Posts Written By Chloë

On Monday morning when I arrived at the yard Dustry was suspiciously quiet and subdued, I instantly knew something was wrong! After a visit from the farrier to rule out an abscess (he was recently shod, seemed to have a hot foot, and find moving hard, and was favouring the verge on the way to his paddock) the vet was called. It seems he has some sort of infection (bacterial or viral) and it was causing him to have a high temperature, lose his appetite, and just generally feel uncomfortable and sorry for himself. He was given antibiotics and painkiller, but after a…

Neck strap, check. Kan back protector, check….this can mean only one thing CROSS COUNTRY!!!!!!! Today Dustry jumped his first EVER xc jumps, and I mean ever he hasn’t even popped a twig out hacking so this was going to be a true litmus test! When we arrived he was very lit up, and seemed to have forgotten all his ‘don’t barge the 2 legger, and walk all over her’ manners. Once a little more settled, I tacked up and lead him round the outdoor arena which settled him more. He likes to know what’s going on, and tack on means…

Firstly apologies for the delay in getting these videos live I have been plagued by pathetic upload speed for the last few weeks, waaah! So this is what I’ve been up to with Dustry in my last few lessons… we have been working on an essential flat work skill, crucial for when it comes to stringing a course of fences together, and that is cantering over poles on a circle. Sounds easy right?…well it’s not!!! Since I began reschooling Dustry my instructor Amanda Brewer has always emphasised the importance of training a balanced and supple horse, that works equally on both reins. One exercise she uses…

…to spot this whilst snooping about on the internet thank you very much Cape Horse Link!

I just popped into Trotters on my way home to pick up Dustry’s new feed, and look what else I came out with! Trotters know me too well, but this lovely gift really isn’t helping my already unhealthy addiction to socks! 😉 They say the first stage to overcome your problem is to admit you have one……..*twiddles thumbs and whistles*………dumm dee dum…..

When I bought Dustry he was malnourished and lacking muscle mass, over the last few years he’s really filled out and put on condition but…..I just want him BIGGER! In particular I want this year to make a considerable improvement to his naturally long and slim neck, and additional top line elsewhere is always welcome on such a slinky tb. So on a mission to ‘super-size’ my pony I asked around about conditioning but non heating feed sutible for such a task, and the name that seemed to pop up over and over again was Equi-Jewel from Saracen Horse Feeds…

So after last weeks eureka moment I was very keen to get cracking on today’s lesson as I knew jumping would be involved! We started on the flat, and all week I have been working on his canter, and in all paces the need to ‘keep my hands active’ to encourage him to stay soft and supple in his jaw. On the flat he still needs to work in a more uphill shorter frame in the canter but it’s coming, and in the trot I need to remember to keep those hands active (not huge gestures just little and often to move the bit…

apparently fog is the new ‘high winds’ and caused much excitment in the field this morning. Dustry just couldn’t resist a few rolly leapy squeaky moments!

Dustry’s jumping education has been frustratingly slow due to a variety of irritating issues (bad weather missing lessons, Christmas, illness, work commitments, riding after dark etc) but primarily we have been delayed by his dental issues. These are well and truly sorted now, and it was with baited breath that yesterday we attempted his first ‘post wolf teeth jump’. We began the lesson working on all paces, making it my main priority to ‘get him in the neck’, every time he goes to slightly hollow or come up in his neck I need to be really proactive about stopping it before it…

WIN A FREE COPY OF COURSEWALK APP The very kind people at have given me 2 copies of their nifty xc course walk app, 1 for me, and 1 to give away to a lucky GHE fan! If you have a smart phone this could be a real life saver, you can record your course as you walk it, take pics, of the jumps, then watch it back to jog your memory/learn the course, and it even gives you km markers so you can gauge your speed and location. You can then share your course, and download new ones that have been shared by…