I’m loving our lessons at the moment and Riley and I are progressing every week
Monday morning was a busy one in the life of Riley this week. We usually have our lesson with Emma at 2pm however I had another engagement that meant our lesson time had to be changed to 8.15am.
I arrived at the stables early to groom and tack up for our lesson. We went round and round in circles quite literally as we practiced our 10 metre, 15 metre and 20 metre circles attempting to make them look as they should, although at times they didn’t look very round and we definitely lost and added a few metres along the way.
We did have a brilliant lesson though and we are really focussing on precision and keeping Riley straight.
I did feel slightly guilty
Afterwards it was back to the stable to wait for the vet to arrive to sedate Riley. He was happily munching his hay blissfully unaware of what was to happen and I must admit I did feel slightly guilty however he desperately needed clipping and I knew from experience that he wouldn’t be able to be clipped without help.
I had hoped to introduce him to the clippers gradually however I knew it was going to take a long time and we didn’t have that luxury. David one of the instructors on the yard had agreed to clip Riley for me and he arrived with clippers at the ready.
Riley stamped and kicked
Riley needed a top up after his initial sedation wasn’t fully effective. Here he is as the sedative is starting to take effect
The vet injected Riley and we waited for that to start taking effect. When the appropriate amount of time had passed, the vet instructed David to go ahead, which he did. Unfortunately, the sedation wasn’t sufficient, and Riley stamped and kicked his leg making his objections known. Luckily, David had approached Riley tentatively and no harm was done.
The vet decided that the best course of action was a top-up and again we waited until we had the go ahead. This time however the sedation worked, and David set about clipping Riley. It was a race against time to clip him before the sedation wore off as we knew that the minute it did Riley would let us know and not in a good way.
I know all owners say the same, however I must say Riley looked amazing and so smart. I did feel proud.
We waited for the sedation to wear off and then turned him out all rugged up to enjoy the rest of his day.
Riley is progressing every week
Riley looking very smart after being clipped
Later in the week, we had another lesson with Emma and during the lesson Riley wasn’t listening to me and at one point just carried on trotting despite my attempts to stop him. We did lots of different exercises to help focus him and we did turn things round.
Although we are in a second lockdown, I am pleased that we are still able to have our lessons with Emma. Riley is progressing every week and I am keen to continue with his education, and for that matter mine.
