Dickens Diary - January 2008

1st - Deekie and I started todays session with a leg stretch around Pinkwell , then onto the headlands for a trot, finishing with a canter up the gallops. As we past the school I decided to take him in and jump some of the fences that were already out. Deekie is becoming more confident about show jumps and is starting to take me into the fence more.

2nd - Off on our adventures to Summer House today to take part in the clear round warm up class that they are running. This is the first time that Deekie has seen a full course of fourteen plus fences, with fillers, gates, doubles and skinny fences all set within an Olympic arena and with all of the fences dressed with flower pots and banners on the side of the arena. Deekie had a good look at everything but soon settled down and although he was "green" he went on to jump all of the fences without a problem. A good result.

3rd - I lunged Deekie today for 20 mins before turning him out for the afternoon.

4th - Deekie takes a well deserved day off and stretches his legs in the field.

5th - Back to work and a hack through the village today. I take him out for about 40 mins, working him up and down the hills that we are lucky to have around us.

6th - Another lunging session in the school today. I have probably mentioned this before but I find lunging an essential part of rehabing a horse, especially when they are learning to find their balance, or learning to accept a contact and take that contact forward.

7th - D - DAY TODAY! A good friend of mine picks Deekie and I up from the yard and we set off on our adventures. Today Deekie is going to experience the valley field that is probably at present 3 foot under water - I haven't told him yet that hes going to need his arm bands! This is going to be a real test of confidence and trust both in me, and in himself.

Luckily John had driven down with the car and trailer to give us a lift home and was already there when we got to the field. John walked in to the field first followed by my friend on her horse and Deekie tentatively followed his new equine friend into the flooded field.

What a fantastic result. In the end Deekie liked it that much he tried trotting through the water, resulting in getting be and my friend very wet!

8th - Deekie is lunged today for 30 mins, working on transitions and halting squarely.

9th - Weather is horrendous!! Everywhere is flooded including our paddocks. All of the horses stay in today and are either walked on the horse walker or are ridden. I brave it and Deekie and I go for a hack with one of our Liveries. We were rather wet by the time we got back!

10th - Is this rain going to ever stop! There is nowhere for the water to go, normally our fields drain really well and very quickly but this rain isn't going anywhere. Another day in the stables and exercise is limited to time on the horse walker.

11th - We manage to get the horses turned out today for a few hours - and it snowing, could it get any worse?

12th - The rain holds off for a while today, so Deekie, John and I go to Bourton on the Water to use a friends indoor School. This is the first time that Deekie has been in a small indoor school (20 x 40), and I hope that it doesn't make him back off in his work. This seems not to be the case, so John puts some fences out and we end up doing a double and an assending spread.

13th - I lunge Deekie today for 20 mins before turning him out.

14th - Today Deekie and I go out on a hack with one of our Liveries around the village. Deekie spends his time showing off to his hacking buddy and I spend most of the hack catching up on gossip!!

15th - The Cotswold Hunt meet in the village today so all of the horses stay in and go on the walker. I manage to take Deekie into the school and work him on the flat for half an hour. Deekie is really starting to strengthen up behind the saddle now and is finding it easier to go forwards into a contact.

16th - Back on the lunge today and 20 mins spent making transitions. - Poor Deekie, it's a good job he doesn't get dizzy from going round in circles!

17th - Out on the roads today and round the village on our own. Deekie spends the first ten minutes finding all of the monsters in the hedge before concentrating on the job and getting on with the hack.

18th - Another party today! Deekie, John and I are off to a Dressage Competition at a new venue. When we get there John and I tack Deekie up and I get on. I now remember why I have not been to this venue for a long time - the car park is right next to the test arena, which is an outdoor arena that backs onto the main road. The car park also has bales of Haylage stacked up in there with bits of flapping plastic blowing around in the wind. The Showjumping arena is positioned in front of the Dessage arena, so as you go up the centre line you are watching some one jumping in front of you.

My heart sinks as I go to the warm up arena. It gets worse, on the one long side of the arena you have a work shop and various diggers and J.C.B s parked up, men at work welding and banging pieces of metal - great. To top it all whilst trying to contain a very tense and wound up Deekie and keeping well out of every ones way I have a very nervous rider on a young horse shouting at me and anyone else that enters the same end of the school as her to " stay out of my way, I'm on a young horse". I wouldn't mind but no one was near her, they were all trying to avoid me!

Deekie went in to do his test, and I had some of the best trot work out of him to date, we had got through half of the test when in the canter we had to circle in the centre of the school then canter round to the bottom of the school and change the rein in canter across the diagonal. This movement started well, we did our circle, Cantered around the bottom of the arena and just as we got onto the diagonal a lorry drove past with loose flapping plastic sheeting - well we took off across the arena like lightening, I managed to get him back before the corner but the marks had gone from to 7s to probably if I was lucky 4s and poss 6s. I don't know how we did it but when I went to get my score sheet there was a blue ribbon on top of it - Deekie had still managed to come second!!

19th - Deekie dug his water wings out this morning and off we went to the flooded valley field for a splash with his new swimming partner. On our way to the flooded field there is another field that we are allowed to canter in during the winter, so in we popped and I took Deekie for a canter in one direction while my friend took her horse the other way around the field. This was a test for Deekie as he has never been asked to leave another horse whilst being ridden since I have had him in re hab. It was a total success and with our spirits high we continued our hack to the water field. The water level had risen since our last visit and at the deepest point it was up his shoulder blade, I had to sit with my legs over the front of the saddle to stop getting wet! Another successful morning of work and a lift home from John in the trailer.

20th - A day off for the water baby and out in the field, a busy day ahead spent eating chatting to his friends and more eating.

21st - Deekie and I have a lesson today with Jane Kidd and can you believe it - its raining, and raining hard arrrh. Jane and I decide to go for it and im glad we did, Deekie worked really well despite the rain. My mum stood and watched the lesson, so that she could shout some instructions at me when im schooling him in between my lessons with Jane.

22nd - I spent � an hour Lunging Deekie today and worked on transitions forward to canter getting him to push through quicker with his hind leg. I took Deekie back into his stable to un tack him and to do his stretches with him, he is becoming very good at these and when it comes to doing the stretch between his front legs he is now able to touch the underside of his belly with his nose!! - this movement then stretches his top line and enables him to stretch up and arch his back.

23rd - Off on another adventure today to Summer House Clear round warm up Show jumping. When we arrive we see that other people are already there tacking up, this is going to be a good experience for Deekie, having to work in with other horses. We warm up and go into the main arena and start jumping some of the fences, although Deekie is still quite "green" he looks at the fences but jumps them without any problems.

One of the fences on the course is a water tray - this would be interesting! I show Deekie the fence first, however he is still un sure so, I get John to walk over it a few times while Deekie stands and watches!!! Finally Deekie decides that it s ok and we jump it - leaving plenty of room in case there is a monster in the tray underneath him.

24th I decide to hack today and let Deekie stretch his legs, so off we go for � an hour on our own.

25th - Back on the lunge today and then out in the field to chill for the rest of the day.

26th - A proper day off today for the Deekie, and for me!

27th - Deekie and I decide to go into the school today and with the help of John we spend the next 40 mins working through grids. This was another interesting exercise as Deekie found 3 bounces in a row easy but found 4 hard. We finished the session off by jumping through a line of 3 bounces into a one stride upright.

28th - Another hack today, this time with one of our Liveries on their horses, gossip time!

29th - I took Deekie back into the school today and with the help of mum as the "eyes on the ground" we did � an hour of good work. We are making some good progress.

30th - 40 min hack this morning around the village, just Deekie and I.

31st - On the lunge and back into the school today, his work is progressing well and during our session another horse comes into the school and starts working around him, this unfazes him and he only lifts his head once or twice to see which stable buddy it is that has joined him.

Watch out for my next installment........

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