What We Need to Work on… – Email 18

Hello There

I hope you’ve had a good week? Isn’t it great we’ve had sunshine again?! Since my last email there’s been some interesting things happen.

1. I was invited to a fun lunch in Knightsbridge on behalf of the RSPCA to "bring together equine professionals, owners and advocates who share a dedication to creating a good life for all equines." I sat next to Philippa Braithwaite who is one of my favourite people. I also did a bit of circulating and generally had a lovely time.

The RSPCA report on horses is very much worth reading.

Dr Mark Kennedy (we actually worked on a science project together at Hartpury years back) asked in his excellent presentation for us all to think of ONE THING we could do to improve our horses’ lives or help other people in that effort; so my immediate contribution is drawing attention your attention to the Horse Sense Report. Feel free to pass it on. Obviously I’ll also do my best in these emails and with social media to promote ideas that could help.

What do YOU think are the biggest causes of welfare issues today? What are you seeing? Do email and we’ll look for patterns that I can pass on if there’s a way we can be useful.

2. Hugo and Daisy’s first One Day Event together at the beautiful Cirencester Park! Now it will be twice in a row I’ve said ‘I knew we weren’t ready’ (if it gets to 3 times you may point out that it’s becoming a pattern!) I knew we weren’t ready but I wanted to take this opportunity at the end of the eventing season to see just where we were before a winter break and also whether it was something we were all* going to enjoy doing.

*That means Hugo as well of course.

The Good

Well of course there’s the show video and the picture

Look at them fly!

And then…

What We Need to Work On Before Next Year

Odd. He came out of the horsebox in his bridle and I held him from the front while he was tacked up. He acted like he was some highly wired racehorse raring to go. Saddle on, Daisy on, led him a little way and he was so calm a Great Aunt could ride him. What was that about? We need to find a way to change that pattern.

His dressage was almost too relaxed and he’s raising his head to go into canter. It’s still early days for cantering in 20 metre circles. He still gets tense going into canter on circles. It’s that old question ‘is it pain or remembered pain?’ Is it a question of more work needed?

A shoe came loose after the dressage and before the showjumping. There was a farrier on site to fix that straight away and he went into the showjumping and gave a buck (why?) and then went and had the first two very small fences down! It was surprising after Hickstead when he went clear first time out and then just one down the next day when the courses were quite a bit higher. Perhaps the showjumping fences were a bit low for him?

When Daisy came out of the showjumping I asked if she was sure she wanted to do the Cross Country. She assured me they were Good to Go. I could take her word for it as she could ‘feel’ Hugo – whereas I could only observe. I watched them do their first cross country together over some quite substantial fences and YAY! Clear round*. He locked on to each fence and didn’t hesitate. SUCH a good boy.

*Well clear if you don’t count the time faults as the speed was ‘glacial’. ( I love that expression from the Devil Wears Prada).

The Plan

Abi here is working around Hugo’s head along with some other alternative methods to be discussed.

Jessica Kidd is coming over tomorrow to do a lameness workup. It’s not that I think he’s lame but I want to be absolutely sure he’s 100% comfortable going into the winter so I can spend the time that’s necessary to get him right.

I’m having my haircut next Wednesday (sorry that's actually irrelevant but I’m reading things off my calendar)

Hugo (and Pie) are having their ‘routine’ (hopefully!) dental check next week.

I'll be exploring more on saddles as well.

That’s enough for now!

I’m looking forward to seeing some new faces on the Online Horse Psychology Course starting next week and believe it or not the Autumn/Winter IH Magazine will be online by the end of this week and the paper copies will be reaching you by the end of next week.

Lots of Love

Kelly x

PS. if you have a friend who might find these email interesting do pass this on!