Athens Smart Alec SJ at Kirriemuir 2010 (BE Novice)
This was the SJ from Kirriemuir ODE early in 2010. The jumps were WELL up to height and we hadn't done anything so big as a course all winter! I was pleased, Alex is not an easy horse to make go FORWARD and so we often end up pinging straight in the air instead. It looks and feel very uncomfortable but he doesn't seem to think so!
Muirhead Dressage Competition 2015!
So proud of this ponon! We placed 5th out of 5, which is obviously worse than our 3rd last year, but in all fairness, I hadn't had time to wash her properly, I've just messed up my white jods, she was competing with one less shoe than normal, and she'd had colic less than a week earlier.
Yup, she had colic.
One night I went down the stables - and I'm so glad I did because who knows what might have happened if I hadn't been there - and found her lying down. I first I thought 'aw, cute, I've never seen her lying down before!' and it was only a matter of seconds later, when I went to do and sit with her that I realised her breathing was laboured and something was not right. After getting her up, and watching her, she went down again. A mini panic attack I sprinted up the road to grab the owner of the stables, and we got her walking round. Eventually, we got the vet, who looked her over and decided it was trapped gas because she'd literally just gorged herself on grass in the field (bloody typical, eh?!) She got some pain killers, nibbled on some hay, and then a few hours later I went back to check on her and walk her around for fifteen minutes. At 11pm she was checked again, and I got a text to say she was in the all clear. The next day, she was back out in that field acting like nothing happened.
Colic has always been one of my worst horsey fears, and something I've always been paranoid about. It's always been one of those things that happens to other people but 'it could never happen to me'. Now that that fear has manifested, I appreciate everything so much more. I've not been away from the stables recently, paranoid that tonight will be the night Esmee needs me there. Between that, and the show, I can feel a definite flare for riding starting up again. Sometimes we just need a good scare to kick start us up again! It's ashame the good weather (or what little we had of it) will be starting to go soon, but hey, what can you do?
I'm currently working on a couple of projects for this channel that I'm hoping to get up within the next couple of weeks! :)