A weeks of firsts

Buddy has now been home a whole week and it has gone without too much drama. I've been repeating over and over that we are not 100% over all surfaces and it seems to have finally sunk in! We've had some lovely hacks out, canters in the countryside and have even had our first lesson. 

The benefits of barefoot this week have been that I've been able to sneak over grassy bits (and empty children's playgrounds - I know, I know!) and we've not left a trace of our trespasses ;0)

As I said already, we had our first lesson today. It was a real baby steps re-introduction to school work and I was very aware of not pushing him too hard so we only did about 30mins and although he wasn't as sweaty as other horses I felt it was plenty to be getting on with for now. Main objective was to work on me a bit and I was wearing one of Centaur Biomechanics new jackets which have fluorescent lines on them which help to highlight any wonkyness and ensure you are riding as effectively as possible. Our particular jackets had been used by the senior eventing team before coming to us and mine was worn by the eventing god himself, Mr Fox-Pitt, so I am hoping that if I keep wearing it then I will be able to ride like him (and maybe my legs will grow several inches). I have to say they weren't the most flattering of garments (as you'll see from the pictures) and are more designed for your uber thin dressage rider rather than your more average sized rider with a bit more round the middle than ideal!! However, I found it a very useful tool, particularly when looking in our mirrors and my instructor found it useful to see the bend in our arms was being maintained.

Buddy in his XC colours not really looking like a horse written off three months ago

Buddy was decked out in matchy matchy (I have a slight obsession with saddlecloths and boots/bandages) and so was looking very smart and decided to show off a bit. He was slightly wild when I first got on and found the other horses trotting and cantering past to be very exciting! He soon settled and we had some nice work, with my instructor declaring he "was moving the best she'd seen" which is a massive compliment.

Buddy and his friends with two riders showing off the Centaur Biomechanics jackets

I'm back to work (boooo) next week so it will be harder to fit in the variety of work he's had since coming home but I'm hoping they'll be back out for a few hours every other day so I'll be able to stick to the two on, one off rule that Nic used. If not, spring is nearly here which means the clocks are close to going forwards and life becomes far easier.