“I have to get up early tomorrow because my horse is seeing his osteopath” is apparently the most middle class thing anyone has ever said. But so it was this morning as we were on the yard by 9am so the lovely David could tweak the ponies.

We’ve been having some problems saddling and girthing Dino lately. He’s not been happy at all about being tacked up and then been unhappy about being mounted so we had David pay particular attention to his back/shoulder/belly and make sure there’s no underlying problem or pain. David think he’s fine, but could see he was anxious about being touched round his girth area. There doesn’t seem to be any pain though so it’s probably in the pretty baby’s head. This is what we thought but it’s good to get it confirmed by a professional.

Dino has the same specific issues as previously – the right side of his neck that was crunched up last time seems to have sorted itself but the top three vertibrae on the left side are ‘fixed’ so he can’t bend correctly to the left. This is obvious on the lunge in particular where he seems to pull away from me. David did some quite heavy ‘adjusting’ to those and Dino will be quite sore tomorrow, poor thing. He found that particular process quite alarming.

His other problem area is his right lower spine and hip – we discovered last time he pelvis isn’t straight. Our work here remains working over raised poles, with 3 raised on the right and 2 on the left, and haunches in on the left rein only. David also suggests working with a pessoa to get him moving better which we will try once I get my hands on one.

All in all pretty much as expected. Pleased there’s no underlying physical issue in his back, although in some ways the mental problems are harder to fix! Generally he’s going ok at the moment. Being out in the field suits him well and I feel we’re getting a bit more consistency in the school and we’ve been working a bit in just the bridle without the cavesson which is a big step forwards. And we’ve been wandering up the bridle path a fair bit too. Hopefully the weather won’t be too awful for the rest of the summer so we can keep him working!

A brief update now I can post again! :yahoo:

We’ve been enjoying the weather lately and doing a lot of this:

The best view in the world 🙂

Dino is very lazy in the sun and has the most enormous grass belly! We’ve cut down his hours outside a bit so he’s only out overnight to try and keep his weight in check a little but he looks like a pot-bellied little piggie :nod:

I bought him a new cavesson from Chapsi and it’s gorgeous! Here he is modelling it in a bit of a grump:

Today though I rode him in just his bridle for the 1st time in months and he was really good. Quiet in the mouth, no pulling the reins about or ducking behind the contact, just really nice and quiet :db: Of course it was super hot even at 9am so he was pretty zonked but still, nice start. M hopes to take him in the yard dressage comp on 20th July so we need to have him in a bridle going nicely by then. So it’s moving the right way at least :wub: And his summer coat has come through my favourite shade of mahogany bay and ever so slightly dappled. He really is quite beautiful right now! :wub:

Here’s a random nice pic of us from the party a month ago:

So, whilst you were all enjoying yourselves at the conference C and I were making the best of being stuck at home playing with Dino at the yard. :db:

He was a really good boy. His day did not start well as a miscommunication meant he spent the night inside rather than out in the field, meaning I arrived at 2pm to one cross pony! The YO assured me they’d given him breakfast although I don’t think he’d had much hay as he was proper starving and kept calling to me and pawing until I gave him some! In two weeks time everything will be in the for the weekend as they get wormed – no idea how he’ll cope! :rofl:

Anyway, we got him in the school and he was really good 🙂 C took some pics all of which are here: http://s436.photobucket.com/user/crdodgeon/library/Horseypics%202013?sort=3&page=1 but I know you all like the highlights in the post so here you go:

Not a bad one of us (by which I mean we’re really small and a long way away!)

Some Charlotte pics! I don’t think she’s anything like as bad as she seems to think! (I did point out she can’t be or we wouldn’t let her ride the pony :nod: )

And one of Mr Pico to end with :

This is only the second time Charlotte has ridden him – and she’s on the 4th person to ride him *ever* so I’m pretty pleased with how he coped. He did try and come in to talk to me a couple of times but mostly he did what she was asking very nicely. :db:

Today Dino and I had a lovely morning – we managed a little shoulder-fore and leg yield on both reins and then a very few strides of canter! :yahoo:* And then a lovely calm hack up the lane 🙂 Accidentally rode for over and hour which was a bit much for the poor chap really, but he was very good and bravely polished off his dinner at noon before going back out!

*I think he must have felt like he had a beginner on him – I’m so out of practice 🙁