Keeping a Routine

I remember reading this somewhere many years ago and it is something I have always believed and advice that I have always followed....
 

'Keep your horse or pony on a regular schedule.  Your horse will not understand if you sleep in and 

miss its morning feeding or exercise.  If you do want to change your horse's feeding or exercise 

routine, do it gradually to allow the horse time to get used to the new pattern'

In fact the Sleep Foundation offers the following advice for us too ...

Stick to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the 

weekends. This helps to regulate your body's clock and could help you fall asleep 

and stay asleep for the night.

I even try to change things gradually when we change the clocks here in the UK and change mine by half an hour on Friday/Saturday and half an hour on Saturday/Sunday night!!


You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!   

Jo

December 2018

I have been thinking about these blogs which I write about Basil and my progress and whether to continue with them, I actually decided not to, which is why it is so late.  Then I sat down to write something else and decided that I find them really useful - to sit and look back at last month and then look at where we are now.  Some months I realise we really are making progress and then some months I realise that I need to change something or the same things will keep happening.

Basil was definitely better behaved in December and we had some good hacks.  The weather has also been really good so with the 10 days I had off over Christmas we have been really lucky to get quite a lot of riding in - which is fantastic J  Our cantering is still too fast and I am thinking that I ought to try another bit as Basil just fights me and sets his mouth when I try to slow him down.  Watch this space on that!!!

Tommy struggled to find muddy puddles in December because we have had very little rain but he is very hairy and using it all to keep himself warm when the colder wind blows.  We have settled into a good morning and evening routine now and mostly Basil comes to the gate when I arrive and Tommy isn't far behind!  All making life in the dark that bit easier :)

This is how December looked:

1st - lunged, loopy at first but then he settled.

2nd - arena today and our walk and trot is getting really good and our serpentines are great, mostly.  We are practising more halts now and they are improving too.  We tried left canter first today, it was a bit fast but he did settle.  Right canter was too fast and he was nappy !

4th - hack out today, I love pottering about.  Although Basil is walking a lot faster out on hacks since we lost Chesney.  On the way out and on the way back so we are getting much further in the time.  I am not sure why.

7th - lunged today and we had some manic moments but he worked well in the end.

8th - really windy today.

9th - started in arena but Basil seemed a bit lame (only very slightly not right) so I stopped.

14th - hack out today.  He was a bit jumpy and fast but as he has done nothing all week I was pleased :)

15th - wind and rain.

16th - arena and really good for the first 15 minutes and then Basil just thought it was time to canter so I could get no sense out of him he was trotting too fast and not listening so we did not even try to canter today.

19th - hack today, just a short one.  We had a bit of an episode with a lady and 2 dogs hiding behind some bins.... Basil thought that was very scary!

21st - tried to lunge and actually started well but something upset him at the end and he was totally loopy, I struggled to get him back around to the yard again he was so wound up - not fun.

24th - lunged today and Basil redeemed himself by being very good.

25th - lovely hack, roads quite quiet as Christmas Day.  Treat.

26th - arena today.  Leg yield, tried walk shoulder in for the first time for a long time and it was not bad considering.  Some nice walk and trot work again, on the bit and fairly active.  Lovely left canter, steady, rhythmic and balanced but the right canter was a disaster, Basil took napping to a whole new level and tried to go across the middle of the arena and change the rein, total brake failure and total right (my) leg failure!

27th - good lunging again today.

28th - Good hack today, but we met some horses on the way home which always makes Basil walk/jog much faster!

29th - hack again today, short and much faster and much quicker than it used to be.

30th - arena again.  Right canter was better as I managed to make my right leg do its job properly and stop Basil napping so badly.  Still too fast and wrong lead first time.  Left canter was pretty good again.

31st - nice lunging session today.

I caught Tommy still napping one morning!

Have you seen my last video yet ' Welcome to December'  ?  Look out for January's video coming soon 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

Happy New Year

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 2018 Review

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