#196 - We did it!

After a very difficult start this morning we finally did it!

I was on my own and planned to ride Gran this morning so I was out in the paddocks first thing. I was feeling well (health wise) but very nervous about getting on, wondering what she was going to do.

Well, after the floating issue yesterday she wouldn't even come! Definitely not a good start. Food wouldn't entice her and as I had no plans of doing both ride and float training on the same day she wasn't to know this wasn't going to be an issue. I didn't have a halter with me as she just follows me most days so I didn't think it would be necessary. I also thought if Teddy came to the food so would she. Well Teddy and Gran must have had words as Teddy wasn't coming for the food either. Both my horses are guts, especially Gran, so this was highly unusual. They would get close but then back off. At one stage they both ran back to the back paddock.  I finally went and got a halter and just went up and caught her.

Straight off she started with the snorting. I got her groomed, saddled her up and got everything ready and started just leading her around. She snorted often and just the sight of the float, which she wasn't actually near, had her backing away. I kept her attention and then after some simple ground work I took her to the mounting block. It was Teddy Deja vu! Every time I went to put my foot in the stirrup she would step sideways. Teddy used to do this constantly! She stepped sideways, forward, around the block, snorted a few times and was basically driving me nuts. I was already anxious which wasn't helping but this was making me shake inside. I tried putting my weight on the stirrups, draping myself over the saddle (if I could reach), getting off the block and positioning her, leading her from on top of the block... nothing was working. I was feeling my anxiety turn to anger. I tied her to a post and went and got my crop. When we started again she continued with her antics and I would tap her back into place with the crop. She doesn't like crops either, not that I've ever harmed any animal with one, I do no more than taps, but I didn't even have to touch her most of the time, she would just move as it came towards her side with her head held high. Finally after only a minute or two with the crop and some reassurance from me she stood still and I got on. Challenge one complete.

Next I was hoping she wasn't going to buck me and was talking to myself to relax. I didn't feel as much tension in her back as the day she bucked me off but I could still feel tension. Again, I realise I was probably just as tense so was really trying hard to suck it up. I moved her on and once I got her into a consistent walk I relaxed. It was probably only a minute but it was a very long minute for me. Then I felt calm and things were great! I felt like I was back to normal. Challenge two complete.

We worked on position in a walk, diagonals at a walk and trot, changing diagonals, figure eights and finished with some cantering on either side. We are both out of practice so it was only about a 30 - 40 minute session but we did great. And Teddy only called out to her once! Challenge three complete.

Everything else was normal after that and I was pleased that I faced my fears. I don't think I will be as concerned on Thursday when we try again. I'm amazed at how one minor broken bone has shaken me so much but I'm determined to get past it. Doing it on my own was 75% of the fear that today help enormously.

The only other issue I have is the impact on my SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus). This illness tires me out and luckily I'm still on annual leave so can rest when needed. I set out this morning at 8.30am and it is now 2.30pm and I am stuffed! It is going to be a lot of trial and error before I work this one out. It will be worked out regardless.

Gran Teddy Auto: #190 - Turned out and waiting patiently

Not a lot of change yet but I'm trying to remain optimistic.

It been a while since Gran's been in the float and I'll probably be back at square one, it's winter now so both Gran and Teddy are virtually turned out in the paddocks, I've just come back from holidays and I'm in constant pain at the moment so there is no telling when things will get back to normal and so they will just have to wait. But I am 100% committed to getting back on my horse and providing both them and me with some consistency.

While I was away for six weeks a friend came to the house to feed the horses and would change their rugs and brush them down on the weekend. I found it funny that when I asked how things went she told me Gran was a darling - what everyone says about her - and that Teddy was cheeky - also what everyone says! Apparently when she took the rug off Teddy he decided he didn't want it back on. When I asked what she did next she told me that she though she would try some natural horsemanship on him to catch him! I grinned to myself anticipating that this wouldn't have gone well unlike with most horses who respond to this, and asked how long did she try for and she said for well over an hour and a half and she got absolutely nowhere! She ended up luring him in with carrots LOL! Teddy wins again.

I didn't think to tell her the many methods I have developed over the years to catch Teddy and the first piece of advise should have been to not even bother trying to take his rug off and on without him tied. That horse loves a nudie run! She told me that there was such a contrast between my horses and you betcha! They are nothing alike, with Gran being an "I Will" type and Teddy a definite "What's in it for me!"

There is an upside to not being able to do a lot with them due to my ill health and that is the time I spend with them has become a treat, not just for me but for the horses too. They see me coming and they are both very happy. They really seem to enjoy my company, and not in a "feed me" way. We are all definitely bonding well. Teddy isn't as bitchy to Gran when I'm around (he's fine with her when I'm not there but he used to pin his ears back at her and chase her off as soon as I walked onto the scene). He's actually sharing feed with her now and they are side by side in my presence and no longer competing for attention. They are a lot more patient now as well, with me and each other. I'm not sure why, maybe its just the passage of time.

I had their brushes with me this morning when I went out to see them and they were just delightful, both seeking a brush behind the ears at the same time. Too cute!  I hope this all continues and I'm able to control my pain soon and fulfill my horsey dreams.

#189 - Not According to Plan but we have some Pros and Cons to share

Due to my recent health issues things have not been going the way I hoped they would with my horsemanship, but as I'm trying to remain optimistic I have recognised some unexpected positives.

Gran's float training was slowly coming along but the night of my last ride, Wednesday week, I was in a lot of pain ( nothing to do with the riding) and ended up in emergency at around 4.30am. Since then I have been in and out of hospital and under strict orders not to do much until my problems resolve. I'm not even allowed to drive until after Easter. This has resulted in Gran being in the paddock at home with Teddy; no float training and definitely no riding. I had booked Norm Glenn to return for a few more hours of float training, which had to be cancelled, and I hoped to do the KDARC rally in April, and two clinics at Aurum. I'm pretty certain I won't get to the KDARC rally and one of the Aurum rallies was today. Unfortunately all I could do was stay home and knit! There is still a possibility that I could do a clinic later in the month so I have my fingers crossed! On top of this my regular weekly rides haven't been happening, but my toes are crossed on that one restarting soon as well.

The up side to all this is I've had a lot more bonding time with my horses and they are just adorable! They really make me smile even when I don't think I have it in me.

The first few days I was home I couldn't really get around much so I'd slowly wander to the front paddock gate and call out to them and they'd look to see if I had something. If I did they'd wander over at a pace I could have lapped them at. They would always come but it was just a bit hoo-hum, probably more on their terms, and being loose in a paddock it was certainly their turf as the two have bonded very closely. But now that I've spent more time with them I don't even have to call, they come over, food or not, and no matter what gate or paddock I'm near they will spot me and wander over to check things out and hang with me. They have almost become my shadow. And now if I have food they don't just come, they come running! But I think that's more a test between themselves on who can get there first.

Each day I'm trying to do more and get outside. The horses currently have access to a front paddock, the lane way that stretches the length of the house, the area that leads to the dam and the dog run, which is more like a paddock you could make four yards out of. It seems no matter where I go I look up or around and there are two massive heads looking at me! Once they were so quiet while I was taking out slates from the compost to let the chooks in that I didn't see them inspecting my work from two feet away, I just looked up to their boof heads! If I grab a chair and sit in the paddock Teddy comes and stands right beside me with his head low, almost sleeping with his head on my shoulder. I can be standing in a paddock looking at something, not even thinking about the horses, and they will often just come stand near me - not eat grass near me, but stand there with me. Gran was even so cheeky the other day that I was in the hay shed and she stuck her whole front half right in the shed to eat the hay! I told her to nick off and she stops eating, looks at me but didn't move, just waits for her next opportunity to sneak a gob full! She was there with me the whole time, so now she can't act like that float is claustrophobic for her cause the space left in the hay shed is not much better!

Don't get me wrong, I always get greeted by them when I come home from work, they play the guessing game, "which shed are they feeding us from today?" and they go wait by the one they think it is each evening, Teddy often neighs when he sees me come down the driveway, if I go out into the paddock they never run off, though Teddy has always had the 'one foot rule' with everyone where he's wary of being caught so will back up. So they have always been pretty good but now something is definitely different. Maybe they know I'm unwell or maybe they see me more as a herd member? I don't know what it is but they are definitely more curious and are happy just to be standing with me. They seek out my company now and I love it!

I look forward to getting back into the swing of things and will do what I can with them until I go away, then when I get back from overseas I'll get stuck right into it and hopefully nothing will stop me. I'll get Norm back as soon as I can consistently reinforce the training, I would like to do some KDARC rallies this year along with my Aurum stuff, and I have plans to give the mounted games a go with Lee at the end of the year.

On one more positive note, I've also lost 6 kilos and hope to loss more as that will definitely benefit my riding. I've got my fingers crossed for that too. Actually I've got so much crossed I'm becoming a contortionist!

#188 - A lot to catch up on & a video of the horses playing

In a nutshell:

• Gran has been float training and has improved tremendously but still needs work
• The float has been modified (it took two and a half weeks to do!) - fixed jockey wheel, breaching doors reconfigured so I can close them without the centre divider, the tailgate spring has been fixed, three old hinges on the tailgate replaced with four new hinges, the roof, sides and floor have been resealed, and a side door holder has been attached so the wind wont blow it shut when Gran looks out during loading
• Teddy and Gran are in love! Teddy has taken to running around neighing for a few minutes when I take Gran away from the property. He also calls out when we come home while following the float down the drive
• Gran got an insect bite on her eye which required a vet visit. I had her checked out and it turns out she also has arthritis in her knee. Before I bought her I was told she had been seen by a chiropractor and a equine massage therapist for soreness as she had "started to pull up sore" after my visits and rides at the property and that she hadn't had this soreness before. Both "professionals" told the previous owner that she had soreness in the poll (a common issue). I believed it of course. My vet has told me that any qualified person, particularly a chiropractor worth their salt would have picked up the arthritis in the knee as the extent of it suggests its been there for a while. Neck - knee? What could it be? ...Unbelievable! Anyway I have been treating her and I believe we can manage it fine. She is showing no signs of soreness or lameness at the moment and she is being worked more than she has been in the past five years; or so I have been told.  This week I have ridden every other day and she has no lameness at all.
• Gran got loose (my stupidity) and got out onto the main road (the 80km road most people travel 100km on!) Luckily she didn't get hit by a car thanks to Teddy neighing to her which caused her to run back to him. Also I was lucky that a car towing a caravan coming slowly from one direction and a car towing a boat from the other. I had a minor heart attack and I think I've suffered some permanent trauma as a result! I now vow to get the front gates put on ASAP!
• Dressage with Gran is coming along nicely

This is a video of the horses hanging out at our dam, which I've posted to my Facebook page already so sorry for the double up Facebook readers. I put them in the dam area to eat grass but Teddy had other ideas:

#184 - I'm sore and Gran isn't! Progress!

A blog-able occurrence. I took Gran for a ride this morning, mainly walking and trot, about even amounts of time and she doesn't seem to have pulled up sore. She is definately better in one direction than the other but I don't think that has anything to do with her health, she is just left handed like me.

 Me on the other hand am aching like an out of work cowboy.  I guess that is progress on both fronts.

We got it out of the way early due to the heat but I'll go do some floating with her this evening. It was recommended I get a rearing bit to make us progress quicker but I am definitely not confident in using one so will leave that to the experts and plod along the way I am. 

#182 - A new blog name has been chosen!

Yeap I have decided to call the revised version of this blog Gran Teddy Auto. It just has that special kind of ring to it.

From now on I will be writing about my experiences with both horses. Most likely any writing on Teddy will focus on ground work, natural horsemanship (no particular teaching, just whatever I have adapted that works for me) and liberty work. With Granny I will be focusing on dressage, eventing  and trail riding.  But you never know I might mix it up a bit.

So for any new readers out there (perhaps you were drawn in by the new blog name!) these are my babies, photos taken today:

Granny 

Teddy

Here's to an awesome equine 2013!

#181 - Looks like this is the Teddy and Gran Log now

It's been two weeks since I got my new horse Granny. Not a name I would have chosen but what are ya gonna do! I cant think of a good name that sounds like it either and if I do change her name it would have to sound similar.  I must admit that Gran is kind of sticking with me now though, so keeping it looks inevitable.

She is a 14 year old Clydie X TB, 16.1hh. light bay with a baldy face and white patches around her body. She looks mostly Clydie to me, even has the feathering around her hooves and she is built like a tank.  She has great dressage scores from the past but has been out of work for nearly five years so we need to work to get both of our fitness up. It looks like she has her dressage aids firmly committed to memory she is doing so well. She has had one foal in the past but I have her as my new riding mount and Teddy has been doing ground work.

I originally hoped that seeing as she is such a sweet natured girl that some of that may rub off on Teddy but they are in separate paddocks now as the only time I put them together Teddy started being a bossy boots. I don't want her picking up his bad habits, so for now at least, they are talking to each other over the fence with a driveway between them. They seem happy enough with that.

I doubt I will find the time to write a blog for each horse but I still want to record our progress and my ups and downs of returning to riding, so this will now be the Teddy and Granny Log (I need to work out how to change it on Blogger - maybe something like GranTeddy).

Teddy has been doing a bit of ground work and is doing very well. He's a lefty like me so he is working on the squeeze game on the right side. He has actually turned a corner from his rude behaviour of the last month and I  think it might be that I have moved him down the line in the pecking order. I want Gran to be seen as my number one and I do everything with her first. On the one occasion when I didn't, I started Teddy on ground work and took him out of Gran's sight and she started to threat and pace up and down the fence line calling out to him. She is such a girl!  Teddy did the same the first time I took her out of his sight but now he couldn't care less.  And his ground work has been consistently good so I hope we progress a lot on that front. The real test is when I get the float modified to accommodate Gran and take her away from the farm. It will be interesting to see how they both behave.

I have been working Gran fairly regularly after initially coming off her on the first day. She spooked as I was getting on and I hadn't even put my foot in the other stirrup when she seems to simultaneously jump forward, up and to the right and I went backwards and to the left! I fell flat on my side and once again I felt pain in places I'd never experienced before! It took some help from Kim the next day to get me on the right path as I was kind of shaken up by the fall but I'm OK now. Gran is such a lovely horse to ride. Such smooth movement. We are coming along OK but she is still pulling up a little sore. I cant get a physio or masseur out here until next year due to the Christmas holiday (a two week wait) so I've started her on Bute just to be sure. I also find that she is so wide that I'm pulling up sore too!

Today was an unplanned rest day as I've had visitors all day and ended up having a BBQ which left no time to ride. It wont hurt her to have a break but I hope to still work her each day, even at just a walk, to get her fitness up.  Once we are on our way I think I will have to alternate days between Teddy and her. There are also a few clinics coming up mid January so I want to take Gran out to them as well.

So far so good. 

#178 - Oh how I misjudged Teddy

Wednesday morning at about 5.30 am I was in the front paddock ready to catch Teddy to take him to Bolinda before work. I do this so I can leave straight from work to our riding lesson and then head home. If I didn't there would be no way I'd get the time to get riding instruction.

So I'm in the paddock and I walk up to Teddy and he runs away. I think to myself that this is odd as I rarely have trouble catching him these days. I wait to see if he'll calm down but he is just getting more worked up so I go and get some food. Nothing. He won't even touch it. He bucks and races from one end of the paddock to the other. I think to myself that I've only got so much time to get him before I'm late for work so I need to do something. I approach him again and when I'm inches from him he runs. I'm getting more and more frustrated. I hide the halter and try to lure him to the crush but it was a waste of time. I drop everything thinking i'll go up to him with nothing then lead him by the mane when I get him. I get within inches again and he buggers off. I decide I've spent too much time and had to get to work so I gave up, called him ever name I could think of and stormed back to my float. While I was unhooking it I was calling out to him that he was a bastard no good horse.

I ended up going to my lesson but riding the school horse named Dick. It was a good lesson and I spent a lot of time wishing Teddy was as good as the horse named Dick, so envious was I of his sweet obedient nature. I drove home planning to retire Teddy once and for all and to ride the horse named Dick until I get my new horse.

During the drive home Steve rings telling me I need to get home before dark to see something. When I pull up right out the back paddock I see it - a new born calf from our cow Mercedes.

It took a while but it finally dawned on me that Teddy was trying to tell me about the baby that morning. As I'm sure I've written before Teddy is a sucker for a new bub and always carries on when one is born. The first time I noticed it was when the neighbours cow birthed and Teddy ran to the house neighing, then back to the calf, then back to the house neighing, over and over until I finally came out to see what the commotion was about. Every calf born since gets the same reaction, then by the end of the day he settles.

Poor paternal Teddy copped an earful from me when he was only trying to tell me how happy he was to see the bub. I was just in too much of a rush to listen. Who's the cow now?!

Rest assured I've wholeheartedly apologies to him and I'm pretty sure he has forgiven me.

Meet Number 3, our new calf and the latest apple of Teddy's eye.

#129 - Allergies and Teddy training

Ok, it's official, I'm allergic to horses. Unbelievable!

I have done the tests and on top of my dust mite allergy, which I already knew about, horse was the only other thing that came up. I was sure it would be due to a type of grass but I was wrong. Never mind, Teddy isn't going anywhere and I will have as many needles as it takes to fix this. So far it's a needle a fortnight for a total of 8 shots, then I hope to go on a maintenance schedule - if it all goes well, which I'm confident it will. It better be as I want the rest of my life to be around horses!

I've been working Teddy more and things are going OK. I tried the German way of mounting for the first time with Teddy and he objected. Verging on rearing really, so I take it that he would like to stick to the English style LOL!

He actually was getting a bit lazy or stubborn in the last ride where for the first time I had to ask him to go forward. I never thought I would see the day. I got some keepers for the FM bit and put the nose band back on the bridle and he had no problem with that but as for head tossing - it made no difference. At least I can be sure now that the bit is sitting correctly in his mouth and not causing him any issues. Our last ride was spent trying to relax him and then trot consistently for me. He's still a very fast trotter but I work well with it now, just need to smooth this out. Now the weather has improved you would think it was full steam ahead, but I am away for work again next week for seven days. The sun better be shining when I return!

#128 - England Vs Germany

For Christmas Steve gave me some dressage lessons with another instructor named Amber and I finally had my first lesson on Friday morning before work.

I've been taking lessons with Kim since January so it was good to get a different perspective, particularly as I'm not too familiar with the differences between the English style of dressage, which Kim teaches, and the Germany style, which Amber teaches.

When I finally found the property I was quite surprised at the differences out of the saddle. To start with Amber had me walk a 16.2 hh thoroughbred out of a gate big enough for people only. It wasn't a farm gate and the horse just fit through. At Kim's even though the horse named Dick is very quiet Kim is very safety conscious so that would never happen. Next Amber had me take the horse to a veranda and tie it with hay twine beside a ride-on lawn mower, so there was room enough just for the horse to stand and a little space in the back. The space was so small that when the horse pooed it literally pooed on Amber's arm! Then she asked me to remove the rugs which I did while she was off doing something else and she had me drop them (it was wearing three!) all on the ground in the only space available - behind the horse's back legs. I brushed the horse and she asked me to saddle up. While I did this she went away to put some music on! This would never happen at Kim's as she has her horse in the centre of a stable with both sides of the horse's head-collar secured from either side, the rugs have a rack, the horses have their own brushes, no sharing like with Amber, and Kim watches everything you do and suggests the best way to do it. At no stage did Amber check what I had done or ask me to put my helmet on. What was of most surprise was that I had to ask to pick the horses hooves! I was waiting for her to ask me to do it but she didn't. Seriously, what if there was a stone in there and then I rode the horse around for an hour until it was bruised and sore? Then while I was cleaning the horses hooves, who at this staged was fully mounted, I see in the corner of my eye Amber walk past me. I look up, Amber has walked off and just left the reins over the horses head, completely loose! I was starting to worry about her at this stage.

Then we went into the arena and I got a completely different view of Amber. She was excellent at explaining what she wanted, how to go about things and the reasons why and was just as engaged as Kim is. I also discovered a new way of mounting (German style) and the subtle variations on technique, some of which I thought were better than with English dressage.

When we left the arena I was still on the horse and she decided to take us for a little walk so I followed Amber around. There was a Shetland pony in a dam that apparently isn't usually there and this caused the horse I was riding great surprise so he became hyper alert and tensed up. I have ridden long enough to know when a horse is about to be unpredictable so I shortened the reins just a touch in case something happened and I just relaxed knowing this would help the horse relax. I was kind of amused when Amber tried to act like everything was find but subtly reached for the horses mouth and kept a tight hold! She clearly didn't want me to know that she had concerns.

So after the lesson I can say the bottom line is Amber is an excellent instructor and I look forward to my next lesson with her. She certainly knows her stuff in the saddle, However, if I had a child or an inexperience person going for a lesson I wouldn't recommend her due to safety concerns. A bit too laid back with dogs running around. All horse people know how new things can so easily startle a horse, .

I'd love to be able to combine the two disciplines of English and German to get the perfect fit for myself. I can see great aspects in both. When I get the float (which I have put a deposit on!) I will also be taking Teddy to ARC for a lesson with a different instructor once a month. Then I can take the best bits from all to get the best result for me and Teddy.

#126 - When it all comes together!

What a great ride I had today - everything was coming together and it felt fantastic!

It was an unusually mild day for this time of year so I worked up quite a sweat perfecting steering with my seat at a rising trot and cantering lead changes. It was quite hard getting everything that I needed to do correct and in sync, and with the horse named Dick having a preferred cantering lead, going in the opposite direction was difficult. It was reassuring to know that in this direction he will fall out of step 99 times out of 100 and be like that for anyone.

The most challenging bit for me was feeling with my body what the horses legs are doing at a canter. Where he puts his feet and when are things that I need to know about.

My Sunshine Paddock training of "lean back and hold on" hasn't helped me a bit LOL! Imaging my surprise when a few months back I went into my first canter under Kim's instruction and I wasn't allowed to lean back at all! And forget about watching the horse, I'm not allowed to even look at him! I started off feeling I was like Jason McLean on Pirate - flapping my arms at the side as I cantered along - well I really wasn't that bad to be exact. If the average person saw me they probably wouldn't have thought twice about it, but I quickly learned that my elbows aren't allowed to leave the side of my body and it was quite an adjustment.

But now I'm transitioning well, I'm straight in all manner of speaking (yep I even head tilt on a horse!), I keep the horse straight, and best of all, I'm comfortable doing it.

I'm not up to that with Teddy but I know we will get there! I cant wait!

#123 - a giddyup weekend!

The woman holding this horse is about 5 foot 6 or 7. Now that's a big boy!

******

I've had a very horsey weekend, which I love. Yesterday Teddy and I had a great ride after my initial problems with him stepping away from the mounting coffee table. Once that was overcome it was great, but while it lasted it was total frustration! I just cant get enough ground work in to correct this due to all the rain we've been having. I'll keep at it.

I tested how well Teddy would serpentine through the witches hats I had set out. This was done using only my butt as his guide. He did it that well that I had him doing complete circles around each witches hat before changing direction to the next hat. I'd change the direction of each circle and mix it up, keeping him thinking as much as I could. He was loving it. We would trot up the side of the fence to do the next series of exercises and he went really well, only starting to toss his head at the trotting stage. His motion in trot was a lot smoother then it has been and that is probably a direct result of my improvements in riding.

Today I went for a coaching ride on the horse named Dick and I was learning how to do a transition from trot to walk then back into trot without using my hands or arms to slow him down or bring him to a halt. It was a while before it felt normal to use my body to ask these things of a horse as I am used to pulling a horse up by pulling back on the reins with my hands. This new approach worked very well and I can see how I really need to think about "as little as possible to just enough" when asking a horse to do something. The horse named Dick is a school horse so he tends to take any opportunity he can to go from trotting to a complete stop! Once I worked out this technique (albeit my first lesson trying) it was great to not pivot forward when the horse named Dick would transition from trot to stop. I'm now thinking of this part of my riding in a whole new light.

This got me wondering about Teddy and his head tossing on the drive home. I think it may be a case of Teddy only knowing how to be stopped with the position of the rider's body and weight shift rather than having the reins pulled back to slow him down or bring him to a halt. I have always pulled on the reins with him so this could explain why he tosses his head when I do this... a bit like Teddy saying "what are you pulling on my mouth for? What do you want from me?!" It will be interesting to see how Teddy responds on our next ride when I put this to the test. After all, Teddy has proven to be excellent with leg aids, weight shifts and he will change direction just with the turn of my head. I can't wait to see if this is the case and I finally have an answer to his head tossing. I best not get my hopes up yet though.

The only down side this week has been the delay, or even the possible inability, to get my horse float as the one I had lined up has now doubled in price. I don't have the extra money now so I hope I get a great tax return and can get it as soon as possible! If not that one then maybe another, though I really like this one and know it's in great order.

Also I have had my allergy in a shocking way. After riding Teddy yesterday I had some friends over and I was itching and sneezing and spluttering all night, which was kind of embarrassing. I woke this morning to discover that the symptoms hadn't gone away and it progressively got worse as the day went on. Right now I am typing this with Steve telling me I look as pale as a ghost with puffy red eyes and red nose... or as he so gently put it, "you look shocking!" The tears haven't stopped and the sneezing is so frequent that I sometimes wonder if the latest sneeze round will ever stop! But then again, how many people will just sneeze once? Six sneezes in a row gets a bit much though! It's a strange time of the year to be like this so I think that it may be the result of a winter flowering plant - possibly a wattle tree or something like that. My mum was allergic to jasmine but I don't think I've inherited that. I've definitely got something that is in my paddocks because I don't get this at Kim's place unless I've gone there from home. When I go to a lesson after work I don't have any real problem. I'll have to go back to the allergist as soon as I can as I don't want this interfering with my time with Teddy, the weather is doing that enough as it is.

#114 - Had a wonderful ride last night!

I rode the horse named Dick last night and it was one of my better rides, particularly as I am finally starting to overcome this cold and I didn't feel as bad as the last time I rode.

I saddled up around 4.45pm and it was a beautiful night with a red sky so I felt like I was riding into the sunset! And all the horses on the property, about 50 of them, were being fed around me so they were all frisky. It was nice watching foals leaping in the distance while I cantered along.

Most importantly I learn that not only do I need to use my outer leg as an aid to canter but also that I must keep it there and have my inner leg forward. This is really important and is something that I wasn't aware of as it tells the horse that you want it to keep going in the canter. It could explain why Teddy stops so abruptly when I set him off into canter. I have been using the leg aid to start him and he would go straight into canter like a legend but then he would just stop. I thought it might be due to the position of the reins but when we ride tomorrow, weather permitting, I will see if its due to my leg aid not remaining at his side.

It will be interesting to see what the result is and how he responds. At least I now feel like I've got everything coordinated.

#113 - How to steer a horse with your butt!

Yep it's true, today I learned how to steer a horse using nothing but my butt cheeks and the slightest tilt of the hips. I am supposed to master this new technique over time at a walk, sitting trot, rising trot and a canter! It appears to be that as a dressage rider you need to be a contortionist as well!

On a cuter note, the pictures above are of a newborn foal from the shetland pony stud down the road from Aurum. The owners are away so these two are being cared for my Kim at her property. Aren't they just gorgeous!

I wish you could see the scale of these two. The mum is a full grown shetland at a height of about 9 to 10 hands high or approximately 90 - 100 cm, so as you can see from the footage below the filly can walk under her mum's belly! I'd guess that she is about 40 - 50 cm tall! Too cute! She was having a dream while I was watching her and must have been going for a little gallop as she had her little legs going! I wanted to put her in my car and take her home with me!

#73 - Help! I have so many questions...

Today I had another riding lesson and it felt like my worse yet. I'm not quite sure what was going on with me but I just didn't feel right (I wasn't sick or anything like that) and this feeling came through in the way I was riding. Stuff that I had learnt in lesson one wasn't happening today and I needed to review simple rising trot stuff as I was too far forward in the saddle. Diagonals went out the window!

Thankfully I did improve and once Kim had me bending my legs back to my bum while sitting in the saddle my leg position improved (yes I needed to use a hand to get them all the way back there - but just at the end LOL!). This altered my centre of gravity and made a dramatic difference to the way I rose in trot and rode overall. I will need to practise this position more.

The cantering at the end of the lesson was fine, Dick (the palomino pictured above) has a very nice rocking horse kind of canter, I will just need to work on the transition out of canter to make it more smooth. I don't find it too difficult on Dick though.

When I got home I saddled Teddy up to practise what I had just learnt and took him to an area I mowed out yesterday specifically for riding purposes as the grass has gone bonkers in the paddocks.

I discovered that although he has had his teeth done he threw his head up and down for a good 30 minutes. This is probably the worst he has ever done it. It drove me nuts, particularly as I can't find a reason for it other than him just not wanting to cooperate.

My solution was to persevere, which we did, and after 30 minutes I got off to readjust my stirrups. When I got back on he was much better for reasons I don't understand. This may be because I tried not to hold his head so collected but I cant be sure as when we were trotting he broke into a canter and at that stage my reins were too loose to correct him immediately. I had it all under control but I didn't like the feeling as I couldn't get any messages down the reins until I had gathered them up to the right length.

Also I noticed that Teddy is very fast at all paces. He's a pretty fast walker but nothing too major. He's a very fast trotter and my first few seated paces at a trot felt like I was bouncing like a rubber ball thrown into a confined space. Also, I must admit that his canter is way too fast for me at the moment - almost scarily so. But luckily I never felt like I was going to fall.

• Is it possible to work Teddy through this head throwing?
• Should I get a martingale?
• Will I learn to like the speedy Teddy when I get better at riding?
• Can a horse that has done polo learn to slow down?
• Are there any special techniques to teach a horse to slow his pace? and what are they?
• Can I learn what I need to learn as a rider and teach Teddy what he needs to learn at the same time? I need to keep in mind that I want him for trail riding.
• When I first got Teddy he had a neck problem that I believe we successfully treated and the woman who treated him said it was due to being in a frame all the time. If this is the case should I not be holding his head in like is required for dressage? It did seem to make a difference. If so, where to from here?
• Above is a photo of his saddle cloth from today and the sweat pattern on it. I was told that if the sweat pattern is not even the saddle doesn't fit properly. This looks even to me but there are some dry patches. Does this count as being even?
• If not I have a foam saddle riser, should I be using it?

Anyone's knowledgeable advise would be welcomes. Thanks