rain/wind/snow stopped play

isn't it just the way it goes - you have two weeks off and the flamin' weather scuppers all plans to play with horses :(

Since I finished work for Christmas it has rained, blown a gale, and now snowed. So all I've managed to do is ride once, and long rein once - oh, and I fell off when I rode !

The weather was, unusually, clear and still. So it seemed like a good time to ride. Only there are geese flying about - and the local farmers are keen to stop them settled on their land so make efforts to scare them off. Everything started well, but then farmer A started clearing the geese that had settled on the next door farm. The geese flew up and across the sky from one side to the other.... only to return a few minutes later... and then get scared off again.... and then fly back again.

Fi had been working well and I was just finishing off by practicing Prelim 1 - which starts with trotting up the centre line (without halting ;) ) and then tracking right. Only just as I was committed to the right, Fi spooked and went left. Needless to say I split the difference and ended up on the floor at C ! It wasn't a major spook - she was more worried when I came off. So I hopped back up again and started working through the test again. Quite soon into the test you change the diagonal in trot and then ask for left canter between the quarter marker and C. I asked for it late as Fi has started to anticipate and canter *at* the quarter marker. Only this time she cantered one or two strides and then bunched right up...

clearly all was not yet well... it was as if all her feet were randomly going in different directions ! (like Bambi on ice :o )

so I stopped her and walked her down to the A end of the arena. As we came towards the quarter marker there, the geese caught her eyeline again and I could feel her start to panic again - legs all over the place. I hopped off and worked her from the ground for a few minutes til she was calm and listening, and then called it a day.

We worked Rosie and Dudley from the ground. Dudley was full of the joys of life and proceeded to act like a maniac. I think the horses have been so limited by the mud and rain that they all had unused energy to burn off.

As I was going to be driving south for new year, we just long reined Rosie and Fi on Sunday, and lunged Dudley. They all went nicely.

But my return from New Year's Eve was accompanied by snow - so no more exercise since. Rosie got to go out on the big field with the others for the day and was delighted (because of the snow and weather). Bringing them in yesterday both Fi and Dudley wer getting snow built up in their front (shod) feet. Luckily it's mostly melted now - with every step I was worrying about tendons

Fi has now been on Flexivite for a couple of weeks. I bought it at the Scottish Horse Event at the beginning of December and she went on to it when she finished the Cortaflex HA. I have to make a decision whether to stick with it or not.

Weight-wise Red and Dudley are on the light side, Fi is stable but losing a little. Rosie is stable and not losing. So everyone other than Rosie is now getting some barley rings with their dinner.

I also got some spot-on lice treatment today. We can't spot any sign of lice on the boys but they are SO itchy we have to try something ! Two years ago Red get mega itchy and we used lice shampoo to treat him. But shampooing TWO ponies at intervals in this weather is not my idea of fun. So we'll treat them all with the spot-on and see if that helps.