Taken last week after trimming and a towel wash. He's grown a bit, filling out and looking to be quite an athletic and handsome chap!
So much for breaking and selling. Celtic Flame is now going to be a permanent resident with us now. Tralee is getting older and this summer we had to increase his bute when the ground is hard to the highest it's ever been. We've gone from using No Bute in his first year to half a sachet for two years, started giving him one full one last summer and he's now up to one and a half. We have near enough decided that as soon as he's up to two or two and a half just to stay semi comfortable he will have to be put down. A harsh reality perhaps but what kind of life is it for a horse who has worked all his life and enjoys the mental stimulus to be stuck in a field doing nothing for 24/7? Nell would be OK as long as she got to be a babysitter (although if she was too lame to ride I think she would also be too lame to be comfortable as a pasture pet) and Rocky couldn't care less. We bought him to cuddle anyway so it's no great loss if he stands in a field for the rest of his days. Tralee has always been too work-oriented to leave without riding though. He escapes his field when he's bored. Not because he's hungry - he's broke through fencing even when there was a whole field of lush grass - but because he needs to be doing something. So we decided that once he's outlived his useful life, Kel will be his replacement. If we are very lucky, we shall get another 5 years out of Tralee (We've already almost had him 5 years; gosh how time flies!) by which time Kel will be 10yrs and perfect for mum's riding needs.
On a less doom-and-gloom note, Kel has started schooling sessions. Intermittently, admittedly, but he has indeed started. Next stage is to get him going out for rides on his own. We should have done this ages ago but I've been riding him a bit too spontaneously and the amount of rides he's done is not much compared to how long he has actually been broken for : /
17th June is likely to be his first show experience. Maybe only just to have a look around or an in hand class if there are any. We'll have to see closer to the time. Either way I have about 6 weeks to get him up to scratch and get some show gear together. Wish me luck - I'm always so unorganised.
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