Two stepping

Second day of camp and our second lesson. This time flat work. Now we all know that it’s not our favourite thing. But the more I learn, the more I’m beginning understand the benefits. We had many a conversation about it while watching the lessons. There was also a lot of running about picking up poos and moving poles.

If your horse has a good walk, you can get a good trot. A good trot leads to a good canter. And a good canter leads to a good jump. Hardly rocket science, but something that’s worth keeping in mind.

Today’s lesson was on zig zag and turning using your legs rather than too much rein. Really made my brain hurt. Especially when we changed rein. I have to say, Buddy feels so much softer and improved in his flatwork since his rehab. He’s new and improved. Sadly his Mother wasn’t as improved. I seemed to have lost the ability to ride his canter, resulting in a few wall of death moments.

Then the lightbulb went on in my head and I muscle memory kicked in. Once I actually sat into him and went with him, it was a very different picture. Just shows that I have had time out too.

Last day tomorrow. This really is my happy place. And I’m very happy with my little boy today. As Ed Sheeran would say I was two stepping with the one love. Maybe it’s time to dust off the dancing shoes after all.

Moonwalk

I’ve been using Equilab to track Buddy’s rehab. It’s amazing how hard it is to time yourself. Especially in trot. It’s also amazing how accurate it is!

I’ve been building the trot up slowly. First few times I was worried I was doing too much – till I checked and I’d barely done a minute. Of course it did record a few seconds of canter when Buddy spooked at something. Let’s keep that bit between us huh?!

Today it recorded Buddy’s antics as he decided he didn’t want to leave his friends and go for a hack in the rain. Mr Nappy Pants was back in full force today! Sadly, it’s not accurate enough to track his moonwalking back down the lane.

We’re booked in on 8 July to have his leg rescanned. Let’s hope his dance moves haven’t put us back. Let’s also hope that Mr Nappy Pants does one too. At least I know how to deal with him…

Ragwort

Two exciting things happened today. This was one of them. It’s by far the best thing I’ve found for pulling ragwort and weeds. It can be a quite onerous job. But this makes it so much fun! I think I was having too much fun. Buddy was very interested and followed me round the field.

Definitely didn’t fire the ragwort into the barrow like I was loading a shotgun. Almost certainly didn’t do my own sound effects. And my horse most definitely didn’t canter round his field…

Might have got a bit carried away when I got home too. Let’s just say my ‘lawn’ looks more like Swiss cheese after my efforts.

Is it a measure of how dull my life is that this makes me very happy?! Good job I can laugh at myself.

The other exciting thing that happened was that I trotted Buddy under saddle for the first time. Just to see how he felt. He was a bit tense for the first few strides – as was I! We both soon relaxed into it. Now I know he’s feeling more level again, I can slowly increase it. Slow and steady wins the race!

Side-saddle

Today Buddy and I did something new. We had a go at side-saddle! I honestly wasn’t sure how it would go. But Buddy, once more, proved he really is an ‘all rounder’. He was bloody awesome! I, on the other hand, may need a few more sessions.

Given I’ve only had a go at side-saddle once before, and only in walk and trot, the fact we were cantering by the end of the lesson blew me away. My downward transitions weren’t great. Muscle memory kicked in and I tried to rise in the trot. But we definitely improved as the session went on.

The instructor was incredibly complementary about Buddy and my riding ability. The words ‘elegant’ were used. I’ll take that!