Boredom busting

With Toy on box rest I have been granted a gift I am not used to, the gift of time. I have been left wondering what on earth non-horsey people do with their days off and boredom has reared its ugly head.

 

I have been out for lunch, cleaned the house, cleaned the car, walked the dog, read a book, been for a run, drunk buckets of tea and still I feel like there is a huge hole in my life. I have been back on a horse, after 4 weeks without my bum hitting a saddle, I have hacked a lovely mare from our yard. Not only has it been good for my muscles but its also proved invaluable for my soul.

 

 

I spent last Saturday at Quainton Stud, dressage writing for the combined training. The tests ranged from Intro - Novice and it was very interesting to listen to the judges opinions. I have a new found respect for judges at the lower levels, the difference in the ponies and horses and the huge variation in riding made the whole thing a complete muddle in my mind. I have some more dates throughout the year dressage writing at Bury Farm, including the PetPlan Area festival and the High Profile Show so there is that to look forward too.

 

My Mum and I went to Summerhouse Equestrian Centre on Tuesday and had a lesson each on dressage schoolmasters. My horse, Larry was trained to Advanced and was described as a flying change machine. He was slightly smaller than the horses I have ridden recently but it felt brilliant to ride canter and trot half pass and flying changes on an established horse. I couldn't stop grinning after each change, he made them feel so easy! I would recommend one of these lessons to anyone, if you are feeling a bit uninspired or want to practice movements your own horse is still learning. I was a bit hot and bothered afterwards but it was well worth it. There are a few videos on my Facebook page - Fran Woolman Eventing & Dressage.

 

Toy seems to be settled into his new routine, the yard is busy enough to keep him amused in the day and blissfully quiet overnight so he seems very happy. Unfortunately he is the messiest horse I have ever met in the stable, it normally resembles a pig sty in the mornings and I am fighting a battle to try and keep him clean!

 

 

 

The lameness story...

So the eventing season is officially over for Team Toy.....as is the dressage season and any riding for the considerable future. A bold statement I know and one that I could not have written last week through the tears. However, I am being brave and we have a plan, I just hope it works.

 

For those that don't know the story, Toy was first obviously lame on Sunday 12th April. He had been re-shod on the Friday and we had competed at Aston Le Walls on the Saturday. We went out for a little hack with his best friend Twist and about half way round he started to head nod.

 

He had a few days off and then over the following 2 weeks was intermittently lame. In this time our farrier took the shoe off, found what we thought was a bruise and I poulticed the foot. No puss, no heat, no swelling - nothing.

 

After a few days lunging and still looking sound I hacked again on Friday 1st May, on return to the yard he was the lamest he has ever been and I called the vet. I chose to give him 2 weeks completely off work, turned out in the field (the vet was in agreement that this was ok) and he had 10 days of bute in his feeds.

 

After this rest he had dramatically improved, almost sound in walk and trot in a straight line and only really obviously lame on the lunge on hard ground on the right rein. So off to the vets we went for nerve blocks and x-rays. Toy spent 2 days there and after very thorough investigations the vet had narrowed it down to somewhere below the pastern on the inside of the right foreleg.

What follows next has completely amazed me as the suggestion was for an MRI scan. A notoriously expensive investigation they have to be agreed by your insurance company prior to being done. We had the joy of a long bank holiday and my heart sank thinking we would wait forever for the scan. My lovely vet faxed the insurance claim forms on the Thursday evening and whilst I was standing in the field on the Friday morning, I had a phone call from my insurance company, not only did they agree I could go ahead and have the MRI but they had sent my own vets a cheque! The service has (so far and I'm not holding my breath!) been incredible.

Fast forward a week, Ann and I are sat in the Royal Veterinary College car park whilst Toy is inside having his scans, just amazing. After 6 hours waiting, Toy appeared looking a little sleepy, with a shaved neck and smelling very sterile! The vet at the RVC explained that he has an extensive lesion in the deep digital flexor tendon in his right fore foot and also some remodelling changes of the bones in both front feet, suggestive of navicular.

I have a remedial farrier booked for this coming Wednesday and will take some before and after photos of his feet for comparison. He is on 8 weeks box rest with in-hand grazing only for the first 4 weeks, then progressing to in-hand walking. Fingers crossed.

I kept a stiff upper lip at the vets and all the way home but don't mind admitting I have shed a fair few tears over the weekend. I will continue to write these blogs, in the hope that anyone else with a lame horse can read them and know that they are not alone, it is ok to be upset and not everyone will understand.

If all the love and support from the yard could heal, then Toy would be well on the mend already. We are a strong team and I love a challenge so with gritted teeth I am going to try and keep him sane for 8 weeks in his stable.....I left him this morning listening to Classic FM.

 

Releasing my inner dressage geek!

I nearly titled this blog "Becoming a dressage geek" but re-phrased it fairly quickly as I'm sure I have been a supressed dressage geek for a while now!

 

Whilst Toy is off games I have had my head stuck in various horse books and also been looking for sofa based ways to improve.

 

I came across a Facebook page called Master Dressage which had some really good hints and tips. One of them was to dissect your dressage test sheets in an Excel document, comparing scores and comments for each of the most common test movements. Below is a photo of my 'in progress' Excel document, I started with Elementary because I have only done 2 tests. I am currently working my way through the 6 Novice tests and then I will eventually get to the 20 Preliminary!

On a serious note I wish someone had suggested this when I first started riding dressage tests, it would make useful historical records, help to track progress and ultimately helps to highlight specific areas to work on in training.

 

Whilst working in Excel I took it one step further and created a page for recording my dressage scores so that I can easily see how far I am from qualifying for an Area Festival or Regional Championship. Easy to keep up to date after each competition and breaks down the total number of points and those gained from qualifiers.

 

I'm sure I never spent this long on homework at school! :)

A lame horse and some self reflection!

Horses are great levellers and it turns out that Toy's lameness may not be as straight forward as first thought.

 

He was lame on and off for a few weeks and in the end I called the vet as I did not know what to do next. She had a good look and a poke and we are still none the wiser. She suggested nerve blocks and x-rays but I went with my gut instinct and decided just to give him a few weeks off. He is just finishing his 10 day course of bute and will stay off work until Friday when we will trot him up and see what happens next. He is looking amazing, has a very shiny coat and is still as cheeky as ever. Getting him to eat the feed with bute in has proven a bit of a challenge but I have won him over with apples and carrots and a splash of apple juice instead of water!

All of this started just as I was re-considering my plans for the year, thinking that I might have a break from eventing and concentrate on dressage, aiming for an Area Festival qualification instead. Now to be honest I will be happy just to get back on board. I am not very good at being ill and it turns out I am not very good at having a horse off work either! I get so frustrated that it is out of my control and not knowing the cause really is a horrible feeling. I know I am not the first person to have a lame horse and I certainly won't be the last but it does test your resilience!

 

The first few events of the year have felt like very hard work, a fair few tears were shed after our elimination in the BE100 at Swalcliffe and I have had to remind myself that I ride for fun. I am not afraid of hard work and live for a challenge but have questioned why I want to step up...because I think I should, because other people expect me too or because I really want to do it? I still feel like I have a huge amount to prove to myself but then again I don't think I will ever be completely happy with what I have achieved at what ever level.

 

I have spent a few days wondering what on earth you do when you have no horse to ride but have since filled my time with a lovely trip to Devon to see friends and family, the yard has had a good tidy and my tack is sparkly clean. I have also been helping a few friends at the yard, pulling manes and videoing dressage tests. I love helping people with their horses, especially when they are trying so hard to get it right. It has helped put into context my feelings about eventing, every rider wants to achieve something, even if it just being a happy hacker, we all love our horses to bits. Those of us with higher hopes and a competitive streak all have our own battles and I know deep down that every achievement, however small should be celebrated. I am just not very good at taking my own advice!

 

Fingers crossed that Toy will be sound on Friday and we can start our rehab, I will walk him in hand for as long as it takes and be very cautious about getting back on board, however impatient I am feeling!

 

Aston Le Walls BE90 11th April

So after the dramas at Swalcliffe BE100 we stuck well within our comforts zone and went back to Aston Le Walls for the BE90 on Saturday. We had nice late times so spent the morning getting everything ready and left the yard at midday.

Toy all dressed up and ready to go!

The dressage area was surprisingly empty so I managed a proper warm up with plenty of transitions, changes within the pace and really asking Toy to sit on his hocks. Unfortunately, Toy does have a spooky side and the shadow of the judges box at C was just too much for him to handle! Even more annoyingly both canter transitions in the test were in the corners by the judge so they were not our best. I was pleased to score 33 and there were some nice comments, especially about his walk.

 

The show jumping warm up was going well until Toy stopped in front of a really plain upright, which we had already jumped several times, and I fell off! A bit shocked but unhurt I quickly got back on and jumped him again before my demons could catch up with me. Feeling refreshingly determined after the fall I kicked on round the course and although it was not pretty there was no way I was letting him stop. We had one annoying pole down but overall I was pleased.

 

Powered by the relief that the show jumping was over, the X-country course felt  straight forward and rode well. Toy went off out of the start box like a rocket and made it all feel easy. The only small issue was a few sharp-ish turns where Toy landed on the wrong leg and then tried to do a mid-gallop flying change, only changing in front and becoming disunited. Not so much of an issue for him at 90 as he will jump from any pace but something to bear in mind for the future.

 

No videos this time round as Team Toy and Team Twist had joined forces and we only had Anne on the ground to help.

Sharing his haynet with best friend, Twist

 

Since Aston, Toy has been intermittently lame in front :(

 

It became apparent as we had a little hack out on Sunday, just in walk as we were heading back to the yard he felt uneven. He has had 3 days of bute and rest and was checked by the physio on Wednesday. She thinks it his front right leg and probably coming from his shoulder. He has no heat or swelling in either leg or foot and at times, especially when cantering round the field, looks fine!

 

Thursday I lunged him in the pessoa and he did some lovely work, even throwing in a few bucks. Today is Toy's birthday and we celebrated with a lesson this morning with Ann Bostock, he felt amazing and she agreed that he looked sound, until the last bit of work on the right rein, we did one shoulder in and then he started to nod...immediately we stopped and walked him off. Carrot stretches, leg stretches and shoulder massages are the plan for the next few days....along with some happy hacking in straight lines in walk only.

 

Fingers crossed it will all settle down and we can get out and about again soon!

 

Swalcliffe BE100 21st March

Last week around work I spent my time preparing for Swalcliffe ODE, we had a brilliant time XC schooling on Tuesday and I had a fantastic dressage lesson on Friday with Ann. I felt well prepared and we set off in the lorry on Saturday morning with Tracey and her new horse, Twist.

 

On our way there, luckily we had pulled in to fill up with diesel and we were not on the road but the clutch broke! Our knight in shining armour Eddie the mechanic came to our rescue and after only half an hour delay we were back on our way! Who ever said unnecessary stress wasn't good for you...Tracey and I had been busy planning how to get the horses home!

 

As soon as we arrived I left Toy on the lorry with my Mum and Dad keeping a watchful eye on him and jogged round the XC course. I should have perhaps in the past taken more notice of BE100 courses as it looked quite big and there were a few technical lines. However, I felt like I had prepared for the step up and was actually pleased it would be a true test of our ability.

 

Warming up for the dressage I tried to remember everything from my lesson the day before and worked Toy quite hard....leg yield, shoulder in, simple changes, our newly developing half pass and before I knew it we were off down the centre line. I haven't had chance to school on grass over the winter and Toy struggled with his balance, particularly on the downwards transitions. I later found out we had scored 29.5 and I was over the moon!

 

We warmed up for the show jumping, knowing it is my weakest phase but with the knowledge that we had jumped well a few weeks before at Aston Le Walls. We started well over fences 1 and 2...3 and 4 were a bit sticky and I think I just took my leg off. The double at 5 he got a bit close to the first element and then knocked a pole on the second part but he didn't shoot off like he can do at home when he knocks them so I was pleased. We re-grouped well for fences 6 and 7 and the at fence 8 he stopped and I fell off! It was a bit of a shock as one minute we were jumping quite nicely and the next I was on the floor, unscathed but stuck between the poles and wings because of all the flowers! The very nice arena helper gave me a leg up and we jumped it the second time. Fence 9 was fine and then at fence 10 Toy decided to stop/spook and off I came again! I think I was feeling a bit defeatist by that point and watching the video back I could probably have stayed on but I really didn't think he would do it again.

So 2 falls in as many minutes meant I had to chat to the medic and was not allowed to go XC. Very annoying but probably for the best as I would not have set out in the right frame of mind. Even more annoyingly for me I know that about 99% of my riding is in my head and my confidence is easily knocked. I have spent the last 2 days reflecting on the falls ranging from "I'm never going to try a BE100 again" to "For gods sake just get on with it".

 

What I have tried to remember is that eventing is my hobby, I do it because I love it and for no-one else's benefit but my own. I should enjoy it and if it isn't enjoyable then there is no point putting myself under all that pressure. I want to achieve the most I can with Toy....as long as we are still having fun along the way.

 

Unfortunately I cannot get the day off work for Ascott Under Wychwood so we will have to wait until the 29th April for the new event at Whitfield. In the mean time we are going on a Sponsored Ride and may take a late entry into the unaffiliated ODE at Aston Le Walls.....just a few things to keep us busy!

***Since writing this blog I have had an "emergency" jump lesson and came out of it wondering why I had not ridden like that at Swalcliffe...as Charlie Unwin would say I am filling my mind with good positive memories and have my confidence back!***

 

 

Aston Le Walls BE90 8th March

So the 2015 eventing season has officially started!!

 

I spent last Saturday running around getting things organised and walking the XC course and then went to bed early with an alarm set for 4am! With the lorry packed and Toy plaited we set off out of the yard in the dark and arrived at Aston Le Walls just after dawn. Team Toy was down the bare minimum as it was just Lynne and I in the lorry and then Hicksy and Hamilton met us there.

 

The dressage warm up is cramped at Aston and despite the small number of lorries there seemed to be hundreds of horses. It was difficult to do the warm up I normally plan due to lack of space and I barely managed to canter a circle. However, Toy went into the arena like a pro and performed brilliantly. I tried not to rush the trot work and took my time performing each movement. I was pleased to see on the video that he is stretching forwards more into the bridle and only came back with a slightly shorter neck in some of the canter work. The last centre line was a bit wobbly but our halt was square and I thought the test had felt good. I scored 33.8 which I was a bit disappointed with to be honest, the test felt better than that but I could have written the test sheet myself as the comments are all things I already know and have just mentioned above. With hindsight I probably played it a bit safe and for such a simple test it then had no wow factor, plan for next time is to give it a bit more oomph!

 

Onto the show jumping and the all too familiar nerves returned...that horrible nauseous feeling cannot be mistaken for anything else and I think it will plague me forever! Toy was very relaxed in the warm up and jumped beautifully, not touching a pole. The show jumping course was straight forward, a few tight turns for a big horse but I know that he can loose impulsion on the turns in canter so I just kept me leg on and tried to remember everything I have been practicing at home. We went clear but I was a little disappointed with myself as it felt disorganised and a bit fraught....having watched the video it looks a lot better than it felt and I actually think we may have improved over the winter!

With a huge feeling of relief that the show jumping was over, I actually managed to eat something and we got changed ready for the XC. The course was what I had expected...the ground at Aston is flat so I was not concerned about fitness and there were no jumps that I was particularly worried about. Having said all that Toy and I haven't been XC schooling yet this year so I did wonder what he would make of it all.

 

By the time I had walked to the start and had a canter round it was clear that Toy remembered what to do! We had a little wobble going out of the start box but he saw the first fence and we were off! The ditch was early in the course at fence 3 and I was undecided before hand whether to bring him back to trot or just kick on...he was feeling bold so I just collected the canter slightly, let him have a brief look and before I knew it we were over. He jumped the rest of the course easily and even leapt into the water causing a huge splash, it was all over so quickly and he made it all feel so easy.

So we finished our first event of the season on 33.8 and a double clear! Over the moon that he has just come out after the winter, 6 months since his last event and just picked up where we left off. Cannot wait for Swalcliffe, our first BE100!