Why don't I share my stories more when I'm spending so much time riding and my blog is about horses.

My phone is clearly giving up the ghost because I swear the world isn't that blue tone. Hacking with Connie and Butch. Ponying is the best for double the exercise in half the time. Also Butch leads really well until some foals chased alongside the fence and the great blouse went to pieces. He is such a loser when he gets excited he doesn't snort like other horses he actually does this huge groan like he is constipated. It is both hilarious and bad for my riding because the laughing makes me weak.

He looks really well he is almost fat. For the first time since I brought him in January his ribs are covered. After having the winter off in eketahuna which is cold and wet, he has come back a new horse. He is hungry all the time which is great because he used to be a bit of a picky eater but he is always eating now which is so good in a hard keeper. Connie is also a good eater but she always has been the little fathead. It's so hard to keep her energy levels balanced with her weight because she needs to feel amazing to jump really well, but at the same time I need to keep her trim for her legs because she has a club foot and is slightly behind at the knee. Still she has a snail like metabolism and can put weight on in an instant but is so slow to lose it. Also Butc now likes cuddles which is nice because he has been so standoffish but we are starting to develop a really understanding which is very cool.

I flat him is spus because he always wants to travel bent slightly to the right which is why we struggle on left turns. It used to be in a course of jumps my ability to turn left would get worse and worse as we went. He turns better off of the outside leg really but because the crookedness and left turn fail is apparent in his flatwork I can work on it on the flat and the spur helps me keep his body straight/ bent left or right as required. He can do it and he feels beautiful, but in needing to keep him really quiet to the fences I leave the spurs in the tack box. He doesn't stop unless I make a complete mare of it and when I get him to the fence both softly and at a speed that feels as slow as going backwards he actually jumps in a round shape which is both amazing and so odd for him. It's lovely though when he is that soft to ride. Of course it's funny he jumps round when he travels so inverted and hollow between the fences. But it's Butch who is mentally a delicate flower so we compromise on many things. Mostly the compromise is in his favour!

Local Gymkhana this weekend so Connie isn't getting a start. She doesn't need to do small stuff anymore. I have decided that she wont enter anything smaller than 1.20m unless she needs the confidence because she doesn't jump well over small stuff and I need to be brave and suck it up and stop being a pussy. She cruises around the 1.20ms so it's no big deal really. Only to me. And I can do it. I'm capable!