Successful Day

although am covered in blisters :rollseyes:

Up at sparrows fart (or it felt like it) and took dogs for a walk. Always a good start to the morning, I love watching them hoon around the fields, even if Sam has started to bite me when I put Gertie & Keira's leads on *frowns*

Then home, showered and dyed hair. Only very subtle but is enough to cover the blond streaks which were poking through. Again. Had blonde streaks back in SEPTEMBER and it's been dyed at least 3 times since then but nope, they keep poking through!

Then off to t shirt place to pick up friend's yard t shirt, order my yard t shirt, take my brown t shirt up for dressage oss logo to be printed on ANDDDDDD buy a Wench t shirt.

Loving my wench one. Tis black with WENCH in a mock-Velocette logo on the front. Love it.

Yard t shirt and dressage oss t shirt will be ready for Thurs which means on Fri at Badders we can all walk round looking like clones with our yard t shirts on, jeans and Ariats lol

Talking of which, have worn mine for 4 hours today and thought I'd be finding blood in them when I took them off. Ouch. They WILL give for Badminton! They will , they will!!! (so first lot of blisters there...)

Then helped bathed spotty pony who promptly dug up wet straw in his stable, rolled in that and who is now muckier than when we started. Gotta love 'im!

Then muck picked hence more blisters.

Rode in the winter fields. Wasn't the most successful but was OK. He walks that way EVERY SINGLE DAY but under saddle, we spooked and star jumped the whole way tut.

Once in the back field, he wasn't toooooo bad but the swingy, relaxed trot never really came. However, we've not schooled in there for about 2, maybe even 3 years?? He was a bit nappy but cured that with a canter up the hill.

"Want to go to gate"
"no"
"shall"
"shan't"
"well i won't move then"
"ooooh look T-Jay, we could canter up the huuuuuuuuuuuge field"
"ooooh yes, let's mum!"

Ha. Sucker.

So then we did some cantering. I really wanted to work on the medium canter and on the transitions to/from but instead we ended up working on circles because he was very nappy on the right rein, after being fab on the left. As we went past the gap in the fence to get back to the gate, he'd chuck in a flying change and aim that way. Decided to take advantage of them because they were realy really nice flying changes and we can't do them yet so made him continue and canter another half a circle on that rein.

However, decided to get after him a bit more and actually USE my left leg and whaddya know? We can canter a circle on the right rein. Did a couple of circles and called it a day as had "won" a battle so only did about 20 mins but because he had been working very hard to not do things my way, he got up a bit of a sweat!

Have put my stirrups down another hole in the Ariats and have found that unless I have them on the ball of my feet (which I hate) then I lose them so think that's good. Instructor on Thurs certainly said they were fine lengthways so think it's only where I have the stirrups (under toes rather than ball of foot) which made me lose it occasionally.

Squirt's rug has survived, although his mask sort of didn't. He got it off about 11am. I just presumed he'd have trashed the mask and the neck of his rug but he hasn't. The velcro straps have done their thing and both are completely intact. The rug fits him an absolute treat but I'm not so sure on the mask so have left that off for now and will get him a normal mesh one maybe from Badminton.

All in all, me + dogs were at the yard for 5 hours so they're cream crackered and I doubt we'll see them til the morning now LOL.