Unfortunately, with my new job, I seem to have found myself with less time to blog! If I'm doing an evening shift then my morning is filled with riding and dog walking/running and if I'm on an early then the evening is filled...well with the same! It's a shame as I do actually miss not blogging regularly and I seem to be not riding so much either which I really hate!
June has absolutely flown by! It's been a slight rollercoaster of a month with Pea in that some days have been great and others not so much - not because he's been naughty, just that he's not enthusiastic and just feeling a bit niggly. After our disastrous dressage outing, I booked him on the physio list just to make sure that there wasn't anything majorly wrong. However, following the competition he had a week of a bit more lunging than usual as I damaged my knee badly and although I attempted riding once, my knee was an awful lot worse after! Cue a week of limited work for Pea (not so much for me, don't think running up and down hotel stairs helped!) and I finally got back on board with no more pain - hooray! Pea was a saint to school then, absolutely foot perfect more or less! This led me to question whether he needed the physio or if it was purely just him being a monster. However, it's better to be safe than sorry so on the 15th, Etti Cook (our physio) came and had a look.
She found that he was unbelievably stiff down the left side of his neck and was really reluctant to loosen it up! Eventually, her strong hands and a bit of laser therapy did the trick and Pea was much looser- as well as fast asleep! She also noted that he's quite stiff along his back where his saddle sits so I have now added him to the saddler's list - though unfortunately we have to wait until the 8th July for him! It's definitely worth always getting the physio out on a regular basis, or if you ever have any suspicions about your horses muscles. I used to rarely have anyone out to Pea, and it's only been over the past 2 years that it's been a regular thing. Whilst it means I have less money, I now have a happier pony who is working a lot better than previously! Previously, I would have ignored the bucking and put it down to naughtiness, and whilst that probably was the case in the majority, at least getting the physio out showed how much he needed the saddler too!
Since Pea's had the physio, I've decided to not do quite so much canter work as he was starting to be a bit short which is due to his saddle and the tension it's causing in his muscles. Pea doesn't always seem to quite agree with me though! Just the other day, I spent our usual 15 minutes warming up in each pace before doing 30 minutes of solid hard-work in walk and trot. I then went to cool him off by lengthening the reins a bit in trot, but instead of Pea relaxing down into the contact, he decided we simply hadn't finished as we hadn't cantered so took it upon himself to canter! However, on other occasions he's been really reluctant to do much and this recent heatwave we're experiencing has made him even more reluctant!
Fingers crossed that once the saddler's out, Pea will be back on form again! (Plus. I'm really hoping it cools down a bit! Breeches + hot weather = overheating!). I'm also thinking about getting a dressage saddle to help keep me in a better position as I was chatting to Etti about how when he gets a bit tired he really pulls me forward & my GP doesn't help at all! She also noted that as he's quite short & then also bum-high, he does find it extremely hard to work uphill so does tend to tire slightly easier!
Thanks for reading,
Laura xx
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