My new foster horse Raffi

I started playing with Raffi today. He's a Right Brained Extrovert, 16hh gelding. He's looking a little shocking at the moment but will keep you posted on his looks too!!

So I started playing with him. He's the complete opposite of Dani, and it was quite a challenge today to remember what I'd learnt about RBE. He's huge too and towers over me- I used my 22 foot line (no way I'm letting him near me!!) and my carott stick and had to pretend I was 10 feet tall!!

I started playing the 7 games with him. I only played with him for about 15 mins, but in that 15 mins he did so much licking and chewing!!

He's quite sceptical and a forwad a holic. This will be an interesting learning journey for me!!

Our First Clicker Lesson

The Vet

So we had the vet come out twice for Danis back. Once in May and once in August. We couldn't work out why her back would be sore after not being ridden. She had become really funny about her back leg straps being undone and done up, so after some feeling around the area we found a decent sized lump on her stomach about where her leg straps might touch. We were pretty worried it was going to be somethig serious.
So the vet came out again and gave us the good news that it is a fiberous lump and probably occured when she was playing or rolling. Something had hit her stomach and it had gotten a lupm, kind of like when you kit your head. It would have been very painful when it was first done, so not supprisingly she's been very protective.
It's not sore any more, and her back's all good in the mean time (we believe she may have been carrying her self a bit wrong after it happened so her back kept going out.)
Woo-hoo!! We're back on track now :)

My Jumps!

Last weekend we went to get my poles, wings and cones..... I love them :)

The Vet

I finally decided to get the vet out to have a look at Dani. I'd had a chiro out and the saddle refitted and her teeth done and she still wasn't 'quite right' so I called the vet out to have a look. It turns out she's gotten her self pretty much back into shape with no back pain. She did however have a vertebra 'out of place' in her wither. The vet did some manipulation and a few other bits and pieces then gave me some pain killers for her, which she needs to take for a week. We're pretty much going to see how she goes and then I'll work her in a couple of weeks to see if the problem is all sorted. Fingers crossed it will be :)

Circling at Liberty and disengaging the hind 1/4's

OK, so for ages I've been wondering how I can get Dani to circle at liberty with out having to use a round yard, pretty much because I don't have a round yard.

So I just got her walking, moving off and then a few steps later I would disengage her hind quarters. Then I would make it longer before I disengaged her. Pretty soon she was out on the circle and doing great. I wouldn't totally ask for a full disengagement all the time, but just enough for her to move around me in a circle. Once she was doing that pretty great I asked for a trot. Not a problem there at all. I'd ask her to stop and then go again (all this is to the right) and she appeared to be pretty confident with my signals and what I was asking for. I am a bit naughty, because asking for the canter could have gone bad and I should have waited a while longer before I asked. But I did ask and she was great. I wish I had video footage! I was there with out any one watching me. I think I do better in those situations as I'm not so bothered about making mistakes!!

Around to the left was another story, and it appears Dani has a hard time disengaging when I'm on the left hand side of her. It took a while to get her to turn to face me. When she did she licked her lips, so we'll see how she is next time I play and see if I have as much trouble. That is my bad side too, so it doesn't really help. I'm probably not very clear with my instructions on that side.

I've also started teaching her to come. I wouldn't say she was enthusiastic about coming, but she came. I only spent a little time on that.

Just because I love this photo...