believe I can ride him like a pro and the results will start to shine through.

Confidence is a marvelous thing but when you lose it it’s a bitch to get back !!!

I am very competitive but have learnt not to take the knocks so personally.

I have always used a spreadsheet to track and look back at my horse’s feed/behaviour/work load. Having had tricky horses this has been an absolute must. To be able to look back and see what we did a month/a year ago was an invaluable tool I was able to track trends, see the bigger picture and resolve issues.

I decided to do this for my competitions this year logging results and comments so that I can look back. It has helped me see how far we have come in a short time together.

Confidence is starting to return. Which means I can sit her looking at all the positives from today instead of lingering on the bits that didn’t quite go to plan. 

Saddles and Hoovers

Q: What do you do when you take a day off work?

A: Spend the morning with the Saddler and if you have sycamore trees you spend the afternoon with a leaf blower

I have been very unlucky to see EAM up close and it’s not nice to see your precious boy in so much pain, so sad and helpless stuck on the floor unable to move. Even if they recover the muscle damage is horrendous.

I managed to get most of the leaves blown out the paddock today but with the rain the helicopters are sticking to the mud so that’s back to picking them up by hand tomorrow.

Last year I couldn’t keep on top of two paddocks. One was small so we didn’t use it. The other one had the worst section roped off under the trees.

We have cut a lot of the branches down this summer and so far it has helped to keep on top of the bad areas.

The paddock they are in gets a few helicopters that need collecting so all eyes are open everyone from now on. I am hoping the top paddock with the trees has enough grass cover for me to swap over paddocks next month.

The boys are out 24/7 at the moment but as soon as they go into the top paddock they will come in at night to make sure they have a break from that ground and get plenty of hay

Alfie has been giving me tell-tale signs his saddles needed realigning but we haven’t had him that long and we are still getting used to him. His walk was finally beginning to cover the ground but lately it has turned into a tight almost jig jog from the free into med. I noticed I wasn’t maintaining a good enough seat in the canter and looking at recent videos of my tests I realised I was starting to perch again.

The dressage saddle was lifted from mid to front and looks 100% better on him sitting straight and level once again. Even just sitting in the saddle for a quick trot round the field was enough of a test to know how much that was needed.

Fingers crossed no twitching of the neck tomorrow and a lovely ground covering walk in both tests