Latest update.....

Soooooo, I have decided that I am definitely not a motivated person during the winter months, just want to sit of my ass and watch the time go by!!!! Its not the cold that I mind, just the miserable wet rain that just keeps relentlessly coming and coming, am over it!

Poor old Diesel is getting hardly any attention atall, he is lucky if he gets out of the paddock once a week for a feed and brush, that is how unmotivated I am, although I am sure that he doesnt mind one bit.

Today I had the farrier out and it was blowing an absolute gale.....the wind was so cold my face was hurting and thank god I had a beanie on as I think my ears would have been blown clean off my head otherwise!

I thought that given the lack of handling, combined with the blardy awful weather, that Diesel would have been an absolute toad....how wrong I was. I think he was just so darn happy to see me and know he was going to get some attention that he would have done anything for me. His behaviour was impeccable, a true gentleman in all ways and I am stoked with him. Had lovely cuddles and just a in general a nice chill out together.

Now for my big news, well for me anyway, on 01 - 03 October I have booked me and Diesel if to attend a Steve Brady Clinic held near Woodhill Sands. Anna has told me heaps about them and that she really thinks that we will benefit from attending so instead of me doing the usual 'yeah yeah, will look into it' I have gone 'Yep, lets do this!'. Have put deposit down to hold my spot and am a little excited about doing this. I just feel that if me and Diesel keep going the way we are that I will never really get back into the sport and will end up selling him so this is my way of saying, 'lets move forward and start an enjoyable time together'......

This bloody weather......

So, for the last 3 weeks it had done nothing but rain, rain and rain! The paddocks are getting really really waterlogged, the mud is still not that bad as alot of the water is running off into the stream at the bottom of the paddocks before it can seep into the ground.

As it has been so revoltingly wet and cold I have not done much with the boy atall. He doesnt seem to have missed me that much, is as happy as Larry wallowing around out there and just eating and sleeping.

The 'taking him to the roundpen every Thursday' has still not happened as it has either been raining (funny that!!!) or me or Catherine have had something on....we have promised eachother that this Thursday is THE DAY (unless its raining of course)....

Yesterday I did get Diesel out for a nice brush though. He was really lovely, in a wonderful mood, very smoochy, not fidgity and just seemed to enjoy the attention.

I took him to the end of the cul-de-sac and just did a little bit of in-hand exercises between showers and he was very responsive and light to the touch....just had a really really lovely time with him.

Here are a few pics as its been a while since I took any and there have been none to show his clip.....

Auntie Anna came to visit....

So, I was talking to Anna about what happened with Diesel and the float and she very very kindly offered to come out and see us. She thinks that it was not a floating thing, but a leading thing with him and that maybe he was just not wanting to do what I wanted him to do and thats why he packed a shit!!!

I have taken out the partition in the float (the one side always seemed a little bit small and skinny for a relatively big clyde x) and I have also put a chain at the back, covered in hose pipe and with a clip at one end and a shackle at the other.

Firstly Anna did some ground work with him. He was pretty arrogant to start with, head in the air, pulling and being a pain in the ass! After a wee bit Anna had him nice and supple, moving where she tells him to and being a willing boy. It was so nice to see the difference and actually getting some great advise, instead of always trying to muddle through it myself.

The float was already hitched onto my car so we then did some float training with him. He was really good, went on the float with a bit of coaching from Anna and at the end he was going on fine. He was still a little bit apprehensive when on there but I am sure that with a more outings that will go.

It has certainly made me realise that I have been far too soft on Diesel, I think I have been so worried about making him jump, or spook, that I have been pussy-footing around him....and this has probably been for the last 18 months! So, now is the time for me to step up and be his leader 100% .....and its a commitment I am ready for!

Bring on Thursday when we WILL get to the roundpen....and we will have fun!

Our first major fight........!

So, me and a friend Catherine decided that once a week we would take our young horses down to a roundpen in Silverdale to work them. Both of us cant ride in the paddocks anymore and we thought that this would be a good idea to get the two young ones out and about over winter.

I was feeling so confident, that we were going to have heaps of fun and was really looking forward to it. Got Diesel out, brushed him and started to load him onto the float.

He walked pretty much straight on (I had put a small feed in there for him while I was doing up the bumbars). I hooked the rope over a bar while I went to do up the bumbars, had pulled it around behind Diesel and just as I was about to latch it in he started moving around.

Unfortunately his rope got wedged and he started absolutely freaking out, pulled it so tight it was totally jammed and then he went ballistic! Freaking out totally, kicking and pulling until finally he broke the rope and flew off the float. I by now had absolutely crapped myself!!!!! There was no way I was going in there while he was going off his nut so I just stayed out of the way and tried to calm him but it obviously didnt work!

Caught him on the drivew (he hadnt gone very far atall), checked him over so make sure he wasn't hurt, gave him (and me) a couple of minutes to calm down and then tried to get him on again.

He was not having a bar of it. Would put both front feet on the ramp and then plant himself. Would not budge a muscle, just look at me as if to say 'make me'. Obviously I cant pull him onto the float so in the end I had a whip and if he went off the ramp I would make it very umpleasant to be there, but as soon as he was back on it would be 'nice' for him.

After about 15 minutes he finally went all the way in but he was most unhappy about being on there. I them unloaded him again, one step at a time and straight away tried to load him again and same thing, planted his feet and wouldnt not budge so we did the same exercise again until he was on. Sounds really easy but it was bloody hard work, I was not feeling the most confident but knew it had to be done.

So today he had quite a few whacks with the whip, alot of swearing from me and generally a really awful time. I feel terrible that due to me looping the rope (and it subsequestly getting snagged) we had this fiasco.

So we didnt go out anywhere, I eventually reloaded him 3 times before calling it quits on the whole situation. I was not able to do the bumbar up atall but at least I got him on!!!!! Gutted that such a small but exciting exercise for us turned into such a shit fight!

Tommy B - what a legend!!!

Well, today was the visit to Tommy. Diesel loaded like a total pro, just walked on and stood quietly when I was faffing around doing up the bar etc.

We had a 45 minute trip (which included a stop at the petrol station to fill up) and I didnt feel him move once. My hubby and kids came along too and Makayla kept looking out the back window to check Diesel was okay through the float window - so cute.

Once we arrived I took the ramp down and Diesel once again waited patiently while I untied him and opened the bar.

When he was backing off he seemed to be a bit shaky on his feet so not sure if he had been quite tense in the float for the trip but if he had been I had no idea atall as he travelled so well.

Got him off and took him over to where the barn with stables in it was situated. In all my worry of floating I just didnt give it a thought that he had never been in a stable before (well not since I've had him anyway). He took one look at the roof and just was so unsure whether he should go in or not - bless him!

We finally got him in the end stable and Tommy came straight over to see us. Tommy immediately said that he had seen Diesel was quite stiff in the back end and that he was doing short and choppy steps. Sure enough, his Sacrum was out and it might have been that way since birth (or if not it was not long after so a hell of a long time). Tommy got his mallets out, did his magic with a couple of 'whacks' to the right places and that was it.

His helper took Diesel out of the stable and walked him around so I could see the difference.....and boy, what a difference! Diesel was tracking through a good foot more than he was before. Tommy said to give him a couple of days off to recover and then we can start working again. He mentioned that Diesel should feel alot more free moving too, but not in a 'taking off' way, just a comfortable and floating way.

Reloaded Diesel like the pro he is (ha ha) and went home again....we stopped at the Bakery in Kumeu on the way and police cars were going past with sirens blazing and Diesel was as happy as Larry in the float. Unloaded him at home (no stiffness like before), gave him a feed and rugged him up and put him back in the paddock.

All I can say is I am ABSOLUTELY OVER THE MOON with my boy, although we are not doing that much at the moment, what we do end up doing is so successful that I really look forward to doing alot more. We seem to be getting a really good connection between us and I like it.....

Feet trimmed and body clipped!

Another busy day for the boy yesterday.

Michelle Horan came out and clipped the fella.....he was so much better behaved than I thought he would be lol. Only thing he didnt like was the hair blowing into his face but apart from that....what a star! He looks FAB-U-LOSA, will get some photo's next time he has a decent brush!

Farrier also came out and trimmed his feet, remaining shoe was taken off and he will just be barefoot over winter as wont be doing too much. Again, was really well behaved.

Tomorrow is the visit out to a place near Woodhill Sands to see Tommy Berns, hopefully he will load fine and behave himself - after recent days I think he will.

Am also trying to find a decent sized roundpen to hire so that I can continue working him in a confined area over winter......

Lunging the naughty pony.....and float training!

Got Diesel out again a few days ago and thought I would lunge him to see how he behaved.....well I am glad I was only lunging him and not riding him!!! He was a total naughty little twit....spooking at his shadow, leaping around and bucking, being an idiot. I was not impressed and again was going along the lines of 'What am I doing??? Why do I have a young horse???? Will I ever enjoy riding him without worrying??? etc etc etc and again felt very defeated :o(

I think part of it was due to the fact that I left Chevy in the paddock with us, we were in a taped off arena so Chevy was on the other side and Diesel kept veering off to be with him. I feel that I really expect too much of Diesel, I want him to be perfectly behaved 100% of the time and in reality he is a young, newly broken in horse that has not had much asked of him in recent years! He is going to have his moment of madness but are these going to be too much for me to handle????

After making him work pretty hard and for the first time in his life get up a decent sweat I took him back up to the yards to cool off. As it was already pre-planned I hooked the float up to do some self-loading training with him.

I am taking Diesel to see Tommy Berhns this Saturday and will more than likely be doing it by myself so need to be able to float him alone. Well, I shouldnt have worried. He walked straight up to the float and just went straight on, stood there like a trooper and waited for my next instruction! I had put a small feed in there to encourage him but to be honest I dont think it was needed.

I then unloaded him quietly and one step at a time and once off reloaded again for another couple of times and all of the times he was great. Chevy was in the bottom paddock nutting off, whinnying and galloping along the fencelines and Diesel didnt even care so that was a relief....

So we had some good and also some bad. I dont really know where we are going to end up, and if Diesel is going to be my forever horse like I planned and hoped all those years ago when I brought him but in the meantime, until a decision is made, we will keep doing little milestones and working things out in our own little way......