But rehab and waiting for muscle to develop is dull. Dull as dishwater. Dull.
I tried and failed to lunge in a pessoa which went like this
So I tried a chambon which goes like this
Ideally I'd still like her a little lower but I looooove the long stretch she's got in it. Nose out and in front of the vertical.
We've also been doing lots of hillwork, all long and low. I can really feel her back working walking downhill and trotting slowly uphill. Not so much walking uphill but its getting there. I've been walking her daily diagonally over poles and doing stretches.
We've also been feeding. Lots. She came back from the vets like this
12 days of 3 x Saracen re-lieve, equjewel and chaff a day =
Still a little way to go and TOPLINE TOPLINE TOPLINE (although I saw a muscle by her withers this morning that I havn't seen before...obsessed.com). Also been ultrasounding the pocket behind her withers which is coming along...
On Monday I can start schooling again, just walk and trot for 2 weeks but I'm relieved as its all a bit dull right now. Token picture because she's so pretty!
Squirrel has been carrying the team by a couple of SJ outings.
First one he was mega lazy and managed to scrape a double clear in the 85cm and with some pony club kicking on my part, managed to win. I put spurs on for the second class and he was great and just had one down but he felt fab!
A couple of weeks later we went to another show. He jumped a cracking, fast double clear in the 85cm...only to find out the timers didn't start. So he had to do it again. And he did and won it!
In the 3 foot he jumped another great clear, but I had two down in the jump off. In his defence, I was REALLY pushing the turns and he jumped for me which is lovely after his stops earlier in the year.
Last week I was going to go to a fun show which included a top score and puissance but it was a disaster start to finish. I double checked google maps as the A34 was shut both ways and my sat-nav rerouted me and showed not traffic.
First part of the journey was amusing when my sat nav sent me down a single track lane and we met a couple of cars. What I didn't realise was that this went on for 5 miles and every car avoiding the back roads was on this lane. With few passing spaces..
It was quite amusing to see the general capacity of human intelligence and the number of people trying to suggest I put my 7.5 tonne lorry up on a steep verge or in a muddy ditch amazed me...Eventually we got through and sat in another queue for ages. I attempted to phone the secretary 5 times and emailed them but had no reply. We decided to push on as figured the way home would be a nightmare anyway.
Eventually got there and the wretched show was pretty much finished! AT 3.30. I was fuming at their lack of answering the phone which could of saved my afternoon. Only the puissance was left to run and with no one interested in it bar me, I decided not to bother.
I love puissance. Its great fun in a group with a bit of a crowd and then its exciting and fun. But doing it on my own, just a steward raising a fence each time Squirrel jumps it just to test how far he would go before his confidence gave out? No thanks, he deserves a bit more respect than that.
So we went home. Only to end up stuck right next to an awful motorbike accident and a poor, poor man receiving CPR on the side of the road. It was devastating to see, and put my own day into perspective.
Finally that evening, I was fast asleep and my phone rang. It was a client. Her pony was colicking and needed taking to the vets, she had no transport and none of the emergency transport companies were answering. So I got up and came to the rescue. So sadly the pony, a 6 year old Shetland whom I've been working with for 3 years ended up being put to sleep.
It never fails to haunt me how easily a beloved horse can be fit and well, and less than 24 hours later, dead. Such a sad weekend, and my heart goes out to everyone who lost a loved one that weekend and of course, those who died themselves.
