Adventures of L&S

liz_scarlet

liz_scarlet

Active Member
Jun 6, 2011
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Thought I'd start keeping track of the, ahem, progress Scarlet and I are making together. I hope to look back and think wow how much we have improved.....

Its been about 10 months since I first met her, felt connected to her right away...despite her being a not for novice ride and only put on her because the horse I was to ride that day was unwell (Gemini made a full recovery) I instantly felt safe on her and she def trusted more than she seemed to other people. After putting a deposit on her in Nov I spend every weekend with her grooming ,talking to and generally hanging about her stable till she accepted i was going to be her new mummy :giggle:. She was not affectionate at all at the time and wasnt used to being groomed and made a fuss over, officially she has been mine since end of March. We have made loads of preogress on the ground, her stable manners are greatly improved no longer barging to get out, moves back without having to be asked to get her dinner. She let me treat her mud fever pretty easily despite the nightly bathing, drying and applying cream, She doesnt trust people to lift her feet but will do it for me (most times easily) I get cuddles and almost get kisses...I ask for kisses and she moves her face to mine so i can kiss it, will do for now :smile:

Ridiing...well we have good days and bad days. Tacking up she either stands good as gold or fannies about that much I have to get someone to hold her even though she is tied up. Same mounting, most days she stands by the wee wall we use and i just hop on...once or twice i have a rolling start which was interesting...her first day riding after a couple off she is always very up for it :unsure:

We are rubbish in the school, she has only been lightly schooled and i have had very few proper lessons so we need work in there.

Out on hacks we do ok...she will even go infront most times until she gets to something really scary. Normally she listens and i can get her to walk past what ever it is...however monday there was a bit of a nightmare she reversed she spun round I had to give up and let Ozzy go infront as she was getting quite stressed and tense...could feel her starting to freak out. After that incident she got a fright when a foal popped its head over a fence and made a move to run, luckily she listened to me and calmed enough that we only trotted away from it. After that she was good got some really nice fast trots but no canter...I just cannot get her to canter upfront.

We have 3 days left at our current yard (the place i bought her from) moving to somewhere hopefully better for her sweet itch and tendancy for mud fever. I can also get lessons from the new YO.

I'll add to this when were at the new yard...hope she settles ok!
 
Moving tomorrow! :unsure: i'll update on that later....maybe even pics if not too stressed.

I went to one of OH's bands gigs last night straight from work, Olivia was feeding Scarlet for me. I text to ask how she was and got the standard she is fine and missed you reply...this time i think she actually did! I

Went to the yard before work today to give her breakfast (a first as I always go after work and YO gives her morning feed) and I was greeted with a neighing and much excitement...yes i am aware it was feed time but this continued after breakfast was gone, proper cuddles this morning and the funniest facial expressions :biggrin:
 
We've moved, new yard is great. Everyone seems friendly :smile:.
Its a big :redface: when you cant get your own pony out of her field....she walked up to me i put lead rope on (we had left head collar for now in case we had problems catching her) she walked with me till about 10ft from the exit and planted herself. Ended up with YO (who is lovely) spotting us and coming to my rescue. Had to make Scarlet reverse around the field until she'd walk out the field. She was snorty and not particularly well behaved her first time over at the stables......oh dear can only hope she settles quickly!

Already met other section D owner who seems really nice, and a couple of people who hack out at weekends which is great as hopefully eventually we can tag along.

Phew I'm knackered, I'm not great at meeting new people and just hope I've made an ok first impression despite the unruly pony.
 
Blimey you guys are taking on lots of new stuff!! I'm in awe!

Had to laugh at your catching antics in the field though. I used to get lots of that and I always used to think we looked like the Thelwell contingent on our yard!

Keep up the good work x
 
thanks Shetlander :)

Quick update - this diary really is for My own benefit and prob a bit self indulgent so apologies to those who get this far lol

Took OH up to see her today, He is impressed with new yard and horses there so hopefully he'll join me more often. Scarlet saw us and started walking towards the field entrance before we reached it, this is new. Took some pics and fed carrots and pears, she didn't seem to want us to leave which is another new thing :biggrin:.

I am dreading riding in front of the new people....I really hope i don't make a complete idiot of myself and Scarlet :frown: oh well a few weeks of worrying about that before i attempt it.

Think I'll go back along soon, feels weird just now but i'm sure we'll soon get ourselves into a nice routine.
 
I think it's lovely hearing about your progress with Scarlet. She's beautiful, and it's so satisfying building a relationship with a horse and seeing them come to trust you and like you. :happy:
 
thank you Jane&Ziggy :biggrin:

I've just been back along and got her out the field on my own! never thought that would feel like such an achievement :happy:

She came over to the stable block and behaved much much better....she seemed really happy to spend time with me and showed me how much by pooping twice in the 10mins she was in, she knows how much i love the smell :giggle:

Hopefully going to attempt riding at the weekend, just in the school but i'll wait and see how many people are about....

Just noticed i've not put any pics into this thread...doh
 

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Oooooooooooooh I love this picture!! Such a gorgeous shary cary moment awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

.....and why are you not riding yet??? Is it just coz you feel nervous of the new people? I think I'd be exactly like that.... at least that's an advantage to being on the yard I've made all my mistakes at lol.... they've all seen me being rubbish and falling so now the only way is UP!

Come on.... hold your head high and focus just on Scarlet and everything will fall into place.

Giddy up lass xx
 
I'm to leave her to settle in for a few days...but yes if i don't do it the weekend its because I'm nervous of the new people judging me.
I KNOW I'm not a good rider i just do what feels right and basically been winging it for the last 2 years lol Everyone I've seen in the school can ride...can really ride and its a bit intimidating as used to pottering about in the woods doing the best i can with people who know me and I felt comfy making mistakes in front off.

Hey ho i'll need to just get on with it.....i'll let u know how i get on :)
 
Ah ok - but I'm sure you'll be fine.

Why not book some lessons at your new place? I was advised to when I bought Prince but couldn't afford them coz it was Christmas and I had just scraped together every penny to pay for him and his gear..... I know now that was a false economy because of the problems we then ran into!

In 8 weeks of lessons we've gone from winging it to simple dressage tests. I'm even mastering the cantering in 20m circles now! A big deal for me!

The difference in himself and me together is incredible and people are noticing it on our yard. Now we're starting to think about hacking alone....
I want to do that after our 3 month "regime" of lessons is over at the end of July.

Ditto about how we get on! x
 
Wow wel done you and prince!!!! I cant wait to get to a stage where i cna even think about hacing alone, cantering in any circles is impressive to me!!! Scarlet has been so lightly schooled in the past that I struggle to get her to trot round and if we attempt canter she goes straight to gallop...which is fun but not what i need right now :frown: you've motivated me!!! I'm going to speak to YO about lessons when I see her tonight....it is one of the reasons i moved after all just need to suck it up and try :smile:
Thanks!!!
x
 
ok so i guess i better write the bad as well as the good :frown:

today i actually cried at the yard, in front of YO and 2 of the lovely women i've met :redface:

Scarlet has gone into season...stallion got her weak at the knees. I can do nothing with her and feeling particularly pathetic and useless at the moment. YO is going to help me with her tomorrow night. I couldnt get her to stand still to put her fly rug on how the hell am i gonna tack her up...feeling like :poop:

I'll write and let you know how we get on
 
Bless... it WILL be fine. There are lots of changes for both of you right now and if what I'm told about horses taking their confidence from us then you need to remind yourself of all the GOOD things you've achieved and how far you've both come - it will all fall into place.

I had a real crisis of confidence after the bolting/falling incident in March and I went to the YO with his documents ready to throw in the towel and exchange him but she told me that if I got through this difficult bit I would be a far better rider/owner for it and offered me a plan to achieve it... hence our 3 month probation/regime we're now on.

Hang on in there. Focus on your positives. Milk the benefits of having a good YO to support you and accept all offers of help and reassurance when you need them. It's all about the bigger picture - focus on what you want to be doing 6 mths from now and work out what steps you need to take to make it happen, visualise yourself doing it...positive mental attitude works like MAGIC :wink:
 
Did my first ever lesson on Scarlet on Thurs night, we need work (obviously) but we didn't :redface: ourselves too much. worked on walk to trot and back transitions....steering and started to work on my seat, legs and arms which are all a mess!

Last night I took her for a walk in hand along the road, her first trip out the yard. Big scary barn, three cars passed (single track road) over a scary bridge and back...lots of snorting but generally happy. Only wee spook was when I sneezed and i did warn her :giggle:

today she is moving field, the one she is in just now is really grassy and she is looking rounder after just a week. YO always aware of lami so moving her to a more used field then deciding on field mates....more change!
 
Sounds like you're on a steep bit of the learning curve lately! Prince has moved fields for the summer for the same reason. I get a bit paranoid about laminitis coz the pony I rode as a kid was lame a lot and I only understood what was causing it since buying Prince :frown:

Well done on biting the bullet and having your first lesson though - a big deal indeed. I like having an idea on what to work on in the school so we have some purpose. The lessons have helped me SO much.

Have you booked more?
x
 
I havent booked any more, yet I will I promise lol Shall speak to YO/RI tonight about lessons...see which nights are free :biggrin:

Do feel like I'm started to settle in the yard tho, have a few people to chat to and invited out on a hack tonight! The horse we're going with has only just been given the ok to go back to work after field rest so a nice 20mins of walk and trot, which is perfect for our first trip out the yard.

Fingers crossed she behaves, I can control her and we return to the yard together and in one piece! The mare we are going out with should be a good influence on her :giggle:

Scarlet was adorable last night, I was on the late close at work so didnt really have much
time to do anything with her. I went to her field and gave her some tasty veg and cuddles. She went back to eating grass so i said night and started back down the field towards the gate....next thing I hear a neigh and she is trotting towards me, she came right to the gate with me and stuck her head over it for scratches...my baby didnt want me to leave!!! awwww made my heart melt :happy: (despite the fact she prob just wanted more carrots lol)
 
Aww how sweet! You are lucky - I would LOVE more "moments" with Prince. He was kind of cuddly when the farrier was doing his feet yesterday I suppose - he put his head really close in and stood there with me cuddling him :cloud9:

So how was your first hack? :biggrin:
 
Oh yeah forgot to write about first hack :giggle: This week has flown in, work has been crazy!

It was only a wee trip out, about 25-30mins but perfect for our first adventure :smile:

Went pretty well, only problem is Scarlet has become very footy since last trim and the paths/roads round the yard are very stoney...we crept out the yard (checked she isnt lami but seems fine just footy so considering shoes/boots atm) she perked up on the smooth road and grass track. Heidi (horse we were out with) walks really fast and with Scarlet being slower walking than normal but happy to trot we got a few in just to catch up.

We had no major spooks and got a really nice fast trot (with Scarlet in front!!! :happy:) on the grass track....Scarlet was trying to turn it into a canter as she was keen beans but I held her back as Heidi is still recovering and not yet allowed to canter. It was great to know she felt safe enough to canter as previously I could never get her to canter upfront :biggrin:

Looking forward to next time, heidi and owner were great to go out with.....but concerned about Scarlet's feet. Going to speak to YO tonight see what she thinks. One of the other owners came and checked her with me last night and could feel no thumping pulse or heat so pretty sure its just the stones.

Aww thats sweet...Prince is so lovely!!!! I wouldnt go near Scarlet while she has the farrier....way too scary what with her trying to rear the last time! shoes may be a problem :-frown:
 
Yay your hack went really well then :bounce:

I guess Scarlet is unshod then? Prince has his front 2 hot shod. Never tried without but he lost a shoe a month or so ago and I didn't realise til we got back from our hack... his hoof looked like a claw, all cracked into points around the base . I had to call the farrier out as an emergency - it looked really shocking.

Since then I've been picking out, cleaning and applying Kevin Bacon to his feet like it's a new religion. The farrier did him on Tuesday and commented on his now gorgeous, strong hooflets. Phew!

When's your next hack/lesson etc? My RI is off at the mo so I'm having a bit of a setback in progress. Ho hum...
 
I've really enjoyed reading your diary. It sounds like dream to me. I love taking on problems and winning....eventually. I also think with young spooky mares that it takes a while to gain their trust but once you have it, and your posts show that you do, they are very loyal.

Keep posting and I'll keep reading although I may not always post to say so. Xx
 
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