Beautiful horsemanship

Broke bridle, no problem!

I love outings with these two🦄🐴

Sometimes, just sometimes, I forget that I’m carrying carrots in my mouth when I click, ‘play’🤣🤣

A mothers love💕There was something so powerful about watching this mum lead her baby to the watering hole. Maybe because I’ve spent the last 3yrs desperately leading my baby, my precious son down every imaginable path trying to find seizure freedom for him. Watching these two just hit my heart so hard that I was moved to tears❤️

We’ve been doing a fair bit of riding and leading this week due to lack of time. Its not something I could do with Bella and T because Bella was far too protective of her space and knowing her history and personality, I didn’t feel it was fair to make her tolerate it. We did however walk to the moor and then T would follow us loose if I wanted to get them out at the same time. Anyway, these two though are a different story. They make a lovely team! Clover does like to be in front but when we go out together like this, Tom asks her politely to stay behind which she does. I don’t particularly like doing fast work when we ride and lead because I personally feel that there’s too much risk involved even with a good team. What I do instead is use the hills we have here to our advantage. A nice forward walk straight up does wonders for posture, strength and stamina with transitions into trot every once in a while. We do have to stop every now and again to take in the view of course! This was yesterday when it was sunny and warm. Today I was frozen, my head nearly blew off at the top of the hill and I needed gloves. We got back before the rain though so can’t complain too much although I will say, this time last year we were in a heatwave🙈🤔😣😳

This bridlepath isnt used much. It’s one of my favourites but it’s not passable for most of the year. It runs off a really steep, overgrown wood which often has fallen branches and the ground underfoot can get very deep and boggy when it’s wet. It takes ages to dry out too! The horses have to be quite fit to do it as it really is an all over workout. This is the reward at the top though! A long overgrown garden of green, pinks, yellows, birds flying from left to right and pretty butterflies and moths for my eyes and some extra long grass for Clover 🍀

I went down to take these two out tonight and they had some little visitors to their field. Their mums were calling for them but they were like rebellious children ignoring the call. Reminded me of when I was a child playing in the street and my mum would call me in for bedtime. I’d hear her as clear as day but when she stormed up the road shouting, ‘Claire! I’ve been calling you!’ and I’d act all innocent and say, ‘Oh have you? I didn’t hear you!’ then I’d get a, ‘In! Now!’ 🤣🤣🤣 Clearly Clover wasn’t bothered by the new arrivals!

These two have had the week off since it was half term, we were knee deep in GCSE revision (😣) and I was fighting something off. Today we resumed normal and I was delighted that they both saw the saddles and took us to the gate that takes us ‘out, out’. There is nothing better than knowing that the horses have a positive association with saddles and hacking, enough that they initiate the outing❤️ Vid is of them coming to get their tea last night but was similar to the lovely greeting that we got this morning😊🥰

I will never tire of the sunset lighting up the hill❤️ This was last night and completely unedited! Quite spectacular isn’t it?

We had the craziest day on Tues! It started off really hot and we had a beautiful few hours hacking in the sunshine. Went on the school run and husband and I were talking about having a beer in the garden when we got home which was a 10min drive away. By the time we actually got home, we were stranded in the car due to a flash flood. We all had to take our shoes off and walk through water halfway up our shins thinking we’d be safe once we got indoors. How wrong were we!? The water was flooding the kitchen and hallway so we were doing everything we could to stop it from coming in which was useless! Thankfully we have slate and tiled floors so when the rain did eventually stop we were able to clean up and have spent the last couple of days drying things out! There were a lot of poor people in the village that were worse off than us sadly😞 Honestly I’ve never experienced anything like it! A few hours later the sun was shining again but the farm was left in absolute carnage! The driveway was washed away, big boulders moved miles, all properties flooded, our newly laid path is gone and to top it all off a calf was being born in the middle of it all! What a time to be enter the world! The poor thing was being hit in the head with hailstones the size of eyeballs! Anyway, here is a short clip of the sunshiny hack that we had before it all kicked off!

Yes I look like a toddler dressed me in allllll the hi-viz colours paired with unicorn leggings and wellies, and yes I am now one of those people who set up a camera to film ourselves riding because I predominantly ride alone and rarely have footage of myself on a horse but if you can put that aside, this reel is actually quite poignant🦄 With every horse that I have taken bridleless I always do it slowly. I want to do everything I can to in-still confidence into the horse so Im always looking to set them up for success in everything we do. I never want to be in a position where I’ve put them in a place where they are over threshold if I can help it especially without a bridle No matter how small our steps are though, there is always a little concern when we actually pair throwing the bridle for the first time out on a hack, and me being in the saddle, even with all the prep work we do. With every horse there is a moment where they turn and look at you as if to say ‘Are you mad! What the hell are you doing woman!?’. Tommys journey has been interesting. He’s a bit of a worrier in general and on first throwing the bridle, he was checking in a lot which is normal for his type of personality. Over time and through building through those small steps, he’s got so much more confident and the last few sessions we’ve had, I’ve really felt like he was enjoying himself so much. I could tell he was super grateful for the freedom and I could feel him beaming. The last ride we had, we hit the bottom of the moor and he said ‘ohhhhh do we have to put that bridle back on’. That was when I knew I could probably do our next ride completely bridleless from start to finish so we did. We had a super time exploring the bottom of the farm then headed out onto the moor. We walked, trotted, cantered, saw riders, dog walkers, sheep and cows and he listened every step of the way despite having his own opinion on where we should go at times. I’m super proud of this l

After having a catastrophic breakdown last year, I’m learning to get better at voicing where I am at mentally and putting into place ‘me time’ days when I am struggling. Yesterday was one of those days❤️ The weather was stunning and I didn’t even need a jumper! I actually got a little burnt! This is the day that I’ve been dreaming about all winter❤️☀️🍀🐴🦄🙌 It started with a 4hr outing with clover where I showed her a new route. She was a little apprehensive at times but as per usual, I got in and out of the saddle as her confidence ebbed and flowed which always helps. We had a picnic stop, saw a beautiful deer on one of the quiet lanes (wasn’t quick enough on the old phone), watched a low flying aircraft, enjoyed the lanes that are bursting with colour and the moor which is lovely and dry underfoot. Just wonderful❤️ A quick stop in home for a glass of water before saddling Tommy up and going exploring for 2hr1/2. We stuck to the moor but we explored places and routes that I’ve not been before which was just bliss. He was a little worried at first because on returning with Clover, I left her on the yard with hay and Tommy and I left from the field so they didn’t cross paths but could hear each other. I think he was concerned that he might not see her again. I did debate whether to go back and reunite them as I didn’t want to upset him but He did settle as we got going so we continued on. He really enjoyed choosing our routes and we had a couple of longer canters. I can really feel his fitness picking up now. He really does love the moor❤️ Im so grateful for this lovely pair and for my husband who held the fort while I was out. Who else is enjoying this weather with their horses? Isn’t it wonderful?

Hoof boots are a minefield aren’t they? I’ve always gone with the bucket style ones since I’ve found them to be very forgiving but this time around, I decided to give Renegade Hoof Boots a whirl and I’m really glad I did. We’ve been testing them out across Dartmoor over the last few days and so far, so good. Even today after it had bucketed down overnight and the moor was sodden again, we didn’t have any slipping despite trotting downhill. We were out for a couple of hours today and came home with no rubs or sores🙌 What boots do you like for your horses? Little vid of us out and about last night❤️

Confidence is weird. It comes, it goes. It ebbs, it flows. For me it’s worse when I’m anxious or stressed about something completely unrelated to horses, when I eat too much sugar, when I’m tired and Im starting to realise that hormones have a part to play too. I don’t let it stop me from doing stuff with the horses but I won’t get in the saddle if I can’t be that reliable constant for them. Here’s what helps me: 🐴Break it down Don’t let your A to B be set in stone. It might be too big a task. For me I say to my self I’m going to walk to the end of the drive and see how I am. If I get there then I put another distance in place and keep repeating or not. 🐴Get off/get on When you’re confident, get on. When you’re not, get off and walk with your horse. 🐴Singing The age old trick. It helps that I’m a singer so I like to sing from the correct place so I don’t damage my voice. In order to do that I need to breathe and use my diaphragm. Breathing calms the nervous system. Singing releases endorphins. Just make sure there’s no one around the corner🤣 🐴 Box breathing It’s an easy one. In for 4secs, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. 🐴 Easy meditation What can you see, hear, feel. Keep your brain going through that sequence and breathe. It takes our minds off our anxiety. 🐴 Set your horse up for success Get everything you possibly can into place to make sure your horse doesn’t go over threshold. When your horse is confident in you and their surroundings, it’ll help your confidence and trust in them. What helps you when you have a confidence wobble?

We jumped our first ditch together yesterday and had some lovely canters! She’s so fast but so fun! Forward but always listening. Forward but always responsive. Didn’t get any footage so sharing this lovely clip from this morning instead. We did transitions all this way to the top of the hill and then walked back down. Things are drying out so fast and even the watering hole is low already! Maybe we will end up with that hosepipe ban after all🤣😉

As we were out this morning getting absolutely drenched yet again, I decided, I’m going to stop moaning about the weather but instead choose gratitude. I know research tells us that when we choose gratitude and positivity, it can rewire our brain into becoming more grateful and more positive which is pretty awesome. So, if you are sick of this rain and fancy taking a positive step with me today then think of one or two things you are grateful for and if you want to you can stick it in the comments below. Enjoy this squelchy video as you think☔️☔️ I’m so extremely grateful for: 👨👦👦 My human family. 🦄🐴 My horses and the fact that we have this beautiful moor to spend time together on. 🐶 My little pup who brings me so much joy!

I had an interesting conversation with our equine dentist this week. I’d noticed that both horses had marks at the front of their tongues, like scar tissue. It’s not something I’d ever picked up on before. I wasn’t overly worried since both were eating fine, no drooling and no one was dropping crazy amounts of weight. I did take a screen shot of this vid though and send it to him just to be sure. Here’s what he said: ‘Yes that’s exactly what it is. Where the tongue makes contact with the incisors, they are prone to getting pinched/rubbed, so the tongue tissue in this area hardens to provide protection. Absolutely nothing to worry about’. Phew! Anyone else noticed scar tissue on tongues? Sound up for this video! If you like asmr then you’ll love this! Finally, all you UKer’s, hasn’t the sunshine been just a little piece of heaven this weekend? Hopefully a taster of what is to come in the not so distant future! 🙏🙏

I always have a loose plan when I do stuff with my horses but I’m always ready to drop them depending on where my horses heads are at or what the environment throws at us. For me, doing everything I can to nurture the relationship is top of my list. I’m always thinking about how to grow and preserve it which means I don’t want to do stuff that’s going to potentially send my horses over the edge and lose trust in what we’ve built. Today was one of those days where I aborted the plans I had. PLAN A: a longer walk/ride and lead. We started by walking together which I tend to do anyway because it gives me a chance to see how everyone is feeling and check in with myself aswell. All was well. We hit the edge of the moor and I see a tractor cutting back the gorse right in our pathway. I think to myself, ‘That’s ok. We will go to PLAN B: We won’t do the long ride/lead but we can ride the area that I know he’s already cut’. I ask both horses to stand where I need them to be, get my butt in the saddle, rearrange my coat, Clover’s lead rope and have a general wiggle around and check in with everyone to make sure all is well. All was well. Look down and I see my glove on the floor.🙄 Stuff it! I’m not getting off again. I’ll pick it up another time. Breathe and off we go. Within seconds a truck driver whizzed around the corner too fast. Luckily both horses unphased and on we go! A few minutes later the stallion in one of the fields is shouting as he hears us coming. Tommy is unphased but Clover takes on full Arab mode offering up her beautiful self, fully to him🤣 She’s listening but joggy enough that the Waitrose van behind us decides to back off a little just in case. I switch to PLAN C and avoid going onto the moor so I can observe Clover and see if she is going to come down. She starts to so I ask both horses to head on to the moor and we head up the hill: Back to PLAN B. Clover returns to her usual self. Just as she does the sky

So nice to get a break in the rain❤️ Makes such a difference in so many ways!

We got blown from here into next week on our walk today! The top of the moor was crazy but it blew away some cobwebs (if there are any left to blow away) and some calories from the chocolate peanuts I ate at lunch! 🤣 I pick up so much information when we walk together from subtle cues and confidences or lack there of to physical strengths and weaknesses. It’s also a great way to build the relationship! Anyone else like to walk with their horses? What benefits do you find? Got any pics? Post them in the comments!