Paula’s blog – Freya had her first jump

With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too. At least she made herself balanced, I guess; I’m wondering whether to try her barefoot again. It’s a bit difficult, as I know a lot of thoroughbreds don’t have strong feet, but I am thinking it may be worth a try as she’s lost shoes four times in six weeks so far. I have read about hoof boots for hacking, so may need to have a look into these as an option too, as I’ve not used them before.

I do have to give Freya some credit at the moment, though, as her schooling is definitely improving. She’s loving pole work and actually aims for them herself now. One evening I did see she was very eager to go over the raised trotting pole. She felt very forward, as if she wanted to try and jump it but wasn’t sure due to the angle/low height. I got my partner to put up a tiny cross pole, and she went over it without hesitation, needing no encouragement at all. He put it up ever so slightly, just so we could see what she would do. The first couple of times it was a sort of trot/skip, but the last two she did a proper small jump and not once did she even hesitate, which is fantastic! I’m not going to do this too often, as I want to continue building her up as she is still young. But it was fun to have a bit of a play and let her try something new, which is always good for youngsters to keep their brains ticking over. I’m planning, if all goes well feet-wise, to take her to the showground just up the road as they are holding a clear round evening next week – to try one round of poles on the floor, just for the experience.

Bob has been schooling well. We are still practising our jumping at home, getting ready to get back out and he is getting better each time. The napping is reducing, and it now only takes one small circle to calm him if he gets a bit hot-headed and then I’m able to take him straight at a fence. Previously, it would have been a good few circles, some walking and then continuing, so I’m really pleased he is settling back into it. I have also been leaving several fences up in the arena at varying heights to help desensitise him, as he always used to get tense if a fence was put up in the arena. Some days we don’t go over them and just school round them; on others, I may pop over the odd one or do it as a course. It really has helped him, as he no longer panics when seeing them or going close to them, even when I move them around to mix it up.

Autumn’s been doing some schooling recently too, only at walk with some pole work incorporated, just to keep her moving. She’s still a bit off in trot, so we avoid that on the soft surface and concentrate on different exercises we can do in walk, so she’s still thinking but not having to overexert herself. We are organising another hack out and hopefully a visit to the off-road ride soon too, which will be nice for her, as she’s still not willing to retire to a field just yet.

I don’t want to curse it, but it looks like we may actually be getting some nicer weather for us all to enjoy with our horses. Fingers crossed we now get our summer!