1st of August…
The start of a new month and I’m full of inspiration from one BIG book that arrived yesterday. The Big Book of Dressage is exactly what it says it is! It’s full of loads of brilliant flat and pole exercises and I can’t wait to get into it with the horses.
I had my first jump on Dino since our last show back early July and he was ace. I want sure what he’d be like as at our last show he got his confidence knocked a bit and it was also his first time jumping in a hackamore. We don’t often jump at home as he gets so excited but he wasn’t too bad today. We kept it at a small cross pole and stayed in a trot approach to avoid him rushing and picking up a lot of speed. Landing he was running a little but a huge improvement as he settled and came back to me fairly quickly for him.
2nd of August…
Up early this morning to get horses ridden at work and then to sort out my own before heading off to Dumfries show for the day. Having our yard done just after 9am was quite the achievement as normally we’re not done till about 11.30am at the earliest by the time I ride and move the horses about for grazing. A quick change and we arrived around 11am and that even included a stop in the country shop Tarff who had a fantastic sale on lots of Toggi clothing and I finally found a rose gold dressage whip as well as picking up some socks for my Grandad’s 90th birthday next week.
There was loads going on at the show Friday is just horse classes and the show doesn’t really properly kick off until tomorrow but for us we only come for the horses anyway😂 sitting next to the Showjumping ring we were able to see showing classes being judged in the rings beside us so got to see lots of lovely ponies and horses. Before leaving we had a look round the few horse trade stands and got a few good buys including more socks (can never have too many socks), a plaiting comb (one of the ones you can clip the hair out of the way with) and a new shirt for showing classes.
3rd of August…
I gave Maisie a quick flatwork this morning focusing on getting her trot more forward and building impulsion using lots of transitions. This seems to work for Maisie and we even managed to built up to a couple of steps of medium trot. Her bend is also improving loads especially on the right rein. To finish we jumped a small jump and she was much calmer than last time which lead to some really nice jumps.
5th of August…
Dino was a super star again today. I was quite amazed as he had had about three days off which would normally make him crazy😜 but he was super calm! Even with a few distractions from walker’s he managed to remain calm and focused.
This months Forelock and Fringe box arrived this morning which was super exciting to open! Included in the box this month was:
- Omega Equine mane, tail and coat spray and a voucher for Omega Equine
- Chill’s water bottle
- Massage candle, which smelt absolutely amazing!!! I spent about a minute just smelling it
- Stud muffins, for all that know Dino you’ll know he was extremely happy with these especially as we’d just finished the packed we had
- Freeze and squeeze cocktail which I look forward to enjoying on Saturday night
- ByEloise London hair bobble/bracelet which is just stunning its so beautiful that I had to look at the flyer to check if it was in fact a hair bobble.
As well as my Forelock and Fringe box the order I made from the sale PS of Sweden also arrived after a little delay. Dino now has two snazzy new hackamore nosebands to show off and they are just beautiful. Also a little treat for myself, it’s rare I order non horsey stuff especially for myself but I treat myself to not one but two pairs of gorgeous Fairfax and Favour boots from their seconds sale. Both are absolutely gorgeous and so comfortable to wear and best of all they were hugely discounted and you’d never think they are seconds. Can’t wait to wear them out and about and I have a feeling the short sued ones may be making their debut Saturday night.
6th of August…
The horses have had a busy couple of days, yesterday they had the farrier and today it’s time to get our saddles checked.
Both just needed some slight adjustments and after we were finished Amy showed us some of her lovely new saddles. They were all absolutely gorgeous especially the one with a glitter rose gold cantle!!🤤😍 Anyone wanting a new saddle that’s a bit extra (or not so extra is that’s your thing) I can’t recommend Amy and her service enough.
8th of August…
Finally managed to get Maisie out this week for the first time for some flatwork. She was moving so well, I think she felt more comfortable with a fitting saddle avian and I felt much more balanced on top. I noticed on the left rein in canter she was holding her quarters slightly in which is something I haven’t noticed before so done some work to keep her body straight in canter this way. We managed to get a good balanced straight canter to finish on.
Maisie’s new turnout rug arrived this morning which she’ll be glad for tomorrow with all the rain that’s forecast over the next few days here. Maisie has a huge collection of rug however seems to lack a light weight that is actually waterproof so she now has a light weight unicorn print combo from Derby House. I also took advantage of their sale and ordered some new riding boots for using at home by Just Toggs which are rather lovely on! I haven’t ordered from Derby House in a long time but I’ve been using the Huufe app which allows you to exchange coins earned from using the app to purchase discounts for partnered companies such as Derby House. Their are loads of great companies involved with some lovely products on offer. As a result of using the coins I was able to claim 35% off my order so if your a shopaholic (like me😂) or love saving and getting a bargain (also me) it may be worth you having a look at the app.
12th of August…
After a shocking weekend we finally have a dry morning to be able to ride. Dino’s first time out in a week and he wasn’t too crazy. He was a little quick at times but most the time I managed to contain his trot. I decided to have a little play with him and attempt some medium trot, I say this like we’ve never done it before when we have many times unintentionally as Dino lobes to charge round in medium trot when he can. He done some amazing medium trot and I loved being able to feel him flicking his little toes out. There was only one time he went up into canter after a couple of steps (I think it was the first or second time) and he decided to have a bounce out of accomplishment that he can be a fancy dancing horse. I’m so unbelievably proud of him and I’ve not been able to wipe the huge grin off my face all day!
25th of August…
Dino has been super calm and rideable all this week so I thought I’d finally delve into my Big Book of Dressage Exercises and give a pole work exercise a go. I worked this morning so was up a bit earlier than usual on a Sunday. After feeding everyone for the morning I went off to set up my dressage in the field ready for riding a bit later.
Dino was such a super star!! He hasn’t really done poles since last year or seen poles since his last jumping show in July. I warmed him up around the poles and over them in walk before trotting as I find this helps to settle him. When we trotted over the poles he didn’t rush or panic at all. This is huge for Dino as his pole work was always so rushed and he’d sweat up real easily as a result so much we wouldn’t really do them (why we haven’t done them in around a year). I can’t wait to keep into the book more with him cause I think the different layouts and doing all the transitions ect on the floor plan really helps to focus his mind, keeping him calm and stopping him from rushing at the poles.
W/C 26th of August…
Monday Maisie had a go at the pole work exercise. I done a bit more with altering the length of her trot to change it up a bit as she doesn’t find poels as challenging as Dino. She went really well, her transitions were sharp botb upwards and downwards and she done some good steps of medium trot.
Tuesday Dino was back out again. I used the pole work exercise to warm him up and he was really calm again. Hus canter work was awesome as well, very relaxed and I was able to shorten him up a little for a few strides.
I’ve really been using the poles a lot this week whilst there set up and the gounds good for them. Both the horses feel a lot more engaged from the pole work. Each day I’ve tried to change it up a bit so it’s not the same everyday and we finished the week off over some raised poles. Dino hasn’t quite got the hang of the raised poles and is trying to figure out how he can jump one then the other is a trot stride distance, so I may need to simplify it a bit for him by making the distance longer. Maisie was really good over the raised poles once she found her footing she was really working her backend. I’m excited to see how more pole work will help Dino’s jumping at home, hopefully the more pole work he can do in a relaxed manner will help relax him jumping at home.
I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading and seeing this month’s pictures. Let me know your favourite pole work experiences in the comments and who knows we might even be able to give them ago!
I can’t wait to see what September has in store for us, I’m looking to get back out to some shows as we’ve taken a couples of months off whilst the horsebox has been getting some maintenance work done ready for the winter season ahead of us.
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Jumping Dinosaurs 