To Whom it May Concern

Thanks for the email, but I do have Chorrie's best interests at heart and as soon as he can go out in the pen he'll be out there like a shot!

Do you think I want to keep him confined for a moment longer than necessary?

So when exactly did you graduate vet school? I'd also like to know how many check ligament injuries you have *personal* experience of?

I'm going with my vet and physio, they may well be wrong and you may be right I won't know until it is too late.

Until then please bite your tongue and try to believe I'm doing what I think is best and that I've taken a pretty wide view and considered a lot of options.

Third pony or not that is the question

So on Friday on the journey to Pembridge I was confidently saying to Clare had decided not to have a third pony. I had decided that

1/ Too risky to buy as could end up with three retired horses which would be no fun!
2/ Wrong time of year (going into Winter) to get third pony
3/ Just too much work for me and YO
4/ Horses suitable for a nervous nellie who wants a horse with good paces are like Rocking Horse pooh
5/ I am going to use the money a third pony would cost to go to SFO on a more regular basis and improve my riding.
6/ I don't have the time, just keeping head above water now.

But have been emailed details of a horse A N Other is trying to place by word of mouth:-

Anyone looking for a lovely schoolmistress who has been there and done it up to and at medium level. She has just turned 15 a few months ago, but very sound and full of energy and enthusiasm and going beautifully. She is a delight in all spheres! very civilised and easy and really loves her work

She has bred two foals so isn't a maiden should I want to breed her (mad mad mad)

I've asked to see video!

So much for rational thought!

Bandaging exam

So Nicky out this morning at 07:00 *yawn* 07:00 isn't early but given I'm 30 minutes from yard and need boy mucked out, groomed and iced it is a bit challenging when I'm too stupid to go to bed early!

So Nicky arrives does the Ultrasound / H wave / general massage. I get shown how to apply her figure 8 support bandage then have to do one to demonstrate competence. Found this stressful as never like practical exams but pass :-D no idea what pass mark was (get teased later by my vet over this!)

Nicky likes my Eskadron Climatex bandage pads, see knew they'd come in useful eventually.

Pointers Eskadron label on outside of leg at top (!) start pad mid leg width.

Walk boy out is loading medially on left fore, suspect ties in with fact that last Thurs there was a focal hot spot on left check ligament laterally on left fore.

IBS is playing up big time grateful we now have loo at yard, spent far too much time in there this am, one visit every 45 minutes!

Walked boy out for pick of grass, thought Fred looked like he might be out on track but then thought not, carried on hand grazing as Fred bod casually saunters up track to see whats occurring!

Finish Chorrie then go back to sort out Fred bod!

Go home and go to bed as feeling rancid, sleep for several hours, force myself up and onto sofa which is where I've been since 18:00.

Liz rang me back, carry on hand grazing, need oedema to reduce some more, drop bute down, happy for me to bandage overnight and whilst out grazing. Amused at bandaging exam (!)

Have heard of nice mare up for sale, need to sweet talk husband and get head around do I really want a third horse or do I stick to my September plan of going to Arrow 3 times/month instead?

30 hours with Clare at SFO's place

Started off by walking the puppies, lovely walk around park with the mist rising, some concerns over Oliver as he's been a bit 'off' not too keen to let me examine his mouth but can't see anything so after much discussion decide to book them into vets early for vaccinations on Monday.

Friday blue assed fly impression to get to Clare's for 10:45 well that was a fail but only by about six minutes!

Saw the girls bedrooms would happily move into either Claudia's Peppa Pig or Maddie's pony princess palace :-)

So squashed everything into the tiny boot or onto the parcel shelf and set off on our great adventure.

Arrived a few minutes after 13:00 no sign of SFO so went to play house and make a cup of tea. Was pleased with the idea of freezing the lasagne so it acted as its own ice pack less pleased at the milk leaking.

So after a reviving cup of tea went off in search of SFO and Blackberry via Pooh Bear a kiss and a carrot.

Blackberry Lesson 1

Worked on position right and left which is improving, also flatness of back and staying on seat whilst turning left/right so progress.

SFO used two 'sausages' (clearly not real ones !) under my thighs and I just cantered along with them in place which is an idea from Sally Tottle. Really releases the thigh muscles. Was very glad I'd had a wee as when SFO was sculpting my right leg it hit the leg sensor and Blackberry galloped off and all I could do was laugh. Good test of my pelvic floor. I didn't grab the reins clearly having been told last lesson on Pooh to stop climbing up the reins clearly too scared to pull. :-D

Pooh Bear Lesson 1

So lunge on Poozles, did work with no stirrups and reins which was a bit surprising as two weeks ago I'd not have been up for that, just goes to show that SFO is making significant changes for me. Possibly confirms my theory about balance being confidence? Worked on canter much easier to get transition still not sufficient body tone to maintain.

Supper

Supper deserves a subject heading as food is important in these over nighters, as whilst the lessons are for me mentally taxing, part of the whole Arrow 'thing' for me is a nice supper, good wine and good company.

Lasagne worked well as in it cooked without needing and attention so we could sit and chat over glass of wine then go shower, open a bag of salad and taa dah supper is served. Chocolate tart to finish (we know how to eat)

Personally thought it worked better than a take away as no need to drive to collect so more time to chill/drink/shower.

Breakfast was warm pain au chocolate and getting up at the luxuriously late time of 08:00.

Blackberry Lesson 2

SFO has the vaulting roller back so did some work on that, managed to kneel and did the one leg thing to the side and down whilst kneeling which was agony so soon sat down again!

Otherwise all felt good until I got off then the agony hit!

Pooh Bear Lesson 2

Was thinking I'd only manage 30 minutes but SFO took pity on me and let me keep my stirrups! Worked on my rising trot, need to 'point' elbows as I rise and think give hands as I sit. Worked on canter and I need to ask for canter with the feel/tone I have when I've just halted. Got some good transitions so pretty chuffed.

General mumblings

Told SFO how much I'd missed her teaching and she told me she'd missed me too :@)

Am thinking fish pie next trip!

Tony took Beaglie to vets he has lip fold pyoderma which accounts for the sore looking skin but it isn't I don't think the issue. My gut feeling is his back has worsened so am going to do a NSAID test and see if he feels better on a low NSAID dose. Will also ask for blood profile to be run when he has his yearly jab which won't be next week now as he is on ABs for the pyoderma.

Scan 6 hope dies 15th September

Not one of the better mornings of my life, picked up wrong house keys so had to turn around and go home to exchange one hour wasted. Janice saying goodbye to her beloved Jade and then bad scan for Chorister.

At the moment life feels like a dark night the sort where looking up at the sky it is jet black with a load of shining stars. The stars are my husband, physio, vet, yard owners and friends who shine in my darkness with their caring and kind words, without them I'd be in the pitch black.

This feels worse than 'the great escape' TGE because I guess it is worse, the right leg which he first injured on 5th May is healing well, the left leg which he injured in TGE is getting worse. The check ligament is now damaged which it wasn't on the 5th August presumably it has gone under the strain of TGE plus uneven loading due to yet more box rest because of TGE.

So we've not got away with it definitely not and whilst TGE wasn't my fault it was my responsibility.

So now have to balance box rest until at least Christmas to allow left check to heal with some prison pen turnout where vet is hoping if he mooches quietly about will give a more even loading of front limbs than stall rest and thus prevent further deterioration of left check ligament.

So plan is to build a Winter prison pen on hard standing around 20ft by 30ft put down straw floor (imperative he has flat surface underfoot) as doing a prison pen on grass is going to be impossible come the wet weather. Fred could go out with him initially.

So that's it two hours turnout/day until Christmas and to think that I started off today assuming we'd be back to starting five minutes hand walking today.

I thought the leg looked bigger this am but just assumed because I'd not ice'd it and was being paranoid, took a while for me to twig what Liz (vet) was saying as for me it came out of a clear blue sky. Just not been on my radar him doing the other check well not whilst on box rest.

Life f'ing well sucks!

Pelvic stability

Back to SFO, slower journey than usual not helped by not having volume on Tom Tom up and took wrong slip for M5 so had to do detour to get back to where I was supposed to get onto M5 *doh*

So arrived 10 minutes late bursting for the loo! Whizzed past Pooh quick peck on nose to loo *oh* the relief! :@)

Back to say proper hello to Poohzles whilst Sue bid the vet goodbye. Vet didn't seem to want to leave.

Blackberry

Started off on Blackberry SFO commented how much squarer I am sat, so legs over saddle and sit, then legs back whilst keeping pelvis square and my lower back 'filled'/'in play'/'stuffed'. Well that was a big fat fail! Seems like my legs and pelvis move as one.

So one leg over saddle and one leg hanging whilst SFO moves hanging leg and I need to try and figure out how to stay on my seat with a level pelvis. Got a slap on the boot at one point! Client abuse!

So right leg drops easily BUT body joins in, left leg doesn't drop as easily but is more independent of body.

So lots of playing with that, with good results :-) quite proud of my short stumpy legs looking so much better.

Then back to position left/right and changing between, for some reason passing all understanding I have to look to the side I'm changing to. SFO suggested blinkers!

End result was pretty good but still moving head! *doh* *doh* *doh*

Pooh

So now the lovely Pooh Bear.

Legs looking better, need to have more body tone in trot without tensing the legs, sounds simple!

Much more lateral stability whilst not thinking about it, was too busy trying to have tone in body and flexible leg joints!

In canter need need need body tone, as soon as I collapse so does Pooh, your horse your mirror. Oddly enough collapse more pronounced on right rein than left. Had expected right to be easier as my left side is more stable (pillar and staying on seat bone) than right.

Who knew!

Fallen fast and hard - head over heels in love

So have fallen for Pooh Bear he is just such a nice person and it is so easy to feel a connection to him. He just 'lets you in' he stops when I get too unbalanced and is such a wonderful soul.

Had a easy trip down (actually West and a bit North but in my world it is down) sun came out as did the tractor and straw bales, seriously could you not wait 30 seconds for me and blue car to pass?

Blackberry

Started off on Blackberry my spine around L4 is solid! SFO was saying to curl thinking of each process individually and curling them down well I kind of have no feel for this past about T3 and then get to the lumbar region and well nothing happens. Sue had me doing some 'stuff' and then I could feel the muscles around my lumbar region so something changed.

Who invented left and right can they be put on trial? I get so confused.

Confirmed sit left/sit right would still argue incorrectly which hip feels forward; not that is matters what matters is that if I sit left or sit right that works, maybe my internal feel will one day match reality.

So sit right and turn body to the right should not move the seat, pretty ok going right but going left I come off my right seat bone.

Did some work on correcting this. Also worked on weighting differentially seat bones. Can't lift left seat bone for toffee, easy peasy lemon squeezy to come off my right.

Then did sit left , half pass to left. leg yield to right, so how you can change direction whilst not changing your being in position left, same for position right.

Did some work on contact which has improved unless I change my seat then I tighten (shoulders) and Blackberry goes down a gear; so worked on that too.

And I wonder why my head literally hurts after a Blackberry session.

So to summarise

1/ I prefer turning right to left
2/ I find it easier to come off right seat bone than left
3/ I like to collapse right

However I did achieve level shoulders, level pelvis and not collapsing right!

A NEW WORLD RECORD - I WAS CHUFFED

And then onto the one the only the unique the special

Pooh Bear

felt weird to be getting on a real horse post Blackberry, lateral wobble from Pooh :@) Sue said to walk him round Pooh did half circuit of school and parked himself by Sue!

So on lunge did some going right for three strides, then central then left.

This felt better than last time no 'bubbles' rising so much more positive.

Slowly we make progress elected not to canter this time as still want to nail this wandering seat bones and being able to change relative weight on seat bones without leaning.