The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award

I've been blogging for longer than I can remember really - I started in the week where I brought Echo in to be backed as a 3-year old and although it has been somewhat patchy over the years, we're still here! So it's really lovely to have been nominated for the Liebster award, by both Beckz at I will jump sweet jumps and Kat at The Sixth Stride. It really is nice to know that people read my ramblings as, even though I write this mainly as a record of my journey with Echo, it is strangely comforting to know that people are interested! :)

So here are the rules: 

1. Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to their blog.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
4. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
5. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links to their blogs.
6. Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them.

So here are my 11 facts!

1. I'm a little obsessed with cycling - both doing it and watching it. My boyfriend and I are avid fans of pro cycling and follow the Tour de France religiously, often going to watch it and cycling up some of the mountains of the tour too.

2. I love rubbish TV programmes and am totally addicted to two of the worst soaps  in existence: Hollyoaks and Home & Away. It's a guilty pleasure an my down time each day!

3. I'm a high school English teacher at the moment - I left teaching for a while to do an MA in journalism and I would still really like to pursue this further. But right now money calls and I wouldn't have been able to do Echo's rehab as I have this year if I hadn't been working full time. Next year I'm going part time at school so that I can write on the other days.

4. I'm writing a children's book about cycling and the Tour de France which I'm hoping to get pretty much finished over the summer - it's so much fun!

5. Not a single member of my family is 'horsey' - my mum is quite scared of horses. Considering this, my parents were amazing to let me have Echo at home while I did my MA. No one has ever been able to understand where my 'horseyness' comes from.

6. I grew up riding Fell ponies and part of me was really sad that I really got too tall to ride Fells without looking ridiculous. They have wonderful characters and are a lot of fun to ride.

7. In the first few months of owning Echo I used to wake up in a sheer panic in the night sometimes - terrified of what I had done and whether I would be able to bring on my own youngster, despite the fact that I'd backed and broken in lots of young dressage horses while I worked for David Pincus. I guess it's a milder (weirder) version of what new mothers go through - feeling totally ill equipped to deal with this dependent little creature. I sometimes still reel at the fact tht she depends on me. But usually it's a feeling of 'wow - I own a horse!)

8. I didn't have a horse when I was growing up - see fact number 5 for the reason! I'm pretty sure this is what has made me so passionate about horses and meant that Echo comes first, no matter what. I have other friends who had ponies as children, who lost interest when it wasn't handed to them on a plate anymore. For me, even mucking out still feels like a bit of a privilege and I love all the jobs people hate, like cleaning tack and plaiting.

9. Umm...I'm struggling now. I love tomato ketchup and would eat it on everything if my boyfriend (who is an amazing chef) would let me. I would quite happily have ketchup sandwiches - on their own.

10. I play the 'cello and have done since I was 5 years old. I don't play as much as I'd like, but I love it.

11. My favourite band is the Manic Street Preachers and has been since my first ever boyfriend introduced me to them when I was about 14. (I'm 30 now - is that an extra fact? I don't know - its not very interesting!)

I will try to answer both Kat's and Beckz's questions - sorry if this gets a bit boring - I'll try to be brief!!

1. Why did you start blogging and who in real life knows that you blog?

I kind of answered this at the beginning. Most of my close friends know that I blog but I always find it weird when I hear that someone has read it who I'm not expecting to - like my Headmaster when I applied for my current job!!

    2. Black or brown tack?

Definitely black!

    3. Favorite Comfort food?

Chocolate. Without a shadow of a doubt. Any type - not fussy!

   4. Favorite Color?

In ordinary life, a kind of turquoise/teal colour. On a horse (particularly Echo) - red.

   5. If you could ride any horse (living or not), who would it be?

A childhood fantasy would be John Whittaker's Milton. (A bit) more recently Ulla Salzgeber's Rusty.

   6. What other pets do you own?

Jeff - my cross breed black and white dog - who matches my horse!

   7. What is your "hidden talent?"

I am late for everything. I know that isn't really a talent, but it's quite impressive how I manage to be late for things, even when I have loads of time and live right next door. 

   8. You win the lottery, what would you buy first?

Probably a house, closely followed by a spangly lorry.

   9. You can travel anywhere, for an infinite amount of time, with an infinite amount of money, where do you go?

America - I'd love to drive across it and spend ages exploring. I've never been so that would be amazing.

   10. You're intimidated by?

Really confident people who don't seem to have any self-doubt.

   11. Favorite movie?

This is a really tough one. Probably Apocalypse Now. But maybe Life is Beautiful. Two pretty different movies!!

And here are my answers to Beckz's questions!

1.Who was your favourite horse?

Other than Echo? If we're talking famous horses then definitely Milton.

2.Why?

He was the first 'celebrity' horse I knew as a child and ha posters of him all over my walls. It sounds stupid but I just loved his front leg action and his huge black eyes.

3.What person has most affected negatively or positively your attitude towards riding?

I met an amazing natural horseman when I was in my 3rd year at uni and helping out at a riding school. His name was Mark Marriott and he was the most inspirational person I have ever met. 

4.Why?

He had a real passion for teaching and loved to help people build relationships with their horses. I watched him teach a blind rider and her pony and it was so interesting - he could give anyone confidence and believe that they could do dressage. He died six months or so after I met him which was devastating.

5.What are the three things you couldn't live without?

Tea. I'm completely addicted and don't feel right in the day until I've had a mug of tea - with loads of milk and no sugar.

My smart phone. I know that's pathetic but I do everything on it - even blogging!

Sleep. I absolutely love sleeping and look forward all evening to going to bed. I sound truly boring now!

6.If you couldn't compete/take part in the discipline you do now, what sort of riding would you do?

I'd love to be an eventer....I've just never been brave enough.

7.What is your dream job?

To be a full time best-selling novelist.

8. If you were given $100,000 tax free what would you buy first?

Is that a lot? It sounds a lot. So probably a house. If it's not enough for a house, then a horse box!

9. Do you like Feijoas?

Just googling it...

10.When you are all worn out and need a drink, what is it that you drink?

Tea! Or if it's the evening then a big glass of white wine.

11.What are your favourite pair of footwear?

Hmmm... Riding footwear? Cavallo long boots. They're sooo pretty.

Ok - so here are my questions for other bloggers:

1. If you could be one rider for a day, who would you be?

2. If you could ride anywhere in the world, where would you go?

3. Who was the horse or pony that you first fell in love with?

4. If you don't already, would you want to work with horses as a career? And if you do, why do you?

5. If you didn't ride horses, what would you spend all your money on? ;) 

6. What does your other half or family think of your hobbie? 

7. How often do you clean your tack?

8. Who would you most like to have a riding lesson from and why?

9. You're buying a new horse: what qualities do you look for?

10. Have you/would you ever buy a 'project horse' to sell on?

11. Lorry or trailer and why?

I don't really have 11 - and I have no idea whether they have less/more than 200 followers as I can't see that information on my phone. But for this award I'd like to nominate:

Grey Horse Matters

Wiola (although I'm sure she's been nominated before!)

Kate at A Year with Horses

Cat at A Young Horse's Tale

Achieve1Dream at Equestrian Journey

Kelly at Princess Diva Diaries

Casey at A Teen's Dressage Dream

This has been fun - although time-consuming!! 

Blogging will resume as usual from here on. I went to see Echo today and she was in a great mood - really happy and affectionate. We long reined out for about 20 minutes and she was pleased to be out and doing something after a couple of days of box rest after her injections. One more day of long reining tomorrow, then Tammy will ride her in walk for 5 days before picking up a bit of trot and then canter again in about 10 days time.  

Injections...and soundness!

Things have been a bit quiet for a little while with Echo, as last time Ella the physio visited her, she was much more sore than she had been for a while, so we decided now would be a good time to get the vet out to medicate her back. Last time he saw her - about 6 weeks ago - he said he wanted to come back when she'd started cantering properly with the idea of medicating her lumbar spine area and sacroiliac. But last week Tammy had felt her go very weird when she was riding her - almost as if her back went into spasm and then Ella found the soreness in the same place, so we booked the vet to come out. So for the last 5 or 6 days she has only been walking and then Ben came out to see her yesterday.

I couldn't be there, but I had a long chat with Ben afterwards and it all sounds really positive. He watched Echo trot up, lunge, did flexion tests and did loads of manipulation on her back and said that she is 100% sound and looks the best he's ever seen her. He said he really put her through her paces but couldn't see anything that he could pick up on - he said if he looked at her for the first time, he would say she was sound. Which is fantastic. It really is. But at the same time, she is consistently getting sore in that one area and I was really hoping that we could do something to eliminate this so we can get on with getting her to full fitness. Luckily, Ben thought that it was worth medicating the lumbar thoracic junction where she is getting the pain, although he didn't inject the sacroiliac as he said that he couldn't get any kind of pain reaction from this area at all. He said to keep an eye on it and we'll see whether the pain further forward is a result of the sacroiliac or whether it's just a tricky area that she finds it difficult to mobilise. 

The only thing I had thought is that watching her from behind on the video my boyfriend took on our hack, I noticed just how close together her hind legs are at the bottom when she moves. She's always brushed a bit behind, but watching videos of her when she was sound before, her hock action was much straighter. I had wondered whether this was something to do with some sacroiliac pain. Ben said that was unlikely and could well be a way she has developed over a prolonged period of suspensory pain - a way of compensating for the pain. Another reason for me to feel guilty for not realising what was wrong earlier. But he said we probably can't do much to change that (it was also probably the reason her feet wore down on the outsides) and we should just work to get her stronger.

So she has a couple of days off, then the rest of the week just walking, then hopefully, provided she isn't too sore from the medication, she should be able to pick up the work again. I've sold my old saddle, so as soon as she's back in work again, we will sort out getting her a new one specially made for her. I WILL get a saddle to fit my horse! From then, we will get her home at the end of July  and start to have some fun! Long term, both the vet and Jo Spear - the Animal Health Trust physio - have advised that we do very little work on a surface, only using a surface when we want to compete. Ella suggested I look for affiliated dressage shows that are on grass rather than on a surface - or at least where the warm up is on grass. The more hacking I do, the happier I get with this situation - I am just loving riding my horse again, so if we can't do much dressage that really is fine. We will do some pleasure rides - maybe even some Le Trec and just have a lot of fun. I need to start to contain and limit her movement to keep her sound, so this sort of thing will be great. I think if I did too much schooling, the perfectionist in me would want to push for more.

So I'm seeing her on Saturday but she probably won't be up to being ridden yet by then. Annoyingly I am away next weekend so it will be a while before I get to ride her now...but hopefully she will be back in proper work and feeling good by then. I can't wait to get her home in the summer! 

Tired pony

Had a lovely ride on Echo this morning - and two fantastic rides last weekend. It's so nice being able to properly ride my horse again. Tammy's upped the work a bit this week - particularly the canter work - so she was a little tired. We decided to just go down the hill today and do some trot work on the hills. She felt great- really relaxed, even though it was really windy. She was really sleepy though. Hopefully, having ha a fairly easy day today, she will have a bit more energy to do our canter route tomorrow.

I'm starting to get really excited about getting her home and riding her over the summer. I've found a 12 mile pleasure ride that I'd like to work towards at the end of August. Since we're mostly going to be hacking, I want to have some things to aim for. 

After my ride today, I did her stretches, turned her out and she showed how tired she was straight away! I still love the sight of her rolling - it must be such a great feeling!

A little hack - with a video :)

A little video from today's hack. The verdict - I'm a bit straighter in walk, a bit less straight in trot, and pretty wonky in canter. But it was fun, and she felt happy. The canter looks rather more controlled and steady than it felt!

Here are a few photos from the hack too - the weather was a bit rubbish, but I'm really enjoying the hacking at the moment :)

Straightness: one word, LOTS to think about.

I have had such an interesting morning. Regular readers will know that I have struggled with straightness in my riding for years- I know that many of Echo's straightness problems are actually mine and having a couple of years off regular riding has only exacerbated these. Tammy has tried to get me to bring my right leg further back when I'm riding and twist myself a little to try to get me straight, bu the habits are fairly solidly ingrained. So after my hack yesterday, Tammy asked if I'd be interested in taking part in a straightness clinic with a physio called Jo Spear, who is extremely highly regarded and is the consultant physio for the Animal Health Trust at Newmarket. I jumped at the chance!

Basically, Tammy and Jo gave me a lesson together, then Jo worked with me off the horse, to see how I could make some changes to improve things. I rode Echo while they talked at first, then Jo got me to adjust my upper body, as I tend to twist to the right, collapsing my right side, which forces my right leg forward and means I have little influence or strength in my left seatbone and leg. It even means that I can't really take a contact with the left rein properly. So, I twisted to the left more, sat more evenly on both seatbones (which felt awful on the right rein) and then Tammy tried to get me to turn my right thigh in and lift it away from her side so that I could reposition it. What we found is that I could hardly manage to lift it from the hip without tensing every muscle on that side. I was able to do it if I physically picked up my thigh and rotated it, but I found it really difficult to maintain.

When I did manage to get the two things - the upper body position and the leg position- in place, Echo was suddenly much straighter and more forward. And- weirdly- I softened my right hand and was much more effective with my left hand and leg. So that was interesting lesson number one- I just need to work on keeping that!

I was chatting to Jo at some length about Echo's suspensories and her back soreness. She said that Echo has masses of mobility in her hind legs- probably actually too much, as she over tracks far more than necessary and her fetlocks sink right down. She said that this is almost certainly why her suspensories went, as she is producing so much movement and is always at full stretch, so when working on an arena surface, it makes it even worse. Echo and I have spent a lot of time schooling, so I feel terrible that I'm partly to blame for it. 

She also said that people think that cobs don't have much movement, but actually the majority of cobs are extremely naturally mobile and many are hyper-mobile, like Echo. She said that one of the reasons people don't think this of cobs is that often they are ridden by less experienced, less balanced, perhaps more nervous riders, so the horse learns to limit its movement to stay comfortable. Because I have always ridden Echo and, for all my issues, I'm a fairly competent, balanced rider, she has never had to limit her movement and has therefore offered me her full range. If you add to this the fact that Jo thinks I am also extremely mobile, I have not restricted her movement at all and so she has always worked at her full range. In order for her to stay sound in future, Jo has recommended that I do as little schooling as possible on a surface, and that I do the majority of my schooling on hacks, working on getting her as straight as possible, containing the movement and building her core stability.

This is fine- it's what the vet has been saying since he first saw her and Echo is my baby before she's a dressage horse - I just want her in work and sound. Jo is concerned that if I don't work to contain her movement then we may end up with front leg lameness, as she is putting a lot of pressure on the front limbs, particularly as her front legs turn in a little and are a bit wobbly. 

After I had ridden Echo, Jo had a look at me on her table and we found that I have a real weakness in my right mid glute muscle. Lying on my left side with my feet together and knees fairly bent, she asked me to lift my right knee- I could only lift it about 10cm off my left knee (still keeping my feet together) whereas on the other side I could lift my left knee more than twice as high. It isn't that it's stiff- Jo could lift it and there was loads if movement, but the muscle won't lift it, which is exactly what was happening when I was riding. She's given me some exercises to work on this - which will hopefully make my right hip much more stable when I'm on Echo. 

So it was a really interesting experience, particularly in understanding a bit more about our problems and what we are working with. 

In other news, Echo and I have now cantered twice and both times she was brilliant- she was pretty strong but just felt like she was loving it. Tomorrow, my boyfriend is coming hacking with me, so I should get a few photos of me riding.

Lots of trotting

Post and rail fencing - the only way of keeping Echo in the field she's supposed to be in!

Didn't get any better photos of me riding Echo today, but it's half term next week and my boyfriend has said he'll come out hacking with me (on foot!) and take a few. 

Had a lovely ride this morning, with two really long trots. Tammy's mum came out with me again but she doesn't run with us so we always have to stop and wait for her to catch up again. Today she stood still while Echo and I trotted away from her and then trotted back. I was really pleased, as she's got a bit used to halting after trotting, to wait for the person walking with her to catch up. Today I kept her walking for another minute or so after the trot before I turned around and she was quite happy to do so. 

When we were back at the yard I did her stretches, gave her a brush and turned her out. She's still in one of the winter 'trashed' fields, although it isn't wet at all. They have fields with lots more grass, but at the moment Echo keeps breaking out. I think she'll be ok when the other horses are out on either side of her, but really, she is always going to get out unless she has post and rail fencing. 

She's perfectly happy where she is- she has a gelding next to her, who she flirts outrageously with (she's in season) and plenty of haylage. It's just there isn't any grass. Hopefully next week she'll be out on the grass paddocks.

Not a great photo...!

Bad photography skills seem to have turned my beautiful horse into a mule... But had a fab ride on Echo today- no canter, as Tammy is teaching all weekend and I want her to be there when I canter her first time. She was apparently very good in canter this week, just a little surprised to be asked to go above a trot! Which in itself is hardly surprising as it must be nearly two years since she cantered under saddle last!

Riding again tomorrow so I'll try to get a few better photos! 😀

Cuddly pony. And vet visits.

It's been a little while since I posted but things are going so well. Last weekend was a bank holiday and I managed to ride Echo two days in a row which was really nice- it was warm and sunny and we went for some lovely long trots and she felt strong and fit. She's still doing all road work but Tammy is now starting to use one of her big fields and can vary the surface a bit more. 

We had had a bit of a weird experience the previous weekend where Echo had a massive strop in the school with me. We thought we would take her in there first then go out for a hack, but she was so odd. She stopped dead and refused to move- I managed to get her walking but as soon as I asked for trot she threw her head up and stopped again. This really worried me, as it's what she used to do when her saddle didn't fit- but we'd only just had the saddle refitted and Tammy said it was sitting straighter than ever. 

We took her out of the school for a hack - to see if it was just a school thing - and she felt fine. She was very feisty and spooky, and when I asked for trot she almost cantered the first time, then struck out with her front leg the second time. But she trotted happily and was very forward...so we took her back in the school when we got back and she did the same thing again! Tammy got on, to see how she felt and she was a bit enter, but when Tammy asked her to trot she went into canter and bucked all the way down the long side! I couldn't believe it- she's never done that!

Once she had got a decent trot we stopped. Although considering that was my only ride of the week, it was a bit rubbish! Tammy rode her the next day and she was fine and she continued to be good all week. I can only think that as it was quite late in the evening and she had already had her tea, she thought it was bedtime and wasn't impressed about having to work. The other possibility is that she has been doing quite a lot of school work to build up her balance and flexibility, which might have made her a bit stale. 

So last weekend we just hacked, as Tammy had all week, and she was brilliant. It was lovely to spend a bit of time at the yard- I washed her off and she stood in the sun drying with her equilibrium pad on while I tidied up her feathers and made her look pretty. It was like having a horse again!

This week, the vet came to reassess her and although I couldn't be there, I've talked to him at length about what he saw. He was really pleased with how sound she is, considering how much work she is now in. He said she's much more evenly muscled and the movement looks good. However, he's concerned that we're still getting soreness in her back and that she sometimes drags her offside hind in trot a little. The back soreness builds up in the two weeks between physio visits. It's not terrible, but she starts banana-ing a little and falling out through the left shoulder, and the toe drag gets worse. He would now like to medicate the sacroiliac and lumbar spine to see if that makes a difference. He didn't get much reaction when putting pressure on the sacroiliac but he said that the structures are often so deep that you can't feel them. He's thinking that if we inject anti-inflammatory steroid into it, she might get considerably better, so it would effectively be diagnosing it.

He does, however, want to wait 6 weeks and build up the canter work so that she is in full work before we do anything. I think it's designed to see how she stands up to the canter work - it may make her more comfortable, to start cantering and doing hill work. Tammy, however, is concerned that we will hurt her by building up the work and if he thinks there's a problem, we should medicate now. I'm...not sure. I think we'll compromise- start cantering for a couple of weeks and see how the physio thinks she feels after that two week period. If she's more sore, perhaps we'll medicate then. I am a little frustrated, as I told the vet initially that I thought the problem could be higher up and he said it was very unlikely. Obviously her suspensories did need operating on, as they were fraying, but I hope we haven't been making her sore when the problem was there all along. Ella- the physio- said that there are a lot of studies going on about the connection between hind limb injuries and back pain and that it's almost impossible to work out which came first. 

So we are continuing as we are for a few weeks, building in canter and hill work to really get some strength. Today, there was a truck with a cherry-picker doing work on overhead cables in the middle of our usual route out of the yard, so we had to go a different way, down a long hill and past fields of horses, sheep and alpacas - and she was brilliant. I think it was the first time she'd been that way, as she was quite 'snorty' but she seemed to really enjoy going a different way: she was forward and happy and didn't spook at all. She found coming up the hill quite tiring, so I only did a couple of short trots- partly for that reason and partly because she felt a bit funny on her near fore in trot. When we got back, we found she had a foot full of stones- no wonder she felt funny! 

She was really affectionate this morning- she's never grumpy, but she isn't always really cuddly- there are days when I think she could take me or leave me! But today she want to nuzzle my shoulder and chin- when I was doing her stretches she wanted to rest her chin against my cheek- it was very sweet. This is not a great photo, but I wanted to show the cuddly mood she was in.

Hopefully, next week when I ride her, I'll be able to go for a canter- how exciting!!

Saddles. Again.

I had a saddler out to Echo today - one that we have had in the past, but have not used for a while. Tammy uses her all the time and really trusts her, so I was happy to give it a go.

The first thing she said is that she doesn't think my saddle fits Echo very well at all...considering we had the last saddler out about a month ago this is pretty frustrating! In her opinion it's too narrow and sits too high at the front, which is pinching her shoulders and sitting too low at the back, which, given that that is where Echo gets sore, is a bit of a problem. She was happier with the AST saddle we've been riding her in, although it twists to the left when she's ridden. Tammy agreed to let her widen the tree slightly and fit a balance strap to the right side, to clamp it down and stop it twisting.

I rode her before and after this was done and there was definitely some improvement afterwards. I could feel the saddle trying to twist, but the strap definitely stopped it happening. The saddler wanted to see her trot with the saddle on so I got to have a few trots just on the long sides of the school. She was very funny- she was absolutely dying to have a canter and when I asked her to trot she leapt up into a kind of half canter half trot- she settled after a few steps but it was very sweet. The saddler was pretty happy with it and so Tammy is more confident that she can crack on and do a bit more trot work.

However, this still leaves me with no saddle once we have finished at Tammy's. The saddle we're using is still really only a stop-gap. It'll do while we get her fit and into full work, but we had a bit of a chat about what to do next. The saddlery works quite a lot with Ideal saddles and she has suggested that we look at a brand new saddle where we can select exactly which tree will work and exactly which shape of saddle. Which is great, but expensive. I don't have to think about it for a couple of months, and I will obviously try to sell my Lovett and Ricketts saddle to cover a bit of the cost. It's a big decision, but I guess at least then I will know that it fits her.

So I will be saving my pennies over the next couple of months and in the meantime we will keep riding her in Tammy's saddle and hopefully keep making the progress we have been. I'm riding her again tomorrow morning out on a hack, which will be great. It was so nice to ride her in the school today though... Almost like having my pony back!

I rode my horse- twice!!!

It's been a really good couple of days. I rode Echo yesterday evening and the day before and it's been brilliant to actually ride again.

On Saturday I rode out with Tammy walking with me. Echo felt really good- she's much better in her contact now and felt really nice and straight. I was a bit concerned that her walk felt a bit rushed and a bit '2 time', but she relaxed after a bit and it evened out. She's definitely very forward-going which is great. Having been so spooky the day before when I walked out with Tammy, I was slightly nervous about what she might be like with me on top, but she was actually really good- it was less windy and she only had a little spook at some ducks flying out of the bushes, which I can forgive her for! We had a lovely trot and she felt fit and balanced and like a horse in work again!

When we got back to the yard I rode her in the school for 7 or 8 minutes. She's just doing big circles and changes of rein in walk at the moment in the school. She felt good, but I didn't! It's funny: Echo has always, and I mean ALWAYS thrown saddles to the right. This saddle that we're riding her in now is slipping a little to the left! The left!! This is very odd and has completely thrown me. I'm so wonky from Echo being wonky for so long, that I now expect a saddle to go to the right. What is interesting is that Tammy said I was pretty straight while out hacking but as soon as we went into the school, I sat to the right. I tried to correct myself, but I felt awkward and stiff and Echo didn't feel like she was enjoying me riding her at all.

After riding her, I did all of her stretches and put her Equilibrium pad on. She really loves all the fuss. You'll be pleased to know that she's still the same old Echo though, even with this 'boot camp' training- she broke out of her turnout pen again on Saturday. She didn't do anything silly, just wandered over to Tammy's mum once she'd got out! She's now going out in a slightly bigger pen with a little more grass and yesterday stayed put, which is a good sign. I have warned Tammy that as she gets closer to the summer and is in season more, she will go looking for boys when she gets bored. She's going to consider turning her out with a companion, but Tammy is so careful that she worries she'll get kicked. She's amazingly careful, actually. I suggested she doesn't really need bandaging at night anymore, but she wants to keep them on as she's worried that with her lateral extension shoes she might knock herself. She also gets turned out in all four boots and overreach boots, which she never has before. When ridden, she wears knee boots, because she once tripped over her own feet. Echo gets the best care there that I think she's every had in her life!

So yesterday I arrived at the yard and Tammy said that we were going to ride out with another girl and her horse. Tammy still walked as this girl is very nervous (so would I be if I'd gone through what she has with this horse!) so Tammy has her on a lead rein. It was really good for Echo to be out with another horse though. He was a little spooky and once or twice that upset Echo, as he made he jump, but generally, she was more relaxed with him there. It made her walk a little more slowly too, which improved the rhythm of her walk. We went for a couple of long trots and it was good that Echo didn't mind that Marty got left miles behind as the girl only wanted to do a few steps of trot. She waited patiently for the others to catch up and off we went.

What is really encouraging is how good Echo is with traffic. All the hacking is on roads at the moment and although they're quiet, you do get cars passing. They're all single track roads too, so the cars have to sit behind you until there's space to pass. I'm so impressed that Echo doesn't mind this. When we got back to the yard, I rode her in the school for a few minutes again and it was much better than the day before. I think Echo had got a bit more used to me riding her again and I ha got a bit more relaxed. She felt softer and I didn't feel like I was slipping to one side. We are still getting a saddler out this week, as Tammy is concerned about the saddle we're using. She has a prolite under it, which seems to be doing a good job, but it doesn't sit completely straight and Tammy doesn't want to do any more work in the school- particularly any trot work- until she's confident that it's fitting correctly. We're going to use the saddler that she uses, as they know each other well and Tammy says that she can be completely honest with her and make we keep going until she and the horse are happy. As I said before, I lost a bit of faith in my saddler over the last couple of times she's been out.

So it was a really lovely couple of days of riding. I'm leaving Tammy to it for a few days and I will ride her again on Wednesday. I have another couple of weeks off work, so it will be nice to ride her a few times. I've decided to wait before getting the vet to come and check her again- my insurance year has run out and so I need to be a little more careful about the money. As she's doing so well, I think I'll keep doing what we're doing until Tammy is ready to start some canter work with her, then get Ben to come and see her. Hopefully he'll see a big improvement! :)