#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. 

#64 - I copped a beating and then I met Elvis!

Little do people realise the strength required and muscles used to ride a horse - particularly when it is done properly. My aching thighs, its unbelievable and I'm doing it all again tomorrow on my own. Yep a glutton for punishment.

I had my second dressage lesson today and I was on the horse for over an hour and easily spent 3/4 of that time out of the seat balancing with my thighs; you're not allowed to use the stirrups, reins etc for support, heels must be down, chest out, arms by sides, knees loose, back straight, pelvic forward, you can't use any of your muscles below the knee, you must have contact with your calves on the horse, shoulders back, grip those reins but don't use them! My instructor wont even let me look at the horse when I'm on him! All this at a trot and not even a rising trot as you only get to go back into the saddle when you cant stay up any longer. Count, count, count for how long you did it successfully then do it again. As you can imagine its a TOTALLY NATURAL state for your body to be in for an hour!

After the ride I watch some others do a trial and then went and visited my friend Justine to meet her adopted foal Elvis.

As Justine puts it, the real Elvis drew people to him in droves and apparently so does this little bloke, hence the name. Also he was born very small and his legs were wonky, he used to shake them to the side like he was doing the Elvis dance! Dare I say it... he was all shook up! God that jokes so bad I'm keeping it!

This poor Elvis is a twin but his mother rejected him and kept his sister. She didn't want the runt I guess. The mare's owners couldn't afford the time to raise a newborn foal so Justine took him on and an excellent job she is doing.
He has gained heaps of weight after round the clock feeds every three hours and his crooked legs have straighten right up. Though he's still a runt wearing the dogs coat!

I think the photos of him are great particularly the one with his little doggy play mate - at least they can share their wardrobe for now. Elvis also has the total run of the house inside and out!

Way to go Elvis!