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mari

Exvet - Troy is such a lovely creature!

mari

Mari, it is definitely more fun to have some one to ride with. i could very easily just keep my horses home and ride, which exvet and khall do with aplomb, but all the extra work that goes into riding and training for others does add to the social aspect and enjoyment of it all. You need a riding b...

mari

Odin's sheath is still swollen but it's looking better. I'm hoping with less humidity and heat over the following weeks, as we go into autumn, it will also help to settle things down. It's April already and my riding goals have not moved forward since last year November. Not because of the penis iss...

mari

Exvet, that's so funny, think you should probably install some sprinklers for them!

Chisamba - the increases even here in South Africa... The yard is 35km away, and combined with the imminent hike in boarding costs I just have anxiety.

mari

The vet just sent me a video. The swollen skin inside the sheath has cracked a bit and now there are maggots. FML. She's thrilled that she found something to treat. I want to never be near a horse penis again. Ever. Never ever.

mari

Odin's sheath and penis bacteria have flared up again and he is very swollen and sore. Another series of vet visits and lots of head-scratching and mutterings of 'such an interesting case'. Amazed at how I can be overflowing with anxiety and bored rigid of this situation at exactly the same time. I'...

mari

Lovely pics Exvet!

mari

Had a lesson today to work on changes, and many shenanigans were had. I asked for them in a specific place last time, so today she really started anticipating and there was just lots and lots of kicking out. She had a chiro appointment tomorrow, but I might need it more, lol. The instructor said sh...

mari

Whoooooooooo Moutaineer for cantering!

Work is interfering with my riding this week. Well, partly work and partly malaise.

mari

Lovely write-up, thanks so much for taking the time <3

mari

We had a lesson this morning. I was on for all of 10 minutes before my instructor rather got on and did a how-to-pay-attention-to-your-rider bootcamp

We might need a few instructor rides over the next few weeks, he has too many things to look at at the new yard to hear/feel me.

mari

Apocalyptic rain here in the early hours. Drove out to the barn with the hope of still having a lesson, but the arena was too soggy so had to drive right back home again. Grumpy me. Should have known better and just stayed home. But the barn is about 40 minutes away and often a completely different ...

mari

First lesson at the new yard, in the new arena. With construction crews and heavy equipment, and heaps of white sand blowing in the storm, and sharing the arena with the tractor and rake for our warmup. Odin is a very chilled guy, but this morning the boosters were engaged :lol: So much holding of b...

mari

Inspiring updates everyone! We moved yards yesterday. The whole yard moved just down the road to a new property. The barn is gorgeous. Quite a bit of work still needs to be completed. One arena is rideable, the other is on pause because of the constant rain. Also still in progress is the lunge ring ...

mari

I'll let you lovelies take the lead for Jan/Feb. My only riding goal for the beginning of the year is just to get more rides in per week. Odin is 20, and while his condition is amazing, I think more regular movement will be to his advantage. So we'll feel it out and see how the year progresses. For ...

mari

We're just pootling this week. It's the last week before a 3 week break, I've got no lessons and no real drive to work hard at anything. This morning we did some wtc on a loose rein and called it a day.

mari

Aleuronx - lovely video but also a hell no from me for the snow

mari

Mari, Is it that you can't obtain turkey or that you don't like turkey? The second is forgivable but the first... I'll take issue with. My daughter was in South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders a few years ago, and she was able to procure a turkey from some local farmer to make Thanksgiving dinne...

mari

Happy Thanksgiving!
We don't officially celebrate it here, but we've adopted the custom. We try to make some American dishes (except turkey, cannot with turkey), and we go around the table and say what we're grateful for.

mari

so.much.rain It gives me anxiety. I grew up in an old leaking house, with ceilings that would collapse, and water running down the walls. I never outgrew that anxiety, and it is now nearly 30 years later. The thunder in our province is so loud that the windows rattle in their frames. I revert to a p...

mari

Khall I'm so sorry about Rip, they really do take pieces of us with them when they go. Chisamba - I've met a few half-bionic riders, not a single one has said they regretted it, although the recovery can be a biatch. Good luck to you! So lovely to read all the updates. We're at the start of summer h...

mari

Peeps, I thought this board was nuked. I haven't been able to access it for a few months now, and finally twigged that something might have changed and the access was restricted for other countries. Laurie and her husband opened it up for South Africa again.

Missed you guys! Glad to be back.

mari

Moutaineer wrote:Ha, Junior! Busted! Now she knows you can do it!

Exactly! Now you can be relentless, Exvet, you know it's in there somewhere

mari

I don't know how anybody ever gets to Grand Prix before either they or the horse dies of old age. LOL, that is kind of how I feel right now. Like, we've come so far in the last year and yet we have so much more work to do at second level. :lol: the funny thing about this statement is that when i go...

mari

Chisamba - what a lovely active leg yield! You have inspired me to school these big sweeping ones. I avoid them because they're so hard for us (I know, I know!) We tried a new bit yesterday. My one instructor suggested that we try something a slightly sharper than his current French link full-cheek,...

mari

Omw, I need to find me some padded panties!!! Thanks for that tip, didn't even think about it.

mari

If I can just actually go ride more than once a week, that would be great... Lost my mojo a bit, hoping to get it back. Somehow.

mari

I love your post Chisamba. I have a long list of concessions... Some are due to my natural patience/zen when training, and some are due to my current skill plateau. An example that is always relevant for me is that I can get EITHER a lighter feeling in the bridle OR enough impulsion. Nearly never bo...

mari

Lovely videos StraightForward, thanks for posting them! And your colour-matching game is ON POINT, love it.

mari

A productive but hard work ride today. It was half pass day. The left is pretty decent, but Potters was a bit recalcitrant about doing the hard stuff to the right, and we had some snarky spooks. (He'd rather do the things he finds easy like changes and pirouettes.) I find myself turning into a pret...

mari

I just wanted to post a link of a South African showjumper, Bronwyn Meredith Dos Santos, and her absolutely fabulous horse, Bibisi. They're at the 2025 LONGINES FEI World Cup Jumping Finals currently. The heart and dedication and cost it took to get there, and compete with the best in the world, is ...

mari

Tanga wrote:I love watching you ride, Aleuronix,. Good work. Good exercises.

Samesies! Lovely consistent work.

mari

Chisamba - You both look great, her hocks seem very active. Good luck with your move! I try to train myself (and fail often...) to not think of changes/decisions so much in terms of right and wrong. Roll with it and try to find happiness in that new situation, and if it doesn't feel good and you hav...

mari

Sorry to hear about the disease outbreaks in your area mari. Dealing with such vector borne diseases is so hard especially the ones preventable through vaccination as are the majority we deal with here. AHS is always on our radar for reportable foreign diseases. Thankfully we have dodged that bulle...

mari

I had a great lesson yesterday with Molly at the show grounds. All of Junior's flying changes were clean and in the air. His contact was pretty solid and we really dug in and got him into that right rein honestly. Most importantly I had a forward pony. When we got to the show today, Junior was as c...

mari

Great clinic notes Blob, I love the comment about hand position, specifically.

mari

Thanks Exvet and Moutaineer, thanks for your words and kindness. I know these things rationally, but I'm in a bit of a funk after yesterday I guess. Which is unlike my usual riding mindset so I'm at a loss about how to make it go away :lol: Moutaineer - the impulsion vs. suppleness, you nailed it! W...

mari

Had a show today, first one in ages. 3-1. I thought it went really well except for a big mistake where he broke into the most awful camel trot after the final extended canter. But the scores were terrible. I ended last in class of about 16 people with 57%. I'm very bleak, especially since my instruc...

mari

I realize that Junior's growing in from a body clip winter coat is quite brittle and am hoping that the rubbing isn't due to a ill fit of saddle. Actually today, Junior found his shoulders like he never knew he could reach his forelegs that far forward. He really galloped for me to day and it was g...

mari

Great photos and scores Exvet!

mari

I had a lesson yesterday, we are practicing test riding (3-1). I don't feel great thinking about it, it was pretty ugly riding. I've had Odin for 15 years, and he is totally amazing, and I have become a much better rider and horse-trainer because of him. Both my instructors consider him a proper sch...

mari

I heard there was flooding in Randburg. Are you all ok? Yes, thank goodness. I'm more to the North, in Centurion (closer to Pretoria). Here in Centurion there are lots of low bridges, and they flood, and EVERY SINGLE SEASON people try crossing anyway and get washed downriver. Bonkers. My suburb is ...

mari

I think many of you know I have JRTs and it's for the purpose of rodent control. Well Troy decided to join their pack. Yesterday it was clear when I got home from work (I had all the JRTs with me) that Troy stomped a mouse (to death). Whether he was playing with it (most likely), accidental or out ...

mari

So much rain here. There is a joke going around that 70% of the earth is covered in water, 69% of it is covering Gauteng currently. Our arenas are all uncovered, and if it's too wet we don't get to use them. And of course I have a show in a few weeks :lol: I took advantage of a few minutes of dry-is...

mari

There is a Dorothee Schneider clinic here in mid-February. Here in South Africa we very rarely get international clinicians, so I was super keen to spectate, but they suddenly moved the dates from weekend dates to Monday/Tuesday, and now I can't get leave. Very bummed.

mari

Exvet I had to read your LY exercise quite a few times before I could figure it out :lol: We also have some homework this week. We're working on counter canter a lot at the moment. The single changes are pretty established, but he anticipates a lot, and the more complex CC work is to teach him to re...

mari

Flight - I think I'm going to fall in love with Bear a bit!

mari

I see now I haven't written my goals. Riding: Still on the MORE journey. It has really paid off imo, and the next two months will be very focused on trot lateral work, and a more reliable very collected canter. Myself: I started the FUEL workout series by Caroline Girvan yesterday. I did her IRON se...

mari

Lipsmackerpony88 wrote:Chisamba I hope you are feeling better and I hope you can tell us more about your trip to Ireland soon

Ditto!

mari

I had a really lovely final lesson of the year. We got rained on, and had to stand under a tree for a few minutes to wait for the worst to pass. But fortunately it was just drizzly rain with no lightning. We played a bit with changes on a 20m circle, definitely something we will pick up and refine f...

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