Yesterday we headed out to a firm favourite in our equine calendar and that show is South Suffolk Agricultural Association / South Suffolk Show. While not as large as a county show it is pretty big, with Royal International qualifiers, BSPS and various other society shows and is always extremely well attended and well organised. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about going as when I got Fred in to plait he was rather on his toes but luckily he calmed down enough to plait and give a little leg wash before we loaded up him and Millie and made our way to the show.
Upon arrival Fred was pretty sure he was racing again (not far off as it's held at Ampton Point to Point race track) and with the tannoys was like a loaded spring ready to explode. Luckily I had G there to quickly pop in some ear plugs and lung him for me!

Really pleasingly he lunged well and calmed down enough to eat but was still pretty adamant about walking around eating a mouthful of grass before walking off somewhere else!
So to continue our work on standing and patience we made 'walking around dragging our owner' annoying and instead whenever he went to do that he lunged him for a few circles. He soon realised that it was far easier to stand and eat than keep continually walking. 

It seems the message is and was going in!

After a couple of hour wait the ridden ex-racehorse class went into the ring. Fred is absolutely not there in his retraining yet so we took him over to get used to the atmosphere of the rings and get used to the kind of buzzy vibe of being near lot's of other horses

He went into the ring, albeit kind of reluctantly, he much preferred to follow another horse in so we tucked in behind someone experienced and walked round and to my delight he didn't tense up, he walked nicely and even waltzed passed a very loud generator; I was really pleased with him. He trotted beautifully round and was originally pulled in in second place. However he wasn't all that keen on standing and when he did he pored the ground in impatience. So with all that said Fred came last in his class (6th) but do you know what? I don’t care! 

The lovely judge came and saw me to give my rosette and we got some really encouraging feedback and comments about his future once he is fully retrained and has learned the ropes.
I am so pleased with how he coped yesterday on only his second time out and he was soooo much better than his first outing at Worlington, as when he arrived there we had definite legs leaving the floor and a temper! Plus he’s only been out of training 3 months today. 

He’s learning so much from each time out and understanding he’s not racing anymore, so we’re making strides. Plus he looks beautiful as we used the new plaiting wax from Smart Grooming to plait his mane and tail and with the new Haas brushes that I treated myself to from Smart Grooming he looked incredibly beautiful!

Thank you so much to super groom Georgina for all her help with him today and everyday! Thank you also to everyone who said encouraging words or compliments, they mean so much!

Now to spend the summer going to Retraining of Racehorses RoR East Region clinics and having fun with his retraining!

#Horsebloggers #Haynetblog Haynet

CDRC Summer Show!

We've had a lovely long weekend and on Sunday Georgie, the girls and all the family headed out to Cambridge and District Riding Club show at Cottenham, as we do most years!

Rather than take the big horses this year we decided it was ponies only and we had a wonderful day which was a very friendly and well run show with great prizes and beautiful rosettes. The day started with the 55cm showjumping, I think this was Frankie's first proper showjumping competition. She jumped a lovely clear first round but sadly had a pole in the jump off (which was huge and the biggest she's ever jumped!) giving her a third 🥉!
Onto the showing; Ronnie and Frankie performed a foot perfect show in the First Ridden and they were rewarded with a first 🥇 for which she won a beautiful red rosette as well as a bottle of stain remover! Perfect for Ronnie's white socks!
The Veteran class was very hotly contested but again they did brilliantly, cantering round the ring with the other horses (and even coping when a horse lost control and galloped round) and came away with a second. 🥈!
The championship was very competitive and after a really long day Frankie very sensibly decided she was done for the day.

Millie came along and had a lovely time with Frankie jumping a few rounds of the clear round which Millie flew. So proud of Francesca considering Millie is really a lead rein pony but they went off and jumped the round and Frankie was flying! Millie absolutely loved it!
Fenella did her first ever competition age 22 months doing the Fancy Dress lead by her big sister. There were some amazing outfits and lots of competition but she got a very respectable 5th and won a goody bag and promptly devoured the packet of polos in it. Two very tired but happy children who adore their ponies

Thank you to CDRC for a lovely day!

B and G try Side Saddle!

With Easter over it’s meant back to work and less time to spend with Freddie and the gang but we’ve certainly had a nice time. As I work full time and Georgie has more flexibility than me, plus having retrained 3 other ex- racehorses she’s been taking over the reins of riding Fred in the week and do a large chunk of his retraining!
He’s been hacking out regularly both in the week and with me at weekends but this weekend gone by Fred had a relatively quiet one and B and Ron got to go to some parties!
Unfortunately Sunday’s Side Saddle lessons I’d booked in to host back in January clashed with ‘little Tetworth’ so poor Georgie had a busy day sorting out getting Ron and Frankie over to Tetworth to do her clear round and cross country rounds and then back to load up B and bring him to Palace House to have a lesson with Clare Simper SSA side saddle Instructor!
I of course spent the majority of the day at Palace House hosting the side saddle lessons for Retraining of Racehorses and helping out where I could! I only needed to nip home briefly to charge my camera’s battery to keep on taking photos!

I had a lovely day watching everyone have either their first or second go with side saddle being taught by the wonderful Clare Simper, the more lessons I watch and listen to her do the more I want to soak up every word she says; the lady is a genius and clearly knows a lot about the position on a horse, what your body should and shouldn’t do riding, both astride and aside, as generally being a horse riding oracle! First lesson was with Ellie and the cutie Pickering, I really have a soft spot for them and really glad to see him coming on leaps and bounds. I am pretty excited to groom for them at Herts county show in a few weeks!

I also had 2 people from out of ‘my’ RoR East Region to come for the lessons and was so stoked to have them join us, they’d come from Surrey and West Sussex so that was really exciting! I really enjoy meeting new people and their horses, both of which were such characters and made for a fun morning!

Later on in the afternoon and the last lessons slot was my very own sister Georgie and B. The first time I’d hosted side saddle lessons was in October 2018 and sadly it clashed on the same day as Georgie doing to eventer trails at Keysoe so she wasn’t able to attend then but G was excited for this time and I am stoked to say they did really well! 

While B absolutely didn’t mind one bit about having a different type of saddle fitted, it did take him about 10 minutes to really grasp being ridden in a different way and then away absolutely away! Georgie and B romped round the arena and even were able to canter, which from what I am told is quite an achievement for a horse and rider to have never done side saddle before! Towards the end of the lesson Clare suggested a bit of a challenge for B and Georgie to see what they could both do and instructed Georgie on how to ask for an extended trot so along the long side of the Palace House arena Georgie pushed deep into her seat with all her might and wow, B didn’t have realise and motored alone being a trot that had hints of Valegro it was so mega!

It was so cool to watch my sister whizz round aside like her and B had been doing it for a long time, I really was very proud! Now all she’s got to do is get a side saddle and they’d be away I’d say! The smile on her face says it all doesn't it?
Fred will continue his retraining and maybe in a year or so I’d have a go, although seeing ultra-fit Georgie ache the next day I think I’d better up my fitness game!

In a couple of weeks Fred has his next show, where we’ll try and have a nice time at South Suffolk show and hope he isn’t an arse! We’ve been working on some natural horsemanship groundwork so we shall see. We’ve got some new Smart Grooming things to try out so look out for posts on those!

Pettit Shepherd RoR gang, over and out! x

Freddie's Firsts!

Wow what wonderful weather we've had in the last couple of weeks, it's been unseasonably warm and with the warm weather our little gang have been very happy to be turned out without rugs to enjoy the sun on their backs to soak up the rays! 
It's also been Easter and I took a couple of days off work to top up the bank holidays and make it a nice 6 days off!
In that time I've spent a lot of time with Fred and Georgie etc and we've even done some of Fred's 'firsts' as well as spend some time away from the horses, which was nice too!

On Wednesday Georgie, Frankie, Fenella and I went to the Cambridge University Botanical Gardens and had the best time! It was lovely to see so many beautiful plants and tree and have a horse-less day!
On Thursday we decided rather than going to the beach it would be nice to still go somewhere sandy and we decided to take the horses to Little Lodge in Santon Downham, we've been going here since we were children and always had a lovely time, so we felt it an ideal place for Fred's very first outing. 
We borrowed a trailer from a friend and also got Millie and got our entire gang together and along with Mum and Dad we took all of them to the sandy forest! We had the absolute best day!
Fred really loved it, as we've had so little rain the ground has been really hard so we've been limited on what we could do but as it's so sandy at Santon Downham the ground was absolutely perfect. As I am still building my confidence riding in open spaces after my fall off Fred, Georgie kindly offered to ride him and I rode old faithful Beanie! We took the two big boys off quietly before the kids met up with us later so Fred could take it everything and not stress. 
He was such a good boy, he walked and trotted over a pole on the floor with no problem, and with a lead from B he also got confident enough to even pop over a couple of small cross country fences! I was so shocked at how well he coped and seemed to really thrive and gain confidence with every new thing we did!
I was however a little too relaxed on B and when he spooked I plopped off the side of his bottom when I was on the phone to Dad, so arm is suitable shades of green and yellow and covered in a giant graze, silly me aye!

Not that that stopped me, I got back on and we had a lovely canter in the grass over to meet the girls on their ponies and go to the river to have a splash! Water baby B was straight in, no hesitation and was love being hock deep in the cold water having a wail of a time!
Fred also walked in, more cautiously obviously, and without intervention would have walked right in to the middle of the deep river! Seems he's not afraid of getting wet!

Afterwards we then took Frankie off so she could have a little jump and a canter on Ronnie while the boys joined her, the 3 stoogies had a great time! After being out for ages we came back and had a lovely picnic and I think Fred was happy to be finished for the day, he'd done a lot and was quite tried it would seem!

 

Then on Sunday we decided that we'd take Fred to a show happening not far from us and take Fred to do the in-hand class for the RoR. I was really unsure how he'd cope but wanted to see. We plaited him up the night before and he stood beautifully falling asleep while I plaited and being spruced. We were the first at the show on Sunday and he coped ok, but when other lorries arrived we do think he thought he was racing again, especially we he was being walked in hand! Parade ring anyone!

We calmed though and we were able to go into our first class, the Best Turned Out, so he could gaine some experience in the ring before our main class. He walked well but did fidget and not stand so well but we manage a 5th so I was happy with that.
Our next class was the in hand RoR class and Fred was fine to keep walking but any stopping meant him being a fidget arse. Which is fine, he's never been asked to stand for long periods before so I expected as much. I obviously knew I wasn't going to win or be placed so I just let him stand in the shade and eat grass until the class was done. I wanted him to have a next experience which I think he did. He calmed enough to cope and learn that going out in the trailer from home is a nice fun experience and that it won't mean going racing any more.
Obviously, as predicted we didn't win but I am happy with how he coped and I've since entered for another show in about 3 weekends time, while Georgie wants to take him to one over the May bank holiday weekend and she ride him so I am happy for that to happen too.

We still have a lot to work on at home and every day I am working on him and getting racing out of his brain!

Pretty good for 9 weeks with us hey!

Week 7!

This won't be a super long post as we've had quite a quiet week this week!

We're still very much working on what works for Freddie in his retraining and what he's not so keen on at the moment. For example on Friday I had my second attempt at a solo hack after last time where he got very frightened at a removals van and we ended up in a farmers field with me on my back being dragged along! 
It went well, although Fred definitely is a lot more nervous going out alone with a rider on board than he is when I take him out alone in hand. He obviously get's a lot of confidence from me as he doesn't spook or get 'looky' at anything with me when we walk out, but when I am on board he is rather tense and does definitely look at pretty much everything but that is because I think he doesn't have this 'pack leader' with him on the ground and feels more vulnerable so it's something I am going to work on. He doesn't do anything silly but is not relaxing. 
While that isn't surprising as he's very likely never hacked out by himself before. 

Earlier this week Georgie got on first and did some schooling on him, and we switched half way through and I finished. He is definitely learning to now use his body in a different way and is responding very well to that. He's also listening very well to aids and understanding more of what we're asking him with those aids so I am really pleased with his progress there.
We're also definitely working on slowing everything down, he's so used to being mounted and then rushing off fast, which I know if obviously what he's used to, so all about walking about and slowing that work into active walk, rather than power walking everywhere at speed! Same with trotting, we're instilling into him to work slower and push rather than hollow and whizz everywhere in trot. It's going well and he's trying hard, especially on rides out where he's obviously enjoying himself and get very exuberant in this speed and paces. 

Sunday Georgie and I also went out for a ride together and went on one of our longer rides and Fred absolutely loved it, very happy to be out with his pal Beanie and seeing a new route he hasn't done before. He's a very smart horse who can get bored of the same routes so I have to keep it different and his mind busy. He's like a smart toddler that doesn't like doing the same thing all the time!
He's going in to water no problem and is also enjoying splashing and pouring in the water so that's made me really happy as water is often a big deal for horses and an area people have trouble with so hopefully I've set the foundations to not find water scary.

Following on from what I said about about him being looky, I have also been doing some 'desensitisation training' with Fred and it's going well. We've been doing it in the school, in hand and with plants in pots, cones, bright coloured plastic markers and a tarp on the ground with flaps in the wind. 
Obviously the tarp was the thing that Fred looked at most but by the end of the session I was able to pick it up and flap it, rub it over his body and throw it in the air and he was no longer fazed by it so I am certainly going to keep that up. 

I've actually haven't taken many photos this week, it's been a busy time but I will make sure I take some more. I've been making sure to keep my hands on the reins lol!

Sophie x

6 whole weeks!

Alright so I ran out of F related titles for the blog, boo! But in better news, Freddie has been with me a whole 6 weeks. Ah we've loved it and he's doing so well, feeling so well and just overall a happy chap!
It has however not been an uneventful week.. as Fred and I experienced my first 'unscheduled dismount', which I'll be honest, was sooner than I had wanted it to be!

What happened? Well Tuesday of last week Mum and I felt confidence that Fred was ready for his first solo hack without B and/or Ronnie and for Mum to come with me a short way before I peeled off and went the rest of a short loop by myself. I didn't think this would be a problem, he's done this ride a good couple of times with other horses and it's not a spooky ride so I felt excited and pretty confident.
I was walking with Fred, mounted, along a short section of road that I have to ride on to get to this ride when we had to pass a rather large van (for removals) that was parked, frustratingly, on the thinnest part of the road, with a quite vertical grass bank, before a corner. I was riding along with Mum on the bike no problems when it came time to walk past the van. Mum said to me 'Don't walk up the verge' when I quickly informed her I wasn't asked him to and that Fred was shying away from the van when he quite quickly leapt up the steep grass verge onto the side of a farmers field where he proceeded, in fright, to spin in pretty tight circles (think the western horses who spin at speed on the spot)..
While scary I was able to lean my legs forward into what I call the 'safety' position and quietly tell him woah and steady.. which he did.
As this all happened another van came round the corner and seeing this all happen, stopped and waited and no doubt watched in horror!
Mum, bless her, had dropped the bike in the road to come to my aid, but now needing to move it went back down the hill. I think this again spooked Fred and he span again, bucked and sadly I was unseated. Now we were in a farmers field that is very large and not fences in and I could not dare let go so I held onto the reins and was dragged a distance before poor Fred finally calmed down enough to stop.
Poor chap was very frightened by it all and rather than try and mount I walked him some way away from the van, back towards the yard so he could take a breath and calm down.

We made it back to the yard and after a few deep breathes I realised I had to get back on, not only to not end on a bad experience for Fred but for me and my confidence also. So we made our way back to the menage to get back on and Fred to feel safe again. Bless him, he was a good boy and after a quick lunge to get the adrenaline and urge to run out of his system I got back on. He was very good and walked around no problem and sighed and relaxed. With Mum and I happy that he was none the worse for wear and no longer frightened I got off and he was put to bed and given a nice tea as he always is.
The next day I tacked up Fred, but this time, for him and I (I was feeling sore by this point), I lead him out in hand and we had to walk passed the van. This time I better experience as I was able to walk in front of him and show him it was safe but he did walk somewhat up the verge bank again away from the van. Confirming what I had said to Mum the day before, it was a fright/flight response as opposed to being naughty or napping. The rest of that walk out went out without a hitch and since then all has been ok.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't achey and bruised so the following days I did our exercise in hand and come Friday afternoon Georgie kindly got on and schooled Fred in the menage and he was an angel! He worked beautifully for Georgie and accepted the bit and various aids with ease and showed real willingness to please. 
He looks lovely I am sure you will agree? 

Saturday Georgie, Frankie and I went for a hack and to regain some confidence and have a less hazardous ride Georgie lent me super star RoR Beanie and she rode Fred. Well I say less hazardous but B very much likes to always go first and lead but when Ronnie and Frankie whizzed off trotting B did throw his toys out the pram and canter passage sideways until he caught up, all the while yanking my arms out! Cheers Beebop!

B had a lovely splash in the water, he absolutely loves it!
Watch B have a splash in the ford!

The rest of the ride really was very fun and we all had a lovely time. It was nice to ride B again but I am looking forward to riding this week and getting back on Fred, hopefully incident free obviously!

I felt like I should write a blog post about what happened, social media nowadays is always so rose tinted where people only really share their ups and never mention the downs. Falling off last week sucked, I sprained the left wrist, which is the one I broke, but it's part of retraining a racehorse and getting to know each other. Falling off is kinda part of the course. 

I am really proud of Fred, he is trying really hard and in 6 weeks has come a really long way. We're trying to even out keeping his work varied and fun without over facing him! 
His personality and how he reacts to things is really starting to shine through, part of me is really sad about what happened last week because he doesn't care about running jogging by, or cyclists whizzing along by him or passed him, he's walked passed guineas fowl clucking and squawking without any care in the world so I'm saddened he got so scared by a van. I may never know what it is, but I think it was the confined space he would have to go through so it's something I am definitely conscious of now. 

Also he's slowly but surely building up and gaining weight and muscle and is a shadow of the horse he was 6 weeks ago. Makes me realise how poor he was! 

Taking each day and week by week and we'll decide more on plans as we go on! Nothing firm in place yet. I have a few little things in mind for him but I will not rush him and over face him, he deserves only the best.

Here's to a better week this week!

Sophie x