A brilliant weekend of fun
We’ve been so busy!
A pretty quiet Carmen Court clinic but as always it was great to see the improvement in the regulars, plus some new faces.
Harry and Lily have been slowly brought back into work, quietly tempting them off the naughty step. It’s been very tentative but Lily and I have had three sessions in the school without drama so fingers crossed that this is progress. Harry on the other hand is firmly in the bad-boy camp, and has thrashed about to the extent that now I am the one having my back treated! Before I go any further, you may know, is it normal to find your chiropractor with her head in her hands staring blankly at your notes after a session?!
Anyway both ponies went back to see Jose yesterday and while Lily was looking loads better, Harry still was very sore. Guess that explains things. I have stopped with his carrot stretches, his behaviour in the stable now verging on dangerous. I probably should have trusted my instinct and not even gone there, now I have a monster to tame (again).
He had qualified for the Hickstead Masters Semi-final but won’t be ready in time so was thinking maybe he can go to the Area Festival instead…it would be nice to think we will solve this soon and get out eventing again. This was not my plan this year!
Lucy lurches from one crisis to the next. Two days after my last post we made the awful decision to have her put to sleep. She looked really uncomfortable, was covered in horrid sores, so it was all arranged for the Sunday morning and the stud had started to look for a foster foal for Lexie. Much upset at White Cottages. The vet from Rossdales turns up that morning, she boots him, leaps about and says ‘no thank you, you will do no such thing‘. A reprieve! Two weeks later the fetlocks are off the floor but she still has some horrid sores…so this week she has been fitted with some heel extensions to get her standing properly. Another nervous wait as she was feeling so sorry for herself after a day of standing like this that they were worried she had an infection in the joint….I tell you, when my head eventually explodes it‘s going to be messy. Thank god there was no infection and we leave the story there…..come on Lucy, we are all rooting for you.
Last weekend we ran an adult camp at Bedgebury – wow, what a laugh! A fantastic weekend was had by all, I really could not have asked for it to go better. A huge thanks must go to Martin who did an amazing job of feeding us all, and to Louisa who took a million brilliant photographs. The facilities at Bedgebury were tops – anywhere else in that weather would have been horrendous. Even the BBQ was under cover and to have a very smart cottage to use made all the difference – somewhere dry and warm to shower, have a few beers and meet up for breakfast in the morning – Go Bedgebury! We had a great morning XC schooling at Hurstwood Farm on Sunday and wearily made our way home that afternoon. I still haven’t recovered!
On Tuesday, half asleep, I had my final UKCC level 2 assessment. Whether I find the time and energy to do Level 3 I don’t know….the amount of paperwork is a nightmare. My parents will be disgusted to hear that the years haven’t changed me. My homework not done, I was frantically scribbling my lesson plan out at the venue that morning. Don’t tell my assessors!
Then some very sad news. My mum’s pony Truffles had very suddenly gone blind over the last few days and there was no choice but to put her to sleep on Wednesday. A bright perky little pony, 17 years ago viewing her in the snow I advised mum not to buy her. With only hacking experience I thought she would be too much for her but mum was adamant. A special bond developed, many years of great friendship and fun. I got the call “Will you teach me to jump?“. Uh-oh. Tell you what, once you get a pony and rider into the middle of a willow tree it is almost impossible to get them out! They did Riding Club camp, Truffs introduced the grandchildren to cantering and jumping, they gave it all a go. Mostly, hours and hours of hand grazing, grooming and hacking. Mum has lost her soul-mate. She has gone to catch up with the others, sooner than we expected, maybe someone needed a granny….
Lucy, born 5th June
Crikey, where to start..
Lily seems a good place. She has continued to be a bit challenging so I put Martin up to see if I could see what was causing it from the floor. Oops! After much dummy spitting Lily lost her balance and slipped over sideways with him onboard. By the following morning he couldn’t stand so it was off to A&E we went. Well actually….I have to admit that he was being such a bad patient that I dropped him in the carpark, left him to hop, went to do a lesson and went back later to see if he was still in the queue! When I got back he was his usual cheerful self, couldn’t see any reason why he needed a wheelchair, moaned about my driving (OK so I hit the odd door-frame, a couple of chairs and an elderly patient as I pushed him the short distance back from X-ray…), didn’t think he needed crutches, etc etc. Enough! So when we got home I left him with strict instructions to do the ironing and I went out again to play ponies.
The following day he could take some weight on it so he decided to try riding (you think I‘m joking), and on Monday he came and walked the XC course at Hurstwood Farm with me. If anyone asks, he’s ‘fine’…
I was supposed to be with Louisa and Strider at the Hickstead SouthEast Unaffiliated Dressage Champs, not at Darenth Valley! However, she did a brilliant job without me and was 7th in her class. On the same day Sue Wheble took Morgan to Speedgate for her second outing since starting with me seven or so months ago. Superb effort, by all accounts she really rode him well and scored 68% in both prelims. Fantastic!
A trip to the Orthopaedic specialist for Martin and they think he has torn the meniscus cartilage in the knee and may need an operation to sort it out, so we wait for an appointment for an MRI. In the meantime Tinka has her first BE90 in a week….and nothing is stopping him from riding her there.
I carried on working Lily on long-lines for the next week so that I could watch what is happening and work through it from the safety of the ground. She still wasn’t a happy girl so in order to tick off all possible problems the dentist took a look and she went to see a chiropractor on the Saturday.
It’s not just Lily on the naughty step, Harry has been foul too. But for about two months. I decided to give him two weeks of hacking to see if it made a difference and I can report it has, but not one I wanted. He was pretty fit and two weeks of doing very little has turned him into a giant snorting loon! Suddenly he is scared of everything and I am often seen reversing up the lanes because he wont go past something. He had a blood test to make sure all was OK, went down the Gastro route to see if he had pain in the stomach, and finally he went off to see the chiropractor too.
So I took out a mortgage, loaded the lorry with fuel and ponies and headed off to see Jose Gomez-Garcia down near Pulborough. Lily had a back like a snake, “no wonder she doesn’t want to turn right” and was generally tight through her back, very sore in her withers (possible cause of rearing), and very stiff in the neck. We were discussing what a mess she was, and why (maybe a fall in the field in the winter) when it was Harry’s turn. “Oh this poor boy”…..”he is very sore, been in pain for very long time, I think for years”. Oh great. Call the RSPCA now why don’t you, they do have their backs checked regularly, honest! Harry had a twisted pelvis which meant he was sore just about everywhere. So…..I am slowly bringing both horses back into work, they go back in a week or two for a check-up and I will let you know how things progress. Doing carrot stretches with Harry is rather like dangling raw meat in front of a lion, not a very safe practise!
Tinka went off to Little Downham where she was a little feisty and distracted in her dressage test, had two poles in the SJ and was clear inside the time XC. What a star, she has only been in proper work for five months – she is going to be fab! We were delighted with her. She is now pretty much ready for sale so we must get my camp out of the way and get her advertised for her Owners…
That night Lexie gave birth to a lovely natured bay filly ‘Lucy’. Unfortunately she had carried Lucy too high and her front legs weren’t in the correct place and she was born with no tension in her tendons and her fetlocks and pasterns on the floor. Only time will tell whether this will resolve itself but as I write this it is not looking particularly hopeful….Lexie is being the perfect mother, really relaxed and looking after her. Everything is crossed for a little miracle.
About
Janine is a British Dressage Recognised Coach and Group 3 Rider based in Kent. She has trained and competed from Prelim to PSG but with a background in the training of young event horses she is also very popular for show-jump instruction and cross-country schooling. She is a UKCC qualified coach, is on the BHS Register of Instructors, is a Centre10 Advanced Coach (Applied Psychology for Equestrian Coaches) and a Pony Club B+ Test Assessor and instructor.
She has always had a broad range of clients with numerous wins in British Dressage including the all important qualifications to the Regionals and National Winter Championships. She has lots of British Eventing clients with qualification to the much sought after Badminton Grassroots Regionals. On the showing side there has been a National Side-Saddle Working Hunter Champion, and riders at HOYS in the Search For A Star classes. With a very diverse bunch of clients nothing gives her more pleasure than to receive a text with the day’s results. However she is happy teaching all levels, so long as you want to improve.
Janine is based at Carmen Court near Tonbridge (owned by one of her sponsors Louisa Day Photography) but also teaches from home in Swanley Village. Most of her teaching is in Kent and the local Sussex area but she can travel further by arrangement.
There are very popular show-jumping clinics at Carmen Court from April to August each year, and clinics through the winter under cover at Four Elms Farm. Janine is always happy to do clinics at other venues in the South East.
She has been very successful with rider confidence problems and helping with the psychology of training and competing. As coach, Janine is often very much part of the team as required.
Janine and Martin are sponsored by Simple System Horse Feeds and are Product Ambassadors for Equilibrium Products. They can be found on Facebook under the name Team Lamy Wright.
click here to find them.
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