Hope you are all ok, and Warm sunny days

I hope you are all ok over there! I heard on the news about a terrible snowstorm. Power cut, freezing temperatures. So hope you all are staying warm and so are all your fluffy pals!

Down under is starting to warm up. Our day time temps are starting to rise and so are our nights. Winter rugs have been put away, sent to the cleaners or are in the washing pile. Coats are falling out and you can see hair floating on the breeze!

Flies are starting to buzz lazily around, mosquitoes buzz in a frenzy in the early evenings. Horses and ponies stand lazily under trees during the middle of the day, swishing tails, stamping hooves, shaking the head occasionally.

Cut pasture aroma hangs in the warm air and the faint hum of tractors can be heard all day.

Sam and I are doing well when I get the time to ride. Last weekend we floated the hour to my instructors place and had a lesson. Sam worked really well as usual, I need a lot of improvement but we will get there. We even dabbled at shoulder in.

This is poor Sam not impressed that I am setting up markers that will make us ride our corners!

We had the sheep at our place again for about 3 weeks. Meet "mum" she is pretty old and follows you around every where...........even though she was very noisy, she was still my favorite!


The great horse search continues and I am glad that I am requesting video footage before making the trek, I haven't physically seen a lot of horses due to such poor work shown on videos.
I am considering on making the trek to meet Arky though, I really like his rhythmical trot. He is not a show stopper but looks honest and sounds lovely.

Sam's First Show

Sam and I attended our local show this morning - The Rock show! There was stiff competition, Sam didn't place in his led class but it was more about getting us both out there and showing Sam what a competition atmosphere is like. He handled it all like a pro. We arrived around 7.30am - for a 9am start.

I took him for a walk around when we first arrived. He grew about 2 hands but stayed in control. He then stood happily at the float and started to eat his hay. He let me finish prepping him even though he was starting to bet bored, chewing on the spare tyre, running his teeth along the float!

They were running late starting so we were on around 9.30am. Sam walked around the ring happily and trotted out nicely, listening to me the whole way. He wasn't too impressed by having to stand still for the judge but eventually we got there. The other horses in his class were very beautiful and very will prepared. I was just happy that we came and conquered!!!!

I then rode him over to the side of all the rings. I lunged him first and he was good on the lunge so on I hopped. He was good under saddle, a little preoccupied but still listened. He walked, trotted and cantered without too much trouble. I think we rode for about 15min. I could feel myself starting to get a little worried so Sam was starting to get tense through his back so i decided to call it a day. I was proud of myself for riding in a competition atmosphere and VERY proud of Sam dealing with the morning!

Now for some photos!

This is what we started with, a very dirty pony!

Not very impressed with being bathed!
Standing quietly by the float waiting for his turn!
All ready for the show ring! With his dapples glowing and all!A very relaxed pony happily munching!

Home again with a curly mane!
Yesterday at the back door waiting for carrots please!
NUM NUM carrots!!!!!!I love my carrots!!!!

Sorted out my account and back riding!

I have finally sorted my account out and can be back to blogging!

So much has been happening!

Sam has now been officially bought back into work. Day one I had to lunge first. I mounted and tried to walk around our back paddock but Sam soon told me that he was full of beans and that there are monsters hiding under all the trees. I popped him on the lunge until he had shown me just how acrobatic he can be and until he was ready to slow down, breath and to start thinking again. I don't mind Sam being silly on the lunge as when I need to use it as a training tool and working tool he does listen and work properly - I'm lucky that way. We have been doing a lot of fitness work mainly. The back paddock is about 3 acres and we walk around it twice, trot twice and canter twice and change the rein and do it all over again. He his starting to really get his breathing sorted in the trot work.

I am now wondering about the diagnosis of pedal osteitis for Sam as he seems to be warming up out of the lameness. It is not totally gone but he does get better throughout the work out. I am considering when I have time to take him to a different vet clinic that is about 3 hours away but their reputation is remarkable for lameness issues.

So Sam is working well, accepting a contact, holding a nice prelim frame in trot. Canter is still very stiff. Any ideas for suppling exercises for the canter? I really need to be able to loosening up his back.

Sam got new shoes all round on Thursday and on Friday he was a little touchy so I gave him yesterday off and will see how he is today, if no improvement I will call the farrier.

Little Poppy is doing well. Fat! She has a sore eye at the moment that seems light sensitive. I have been bathing it with warm salty water and I have given her some bute (an anti inflammatory and pain killer). This has been helping but if I stop for about two days the eye becomes sore again so I will take her to the vet this week. I can't see anything and it isn't really weeping, maybe she has bumped it but I would prefer to be sure.

Little Poppy excelled her self when my niece and nephew came to stay. We have never known if she has been broken to saddle. She accepts a lunge roller with no issues and has been long reining really well. We decided to put my nephew on her. I made sure he had a helmet on and he wore his gumboots - better than thongs - my OH was also holding onto him just in case Poppy showed us that she wasn't ready for it or happy about it. SHE WAS QUIETER BEING RIDDEN!!!!


She is a little super star!

I am heading off again next weekend on another road trip to look at a horse. Only 6.5hrs away this time!
Harvest Arbitrator He is a 16.1hh 14yo Warmblood Gelding. Trained to medium level dressage, currently competing Elementary level. He is meant to be very quiet and schoolmaster like. You have to press the right buttons or he won't do it! If you nag him too much with your spur than he will cow kick at your leg - I thought this was a good thing, makes sure you keep your leg still and quiet and only use it when required. He has the same Sire as my old instructors horse in Sydney and her horse swishes his tail a lot as well - I will presume it comes from the Sire. I thought he looked happy and willing and very patient in the video. These are his official placings.
Thoughts?