Riding Instructor's Diary

Day At Work

2012-02-11T23:30:00.000Z

Just some snapshots from today as I haven't posted any photos or training videos for a while and had so much fun today!

Smile and -5C will feel like the best of fun :)

Quiet chat with a new ride..

Flatwork session; working on straightness to improve balance.

Movement awareness session. Following another moving being to the dot is not as easy as it might seem...:)

Polework in preparation for jumping

In The Snow

2012-02-10T18:34:00.001Z

Although pretty, this is the worst kind of snow - thin coverage of all the rutty, uneven ground. Snow as such is a fabulous surface to ride on but only if there is enough of it. So today, Kingsley enjoyed a lot of snow plays with his field buddies :)

The thin, wet snow melts fast. I took the below photos on way back from food shopping, couldn't resist the view :)

Facefreeze on Freezehacks for the good cause

2012-02-09T20:05:00.000Z

There is a very interesting conversation going on on Hay Net about the reasons for horse people continuing visits to the yard/doing horses in current weather conditions: http://hay-net.co.uk/topic/247/why-do-you-do-it?page=1
Believe me, I was thinking this when doing one hour facefreezing hack this morning with His Majesty...My thoughts were more on why not to do it though. I've always thought about horses as athletes in that, if their bodies are to serve us well, they need to be regularly conditioned. This is regardless of how little work they do, walking with someone on their back is not what their skeletal and muscular systems were designed to do.

Although rest is good for most horses and periodic time off serves many, Kingsley is not such horse. Due to my work I can only do him 4 times and week and in a good week Pauline will hack him out once or twice too so he works from 4 to 6 days a week. Currently, this is 4 times a week. Whenever I have to back off his workload being due to ground conditions, his inventive injuries or time constraints and whenever his turnout is restricted to only a few hours a day - I can feel it in him straight away.
He is 7 years old now and perhaps all his problems are causing him some early and mild arthritic changes, who knows, but he can get a little stiff and weak whenever he hasn't been out/hasn't worked.
Despite the freeze, he was fabulous today and that's after being out every single day since Monday.
It might sound cruel but my feeling is that if we can't find a way to exercise him it would be kinder for him to be put down than retired (based on his movement and coordination whenever he can't be worked in any way).
So this is why I do it for him, it seems the only way and it brings me a lot of pleasure to see him showing even a tiny improvement like being able to halt without fidgeting in discomfort or slow the walk down and relax his back, or to see him play more in the field with the pony.
It's this need for consistency and continuity that gets me out into the frozen lanes to walk his feet ;)

After a lot of soul searching and solutions seeking, Pauline and I decided to leave Kingsley where he is right now. He is a very happy horse here and as he changed "homes" so many times it seems right not to move him again for now.
One big disadvantage of this decision is that I have no possibility of proper riding as Kingsley's rehab is time consuming and there are no facilities on the farm for more serious riding even if I did find another horse to train on.
Something to find a solution for.

On the teaching side I've been very busy with a few clients purchasing Academy's long term programmes which is almost as good as receiving a few young horses to work with ;)
Another few clients went for more conservative monthly training which is nevertheless also wonderful.

Planning long term development of the riders is what "does" it for me in this job and to have this opportunity feels like winning a lottery.

Back On Track!

2012-02-08T21:54:00.004Z

All the swelling is pretty much gone from Kingsley's leg today! We went for a 30 minutes hack on the roads and through the fields. The ground is bad, very hard and frozen into uneven bulges everywhere. The only truly rideable place is the main road ;)
Kingsley was so eager to go today and except being still definitely unsure about the driveway's surface, he marched on.
I am puzzled by this foot soreness on this driveway - yes it is rough and uneven with many stones, holes etc but so are other places where he isn't struggling nearly as much. He stomped over larger stones with no issues.
It seems that the small stones are causing him more trouble as well as ridges in the driveway. The main goal to me is to get him to walk slower with more relaxed back and as we went out with Meredith on Zulu I was able to pace Kingsley to Zulu's walk speed.
We had an unplanned canter when we came across a massive, loud hedge cutter tractor which proved too much for the boys! Otherwise we remained in walk as the ground is just awful.
Common spring!

Why patience might be the most important thing...

2012-02-06T23:25:00.001Z

...in horse training:

Kingsley's swelling around the forearm/above knee has now migrated down the front of the knee and inside side of the cannon bone. I spent good 20 minutes again today trying to find anything that would suggest the source of inflammation (like a scrape, wound etc) but there is nothing there.
He is prone to swelling whenever he has any scratches and kicks so I am guessing it's some form of a trauma without any skin breakage.
He is sound in walk and very eager to trot but I didn't like the look of it. I am also amazed at how much he deteriorates without work and how well he responds to it. Before the "kick" I worked him several days one after another and doing a bit more each time and he was feeling better and better. Now, 4 days of lay off with just in-hand walking and his coordination is suffering already. Seriously horse!

I walked him in-hand for just over an hour today and wanted to put him on the lunge so I could have a good look but he is so full of energy that the walk proved way too boring:

The swelling is a hard, lymphatic-like swelling and it went down a little after the walk. It also became softer and spongier.
He got the No Bute - Devil's Claw in his feed tonight, day off tomorrow and I'll see how he feels on Wednesday.

This is the leg after an hour of walking (the left fore):

Oh dear Kingsley :-/

Signs of good and bad shoeing - the resource like no other...

2012-02-06T22:36:00.000Z

For anyone interested in hooves, farriery and healthy feet in a horse, check out this extensive post on Horse and Hound Forum. It is certainly the first I have come across and is such a wonderful way to educate ones eye for a well shod foot:

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=513676

Just a bit of snow

2012-02-05T21:33:00.000Z

Saturday evening:

The above means a 300% increase on journey time to work on Sunday morning. It's third year in a raw where snow complicates play for road and transport users. It took me over 3 hours to get to work but I was determined to make it. My determination was somewhat rewarded by a few clients turning up saying they braved it too since I made all that way ;)

Many cancelled on the day though.

After 40 minutes of some de-snowing, the arena was totally fine to use.

Coming from a country where snows comes every winter for a few months at a time (and I mean real snow not a fluffy few inches cover) it is really hard for me to watch the proceedings here without feeling slightly amazed.

In fairness, it is a big improvement from 2008 when my London to Gloucester train got terminated at Swindon upon a light dusting of snow (not even a half a centimetre of snow ) and services ceased for the day. All passengers received a free taxi drive back home so I couldn't complain!

Few more years and the snow might be tamed a little ;)

My interview adventures are Live! Episode 181: The Small Training Business Roundtable

2012-02-03T16:30:00.001Z

If you like it and fancy sharing it with your friends and relatives I would be over the moon. Without an investor, sponsors and financial backing it's very difficult to run a succesful horse business and I really do want Academy to succeed. Spreading the word and providing best training I can are my only tools right now.
When I think about the success I see us being able to offer the best possible conditions for riders and horses to improve and fulfill their dreams and goals. Creating an environment where quality equestrian education fuels drive for improvement is what personally drives me as a riding instructor.
Here is a link which lets you listen to the interview and I would love to know what you think:

Episode 181: The Small Training Business Roundtable http://stablescoop.horseradionetwork.com/2012/02/02/stable-scoop-episode-181-the-small-training-business-roundtable/

Birthday, Radio Interview and the Frrrreeezzze

2012-02-02T14:08:00.001Z

Finally, a number of years that is easy to remember, I kept catching myself on wondering how old I was when people asked me ;) Thirty three is easy enough to memorise.

I've received some lovely gifts (and gorgeous flowers) and feel utterly spoiled :-D
This morning, I set off to do Kingsley and damn, it was cold! So beautiful though, it seems the sun is always much brighter when the temperatures hit 0C.
The ground is frozen solid which makes riding difficult. Where there was mud a few days ago, there are mini craters and uneven ridges, even walking by yourself is tricky as it feels like ankle/knee twisting experience every time you lose focus.
Kingsley braved on and I only walked him today. He is great on any surface at the moment apart from stones on which he continues to be uncomfortable and footsore.
Yesterday, he had the second round on Tet+Flu jabs and seeing the one in the beginning of January appears to correspond with some sort of a ripple on all four hooves I wonder if the second one will also show up in any way. The next round in July and then yearly thereafter as usual. He will also need to be microchipped as despite our efforts we can't retrieve Kingsley's passport. It got lost by the transport company back in October and since the law now requires all equines to be microchipped we have no choice but to go with it if he is to have a new passport.
Thankfully, needles are not something he remotely worries about.
Playing in the field cost Mr Trouble a swollen forearm and knee but there seem to be no reaction to me prodding it so I massaged some Arnica gel into the swelling yesterday and today.

A few days ago, Glenn from Horse Radio Network asked me if I would like to do an interview on one of the shows they do: The Stable Scoop Radio Show. I did an interview with them about 3 years ago when they grand number of 12 listeners so it was a no pressure fun thing to do...If you know which Radio I am talking about you will know the number of listeners have shot up just a tiny bit..to thousands and worldwide. Needless to say I was a little bit less relaxed about it all than last time ;)
It's a lot of fun though and to think it's so easy now to arrange for a round-the-table chat with people in different corners of the world, then air it with worldwide reach is pretty exciting for everybody in the equestrian industry. I've been supporting the Horse Radio Network and love listening to the shows since they came to life and hope they will continue expanding, entertaining and informing more and more horse people.
In the interview I chatted about setting up The Aspire Equestrian Riding Academy, we all discussed running the freelance equestrian businesses, the challenges and ideas that come with it. There was another rider-trainer on the show too - I will post a link to the episode when it goes live (tomorrow I believe!).

Back to the yard.

It's not just the riding that's tricky in the winter. To the left is my adventures with trying to keep Kingsley's water from freezing. I remember back in Poland we used to make a room for water buckets in straw which worked as fantastic insulation but I am pleased to say shavings work fine too!
Kingsley's water was in a fluid state this morning :)

And a very short video of our frozen hack (if not for the wind that bites right into face and eats into eyeballs the cold as such is fine with me ;) and the boys playing (hmm) in the field:

Now I am going to spend the rest of the day relaxing and getting spoiled some more :-D

Hoof Ride's London Horse Network Meeting

2012-01-30T23:55:00.002Z

Facebook: HOOF RIDE

It took my friend and I almost two hours of driving from Berkshire to Brixton but after some weak attempts at map reading and direction guessing we found The Ebony Horse Club, the place for yet another great initiative from Hoof Ride. I've enjoyed attending the meetings and seminars for the last year and I feel like they gave me a much better understanding of the industry as a whole.
Today it was all about marketing and PR, something I probably feel the strongest at but nevertheless it always helps to learn from pros.

It is very true that you can have the best possible service or product but if nobody knows about it, that value is lost.
The speaker in the morning was Jane Fraser and she talked us through some basics of SWOT analysis as well as being able to describe the businesses for what they really offer. It was all done in form of an interactive exercise which allows for comparing the problem areas as well as strong points.
Jane gave us some useful advice on how to write press releases and understand the good timing for various events.
One exercise in particular provoked a discussion on staff retention.
From the point of view of someone who was employed by many riding establishments for number of years I find it interesting that some issues the horse businesses encounter that relate to staff are the same in 2012 as they were in 2002...I guess all of us who work as grooms, instructors, bring-this-tack-up-that type staff know how we would like to be treated and what floats our employment boats but why are there no changes and same problems year after year? Do we not communicate effectively? Is it that the demands cannot be met for some reason? And if so, why?
I don't have the answers to those questions and until I employ people to work for me I don't think I can objectively assess the situation.
My opinion is that the money isn't as big a problem as some employers might think. Sure if the pay is very low nobody will want to stay for long but it's the simple respect and attention to individual needs that's important. I have friends working very long hours, mucking out 15 stables a day, tacking up horses, feeding, haying up in the fields, rushing through the day to get everything done and I have done it myself in the past. It's hard physical work and I personally did it to be able to ride and train and so do many of my friends.
Someone said to me recently "you know, it would be nice if during an especially hard day, my employer noticed I'm running on empty and said - hey, have 10 more minutes for your coffee break, catch your breath - I would have appreciated that hundred times more than that £10 more for staying after hours".
I feel lucky to be in charge of my time and to be able to rest when I feel I need now so the quality of my job is always as high as I wish it to be but there were many days were I could identify with this statement.
Perhaps what really needs addressing is the hiring process so young people are understood, their motives known (and re-checked periodically as they change all the time) and their life plans helped with. If it's a "lifestyle reward" industry then maybe more attention is needed to non-monetary benefits.
If biggest reward for a low paid groom is to make horses in her charge look and feel great then giving her ten horses to care for with one hour a day to do them all is not going to give her any job satisfaction...

Sad procedures are still very much in place even at well regarded, nicely presented establishments. Even being freelance you come across people who think that if they pay you enough they don't have to bother with your feelings, needs or opinions. You are just a mucker-outer, horse exerciser or money maker (when you teach) they can pick and drop as they wish.
But then again, I am sure there will be people out there arguing that such situation is common across other professions, other industries...

I'm an idealist and would love to see happy people doing what they love and having pleasure doing it. Whether it is possible in real life? I hope so. It's great these issues are discussed and there are employers out there though who stroke the right balance.

I do love to see places like Ebony Horse Club. No idea about staff satisfaction there but it's one great place that must be changing so many lives in the area.

Kingsley Video Diary: In-hand and Ridden

2012-01-27T22:59:00.000Z

Instead of rain there was most beautiful sunshine today so I took the opportunity to do some filming :) Unfortunately, the ground is still muddy and slippery but the overnight frost made it just firm enough so I was able to use our schooling field.
The in-hand work has made Kingsley so tune in into my body language that he is like a little radar waiting for a sign and instructions. When I get it right he is fabulous, we can walk so slow it seems like we are moving in slow motion which really helps with his relaxation and suppleness as well as better self-carriage. When I get it wrong, he goes too quick and falls onto his shoulders or overbends or both.
By trial and error I arrived at my own perfect "equipment" solution for the moment. Kingsley goes in slacked side reins attached to side rings of the cavesson (not the bit) - there is no pressure on the side reins and as you can see he can move in his llama form as much as he wishes :-/
The reason for the side-reins used in this manner is that I need some form of very subtle straightening tool and they do just that.

The ridden "schooling" session was the longest we've done so far and lasted about 10 minutes. He walks way too fast and carries himself very hollow. I believe he is clever enough to figure out better way by himself as long as I give him all possible chances.
I move him laterally under saddle to have some control over his shoulders and the legs. He now understands slowing down seat aids out hacking but balance issues on the turns and circles take the better of him and he blanks me out. I could correct him with the reins but because he is so badly schooled and pretty much has no "mouth" I decided to just keep a simple connection without letting him drop me no matter what he chooses to do with his neck and head.
I then focus entirely on keeping him in "one" walk i.e. the same, repetitive rhythm, same length of stride and let him figure out how best to arrange his body. It doesn't look pretty and it is taking forever but we are in no rush.
As you can see at the end he totally got what I was after so I let him finish for the day and we went on our road loop to get those hooves working.
Here is a little video from today: don't expect anything amazing :)

Due to my full on work diary in the next few days I won't be able to get to him until Wednesday which is such a shame as he only really improves with very regular work.

The February rehab schooling objectives:

- be able to walk him on both reins in the similar tempo to the one we can now do in-hand
- be able to stay in the same tempo and rhythm on a 20m circle
- be able to stay in balance going from straight line into left and right turn
- lateral bending & back suppleness: find ways to improve
- continue short trots under the saddle and monitor the improvement (or lack of it)
- continue trot on the lunge to monitor balance and suppleness
- continue in-hand work: more attention to his ability to carry weight on left fore and left hind; more suppleness to the right hind.

Like a Whisper

2012-01-26T23:18:00.001Z

Very slowly, I am increasing the amount of schooling Kingsley does per hack and each time it feels like riding a horse with a brain of a Grand Prix horse and a body that holds him back.
Today we did three circles to the left and four to the right (the more problematic ones). So you see, when I say increase of workload I really do mean baby steps.
He worked well on the lunge on the left and we are working through the issues on the right. He is crooked in that he leans heavily on his right shoulder. I got some super results in walk and can now pretty much say I want his weight here and there and he will do it but we only just starting the same game in trot. It's difficult.
I wish I could do better in working him in-hand in trot as I can see how much it helped him at walk.

On the lunge I noticed some changes in the way he carries his neck. His usual reaction to anything from transition, change of undulation, change of place for a circle would result in a lift of the neck with that disengaged look to the whole neck/wither area. In the last few days there appear to be less hollowing of the neck in front of the wither and more lift in the shoulder in the trot transitions. As a result his neck seems longer and more connected to the rest of the spine. I have similar impression in the saddle so I hope I am not imagining it.
Kingsley is a trier. He is amazingly perceptive and very sensitive - characteristics that drew me to him at the very start.
Today was our third short trot under the saddle and it felt much better than the first one with the one difference that our downwards transition was nowhere near as good because he decided trotting is much more fun than walking. Part of the problem is his inability to push more up with his hindlegs and the push forwards he is generating is only cartwheeling him forwards onto the front legs.
All these balance issues considered I am amazed at how light my signals can be for him to get the message. Everything needs just be a whisper.
Although he couldn't give a damn and is probably feeling like he won a lottery with all the attention he is getting since Pauline and I got him, it saddens me to think what an incredible horse he could have been if not for the physical issues. Mentally he is pretty much all I would ever wish in my top horse.
If it doesn't pelt down with rein tomorrow I will try to video our baby schooling but don't hold your breath, it's not very exciting to watch!

A little bit of snowy Poland and a little bit of Family :)

2012-01-25T22:47:00.000Z

Just a few snapshots. I am looking forward to seeing them all soon!

My gorgeous niece last weekend; she is growing so fast, born in May 2011.

Mum & Dad last week

Something Different...

2012-01-23T20:22:00.000Z

Pic: Kingsley after his muddy beauty treatments today

Last time I trotted Kingsley under the saddle was about late May/early June June 2011. Variety of his health issues prevented us from doing anything but walking him under the saddle but there were also two other reasons why I kept putting any faster work off.

1) Even at his best, in March 2011, his trot work never felt truly at ease. He was level and his trot sequence was correct but he preferred cantering to trotting. Importantly, his breathing at the trot was irregular and laboured resembling the breathing sound of a galloping horse with short, audible splutters. He was a very physically fit horse at the time and the breathing was like that pretty much after the first few steps. He would also breathe like that on the lunge in trot.
From what I read the breathing often changes when biomechanics is poor, when there is a pain or discomfort issue, lameness, compensation etc Many reasons but one thing is sure: it's not a good sign.

2) Inability to move with enough engagement to allow for rounder, more athletic posture. His trot has always been very hollow and forehand heavy with very little push from behind and ineffective self-carriage.

These two are the major reasons for me focusing on improving his movement pattern and basically waiting for something to change. If I am honest, I wasn't sure what I was waiting for. I guess I wanted him to "tell" me he was feeling better, ready for more physical load.

This is why I spent pretty much last 6 months only trotting him on the lunge or in-hand. I would get off him and run with him to trot him, then got back on to continue the walk. I would do 3-4 trots per hack, couple of times a week.

I also trotted him on long lines but had to stop after my knee troubles as he was too unpredictable and too fast to run behind him.

I also started to ask him for a very short trots in hand - literally 5 or so steps, then halted him and did the exercise when I push him gently backwards and forwards so he shifts his weight forwards and backwards without actually moving his feet.

All this while waiting for something..different?

On Saturday Pauline took him out and told me that he kept trying to trot with her on a hack. He has done that with me a lot of the times but he is generally very forwards with me and as he can be sharp I never took this for this "something" I was after. He always felt like he was heavily loading the front anyway in the moments when he tried to trot off.

However, we have a running joke with Pauline because her very calm, sedative almost way of riding often makes it difficult for her to create forwardness in a horse. We joke it's her low blood pressure and slow heart beat ;) When I heard he wanted to trot off with her I thought perhaps he is ready to try.

I didn't plan to do anything but usual walk and in-hand trot today but when we did the first dismounted trot I realised his breathing was normal. He was not taking short, laboured sniffs like breaths but it was an easy, quiet breathing.

Something Different.

I got back on and when we hit a lovely, firm grassy track that drained well and was not slippery, I asked him for a trot.

It felt good! At first he was crooked but responded immediately to me straightening him and gave me the best trot ever. Forward, easy, straight.

We continued for about 20-30 steps and I kept changing trot diagonals to check if he was able to continue with my full weight on either shoulder. He did.

His back was hollow but much freer and softer than I remembered from May and the downwards transition had much better carriage and coordination to it than ever.

Kingsley was slightly bemused by my patting and "good boy" all over him ;)

We also did the slaloms around the trees again and he was better than last week. Still struggling but we managed some decent, slow steps and right bends.

Feet wise, he continues to be very comfortable on tarmac and any soft surface but is still footy on stones. Much less so than last week though so it seems that taking him off grass is working.

We also decided to go ahead with forage analysis so I will let you know what the findings are once we've done it.

Here is a short video of Kingsley's feet today. I don't like the fact the horn keeps forming ripples instead of growing smooth and solid. I do love the way his back feet have straightened out though and I hope this is a sign of constantly improving biomechanics in his whole body.

A Story That Had Me Up All Night...Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken

2012-01-22T22:35:00.000Z

If you haven't seen this yet, be prepared for a whole night watching and researching ;)
"This movie is based on a true life story of a young girl...who dared to live her dreams" [Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken]

First, watch the film - I spent half a night on Saturday/Sunday glued to You Tube. Embedding is disabled for the videos but if you clink image below you will be taken to the first part, then just follow the video links on the right hand side - there are 9 Parts.

The movie, as you would expect from Walt Disney, is a very romantic version of the true story but if it doesn't captivate you then perhaps you never had a dream...:)
After watching the film, I spent good few hours reading up on diving horses and Sonora Webster Carver and here are some links worth looking up if, like me, you found yourself fascinated by this bizarre show:

About Sonora - obituary of sorts: http://www.blogofdeath.com/2003/10/02/sonora-webster-carver/
The Diving Horses Of Atlantic City: http://odd-facts.blogspot.com/2009/09/diving-horses-of-atlantic-city.html
Diving Horse (Wikipedia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_horse
Diving Horses: IMAGES
Diving Horses VIDEOS
Sonora on Facebook

Sonora's book - autobiography:

I ordered the book that very night and it should arrive tomorrow, very much looking forward to reading Sonora's version...

I'm curious as to the statements claiming those horses loved diving...what do you think?

Equine Biomechanics

2012-01-21T22:56:00.002Z

I came across this blog a few days ago and I think it's a great one to follow for anyone interested in horse and rider biomechanics. Here is the link (click on the image):

Kingsley Video Diary

2012-01-19T20:59:00.001Z

We did about an hour and thirty minutes in total today (thirty minutes on the soft, an hour on tarmac and other surfaces) - he started to feel a little tired about the 45-50 min mark but was still marching on happily. In fact, when he gets a little tired he is much more relaxed which gives me an opportunity to "school" him.
Every time I take him out now I treat it as a schooling session - apart from walking about the country I make sure he moves as straight as possible. His tail was straight every time I looked back to check (he tended to carry it to the side for a long time).
Today's task was going in smaller, slower steps then longer ones without rushing. His response to rein pressure is to rush and hollow or round the neck and hide behind the bit. Additionally then his neck feels totally disjointed from the rest of his spine which defies the whole object of contact. This is something I experienced a lot on other horses which had been trained incorrectly in draw-reins (as he was).
It's very hard to correct because in his mind he is doing what is required.
Using small walk steps when he hides behind the bit makes him lift the neck and take a simple contact (I can feel him at the end of the reins), when he does that I let him move into bigger, swinging steps and then for three, sometimes five strides he relaxes into something of a better connection with nose in front of vertical, relaxed base of the neck and the neck feeling part of the rest of the horse.
I'm happy with those few strides for now.
The second task of the day was leg-yielding. We have it sorted in-hand as far as the speed of the steps goes so I am now trying to get to the same stage ridden. Let me tell you, for now, it is far from the in-hand stage ;)
What I am after right now is that he takes some sideways steps without losing balance and with clear waiting for me to tell him whether I want yet another sideways step or whether I want him to carry on straight.
Left to right is his better side but not mine. Right to left is much easier for me but harder for him.
He tries his best though.

I was amazed at how good he was today. No calling to other horses, only one more serious agitation and otherwise a super productive ride. He even relaxed properly at one point like he does when he is with another horse(s).

We put the horses in small paddock with pretty much no grass so we shall see if that helps him. One evil element gone there is the other: mud. His hoof horn is quite soft with all this wet weather we've been having.

Just the two of us again

2012-01-18T21:38:00.001Z

Pic: Kingsley caught mid-sneeze/air blow after our ride today

Pocholo is gone. I barely turned my head around the fact he was going and the transport company picked him up several days later. It's just Kingsley and I again.

Today was the first day of Kingsley's "schooling" under the saddle. All the ridden work so far was on straight lines out hacking.

First I introduced him to gentle serpentines just meandering around the trees. It's incredible how difficult these somewhat easy movements are for him. This is not to say he can't turn but there is no suppleness or bend in his body.

He also worries on his own so I will take him out more and more by himself so he can learn to trust me and find comfort in simply being with the rider rather than having Pocholo's escort.

He can be sharp and nervous when hacked on his own but there were moments today when he was listening to me and relaxed into the tasks pretty well.

His feet are giving me a bit of a headache. He is great on tarmac and any even ground but is uncomfortable on stoney, rough surfaces right now. They don't grow very smooth either and his right fore (the most problematic one) appears to be flatter than it was a few weeks ago.

One thing I keep thinking of is that he simply need to move better and move more. His diet could be fine-tuned too by doing the hay and grass analysis but as his forage sources are inconsistent I am not sure how much information we can gain from the analysis.

He's been turned out in a large field for the last week too (from morning or late morning if frosty till about 3:30). The grass there is very poor but all the horses seem to spend their time chopping it :-/

He was also vaccinated about 10 days ago which I am told can have effect on their feet.

Technically the options could be:

- to muzzle him but then he will be without any forage for half a day...

- stable him and feed hay only - this option comes with him being mentally unhappy and difficult to work with. It's also a no-no from the physiotherapy point of view.

- get him hoof boots??

- leave him as it is and see if more exercise slowly strengthens his hooves? Due to all his problems we are paranoid about doing more exercise but perhaps this is where we are going wrong...

It's now been over 5 months since his azoturia and severe feet soreness so I guess we will just have to bite the bullet and get more quality work into him.

He always changes his way of going on different surfaces, right now he loves tarmac and has real bounce to his steps on it. He is less keen on mud and struggles through but then not in any other way than all the shod horses I've been hacking in these same conditions.

On rough and stoney surfaces he picks his way through and makes the steps shorter.

On a good going on the grass his steps feel similar to how they feel on tarmac but his back is looser on the grass.

I think he made a great progress in-hand and we are now able to walk very slowly sideways, backwards, forwards etc with much improved balance and coordination so we can only try now to achieve similar body control ridden.

I will stick to the same exercises for 2 weeks so I can compare his movement reliably.

Exciting News - my "little" project made it to the Equestrian Social Media Awards 2012! :-D

2012-01-16T21:13:00.000Z

An email arrived into my Inbox:

"Congratulations! You have made it to the finals of the 2012 PagePlay Equestrian Social Media Awards. You enrich the online world for thousands of equestrians globally and the ESMAs is our way of rewarding you for your effort. "

YAY!

My Aspire Equestrian Riding Academy has been nominated in Cat 14 Riding School (Aspire Equestrian) so if you have a moment please give us a vote :) Click on the image above to go to the voting page!

Thank you :-D

Oh, and a cute photo of Kingsley and Ewa today. Ewa is with a short visit in the UK and is the rider who trials Aspire's long distance coaching programme all the way in NZ.

One of my favourite places in London - no Fenton today but still ;)

2012-01-15T22:34:00.002Z

My toes nearly froze to my riding boots but I love this place so much. One of the most beautiful parks I have ever been to and to be able to work there is quite a treat. The deers are quiet at this time of the year, they rest together, males and females, in sociable harmony.

The mare I hack on is quite worried about them even when they just munch peacefully. I guess her instincts are telling her these are not fellows to be played with ;)

I've been schooling horses and taking private hacks in this park since 2003 and I'm still as taken by it as the first time I saw it.

"Thousands of horses left to die as livery costs double" - It might be useful to buy The Independent tomorrow...:(

2012-01-14T23:26:00.000Z

Dear Readers - I would like to invite you to one amazing training week...

2012-01-13T23:32:00.000Z

Dear Readers of This Blog,
It might sound a little odd to receive such invitation via a blog but I assure you it's all very serious (albeit in fact a lot of fun!).
I was given an opportunity to get together 7 driven, passionate riders with grand desire to improve their riding, experience fantastic quality horses and/ or polish some specific skills at a very special place...

Two places are filled already. Five to go...

Below are a few photos and videos from Hippikos. Be inspired and come along for training adventure :)

Having my stirrups done for me :-0 Probably for the first time in over 15 years! The chestnut is called Ugie, bred in Portugal. Seriously fun horse to jump, careful and gives you fantastic feel over the jump. One of my top favorites together with wonderful mare Flemming.

Our schedule was pretty much the same each day out of choice. We did gymnastic jumping (grids) in the morning at 9am (they call it Flatwork), Dressage training at 11am (indoors - nice and cool! Piaffe feels good but Passage is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Lots of lateral work too, great test to change from shoulder-in to renvers to half-pass: my core muscles were definitely working and I think I developed an eight-pack! No photos from Dressage yet - hope Stella sends me some! - but some videos which I will upload as soon as I have the time) and Jump training at 5 or 6pm (courses).

The FOOD! Maria spoiled us totally with most delicious, freshly cooked and prepared meals and desserts. Delicious. I must admit to being now fully addicted to the Portuguese Licor Beirao...However, I categorically stopped drinking at lunch time after my first afternoon lesson where I had no control over anything, got head butted by Ugie and rode him so badly I was livid with myself. Did I mention Hippikos also has their own (very tasty!) wine? ;))

Where Pauline and I stayed - one of the guesthouses.

Our room :) We woke up each day to splashes of sunshine :)

The pool where we regenerated in between the training sessions. Nicola in the water. I get a bit restless doing nothing but was fairly proficient in leisuring on the sun lounger a couple of hours a day ;)

Reading, napping - hard life!

Lovely main guesthouse with dining room and sitting area where we sat down in the evenings. Pia dog knows how to use the time for siesta ;)

The Hippikos Bubble...Stunning views are good for the soul :) It's tranquil, relaxing, beautiful.

Last night Antonio (Hippikos owner and our wonderful host) took us all to Ponte de Lima Horse Fair (a festival celebrating the horse with international competitions, displays, entertainment etc) in a picturesque town Ponte de Lima. Next time I am going to proclaim myself vegetarian because the amount of pork consumed made me feel a bit dizzy!

Heather (one of the Dressage trainers who has plenty of hilarious stories to tell!) and Antonio in a blur of the night!

FEES FOR RIDDEN TRAINING, FOOD AND ACCOMMODATION 2012

Teaching Riding - Where is It Going?

2012-01-12T23:30:00.000Z

A friend of mine has recently lend me a couple of books. They are written by Molly Sivewright, the founder of Talland School of Equitation and titled "Thinking Riding" and "Thinking Riding Book 2: In Good Form". First printed in 1979 & 1984 respectively, then reprinted several times until 1982 & 1997 (Book 2).

Many thanks Tansy - these books have certainly made me think...the timing of receiving them was rather spot on too as that day I got stuck on way back home due to the ridiculous amount of traffic in London and delayed trains. It took me 3 hours to get back so I had an ample time for book browsing.

If you are not British you might find yourself taken slightly aback by frequent reminders of British supremacy but if you skim through that, the read is fascinating.

They take you through a mind of someone very passionate, idealistic and totally devoted to quality - at least that's the impression one gets from reading the books.

Although the stories of how Talland came to life are fascinating, what really caught my attention was the content of the Book 2.

In the Introduction, Molly Sivewright writes:

"The main purpose of this book is to give practical guidance to young and inexperienced instructors. Such guidance will help them to apply their teaching so that their own, and their pupils', confidence and competence improve with each lesson and they and their horses obtain maximum satisfaction and enjoyment from their work together. It's secondary purpose is to help intermediate instructor to progress in his or her chosen career, to rearrange, or even re-seed, some of the more experienced instructors' ideas and systems".

I am usually disappointed with typical riding manuals that suppose to help young people become better instructors. I read them and think "why are current riding manuals made so simple? why is there almost no mention of human anatomy, physiology, basic biomechanics? Why is everything focused on what to do but not how to do it? What to teach but not How to teach? Why are BHS qualified Instructors having progressively worse opinion amongst horse owners?

There is a famous Albert Einstein quote that says "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler".

Reading current instructor's manuals makes me think the knowledge passed on is being made "simpler".

I opened the old yellow book and found this:

There are pages after pages of fantastic illustrations and very useful observations. "The Latissimus Dorsi - find it and use it riders!" - things that I spent a few years researching and learning could have taken me a few hours should I read this book earlier.

I don't know why none of these books is not on the list of recommended reading for BHS Preliminary teaching test: http://www.britishhorse.com/sections/bhs_examinations.html There are some other really useful publications listed there. Perhaps there is something in the books that is no longer relevant? I can't say as I have only read the first chapter of the first book. I might get back to this post after reading both books back to back.

None of the books recommended to me to read for my PTT exam years ago had any mention of human anatomy and physiology apart from a very basic description of what the rider should look like on a horse.

I found this book myself at the time and so felt like it gave me a decent introduction to what I needed to know about teaching people to ride.

I feel that the general inclination to better knowledge of biomechanics is definitely growing. But will it become the norm?

Why do we learn so much about horses, their movement, management, health and yet so little about the rider?

It's so important for long term soundness of the horse that the riders work on their own asymmetries and crookedness so why aren't young instructor taught how to help riders to deal with it?

Is it supposed to be beyond our "responsibilities" as instructors/trainers/coaches?

There are many fabulous resources out there of course and if you really look you can self-educate yourself rather well. Many young people need to be pointed in the right direction though so I wonder where is the coaching education going?

I personally believe we should know as much about horses' as about human' body if we are to teach the physical and mental skill of riding. Shouting at someone to sit up is not the good way of training the skill of keeping ones torso in the correct alignment.

The sport & art that is riding and the skill & ability that is teaching it are both fascinating. I hope it isn't all going towards being "simpler"...

Winter turnout, diet and hooves

2012-01-11T17:54:00.001Z

We have turn out again! It's a different field that turned out to be available for us. It's fabulous to see them out and I am just keeping everything crossed this grass is "empty" enough not to cause them any feet issues.
It seems like having barefoot horses comes with a constant worry ;) At least when you are a beginner barefoot carer!
On one hand I am delighted they have the movement opportunity and mental heaven but I am dreading the aftereffects too.

Kingsley's and Pocholo's diet is very simple. They are both on Speedibeet (more info on the type we use HERE) and on the following supplements:

- Magnesium Oxide
- Brewers Yeast
- Micronized Linseed
- Seaweed
- Garlic with Mint

After speaking to Kate on Friday the plan was to to start both boys on a feed stuff that will help with muscle build up and the choice was a handful of oats for Pocholo directly after harder exercise and Lysine supplement for Kingsley in his meal. As Pocholo will be going I will keep him on what he is having right now as don't want to make changes to his diet before a demanding journey and change of lifestyle that awaits him. I am sure once he is in Spain his diet will be adjusted to what it needs be.

I've been reading up on the Lysine supplements and I am intrigued as the info ranges from people swearing by it and those who say it made no difference.
We are experimenting with Kingsley here because he needs more strength and muscle power without any additional energy content.

The weather is so mild I wonder how it affects their metabolism and hooves too. There was 15C yesterday and not much colder today. What's in the grass when January behaves like March?
I saw a butterfly outside my window couple of days ago...

All Change, All Change

2012-01-09T15:47:00.001Z

You know when you get ready for an exciting journey with some great people, the new empty train arrives and you had a bit of run to catch it but now sit there with a nice, steaming cup of coffee, getting comfortable and feeling warm inside in anticipation of your journey?
You know that a feeling-lucky-feeling as you got a seat by the window and it's all comfy and quiet and you just enjoy that pre-adventure moment?
Yes? That was pretty much my very start to the New Year 2012. A little out of breath after running through the 2011 just to settle into the cosy seat of the 2012.
Then the people txt in the last minute that they are not going to make it and the train driver announces "The destination of this train has changed. All change, all change". And you get off that train to realize you're at a station you don't know with no idea where to move on from there.
Yes?
Well that's how my last few days have been.

I've made some fairly significant changes to my life to be able to look after Kingsley and Pocholo for the next couple of years, namely we moved house and quit my freelance work in Middlesex and some jobs in Surrey. The latter was due to an unrealistic commute from current location.
Thankfully, I resisted temptation to move to the town even closer to the horses but where I had no work contacts. Right now, some of my freelance jobs are nearby, some are still in London.
Although I enjoy the variety, big changes coming one after another unsettle me and quitting work is a risky move at the best of times.
My big goal for this year was to get back on track with my riding and compete Pocholo so I was willing to sacrifice what needed to be sacrificed.
Losing the ride makes the whole move a very fragile venture. As a chain reaction, it has also put Kingsley's owner in a very difficult situation as traveling to a single yard for just one horse is near impossible for me. It's interesting to notice how so many things in life are dependent on one another. Invisible symbiosis.

I spent last few days getting to know the area as after few months I still feel quite a newby here as far as jobs go. There might be an opportunity for some freelance work nearby and I'll know more after my meeting later this week.
I have no regrets about moving despite the fact we would have gone for a different location if not for the boys' yard.
The new ways need to be found as it goes without saying I will continue looking after Kingsley for Pauline no matter the circumstances.
Academy work is starting to gather momentum and even though my head is still spinning after the emotional roller-coaster of the last few days, the little steps are being made.

In the end of February we will go ahead with the second Aspire Shadow Training Day With Anna Ross Davies and her apprentices at www.altogetherequestrian.com. The first one was a great success and everybody loved it so the Days are definitely going to make a regular appearance in Academy's riders' training.
We now have 7 attendees confirmed but if you are reading this and would like to learn more about the Academy's training and come for the Shadow Training Day feel free to contact me via: http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/contact.php

In March, we will invite Centaur Biomechanics again and as they made some interesting little changes to the way they provide their service I am very much looking forward to the sessions.

Also in March, Kari and I are gearing up for a clinic for Riding Club London under a working title of "Rider's Biomechanics - technique, confidence and feel". This is our re-developed and improved merge of riding instruction and chiropractic knowledge that when brought together can result in tremendous improvement of the body awareness and increase of skill level in riders of all abilities.

Then there is also a new plan for a training weekend near Malaga, Spain and continued testing of the long distance Academy training with an event rider in New Zealand.

All change. All change.

P.S. I would like to add that I am really grateful for everybody's support and emails but would also like to point out to some who were perhaps on a judgmental side of things that I have no problem with the decision itself which Pocholo's owner made. I am very sad about it of course as anyone would be and concerned about other issues it caused but I understand the reasons. As I said above, change causes change and that also applies to other people's circumstances. Pocholo will have a good life.