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Post by portiabuzz on Sept 2, 2014 14:49:02 GMT 1
Well done to you tigerlily and Sarah xxxxx
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Post by karin1966 on Sept 2, 2014 16:24:56 GMT 1
Well done Caroline & TigerLily! What an inspiration & isn't IH fab!
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Post by crazycolt on Sept 3, 2014 8:38:06 GMT 1
Aw - now you've made me cry! I can imagine just how wonderful you're feeling, just like me about 2 months ago! Many many congratulations, onward and upward! Big hugs to you and Tigerlily!
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Caroline
Grand Prix Poster
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 2,277
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Post by Caroline on Oct 7, 2014 19:57:07 GMT 1
Not a lot of time to write an update, but just wanted to share some pics from today's lesson with Sarah Weston RA. TigerLily is gradually making progress with the ridden work and now walks 10 paces at a time with a rider. She doesn't seem to mind me on her back at all, but is being generally grumpy and bitey both on the ground and with a rider at the moment (this last week or so - even in ground work only sessions). I'm not sure why, but it is always complicated with TigerLily. I thought it might be because she wants me to start feeding hay. That could have been an element because I started hay yesterday and she was better tempered today than at the weekend (thank goodness!). Tell you what though - it is flipping terrifying sitting on a newly backed horse! I have booked a riding lesson for later in the week so I can work out whether my confidence is not what it used to be in general or whether it is the feeling of sitting astride a tempremental nuclear bomb that has me concerned.
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Post by portiabuzz on Oct 7, 2014 20:47:57 GMT 1
Woop woop wonderful to see xxxx
Sent from my SM-G800F using proboards
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Post by lizpurlo on Oct 7, 2014 22:16:28 GMT 1
Aw Caroline, what lovely pics! Well done you, you look terrific, and the gorgeous Tiger Lily looks as cool as a cucumber.
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Caroline
Grand Prix Poster
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 2,277
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Post by Caroline on Oct 7, 2014 23:22:28 GMT 1
Thank you! She is doing very well really. She may be a bit of a hnadful, but she hasn't done anything terrible and has actually been very careful with me. I have had all these horrors of what could go wrong e.g. bucking, rearing, bolting. But no sign of that yet, thank goodness. I have a lot of faith in her, and in my guardian angels, but I confess I always seem to question my sanity just as I am about to put my leg over her back!
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Post by janwilky on Oct 8, 2014 0:17:03 GMT 1
Not a lot of time to write an update, but just wanted to share some pics from today's lesson with Sarah Weston RA. TigerLily is gradually making progress with the ridden work and now walks 10 paces at a time with a rider. She doesn't seem to mind me on her back at all, but is being generally grumpy and bitey both on the ground and with a rider at the moment (this last week or so - even in ground work only sessions). I'm not sure why, but it is always complicated with TigerLily. I thought it might be because she wants me to start feeding hay. That could have been an element because I started hay yesterday and she was better tempered today than at the weekend (thank goodness!). Tell you what though - it is flipping terrifying sitting on a newly backed horse! I have booked a riding lesson for later in the week so I can work out whether my confidence is not what it used to be in general or whether it is the feeling of sitting astride a tempremental nuclear bomb that has me concerned. Absolutely lovely pics, and very pleased for you Caroline. Just a thought, but for five years now I've found Lucas to be more temperamental and more difficult in autumn and early winter, and I've also many, many times felt he is like an unexploded bomb. Unfortunately for me the bomb has actually exploded a few times! I'm possibly still working out some of his layers but he no longer feels like that, he behaves much more like a normal horse and is much less prone to over-reacting. There hasn't been a simple answer but one thing I can say with some confidence is that the underlying causes have all been physical discomfort of one sort or another. I used to think it was mental/behavioural and/or down to me not being experienced enough but I now think most or all of it has been plain and simple pain. He's a very sensitive horse, which it sounds like Tigerlily is too, and he just does not tolerate discomfort at all. I discovered recently that the saddle I was riding him in when we had our accident was twisted and very possibly made him buck; I rode Bambi in the same saddle for months with no objections, but she is so much more stoical than he is.
Sorry I'm waffling (I had an exam today, my brain is fried!), but what I wanted to say was I finally came to realise earlier this year that Lucas may have had stomach ulcers - perhaps because he is a sensitive horse and life hasn't always been easy for him. I didn't want to put him through the stress of scoping and Gastroguard so I tried a 'natural' alternative called Chios mastiha which is a Greek resin used for treating human stomach disorders for centuries. To be honest I was a bit sceptical and didn't really expect to see a big change, but I was wrong: he is like a different horse, so much more chilled and tolerant and he gives off a different 'energy' which no longer fills me with that 'uh oh' feeling. It's been about 8 months now so I'm pretty sure the change is real and lasting. He still starts to react sometimes but then it's almost as though he can't quite remember why he was getting wound up and he just drops it and stays calm. I've only ridden him once but it was bareback and I felt completely safe. I'm about to start doing a bit more with him so we shall see... I spent thousands of pounds on remedial training, vet investigations, bodywork sessions - you name it, I've been there with him. None of it wasted, I've learned a huge amount (much of it from him) but it seems that a small pot of resin from an obscure Greek island, costing a few pounds, may have actually held the answer. Life is a bit ironic at times, especially as I thought I'd ruled out gut issues two years previously!
It might not be relevant to Tigerlily at all but I thought it was worth sharing my experience as Lucas has always shown more 'symptoms' in the autumn. I'm still not entirely sure why (he's never a problem on spring grass for instance) or indeed whether it's going to return this year after the treatment, but so far he's fine. I suspect some sort of interaction between autumn grass and his gut issues, which I won't bore you with. It just jumped out at me when you said that Tigerlily has been grumpy and bitey recently but better since you've been feeding hay - that behaviour pattern would make me think about gut issues, at least to rule it out. If she does have an ulcer then filling her tummy with hay might make her feel less uncomfortable and less grumpy. Lucas is much better if I don't ever let him go hungry (as a result of which he is now fatter than I'd like him to be!). If you have any suspicions at all, please do listen to your instincts because getting on Lucas when he felt like an unexploded bomb led to me getting exploded straight into an air ambulance - those gut reactions and fears we have are there to protect us.
Sorry, I don't mean to dampen your lovely enthusiasm, just take care of yourself while you enjoy your beautiful horse
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Post by portiabuzz on Oct 8, 2014 13:38:06 GMT 1
Keep up the good work ! And enjoy xxxxx
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