So the weather this coming week is supposed to be….wait for it….dry. All week. I’ll believe it when I see it but fuck I need a week of good weather!!!!

The school was sort of almost dry today so hopefully by the end of the week it, and the fields, will be looking better. Meanwhile Dino is conserving his energy and praying for sunshine.

Emma the saddler was back out today and although Dino has dropped some weight he’s done it symmetrically!!!! This is huge achievement! He was so wonky this time last year it was untrue and this year he’s pretty much dropped the same off both sides. Not ideal in itself but a huge feat to not have upset that dodgy right side again!! So I’m super pleased with that. We need a touch more padding at the front just to lift it up a bit until he puts the condition back on but otherwise we’re good to go! HOORAY!

Ok. Enough now!! Just look at the state of this pony!!!

Good job he had his coat on. In fact this coat has now become unwaterproof and I’ve had to buy him a new one which is super annoying. Ah well.

So the rain continues. We have odd days where it’s ok and then it all starts again. Next week is supposed to be drier but I feel like that’s been the case for the past many many weeks and actually it just get wet again by the time the mythical dry period arrives.

Dino and Popsicle are back in the big field, which still has its lake. But it also has more grass and it’s not too bad at the top end so they are happier. Well, except he felt a tiny bit footy the other day so he’s been muzzled for the past two nights! Won’t be muzzling all the time but I think we might do every other day or something until the grass has gone down a bit. The muzzle did mean he came cantering across the field to me this morning (right through the lake weirdly!) which was quite gratifying although he did get rather wet.

Another good lesson with Katie today. I do feel like we’re making progress, albeit slowly. We were working on really getting him to move when asked but then sitting very still when I’m not asking to be super clear with him about what’s expected and STOP NAGGING. It’s hard to break the cycle and I find it really challenging but I do think it’s improving so we need to keep at it!

Well we finally did it! After nearly 18 months we made it back up to Epping Forest for a hack! Great time on a two hour ride this morning. He was pretty good in the traffic, although concerned about the larger lorries we encountered and did a nice passage-y trot all the way up the road at the end of the ride but in general he was pretty relaxed. Hoping we can get out a bit more often – just need the fucking weather to clear up!

So the school is flooded again. This is pants. We had a good lesson with Katie on Wednesday. Introduced canter a bit earlier in the session and concentrating on starting to get into a contact. I said it was a bit frustrating for me as it’s hard to see any difference in him but she says he’s stepping up much more from behind now rather than pulling himself forward on his front legs. Slowly slowly catchy monkey I guess…