Rain...Lots of Rain!!

Over a week and a half since I was catapulted off Heathers back! The ground was wet then. However, hard to imagine then just how much it was going to rain. We've had rain at night, in the morning, at lunchtime and sometimes at tea too! It has been heavy coming in showers, or persistent but lighter for hours! Overall it's been very, very wet... Consequently everything resembling a field has turned to sloppy mud..not a time to have leaky wellies! The river has come out of its banks and now receded, but left all manner of debris high and damp everywhere. The nights are slowly getting shorter..painfully and thinking of pain..my poor back is still hurting. Welcome to mid January!! He says listening to rain on the window...
Last Wednesday saw a visit to the yard of Andre Majewski, Equine Dentist no less. A very interesting chap with an almost unenviable job. He'd travelled from Harlech in North Wales, to see amongst others on his huge list, Heather! So sometime mid afternoon stood chatting in her stable with Andre, as he prepared to work. He used to be a farmer, but now changed careers. I'm used to this sort of chit chat from dentists, to calm the patient. Yes I was nervous as to how Heather would react to having some of the eighteen inch long rasps in her mouth. I was looking at Andre's fore-arms as he went in, searching for scars, but saw none...and he has all his fingers, so figured he must know a thing or two. So when H started to pull back and get agitated, was impressed by his soothing words in Welsh and gentle face massage, which transformed her behaviour!! He spent half and hour or so and was thorough to the end. A bonus of his visit was yet another estimate of her age. Sixteen. The vet thought fourteen, Carol twelve. When I took her on loan, I was told she was eight!! My estimate from pics on the web led me to eighteen. All really irrelevant, but interesting.
Despite my poorly back...well err...backside. I've ridden on every opportunity, except my group lesson last Thursday. There's a great difference in schooling and hacking at your own pace, to an hour of demanding orders in the school from my instructor, Ange. I'm also still finding canter very painfull and hoping things come good for tomorrows evening lesson. I believe I'm riding Zotto, who's probably the school top ned, whom I've not yet had the pleasure of yet. So fingers crossed..
Wayne, the farrier went on holiday!! This has meant that Heather and her dodgy big feet have gone unattended for two weeks, too long. I was quite concerned, with all the time and effort invested in her feet...especially with all the mud trying to help her shoes off. Well we made it through. She was first to be seen this morning and is now sporting natty new shoes. The worst foot, her near fore, with the crack doesn't seem to be getting any worse. In fact generally..as with the rest of her all round, things are looking up. She's generally a happy horse now and almost willing to work. Until I'm fully fit to ride hard...I'm working on trying to get her moving laterally. We've just about got turn about the forehand...now have to try..on the forehand. Oh and I've discovered a strange little soft spot on her. She had a cracked heel on her near hind last year. I was checking the area and scratting her heel, noticed she was wibbling her lip and crunching her teeth in pleasure....silly mare.