Hectic half term

Everyone and everything was moved without a hitch on saturday. Emma, my nextdoor neighbour(who is also a horse owner) and I rode the horses down from Kestal. They appeared to know nothing about what was happening and seemed to think they were going on a simple ride. We worked them rather hard to make sure they were tired and less likely to panic in the new stables which seemed to do the trick. They all looked worried but were reassured by each other and us. The day after they had had enough of being stabled and Tralee had figured out that he could reach around the dividing wall to try a chomp Nell who managed to remain just out of reach. They did look to head back up gears lane on the way to the field but caused very little fuss when we led them in the opposite direction.

It's been only three days but they have already settled well and it appears that they have realised this is their new home. The dividing fence between Nell and the boys was tasken down yesterday. Much to our surprise there was no chasing initially and Tralee mostly herded the two horses around and away from each other. We later found him with a cut on his back leg, a rip in Nell's rug and a good number of chase marks in the grass. We concluded that the most likely cause of Tralee's injury was that he had tried to mount Nell and she had probably kicked him. Thankfully it's not as bad as it looks and should be fine for him to go for a ride tomorrow. There were no signs of injury today and as soon as I opened the fence to let them to the top, Nell and Tralee both galloped all the way to the gate with each other. Rocky decided that running was just too much work and ambled slowly up the field. I did notice that Nell was rather reluctant to be touched for some reason so I suspect Tralee has probably bitten her a few times and is feeling a little tender. I'll give her a good grooming tomorrow and hope that he stops the stallionish behaviour soon.

Moving day confirmed and some gorgeous photos

Well, we are officially moving. Everyone and everything is heading down to Gears Lane on the 24th of this month. We have already packed most of our stuff away and have cleared the mouldy hay barn down at the new place to get rid of the rats and dogs who keep getting in there. We're already sizing up the other things that need to be sorted and can't wait to get things going. We are still waiting on whoever borrowed 10 of our fencing stakes to give them back otherwise mum said she will slowly pick some off without letting them know. We bought some anti crib spray off ebay to prevent Nell eating the stables at night but whether it'll work or not is another matter. Stall chains are the next essential item to stop the troublesome two from just walking under the one thats currently there and the electric fencing is being set up in a week or so, ready for them to go straight in. Saturday saw a change in the weather and I decided that it was now or not until spring that I get some nice photos of Nell. We did start the day with all the intentions of working the horses hard for 15 mins in the sand school and then taking some photos but instead we hardly worked the horses at all. We rode bareback and as I was mounting from the fence, Nell decided to walk off and dump me in the sand. I would have been fine if I had just let go of the rope but I ended up pulling my fingernail up. It is still a bit sore but the blood supply is still there and I don't think I'll lose the nail thankfully. Emma exercised both boys and managed to get them both to canter.

Nell was completely unfazed by the rope or gestures we were making to get her to move and I had to shove her a bit to make her go. After a while though, she started to really enjoy herself and all Emma has to do was lead her to the top of the sandschool and let her loose!