Sitting on the fence...

Extremism is everywhere. There are always people who refuse to believe any other way is better that theirs and there are those who are utterly opposed. Sometimes it becomes a war. I realised this when I stumbled across an anti-fuglyhorseoftheday blog. And it surprised me.
I am certainly not a loyal and devout follower, although I do enjoy reading the blog, but neither am I for calling her a complete hypocrite either. The anti-fuglies bash on her mainly for her hypocritical view on her own average, nothing fancy stallion, who they think should be gelded - something Fugly has always preached. No-one there likes how her followers prey on anyone who opposes her views. For the most part both sides are well spoken, educated voices so there is no divide between their ability to dish dirt.
However someone mentioned there something about which side of the fence you choose. So which side do I stand on?
Neither. I sit on the fence.
I believe that in every walk of life, every aspect of a situation needs to be addressed. Not everything is black and white, wrong or right. If you do not tread carefully you can end up in the firing line. Saying something wrong to the wrong person at the wrong time and in the wrong place could easily leave you humiliated. If you choose a side, stay with them. Do not seek out the opposite end of the spectrum just for the bravado because you will be burned. Otherwise, if you don't want problems from either party, stay out of the way. Keep comments light if you must share your oppinion and never agree completely with either side.

In other news, Nell and Lucy were moved down to Kestel on thursday so they are all in one place now. Hip Horray!

Beaches and Banners

Spring really is here now. The daffodils are blooming, the sun is bright and the horses are losing their winter coats. Oh and up there ^ is our new banner. Lovely is it not?

So today was another beautiful day that makes living in Cornwall absolutely magical. Every colour was rich and vibrant, each green leaf sunkissed and beautiful to behold. Today I noticed everything in all it's beauty for finally the long, barren, colourless winter is over. Look through the eyes of an artist, a poet, a writer; and you will know exactly what I talk about.

A ride to the beach was in order. I normally go down once a week to school anyway but I haven't really had the energy to ride all the way down there for a while so it felt good to be down by the sea again. We had very little beach left by the time we got their but we made the most of what we had. I now have my dad's old camera which is by no means old. As you can see it takes stunning photos. Rocky quite liked the water and must have enjoyed the taste as he found a salty rock and started licking it. Nell got her feet wet but backed up the beach very quickly when the waves "chased" her. She didn't spin but it was an odd sensation having her run backwards.

We finished with a couple of nice canters although it was difficult to do with so many people on such a small amount of beach.

Keen to get home as ever, Nell charged up the slipway nearly breaking a canter to get up the steep slope. At the top of the coast and beyond the Skewers's farmTwo large fields with an opening in the hedge between them offered a fantastic spot to canter. At first Nell did her long extended trot, refusing to move up a gear but when Rocky was put in front to canter she didn't want him leading. The result was an explosive haflinger. She went from a standstill to an extended canter, surging past Rocky. They were next to one another as we passed through the narrow hedge opening - a little too close for comfort, then Nell carried on past Rocky; obviously making sure she was still boss.

I just can't get enough sunshine at the moment! We're going Rocky Road tomorrow as long as something doesn't go wrong again. Last time Nell threw up lame so I really am looking forward to going there.

Shovelling Shite

Nell is pretty much back to normal now and is charging around the field at her usual pace. Went for a ride yesterday with Emma on Lucy and she was looking great. My thighs are a bit sore - we rode bareback but still managed to poo-pick the field today with Emma's help. Everything is ready for the girls to move back to Kestel now and the paddock was completely clear of steaming mounds of dung until Nell christened it as we walked out the gate. >:(

Hopefully we will get down on to the beach tomorrow. I will take my camera and fingers crossed - remember to get some photos for an update tomorrow.

Quick update

Nell is now about 90% sound. It seems she just pulled a muscle after all and every day looks better. There was a little bit of lameness when she was chasing me up and down the fenceline this evening but by my rekoning she should be fine by next week.

Rocky made the integration into the bully boys herd yesterday evening. Rodney, Tralee, Quids and Puzzle all seem to be ignoring him for the moment although there was a small amount of fighting between Rodney(herd leader) and Rocky when Puzz was first turned out. Rocky gave Rodney a good warning with his back legs and all now seems quiet.

Nell and Lucy move down to Kestel in 2 weeks. There is still 3 weeks before the all horses are allowed back on the fields although chicken field is being used for the bully boys. Everyone else was too lazy to walk up there so we have the field to ourselves. Their loss. I know Tralee is relieved to be out of the stable.

Spring is right around the corner and the weather has been absolutely like summer. The heat is amazing and here's hoping it will stay that way until Autumn.

Lame

Went for a ride with Emma today. Nell seemed to be a little off but it wasn't until I got her trotting I realised something wasn't right. The more I watched the quicker I realised she was lame on the near fore.

We were meant to have gone for a long ride, as Tralee is in the stable with only 3 hours turnout a day, for a whole month to re-seed the fields. However half way round we turned off to Croft Gothal instead of Rocky road. I didn't want to push her.

I will give her a week of just light riding and if no improvement we will have to call out Otty to have a look at her.

On the plus side, I got some good pictures to send to the Westphalian horse association. I hope they can ID her or at least e-mail me back if they can't. I hate it when people never reply.

A note on the ecomomic crisis

As the credit crunch bites and the economy gets worse, isn't it time to start thinking about the demand for horses here in the UK? I normally leave this stuff for Fugs, but she just posted a statement from the BHS. Being a brit myself it sort of dawned on me. The things Fugs worries about over in America are spreading to our green and pleasent land.

Things are changing. A heavy fog of worry for horse owners is hanging in the air. And yet as I look around, breeders are continuing as normal.

But they shouldn't be. It erks me that people insist on bringing more horses into the world when there are so many good, family safe, ridable and even fantastic competition horses out there who have no home to go to. We have a long haul ahead of us all and even people who are just breeding a one-off foal - hold off until the economy is better. Think for a moment what would happen if money problems got worse and all you could do to keep food on the table was sell your horse. Where would it go?

A friend bought a pony for her daughter in october for £1500. Her daughter lost interest so the pony was sold. The problem being, the economy got worse. In the end she managed to sell him for £500 in January. No difference in the horse - only the economy.

If you are considering breeding this year go here. http://www.fuglyhorseoftheday.blogspot.com/
Read all the posts you have time to, and change your mind. Foals may be cute but they are expensive and there really is a poor market at the moment. If you are still unwavered, you need to be strapped to a chair and made to watch hour upon hour of slaughter videos - Because lets face it - that's reality for many horses who don't sell, and reality bites.

Loving that Spring sunshine

These past few weeks have been absolutely beautiful. Rugs have come off, the grass in shooting through and there is NO mud!

Lucy and Nell both had a leg, mane and tail wash today down at Kestel. I was on my own so it was a bit difficult getting them both down but I managed. With a rucksack on my back, and the sun on my face, I jumped astride Nell bareback with a leadrope on Lucy.

Lucy is much slower than Nell so it was a bit of a struggle dragging her behind while keeping Nell in the right direction. We made it down to Kestel in one peice though and both ponies are now cleaner. Lucy's tail which was black is now a light cream. Not quite the correct colour - but not stained with poo is a start. Nell's mane and tail are shocking white and her legs and clean. We had a bit of trouble with cracked heels but by the time we discovered the scabs they had almost healed anyway. I scrubbed them with hibiscrub just to be sure then let the girls have a good roll in the sandschool so they wouldn't get filthy rolling in the field.

The way back was a little more testing as Lucy decided it would be fun to tank up the field. The imediate thought was 'SHIT! Let go of the leadrope!' but she stopped. So I kept hold of the rope. Either my strength was enough to pull her back or she just realised Nell was not going to race her. She played up again further up the field but Nell was a gem and behaved while the 28 yr old going on 2 pranced around with the wind up her ass.