After a very full on week end (see my previous blog post 'waves, wobbles and silly tan lines'), Monday was quiet. With just a few horses to care for at the livery yard this week, I got a few jobs done. Like poo picking the field. The never ending job that comes with owning horses and keeping them at a DIY livery yard to save money. It is a time where I can let my mind wander and just pootle about, you can't get it wrong so there is no pressure, and there is no need to talk to anyone, or smile, while you're out in the field shovelling sh*t.
I also managed to organise to ride with a couple of other girls on the yard. It was a less than relaxing ride, with Buddy continuing to be a bit spooky about everything. The donkeys were still out to get him, but at least this time we got down the one side of the field while being at the front of the group. On the other side of the field there were some plastic feed bags of doom (garden rubbish), that were clearly going to cause him mortal wounding. He let his girlfriend take the lead past these (what chivalry! - ha ha) and snorted his displeasure as he passed them. Hopefully next time (now the bags have been moved) the donkeys won't be such a problem!
In the evening I set about starting this blogging malarky I've heard so much about, while Keith did some work on his presentation for the Canoe Club AGM. (Or rather he opened his laptop and then decided to help me set up my blog page instead!)
Tuesday was Fiona's weekly lesson first thing, where we looked at making the groundwork sessions a little more interesting. I felt we had a successful session and gave her some ideas to keep the sessions a little more playful, so that it doesn't end up getting a bit 'samey' in their practice.
I was booked in for a leg wax straight after that. Wrong time of day for it really. Certainly wakes you up, but spending the remainder of the day with sensitive skin is not so pleasant. Ah well, I'll have to remember that for next time!
Podiatrist appointment in the afternoon. The last visit, as despite trying a few things, I don't think changes to my feet or footwear has made even the slightest difference to my migraines, and just made my feet hurt in a different way to before. I had already removed the insoles he gave me last time, as I just couldn't get on with them.
After finishing off yard duties, I collected some tack from a friend to borrow her horse, so I could take Keith out for his second ride. Both of us being a bit later than planned it was just a quick jaunt in the woods before we lost the light of the day. Fabulous though to ride back to the yard and watch the sunset on horse back. Finishing off the evening with a drink at the pub, and cheese and biscuits back at home ☺
Woke up in the night feeling like I'd been punched repeatedly in the stomach. Welcome to Wednesday. It's 4am and I'm not certain wether I'm going to feel able to stand when my alarm goes off. Do I cancel today's lesson? I can't text now anyway, so I decide to see how I feel when it's time to get up.
Having had a non-stop Tuesday and a less than restful sleep, I was feeling pretty worse for wear, but not as bad as I'd thought. I went back to bed for a couple of hours, leaving getting up and dressed until I absolutely had to. I met Collette for her lesson, and we worked on keeping both her and her horse calm while working over poles. Something that regularly gets them both a bit wound up and ends up rushed. Although it was taking plenty of concentration on the tips I'd given her, they had walk, trot and canter over some poles, without rushing and 100% improvement in frame of mind by the end of the session.
Back to bed for the afternoon. One of the perks of self employment is that you can choose to put off any paperwork to another time, and catch up on some zzz's with an afternoon nap if you need it. Feeling a little better I did some groundwork with my horse, and as Keith had popped by on his way back from work, he managed to get a nice bit of video of Buddy showing off his attitude then trotting back to me as if butter wouldn't melt.
On the way back from the yard I had a message come through to pop in to see a client about their upcoming pet sitting. I made a detour and popped by for a cuppa and a chat. One of the dogs hasn't been doing well with one of his legs and needs an operation. Not wanting to wait they have booked him in as soon as possible which means they needed to cancel their upcoming holiday. Draw back of self employment - your earnings aren't guarenteed until it's in the bank. Ok, bit of a bummer, lost a good chunk of planned earning for the month, but free'd up a non-kid weekend with Keith, so I can fit in more paddling practice. Every cloud and all that!
Thursday we recieved news that a family member has been diagnosed with Breast cancer. It's a type linked to a genetics factor or something, so we've all been advised to get a check up with the docs. It's been caught early and the outlook is positive with surgery. Still the sort of news to rattle your brains for the day though.
I had a physio appointment in the afternoon, so got all the heavy jobs done in the morning. Yup that's right, more poo picking. Physio was another round of accupuncture. This time I really felt like a pin cushion, with needles sticking out of me from my backside right up to my neck. But so far it seems to be worth it. I am noticing my posture and flexibility getting a little better. And then booked in for that genetics test on the way out of the docs.
Later on, a quick visit to another pet sit client to fetch a key ready for next week, and then getting ready and over to Keith to head out for the Canoe club AGM. A fairly standard 'sport club AGM' experience, and for whatever reason I decided to put my hand up for consideration to join the committee for the upcoming year. Well if you're going to start a new hobby that scares the crap out of you, you may as well go the whole hog and join the committee of the club while you're at it.
Friday I had the hire of a horse box for 6 hours to work with my horse and his recent turn with loading. Long story short he'd been doing ok until he wasn't and had a MAJOR melt down back in November. To get out to the other clinics I'd booked on, and not put too much pressure on us both to 'fix' the issue I borrowed another friends horse. This took up time and daylight, along with increased manual work load through winter and a not so healthy bank account, that's why I've only just got round to fitting in a day aside to work on it.
And SUCCESS!!!
I also managed to organise to ride with a couple of other girls on the yard. It was a less than relaxing ride, with Buddy continuing to be a bit spooky about everything. The donkeys were still out to get him, but at least this time we got down the one side of the field while being at the front of the group. On the other side of the field there were some plastic feed bags of doom (garden rubbish), that were clearly going to cause him mortal wounding. He let his girlfriend take the lead past these (what chivalry! - ha ha) and snorted his displeasure as he passed them. Hopefully next time (now the bags have been moved) the donkeys won't be such a problem!
In the evening I set about starting this blogging malarky I've heard so much about, while Keith did some work on his presentation for the Canoe Club AGM. (Or rather he opened his laptop and then decided to help me set up my blog page instead!)
Tuesday was Fiona's weekly lesson first thing, where we looked at making the groundwork sessions a little more interesting. I felt we had a successful session and gave her some ideas to keep the sessions a little more playful, so that it doesn't end up getting a bit 'samey' in their practice.
I was booked in for a leg wax straight after that. Wrong time of day for it really. Certainly wakes you up, but spending the remainder of the day with sensitive skin is not so pleasant. Ah well, I'll have to remember that for next time!
Podiatrist appointment in the afternoon. The last visit, as despite trying a few things, I don't think changes to my feet or footwear has made even the slightest difference to my migraines, and just made my feet hurt in a different way to before. I had already removed the insoles he gave me last time, as I just couldn't get on with them.
After finishing off yard duties, I collected some tack from a friend to borrow her horse, so I could take Keith out for his second ride. Both of us being a bit later than planned it was just a quick jaunt in the woods before we lost the light of the day. Fabulous though to ride back to the yard and watch the sunset on horse back. Finishing off the evening with a drink at the pub, and cheese and biscuits back at home ☺
Woke up in the night feeling like I'd been punched repeatedly in the stomach. Welcome to Wednesday. It's 4am and I'm not certain wether I'm going to feel able to stand when my alarm goes off. Do I cancel today's lesson? I can't text now anyway, so I decide to see how I feel when it's time to get up.
Having had a non-stop Tuesday and a less than restful sleep, I was feeling pretty worse for wear, but not as bad as I'd thought. I went back to bed for a couple of hours, leaving getting up and dressed until I absolutely had to. I met Collette for her lesson, and we worked on keeping both her and her horse calm while working over poles. Something that regularly gets them both a bit wound up and ends up rushed. Although it was taking plenty of concentration on the tips I'd given her, they had walk, trot and canter over some poles, without rushing and 100% improvement in frame of mind by the end of the session.
Back to bed for the afternoon. One of the perks of self employment is that you can choose to put off any paperwork to another time, and catch up on some zzz's with an afternoon nap if you need it. Feeling a little better I did some groundwork with my horse, and as Keith had popped by on his way back from work, he managed to get a nice bit of video of Buddy showing off his attitude then trotting back to me as if butter wouldn't melt.
On the way back from the yard I had a message come through to pop in to see a client about their upcoming pet sitting. I made a detour and popped by for a cuppa and a chat. One of the dogs hasn't been doing well with one of his legs and needs an operation. Not wanting to wait they have booked him in as soon as possible which means they needed to cancel their upcoming holiday. Draw back of self employment - your earnings aren't guarenteed until it's in the bank. Ok, bit of a bummer, lost a good chunk of planned earning for the month, but free'd up a non-kid weekend with Keith, so I can fit in more paddling practice. Every cloud and all that!
Thursday we recieved news that a family member has been diagnosed with Breast cancer. It's a type linked to a genetics factor or something, so we've all been advised to get a check up with the docs. It's been caught early and the outlook is positive with surgery. Still the sort of news to rattle your brains for the day though.
I had a physio appointment in the afternoon, so got all the heavy jobs done in the morning. Yup that's right, more poo picking. Physio was another round of accupuncture. This time I really felt like a pin cushion, with needles sticking out of me from my backside right up to my neck. But so far it seems to be worth it. I am noticing my posture and flexibility getting a little better. And then booked in for that genetics test on the way out of the docs.
Later on, a quick visit to another pet sit client to fetch a key ready for next week, and then getting ready and over to Keith to head out for the Canoe club AGM. A fairly standard 'sport club AGM' experience, and for whatever reason I decided to put my hand up for consideration to join the committee for the upcoming year. Well if you're going to start a new hobby that scares the crap out of you, you may as well go the whole hog and join the committee of the club while you're at it.
Friday I had the hire of a horse box for 6 hours to work with my horse and his recent turn with loading. Long story short he'd been doing ok until he wasn't and had a MAJOR melt down back in November. To get out to the other clinics I'd booked on, and not put too much pressure on us both to 'fix' the issue I borrowed another friends horse. This took up time and daylight, along with increased manual work load through winter and a not so healthy bank account, that's why I've only just got round to fitting in a day aside to work on it.
And SUCCESS!!!
It took around half an hour for him to venture far enough up the ramp to put his front feet inside and reach for a treat, then make a hasty retreat to the safety of 'outside'. He gradually built his own confidence (any pressure or 'urging' from me would have met with resistance and got us nowhere. This was something he had to figure out on his own), and at about 2 and a half hours he had gone in and turned himself round, but couldn't stand there any longer than it took to eat the treats in the bucket, and he was back out again. At that point I took him for a break to get some grass and let him fully relax for a little bit. Then back to it to just keep repeating until he went on without hesitation. I used up about about 5 of the 6 hours I had the box for, but he went on without pressure, stood to eat not just the tasty treats, apples and carrots but also the boring hay, had some fuss from our friends coming and going, and was in no rush to get off the box by this point either.
While doing this though I get a message 'Are you still coming today?' ....... SH*T SH*T SH*T! I'd arranged a lesson for the afternoon and not written it in my diary. So I'd double booked without knowing it. It had literarlly gone right out of my mind. I don't really have enough clients to be missing them out and I feel like a right plonker. This isn't very professional of me. I'm usually so organised! I manage to rearrange, and give the client a little guidance through texts with how to deal with the issue she is having, bridling the horse she has on loan. Hopefully that's kept her from being too upset and I can make it up next time I see her. *Kicking myself*
I find out on Saturday that I've also forgotten to feed a horse on Friday afternoon. So a really successful day and silver lining to the work I've done with my horse, comes with the cloud of making two business f*ck ups in one day. *Kicking myself some more*
Friday evening spent at the laptop, typing up the events of last weekend. (That paperwork I'd put off in favour of a nap earlier in the week)
Saturday (today) has been a full day again starting with a lesson/training, with a pony in Stourport. The pony is from the Blue Cross, and although is seemingly going through the motions with much of the training, it still takes him the majority of the session to become interested/relaxed with his handler (either myself or Faith) and the work or play we do with him. With horses or ponies that have had rough life in the beginning, the sessions are often seemingly slow going, as it would be very easy to push for too much and get them scared. So we work again on getting him to realise he isn't going to get a beating, and that we are safe to be around. Having the pony start to relax around us by the end of the session is a big achievement though, and I leave Faith with some pointers to progress with this, and continue to give him good experiences of humans.
I then went over to Worcester to give a free lesson, the product of my 'Share' competition on Facebook. The lady who's name came out of the hat had shared the post as she has horsey friends, but doesn't have a horse herself so gifted it to her friend Sarah, who I met with her pony this afternoon. A few tweaks to her position saw her transitions improve, and their trot work became more rhythmical and less rushed. She'll ache in the morning, but has already booked in for another lesson so I'm happy that I'm getting something right! (As someone who is VERY self critical it still feels like a big deal to have someone new to book in for future lessons, even though I can see and have her feedback throughout the lesson, that the changes made have had a positive influence)
Back to my own horse to finish off the day in the sun. (After having a bit of jealous pout that Keith has been out having a jolly at the point to point for the day.... Even the job you love can get in the way of the occasinal fun day out). It's been a lovely day, I've enjoyed it, the suns been shining and I've got loads of positives to take away already. So I spend some extra time grooming out Buddy's loose winter coat and making him look shiny, then saddle up and settle on going in to the school. At this point I don't want to put any dampeners on the day by going for a spooky solo hack.
He was feeling rather fresh with a belly full of spring grass, and took a little while to calm down, but when he did we had some really nice work. Still got a way to go to get back to where we were before I went away last year, but today felt like a really positive step in the right direction. Then I also critiqued my own position and how it's changed a little since having physio. I really focussed in on my hips and found that I could release them better and get better movement with him. I even managed to make a few turns toward the end of the session by just changing the tilt of my hips.
Oh and then, some more poo picking!!!
So that's almost the full week. I'm typing away this evening on this blog and tomorrow is a 'day off'. (I have one 5 minute thing to do for a client at the yard tomorrow afternoon so I really don't think it counts as a work day).
Over the last couple of weeks Keith and I have been discussing meeting his kids, and so tomorrow morning we are all going climbing, suggested by his daughter (the eldest) as a cool way to meet me, and then joining the rest of Keith's family for Easter Sunday dinner.
Meeting the kids is a big deal. Not an uncommon thing to have to do in relationships, but a modern day right of passage akin to meeting the parents, if you happen to fall for someone who has children from a previous relationship. It seems though that this carries a little more weight to it than meeting the parents. The kids are going to be a round a lot longer, and are going to be a much bigger part of your life. They are also young, less likely to sugar coat their feelings for you, and more likely to ask awkward questions that really put you on the spot. (I remember meeting a previous partners kids, and I think it was our second or third meeting that one asked, 'are you going to be Daddy's new wife?'). So although I'm happy I'm meeting them tomorrow, it sounds like they are at least ok with the idea of meeting me (I'm completely aware that it can't be the easiest thing for them either, so I'm not looking for any sympathy violins here), and in doing so we are basically taking the next big step in our relationship, which is a good thing.... change is scary, and I'm just a little nervous about what the day will bring.
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