Hannah is now 180 days in foal!

Day 180

The fetus has quadrupled its weight in just 30
days. Mane and tail hairs have appeared; it's
about the size of a Beagle.



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How the days are flying by now! Hannah is changing shape so quickly that I am shocked when I look at pictures from just weeks ago.

I have not been doing much work with her as she has felt sluggish and not interested. But when I went for a lesson on an ex-Grand Prix dressage horse, I was told that the mare I was riding had been schooled long and low up until six weeks before foaling. The instructor explained that the maintenance of supple muscles across the back was what helped her mare give birth so easily. She also added that perhaps Hannah was just being lazy by not wanting to do anything (hmmm??).

In my lessons on the dressage school mistress I have realised some serious faults in my riding style. I squeeze too much when I should be letting my leg hang loose by the horse’s side and using taps. Perhaps this is due to Hannah being slow off the leg, but then again she could be slow off the leg because of this!

I tried my new riding style out on Hannah when I took her in the school for a short session on Saturday and what a difference! She was sharp off the leg, responded every time I made contact and was so easy to ride! It just shows how you can get into habits over a period of time and then your horse fall into the trap too.



I really enjoyed our schooling session and what encouraged me is that Hannah absolutely loved being back in the school again. It is so nice to see a horse enjoying its work, it makes all the hard work and effort worth while.

Hannah has also got a new sister coming in October. After a lot of thinking and discussions with my Dad I have decided to loan a 17hh WBxTB chestnut five year old mare. She will have her own Blog soon, so watch this space!