Definitely Stressage

Buddy and I set out for our very first solo dressage outing last weekend. It was a bit lastminute.com as I had made the decision the previous week but hadn't really had time to practise as much as I would like. Our canter is still a work in progress but I get moments of amazingness and he is getting the strength to be able to hold it for longer periods of time but Buddy needs the match practise as he can die on me when I go in for my test so we need to overcome that. Charlotte doesn't have anything to worry about yet.. maybe in a few months ;o)

We had lovely lazy times so I had plenty of time to prep on the morning of the show and B was looking very smart when we left. I have never been to a show on my own before so totally underestimated how long it takes doing things on your own so I was running late for my warm up and only got 15 minutes. It was peeing with rain the whole time and our warm up was tense and crabby with occassional moments of oh so nearly there. We just weren't on the same page but I didn't have time to do anything about it so in I went.

The test was, as expected, a bit bleurgh. His trot work was super and earned him 7's and 8's but his walk was lethargic and he broke in his canter which pulled those marks down. I was annoyed with him as he can do so much better but wrote it off. It was our worst test to date and scored us just shy of 55% which although it sounds terrible on paper, actually wasn't too bad and we finished in the top half out of 30 competitors. 

We had an hour to dry off, eat haylage (Buddy) drink tea (me) and learn the second test. I had a chat with Buddy and told him I expected more this time. I think he must have listened as when I got on board he felt super. I'd left 30 mins for a warm up as he was so awful earlier and I had the perfect warm up. He felt awesome and people were telling me how smart he looked and they expected us to do really well. I was enjoying riding so much I obviously totally overcooked the warm up as he completely died on me when I went in for my test. I am no dressage expert but I'm 99.9% positive that pony club kicking and puffing like you've finished a marathon are not found on the scales of training and I don't think the judge approved.

On a positve note the canter (when he offered it) felt a million times better and the second test was much better at 60% but it was so frustrating to lose everything we had in the warm up as I think we would have been in contention for a frilly had he played ball. Again,  the class had 25 in it but we finished in the top half (just!).

He is such a tricky customer as he can be sharp in the warm up but dies in the ring - I need to practise this more to overcome it and I may have to sacrifice some tests to really get him thinking forward as this will be an issue if I let it continue. But we are out again this weekend (glutton for punishment) and so I am hoping we will return to form - as this was Buddy's first outing without a frilly and I'd forgotten what it's like to not get one (spoilt? Me? Never :op )

As this wasn't a perfect session the positive things to take from this outing are:

1. He looked fabulous
2. He loaded three times without an issue
3. We were on our lonesome and it was ok
4. Our second warm up was great

Wish us luck for Sunday - think we might need it!!

No news is good news.. A huge update

It has been a long time since I updated the blog - I am so sorry! You can be assured that no news is good news and we have been busy doing exciting things as well as more dull things like moving house and working.

Posing at RRR13

At my last update we were on the verge of going to have our x-rays re-done and I was a bit scared... OK, a lot scared. I still have the fear of going lame in the back of my mind and I was terrified that the x-rays would show further degeneration. 

We arrived at my vets bright and early and my vet, Chris Tufnell, had a good look at Buddy’s feet and watched him move.  He was showing as 1/10 lame on a circle on the hard in the car park but his feet were going through a wonky phase (typically) so I wasn’t concerned but, most importantly, Chris wasn’t bothered by it at all and was really pleased with how his feet looked and at his improvement.

I think I have spoken about Chris before but I am so very lucky to have him as my vet. He is so incredibly supportive and shows such an interest in what Nic is doing and they still speak regularly which is great. Anyhoo.. there were other vets from the practise there, as well as some visiting vets, and Chris showed Buddy off to them all. The best bit of all was when we spoke to a highly acclaimed racing vet and he looked vaguely interested but then he saw Buddy, the warmblood, stomp off barefoot over Chris’ stone drive (which is more like Brighton Beach than Rockley tracks) and his eyebrows shot up his forehead and he seemed far more interested!!

But I guess you all want to know how we got on... well, for me, I set my own expectation that best case scenario was that there was to be no change to our pictures from last year.  At that point we had been home just over 6 months and without shoes for 9 so an expectation for huge changes would have been unrealistic. However... there were changes – good ones!! It was clear that there was bone re developing on the navicular bone and the pedal oestitis is improving. Don’t get me wrong, the changes are TINY but bone is the last thing to change so this gives me a huge amount of hope for the future. I am planning to get them done again in two years purely for my own interest and it will be great for the Rockley project.

View of pedal bone - Sept 12 & Aug 13 comparison

After that I was on a bit of a high and we have continued jumping although we haven’t had our competition debut yet as I was on a competing ban until we moved. We are in now so I’m pleased to report there will be competition reports heading onto the blog very soon.

View of LF Navicular bone - Sept 12 & Aug 13 comparison

The other most exciting thing that has happened was the Rockley Rehab Reunion. I have been aiming for this since I saw the video this time last year when I was spending evenings sobbing into my pony’s mane, wishing for a resolution and the video gave me some hope that it *might* not be the end of the road. Things have obviously improved hugely since those October nights and we were there with bells on! I was helping to organise it so was slightly anxious whether everything would come together but I needn’t have worried and it was fabulous.

Buddy thinking he knows better doing a bounce in a one stride double

Buddy thought it was THE BEST THING he has ever done in his life and was rather wild for the whole weekend but it was oddly rather nice to have him feeling well and so very happy although I’ve told him he will have no excuse next year! As well as it being lots of fun (a couple of us regressed to 12 year old girls cantering everywhere we went) it was great to meet other rehabs, share experiences and see how amazing all the ponies are at all different stages of their rehab. 

Buddy's first jump out of water - lack of scope is not an issue we have!

If you haven’t seen the videos via the Rockley blog then I highly recommend that you have a look. The slo mo footage has had around 10,000 views, is being talked about worldwide and is fascinating viewing. The horses on the video are all rehabs bar one and range from just completing their 12 week programme to being a few years in. The coloured cob galloping up the hill went home in April/May time and was 100% sound the next day.  Its emotional viewing so get the tissues at the ready! The round up video shows a bit more of what we got up to and shows Buddy having a naughty ohmygodimsoooooexcited moment.

Barefoot Slow Motion: Rockley Farm from Nic Barker on Vimeo.

RRR2013 from Nic Barker on Vimeo.

I came away with a feeling of having been involved in something really special and it helped remove a block I’ve been having about Buddy’s capability. I still worry about him going lame, I’m getting better but it is always there, and to see him coping with everything when I just let him get on with it just helped me to remove that mental block. There was a great guy there too who came all the way from Northumberland and was meant to stay just for Saturday but ended up staying for the filming and he confirmed Buddy has ‘perfect feet for him’ which made me grin a lot. I met some great people, laughed til my belly hurt and was inspired by each and every owner and their horses. 

New friends Bailey, Felix, Chester, Buddy and Rolo at RRR13

I cannot wait for RRR14 – we are moving location to Boomerang – and we will be having an open day on the Saturday so do get in touch if you would like to attend.

Just call him Tigger....

I was so excited waiting for today to arrive, it was a big test for Buddy and I as it would be a proper jumping session, on grass, on our going lame anniversary.

 

I hadn't jumped a course on grass for a long time and I had no idea if Buddy had (although I was doubtful) and I knew he hadn't seen anything like what we were going to do - it was set to be an interesting session and I just hoped he would behave!

 

In the week leading up to our lesson I had another jump in the school where I managed to combine three fences together at a height bigger than I could jump on my own two feet (!) so I was feeling confident and ready to attack whatever we were going to face.

 

We were a mixed group who included a rider who had never done anything like it, a new combination and a more experienced pair. The mix worked really well and the group were all tested with tricky lines and accuracy questions rather than height which meant that everyone had to use their brains and ride.

 

After warming up over a small cross pole the instructor threw us right in at the deep end and we were riding combinations and angled fences. Buddy was incredibly keen and was loving being back and pinging over fences - his ears were pricked the whole time.

 

Flying Donkey!

He didn't make life easy for me and my eye is well and truly out so there were some moments when we weren't on the same page entirely but once I got my act together and helped Buddy out it felt great. I stuck to mainly trot coming into the fences as I wanted to keep control of the situation and not get sucked into battling against him rushing, he is a big young horse and controlling all that through combinations can be tricky and I want to make as many positive experiences for him as possible.

 

In the end we practised combinations, a coffin, corners and skinny barrels and I was so chuffed with him - there is plenty to work on but we've had a while off so I will give myself a pat on the back and critique later on. I'm just going to enjoy the buzz for now.

 

We're back at the vets on Wednesday for the x-rays so it will be exciting to see the results of those - hopefully we will see some positive improvements.

 

Bouncing Buddy Returns

It's been a while since I updated the blog and a few things have happened in the meantime so this one may be long - I suggest grabbing a cup of tea (or a suitable beverage for a Sunday morning!).

Buddy's feet have continued to improve, the hard ground is doing wonders for his feet and he is having constant stimulation whilst he is out and it makes a difference compared to sloppy mud. The very last slither of old hoof has broken off from the outside wall on both fronts but we are following the same thread as last time and the inside is hanging around a bit longer - just as a reminder I think. I could trim it off but I love the fact that he self trims so I'm going to leave it, its not impinging his movement whatsoever so it'll come off when it's ready and not before.

Since my last blog we have also started jumping again *insert big grins* and, although they have been tiny compared to what we were jumping last year Buddy and I have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and, most importantly, Buddy stayed sound. So, after this success, I decided to accept an invitation to the XC ride at Stratfield Saye. It was a 10 mile ride through beautiful estate parkland with woods, fields, river crossings - you name it and the ride had it plus 25 or so XC jumps. 

Handsome Donkey

My plan was to see how he felt and I was prepared to not jump unless I felt the conditions were right. On the day I was slightly anxious.. Buddy had never been on a fun ride and I hadn't done was for about 20 years! But I have total faith in my pony, he is so sensible that I wasn't overly worried and I knew if I had to I would just kick on, let him have a hooly, and then he would calm down. As it was he was just a bit bright when we started the ride, striding out and looking all around, almost amazed that there were horses in front, behind and everywhere. After a nice walk and trot there were a few teeny jumps that I thought looked ideal so I told my companions I was jumping but to be wary as he hasn't seen an XC fence since May last year and was definately going to balloon it. As predicted he launched into space but I was prepared with my jockey length stirrups and so we landed together on the other side to a chorus of 'wow he's got some scope!' hmmm yes.. over a 2' nothing log.. silly pony  ;o)

The three amigos at the end of Stratfield Saye XC ride

As the ride went on we had a brilliant time, we didn't press on too much but we enjoyed some canters and plenty more jumps. It was a brilliant education for Buddy as he had horses jumping next to him, cantering and trotting past and away in front and he was just brilliant. At the end of the ride he was mentally tired but feeling like he could go round again (or at least half way!) and my companions commented on how amazed they were that he was barefoot, had led all the way and stomped over some pretty unfriendly terrain. Big grins from me.

Chillin' on his birthday

Then onto this weekend and it was Buddy's birthday yesterday - he is now the grand old age of 7. We celebrated with extra scratches, an extra handful of alfa pellets and a lovely evening ride. I definately didn't buy him a new dressage pad to add to my collection as I have been banned from buying anymore matchy matchy by my husband.. But *if* I had I would be very excited about that arriving for our next outing ;o)

The next couple of weeks are going to be quiet - we are in the process of moving so I am packing up the house and fitting in work and le donks in the middle. We have a simulated XC jumping lesson planned next weekend which I am super excited about (on grass so will be interesting to see how he copes with some of the turns) plus hubby has promised to come and video so there should be some evidence on camera. Then Buddy is back to the vets on 21st August for his x-rays.. I am excited to see what changes have happened but also nervous that things have deteriorated but I will share the comparisons on here when I have them.

Boiling Buddy

It's been a bit quiet here as Buddy and I have been having some R&R with some time off in the sun for me.. and he ended up having the same! The weather has been glorious and I am a real sun bunny so this weather is great as far as I'm concerned. The ground is obviously rock hard everywhere which limits our fast work to the school or the gallops which isn't ideal but the hard ground is brilliant for bare feet and I'm noticing rapid growth and great changes which I will never complain about!

What a print!

A couple of weeks ago I was concerned that Buddy may have been getting a bit footier as the grazing at the new yard is significantly higher quality than at our old place which obviously poses its own issues for a barefoot pony. I had kept him on daytime turnout so that he didn't have too many changes in his routine when we moved but he has now moved on to nightime turnout and is in during the day. This has improved his capability over stones and when I took him out last weekend I was pleased to see that an area he had struggled with a couple of weeks ago was no longer as much of an issue and, although he wasn't perfect, it was a serious improvement.

Footy?!

We have also now lost the flare that we had on our last picture update. As soon as this went his stride length improved and he moves much better without it. I had thought that it might be the case but I didn't want to interfere with what Buddy is doing and I knew that if it hadn't gone within two or three weeks then it was probably going to be a permanent fixture and we are at that tricky stage of not-quite-there hoof so I wasn't totally confident that he didn't need it. Buddy is still totally self trimming and his feet have not been touched by human hand since October 2012 which is incredible when you look at the changes that have happened and blow any theory out the water that shoeing is the best option for all horses.. Buddy is proving very much otherwise at the moment!

Week one vs week 34 - they don't even look like the same foot!

I have also spent some time over the last few weeks reflecting on where we have come from over the last year. Part of that was due to a journey I made back to Rockley to drop off new boy Fryday. It was odd being there without either the anxiety of wondering if it would work (or how I would cope when I got him back), the fascination with observing just how my horse was managing to make himself sound and the thrills of hope when tiny steps were made back to becoming sound. It was great to see Rockley in the beautiful sunshine and catch up with Nic as well as seeing the new rehabs all on their own journeys.

All of this has happened around the time we are approaching our going lame-iversary and its incredible how far we have come. I feel like this journey has opened my eyes and I have made some new friends along the way. I am lucky that I am finally at a yard where I feel supported - my fabulous YO is taking great care of Buddy and is taking an interest in what we are doing - and Buddy is thriving. Of course, we will be on this journey forever more and I am sure there will be challenges along the way. I am still anxious to find out whether Buddy will cope with jumping - this is a mental hurdle for me as he went lame last year once we upped his jumping - but I have to try it to find out... So the jumping is scheduled for the next week or so (eeeeeek).

Pingy pony - August 2012

Perfect (ish) Prelim

Yesterday was another big test for Buddy and I. We've not been out since our fantastic re- debut what with moving and our slight (!) loading issues so I decided that this weekend would be good to go and practise somewhere different and also to tackle our prelim debut.

Work was manic last week as it was my company's financial year end so our riding was a bit more sporadic than I would have wanted but we practised in the school one evening and I was happy we could do the right bits in the right places and so was relatively confident we'd make it through.

Heel first (just!)

I then realised two night prior that I'd learnt the wrong prelim test (doh!).. It was Buddy's day off so I then debated whether to take him in the school on the Friday evening or to stick with my hacking plan. I chose the latter and hoped we'd be ok - our canter isn't good enough at the moment and it was a qualifier so I wasn't going to be competitive so it was just a tick in the box for us.

Smile for the judge

Saturday dawned and as we had quite civilised times it was a lovely, leisurely morning where I could get all my jobs done. I gave myself a 30 minute window for loading, just in case, but we didn't need it and he strolled on. Good pony and praise be to Rachel Morey!

First up was our intro test, intro a which was the same as last time. We did a good, accurate test but Buddy seemed to die when we went inside (it was quite warm in the indoor) so the trot work wasn't as active as I would have liked. I think I need to do some canter work in my warm up to really jazz him up before we go in so I will do that next time and see what effect that has on our marks. As a result we finished fractionally below our score from last time with 66.9% and 3rd place in a very competitive class of 25.

Pretty boy

Next up was the prelim, I took on the comments from my previous sheet and decided to wind him up a bit but then give him a break before we went in as it was getting hot at this point so I kept my warm up minimal with a canter on each rein and some sharp transitions before a walk and then a chat! As a result he was much sharper in the test and his trot work got 8's across the board which was fantastic. The canter work was a bit yee ha (as expected) but I was really pleased with the test. I watched some other tests and the standard was really high so I wasn't expecting to be placed as the were 15 in the class.

Onward bound - yee haaaa

Took B back to the lorry, untacked, washed off, packed away and the class was nearly over so we decided to load him (knowing it'd taken us a fair while last time ;0) ) and then see where we we at by then. As it was he loaded immediately (more praise to Rachel!) and so we decided to hang around if he stayed chilled as its good practise for him. He was happy munching on his hay so I went up to get my sheet and was surprised to see we had come 5th on 64%. Great marks for our trot work but the canter let us down as I knew it would however its great to be at that score knowing that there are more marks to win with some small improvements. So Buddy continues his rosette collection... We haven't returned empty handed yet!

Big grins and frillies

I have promised Buddy that we will start jumping soon so we may have one more dressage outing and then I'll be planning our first jumping competition (eek!).

Nearly neat feet

It's been a couple of weeks of adventures for Buddy and I as we are exploring our new domain and finding lots of exciting new places to see. Buddy has, in his usual form, settled in like he has been there all this life and has developed a new bromance with another barefoot horse. His new friend has the most awesome feet, big chunky frogs and beautiful heel first landings - its the stuff of my dreams! Buddy has put on the weight that he lost at the old yard and is starting to look really good again, he is being really spoilt and the new YO gives him plenty of scratches in the right places which he loves.

Buddy's feet are continuing to head in the right direction. We are taking on much more challenging terrain more often now and we have a couple of tricky, stony tracks that we have to negotiate to get out to our longer hacks so it has been interesting to see how Buddy has coped. He is not quite rock crunching but we are getting to the stage where he will occassionally gimp (small stones on concrete) but his stride length is only altering slightly. There is still a difference between his stride length on easier surfaces (grass, tarmac etc) and tricker surfaces (stones) but it is reducing more and more and I am confident that it will come in time. Plus we are still on daytime grazing as I wanted Buddy to be settled before I changed his whole routine at once so that will happen in the next week as well.

We are rapidly approaching our 5 months home from rockley-aversary and we are so nearly there when it comes to Buddy's neat new feet. There is a slither of old stuff left but there is some flare to the inside which I am looking at and am umming and ahhing as to whether I get the farrier to neaten it up. My gut is saying not to touch it for now but if we still have it there in a few weeks then I will re-evaluate. Its so tough as his feet have been totally self trimming since he went to Rockley and I wonder if my drive to get cracking and start jumping again is clouding my view somewhat as I decided when he came home that I wouldn't jump him until the new hoof was through and with the teeny bit thats left I think I'm like an excited child leading up to Christmas and I just want it now!!

Wk 25 vs Wk 32 (LF Lat)

You can see with the lateral shot above just how close we are to having a full new hoof. I'm pleased that we don't seem to have any event lines coming through after the move as there were a lot of changes in his diet that I was worried mught affect his feet but *touches wood* we seem to have been lucky. I'm still rubbish at taking the pictures as his feet always look longer then in real life but we are definitely beefing up behind the more time goes on.

Wk 25 vs Wk 32 (LF sole)

The sole shots I must get better at as I just don't seem to get the same angle twice in a row which is annoying but you can see his frog has beefed up and you can see the flare that is left on the inside and the old hoof that is stretched and rubbish (technical term!). The collateral grooves are wider and deeper which can only mean a thicker sole developing.

We are also approaching our insurance expiry date and I have my vet, Chris Tufnell from Coach House, coming out to have a look at his feet and I am planning to discuss getting some new x-rays and possibly an MRI just to see where we are at and it will be interesting to see if there are any changes or evidence of healing.