Still not being good at updating!
Rory is coming together nicely in his lessons even when the world is out to get him he's managing to keep a lid sort of on it and listen to me and work still which is a major step forward and a year ago I'd have had to get off and just leave it for that day. So it does seem that he's growing up lol and the trust he places in me at times blows me away.
Not done too much riding due to weather etc but he's just ticking over.
Em is still riding Pait and having lesson I had planned on longreining last weds but the wind was too bad to even consider it.
Duke is being a cocky little so and so but in a sweet way (unless you ask Rory who seems to be baring the brunt of "play" time). If we have some none stupid weather. ie. anything but wind Im planning on doing a bit of inhand/longrein work just to give hm something to think about.

In other dales news fingers crossed a long time plan is coming together. All will be revealed once everything is set in stone.
have a pait pic to finish off though

Went up to the yard on Sunday determined to get new 2015 pics of all the dales came home with only pics of Duke. rotfl. Ended up bringing him to get the 2 huge snarls out of his mane. Pulled out the big guns aka Eqyss detangler which made short work of them with minimal hairloss. I do love the stuff even if it is a tad too pricey to be an everyday product. Saying that I think Ive had my current bottle about 4 years and have only just ordered another one.
Finished off 2014 getting Pait and Rory out for a few hacks together. We are very lucky to have a well draining still cut stubble field which is ace to have a good canter on and is really teaching Pait how to go forwards and Rory is being a very cautious babysitter and sticks at her pace.
Getting Duke out on Sun meant I left the neurotic anti dales aka Rory on his own for 10 whole minutes (horses in the fields on both sides and hay out) by the time I came to put Duke bak Rory decided I was taking too long and promptly came through all my fencing to join me *bangs head* I do despair with him at times.
So heres a couple of Duke pics anyway hes 4 in june.

Nowt really interesting to blog at the mo. Can't wait until we have lighter nights or proper arena lights (sadly I know which one of those options will happen first) Rory hasnt been ridden too much and its showing in hes dropped quite a bit of topline and hes looking rather lean but as he's adlib hay and a warm rug and as much fattening hard food as he will eat as a feed there really isnt a lot more that I can do. Whoever said Dales were a good doing hardy breed obviously forgot to tell Rory.
Got a bit of time off between xmas an new year so will try to up his work. Trouble with that is though getting him to eat more food as hes not greedy and gets full easily.
Pait is doing well with Em riding her shes had a couple of lesson with moody mare hat on but really worked well today. The show trot is beginning to emerge and I cant wait to see her fully fit and in the ring. Her nickname is either going to be tank or bull as she's certainly not small and looks set to fill out even more!
Speaking of bull like at 3.5 Duke is looking rather huge 0.0 he's going to be another well built chunk but will be a good 14.2 like pait if not slightly over. Poor Rory really is starting to look weedlike in comparison.

A very motivated day today. I actually rode both ponies. Poor Rory hasn't been ridden in well over a week which is never good so put his fluorescents on and we went out for a hack. Opted to do a mainly roadwork route as the ground is so slippery at the moment and I didn't fancy a ride with Rory losing the plot as I was making him go slow on the canter tracks. Our ride was mostly without incident barring one moment that a st Bernard appeared on top of a low wall at the side of the road. Cue Rory jumping straight off the nearly 3 vertical bank onto the planted farmers field! Managed to pull up and spin him back round only to realise that I now have to jump back up the bank onto the road! Hmm not a prob says Rory and thankfully the last bit of the hack was uneventful.
Got on Pait for the first time in ages seeing as Em is riding her and went out for a quick hack. It's honestly like sitting on a tank compared to Rory. I also discovered the garden with the full sized plastic gorilla now has a giraffe looking out onto the road over the hedge and yes it is taller than me on a 14.2 dales.

Well either Rory is working up to a huge norty ride or someone has swopped my little nutjob. Lesson with L today and first thing is Rory is still only shod on 3 legs I have been waiting for his to pronounce his unshod hoof falling off but it didn't happen. Next thing was YM's 2 horses were turned out in the field at the side of the school and the second I started riding round both took off hell for leather and one promtly jumped into the field and commenced flybys. Given that Rory has the attention span of a gnat on a good day I was quite prepared to write the session off so when he did half an hour of bending correctly, engaging his hocks and giving the most brill upwards transitions he's probably ever done you could have knocked me over with a feather!
Afternoon farrier turned up so he now has 4 shoes again!

Think Rory may want to disown me after this winter with all the dressage we're doing. Sunday was back to syndale to do intro b and prelim 1. The warm up was a complete bog so they were letting people do a quick warm up in the indoor before starting the test. Both tests he scored well but was still quite tense for and that really shows in his downwards transitions and canter work but he didn't break the canter this time so just need to work on collecting and slowing the rhythm down a bit now. Em rode Pait in both intros and they are both improving verytime together although pait did sneak in a quick stop and shake in the free walk in intro a (sniggers). She has brief moments where it all comes together and those moments are just wow- blow you away stunning.
Rory also did his tests with only 3 shoes on as I got there and realised under all the caked on mud (he lives out 24/7 hes not going to be clean in winter) he'd lost a shoe. The loving mother I am decided it was on a surface and no jumping so he could suck it up and just do his tests lol.

I never thought I'd say this but I do enjoy schooling and lessons at times! Rory as quirky and daft as he can be is just such a trier and now all the physical issues are sorted (fingers crossed and touching wood) his schooling work is steadily coming on. Today we were doing spirals and leg yeild into canter and in the canter really asking him to use his back end and lift the front and he tries and tries his little heart out. My instructor L has known him for a few years now and has seen him through all the uneven and hindend issues and he suprises her every week and how changed he is.
Dressage again on sun looking forward to it. Doing intro b and prelim 1 this time.
Proving he is still Rory though he decided to tram Pait round the field and not let me near her when I went to bring her in for the night!
Pait is currently in the naughty books and sharing a field with him and Duke as she has been letting herself and others into Rory's field to get to their hay bale. Little madame has discovered that if you pull the plastic posts out with your teeth from the very top you don't get zapped! So she is just being turned out with the boys every morning. but I do think she's starting to regret it as Rory is horrid at times.