Can you guess what this is...?

Everyone's a comedian.

Mine, apparently...

9th June - Massage time!

Nina organised a visit from Claire, a sports physio, for both horses, which they both enjoyed – a lot! Toffee had been seen before, but it was a first visit for Fraser so he had a more thorough work-up. He walked, then trotted up, turned tight circles, was felt all over and pronounced fairly straight and flexible, with reasonable muscle coverage. Better than we thought, anyway! There is a strange lump on his chest which we had wondered about, and Claire said it is where his pectoral muscle has been damaged in a previous incident. Quite possibly something fairly traumatic, such as being impaled, as it has damaged the attachment to the chest. It means he won’t be able to do high level XC, which is really not an issue in our case! She recommended Mac see an osteopath, so after his next visit to a chiropractor we may change horses, as it were. He really isn’t much better.

New saddle, new rider!

Hip hip hooray - the horrible Harry Dabbs saddle has gone (is that libellous?), and has been replaced by a lovely secondhand Kieffer, altered to fit Fraser's template. Owing to having a trapped nerve/muscle spasm Mac cannot ride yet, but is planning to sit on Fraser this afternoon to see how it feels. Providing he is not busy building an ark - the rain here is quite spectacular. The saddle is on approval for a week (thanks, Martin Wilkinson), but Nina says it is 'lush', so I suspect it may be staying. Straight swap = result!

Yesterday Mac was (thankfully!) up to enjoying his birthday treat - tickets for a day trip to Brussels on the Eurostar. He gets terrible train envy when he travels to St Pancras on the Bed-Pan cattle trucks, and wistfully spies the lovely Eurostar wafting off to its exotic destinations. Well, something like that. Anyway, while we were hurtling across Europe and tucking into delicious grub (well worth the upgrade!), Sophie hacked Fraser out with Nina on Toffee. They had a couple of canters and he was as good as gold. She managed to make him walk at Toffee's speed, so it is good to know he can do that. Also good for him to be ridden by someone more experienced, and to get some feedback. I think he enjoyed a change of routine.

He does still love his under-the-leg scratches - pulls some very comical faces! :D

Brief update

Interesting few days. Fraser had a week off as Mac and I went to France for a long weekend, but he was back to earth with a bang last Tuesday (26th May) for another lesson with Kim. Bit reluctant to load in the trailer this time, and he had to be backed out as the ramp on an Ifor is on the right, and it is just too tight a turn for such a large horse. He was a bit perplexed by the reverse manoeuvre (strangely, as it is usually one of his favourites… :p), but he mastered it in the end. Travelled much more quietly this time, with no comedy hoofprints imprinted into the ramp. Kim rode Fraser, and agreed that the saddle was dreadful. Fingers crossed it is being swapped next week, as it is becoming quite an issue. Anyway, she found (as suspected) that there is a lot of stiffness behind his saddle, and he seems to have issues with his right side. He is also quite undermuscled in his back legs, so she now has a better idea of things to work on in the lessons.

I bought a new camcorder to record the occasion, but I guess you get what you pay for, and if you pay £48 you get one where the zoom doesn’t work and the picture quality is worse than my 1.3mp mobile phone! Footage unwatchable and camcorder refunded by Comet. Will use Mac’s digital camera as soon as we have a large memory card for it, as that takes far better quality video.

On Thursday Mac and Nina hacked out with Andrea and Sophie, and apart from Spig and Pete making that strange noise like a moo when they first met, they had great fun. An absolutely stunning evening!

Spig looking v shiny and well at the moment. He seems quite settled now, and is beginning to recognise our routine – although he does seem to like a change from time to time. The lovely hack the other night seemed to cheer him up.

HUGE spook!

Saturday: Much excitement, not necessarily of the right sort. Mac and Nina were standing outside the house en route to school Fraser and Toffee, when there was a bang and Fraser shot in the air, span round really fast and cantered about two strides before Mac managed to get hold of him. We had no idea what had set him off, but later when we went to go out in Mac's car, the rear passenger side window was totally shattered, so that was probably it. No idea what made it go, it remains a mystery.

Sunday: Nina and Toffee off to dressage this morning, so we were expecting lots of squealing, leaping and charging around from Master Spider Pig. Nina put a pile of hay near the gate in addition to the one behind the barn. Spig approved of that, and stood quietly munching while Toffee was loaded (after having a tantrum when Spig was turned back out). Anyway, they drove off and predictably Fraser leapt, bucked, bellowed and ran...straight back to the hay! He was much, much calmer, and although he whinnied from time to time, it wasn't constant and he didn't hoon about. What a relief!

Other news: Fraser's saddle is not a good fit for Mac or Nina so saddler is keeping an eye out for a replacement one (brand new Albion K2 fitted horse and rider beautifully, but not budget!). Nina and Toffee yesterday won the Shuttleworth Winter Dressage League Championship, with two tests on grass in torrential rain and howling winds, and with one of the tests changed at the last minute! They received a huge rosette and a sash. Well done to them! Photos to follow.

Update

Way too much excitement for such a laid-back Spig! Last weekend Fraser and Toffee started living out for the summer, which meant Fraser got lots of exercise running round the paddock when Toffee went for a hack on Monday evening. Started out at a gallop, then decided cantering was more appropriate, then realised trotting was probably less effort before settling on walking around. All this activity was accompanied by a lot of whinnying, but no fence jumping. Phew! Not sure if that is due to being too dim or too lazy… :p Sadly he wasn’t living out when Nina took Toffee to Carlton XC on Sunday, as to mark his displeasure at the trailer going out without him, he took his hooves to his stable wall. Bad Spig! Toffee was in season with a vengeance last week, so was all loving towards him. He couldn't quite understand the change in attitude, but enjoyed it while it lasted. Which wasn't long... We can however allow him a bit of wall bashing, in the light of what a true sofa he actually is. On Saturday morning Mac and Nina were not far from home, heading down a tractor track, when they met a tractor approaching them. The farmer turned the engine off and Nina tried to get past, but there was no way the highly tractor-phobic Toffee was going to walk past the monster, which would surely devour her in one gulp. Mac tried to get Fraser to go past it, but Toffee was giving off her strongest ‘don’t go near the monster’ vibes, so he erred on the side of caution. Nina decided to get off and lead Toffee past, and then the fun started! Toffee got away from her and thought ‘Whee! I’m free!’ before heading off full pelt into a field of rape. Realising it was rape, she soon turned round and headed back, lashing out at Fraser as he tried to block her way. Somehow in the confusion Mac sustained a bruised/sprained ankle, and at one point Fraser thought he would join Toffee on her fun run across the field, but he didn’t, and Mac realises just what a genuine, well behaved hack he really is. Yesterday’s hack was a far less excitable affair, with Andrea joining them on Pete. It was a glorious day, and Nina, Mac and I finished power washing the rubber mats and both stables, so they are all ready for when the horses start living in again. We also had the first barbecue of the year, but sadly Nina wouldn’t let me put Toffee on it. *sigh* Below are various pictures in no particular order.