Blue's Training

So, Blue needs to be prepped up a bit for working with the RDA. Now, not having an arena makes this difficult but as I work at an RDA I know what the horses go through so here is a list of what I am going to bombproof Blue with. (Blue is generally already bomb-proofed, I'm just ensuring it)

1. Children (LOUD CHILDREN). So, one thing is for certain, he needs to be good with kids so I have had an array of small and big kids on him.

2. Noises and bangs. Lots of stuff goes on at RDA's and generally its a bustling centre that will be filled with lots of noise. I've just been slamming doors and have sound effects on my ipod that I play around Blue.

3. Alarms. One thing I hadn't really realised was that it's inevitable that the centre will have a fire alarm. So I stuck alarm sounds on my ipod and played them at him and he is getting pretty good with them.

4. Being surrounded by people and having to stand still. Horses need to stand at the block for several minutes while you get the rider on and then can have several people surrounding them in lessons. I've simulated this with Blue and he has taken it in his stride.

5. Lopsided riders. A lot of the time, riders cannot hold themselves well on horses so they slip and slide. I have tackled simulating this buy riding blue in very long stirrups and having one considerably longer then the other and he is perfect with this.

All in all, Blue has been perfect in every situation and without a doubt will become an amazing RDA pony. I am visiting the centre on Tuesday and then if all goes well getting Blue up in a few weeks. Its all really exciting and I would be so happy to see Blue thrive at the place like there, but I will miss the lovely boy! Anyway, I'm sure when the time comes I will be chuffed that he is going to such a good home.

           Adios x
             Blue Hoofprints

Hello my sweet button pancakes!

Ok, I think it's official. I am the WORST blogger in the history of blogging, I'm so sorry that I have left it this long yet again and still don't have a proper post out for you guys. Lets call it writers block.. so here is a wee update on Blue's future and I promise you guys that on Sunday I will have a proper post concerning this. Again, I am SO sorry that I have been neglecting you guys.

Riding for the Disabled. As some of you may know I am working at a riding for the disabled centre and after my first few weeks of working there and toying with the idea of loaning Blue to a RDA I was sold on the idea. Blue is a very trustworthy, calm horse and I know that he would thrive in a place like RDA, he has a lovely slow pace and takes all his vulnerable riders under his wing and takes really good care of them. The centre I am at is actually filled to the brim with horses and also its likely that my dad will be moving out of the area in the next few years so I went on a mission to find a RDA near my university (of which I will be returning next spring).

All went well, and once I have visited the centre then Blue shall be moving there to become a RDA pony. It all seems like a too good to be true deal for both the centre and myself. So this is the next step for Blue's future. I can't wait to see the place and then hopefully send him there and watch him grow into an amazing, useful RDA pony!

Stay tuned for a training plan post coming out in the next wee while xx

                Adios x

Hello There Strangers!

Thought I would actually give you guys a look in, I am so sorry I haven't posted in a while, I guess life just gets busy busy busy!

Anyway, here we go, wee post on my new job x

So, as you may know, I have taken a year out of my nursing training to get my head back in the zone, part of this involves getting me back to working.I decided to start working at a local Riding for the Disabled centre. The centre is lovely, filled with fantastic horses and the nicest staff. So here are a few funny stories since I started at the centre.

The Mistaken Stallion

Now, I do know what a stallion looks like, however, I generally aren't working with them. So, when I
saw a pony with a rather large hmhm it struck my mind that he looked like a stallion, I spoke to a fellow helper and he told me that this handsome pony was indeed a stallion. I did think it rather strange that they would have a stallion in classes and thought maybe he was on loan and his owners didn't want him to have the snip. Safe to say, when I mentioned it to one of the staff instructors I was mortified to be corrected. Said instructor must have thought I was a bit of a weirdo, checking out the pony's junk! and being mistaken when I really should know better.... gawd... think my face was a red as the sun!

Nerd Alert!

A very kind lady donated a huge bunch of horsey goodies for the centre after she lost her horse. We had bins and bins of bits and boots, and at the bottom of one I found a chifney bit, the instructor asked us all "who knows what this is?" I literally swung my hand in the air and was like "It's an anti-rearing bit!"...... Oh Kate............ why do I go out my way to embarrass myself? To top it all off, I think that the instructor was really asking the vet students, who were there learn, not me who is just an old dog when it comes to certain things.

Well, that's me, sorry for the ramble, just really failing this blog I'm afraid, hopefully next week I will be a bit more organised and have something good to say. Right, take care of yourselfs x

                      Adios x

Blue's Recovery from the Worst Bout Of Laminitis and Trying to go Barefoot

Hello my lovely little dumplings, finally after a long time I thought I would do a proper blog post for once! I

do have to say however, the lack of posts in the past 3 weeks has actually been more of a technological fault then anything else. The technological fault being yours truly pouring a whole mug of milky, sweet coffee all over my keyboard and then proceeding to flip my laptop in the air in the hope to remove the liquid. However, give me time to order a new keyboard and a YouTube video to install it and I am good to go! Side note, I think the pound sign is hiding from me on a UK keyboard as I accidentally cheated on it with $ on my US keyboard.

Anyway, back to Blue. In all the drama of everything recently I don't think I properly explained what happened with Blue and how he is getting on now. So, Blue came down with laminitis and we discovered that he was suffering from equine metabolic syndrome. The poor man spent a week in "prison" with only a small amount of soaked hay as his diet. After that he became sound and I was happy to let him go out to a very restricted pasture with a muzzle. His recovery in his feet was very slow actually and he is still recovering I am afraid to say. I thought it was best to take his shoes off to allow his hooves to heal up (pun intented hehe). This, however, back-fired on me, as his hooves were very sensitive as his instep had fallen. We got front shoes on him and that seems to have helped dramatically but still quite sensitive on rough terrain.

We are on the slow road of recovery with it (again, pun intended hehe such fun!) and slowly but surely his hooves are becoming less sensitive each day. It doesn't help by the fact that back home we have the worst sharp stones on our road out that even I find painful to walk on if I'm in plimsolls. He is getting there and he is going perfectly on grass now. He has been getting rather bored so I've had a no working out in the fields ban so that he gets out and about rather than p***d off with being ridden in his dining room.

Another aspect of his life has changed, which is, his diet. We have been testing the waters with how much grazing we can let Blue out to without causing a flare up of laminitis and ensuring that his sugar levels don't rocket. Thankfully, now we are home, we have the bad quality grass on our side. Our grass is over 20 years old if not 30 and has very low sugar levels, even in the sun! So Blue has been coping fine with going out to the whole field for a couple of days, sometimes even without a muzzle! With a muzzle I think Blue could stay in the whole field full time. This is yet to be tested as we spent a week away and I put him in the diet field then, didn't want any flare ups while no-one was around to deal with it. (I will add, I did have a friend check on him but if there had been an issue then they wouldn't have been able to handle it). The wee man is back in the whole field again and happy as Larry so I think we are going to find a happy compromise with space but muzzle.

All in all, all positive stuff with Blue. I've not made a video in a very long time just as I am more focused on making him better than shoving a camera in his face. Thank-you so much for staying with me through this all. I have come to the decision to take time out until next may from uni, just to get my life back together and prepare for going back. Until I go back, I will be having Blue and Shannon here and hopefully working at a Riding For the Disabled Centre. It combines my 2 passions care and horses so ideal! Right I need to go, now I'm home and not working yet, I need to cook dinner for that family :) I may not be an amazing cook but at least mum left me some recipes to make the food tasty :) nom nom!
                                                     Adios Amigos x

P.S
Right now there is a nationwide call out that we take laminitis very seriously and if any of our beloved equines suffer from it we should get them tested for EMS and Cushing's disease (free lab fees are being offered currently). Now, it may seem silly to do so, but tried and tried to get blood from Blue and finally once we persevered it payed off. We know what we are dealing with now and  everything is working out so please don't be afraid to get your vet out and get your pony tested.

Hello

Hi guys

I need to start this off by saying sorry for not posting in the last few months. I am so sorry I have been neglecting you. I'm afraid after all the effort with Blue being up with me and attempting nursing placement far away from uni and home I have crashed and burned. It's safe to say my assumption that I could cope with everything after mum passing was optimistic to say the least. My life has been an absolute rollarcoaster recently, not the fun type though. I spent four weeks travelling from uni and placement constantly switching from nursing patients on ward to nursing and managing Blue. I was struggling under the pressure and my on ward mentor was a great support to tell me that I needed time out to get myself back together.

So, a couple of weeks ago Blue and I, both came home. To be honest it seemed like an absolute disaster and I am still pretty negative about everything but I thought I owed you guys an explanation. You guys have still stayed with me in this quiet period and all the hits I see coming in even when I haven't posted in months is the sweetest. Thank-you everyone. You are all amazing peeps and I couldn't ask for better.

Now, I can't promise you anything since my life is still up in the air but what I can say is that I am not dissappearing x Please stay with me until I find my feet again x Thank-you

                                              Adios Amigos xxx

P.S
I managed to break my laptop so my youtube has been very quiet as I have all my footage and work in progress videos saved on that but hopefully in a week or so that shall be all sorted and I will have something up. Thank-you x

Update.. not so awesome

Hello my happy chappies!

Afraid not amazing news about Blue, Equine Metabolic Syndrome....
Sorry I haven't updated in a while I have started my new nursing placement far away from home and it was just such a stressful time that I didn't have a chance to sit down and get back into this blog. What happened in short was, Blue came down with mild laminitis and was given danilon and a restricted paddock, 4 days later I came back from night shift came out to see Blue and he could barely walk, vets got called out again and bloods were taken. He has been diagnosed with equine metabolic syndrome which is in the same family as cushings but not nearly as severe. Hopefully, with a bit of sugar restriction it should be easy to manage. Blue has had 10 days of stable and starvation and is sound and happy and back on a very small patch of land with a muzzle strapped to his head.

Since everything seems to have settled and things appear to be on the up, I thought I would chill out and give you guys a wee update. So that's the sum of it, Blue is recovering from laminitis and we should be back in the swing of things be a week on thursday. See you then buddies x adios x

First couple of weeks at his new home

So, Blue has been here for 2 weeks and I am happy to say that he is settling into his new life very well!

Thought I would just go through all the events Blue and I have had since he arrived.

First time in the arena – I started by walking Blue around the huge 3 schooling area arena and let him have a good look at everything and get his jumps and piss arounds out. He spent the time neighing out to neighbouring horses until I got him cantering around and he was engaged and focused. We tried a jump and he was a bit annoying so I had to put it down but I did get him over it J

First hack – There is this wee ½ hr hack called the block that another girl at the yard went around. Blue was good, wee bit puzzled by junctions and ditches but behaved really well. He is a bit like a deer in the headlights with junctions didn’t know where to go.

His new neighbours – Blue started with a highland one side and a big bay gelding on the other side and then another highland was added, bay was switched with a cob and then another cob was placed nearby. Blue really did take it all in his stride. He was a bit in love with the bay but he seems to be coping with the separation, though I do wonder if Blue is gay though, he was very fond of the bay.

Now, this was a biggie, FIRST ELECTROCUTION – So, I had just been out on a hack and was putting Blue back in his field and the gate decided to jump the electricity to his leadrope clip and it went through both of us. SURE AS HELL CLEARED MY SYNUSES! Blue immediately leapt back and wouldn’t let me near his head so I had to unclip his headcollar and let him run off. It was a freaking shock and a half! The yard is huge and has tons of acreage so all the fences are attached to the mains, and are really strong, like.. REALLY!

Anyhoo that is me, I’m sorry it took me this long to get round to a new post, it’s been a busy past  week, with uni and horses! Thanks for reading x Adios xx

Pssttt... Just a side note

Sometimes you can have a crap day or are in a crap situation but there will always be a time in the light and I say grab that time by the reins and get on that bucking bronco called life! x

Blue's Journey!

So, I’ll just do a wee timeline so you realise how quick or slow the day/journey was.

(Background – we had only packed jumps and hay the day before and we were told that the horsebox would arrive around late morning)

7:00 – I got up to tidy my room, pack up all of my stuff and do some laundry. BORE!

9:00 – Packed up all of Blue’s brushes and got myself some breakfast (Porridge nom nom)

9:30 – Got a call from the transport company saying they would be there in an hour! Holy macaroni! I

rushed around and got Blue in to give him Instant Magic which is a magnesium serum used to calm horses. I had given it to him the evening before and I have to say doing it the day before and on the day really made a good effect. When I went to get Blue he was lying down for a nap and so relaxed it took me a few mins to give him the motivation to get up. I then spent the rest of the time brushing him and booting him up

10:25 – We took Blue down to another field to load him since the horsebox would have struggled getting up our road (potholes, the size of Ben Nevis, or near about). I let Blue chomp away at the grass on a long lead until the box arrived.

10:35 – The box arrived and they got the ramp down and showed me where I was to put him. Now, Blue doesn't load, like at all, he just plants his feet for hours at a time. I walked Blue to the box and got him to the edge of the ramp (not on it) and he stopped, he was curious and sniffing so I let him take his time and have a look. I got a bucket of feed and started coaxing him in. He was quite keen on the food but was taking his time to move, so I said just one wee step and you can get it. Both the driver and I knew that once his hooves were on the ramp he would go right in, so then the driver just picked up Blue’s leg  and put it on a ramp, and up he went! Brilliant!

11:00 – We got back to the house and started loading the car up with all of Blue’s things. Dad wanted a quick cup of coffee and I made us some sandwiches for the journey.

12:00 – We were on our way, now I wanted to get to the yard before the box did and I had forgotten that with a trailer you have a 50 mile speed limit. Great... PANIC! So we got well on our way, not stopping at all and hoped that the horsebox would be going slower and stopping more often to give us enough time to catch up. Thankfully the horsebox was also dropping a pony off along the way so that gave us a good time to catch up.

15:40 – We arrived at the yard and were told that the box would be arriving around 16:30, so that gave us plenty time to get all the stuff unloaded and ready.

16:25 – Horsebox arrived! Thankfully the driver got Blue down the ramp which I’m surprised Blue didn't

end up falling straight down it, it was rather a hairy sight. Got Blue out, was on high alert but not misbehaving so that was good, the yard manager showed me the way to his paddock and we let him run. And that was it really, we went for a wee nosey and had a chat with his new chums and he was chomping away in no time.

17:00 – We went out and stuck a rug on Blue and then said goodbye and went on our way.

That’s it! Ooft, one long day! I was really happy with the way it went. The driver was good, not as good as I thought he would be but he defo got the job done! Blue went in within 10 mins which NEVER happens!! And Blue seemed to really enjoy his new home and I can see him fitting in perfectly. Now, I apologise, this is crap writing, it’s so juvenile but ah well! Hopefully I haven’t killed you all with boredom. Now I’m going to do a post on Blue’s first week/couple of weeks which hopefully will be up by Sunday, but as you may have realised this post is late so I would rely on me too much J Thank-you for reading and I hope you all the best, competition season is underway so good luck to you who are in on that and have a nice few days in this lovely sunshine!

Adios x

A Sad Ending but a Bright Future

Hi, if you are here for an upbeat chat I’m afraid you may want to wait a few days until I post about journeying Blue to me. This post is written with a heavy heart.

These past couple of weeks I have been struggling quite a bit. On March 9^th 2014 my mum died at home in the night. This was awful to happen but the situation before it happened was horrendous anyway. Through my grief, I have found my sanctuary with Blue again, so this post is going to be how he has helped me through the highs and lows of going through life.

Horse-riding has always been by outlet and something that I could go to and enjoy. When I just started

high-school I struggled with the transition and was bullied from day one, Melody, my old pony, was the happiest part of my day. As my riding deteriorated and I became more and more nervous and failed at taking on my sister’s pony I fell out of love with riding and it was decided that we would look to buy me a confidence giver. Cue, Blue! Blue was the best thing that ever happened to me, he has got me though the last 3 years of high school and got me through a very isolated summer at home before university.

If you have been following me you will be aware that I have spent 7 months in university with Blue having a rider, this fell through and it was decided that I would have him back. Two days ago we travelled Blue up to where I study and settled him in to his new home. Even though I have only had him back for two days it’s been great having

him back.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with Blue, riding him in the arena, getting him used to the yard etc. It was the first day in the past weeks I hadn’t got upset or depressed or overwhelmed. This made me realise how much I love riding. I know this is such a cringe, but please bear with me. When I ride Blue all my worries and issues dissipate and I can let everything disappear from my mind and solely focus on what I am doing with Blue. So, this post is dedicated to my appreciated of Blue and to all those horses who bring joy to so many people.

On a side-note, a more personal note, I want to say thank-you to everyone who has been there for me and my family during this time, I have never felt more secure. And, to all the people that have experienced grief and pain and trauma, my absolute condolences, grief is awful, especially to people who lose children and grand-children and close, close family members.

So, that’s me! That’s all I have to say.... I think. That’s why I haven’t been around on blog for a while, but I am back and Blue is back so we will both are getting back into the swing of things. I might post a few more posts on dealing with the death of my mother but I do not want to be insensitive and if any of you do not want me to then please feel free to comment so or email in. On a lighter note, I will be posting about Blue’s journey soon, I have an exam on Tuesday so it’s that will be up on Wednesday if I have the time J

DIY Horse Shampoo (For Greys)

Hello! I'm going to try and teach you how to make your own horse shampoo!

(This is just a suggestion and I'm sure everyone has their own concoction! Also, you want to patch test this on your horse to make sure that they aren't allergic to any of the contents.)

What you will need:

• Blue washing up liquid (Sainsbury's) (If you don't have a grey just use a standard clear washing up liquid)
• Human shampoo (Herbal essences)
• Human 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner (Tresemme)
• An empty bottle (I used an old radox showel gel bottle)

Obviously, you do not need to use these exact brands but these are the ones which I find good.

Now this can get a little messy so I suggest putting a towel down or doing it in a bath. 

1. Firstly, take the empty bottle and take the cap off.

2. Add around 180mls of the washing up liquid.

3. Then add 50mls of the shampoo.

4. Finally, add 40mls of 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner.

5. Optional - I added more washing up liquid to fill the bottle (around 40mls). 

6. Then you need to shake! And shake! And shake! (Like seriously!) If you have a wide necked bottle I would suggest whisking it with a spoon or fork.

Now, lastly, you may want to label your bottle of new shampoo. And then you are good to go!

NEWS! :O

Hello!
So, the excitement can be unleashed now! Blue is coming back to me! In
around 4 weeks Blue shall be travelling up to me and staying at nearby
stables. I am absolutely over the moon about it! I have many rants,
first of which is where he shall be staying and its awesome
facilities.

Stables, individual paddocks, tack room, a HUGE outdoor school (with
drainage!) and miles and miles of hacking, is all offered where Blue
will be. I will be getting grass livery with access to the school.
This means that I can properly jump Blue, though, I'm not sure
lumbering over 2ft fences is classed as jumping but it sure is fun.

I've never liveried before so this shall be an interesting world to
step into and I'm sure once adjusted I will be super happy with the
new found socializing. I can't wait to get him here and get him
sorted, its going to be hard work though, the stables leaves you
responsible for your paddocks mucking out. So, between work, uni,
riding and mucking out I will be exhausted for the majority of the
time.

There are plenty of horses there, though I think I am the only grass
livery (most live out at night anyway) but Blue won't have a shortage
of buddies and it doesn't seem like I won't make some new equestrian
friends. Seems like there will always be company to go out with, which
is nice, especially as I do not know the area.

I am so excited for the next chapter for me and Blue, this has given
me a huge amount to talk about so I shall be reinstating some kind of
blogging on a regular basis. I haven't decided how often or on which
days but in the next few weeks keep an eye of for new blogs. There is
a huge plan in place for transport which I shall post about, also,
packing his stuff up, welcoming him into the yard, his shoes and
injections and my daily plans with him.

Thanks for reading, wishing you all the best
Adios x

Update

Hiya :)

I apologise for not posting for a while, life has been rather hectic. I actually haven’t spent much time on Blue and writing about rules of winter riding seemed a little dull. I am so sorry for my lack of blogging. Still, I have the best news ever! But since it isn’t set in stone I am unable to tell you guys. It’s awesome though, and it does mean a lot for the blog and my life. In the meantime, I will list some boring shiz about riding in winter.. 

1 Your horse doesn’t have to be pristine to go out riding, just as long as their tack area is clean they are good to go

2 REMEMBER A COAT! Never go out thinking you don’t need a waterproof jacket

3 Reflective gear. Winter means dark clouds so make sure you are easily seen

4 ICE! Make sure you are aware of those icy conditions and don’t go for a slide down a hill

5 Quick reminder, do remember that frost will make the ground solid and you don’t want to go galloping on it

Right, I know that quick list sucks so here is a wee nostalgic look at the old, weird youtube.

I shall leave you with that :) Adios lads x

The Fall!

Hello :)

So, it all started with me waking up at 2 in the afternoon (I had nights the previous nights so was still getting back into a normal sleeping pattern)on christmas eve, I realised the light would be going soon so I went out in joggers and wellies with a bridle. Chucked the bridle on Blue and jumped on him :)

Blue was rather fresh and I was just riding around the field, going over a few trotting poles etc. I then decided to go for a gallop around, so my usual gallop spot is next to our ditch/drain. So, I turned to go up the side of the ditch and Blue turned very quickly then decided, rather than to gallop up hill, turn to run back to the gate, he went one way and I went the other!

It was if someone had grabbed by my collar and pulled me into the ground, just dragged into the dirt like a rag doll. I smashed my head and neck in the ground, but, after a while, I got up and walked over to Blue. He had stopped as soon as he was away from me and noticed I was off! Jumped back on while soaked in mud and took him for a walk up the ditch and then a gallop.

My head was absolutely pounding and my neck was in agony and all through the night it got worse and worse, I took ibuprofen which helped  but not completely :( Then through christmas I had the worst head and started seeing flashing lights. So, ended up in A&E with a concussion, neck sprain and whiplash. It was nasty, but after a couple of days my head was fairly back to normal and about a week later my neck was fairly normal, the whiplash took a while to budge though. So I am all normal and sparkly new apart from a few grazes now!

Right, that's the story of my first fall in about two years :P I'm off to sort out pills, or tidy, or write an essay.... or just lie in bed procrastinating :) Adios x

Psssttt... check out my new blog at http://fobwatchesandcrocs.blogspot.co.uk/ its all about nursing and student life :P

Update for Blue

So, Blue had a lovely rider who came out each week and hacked him. However, due to practical
circumstances, e.g. travel issues, she was unable to continue to come out. From the end of November on-wards, Blue no longer had a rider. My sister did take him out during December to keep him going until I got home for Christmas. After christmas, Blue was put back on the market as needing a rider. We have had a few people out with mixed success. In the meantime, I am riding Blue, and will try to continue with that after the end of the month, but I am on placement then and it will be difficult.

Current status of Blue - Needing rider, being advertised but I am riding him in the meantime. Well, in short!

Happy New Year!

Hello :)

Ok, so I didn't get blogging over xmas, this was down to 2 things:

1. I may have fallen off Blue and got a little concussed.
2. I was wanting a lazy break.

Sorry :/ I meant to update but I guess that didn't happen before the end of the year, ah well.

I'm here now.

So, since I'm disorganised, I shall be doing a couple of short blogs over the next few weeks The first one shall be just a general update over what is happening with Blue.Second one shall be explaining the fall. And third will be rules for riding in winter.

Ok, well I will have the first up in the next few days :) Please feel free to send me suggestions, as I am running out of ideas. bluehoofprints@gmail.com Adios x