tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10449770068036319102024-03-14T07:52:25.863-07:00TWO BAY HORSESChristle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-51307222712991164122016-08-11T06:00:00.000-07:002016-08-11T06:00:15.682-07:00The Second-to-Last Post, & New BeginningsI've worded and reworded this post a hundred times, and still haven't figured out how to say everything that I want to say in a short and concise post, whilst still doing it justice. I've grown incredibly attached to this little Blogger space and will be sad to move on, but I <u>am</u> moving on. To bigger and better things, or so I hope. I'm making the shift to Wordpress.org!<br />
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A lot has changed for me over the last couple of months or so, and I'll explain these changes in more detail at a later date. Everything is exciting again, and I've finally identified and overcome so many mental barriers that I didn't even know existed. Sports psychology has helped me more than I could say, but I'll try to say it all - over at Wordpress. <br />
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It's a long and technical process, trying to shift all my old posts over to the new site. I've 'rebranded' so to speak, and you can now find me under 'Bay Horse Eventing'.<br />
Oh and guess what?! .. we're going eventing again this side of the season!! Mum, being the holder of the purse strings, has given me the go ahead for float repairs!<br />
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I'll be back with more in a fortnight, over at www.bayhorseeventing.com. There'll be an international giveaway to kick things off and in the meantime I'll be riding hard and reading everyone else's blogs. I just need a week or so to get to grips with Wordpress and get the design just how I want it.<br />
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Hope you guys stay tuned for my next post - which will be the last post - where I'll link up the giveaway and new site.<br />
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-82970763169118681832016-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:002016-08-08T06:00:05.405-07:00The Sweet Spot<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today's post brought to you by Cutie McCuteface, and his big doe eyes.<br />Naaaaw.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: normal;">Today's short post is actually brought to you by me, and I'm not that cute. But I can create a blog post a hell of a lot better than Cute-face up there. If the keyboard remained intact long enough for him to paw out some words, he'd probably say something like "giz me dat cranberry OSM bar now plz mom" and that would be all. The boy takes after his mama and is a big fan of the OSM - cranberry to be precise, though he won't turn down the other flavours in a hurry. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">I digress.. what I actually wanted to share today was a little revelation that occurred to me during my ride some time last week. We've had a great winter on the whole, and I was almost beginning to take the intermittent warm spells during the day for granted, but this day was particularly cold - my grandma would have said it was bitter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">We were moseying around the arena, going through the w/t/c motions and I was focusing on riding squares instead of circles, and trying to psych myself into preparing for some serious schooling. Because we had a lesson the next day and I knew we'd be tested on our 'homework'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">No matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn't gather myself together to slog it out for forty minutes trying to perfect our shoulder in on the circle. You can't beat a dead horse so instead I opted to just brush over a few things quickly and save our legs for another day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">What a smart move that was. I asked for a couple of strides of leg yield, was unsatisfied with what Oscar offered me so told him to give me more, was then satisfied and let him have a quick stretch on a loose rein before tackling the shoulder in. That exercise was much the same, first request produced less than satisfactory results and so when I insisted he try a little harder, he obliged and earned a tonne of neck rubs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">Moving on when I was satisfied that he'd shown some effort proved to be a great move as he then put effort in from the get go on the other rein, and that got me thinking. I'm so focused on getting things perfect so that we can move forward come lesson time, that I wasn't really rewarding Oscar enough for his efforts. And effort is important, it's something you want to encourage and even train into your horse so that you can continue to move forward... long after that tricky movement is behind you. What good is an excellent shoulder in if my horse no longer finds training fun?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">And so I promised to myself that I'll always try to find that "sweet spot" going forwards in our training; where the work is challenging but never difficult. I'll save the difficult and hard rides for lesson time, when there's another set of eyes and someone with knowledge and experience to help make the difficult stuff easier. I have no interest in making things hard to the point <a href="http://twobayhorses.blogspot.co.nz/2016/06/just-cant-dressage.html">where my horse doesn't want to even try anymore</a>. That's no fun for anybody.</span></div>
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Of course, I don't want to make things too easy either. The trick seems to be finding that sweet spot where you're improving, but at a rate that's comfortable for both parties. I still like to see that Oscar got the blood pumping, without heading back to the cross ties lathered in sweat.Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-9153708560994110772016-08-01T10:00:00.000-07:002016-08-01T10:00:09.550-07:00'Happy Birthdays' All Round!<div style="border-image: none;">
I've been feeling a bit unmotivated to saddle up lately which, to be honest, isn't all that unusual for me at this time of year - I may be half guilty of being a fair weather rider unless we have a lesson or a show. In saying that, there's a polework and jumping clinic on this weekend and Oscar and I will be taking part in two lessons there which is exciting. We'll have to book in for a dressage lesson soon before people forget I'm pretty much <u>all about the flatwork</u> haha.</div>
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However, today is a special day where we don't really want to talk about being unmotivated! Today in New Zealand (and all other southern hemisphere countries) our beloved horses turn a year older! August 1st marks a new equestrian year, and a fresh season to plan for. </div>
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I've been a busy bee working on this season's goals but that's a post in itself. Instead, Oscar hinted at what he'd like for his birthday in honour of the occasion...</div>
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1. Sunshine, and a big grassy field with some shady trees.</div>
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2. APPLES!</div>
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<u>All of the apples.</u></div>
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I would love to have shared an extensive wishlist including Animo breeches, Devouceux halters and at least seven new rugs, but in reality my little bay horse is just all about the simple life. Give him an enormous field and plenty of apples and the horse is happy as can be. At least he's low maintenance?</div>
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Unfortunately for him, his real birthday isn't until the 14th and Spring is a little bit after that... but he'll get an extra dipper of feed tonight just because! Happy birthday horses, ponies, donkeys and mules!</div>
<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-2631959927722589602016-07-28T06:00:00.000-07:002016-07-31T16:26:55.801-07:00July 10 QuestionsOscar is slowly but surely winding down for his winter break towards the end of August. We have a couple jumping lessons to go and will continue familiarising ourselves with the racetracks, but other than that we're just working on smoothing things over as opposed to learning anything new and increasing fitness.<br />
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Don't judge me for using a bitless bridle to catch my horse, ha. I left my spare halter in a friends trailer.</div>
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Anyway, I have something cool in the works for a not too distant post but in the meantime I've been wanting to jump on the 'July 10 Questions' bandwagon, brought to us by blog hop queen, <a href="http://suenostomanvuelo.blogspot.co.nz/" target="_blank"> L Williams.</a> Though <a href="http://horsebeckz.blogspot.co.nz/2016/07/blog-hop-fk-yea.html" target="_blank">Becks' F@#% Yea'</a> blog hop has gone right in my basket too for <strike>a</strike> another rainy day.</div>
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JULY 10 QUESTIONS</div>
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">1.</span> Do you actually always pick the horse's feet? Always? Really?</div>
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Not always, but for the most part, yes. It's actually a rule at my grazing that horses feet are picked before riding in the arena, so if I'm doing arena work then absolutely. Also, if I'm trailering off property I'll pick the feet out - mostly because I don't want Oscar bringing half the paddock with him onto the trailer.<br />
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">2.</span> What is the biggest obstacle/reason preventing you from becoming a professional or competing full time with ease?<br />
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The fact that I just don't wish to become a professional/compete full time. I relate to Becks' statement that you lose a lot of the passion when it comes to turning your passion into work. There's suddenly a lot more to it than just loving the sport when it becomes the thing that has to put food on your table.</div>
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">3.</span> Do you think it will ever not be about the money?</div>
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Nope, it's always about the money for me. Horses are a hundred times more enjoyable when you have the cash to show every week and buy all of the tack that you covet... or even fix up your trailer so you can leave the property every once in a while.<br />
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Although with that being said, horse ownership in New Zealand is ten times more affordable than what I grew up accustomed to, so I guess time is actually the biggest thing these days.<br />
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">4.</span> Was there ever a horse that you loved and really wanted to have a connection with, but it just never panned out?<br />
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Absolutely - I really wish that I clicked with Smooch. She is always in the ribbons whenever she goes out, and is a super talented horse. I purchased her the day I saw her, I wanted her to work out for me that much. Sadly though, we just bring out the worst in each other. I have a super cold seat, I don't know if that's the correct term but whatever the opposite of a hot-seat is) and being a horse that has learnt how to say no, it's really hard for me to get her forward and off my leg without a serious full on slog-match.<br />
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Five minutes of ribbon winning on this horse isn't worth the hours upon hours of battling behind the scenes; and I'd rather just have a horse that I enjoy than a horse that will win me ribbons. I wish we clicked but sadly it's not to be. She adores my sister and watching them win stuff together is awesome.<br />
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As a funny side note, my sister purchased Oscar straight away too and the two of them just don't get on at all. It set us up for a perfect horse-swap.<br />
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">5. </span>What is one weakness in your riding that even your trainer doesn't pick up on, only you?<br />
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I don't know, I'm pretty transparent and share my weaknesses with anyone I lesson with. C knows Oscar and I pretty well and has identified plenty of weaknesses I didn't even know we had, but I did have to let her know how collapsed I felt through my left ribcage. I am being punished heavily for it. <span style="color: #b4af00;">#AllOfTheLeftReinExercises</span>.<br />
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">6.</span> What is the biggest doubt/insecurity you ask or tell yourself in your head?<br />
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I'm a pretty positive thinker, and know I share the same capability as all the big name riders to do well if I work hard enough to foster the right mentality, dedication, passion to do well and was prepared to work my ass off to get there. I know all this and don't have any "not-good-enough" issues.<br />
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My biggest insecurity then, and this translates across the board, is what other people think of me.<br />
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I remember the first time I rode at Pony Club - my parents took photos to share with my family in England, and a girl from the club that I hadn't even met yet left comments on each of them 'critiquing' my position and referring to "my poor horse". I was only tipping forward through my shoulder, the reins had loops in them and the horse really couldn't have given a shit.<br />
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It has definitely made me a little insecure about what people are thinking, though I have learnt to avoid the toxic and catty riders as they're mostly just insecure in their own capabilities.<br />
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">7.</span> There is a barn fire. You are the first person to discover it and see that the roof is collapsing in slowly, and you can tell that it is going to come down any time. Do you call people first, or head in straight to save the horses?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did someone say "barn fire"?!?! I'd better spray #nervouspoo all up my stable wall just in case!</td></tr>
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I'd do both, simultaneously. Probably yell out as I ran inside.<br />
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I don't think I could physically pause and stop to make a call whilst animals were trapped in a life threatening situation.<br />
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">8.</span> What is one event in your riding career/horse/anything that you're still not over, even though you might tell others that you are?<br />
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Hmmm, since breaking my hip on a bolting horse - I really dislike being aboard a bolting horse.<br />
It's not something I talk about though, so I don't know that anyone knows about it/thinks I'm over it. It happened in Auckland so all of my riding friends now don't actually know about it, ha.<br />
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">9.</span> If you could tell off one person you just don't like, what would you say?<br />
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If you imply that you are above riding Thoroughbreds then you have an attitude that's not likely to get you very far. Sitting on a warmblood doesn't make you better than anyone else, despite what you might think. <br />
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<span style="color: #b4af00;">10.</span> Have you ever seen questionable riding or training practises, but let it go/ignored it? How do you feel about it in hindsight?<br />
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Totally. I can't really be salty towards others who call people out on what they don't agree with, if I do it myself. There comes a point when outside interference is necessary but I don't think I'm qualified to ever play that interfering party. In saying that, I will share the odd post on my Facebook page that raises awareness around say.. leaving nylon halters on horses in the paddocks.<br />
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-17482716015226383882016-07-25T06:00:00.000-07:002016-07-25T06:00:08.930-07:00Grid-work Jumping Lesson Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU4CksrvWX4IYBE8eegvqK7LYS0f6JW9xVn7q3vLALs5x54WZu56YPH2TaxP3Uiw69qnl3_zbtIRmz2eYGsCjtbsVolxlVuqM-meGEO_2KZbPiQc1Sgv-asEmqizTNA8BpTVJ4PAI4DmY/s1600/IMG_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU4CksrvWX4IYBE8eegvqK7LYS0f6JW9xVn7q3vLALs5x54WZu56YPH2TaxP3Uiw69qnl3_zbtIRmz2eYGsCjtbsVolxlVuqM-meGEO_2KZbPiQc1Sgv-asEmqizTNA8BpTVJ4PAI4DmY/s640/IMG_0096.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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A week or so ago I asked the world of Facebook for jumping instructor recommendations, and a good friend put me onto L (at this point I realise most horse people that I interact with and talk about on this here blog are either L's or C's!!). We scheduled for this weekend which ended up being lovely and uncharacteristically warm for this time of year, perfect lesson weather.<br />
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L liked Oscar right off the bat and said so which was a nice surprise. Usually I tend to gravitate towards harsher instructors who don't fluff around with compliments, and that suits me just fine - if I'm paying for lessons I want critique, not pats on the back. I know that some people prefer the more encouraging instructors, but that teaching style has never really been my jam. Still, I'll gratefully take a nice compliment about my horse's general existence and dashing good looks.<br />
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We talked briefly about what Oscar and I had done <span style="color: #b4af00;">(training level eventing)</span>, were doing <span style="color: #b4af00;">(beginning jump work following hunting injury)</span> and aiming to do <span style="color: #b4af00;">(get back to eventing again)</span> before we began warming up on a canter circle over two poles at opposite sides of said circle. <br />
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This exercise is one that always needs work; and we usually have the same issue whenever we try it, being falling out of the outside shoulder (yes, that old chestnut). L also wasn't overly pleased with the way Oscar carried himself to and over the poles, though I <i>will</i> point out that he was feeling particularly lethargic and behind my leg that day. A couple of vertical half halts at strategic points on the circle seemed to help slightly, but I opted to grab a whip for the rest of the lesson as I was already feeling a bit puffed.<br />
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In the interests of being honest, I don't believe that I was helping Oscar carry himself nicely over the poles - anyone who spends the majority of their time in a dressage saddle knows it takes a good ten minutes or so to warm yourself into a jumping saddle. I didn't feel like I could weight my inside leg enough to sit straight for a while during our warmup, which obviously makes it more difficult for my horse to travel straight underneath me.<br />
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On top of that it's ten times harder to get a horse between your seat and hands when your seat is unbalanced, any energy you are channeling forwards is able to be diverted through the weakness - or as was the case with us - blocked by, your seat. <br />
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The final straw before grabbing the whip was as we trotted into a tiny cross rail with a ground pole in front of it - Oscar got stuck on having a pole right before a jump so ended up clambering <u>through</u> the jump. I picked up my stick, circled and came back around, pulling out the old one-handed-pony-clubber a stride out so I could tap him behind my leg as he took off. Oscar jumped out of his skin, threw in a buck and I didn't have to touch or nag him again the whole lesson. Whips and spurs are his least favourite, the boy is as far from Rihanna as they come.<br />
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Once warmed up and when Oscar was in a good place between my seat and hands, we moved onto grid work (red dashed lines are poles on my oh-so artistic diagram below):<br />
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The jumps were just a simple cross rail oxer and a teeny tiny upright and we were aiming for six things with this particular grid.</div>
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i) getting a good canter into, through and out of the grid.</div>
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ii) stretching my horse out over the fairly wide oxer, as his jump is apparently quite snappy.</div>
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iii) encouraging Oscar to figure things out without me trying to place him at the base of the fence.</div>
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iv) building good muscle post injury using small fences.</div>
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v) using the poles to improve my ability to see a stride. </div>
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vi) improving confidence across the board, for the pair of us. </div>
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So one grid, two poles and fences, had a whole host of benefits/things to work on with the above in mind. </div>
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Our first target was to establish a canter that allowed us to really travel forwards and into the grid. </div>
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Oscar is happy to collect deep to the base of the fence and tidily pop over whatever obstacle is in front of him, but L wanted more ground coverage without compromising the collection in the canter, and we worked on a surprisingly simple and effective exercise to achieve this.</div>
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We took things right back to the circle, where we picked up a light skippy canter straight from walk. When we had a good rhythm going L asked me to sit deep and bring Oscar back to the slowest canter we could manage, right back until he was about to break into trot at which point I was very quickly to push him forward again. It was an ugly and difficult exercise but the first two or three strides of canter offered after I got after him were perfect, exactly what L was looking for. The key with this exercise is to be assertive enough to push your horse out at the critical 'just about to trot' moment, and back off when the horse leaps into the forward-but-still-on-his-hocks canter. I could feel exactly what L was asking us for, which is always a great thing, and so we were able to progressively get more and more strides of it as we continued to practise. Once the concept had stuck we'd alternate from circle to grid and back to the circle. It kept Oscar's brain busy and fresh, and was super effective (Pokemon Go lovers will appreciate that description) to maintain the exact same canter on the flat and through a grid. </div>
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Show hunters watch out ;) (tricking). </div>
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The improved quality canter did have the added effect of encouraging Oscar to reach more over a jump, but also widening a parallel oxer to the right effort-inducing distance helped out too. Especially the third or fourth time when Oscar had gotten comfortable working his way through the grid.</div>
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Teeny tiny fences are all you need in a grid, especially in early stages as your horse figures things out.<br />
I am usually of the opinion (and I don't know where this theory came from) that a horse needs something at chest height or above in order to improve his jumping technique. Well I was certainly shown otherwise today, as Oscar felt a hundred times better the last couple of times than he did in the first couple, and it was basically just down to engaging the haunches in the canter and engaging the brain by leaving the horse alone. <br />
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We opted to finish the lesson early as we'd already made big improvements, we have plenty of homework coming out of the lesson and most importantly, Oscar was tired. I never mind finishing a lesson early when my horse is tired as he means the world to me, but I see no sense in ever pushing anything on a tired horse anyway. We've rescheduled for another lesson and I'm thrilled that I now have a genuine understanding and feel for what I'm teaching my horse in a jumping context, and we no longer have to just aimlessly canter between jumps in order to feel we're schooling something. Good times indeed.<br />
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-29983737210039807152016-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:002016-07-21T06:00:17.001-07:00Too Much Weekday, Not Enough Coffee..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I've been a little lethargic over the past week, mainly due to limiting my coffee intake and forgetting my iron supplements after dinner a few times. When you're a carb girl through and through, it's hard to be a vegetarian and still get adequate amounts of what your body needs. Spinach and chips has <u>nothing</u> on steak and chips. Time to get back on the green smoothies I think. </div>
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Of course, it is that much harder to be motivated with your riding when you have no real tangible goals and that's not helping my recent low energy state of mind. With my trailer still out of action and business as slow as it is (having a farrier business in winter is great! said nobody, ever ha..), it's hard to scrape together the dollars needed to make the repairs there. </div>
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I'm still staying hopeful that we'll be able to sort something come spring, so the dark winter evenings in the saddle will hopefully end up paying off towards the end of the year.</div>
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Whilst the trailer is out of action, a local girl has managed to bring together enough participants to get someone in to host a pole work and jumping clinic at the arena next month, which I am super excited for! I put Oscar and I down for pole work in the morning and jumping in the afternoon, and it's nice to have something to look forward to and something to keep me riding even when I just feel like curling into a ball on the sofa with a hot coffee and a bar of chocolate. </div>
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On a more positive note, all of the difficult stuff C was drilling us on (who knew going straight was difficult?!) is starting to come to us much quicker, and Oscar is offering that much more in his way of going as a consequence. I feel like the spookiness that haunted us in every dressage test we completed last winter has finally bit the dust.. either that, or I have learnt to cope better with my horse's overactive imagination. Perseverance paid off, and I can only imagine how much fun we'd be having at the dressage series this year! If we can get out eventing next season we are set to have a ball, I'm absolutely certain of it! My show jumping nerves are surely shrinking away like Oscar's spookiness, and I feel more excited than nervous to jump these days. We're getting back to being the awesome team we were during our time at pony club, which makes me happier than you could imagine. Again, perseverance and fostering a "just do it" attitude was key here.<br />
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If I can apply that attitude to saving money, we'll be tearing across country in no time! Until then we'll just keep drinking coffee and working on getting awesome..<br />
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-69683226622208686032016-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:002016-07-19T06:00:18.469-07:00Adventuesdays: Wairere FallsSo, in my spare time (ha ha ha ha ha...) I just <u>love</u> walking/hiking/tramping/exploring/discovering secret swim holes/climbing waterfalls. Like if I wasn't able to own horses anymore I'd happily take up adventuring as my hobby. And what sane individual residing in New Zealand doesn't love adventuring?! This country is <u style="font-weight: bold;">stunning</u>. My good friend, Katie, introduced me to car camping not so long ago and I think that once a week I'd just pack up my car, hit the road and get lost in whatever nature had to offer.<br />
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And seriously, it has a lot to offer! My favourite hike so far was an almost vertical ascent to the top of the North Island's tallest waterfall. The views from the top as I sat and caught my breath, with my bare toes dug into some mossy pebbles on the edge of the waterfall and gripping onto a boulder for security, quite literally took my breath away.<br />
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I visited Wairere Falls with my sister, Coco, and by the time we reached our destination at the top we were both feeling the intense burn in our thighs. Our favourite sibling bonding sessions seem to occur perched atop a mountain, a waterfall or a horse together, so a lot of my adventures involve climbing something with her. </div>
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This particular walk was one of the most difficult; it won't knock a particular Auckland trail off top spot in terms of difficulty but it got close. We'd get through what felt like a huge chunk of the trail, only to reach a clearing and see our destination still looming ahead. Still, there's worse views to be seen and that's for sure. </div>
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In New Zealand, what I refer to as "adventuring" is better known as tramping; as in tramping through leaves, mud, tree roots, bush and other untouched characteristics of nature. Oftentimes you'll find yourself on a DoC (Department of Conservation) marked walk, only to discover that you're left to your own devices to pick your way through the bush. It's not always a case of walking, but sometimes crawling, scrambling or sliding your way through. Excellent cross training!</div>
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Personally, I think it is important to work on rider fitness just as much as, if not more so, than a horse's. A rider is the horse's trainer, and is a lot more effective if they can hold their own throughout a training session. I have miles to go to reach my goal fitness, in <a href="http://twobayhorses.blogspot.co.nz/2016/07/another-dressage-lesson-recap.html" target="_blank">this post in particular</a> I share one example of how my lack of fitness holds Oscar back. Popular activities to compliment riding typically involve yoga or pilates type training, but just getting out and walking, which is the defining movement of human beings, is so underrated. </div>
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Another advantage for me is that exercising outdoors suits me better than chewing through numbers on a treadmill inside an air conditioned gym, and the scenery distracts me from the fact that I'm actually exercising. Bcuz why exercise when you can eat all the fries?!</div>
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A free swim thrown in completes the deal. </div>
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Tramping is my second favourite form of excercise for many reasons, but the thing I love the most is that it goes a long way to engage all of your senses, which in other words means it's hella interesting. </div>
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On this tramp in particular, the air is so fresh and so crisp - even with the sticky rays from the sun attempting to burn us to crisp, each intake of air was thoroughly invigorating. It's as if your personal energy levels are feeding off the processes going on around you. You can hear the (almost deafening up close) tumbling and crashing of water bouncing off the platforms on the face of the rock with every step, and the singing of birds going about their business with the faint clicking of cicadas in the distance. The views leave nothing to be desired, whilst the clean cool water rushes all around you and cools you off when you reach the top. </div>
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Or at a midway point if you need to cool down right there and then..</div>
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After all the climbing and splashing around and clambering over rocks and tree logs, and general engaging of all muscle groups you are aware or unaware of, you will have likely worked up an appetite. My sister and I are suckers for hot, extra salted McDonald's fries and it's almost tradition that we finish our adventures with fries fresh out the basket. </div>
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(Life tip: ask for your fries unsalted, and then request salt sachets. You'll get hotter, fresher fries that way!)</div>
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Food also tastes a million times better after you've worked for it, so there's the taste component of my tramping statement too, ha..</div>
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As tramping is a secondary love of mine, I thought it'd be fun to share my adventures on my blog - even if it's just for personal satisfaction to be able to look back and reflect on good times. I did think that a lot of other blogs that I read and follow have overseas authors, the exception obviously being <a href="http://horsebeckz.blogspot.co.nz/" target="_blank">Becks'</a>, and so maybe visitors coming from my favourite blogs will enjoy an up close and personal peek into some secret New Zealand spots! There's more to us than earthquakes, volcanoes and hobbits, I promise!</div>
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I hope to share an Adven-tuesday (adventure-tuesday, yeah?) every third Tuesday of the month, and I'll do my best to stagger them fairly across the different regions to show how varied the landscape is depending where you go. </div>
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Do any of my horse-riding readers have a secondary hobby/way to get fit that also helps them in the saddle? Is New Zealand on anyone's bucket list?</div>
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-20534325034341887102016-07-18T06:00:00.000-07:002016-07-18T06:00:06.956-07:00Balancing School & Horses: PrioritiesIt took a long, long time for me to be able to juggle two of the most important things in my life responsibly; those being university and horses. My partner (Louie) had a huge dirt biking accident in 2013 which has resulted in a career-ending time bomb waiting to go off inside his leg. How long he'll be able to work as a farrier for is anyone's guess, and so we both agreed that I'd be the main breadwinner for our household, and he'd eventually go part time or less. I detest a housewife-lifestyle anyway, and so I am much the driving force behind this decision. <br />
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My academic performance then, is crucial if I am to increase my chances of securing my dream job, and my ultimate academic dream is to graduate with first class honours (an A grade average). On that note, second class honours is nothing to be sniffed at and I'll be only slightly less happy to achieve that.<br />
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In the beginning of my university 'career', I would almost live in the library. I'd read and write and stress about my performance if I achieved anything less than an A grade, until I burnt myself out. More often than not I would arrive home at 11.30pm, only to get up the following morning and scoot off to class. Things would then take a u-turn and I'd be crabby and snappy and hide away at the stables, spending time with the only constant thing in my life over the past nine years - Oscar. I've moved between countries, regions, careers, relationships and friendships and the only thing that has stayed the same since landing on New Zealand soil for the first time over nine years ago, has been Oscar.<br />
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So he is a pretty big deal to me, and I can't sacrifice time spent with him in pursuit of an A grade if I want to be truly happy. I thought I could, and I just ended up bitter and stressed to the point of breaking. My horse is quite literally the only living thing I have in my day to day life that is special to me, with a connection to life before Louie. <br />
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I know a lot of people who have sacrificed something for university; even if that something is only a comfortable income (StudyLink really know how to teach students about life on the edge - on the edge of starvation, hypothermia, eviction heh heh). But, the only way to get through university without feeling like you're in hell is to prioritise your goals simultaneously with your happiness. A sad or stressed person will never smash their goals the same way an enthusiastic and happy person will, so personal happiness should never be overlooked just because it doesn't carry the same social prestige as an excellent report card.<br />
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I've noticed that focusing on my happiness has also had the added bonus of improving my schoolwork, and boosted my feelings about university tenfold. I love being a student, the time it affords me to spend riding and the creative freedom to interpret assignments to certain extents. It has its' challenges, absolutely, but when I'm happy I tend to look more to what I enjoy about the situation. This translates across the board, whether you work, study or run a household. A happier you equates to a more enthusiastic and motivated you, and this has been proven in study after study.<br />
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Defining my happiness and my career as the two things that are the overarching priorities in my life means I no longer favour one over the other, or alternate my attention between them. I know that if I am to stay consistent in my academic achievements, I need to take time out before the burnout threatens. But I also know that it is never prudent to miss a show to meet an important assignment deadline.<br />
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If I were to give anybody any tips on finding a close-to-perfect life balance, based on what works for me, it would be to prioritise what is important for your present <u>and</u> your future simultaneously. One should not be exclusive of the other. Of course, there are some great apps that hold you accountable and help out tremendously if your time management isn't the best *ahem*, but the most important first step is to just figure out what it is that needs prioritising in your life and figure everything else out after that.<br />
<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-38606911860735770592016-07-14T00:38:00.000-07:002016-07-14T00:38:48.040-07:00Jump Practise.. and something a little exciting.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm a bit late to post these photos, but better late than never at all.<br />
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Last week I brought Oscar in for a pop over a few jumps. It was our first jumping session since <a href="http://twobayhorses.blogspot.co.nz/2016/04/a-diagnosis.html" target="_blank">he'd hurt himself hunting</a>, and as he'd been handling his workload really well over the past few weeks, I decided to test him out over some small fences. Truth be told, we both needed a break from the dressage and we're struggling to hack out at the moment because <a href="http://twobayhorses.blogspot.co.nz/2016/07/a-barefoot-hoof-venture-pulling-shoes.html" target="_blank">someone's got sore feet</a>. I have something really, <b>really</b> exciting to share <strike>next week</strike> and it starts with "<u>we have been given permission to ride on the sand racetrack next door</u>".<br />
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Scratch sharing next week, I'm hella freaking excited. It's literally a fence line away, on the next door property, and it's a fully fledged race track where real life thoroughbreds gallop in races (omg). And I get to use it to condition my horse. If that isn't a score for an aspiring ammy eventer, I don't know what is. I'll take him there on Sunday for a wee canter and will probably then leave it for a while as Oscar's winter break is looming ever closer at the end of August.<br />
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From September I'll be excited to have the facilities available to really incorporate fitness work into our schedule. Things seem to be falling into place nicely (touching wood), aside from transport, but I'm slowly putting money aside for float repairs and will have that sorted in 2016 for sure, providing I don't get thrown any more curveballs like .. $5,000 vet bills for a kitten that lacks spatial awareness... le sigh. (She's cute, she's worth it ha).<br />
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In other exciting facilities updates, we're also allowed to use the perimeter of the rugby field for schooling/werkin' on our fitnezz come summer. It's a nice 15 minute walk away and will provide a welcome change of scenery for sure. <br />
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Anyway, I majorly digress! Oscar jumped great last week!<br />
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With his usual sloppy style for the most part, and he was a bit wobbly on his lines into jumps - but the main thing is that he was bold and forward and had a sparkle in his eye the whole time that showed he was happy to be doing his favourite thing again.<br />
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OK, slightly less than enthusiastic here but this <u>was</u> before he realised it was time for jumping!</div>
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Trit-trotting over ze poles (which I neglected to fix up after the kids were galloping around them). </div>
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Canter poles! Letz me at 'em!!</div>
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Ok, Ok I wait for you.</div>
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*Disclaimer* I pull my horse's mane in quarters to make it slightly less unpleasant for him. Please overlook the fact that it is half finished here, we didn't leave the property like that I promise ha.<br />
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Once Oscar was checked once for trying to run into poles - yay hunting!- last time we jumped I had a hard time getting him forward - we had a beautiful forward canter with just enough 'up' to make this closet DQ happy.<br />
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I like this canter for show jumping.</div>
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We don't take jumping lessons nearly enough to be considered proper 'eventers', but at the <a href="http://twobayhorses.blogspot.co.nz/2015/04/show-jumping-clinic-at-tielcey-park.html" target="_blank">last jumping clinic we attended</a>, we worked a lot on our jumping canter. I used to sit in a half seat and just point and shoot, hoping for the best, in our schooling and so I'm pleased that I'm slowly becoming less passenger and more picky about actually teaching Oscar something when we jump these days. </div>
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I took a lot away from this ride too. Another bad show jumping habit of mine is to finish the ride happy to have jumped everything first pop and stayed on, but this time I was thinking about what needs improvement. </div>
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Straight lines is a very good, and very obvious start. </div>
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Our lack of straightness as highlighted by the below jump sequence....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGD5FeZEltJEOUF62HXP9L5Y5x5akeEhiqLzHgWLil8yY0vtLNa8QhP0QjWYSDI2IW6KBkAJvqnLSv1eANQfSm5udvl4Y2iyrF7dqHjsog3TC-aLy6kMZ2DnB62_ApR1OngsbAomdf0c/s1600/IMG_8983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGD5FeZEltJEOUF62HXP9L5Y5x5akeEhiqLzHgWLil8yY0vtLNa8QhP0QjWYSDI2IW6KBkAJvqnLSv1eANQfSm5udvl4Y2iyrF7dqHjsog3TC-aLy6kMZ2DnB62_ApR1OngsbAomdf0c/s640/IMG_8983.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Oscar wanting to go right upon landing, through his shoulder.</div>
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But we still made it to the middle of the next jump, albeit following a crooked line.</div>
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My less than attractive "that was less than attractive" expression. </div>
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Still happy because these small jumps allow us to make mistakes, but are still substantial enough to allow me to actually feel the difference between a straight ride and a crooked one. </div>
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Second thing to address is technique. This will arguably improve to some extent by itself as the height increases, but there are a 101 jumping exercises out there (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/101-Jumping-Exercises-Horse-Rider/dp/1580174655" target="_blank">literally</a>) to improve technique and so our next jump school will inevitably have a bounce or grid in there. </div>
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Sloppy knee technique in action...</div>
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And not the flashiest hind end either.</div>
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But we don't jump often, or even with any kind of routine at all really. I'm putting feelers out (this expression makes me uncomfortable haha) for someone willing to travel to where I live to give us a helping hand with our jumping so we can have regular lessons. He's not going to win show hunter points any time soon but if we get our straightness in check he can easily fling himself around a cross country course, and that's what we want to be doing.<br />
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And call me bias - it's okay, I really am!! - but he gets all the points in the world for cuteness..<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxy59_-Mp3YHD-GJHoBc52PyfFVm8hoN8oth03HFBk6oVIs8_kf0LE8Cw26YZCmG7Wm2NnMvF5Tg-4T3eJ9JGDkiZK6BPuipdbfP2nQwCYql5wddcMZBU3Y5OJCz6-Zxd6LYz4mTflW4/s1600/IMG_9092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxy59_-Mp3YHD-GJHoBc52PyfFVm8hoN8oth03HFBk6oVIs8_kf0LE8Cw26YZCmG7Wm2NnMvF5Tg-4T3eJ9JGDkiZK6BPuipdbfP2nQwCYql5wddcMZBU3Y5OJCz6-Zxd6LYz4mTflW4/s640/IMG_9092.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dreamy McDreamy!</span></td></tr>
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Clearly we have a lot to work on, straightness into jumps and perhaps the odd gymnastic or twenty to improve Oscar's technique, and also my collapsing left rib cage came to the jump party, but we had <u>all of the fun</u> to be jumping again and I just really, really enjoy this horse!</div>
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Red faced and tired, but not a care in the world in my happy place :) </div>
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Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-75117751863676383012016-07-11T16:15:00.001-07:002016-07-11T16:17:55.746-07:00Product Review: Dublin 'Husk' Boots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was hesitant to review these boots as my first 'product review' because I have such mixed feelings about them. They retail in NZ for $339.99 <span style="color: #b4af00;">($245.45 USD, £188.90 GBP) </span>which places them towards the mid to top end of the paddock boot market; 'Horze' and Saddlery Warehouse's 'Cooper Allan' sell cheaper, though arguably less stylish, variations. The only real competition for top spot that I've found are the 'Sergio Grasso' <a href="http://stirrupsnz.com/products/sergio-grasso-baxter-60200?variant=261226582" target="_blank">Baxter 60200</a> boots, which retail for more than twice the price of the Husk boots. </div>
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Dublin issue a boot care guide with their boots to prolong the life of them, and recommend you wipe mud off boots after use, treat with leather conditioner and use an occasional weatherproofing treatment as they are marketed as waterproof. </div>
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In honesty, I opted not to follow the care guidelines. I purchased the waterproof paddock boots as a casual winter boot that would save my nice Mountain Horse's the damage that winter generally inflicts. As paddocks usually turn to pugged up mud baths over winter, wiping the boots daily after use would defeat the purpose of purchasing them. I could maintain the condition of my regular riding boots that way, and those are incidentally easier to clean and quicker to dry afterwards. So I neglected my duties as a responsible buyer in that regard. </div>
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Conditioning and weatherproofing in proportion to the cleaning advice also represents a further monetary investment, so if you're a strapped for cash student like me, I'd recommend a nice pair of gumboots instead; also sitting in the casual paddock boot category and much cheaper/easier to maintain over the winter. </div>
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The Dublin's do have an advantage over regular gumboots- being fully functional riding boots too, complete with a smoother sole, tidy heel and even handy spur rests incorporated into the design. They are also more flexible than other paddock boots, giving you a better range of leg motion in the saddle.</div>
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However, the calf area of the boot eventually began to sag and sits in a really unfortunate position when I'm riding - bunching right into the bottom of the saddle flaps on both my jumping and dressage saddles. Whilst this is only a minor inconvenience, as my leg is generally still anyway, it gets irritating asking for a canter transition moving one leg slightly back, and feeling the boot pull away from its sticky position. Perhaps storing these with boot-fillers would be a good idea?</div>
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- If you're one of the naughty riders who rides in gumboots, you'll be a million times comfier in the Dublin boots. For me, they're just not as snug and seamless as I'd anticipated and the only time I don't switch them for my usual riding boots is if we're going on a bareback hack. </div>
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Finally, I do think the boots should be marketed as water resistant as opposed to waterproof. Whilst I have indeed chased down the odd hard-to-catch horse across a puddle infested paddock without a damp sock in sight, these boots have had a really easy nine months. They've been exposed to perhaps ten days of accumulative bad weather, the rest of the time they've been on dry ground, and stored in a dry and airy space. I've <u>never</u> cleaned them and you can see above the layer of dirt they've collected over that time period. It's not too bad for a pair of winter boots, right? So, I'll be generous and say that they've faced a fortnight of winter weather without being cared for as suggested, and they've started to leak. Slowly but surely my socks are getting slightly damp after crossing a couple of gateways to catch my horse. This makes me a little skeptical as to just how much weatherproofing would be required to keep them waterproof throughout a normal winter; because let's not forget that we've had incredibly dry weather this year. </div>
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Crunch time; <span style="color: #b4af00;">despite being less comfortable than usual riding boots, and not <u>as</u> waterproof as I imagined, I would still repurchase these boots for three reasons.</span></div>
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The first, and most significant reason is that they are potentially the comfiest pair of boots I have ever worn; and I thought my Mountain Horse's would be impossible to beat. They're like a pair of warm and toasty running shoes. The mandatory breaking in period for new shoes is not necessary for these guys, just slip them on and they snuggle into your feet like outdoor slippers. Wearing gumboots on particularly wet days, because as I said - these are losing their water resistant capacity - feels a bit like I'm punishing my feet. The Dublin Husk's have turned me into a bit of a princess, and now gumboots feel cold and very tough on my delicate feet!</div>
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Secondly, the accumulative fortnight of treacherous weather that I've put these guys through was bad, let's be fair. The mud was relentless and these boots kept my toes entirely warm and dry. So they're not just waterproof, but cold-proof too. I'm disappointed by how long they stayed waterproof, but as I mentioned, I haven't taken the best care of them. And warmth. It's a big deal for me. I'd for sure spray a bit of waterproofing spray on my next boots every now and again and see how that works for me. Maybe you have a pair of these and can say yours have held up better than mine? If on the other hand, you're thinking of purchasing, do yourself a favour and spray them every now and again. They're warm and comfy; keep them waterproof and you'll be away laughing on a fast camel. </div>
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The final reason I'd repurchase, and I've kept it to last because it's entirely trivial, is that they just look good. The design really is beautiful, and whilst Dublin have created different variations in style (the River boots, the Harroways, the Estuarys), the Husks are a firm favourite of mine. They are not true to colour, so if you like the deep chocolate colour that is displayed on the Dublin website, you may find yourself disappointed, but they absolutely still look fabulous. I've had compliments on mine whilst out walking the dogs, and so they get the non-horse person tick of approval too -- perfect for those of us who prefer to look more like an equestrian than a farmer. I'm not at all knocking the red bands here, but I know I'm not the only rider that's half townie at heart.. even if we do like to keep it on the down low! </div>
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Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-25678983504016627512016-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:002016-07-07T06:00:16.915-07:00A Barefoot Hoof-venture: Pulling the Shoes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I have made the decision to transition Oscar from shoes all round, to barefoot-- <u>for winter at the very least</u>. And it's been hard, actually really hard to watch him tense and contort his body into funny shapes to take the weight off of his hooves whenever we have to cross any kind of gravel/limestone.<br />
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As my partner is a (really flipping good) farrier, I'm going to assume that anyone who knows me and reads this will raise an eyebrow. Why would I choose to go shoe-less when I can get them for free, right? And what does that say about L?<br />
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Well.. This probably won't come as a surprise, but if you're engaged to a farrier you don't pay for hoof care. Pink shoes, diamantes, bar shoes, studs, heels - your wish is their command. Also, you're not going to take to Facebook to whinge (and rightly so) if your farrier puts you off for a week because they're busy/sore/tired/have an upcoming golf trip/*insert excuse here*. So naturally, you're the last client on the list, and also the only one who can be put off due to said excuses.<br />
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Add to the mix that I also don't really have much bargaining power because technically I should be doing the horses' feet myself. Once upon a time - I was a farrier too! <a href="http://twobayhorses.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/my-journey-with-hooves.html" target="_blank">True story</a>. However, shoeing a horse is exhausting unless you're 'fit to the job', and since I'm not doing it regularly anymore - I'm well out of practise. My eye for shape and level isn't quite there anymore either. And frankly, being a perfectionist - <u>L is a zillion times better at it than me</u>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Is this not a beautifully presented pair of hind feet? Room for heel expansion, perfect clenches and shape, well balanced - it ticks all the boxes.</span></td></tr>
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Now if I had any horse other than Oscar, it would probably be ok that I'm occasionally pushed back by a week or so. But, my horse has a plethora of hoof issues. If I'm to shoe him, it needs to be on a strict 6 week schedule. Once upon a time, I said he'd <a href="http://twobayhorses.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/my-journey-with-hooves.html" target="_blank">never wear shoes again</a> because of this. His feet are boxy and tend to grow upright instead of laterally. He has suffered severely contracted heels at the hands of past farriers, and where really accomplished master farriers prescribed remedial shoeing and scary spring shoes, L managed to open up his heels through basic, regular shoeing done to his usual high standards :D. However, as time has gone on and he doesn't need to 'impress me' anymore (haha) Oscar and I have been pushed farther and farther down the queue. Just compare the below near fore to the one in the above jumping shot, and you can see deterioration of the frog even within one shoeing cycle.<br />
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And so, after being given one too many "tomorrow's" when requesting my horse's shoes be refit, I just bit the bullet and picked up L's tools, pulling Oscar's shoes myself. I've always had a massive respect for barefoot performance, and I don't intend to have the shoes put back on if I can achieve healthier hooves by taking the barefoot route. So as such - our barefoot hoof-venture has begun.<br />
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(Oscar is also a super candidate for going barefoot, he has sole on top of sole so won't run into as many problems as his thin-soled cousins.)<br />
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In the next 'instalment' I'll share above, front on and side shots of each hoof to get an understanding of what needs to change, and then check in monthly to watch the changes that occur. Whilst I was frustrated over my <span style="color: #b4af00;">#farrierproblems</span>, this little adventure is actually quite exciting!<br />
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And as a completely necessary disclaimer, this little hoof adventure is in no way, shape or form, me joining <span style="color: #b4af00;">#teambarefoot</span> or <span style="color: #b4af00;">#thebarefootrevolution</span> or anything like that. I have seen first hand that you can maintain and absolutely improve hoof health through regular and correct shoeing. Shoes totally have their place and should we need them in the future I am not adverse to that at all. I just have trouble getting a farrier on time; just like the old saying goes "the builder's house is the last to be built". And routine farriery is kinda a big deal if you want healthy hooves. So there.<br />
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If any reader of this post is an advocate for barefoot hoofcare, and can link me to informative articles (particularly relating to the transitioning stage) in the comments below, I'd be <u>very</u> grateful. </div>
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I do have L to bounce ideas off, and he is extremely supportive of the switch to barefoot, he recommends and prefers horses to go without shoes where possible himself; but extra reading never hurt anyone, right?! Right.</div>
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Here's to healthier hooves!</div>
<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-79714630127575050372016-07-04T06:00:00.000-07:002016-07-04T06:00:00.774-07:00Another Dressage Lesson Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A quick lesson recap from Friday as we just smoothed over what we were learning the week before. I told C that we'd had a bad week, and about Oscar's new thing of sucking back behind my leg meaning I didn't want to carry on practising in case there was something that I was doing wrong.</div>
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Turns out it <u>is</u> actually Oscar's new thing, as he tried it on a couple of times during the lesson, though obviously not to the extent that he did with me when we were practising 'unsupervised'. So basically I just have to stop what I'm doing when he does it and go forwards, at once. Rinse and repeat. He's just struggling with the work and looking for escape routes which is absolutely normal, it is hard after all. </div>
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He has made a little bit of progress though, as he was able to do more steps of the shoulder in on a circle than last week - so we'll take that as a victory. Not so much of a victory as a happy surprise really, considering we only practised once the whole week. No counter flexion on the circle today, though I imagine it will rear its' ugly head again soon enough. I felt that the majority of times Oscar was saying <u>no</u> to me was when we were practising counter flexion, and really it's no surprise as he's a horse that escapes through the outside shoulder. His body had to be absolutely straight to counter flex and remain on a circle, and it was hard for him to have his evasive technique taken away so forcefully. So naturally to him, curling back behind my leg and sticking his nose out was the next best thing. We'll get there with time, the flexion to the inside is getting better slowly and surely, and the same will apply with flexion to the outside.</div>
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Whilst Oscar's ability to flex to the inside is getting better, my hands are also making improvements; I've mentioned more than once that they tend to cross over into each other's space, and I only had to correct myself once today. I feel it in my shoulders when my hands are behaving themselves, and so there's probably a bit of bad muscle memory to remove, and replace with good muscle memory that allows my hands a bit more independence. "Herd bound hands", as I think of them not so affectionately, are equally as annoying as herd bound horses, and I am pleased to see we're making progress there.</div>
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Unfortunately, I'm still struggling with every other body part on the left rein. I think a chiro/physio visit for myself will be really beneficial. My shoulders are tense, my elbow is stiff, and I'm still crumpled through my ribcage. I'm also not sitting on my butt properly - <a href="http://twobayhorses.blogspot.co.nz/2015/04/dsrc-autumnwinter-dressage-series-day-1.html" target="_blank">sticking it out a bit like a duck</a>, which helps me open my shoulders more but makes me less effective overall. Clicking the link will take you back to last winter, the third photo in particular shows me in full duck mode. #potatorider haha. It's actually not funny. </div>
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For obvious reasons, we worked quite a bit on me today. I was really struggling at some points, trying to sit strong and soft at the same time - and when I managed it, the change in Oscar was instantaneous. He began to carry himself beautifully, and felt really strong beneath me yet really light in my hands; the concept of having the horse come from behind, through your seat and into your hands in action. It's an awesome feeling, and on a whole other level from just having a soft horse with its face on the vertical. I felt like I could have asked for <u>any</u> transition or canter movement and we were right there, in the zone and prepared for what was next. </div>
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All good things must come to an end though and my fitness, or lack thereof, was the undoing of everything. I couldn't keep up and would break, shoulders dropping and legs sliding out from underneath me and Oscar would fall into my hands yet again. I don't <u>look</u> like a complete tool to the outside eye, but after feeling what is actually correct, I know that I'm not riding correctly. If, for example, we were in a dressage test and about to move onto another movement, it would have taken me three or seven strides to pick myself up, pick my horse up and develop that quality canter I was talking about. In short, I'm overcompensating for my weak areas, and not using my whole body evenly which has resulted in crookedness in Oscar. </div>
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In my defence, because it sounds as though I genuinely can't ride. I feel as though I'm struggling <u>to the extent</u> that I am, because I'm having a few personal health problems at the moment. I'm a vegetarian and am 99.9% sure I have an iron deficiency. Just the other day I slept for 12 hours straight, forcing myself out of bed still feeling groggy. And yesterday, I was pretty tired after lugging four hard feeds up the raceway to my horse's paddocks. I thought "I'll just sit here and catch my breath whilst the horses eat", and it just felt so good to be off my feet and before you knew it - I'd dozed off. It only lasted five or ten minutes before the rare patch of sunshine was replaced by a storm cloud and the bittery coldness of the lower north island winds roused me. So, as I was saying, I've just had a general lack of enthusiasm/commitment across the board due to this low energy and naturally, riding lessons are killing me at the moment. Sitting strong through my core in canter, killing me. I ordered some iron pills - perhaps concrete pills would be more appropriate? - and am forcing broccoli, spinach & kale soup down for every meal I can and so I hope to be back to my usual self soon. </div>
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Aside from smoothing over/continuing our work with flexion and suppleness, and trying to fix potato rider, we introduced shoulder in on the straight line. It was really hairy at first, as Oscar would curl around my inside leg, crooked through that dreaded outside shoulder and drift inwards towards the middle of the arena. Whilst we are supposed to be on three tracks, he was on four (and five and six if you count him moving across into my leg). A side effect of a weak and crooked outside shoulder is less room for the inside leg to come underneath the horse, and so Oscar falling into my leg was just part of the hot crooked mess, and not him trying to fight me.</div>
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We got a couple of good attempts on both reins after four or five bad ones each, and naturally the left rein wasn't half as good as the right. Our homework this week is to get better at that - much better - by Friday.</div>
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I think I need to dedicate a whole ride to just fine tuning transitions, particularly sharpness in the upwards transitions and.. well, downwards transitions in general. Though riding a slight shoulder in into my down transitions proved to be really helpful. He used to have very good transitions before all of this flexing and suppling business, but lately he's acting lethargic because he's finding the work hard. It's laziness as opposed to being uneducated in that regard, which is easy enough to fix. Or maybe he's struggling with the vegetarianism like me, ha. To be fair, the lack of grass means he's getting less leafy greens than usual! </div>
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So on the whole, my hands are improving, our down transitions are slightly improving and we're able to hold the exercises for longer. </div>
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We need to work more on sharpness off my leg, straightness and my whole existence as a passenger on my horse's back. I think I really ought to look into a physio or chiro to try and figure out why I turn into a human pretzel on the left rein, and I definitely need to figure out some exercises to practise off of my horse's back in order to get some strength back. You know you're getting old when past injuries start coming back to haunt you!</div>
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-92150081207807110502016-06-30T16:00:00.000-07:002016-06-30T16:30:49.239-07:00Just Can't Dressage. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'd like to say I've been working hard on what C told me to practise following our lesson on Friday, but I haven't. I did, however, clean my bridles so I'll pick up brownie points there.</div>
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I rode Oscar around the racecourse block bareback with E and her pony on Saturday, which was lovely, and then tried to continue with the flexion and straightness stuff on Monday but with little success. </div>
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Maybe it's the fact that I'm trying to un-potato myself in the saddle, whilst simultaneously trying to teach both me and my horse how to execute all this fancy flexion stuff on a circle. Most everything we learn is a first for the both of us, since Oscar was fresh broke when I bought him and I was just a happy hacker growing up as a child. I didn't do the pony club thing or lessons until I was 17 so feel like I'm a bit behind all my friends in that regard, but the main issue is that I just can't do two things at once.. or so it seems. </div>
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Our one and only 'proper' ride following the lesson was just a bit of a fight between Oscar and I. </div>
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It was raining and there were horses running around in the big turnout paddock besides the arena. Oscar was distracted by them and I was too, with one half of me trying to figure out what my rogue left side was doing and the other half trying to get Oscar to just show some submission goddammit. Why must you always look at #allofthethings?! He did eventually soften, and I was feeling like my left hip was crunching a bit and had a bit of tightness in my left shoulder, so there was something productive coming out of the ride. </div>
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Aside from the obvious distractions, Oscar just seemed to find the exercises a little more difficult that day. He usually just flicks up his nose to snatch the reins when he struggles, but this time he was genuinely trying to say no and would suck right back behind my leg, and shuffle along that way. </div>
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Usually we're on a 3-weekly lesson cycle with C, but she's house-sitting closer to the stables and I'm on holidays so I thought I'd make the most of it and book in weekly. Whilst the 3 week thing usually works really well for me - giving me plenty of time to work on what we've been learning - I'm grateful that we'll be seeing her again so soon. Following a lesson I always feel like I know <u>exactly</u> what I need to be doing, but this new suck-behind-the-leg party trick of Oscar's is out of character and more than likely the way I'm asking him to do things is messy and confusing for him. So we can't really practise what we learnt last time.</div>
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I haven't schooled since that ride. Oscar's had a couple days off, most in part due to the weather. </div>
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We've had a lot of rain. The ground is <u>wet</u>. </div>
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Proof:</div>
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L would be hella pissed if he knew I blogged that. He was waving furiously at me from the driver's seat as I took this photo, mouthing something along the lines of "Stop it! Rangers don't get stuck!"<br />
But you can actually see surface water on the grass so I can't understand why he drove into it in the first place, ha.<br />
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We had to get the other grazer to tow us out backwards from the driveway, and again it made me realise how great it is to have an arena. Just last year I'd have to be riding on that ground, slipping and sliding all over the show.<br />
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Even though it feels like we haven't made much progress this past week, I do need to remember that we <i>are</i> crawling along at some pace, and especially when I consider what we were doing the past four winters (i.e.. nothing, thanks to the grounds!) then we are definitely still making progress. It's just not always in leaps and bounds as I'd like.<br />
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-75776051961003141612016-06-27T23:27:00.001-07:002016-06-27T23:27:32.676-07:00Hello Stables My Old FriendsAfter a pretty long battle, I finally succumbed to the weather and brought the horses inside.<br />
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I lost my 'heart horse' (Henry) at a young age, 15, and I feel strongly that his cause of death would have been preventable had he been given adequate turnout. In the UK it is common practise to stable horses for a large part of the year, and moving to New Zealand (although a massive culture shock at first) has shown me how much happier and healthier horses are with 24/7 turnout - which is the common practise here. </div>
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The almost across-the-board all-year turnout available for horses in New Zealand has given them a reputation overseas for being well developed, adaptable and sound. </div>
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Many years ago, I used to love winter. It meant for deep straw beds and snuggly stable rugs. </div>
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Each Christmas I would get a new 'Masta' stable rug for Henry. It was the first item on my Christmas wish list and I could pick that present from the others in the space of seconds; and once I'd ripped off the wrapping paper I'd be itching to get to the stables to muck out and try it on him. It was family tradition to take hot buttered toast to the horses on Christmas morning, and muck them out together as a family. I therefore have really fond memories of warm and toasty horses tucked away in their boxes, and out of the elements.</div>
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I won't go into the details of Henry's death, but my thoughts on stabled horses took a big u-turn probably a whole year after moving to New Zealand. These days it has to be <u>really</u> severe weather for me to bring my horses inside, and that is only because my paddocks are tiny. It takes thirty minutes to completely turn them upside down from grass to entirely soil when it's wet; fifteen minutes if Kiri is involved. When the horses are out in the big paddocks, they'll happily stay out in downpours with their rugs on. And they don't mind it one bit. </div>
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My old self would see horses out in the rain over winter and think New Zealanders were a bit rough on their pets, but I'm starting to differentiate between horses and humans as I get older and have come to realise that horses don't mind rain. Humans do, but we don't care much for eating grass straight out of the soil either. </div>
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This year is the first year I've been really close minded about bringing the horses inside, and I've done really well until now. We've had some pretty crappy weather over the past few weeks, but have been lucky enough that it's only been the odd day of rain between several dry days. The paddocks have held up nice enough - although I did have to tape off the gateways, which have sunken slightly over the years thanks to many a hungry horse waiting patiently for its' dinner by the gate. </div>
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My gumboots are always fair game to the mud in that area, but behind where I'd taped has been dry enough. </div>
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Today though, my two paddocks were 50% under water and if I wanted them to last until mid-July I knew I'd have to get the horses off them. So, despite telling the grazing manager that I wouldn't be using the boxes, I ended up bringing everyone in. Luckily I had emptied my four stables out completely and refilled them with fresh shavings "just in case". </div>
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I've been saving my big paddock for as long as possible, so once uni starts again (I'm on holidays at the moment) they'll have enough shelter and space to stay out even in the worst rainfall. I imported some decent rugs from the UK so they'll be plenty warm enough. Two weeks of intermittent stabling can't do too much damage, right? And I'll definitely enjoy the reduced grooming time before lessons!</div>
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"Perhaps a hot coffee will help me warm up?" says Buzz.</div>
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I think the <u>last</u> thing this OTTB needs is caffeine. But he does look hella cute when he's being hopeful, right?</div>
Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-52201249681927671122016-06-26T20:16:00.003-07:002016-06-26T20:22:17.272-07:00Recap; Dressage LessonI had another dressage lesson on Friday with our favourite trainer of all time, who I refer to as 'C' on here! It was amazing, as always, though I didn't have a mate on hand to snap photos this time. I like photo documentation of lessons because I usually look better and my horse does too - must be something to do with having someone tell me off for slouching forward or letting my leg slip back and off the girth.<br />
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I did, however, get one snap of us mounted during our lesson. It had been some time since our last one, and Oscar stopped in his tracks at the sight of C. The horse knows hard work when he sees it.</div>
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C is great because I tend to want to run before I can walk and she just laughs off my requests to do all the cool stuff straight away. I asked if we could look at lateral work but it appears we're still not going straight well enough to go sideways. When I first met her I said I wanted to move up to 2nd level like yesterday, and she put that idea to rest really quickly. </div>
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Some riders don't like trainers who tell them no, but I taught my horse to lengthen before he had a well developed working trot, and now that C has had us work on our basics he really struggles with lengthening. Because he has to carry himself aaand take bigger steps instead of just marching through the shoulder with the hind trailing. When he lengthens now I can clearly feel the hind legs come underneath and propel us forwards. So I learnt first hand that paying attention to the 'boring' stuff makes the fun stuff even better. </div>
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In addition to this, my ultimate idol has always been Pippa Funnell. Whilst my friends wanted to be Britney or Christina, I always dreamed of being Pippa Funnell, and certain things that she has said have always stuck with me. My love of bay horses began when I read that she had dreamed of a big shiny bay horse since childhood. I couldn't swap my palomino pony for a plain bay gelding fast enough (poor Nugget!), and have favoured them ever since. The plainer and darker the better. </div>
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Pippa always reflected on her time with her trainer, Ruth, who wouldn't let her out of a walk for a week - even after she'd had a lot of success tearing around the bigger one day events at Pony Club level. My Pippa <u>obsession</u> probably meant that I took what she said too literally, and as a young rider whilst my friends would be spoiling their ponies by galloping home and jumping every jump twenty times (just being kids enjoying their ponies), I would spend way too much time walking and trotting and cantering nice and slowly. I thought it would make me a fabulous rider but obviously I was just pottering around. Nevertheless, Pippa's experience made me appreciate the idea and value of good basics. </div>
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Back to my lesson! The lesson was spent entirely on a circle, both trying to get Oscar more supple through his ribcage and working on my tendency to collapse through my left ribcage on the left rein. C made me ride with my shoulders towards her on the left rein, whilst sitting up tall and straight. I had a stitch and was out of breath really quickly which goes to show that I usually ride like a potato on the left rein.</div>
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Whilst doing that exercise we were also over-flexing Oscar to the inside through his neck, maintaining straightness through his body by pushing the inside hind leg right underneath him and keeping the outside shoulder straight. Simply, a shoulder in on a circle. </div>
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He's fairly weak and his favourite evasion is to run through the shoulder. However, when I fixed my shoulders he stopped running out through his. </div>
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I'm finally starting to get a really good feel of where the hind legs are. Usually it's a concept that baffles me but my lessons with C are paying off and as my horse gets stronger and the difference between rubbish and good is more pronounced, I'm having 'aha!' moments more frequently. During our exercises on the circle I knew when he was moving properly because I could feel it, instead of waiting for C to say 'good'. This is important because it means I'm improving too. </div>
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We also worked on counter-flexion on a 20m circle. When we flex to the inside our circles become smaller, and when we flex to the outside they tend to drift out. So something to work on before our next lesson (this Friday coming) is to maintain the circle size whilst flexing. I'll be sure to spend a couple of days working on that. The theory is that if we can maintain straightness on a 20m circle, switching between over-flexion and counter-flexion - going straight will then be a piece of cake! And then maybe C will let us go sideways hahaha. </div>
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As always, our consistency with transitions was under scrutiny. I'll admit that along with the collapsing left ribcage, settling for average transitions is one of my big riding sins. This made itself quite obvious during the lesson and it didn't go past C unnoticed. She stressed the importance of excellent transitions every time - not only because it will bump up our dressage scores, but because it develops muscle memory. If I'm consistent, Oscar will build the right muscle memory to always switch between gaits nicely. Again - the basics are important, Christle!</div>
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I'm really excited for our next lesson this Friday, and a jumping lesson within the fortnight. I had to cancel my scheduled jumping lesson last week as I had bronchitis and filling a hay net left me dizzy and out of breath. If back to back lessons are a bit much then we'll look at the following Saturday. It all depends how Oscar goes this week! </div>
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Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-74734471652082151452016-06-05T20:07:00.001-07:002016-06-26T18:50:29.836-07:00In which I never learn..Not many things in life are a given, and not many things with horses are a given.<br />
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But, if one thing can be absolutely certain - every year it is going to get cold. The sun is going to bless some other fortunate souls in a different area of the planet and before you know it the grass will give way to expansive patches of pugged up mud. Your clothes will begin to hold that faint sickly-sweet smell of baleage as you try to keep the weight on your OTTB's, not one natural fingernail will be the same length as another from grabbing at handfuls of said baleage, and the contents of your bra suddenly becomes more hay than actual boobs (#ImARealCatch, #WifeMaterial). The most guaranteed of all though, is that it is going to get crazy fricken cold. </div>
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And every year, I say the same thing in small talk "I can't believe how cold it is!!".</div>
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I actually can't believe that every winter I can't believe how cold it gets.</div>
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But, I'm still subjecting my horse to potential frostbite and I'm still smiling - <u>just</u>!</div>
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We're a bit behind where I would have liked, post Oscar's physio. My silence around here of late had been the result of an impromptu trip to the UK as my grandma has taken seriously ill, and my granddad is showing early signs of Alzheimer's. I had hoped to do the Dannervirke winter dressage series as it was so low-key and fun last year, but family comes first. And so I stopped planning to fix up my float (which didn't sell and that's okay) and instead went on a 30 hour sojourn to my homeland. </div>
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Completely worth it. This is a favourite photo of mine, of my mum spending quality time with her dad on the beach front at Morecambe. </div>
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I can only guess that my sister took the photo from the finger in the corner - that is so her trademark hahaha! </div>
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Consequentially, Oscar and I missed a lot of the autumn/winter series stuff and I'm way behind with the float repairs, however we start having lessons again next week which is something to look forward to. Smooch is on the back burner temporarily as exam preparation is sadly more pressing than her progress at this point - two more weeks off won't harm her whatsoever.</div>
Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-32014885810224324682016-05-01T18:15:00.001-07:002016-06-26T19:02:26.439-07:00Autumn/Winter 2016 PlansTypically I just go with the flow of the seasons, not worrying too much about what's going on horse-wise. If I feel like competing, I'll just look at a lower north island calendar and pick what looks fun from what's available. Luckily there is no shortage of winter series stuff around where I live, so I don't feel pressured to make the most of the eventing season which runs from spring-autumn. I also like to try my hand at everything, and won't turn down an invitation for dressage, trail riding, hunting or even polocrosse. Having no strict calendar locked in has enabled me to just take my horse wherever I fancy going at the time; or even hang up the bridle completely for a pair of tramping boots and just go exploring by myself without having to scratch from a show that I've pencilled into the calendar.<br />
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However, this approach to riding - especially if you want to do it competitively - does tend to leave you unorganised, unprepared and without any real linear progress to reflect on. I also look back on my time at pony club, where we'd follow the eventing calendar from late september to may with a well deserved break over winter, and feel like I really miss the thrills and spills of competing regularly over a full season!<br />
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Oscar appears to be fully recovered from his back injury and, although it turned out to be a quick and inexpensive fix, it probably could have been avoided had we been riding out consistently instead of maintaining a base level of fitness with one to three rides weekly.<br />
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The above, coupled with the fact that I genuinely miss eventing and having that full season to progress with, has inspired me to be a bit more prepared for when next spring rolls around. There were a few things that stopped me in my tracks this year, such as working at polo and being scared to go without a support person to shows, so I will have to make an effort to avoid these setbacks next time.<br />
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I've written a few optimistic plans for autumn/winter this year:<br />
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I say optimistic because my previous attempts at setting goals have tended to go way off - whoops.<br />
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The overarching goal is to be ready to go by the time the first horse trial or pony club ODE opens for entries next spring. I listed my float for sale and we've had a little bit of interest; but there isn't much of a market for a float needing repairs. Even if it is at a fair price. I'm not looking to re-list if it doesn't sell, I think it has four or five days left on its' listing before I withdraw it and we'll pay to have the repairs done ourselves. It's just welding underneath, a couple of bulbs and a wheel bearing adjustment which isn't a major investment on a super reliable float.<br />
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-48290114778604116352016-04-29T02:02:00.000-07:002016-04-29T02:02:07.391-07:00A DiagnosisToday we finally saw a light at the end of the long tunnel that is mystery lameness.<br />
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When I first realised that Oscar was lame, I put it down to muscle soreness from hunting. Whilst he was fit enough to go hunting, he wasn't really prepared very well for the type of terrain we were hunting over.<br />
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Woodville is a very flat town, surrounded by the rolling hills of farmland which then backs onto the Tararua Ranges. It's difficult to ride out into the ranges without making your way up some very narrow and winding gravel roads, which are often frequented by deer hunters in big utes and sometimes rattling trailers strapping down an antlered carcass or two. For safety reasons, and because it provides a much nicer ride, we tend to stay down on the flat surfaces. You can actually see the racecourse on one of the above aerial shots, which we ride around when conditioning! I digress, whilst my horse was cardiovascular fit, we should really have invested some time into riding over hills to better develop those muscle groups. If you've ever been into running, you'll know that you're likely to be a little sore after hill sprints when you're used to beating the tarmac. It was therefore pretty reasonable to think that Oscar's soreness was due to the fact that we'd just gone tearing up hills that were so steep I had to hold a chunk of mane just to remain on my horse, when we usually work out on the rolling-at-worst surfaces of Woodville.<br />
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Because of this, I opted to go straight to a physio instead of a vet when his soreness persisted. A vet's diagnosis is obviously hugely important but, if you have a good idea of what's wrong, I find it more efficient to go straight to a specialist. A farrier, for example, will generally do a much cleaner job of an abscess treatment than a vet, and a physio will treat individual muscle groups more efficiently than a vet would. It also tends to be on the cheaper side this way, so it's a win-win situation. <br />
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Juli, from Animals Back in Action, specialises in McTimoney manipulation - which is a gentle and non-invasive procedure - alongside routine sports massage. Oscar always responds better to gentler forms of massage, getting quite grouchy if the intensity of the cyclossage and pulse rugs are upped from the base level even. He has had massages in the past but I stopped booking him in as he would often pull faces, start biting and just generally be uncomfortable throughout the whole treatment. <br />
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My tricky schedule meant that Juli had had to rearrange hers to fit us in so soon, which I was really grateful for. A+ service. She was so lovely and I was worried Oscar would be a noodle and start biting and pawing and being a general pain in the arse for her- and as he's been on turnout for the past fortnight, I knew he'd start losing his mind to be back inside the cross ties. To give him a chance to settle, I brought him in early with a hay net to munch on quietly. About five minutes into being tied up he realised that we weren't just picking feet out and going on a routine hand walk, so he proceeded to freak the f out. Eyes bulging, head in the air with flared nostrils; typical fruit loop stuff he does if something in his routine changes. Ever the dramatic gelding.<br />
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Whilst I would have had next to no chance of calming him down in the space of 25 minutes a few months ago (the last time his routine changed), the recent hand walking has improved his ground manners enormously and I just played around with a bit of natural horsemanship techniques. They're really useful to get your horse focusing on you in a relaxed manner, and Oscar seems to enjoy the instant reward of pressure-release exercises. His previous owner practised a lot of Parelli with him during the breaking in process, so he responds to it very well. By the time Juli arrived he was in a much better headspace to play the patient.<br />
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I was immediately impressed by her thoroughness. She had brought a notepad and asked a few questions, taking notes before beginning to assess Oscar. No joint and no muscle group went unchecked as she methodically moved from one spot to the next, pausing only to jot down more notes. Each leg was stretched and flexed as she chatted to me about his history, she said some nice things about Oscar which is always nice to hear as an owner. When she was satisfied, she had me walk and trot to and away from her on a straight line, lunge at W/T/C on both reins and on both the arena surface, and limestone before repeating the straight lines in walk and trot. It felt like a good twenty minutes of observation, which was refreshing as some people are a bit quick to get stuck in.<br />
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What must have felt like an eternity for Oscar, who hasn't trotted a circle in weeks now, came to an end and she went back to her hands on assessment. This time she was focusing on manipulating his spine and back area, which he was happy enough about and she was able to rule out any joint pain which is excellent news. He was a bit sore in his trapezius muscle, which runs above the shoulder and close to the wither, on the off side. I did suspect it was a right shoulder soreness, but Juli continued working away before pointing out that the long muscle running over his back on the near side was raised, whereas it was nice and flat on the off side. The right shoulder soreness was very likely a result of compensating for the soreness across his back. More gentle manipulation confirmed the injury was to the longissimus dorsi on the near side, which made perfect sense as he was snatching the near hind leg underneath him on the lunge, was reluctant to canter on the right lead, and this type of injury is relatively common in horses that are underprepared for the terrain they are working on. It also explains why there was barely any lameness evident when we were all focusing on the right shoulder.<br />
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She continued to massage the target area which, unlike previous massages, had Oscar yawning and stretching down and yawning some more. Very positive.<br />
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Following this, she used two types of laser therapy (shallow and deep) on specific areas of the muscle for good measure, before showing me some useful stretches for the loins, pelvis and hind legs.<br />
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Her thoroughness meant for a lot of information for me to take in, but it's handy to note that she breaks it all down in a report and emails it to the owner, after saving a copy on file for her future reference.<br />
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I didn't carry my phone with me when I turned Oscar out, but he walked over to the other horses to tell them off for who knows what, before getting down to roll after which he stayed down. His sore back must have made it hard for him to get some proper rest, so I got a case of the warm fuzzies to see him obviously feeling better and able to catch up on some z's.<br />
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Next steps are daily stretches to help get that muscle working properly and healthy again on the road to recovery, with a couple of weeks walking- in hand for the first two days only. If he shows soreness under saddle then we'll just go back to in hand until he's comfortable again. Then we have the all clear to continue work as normal! So pleased to know that it's not a very serious injury, and a timely reminder to make sure my horse is fit for <u>all</u> aspects of a ride, not just in going the distance.<br />
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-45619637882807031592016-04-24T22:06:00.003-07:002016-04-24T22:06:38.059-07:00Hand-walking Chronicles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oscar's persistent shoulder soreness is hanging around, though completely unnoticeable in the paddock and on our daily walks. I almost convince myself the horse is sound, and then I trot him up and am reminded that he isn't. The trouble is that he is only 'off' on it a smidge, so nobody really takes me seriously when I ask for a second opinion. He's currently turned out on ten or so acres, which he's getting about on more than fine. He cantered away happily enough following his cyclossage session the other day which was promising. My problem is that I don't want to exacerbate anything when I don't know for certain what is going on.<br />
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I'm trying my best to get a reputable vet-physio out to see him; it's just proving difficult to organise a time when she is in the area.<br />
My first two choices are out-of-area specialists that travel in on six week cycles- luck would have it that they are both four weeks away from their next visits. My third choice is off work with a fracture, my fourth choice is seemingly uncontact-able at the moment.<br />
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Whilst I am itching to get the issue resolved (and continue riding!!) I'm not in any hurry to have just anybody show up and diagnose him, only to realise after a lengthy time frame that it wasn't quite right. That happens a lot, it's time wasted and I'd rather get the right person in the first time- even if I have to be patient for an extra week.<br />
-- I will add that if my horse was showing any signs of discomfort during turnout, I'd be more concerned with getting <u>somebody</u> out, the first person I could, than getting the <u>right</u> person out; just for the sake of an educated diagnosis.<br />
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We live quite close to the best veterinary clinic in the country, but of course our float issues are rendering us stuck on our own property and we'd need to travel in to fully utilise that option. That's quite frustrating, but I listed the float for sale today so hopefully we'll get some movement in that area pretty soon.<br />
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If I can't get the vet-physio out by the end of the week, I've decided to just get the vet out for a lameness diagnosis and pursue treatment following that. It would be ideal to have it all done in one session, especially as we live in quite a remote town and it's difficult to get people out here without paying through the teeth for it, but eventually you have to say enough is enough and do what you have to do. <br />
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So with that being said, I'm <u>hoping</u> for some progress this week.<br />
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In the interim, Oscar is just thrilled to be on a hand-walk-only schedule. He gets to snarf down a tonne of red clover and meet little bay racehorses on our daily adventures.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Days, for someone at least.</td></tr>
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-30619910446571128022016-04-18T15:24:00.000-07:002016-04-18T17:14:22.864-07:00Tummy Upsets & Sore ShouldersI've been really worried about Kiri for the last week; she's had the runs when everyone else has been pooping just fine. They are all on a really good worming cycle, have plenty of access to good quality forage, and are fed good quality feeds produced in horse-feed-only mills. She has a lot of non-cancerous melanomas, which unfortunately appears to be a genetic thing in Charlton horses and I was worried that the runs were due to internal melanomas. We had a really reputable out-of-town equine vet come and check her melanomas over recently and he all but guaranteed she'd have a fair amount internally. It was actually on the pretext of wanting to breed from her, and he advised us to just do it as the damage was already existing and the melanomas continue to crop up. Breeding will do nothing to exacerbate the problem. We are sitting firmly on the "no" fence currently as I read a few threads on COTH saying that breeding tends to speed up melanoma growth and she's worth more to us being here herself than having a legacy foal.<br />
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So, mysterious diarrhoea. I fretted and fretted as it spanned for four days, some poop was slightly more solid than others and she wasn't looking sick. Very interested in food, and drinking fine. All of her vitals were completely normal. I consulted with a vet and we'd agreed to check her out if anything changed with her vitals.<br />
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Unfortunately she's a grey, and with grey horses comes white tails and with diarrhoea comes dirty tails...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clunkers galore.</td></tr>
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It was disgusting. I'd clean it up and then she'd spray poop through it again, it would get weighed down and she'd pee right through it and flick it all over her legs. It was so hideous and I can only imagine how uncomfortable it would be to have faeces all over your legs. Luckily we are in a cold snap and flies aren't rife. I think it was the third time I'd brought her in for a bath when I clicked on to what could possibly be causing her tummy upset. It seems the horrors of getting up close and personal with dried up diarrhoea was all down to Kiri being in season.<br />
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When I released the beast to dry off, she was off pretty sharpish to the nearest gelding.<br />
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Here's a photo dump of her breathing heavily all over the poor guy's face. He didn't have a clue what to do at this little white marshmallow of a thing whickering sweet nothings into his nostrils and peeing all over herself. She clearly hasn't heard the term playing hard to get...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally losing interest, he wasn't quite the man she thought he was.</td></tr>
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I called the vet to ask if it could possibly be down to the horse being in season, especially as her heat-cycles are so irregular, and she confirmed that it could definitely be to do with that. I'm starting to see healthy droppings again now and she's back to her normal self, so the tummy upset - on heat cycle time frames coincide perfectly.<br />
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So much anxiety on my behalf, thinking the melanomas were wreaking havoc and that we may have to look at her options, when in reality she just wanted to get in one last chance of making a baby before the winter set in. Not such a great idea when your baby freezes its tail off next winter because of your poor life choices is it Jakiri? Fancy timing your year long pregnancy with the onset of winter.. #blondemareproblems.<br />
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Speaking of equine health related anxiety, Oscar's mystery lameness is still there. I had L come and confirm it wasn't anything in the elbow down and he was able to pinpoint the shoulder. 90% of 'shoulder lameness' is in the hoof, so he whipped off the shoe and tested the hoof so we could definitely rule that out. He manipulated the shoulder area a little and got a good reaction out of Oscar, so it's a safe bet that it's some muscle or soft tissue damage in there.<br />
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A really well known rider in our area hires out her cyclossage rug and so we'll give that a go this evening and see if it does anything. The lameness isn't bad at all; unnoticeable in walk and barely there in trot. Canter is where it really looks like there's something going on.<br />
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If there is no improvement following the cyclossage we'll get the vet out to try and diagnose him; either that or a vet-physio, or chiropractor or something. We'll get to the bottom of it. I'm not too concerned as he's getting about happy as larry in the paddock - I'm just having major withdrawal symptoms. Especially as I've been invited to go hunting again and I'm literally chomping at the bit to go again. Even contemplating taking Kiri but she's a handful and I don't have anything strong enough to keep her under control on a hunt field. I struggled slowing Oscar down and his mouth is like butter, where Kiri has major rock-jaw from her time cruising around Intermediate thinking she knows #allofthethings, #holdtighthumanpassenger, #jumpthebigjumps, #gallopthebigcourses. Le sigh.<br />
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I <i>did</i> treat myself to a little summin' summin' as a condolence slash present to myself for doing particularly well on an assignment. It starts with Sportsvibe and ends in two minute noodles on the menu for the foreseeable - #worthit ;).<br />
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More on that later, please pray the cyclossage works on Oscar so I don't need to sell my soul to fund a lameness identification mission.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar will tolerate looking like he's about to take his first lesson at Water Waders for the massagey goodness of the cyclossage, *drool*.</td></tr>
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-57114830004209135832016-04-16T10:00:00.000-07:002016-04-16T10:00:00.191-07:00Mystery Lameness Post Alert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today's horse-time started like any other. Bringing Oscar in and exhausting myself before even getting on because he is the dustiest dust-mite ever and no matter how clean he is when I put him away, I bring him in with a dusty grey bum and a mud mask. Grooming is a marathon and never a sprint.<br />
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I wrapped him up in his teal Le Mieux polos, which is our equivalent to business socks, and planned to revisit some of the stuff we had worked on with C last year. He even had a hay net today because I needed him to have some sustenance because it was game face schooling. 8m canter circles kinda game face.<br />
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We had a super long walk warmup because he was feeling a little tense, before popping into trot.<br />
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He just felt a little off. Not head bobbing lame, but definitely not even. I wondered if he was still a bit muscle sore from hunting <i>despite</i> having a course of bute, numerous back on track therapy sessions, a few days off and liniment washes. So I thought the best thing to do is to keep trotting and see if he warms up out of it. Whilst he never got any better, he didn't get any worse.<br />
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I set up my phone on a jump stand and videoed us trotting a circle on both reins. I rewatched the video and he barely looked lame at all unless I squinted my left eye, bit my tongue, tilted my head on a 40 degree angle and had the phone in a specific position. Basically it was near impossible to see any lameness.<br />
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So I went out and asked for canter. No response, which in itself is unusual as he's picture perfect upwards transitions. So I jammed on my leg pony clubber style and kept it on for a few canter strides. He felt pretty normal so I took my leg off a little, at which point he just slumped forward into halt. It was so abrupt I almost went over the pommel. From canter to halt in 0.3 seconds. Can your Audi do <i>that</i>?!<br />
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That wasn't right. I hopped off, removed the wraps and lunged him. As with the video, I couldn't see anything, but a reluctance to go forward and the tiniest smidge short in the right foreleg. I'm usually pretty spot on with seeing where the soreness is coming from, two years of a farrier apprenticeship and 300 lame horse call outs you get better-than-average at spotting causes of lameness. Whether it's in the shoulder, knee, fetlock or hoof or a tendon. But Oscar had me baffled.<br />
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With nothing to go off, except a 99.9% positivity that it's not in the hoof, I just wrapped a polo loosely up past his knee, stuck the hose in the wrap and left him with a hay net for fifteen minutes. I know I said it's not in the hoof, but a bit of a soak never hurt anyone, right? I towel dried it and clay poulticed from fetlock to elbow before turning out. I decided against bute because I didn't want it to mask any improvement or lack thereof. I trotted him up for my BM (we don't actually have barn managers in New Zealand, but it's easier to type than "the lady who owns the stables") and she confirmed he was definitely a little off. Not just imagining things then. </div>
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There is nothing obvious - no heat, no swelling, no cuts or abrasions. The plan is two more days off with a hand walk on each day. If still no improvement then we'll look at professional help. Whether that's a vet, massage therapist, chiro or what I don't know until I have more of an idea what's wrong.</div>
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Currently taking suggestions!</div>
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Whilst unable to ride the favourite, I had a little play around on PicMonkey making horse memes.</div>
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Variations on this one were floating around makeup and fitness pages for ages, so I was surprised nobody had snapped it up for a horse meme already! It's so damn accurate. </div>
Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-52503967684545429802016-04-15T14:27:00.004-07:002016-04-15T14:27:34.041-07:00Kick up the butt: Horse Float Edition.I mentioned in a previous post that L had come to collect the horse float one day whilst I was at the stables, and take it for its' warrant of fitness. Well, unfortunately it failed for the first time ever.<br />
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Meaning we can't float our horses in it. Meaning I have no transport for the foreseeable.<br />
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The damage is pretty extensive and forecast to be in the $2,000 region which, considering that we've been weighing up whether to upgrade for the past two years has been a bit of a shove for us to actually make a decision.<br />
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We got the float as a temporary trade off for our old truck. We had a lovely little 'ladies truck' which we kept parked up at our local pony club, and one weekend a bunch of horse floats and our truck were vandalised. I think the engine underneath the cab was ripped out and our truck was obviously rendered useless. Whilst we were on the market for a new truck, someone offered us a trade - their float for the body of our truck. It worked out nicely as a temporary solution.<br />
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Only, we loved the float so much we never actually got around to buying a new truck, or even a new float. It tows like a dream and the horses travel beautifully in it so it just stuck around.<br />
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It's not the prettiest of horse floats; especially parked next to sleek and shiny coloured models, but it has been trusty as hell. I don't even think it's branded, a kiwi home build that even anxious travellers don't mind hopping into. </div>
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All week we have been weighing up whether to fix it ourselves, or finally upgrade as we have been meaning to since our truck first got vandalised. It was a tough call as it came out of 'wanting' as opposed to necessity, but we decided it's time to sell our faithful little float. </div>
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We can't use it in its current state, and once it has sold it may take a bit of time for us to find a new one, so there'll be no hunting, bridle path hacking or beach rides for a while which is a shame, but it's a great time to catch up on lessons instead. </div>
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We're not wanting much for it at all, and so somebody who knows how to weld (damage just requires welding underneath) will make a sweet profit! Hopefully it goes quickly so we can get on the road again!</div>
Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-70603529087840803102016-04-11T15:51:00.004-07:002016-04-11T15:51:59.348-07:00Hunting Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sunday rolled around really quickly - I had a million things to do between my last blog post and the hunt, so thankfully didn't have much time to stew on the thought of my horse and I tangled in a wire fence, or the fact that I was joining in on chasing a creature to its' untimely death.<br />
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I was satisfied with the plan that I would hang back should the hunt go on a run, to avoid being anywhere near that scenario, but was assured several times that it was unlikely to get a kill. Hares apparently largely outsmart the hounds, and have every chance to get away from the hunt and see another day in. Most people who know me were super confused that I went hunting, considering I won't even see the stable cat kill a mouse without setting the little bugger free. I feed the cat and I know she eats well enough without torturing little fluffs for entertainment! So, although it pains me enormously that something dies in a hunt, the fact that it is a quick death and that it has every opportunity to get away allows me to 'turn a blind eye' if you will. Yes, I do feel a hypocrite but I am only human, flaws and all.<br />
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So, before I knew it, it was Sunday morning and time to get Oscar ready. I gave him a bigger than usual breakfast with some electrolytes, and set to making him shiny and clean. He's a bit of a mud bug and it's been a bit too chilly to wash, but a bucket of hot soapy water saw his face and legs clean. The rest was nothing a rubber curry and coat conditioner couldn't fix. D picked us up just before 11 and we set off to the hunt meet!<br />
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I was checked in and introduced to a few people, offered some port and a sandwich as it was a lawn meet, and then we all assembled on horseback whilst the hounds were released. The farm was five or so minutes up the road, and Oscar felt settled straight away. We do a lot of conditioning hacks and so he's not the kind of horse that freaks out when you leave the sandbox. Once at the farm, the hounds worked on picking up a scent and we slowly followed them up a hill and across a ridge. They made their way into an adjoining paddock which you could get to through a gate or over a spar. The spar was uphill and not the nicest on the property, so D told me to stay back and gate with a groom riding the huntsman's 'second horse', which needed to remain fresh and not be jumped. It was around this point that Oscar started to perk up a little; us gaters were the last ones through and had to canter up a fairly large rolling hill to catch up to the rest of the hunt. I let him let off some steam up the hill as he was threatening to buck, and he did in fact throw in a couple bucks which was a bit of a relief because he'd gotten that out of his system.<br />
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Then, literally at the top of the hill the hounds caught onto a scent and were away. I'm not sure how this happened but I was sticking with D and somehow ended up right in the middle of the horses tearing down a hill towards a neat little spar. Oscar was pulling like a train and adrenaline had kicked in and we both just wanted to be amongst it I think! The hounds took us on a wild chase across several paddocks and up hills that were so steep, all I could do was hold on tight to a chunk of mane and let my horse tear along. We galloped up hills, down hills, around corners, over ground that I would usually pick my way across, and sprinted along flat stretches of paddock. It was <u>amazing</u>. A white knuckle ride for sure, but all my apprehension was long gone as my horse was just so brilliant. I couldn't have stopped him if I tried; he thought he knew what he was doing and was just point and shoot over all the spars and lowered wires that came up in front of us.<br />
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Eventually it wound down and came to a stop as the hounds lost the scent. Everyone was stoked at what a great run it had been, lasting ages. I spoke to a lady whilst our horses caught their breath and the hounds worked on finding a new scent, and she told me to remember that forever as it was so rare to get a run like that, that went on for so long. Such a great welcome to hunting, and seriously, what a horse. Oscar was just rock solid.<br />
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The hunt had split into three, and it was nice to give my horse a breather as we hacked down to regroup. I asked D how it had split and she said the simplest way to explain it was there were the non-jumpers, the 'half-jumpers' and the jumpers. To my disbelief, I had ended up with the jumpers, despite saying I was only going to pop over the odd spar here and there - HA! I remembered Becks' comment on my previous post, saying to take it easy for my horse's sake on his first hunt so once we regrouped I made my way pretty sharpish to the non-jumping group where we pottered around for a good forty minutes or so, following the hunt at a bit of a distance. Oscar chilled out on a loose rein and I truly can't fault his behaviour. Happy to be right up at the front of the ride, or equally happy to chill out at the back. If he wasn't my heart and soul horse he'd be sold as a hunter tomorrow - he was in his element.<br />
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After a wee while I saw D over another fence line and decided to go pop up to the front again. Oscar was feeling good and it was a little chilly just walking around.<br />
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We trotted along for a while as the hounds did their job. There was another short run but we skipped it out and opted to take an easy trot short cut across a paddock to join the group further along. Now things get bad on two accounts! Or great, depending on your view.<br />
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First, right as we met back up with the group, I hear the hounds making a new sound and the huntsman holding up a hare. They got a kill! And although I was truly super happy for the hounds, and everyone hunting to be rewarded for what is serious hard work, I have <u>never</u> witnessed a death before. Any sick or injured animal I have met has either passed away on a vet's table, or made it out the other end. I have no experience dealing with death in front of me whatsoever, and it was entirely overwhelming. I immediately looked away and tucked myself behind D, out of sight. Because, although I can't deal with death at all, I was happy for everyone else. Tears were threatening and I fiddled around with my girth, when simultaneously the best and worst thing that could have possibly happened, happened. The huntsman made his way over to me with the carcass to give it to me. Which is truly the greatest honour! And I had been told all of the rules and etiquette - point your horse towards the hounds if they come close to avoid your horse kicking them, and it's hounds not dogs. Don't pass the red coats. But, being confident that I would not see a kill, the etiquette of accepting the carcass should it be presented was missed out.<br />
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So, on the verge of tears and not knowing how to deal with the fact that this cute fluffy thing had just had its life ended for myself to enjoy a Sunday ride, I politely as I could said, "No, thank you".<br />
Okay. I just know that anyone reading this just cringed into their socks. I am <u>still</u> cringing and I imagine I will cringe in 50 years time remembering that moment. In my defence, I was totally overwhelmed on the verge of a breakdown and had I accepted the carcass I would have inevitably have looked it in the eye and gone into full blown meltdown there and then. Because I have lived under a rock when it comes to normal life processes such as, you know, life and death.<br />
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Luckily for me, the huntsman is a <u>really</u> nice guy and saw the funny side. As were the rest of the people riding with me, and they were so lovely and laughed it off and clicked on that I'd missed that crucial bit of etiquette knowledge. Someone else accepted the offering very graciously and we giggled our way back to the rest of the meet, joking about Greenpeace saddle blankets. I am mortified, grateful and very honoured all in one go!<br />
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Things turned super positive again though as to get back to the rest of the meet we had to pop over a wire fence, with the top wire clipped to the one below it between two fence posts. It was on an incline, with a steep uphill on landing and with the adrenaline long gone and at the end of the ride, it looked hella intimidating. It was the scariest fence of the day by a long shot and so I was immediately brought out of my humiliation by my horse popping over beautifully, no hesitation whatsoever.<br />
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We had another half an hour following various scent trails but there was only one kill that day.<br />
Overall, minus embarrassing myself a little, I had the best day ever. Hooked; hunting is the bomb and all it's talked up to be. I love it!<br />
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That night I gave Oscar 2 grams of bute with his dinner, turned him out in his 400gm rug and clay poulticed his legs under wraps. He was moving fine the next morning, though I gave him another 2 grams of bute with breakfast and an hour in his Back on Track fleece to be safe. He was so, so amazing I would feel terrible if he was super sore the next day. And the last thing I want is my new found hunter to go lame!Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-40513978890541368602016-04-05T17:56:00.000-07:002016-04-05T19:04:55.779-07:00Tally-Ho; a hunting we shall go!The quietness around the blog of late is due in part to me actually riding instead. One day I'll figure out how to ride and blog regularly, at the same time, but not this week.<br />
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There's been several times over the past month that I've been itching to sit down and blog, but to be entirely honest the home office has been completely full of half deflated birthday balloons and the aftermath of a temporary bird sanctuary where I was looking after a very sick bird. Sitting down in here was a constant reminder that it was well overdue a spring clean. Somehow I have managed to get that tedious job done, and being in here no longer makes me feel like a terrible housewife and so I'm all good to get some writing done; huzzah! </div>
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As the title suggests, we're going hunting!! It's really coincidental timing actually as I was doing a few grid exercises with Oscar last week and he was just so lethargic it was exhausting. Completely behind my leg the whole time, and just not carrying me to the fence. I was working so hard getting him in front of my leg that actually completing the exercises became a second thought and I only got one successful attempt the whole ride. More on those grids later though.</div>
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As I was riding my horse, who felt a <u>lot</u> like this over those simple jumps:</div>
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I was thinking (in other words, but I will use the stereotype for effect) "by golly Jefferson, this nag needs a good hunt!". As I said, that sentence was said a little differently, ha, but perhaps playing the typical English hunts-person will make me less nervous about the whole thing. Then I laughed because I am waaay too chicken to go hunting! Plus, I'm mostly a vegan. I won't eat an ice cream because those Facebook bastards filled my timeline with day-old calves suspended by their hocks and so hunting is surely not quite my cup of soy milk tea. </div>
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So, fast forward to today. I was pottering around, washing my trucking boots and re-folding some of my stable rugs into their plastic storage containers when L shows up to collect the horse float for its warrant of fitness. As I open the gate, all smiles because it's a wonderful and sunny day, he drops in that I'm going hunting on Sunday. He's just come from one of his clients and instead of paying for a pony trim, she's taking me hunting instead. I know better than to argue with this client; she'll have her way any time a coconut and 99% of the time that's a good thing. For the first time in forever, I was really genuinely enjoying show jumping (well, practising it) and it was down to her forcing me to just do it. </div>
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Right now, I'm swinging from manically excited to nervous wreck. None of those states of mind are preferable over the other. </div>
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Firstly, it's my first hunt ever. When I think of hunting, I picture a big bunch of horses all galloping full speed at a wire fence - which, naturally, is just waiting to flip us over and slice up my horse's legs. I need a nervous pee just typing that. If my horse makes it alive in one piece, I know he has a tendency to do a kind of 'corkscrewing' action into the fences when he is over excited and the likelihood of this happening is pretty high. I may get bucked off and I am about as co-ordinated as a baby giraffe these days so my landing won't be too graceful. </div>
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Then I realise how <i><u>ridiculous</u></i> I am at times, and instead get excited. Realistically my horse is the perfect horse for hunting. He is strong with an okay jump in spite of his dangly knees, doesn't leap or take off two strides early, and he is as honest as the day is long. I could put him at the worst spot possible and he will still attempt the jump. He has ran out at a fence once, and has never stopped. You could ride either a goat or an elephant up his arse and he couldn't care less, and dogs or cats between his legs is no drama. He's attempted to bolt once, two strides of me hauling on his mouth and he felt differently about that trick. I've broken my hip on a bolting horse so it certainly puts the shits up me now ha. </div>
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So, even if the hunting scene was a little exciting to begin with, he'll tire pretty quickly and it will be awesome! I have a strange feeling that hunting will probably be his #MostFavouriteThingEver. </div>
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And there we go, I'm swinging back and forth between freaking out and being totally freaking excited! I'm tramping up Mount Taranaki on Friday with a friend and at this point, if I was to roll my ankle quite severely on a boulder, I'd probably thank that kind bit of rock and continue pottering around in my comfort zone. Just because it would stop the mixed feelings of excitement and nerves. A major downside of only having limited outings throughout the year is that you don't really get a chance to find your rhythm when taking your horse out. It's all a bit stressful. Though on that note, I do like to grab any opportunity to go out by the horns. Never sure when the next opportunity will be, and with a $4.5k vet bill sitting on my desk, I certainly can't afford to question a 'free' outing! </div>
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A hunting we shall go, Oscar! The white breeches are already hot soaking, and L has gone to pick up the jacket I've had on lay buy for ages! Don't know if my current buttonless jacket will make the cut this time around..<br />
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Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1044977006803631910.post-72178590521547810922016-03-03T20:12:00.002-08:002016-04-06T17:56:21.633-07:00Just Did It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I took my own advice, and started riding my horse again; pats all round. <br />
He's so soft and squishy and generally under-muscled that I almost shared the above photo publicly asking for 1 like = 1 prayer.<br />
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No seriously, I think that almost every 'recreational' horse rider has days or weeks or even months where they're just not that motivated, and maybe even wonder whether the horse scene is still worthwhile for them. Grazing/board is expensive, horse feed is expensive, lessons and entry fees are expensive, not to mention the vet bills... and horse insurance (in New Zealand anyway) has hundreds of clauses to get them out of coughing up in those scenarios. There's like two providers so they can afford to be crafty. <br />
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You can go to (almost) any grazing or barn situation anywhere and find people squabbling over their different viewpoints. Some people, like me, take it really personally if someone comments on what they are/are not doing with their horse. Whether they're riding enough, whether they're cruel for choosing to shoe their horse instead of going barefoot, whether their horse should have his rugs off during the day in winter, and why are they buying so much gear when they never go anywhere?! Let's not even get started on their choices in vet/dentist/farrier/trainer. The judgement is everywhere - not from every person, but there's always one person in every scenario who feels the need to condemn others' decisions. <br />
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Disclaimer, I am totally one of those people sometimes. You can bet if you're jumping your freshly broken 3 year old daily, going cross country and slamming them when they are stopping at everything because they're completely over-faced I'm going to be shooting hairy eyeballs in that direction. Horses kind of put everyone in a position where there are 200 ways of doing things, and being different to someone else usually generates a disproving look or comment here or there. Completely nothing to do with anyone else, but there you have it. <br />
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We <u>all</u> do it at varying levels.. Whether it's because of this:<br />
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This:</div>
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Or this:<br />
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Some people are up in arms over horseshoes, and others need a bit more provocation. Either way, it generally happens more than once at every barn. </div>
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Finally throw the temperamental weather, mystery lameness's, and both time and emotional investments into the mix and you get a bottomless pit to throw money, time and emotions into - all in the name of a horse. Good job they get you hooked in the land of no escape, right?</div>
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Because really, despite all the trials that come with owning a horse, they are like no other animal on earth and are totally worth all of the bad days and more. </div>
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The package deal of horse ownership, as I've said, is something that comes with many difficulties <u>but</u> the valleys are proportionate to the mountains, so to speak. All of the good stuff that comes with horses is what makes the sport/hobby worthwhile. It's different for everyone, but being able to successfully communicate with a living being to such a degree that it will go above and beyond what is natural with you is a pretty incredible feeling. </div>
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If, like me you're into scenery, framing a landscape between two (<em>black-tipped because bay horses are my jam, my peanut butter, and my jelly</em>) makes it doubly spectacular. If you want to beat average and get 10's on dressage tests, push limits by nailing your jump-offs and get your adrenaline pumping on a meaty cross country track then you can do that with an animal that is absolutely your partner, not just your pet. You have their back, and they have yours. They say that a dog is a man's best friend, but that would make the horse so much more. A teacher, a student, a companion, a protector, a team-mate, a mirror and I could go on.</div>
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If you find other horse people whose souls groove with yours then that is a lifelong friendship in the bag because even when Natural-Nigel starts hitting you with the old bitless bridle debate, your soul sista will be right there with you to cringe at how that <strike>sofachair</strike> treeless saddle looks on his horse. And those kinds of friendships are damn cool. Plus, horse people will never judge you. No matter how many holes are in your jodhpurs or dishes are stacked up by the dishwasher. They just get it that housework is the thief of riding time, and the new matchy Le Mieux set is always going to win over jodhpurs that are in one piece. The competition literally doesn't exist. </div>
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So, as generally happens with humans, I got a little preoccupied with all of the struggles of horse-ownership for a short while there. But, I took my concrete pill and went riding. And lo and behold, I discovered that when I stopped making excuses, I stopped dwelling on the not so great stuff and started enjoying all of the really awesome stuff instead. It was such a simple fix - who knew that Nike had it all sussed out with their "Just do it"?! I'll add that to the life tricks bank.</div>
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The icing on the cake for me is when I finally gave Oscar a bath and pulled his mane. It had been some time and once the aesthetics were sorted out I felt much better about getting back into riding!</div>
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<br />Christle Olivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07214204082407566805noreply@blogger.com4