Lovely Sunday

Sunday was another lovely morning with BG. I didn’t give her too thorough a brush as her coat was looking remarkably clean, so I just gave her a light brush to get the dust out and any loose hairs. Then I picked her hooves out. She tucked the near-hind up under her belly but didn’t kick it out this time so obviously just needed the stretch. Other than that she was very good with all her hooves. I am beginning to think she is only funny in the evening’s because she is impatient for her hay, rather than she is in pain or she is trying to be naughty.

I put out four poles in a row to trot BG over, four strides in-between them seems to be a good distance for her. I walked her over first, for which the strides aren’t quite right, but it gave her a chance to look down at them and step carefully over. Then I trotted her over them and she was bounding over them, almost jumping each with both front legs over at the same time. I popped the second and fourth up a tyres height each and ran alongside again so she could go over them. I would say she did really well, but I didn’t give her a chance too, my body went too fast for my legs and I fell onto my knees as she jumped the second! I think she spooked a couple of steps side-ways and then stood waiting, looking at me as if to say ‘are you okay, that was strange’. She was very well behaved all morning.

The second and third times I managed to avoid falling flat on my face and she stepped over them, but didn’t feel she needed to jump them.

Then I removed the first pole, popped the second back on the ground and the fourth went up to two tyres height. She was as good as gold again and went over with a slight jump that was only just more of a jump than a step over. She looked like she was enjoying herself as sometimes I wonder if she does like jumping.

I gave her a fifteen minute lunge afterwards and she was nice and active, quite happy to trot several circles when asked. I left one jump up, only one tyres height, to include on the circle sometimes. Normally BG will run around the poles if she can, she is very good about avoiding them if you give her the slightest chance too. I only intended to take her over it at a trot, since I thought it was raised too much for a walk, but she herself steered towards it and did exaggerated steps over it in walk, and on her ‘bad’ rein.

I trotted her over it a couple of times and she took it really nicely. Then I switched reins. Seeing as she thought it was possible in walk I asked her to go over it in walk but she just caught it on the way over, she stood very patiently whilst I put it back up though. When I asked her to trot over she did so very nicely, for a moment it looked like I might even get a canter out of her (I have yet to get her to canter on the lunge). I was tempted to put the jump up another tyre again but decided I had better finish and not push her too far. She had been a little super-star already.

As a reward she got her paddock lick whilst I mucked out and tidied the jumps away.

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In the evening my husband tried to put the head collar on her. I think he has done it once so far in the two and a bit years she has been with us. She was very patient, he had to have two attempts as the first time he took it back off her nose. She stood very patiently whilst he tried to get the strap over the top of her neck and then struggled to do the buckle up in the fading light. She was so patient and good though, you wouldn’t think she was the same pony that sometimes refuses to have it on at all and swings round on you.