Weather to ride

The weather has continued to affect us. Last Saturday was what the Scots call "dreich" day, so even if I hadn't been in an Eriskay Pony meeting, the beasties would not have been asked to do much. Sunday was better and not too frozen so we did get all three ponies exercised.

I had a few days off this week but had non-horsey things to get done so just squeezed in some ground work for Rosie on the first day. The following day I took her for a few turns around one of the remaining stubble fields. The fields were pretty slippy as the ground had been frozen and then just a thin layer had thawed into mud on the top :o

She was initially quite reluctant but on the second circuit I discovered that she was more interested in going forward when we were on a tramline that was grassy (the tramlines have been compacted by tractors so are firmer going). It seems she is quite keen to have all four feet underneath her ;) I guess I can't argue with that !

We had the chance for some company the day after, and went for a hack with my sister and the pony she does endurance with. We were only out for about an hour but did a fair amount of trot and canter. Rosie has only just started losing her coat and was rather dishevelled (and itchy) by the end.

Day 3 was working in the school. The ground was still frozen so there was not much give in the school surface. At least it was level as I had graded the weekend before. Both Fi and Dudley are finding the hard going a bit much so we stuck to walk and trot with them. At the end of the arena session, I walked along side mum (on Rosie) up to and around one of the stubble fields just as a reward and a cool down.

Day 4 (yesterday) and I suspect Rosie was considering filing a complaint with her union rep ! She was a bit unco-operative in the school. As per previous posts I have been trying to stick to passive options to keep her feet moving and stop her getting "stuck". But it seemed that she was determined to offer as little as she could and see what she could get away with. She was hard work for both mum and I. We then went out for a walk with my sister and one of her youngsters.

Out and about Rosie has a habit of "telling" you when a change in direction offers the chance to head for home. She will put the anchors on and propose not moving unless it is homewards. Once you "unstick" her feet, she tends not to try it again until the next decision point. She does however have a bit of a thing about going alongside another pony. She's happy in front or behind - but beside can be a bit of discussion.

We're probably still not doing enough work, but we are doing more than we were. Fingers crossed for decent weather between now and end March so we can keep upping the work.

Dudley is looking great - he's still getting barley (rings) and we have not dropped his hay back down even though they are back on the big field in the mornings. His weight is stable. He has been losing his coat pretty much since the days started to lengthen.

Fi is holding on to her coat a bit longer and is also still on barley and the increased hay. She seems a bit stiff in the evenings - I think it is the hard ground. It is frustrating trying to find the right balance of exercise for her.