Reminds me of home

Somewhere in between the painful cold and the frozen arenas all this snowy aura warms me from inside. It looks homey :) There is no turn out in Kingsley's field at the moment as roads are slippery and ground frozen so the boy got his walkies in the indoor school and a little wonder around in the snow.

Despite all the problems to do with the weather my rider on Training Day worked her socks off which made for very productive set of sessions. Shame she can't ride every day, I am always curious how good motivated and committed people could get if they ride more ;)

I am having a good look at nutrition info as we need to build Kingsley's muscles up without making him fat and excitable. A little bit by accident he is put on Spillers Cool Fibre to go with his Baileys No 4 and I am hoping that this combination will work well together once I get the amounts up from trace amounts to proper build up portions. At the moment I am reluctant to feed him up as all he does is go out for several hours in the field. He seems to love Spillers fibre and eats it all up in minutes. He lost a lot of condition and muscles (the little he had) since September (i.e. since he's been out of work) so it will be a slow process.

There is a lot of things to see to before we set off for Xmas in Cheshire - I need to organise a lot of housework type stuff which isn't my strong point to put it mildly...;)

On fast forward and yet in slow-motion

The more it snows (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom),
On snowing. And nobody knows (Tiddely pom),
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom),
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom),
Are growing.
Winnie the Pooh
The House at Pooh Corner

It snows. It's cold. I am in need of warmth and energy giving sun.
Life feels a little on an odd side right now. There are some things I worry about and some things I have to arrange for and other things I need to plan properly very soon. My anxiety might have something to do with the year running out and I feel like there should be some goals for the next year forming, some resolutions being thought up and all that. That's despite knowing very well that the end of December is just another end of a month and nothing really makes me treating it like some form of catharsis. However, I also feel like I am rather gasping for breath in these fast moving waters, possibly being thrown into the wrong river. Thankfully, as we all know from geography lessons, the rivers end up in a sea anyway.
It always amuses me somewhat that we sit to plan things that should describe our next 365 days while we tend to feel tired, low and lacking in energy due to cold, short days, lack of natural light...you get the idea. Shouldn't we plan our pursuits in the spring when we are possibly reaching the peak of our positive energy?

It's been a fast, hectic week but I somehow managed to fit in most of my Xmas shopping, cards writing and feeding myself (always a problem to find time for this!) in between all the running around. I also decided in the last minute to chop my hair off so spent a rather "hilarious" hour today among these surreal people dotting on their locks ;)

Olympia horse show is in full bloom and I popped down to walk around the shopping village. It seemed really quiet in comparison to previous years. I was looking for some good waterproof and warm overalls but couldn't really find anything that fitted my budget AND met the criteria! There were some AMAZING self-heated jackets and gloves (www.blazewear.com) which I am going to save up for. If you teach outside at this time of year and have low blood pressure like me you're going to LOVE this thing. I can't believe I haven't heard about it before.

I can't wait for Xmas break. Not because I am physically exhausted but because I need a break from every-day-life for a moment. To re-think a thing or two without events of every hour cramming me up. In a way I am waiting for it all to be gone too. It's this time of the year when I miss my family the most. It's the time of many rituals and I missing them with my whole heart.

Deep down I am still in a very up-beat mood and the up coming rest should complement that just right.

...

A few words to send some healing vibes to friend of mine.
Hope all goes well. Hope all gets better.
There might never be a life without fear. There might never be a life without pain.
But we all deserve a break.
If any travel agency ever offered such a break I would have an easy Xmas gift sorted.

...X

Vet & Physio post injections re-assessment plus videos

Pic. above: Kingsley being given a sleepy stretch...

There is no doubt we are here for a long haul and we are miles away from soundness but there are some positive signs of improvement so here is where we are at right now...
We had Kingsley seen to today by Richard the vet (who did initial injections on the 16th of November) and physiotherapist Anna Johnson. The plan was to have Kingsley re-assessed to see if there is any improvement following the injections and for Anna to do physio under sedation to relieve his muscle spasms and devise further rehab programme.

1) There is a significant improvement in general coordination and movement as well as desire to move forwards.
2) The SI (sacro-iliac) joint is less sensitive to palpation but still tender. I am told the SI injury is comparable to suspensory injury. It's the ligaments that respond positive to palpation which is why it will take months of rehab for a potential return to soundness.
3) There is a lot of compensatory pain in the back muscles, around the withers and along the spine.
4) There is some secondary neck pain that should disappear once the primary injury is sorted.
5) He now needs to re-build his muscles along the back and neck in the right places before any further prognosis can be made. Months of walking ahead.

Pic.above: Slowly waking up from sedation.

The rehab plan for now is as follows:

15th Dec - quiet rest day, no turn out or walking
16th-21st - rest with turn out as normal to let him recover from today's manipulation
I am then away until the 28th so he will have a further rest with his normal turn out routine.

Then 30th Dec -18th January: walking exercise under the saddle 10 minutes a day, extended by 1 minute each day, either road work/hacking or walking in arena. Working in an outline if possible encouraging the weaker right hind to work.

18th January: Physio and Vet coming for 2nd re-assessment.

And here are the videos from first day of 10 minutes lungeing (4 weeks post injections):

LEFT REIN


RIGHT REIN

2010 Radio Show Episode 67 - The AQHA and the International Equestrian Festival

Today we have a variety of guests and topics all about the Alltech 2010 World Equestrian Games. We take a look at USEF Showcase at AQHA World Championship Show, the International Equestrian Festival 2010 and the recent FEI medications ruling. Listen in....

2010 Radio Show Episode 67 - The AQHA and the International Equestrian Festival:

• Hosts: Samantha Clark and Glenn the Geek


• Guest: Thank you to Fran Jurga for joining us to explain the FEI medications ruling. You can read Fran's articles on this subject at the Jurga Report.


• Guest: It is always fun to have Joanie Morris, the USEF High Performance Marketing Communications Manager, on the show. She filled us in on the USEF as it highlighted its new National Affiliation with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) during a presentation of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) disciplines at the AQHA World Championship Show. Read more... Visit Club Equestrian today.


• Guest: Kimberly Brown joined us to give us an update on the International Equestrian Festival 2010 to be held at the Lexington Convention Center during the 2010 WEG. Sounds like a fun event, we can't wait!


• News: Well, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) has released its list of dressage officials for the WEG, and Gribbons's name is on it! She is indeed listed as president of the ground jury, meaning that she will be the head judge at "C." Is it a done deal? Has Gribbons turned down the chef position for sure? I'll let you know as soon as I hear it from the horse's mouth, if you'll pardon the expression. Read more from TheHorse.com...


• News: Sweden's Tomas Eriksson beat Boyd Exell on home soil by winning the third leg of the FEI World Cup Driving in Stockholm, Sweden. Exell, who has won the previous World Cup competitions in Hannover and Stuttgart, was last to go in the World Cup competition in Sweden's capital city, but knocked three balls down and came fifth. Switzerland's Werner Ulrich ended the second place, followed by his compatriot Daniel Würgler. Read more...


• News: Kentucky's bourbon distillers are seeking a change in state law to promote more sampling of their whiskey. The change would make it easier for distillers to set up sampling booths at conventions, conferences, liquor stores, restaurants and special events, said Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association. Learn more at kentucky.com....


• News: Contributing travel writer Patti Nickell has written her first book, about one of the great passions of Central Kentucky: horses. In Horse Lover's Guide to Kentucky (Eclipse Press), Nickell explores the gamut of equine travel opportunities in the Bluegrass State. In 256 pages, Nickell, who spent a year researching and writing the book, covers the history of the horse in Kentucky, goes inside the region's famous horse farms and visits the state's racetracks. On a more practical level, the book details information about visiting farms and tracks and lists a wide variety of horse-related attractions throughout the state. Horse Lover's Guide includes chapters on Nickell's picks for where to stay and eat when visiting Kentucky's cities. Buy this great book using this link:

• Please support our sponsors because we would not be here without them:

_________________________________________

Kinglsey's road to soudness? Bringing Back To Work Day 1

I've lunged Kingsley today (and will post a video as soon as I've uploaded it from my phone - the problem is my phone's software doesn't work with my new computer's mega newest software and my old computer takes about 25 minutes to switch on and another 2.5h of crashing before it manages to perform the simplests of tasks) and he looked EVEN!
I kept him on a large circle for about 5 minutes on each rein, walk and trot (about 2.5 minutes of each). He moved with much more freedom than 2 months ago, positevely rhythmic and level.
However, his body work is very crooked on both reins, a problem which I hope will be only a schooling/physio problem.

Got to rest now. Running one my Training Days tomorrow day time then Rick and I are off to have a look at a potential new house in the evening. Exciting :)

As I Mature - some wisdom from a friend

Good value for money?

I started my day very early today which is probably why I am feeling overwhelmingly sleepy now. Thanks to a few breaks in between the lessons I made some all important To Do lists so I am somewhat organised in the run up to Xmas. Considering I only have 1 day off before the 24th (and even then it's the day Kingsley is having his physio under sedation and we have a Xmas dinner at one of the yards I teach at ) it's no wonder I am a bit worried about fitting everything in ;)
I suppose I could try to pop to some shops in the late evenings on my way back from work but hmmm to say gently, I am usually knackered by then.
Now, there is always the option of buying online but I would have to buy things right now so they arrive on time. So it all comes down to organising myself.

During my long day at work today I concluded the yard does give both the clients and instructors a fantastic value for money. I can perform trekking over some spectacular riding arenas, today defined as: wetland featuring temporary inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water and gentle rolling hills. I also get superbly fit running with Full-Of-Life ponies, bursting with health & energy and thinking child is an unnecessary luggage.
My riders get to experience true outdoor sport of hacking without leaving the arena enclosure. They learn to balance on horses investigating variety of terrain, often losing balance themselves and yet soldering on.

You just can't beat that value for money. I mean, xc lessons are a pricey event you know. Same goes for Gym memberships.
So I better shhhushh and enjoy the fact I am saving some pennies before that Xmas shopping!

The heating is back but...

The heating returned today - what a relief! I can't wait for a lovely hot bath after 4 days of cold water therapy! Suppose to be good for you, right?...
The heating is back but sometimes your friends can tell you things that freeze you right down to the bone whether there is 10C or 30C inside...bad news are the life's reminder that we better enjoy what we have because tomorrow is only a reality. And reality never last.

I can't even tell you how I hate this kind of bad news and if I ever had any super natural powers I would know precisely what to do with them. I am hoping for better news for my friend as soon as possible.

On the working front I am brain washing myself on how to improve suppleness in my two lovely Sunday riders who spend their lives on blooming office chairs 6 days a week. In a few words -one needs to be able to sit to the canter and the other to improve flexibility in the upper body/arms/shoulder/hands...

[What's Athlete's Flexibility - Read Here].

Here is a photo showing the problem which manifests itself through hand/wrists stiffness:

The rider basically keeps her hands in this position all the time and we have a grand problem with her using her hands with more feel. She does ride most of the horses very nicely I must say but we are stuck on a very basic level due to lack of flexibility.

I have a little programme for both of them which they haven't seen yet ;) but I will let you know how we are getting on.

Talking about flexibility...before I discovered Pilates I used Callanetics exercises to be able to walk without pain (after my knee op). After swapping to Pilates I almost forgot about Callanetics until one of my riders mentioned it the other day. I have an old book on it still somwhere but I've just googled it callanetics.com - read Callan's story, it's quite inspirational).

Kingsley.
Little man is loving his new field, the mud and extended turn out time. He is so much more relaxed in the stable and doesn't try to keep himself in my pocket.

The mud though is relentless. Every time he is back from the field there are boots to clean and rug to dry and it just goes on and on. In the ideal world I would need a dry rug per day in a week plus set of boots per day! C'mon summer...;)

Below: Dry and groomed tonight. I am starting to bring him slowly back to work on Wednesday, then vet and physio are coming the following Monday to assess his response to work load. He seems to be trotting much more level but I now look for so many things that might not even be there so I don't trust my judgement. Fingers crossed...

Surprise message from Horse Hero and something seriously not funny

Horse Hero, a great site with some excellent training videos among many other interesting content, emailed me saying they read my earlier post on shadowing Anna Ross Davies and they wondered whether I would want to embed a video interview with her.
As the site operates a subscription (£17.25 a year) I thought I will go for it so all of you who read my blog can have a look for free :)

Here we go, let's hope it works:



HorseHero filmed some great training videos with Anna too but they couldn't send me the code so I guess if you want to see them you would need to pay. Tough I know. I am hoping Santa might bring me the subscription this Xmas ;) Here is a link to the training/schooling videos (they have FREE trailers): http://www.horsehero.com/5201/13908

Now, it's seriously not funny having your heating breaking down in the middle of the winter!!! It's the second evening in the cold :( Fortunately the plumber says he found what's wrong with it so hopefully he will repair it tomorrow.
Having to wash in cold water (oh yes, did I mention our water and heating are somewhat connected so if there is no heating there is no hot water either?) after whole day out is pushing it. Having said that, my feet were so cold when I came back I didn't even notice the water being of diffrent temperature...I am sitting here with hot water bottle by my side, in 2 pair of socks and a little heater on full blast.
Fun, fun, fun...NOT!

Amazingly...

Despite the far from satisfactory conditions I get to work in many a time I am feeling amazingly motivated. In fact, I feel driven more than I have had for a while which feels great.
I say amazingly as there are many things that are in urgent need of being sorted and I am often finding myself in various life's troubles and yet it all feels very very right.

I should sleep more but then I wouldn't have time for reading, blogging and learning more ;) December is looking pretty busy with very little time off, lots of teaching and with my self-inflicted deadline to get all the academy site materials ready by the end of the year.

If only I could just stop the time for a week so I could sit somewhere quiet and listen to all the ideas crowded in my head I might just be able to pull it all out just right. That luxury being obviously not possible, I will just need to cope as usual :)

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Vince Lombardi

And work I did this month - can feel it in my tired bones.
Following some substantial amount of snoozes I managed to get up at 6.50am on Saturday morning, plastered some ice from the freezer to my eyes to wake up enough to be able to find my wardrobe and just made it to my first lesson at 9am.
Watching all those lessons yesterday made me look at the riders with fresh set of eyes (if still just a little sleepy).
I ran a Training Day for one of my beginner riders who normally rides with me in Surrey. We devised mutual understanding with Lindsey where upon she provides me with a lot of laugh therapy and I teach her riding ;)
I am following the belief that beginner riders have to first learn as much as possible about balance in motion so we do a lot of riding which might seem like plenty of fun (which I guess is a great bonus) but there is a lot of thought going into it.


Kingsley is feeling rather well within himself and decided to show me that keeping plastic containers inside his stable is out of order.

He is also being very playful still with his field mate and we are having to re-think the turn out arrangements as the two of them play Ascot Racecourse in their paddock . I let him free in the indoor school at lunch time and he had a little trot around there. I watched him trying to scrutinise any and every odd step he made but he looked much sounder to me that I've seen him for ages. There was definitely a marked improvement in front legs movement but I am not totally sure about the hind legs action still. There were some steps where I could tell he was choosing to pop himself into canter instead of making a little effort to turn in trot - whether that's just weakness or something more, I wouldn't be able to say.
We have Anna Johnson coming to Kingsley to do physio session under sedation on the 14th December so hopefully she will be able to determine whether there is any improvement in his neck/back/hindquarters muscular spasms.

"Long suffering" Lindsey who only had about 10 or so lessons braved through entire day rather well and then drove us both back to London. She dropped me off at Suzanne's where I had about an hour to scrap all the manure off and get myself to more or less presentable state as we were due to appear at the RDA (Riding For Disabled) charity/fundraising Ball.
We got there just in time and the whole thing was one hilarious event by another. We indulged in some sort of dancing which would probably classify as pogo and ate all that was put in front of us but I was too tired to make any sense of any conversations ;)
Back at Suzanne's I slept like a baby and didn't wake up until just about 15 minutes before I was due to appear in the arena at my first lesson. Suzanne let me sleep till the very end and we arrived at the yard with perfect timing.
I decided I had enough of rain and tested the ponies by sitting in my corner with a massive garden parasol above me. Ponies behaved just fine but I got drenched anyway taking hack out in torrential rain and thunder followed by lunge lessons (where I thought the parasol might be pushing my luck).
It's been a hell of a tiring month but I've learned a thing or two and it feels good.
Today I've been spending time with my dear Rick whom I have barely seen this past mad week. I feel a little bit rested and almost ready to face more rain and mud tomorrow. Bring it on December.

Shadowing the best

Thanks to someone's Internet addiction I ended up being given a fantastic opportunity to shadow Anna Ross Davies - an international Grand Prix dressage rider and trainer. Anna invited me to spend a day with her watching her working her horses at her base at Bury Farm in the morning and teaching variety of clients there and at Patchetts Equestrian Centre. The riders today ranged from serious amateurs to professional riders to children trying for/or already on FEI pony teams.
I had a lesson with Anna a couple of years ago and both my riding and my teaching improved dramatically afterwards so it's no wonder I was absolutely delighted to be able to learn more.
Although, as perhaps most riders, I am very much a kinesthetic learner, I also noticed that watching good quality training challenges and develops my teaching skills far better than any hours of riding.
I like to relate what I hear to what I see and observe the rider's reactions to certain corrections which seems to create a real brainstorm in my head - in a very positive way.
Another great thing I noticed is that in the same way as a video feedback helps the riders to improve their perception of good and bad moments in their training sessions, watching a very good, skilled rider can improve your own riding without apparent effort.
If you dig well enough into sports psychology you will probably find some scientific explanation to this phenomenon but I tend to think about it as a children way of learning ;)
A 6 year old can "learn" rising trot just by watching another rider doing it. You put a child on a pony and say "do as that rider does" and more often then not your little rider will correctly rise to the trot rhythm. Sure, you will need to tweak the technique later on but the basic skill is there.

Some time ago, when I was out of action for months on end with my dodgy knee, I read about this top Olympic skier who happened to injure himself right bang in the middle of his Olympic preparations.
He took part in a physio-rehab programme that involved watching videos of his own best performances and it was found out that you can "exercise" the muscles through watching and active imagining of participation in the training.
He did go to Olympics and his physio noted amazing rate of recovery and much faster return to form the athlete had prior to injury.

I can't quote statistics and I am too tired to search the Internet for some academic papers on this but I know it works for me. I ride, teach and think about training much better after watching quality teaching/training.

What I really like in Anna's teaching and riding is that there is clear method to it, whether it's a talented young dressage horse or a pony with shortage of legs and talent. It's like watching lots of elements of a puzzle being put together. Sometimes the riders try to cheat inadvertendly and force some pieces together but they never get to finish the picture like that. It's the undoing what was put together wrong and trying to put it back together in a better way, finding the pieces that do fit and those that don't, is what I find fascinating to watch. It makes you pay attention to details, quality of basic paces and self-carriage of the horse you are riding or teaching on.

I had a chance to watch morning training of Anna's horses and 8 (I think!) lessons she gave afterwards. They all involved very different riders and very different horses. The Prix St George horse, one was putting together her Elementary freestyle to music, then a green 5 year old (that was super to watch), some more Elementary level horses, some work on improving changes with Advanced Medium horse, some contact issues, back stiffeness, basic flexion problems etc etc I personally found sessions with the young/green horses most interesting but I also had a chance to watch Simon working on piaffe in-hand with Anna's advanced horses which was rather impressive.
And the kids - they were all fab little riders. Amazingly, many many PTT or even some AI instructors I have seen in training have less feel and work ethic than I saw with those young riders today. They transformed these ordinary animals into rather special dressage ponies, they listen and try their best to correct what's wrong and you can really see improvement.

I'm knackered now but it was so worth it. It's not often, if ever, that you get help when trying to get better in whatever you do and I am ever so grateful to Anna for taking her time to share her knowledge and experiences with me.
I mustn't have caused too much problems (I did try to control that cute, fury, active dog of Anna's with varied luck!) as I am invited again and I sure will make some time for another day like today. Minus the COLD!

Now, I must remember to set off my alarm for multiple (read: hundreds) snoozes as have to be in Berks at 9am tomorrow.

Why is it that...

...horses that are apparently so unsound and so incapable of moving without looking lame are yet perfectly able to gallop flat out round and round the field when turned out??!!
Kingsley gave a mild coronary today when he decided to play a race horse and have a fight with his field buddy. They tested how fast can an equine travel around relatively small field which ended in Kingsley falling over and hitting the deck rather hard :(
Both horses had to be caught and taken out of the field as they would not stop running and I then spent good 15 minutes walking Kingsley in-hand before he started breathing more or less normal. He was absolutely covered with mud, not to mention he drenched his rug and boots too. Thankfully, he seemed to be in one piece. I checked on him every hour or so to see if his legs stayed tight but there was no swelling or heat when I left just before 8pm.
I told him he is a silly man and his body will never feel better if he keeps playing like this but all I got was a lot of nuzzling and sniffing and checking for food.

He will be going out tomorrow with some immensly lazy pony that will hopefully ignore every invitations for a mad run.
I am hoping he behaves as I am not at the yard tomorrow and I always worry he comes up with something when I am not around.
Ok, sleep time as 5am start to the day tomorrow, off for some dressage training.

One of many days

Reading University seems to have a rather active riding club which meant I spent entire day teaching uni riders. As we are having an additional new outdoor arena built on site at Hall Place and massive machinery goes forwards and back all the time, all the day time lessons were indoors so I stayed dry and my voice was saved from battling with the wind. Good.

The world around me has all of a sudden become very Xmassy. All the decorations are up and all the shops seem in the festive mood already. I think I'm looking forward to this year's Christmas a little bit more than the last but I am still rather sad I won't be with my family.
I am hoping that one day this feeling of being constantly torn in between the two lives will finally lessen in intensity and I will be happier with things I just can't change.

You know, all I really want is to have a demanding, inspiring job, horses to ride, homey cosy place to live in and have all the people dear to me close by.
And a dog and a cat ;)
My friend's puppy is currently benefiting from my dog love whenever I see him although he did wake me up at some ungodly hour when I stayed over last night. He thinks that placing a well chewed sock on my face is a good idea and will definitely make me wake up and play. Okay ;)

Kingsley is also being very playful and very cuddly. He rests his head on my arm and shoulder while I scratch his face which he absolutely adores. I am giving him chaff only with a sprinkle of Baileys No.4 at the moment as he has way too much energy when out in the field. He does have a lot of hay to keep him busy and I am keeping everything crossed that some healing is taking place in his sacro-blooming-iliac joint.

Right, mission for today is to grab some decent rest!