The Big Move!

The big moved happened over the weekend. As I could not secure a float I decided to ride. I was very worried about Tom's feet coping with the ride as it was about 10km's. He came through extremely well.

The ride itself went better than I thought and we ended up having a great 'adventure'. Tom was very jig joggy to start, but I put that down to my nerves about riding that far on the road. Once he and I settled down we had no issues. I decided to take a short cut through the old college, only to find part of it block off so we had to find another way through. Went up the back of the college buildings and found some covered walkways. Got off and led Tom him down these. I think because it was so spare of the moment, he wasn't bothered at all. This then led us down to the bottom field where I let him stretch his legs and went for a slow canter. Then it was back on the roads again.

I tried to stay on the grass berms where I could, (even went back and picked up the deposits Tom left on the way!). Stopped in at Mum and Dads for a quick drink, and that certainly brought back many memories of the Pony Club days when we would stop there to get ready and plait our ponies.

The ride has given me a huge confidence boost and the way Tom has coped with all that riding and shown no signs of lameness is a huge relief.

The last leg of our journey was down the Coast Road which is a 100km area. Nothing phased Tom, he was just so perfect I couldn't have asked for more. The whole ride took just under three hours. I left his paddock just after seven and was at Mum's place by nine and at the new paddock just before 10. I also was amazed at the difference my new Flexi irons made, as when I hoped off after so long in the saddle, I didn't have sore knees.

I have been maded to feel very welcome at my new grazing. Tom stayed overnight in a small paddock and was introduced to his new friends on Sunday. As I've never had him in with other horses before, it was quite a sight to see him galloping around the huge paddock, showing off with big floating trots and flying changes.

He has a few cuts but I suppose this is the process he has to go through being introduced to a new herd. He is still on the outer with the other horses and one in particular likes to bully him a bit. His name is Nuggets and yesterday he stood at the gate watching and when I went to put Tom away, Tom stuck his head under the tape and escaped. I ended up having to lead Tom away from the gate area and Nuggets so he had his own space. This situation doesn't do my confidence any good.

I suppose it will get better as I get to know the new horses. The other two are fine and tend to leave us alone.

My plans for the future are now to start practicing a few small jumps to get the jumping confidence back, set up a dressage arean and do a lot of flat work which is where we always fail and wait until the new season.