I know it’s been a long time since I sent anything to the blog, my excuse is a lengthy tale of woe.

On Aug 31 I was flying to Tampa to look for a barn to to lease in Ocala for the winter months. Solo is going South this year…lucky Solo…

To cut a long story very short, US Airways ate my computer after asking me to cabin check it. They cheerfully took responsibility, however it took them five weeks to get it together to replace the item. On or around the three week mark, my ability to function computerless failed, I bit the bullet and bought a new computer. That was on the Saturday, on the following Wednesday evening, I made arrangements to take it back to the seller and have it cleaned of some advertising files (it had been a demo model in the shop). Again to cut a long story very short, while it was in it’s little roll along computer case, I reversed the truck over it. Yes….that’s what I said “reversed the truck”….don’t say a word…

So now I really did have to develop the patience to wait until either my insurance (second disaster) or US Airways (first disaster) coughed up the cash to buy a third computer. I must say that Henry Equestrian , my insurance company, helped me out at superspeed. Finally I have a new computer albeit sans email addresses, files, software, and all the garbage I depend on keeping on my computer….UGH. The only thing that I am scrupulous about backing up is my accounting data. Fortunately, I was able to have some of the stuff on my hard drive transferred onto a portable drive – now all I have to do is work out how to transfer it onto the new ‘puter…finding address files and moving them about, is way up above my computer challenge limit.

Solo meantime has gone through several changes. A LOT happens in a month. The first thing that happened when he got back from Millbrook was a noticeable improvement in his flat work. Although he is still sticky to warm up i.e. not going forward, resistant to the leg, moving his head around – he fairly quickly and very consistently comes through in his back all of a sudden, and off he goes. Through and round and forward in walk, trot and canter. Walk is his stickiest pace, trot is where he usually ‘goes through’, and the canter is not straight enough to be truly through but he is non resistant and going forward, at the moment, he leans a bit like a bicycle when he is going to the right. He does that going to the right on the lunge, we have started lunging and riding him through a spray of poles on the circle. He has done some of this under saddle through the summer, but has just been introduced to it on the lunge. It keeps his inside hind active and straight…he hates it.

Because of his being so nappy at the Summer barn, he was moved back over to the home barn. That has proved to be a huge factor in his behaviour. His flatwork is improving in leaps and bounds – jumping has never been an issue. I have not hacked him alone since our big argument when I had to call Selena out to help me, but he is hacking in company and other than the really steep up and down hills which he still grumbles and complains about, he is doing all his work like a superstar.

Selena hacked him out on his own on Saturday. He napped when leaving the barn and reared a little – but now he is at the stage is balance and readability where he got a very hard whack with the crop across his side – he didn’t give her any more trouble. I think his baby stuff is finally behind him. He looks and feels like a ‘real’ horse now.

Out of interest – when we first brought him home to Hawkridge in 2005, he wouldn’t settle in the original stall I wanted to use at the home barn and I had to move him into one that had bars all round so that he could see more. Now he goes into any stall on the property, settles down and gets on with it. He and Waldo are still good buddies, and they still go out together as the best of friends. However, it’s noticeable that as they grow up more and get a handle on their job, they are less reliant on each other. Neither of them ever fusses much when they are split up, previously, it was raucous for about five minutes when they had to be apart.