In the Saddle: Road to recovery....

Well, as some of you may remember we've not been able to join pony club this season due to my daughter's knee injury...we had the results back after going private and finding she had torn her muscle in two areas. Luckily she is on the road to recovery.

Today we see the specialist to check how she is getting on and, if need be, put my daughter in pot to give her enforced rest but I don't think that will be happening. I've seen a great improvement, slowly but surely and her riding in walk only is getting stronger. She mounts using a mountain block and I lift her down out of the saddle.

Last week she has been able to do a small amount of sitting trot. She can't rise at the moment but she did used to cry when jolted accidentally into a jog on the road and now she's choosing to try a little herself.

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In the meantime I have been getting to know our pony and have been ending my lessons on my big girl with a little lesson on Mara the pony. It's really strange going from a 15.2hh horse who has a big stride to riding my daughter's 14.1hh pony with a little choppy stride.

You might ask what's the difference?Well, it's quite a big one. Imagine driving a large 7 seater truck and then jumping into a mini. The mini will feel much lighter, nippier and faster than the 7 seater big truck. The turning circle will feel different too - it's the same swapping from horse to pony.

I don't usually ride different horses. That's not a good thing to do. It's like refusing to get into a different car and only driving your own.

Well, now I have to and it will probably be the making of me. It's good to learn to ride different horses - they each have their own unique feel and I'm glad I've been made to step up and ride our pony. She's teaching me so much.

In the meantime, Alyssia is enjoying light ridden work as she recovers gradually from her injury.