Pause, rewind & repeat

I feel like it's becoming a common theme, a post full of enthusiasm and plans then a spell of silence while we don't do a lot due to lameness or injuries.   Instead of feeling like I have nothing to write about or that I'm watching everyone else progress while I stand still, I am now realising this is part and parcel of the journey to eventually get to where we want to be with horses.  Looking back at the last few years I may have done more in hand walking and rehabilitation plans than competitions, but, as a rider and trainer I have grown and developed and had time to work on areas I may otherwise have skipped past to qualify for that next big competition.  So instead of stopping blogging because I am not out winning rosettes or some months leaving the yard, I will concentrate on what I am still achieving. I thought I'd write a brief list of main achievements then and now to highlight even without a horse in work or working at the level you ideally want to be, you don't have to stand and watch everyone else there's plenty of opportunities to continue to grow and get back on the path to your goals, even if you take the scenic route!

Before 2012

Qualified and competed at Blue Chip Showjumping Championships
Competed at Royal Windsor Horse show in the Instructors Challenge Showjumping
Qualified and competed at Scope Festival of Showjumping
First win at Newcomers

After 2012

Completed my UKCC2
Completed a diploma in Sports Phychology
Included training classically to improve my position and effectiveness
Competed affiliated dressage, attended camps and inter county Championships
Worked on my own fitness and strength
Competed in triathlons

BACK IN ACTION

Apologies for the long period of silence but we have not had much to write about due to injury stopping play.

Socks was making a very positive start to showjumping at the end of last year, we had hired courses, jumped all sorts of fences and she took everything in her stride showing great technique, enthusiasm and tidiness over a fence. We jumped our first British Showjumping course, a little green but managed to keep all the fences up and I got very excited about finally getting back out jumping.  As you can probably guess this was where it went wrong, I started planning!!!!  The next day she came in from the field with a swollen back leg, the opposite to the one injured last year but looked exactly the same so my heart sank as deep down I knew it was history repeating itself and it had happened again.  I left it until the weekend as she wasn't lame so hoped the swelling would reduce but no this was not to be the case so a scan and a vet bill later confirmed same injury different leg, but hey at least she now had a matching pair!  4 weeks box rest, lots of in hand walking and slowly building her workload back up we are finally back to where we left off.

In a strange sort of way having time off due to injury has actually made her stronger, she is now back looking the best she ever has with a lot more movement and willing attitude.  Maybe she needed the time off or maybe there was something else not quite right and the rehab work has helped her come back a happier healthier horse (if not fatter too)!  Whatever the reason I am just glad to be back on board.

I have made the decision to concentrate purely on dressage with Socks as it seems too much of a coincidence that she had been jumping before both injuries.  It has been a hard decision as jumping is my main passion and I do miss it incredibly but until I can be in a position to look for another horse I am prepared to put it to the back of my mind and commit 100% to training Socks to become a dressage horse and myself a 'ahem' dressage rider!  So here starts a new chapter :)

First stop after not having a horse to ride over the winter was my own fitness, so I joined a gym and decided I needed a goal to aim for.  I am quite competitive and need a reason to train with an outcome I can measure so I entered a Duathlon and started training!  The Duathlon went well and Socks was still only in light work so I needed something else to concentrate on which ended up being a Triathlon, then another and I was over the moon to finish with a top 5 placing.  I found I was actually enjoying keeping fit so while I am a one horse rider I am going to continue to enter the occasional competition where I am not relying on four legs to be able to get there hoping it will keep me sane until I can increase my horsepower again!

Next stop was to build up Socks' fitness and strength again slowly and she has made great progress, we went for our first training outing since she's been back in work and all I can say is 'wow I love my horse'.  I will let the photo explain how she is currently going :)

Mixing things up

With the disobediences making a reappearance I thought it was time to mix things up a bit and get Socks jumping with the aim of entering our first ever Showjumping competition.  Then, all things going to plan continuing to jump over the winter and who knows we could affiliate early next year... however, with my mare plans could change ten times over!

We'd still like to throw in a few dressage competitions for variety and continue with lessons on the flat as its vital to achieve a good canter and balance for jumping.  We've been concentrating on lots of grids and pole work at home which Socks is thoroughly enjoying although the best thing is she really hates hitting the poles, but she could be a little less expressive when she does show her dislike of touching them!

I think the hard work is paying off as her technique is looking good (I'm obviously biased)

We've got a few weeks to prepare for her first jumping outing and have a little work to do on her waistline and energy levels before then.  Also hoping to find a feed suitable for her soon as she's a natural fatty but lacks stamina so harassing feed companies at the moment for ideas.  She's worked 5/6 days a week stabled in the day with small Haynet and on a feed balancer as she needs no extra calories.  Socks lacks stamina and concentration at times but also can always find energy to explode! She also suffers with puffy joints which doesn't help when she has to be stabled to help control her waistline and needs a long warm up to get the best work out of her.  If anyone has any ideas or recommendations let me know.

What Knot put to the test

When out competing I like my hair out the way and struggle sometimes with stray hairs escaping out of a hair net that's too big or too small and after one class I risk looking like the mad professor!  For this reason I thought i'd give the What Knot hairnets from aerborn a try, there are a choice of colours and sizes to match your hair length and they include a matching tie to secure hair like mine that likes to escape.

  

The hair net was put to the test while completing two classes and a lively warm up for dressage.

The colour I chose was a good match to my own hair colour as you can see and the tie included with the hair net secured my hair neatly in place and didn't interfere with my riding hat as the material is so soft and comfortable.  

The result? My hair stayed firmly in place for the entire competition, no stray hairs and looked as neat and tidy after the second class as when I started, even better we finished 2nd scoring over 70% so it must have good luck powers included!

Interested? Check out the website

http://www.whatknothairnet.co.uk/

Always think positive

 

It seems Socks has run out of good behaviour and obviously has been keeping her alter ego bottled up but she definitely released some tension at Summerhouse on Friday!

 

After lots of training recently we have been going really well and Socks is starting to use her back end and come up a little in front.  This is always an issue as she is built downhill so requires extra effort and although she is getting better she still struggles to maintain a good frame for long periods of time therefore becomes inconsistent but it is an area we are working on and needs to be developed slowly as she is not a horse you can rush as gets easily upset and stops trying.

 

I thought it was time to get out to a competition and see where we are at so booked in at Summerhouse for one prelim and thought we'd have a go at an easy novice test.  Well, let's start with the good news, the first test went OK and we achieved our last percentage to allow us to qualify for the area festivals.  The best news of the day was that I think I may have solved Socks' game of climbing on the tack locker when travelling, result! 

 

Now for the not so good news...  The disobedience's have returned!!!   Considering how hot the weather was and the fact Socks had already completed one test, I think I don't need to worry about her stamina any longer.  The warm up was very tense and Socks was a bit spooky so I spent time trying to relax her which I thought went well, however coming down the centre line I felt like I was sat on an unexploded bomb, she was however not on her forehand, so I kept positive thoughts as I continued the test.  The first canter she kicked out against my leg and then continued to threaten humping as we went round our 20m circle, having managed to contain her we got to the walk and she stretched down very relaxed with regular steps, thankful she'd started to settle I prepared for the upwards transition to trot followed by canter, it then went a bit wrong!  The walk was obviously the lull before the storm and the bottled up energy I felt earlier all exploded as she leaped into the air showing off her acrobatics, thankfully remaining a passenger we got back under control and redeemed ourselves with some good canter work and a beautiful square halt to finish!

 

So it seems we have a little more arena practise to do but I think I might start including some jumping outings soon to mix things up a bit and hope that helps her concentration and consistency and reduce those costly disobedience's!!!  I am however still feeling very positive as in the grand scheme of things we have come a really long way from the days when we couldn't even stay on the same rein or complete a 20m circle without disappearing down the opposite end or at worst out the arena!  It might take us a little longer to achieve our goals and I might need to keep tweaking them as things don't go to plan but we are on the right track and thoroughly enjoying ourselves in the process.

Here's a few photos of our progress from the good to the bad 😀

Test riding, brain training and balancing on balls

Just returned from another great weekend away with Socks, this time it was intense training at Hartpury for the South West region Senior camp.  It involved three days of riding, balancing on balls, brain training among other activities including a little wine!

Last year Socks had a little meltdown at working in the main Hartpury arena, it was all a bit much for her and we seemed to go in every direction but the right one with varying levels of hooves in contact with the ground at any one time. So, this year I have prepared her by getting out to as many venues as possible but it's difficult to find any quite like Hartpury so I was just hoping for the best really.  I am pleased to say that this time hard work and patience paid off as Socks went through the tunnel into the main arena and worked her own little socks off!  First session of the weekend was a success, I just hoped we hadn't peaked too early.

The next couple of days were packed with plenty to do.  There were really interesting sports psychology sessions (just for me this time not Socks) which I found very useful and full of helpful tips on how to optimise your performance and train your brain.  The fitball classes were lots of fun (again Socks was left munching hay for this one) although in the sweltering heat we've been experiencing recently this was hard going and I found stomach muscles I didn't know existed.  But I'm proud to say I managed to sit, kneel and balance all over that ball!  (I felt I might have worked harder over the weekend than my horse)

On the Saturday it was time for Socks to do something but I don't think standing on a weighbridge, looking pretty and being complimented a lot counts.  Thankfully she was at an ideal weight and I seem to be feeding her all the right things and quantities so gold star for us.

Then the real work started with lessons and test riding, both sessions Socks remained cool, calm and rideable in the main arena and although a bit tired completed our first attempt at some higher novice tests which (a) I remembered and (b) no disobedience's (aka bucking!)

It's so exciting to finally be out progressing in our training, Socks is looking and feeling so much more grown up, I just need to get myself back in training to keep up with my horse as my fitness could definitely do with a bit of work.  

Next step is to qualify for the Petplan area festivals so let's hope we can put all this training into practise next week out competing!

eGlove Touchscreen glove trial

Thanks to twitter I saw an advert for bloggers wanted by eGlove to review their eQuest riding gloves that allow you to operate touchscreens.  eGlove kindly sent me a pair of their GripPro riding gloves and I have been putting them through their paces.

I was interested to try them as I often use my phone for various tasks while exercising my horse, the main one being setting the timer for interval training and lunging.  Now this often ends up with me removing a glove to set the timer which often ends up with one of two outcomes, me either dropping the glove or the phone when my horse senses an opportunity too good to miss as I'm not in full control trying to manage reins, whip and gloves in one hand!

The gloves arrived very quickly and I was impressed with the quality and lightweight material when I looked at them.  I went for them in black and size medium and the sizing was spot on.  I thought I would do a thorough test so also attempted tacking up with them on just to see how easy it would be, I have to say the feel through the gloves made doing up buckles as easy as without gloves on and I normally have to take them off to get the girth done up for extra grip.  Task one passed with flying colours, good grip, feel and even managed doing up the noseband one handed while taking photo!

Next test was obviously the 'horse ear view', we've all done it riding along and you're impelled to take a photo though the best view in the world... your horses ears!  You are not alone even the professionals can be seen snapping away to upload to Facebook and Twitter their view of the day.  Obviously I had to include the gloves to prove it was a legitimate eGlove taken photo so my attempt was a half horse ear view of grass but without the need to stuff the other glove in my hand, mouth or chaps it took seconds to snap away and all the icons worked first time, no bulky fingers or the 'if I just tap the screen harder it might work', so task two passed now onto the reason I wanted to try the gloves in the first place, for using the timer on my phone.  

I thought I'd test them whilst lunging and riding, I always set a timer to ensure my horse works equally on each rein on the lunge and also for interval training so needed both on and off the horse.  Also when interval training the horse can get quite sweaty making the reins slippery, so will the gloves still work in these conditions?  The answer is yes, great grip for both lunging and riding and also with a bit of rain included while we were riding I still had good feel down the reins.  The alarm goes and I am able to work the phone to get the timer set for a quick cool down before we repeat on the other rein.  Task complete and another success.  

Overall the gloves were a nice fit, felt comfortable and performed well as a riding glove giving excellent feel on the reins.  Different weather conditions didn't reduce the effectiveness of them when using my phone and the slim fit enabled you to easily use your touchscreen while wearing them.  Would I recommend them? Yes I would and I think I may even get myself a white pair for competing!  

For more information and prices visit eGlove online www.eglove.co.uk

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