Paula’s Blog - Getting Back on Track

Since we got the green light for Bob, I’ve been bringing him back into ridden work. He was only off for a few weeks, but I wanted to get him back into it and get used to the bridle with his missing tooth at a slower pace. We did flat work to start then a bit more pole work and have had a couple of cheeky jumps! I’m so eager to get him out jumping as I don’t want to lose what we achieved before his operation. We are booked in for our first ‘post op’ lesson this weekend which I can’t wait for (and hopefully I will have a new saddle pad as we are at Your Horse Live a couple of days before). I’ve been trawling the local Equestrian venues and have got some show dates noted down but also want to check if my instructor is hosting any clinics before we delve into the competition ring again. It’s exciting but nerve racking!

Autumn’s still a bit stiff being ridden, I’m a bit disappointed in the supplement I had her on as it was quite pricey and she didn’t seem happy to improve on it. I’ve moved her back to plain old Boswellia and the last week or so she’s come back so much better! Less warm up time needed and substantially less stiff. I am still giving her most of the winter off and just letting her do the odd bit of light work, so I’ve also made the decision to have her back shoes off. She gets very footsore if not shod on the front but is okay with the back, so it gives her hooves time off shoes and saves me a few pounds over winter. Aria’s been barefoot since we moved to the yard and it has done her feet wonders as they seem much stronger, but sadly Bob hasn’t got the best feet so he will always need shoes (at least whilst ridden).

How did everyone’s horses cope with Bonfire night? I hope they were all safe and not too distressed! Mine are okay with standard fireworks if not too close, although Bob’s not a fan of the screamer rockets. Unfortunately, I had to sedate all of mine this year (Bob had a strong sedative) as the farm that had a firework display last year did another this year (much louder and longer), very frustrating as it was between two horse yards with Category four fireworks but at least this year we had a week’s warning so could prepare unlike last year! The sedatives did work a bit and the girls were fairly calm, poor Bob did get a bit panicky and run round his stable – not that I could blame him from the noise. We spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights camped out in the car at the yard to keep an eye on the horses, not ideal but I couldn’t bear to risk leaving them just in case but luckily, we all came out of the weekend okay. Something really does need to be done to protect our animals but until/if it ever changes, I think I’ll just have to sedate mine if I know something is planned (and pray nothing unplanned occurs).

My neighbour has become very interested in my horses since she met them at my birthday BBQ at the yard, and even came up a few nights with me last week (in torrential rain and winds – she wanted to see them that much!) She’s completely fallen for Autumn, and I just leave her to happily groom her whilst I get on with jobs etc (although I’m not sure she would feel the same seeing Autumn the next morning, after she spent an hour grooming her for her to then look like a mud monster). She likes Bob but is a bit weary due to his size and playfulness and is pretty scared of Aria (as are most people) lol! It has been nice to have someone up there who is so interested and asks questions about the different aspects of horse care – makes you realise how much you know when you answer questions without a hesitation. She laughed when I was doing jobs on auto pilot such as the horses’ breakfast with tubs of supplements and different feeds for each horse as she said, “you don’t even think about what you’re putting in, its second nature to you”.  She also loved watching the farrier at work too, especially with the shoe removal and refit.

Has anyone else got another non horsey person to join their equine world? I have to note my neighbour’s husband is not liking her suggestions of her getting her own horse now…not that I had anything to do with that!