I have a Tumblr now. All of my horse related updates are going there now so... http://bestfootforwardandrideon.tumblr.com/

Follow me there instead. This blog will be going dead from here on. It's been a long time but I have a bigger support base over on Tumblr. This place is kind of... lonely. I kind of did what I set out to do. I've accomplished lots and shown what I can do with a youngster in a year. I'm proud of all that I've achieved. And it still continues, always continues, just not here. Thanks for following me here thus far. Hopefully I'll catch you on the other side. The Tumblr side.

One whole year

Well as of the 19th September, I've officially owned Kel for a whole year. Boy does time go fast. And to mark the occasion we went for a short hack all on our own!

Here's a run down of a year of breaking my very first project:

• September 19th: Bought Celtic Flame, Appaloosa cross at the age of 4 years 8 months, 15hh, at the bargain price of £400. Training: Almost nil. Friendly and curious but high strung and wearing a halter in the field to catch. Feet had been done in the past but not often.

• September 21st: Training starts. Work on catching.
• September 24th: Catching and leading.
• September 25th: Stabled, groomed and front feet lifted.
• September 28th: Short walk in hand and back feet lifted.
• October 2nd: First lunge session and farrier.

• 8th October: Bareback pad and girth.
• 15th October: Leant over back.
• 24th October: Lunged with full tack, stirrups down.
• 30th October: First long reining session in field.
• 16th November: Long reined around quiet lanes.
• 18th November: Backed.

• 27th November: Ridden on the lunge at a trot.
• 2nd December: Ridden off the lunge up road and back.
• 9th December: First full hack.
• 26th December: First ridden canter.
• 6th January: Lunging over trotting poles.
• 15th March: Lunging over 1ft jumps.
• 8th April: First lesson.
• 20th May: First ridden jump.

• 15th July: First show experience.

• 19th September: First hack alone.

So there you have it. He's come a long way. Here's to another fantastic year of learning.

Time tells all

Kel has really flourished over summer. He's actually looking like a horse instead of a colt.

For comparison, here he is in April of this year:

And again as of today, before the farrier visit:

Damn, he's looking good! spring vs summer coats aside, there is just so much difference in his shape. He's really developing a topline now and while his quarters need some more definition, he's certainly filled out in the shoulders. He's got this really lovely Iberian look about him now. His mane and tail are also considerably longer. He just looks like a completely different horse.

On to other news, Tralee has developed an enlarged hock. We think this is from where he rests his ringbone leg all the time and now has a form of oedema. Doesn't seem to go down with hosing of the bute, but not making him any more lame than usual. So we're just keeping him going as normal with the hopes that it's not a sign of anything else underlying.

Kel suffered a bit of sweet itch earlier this month and thinned out a spot in his tail. Annoying but we double wormed to make sure it wasn't that and then lagged his tail in Vaseline which seems to have soothed it for now. I took him to go look at a small hunter trials show the other evening. He certainly lived up to his name. :/  Thankfully I was on the ground but he looked quite the spectacle prancing around with his tail kinked over his back. He eventually calmed slightly but he's definitely going to have to see more shows before I think of doing any ridden classes.

We had the vet out to sign Nell up for bute as she's so often on and off lame. We also asked Steve whether he thought she may have navicular as Emma Richards pointed out that she was standing like she does in the field one day. Steve checked her teeth, telling us she was 20 something and may be quite a bit older than her passport says, picked up on her bowed tendon and said that it was perfectly possible for a mare of her age and symptoms to have navicular. As it is, we're doing everything any other person with a navicular sufferer would usually do; she's barefoot, ridden lightly and gently, buted when she does go out et al. So he gave us some signed her up for bute anyway, writing it down officially to be used for her bowed tendon.

Anyway, that's pretty much all for now. I'm going to try and get some more nice photos of the other horses while they're in their summer coats for the next blog.

Late update - It could have gone worse

Well, the show on the 17th could certainly have gone worse. We managed to at least get into the ring for the Tack and Turnout after an already eventful hack down to the showground whereby I had Mum help walk beside Kel. He was rather upset at leaving Tralee outside the ring and by the huge amount of horses (probably the most he's ever seen in one place in his whole life) so there was a lot of neck wringing and fighting the bit and rounding of the back. We managed to keep him walking and keep him from blowing up until about 5 minutes from the end whereby he was just becoming too antsy and geared up so I was ordered by Mum to get off. Which I did considering I had taken my body protector off for the class and really didn't want to risk getting dumped. We got a Special rossette for entering and I survived. He was a bit more settled once I walked him in hand for a while and we managed to get a couple of photos.

Kel is going to need quite a bit more work and experience before he's ready to show properly under saddle but it was far from disasterous for his first show. He needs a lot more schooling for a start to get him over his crow hopping and neck wringing stage which may actually be sorted out by one of the Twins down at Tregurtha as they have a much better velcro seat than myself and more confidence to push him on. It seems to only be during schooling or when he doesn't want to do something because we went for an enjoyable hack the other day without incident. He's definately getting to a defiant teenage stage where he's going to try and test me and I'll have to try and nip it in the bud before it escalates. He needs to see larger crowds of horses and go to more shows too. There is another one on the 8th of July that we are just going to ride down to but not enter so that he can start getting used to the sights and sounds of showgrounds.

We'll get there eventually. It's easy to forget that back in September he was practically wild and that he's had to grow up so fast compared to other youngsters. He's intelligent and smart but he is still mentally just a baby and is going to need time to mature.

Emotional Wreck

Nell gave me a big scare today. 8:00 in the morning and I get a phone call from Mum saying she's down in the field and won't get up. So I run down there (note: panic + running = not being able to breathe) and Emma Richards and Lauren are pulling up on their horses wondering what the problem is. They all rush over and get some ropes on her legs and try and pull her to her feet. I, in the meantime have burst into tears because Nell looked dead and I had visions of heart attacks or broken legs and am not much use other than running back for a headcollar. Turns out the silly mare had lain down in a dip in the field and got cast because her legs were uphill and her belly was stuck in the ditch. They rolled her all the way over and she finally got up. I had meant to go riding today but after that I just can't keep focused enough to ride Kel. She really did scare me today as she's never done something like this before. I don't know what I'll be like when she finally does go. She's fine now although we're keeping our eye out for any signs of colic given that she was down a long time and looking pretty exhausted afterwards. Tralee and Kel had been biting her to try and make her get up too. They all knew something was wrong. Horse keeping can truly be one of the scariest things in the world sometimes.

Pre-show nerves... two weeks before?

It's over two weeks until the show and my gut is already doing somersaults. Best way to combat that? Groom. And groom. And groom some more. I might not even be doing a class and it's only a small show and yet I ca't help but be a little obsessed. Well, tbh, the aesthetics of my horses have always mattered a lot to me regardless of if they're going to be showing or not. A well groomed horse shows that the owner cares and if they look good on the outside, they're probably healthy on the inside. And now I'm rambling. Being tense seems to make me want to blog and write more. Anyway, here's a braided up Celtic Flame. It should help train his mane to lie on one side and grow out better. It is sort of a diamond braid but his hair is just so thick and I had to grab large amounts because he was impatient that its not really for style. His mane is also really short in one place. Oh well, function over form.

Diamond in the rough

Just a couple of weeks and Kel is off to his first show. He's looking good and behaving well under saddle so we're taking him to a small local show for some experience and possibly his first class, depending on how he is when he gets threre. I'm nervous, but after a long and very good ride today, I'm more certain he'll do just fine.
We had a very nice jeffries leather show saddle fitted yesterday so I now need to possibly invest in a black leather bridle, leather chaps and a show jacket and I'll be sorted for the summer. We also had him measured properly and he's just a little under 15.1hh now. Emma (Tregurtha Downs) thinks he's grown loads. So either he was actually about 14.2-14.3hh when we bought him (which I doubt because I'm sure he was taller than Nell) or he just looks a lot taller because he's filled out and is brighter in himself. Either way, she confirmed what I thought, which was that he should mature at 15.2hh.
I'm now working to get his mane and tail looking better (both are longer and thicker now) and starting him over small jumps. I know he's perfectly capable when the need arises but it's just about giving him more confidence now.

Well, it has been 5 months already

And I finally fell off Kel.
We had a successful first ride up to Kestal without another horse and Mum cycling along with me. He rode out like a champ, no problems at all although he did mostly want Mum in front for support.
Anyway, we got to Kestel for our second lesson without a hitch. Kel thought the lesson was boring, became a bit dead sided, snaked his neck a little and popped his shoulder during the trot turns. Otherwise not too bad though and my instructor is impressed with him; she really likes his temperment. I asked to end on a canter which at first - due to excitement, my dodgy position and a too-hard kick - resulted in a decent sized buck. Unperturbed we did it again and this time had a really nice canter all along the top edge of the field. He collected when I wanted him too and then sped up when I asked. Overall it was a lovely, smooth and enjoyable pace to end the lesson on so that he also got a bit of enjoyment out of it.
We made the journey home fine too, at least up until the point where we were on the lane to the stables; couldn't have been more than a yard or two from where I dismount. We were both relaxed - we were home, we'd made the whole ride and a lesson... and then a bird flew out of the hedge. Neither of us expected it and while my brain had time to say reasonable things like; oh, it's a pidgeon... grab the reins... don't let go or he'll run away and he'll be scared and undo the training... ouch, I hope I didn't break my skull as well as my helmet - My body did not react quite so quickly and had in the meantime fallen over the left shoulder when he spun, kept hold of the reins, landed first on my head and was then pulled onto my back because I still had hold of the reins, finally let go when I reasoned he wasn't going to stand still and let him canter back to the other horses and Mum.
As it is, I'm fine, albeit very stiff and sore. Grazed my arm and thigh, wrenched my hip and shoulder, had a major headache where I'd hit it and a sore neck... but it could have been so much worse. All I can really say is thank god for helmets and body protectors. If my head hurt enough while wearing a helmet, I'm certain I'd have a fracture or worse had I not been wearing it. (If anyone can take something away from this - please! wear a damn hard hat when you ride. They might cramp your style a little but believe me you will not look cool sitting unconscious in an ICU with a broken skull and brain bleed.)
I'm surprised in some ways it has taken this long to part company with Kel but I guess that's a testament to his forgiving nature. This hasn't in any way put me off so expect me back in the saddle by next week or maybe even the weekend if I can lever my hip over him.

In other news, I'm saving up for a DSLR camera. The Sony A55 to be exact. It's about £500 but has 16mp and 10 fps!! Huge speed for getting those all important action shots. It'll probably take a year or so to save up but will be worth it.

The verdict?: He's a keeper.

Taken last week after trimming and a towel wash. He's grown a bit, filling out and looking to be quite an athletic and handsome chap!

So much for breaking and selling. Celtic Flame is now going to be a permanent resident with us now. Tralee is getting older and this summer we had to increase his bute when the ground is hard to the highest it's ever been. We've gone from using No Bute in his first year to half a sachet for two years, started giving him one full one last summer and he's now up to one and a half. We have near enough decided that as soon as he's up to two or two and a half just to stay semi comfortable he will have to be put down. A harsh reality perhaps but what kind of life is it for a horse who has worked all his life and enjoys the mental stimulus to be stuck in a field doing nothing for 24/7? Nell would be OK as long as she got to be a babysitter (although if she was too lame to ride I think she would also be too lame to be comfortable as a pasture pet) and Rocky couldn't care less. We bought him to cuddle anyway so it's no great loss if he stands in a field for the rest of his days. Tralee has always been too work-oriented to leave without riding though. He escapes his field when he's bored. Not because he's hungry - he's broke through fencing even when there was a whole field of lush grass - but because he needs to be doing something. So we decided that once he's outlived his useful life, Kel will be his replacement. If we are very lucky, we shall get another 5 years out of Tralee (We've already almost had him 5 years; gosh how time flies!) by which time Kel will be 10yrs and perfect for mum's riding needs.

On a less doom-and-gloom note, Kel has started schooling sessions. Intermittently, admittedly, but he has indeed started. Next stage is to get him going out for rides on his own. We should have done this ages ago but I've been riding him a bit too spontaneously and the amount of rides he's done is not much compared to how long he has actually been broken for : /

17th June is likely to be his first show experience. Maybe only just to have a look around or an in hand class if there are any. We'll have to see closer to the time. Either way I have about 6 weeks to get him up to scratch and get some show gear together. Wish me luck - I'm always so unorganised.

Quick update

Things are going well with Celtic. We're getting out on hacks when we can, he's getting braver and I'm enjoying riding him. I don't feel unsafe at all which is bizarre but then I think a lot of it is down to his very honest nature. If he is really scared he is really scared. I think as time goes on he'll put it on a bit but currently he is trying things first and only letting the other horses go first if he is genuinely scared.
We attempted water and puddles the other day which was a spectacular fail. I'm going to try a flash on him to help with the evasion issues and it will allow me to keep him in a snaffle. On the plus side we went under a huge amount of low lying trees and brush with plantlife snagging at him on one side as he banked the sides of puddles. While I was leaning under all that vegetation and the branches were scraping me and making lots of noise, Kel pushed right through at a steady walk with not so much as a false step. I was totally at his mercy in such a position and its a real testament to his good nature that he just carried me through it all and didn't spook and dump me.
If we wern't already overstocked with horses and I didn't want to do this breaking project again I'd keep him in a heartbeat. It'll be so hard to sell him now. Especially after we've started nicknaming him the Poopaloosa.

Much smoother

Well haylage is out and Hay is in. I took Kel out around the block today and there was certainly an improvement in his behaviour. He's not keen on puddles and avoids them where possible so at some point I'll have to start working him through water to build his confidence. We got past the place where they keep the pigs, (the pigs are not there atm but they had been on previous occasions) and had several decent trots where he slowed down easily when asked. He was being a little greedy and trying to eat on the way around but otherwise it was a fairly good ride. I should be schooling him this week to start fine tuning his turning, stopping and starting.