2 weeks of Fred!

Ah where do I start! Freddie has been with me for 2 weeks now and we've actually done rather a lot in that time! 
Since my last post where Fred had settled in and also had his teeth checked and rasped, as well as being wormed, well he's now had a full set of shoes on, had a physio session and started his proper walk work regime! A lot huh!

Our wonderful farrier Chris has been out to firstly put a front set of shoes on and then a week later he was back at the yard so Mum and I decided to put back shoes on as we're doing quite a lot of road work.
Our wonderful physio Alex also came out on Tuesday to give Freddie a once over and sort any problems; turns out there were multiple..
Freddie had a misaligned sacroiliac joint which in turn was making his gluteal muscles to spasm which is why he was sensitive about having his bum brushed. After a quick realign Alex worked on his sore withers and also popped just about every major joint. About an hour later he was all popped out and feeling much more relaxed. He even didn't mind his bum being brushed anymore!
The morning after he was feeling a little stiff so I walked him out to loosen him off, I also did this Thursday and Friday mornings and he really started walking well.
I also got my saddle back from being fixed so I could finally use it! So last weekend I put the saddle on and walked him round the school and he didn't seem to care at all. 
I had been told that in training he got a bit cold backed and to walk him on the walker before working him but after his physio session I think he was just sore and in pain before, and now that he's not then we're having no problems!

I've now been upping our walk work and have been taking him out in hand for a good 2 or 3 miles depending on which way I go and he's been loving going out and seeing the surrounding areas to the yard. He just loves to look and take in everything that is going on! I can tell he's been really enjoying it cause he walks so exuberantly I have to power walk to keep up! Boy can't half walk let's just say that!
I've also started running in the evenings as and when I can and that's been really fun and rewarding actually. I am fitter than I thought so it's been really nice for Freddie and I to do our fitness regime together! #FitForFreddie!

As well as walking out in hand we also have walked him slowly on the lunge and he took that all in his stride, no bucking or silliness. He's just so chilled! He's responding well to vocal commands also such as woo-hoo to slow down and/or stop, Stand, Walk On etc which I feel it really important for retraining not only for lunging but also for when I do start riding. He definitely knows my voice, which I absolutely love.

Overall I am super impressed with his progress for far, he's already looking so much better! His body obviously feels better as his bottom is no longer as concave and is filling out and he's really pushing himself when he walks instead of dragging with his front end. That bum is also really swinging so his back feels nice and loose. 

So where now! This week we'll obviously just keep up his walk work in hand and maybe take longer ride routes so he can really get used to his new surroundings. And work is good work! 

 He knows he's cute!

 "Thank you for my rug Sophie M" - Freddie

 He may have a baby face but he's hardly small! I'm 5'11"

Bums! One gaining in size and one reducing! 

Freddie, Week 1

Wow, a week has gone so quickly; Freddie has officially been with me one whole 7 days!

So, what has happened this week then. First thing Monday we went and got him a wormer and gave it to him just in case. We were told by his trainer that he had been wormed within the last 4 months but we felt it better safe than sorry and wormed him again for safeties sake. It seems that he didn't have any worms or eggs which is really positive!

He is just so incredibly calm and relaxed, we cannot get over it! We think he’s enjoying the quiet less busy yard and also very much enjoying being turned out in the lovely grass. The first 2 days he was a bit excited to go out in the field and we had some gymnastics with legs in the air which is totally normal for a horse joining a new yard and being with new horses, they do find it exciting and rightly so! Come Wednesday he just sauntered off once put out in the field to go and graze. Perfect, that what I wanted him to be likely, settling into the routine of every day life. 

He’s getting nice and round, his pointy edges are slowly covering over and we’re pleased with his progress for just 7 days with us.

We had our vet out on Thursday to do all the horses teeth and Freddie’s weren’t bad at all, just a couple of sharper edges but nothing major and he didn’t mind at all. I am really pleased with how level headed he is and just seems to take everything in his stride.

He’s also taken very well to being tied outside his stable to be brushed, rugged etc and stands there completely relaxed with no thought of pulling back, what a good boy considering he’s probably never had that before and has always been ‘done’ in his stable. Some horses realise they can pull back and can run off round the yard but he's never once thought about that so I am impressed with how quickly he's picking up the new routine and our expectations for him. 

Friday afternoon I roped Georgie in to helping me thin up Freddie's mane and also take quite a lot of length off it as it's grown really long and thick. As you'll likely see from this blog page Georgie and I are brand ambassadors for Smart Grooming  so we used their humane mane comb to thin on the bulk of mane rather than pull it (as mane pulling does hurt horses I didn't want Freddie to associate mane combing with pain and that make him head shy). Georgie and I did a 'How To' video while we did this, which I will upload shortly! It really is helpful!

We got, what amounted to, half a bucket of mane out. It was just so thick it was splitting down the middle to form two manes! Ugh! 

Before - 

After -

After we had thinned it out we then took 2 inches off the length. Not only was it looking straggly it was also 'cutting' Freddie's neck in half and giving the illusion of this really thin neck, which we certainly didn't want because A) it looks gross, untidy and unkempt, but B) it also doesn't help when we're looking to monitor his muscle gain during the weeks/months of his retraining. Now he actually looks decent and more like his usual self! 

Super smart if I do say so myself!

Saturday was really sunny so I decided to give Fred a wash with some baby shampoo to get the excess grease out of his skin (that wouldn't shift with just brushing alone), get the dry skin off from weeks of not being brushed and also help get the shine in his coat. He really was looking a bit dejected! 

He was a very good boy to be bathed and enjoyed standing under the heat lamps to dry off. 

So with him near enough dry I put his bridle on and got him ready to go out for his first walk out in hand, down the road. He is in Erik's old showing bridle (the only bridle I actually own) so he looks a little silly in a very thick nose band but still so gorgeous at the same time. He was a little exuberant so I wasn't able to get any photos unfortunately. When I say exuberant I mean that he just wanted to walk quickly/jog slightly, and pretty much puff up and grow a couple of inches but nothing silly at all. He was just very much excited to see what his new surroundings were like and from his reaction of ears pricked and eyes looking at everything I think it's safe to say he liked it. 

As obviously we're just starting out and he doesn't have shoes on yet it was literally just a walk down the road and back but having done it on Saturday and again Sunday he is pretty clear on that he loves it. On Sunday I also went into the school and on a lead rope I just build our bond and also just see how responsive he is to being asked to stop and wait, and also to set the foundation of being allowed to walk off when I allow it. I am very big on horses having good manners and it all starts with ground work. 

I also put some walk poles down just to see if he'd seen any before and how he would react; he did have a look at the poles but absolutely no hesitation, he just walked straight over then and really picked his legs up high. What a cutie!

For his first week I am really excited with his progress. He's very affection and has proven himself safe and trustworthy round Georgie's two girls. Expecially loving Frankie, 6.5 yo, who he nuzzles and smells at any opportunity, she even led him back to the field on Sunday afternoon in just a head collar and he just sauntered along next to her. It's very reassuring to know he is safe with her. Fenella, nearing 2 years old, also loves being around him and he is very gentle with her also. 

This coming week he is having the physio come and just look at him, he does seem a little sore over his lower back so I am wanting to see what Alex feels about that, he is also having front shoes on on Tuesday also so that he won't get foot sore now that I am doing walk work on the roads. 

I will continue to work in hand with him, he will also be lunged and once built up muscle enough I will get on.

Week 1

New kid in the gang!

So quite a bit announcement but I've bought my own horse! 

It all happened rather quickly, with the space of a week in fact but now he is home with me I am excited to have him.
Our journey together is going to be a long one; he is very light at present and will need plenty of time in the field every day to fill up with grass and nice hay and feed morning and night and then with that I can start his rehab work to build up the muscle that has just pretty much completely gone.

What are the details I hear you ask, well... His name is Krugermac, who I have given the stable name of Freddie (like Freddie Kruger), he is 8 years old, an Irish thoroughbred, he was a National Hunt Hurdler and Chaser, he was in training with Gary Moore. He is approximately 17 hands and is dark bay. 

We went down to Gary's holding/R&R, pre-training etc yard on Sunday to view Freddie and see what he is like. He was quite excited to be having a trot up and a walk around but was overall a very responsive chap who listened to instruction so with a lot of discussion and talks of how we have to see the diamond in the rough we got him and he came home with me.
I was really surprised that considering he had never travelled in a trailer before he walked on first ask without any hesitation at all and travelled home as quiet as a lamb.
I unloaded him to which he very cleverly assessed the ramp first before ambling off and with my permission towards a nice bit of grass that he eagerly put his head down to eat.
It would seem he hasn't bee out on grass for some time so he's very grateful to be out in a field with lot's of lovely grass to feast on to make him nice and round.
And boy does he need it! He sadly is rather light on the weight and muscle front so for the next few weeks he will be solely put out to pasture every day, have a nicely snuggly bed with plenty of hay and good hard feed so he can round off before I start from scratch with the ground work in hand, some lunging and finally when he is muscled up enough then I can put a saddle on and get on but I will absolutely not be doing that before he is ready. 

It is going to take a very long time and is definitely a project as opposed to getting on him and getting out straight away. Once I can ride him then we have that saga to start with him having to understand a different way of moving and using his body. I don't think we'll be out competing at all in 2019 but I am totally ok with that. Slow and steady wins the race as they say and I think with bringing Freddie on the slow pace and making sure I do it properly will be what counts.

He has only been with us 2 days and is settling in to his routine nicely, will already stand tied up outside his stable while I put rugs on etc and is generally a very loving affectionate chap who just wants all the love and attention you'll give him.

I am very much looking forward to Friday afternoon when it's warm and sunny so that I can bath him, tidy up his overly long mane and give him a good scrub and trim. I know from grooming him already that he is going to love it!

Here are some photos from the last couple of days. I don't want to do a photo without rugs yet as I am aiming to do a 'when he arrived, X months later' in say 6 months time so we can really see the difference in his appearance.

So everyone, meet Freddie! 

 Winning The Geotech Soil Stabilisation National Hunt Maiden Hurdle in November 2015. Photo by Steven Cargill/Racing Fotos

 In the parade ring at Ascot. Photo by Mick Atkins

Ascot Hurdle win

Jamie Moore guiding Freddie to win at Ascot

Final Hurdle before winning at Ascot

Second day at the yard, with a new turn out rug ready to let down for a while

 Currently super loving the grass 

 Watching  and look at all that is going on when being let out 

The Gang <3