Following Tuesday’s disappointing  diagnosis of  lameness it seemed that Frank would need a few days rest and be brought back into work gradually – the vet was adamant  – definitely NO team chasing on Sunday. I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I was perplexed at Frank’s lameness and disappointed we would miss our Team chasing debut.  On the other hand at least I had a good  excuse not to go –  well better than that of just piking out – the prospect was daunting to say the least…. It meant a 5.30am start and I wasn’t sure of the way – the lorry has dodgy lights and the speedo is broken and I wasn’t sure about jumping 5 foot hedges either… maybe the lameness was a good thing… maybe we weren’t meant to go.  After making the decision not to take Frank to the lameness clinic his fetlock was swollen and hot on Wednesday morning.  It appeared an old injury, an abrasion sustained at Pembrey three weeks ago, had become slightly inflamed – probably due to the scab having been knocked off allowing bugs to get in. I applied a poultice and waited for  prescription anti-biotics to arrive by post. Next day, the swelling had gone down quite a bit and was not so hot so I turned Frank out and applied another poultice the following evening. By Friday all swelling had gone – the antibiotics had arrived but need for them had passed.  I rode him in the school and he seemed sound. On Saturday I tried the American gag bit.  It looks quite severe – I felt bad having to use something so extreme but I needed to find out how he would go in it. I took Frank directly to a place where he likes to run off and executed a U turn. Frank delighted to find the ride cut short started to trot sideways down the road… as soon as his trotters touched the grass verge he squealed anticipating 0-60 in two seconds but this time  I had him…. He wasn’t going anywhere without my say so… the American gag stopped him in his tracks quite literally. Having complete control of the accelerator felt good. Back at the yard I set up a course of jumps to see how he went in the gag. Frank normally goes in a snaffle so I wasn’t sure if this new bit might impede him. It didn’t.  That decided it.  Frank was sound and raring to go – I had brakes  – we were going team chasing – that was it. Never mind about the ridiculously early start or not knowing the way there  – forget about the dodgy lorry – we were going team chasing.  I contacted team South Pembrokeshire Hunt (SPH) Massiv, to let them know that I’d be joining them if they were still going.  Having committed to going there was little time to get the lorry ready and pack… despite some major apprehensions I had a gut feeling that all would be OK, that Frank would not let me down and that I would not let the team down.  SPH Massiv’s start time was 09.55. Two hours needed to walk course, tack up and warm up so aim to be there by 8am, two and half hours drive so set off at 5.30, an hour to get to the yard and get Frank means a 4am alarm. Oh God that’s early, even given that clocks go back (TF for small mercies eh?) It’s 11pm now  – I’m never going to get enough sleep.  As my head hit the pillow visions of team chasing head cam images flashed across my mind along with a number of thoughts…mostly along the lines of  how can I make myself go to sleep, shit on a stick –  what have I let myself in for, isn’t this just a bit over ambitious? am I ready for this? why am I doing it? WTF? I couldn’t think of one good reason why I was doing this… some pithy aphorism about pushing limits came to mind… something about if you don’t push the limits then you’ll never find out what they are… nope that doesn’t seem a good enough reason either… maybe the lorry will break down anyway (it usually does)  and then I won’t be able to go anyway

 

Frank is lame – Boo hoo! Vet came today to X ray his splint -there’s  no apparent lameness but I just thought it might be good to get it looked at as its massive and it would be good to rule out any ligament involvement.   Frank and I went out for a good long hack yesterday and he was amazing – really on his toes and super fit – horse powering up steep hills from marsh road to Welshmoor taking a very cheeky strong hold galloping flat out on the narrow grass verge – pulling up, of his own accord, within centimetres of the grassy bit running out.  In preparation for team chasing at the weekend I’ve been trying different bits for better brakes…however, the curb strap on the New Schule training bit has not made a jot of difference to the braking system.  Last week we had show-jumping training with Jonathan Pett and arena event training with Louise Harwood  – Frank has been working hard and going good.   On the day of the vet visit Frank had been in all day, stuffing his face with hay, waiting for the vet and I’d held off going out for a ride because it was raining so hard. After inspecting the splint in the stable  I was asked to trot him up, so pulling him away from his haynet I dragged him out of the stable and immediately trotted him up the yard so that the vet could see him in action.  Not surprisingly, he looked a bit unlevel behind. Flexion tests exacerbated the problem. Lunging in the school did not improve matters. Lunging him on a 10 metre circle on the hard concrete of the yard was painful to watch  – I don’t think he could have looked worse if he had been asked to trot barefoot on a stony beach. There’s me psyching myself up for this team chasing thing in the Cotswolds – thinking Frank needs less oats in the bucket and better brakes – then it’s like Oh wait a sec… he’s actually as lame as a cat – how on earth… WTF? This is not the oingy boingy horse I jumped last week or rode yesterday…. I was totally nonplussed.  Having finally decided to give this Team Chasing  thing my best shot I now might have to shoot my horse (slight exaggeration there for comic effect but really, this is serious).

But whoa, stop and think a bit here.  First of all, Frank is never taken out of the stable and trotted up without any kind of warm-up. For all I know he would show up lame everytime he was brought out of the stable and suddenly asked to do this.  Whether hacking out or schooling the routine always begins with walk – quite a bit of walk if we are on the road (as opposed to going straight out onto the Bryn). Once he has warmed up in walk we progress to trotting and transitions (walk, trot, halt and so on).  If schooling then this is followed by canter on both reins. As Frank warms up everything becomes more fluid and supple. Frank’s finely tuned internal sat nav tells him exactly when to move up a gear for the homeward stretch and this is the time to practice our ‘medium’ work.  On the day of the vet visit Frank had been stuck in all day and not had chance to stretch his legs or roll so trotting him up straight off the bat was bound to catch him at his worst. You should see me first thing in a morning – I can hardly move .  Until I’ve had a cup of tea and a pain killer  you would never think I was even capable of even sitting on a horse!

In a state of disbelief I agreed for him to have an appointment at the lameness clinic the following day – made all the more bizarre by the fact that his field buddy Olly was booked in for exactly the same clinic, to investigate possible stifle lameness and there was a possibility they could travel together. However, after the vet had left I sat down and tried to reconcile todays diagnosis with recent experience and they just did not add up. I thought then back to Sunday – when Frank had slipped in the lorry on the way to BRC dressage competition in Carmarthen.  Although there was an open wound to his coronet I wondered if maybe he also suffered a strain. I thought I may have to withdraw but after I’d cleaned up the wound and sprayed it with Vetrocin  it looked OK.  Although he’d felt OK in the tiny warm up area I pulled out of the test about halfway through as he didn’t feel quite right. Added to this, two weeks ago, Frank had clattered over a jump at Pembrey (on his way to winning the 90cm) and injured his fetlock. The wound wasn’t visible, there was no swelling or lameness, or obvious bleeding but quite a large scab was evident some days later when I was checking his legs for mud fever. Perhaps this was contributing to the lameness evident today – these possibilities were discussed with the vet.

Later, on the evening of the visit, I wrote about events of the day and reflected on how Frank had really been going in those lessons he’d had last week. The vet had said that the lameness was only slight, in a horse used only for hacking it wouldn’t be a problem and would most likely go unnoticed.  Last weeks lessons with Jonathan Pett and Louise Harwood had been quite tough and both included lots of flatwork mostly concerned with achieving a more active canter and worked on shortening and lengthening strides. Whilst no one questioned Frank’s soundness the difficulties Frank experienced in canter could possibly be due to pain or stiffness in his legs or back.  Once we progressed to the jumping part of the lesson the focus was less on getting him to work from behind and more concerned with things like getting him down a bank or over a water tray. The exercise JP asked us to do was more difficult than it should have been.  Asking a horse to put in six strides between two fences where five would be more natural should not be that difficult – and Frank did achieve it a couple of times but clearly he found this uncomfortable as evidenced by a couple of extraordinary leaps from a standstill which resulted in me punching myself in the face so hard I saw stars whilst at the same time clicking my heels behind me  – I think I impressed JP with my new acrobatic jumping style. Considering these schooling difficulties put the vets observations in a different light – even giving Frank the benefit of the doubt there was most likely some issues with balance and lameness here – manifest not in obvious lameness but in difficulty getting Frank to really work from behind and engage. Even warmed up Frank does not perform as he should….I think there is definitely something going on as his canter lacks impulsion, he’s not altogether ‘through’ and up into the bridle and finds shortening his stride very difficult indeed – which all suggests he’s not 100% sound. I think there’s a lot of walking wounded out there in terms of horses at all levels of work and the vet confirmed this by saying that she sees a lot of horses out competing that are more lame than Frank.

So, after giving it some thought I decided that I would not take him to the clinic for lameness testing. I’d ease off  exercise, give him a few days rest and with some regret ( and I have to admit a tiny bit of relief) cancel our team chasing debut on Sunday . I decided to bring him back into light work after a couple of weeks rest and take things from there. This will give him chance to recover from falling down in the lorry – so at least that can be ruled out.

Update: Today, Franks fetlock (injured at Pembrey)  is swollen, hot and painful.  I have washed it with hibiscrub, cold-hosed it and applied a poultice. Hmmmm… I think I may need to call a vet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been asked to join a team for the Cotswold team chase on 29 October. I am truly undecided. I’ve watched the YouTube Team chasing videos. I know Frank can do it and even when he’s galloping at fences flat out I have a kind of blind faith. He’s agile, scopey brave  and as far as I know he doesn’t have a death wish. When we’re on our own I can half halt before a fence and have enough control to negotiate technical combinations. In company he’s a demon – showhorse to eventer?  Showhorse to suicidal more like. Frank is a complex character. Out hacking, in company, he’s Mr Cool and collected.  Mr showy offy  looking like a dappled rocking horsy.  He’s happy to let others go ahead on the beach or on the gallop tracks. He doesn’t even get excited when I let my other horse off the lead  or when we are joined by herds of wild ponies.  Put jumps into the mix though and he loses his cool completely turning into  – Frankenstein the monster demon horse  who’s  far too hot to trot.  At Badminton ‘fun’ ride I had to put the steering strings on the bottom hole of the New Schule training bit and tie knots in them as they felt as much use as elastic.  He lunged and plunged when he saw any fences  – he cut up my friends horse, and crashed into and through a group of riders crushing me between a tree and a horses ass. The horse that gets left behind on the beach by my 24 year old anglo arab suddenly wakes up to the fact that he’s half racehorse and suddenly I can’t ride this side of him.  He was much the same in the pairs at Berkeley Team Chase – and I remember thinking, as I was hauled around the course, thank fook we didn’t manage to get a team together for this event as this is just insane – and never, ever again….

I’ve seen the Cotswold fences and have serious hedge envy….I know Frank will fly over them…. I really want to do this…. He cast a (new) shoe today galloping up the Bryn on the way to the beach – so annoying – he’s extremely fit atm – less oats in the bucket I think. The early start might actually be the deal breaker although the clocks go back so we have an extra hour in bed….Frank is definitely not a morning person.  I have watched some Cotswold team chasing videos on You Tube which just gave me palpitations.  In our favour the first three fences seem to be pretty much in a row with plenty of room in between and fence four requires only a broad sweep to the left not a sharp turn …this will allow Frank to let off a bit of steam before  the twisty and turny bits which come a bit later. The fences are quite beefy so he might have a bit more respect for these…. Would be comforting to think I could half halt him before some of the fences and reassuring to think I might be able to go whoa.

I think I’ll sleep on it  – and hope to dream of team chasing –  or will it be a nightmare? I don’t have to make a decision now as the team are going anyway.  They clearly need me though as I think I may be key to winning one of the special prizes 🙂

Although I have ridden for a few years now it is only recently I have had lessons on how to jump.  My ‘training’ years ago was undertaken on the hunting field and its there I learnt to hang on. This rudimentary introduction to getting airborne has proved wholly inadequate to the kind of jumping I try to do these days. Eighteen years of trying to get the white boy (my anglo arab) over any kind of jump has produced a defensive style  of riding ready for stops and run outs. The white boy’s approach to  jumping was to rush up to jumps then stop which tipped me forwards and put me in front of the movement.  I seem to have adopted this position as a permanent fixture as one trainer after another screams ‘sit up’  or ‘sit back’ and comments likening me to a ‘monkey up a pole’ confirm that this position of mine is a favourite.  Knowing I do this, watching videos that offer further proof  of this and trying my hardest to sit back and not be pulled forward seem to have little or no effect.  I will just have to keep trying.

The other issue I am struggling with is to establish a good working canter that will help me see a stride.  This sort of canter needs to look as if it’s going somewhere and could produce a good lift off.  It needs some impulsion as well as collection. It needs to look a bit more uphill and Frank needs to engage his hind legs.  Frank’s gait has been developed for the show ring and it’s a bit airy fairy. Being quite long he also likes to take a loping stride and flatten out. He needs to work a bit harder and I need to work a lot harder to achieve this. Good exercises are cantering slowly on small circles transitioning to walk  and then back to canter. Throwing in the odd pirouette is also good to practise at home. The lesson I had yesterday with Louise Harwood was a tough one as she insisted on Frank upping his game – lots of walk to canter transitions and, much more difficult, canter to walk transitions – until the canter had a lot more energy and impulsion.  Once Louise was satisfied with the canter we then started to jump stuff  with lots of twists and turns.  Having given Frank a bit more ooomph I thought I was off the hook – but no…. Louise then homed in on my tipping forward –  ‘sit up’ she shouted over and over again as Frank managed to pull me forward each time he landed.  By now we were both sweating and puffing a bit.  Right then, lets go and jump some XC jumps in the other arena. To get to the other arena involved going up, across and off a small bank.  Frank wouldn’t jump off until Louise hopped down and gave him a lead  – ‘don’t tip forward’ Louise reminded me again.  It’s really hard not to tip forward when the thing you are sitting on suddenly stops – its physics I reasoned – where do I find the power to defy physics? The same thing happened jumping out of the arena which involved a jump over a ditch  – again, Frank looked down, dithered a bit then lept across like it was the grand canyon. ‘Sit back… don’t get in front of the movement’.  Eventually, my position changed and approach to the water tray was better… Frank stopped but I managed to defy physics, sit back and get him over it. By the end of the lesson we were both boiling in the bag and in need of a good hose down.

I don’t know if my position has improved.  I don’t know if I will be able to defy physics next time Frank tries to pull me forwards – but at least I know I have a problem, I kind of know too what I need to do but its just not easy.

The lesson I’d had with Jonathan Pett the day before also began with trying to establish a good canter – one with shorter strides and greater impulsion. One exercise involved trying to get six strides in between two fences where five strides would be the norm. This is a very difficult exercise. On one attempt the striding got so awkward I’m not sure what happened but Frank got in very close. He should’ve stopped really but due to laws of physics he somehow carried on causing me to tip forward with such force that I punched myself in the face with my own hand so hard I saw stars. Then as Frank flipped over the jump my heels came up  behind me and my spurs clicked together – the ultimate in tipping forward I would say.

Last weekend Frank and I went up to Beacons Equestrian centre for BRC Area showjumping and were part of the 90 cm team. Although I tried really hard we didn’t manage to go clear – four faults each round (fence 8 and 5) .  Given issues described earlier  I can see what went wrong and watching these rounds I can see where improvements need to be made – sit up in between fences, aim for a shorter stride in canter and a bit more impulsion, shorter reins, and keep hands still.