Testing time.
Believe it or not I was scared to ride on it. I have spent so much money on it. I have wanted it for so long. I have ignored so many "experts" who told me the surface was wrong; that it wouldn't work without a full membrane; that it wasn't flat enough and needed money spent to level it; that it needed draining or I'd never be able to ride when it was wet. So in the end I was afraid that I would find out that the experts were right and I had wasted a lot of money. It didn't help that it was raining and darned cold this morning, and I chickened out and went to Tescos!
I finally made myself ride on it this afternoon and I'm cock a hoop. I feel like a five year old given everything she ever wanted for Christmas. They love it and worked really well on it. It had rained hard all night and was totally dry. It's a bit too deep in places and hard work for them, but over the next few weeks we will fine tune it and it will be absolutely perfect once it has settled a bit. I have tennis elbow from all the raking and shovelling I'm doing, but it's worth it! I am moving it from some really thick areas right into the corners, which are currently grass, and down one side where there is a dip where the ground drops away at the edge.
Both Tetley and Tia "purred" while they were working - blew gently through their noses with a purring noise. I think they like it! I had forgotten Tetley's range of "let's run for it now and hope that we can get into the stable before she manages to stop us" evasions when headed down the long side which points to his stable :-). He will do fabulous work up the other side, or up that side away from home, but drops his back every time I come down that side. Toad! He was perfectly sound on 20m circles in spite of how hard work the footing was. So that's a huge bonus too.
Tia was a very good girl. Much, much more settled than schooling in a field. I ran through the test for Saturday 3 times and she was making some real progress.
Barefooters - it is wonderful to have a surface which conditions the feet so well. It takes away all the pressure of "I must get some road work done" which I have felt for the last 20 months of barefoot. I checked their feet when I had finished and they looked as if they had been gently sanded, just what I wanted :-)
After all that excitement I took Caddy into the barn and tried him in a range of bits. He is definitely much more settled in the Myler copy, so I will get Superhubby to cut off the loops which are on it to hold the reins and cheek pieces. They make it illegal for competition dressage, and they are only thin wire an easily removed by someone of superhubby's skills :-)! Caddy can't trot a circle to save his life :-), typical racehorse, only ever gone in straight lines! He's feeling bigger already though, fingers crossed for that to continue.
After all the excitement I need a little sit down now!
C.
posted by cptrayes @ 5:55 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Super! It is going to take a bit of time and effort to get the surface just right and level all the way around, but it sounds great so far. If Tetley and Tia were purring, then you know you have something special there.
If you just had a drag and a tractor, that would help a lot. Muscle power wears out faster than an engine.
I've post entered the July 2 show at the Horse Park of NJ to try my luck again. Glutton for punishment that I am. Maybe my trainer and I can figure out some strategy to settle him in the show ring...which up until this time had not been the problem.
Caddy is getting bigger. Yes, yes, yes!!!!!!!!1
Oooh, the school surface sounds wonderful. It does take time to settle, the sand & rubber on my yard was horribly deep at first but it's wonderful now.
I would love to not have the "must do roadwork" feeling, I'm still not doing enough but it's so hard when there's miles and miles of offroad tracks instead. I need a kick up the bum.
I hope the modified myler does the trick, I know that Bebe loves hers (though I hated paying for it, horribly expensive).
we don't do much roadwork either, don't have to and no one else would come with me. but the tracks are the next best thing, quite hard and the estate traffic drives on them...and the grounds like bell metal anyway ..
the only thing is, caroline, you'll get blown off that arena ....
Good luck for July 2nd Jean, I wonder what he'll do this time?
I got a good deal I think Amanda, it was £19.65 and the mouthpiece seems to me to be identical to the Myler. He definitely responds to it. He has such a tiny mouth (he will fit a 4.5 inch French, just!!)
that I think he likes how thin it is.
Ah yes claire, but when it's windy I'll be indoors (my smug git face is on now).
C
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