Exhausted!

Baggy and Calum have had such a great week's "holiday", but it's a long time since either of them concentrated so hard, or worked so hard. Hence, finally managing to drag themselves out of bed at 10.45 this morning! The Domestic Goddess rustled up bacon sandwiches to give them enough energy to go over to the yard to see the horses.

It seemed like a good idea to hack the Boys out today, so that a) they don't think every ride will be a schooling session and b) Baggy and Calum don't have to work quite as hard. Well that was the theory. Thanks to the horse flies, the Boys had a different perspective on life. They were happy to be out, but particularly Wessles was getting extremely agitated. Grotty Groom tried to use her new techniques to get him to go in a straight line, but he was so busy spooking at stuff and whipping round to attack a horse fly, whilst doing full body shakes, that it was a bit of a challenge. So Clever Bird decided that they should outrun the pesky blighters. A little canter ensued, after which the trot was better. A massive hare ran up the field next to the horses, at which point Baggy realised how relaxed she was, in spite of Wessle's tension. Grotty was not holding her safety R-Stor and had the reins, long and relaxed as Furry Mama ooohed and aaahed over the very cute, very large hare .

Baggy did nearly go through Wesley's ears when he got so upset by a fly that he threw his head down to his leg to scratch his nose, and took Baggy with him, so Clever Bird decided that it was time for some schooling! The next fifty yards were walked in a straight line, but with his neck bent in (as learnt this week). He chomped on his bit and flicked his ears in concentration and forgot about the flies for a while. It seemed prudent to cut the ride short though, as clearly the horses were just as tired as Cal and Baggy. Wesley could not stop yawning, the moment he got back in his stable. Neither could Baggy!

The Sunday roast is now on...........

Today was Minty Mutt's day!

Furry Mama decided that Baggy needed to pay her a little more attention today. Grotty Groom has been monopolising her time for most of this week, and oh boy does Baggy ache as a result. So today it seemed only fair to Furry Mama that Minty Mutt had some proper time from his Mum and Dad. So Calum suggested that they take him over to Orwell Country Park for a nice walk. He then proceeded to wind the poor mutt up that they were going for a walk without him.

It was much cooler today thankfully, so they set off at a pace.

Of course, this is Calum, so there was no way that they were just going to stick to the main paths!

The tide was out, so Calum and Archaeological Annie decided to wander along the estuary to check whether there was anything interesting. Minty Mutt had other ideas. Clearly he saw the muddy waterfront as a giant puddle.

The views are lovely along the muddy walk.

But the weather decided to turn into a typical British summer's day. The Heavens opened once again. Time to put the posh pack-a-mac to good use once more and shelter Baggy and Minty under a tree, while sending Calum out into the rain to take photos for Creative Clara!

Once the downpour turned to a few spits, they set back off to the car - uphill! Clever Bird had made Baggy bring her camera and her ridiculously heavy handbag. Why? It weighs a ton. Baggy decided to think of it as work-out weights as she hung it on Calum's shoulder. sadly he didn't fall for it.

 

 

The one thing missing on this walk is a nice little café - well any kind of café, or tea van, but at least Minty Mutt had a drink, because Furry Mama thought about him, if not Baggy and Calum.

 



The minis enjoyed their day out too............

Hormonal Hannah was determined to muck Grotty Groom's efforts up today.

Baggy and Calum were so tired yesterday, that Clever Bird can't actually remember what they did! But they did decide that the horses, Grotty Groom and Cal could have the day off to rest and recuperate. Apparently the Boys had both been flat out, fast asleep in their paddocks when the grooms went to bring them in! Today however Clever Bird decided that everyone needed to practise what they had learnt on the course, while it's still fresh in their minds. But first Baggy had to face the scales at Fat Club - they swore at her; asked what the heck she'd been doing to put on two-and-a-half pounds and told her to try harder. Rude scales! Baggy has been on holiday! Clever Bird decided that Baggy should not stay for the meeting, even though she clearly needs the support and motivation of her friends at Fat Club, but a) she didn't wish to admit that she had been totally ignoring all of the healthy eating rules and b) Cal was at home! Clever Bird does however not want Baggy to return to her former heavy weight and she certainly doesn't want Grotty Groom to get too heavy for Wesley's back, so this week she will try hard to lose the "gain".

She started by dragging Furry Mama out to take Minty Mutt for a walk, before Grotty and Cal went to the yard. The Boys were pleased to see them, although Wesley did start to get rather concerned when Grotty started to unpack all the rest of the rugs, boots, sprays, etc etc from the car - Clever Bird realised that he thought he might be off somewhere again.

"Where are my riding boots and handbag?" asked Baggy, "Oh s***, did I leave them on the drive?" "No idea", said Calum helpfully, as Hormonal Hannah started to send Baggy into a panic. Baggy remembered that just as she was about to get into Cal's car, he had asked her to move hers back. She'd dropped her riding boots and handbag on the drive and gone back into the house to get her car key. Calum phoned the neighbour and asked her whether there were bags on the drive. There weren't. Then he asked her to check Baggy's car. Yep - in the back. Well done Hormonal Hannah, put Baggy on automatic pilot, why don't you? Grotty decided to wear her old boots to ride in.

In the manege, Baggy could see that Calum and Joey were gliding along beautifully, clearly having remembered everything that they'd been taught. Grotty on the other hand! Well, the moment that Wesley got into the manege he started to go into his dressage diva mode i.e. looking very impressive, but actually going quite poorly and not holding himself together. Bless him, that's what he thought Grotty wanted. Grotty stood and thought for a while. But Hormonal Hannah and Freda Fretter were convincing her that she didn't know what she was doing. Poor Wessles reverted to a jelly fish. It didn't help at all that Grotty had her old boots on. They are such soft leather that they have no support. Baggy can't feel them on her leg, so Wesley probably can't feel them (in the same way as the stiff ones) on his side. Hannah got frustrated. Calum told Grotty what she was doing wrong. Hannah got annoyed. Baggy explained that the boots were making her not feel the same. Calum said that they would make no difference. Hannah got mad. Calum persisted. Hannah got upset. Clever Bird tried again to explain that she meant that because her boots felt so different, she didn't have the "memory" of how Wesley going properly felt. Calum still persisted. Clever Bird told Hannah to "Shut up". Grotty listened to Calum and tried what he said. It worked. Hannah tried not to sob with relief.

A beautiful bit of schooling followed, just as it started to spit with rain. Grotty decided to see whether she could now trot Wesley in a straight line. She managed it briefly and decided to end on a positive. They took the Boys back into their stables, just as the Heavens opened to emit a torrential downpour. Wesley couldn't stop yawning. Baggy couldn't stop yawning. Driving home after doing a food shop, Calum and Clever Bird agreed that Grotty and he must have been riding in the new way correctly, as they were so mentally exhausted from concentrating to get it right!

Same again tomorrow (minus blooming Hormonal Hannah) then..........

Another day of pictures and lots of words - and a bit of drama for Grotty!

Tuesday (our second day away at Ashen EC) was exhilarating and exhausting in one for Baggy and Calum and for the horses, as it was both mentally and physically demanding and inspiring. In the evening after a quick freshen up, they had an Indian take away with a couple of the other "students" and Becky (our trainer). It was a fun and relaxing evening, but by the time they hit the sack at 9.30, that was it - asleep; instantly!

Yesterday, Grotty was once again taking the second lesson slot, so Baggy needed to be active for the fourth day in a row, at 6.00am! Unlike Monday and Tuesday, that were hot and sunny and left Baggy with very peculiarly designed sunburn, Wednesday was chilly and raining quite hard. When Grotty Groom and Calum went to get the Boys in so that they could dry off, they were not quite as relaxed as the previous two nights. Freda Fretter was worried about the change of routine, and as Baggy was regretting the choice of food the night before, she had to shoot to the loo. Grotty told Calum to wait for her, as Wesley would get rather upset if Joey left him. Calum had other ideas. By the time Baggy got back, he was leading Wesley in and Joey was having a total temper tantrum in the paddock. Sigh! Grotty waited with Wesley for Calum to get the head-collar and bring in a cold, grumpy Joey. They settled in their stables,

and dried off enough for Grotty to tack up. Grotty took Wesley into the school. The laid-back, calm, relaxed horse of the previous two days, was no more! He called and called Joey and was so wired, that he felt like he might go pop. Against her better judgement, Clever Bird made Grotty mount him. Hormonal Hannah wasn't happy with her. Baggy was absolutely terrified. Becky (our lovely trainer) said she was just popping into the house for a minute. Calum was trying to calm Joey, who was losing the plot in his stable! The other ladies, almost as one, stood up to go and "do things", like make cups of tea. Wesley whinnied so hard, that Baggy was being vibrated out of the saddle; her life flashed before her eyes as she felt him decide to spin to the gate; Grotty stopped him. Clever Bird explained that Grotty was riding a different horse today and could one of them keep an eye on Baggy for a while? They did. Becky came back and instantly saw the state that Baggy and Wesley were in. Wesley walked and called. Baggy got more and more scared.

Becky focussed Baggy giving clear instructions to Grotty, but by now Freda and Hannah were in charge and the situation was not improving. Then Grotty heard, "When you feel like it, halt Wesley, undo your air jacket and dismount". Baggy instantly relaxed and Wesley's energy dropped a little. Grotty jumped off,

 

Both took a big deep breath and relaxed a little more. Becky came in to the manege and showed Wesley and Grotty how to take charge of the situation, "in hand".  Hormonal Hannah took over Baggy who could only think that, "Grotty had failed, and after the brilliance and fun of the previous two days it was a disaster". She made Baggy cry, which Becky subtly ignored as she explained the benefits of using in hand work when a situation has become potentially dangerous, as she walked Wesley round, demonstrating the technique, as Grotty followed and tried to make Baggy concentrate. Then it was her turn.

 

 

It took a while and a serious amount of concentration, but eventually Grotty was calm enough for Wesley to trust that she was okay to be with, and perhaps he didn't need to call to his brother every couple of minutes.

 

 

"When you're ready, take him to the mounting block and remount". "Oh okay, maybe it wouldn't be such a disaster then", thought Grotty as Baggy's heart rate shot back up. "Don't worry, I'll stay with you". Clearly Baggy's bottom lip had shot back under her teeth!

 

But within a couple of minutes, Grotty and Wessles were back on track and Becky went back to her microphone.

 

 

 

Becky told Grotty to pull him up and praise him. The relief on both their faces!

 

 

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!!! Different Grotty, different horse; both Baggy and Wesley were now relaxed and ready to work. Grotty had the confidence to reassure Wesley that he was okay with her and did not need to keep worrying about Joey, the audience, the birds, the gliders, or anything apart from what he was doing! Big relieved grins all round. And so much support from the other "students" that meant so much.

 

 

New way of riding. New way of thinking. New way of responding to potentially dangerous situations. New way of training Grotty and Wessles. The first steps in a long journey, but a journey towards an even closer bond between the pair. Soooooooo happy. Wesley is no longer a jack-knifing jelly fish as Grotty now knows how to "steer" him correctly, so that he has to hold himself together; now to learn the method properly and to put it into practice for ever more!

 

 

Grotty took an exhausted and emotional Baggy and Wesley back to his stable and his brother (who hadn't been eaten by a monster), and met Calum who congratulated her. Baggy burst into tears - of relief! Cal made her a cup of tea. Horses settled, they went off to watch the next lessons by which time it had stopped drizzling.

 

Cal was on in the late morning. Now Joey was going to have to leave Wesley in his stable, but Wesley had company, so Grotty decided to try not to worry. He was fine. He called Joey lots, but did nothing daft. Joey called back once, then got on with it! Bless him.

 

 

 

Becky decided to teach Joey how to "glide" i.e. to extend his front legs instead of planting them in short little steps.

 

 

Cal took over. Joey is such a good lad, he wants to learn even though he finds it a little difficult, as its so opposite to the "stunt riding" schooling that Cal and he have had previously.

 

 

Baggy was so proud of them both. Especially when they took everything they had learnt into a beautifully forward-going trot, with Joey's little face asking, "WTF is happening here? I don't do this fancy stuff!" But clearly he does, as does Cal!

 

The sun came out on them both and suddenly it was very warm again, but Cal too has been inspired to learn this new way of riding and schooling too. Watch out world! Joey is no longer a wonky steam roller, he is a flexible, forward going superstar, and Cal now believes (as he should), that he can ride! Yee-hahs all round.

 

The afternoon workshop, where everyone's lessons are discussed from the videos that Becky shoots, was a revelation to Clever Bird! Baggy knows what Grotty was sitting on at the start of her lesson - Wesley, the highly-strung, solid-backed, nervous horse who feels like an unexploded bomb. She knows how Baggy was feeling - sick, tearful and terrified! What she saw in the video was a horse calling, with a relaxed-looking in control rider on his back! WTF? No wonder when Grotty says to her friends out riding, "I am on an unexploded bomb", they sometimes look at her as if she's an idiot, unless they (like Calum) has seen what Wesley can do! Thankfully, Becky who has never seen Wesley's over-reactive spooks, could see exactly what Wesley "felt" like and how Baggy was feeling!!!!!!!!! So, although at the time, it felt like a disaster, Clever Bird is delighted that Wesley felt as he did, and that Grotty now has a resolution! A very simple demonstration from Becky to Clever Bird about the effect, or rather lack of it, that Grotty has on the reins when Wesley does freak out, was also mind-blowing! That alone would have been worth every penny spent on the training!

 

All-in-all, it has been a truly inspiring "holiday", where they didn't just learn a load of stuff that will give Wesley, Joey, Calum and Grotty a boost, but where they've all made some lovely new two and four-legged friends!

 

The Boys loaded well. Travelled well. And couldn't wait to charge around their paddocks once they got back to home........