So that's it. It's 10am, I'm ready for work...
[rewind sound]
[alarm clock sounds]
Alright, it has just gone 5am
I have my cup of tea
I'm about to jump on a bus and I will be at the yard by 6am
So I've just fed the horses' breakfast so Ted and everyone
are just eating back there.
Usually during this time I would make my haynets
but I actually already did that last night so instead
I'm going to open the barn doors, change into my yard boots
and then once everyone's finished eating, Ted will
stand out on the yard with a haynet whilst I do his stable.
It's pretty cold, it's about 2C today
so it's good that we've got lots to be getting on with.
So Ted's finished eating breakfast, he's now
stood out on the yard with a haynet and I'm just going to muck out his stable
So I'm going to speed on through this
I actually have a whole video on my mucking out process
and I'll link that out if you want to see it but otherwise,
let's keep going, keep moving on through.
If only you could fast-forward mucking out in real life.
So Ted's bed is all done
So now we're going to groom and then tack up and ride
It's about 6:20am at the moment
So as I mentioned earlier, it's really cold today
so I'm actually not taking Ted's rug completely off when I'm
grooming him. I'm doing half of his body with his rug folded back
and then doing the other half
with his rug folded forward. When I groom
I use a plastic curry comb
and I follow up with a dandy brush
I use the plastic curry comb to remove any stubborn mud,
(it's very muddy and wet in the UK at the moment!)
and then I follow up with the dandy brush on any sensitive areas
such as underneath where the girth goes or on his
face because it's a bit softer and it gets rid of the extra dust.
I personally avoid body brushes because Ted
spends a lot of his time out in the field
body brushes can actually remove the natural
oils in a horse's coat
so I try to use them sparingly - any kind of brush.
and then I finish up by picking out his feet before tacking up.
But really, when I'm grooming, I'm looking particularly around
where the tack is going so behind his ears
on his cheeks, underneath his girth,
and between his legs, all those places. If there is
dirt there, that's where it will rub under the tack
so that's the areas I'm really looking at.
So it's just before 7am, Ted and I are
tacked up and ready to go. We're just about to head down to the school
and do some flatwork, so we'll see you down there.
So because I ride so early and everything
is on such a tight schedule, I really like to know
what I'm looking for in the school,
what my session will look like and what 'good' looks like
so that I know when I can stop,
or when I should keep pushing for something in particular.
So today, because it was really cold
we took a little bit longer to warm up
just to give Ted's muscles that extra bit of time
and the same with the cool down. Today,
I was just looking for a really nice balanced trot
and a nice canter. Canter is something we've been working on
for the last few sessions so I felt really good about
where we got to today.
[To Ted] Hi monkey!
[Gate shuts]
Good boy!
Ok I know that was a bit dramatic
but we've been practising gates
every single time we've been in the school
and this is the first time he's actually shut it with his chest!
I'm sure it was an accident, but I thought it was amazing.
So it's about 8am now and we've finished riding
You will have seen me loosen the girth there in the school and I always
undo his girth and his flash first, just to
make him the most comfortable after riding
and then I obviously remove his saddle and finally his bridle.
He's not sweaty today so I'm going straight to get
his outdoor rug and pop that on because it is cold,
I don't want him standing naked for very long.
Once I've popped his rug on and made sure that he's warm, I'll
pop his tack back in the tackroom and then I'll change my boots
so I'll change out of my riding boots and into my
yard boots before I turn him out in the field.
So Ted is out, I'll just make his feeds now
tidy up and then I'm good to go!
So Ted is out in the field, back there
his feeds are done
I've tidied up and now I'm going to head to work
My commute is a short walk from here into central London
it takes me about an hour by train and once I'm there at work
I'll shower, change into my work clothes,
put my makeup on and start my real day.
So that's it, it's 10am, I'm ready for work. I hope you enjoyed
you enjoyed today's video, if you did please don't forget to subscribe and leave me your
time-saving morning routine tips in the comments, because
I'll be in there. Thanks, see ya!