Still here!

Sorry Everyone it's been a heck of a two weeks!

I judged all the videos that came in for the January Horse Agility entries then I had to make up time by catching up on all my clients.
What an interesting lot of horses I've met over the last week. But interestingly three of them couldn't stand at the mounting block, all different places not just at one yard! I love these because they are so easy to help.

First I make sure I can move the horse's feet (so it's easy to park him) and then we play around the mounting block (normally  trigger for anxiety) and just make it a fun place to be. I had a real old ex riding school cob first of all and we just added in a bit of food when she was stood in position, very quickly she was parking herself in position without a hitch. I'm sure she just didn't know she was supposed to stand still while someone got on.
The other two had real anxiety issues about standing still while someone walked up onto the block so we broke this down into tiny little tasks (for example like just lifting my foot on and off the first step until the horse saw this as normal) and built up to parking the horse then walking up to the top step and making it a nice place fopr the horse to be rather than somewhere you stand before a nasty thing happens.
One horse had awful ulcers and the miracle change that came over that horse when his ulcers began to respond to treatment makes me weep.
This horse had been with a well known trainer who had discarded him as an event horse because he couldn't get on, no one had though to address the pain issue. (poor animal must have been in AGONY) It was the first thing we did and Hey Presto, we can now get on.

Also this week we have re-roofed our backup stable block. Storm Imogen finished off the wear and tear of the last few years and before the whole thing went we stripped it right back and splashed out on new roofing sheets for the front (that can be seen from the road) but recycled some old sheets at the back. Exhausting work but great to know we've got our stable block back.

Still very muddy here but we are just about staying ahead of it. The two fat ponies (Ollie and Fudge) decided that iron rations were not for them and escaped across the river last week, travelled along a deep gorge into the summer grazing...my did they look smug! Will I ever see their ribs again?!