Carriage Driving Experience

Following my previous post about yesterdays Tattersalls Meet I thought I'd share the rest of my weekends adventures.
So... today I can tick off a bucket list thing, which is I tried Carriage driving for the first time.
Well, sort of first time. Back when I was about 15 I got asked to go and groom at carriage driving display at a well known racecourse. Where I got to dress like this!

Very cool aye?!

 But that was a long time ago and I only ever had to hold the horses and tack them up, never drive them!

But today for a last minute stand in I got to try carriage driving.
Colleen Salmon kindly organised this at Valley Farm Equestrian near Ipswich. 

First of all we were taught how to tack up a horse for carriage driving and that part is very important.
You don't tack them up like a normal riding horse. First you start with the Collar or breast plate, back strap, crupper, reins, then bridle! 

Photo of Jack being tacked up with breast plait and saddle

After being shown exactly how to tack up we picked a pony and of course I picked the little shetty that looked like Millie. She was called Beauty and she was an angel!

Look how cute she is!

So once we were tacked up and inspected to make sure we hadn't buckled up something we shouldn't have we headed outside to have a go!
We were shown how to attach the trap to the horse without hurting it and doing it safely as not to frighten the horse. Remember they have blinkers on and cannot see behind them!

So Etoile (French for Star) was loaded into the trap and off we went! Georgie kindly lent me her hat cam so I could capture my first go! Only a little way up a track but so fun and feels like nothing i've done before! Definitely going to have a go and something tells me Millie would be good at this!

Learning how to tack up. Photo by Colleen Salmon 

How to load the horse into the trap without hurting or frightening them. Photo by Colleen Salmon

And off I go! First time driving a carriage 

And to top it off I met a camel!! I think my face says it all 

Tattersalls Thurlow Meet

Evening everyone,

Well as I sit here on the cold wet evening I thought i'd write about my very horsey weekend.

Early start Saturday for The Thurlow meet at Tattersalls. (Tattersalls being Newmarkets Horse Auction House) where the Thurlow hosts its Newmarket meet.

The horses were absolutely filthy when we got them in so all systems go to get Millie look more like a Shetland Pony and less like a hippopotamus!

We plaited both horses and get them looking good and loaded up.

Quick drive up the A11 to Newmarket. The meet was absolutely awesome! I've never actually been at Tattersalls for anything so to see it full of beautifully turned out horses was awesome!

The weather was sunny but warm (which it totally better than rain) so there was a lot of people! Saw some old friends and made some new ones!

We took Millie for Francesca to ride, although she's a little young for a drag hunt yet!

And boy did she get lot's of new fans. Georgie has bought a gorgeous navy jacket from Sandon Saddlery before it closed down and Frankie borrowed my new velvet hat cover and she looked just a like a mini Georgie! 

Beanie loved it and was really wel behaved. We met up with Jo and Katy on the ponies Tadpole and Thistle!

After a quick glass of port (well not me, can't drink and lead rein haha) and a sausage role and mini mars bar or two at 12 noon the Masters blew their horn and the pack and followers set off!

Up the high street, onto the gallops and away!

Me and MIllie trotted up the hill but to avoid Millie getting too excited and strong we elected to keep at the back of the pack and only go a short way!

Millie and Frankie were so wel behaved and absolutely no trouble what so ever.

A lovely lady from Tattersalls ran after us to tell Frankie and I that were the 1 hundredth rider! How cool is that!

With the feidl rounding off at 105! What a great turn out!

Georgie had her headcam on so look out for the edited footage when I get hold of the raw files from G later this week!

So with the pack gone we walked back to the box and loaded Millie in the trailer for the short drive down to Six Mile Bottom to meet up with the pack later.

Francesca was absolutely bubbling over to get back on so we unloaded and got straight back out there! 

We walked up a huge hill to watch the huge pack on the horizon. And slowly but surely everyone made their way up the hill to where we were to go into the woods and jump a big post and rails out! What a cool experience that was watching so many lovely horses leap out from a gorgeous wood!

We finally we were all back together and walked back down the hill to the boxes to draw the end to a really cool day!

I had an absolutely amazing time and really enjoyed ourselves!

Saddle Fit - How much does it affect your horses back muscles? This study tells us!

Evening everyone,

So I stumbled upon this really interesting article today titled "Exercise's Effects on Horses' Back Dimensions and Saddle Fit" and it can be found here where you can read the full article

The research was done right here in Newmarket at the Animal Health Trust by Sue Dyson, MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS, and her colleagues.

Basically the jist of the article is that when horses exercise they get greater fiber hypertrophy (thickening) due to fluid shifts and work and that the how you ride your horse, fit of your saddle and the quality of work you do with your horse is extremely important in making sure your horses can get good muscle building and development. 

This in the long term is really detrimental to your horses top line and top line is what you want in a horse! It shows they're well muscled from work and exercise, that you're feeding them correctly (just like you'd feed a human athlete with good food, you do the same with horses) and that the 

Photo: Courtesy Sue Dyson, MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS

food you feed your horse contains essential and nonessential proteins, as well as the right vitamins and minerals!

But most importantly is your saddle fitting? Your saddle might look like it fits correctly when no-one is in the saddle, but how does it fit when you're in the saddle? I would recommend regular checks with a saddle fitter. Flocking in your saddle can compress and cause the saddle to either not fit properly or cause pressure points. With work and exercise your horses back will change shape. Have you had your horses saddle checked since they're gained a good top line?

Your weight. Have you gained weight that could be pushing your saddle into your horses back and withers causing pain? 

Now that I ride Beanie I've taken a really good look at myself and I know that I'm a bit too heavy for him so i've drastically changed my diet! And in under a month i've lost  significant amount of weight. Onwards and inwards ha ha ha!

This photo I got from Nine Acres Equestrian  where this photo shows the difference saddle pressure can have on a horses back. See that square at the front? That's from a numnah tab being tucked underneath. We'd notice something as our laces in our shoe and how uncomfortable it is. Just imagine that horse who cannot tell you that numnah tab hurts her!

Remember your GG's can't talk so we need to do these things regularly to make sure they're happy, comfortable and healthy.

Bit of good for thought!

Horses Temperature, Pulse & Breathing Rate from NEH

So this popped up on my facebook feed last night and I had to share!

Newmarket Equine Hospital are always posting interesting articles and bits information. You really should follow them on facebook if you're not already 

But this I had no idea! Plus it may come in handy for when you're in a situation where your horse is ill and you want to check these things while the vet is on the way or if you want to call the vet and tell them something is wrong, you can follow up with this information once you've assessed your horse.

Or even if you're not sure if your horse has recovered after hard work on not, you can check their breathing rate.

I keep little diagrams on my phone like this for emergencies. I have one for which leads to put on my battery and the other car if I need a jump start! 

So if something like this can be referred to when you need it in a pinch, it could be extremely helpful! 

We always have our phones in us wherever we go now, so why not save this?

Save this photo -

I'm attending a vet talk in March at NEH so will do a write up of that afterwards

Safe horsing everyone! 

Pre-show season prep!

Georgie and Beanie walking back from competing at Burghley SEIB Horse of the Year Show Qualifier 2014

Well, I don't know about other riders but I'm enjoying this warming weather and sunshine and it's well and truly got me in the spirit of summer. So with that I'm pre show season prepping.
With a lot of the county shows they release their schedules nice and far in advance, but with that means having to get entries in early to secure a place.
Any day now Suffolk County Show should be releasing their equine and livestock schedule, so i'm poised to get it as soon as it comes out to get our entries in.

They have released the list of judges so it's been good to investigate who is judging which classes and see the judges previous experience in what they're used to judging.

Also qualifiers! This year we have our aim firmly set on HOYS. Georgie was so close with just 2 places off qualifying last year in her first proper show season with B so keen to try again.

I love going to these events really. As i'm not usually competing I do get to see them from a different view to Georgie. As I usually groom being outside of the ring watching and ready to get in the ring to clean him up ready for his ride judge and then strip him for his conformation judging and trot up.

Plus this season we're aiming to go to shows we haven't attended before as well as attending our firm favourites.

Can't wait to see this handsome chap back in his summer coat and ready to hit the ring

Georgie and Beanie qualifying for Royal International Horse Show ROR Final at Hickstead. Wayland Show 2014

TARRA Champion at Great Gransden Show 2013 with TARRA founder and judge Michael Gunn 

I'm also really keen to try new products we haven't used before. E.g. coat shine, shampoos and conditioners, plating equipment etc. So if anyone has any recommendations then please let me know!!

Weekend Pony Fun in the Sun!

It's Monday morning, boo!

But I did have a absolutely lovely weekend. Lots of horsing around obviously.

Friday, on the way to the dentist, I got stuck behind a string of horses coming in from the gallops. Not that I mind...

Part of the reason I love living in Newmarket and I'm glad I live here

Saturday I went over to my parents and got to ride Beanie again! He's such a lovely sweet boy. We had the most beautiful steady canter up a hill, didn't even have to hold onto him. He was quite happy lolloping up the hill at a steady pace (I'll dig out the head cam next time). I took a little video.

It's just so peaceful.. Just the sound the sound of his breathing, his hooves in the mud and birds in the bushes.

If ever I'm stressed I should go out for a walk..

Then Sunday Georgie, Frankie and I took the horses for some road work to strengthen their tendons. Francesca rode Millie for the first time in couple of weeks. She was a little frisky but soon settled down. Myself and Georgie went different ways and Frabkie had a quick play in the park before heading home. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves!

Then after a quick lunch and a snooze (I was absolutely shattered. Think I'm getting another cold) we did our chores. 

The horses are clearly very happy and relaxed as after field mucking they came up to me in the field for cuddles and kisses 

I got a bit mobbed as you can see...

Here's to a quick week and ready looking forward to next weekend! 

Detecting Ulcers in your horse with pressure points (Video)

A friend of mine Ali shared this great video this morning by Mark DePaolo, DVM on how he teaches us, the horse owner, on how to check your horses for stomach and intestine ulcers.

As has come to light in the last few years, a lot of horses behavioural problems have often stemmed from preventable and fixable things like looking after your horses teeth and having them checked regularly, having it's back regularly checked and also looking for tell tale signs that your horse may have ulcers.

Horses have complex stomachs, therefore they can get ulcers from a number of things such as the wrong type of feed, stress, not having enough food in their stomach before work (which can help reduce acid splash in the stomach that causes ulcers) etc

I encourage you to go out and check your horses like Mark suggests.
Recently B has been a bit off when brushing his tummy and sides and not that pleased with having a girth done up so it looks like these could be signs. We had him gastroscoped at NEH and low and behold he had ulcers. 2.5 on the scale of  4. 1 Being mild, 4 being Severe. We've changed his foot and he no longer has ulcers and his behaviour as gone back to normal. No more trying to bite, no more ears laid back, no more tail swishing, and no more angry faces..

Go and check your horse! See if this happens! I read that between 50 - 90% of horses have stomaches ulcers of varying severity. That is a lot! And often they're untreated and there behaviour is seen as naughty or malicous when in fact they're responding to pain.
Has your horse become weird about having a bit put in it's mouth or salivating a lot more than usual - Have it's teeth checked! It could have a hooked tooth, or one could be broken. 
Has it not been schooling or riding normally recently e.g. bucking, not wanting to respond to aids? - Have a physio out! Have your saddle fitting checked. Does your saddle need more flocking in it?

All these are simple things that can help your horse be more comfortable. They don't really cost the Earth and you're making your horse more comfortable and happy.

You would want someone to listen to you if you were in pain wouldn't you? Your horse can't speak so look at what they're telling you with body language

The groom becomes the rider for the weekend

Well I'm sure you'll know from my post last weekend that I had a dressage test, so today was the day!

I got up at 6 to dress, and eat a quick breakfast and straight out to start grooming and plaiting.

Mum is great and had been out at 5 ish to let Beanie out to have his breakfast and go for a walk and stretch  before we got him in. So at 6.30 I went and got him in.. Well Beanie thought if he sticks his head in a bush and hides his face that I wouldn't see him.. 

Well sorry B, I can see you...your white socks give you away mate..!

We were first at Rosewood Stud, B was nice and chilled and was happy to walk about and have a quick munch of grass before getting tacked up.

I got dressed, and if I do say so myself, I'm looking alright for a rusty amateur! Plus I've lost a lot of weight since I wore that jacket last, so that's another plus!

Once tacked up I mounted up and went to warm up and let B see his sorroundings. He was a little spooky and eyes on stalks cause he's not been out much lately but he soon settled in and worked really well in the warm up arena

He was just such a good boy, he warmed up beautifully, and just was so sweet.

He was a bit jumpy in the test and a noise outside did make him spook but overall I'm pretty happy! 

For my first test in over 15 years I got 59.7% and got some really lovely comments from the judge.

And I came 6th!! Not bad really, could have been much worse!

I am so proud of B and how he tried for me! He made my return to stressage a positive one, and I even channeled my inner Dujardin and sat back and was not a sack of potatoes!

As soon as we got home and rugged Beanie up, it didn't take him long to undo all my hard sprucing this morning! Only a few steps into the field and he rolled and rolled! Covering himself in mud, but he deserves it so can't hold it against him!

I know I am going to be stiff in the morning, but no pain, no gain!!

Little Saturday chilly morning ride in preparation for tomorrow's competition

As I'm sure the readers will know, I'm competing tomorrow.

The weather has been horrible this week, we've had snow and freezing temperatures most nights. Sadly Georgie couldn't ride out Tuesday as usual due to te heavy snow we had Monday night/Tuesday morning so I knew I had to get B ridden today as he would be spritely. 

We loaded him up in the trailer and took him off to Worsted Lodge to the Roman road. It was unfortunately pretty solid ground and as fog decended I thought it was just going to be a walking ride. But luckily I managed to find a stubble field which had a lovely covering of stubble cut which had gone nice and soft so he had a trot and was rather keen to canter so I let him have a little canter and he loved it.

He spent the whole ride with his ears pricked absolutely walking out and loved it, as did I! 

Treated myself to some horse related souvenirs!

As i'm sure all of you aware, it's just past payday! Yay!

So naughty me, I bought myself a couple of horse related treats.

The first being his beautiful 'nail top' knife now made into a ring, by the extremely talented Twisted Silver London (Facebook) As the name implies they're thought to be named after the head of a horses shoe nail. This particular one is from Birmingham 1931. Little horsey icon for me!

The second was a little less expensive but no less cute. It's a name stamped cuff by Black Tied. Found here if you would like to buy one! 

Stamped with the name of our beautiful ginger B aka Historical Giant!

They're £12 and can have any wording you want, as well as some signs stamped in. I got the Hamsa which is thought to ward off the Evil Eye (horrible looks and glances you get from envious people wishing harm or ill will on you) 

I'm going to wear my cuff this weekend to hopefully being me good luck! 

Sometimes you just have to treat yourself! 

Dressage, or is it Stressage?

Today I rode B in preparation for next weekends dressage test. Before today I've not ridden in well over a year and not schooled a horse in well over 10 years.

I had fun, I'd forgotten how much hard work it is and that I am also really critical of myself.

Because I'm around horses so much I assumed it would just come back to me like riding a bike.. Well, it did really but remembering everything, keeping your hands up, bending your elbows, keeping a good contact on the rein, squeezing with my legs rather than just kicking all the time and remember a dressage test is a lot for my brain to remember. Transitions! I've not done transitions since pony club! Diagonals, well I'd completely forgotten diagonals, that I had to ask Georgie to remind me!

Well I'm truly tired, my thighs are gonna kill in the morning but I had fun, I learnt a lot. I've memorised my test so I just need to convince Beanie to stop being such a slug and kick on.

I might be rusty but I'd completely forgotten B is too! He's spent most of the winter being a mud monster and going drag hunting galloping round the countryside all the time and forgotten what show schooling!

I also learnt how to tie a stock again today cause that has been a very very long time since I did that. My jackets ready, hats ready just gotta clean my boots up and ready to go.

Here's some photos of today. Excuse my toward position and chicken elbows. Note to self - must keep elbows bent and tucked in!

Overall it went ok today. Just got to remember what Charlotte says "go in there and have fun and enjoy it"