Did similar work with both of them, getting Giant back into some basic schooling after his leg and Harry did some nice work.

Giant was a little... not naughty at all, but undisiplined, just coming against the aids and trying to lean a bit, so did some work to get him softer again. Starting with just a good trot around getting him to go forward, not just trying to cheat and escape into canter. Once he was going I wanted him to make his stride that bit longer to go forwards, instead of just running.

We practised lots of transitions, trot walk, walk trot, trot halt etc. On the downwards getting him softer in the rein again and in the upwards really jumping forward away from my leg. A couple of times I halted him and just did some standing flexions to get him to release a bit more when he wanted to set against me.

Inbetween harder bits of work I made sure to give him a good break, walking on a long rein, or encouraging him to stretch in trot.

If hes going to fall through a shoulder its the right one, so firstly getting him listening better to a neck rein and then using a flexion to the right to straighten so that he couldn't get that shoulder out.

Ended with a bit of shoulder in which he really enjoys, his lateral work is becoming a lot more established and we can start working on it more in trot as well now.

Harry I try to warm up on a long rein, so that he doesn't rely on me holding the ryhthm with they rein, but will stay there himself. He can be a bit stiff and slow to warm up, so with him I let him be a bit this way, there is no point in winding him up by making him go forwards, he will go anyway once he has loosened up a bit.

So lots of trotting big shaped in a nice slow rhythm until hes happy and then I start to take up the rein more, encouraging him still to be quite long in his neck and to start taking longer strides. Like Giant (like any horse really) he wants to just take quicker strides, but with harry he can go llama and start a bit of a panicked amble, so the key is stretching and just slowly pushing him for a longer stride.

His transitions are coming nicely and it can be the opposite to riding Giant (where I want him to be a lot more electric), Harry needs time to think a bit and just keep himself quiet. Especially in canter trans to the left, he will get it, but if you put pressure on him he just goes llama.

Back to a walk we did some shoulder in on straight lines and circles to help him loosen up and get him straighter, then worked on more canter, going forward and then coming back to a really nice slow canter, and back to a trot without leaning and throwing his shoulder down...

Giant's leg is starting to look better, most of the swelling is gone, its still just a tiny bit warmer than the other leg. Took him for a hack out off Harry, we went down Harakeke Rd and then the new road, right down the end where we went a few weeks ago. Gave them a trot together where the ground was soft. It was freezing and windy, Giant started a bit on his toes how he can be in that sort of weather, but he and Harry are really happy hacking out together like that so he settled pretty well.

Saddled Giant up and took him down for more work, started out with his new favourite, the pompom. He is good with it all over his body, its just up the top of his neck, around his ears and his nose. Strangely he actually likes it rubbed on his forehead lol.

At the moment I am trying to teach him that running backwards and throwing his head around does nothing, the only way to get rid of the pompom is to put his head down and wait. So I put it somewhere he doesn't like, ask him to lower his head, take it away as a reward. Repeat manytimes... I can rub it all over his head and ears now, hes not thrilled by it and tries to get away sometimes, but he can deal with it. I want to get him to wear he can deal with wearing it and not panic.

Then I put the tarp over him and got him to carry it around like Ra. He wasn't too convinced, but was good about it, didn't like it flapping around his legs, but he got better.

And finally attached the pompom to has saddle and gave him a quite lunge, he wasn't too sure of this either, but I just kept him going and focused on me doing walk trot trans until he got over it. Gave him a bit of a trot and canter. He should be fine to start some riding again tomorrow, just nothing to heavy.

Gave Giant the day off for his leg, will ride him this week end when that swelling should hopefully have gone down.

Took Harry on a big hack, we trotted down Sims Rd and I was going to go back along the beach, but then we went for an explore down the driveway/road? that continues on from Sims. Sort of went about 100m and then it opened up into these weird sort of paddocks divided by netting. Don't really know what they were, but we headed towards the beach a bit and then trotted and cantered up one of the paddock thingys, it was just a long strip until we came to some cattle yards. There was some people and someone on a tractor there so we turned around and came back.

Was a really nice ride, being that little bit further north the mountains looked amazing with all the snow. Harry was really good, enjoyed going somewhere different.

Giant had a bit of a fat knee, it doesn't look too bad, but I don't really like where it is -off fore on the outside at the bottom of his knee, where he has a splint already. Theres no marks so more likely hes strained it a bit, or it could be related to that splint, so best to lay off him a bit till it sorts out. So we just went down to the paddock and had a play...

Hes getting heaps better with the ball, and even started to enjoy it. Started out again with me kicking it and him following around, while I do this I concentrate on his leading, keeping him light off the pressure, not worrying about the ball, but focusing on what I'm asking him. Then kicking it all around him, esspecially under his nose, he doesn't like it when he suddenly sees it from his other eye.

He "got it" today, with actually kicking it along, he was better staying straight and going a run on a few times with it. Having it kicked towards him is still his biggest worry, esspecially if he doesn't know its coming.

We also did some work with the tarp, which he was suprisingly good with. He has a bit of a snort at it then walked over fine. So we moved on to dragging it next to him while he walked and throwing it over him.

Did some jumping with Death Bitch 2000, I was totally right, once you start cantering he changes... hes a hold on and steer, but it was fun and he enjoyed it.

Just warmed him up for 10mins trot and canter on a longish rein and then popped him over cross rails in trot. In trot he just pops over really sweetly, the first time I jumped him in canter he did too, but then the second time he started to get excited about it. Put up a tiny vertical, first time he was nice and calm, but knocked it down, that hyped him up and he jumped huge, he would have been pretty cool when he was young, he was suprisingly springing.

Had another go at the hoof ball and he got it too. He doesn't worry about it at all and he started to kick it properly and walk along with it, I just correct him everytime he tries to walk around it, but he didn't try to back away today. He looks like he wants to push it with his nose, but he hasn't quite worked that one out yet.

Hacked Harry right down Pukenamu rd (right to the turn off opposite the ducks), just for something different, we haven't been down there in a long time. Nice easy ride, trotted and cantered where we could, which is most of the way as theres lots of good verge. Only bit of excitment really was those 3 huge dogs that run up and down the fence line,he got a fright but he was good about it.

Did more hoof ball work with Giant and also some lunging. Warmed him up on the lunge and got him going forward, he is being so lazy at the moment, although I think part of it is that stupid thing on the end of the rope (do you mind if I take it off?), I can't swing it at him properly. Then had a go with the ball, we just started again with me kicking it and him following, then moving it all around him. Had to do a bit of work again to get him to let it touch him, but we got there and went back to lunging again.

Put him over an X to warm up, he was being super lazy, either trotting over it or just about landing on it behind. Again I chased him away from it and he got better. He is good, it that when you reward him for something he really does try to do the same thing again. Back to the ball I did lots of kicking it around him, correcting him everytime he backed off or went sideways. Got him to where I could kick the ball and bounce it off his front legs.

Put him over a bigger jump which he did nicely after chasing him the first time, when he puts some effort in he jumps in nice style. One more time back to the ball and I gave him a go at actually kicking it, first time he did it by accident and got a big fright when the ball shot out from under his nose... after that he was actually better than he is with it moving towards him. Still he just sort of did it by mistake, but just wanted to set him up that he stays straight and walks into it when I ask.

It was freezing! So got them done as fast as I could. Had to drag Giant in from the paddock, he jst looked at me like "why are you imposing this cruelty upon me??"Lol, he looked equally unimpressed when I pulled his rug off...

Did my the same with both of them, a good lunge to warm up, pole and jumps and a quick ride.

Giant has gone super calm and he took a bit to get going (could have just been the cold), got him straight into trotting to keep warm, the new rope is good, nice and long, but that thing on the end is a pain. Lots of trotting and changing rein to keep him listening, then over poles, he was being a bit lazy, trying to put an extra step inbetween, so chased him a couple of times after the poles, so that he was thinking forward and he was much better.

He was a bit the same over the jump, lazy, not picking up and nearly landing on the back of the jump. Put it up a bit to make him actually jump and again, chased him away. Chasing him away from the fence makes him think about going forward next time, where as chasing him into it could make him start rushing (never change them infront of the fence). He got better and better, jumped in better style but stayed nice and calm.

Under saddle I got him going forward, walk trot canter... especially canter. It was nicethat he wanted to give me a nice slow canter, but today I wanted him to go. He does feel better after Anne.

Harry went through the same on the lunge, he is a bit slow as he warms up, but once he loosens up hes nice and forward. He must have done many poles and jumps on the lunge in his life time... he knows the drill. Hes really nice, trots in straight and keeps his rhythm.

He was nice popping into canter, and today we worked more on quality. I got up off his back and when for a few more forward lapps of canter each way, and then practised transitions back. This is always the hard part for him when he gets a bit hyped, but after a few goes he started to settle better.

Points for hacking out...

• Never let him run home.
• If he wants to go slow make him go fast.
• If he wants to go fast make him go slow.
• Always try to ride him on a long rein, even if he wants to go fast, holding on to him will only wind him up. Slow him down, then release, slow, release, keep going until he settles. You may need to do a full transition down to get him to settle, even halting and getting him to stand still can help.
• Only make him stand for a little longer than hes happy to. If he will only stand for a second, make him stand quietly for 2 secs then reward and move off again. Build up the amount of time we will stand until he will just wait quietly.
• Don't let him speed up or slow down on his own, only when you ask him to.
• Never let him turn or drift.
• Ride in straight lines, if he drifts put him back on the line you want.
• If he so much as looks around give him a little tap on his shoulder just to remind him that turning is not an option.
• If he does turn (break these stages down so its easier): make him stop, then turn him back the way he came from (not the way he wants to go, even if its easier, so if he wants to go left make him go right) using a direct rein action and make the rein short so its easier for you and whip on his shoulder and the same time. Stop him again when hes facing the way you want, reward him and then ride forward.
• Make it really clear, turning bad, straight good.
• Breaking it down and rewarding when hes good will stop him getting wound up which will only make it worse anyway.
• Correct the little things before they get worse.
• When you do actually ask him to turn make it a nice big smooth turn, don't just let him spin around.
• If he does try and spin keep him on a nice big circle or figure eight until he settles and turns nicely.
• When riding down hills zig zag and let him take his time.
• Make it as easy as possible for him, if he wants to go slow and pause, thats fine.
• Try to give him his head to balance and then stop him as soon as he gets too fast.
• Never let him trot down, even the last few strides.
• If he needs to stop and look at something, make him walk a couple of strides (just so that hes still doing what you ask), then stop him and let him settle down, reassure him and walk off again.
• Talk to him :). Give him lots of praise, reasurance, give him rubs. Build up his confidence.

Hacked Harry out down Sims rd, haven't been that way for ages. He was good as usual, trotted and cantered down the road and then trotted most of the way back along the path between the houses and beach, just have to makesure that he doesn't get too quick on the way back, bought him back to a walk each time he wanted to go too much until he settled again. Took his cover in for fixing.

Yay, Giant was also really good! Went over the road again into the dairy farm, except this time went a different way, towards Puruaha Rd. He was so much more relaxed and didn't over react to everything. Theres really good little hills to practice on there, so took him up and down as many as I could where ever we went and then when we got to the flat paddocks we had a good trot around. Tried to get out onto the road a different way but the last paddock was a bit of a swamp so w just had to come back the same way. He was good coming home too, not too keen like he was last time.

Took Giant for a hack out to the beach, he was pretty good, as in he didn't actually do anything wrong, but I still wasn't that happy with him. He just needs to breathe and relax, he constantly feels on edge.

We walked down the road, and this part he was actually very good, thought it was going to be a great ride. But once we got to the beach he just got that edge, there were people and dogs everywhere, but he was suprisingly good with them. We trotted down the beach, through the surf, past people, no problems. But I get the feeling he would have taken advantage of you...

As we got up to the second beach access a guy in a red jacket came out, everyone else was wearing black, this one guy really caught his eye. Again he didn't really do anything, he just did that thing where he stops and looks around very intently with his head right up. Then he walked off again just fine.

On the way back he is just getting too quick and he never settles down properly. The lady walking in front on us clapped to her dog and Giant leapt, there was just no need. He was however very good when two stupid cars drove past very close and fast (you know when they're so close you can feel them?). But then again there were a few times where I stopped him and he just wouldn't stand still...

Hacked Giant down the dairy farm through the gate with the latch at the bottom. He was in a bit of a funny mood but settled down well. Then we passed where they are working on one of the power pylons and they had left a whole lot of equipment around it, while he was having his token snort at that a horse in the paddock next to us came hooning over - that set him off and he spooked and had a buck. Pulled his head up and he stopped, put was really on his toes and had his back up for a few mins, ready to jump again. He didn't though and the rest of the way was pretty uneventful. We just went down the laneways and did a few laps around the flat paddock at the end.

Gave Harry the usual warm up on a long rein, but also included canter which made things interesting. Without me helping him out he got the lead wrong which made him all flustered. But that gave us something to work on.

Came back to walk to work on his lateral work now that he was a bit hyped up. As usual this was easy doing shoulder in to the left, hard to the right cos he always throws is shoulder down and goes sideways against the right leg - but thats why shoulder in right is good for him. So worked through that and got him moving away better from the leg.

Then got a few better canter trans from him, as we came back to trot I had to make sure he didn't curl up so as soon as he took a stride of trot I quietly raised his head and put him into a shoulder in until he settled.

Put Giant on the lunge quickly to see his soundness, his leg still has a bit of filling, but he looks sound now. So jumped on and we did lots of work in walk on flexions and lateral work. He is so cool at this now, lots of fun.

Started out with flexions at halt, lifting his head and getting him to chew on both sides without dropping his head. Then shoulder in on straight lines, focsing on flexion and getting him to soften, halting and flexing if he set against me a bit. And then the same work on circles.

Travers on straight lines, he was better today, not trying to move against my leg. And his new favourite, half pass. He thinks hes so smart doing this, so I sort of have to make sure he doesn't do too much, just keeping him on shallow angles.

Had his first little go at travers in trot, keeping it really slow, going sitting trot and just getting a few strides moving his quarters over to give himthe idea.

Giants leg was still pretty much the same as yesterday, so instead of riding him I took him for a walk off Harry to the beach, they really enjoy going together like that, Harry is always much calmer. So just went for a walk to the beach and a splash in the sea for Giant's leg. Shortest post ever.

Giant came in with his off hind really swollen and a small cut on the inside of his cannon, about half way down. Not really any heat in it but hes a bit impish on it so I just hosed it for ten and put him back out. Don't know how he did it, theres nothing out in the paddock where he is, but its not too bad. Hopefully he'll be good enough tomorrow to do Harry's drill and walk to the beach and put it in the sea. I think the lumps on his back may have gone down a little bit? Its really hard to tell, so obviously they haven't changed much anyway.

Hacked Harry out to the beach again, cos we're having the most amasing weather, this is how autumn should be! Cantered down the beach to the pink stump, took me a few mins to find it, but eventually we got onto the path that leads through the new beach developments (haven't done the loop backwards before). Trotted back through the developments and then walked home, that was quite a it of work for him.

Hacked Giant out down Harakeke Rd, it was such a beautiful still day, (the first t-shirt day we've had in ages :D) so the thing on the road that scared him last time wasn't a problem, we trotted straight down all the nice verges, walked down the new road and then up the hill. They are starting to put in driveways to new sections and the fence that was there is down, so we went for an explore.

Giant isn't the best choice of horse for riding through a forest! Hes much too tall, which made it a little more difficult, but we still had a nice ride, just had to be really careful going down the hills, that he didn't run down under the trees, but he was pretty good with that. We couldn't really go too far, the fences into the paddocks are still up, but was a good ride anyway.

Gave Harry a good warm up in nice big circles, I think I said last time that being older he takes longer to warm up than the others, and I don't think the cold helps him, even today when it was warmer he still feels it. So a couple of laps walk, then trotting lots of big circles and shapes on a longish rein until he feels good.

Then back to walk to practise our shoulder in, he was better today, stepping away from the leg rather than getting faster and his flexion was better, although the can't hold it for very long. Over trotting poles he was really good, suprisingly careful (I thought he might trip a bit). These will be good for strengthening him a bit and hopefully help with his tripping. Just have to be careful with him that he doesn't change his rhythm on the approach, he wants to quicken, I know his type...

Hes very good over the little cross rail, just trots down and pops over, he will be good for you to have a practise on. His first canter trans is always so good, before hes had a chance to think about it. Although the other ones weren't as tension free, he still got it right much more easily. Interestingly he prefers to land from the jump on his difficult lead.

Well the fine weather has broken, there is snow everywhere and the whole country is freezing! I swear it snowed on me yesterday!

So hacked Harry out to the beach and kept moving on quickly to keep warm. Trotted all the places we could and then down the street to the end beach entry. Cantered down to the pink stump and then trotted back down to the beach through the water to the normal exit with a storm chasing us...

Was much more sheltered once we got off the beach again so we just walked back (he had worked quite hard) and managed not to get wet. He's dropped a bit of weight again so I'm trying to get lots of grass and hay into him.

Had a great ride on Giant today, he was really good. Started lunging him as the sun was going down, it turned the air a thick pink and there was a huge rainbow over us, very cool. Warmed him up over poles again, he was getting a bit excited so made sure he stayed steady and straight, then practised our changes of rein again, getting them soother, he tends to spin around then snort and run off the other way, we got to were he was too slow, but thats better, atleast he was calm.

Then over a small cross rail, again he got a bit excited so lunged him right next to it so he didn't know when he was going over it and he did it great. Put it up to a little vertical and he jumped that well too, he has really nice style, I wanted to go higher but the ground is too slippery, I don't want to scare him.

Got on and went through some flexions at a halt, just getting him chewing softly. He actually chews better to the left, although hes not as straight in the poll that way. Basic travers is good now so I turned it into a half pass (same positioning but moving away from the leg differently). I think half pass is his new favourite, he thinks hes rather clever. To the left he just finds the flexion hard, to the right the flexion is easy but have to watch that he doesn't want to get too much sideways.

Into canter just practised some trans forwards and back, something he still finds hard, he wants me to do it for him rather than carry himself. Then some lengthened strides in trot, this isn't natural for him (its bred into the WBs, but I don't like that) so it takes some developing, but he actually lengthens his stride out now rather than just running faster. Then when I bring him back his stride gains more cadence. Stretching out is still his hardest thing, he wants to do it after some work but is always inclined to want to curl.