January ride report!

This weeks blog post is live and I am SO excited about it… because it’s my January ride reports! 🙌🏻 Firstly can I say hallelujah that January has finally come to an end, this month goes on forever, I’m sure all the calendars are wrong and there are really 131 days in this never-ending sodding month! However, we have made it to February and the days are gradually getting lighter, so I no longer have to go to and from work in the dark!

Despite the cold, wet weather and an illness I have managed a number of rides this month and completed 12.7 miles! Now I know to some this will seem like an insignificant amount but to me it is amazing, seeing as this time last year me and Fred could barely get out the yard alone. Most of the rides this month have been alone, due to work commitments and a poorly field companion who we ride with, as she has had some box rest this month!

Early on in the month I pulled on my big girl pants and made the decision to take my saddle out for the first time when riding alone, as normally I have been taking my bareback pad. However, we also have some new hi-viz items and I wanted to try these out too and needed my saddle. This ride was amazing and we managed a few canters all by ourselves, again something that we have done little of alone. We passed a cyclist, dog walkers and cars with no problems, we had one small spook mid canter but he looked after me and I stays securely in my seat. One thing that bareback riding has helped with, is my core muscles and I have found a big improvement in my normal riding since using this.

Alongside hacking, we have also completed two schooling sessions this month, which were the best we have ever had, not to mention this longest! We concentrated on some flat work, with poles and the second time we did some jumping too. Fred is rising 6 this year, so I have made the decision to increase his schooling this year and to do a lesson every 2 weeks, so far so good and he has taken to it well! He used to nap terribly to the gate and this has improved so much, he certainly knows what to do and keeps a nice outline, he really does seem easy to train and is a quick learner!

In other news for January, the blog was listed as one of the top 25 UK equestrian bloggers to follow, Feedspot emailed me to let me know and I thrilled to be included. Feedspot has a team of over 25 experts whose goal is to discover and rank popular blogs, podcasts and youtube channels in several niche categories. Do take a look and see if you can find your next equestrian blogger to follow!

I hope you have enjoyed our ride report, I may not complete these every month but will update more regularly on our progress throughout the year.