Rain, rain, go away!

Can somebody please turn the tap off? This is getting pretty miserable now. I don't mind changing weather, but after the lousy summer this really is getting a bit much.

Sammie DID NOT want to come out of his bedroom yesterday so I think it's starting to get to him too. I know they're horses, but I'm sure the strange weather has an affect on them as well - they don't know whether they should be growing a warmer coat or not.

I gave him the day off yesterday as by the time I got to him I would have got him wet if I'd exercised and then I wouldn't have been able to put his outdoor rug on until he dried out. Today I planned to ride earlier on; that's if he would agree to come out of his bedroom of course!

I took Sammie in the school, in the end. I am dogged by a nagging doubt at the very back of my mind: "Is this going to be the day?" I really do have to try and control it a bit more I think.

He was an absolute star. One of those days when we could have just trotted forever. Slow trot, fast trot a bit of canter, he did it all and only with one spook down the scary end (it was VERY scary down there today!). We did a good half hour but it was all work and although he still had petrol in his engine, I decided to stop as he'd been so good.

I had a bit of a go with his feet when we got back and again, he was as good as gold - still a bit more snatchy with the right than the left but then he's always been that way. I've got a sanding block now and I find that quite useful just to smooth of the little rough bits that crop up every now and again. He's still chipping a bit, particularly where the clips were but farrier said that would happen so we just have to go through it.

I think I'll just long rein him in the school tomorrow before the farrier. Nothing too strenuous, just something to get him moving. I don't intend to sedate him tomorrow either. He's ok with his fronts and we'll just play it by ear with the hinds although our farrier can usually tell what's going on underneath the foot by looking at the outside anyway. I just want him to check that we're doing as best as we can and any useful pointers that he can give me.

Here comes the rain again...

The orange gang are all rugged and it's only September! This is so depressing. We managed to hack out today in a rainless spell - quite a miracle really. In fact the sun was actually trying to come out, which seemed quite novel after the past few weeks of nothing but dull, grey skies. When we got back to the yard the rain started again and hasn't stopped since.

We went out with YM on Sammie's ginger girlfriend, and new girl. It was only for just over an hour but we picked up some speed on the good ground and Sammie flew up a hill and totally puffed himself out by the time we got to the top.

I long lined him yesterday so after the ride today I reckon I can afford to give him tomorrow off if the weather is as dire as it was today. We were saying that we'll probably change the day/night out rota sooner than we expected if it carries on like this. I was hoping we'd keep them out at night until mid/end October, but this weather is something else.

Pole dancing

We rode in the jumping field again on Sunday. Boy, Sammie certainly shifts his backside in there! Not in a napping type of way, but just getting on with his stuff. I think I prefer riding out there than in the school.

We even popped over a pole again and he even did a little jump - not a scared, panicky type of jump; quite a launch but not with any fear - well I didn't feel anything anyway. It did take me a bit by surprise but I just made sure I threw the reins at him so I didn't accidentally jab him in the mouth.

Monday was his day off and yesterday we managed to fit in some long lining in the school. I was expecting him to be a bit grouchy because YM said they had all come in shivering after their naked night out in that horrible driving rain and wind.

Apparently they couldn't get into their stables quick enough. They were soaked and YM had to remove the water with a sweat scraper before she could put their and Thermatex rugs on. After breakfast they just fell asleep with Sammie hitting the deck first.

Anyway for that reason I was not expecting him to be particularly lively but he was and he did some lovely cantering as well. We only did 20 minutes but he did work quite hard.

Farrier is due on Monday so it'll be interesting to see what he thinks of Sammie's feet. They are growing like crazy but I think I'm managing to keep on top of the hinds. They're still chipping a bit here and there but I don't think we'll be through to full strength until the whole hoof has grown out.

Extreme hacking

Our hack went very well yesterday and we were out for longer than we expected. Not sure why, but time just ran away with us. Sammie gave me no real reason for concern - he was a little jumpy on the way out but soon settled down and started racing his ginger girlfriend towards the end (much to her great annoyance!)

I just let him go at his own pace in walk, trot and canter. Hardly any rein control at all - just letting him stretch out and run! He really did run at one stage but I didn't feel unsafe at all. If we came across some hard stony bits we just went off piste through the heather (watching out for rabbit holes along the way) - I'm not sure if we need to do this, but best to be cautious I reckon.

He was pretty tired and very sweaty by the time we got back but soon perked up after his shower when he knew supper was on its way. We have two new horses at the yard and their human is very keen to get out hacking, so we might have another partner there. One of the newbies is a youngster (4 years old) - part Welsh, part Warmblood and part something else - quite a dolly mixture but a real honey.

I went down to the yard later in the hope that it might have cooled off a bit, but no chance there. So I took Sammie to the pond field for a spot of long lining.

He went off in his 'hot to trot' mode - I wasn't pushing him at all, he just decided that's what he wanted to do. I thought he'd be a bit tired after yesterday but obviously not. I keep half expecting that time to come when he just doesn't want to go into trot (that's how I'll know something is going wrong back there). I do try and put it out of my mind but it's a hard habit to kick. I just remember so well when all had been ok and Sammie had been trotting merrily along on the long lines and then gradually he became more and more resistant until it was obvious he couldn't do it at all.

Anyway, enough of that; always work with the horse that you've got in front of you.

Sammie did some nice canter work as well during his speedy work out. By the end he'd calmed down a bit so we did some more controlled work, had a long stretching walk and then went home for supper after yet another shower to cool him off again.

I plan to take him to the jumping field tomorrow for a spot of schooling and to see if he'll attempt the poles again. If he doesn't want to, that's fine by me, but it'll be interesting to see if he will.

Red Rover, Red Rover, will Sammie move over?

Sammie and I managed to go round in ever decreasing circles today. I thought it might be a good idea (for a change) to see if I could get him to move his hindquarters away from me on the long lines. So I put him on a small circle, asked him to walk on and then pointed at his bottom and said "Over". He partly got it at one stage but was very keen to show me his Spanish Stamp at the same time.

He was going round and round in ever decreasing circles doing his silly walk and occasionally moving his bottom over until he had managed to wrap the ends of the long lines around my legs and came to a grinding halt as he was effectively tied to me.

So instead of walk and one Spanish Stamp, he put his head right by me and Spanish Stamped at standstill. We got in a right old tangle and Sammie's face was a picture. It would have got very interesting if he'd decided to run off!

A bit tied up...

Sammie and I managed to go round in ever decreasing circles on yesterday. I thought it might be a good idea (for a change) to see if I could get him to move his hindquarters away from me on the long lines. So I put him on a small circle, asked him to walk on and then pointed at his bottom and said "Over". He partly got it at one stage but was very keen to show me his Spanish Stamp at the same time.

He was going round and round in ever decreasing circles doing his funny walk and occasionally moving his bottom over until he had managed to wrap the ends of the long lines around my legs and came to a grinding halt as he was effectively tied to me.

So instead of walk and one Spanish Stamp, he put his head right by me and Spanish Stamped at standstill. We got in a right old tangle and Sammie's face was a picture. It would have got very interesting if he'd decided to run off!

Poor Jack had to have stitches in his leg today (nasty cut) and they completely knocked him out for it. He came to the yard (but can't run around) and he looked pretty well out of it, poor boy - dazed and confused but still able to find a stick. He has to be kept from running around for 10 days. He's going to be a crazy dog by the end of that stretch!

Tomorrow we're going to try hacking out with Sam and Savannah. I thought it would make a nice change and I can always turn back if Sammie doesn't feel right. Doubting Thomas I know, but you know me. We'll take it easy and keep to good tracks and see how we go.

I ain't afraid of no jumps!

Today we rode to the jumping field (we haven't ridden in there before) - well, I got on as we neared the field. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for Sammie as he hasn't been out, ridden on his own for some time now and he can get a bit 'sticky' when he starts worrying.

Basically I wanted to make success easy for him. When he came into my life, it was as a show jumper; he'd made a bit of money doing that, but somewhere along the line it had gone wrong, and since we've been together, his aversion to poles and jumps in a school has been pretty hard to miss. I don't like to think too much about what caused his fear of all things jumpy. My imagination could go wild! Was he "knocked"? Was he pushed too hard? What happened to make jumps a thing to be afraid of?

As we got near the field on foot, I noticed the cows were in the next field, but that didn't bother Sammie one jot. He has already demonstrated his cow herding skills on the farm!

I found a log and hopped on half expecting (bad, I know) for him to want to do an about turn and head home. There was nothing of the sort, he strode out bravely towards the jumping field causing the cows to rustle about a bit. Somebody had put up some pretty large jumps but there was plenty of room to walk, trot and canter in between them. There were also a few poles on the ground (more on that later)

Sammie was a very fresh boy. He really comes to life very quickly when he feels the grass under his feet. So we took off at quite a pace, but it wasn't him being scared of the jumps - he can often get very fast when he's feeling scared and I know that feeling very well; he was just up for some action.

So we weaved in and out of the jumps at trot on the left rein and right rein, went into canter, back to trot and did some lovely lateral work with practically no rein contact at all.

As I said, there were some poles on the ground (normally Sammie's worst fear) but these were nicely nestled in the grass so they didn't glare out at him.

When we first went in, just walking around he was avoiding them for all he was worth so I just ignored it. Then as we did more and more work and he was more and more switched on to me I kept wondering if he might just go over one.

So as we were doing a very nice walk (really in my hand) I just pointed him at it and over he went, no problem at all. Big click/treat moment. Then he did it again and again and again (more treats). I left it alone for a while and did some trotting. As we came across the field in trot, I pointed him at the pole again and he took it all his stride. Big, big treat moment.

We did it a couple more times and on the last one, he took a wee little jump over it! Not a scared, rushing jump. Just a hop and a skip and then broke into a gentle canter. Big hug and big treat moment with lots and lots of praise.

So where did that come from?

I thought it would wind him up just being in a field of jumps, but that didn't bother him at all. I thought he would really hesitate at the pole on the ground, there there was nothing of the sort. I even had a few doubts in my head, but that didn't put him off either. He felt so relaxed and happy to be moving around that field with the cows as his audience.

I was quite gobsmacked as we rode back to the yard and Sammie just pootled along on dangling reins. Then I thought maybe I "feel" different when we're not riding in the school, which he might link into. Whenever we put poles in the school we always seem to go into leap and crazy rush mode.

It could be something very deep down - maybe because his many jumping competitions (and probably his early training) were always done in a school/arena. I don't know, but he felt so willing and free out there in the jumping paddock.

So that's another place to do some work now. I really think it's good to vary the environment, especially in Sammie's case. It helps build up the variety of work as well.

When we got back I decided to take advantage of the weather and give him a bath. He just stood there soaking it all up. That was followed by a bit of hoof rasping (which he was very good for), then dinner and out to the field.

I don't think Sammie will ever cease to amaze me.