Woop, woop!

Here comes a gush! (There hasn't been one for some time so you can forgive me!)

Sammie was like a bullfighting horse today in our lesson - RI really does make lessons so much fun. And my goodness, I never imagined Sammie could move like that in canter with me on his back.

We started off working on rein back to trot. Not easy for me to get Sammie to understand what I was after (my fault not his of course) but he got the hang of it eventually. Then we did some shoulder in on a circle. When RI asked me to do it I thought, "Uh oh, I'm not even sure I can remember, let alone do it." But we did it pretty successfully with RI saying there was not a lot wrong with it at all.

Then we tried something completely different. I guess it's a form of seat and body training really, but it was great fun and the results were pretty impressive. She tied up my snaffle rein (very loosely) so I just had the curb rein which I had to hold in my left hand keeping it looped (no pressure at all). Then with my right hand I had to hold a stick right out pointing to the imaginary centre of a circle. We tried it in trot first - bit dodgy on the old steering front but it really makes you think of what you're doing with your body if you want to keep your horse pretty collected at the same time as you don't have the reins at all apart from moving them from side to side - not back, not up, not tight at all. We had to do that on both reins but you always hold the reins in the left hand when you're riding with one hand (never knew that) so on the left rein I had to bring the stick across my body.

Typically, once we'd got a pretty good hang of that on a very small circle, RI wanted it done in canter - gulp!! And it has to be a slow collected canter to stand a chance of staying on a small circle. But we did it and it was the most fantastic feeling! Better on the left rein than the right, but brilliant all the same. Sammie's canter was practically on the spot, so careful, so slow and so powerful.

It really was like those bullfighting horses (not that I like that so called 'sport' at all) but I was thinking more of the way the horses move their bodies with so much collection and control. Ok, we're no where near that, but I never ever thought we'd be able to do something like that and in canter! Sammie was so light in the hand and my body had to work so hard. I never had to push him on at all, he just stayed in this canter once I'd popped him into it.

RI trains like this all the while with a much longer pole. She said it's fun (which it is) but it makes you use your seat and your body as that's all you've got really. If the pace quickens and you want to slow you just do a gentle tweak with your index finger. I felt like a Queen sitting up there and I was so, so proud of Sammie. He really gave it a go and put up with all my messing up.

What a horse! RI thought he was brilliant and gave him a chocolate rice crispie treat. We haven't had a lesson for months, but he gave it his all and he looks so good when he does it. He also had some liquorice when we got back to the yard.

I asked her what she thought about his weight. She said she was expecting a lot worse. She said he's carrying a wee bit, but now he's getting his regular exercise she thought he'd be fine. I mentioned that he never used to have this problem, but she said that for one he's happier (no stressing weight off), two he's a big lad anyway and three his body has adjusted to regular exercise so when he doesn't get that, some extra weight will be the result.

When I put him out again I let him off the headcollar at the bottom gate and he took off in canter up to his field and waited for me to let him in. He makes me feel so proud - not in an arrogant way, but just that he's managed to come through all the horrible stuff with such a great attitude. He's got such a big heart, I just wish I'd had him from a foal. I know it's not a lot by some people's standards but as RI said just the fact that he comes into the school ready and willing to give things a go is fantastic.

Sammie shiny

I had a lovely day pootling around in the mild weather and sunshine. It was Sammie spring clean day - tail and mane wash and a good old rubbing down. Cleaned his hooves with Borax and filed his hinds down a bit more too. He wasn't too impressed but was happy enough to chew on a haynet during the proceedings. Then we went into the school to do some ridden stuff.

He offered up a bit of Spanish Stamp Trot; only a couple of strides but it definitely happened. His head went lower and lower ('cos he has to look what at what he's doing down there!) and then he produced a couple. Makes me laugh every time. I only have to say "Good Boy" and he comes to an abrupt halt expecting a treat.

I've also been talking to a company that make bespoke equine supplements for a whole variety of conditions. I'd heard good reports of them from a variety of sources and I'd been meaning to phone for ages about something for Sammie's fear/lack of confidence etc. The man I spoke to described Sammie to a T - hates being on his own, will react dramatically if pushed too far, nervous, lacking confidence etc.

He said there's no magic solution and what he suggests might not work, but he recommended putting him on a very basic supplement as part of a diagnostic process. It contains Valerian and Mag Chloride and something else that I can't remember. He's just sending a litre to start with and wants me to report back in 14 days after 2 x 25mil shots a day. Sammie's reaction or non-reaction to it will be useful as part of trying to work something out for him. No promises, but you could tell he had an awful lot of knowledge and was very honest about what was achievable. We agreed that some things are so hard wired into a horse's memory that nothing will shift it, but it's worth a try.

Might not work and I know Sammie is a hard nut to crack, but even if it helped him a little bit it would be worth it. He's so much better now, but I often worry about how he must feel sometimes. I know he's happy in his own way but he does fret and worry over things that others don't give a second thought.

Starry, starry night...

Sammie was giving the Spanish Stomp Trot a really good go today. He tries so hard. I can virtually see his brain ticking over thinking, "I'll give it a go. I'll give it a go. Ooh ooh here I go!"

He really is getting the hang of it and doing more and more steps, and if I catch him when he is starting to lose it, I can push him out of it into a normal trot rather than grinding to a halt. This really is Sammie's thing and who am I to stop him?

It was just getting dark as we were finishing and as nobody else around I took all his kit off and let him have a roam and a roll. Then we just stood by the fence together gazing out into the distance, watching the stars and listening to the start of the nighttime noises.

He was such a good boy when I worked on his hind hooves afterwards. Very relaxed and paid attention when I let out the odd growl when he was being silly. They're still looking ok to me and I noticed that he's getting that calloused bit around the edge of the sole (before the sole starts dipping a bit. I'm thinking more and more about getting those fronts off - maybe around March/April time.

He's finally started to lose some of his furry coat as well that means we're going to be keeping the birds very happy soon with lots of soft stuff for their nests.

Wild pony alert!

Sammie was shocked to a standstill today when we came pretty close to the wild ponies out on our hack. Tiny little things - Exmoors I think, but to Sammie they were just plain odd. We were out with Sammie's friend, the youngster, and they both stood studying the scene before them intently without an inch between them - very up close and personal, bundled together like sardines in a tin.

There was much flaring of nostrils, sniffing out the scent and they'd occasionally turn their heads to each other to check out what they were making of this situation. Then one of the wild ones moved off - high heads for youngster and Sammie as they both took one step back together and jammed themselves even more firmly against a convenient war monument that had hitherto been scary, but was now nothing compared to these strange creatures before them.

Eventually they both reluctantly agreed to move on, but then Sammie became transfixed by a dalmatian running about on a slope to his left. We took a few steps, stopped, stared intently, moved on when gently encouraged and then went through the whole thing again until the dalmatian was out of sight. Normally he doesn't bother about dogs but maybe he'd never seen a dalmatian before.

Fox trot

I rode Sammie in the school today. It was the first time in over a week so I wasn't expecting much from either of us (especially me!) Wrong attitude I know, but you have to be realistic every now and again!

We were doing ok(ish) until a rather bold fox decided to pay us a visit. He entered the school at A and proceeded to wander around without a care in the world. Sammie was a little startled and did his snaky neck thing. When we went into canter the fox made a sharp exit only to reappear when we went back to trot and then hung around for the rest of our session dodging in and out. Not helpful!

The most noticeable improvement was the Spanish Stamp under saddle. Sammie has developed it somewhat and we went forward for more steps than we had before. He still does it with the low head and determined attitude, of course. He is a funny boy and I just love the sound of those hooves hitting the deck with a big old plonk!

We kept it short and sweet and then it was back to the yard for supper, hay and sleep.

Frosty the unwelcome snowman

We've still got the snow. It's melted a bit, but the fields and the outside yard are still covered and it's getting more slippery by the day. We had a mixture of more snow with a wee bit of sleet thrown in today. I hope the sun does a bit of a job on it tomorrow, but not so sure with such cold temperatures.

I took Sammie for a walk today. I didn't feel at all safe. I think he sensed that he really shouldn't pull me around in any way otherwise there would have been one almighty splat! So we both moved along very gingerly with Sammie sniffing for any available green stuff along the way. He had a big shock when he came across the yard snowman - he really couldn't work out what the heck it was so just stood there snorting at it from a distance.

The horses are going out for shorter times at the moment because after a few hours they're all waiting by the gate begging to be let in for some hay. They snuffle about out there and get what they can, but there's really not much to be had at all.

Gee Whiz!

Over a foot of snow!? In Surrey? Unheard of!

Poor YM was stranded miles away (her car couldn't cope with the journey) so I made it up to the yard to meet with others who had offered to help out with the barn. Got the horses all sorted with breakfast and hay and then brought in the two live outs who were covered in icicles, poor mites! One old mare, who never wants to come in, virtually put the headcollar on herself. They have huge bales of haylage out there, but they wanted some comfort I think. They didn't take long to defrost once they were in and I think they're staying in tonight as they are both pretty old.

Sammie of course thought the whole world had gone quite mad. He's been out in this sort of stuff when he lived out in Gloucestershire, but you would have thought he'd never seen anything like it in his life. Much snorting and lowering of the head went on and every little movement made him jump - including a sparrow.

We got mucked out and then YM (who arrived late through devotion and hitched rides) needed to go and check on her foalie with the live out herd, so we drove up there as far as I could get, gave them all a feed and checked all their feet. Then I finished off Sammie and drove home before the ice really set in; even the best of cars can't cope with ice rinks.

I did take Sammie out for a little walk and he came back on stilts of snows on the fronts. He looked most disconcerted by it! Another reason to go barefoot - his hinds were fine.

It did look beautiful though - perfect powdery snow. It's just a bit of a pain when you're trying to get work done, and it freezes your feet off if you're wearing wellies.