Freddie's Friends; 5 weeks

Wow, the weeks have been flying by and we're on 5 weeks of having Freddie with us! We're making real progress and he's look fabulous! 

With Friday afternoon being a early finish for me at work I whizzed down the yard from work to meet Georgie and Frankie to have our first ride out as a group! I will admit I was a little nervous, Fred has always been good albeit exuberant on the rides wanting to walk really quickly but generally sensible. We took it nice and easy as Fred and Ronnie had had their flu booster vaccinations the day before so we took it all very steady as they may have been a little groggy.

Fred was a very good boy and did indeed want to walk really quickly but was respectful when asked to walk slowly and when trotting coped well and didn't buck or fly off and do anything stupid. 
A rather sedate ride much to Frankie's disappointment because since Cheltenham festival has wanted to canter and trot all over the place.

I then walked Fred out in hand on Saturday night in the passoa but had to take it off half way round and it was rubbing on a cut Fred got from eating something in the brambles! Silly sausage!

Sunday saw a beautiful bright morning so Georgie and I tacked up early and went out while everyone was still asleep! Absolutely beautiful and the perfect time to ride as no-one was around! 
As he had got used to going out with other horses I decided to work more on his outline and asking for a contact on the bit rather than him walk out head all over the place. He coped well but did find it frustrating to be asked to work and did protest with a few head nods but nothing silly!
He has shown his sassy side when he doesn't like doing something but I think he's in that stage of feeling well and seeing what he can and cannot get away with. Rude awakening Fred, nothing, I am a strict Mumma!

So other than the odd leg stomp he was very good and even went in and out of the water ford with no hesitation! I am so glad the prep I did on the ground of allowing him to see it and look at it without making him go in has paid off and he's not frightened of it.

Onwards and upwards really, he's really thriving and getting lovely and round! 

Looking well for 5 weeks, compared to how he was! 

4 weeks of Fred!

Ah sorry I haven't done a post for a while, since getting Fred a lot of my free time is obviously spent with him! Every evening I exercise him in some way and that doesn't then leave a lot of time in the evenings for all my other chores and and any rest time I get I like to wind down and watch some TV so finding a moment to write this has been a struggle!

So as the title of this post suggests, Freddie has been with is 1 whole month and we've loved every minute of it. He's really coming out of his shell and more importantly the good food, grass and work is meaning he's gaining weight nicely and is also muscling up as well.

On Friday night Mum and Georgie felt it was time to get on; I've been walking Fred out in hand with his saddle and bridle on for 4 weeks now and he is well used to being girthed up, having the saddle on etc so we decided as Georgie is both lighter and more experienced than me she should get on. So with safety first she donned a back protector, hat, gloves etc and we started lunging him, wanting  to just settle him in beforehand. Plus it's been proven that lunging properly with a saddle on encourages horses to engage their back, stomach and bottom so I felt it beneficial to make sure he's using his muscles first before putting someone on board.

Well Fred was a dream, I legged Georgie up and we had no problems, slight back up but that is to be expected as he hasn't had anyone sit on him for about 6 months. He walked round beautifully and when Georgie felt confident he was ok she asked for trot, which he did beautifully, and actually worked on a contact. He has obviously been ridden by someone who has nice gentle hands and he has a nice soft mouth which is unusual in racing!
Plus he's a very smart horse who is quick to learn Georgie tells me so that's really promising.

The following day I got on and Mum and I took him for an amble down the road for a short while to see how he'd cope and he took it all in his stride, he walked with real speed and purpose and was looking at everything and taking it all in!

I also walked him last night and again he was a very good boy! I've continued to lead him out in hand with either the saddle on or the passoa and he's loving all of that, it's strengthening our bond on the ground which I feel is so important.

So where does that lean now then? Well I am going to continue to get on and hack him out short rides twice a week and the rest of the time I will be leading him out again in hand and continue lunging.
I am really happy with his progress thus far and he's really rounding up nicely and his back and bottom coming up too. 

Frankie D'Elegance

For some time now Frankie has been wanting to give her Concours D'Elegance outfit a whirl in the ring and this weekend she got to do that!
An old livery and arena that Georgie and I had been going to since we were small children recently was bought and turned back into a competition arena and they hosted a show this weekend! 
Despite the forecast of heavy wind and rain Georgie and Frankie were determined to go and so they braved the storm and went. 
Georgie had decided to make it a trip worth while so entered Frankie in 3 classes and we're very excited to say that she won two of them and came second in the other! Not bad for a 6 year old. 
Ronnie is a little old showing pro now and strutted his stuff for her. He is by no means an easy horse but Frankie practised her show all week and they nailed it, even beating adults. 

So what was their results you ask? Well her second was in the colours class but her wins came in the Veteran (Ronnie is 19!) and another win in the concours d'elegance! 

Don't they look beautiful!

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

Riding Club Arena Eventing at Keysoe

Sorry it's taken me such a long time to write a post! Last weekend Georgie and I went to Keysoe for the Riding Club Arena Eventing competition and all was well. Then Sunday I woke up feeling unwell, I (stupidly) still attended my RoR Club Night in Norfolk and turns out I felt super ill cause I had the flu! 
I then spent all of last week confined to my home with a fever, aches and pains and generally feeling like I was dying a little bit!

Anyway, I am now well enough to be back at work and writing! So... back to arena eventing!

Georgie and I started the day pretty early as the class was due to start at 9am but got moved back an hour for the temperatures to warm up to 10am but wanted to still leave in plenty of time not to have to rush. We were the first to arrive but parked out the way in order for Georgie to figure out where everything was while B and I wondered round for him to see everything and take it all in. He settles much better when he's had a good nose around! 

I stood minding B while he snacked on grass while Georgie when and walked the course. It turned out to be really quite twisty and turnie but the course was well up to height and looked like it would be an interesting course.
While Georgie walked the course she realised, much to her dismay, that she had forgotten her back protector and it wasn't like we were close to home! That'll teach me not to do a role call before we leave like I always do!
Luckily our wonderful friend Rachel had hers with her and being the same size as Georgie, luckily it fit! Phew, crisis averted.

It didn't take too long for Georgie to warm up and be ready in the collecting ring for her number to be called. I got in position with my camera and hoped I wouldn't be too rusty and I got some nice photos. 
B was on fine form and in a much better space than he was the weekend before for the show jumping, there was no tense atmosphere just a nice friendly fun vibe!
They made their way in to the ring and off they went. B flew over the show jumping fences which came first, they were by all means up to height but he had a big spring in his step! Wasn't long before a twist and they were at the cross country fences, again really nice jumps and well up to height (and turns out they're made by our brand ambassador company's son, small world hey!). 
B was absolutely flying, and it came to jumping the penultimate fence, a smart 90 degree turn back on yourself and over the 110cm joker show jump fence to finish. Really frustratingly B had it down; darn it!

It wasn't about the result though and Georgie and B finished really happy to have got round and that he had jumped out of his skin. We finished the day with a bacon roll while sitting in the trailer out of the cold! It really was very cold after having snow all week! 

I am really pleased with how my photos came out, it's always lovely to have the sun come out as the camera can pick up some really nice natural effects! 

Cross Country Colours by GGGear, Storm Chase Gloves, Rose Gold Spurs from Eclat Equestrian.

After a busy couple of weekends I am not quite sure what competitions Georgie has lined up for herself and I am on the hunt for my own horse so I am sure there won't be a dull moment!
Oh and we're very excited, Georgie and I, as we have been picked up continue to represent Smart Grooming as brand Ambassdor's for 2019 making that 4 years on the trot! We absolutely love Smart Grooming, so do click on the link to see what lovely products they do!

What have you all been up to?

Sophie x