Hollinhurst Rebel

At Boot Camp

2009-01-07T21:47:00.002Z

Since the last post, Hannah and I have not done much worth writing about...

I moved all three horses to a fantastic competition yard called Northcote Stud in September, but after a few lovely months there the travelling became too much for me. The yard was 30 minutes from home and a whopping 60 minutes from work on the motorway so I was spending two and a half hours in the car every day and driving over 105 miles! As a result, my riding started to suffer as I had less and less time for riding, competitions and lessons and was constantly rushing around trying to get everything done!

At the beginning of December I moved all three horses to a small part livery yard just ten minutes from home... Bliss!

Unfortunately, since we moved the weather has been freezing so I have not really been able to get going again. Because of this, I have sent Hannah and Grace to Jo Wright-Graham, or ‘Boot Camp’ as I call it, for three weeks while I am away on holiday! I have been getting some good reports about Hannah via text. Jo has been working on getting her hind leg quicker and her more through. Her half passes are coming on nicely and Jo said that she is really trying!

I am planning on picking the girls up on Monday afternoon and have booked a lesson on the two of them in order to get myself up to speed with what they have been doing and I am going to watch Jo ride first. I have given myself a good kick up the bottom and sent off a few competition entries before I came away. Hannah’s first one is at Bold Heath on 18th January doing the Novice and Elementary. We have a busy few months ahead!

We have elementary points

2008-09-12T11:58:00.000+01:00

Since the Regionals, Hannah has been going from strength to strength.

We are still having some issues in the Novice tests, especially if we follow a big moving warmblood, but her mediums are starting to get some 7s and she is much more consistent now in her contact, her hind leg and her attitude. It has only taken us 6 years to get it right!!!

Last week I took her over to Arkenfield to do the Novice and her first Elementary not HC. We have done two affiliated elementaries HC, neither achieving impressive scores. However, I have been working on some half pass with Jo in my lessons, and this has really sharpened her up and improved her shoulders which I am thrilled about.

I did not know the two tests, so was in a complete panic about it. Plus we left late because I had to pick the horsebox up from Preston, leaving me flapping and stressed! Hannah warmed up for the Novice pretty well, but she was a bit hot as we went in and every time I asked for trot she cantered which dropped our marks somewhat. The final mark reflected this, as well as a rider not being able to remember where she should be cantering.

There were two hours before the Elementary which gave me chance to look through the test and try to learn it! A bacon sandwich and piece of lemon drizzle cake helped the cause too, so when I got her back out with an hour to warm up, I have to admit I felt quite positive.

She warmed up beautifully, I was really pleased because there was no silliness or stress, she just listened to me and did as I asked. This is a real first in a competition atmosphere.

As we went in for the elementary I reminded her hind legs they needed to work by doing some collecting work around the arena and some medium work too. This resulted in her feeling great as we started the test. I am not saying the test was perfect, we had a few blips. Her 10m circles need work because she tenses through her back, and I need to learn what a 15m circle looks like because I am incapable of riding one apparently!!! But she came away with 64.84% which I was absolutely thrilled with. If she can get one more mark like that, we will be going to the Petplans at Novice and Elementary, not something I imagined would be possible at the moment.

My aim for Hannah this year was to do a Medium test before 2009... it looked so far out of our reach at the beginning of the year, but now, it just might be possible!

Some pictures of us at the Regionals

2008-08-23T21:14:00.002+01:00

We've been to the Regionals...

2008-08-23T20:39:00.001+01:00

I cannot believe the last post was from April... how time flies!

Hannah qualified for the Summer Regionals for the Preliminary test, so I tried to be as prepared as possible for it. Unfortunately, nothing ever goes to plan and we started to realise that he saddle was just not sitting on her correctly and it was making it near impossible for me to collect her with my seat.

Following an emergency visit from my fantastic saddle consultant, Heather Roberts, I started using Grace’s on her as a temporary measure as Hannah’s needed sending back to the Albion to have the headplate changed.

She started to become a lot more comfortable in Grace’s saddle, but I was nervous as hell about the Regionals as I have never been before. Thankfully, my trainer, Jo Wright-Graham helped me warm her up so I went in with her in front of my leg and with the feeling that she was carrying me. She did a sweet test, but he walk does let her down, however it was a brilliant day and I enjoyed every minute! She came away with a respectable 64% and a very happy mummy!

Since then I have started working on some Novice tests and am hoping to start taking her out elementary very soon. I am also considering starting her at Medium once we get the half passes up to scratch, but she finds the lateral work pretty easy and really enjoys it too. Yesterday afternoon I had one of the best lessons I have ever had on her, and for the first time in a long time I am excited about riding her again!

The arguments are non-existent, her work is becoming far more consistent and she is travelling like a dream! I am beginning to get a lot of enjoyment from her, and it is a real achievement because she is not an easy girl to ride. But she is now working with me, trying her heart out for me and we are getting on really well!

BD Report - Cockshot Dressage

2008-04-21T14:44:00.000+01:00

I have been concentrating on getting Hannah forwards and more elastic for the past month, so we have backed off the competing side of things. However, I have felt that she has been much more consistent in her work and decided to book in for a BD competition at the weekend.

It was the first time I have taken her on my own, so I had to make sure I knew the tests to avoid ‘panic’ moments which usually occur when I go completely blank! However, I felt as though I knew them quite well by Sunday morning, and set off feeling confident.

We got to the venue and the classes were enormous! I tacked Hannah up but she had two rubs on her sides which I believe to be a combination of my old boots and my spurs... so I felt a bit lost without my spurs as I always wear them out competing.

I started to warm her up for the first test, P15 and I could feel she was a bit behind the leg and very spooky! It is quite an open venue with a lot of electric fencing flapping around which she took a serious dislike to. Perhaps it was my though, as I seem to get a mental block about Preliminary tests, I do not ride her the same way as I ride a Novice or Elementary test!

We went into the arena and she was boggling at everything, but even through this I could kick her into a contact which is not usually something you can do with her when out competing. I felt that she could have done a lot better, but was pleased with the 65.8% and 3rd place that we received.

There were almost three hours in between the classes so I grabbed 30 minutes sleep and then some sandwiches and the most gorgeous butterfly cakes (they were for charity so I HAD to have some!)

With an hour to go, I tacked up Hannah decided to ride her as I would in my lessons or at home. I am always worried that people will think I use the whip/spurs/leg too much, but I just went for it in the warm up and she was the best she has ever been at a competition. I still left the spurs off because of her sides, but with them she would have been even better. However, we went into the test and I felt she was really up in the shoulder, in front of the leg and willing to work with me rather than trying to find a way of ducking out.

The beginning of the test went quite well, and the canter transitions were the best she has done. She stayed round into them (if a little deep at times) but it is so much better than her hollowing into the transition. Her first medium canter was a little weak and did not show enough change in my opinion, and the first medium trot was a bit shaky because it headed straight to the entrance and Hannah decided out was better than this!

However, her second medium canter felt great and the second medium trot (off her best rein) really moved up and forwards straight away rather than gradually. I was so pleased with her and have to admit I was a little disappointed with her result of 63.something% But the small arguments we had were nothing and quickly rectified, I used my whip to flick her up more in the test which normally I tend to forget about, and all in all I felt she was much better and we were more prepared than we have been in the past.

We have two more competitions booked for the next few weeks, so hopefully I can start getting her results up a little and she has already qualified for the Areas!

Hannah is back from boot camp!

2008-04-05T13:40:00.002+01:00

I went to pick her up yesterday morning...

Jo showed me how she has been lunging her before riding to get her more forwards, and encouraging her into the outside rein. She looks quite different, she has muscle in her bottom that she certainly did not have when she went.

Jo then got on her, and I could see that she looked much easier and forwards into the contact. She will never be an easy ride or straight forwards, but the arguments were manageable because she was not backing off, and she was trying to please.

I then got on (God, I am unfit after a week off riding... it's amazing how quickly you lose it) and could feel how soft she was through her jaw and neck, and more over her back and through from behind.

This morning I lunged her as Jo has been and she was really working hard through her hind legs... I couldn't stop smiling when I was watching her because it is great seeing such an improvement. She is more stuffy on the right rein, but when I put her onto the left rein on the lunge she was much looser and actually loose through her shoulders.I then got on and worked her as Jo instructed... using the shoulder in on the right rein to get her hinds working underneath her (she tends to throw them out) and leg yielding from the track into the centre on the left rein. She found it all so easy!

To finish, I had put a little jump up. She has not jumped since she was four months in foal, so July 2006. She absolutely loved it today. We started with a little cross pole and trotting into it, but she jumps so much better out of the canter. I put it up to a straight about half way up the wings (so not huge but big enough for me) and she gets so excited. She tries taking over a bit and then gets too close into it, so I got her together and tried really watching for the stride and she was great!So, I am a very happy bunny this morning

Hannah is now at boot camp!

2008-03-31T14:09:00.001+01:00

Hannah has been quite difficult to get forwards the past week, and seems to be blocking through her right side. So I made the decision to send her over to my trainer for a week of ‘boot camp!’

She seems to have settled in very well and Jo said she is really trying.

I nipped up with a cooler for her over the weekend and she looked completely exhausted! That shows I do not work her hard enough at home because she never looks like that when I have ridden... It was nice to see how relaxed she was in her new surroundings though; at one time she would have been very stressed out about the whole ordeal!

I am going to watch Jo work her tomorrow morning which should be interesting... and I will try to remember my camera!

Crow Wood Report

2008-03-08T15:50:00.001Z

We set off at 11am yesterday morning looking very scruffy. I had intended to plait her up in the morning, but time ran away with me and I ended up having to just give her a quick brush and set off.

Once again, Hannah travelled perfectly, I still find it hard to believe it is the same horse who used to look as though she had just been through a carwash whenever we got anywhere. I had to tack her up quickly as it had taken slightly longer to get there then I had initially thought it would do, and the warm up was quite busy. She just would not settle, was fighting me like she has been doing and would not listen. We ended up 3rd with 63% which was generous really seeing how she felt.

Rather than putting her back in the box, I took her straight back into the warm up area and just walked her for 20 minutes until she felt as though she was actually listening. By the time we went in for the Novice she felt so much better. It is the first time I have really felt her work in the medium trot and canter which is such an improvement, and she came out with 65.8%. I was really pleased with her Novice test, and now look forwards to Richmond next weekend.

A different horse!

2008-03-04T22:18:00.001Z

Hannah and I have been having a few disagreements, in that I want her to do something and she wants to do something quite different. She has been getting really worked up in the training sessions once she has cantered, and we have had a few competitions which have been interesting to say the least!

However, last week I took a good friend’s advice and booked a lesson with Jo Wright-Graham of Dressage Horse International. The first lesson was a little nerve wracking, as it always is the first time you ride in front of a new trainer, but I came away feeling really inspired and with a horse I did not recognise! I rode her first and Jo could see she was leaning on the left rein because she was not straight. We got her straight and she immediately softened in her jaw and also her topline. Then Jo got on her and I have never seen Hannah go as beautifully as she did! She looked like a completely different horse as she was using her hind legs much more, loosening her shoulder and really trying.

With this is mind, I took her to a competition at Croft Top on Saturday. The moment I got on her to warm up for the Preliminary, I could feel how easy she felt. I worked her in as Jo had suggested, and the test was the most fluid test I have ridden on her. She made a small mistake and changed legs in one of the canters which left her on a 4, but she ended up with 65% and 3rd place which I was thrilled about.

As I warmed up for the Novice, she once again felt soft and supple. The test itself felt straight forwards, there was no time in which I felt she was unbalanced or fighting me, and yet we ended up on just 60% which I was a little disappointed with because I felt it was the best Novice she had ridden.

In our second lesson today, she once again came out feeling soft in the mouth and supple through the poll! Jo commented on how much she had improved since the last lesson, and we did more work on getting her up in the shoulder and really powering from behind. By the end of the lesson she was cantering a shoulder in with lots of jump in her hind legs, and we ended on some medium trot which felt fantastic!

We have the Preliminary and Novice classes at Crow Wood on Friday, and then I will have to book some more in as I would very much like her to qualify for the Regionals this year! This is not something I would have envisaged saying a few weeks ago, but Jo seems to have real faith in us!

Hannah now has BD points!

2008-02-02T19:04:00.000Z

The past week has been a very trying one with Hannah... it started last Saturday on her British Dressage debut!

We got to Myerscough and she had travelled very well. So I tacked up, jumped on and warmed her up for N38 in the outdoor. The warm up arena was really quite busy and there were some ponies running up and down in the field next to the area which seemed to wind her up and made it difficult to get her soft through her topline. By the end, she was working quite well but we had to walk past the horse walker to get to the arena where the test was being held and she had a complete freak out and would not go past it. When we finally did her in the arena she was inattentive, jumpy and only achieved 57.9% which I was disappointed with.

I then warmed her up for the Elementary and she warmed up beautifully. However, as we trotted up the centre line and halted, she slipped her tongue over the bit and did the whole test in this manner. Hence she came out with 50%.

All week she has been fighting me constantly, putting her tongue over the bit, running off etc etc. I tried quite a few combinations and on Wednesday I tried the Myler comfort snaffle with a drop. Hannah has a very fleshy mouth, and the drop squashed it all in and rubbed her mouth quite badly. So she had Thursday off work, and on Friday evening I rode her in just the Sprenger (put up one hole) and the cavesson which seemed to work!

This morning it was quite snowy and icy, but the competition at Adlington in Cheshire was still on so an unplaited (and unbrushed) Hannah and I set off, albeit a little apprehensive! But the weather improved nearer to the venue, although was still icy, so I am glad we made the effort. The venue is lovely and chilled, it has a nice atmosphere and does fantastic sausage sandwiches too!!!

Due to the weather making our journey that little bit longer, by the time I was on Han we only had 15 minutes to warm up for N25. Immediately she had her ‘work head’ on and was very settled in her mouth. The test felt lovely, but her medium work still needs work and this was reflected in the marks. She came out with 66% which I was very pleased with and we then had a two hour wait for the next class.

The second test was N28 which is a new test and one I have not ridden through yet. I got on Hannah over 30 minutes before my time, and overcooked her a little. This resulted in her feeling a bit tired and flat in the test, which was again reflected in our mark of 61.67%. However, she travelled superbly, worked really well and we now have lots to work on!

Some photographs...

2008-01-17T19:18:00.000Z

Three months later...

2008-01-14T19:57:00.000Z

Due to everything that has been going on with my young mare, Grace, I have not really been updating the Blogs as I should do... However, I am now determined to keep both Blogs up to date.

Since the last entry Hannah and I have been having lessons with Jo Graham and one with Spencer Wilton. Hannah tends to set in her jaw so I have been working really hard to soften her and get her working more through her back and stretching her neck down. She is great in the collected work, but finds stretching down difficult because it is not something I have done much work on before with her. This does seem to be inducing a few more strops than usual, but I think this is more due to the fact that she is unable to fight me!

We have made a small step backwards as I moved yards and went away after Christmas for 10 days, but I did expect this. I have a lesson booked with Spencer on Wednesday, so hopefully he can get us back on track and ready for Hannah’s BD debut on Saturday at Croft Top. I have booked her in for P17 and N38, then the following weekend she is booked in at Myerscough in the Novice class. I would like to concentrate on the Novice tests more, and perhaps in February start taking her out to some Elementaries too as she can certainly do all of the moves required.

I am now increasing her work load as she has started to finally gain some condition. When she came back from stud she was quite thin, and because she started working she seemed to struggle getting the weight on and keeping it on. It didn’t help that she was on hay, but since moving yards I have put her back onto haylage and she is now looking really well!

Fingers crossed for Saturday!

They are weaned...

2007-10-29T15:08:00.000Z

Troy has now been weaned and Hannah is now back in work.

The whole weaning process went so smoothly I could not believe it... We just led Hannah away from Troy and his friends, loaded her and brought her home. There was no fuss at either end, and neither one has missed the other. I am incredibly proud of myself for making the decision to send them away, it was the best thing I could have done and the least stressful way of weaning,

Since Hannah has come home she has had her teeth, back and saddle checked and is now doing around 30 minutes in the school at trot and canter. We had a lesson last week with Andrea Johnson (nee Morris) because Hannah and I were getting into our old routine of a fight and I wanted to nip it in the bid before it even started. Andrea was great and we got her working really well. Since the lesson she has worked fantastically well, and is showing me all the ability she had before she went into foal which I am really pleased about!

Troy is now standing at around 15hh and is loving his life at stud! He is currently living out with another colt called Louis and the two of them are really chilled out and happy. He has matured an awful lot since he went a month ago and is no longer yapping at me whenever I handle him, instead he just stands and allows you to do what you want. I can’t believe he is almost 8 months old though, he is turning into a really stunning looking little man!

We took some pictures of him, so when I have uploaded the images I will put them on here too!

They have gone to stud!

2007-09-01T13:59:00.000+01:00

I have been so worried that I was not doing the right thing that I have barely even thought about the actual process of taking Hannah and Troy to stud. It only dawned on me last night that he has not been in the trailer since he had his ‘little’ operation, but I need not have been concerned.

We loaded Hannah first and she stood quite quietly while we concentrated on Troy. He kept backing away from the trailer and because Hannah was getting a bit worried my Dad and husband tried encouraging him from behind like we did the first time he travelled. However, he was much smaller and lighter then!

I could see him getting a little stressed and worried by it all, so I asked everyone to step away and I gave him a minute to think about what he was being asked to do. I put some pressure onto his halter, and he took a few steps forwards loosening the rope a little. Then I asked for him to come onto the ramp, and as soon as he placed his front feet on it, I let the rope go slack and gave him a scratch on his head while he thought about what he had achieved.

When I applied the pressure again, Troy stepped onto the ramp with his back feet, so I allowed him to have a look at the ramp, but he was no longer suspicious of it and was confident enough in me to relax. I then asked him to walk into the trailer, and he just walked straight in and stood completely still while we closed the doors and put the ramp up. I was just so proud of him!

I could hear Hannah moving about in the back as we set off, but apart from that she seemed really quiet. When we got to stud, I was dreading dropping the ramp. I don’t think you ever feel confident when you are travelling a mare and foal! But again, I had nothing to worry about. He was quietly suckling when we looked, but poor Hannah was wet through as she always is when she travels. He did not have a bead of sweat on him!

Hannah was unloaded first as she was nearest to the ramp and I expected Troy to run after her and leap off the ramp. But he walked down as cool as a cucumber, and stepped off as though he had been travelling for years... what a fantastic little man!

They have settled in really well and will be going out tomorrow and gradually introduced to the others. I am sure he will soon be as happy as pigs in muck playing with the other foals and getting to be the baby he really is. I am hoping to go over and see him this week, but I am going to miss them both so much while they are away!

It's nearly time for them to go away...

2007-08-29T21:01:00.000+01:00

After a lot of worrying and thinking, I finally decided the best thing for Troy would be to enjoy some time with other foals. Since being born he has only ever been in a field with his Mum, therefore has never really had the chance to play with other youngsters. I am not saying I would not do it the same way again because he has turned into a lovely little man, but I think in his last month with his Mum it would do him the world of good to start interacting with other horses.

I phoned Trudy at End House Stud and she said both Troy and Hannah could go and live out for a few weeks at the stud. Originally I was going to wean them at another venue, but what worried me was the fact Hannah would have to travel back in the trailer without a partition. I am a lot happier with the way I am doing it, and I think it will be less stress free for the Hannah and Troy too. There are two other mares with colts going to the stud to be weaned. Hannah and Troy will go in with them, and then they will all be weaned together. Hopefully, once Troy is used to being without his Mum I can move him to the original place he was going to be weaned and stay there as long as necessary!

So, the big day is Saturday 1st September... I am just hoping they both load and travel as well as they did to the vets, and that they settle when they get to stud.

Last night I wormed Troy for the second time. I weight taped him, measured out the wormer needed and as I went to give it to him I must have knocked the gauge and the whole 500kg worth of wormer went in. I phoned the vet immediately as I was unsure what to do, but he reassured me that he would be fine and just to keep an eye on him. Thankfully, he is absolutely fine and most definitely worm free too!

Then this afternoon he had his first vaccination. I was all ready for him to be leaping about, but there was absolutely no reaction whatsoever. He did not even realise it has been done! Just another thing he has experienced and not been fazed by. I am going to miss him so much when he is away!

I cannot believe he is 16 weeks old

2007-07-04T12:29:00.000+01:00

The past few weeks have been quite a trial with Troy. Since the weather became colder and wetter he has turned into ASBO Troy! He is spooky, bargy and very nippy. The other night he would not have his head collar put on in the field and kept running off with all four feet off the ground, so I decided enough was enough.

Since Richard Maxwell has been out, Troy has been a pleasure to handle. But I have to admit I have become a little lax with his teaching because he has been so good. So, on Monday night I put Hannah in their stable and kept Troy outside. I made him do lots of moving away from me, and then encouraged him to move into the pressure rather than pull away from it. He put up a bit of a fight at first, but by the end he was listening to me, respecting my space and doing as he was asked.

The teaching seemed to have truly hit home because he has been very good again. Yesterday the driveway had flooded and there was one area where the water was past my ankles. Hannah walked straight through it without a second glance, but Troy was really frightened and just wouldn’t come near to it. Because I still lead him on the long rope, I stood with Hannah on the other side of the Troy eating water, and let him figure it out for himself. He was running from side to side for about 5 minutes, but I did not put any pressure on him because I knew this was a pretty big thing for him. All of a sudden he stopped, looked at me and then leapt into the water! Once he was in, he just stood there as if to say, “Is that all it is? No problem, I can handle this!”

Troy also had his feet trimmed and filed a few weeks ago… he was a bit of a handful, but the farrier was very patient with him and Troy eventually stood still and allowed him to take some length off his feet. Since then I have been picking them out every morning, just so he gets used to having his feet handled every day.

We are now learning how to trot up in hand, so hopefully I will get some footage of his trot because in my opinion he has a lovely elevated action. I am just hoping and praying that it is a sign of things to come!

Troy is 11 weeks old

2007-05-21T13:28:00.000+01:00

I cannot believe he is already 11 weeks old! It seems like just a few weeks ago that I was sleeping in the caravan every night and looking like a zombie in the day time. I just have not had the time to keep updating this blog, but while I have a day off I thought I would fill you in on what has been happening in Hannah and Troy’s world.

Hannah gradually became more settled being led out with Troy and after the first few days she started to relax and would let him leave her in the field for short periods of time. She is now quite happy for him to be led away from her (I think she likes the break) and the other night my husband walked her around the corner and into her stable and she did not bother at all that she could not see him.

Troy had to have a little operation when he as just a few weeks old. I started to notice that his willy was quite swollen when he came in from the field. At first I thought it could be flies biting as we were having some warm weather, but when it was still swollen after two days I called the vet up. Kathleen said his willy was too big for the opening therefore it was impossible for it to pop out. So a trip to the vets was required and as you can imagine, it was quite a stressful event. Hannah loaded perfectly the first time but Troy ran off around the back of the trailer so we brought her out and then started all over again. The second time we practically lifted Troy in and they both travelled and unloaded really well.

Coming home was less of an ordeal. Troy understood what was expected of him, and as soon as Hannah had been loaded he ran up the ramp to join her. We travelled Hannah tied up and Troy loose with no partition, and this seemed to be the best option for these two as Hannah did not sweat up as she usually does when travelling.

Despite this little set back in his life, Troy seemed to get quite coltish and I wanted to nip it in the bud before it became worse. So I organised for Richard Maxwell to come up in April and do some work with both Troy and me to point us in the right direction.

When Max came out he showed me the sort of work I could be doing with Troy to keep him interested (rather than nipping all of the time) and teach him things that would be so valuable to him in the future. I have continued to do some work with him both in the field and in his stable, which does seem to be making him a nicer foal to be around. He still nips quite a lot, but he also knows that she should not be doing it too! His leading has improved, although we still have stand offs where we both refuse to move, but he is now giving in every time and the periods of standing still are reducing each time.

I will try to update this more often from now on because he is changing so much and developing new characteristics every day. He continues to nip, but has been much easier to handle and is now starting to respect people’s space rather than just running into you. The only time he is a handful is when he is wet and wants to rub on anything in his reach, including me!

Troy's first day out in the field

2007-03-15T08:39:00.000Z

It did not go quite according to plan!

Hannah is very foal proud, so is not happy when she cannot see him at all times. We tried taking her out of the stable first, but she just went crazy, so then we tried leading Troy out in front. Hannah started playing up the moment Troy put his head out of the stable and proceeded to jump on my foot!

Bringing her in was just as eventful, as she fell on her side panicking!

The second day out was much calmer as I think we were ready for what Hannah was going to react like, and it went without incident. I think it is going to take time to get her relaxed going in and out of the yard with him, but if the improvement yesterday is anything to go by then hopefully she will start to trust that I will not let anything bad happen to him.

At first she would not let him near to the stable door and would not leave him alone. But last night she left him with me at the door and went back to her haylage, which was a big thing for her I think.

Troy is getting a bit more independent though too, which probably helps. He is starting to be interested in things, and keeps chewing my wellies for some reason!

Meet Troy!

2007-03-15T08:25:00.000Z

Well, Troy finally came into the world at 10.30am on Monday 12th March! At 5am, Hannah’s foaling alarm went off and I started watching her carefully on the monitor. She was getting up and down a lot, and breathing quite heavily. At 6am people started coming onto the yard and I couldn’t risk anyone tying up near to her so I got up, threw some clothes on, and raced to the stables. Hannah was still down and looking at her tummy a lot, but she didn’t seem to be doing much else.

Corrie came as soon as I phoned her, and thought it might be a good idea to telephone the vets because she had been down so long (around 20 minutes by now). I spoke to Kathleen and she said to give them a call in 30 minutes and see what she was doing then.

We went back into the caravan for a cup of tea and some digestive biscuits, watching her all the time on the monitor. She seemed to settle, so I popped in to have another look at her and noticed she had sticky stuff running down the back of her legs from the vulva. I telephoned the vets straight away, and Kathleen said it sounded as though this was the cervical plug and she was well on her way. But she wanted to send someone out to see her, because she thought she might have stopped because of the activity on the yard.

At 9.30am John turned up at the yard, had a quick fee inside of her, and said she had definitely started and stopped, and that he was going to induce her. Panic set in, as in the foaling bible it says on 25% of inducements survive!!!

I asked John whether he thought she should be induced, and he said she was ready but the foal had its legs tucked under so she might need some help and he would rather be there. He then gave Hannah the injection and went back to the practice for his clothes.

I watched Hannah from the caravan, and she started sweating up almost immediately. When John came back 15 minutes later she was absolutely wet through but not showing any signs of getting down and foaling. John felt inside her again and said there was no reason she shouldn’t be pushing as the birthing canal was open. As soon as he went to get some more of the inducement injection, Hannah lay down, pushed, and out came the bag!

I videoed the whole birth, so when the DVD has been formatted I will try to put it on here.

Watching Troy being born was a very moving experience, and the sounds they make to each other is just so lovely. Hannah loved him the moment she saw him, and was soon licking him all over and encouraging him to get up.

He took about one and a half hours to get up, and had difficulty finding the udder to feed from, partly because he is so big. I helped him, and once he had latched on, he soon knew what to do. Poor Hannah, she just stood there and let him suckle without moving once.

She is turning out to be a very good Mum.

Hannah's foaling alarm went off last night

2007-03-10T11:40:00.000Z

Hannah is now 9 days over her due date and is looking more and fed up, the poor thing. She had a really restless night last night, and was pacing around a lot, getting up and down and breathing heavily.

I checked her through the night, but at 4.30am the foaling alarm went off. It took Corrie and I some time to realise what the noise was. At first I thought it was the monitor so turned the volume down, then I thought it was the heater, but while turning that off I realised the red light was on!

We got dressed, had a cup of tea and kept a close eye on her through the CCTV. Then at 5.30am she started munching her haylage and seemed to settle down. So we got a few more hours sleep after a very sleepless night.

This morning she had some milk down her legs and her left hock was swollen, probably through rolling around. I turned her out this morning for a few hours, and when I went to get her she wanted to come in. Her bag had gone down a little bit, but there was wet milk down her legs and more coming out when I squeezed them a little.

So it is yet another night in the caravan tonight… Number 14!

Today is her due date

2007-03-01T10:51:00.000Z

What a night last night! At one point I thought the caravan was going to take off and take me to Oz… There’s no place like home (or at least there is no place like my own bed at home)!

Hannah was very settled again last night and showed no signs of discomfort. I checked on her at 10.30pm, then at 12.30pm and finally at 3am. She was snoozing a lot and seemed quite content keeping me waiting.

I went in to see her this morning and her stable was uncharacteristically tidy. She has not done many droppings in the night which is unusual for her, and there was quite a bit of haylage left on the floor.

I turned her out for an hour while I mucked out, and after half an hour she was shouting to come in and messing about by the gate. But to be honest, I don’t blame her; the weather here is dreadful today.

When I brought her in she started eating her breakfast and then left it. I popped in to have a look at her and could not believe she had hardly touched her favourite thing in life… I checked her over, and again her bag had decreased slightly during her time in the field. Someone on the Horse and Hound forum said to see what came out when you gently milked the udder. So, I decided I would give it a go. There was a small amount of clear liquid and then big blobs of creamy yellowish liquid coming from both. I stopped when this happened as I don’t want to disrupt the natural balance of things.

So, another night in the caravan tonight… I am starting to feel like Trailer Trash. I am thinking of changing my name to Brandeen!

Still no foalie, and only one day to go!

2007-02-28T10:22:00.000Z

I got to the yard at 10.15pm last night and had to go into Hannah’s stable because I had forgotten to fit the camera when I left. As I got to the door I noticed she looked a little agitated and her stable was an absolute disaster area.

I skipped her out, tidied her bed, and then went to the caravan for a well earned cup of tea with Sue. I honestly thought that last night was the night!

I checked on her every hour, but she seemed a lot more settled and started eating her haylage and then finally went to sleep at around 3am. I continued to check on her, but I knew that it had just been a false alarm… can you imagine how tired I am this morning?!

There is no wax still, and no sign of her running milk. Her bag was more swollen this morning than it has been and her quarters have noticeably slackened now, although still not to the extent I have seen on some photographs of mares ready to foal down. I think the caravan is going to be my home for quite a bit more time yet!

The caravan saga begins

2007-02-27T21:28:00.000Z

Last night was my first night staying in the caravan. Sue Williams’ Mum and dad have kindly let me borrow their caravan until Hannah has her foal and I cannot thank them enough. It has a heater, television, kettle and a very comfy double bed that I slept in last night.

I got to the yard at 11.30pm last night (wanted to be there for 11pm but had fallen asleep on the sofa). It was a really cold night last night, and as I had not been sure what I was going to do, I had not left the heater on in the caravan. It took quite a while to heat up, but by then I was lay on the sofa watching Wags Boutique with a cup of tea and my CCTV screen at my side.

I set my alarm to go off every hour so that I could check on Hannah and get to know her routine at night. The last check was 4.30am and she was fast asleep and very quiet so I decided that I would go back to sleep until 7.30am.

I woke up to the sound of heavy rain on the roof, howling wind and someone opening the gate to tip their wheel barrow on the muck heap. I stayed in bed for a little while longer watching Hannah on the camera and then got up and made myself a cup of tea.

Wandering out to feed the girls with my cup of tea in my hand, I went straight into Hannah’s stable to have a look at her. She had something sticky all over her udders, but still no sign of ‘real’ waxing up or running milk. Her muscles in her bottom have definitely slackened even more and you can now see the head of her tail, but I don’t think she is going to foal in the next few days if I am honest.

However, I will be staying in the caravan until the foalie arrives as she now has her foaling alarm on at night and I need to be close to the stable in order to hear it go off. Sue is staying with me tonight and bringing hot chocolate and carrot cake… so it looks as though we will be having a little feast watching Hannah happily snoozing!

Hannah had a restless night

2007-02-26T11:30:00.000Z

Hannah was really quite restless last night. I went up at 11pm (after Lewis had finished) and she was stood breathing really heavily, her head down and her flanks heaving quite a lot. She kept looking around at her tummy and then putting her ears back as she tensed it up. I honestly thought this could be the first stages of labour.

I wanted to give her some peace and quiet for a while so I went home, had a cup of tea, and then drove back at 1.30am. She was still breathing heavily, but definitely much calmer and no longer tensing up her tummy. I knew that whatever it was had not passed, and she would be quiet for the rest of the night.

Her muscles around her tail have slackened off a little more this morning and are now quite spongy but they are not as concaved as I have seen in some pictures I have seen. There is still no sign of waxing up or running milk, and she seemed quite calm when she went out in the field this morning. However, she was very ‘slow’ this morning and seemed to be dragging her feet and quite stiff in her back end.

Her udders are still very warm and have a very strange smell to them. It reminds me of the waxed table cloths that children have at their parties, but as I have already mentioned, there does not seem to be any wax around the udder itself.

Not long to go now

2007-02-24T22:32:00.000Z

Hannah is getting ready to foal now. Her bag is absolutely HUGE, her stomach looks as though it has dropped even more and the bump has moved backwards. I don't know how many more sleepless nights I can take!

Sue's Mum and Dad have kindly given me their caravan so I can stay over at the yard when she looks as though she is ready to have her foal. It has a TV, cooker, fridge (for the ever important champagne) and shower! I am very grateful as it allows me to keep an eye on her and keep the foaling alarm close by when it finally comes on Monday.

Until then, there is nothing I can do but sit and wait...

Bagging up

2007-02-10T10:49:00.000Z

Hannah is looking so fed up at the moment, I think she has finally had enough of being in foal. She is restless, cannot get comfortable in her stable and is not eating much now. Her bag has started to fill quite a lot, and one side is now hard all the way down to her udder. She also looks to have lost a lot of weight over her hind quarters and looks very 'hippy'. However, I am still hoping she makes it to her due date as the weather is so cold at the moment it would be a great shock to the foal should it come out in the next few days.

Hannah is getting out for an hour or so every day, but she is quite bored on her own in the field and does start running around if there is any banging going on in the school. Hopefully once the foal comes she will settle more and not be so worried about things.

I will keep the diary updated as often as possible over the following few weeks, as she is changing so rapidly.

6th February 2007

2007-02-06T15:37:00.000Z

Hannah has become quite restless over the past few days, and has gone off her food. He bag has become extremely hard and full, but there is no wax appearing on the end of her teats yet.

She still has over 20 days to go before she is due, but I have a feeling she is not going to wait that amount of time now. Even though she has only just started bagging up, it seems to be coming thick and fast. Also, the fact that she has gone off her food is a big indicator that something is not right because Hannah lives for her haylage!

I am going to sort out her foaling bucket today and buy a foal slip, just in case!

Rapidly changing shape

2007-02-01T21:24:00.000Z

With 27 days to go until Hannah’s foaling date, she is changing shape every day. He stomach has started to drop even more, her quarters have slackened, and she is showing signs of bagging up.

Hannah is now going out in her own field for a few hours every day which seems to be helping her stiffness. She also appears to be much happier now she is getting out every day, she was obviously feeling fed up when she was staying in.

I am not organised at all for the actual foaling, even though I started off completely on top of things. So far her CCTV has been fitted (but not turned on yet), her foaling alarm ordered and she now has her Nedz Bedz bedding which is lovely and thick.

This weekend I have planned to sort out her foaling bucket and leave it outside the stable and buy a foal slip and rug (just in case the weather is dreadful on the foal’s first day out). I don’t know whether it is unlucky to buy things like this before the foal is born and is healthy, but these are things that it will need straight away should everything go nice and smoothly (fingers crossed!)

Apart from looking huge, Hannah is actually looking really well. Her coat is extremely shiny, her feet seem to be doing quite well considering she has always had poor hooves and she is keeping condition over her hip bones where she usually loses it.

Not long to go now though…

Only one month and two weeks to go

2007-01-15T21:29:00.000Z

I cannot believe how close we are getting to the big day now. I have a feeling she will be a little bit early as her shape has changed a lot while I have been away and she is starting to get a bit restless and fed up. Also her stomach has dropped considerably and she is beginning to have a small swelling in front of her udders. Poor thing, she must be feeling huge by now.

I am hoping to change her bedding either this weekend if I have time or the weekend after, and she is going onto Nedz Bedz rather than straw. I am also ordering my foaling alarm tomorrow, and will get someone to fit my CCTV as soon as possible so I can start to see what her activities are at night.

Sorry it has been so long... Hannah is now 284 days!

2007-01-04T22:21:00.000Z

I cannot believe how long it has been since I last posted an entry. So firstly let me apologise to those of you who have been checking to see whether it has been updated.

Hannah is doing extremely well and getting fatter and fluffier by the day. We only have one month, three weeks and five days to go before she is due to foal… I am not ready at all and have to admit the panic is definitely starting to set in a little!

But my lovely girl is taking the whole thing in her stride, so hopefully she will take to being a mother just as she has taken to being in foal. She is getting a little uncomfortable now when it starts moving around as she goes very still and puts her ears back, stamping her back foot and glaring at me. Then she will go back to munching on her haylage once it has finished moving. It seems to happen mostly in the evenings as I have not seen it moving in the day time yet.

Hannah is going out for a couple of hours every other day and seems to be doing well from this. I know it is not ideal at this stage of her pregnancy, but she does not seem too keen on being out for longer periods and comes running to the gate when I walk up to get her (not something she usually does when she is in a field). Our yard owner has sorted out her field for when the foal is born and has said Hannah can start going out in that so she can get out every day, but it is so wet at the moment that I have been putting it off as I do not want to spoil the field for the summer. When she gets a little closer to foaling I will put her out in there every day, but at the moment she seems very content and actually prefers eating her haylage in her stable than being out in the rain.

I am hoping to get some pictures of her and put them on here when I get back from my holidays… I am sure you will notice a huge difference!

Hannah is now 180 days in foal!

2006-09-20T13:42:00.000+01:00

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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!

170 days tomorrow

2006-09-10T11:25:00.000+01:00

Hannah is really blooming at the moment. Her coat is shinier than it has ever been before and her temperament is just perfect! She is going to make a great mum.

I bought her a haybar in preparation for the foal being born as if I put haylage on the floor she just paws it around and then will not eat it. She was terrified of it for the first few days but now thinks it is absolutely brilliant. I have noticed that there is always haylage left in it, which there never was in her nets. She is obviously eating much more naturally now and not wolfing it down like she used to.

She has been doing a little more this week as I feel she has been getting quite lazy and enjoying being a broodmare far too much. I went for a lesson on an ex-Grand Prix horse on Thursday and the instructor said she schooled her mare until six weeks before she gave birth. She did lots of long and low work with her and transitions to help keep her back supple and her joints moving as they should do.

So as a result, Hannah has been going back in the school and doing just that! The first time I took her back in (she has been hacking out most days) she was so excited, which just shows how much she enjoys her work. We are only taking it very slowly as I don’t want to push her too much as I know she would love to be cantering round and round if I let her.

I have also made the decision to look for a horse to loan while Hannah is in foal and has the foal at foot. Initially I did want to buy a youngster to bring it on, but my Dad pointed out that I would be awful when it came to selling time and for once I have to agree with him. At least in a loan you know where the horse is going back to from the very beginning. I am looking forward to whatever work lies ahead.

150 days... We made it!

2006-08-23T15:03:00.000+01:00

Gaining more than a pound every 10 days, the
fetus now is about the size of a rabbit. Hair
graces its chin, muzzle, and eyelids. If you
look closely, you'll see that eyelashes have
emerged.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I cannot believe Hannah is now 150 days in foal! In one way it feels as though she has been in foal for ages, but it also feels to have flown by without me noticing.

The picture and text above is from a really useful website someone directed me to. It’s amazing how much they change in such a short period of time. Unlike human babies, foals have to come out quite advanced. They have to be able to walk around almost immediately so all their joints have to be in an advanced form to that of a baby.

Hannah is doing really well, although she has started being very lazy in the school so I am going to reduce her work now and will keep her schooling sessions to just a walk and trot and hack out more often. She has lost a little bit of weight since she was brought back into work, but this just accentuates the dropping of her stomach. I will try to get a photo of her this weekend and I am sure you will notice a huge difference from the previous pictures of her.

We had the dentist, I mean equine dental technician, out last night. He said she had some ulceration caused by sharp teeth down her left side near the bit and up at the top on her right side. After an hour and fifteen minutes of rasping they were lovely and smooth. I wish I had called him out earlier really as he was extremely informative and tried to show me exactly what he was talking about (with the aid of a torch) and a lot of what he said made sense compared to the way she has been going when ridden.

The dental technician also said he thought she was slightly younger than I thought. I believed she was six rising seven when I bought her which would make her 11 rising 12 now. However, he thought she was either eight rising nine or nine rising ten. The latter being the more likely. So that would mean I bought Hannah as a five year old. It would explain a lot about her behaviour traits and how green she was when I bought her!

He also mentioned that he did not think she was half Irish Draught and half Thoroughbred as I thought. He has a horse at home who is quite like Hannah and she is three quarters Thoroughbred and just one quarter Irish Draught. So Hannah might not be the carthorse we have also thought her to be!

Meet Hannah's friends...

2006-08-08T12:13:00.000+01:00

I mentioned that Hannah hacked out with her new friend Fiddler, so I thought I should include a picture of him (chestnut) and Sue’s other horse Bruce (dark bay). I am looking after the two of them next week while Sue jets off to South Africa for her 40th birthday!

Hannah is doing really well and is back in work now there is no trace of lameness and her haematoma has dispersed. I have been taking her in the school every other night for around 30 minutes but she has been very forward going and silly – at least I know she enjoys her work!

There is also some news on me too – I have taken the plunge and booked a lesson with Debbie Jones. She is a BD trainer who I found on the website. She has two school masters who are both Grand Prix level (I think that’s right, I was quite overwhelmed when she was telling me what they do) so I have to go for an assessment on 30th August. I’m going to take Sue with me to take some photos and a video of me riding, although I will probably look like a sack of potatoes!

There is only 6 months, 3 weeks and 1 day until Hannah’s foal is due, the time seems to be flying by!

We've had a tough couple of weeks :(

2006-07-20T16:25:00.000+01:00

Hannah trotted up lame over two weeks ago so rather than waiting to see whether it got better, I called the vet and asked him to come up and have a look at her. He couldn’t be exactly sure where the lameness was coming from but from the flexion tests he thought it could be something in her hock or higher up. She was prescribed Quadrisol for two weeks and then a reassessment on the third week.

She has been on the Quadrisol now for just over a week. I was a little anxious about following the vet’s instructions to light hack her while she was on it, so I decided to field rest her instead. When she was still lame after taking the anti-inflammatory for seven days I called the vet back and was told to field rest her (which she had already been doing!)

Andrea Johnson (nee Morris) my instructor suggested she should be box rested as that sometimes just gave them the time to heal if it was muscular. Therefore I kept Hannah in on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The farrier and physio came out on Tuesday afternoon too. Simon (farrier) didn’t think there was anything in her foot that would cause her lameness, but we all know how low a pain threshold my horse has, so it could just be that the shoes were starting to rub a little. The physio then thought she trotted up sound after she had her shoes done, and the spasm in her back she had found on her last visit had settled down and improving nicely.

I decided to take her on a short hack last night because she was looking so fed up. We went with Sue Williams and her new chestnut TB gelding, Fiddy. Hannah was very jumpy all the way around, but it was nice she see her back in action and striding out. I am trying not to get too positive about it as I do know she is still on the Quadrisol and that will be helping any aches and pains that could be causing the lameness.

It was a memorable hack though… Sue and I had a larger and lime on our way home, and Hannah had a half of Guinness. Well, they say it’s good for you when you’re pregnant!

Over 100 days now...

2006-07-12T13:46:00.000+01:00

Well, we have made it to this stage at last! Hannah is now starting to show being in foal and is looking very well. The only problem is that she has become lame on her back left leg, either caused by a problem in her hock or something muscular further up.

The vet has put her on an anti-inflammatory that is suitable for mares in foal and she is to be ridden on light hacks for the next two weeks. If there is any sign of lameness in the third week he will then nerve block her and go from there.

Just to be on the safe side I have organised for a horse physiotherapist to come over tomorrow afternoon. She works closely with the horse chiropractor who has seen Hannah in the past, so hopefully she might be able to detect something in her muscles which is causing the lameness.

I have attached several pictures that were taken of her at just under 100 days in foal… there is a definite bump there now!

Back in work

2006-05-28T13:31:00.000+01:00

Hannah is now back in full work and working towards N24 and E44 on Wednesday night. As preparation I hired out Osbaldeston for an hour yesterday with the full dressage arena in. She went like an absolute dream, I could not believe how well she was going!

She is 64 days in foal today and still seems content and relaxed. Apparently it is the size of a small hamster at the moment according to a website I have found. I just cannot wait until it is big enough to start showing more, at least then I can stop panicking about her losing it!

Waiting for the 42 day scan

2006-05-06T18:20:00.000+01:00

I brought Hannah home from stud two weeks ago and she has been a pleasure to own since then. She seems very laid back now which could be because of her hormones, and she is a happy mum to be.

She has her 42 day scan on Monday so that will be the last one hopefully. The next time I will see the foal will be when it is born after Monday. I am very excited about seeing it again, but there is also a nervous feeling in my stomach.

Once she has had the 42 day scan she can be brought back into work and hopefully get competing again in Novice and Elementary dressage tests before she becomes too heavily pregnant.

She is very content, and I think being pregnant suits her…

Hannah is still in foal...

2006-04-11T16:26:00.001+01:00

After a very long night, I finally got my husband to phone the stud at 10.30am. I just couldn’t face getting bad news from them while I was at HORSE magazine… I just knew I would burst into tears and make a real show of myself.

Anyway, it was fantastic new… Hannah is still in foal, and the one foetus has survived the night! I am very proud of my girl and the little foal growing inside her… the poor thing hasn’t had an easy start to its life, but it must be a fighter.

She’s now at the same point as a regular mare, and has her 21 day scan booked in for Monday morning. Then she has a 28 day scan on Sunday. If everything is ok with the foetus, I can take her home that day!

I am going to visit Hannah on Saturday morning, so will get some pictures and post them on here when I get back.

Hannah's in foal to twins...

2006-04-10T15:56:00.000+01:00

I had a phone call from stud this morning to tell me that Hannah was in foal, but she was in foal with twins! I cannot believe that this has happened to her. I know it can be quite common, but I just never thought it would happen to Hannah.

The vet has nipped one of the embryos, and the good new is that they were quite far apart which made it easier. But the stud told me not to get my hopes up because she could reabsorb the other one when the fluid is released. So it’s another night’s wait until I find out whether she is still in foal in the morning.

I can’t believe how miserable I feel… all this is happening to my gorgeous girl, and I am just too far away to go and see her. I feel so protective towards her and her foal at the moment, I am just praying the poor little thing survives the night!

Visit to see Hannah

2006-04-08T18:25:00.000+01:00

I went to see Hannah last weekend and she looked really happy, relaxed and incredibly shiny! Could this be a sign?

She is having her 14 day scan on Monday morning, so every finger, toe and other body parts are firmly crossed that she is already in foal! If she isn’t, she will be redone when she next comes into season, and the whole waiting game will recommence… I don’t know whether I can take another two weeks like this!

Well, she's been inseminated!

2006-03-27T10:27:00.000+01:00

I had an email from stud to tell me that Hannah had come into season late last week and she was going to be scanned Friday morning. The vet decided she should be inseminated on Saturday night, so it was just a matter of waiting for the follow up email.

I checked my emails on Sunday morning and discovered that all had gone well and she had been inseminated. We now have to wait for the 14 day scan to find out whether she’s pregnant… I really don’t think that I can wait for that long!

I’m going to go up and see her next weekend, as I put it off on Sunday to make sure that I didn’t upset her.

Fingers crossed!!

Hannah has gone to stud

2006-03-18T17:40:00.000Z

Hannah is now happily settled at stud, and as predicted started showing signs of being in season as soon as she got off the trailer!

I was really pleased how well she travelled, did not sweat up at all and seemed to take the journey in her stride. She also settled quite quickly in her new stable once she had finished having a complete panic attack (snorting, shaking, etc etc).

I rang Trudy at Endhouse this morning and Hannah was eating and had showed no signs of colic in the night, which was fantastic news!

So it’s all down to her now. She just has to concentrate on getting pregnant then she can come home soon!

Only one day to go...

2006-03-16T13:16:00.000Z

The past few weeks have absolutely flown by. I still can’t believe that it’s time to take Hannah to stud. I feel completely unprepared!

I just hope everything is straightforward, easy and calm for her. I also secretly want her to be caught the first time so I can bring her home in five weeks after her 28 days scan. I don’t know how I would feel coming home and Hannah not being there, I know I would have far too much time on my hands.

Wish us luck for tomorrow and send good vibes to Hannah!

Aghhh... she's come into season two days early!

2006-03-14T23:28:00.000Z

As soon as I got Hannah out of her stable I knew there was something different. Having owned her for over four years now, I know all the signs of her coming into season. Tonight was no exception.

She flew out of her stable and began to prance about in the yard. From past experience I knew that having her in a head collar alone was not a good option, so I scrambled about for my Richard Maxwell Halter to save the day!

Heading out onto the drive (this was supposed to be a quick leg stretch before her tea) I soon had a horse doing piaffe on the end of the lead rope, with the most beautiful self carriage I had ever seen her achieve.

The real give away was her tail stuck right up… A definite sign she’s coming in season (oh and the loud snort that she only does when she’s in season and worked up).

I called the stud and they said to get her down there tomorrow… This alters all the plans that I have made, and has put me into a real panic.

However, when I tied her up next to a horse that I know she ‘squirts’ at when in season, there was nothing!

Hopefully, she is just showing the signs that she’s due to come into season and will just wait a few more days for my plans to be finalised.

I don’t think that I can cope with 11 months of this kind of stress!!

Only 10 days to go...

2006-03-07T13:28:00.000Z

Everything is starting to become very real now. I'm having to think about what feed and rugs to take... I'm beginning to realise how much I am going to miss her!

We've got a really close bond at the moment and I don't want to lose that when she goes away.

I started thinking about when she goes when I was in her stable last night and found myself with tears streaming down my face! I am going to be a complete wreck when I leave her...

On the more positive side though, when she comes back she will hopefully be in foal and we will have moved into our new house. So even though there's lots of change, it'll all be good change!

The payment has been made

2006-03-03T12:42:00.000Z

With only 14 days to go before before Hannah goes to stud, I have sent my payment to Meadow Stud. It seems to have made it much more real... Hannah really is going to come back in foal!

The preparations are now starting. I'm trying to remember everything that she will need when she goes to stud, and arrangements for when she comes home too.

We've got two dressage tests this weekend to contend with first though, N21 and E51... wish us luck!

The Decision to Breed from Hannah

2006-02-27T19:02:00.000Z

Hannah is a 10 year old IDxTB who I have owned for four years.

I always knew that I would breed from Hannah, but when I discovered that I have to spend four weeks in London, it seemed like the perfect time.

I weighed up all of the pros and cons, which included the costs of putting Hannah in foal and the time aspect of it all once the foal was born, and I soon realised that I would regret not doing it.

Having short listed several stallions including Tyson, Donnersong, Demonstrator and Libro, I then came across Pro-Set at Your Horse Live and fell head over heels. He would fine my IDxTB down a little and he seems very intelligent, which I look for in a horse.

I have decided to send her to End House Stud near Clitheroe, Lancashire, where she will be put in foal through AI. So it's fingers crossed that the journey there goes well and she settles in her temporary home.

This Blog is to keep a diary of Hannah's time at stud, her pregnancy, and her future foal.