Happy new year! I hope you enjoyed the winter break and have set some goals for 2019 already! I haven’t made many plans for the year ahead yet. I think I’ll just see how things pan out! I would love to jump a couple of working hunters and get out in the side saddle more often, maybe ride some veteran and riding horse classes aside, just to get a bit more experience and build up my core!! A 2019 mega goal would be to attend the Side Saddle Nationals, but I’m not sure how realistic that idea is! I would like to go back to Blair Castle, but if I managed to qualify with Gerry I would only be taking him down for the day, 5 days was far too stressful last year! Maybe the Royal Highland Show, we will just need to wait and see how we go. Hopefully we will be able to move back to the normal yard soon too.

Showjumping

Winters day snooze

Gerry has been at his new/temporary yard for 8 weeks now and still hasn’t settled in. He seems to be really uncomfortable when brought on to the yard. He is fine in the field and has made some friends now, but when I bring him up to the stables he is really on edge. He gets so fidgety and box walks in his bed. He is hating when he can hear noises and people but not see them, and this yard is a lot more full on than our previous place. I’ve tried him on a few different calmers to take the edge off and am doing all I can to make the yard a pleasant and relaxing place for him, but I’m really struggling. He gets so wound up that he almost doesn’t know you are there and he gets awful bolshy. I know its not him, he’s not had any issues with his stable or the old yard in the year that I’ve had him. I really hope he settles in soon and resumes normal Gerry like behaviour. We even had to get some domosedan from the vet for him to get his shoes done, which is not like him at all. It’s so hard to see him so unhappy and I feel so guilty that we had to move, but it wasn’t my choice either ☹ He has however been normal Gerry whilst being ridden, he loves his ridden work and thankfully he is relaxed and happy while he’s working. I made good use of some Christmas holidays from work to take him out and about. We had a lesson, went show jumping and out for a lovely hack in the forest. He really is awesome at jumping! He never touches a pole and finds it all so easy. I guess that’s the beauty of him having jumped big tracks in the past, my measly comfort zone of 80/90cm is a walk in the park! He loves going out places and just stands eating his haynet taking it all in while we wait between classes and such like. He’s enjoying munching on some calm and shine over the winter months! He can go back onto the light and healthy if he piles on some additional pounds in the summer. I got a bulk order of Honeychop at the end of December which should hopefully see us through to the nicer weather!