Today
is the last day of a very sad and difficult year. I spent the first half of the year knowing I
couldn't put Chesney through another winter.
I thought long and hard about what was best for him and when would be
the best time. I spent the second half
of the year with this huge whole which he left and missing him every day.
I
has got easier .... it is true what they say .... and whilst I think about him
every day and everything reminds me of him I know that I made the right choice
at the right time for both of us.
Tomorrow
is the first day of 2019 and I have plans.
This will be a fantastic year, I will ride Basil lots, I will spend lots
of time with him and Tommy and it will be great.
I have just uploaded my latest video '2 Days
of Christmas' on my You Tube channel, Horse
Life and Love. Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.
You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy and Daisy.
Until
next time!
Jo
November
was Basil's 'silly' month. He has been
feeling a bit loopy and all our hacks have been at a fast walk. The weather has been really changeable so it
has affected our riding a bit but we are fitting as much in as possible. I think he is settling a bit now, which is
good. He is in need of a clip but the
weather is not helping as he keeps coming in with wet mud in the wrong
places! Tommy is loving the mud and
really enjoying finding the muddiest puddles to roll in. He is mostly being good to come in at night
though :)
This
is how November looked:
2nd
- really lovely hack today, Basil is really enjoying himself, swinging along!
3rd
- windy today but I decided to lung and he was not bad considering.
4th
- too windy to get any sense out of him today.
6th
- hacked out again today, it was still a bit windy and Basil walked very fast.
More
windy days :(
10th
- lunged today, Basil was a bit tricky but could have been worse - still windy.
11th
- arena today, we managed to fit 20 minutes in between the rain. He was a bit jumpy but could have been worse
because it is STILL windy. Walk &
trot circles, serpentines and leg yield, today we just worked on staying calm
with as much balance as possible.
13th
- lunged - very good :)
14th
- short hack, a bit fast on the way home today.
16th
- abandoned my plan to lunge today as they were both galloping around the field
like hooligans.
17th
- rode in the arena today and Basil was very good. We did some lovely walk & trot leg yield
and serpentines. Our canter is
definitely improving too now that I have realised the problem.
18th -
lunged today, silly in the middle but started and ended well.
20th
- Rain all day :(
21st
- tried to hack out but there was a big blue bag outside the house up the road.
Basil would not go past and I have learnt from experience there is no point in
trying more than a few times as I won't win.
So we went in the arena instead.
He was a bit spooky but did some OK work today. Tried a canter and he bombed off like a
nutter - not a very successful day today.
23rd
- lunged and he was good today. He had a
few buck on the right canter but stayed on the circle.
24th
- out for a hack again today. Walked
really fast today that we went much further than I had planned in the time, he
was good though.
25th
- arena and better today, some really lovely trot work. Good leg yield too so pleased today. We got right canter just out of trot leg
yield and it was not bad, bit racy!
Settled into a fairly balanced canter (still a bit fast) before
returning to trot and then asking for canter again, the transition was OK. Too fast on other rein, Basil anticipated,
went all nappy and struck off on the wrong leg.
I managed to get a relatively steady trot before asking again, we got
the correct lead but Basil tried to race off - so I made him do a 20m circle. We are getting there, I am trying to sit
down, keep my legs on and not pull too much but we are just faster than I would
like!
Really
horrible weather all week.
30th
- hack today, again fast walk but he was generally good, although a bit
frightened of a big white bag of sand on the way back.
Have you seen my ' Welcome to December' video on my You Tube channel?
Horse Life and Love. Please check it out and
SUBSCRIBE.
You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy
and Daisy.
Until
next time!
Jo
Unique
identifiers for horses have come on since freeze marking and hoof
branding. They are important to help
identify lost or stolen horses and return them to their owners. In more recent years they have been used to
locate owners of horses who have been identified by welfare organisations as needing
help. Of course, from a welfare point of
view this only worked if the owners had their horses marked!
Welfare
organisations have been lobbying the government regarding this and since 2009
all horses born have been required to be microchipped. From October 2020 ALL horses will have to have been mircrochipped. The details will be held on a Central Equine
Database which will include the microchip number, details of the equine and
information relating to the owner.
Basil
was chipped as a youngster and Tommy was chipped when he was rescued. Chesney however, was freeze marked and had
not yet been microchipped. They are so
tiny that I don't believe they have any detrimental effects and the advantages
of having your horse with a unique number which can be checked by any vet or
rescue organisation must increase your chances of having them returned if the
worst thing happens and your horse is lost or stolen.
Plenty
of warning means there is lots of time to talk to your vet about this and
organise to get your horse chipped.
If
you want more information or guidance go to the Redwings website https://www.redwings.org.uk/news-and-views/compulsory-microchipping
Have you seen my last video 'One Day In November' on my You Tube channel?
Horse Life and Love. Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.
You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy and Daisy.
Until
next time!
Jo
Some
good work again this month and Basil is improving, we have managed some
steadier more balanced canters on the left rein which is real progress. We have settled into a new routine and Basil
and Tommy seem happy. There has been
some windy and rainy days which we haven't seen for a long time, so Basil's
rugs have come out. I also clipped him
this month as he was getting too hot and sweaty when I was riding. Tommy has got very hairy and is all prepared
for winter too.
Tapeworm
tests have been done and neither needed to be wormed which is always good
news. Annual vaccinations for flu and
tetanus done too and teeth checked and rasped.
Now the clocks have changed it is dark before and after work so weekends
are even more precious but we are ready!
This
is how October looked:
2nd
- arena today not quite as good as last time but not bad. Trot serpentines were a bit rushed and so were the trotting poles. Canter was too fast, but we did get the
correct leading leg because I just let him strike off. He tried to buck on the right rein!
3rd
- Kath came today to check Basil's back.
He was very well behaved - he was so naughty last time. His back is still improving which is good.
5th
- hacked today - Basil and I are enjoying going somewhere different because we
can go out for longer now.
6th
- lunged, he was a total idiot and spent the first 10 minutes charging up and
down the arena. He did settle and
finished with 2 x trots and walks on both reins.
7th
- arena today, Basil was not at all enthusiastic which is very unusual so I
stopped. He might have a very slightly
swollen near fore pastern so I decided he might have tweaked it yesterday.
9th
- arena again today and seemed better.
Really nice left canter although we struck the wrong lead to start with
on the left rein. Right canter was too
fast. Good walk poles.
10th
- hacked today, it was so lovely, warm, light breeze we had a really nice time
although we came home a bit fast.
Discovered what I think is a new splint on that near foreleg :(
but he is sound now.
Really
awful week of weather.
17th
- vet for teeth check/ rasp and their annual vaccinations. Only Tommy was sedated but they were both
really good :)
19th
- lunged today, total nutter. Clipped
Basil today too.
20th
- lovely hack again today.
21st
- arena today. Some lovely walk work and
leg yield today. Trot was good to start,
some nice circles. Canter too fast.
23rd
- arena again. Some lovely trot
serpentines and a bit of nice canter on the correct lead. Canter mostly too fast though.
24th
- another great hack.
26th
- lunged, good today (FINALLY).
27th
- hack which was great until we were nearly home when the farmer was taking
some sheep pens down in a field by the road.
Basil would not go past until they had finished.
28th
- arena and Basil was good today. Lovely
walk and trot circles and serpentines.
Better canter on left rein it was more balanced and steady today but too
fast on the right rein.
30th
- arena and again he was pretty good. We
had some nice leg yield in walk and trot, bit rushed on the left rein though as
he was thinking about cantering. Right canter was fast but we did get some
steadier strides on the left rein.
Have you seen my November video yet? Click here to have a look.
Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.
You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy
and Daisy.
Until
next time!
Jo
