Kingsley's Day 1 at Rockley Farm: Video Report

Photo: Movement assessment on soft surface: Rockley Farm - Barefoot Performance & Hoof Rehabilitation

After about four hours of journey in a swift little horsebox, Kingsley, Pauline, Annette and I arrived at what I can only describe as one of the most picturesque set ups I have ever seen. It's safe to say I am now totally in love with Devon countryside.

Here is our journey in pictures:

Day 1 at Rockley Farm - slideshow dvd

And here is a little video report from the day. We were greeted at Rockley Farm by Nic, Andy and some stunning Hungarian Vizlas (plus a hound puppy! :)

Kingsley stepped down the ramp as if he was making these sort of journeys every day. He travelled fantastically and was so quiet we even wondered if he was there at all!

We let him have a little look around before taking him for some rest in a large stable with haylage which he promptly started to eat.

After a cup of tea and a chat in Nic's house (which has the views to die for) we went for a walk on the Tracks (to read more on what the Tracks do and how they help in hoof rehab please read Nic's explanation plus photos on here: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/tracks.html)

Once we finished the tour of the fields and Tracks we came back to the stables to put Kingsley through variety of movement evaluations.

1) This one was filmed to observe the general balance, the way the feet land on the ground, length of stride etc I videoed alongside Nic, the proper footage will be available on her website.

2) Trot Up on the hard surface (still in shoes)

3) Movement Assessment on the soft surface: Walk

4) Movement Assessment on the soft surface: Trot

Then the shoes went off:

And Kingsley was allowed to roam free on the Track for the first time:

Once he had a little look and a bit of a sniff around he got to meet Felix, the top man in the herd. They settled well into haylage munching. He was to be introduced to the rest of the herd one by one later and on Sunday morning.

Kingsley didn't just eat - he decided that exploring the surrounding is the ting to do. The water container is situated on top of the undulation covered with peat gravel so the horses have to put some effort into their daily whereabouts. I think he will like this!

We departed totally sure we did the right thing taking little man all this way. I will be updating you all on his progress and I hope to see Kingsley more comfortable on his own feet some time soon.

Even if Kingsley's problems are way beyond the navicular syndrome/disease I am sure rehabilitating his hooves is still the best way to go if he is to ever become sound.

For more videos of Kingsley please visit my You Tube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/equestriancoach1

Kingsley goes to Rockley Farm

Photo: Getting ready to leave and checking my hands for apples/polos/any food

Long journey from Reading to Exmoor done and Kingsley is settled in his new "holiday" home: Rockley Farm. All went well, he travelled perfectly like a pro and settled well too. I'm really sad thinking I won't see him for a long time but equally I am hopeful he will at last become comfortable on his own feet.

A few snapshots below and proper update with all the videos tomorrow as early Sunday morning for me.

Photo: More treats from his mummy

Photo: At Rockley Farm - Nic taking his shoes off...

Full update tomorrow.

Amazing and Less Amazing Times

I wish I could tell you all is going amazing and I am off for a little well-deserved holiday but if you've been reading this blog for a while you would know that of course that would be highly unlikely ;)

Instead, it's like pushing that big rock up a hill...every now and then you make a progress, then you slide a few meters down. And you start again.

One of the centres I teach at had to temporarily close for business due to illness of the majority of the horses. It's a very sad situation both for the horses and for everybody whose livelihood depends on that business. It is, however, necessary and responsible to cease any activities that might spread the illness elsewhere.

This means that from a struggling riding instructor I am now an immensely struggling riding instructor! It's a very hard to deal with side of self-employment in the Equine industry. What keeps me going is that every so often, on the way to that damn top of the hill I find that there is some fun to the rock pushing.

I like to have a plan, even if one to follow loosely but to be able to execute such plans we all need that minimal control over our environment.

Well, not here. Here we have a balancing on a tight rope act every day. There is something about people liking to live on the edge, right? Right?.... ....

Recently, I find myself thinking of giving in, grabbing a job that pays the bills, my food, holiday and a horse to ride and enjoy. Then I wake up and can't bare the thought of locking myself in four walls and giving up what I've worked so hard for.

The situations like this one proves to all self-employed instructors out there that we should look at our jobs as a business first. If you are anything like me you will consider many other things your priority - the horses welfare, the enjoyment of the riders you teach, the improvement of the horses and of the riders, pleasure of being with horses etc etc Business comes a very inconvenient last with all its paperwork, financial planning and an array of boring tasks you have to undertake in order to stay on track with all the income/outcome/profit/ loss malarkey.

The answer to my struggle is quite simple - I have to look at this job as a business first, the rest very close second. This is not enjoyable though. It feels like work!

Tough, I can hear you say. And you're right.

Business it is then.

As scary as it is I have arranged for someone to help me deal with the promotional side of the Academy project. The world of press releases and media relations is one I'd rather not venture into by myself.

My search for a yard base in & near London has brought an opportunity which might work a treat or might not work at all - I will find out on Friday. If it does I shall have a very jolly post for you!

The Academy Bloggers

I must introduce you to several fabulous bloggers who guest blog on the Academy Blog. It all started with just a couple of them but has since grew and there is more to come. I love the fact the word about their experiences can be spread for free and the feedback I received so far suggests many riders enjoy reading the posts.

Here we go then, new Guest Bloggers, more introductions to come next time or you can check them all by yourself on Academy's Blog.

Chloe Ammonds-Nutt - passionate eventer with full-time job

Hello I’m Chloe,I work 8.30am – 5pm all week but as soon as the clock strikes 5 I’m out the door, hair up, breeches on and in the car en route to the yard. I grew up around horses as my mother always rode, I was even named after a particularly good sjing mare that she used to own. I always thank my lucky stars I didn’t end up getting called Starlight or Merrylegs!I had the usual horsey childhood upbringing lead rein to pony club, and from pony club to school teams then onto riding club activities. I haven’t been hugely blessed with well bred or talented horses so have had to adapt my passion for competing to whatever sphere they were strongest in. This has in some ways been very beneficial because I have been able to experience polo, polo-crosse, showjumping, dressage, xc, carriage driving, gykhana games, and even a bit of the dreaded showing, but my heart lies with eventing.

Chloe's posts: http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/guest-blogger-chloe-ammonds-nutt/

Cassidy Sitton of C-Horse Eventing - another eventer with two jobs, one being a non-horsey one

"As a third generation equestrian, I’d like to think the horses are in my blood. I grew up in the saddle and began formal lessons at age 4 near my hometown of Cobden, Illinois (United States). The first barn I was involved with was an Arabian facility, focusing on Hunter/Jumpers. I didn’t have an Arab, so I just plugged along in the world of hunter/jumpers on my own.The first barn I was involved with was an arabian facility, focusing on Hunter/Jumpers. I didn’t have an Arab, so I just plugged along in the world of hunter/jumpers on my own. In order to compete, my family had to make adjustments and sacrifices, and I had to prove my commitment to the sport. From early on, I gained a strong education in the basics of horsemanship and learned early on my passion was working with green and troubled horses.

At thirteen, I grew tired of the controlled environment of the Hunter Jumper world and fell in love with the thrill of eventing. I joined her local United States Pony Club chapter, and quickly progressed through the levels, achieving my H-A rating at 16 (the youngest age allowed to attempt the rating)." Read Cassidy's full bio on HERE.

Cassidy's Blog on: http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/category/guest-blogger-cassidy-sitton/

Judi Daly - you will like her posts, it's all about enjoying the horses! Judi wrote a couple of books on trail riding and has plenty of useful tips for you too.

"My name is Judi Daly, and I live in Cleveland, OH USA. In the world of horses, I’m just anordinary person. I don’t compete, I don’t work in the horse world, I don’t even have my horses onmy own property. Rather, I work a full-time job and board out my two horses. My budget is slim.I don’t even have a horse trailer.I am an avid trail rider, though, often riding over 1,000 miles a year.Our trails are in the suburbs of a large city—some of the most rugged riding you will ever find. We have to deal with planes, trains and automobiles as well as trucks and motorcycles. We share our trails with hikers, joggers, dog walkers, bicycles, baby strollers, fishermen, cross country skiers andwhatever else you may come across in a very populated area. That doesn’t even account for theweather and the wildlife! I like to ride on rainy days because it is the only time it is peaceful andquiet on the trails.I ride both my horses five times a week in all weather. I do keep my horses at a stable with anindoor arena, and that helps in the bad weather and dark winter evenings, but it still gets prettycold. Most winter days in Cleveland are well below freezing.In the winter, I work on the forever unattainable goal of the perfectly trained horse with theperfectly skilled rider." More on HERE

Judi's Blog posts: http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/category/guest-blogger-judi-daly/

The Ups and Downs - My Horse & Country TV Blog

Here is my second blog post on Horse & Country TV - the insider's view of the ups and downs of the Academy project:

http://www.horseandcountry.tv/celebrity/wiola-grabowska/academy-road-test

More news tomorrow!

London Horse Network Meeting at Mudchute Equestrian Centre

I took a precious day off work today to attend a meeting organised by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and HOOF-ride London's London Horse Network.

The place on the meeting was given to me and I had no idea what to expect but the Agenda seemed interesting. The main idea is to find a sustainable and clever way to allocate the government funding that is being made available as a part of London 2010 legacy.

More about this on the BEF website HERE.

The meeting was held at the Mudchute Equestrian Centre in East London - a burst of green and trees and animals with large peaks of Canary Wharf in the distance. Very surreal setting but they have lovely facilities including large all-weather surface arena, restaurant with some yummy soups and muffins etc and they also have the cutest rabbits and guinea pigs in the cool little houses with little gardens for them ;) Check out their website:

http://www.mudchute.org/equestrian-centre

I didn't research my travel arrangements well and missed the fact there actually was a very easy connection from where I live to Mudchute. Instead, I took a Central Line and it was the most dreadful journeys I had for a long time. Makes me wonder if the commuters on that line developed some changes in their DNA or some other superior adaptations that help them deal with lack of oxygen, space and the type of heat you can only get if you stuff 100 people in a 30 people container.

Now, the DLR on the other hand, was a pleasure to travel on and what lovely views :)

Arrived at the place nice and early for a change and met the people running the meeting: BEF's London Representative David Gadsby, the Volunteer Chair to London Horse Network - Jodie Maile and Anna Bruce from Eventerprise PR, PR Advisor to the Network.

Majority of the delegates taking part were proprietors of London riding schools, some of whom I met before. It was really interesting to listen to their point of view on variety of issues facing the industry and although some attitudes were a bit disheartening the general outcome of the meeting turn up to be very inspiring and motivational.

The reason I agreed to take the place on the meeting in the first place was to learn how to obtain funding for a little London riding school I freelance at but it all turned up to be a very educational experience in many other areas.

The Aims

The London Horse Network (LHN) has 5 aims:

-attract more participants to the sport

-support existing riding schools to improve standards

-identify a mechanism for providing affordable training for those in the industry

-develop links with local and national government, county sports partnerships and schools

-work collectively to attract funding and investment (revenue and capital) into the equestrian industry in London.

Our first task was to rank the above in the order of importance... Let's just say it was an interesting discussion with some surprising outcome in some cases!

I personally found this part of the meeting very insightful. My aim has always been to run the Academy with co-operation with existing riding centres to bring benefits to all parties: the establishments, the riders and myself. However, after visiting many riding schools over the past year I learned that there is a lot of barriers to be fought.

The chance to listen to and take part in the discussion today made me feel like I am starting to understand the ins and outs of this industry a bit better.

Funding

There are some fabulous opportunities out there for anybody to tap into but the bureaucracy and logistics of it all is mind boggling.

The two organisations/initiatives that were presented at the meeting today were:

Pro-Active London (their leaflet alone is like a one long list of abbreviations!) - once you translated all the abbreviations and made sense out of every single one you can proceed to appreciate the website which is actually very informative and helpful.

Kerry Smith, Relationship Manager, introduced us to the way the organisation works and how to make use of it. It's not easy!

Then Katie Couchman, Project manager of The Skills Active and The National Skills Academy... Now, this is a one wonderful initiative but again, you almost need to employ a full-time fund searcher to turn your head around all the details. If you work most hours of the day most days of the month you might just not quite manage...

Either way, the general feel was of great support and I am feeling very enthusiastic about learning more on the subject.

My grand mission is to obtain the funding for the indoor/covered arena for Barnfield Riding School as well as develop the Academy into a coaching initiative that isn't just providing me with an interesting job but that helps to deliver a quality training for London riders.

One guest speaker who made it quite simple and very encouraging was a lady from Emile Faurie Foundation. She spoke about a few initiatives the Foundation had started with and their results are amazing.

They do a lot of simple fund rising as well as applying for funds and their newest undertaking is an Art Exhibition: "I found horses..." More about it here:

"Proceeds from this art exhibition will help the Foundation continue transforming young lives."

There are more meeting/seminars scheduled soon with some very interesting content so I am looking forward to those already.

Oh, and let's don't forget the Rabbits:

Digression

Before I tell you about today, a little digression....Judging by the amount of spam comments I get nowadays I am guessing my blog is coming up high on google searches. As content of this blog is obviously intensely erotic and includes variety of queries about sexual life I get plentiful of introductions to rather large selection of products that might (obviously) help me writing better posts.

Dear spammers - I appreciate your thought - some of you even try to use a word horse and riding in a strictly equestrian content - but as you can gather I have a 'comment approval' tool switched on on this blog. Save your time and mine and go somewhere else.

Another funky tool I have on this blog is a keyword analysis. It means I can look up what things you look up to find this blog. It is my pleasure to provide you all with comprehensive answers to your difficult queries.

Here are some of my favourites:

RIDING HORSES MAKES ME SLEEPY

does carl hester have barefoot horses

i admire my riding instructor letter

what component of fitness would relate to Eventing of The World Equestrian Games

[someone can't be bothered to write an assignment heh??!]

muscles of the upper body

can i eat hay

why is my girth too long

tina riding little ponny free video

Kingsley's Barefoot Rehab Part 1

On the 9th of October Kingsley is going to hit the road. Many thoughts and plenty of educational materials later the decision is made: little man will go to Rockley Farm all the way in Exmoor National Park.

He will also take part in Rockley's rehabilitation research programme - Project Dexter.

From Rockley's Farm website:

"Project Dexter is our research programme into so-called navicular syndrome, deep digital flexor tendonitis and non-specific caudal hoof pain. With the help of Jeremy Hyde, at Eqwest Veterinary Hospital and Professor Peter Clegg at the University of Liverpool, we are running a research project which aims to evidence the effect of our rehabilitation programme, and whether its more successful than traditional treatments, such as remedial shoeing.
The research project started in February 2008 and a short-form table of the results is here:

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/p/research-results.html "

The shoes can come off 2 weeks after latest shoeing. As Kingsley had his aluminium shoes put on at the weekend we chose to wait till second week of October with the journey.

He is much more comfortable in these shoes than in the previous ones - very small shoes + wedges. The theory was to unload the pressure to the DDFT (deep digital flexor tendon) but having read some articles on newest research on the subject it seems that such idea of the action of the wedges is now heavily challenged. Here is a link to a very interesting article by Pete Ramey:

DIGGING FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT NAVICULAR SYNDROME

To aid Kingsley's comfort and to spoil him completely I got Susanna to massage him.

He loved the experience last time and it was no different today. He is quite uncomfortable throughout all the large muscles in his back and neck with a couple of sore spots. They really get noticed because whilst he looks really relaxed and sleepy when enjoying himself, any pressure on the sore spots cause reaction.

I videoed Susanna trying to massage the bottom left side of his brachiocephalic muscle (his left fore is the one more severely affected). As you can see, he is very clearly showing his opinion:

The very immediate result of this sort of massage is the state of calm in the horse. Kingsley is generally fairly twitchy, fidgety horse which perhaps stems from being uncomfortable in one position for any length of time. He does relax when being groomed but massage makes him very calm and at ease with himself. It looks amazing when he pushes himself against Susanna when she hits the right spot as if he was saying "there you go, keep at it"!

I will try to film him for a bit longer next time as had to work during his massage today so only managed that short clip. I am curious to find out whether this sore spot on the neck will disappear when/if he becomes comfortable barefoot.

I also filmed him after taking him to the field as I thought the way he placed his feet heel first this time was interesting. He was very much toe first for a long time, including the period in the wedges obviously but these shoes do help him to walk better. They are also very light.

However, they are just a cover up and fight the symptom not the cause. His frogs are in bad condition and have soft areas on them that developed under the frog part of the wedges he had on previously.

For now, these shoes will hopefully keep him reasonably pain free until the 9th of October. I will try to arrange for another massage session before he goes - after that, all crossed it works as that's his last chance...

Books, Burghley, Home Made Pizza and Academy's tasks

You never know how much rubbish you have in your own house until you try to tidy things up. September started for me with a giant clearance. Having been ill almost entire August and being unable to shed a horrid cold for several weeks, my energy returned all of a sudden. At first I just wanted to get rid of stacks and stacks of equestrian mags that I seem incapable of throwing away but ended up filling our patio up with mountains of large, black wheelie bin liners full of all sorts of stuff we no longer need/use...For those of you who don't know our house is a size of a match box so I was impressed at how much storage space it actually has ;)

Old magazines gone it was only fair to order some new books to take up the available shelves! I decided to ask my mum to order some books in Polish for me as although I have no problems reading any English training books it always feels like I learn more reading in the mother tongue.

There are many new things I've learned since I've lived here and I am ashamed to admit but I find some concepts way easier to explain in English than in Polish.

I am rectifying this by reading some excellent books in both languages. The two I've just finished are:

1) Centred Riding by Sally Swift

English Version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Centered-Riding-Sally-Swift/dp/0851319335

Polish Version: http://www.empik.com/harmonia-jezdzca-i-konia-swift-sally,51570,ksiazka-p

2) Klaus Balkenhol - The Man And His Training Methods

Polish Version: http://www.empik.com/klaus-balkenhol-szkolenie-ujezdzeniowe-wedlug-zasad-klasycznej-szkoly-jazdy-konnej-schoffmann-britta,prod29890131,ksiazka-p

English Version: http://www.amazon.com/Klaus-Balkenhol-Man-Training-Methods/dp/157076378X

The Sally Swift book was a great read, some very good ideas on how to explain variety of riding concepts and some excellent examples of very creative images illustrating those concepts.

I also have her second book and I am looking forward to reading it.

The Klaus Balkenhol's biography was a joy to read and very inspirational. I thoroughly recommend it, fantastic insight into life of a very dedicated horseman and coach as well as into his classical training methods.

He is to be the guest speaker at British Dressage's: The Albion National Convention which will be held on the 27-28 November at Hartpury College and I am planning to go to at least one of the days.

Burghley 2010

On Saturday the 4th of September, Kari and I made a two hour road trip to Burghely Horse Trials to watch the XC and to see Craig and Spider doing their first 4* track. It was immediately apparent why Burghely is regarded as the most difficult 4* - the ground goes up and down non stop and there is barely a stretch of even galloping surface. Everything seems to have a gradient to it and if the ground happens to flatten a bit there are strategically placed mounds to make things nicely hair rising!

Despite Kari's hope to avoid any drastic looking falls we ended up witnessing a dreadful one of Rosie Thomas. Her horse Barry's Best caught a knee on the table jump, landed on his knees and face, rider's foot went deep through the iron and didn't release when the horse got up resulting in an awful looking drag :(

Both were fine and Rosie hopped along to give the horse a big hug once stewards had caught him.

Spider went clear and looked fabulous.

A couple of videos I took of Craig and Spider:

The crowds were substantial and it wasn't easy to see the action unless you planted yourself at one jump, sneaked your way to the ropes and just watched several riders going over. In this way you could compare different ways of riding to and over each jump but it could get samey!

The Academy

Time has come to deal with the mammoth task of editing all the Case Studies videos. It's a Grand Design scale project in itself as I literally need hours of free time to upload all the videos and then put them together into short clips. Let's just say I will be relieved when that's done.

The riders are doing very well and I hope you will enjoy reading about their progress.

I wrote a second part of the blog for Horse & Country TV's website and sent it over. I try to make sure that what I write there isn't identical to the content on here so if anybody reads both blogs they won't find the same boring waffle ;)

The H&C TV blog is more about the ups and downs of the Academy from the launch, set up and the running point of view but I also included details that I haven't discussed on here. I will post a link once the second part goes online. If you missed the first part, here it is:

Horse & Country TV Blog: Where It All Began.

There is another company that wants me to write for them so I need to come up with an interesting version of a blog like material that isn't a repetition of the other material I already write. It's all great opportunity to share my passion for this project but believe me, writing on other sites is a bit stressful as I am very aware of my lame grammar. Thankfully, I have lovely secret proofreaders who will help with any major mishaps!

On the subject of sharing the news - I am working on more, hopefully interesting ways of spreading the word about Academy. Once those ideas are finalised I will post more details about them.

Other Stuff

I blame my friends for making me re-visit the kitchen and start cooking at home again! I really don't have the time for this!! ;) They prepared the most fantastic home-made pizza last week with plenty of some home-prepared ingredients and then actually baked own bread for our breakfast! It was just plain delicious and so tasty :)

Haakan's Home Made Pizza - Yummy!

It's therefore entirely their fault I spent an hour in the kitchen today getting our dinner ready but it was so worth it!

London Ride Network

A couple of weeks ago someone emailed me saying they couldn't make a meeting organised by London Ride Network and whether I would be interested if she recommended me for her place. I have never heard of this organisation but thought it might be interesting to go. According to the information I received "The purpose of the network is to: work in the collective interest to develop the industry, share knowledge and best practices, fund access to the sport, work with external agencies and engage with County Sports Partnerships (CSP’s) and schools. "

I then got sent the Agenda for the meeting and decided it sounded intriguing.

I am not sure if I will be able to meaningfully contribute to the meeting but I would certainly love to learn how to search for funding as well as how to create better environment for the sport to develop further. Every now and then I teach a child or a teenager who have so much drive and talent and I think, damn you could be really good if there were opportunities for you to make it in this sport! The sad truth is that the costs of training and competing are way beyond the reach of those kids' parents. The meeting is on the 28th so I shall post a note of what it was all about.

Off to Kent tomorrow for more Academy chat, some riding, some videoing - speak soon!

No Feet No Horse

It seems a theme now that I have very little time to update this blog so a long update is coming tomorrow. Today I will pass on the news on Kingsley...

If you read my last post you will know that nothing has improved Kingsley's feet problems and we faced a sad end of the road. There is only as much money and tears you can spend on a horse and the decision was made to have Kingsley put to sleep.

As my friend was going to be away we decided to arrange for everything once she returned. In the meantime I had someone coming for a lesson who happened to have a barefoot horse...The said horse was placed at the Horse Of The Year Show some years back but had since developed various feet problems. The owners tried many types of shoeing, pads etc but opted to take the shoes off in the end as a last resort. A year on and the horse is sound and happy.

It got me thinking...I have read a little on barefoot in the past and although I would happily never shoe a horse if it was done from a young age but I wasn't sure what to think about this chucking shoes away after years of having them on. From my limited knowledge on the subject I was aware that any barefoot rehab needs careful preparation and experienced trimmer to supervise the process. The last thing we want is to put Kingsley through unnecessary painful procedures.

I must say it wasn't easy to even make the decision to try one more time. We were prepared to call it a day and start afresh but every time we discussed it neither of us could say "right, let's do it on this/that day".

The more I looked at his feet the more concerned I became. The many photos taken of him helped me to trace the shape of his hooves and even to me they looked in ill condition.

To learn more about it all I posted a thread on Horse & Hound Forum which you can read on here: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=400084. It has 87 replies as per today and they make for rather interesting read.

If you do read it you will notice a lot of criticism of the farrier. As I now know, the farrier isn't always to blame. He might have been doing all he could have to work with the ill hoof. If the foot doesn't grow well not much can be done.

As Kingsley wasn't at all comfortable in his egg bar shoes we agreed for him to have wedges for a couple of weeks as we were advised he needs pressure taken off his DDFT (Deep Digital Flexor Tendon).

These are the photos I took 2 days after the wedges were put on:

11th September 2010

As you can see this is one unhappy pair of feet. After having a good thorough chat with my friend we decided we should try to give the boy this one more chance and try him barefoot. The question was, how to go about it.

We both would have loved to take part in his rehab and learn what he really needs to become sound but after researching all the options we think we found someone who will do much better job. Once everything is finalised I will post an update.

I found some great reading about barefoot thanks to members of the Forum:

http://barefoothorseblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.rockleyfarm.co.uk/RockleyFarm/Home.html

http://www.hoofrehab.com/

Also:

http://eventing-a-gogo.blogspot.com/p/hooves-of-steel-barefoot-journey.html

http://www.easycareinc.com/education/whybarefoot.aspx

http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/natural-hoof-care-in-the-uk

http://eventing-draft.blogspot.com/search/label/trimming

http://ohhorsefeathers.blogspot.com/

Vet visit today - it's not better, it's worse

I must say I didn't think we would be given good news today. The last time I walked Kingsley he just started feeling uneven and rigid again towards the end of the 30 minute hack and I decided that it was best to wait till today with riding him more.

And in fact there was no good news. However, I was quite shocked to find out he actually got worse than he was back in April. He was lame in walk and trot on the hard on straight line. Very lame. Nodding lame.

We then lunged in the arena on a all weather rubber track and his trot on a circle was the worst I have ever seen him. I kept pushing him on on vet's request but to be honest it was painful to watch.

On the left rein his feet sequence in trot was poor and he had no desire to move forwards. On the right rein he couldn't trot at all. He moved in bunny hops like canter strides, half cantering half trotting, cutting the circle inwards to avoid any bending.

I decided there and then that even if there was any chance of any further treatment I was not riding him until I saw him trotting up sound without a rider.

As he was moving so much worse than last time in July, the vet decided to nerve block the foot again just to see if there wasn't anything else going on.

He was much better and much happier to move which indicated that primary pain source is in the left front with right front being less affected.

Having said that, he wasn't fully sound after nerve blocking.

We also looked at his X-rays from April and July and compared the changes. They showed further deterioration...

He has had one dose on Tildren IV (full body) in April, 2 sets of navicular bursea injections - one April/May and another in July, Navilox and is off work since August 2009. No improvement wouldn't be a problem. But he is so much worse :( I was really shocked to see him in trot today. The last time I lunged him was a couple of months ago and to see him moving so oddly and with such difficulty today was just so disheartening.

There remaining options are: another change of shoes...more tildren...more bute...and the most kind of all - PTS.

I would love to see him happy and perky again; he is not a content young horse right now. As many of you will know I would love to ride him everyday and would happily hang on to a possibility to do so but after today the saddle stays firmly on the rack :(

And the Good!

Onto the good and exciting parts of life!

The Academy project is still very much a project and although I've been sitting quiet with it due to my health it has brought me several new clients already.

I am working on ways of promoting it other than slapping a grand, boring advert in a magazine so stay tuned as I will share all the ins and outs.

We are now blogging on Horse and Country TV's website so please do visit and say hell0 (not sure how but perhaps you'll figure out??!). I will try to share the details of the whole project on there in form of a diary. Here is a link to my blog on there:

http://www.horseandcountry.tv/celebrity/wiola-grabowska/where-it-all-began

I've been on a mission to find some more interesting Guest Bloggers for the Academy blog and here are the new faces for you to get to know :) I hope you will enjoy reading their updates as much as I do.

In August, the Guest Bloggers include: Gary Diplock & Mind4Sport ( Gary agreed to share a great insight into Sports Psychology and importance of mental skills for ALL levels of riders) , UK Eventer Jeni Ball (Jeni runs her yard and loves to event), The Mystery Emma (who writes hilarious novel-like romance/yard drama) and US Eventer Cassidy Sitton (passionate rider, Eventer, Coach with a freelance job in advertising). Have a look at their posts on here: http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/

I've also been busy trying to gather as much advice as possible from all the good will people who agreed to give it away.

Talking about good will people...one of my substantial debts was literally waved away by this amazing person and I really wish I could do more to somehow give much more back to all the extraordinary people who help me so much!

Perhaps one day.

Next month is looking exciting as I am off to watch Burghley as well as hopefully nursing myself back to health!

Pic.below: Craig and Spider (Just Ironic) - Spider is Burghley bound!

http://www.burghley-horse.co.uk/

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I suppose it's time to...

Good first or bad first?

Let's start with the bad so it's over and done with. It will be here as a separate post as I will probably delete it some time soon.

I've been delaying the update because all I wanted to write seemed unnecessarily negative and ungratefully moaney. It still is in fact. I resent it because it's just damn arrogant to complain whilst having a roof above my head, enough money for food on the table (well, most of the time anyway) and a job I love.

The truth is, I haven't been well for over a month now, if not longer, and as much as my mind and soul want to do it all, my body just can't cope :(

Some of you may remember my post from some time ago when I listed all the possible options to consider regarding a plan for the future, for riding and for the Academy project. I thought I could do it all. But I can't.

Right now, I work and work and work. There is nothing I do right now that could class as something for myself. I resent the thought as selfish but we all need this little bit of reward for all the hard work, don't we?

No matter how much you love your work and how much job satisfaction you get from it, we all need something outside of it to complete it all.

Until now, I thought the job satisfaction would do me just fine. That I don't need anything especially for myself to be happy.

Sadly I was wrong. I wish I was this altruistic person who needs no fun for herself. How much easier would that be!

There is this massive puzzle piece missing and now I know what it is: it's the riding, the purposeful riding. The lack of it makes me feel down. In the same time, although I hate to say it, I lost a lot of my enthusiasm and hope that things can change much in this department.

As much as lack of riding sends me down, my passion for the job lifts my mood up. It's one of those things when you have to chose in between two equally important aspects of life.

Either way, I suppose it's time to temporarily suspend my updates. You wouldn't want to read a monotonous list of complaints I am bound to write if I allow myself to do so.

I've taken some days off next month as my health is firmly telling me I am ruining it. Days off I can't really afford. I hope they will be of some benefit to my body as they certainly won't be to my mind.

Kingsley boy wasn't great yesterday either. I keep telling my naive self to stop getting excited every time he walks less pottery. I've been there before with Fetas and it's not worth the emotional roller-coaster. And yet, every time he seems a bit better there is new sense of hope. Only to be crashed by a melancholic state of his the next day and a shuffly, trippy walk stride. The vet is coming on Saturday morning to review him. Hopeful part of me counts on good news.

One step at a time. Sometimes it feels like going through a desert - you want to go fast as the iron hot sand burns your skin but the rule still stands - one step at a time.

Ok, enough of this overly honest moaning. It always astounds me that you can get so low in life in some areas of it and yet be on a total high in others.

Good job horses read body language and a word about Academy's Blog

For the second time in my teaching life I have landed myself with a fabulous onset of laryngitis and today, I lost my voice all together. I could croak a thing or two up to yesterday but that's just about gone too. I can whisper.

For the last few days I have started my days actually saying to myself "Voice Test" only to hear some ninety-year-old like voice coming out of my throat. Not fun.

It's not painful until you try to talk when you have a full body workout trying to blow air into your larynx and make any sounds at all.

It didn't help that I only took one day off since it happened on Sunday and the 25 hours of teaching I've done in the last three days wouldn't have helped :(

Coupled with a mild cold this lovely condition leaves me rather exhausted and I hope it goes soon! Having had a hoarse chat with a nice lady in the Pharmacy yesterday it doesn't look like I have much meds choice and the best one is REST YOUR VOICE. She gave some lozenges which taste absolutely vile - they contain liquorice which I just can't stand. However, they do help a little so I will eat some ;)

Yard work today so nice silent body language with horses and then a whispering training day for Pauline on Saturday!

Anyone has any miracle, granny style recipes for getting my voice back??

Anyway. For all those who aren't on ever reaching Facebook but do visit the Academy's new website - I would like to thank you all very much as we've had almost 3000 visits in the first week of the launch :) It's probably not much in the grand scheme of virtual reality but it's good few for me and I am really happy someo

ne enjoys the site.

If you haven't noticed already, I've started a new blog on there which is going to hopefully be educational, inspiring and a bit different to this one. The Academy blog is based on a Guest Blogger basis so apart from myself and other Team members blogging I also invited numerous riders to share their experiences with everybody.

So far, we can follow the riding life of:

Casey Stickland

A sixteen year old rider from Australia who moved continents to pursue her Dressage dream. She is now based at Talland School of Equitation in Gloucestershire, UK. Casey blogs about her journey to become an International Dressage rider, the training and some great advice from her own lessons.

Well worth a read!

She is now at Summer Regionals at Addington as I type and will blog about her experience of it when she comes back. To read Casey's blog on Academy's site go to http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/guest-blogger-casey-stickland/

Pippa Allan...

I met Pippa at Barnfield Riding School in 2007 and she rode with me for 3 years before deciding she wanted to try something fast & furious. Also sixteen, Pippa went to British Racing School in March this year to do the 9 weeks long Foundation course. She described it as the best time of her life! She is now working on a flat racing yard in Epsom but has some exciting plans worth following. She has a rather rough writing style which I decided to leave as it was (mostly!) because it adds authenticity and suits her well ;) http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/guest-blogger-pippa-allan/

Candace Potempa

Candace is a delightful personality and a great friend of mine. Unfortunately, she lives rather far away - Chicago, Illinois, US! Candy works full-time and has recently bought her very first horse. She is show-jumping mad and has some wonderful experiences to share while she goes through the ranks with her mare, Flirt. http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/guest-blogger-candace-potempa/

Some more great Guest Bloggers in the pipeline as well as some of Academy's Team members blogging about their training, teaching and competing: http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/

If you like it, please help us spread the word about the Academy. Post a link to us, Become a Fan on our Facebook Page or click 'Like' button. Everything to do with promoting the Academy is done on a shoestring and it is only possible thanks to amazing help from some extraordinary people. I will tell you all about what we do to get the Academy out there very soon!

I'm back on the roads!

For now that is. Wiola let me update you on my life as I am such a multi talent - she says I am just perfect at avoiding being a riding horse. That's fine by me. I mean, everybody got to be perfect at something, right?

Mr Vet came on Thursday and decided there was an improvement in my way of going. Of course it was. I have it all figured out. See, my Mum and Aunt would never EVER put me down if I get even wee bit better. Granted, if I am lame non stop I am going to be in deep trouble.

This means, if I go sound for a bit (not difficult as with all the nice Danill-meals I'm getting there is very little discomfort anyway, you see), then lame for a bit, then sound again, I am buying myself a lot of time on this lovely yard with my dear buddies and the pampering services here are second to none.

So there you go guys, I've got it all sorted in me little head. I am no silly horse.

I am still lame in trot. Lame as a duck Wiola says. [Enter ears back here - I am a 6 year old Irish Sports Horse thank you, not a d u c k].

I forgive this bad language as Aunty Wiola took me for a very nice ride on Friday. Did I mention I like hacking? So I do. I know Wiola gets bored with hacking but frankly, I don't care. Neither do I give a damn about her riding career and all that nonsense. She told me that if I would only go sound to be a hacking horse I could be replaced with a competition horse.

Now, please tell me I am wrong but - I like it here. I don't want to be replaced by any freaking show horse that is afraid of a body brush and shows the whites in his eyes when approached with a slightly differently shaped feed bowl.

You are with me guys aren't you? I think Wiola might as well get used to a career in walk hacking. Surely there is one such? That is what I like doing anyway. And Mummy would always agree with me so that's that.

A few photos of me below. Just for the record, I *did* say they are all almost identical and there is no point having them all here. I wasn't listened to.

See, she likes hacking really ;)

Speak soon,

Kingsley

xxx

Ok, so Academy's website is LIVE...

http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/

Please let me know what you think! If you spot any mistakes or broken links do drop me a message or leave a comment - it will be really helpful :)

I am taking this opportunity to thank everybody involved in taking the idea of the Academy from dreamy and unrealistic to something doable and hopefully useful to many riders out there.

You know that quote: "If you can dream it, you can do it..."? Well, the thing is it was said by Walt Disney...you can make anything possible in a Hollywood film. In real life you need enormous amount of patience, hard work, long hours, impossibly long hours in fact and most of all a lot of help from people who believe in you and your idea.

Thank you to my wonderful man for creating the super website despite my total inability to submit material in correct formats and to all who made it possible - you know who you are :) X