In the moment...

I don't know what to make of anything right now. I was watching Sammie yesterday, so happy to have his head in between RI and her trainee, who were sitting either side of the patch of grass he was munching on after our lesson.

Trainee was idly playing with his forelock and RI was giving his head the odd scratch as she chatted away. Neither had any feeling that he might do anything harmful, you could just tell by how relaxed they were with him.

Sammie just looked so relaxed, as if he was meant to be there. It's hard for me to remember sometimes what he used to be like when he first came into my life, and then see him as he was today; it seems like the Sammie I see now is just the Sammie he's always been. Relaxed, comfortable in his space, master of his domain. No hint of any baggage.

When I got him back to the yard I ground tied him (just his lead rope dangling on the floor). He had all four of us (YO, RI, trainee and me) moving around him, busy with our stuff, and again he just looked so relaxed, accepted all the buzz around him, was not perplexed or alarmed by an of it.

Trainee went up to give him some fuss which he welcomed. He had people walking in front and behind him and he couldn't have given two hoots about it. Not wary at all, just watching the goings on with curiosity and interest.

In fact he was being so good that YO offered him a bit of her Cadbury's chocolate finger, but he wasn't too keen on that so it was swiftly replaced with a carrot which was much, much better!

It gives me so much pleasure to see people interacting with him in this way. When I first got him, everybody was so wary of him and would avoid handling him if they possibly could. He was not a horse that people would feel inclined fuss or be too close too because he was deemed unpredictable.

It just struck me today how much softer he has become. How much happier he can be in the company of humans (well, the right sort of humans anyway)

I've always thought of him (maybe wrongly) as a horse with behavioural issues, but today, nobody would have said he had any issues at all. He just looked like a regular horse that had led a quiet and regular life, always treated with kindness and respect, nothing to raise suspicion.

I guess it's because others didn't see him at the very beginning - a broken horse, totally closed down and so angry. When people see him like he was today, they can't see his past, what I know was there.

That's good I suppose, but it also means that people don't realise how far he has come.

Maybe that just has to be one of the many special things between him and me.

I know, and Sammie knows, and that's probably enough.

Counter canter?

Eeek! Counter canter is not nice. It feels weird, but we were giving it a go in our lesson today. Not at all elegantly but we were doing it - although RI seemed quite impressed.

It involved cantering up the track to the middle of the school and turning back on ourselves in a shallow loop (so basically the outside leg is leading) then going round in a shallow loop to the right (in counter canter) and then going round to the left so you're leading with the inside leg again. It made Sammie do some nifty turns I can tell you! I nearly flew out the side door with one of his left turns and sent RI and her trainee/observer into fits of giggles. The final left turn felt like one of those turns that you see Western riders do.

The amazing thing for me (apart from Sammie's quick response to my weight aids) was that we kept the canter throughout all of that. That would have seemed an impossibility a year ago. Apparently this is also one of the ways to start canter pirouette - I thought they were kidding but was told I was half way there. Hmm....all a bit beyond me I think. Maybe Sammie could do it with a better rider, but not with me.

We started the lesson with some exercises to get Sammie's back end going. He's always been more stiff on the right, so the idea is to get that right hind really stretching over in lateral work. We also tried turn on the haunches. Again I'm sure Sammie is more than capable, but my mind tends to go into meltdown with this leg here, that leg there, this hand doing that and the other hand doing something else.

As RI was saying, the more you do, the more you notice things that need to be worked on. I don't know how far Sammie and I will get with all this. But just to have those strides of nice canter on the left rein and to be able to get it so easily will never cease to amaze me.

Sammie worked very hard, bless him, so he got a bit of a chocolate brownie from RI at the end and then just stood munching the grass round the edge of the school while we chatted. I explained how all this barefoot business had made me quite nervous but they both said that he was sound and the best help I can give him is to keep him strong. All sounds sensible, but I take that in, agree it sounds sensible, while my mind wanders and works in mysterious ways!

Let me take you down, cuz we're going to....

Strawberry Fields!

Yesterday Sammie and I went longlining round the strawberry fields. Sammie was in marching mode so we got round in double quick time and I decided to take him into the pond field for a quick whizz in there. Well, he found that highly exciting and I have to confess that I had very little control at times. I think he considered it an incredibly odd thing to be doing, so he decided to high tail it and throw in a couple of bucks for good measure. I got back to the yard exhausted - he looked as fresh as a daisy.

I managed to have a bit of a go with his hinds over the last couple of days - little and often is the way forward I think and then there won't be too much to do in one go. YM said she thought I had done a pretty good job and they are starting to look a lot better now the nail holes are growing out. I still have my doubts as to whether he will make it through this or not, but at least I know that I'm giving him every chance.

He really was looking lovely after I'd cleaned him up back at the yard and I gave him his dinner out the back in the tea and coffee area as he quite likes it in there (probably because that's where the food is!) .

After that he just stood there ground tied waiting for me to finish a cup of tea and YM commented that he really is looking good and wouldn't look out of place in a showing class. That made me feel very proud and I have to say he did look beautiful - just one of those moments I guess.

Backs off, so back off!

The farrier had pronounced that Sammie's hinds are looking good and he's doing a fine job of keeping them in trim himself. He said it must be a mixture of the type of work and the sand in the school giving them a bit of a manicure, like a nature emery board!

He said the shape was pretty good although the right does have a slight flare (he's always had this but it used to be a lot worse) . I was pretty pleased because I said what I thought needed doing and the farrier agreed; that was the right outside heel.

However Sammie, whilst absolutely foot perfect with the fronts, was a monkey with the hinds. Not so bad with the left, but the right got too much for him. Part of me was concerned that maybe he's feeling pain in his left so he doesn't want to put more weight on it. But then I've seen him rest both equally and as YM said, he's still stepping through nicely. I'm going to give him a day and then have another go myself. Our farrier talked me through exactly what to do and said to call him if I needed any advice.

I think this is the best way forward - just Sammie and me. Always has been and always will be I guess! As the farrier said, the feet really didn't need anything doing to them; a lot of it would be purely cosmetic. But he would feel totally happy if that right heel just had a bit taken off it and that's doable when I get Sammie on his own.

If I do a little bit every day, "a couple of strokes a day" as the farrier advised, I'll have it under control. Ok, they don't look as pretty as they could but who cares? I know we're not out of the woods yet and we've got a long way to go but I feel happy that I know what I'm looking at.

My other theory at the moment - a gut instinct really - is that the Sedalin might actually be making him worse with his hinds. I think the if he happens to be feeling extra vulnerable that day for some reason, the Sedalin just heightens that feeling. He wouldn't even accept YM picking up the right foot today and she picks his feet out every day without a problem.

So next time, farrier will do the fronts without Sedalin (Sammie will be fine) and he can advise me on the hinds. Blimey, I never thought I'd be learning how to do things like this! I tell you, if I ever got another horse I would have this farrier look after its feet like a shot. He is just so patient and so keen for me to succeed.

We might meet a problem in one or two, three or four months time, but at least I know I'm doing my best under the circumstances and Sammie will hopefully be happier about the whole thing too. I've got to go back to little steps on this one.

We've a new arrival on the yard: a miniature shetland! She's just 6hh. I arrived at the yard today to find YM and farmer giving her a bath. What a cutie with the smallest hooves you've ever seen. She's been known to sit on the back seat of the farmer's truck, she's been in the lounge at the cottage and she's even sat on the sofa. Nothing scares that wee little thing at all. She's full of confidence and is as bright as a button. She's got her own little trap, too.

I brought Sammie round to get him ready for riding and he really couldn't work out what she was. She obviously smelt like horse but I don't think he'd ever seen one so small. Talk about little and large. Daisy wasn't put off at all when Sammie walked up to her. She stood her ground and carried on munching her hay. Not bothered in the least.

Can canter, can't stop!

I can't stop Sammie cantering on the left rein now. He's gone from being a horse that was difficult to get into anything that resembled a canter to a horse that once he starts, won't stop. He will break for a trot now and again, when he decides that what I'm asking might be a good idea, but the slightest move from me and he's off again. This is primarily on the left rein - his favourite side.

We were working on the long lines today and the barmy thing just kept doing it! Not a crazy canter at all, so nothing to worry about. In fact it's a pleasure that he's so willing. When I eventually got him back to walk he immediately started the Spanish Stamp with both legs - still very odd looking and it does make me laugh with all the effort he puts in with such a stern and determined look on his face.

Crikey, these days if you give him an idea he takes it to the extreme. Funny boy. He made me quite dizzy today.

It's a month without hind shoes now and I still can't see any tell tale signs. I just hope our farrier doesn't tell me something different on Thursday.

Hot work, cold shower

We did some long lining today and his canter on the left is coming on so well. It seemed I just had to think canter and he was off. He got very puffed up at one stage, all proud and arched, and just want to go, go, go. Then he decided the Spanish Stamp might help. I had to laugh because he was trying so hard to do both legs while walking along but he really can't seem to sort his legs out and ends up at a standstill in the oddest position, looking at me as much to say, "Well? What do you think of that then?" Why on earth does he like doing that so much?

I was a bit of a sweaty mess by the end of all that and Sammie was very grateful for the cold hose treatment. Just stood there ground tied and didn't move a muscle apart from lifting his hind leg very slightly when I sprayed his crown jewels, but I think he quite liked it once he got over the initial shock!

I remember the first days of hosing and bathing Sammie - it was an absolute nightmare, so much so that I gave up in the end and used to sponge him down instead. I think he was just plain terrified of the hose. I've heard that some people use hoses and plastic water pipes to beat horses because they don't leave marks on the skin - nice eh? I'm not sure if that was every in Sammie's life, but now he's an absolute angel and he still gets some treats for being so good.

I rode in the school this morning hoping that it might be a wee bit cooler, but by the time we got ready the sun was starting to do its stuff. It didn't seem to put Sammie off though, he worked so hard. We worked a bit on transitions and I think I must be improving because he is starting to listen more and more.

The important thing seems to be to start off as you mean to go on. No dawdling or pootling, but clear directions and signals right from the start. Well that seems to be the way with Sammie. We still warm up and down properly but we do it all with purpose if that makes sense.

We really were hot and sweaty after nearly 40 minutes of that so I decided to give him a proper bath for which he seemed pretty grateful. Stood there like a rock with his lead rope dangling on the ground and even let me get the hose right up his neck to just behind his ears. He was wary and lifted his head a bit but certainly wasn't that bothered by it.

Barefoot in the Park

Sammie and I had our first hack with back bare feet this past Sunday. Sammie didn't seem to be ouchy at all, despite a few stony areas. Helps that the soil here is sandy, so the stones sink into the sand under pressure. We were only out for about 45/50 minutes walking with one or two short trots. He was tracking up the whole way round and I certainly didn't feel anything that worried me. I think he's lost a wee bit of fitness, but apart from that we came back in one piece.

I long lined him yesterday just to check that he was still ok and he was. In fact he did the most lovely canter on the left rein I've ever seem him do and on quite a small circle. So for the time being, we seem to be on the right path. I'm still going to be building it up gradually over the next month or so and I'll be interested to hear what our farrier thinks when he seems him next week.

I've been thinking about Spanish Stamp and I think I know what I've got to do. Yesterday on the long lines we did start to get the other leg working a bit too - not brilliant but he was shocked by the amount of praise he got for it so hopefully it will help. We also did the hoppity hop version as well and once he starts he just doesn't want to stop. It really does need two people. He does it with such energy though, not an elegant rise and fall but a real STAMP. I can't work out why he does it with such force! But it does make me laugh.