MUD and reminder from PP in the past...

Yuk - this was the mud depth after digging out the gateway...

'Sacrifice' area to try and keep a few blades of grass - the horses love being in their horse yard (because they always find hay in there...) and sometimes it is now hard to get them out... how interesting!! approach and retreat on their terms works..

Although winter used to be 'frustrating' I'm beginning to find it 'fascinating' ...now is the opportunity (for me) to learn to accept that it will be wet, it will be muddy, it can be cold at times , but we are so much luckier in NZ than some people who have months of it. Best of all - it is a time to make the most of catching up with friends and be able to totally focus on people rather than being at a play day where your human friends aren't your main focus. Also I love winter because it gives me a valid reason to study dvds!! Thanks my friends for a lovely lunch today - it was great to catch up and next time we meet it will be spring!

The track to the arena....part of the sacrifice area to keep them off the steep slopes when it is really wet.

Poor Cameo still isn't right breathing-wise and after having yet another big think I have decided to get over being direct line and wanting to do my L4 online with her, and to focus on Rafiki and Merlot as being my real future. Cam is happy pottering around and yesterday all 4 went for a huge hoon, but I really don't want to push her if her breathing isn't 100% and I need to be doing things faster than a walk. We'll continue with vet powders then herbs.
Rafiki and Merlot are similar horsenalities to each other and will be happy going where I want us to go.

Studying dvds was great too - my circling as I know is not good, so I watched the savvy club monthly dvd from a while back on circling and got some BFO's. So that's a good send!! Oh, and looking at the L1 dvd - 4 circles is actually L1 and I haven't progressed much - whoops!! Except at the November clinic last year when Rafiki did 10 circles at canter on the 45ft with no trouble for the first real time of asking...hmmm.I know I'm guilty of not progressing but didn't realise I was that bad. So, we got some rhythm and 'go' going and of course it all went perfectly - why wouldn't it. I also picked up some info on Shiraz - i think she's another cusp horse - innately RBE but learned LBE but flips easily. I watched Tare doing freestyle, (stunning black hanovarian or trakenher mare) and wow in temperament and 'go'did she remind me of Shiraz - thank goodness my Shiraz comes in a small package. the other funny thing - the horse doing the online section was a warmblood mare called Shiraz!!

Tidying up some paperwork took me back a few years as I found some pics of my stunning Danish/British Warmblood mare I was pretty much given in the UK. She was bred to be the foundation mare for a dressage stud but wouldn't go in the arena (at aged 5, guess what horsenality...), so they heard about me looking after a sick horse and offered to me as I'd give her a loving home. If only I knew then what I know now - I would have somehow managed to bring her with me.... We entered very few competitions as we were green on green but I'd forgotten what we did do - pictures of me jumping 3ft3" is proof I used to do it so can do it again.... it wasn't pretty but we did it and now we'd have so much more savvy about the whole thing. Also I took her to a couple of dressage tests - we had no business being there but she looks pretty smart! And we weren't the worst of the worst - 1st test we were 7th out of 22....gosh the others must have been bad. I'm going to add the pictures to my winners bible to remind me that I want to be doing more than that with more savvy in future...and that I had the guts once upon a time....

(horsenality answer ....LBI mainly but leaning to LBE...similar to but the opposite LB of.....Rafiki and Merlot!)