Small steps

It's been a good week so far! The weather has held out till today (though I think now we're supposed to get about 5 solid days of rain?), and the horses are all making progress in their own ways.

Coco has come up to me in the paddock the past 3 days in a row to be caught! This is a huge thing for her (& me). Previously I'd had to either put her into a corner or walk very very slowly up to her to catch her... and to have her now walking from the other side of the paddock and stand in front of me to be caught is fantastic. Yesterday she also had her first outing away from home where she was tied up to the truck rather than put in a yard. She never pulled back, and was quite good as I walked up and down the ramp and even unloaded and loaded horses with her standing there (she was in the spot right by the ramp so she would be exposed to more).

Alan came out on Wednesday and we did another session with Pippa. She dropped some weight last week and so got a bit of wither rub which was bugging her a bit. But I've since added another rug and she is putting the pounds back on, and the wither rub isn't a bad one so should be all healed by next week easily. Popped a stock saddle on Pippa and did some stretching exercises. Her muscles are very tight - and we are looking to spend time on massage before I get back on her. She's standing really well to have her hooves rasped now - even in the 'farrier grip' between the knees - and standing patiently while I get to work as I am certainly not very quick with the rasp.

Neo, Gem and Kody did a mock showjumping course yesterday in preparation for Tielcey Park this weekend. They were all really good and tried hard for me. I think that the 1m class might be a bit of an ask for Gem at this stage, but it will depend a lot on how the course is set on the day (technicality-wise). Neo was a dude - though I notice he's got a bit fat.. I might need to up his workload to help him keep a bit more fitness too. Kody was spooky to start with, but once he got going he certainly wasn't worried by any fillers, it's just a case of getting him focused on the task to begin with. I think I will try and get in a practise round on him this weekend just to give him that opportunity to see the arena and settle properly.

Xev is not loving being turned out. She is at the gate every day trying to sneak through while I catch others. I still bring her in each day to be fed - so perhaps she's just trying to get an extra dinner out of the deal? She's looking quite well though. I am aiming to bring her back into work in August for the 09-10 eventing season.

Zak and Alfie are up in Masterton both doing nothing but growing. It will be really interesting to get Alfie re-measured and see how much he has grown. He's certainly started to fill out, but we're pretty sure he's added at least a good inch since his last height certificate.