The way to heaven is on horseback

Today has been a pretty average day, I decided early on in the day that I wasn't going to do a lot because I was really tired, the only thing that I needed to do was go to my physiotherapy appointment at 2:30.  I went with my mum and brother this morning for them to talk to a bike sales person about the next motorbike that my brother would like, that has a 125cc engine instead of a 50cc. When we got home my mum and I decided that we would do my driving practice and time it so that I arrived at the physio on time. When I got there she asked how I was feeling and I said better but that I was still aching and occasionally getting pins and needles. She felt the joint in my back and said that it feels like it's gone back in to  place. I'm to keep using my belt when I'm riding and see how it goes and then in a couple of weeks try riding with out it and if I have any problems between now and then just to let her know! When I got in I started reading a new book, and th...

So you might have noticed that there is a new blinkie on my page, at the top in the left hand column. I can't wait to tell you guys more about it but you're all going to have to wait a little bit longer for that bit of information sorry guys! I'll give you a hint though it is to do with scrapbooking and computer software!  This morning I had my driving lesson, I've had 5 lessons with this new teacher and he has helped me to come on in leaps and bounds, it is just over a month until I'm going to be doing my driving test and from now on we are going to be working on test roots that the driving test people use. I've done all of the movements that you need to do, and feel really prepared for my exam, I've been able to practice in my car but only in small amounts as it's got to go up to my local garage tomorrow. I haven't really done much for the rest of today as I've not been feeling well but I think this is to do with the thunderstorm atmos...

Yesterday I got in another ride on Gatsby, I went up earlier than Pony Club with the intention that I would get to ride Gatsby before Pony Club but when I got there it had just started raining heavily and there was extremely big bangs of thunder going on. We had a cup of tea and the thunder stopped leaving us with just a little bit of rain, so we decided that we would tack up and get on. The minute that I got on another bang of thunder happened and it was right over the top of us so I got off and we thought we would try lunging him well the rain and wind picked up again so we decided that wasn't a good idea and put him a way I spent some time grooming him and giving him some love and attention.  When Pony Club started we decided that as there was only four of us that we would do some riding, the sun came out and we got on. I am so glad that we did because it was the best ride that I have had so far. He'd got a snaffle bit in again and we worked on getting him in the outlin...

For the past few days it was thought that I would get my car back today, but I didn't want to blog about it incase I jinxed everything. My uncle and mum took me to get it and then when my uncle was driving back my mum and I drove back in my mini. We went the countryside root back and it was really nice. The car felt a million times better but then it should do after having £3200 roughly worth of work done to it. Tomorrow I will go in to more detail about the things that it's had done to it but for tonight I am just so happy to have it back. It took me two hours to drive it back from Stoke (should have only taken 1) then I went out again in it this evening for a couple of hours. The things that I noticed immediately was that the engine was a hell of a lot quieter, it was almost purring and sounded so nice. The steering was a lot lighter, and it all felt a lot smoother. The third thing that we noticed was that the brakes were a lot sharper, I literally tapped the brakes to ease ...

This morning I woke up just in time to go for my riding lesson, when I got there I got to work on grooming Gatsby and I was amazed to see how shiny he was. He looked so clean. When I went to tacking him up we decided that we were going to make a few changes. First of all we took away his martingale we might use it when jumping him but for now when doing flat work we aren't going to use it. We then changed the bit, I can't remember what bit he had got in before, I think it was a gag. But then we put him in a snaffle with a lozenge joint.  As soon as I got on him the difference was amazing. He was forward and responsive and I was still managing to almost get him in an outline so I was happy with the work that we were doing. As soon as I asked him to warm up and stretched he dropped straight in to working long and low and it felt great. He was really swinging in the walk and it felt so nice to not constantly be putting my leg on to get him more active. We all noticed the diff...

This morning I went up to my stables to help out again, there was three of us there (Barry, Fiona and I) so we knew that we would be able to do things quicker than normal. My mum and I over slept so I was 15 minutes late but Fiona didn't mind, we turned the horses out and then had a good laugh while we were mucking out stables, we started at opposite ends with the plans to meet in the middle. Fiona offered that if I would like to I could ride Gatsby this afternoon so of course, I said yes. I went home at about 10am and then helped my mum and uncle doing the shopping, after we had done that I went to my room with the intention to read a book instead I ended up falling asleep until it was time to go to the dentist. Then after the dentist I went back up to the stables, Fiona, Elaine and I bought all the horses in, giving them their feed and taking their fly rugs off. When we had done that (we missed feeding Gatsby, Rascal and Little Rocky) I groomed and tacked up Gatsby to ride him ...

So this morning I went up to my stables from 7:45 until 10. It was a good morning with lots going on and it was a good workout. There was Fiona, Elaine and I there today so we got lots done quickly. It was a good workout for me as I did lots of upper body work by sweeping shovelling horse poo up the muck heap. It's safe to say that I got a good sweat on as it was so hot!  I then went to physiotherapy. Turns out we were right and my left hip joint (see yesterdays diagram) is infact out of place we aren't sure whether it's moved sideways or up but it has moved. Today she looked at the process that I am making and decided to try and manipulate because when she tried to feel for the joint she couldn't find it and I was finding it painful. However after doing one exercise it seems to have gone back into place for the minute so my muscles are all having to readjust which sucks but is worth it because it will help with my riding.  This afternoon I didn't accomplis...

So the other day I saw someone who did a post like this and thought why not, I might as well do one, even if I can't afford it I can still day dream, right?  My dream barn would be open and spacious, I love the wood look and how natural it appears to be but can also look really fancy/sophisticated. I also like the idea of the stables being in a U shape with doors and windows facing inwards so all the horses can see each other. I love the stable image above, I love how lit up they are the wooden look to them and the way the stable doors are. I'd also like it so that some of the stables had runs going out the back so that the horse could choose whether to be inside or outside. I also really like how the bottom of the stable walls are a stone wall.  If the stalls were inside I'd love them to look like this, I again love the wood look but I also really like how open everything is. I like how everyone can see everything and how it has the chance for the horses...

Today and last night we have had heavy rain, thunder and lightening. This is something that we tend to not get very often but has been needed for a few weeks as it's been a heavy, suffocating atmosphere. So after the storm we expected to have a nicer atmosphere but it's not changed it's still the same as it has been for the past few weeks.  This morning I had a driving lesson with my new teacher we worked on reversing around corners and doing turns in the road (there not allowed to be called three point turns because if you need to do it in more than three turns then that is okay). I have also got my driving test booked for Friday the 6th of September! I can't wait, tomorrow I will hopefully find out how my car is doing as it is needing even more new parts! Frustrating. After my driving lesson we took my dad to the hospital for him to have the x-rays that he needed doing and blood tests.  I then had a nap this afternoon as I have not been sleeping very well and...

Today was the second badge testing evening at Pony Club, we were doing the points of the horse and I was more nervous about doing this badge than the grooming and handling badge. I know the grooming things, the points of the horse I wasn't so sure about.  I had a practice before and then went to doing the test with Gatsby. To start with I said all of the points of the horse that I knew, then Elaine asked me the ones I hadn't said and I had to say where they were on the horse. I got all of them except three and the ones that I didn't get Elaine didn't know either, so that was comforting to know.  When we had finished that Fiona told us that we were not going to know whether we had passed or not  until the end. We decided that we were going to work on doing plaiting and also how to put on bandages. This is something that I have always found difficult but I only got one attempt at three years ago so I was looking forward to trying to do it again. The great thing w...

Well my mum and I didn't get to do what we planned to do. Months ago in a horse and rider magazine I saw an advert for Cavendish Horses at Bolsover Castle, when I saw it I said I wanted to go but I forgot about it until today. My mum agreed that she'd take me and we got there for them to tell us that they had sold out of tickets for the day, but we could still go look at the castle if we wanted to. I said no thanks because old buildings don't interest me. So instead we went to Mcdonalds to get something to eat as neither of us had anything all day and when we had done there we went to go to Chatsworth house with the intention that we would see all the deer out grazing but when we got there they were across the other side of the river and couldn't be seen anywhere. So mum surprised me by taking me to the Horse and Carriage Museum in Darley Dale, we got there one minute after they had closed. So instead I spent time taking pictures of the horses out in the field. It ...

Riding two horses in one day. This morning I got up to go riding, I turned up at my stables to find that for once it had cooled down a bit. There was lots of clouds and it looked like it was going to rain but it didn't. I spent half an hour grooming Gatsby, and giving him some love. Then at 1 I got on JaimieLeigh  wasn't there for the lesson today but Alice was. Before I got on we made sure that both of my stirrups were level. Then when I got on Fiona and my mum looked to see whether I was still level and I wasn't this proves that my hip is slightly out of place. I spent the first 15 minutes riding Gatsby making sure that he moved willingly and forward. I then got off and put the belt on it's job is to hold my hip in the correct position not the position that it is at the moment.  When we put the belt on and I got back on Gatsby we noticed an immediate difference, I was so much more level and Gatsby was a lot more responsive. He was amazing! He turned from me movin...

Today has been a good day. This morning I managed to get a lie in after going to sleep really early last night. My dad got back from Norfolk at about Lunch time today so my brother and I helped him to unload all the boxes from it this morning. We then took the van back and my dad and I went to see how a friend of ours E-type is doing then we went to the pub for a quiet drink.  This afternoon I was at the dentist again, for as long as I can remember I have had a fear of needles, and four months ago it was agreed that they would refer me to a hospital to get my teeth sorted under sedation. Unfortunately they have now decided they can't do it. So my dentist has agreed that every friday when he should normally be shut he will spend an hour after work has finished getting me the work done, using bubble gum cream and then doing the injection later on. We managed to get two things sorted out while I was there today and I will go back again a week today. We have soon realised that the...

1)The Intro Horse.  We each came into horses in our own way, but it was always with a horse leading us. This might have been a friend's first pony or perhaps it was a draft horse on a farm that you visited once. It might have been a real-life meeting, or an imaginary one. I've always liked horses ever since I was little, I can't even imagine what the first horse that made me want to ride was because the love was always there. However here are a couple the first was a horse that I nick named 'Holly' she lived at the back of one of the pubs that we used to go in as a kid and I loved wandering off to go and stroke her and watch her in the field. However as I kid I also loved StarLite out of Rainbow Brite I used to read the book all the time, and of course I loved Black Beauty.  2) The Experimental Horse Once you had crossed the line between 'Darn. they're big!' and 'Wow, Can  I try that?' you found yourself face to face with the h...

Well the dentist went better than I thought it was going to be, my dentist is great and is really looking after me, after the problems that I have had with his new employee. He's agreed that we will do it slowly a little bit at a time over a few weeks because the other dentist has left it far too long. I also found out that I was right and I have got two wisdom teeth that are through/coming through. This afternoon my mum took me to my favourite pub because I've had more bad news todo with my car but I will post about that tomorrow. I love this particular pub because it also sells teddy bears and I've got a bear from most of the times I've been there. Today my mum got me a fluffy dog called 'Boo'. Until Next Time A Girl With A Dream

These can all be seen on instagram to look at them just click on this link!  I love this picture, this is Tabby one of our new members at the riding school along with Tickles  The image that started my desire for a new hair colour,  A hair style that I would love to have but no wouldn't suit me because of it being blonde, however if it was dark well maybe!  The exact shade of purple that I want my hair with pink running through the fringe.  All these pictures are things that I like at the minute, the kittens I love and thought you guys would like better pictures of and the hair styles led to a dying session this evening to get purple hair with a pink highlighted area in it, there will pictures of that to come tomorrow, along with a fun dentist appointment! Urgh I HATE the dentist but more about that tomorrow. Until Next Time  A Girl With A Dream 

Today has been a good but tiring day, this morning I got up early to go the stables and help out. It was fun and we almost finished perfectly on time, it also meant that I got to play with the kittens! They are starting to be so adventurous and explore there surrounding areas which is good. At one point they were both in the cage and snuggled up together it was the cutest thing that I have ever seen (pictures will be in my next post). I also got to say hi to Daniel who is Fiona's son. He's so cute and loved playing on his grans scooter chair thing - can't think of the right word at the minute. I also discovered that I am pretty fast at putting fly rugs on something that I didn't think I was (that's when I can get them the right way round.  This afternoon mum had to go and see her physio who has said there's nothing he can do for her back so she needs to see someone else, he gave her an exercise to train her shoulder to go back in place and I also am going t...

It was a good night at pony club today and we all managed to pass our pony club handling and grooming badge so this was great. Next week we will do another badge, I think we agreed on points of the horse. I'm going to have to do some brushing up on them as I find them really hard to remember.  When we got there we talked about what we were going to be doing, we then got two horses and split in to two groups, four of us had Hazel and the other three had Big Rocky. The first thing that we had to do was lead the horses in a straight line, then round a certain block, back again and halt. Making sure to use our voices and actually talk to the horses. We then put Hazel back in her stable and left Rocky tied up while Fiona got Daisy out. We then had to show that we could tie a horse up using a slip know, this time I got to work with Daisy who is so adorably cute.  We all went in the tack room for cake and drinks. After we had done we all had a piece of paper and a pen, in fr...

On October the 20th I will be going to see Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and Richard Davidson. Those of you that have been following my blog will know that Carl Hester is my all time favourite rider he amazes me. I've seen him once before when I saw the Spanish Riding School and have said that I would love to see him again.  This started yesterday when Fiona told me to imagine how Carl Hester looks when he's riding as I was having some outline issues she then asked me if I wanted to see him to which I answered yes! So she told me that I could go with her and Elaine on the 20th October this earned an immediate yes from me and then a yes from my mum to! I'm so excited to see three amazing riders that hold so much talent that I can only hope to be like one day. I truly LOVE the experiences that I am getting at the minute and I know that they are going to help me progress with my riding as my riding is the consistent thing in my life.  Today I've had a really laz...

Anyone who lives in the UK will know that when the word 'summer' starts being used that we are going to get cold and wet weather! Well not this year for the past two weeks we have had really hot weather (well hot for here ranging from the mid 20's all the way unto 32degrees/89.6 Fahrenheit). Today was no change, when I first woke up this morning I as covered in sweat and I'd not even been under my covers all night. I got to riding for 12:30 like normal and instantly realised that it was going to be a hot uncomfortable ride, we were riding at what should have been the hottest time of the day. Immediately we said that we wouldn't do a lot of fast work (no canter and small amounts of trot) as we are not used to the height and more importantly the horses are not used to the heat. I rode Gatsby like normal and JaimieLeigh rode Rascal. I started grooming him making sure not to miss anywhere but to stay cool as well. I finished grooming him earlier so I looked at some...

My mum has decided that today is wierd Wednesday as it has just been a bad day. First thing this morning my mum got a phone call off orange to do with her upgrading her phones, well as you'll know that happened weeks ago as I had got a new phone, well the guy from orange tried telling my mum that she was wrong and we hadn't got a contract phone.  Then we went in to where my Physio appointment is going to be to be told that they had booked it in for the week before! Ermmmm NO you said it was going to be the tenth because my mum had to cancel her physio appointment so that I could have mine as I have been waiting that long. The receptionist there basically said we were wrong and she wouldn't possibly have said that.  This afternoon my uncle got a phone call as he is selling his holiday home. He got asked if he could get everything done for a week on Friday. The contract hasn't even been signed yet and then he should have two weeks after that to move all his stuff...

Yesterday at Pony Club we were doing some practice towards our first badge night next week! The first badge that we will be doing is grooming. So yesterday with the sun shining and it being nice hot weather we got the sponges and shampoo out and started working on bathing the horses. Alice and I did Gatsby and first of all we made sure to brush him all over especially his tale which was particularly knotty. When we had done we started putting the horses to bed, making sure to put the hay nets u and top the water up. It was then time to go home but mum was running late so Fiona let me get Tabby out (one of the new kittens) so I got lots of cuddles with them. They are so cute and I love them, I'm looking forward to afternoons at the stables and cuddles with the kittens. This morning I had got my third driving lesson with my new driving teacher. We decided that we were going to work on doing emergency stops. We talked about how it was important not to stall when doing the emergency...

This morning I was going up to the stables, when I woke up it was hot and I knew that it was only going to get hotter. I don't mind the heat but I don't particularly like it either, and when it gets too hot and bright I start getting migraines. I spent the morning mucking out stables and looking at cute kittens! The vet also came today to give vaccinations, blood tests and look at some of the horses, it was really interesting. Even though it was hot I still enjoyed it.  Today the new kittens for the yard came up from Fiona's house. They are so cute and fluffy. I like them. One's a black and white and the other is a tabby cat, they're called Tickles and Tabby. Once I'd mucked out Gatsby's stable Fiona then took the kittens in there as his bedding was pushed right back. They were dead cute to watch as they kept running around and playing. When Daisy started calling for her friends the kittens jumped because they had never heard one of the horses neigh. Th...

Yesterday I had a really good ride on Gatsby. The weather has become really hot these past few days making it hotter than anything that Gatbsy or I am used to, so while I wanted to do something productive I also didn't want to over heat either one of us. Fiona said from the beginning that we wouldn't do canter work or jumping, out of the three horses (Rascal, Gatsby and Rosie) Gatsby is the worst colour for attracting heat and also the one who attracted flies the most.  When I got there, I spent some time grooming him and giving him so love, he was so shiny! It was like looking in a mirror, I then tacked him up making sure to put his ear covers on, this was the hardest thing for me as he doesn't like having his ears touched but he is getting so much better at it! I then also made sure to put some fly repellant on him with the hope that it would help to keep the flies at bay, unfortunately they still kept attacking him.  When we got on we spent some time walking aro...