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Sula
May 30, 2010 20:44:26 GMT 1
Post by sharonspiers on May 30, 2010 20:44:26 GMT 1
Hi everyone, my name is Sharon Spiers and yesterday I collected my very first horse from Avril. Her name is Sula and i'm sharing her with 2 of my closest friends Mel and Jo. As a teenager i worked with horses at my local livery yard, Jo owned a horse many moons ago and Mel had a lot of experience riding, everything from jumping to cross country etc. We are all coming back to horses after a break or more than 20 years so thought it would be a good idea to share one between the 3 of us. Not only spread the cost but also the responsibilty and the pleasure. Anyway onto Sula. She didn't travel too happily and was rather unsettled on our journy back from Kent to Worthing. Having rode her a few times at Avrils we knew what she is capable of but are certainly expecting it to take a few weeks at least to settle. She was kept in her box over night whilst a poo sample was collected and then this morning we took her for her first ride out over the sussex downs! As expected she was rather spooky but on the whole a very good girl. A bit 'snorty, and coiled ready to go but she didn't. She listened to Mel ( she was riding her first as she is the most competant ) and Jo and myself walked , with a lead rope to use if necessary. We were out for about an hour and a half and at times she relaxed enough to drop her head and relax her pace. Believe me she 's got quite a walk on her, Jo and i were really puffing! Anyway it was thankfully uneventfull and once back at the yard we turned her out with her 3 new companions.l What a dominant mare she appeared to be. She had a good old go at the previous ' pack leader' ( and i say PREVIOUS very purposfully) but within 20 minutes she had really palled up with a gelding called Fudge. When we left the yard about 3 hours later he was following her round like an infatuated puppy. Think she rather likes it! The other poor gelding 'Harley' has a hoof print shaped scuff on his right shoulder to show for his perserverance but seems to have accepted that he is no longer the head boy. Will be interesting to see how things are in the morning! Anyway this is a very long post, the following ones will not be such a novel but i just wanted to set the scene so to speak. Really look forward to hearing from anyone who would like to comment. Any tips you might have on settling would be much appreciated.
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Sula
May 31, 2010 16:14:31 GMT 1
Post by lisandsaf on May 31, 2010 16:14:31 GMT 1
Hi Sharon and co
welcome to the forum,,, sula sounds lovely and im sure she will settle soon enough..
good luck and keep us posted
Regards
Lisa and Saf
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Sula
May 31, 2010 16:14:37 GMT 1
Post by melsaunders25 on May 31, 2010 16:14:37 GMT 1
Sula 2nd day with us, she was really settled with her new friends in the field this morning, Jo managed to catch her easily , we tacked her up and i rode her first she was just lovely to ride so well mannered and listened and responded to every thing we asked her (thanks Avril to your wonderful training) we swapped riders once we got to the woods and Jo rode her through the beautiful bluebell woods, and Sharon rode her back down the hill and home, its so lovely that we have got the support of each other until our confidence is completely there, we have only walked so far as we don't want to push it until we are ready, Sula's friend called to her as we walked her back to the field and she called back, it was so sweet i think she is going to be very happy, and i think we are all going to be super fit with all the walking we are doing!!!
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Sula
Jun 2, 2010 22:11:02 GMT 1
Post by sharon on Jun 2, 2010 22:11:02 GMT 1
Day four in the big Sula house............. Well the weather is fantastic. What a perfect time of year to start our journey with Sula. I went up to the stables with Mel and Jo after lunch and after convincing her that she did want to come in from the field we tacked up and i rode her first.(you would have been pleased with me Avril, she trotted off when she saw me approaching her in the field so i walked nonchantly towards another horse standing near by and spoke to him. When i saw her looking at me with interest i turned slightly away from her and held my hand out slightly. Sure enough she couldn't resist and walked up to me to investigate.) Anyway back to the day. She was rather reluctant to walk up the lane away from the direction of her field. Avril perhaps you could advise us, she seems to shake her head and fidget a lot when asking her to stand. I no i was using too short a rein but i'm being very carefull to be gentle and release the pressure straight away but she seems to be resisting and will keep stepping forward. We rode up onto the downs and once there i had a little trot. She was lovely but oh so very bouncy. It was so good to feel her respond to my voice so readily when i asked her to come back to walk. Then Mel got on and had a fantastic ride through the woods with dappled sunshine coming through the trees. As before myself and Jo were walking with her trying to match Sula's pace (who needs weight watchers or the gym) and just enjoying the beautifull surroundings. Mel had a good trot up hill to make Sula work and break a bit of a sweat. We are all still taking things very slowly. We are riding her every day and are sure that before too long she will trust us and us her. She does seem to be testing us a bit, very much like children do, and we all feel we need to be calm but pretty firm with her. Well with the beautifull weather set to continue into and over the weekend we have some early morning rides planned. Will keep you up to date with how they go.
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Sula
Jun 3, 2010 20:55:14 GMT 1
Post by melsaunders25 on Jun 3, 2010 20:55:14 GMT 1
hi it was my turn to ride Sula today i rode out with a friend and i just cant stop smiling Sula and i had a lovely ride today, she is such a beautiful horse we really had some fun together, I'm planning to take her for a good 2 hour ride early on Saturday morning and am so looking forward to it, for me this journey just gets better and better!!! Mel
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Sula
Jun 5, 2010 22:13:03 GMT 1
Post by melsaunders25 on Jun 5, 2010 22:13:03 GMT 1
What a lovely ride we had today about 2 1/2 hours through the beautiful woods we set of in blazing sunshine and it was only 9.30!! once in the woods it was lovely and cool, and once again Sula showed what a well trained horse she is, i rode out with a couple of people today who are a lot more experienced riders than i am, but i can honestly say Sula showed them how a well trained good mannered horse behaves!!!. she was more than happy to take the lead or be at the back while the other horses were spooky at the mountain bikers and the big red tractor and the horse and cart that rumbled down the paths in front of us, Sula just did NT give any of it a second glance what a star she is. Like Maddie's owner i am still struggling at times with her very big bouncy trot, which i still need to work on but that will come with time i hope!!! . After the ride i turned her out in the field and she had a lovely roll in the shade of the big trees that line the field.
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Sula
Jun 5, 2010 22:57:28 GMT 1
Post by Erika George on Jun 5, 2010 22:57:28 GMT 1
Welcome Sharon, Mel and Jo! Great to hear your news about Sula it sounds as though you are going to have a great time as well as get very fit. Perhaps you could branch out into cross country running to keep up! Enjoy!
Erika & George PS I have had George 4.5 years and still find the forum fascinating and informative.
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Sula
Jun 6, 2010 9:03:16 GMT 1
Post by melsaunders25 on Jun 6, 2010 9:03:16 GMT 1
Thanks Erica the forum is great and so good to read about other people's experience's
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Sula
Jun 7, 2010 17:02:52 GMT 1
Post by sharonspiers on Jun 7, 2010 17:02:52 GMT 1
Hello All, After Mel and Sula's long ride on Saturday Jo and I went up on Sunday afternoon to have a gentle Ride. We thought it would be a good idea to take our husbands and a small selection of our children with us ( between the 3 of us we have 8 ).Well Sula was very reluctant to head off up the lane in the other direction to her field and friends. She kept turning and refusing to go in the direction i asked. Now i no it was completely my fault cos i imagine i tensed up and probably started asking her different things and confusing her. This is where i still need the support of some one on the groung with me. Jo gave me a hand and off she happily went up the lane. Because of the amount of people with us ( i forgot to mention that Mel came too with her husband and youngest ) Sula and i got quite ahead. Have decided it's best not to ride out with so many people walking as i kept asking her to stand and wait for them and she really did't see the point. Once in the woods i had along trot and my goodness i'm not exagerating when i say she's bouncy. As Mel mentioned it's going to take some work getting used to it but i no we will. As i had lost the others by this time i tried to turn her roung to go back and she really wasn't happy about this. I kept asking her to walk on and she just kept turning and refusing to stand. There was only one way she wanted to go and that was the way we had been heading!. Well as Avril said we should always ride with a stick and i'm sorry to say i had given it to one of the others to hold for me. I no now what i should have done is use it to reinforce what i was asking. Any way i had to resort to waiting for the others and getting them to help. We are going to work on this as i no i should have been firmer with her. I will get there it's just gonna take time. As we rode on deeper into the woods she heard another horse calling and started calling back to them . I felt she wasn't listening to me as much as she has done but i still felt rairly confident that she would respond if asked clearly enough. She was a bit more " looky " than she had been but still a very good girl. Jo rode her home and felt very relaxed with her. I have to say that we are riding out with her headcollar on under her bridle and a lead rope in our pocket so we don't try and lead with her reins. She really is such a gorgeous horse. I feel like we are slowly getting to no her and just know that we are going to be fine. Can't believe only a week and a half has passed since we brought her to worthing. It seems such a lot of emotions have been felt in that time. She does seem to be settling very well with her new field friends and after her rocky start with Harley they are getting very close. I shall be riding out with Harley and his owner this eve. Really looking forward to it ( but will have my safety net in the form of Mel walking with us!) Will let you no how we get on. Sharon
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Sula
Jun 11, 2010 15:27:17 GMT 1
Post by sharonspiers on Jun 11, 2010 15:27:17 GMT 1
hi, just another little update! Sula is settling really well. She seems so happy with her field mates.I rode out on Mon eve , ended up being 4 of us as there were a couple of young girls who came too. Was unsure as to how Sula would be as it's the first time i've ridden out with others. She was an absolute darling. The others played up just a little at times, infact Mel who i had taken along for support ended up having to put one of the others on the lead rein as the rider was rather anxious they were going to get karted off!. Even when the horse infront of her got his feet stuck in some boggy ground and paniced a bit she just jumped round him and out of the way. She behaved beautifully. As we were approaching home one of the others came right up behind her and she did kick one leg at him. Stroppy girl. When i got home i just couldn't stop smiling. It did my confidence so much good. I began to feel i could trust her to behave and just started to feel a connection with her. Well Mel has ridden out since and then Jo went out last night with myself for support. Really making progress. Sunday morning we are gonna take her up to sand school up the lane and see how she goes in there. Hopefully the weather will be better than the last few days.
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Sula
Jun 11, 2010 17:05:19 GMT 1
Post by sarah on Jun 11, 2010 17:05:19 GMT 1
Hi Sharon, Mel and Jo - I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying reading your posts about how Sula is settling in, and how your trust and confidence in her is growing day by day. Please keep your posts coming - I love them.
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Sula
Jun 11, 2010 22:12:15 GMT 1
Post by melsaunders25 on Jun 11, 2010 22:12:15 GMT 1
Thanks Sarah Well what a fab ride i have had today Sula and i have ridden through a field of very noisy sheep, Sula has never been on this route before so there was plenty to occupy her mind!! but Avril's best bit of advice well one of the many good bits of advice from Avril is keep her head straight , and she is so right, the body just has to follow. Good job the walkers are no longer coming out with me, cause the hill we rode up and over was more like a mountain!!!! they would have needed oxygen by the time they had got to the top. Sula wasn't so keen on the field with cow's in, but to relax myself i had a good old sing song to my self and Sula of course, well this did seem to do the trick i was relaxed and i think Sula probably thought it would be best to carry on so i stopped the singing!!. my confidence is just going up and up and really do have to thank Sula for that she is such a poppet in her own serene way, I am so lucky to be able to share this wonderful horse.
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Sula
Jun 12, 2010 21:07:57 GMT 1
Post by sharonspiers on Jun 12, 2010 21:07:57 GMT 1
Hi Sarah So glad your enjoying the posts. I rode Sula today and thought i would take my husband, Jon, along to keep me company. I was so looking forward to taking her out as my confidence is slowly but very surely growing. It was a gorgeous day and we had a lovely wander through the woods. I just felt really relaxed. I can't believe we have only had her with us for 2 weeks. I actually feel like i'm getting to no her and must say a huge thankyou to Avril, she is showing herself to be exactly the horse you said she was. After riding jon went home and i stayed and brushed her and chatted with her. I was the only person up there and it was idillic. The sun was shining and i sat with her and had a cup of tea ( think you would be rather amused to see our set up , you no, tea, coffee, relaxing chairs...... it goes on and on. )She rested her leg, dropped her head and half closed her eyes and i just chatted to her, i'm rather well known for talking a lot but Sula doesn't mind ! Those sort of things are easily as important as the riding for me. I just want to spend time with her it doesn't have to be riding. Well tomorrow all 3 of us are going up. We are going to take her up the lane to the sand school and see what she makes of it. After tea Jo is going to ride out with Harley and his owner, Heather. Sula is turning out to be a really good influence on him. Apparently Heather says he has never been as calm as when he's out with Sula. She really is an absolutely gorgeous girl. As i'm driving up to the stables i just can't wait to get there and see her. It's such a good feeling. Anyway enough of the gushing. Obviously not everything is going to run smoothly but we will face things as they arise.
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Sula
Jun 12, 2010 21:28:52 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Jun 12, 2010 21:28:52 GMT 1
Hi Mel, Jo and Sharon,
Can I just echo Sarah and say how much I am enjoying your updates? It's becoming a habit: first I check Toby's progress then I come along to here to check yours!
It's really a diary of a Safecob in a New Home! You are so lucky to have each other to help and support each other.
Please keep on keeping us posted!
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Sula
Jun 14, 2010 20:44:49 GMT 1
Post by sharonspiers on Jun 14, 2010 20:44:49 GMT 1
Hi Nellie I'm so pleased that your enjoying hearing from us. I do feel a bit self indulgant,as though i'm just recounting my good fortune but it's good to no your finding it interesting.I have to say, Sula is just such a fantastic horse ( here i go gushing again!). Avril, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou for your work. Sula is just everything you said and as each day goes by we are getting so much more settled together. I think you would be pretty pleased with us, we are seeming to fall into this way of handling and riding Sula that is thanks to you. We are all very similar, we are quiet round her but i really think she is deginning to trust us and relax with us. I rode her today with Jo doing the 'keep fit hike' I actually feel so much more confident that i don't need someone to escort me as such, ie. no headcollar or lead rope just in case. To be honest though it is a really good way for us to keep fit and have company to chat with. As i rode her today in the glorious sunshine with the birds singing and the odd deer watching us, i just couldn't stop going on about how lucky we are. Thankfully Jo didn't get fed up with me, she feels exactly the same. I feel that i now know Sula well enough to sort of second guess how she will react to things. We know when another horse is coming about 2 or 3 minutes before we can see them as Sula's head pops up, her ears prick and she sniffs the air. Just a week ago i would have thought she was going to spook a bit but now i know for sure she will just look untill they come into sight and then she will go " oh there you are, cool!" and drop her beautiful head back down and walk oh so calmly past. As i have said before, i am not a very confident or competant rider but Sula is just making me feel so good. I now feel as though i am riding her not just sitting there and holding on. She responds immediately when i ask her to move over or , like today, move in and out of the trees bending this way and that to avoid the very boggy ground in the deeper woods. Now i have to keep my feet on the ground and tell myself that it will not always go so well and that there will be times when i come back from a ride thinking that it went pretty rough but for now i'm taking 1 day at a time and 'oh what a fantastic start'. Ps. Jo has aid she wants to echo everything that mel and i have said only she hasn't got round to sorting out going on the forum.
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