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Mina
Nov 9, 2010 22:34:28 GMT 1
Post by em on Nov 9, 2010 22:34:28 GMT 1
Hey thats fab news about Mina// you must be so chuffed with yourself.. well done you keep us posted its so lovely being a part of your adventures thanks for letting us be a part of it all Em x x
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Mina
Nov 13, 2010 16:11:12 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Nov 13, 2010 16:11:12 GMT 1
Well, it's all change at the yard again. From Thursday night they now all have to be in overnight, it's a shame because we were doing really well with the field but the last couple of days has really brought the mud out . Mina does not really like changes in routine and I did wonder how she would feel about coming in. However, that part she obviously approves of, last night, one gentle call and she came straight up to us, what a sweety . However, once in her box she wasn't so charmed and completely ignored her haylage preferring to do circuits of her box followed by demanding stares over her door and the state of her box this morning !!! She had worn a track in her bedding where she had been walking round and round - but she had eaten all her haylage and lain down so perhaps it was just in the morning that her patience ran out. To her disgust, she wasn't first to be turned out and she became quite upset when tied-up on the yard so I took her off to the school for a lunge and a short reminder session of our groundwork. What never fails to surprise and impress me is her attitude to work: as soon as I appeared with lunge whip, lunge line and hard hat she relaxed a bit. I supposed this was because she thought she was finally going out to the field and therefore expected her to be a bit disgruntled when asked to turn the opposite way to go to the school but not a bit of it. Once on the lunge she did a bit of field gazing but soon settled down and did some really nice trot work and stopped and started as asked. And afterwards she was a total treasure, relaxed, calm, patient. Not a sign of the rolling-eyed, ground pawing indignant steed from before. It is such an interesting journey we are making. Now that I am beginning to know her and my adrenaline levels are more under control we are able to communicate so much better. She is a character and she does have her moments (when she looks really magnificent, but don't tell her I said so!) but she has such a warm heart and I am so thrilled every time she lets a little more of herself be seen - like her favourite scratch points. She will now lean in to my hand as I scratch her and her top lip goes all pointy, her eyes misty, oh how it makes my heart glow!
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Mina
Nov 13, 2010 19:00:36 GMT 1
Post by sarah on Nov 13, 2010 19:00:36 GMT 1
Oh what a lovely post - the bond between you and Mina is just growing stronger by the day. You are so right about workk settling them - we plan to do lots of that to help Meg's new horse settle in. When do you think you might be back in the saddle?
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Mina
Nov 15, 2010 10:33:09 GMT 1
Post by chattysmum on Nov 15, 2010 10:33:09 GMT 1
Mina looks very smart in her photo, unlike Chatty who just looks like a wooly hairy monster. Am thinking seriously of clipping off some of her coat as she is getting very warm when ridden.
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Mina
Nov 15, 2010 13:31:12 GMT 1
Post by em on Nov 15, 2010 13:31:12 GMT 1
Helen Its great to hear how much you and Mina are moving forward together... it must be such a confidence boost to really feel you know your horse so well and can understand where her behaviour comes from in certain situations and then trust that all will be normal if you continue to lead the way..
Your posts are always a brilliant read and a lesson to everyone how important really getting to know your horse is
Kindest regards em x x
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ange
Full Member
Posts: 219
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Mina
Nov 15, 2010 23:20:08 GMT 1
Post by ange on Nov 15, 2010 23:20:08 GMT 1
Hi Helen,
I'm glad you are getting on so well with Mina - she will hopefully settle into the new routine quite quickly! Maybe she just likes 'doing' and being busy, hence being so happy and co-operative once she knows she's working??
At our yard it's more or less upto each owner when they turn-around for winter - mine were two of the latter ones, but that was a couple of weeks ago now, and everything is now in at night ... roll on late March / early April, although I think Penny would now happily live in all year just so long as she had plenty to eat! Just wish they weren't both at opposite ends of the yard - its a real pain - whatever I need is always in the other feedroom ... grrrr!
Cheers, Ange.
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Mina
Jan 1, 2011 11:24:04 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Jan 1, 2011 11:24:04 GMT 1
Well I am sorry for the gap, I can't believe how long it has been! For Christmas I bought Mina a big bag of parsnips and a big bag of swedes. Before investing in these veggies, I bought one of each from the local, posh, farm shop to try: she loved them and wolfed them down (not sure she would approve of the analogy ). So I then bought a larger quantity from the (cheaper) local supermarket... apparently they are not nearly as nice as the expensive farm shop versions and she has compelely turned her nose up at the parsnips! I'm amazed since Mina is not a fussy eater at all. She'll eat the swedes so long as they are fed whole, first thing in the morning so I'm going to try a parsnip again that way and we'll see what happens. Meanwhile, the saddler came out in the middle of the snow to fit a temporary saddle while I wait for my Duett Elite to arrive. Up until then I had sat on Mina just once since my hip op for about 1 minute only and that was bareback (having no saddle, of course), with Akis leading me. My hip was jolly painful but Mina was wonderfully comfy, having no backbone and almost no withers to worry about. It was so lovely to be back on board but I only managed a minute or two as it really did rather hurt. But for the saddle fitting I knew I was going to need to sit on her again. I cleared a sort of circuit in the snow in the yard so I could walk Mina round and up I hopped. Blooming painful but what was worse was that I couldn't use my "bad" leg at all, just nothing happened. It meant we didn't manage to stick to the snow-free track and Mina ended up balancing on ice stilletos with me wobbling around on her back . She was so good and didn't put a foot wrong, even though she hadn't been lunged and has been out of work for so long. The saddle was an amazing fit, given it is secondhand: can there really be another horse out there who is as wide as Mina ? Although delighted I now had a saddle to ride in, I was very dispirited about my hip as I was clearly not ready to ride and, even worse, very concerned that Mina may be just too wide for me now . The good was that no-one could ride thanks to the weather (silver lining, and all that?). And then my hip got even worse and the physio started talking about another scan and possibly a steroid injection to try to get it to settle (I hope you can all understand why I took a break from posting?). I just had my eyes set on the Christmas hols, an obligatory 10 days off work to rest. And it's helped! Yesterday I took Mina in the school, we did a bit of in-hand work in a dually, then I lunged her using poles and plastic jump-stand things to make a bit of an obstacle course (not excactly traditional lungeing, I know) and finally we practised standing still to mount (which she didn't need) and then I hopped on and... it didn't hurt nearly as much and, even better, I could use my leg, hoorah!!!!!! I didn't stay on board for long but we practised moving her shoulder (like Avril showed us on the course), turn on the forehand and a little bit of leg yielding - you can tell I wanted to use my leg! And it's amazing how all the little bits of work you do can all be coming together under the radar. I know her responsiveness to me has been improving - she stops when I stop, goes slower or faster according to my pace when I'm leading her, she gets the game of grandmother's footsteps, she listens and goes forward on the lunge in a way I would never have believed possible when I frst tried to lunge her and then yesterday she was so light to my leg - not in a silly or rushy way, just really nice: leg on, response, wow! And she picks her feet up for me - even preparing herself by moving her weight away from the foot I'm about to do before I've even asked . Life with Mina is never going to be dull or predictable because she does have bags of character and, for better or worse, "Tomorrow is another day" so she may be sweet and lovey today but a demanding diva tomorrow - or the other way around, you never can tell - and I sometimes feel it's one step forward, one step back. But then I'll have a day like yesterday when I realise we have actually moved on: what a wonderful way to start the New Year!
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Mina
Jan 1, 2011 14:55:41 GMT 1
Post by sarah on Jan 1, 2011 14:55:41 GMT 1
Oh Helen, it is SO lovely to hear how you and Mina have been coping.
I am sorry you have found even short moments of riding painful - I know how frustrating that is, but little steps lead to long summer hacks. ;D
I will be very interested to hear what you think of your new Duett saddle, as I am hoping to get one when Avril has found me the right horse - they look so comfortable for both horse and rider.
Do let me know how you get on, and I hope your hip settles down quickly.
Best wishes, Sarah. x
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karen
Full Member
Posts: 133
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Mina
Jan 1, 2011 20:39:48 GMT 1
Post by karen on Jan 1, 2011 20:39:48 GMT 1
Hi Helen
Sorry to hear that you have found riding so painful, but your posts are really interesting and inspriring as to how you are coping.
Best wishes Karen xx
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Mina
Jan 2, 2011 14:37:23 GMT 1
Post by angelac on Jan 2, 2011 14:37:23 GMT 1
Hi Helen Just had a proper catch up. I'm so sorry that you are having a lot of pain at the moment. I really hope this soon improves for you. Perhaps the new saddle will go some way towards improving the situation. On a better note you are obviously having so much fun with Mina and really getting to know one another. It sounds like you are getting on so well. Your story about the parsnips and veg made me smile. ;D Arent they funny Hope the new year brings good things. I will keep a look out for the updates. PS had to smile about the stirred up bed too. My gang are obsessive about coming in and squabble about who is first ( tho its always my Highland. He just puts the ears back and barges his rivals out of the way!!) On occasion tho , reluctantly I have to shut my top doors. This is if there is a gale force easterly with rain or snow, as the stables would just fill up. They understandably don't like this and I get a seriously stirred bed . Double mucking out time is needed!!! Wishing you lots more fun and a happy healthy new year Angelax
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Mina
Jan 3, 2011 0:35:29 GMT 1
Post by liz on Jan 3, 2011 0:35:29 GMT 1
How lovely to hear how you and Mina are getting on, Helen You seem to have formed a good bond and here's hoping that things continue to improve xx
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Mina
Jan 5, 2011 20:45:25 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Jan 5, 2011 20:45:25 GMT 1
Hello, Well, I've had a couple of false starts but here goes at another attempt to post some piccies of Mina... First up is the picture I tried to post of Mina on her first solo hack with me (well, with my sister on foot with the camera but who's splitting hairs):
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Mina
Jan 5, 2011 21:12:58 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Jan 5, 2011 21:12:58 GMT 1
Next up is Mina changing her coat in September when she started to go grey - including on her face, bless:
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Mina
Jan 5, 2011 21:22:51 GMT 1
Post by nellie on Jan 5, 2011 21:22:51 GMT 1
The pony I used to ride when I was a child was a strawberry roan and he used to go quite snowy in winter - but still with his "pink" mane and tail. I was therefore prepared for Mina to have more grey hairs in winter. So it was quite a surprise when her winter coat came through and she wasn't more grey at all! I love her mane. I am a little concerned it is never going to fall to one side but it looks lovely from on top (note to self: must take photo from on board!) and it is so much fun to compare it to the earlier photos and see how much it has grown. You will also see my husband looking very relaxed and happy - you may also recognise him from the video of the husband's course! She looks so clean and shiny you wouldn't believe how little she is groomed, in order to preserve the greases in her coat as she is not rugged!
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Mina
Jan 5, 2011 21:55:21 GMT 1
Post by angelac on Jan 5, 2011 21:55:21 GMT 1
Lovely pics. She looks so relaxed and well cared for. The two of you look great together too ;D Looking forward to the updates. Angelax
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