I have noticed since the Pat Burgess clinic that Solo even looks more grown up. He has been much better behaved since his ‘dive in the deep end’. His body looks deeper and stronger and his neck is finally starting to fill out. All in all he is beginning to look more like a horse and less like a string bean.

He didn’t work for the past two days because a VERY large four year old did a number on my toes. I was trying to bathe him in the wash rack and he was mentioning that he would prefer to stay dirty and just go back to his stall. He turned his head and aimed his 18hh wither at me, stood on my toe (to hold me down) and cannoned into me. I was flattened and my toes look like a bunch of red bananas. I am not yet sure how many are actually broken but at least one! The joys of life as a trainer.

I am hoping to be able to get my boot on tomorrow and get back in the saddle. We have a whole crew of horses to ride each day and there’s no time to be broken at the beginning of the show season.

We have not decided what Solo’s next outing will be, but possibly a dressage show. Even if he just goes to an event to hang out and take in the atmosphere, although after his great behavior at the RWF, I am not too worried about how he will react at a show.

Next Monday we set off for Bromont where Selena and Peanuts will be doing the CCI**. Solo will probably just have the week off, he is going well now and I don’t think the time off will send him backwards – just likely to make him a bit fat and bored…..he will survive