on saturday i took petal out for her first proper ride in 6 months. she went on maternity leave in november, then sadly lost her foal in february and after some time under observation in case of toxic laminitis, was given the all clear to come back to work a month ago. her saddle didn't fit as of course she'd lost topline, so i'd been pootling round bareback hacking out and doing a bit of schooling. she lives out, so she has kept herself at a reasonable level of fitness, she was merrily offering walk to canter in the school instead of walk to trot, so we took a riding school hack on saturday as she's now built up enough so her saddle fits with some extra padding.
she was very cross that things had changed on the hacking route, a badger sett that had been fenced off in the summer when the baby badgers were about has been unfenced and that needed a Hard Stare and some snorting, and for osme reason there are roadwork signs and some yellow flappy roadwork tape on the verge, round some digging, so that needed some stopping and snorting at as well. we were out for an hour, mostly walk with a few trots and three canters, and she was a very well-behaved pony. normally (she is terribly accident-prone so has been brought back into work an awful lot) she restrains herself during the bareback fittening phase and then puts in the plungie-wungies and loopy leapies when the saddle goes back on, but thise time she was just bouncy and forward and smiley.
and she is sound without back shoes on, which is great. we had been barefoot as well as bareback but our hacking is on very variable ground and i haven't time to do the concentrated conditioning work to leave fronts off too, so she has had fronts back on now. we had a lot of trouble with farriers last year when our God of Shoeing retired and the first replacement was rubbish, so her feet had been worrying me last year but the 6 months barefoot have improved them no end.
i don't think she is going to come back to normal competition - she is 15 now and really what she hasn't won now she is unlikely to i think. we may do some sidesalad veterans classes, and possible some open riddens sideways too for the novelty factor and so i can get some nice professional photos! if we do breed again (not going to this year, but who knows for the future) she can do mummy classes. YM is going to see if her sidesalad fits petal as she has an old one, and if not then when i can afford it i'll look into hiring one.
she was very cross that things had changed on the hacking route, a badger sett that had been fenced off in the summer when the baby badgers were about has been unfenced and that needed a Hard Stare and some snorting, and for osme reason there are roadwork signs and some yellow flappy roadwork tape on the verge, round some digging, so that needed some stopping and snorting at as well. we were out for an hour, mostly walk with a few trots and three canters, and she was a very well-behaved pony. normally (she is terribly accident-prone so has been brought back into work an awful lot) she restrains herself during the bareback fittening phase and then puts in the plungie-wungies and loopy leapies when the saddle goes back on, but thise time she was just bouncy and forward and smiley.
and she is sound without back shoes on, which is great. we had been barefoot as well as bareback but our hacking is on very variable ground and i haven't time to do the concentrated conditioning work to leave fronts off too, so she has had fronts back on now. we had a lot of trouble with farriers last year when our God of Shoeing retired and the first replacement was rubbish, so her feet had been worrying me last year but the 6 months barefoot have improved them no end.
i don't think she is going to come back to normal competition - she is 15 now and really what she hasn't won now she is unlikely to i think. we may do some sidesalad veterans classes, and possible some open riddens sideways too for the novelty factor and so i can get some nice professional photos! if we do breed again (not going to this year, but who knows for the future) she can do mummy classes. YM is going to see if her sidesalad fits petal as she has an old one, and if not then when i can afford it i'll look into hiring one.