Christmas Holiday Monday

Christmas Sunday

Boxing Day

Christmas Day

Christmas Eve

Me time

The big freeze continued with low overnight temperatures continuing into the day. Luckily for us, the way to the field was largely free of ice and we were able to go out for most of the day. We were pleased to come in at 3.30 and made rapid inroads into our hay nets. We also demolished our teas in record time.

The school is still frozen, so my time-off continues. Dad will ride me again to test my adjusted and re-flocked saddle when the surface has thawed a little. In the interim, I'm happy to enjoy a mid-winter break. Cobs do like a little me-time occasionally.

Hello Boris

Getting the hump

About time I wrote something again. Just like the start of the Talkies; not exactly Jolson sings, but David blogs.

Anyroadup, "What's occurin?" you might ask. Or... if no-one's out there, it doesn't really matter. Well, it goes back to our last lesson on the twelfth. When Dad got on, I was a tad perky and raised my back a little several times as we were just walking around on a left rein. They were what Dad calls my little "humps" and certainly didn't amount to bucks - perhaps a "buck-ette". Fran rode me to see what the problem was and after I had warmed up, I worked well. Dad then rode me for the rest of the lesson and we schooled in walk, trot and finished with some canter.

Dad then rode me in the school on the following day, Monday. Again I did my little humps and after the fourth one - which was quite demonstrative and rattled his truss a little - Dad dismounted and called the session to an end. He wasn't sure if I was just fresh with the cold or suffering some pain and decided to check it out before riding further.

Fortunately Halena, our physio was already booked to visit another horse on the yard and checked me out a day or so later. She found my back a little sore and treated it, but on checking out my saddles found some daylight and a couple of points of contact and felt this was the cause of the problem.

Miles the saddler was visiting at the weekend and added me to his list. When he checked my dressage and GP saddles he found some daylight. He said he was surprised that I hadn't protested even more and adjusted the saddles and flocking, hopefully to eradicate the problem.

He commented that I looked well and said that I had put on condition on my shoulders which had raised the height of the saddle at the front meaning that when Dad's weight went on the rear of the saddle there was bridging and too much pressure was applied on two points in the middle of my back.

Dad will resume my TENs treatment and massage and will use my Newmarket for exercise when it's cold. He also cut out my tiger oats for now, as a precaution. So I have had a couple of further days off during the snow and whilst the school is frozen and unusable.

Dibby and I have two rugs on at night during this cold spell when it has been minus six degrees at times. When you are fully clipped, even stoical cobs notice these things.

Dibby in the washbox and field

December morning

Sunday morning by the stables

Pre-Christmas lesson with Fran