Keep looking forward!
Martin Luther King Jr once said: 'If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving". He was right, though it's easy to lose sight of that in January
It's currently mid-winter. There is so much mud at the moment it's hard to imagine grass on the ground. It's also hard to imagine a time when it's possible to ride in the evenings - or even to ride at weekends; or even to WANT to ride! We've had strong winds, snow and ice and heavy rain lately whenever I've been able to go to Happy Acres in daylight, so my motivation to ride has been a tad lacking.
So, I thought I would go through all the things that we SHOULD be doing at this time of year and try to kick start you,. dear reader, into thinking along the same lines. Between us I am sure we can come up with a master plan for a successful transition from winter to spring and onwards to the season
In 2017 I made a couple of changes to the way I do things. For example, I have a tendency to ride with my left elbow straight and left hand lower than my right. So to remedy that I tried to make myself more aware of what my hand is up to - I am very very right handed. I started to hold the steering wheel on my daily commute at exactly 10 to 2. Also when getting a round of coffees in for me and my colleagues i carry more cups in my left hand and try to watch to make sure it's level with my right
I also have a tendency to go into foetal panic mode whenever Beau is in a spooky/nappy mood so i made up a few strategies to deal with that too, which on the whole are working.
There is one particular corner in the school at home that he hates, and one corner in the arena we do most of our dressage in. I can identify scary things on both places (a mirror in one with kit piled up in front of it, and in the other a clangy noisy electric gate behind a think high hedge), but since he is not bothered every time we go pact them there must be something else. I don't know what it is so I am working on minimising the impact instead by:
Discoveries
As a result, my biggest discovery came about myself rather than Beau. I discovered that I can still jump, ride to a fence and stay on without impeding him, but I am terrified of speed. To date I have never had a bad fall at a fence related to speed, though have tumbled off a few times purely through speed itself (and the hard stop horses can do always do after a flat out panic gallop - but can't seem to manage in a test from a balanced trot). Beau loves to jump and loves to do it at speed, so I have two choices: either learn to like speed, or stick to dressage. If i ever decide which is the best way forward i will let you know
You've got to have a dream...
I also decided that my fitness was letting Beau down both jumping and on the flat, so I have started doing something about that
I am sure, dear reader, that you will agree fitness is best dealt with over the winter when riding opportunities are few and far between. I work full-time an hour from home, and I work hard, so when I get home i often have nothing left for riding or treadmills or exercise balls! It's pretty tough to work on personal fitness in the hours left, but I have decided to do so, and so i will
Budget
Yeah. Erm...!
I tried to work out what I'd spent on training, memberships, competitions etc last year. It got quite scary but at least now i know where my salary goes!
The list does not include livery fees, incidentals (repairs, rug cleaning, consumables, event tickets), so you can see there is no cheap way to keep horses, compete and stay on the road. If you are on a budget then it's obvious why you need to plan your season so that you know how much it will cost and keep within your limits.
It is so easy to lose control of spending and find yourself too broke to buy Christmas presents at the end of the year. Ahem...
Good luck!
Much love, Tam and Beau x
Martin Luther King Jr once said: 'If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving". He was right, though it's easy to lose sight of that in January
It's currently mid-winter. There is so much mud at the moment it's hard to imagine grass on the ground. It's also hard to imagine a time when it's possible to ride in the evenings - or even to ride at weekends; or even to WANT to ride! We've had strong winds, snow and ice and heavy rain lately whenever I've been able to go to Happy Acres in daylight, so my motivation to ride has been a tad lacking.
So, I thought I would go through all the things that we SHOULD be doing at this time of year and try to kick start you,. dear reader, into thinking along the same lines. Between us I am sure we can come up with a master plan for a successful transition from winter to spring and onwards to the season
In 2017 I made a couple of changes to the way I do things. For example, I have a tendency to ride with my left elbow straight and left hand lower than my right. So to remedy that I tried to make myself more aware of what my hand is up to - I am very very right handed. I started to hold the steering wheel on my daily commute at exactly 10 to 2. Also when getting a round of coffees in for me and my colleagues i carry more cups in my left hand and try to watch to make sure it's level with my right
I also have a tendency to go into foetal panic mode whenever Beau is in a spooky/nappy mood so i made up a few strategies to deal with that too, which on the whole are working.
There is one particular corner in the school at home that he hates, and one corner in the arena we do most of our dressage in. I can identify scary things on both places (a mirror in one with kit piled up in front of it, and in the other a clangy noisy electric gate behind a think high hedge), but since he is not bothered every time we go pact them there must be something else. I don't know what it is so I am working on minimising the impact instead by:
- Always wear a neckstrap
- Work on shoulder in so that i can control the bend and then if he spooks he has to move outwards towards scary area rather than inwards to hoon round the school
- Make those places 'nice' by being very consistent with my hands, and making no changes in the corner. Bend is established way before it allowing the maximum time for him to see what's there whilst concentrating on what we're supposed to be doing
- Making him concentrate. Doing lots of different stuff in sessions and changing flexion on the straight sides
- Walking him past the area in hand and completely ignoring it myself
- We've also installed our old band stage banner on the fence near the corner, so at competitions he ought to be able to ignore the sponsor banners....
Discoveries
As a result, my biggest discovery came about myself rather than Beau. I discovered that I can still jump, ride to a fence and stay on without impeding him, but I am terrified of speed. To date I have never had a bad fall at a fence related to speed, though have tumbled off a few times purely through speed itself (and the hard stop horses can do always do after a flat out panic gallop - but can't seem to manage in a test from a balanced trot). Beau loves to jump and loves to do it at speed, so I have two choices: either learn to like speed, or stick to dressage. If i ever decide which is the best way forward i will let you know
You've got to have a dream...
I also decided that my fitness was letting Beau down both jumping and on the flat, so I have started doing something about that
I am sure, dear reader, that you will agree fitness is best dealt with over the winter when riding opportunities are few and far between. I work full-time an hour from home, and I work hard, so when I get home i often have nothing left for riding or treadmills or exercise balls! It's pretty tough to work on personal fitness in the hours left, but I have decided to do so, and so i will
Budget
Yeah. Erm...!
I tried to work out what I'd spent on training, memberships, competitions etc last year. It got quite scary but at least now i know where my salary goes!The list does not include livery fees, incidentals (repairs, rug cleaning, consumables, event tickets), so you can see there is no cheap way to keep horses, compete and stay on the road. If you are on a budget then it's obvious why you need to plan your season so that you know how much it will cost and keep within your limits.
It is so easy to lose control of spending and find yourself too broke to buy Christmas presents at the end of the year. Ahem...
Winter to spring checklist
It's hard to imagine with storm whatever it is now blowing the branches off the trees at the moment, but it's time to start getting ready for Spring!
I've chucked the below quick list together as an aide memoire, add to it or ignore as you wish :)
It's hard to imagine with storm whatever it is now blowing the branches off the trees at the moment, but it's time to start getting ready for Spring!
I've chucked the below quick list together as an aide memoire, add to it or ignore as you wish :)
- Tack check: stitching, fit of saddle and bridle, cleanliness, eBay or charity for the mountain of stuff you're not using
- Lorry: Clean, MOT, diesel, check tyres, fluids, springs, ramp, floor etc. Best get a professional on that one
- Rugs: sort out repairs and those that need a clean, buy next year's winter rungs in the sale if you have a rug destroyer!
- Horse: Final clip to allow the summer coat to come through, pull manes, tidy feathers, get teeth, back and jabs done
- Try not to become an alcoholic with misery over the mud, get ready for those Spring evenings!
- If need be, work on your personal fitness - particularly your all-important core
- Go and read a book or take a course or advise on improving your own mindset for competitions and training - this is so often neglected but absolutely 100% the key to it all
Good luck!
Much love, Tam and Beau x
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