After last week’s ‘sticky but got gradually better’ experience at Bissell Wood cross country course, schooling young Vinnie, I felt things weren’t quite ‘right’ with the boy wonder (in a ‘can’t quite put my finger on things’ kind of way).
So on Tuesday afternoon Richard Maxwell came to the yard – and Vin and Beech were on the list.
With Vin he found a slight tightness in both shoulders but his poll (neck/head joint) was so far out of alignment the people in the next county could hear the ‘crack’ when it all slipped back in to place.
Max said it would have affected his way of going because he’d have been so uncomfortable – not enough to make him noticeably unsound or lame, just enough to make him reluctant to work.
Which sums up his performance at Bissell Wood.
Anyway…
Yesterday we schooled lightly – flatwork – in the arena and he felt good, back to normal.
Today we went to Allenshill for two dressage classes; Prelim 10 and Prelim 18.
And the judge I sat with last Sunday was judging today!
Bottom line: Vinne was a superstar and we have two more rosettes for our collection; a third for Prelim 10 and a fifth for Prelim 18.
In fact the three horses that went to Allenshill today from my yard kind of cleared them out; we came first, second and third in the P10 and first and fifth in the P18.
Pretty good, huh?
At the moment I’m toying with the idea of taking Vinnie cross country schooling next weekend at Bissell Wood again.
Meanwhile back at the yard – when we arrived from Allenshill – slightly (!) annoyed that I couldn’t put Vinnie’s dressage saddle and bridle away.
Some total numpty had managed to put the combination lock on the wrong way round so that one can’t get the correct numbers (or see when the correct numbers) are in position.
And no, turning the lock around doesn’t help because turning the lock around is impossible – the lock being encased in a five-sided cube to protect it from nasty people with bolt cutters.
So Vinnie’s dressage saddle is sitting on the spare chair in the lounge, his bridle is hanging up in the cupboard under the stairs and the girth to his saddle is in the car.
What is it with some people?
Are they incapable of working out the correct way of threading a lock through a hasp?
Back to Tuesday again…
I also asked Max to look at Beech because he’s crabbing sideways again.
Surprisingly he found nothing significant, a slight tightness in an off-hind hock. So I don’t know what the hell to do to correct this; need to think about it.
Meanwhile the bank manager will be rubbing his hands with glee; Beech’s bill for his broken leg treatment has arrived.
£1,250.
Ouch!
Anyway, I’m off to bed now.
With the competition at Allenshill it’s been one hell of an action packed day.
And we managed to watch all of Saturday evening’s ‘catch up’ episodes of Heroes!
B.