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.

Jumping problems? solved!

Emma and I finally went for a ride yesterday after many weeks. She bought along her camcorder in the hopes of getting some video of us jumping.

It was a beautiful day and the sun was out. We warmed the horses up by riding around three gates, where we had a lovely canter along the grassy stretch. Nell's canter was rolling and steady so I made the decision to work on turning at speed and kept her going around the corner. Normally she stops at the end of the stretch or breaks down into the trot, but yesterday she was feeling well and cornered with an elegance that would make a dressage horse jealous.

When we got to the woods I tried teaching her to stand to open the gate. It took a while to get close enough but eventually she got the idea that I wanted her to stand next to the fence while I reached across to the bolt. We got most of the way and decided to let Emma finish the job. After all, I could try opening it on the way out.

The big pond in Rocky's field drains off into a river which runs through the woods. The river had flooded leaving many of the trees at the bottom half of the woods standing in water - including the jumps. We walked the horses through the deep water - another one of Nell's dislikes then headed off in search of dry land.

We found a couple of nice easy jumps with a run up that wasn't too boggy and started jumping. Nell was wonderful and I finally figured why our jumping had sucked. I had been restricting her by becoming tense and keeping my reins short and in turn she was cat-leaping because she was struggling to get her head. So I relaxed and allowed her to do the work.

And we flew. No more cat leaping. No more falling behind the movement. My confidence has gone up and I am ready for next time.

Tralee was a poppet but not quite as bothered to be jumping as usual. He took it all in his stride and jumped every one but it may have been too easy for him. After all - a 15.2 Hunter who was used to 6ft hedges need not put much effort into 1ft logs.

On the way out Nell stood close to the gate and for the first time since we bought her; I opened it without getting off.

Two problems were solved yesterday and here's hoping my jumping goal might just become a reality!

Serenity and Sunshine

Wonderful weather has blessed us the past week and I am certainly making the most of it. Emma is up in Wales with her boyfriend so it's just been me riding. In some ways I enjoy riding on my own. I don't have to make conversation unless I want to and then I can talk to Nell. I don't have to worry about other horses acting up. I can make my own decisions as to where I am going and how fast and last but not least, I don't have to trek around to meet anyone.

Yes. This week has been riding bliss. Not too hot - not too cold. In fact I've been able to go out without a fleece on! In february! When we get horrible, stormy summers and mild, rainless winters, no-one is going to tell me that's not global warming.

I will be nicking some pics off Jade and Lisa when I get back to college so expect a rundown of our ride. If I have any EMA money after Easter, I will consider buying a helmet cam. Then instead of pictures - which I always forget about - you can see movies! Yay!

Damn it!

I know I said I'd get some pictures but what dyu know; I forgot my camera! I will see if I can get some off Lisa and Jade who I know took a few snaps and then post them here.

To Jade...

Jade...

On monday you will be at my mercy. You will be going on a gruelling 3 hour ride and your legs will be burning by the end of it. Your back will ache and your buttbones will have disintegrated. You will walk like John Wayne for the rest of the week. But I will look after you. I understand beginners and will not shout. Yes, Lisa told me all about that. Rocky will carry you safely and I will teach you. You may be nervous but relax... you're coming to enjoy yourself, not to be frightened so you never want to ride with me again. ;)

Oh and that's your steed for the day - Rocky. He is being ridden by my dad in that pic who is 5'8". Good luck getting back on if you fall off. ;D

Bribery

I bought Nell a pack of liquourice the other day in the hopes of bribing her to be good. If she behaves and does what I ask her, I give her a piece. I will hopefully be using it to do some groundwork and with a little luck it will work. After all - you have to give a haflinger a reason to do something.

I'm sorry! No pictures yet again but I promise I will this week! I'm taking a couple of college mates riding so I will definately take the camera with me. Lisa, from what I have heard so far seems to be a good rider - probably about the same level or higher riding than I am. Jade is really a begginer. She says she can trot but I always expect the very least when people tell me about their ability. In other words, if you can just trot I believe you can bounce around the sandschool but most likely can't post. If you say you have cantered, I will believe that you have maybe learnt how to control a horse with basics and have had your few first short bouncy canters but not much balance. This means you set your expectations low and don't get dissapointed or frustrated. If they are better; Great!

We will be out and about on Monday as long as the weather holds out so expect pics either then or on tuesday.

From white to brown

Well, the snow dissapeared by Wednesday and as we all know snow is just frozen water. So now we are wading through its remains in the form of knee deep mud and puddles. Thankfully the top field is still dry and most mornings the girls are up there.

In other news, Rocky's fieldmate, Dubai, has been sold so he was meant to have the mares move in with him. Unfortunately most of the mares owners did not like the field having a pond in it - referring to it as a marsh - despite the fact that it was dry and had GRASS. Oh well, their loss. Now Rocky has to eat all that grass to himself. He has company in opposite fields and isn't worried about being on his own anyway so its not our loss.

Tralee is fine. No real news to report on him other than all the boys are very very hungry. He is being bought in during the day and turned out at night while Rocky is in by night and out by day.

Overall their is not much to report as the weather is far too wet and cold to ride in. Perhaps we will get a break in the weather in the next few weeks but I don't hold out much luck.

Things to do this year

I believe in making a list of things I need to improve on every now and then. It keeps me on track, gives me goals to work towards and makes my riding experience all that more enjoyable.
Here are mine:

• Ride a different horse.


• Get Nell standing quietly for mounting.


• Be able to open gates on Nell.


• Jump better. Nell cat leaps and I havn't jumped in a long time. We both need to improve our position/teqnique.


• Jump 3ft by the end of the year.


• Learn to lunge.


• Work on reinback and turn on the forehand. Not for competing; Just very useful on hacks!


• More riding without stirrups.


• Stop Nell walking ahead of me and get her to turn away from me better.

Ill add more if I can think of any and try to find a widget that I can put on the side bar. Then I can see them all year round.

Groundwork

Nell is an especially bargy mare. She is incredibly hard to turn away from you as she walks ahead of you. If you speed up to put her inside the circle she gets quicker as well. I don't know if it is a dominance issue or whether thats just what her past owners let her get away with but I need to get it under control at some point. I did a few basics like walking a straight line (very difficult when Nell is trying to pull you back to the gate), turning my back to her and changing direction when she walked ahead of me and trotting poles in hand which she was not very keen on at all. It's going to take alot of work this year and their are lots of bad habits that need breaking. We did manage a few jumps in hand though. I did have to turn the leadrope into an extra noseband to stop her shoving me around but once she did a couple of jumps she seemed to start enjoying herself and I didn't need to encourage her much after that. At the end of the seesion when Lucy came back from her ride I attempted a free jump. We have a gate that opens to the top field that consists of two wood planks that slot into metal resters(?) which can be simply slid out of the resters to open the gate or a piece of metal attached to the resters can be pushed down into grooves in the planks to lock it. I simply placed the lowest plank so it was sitting half on the rester and half on the ground. I then tempted Nell to follow me with an apple.
I ran towards the gate and she followed. I jumped over but at the last minute Nell ran out and decided it was safer in the top field than to jump that scary 1.5ft plank of wood! Not worth an apple! The second time she realised that she would have to jump it or stay up their so we tried again. I ran. she followed. I jumped and lo and behold! She followed! She ignored me and cantered straight down to Lucy, looking rather pleased with herself. I did give her the apple though. ;)

My mum has agreed to bring a fellow boarder at Kestel's horse in for her on days she can't. In return we asked if she could teach me to lunge. Its strange that in all the time I've seen people lunging down their I've never thought to ask about it. Its one of those skills that you should know but have never needed. If I can get Nell to follow me over jumps then I will but if not the lunging would be helpful. Especially as I don't think I can even get over 3 ft jumps anymore, I'm so unfit! As that is my goal for this year (ride Nell over 3ft jumps) I might just need to know how to lunge. I don't even know if Nell knows how to so that should be fun!

Vets Verdict

So the cough Nell had was thankfully not in her lungs but in her throat. The vet said she had a sore throat but gave her an atibiotic just to be on the safe side. I can still ride her which is a big relief and the next time the vet comes he said he'll check for a microchip.

I've got next week off college so I'll be getting out as much as I can but Emma will be up in Wales visiting her boyfriend so don't expect too much in the way of hacking tales or photos. I will try this week to get a photo of Nell in her purple gear as long as the weather holds out.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Last week Nell broke into the mouldy haylage on the dung pile. Now the bloody mare has a cough. Its her own fault- we taped it off, electrified the fence, fed her in the evening and she still thought it neccesary to break in.

So now we've called the vet and he should be out to take a look tomorrow if all goes well. Lovely, another big bill to pay no doubt. Worst case scenario is mold spores in the lungs and possible irreparable damage. Best case scenario is that whatever it is can be cleared up with no further problems.

I'll let you all know tomorrow as soon as I hear.

Oh, and mum took Tralee hunting this year again. ;) He was good as gold and mum had a great time.

Winter blues

The girls enjoyed their break away from the paddock and on arrival their was frost. It might be bad for feet and legs but hard ground meant no mud. Unfortunately we didn't get snow and the weather warmed up bringing with it the thawing of the mud. On top of that it's been raining so now we're back to wading through mush.

Nell doesn't seem particularly bothered but now she's started slipping her coat. She'll be in a summer coat by February the way it's coming out. Hopefully It'll get cold again and she'll hang on to it a bit longer. They've been naughty girls though. The past two days I've found them standing, bloated in the field. Why? They keep breaking into the haylage. Nell is smarter than we give her credit for and has been knocking all the posts down now she's realised the battery for the fence has run down.

Hopefully she'll get a shock tonight though. We got new batteries. ;)

Numbers...

Useful things, numbers. We now know most of Nell's german registration number in fact. I haven't got a reply from the english letter I sent the westphalian registry so I'll have a go in german. This should be good; I haven't done german since yr 9 secondary school - thats 5 years ago!

I know enough to get the message across though and a german neighbour of mine can proof read. So far her registration number would be as follows.

either 41???9992 or 42???9992

The first two numbers represent the westphalian area. The next three numbers are her german registration number(currently unknown), the two numbers after that are her brand number and the last two is her (suspected) birth year.

Thanks to Kerstin Dreborg for the info! We are getting closer!

Have you hugged an old horse today?

It is well known that unlike antiques horses do not get more expensive with age. Many are simply put down when they can no longer cope with the things their owner wants them to do or are simply sold on. There is rarely a market for old horses, even here in the UK and it's a sad fact that many will never find that lifetime home.

Our horses will NEVER suffer that fate. Dear old Tralee turns 20 this year and is one of the few horses to pass through only a couple of homes. He was bought over from Ireland as a 4yr old and lived with the same owner for the next 14 yrs of his life. June will mark his 2nd year with us and we have no intention of ever selling him.

Although we lack much history from Nell, we suspect she has never really had a home for long. Born in Germany, she is a long way from her roots. She is a lifer though. Never again will she be hungry or unloved. Nell has many, many years of riding left in her and I intend to make the most of her lively and spirited nature for however long I have her for.

Lucy is my sister's loan pony. Being a Welsh c she is long lived and this year will turn 28. She is still ridden and although we only have her for one more year, we will miss her. Thankfully Lucy will never be far away and we will always be allowed to visit her.

We could never think of selling our older horses. They have given us so much, isn't it fair we give them a permanent home in return?

When the time comes that they are too sore to do their jobs, we will do the right thing and send them over rainbow bridge. As much as we would all like to hold onto them, it is only for our own selfishness. Once they are gone they do not hurt. Until that time we make their lives comfortable. We rug them when it's cold, give them supplements, feed them warm mashes in the winter and keep their bellies full. We stable them when the rain is too hard, and take them on walks in hand during the long summer days if they are no longer rideable.

But what in return? Friendship, trust, a safe and reliable mount. Older horses have a lot to give. They inspire confidence in us. When we take a fall, our elderlies are always there, waiting to help us feel safe again. They have funny moments like spooking at umbrella's or mobility scooters but never let us down on a busy motorway or when a massive truck rushes by. Not all veterans show their age either. Nell is 17 this year(as far as we know) and still loves to gallop and jump. If you are considering buying a horse this year, there are a lot of older horses out there, just waiting to give you their love and experience.

Happy New Year!

Yes, it's finally 2009! I hope everyone has had a good 2008; I know I did! It's hard to believe I didn't like Nell when we first bought her. But time and patience and a whole summer of riding can do a lot for a relationship and finally on the 27th October 2008, Nell was my horse. A pony I could call my own. Last year was also a big year for me in that I turned 18. Not a huge deal, as I haven't really changed but it's a milestone in my life. And of course, I got a second chance. I went back to college. I won't bore you with the details only that A-levels were not the way forwards for me. Now on an Animal course at Duchy, and finally happy, I'm hoping that this year I'll be successful. Who knows what this year will bring? For the moment I'm not looking much further than the day term starts again.

As for new years resolutions, I'm going to grab every opportunity I can and get into jumping again. I used to be quite good at it; 4ft was the biggest I'd ever done, but after a scare whilst out hacking, the maximum I do now is about 2ft. My resolution is that by the end of this year I'll be jumping at least 3ft. I would like to say more but I'd rather achieve it and change it than fail miserably!

So what's your horsey new years resolution?

What did you get for christmas?

Well I got everything I wanted minus the breyer. ;) a bridle that is absolutely gorgeous on Nell, a middleweight turnout rug, tote bag for all my brushes, tack box cover and saddlepad. All in purple of course! I'm most pleased with the rug and bridle. The rug seems slightly lighter weight than her turqouise one but she looked comfy under it.

The most amazing thing happened today... The sun came out! The wind was chilling but it was actually dry for a change so I took Nell out in all her purple gear. Saddlepad, bridle, reins, my jumper, chaps and boots; all purple. It took me about an hour though just to sort the bridle due to Nell's strange head shape. Lengthening the noseband made the bit drop in her mouth, then the throat strap was too small so I took the halter conversion strap off and finally by the time it was sorted she barged me out the door and I had to do a flying mount off the block as she trotted off!

Other than that it was a good ride. It was rather on the quick side but enjoyable nonetheless. I will get some piccies of her all tacked up in her purple stuff for my next entry.

Happy holidays!

I'm probably not going to be blogging now until the new year so to anyone who reads this and I havn't as yet wished a Merry christmas: Have a good one! And don't forget your ponies on christmas day, You'll be glad to get out to see them after your roast dinner, even if they don't apprieciate your efforts!

Also I've just finished the letter to the westfalen registry but I don't expect they'll be happy to recieve it so close to christmas so we'll post it after the hols. Keep an eye out; who knows we might just get lucky.

Until then

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Quick Update

Just a quick update as I havn't really had time to blog much. College coursework has been creeping up on me and the weather hasn't exactly been good enough to ride in.

Liz, Emma and I were meant to have gone on a fancy dress tinsel ride. This involves meeting up for the fancy dress competition and then following a trail of tinsel with the closest riders to the optimum time winning. Of course that morning I woke up to grey clouds and lashing rain so that put the dampers on our plans. It is supposed to be held after christmas instead now so keep an eye out for christmas pics soon!

In other news, Nell and Lucy are moving down to Kestel for christmas to give the field a rest. They are practically mud surfing on a dry day and swimming on a wet day and with the iminent threat of mud fever growing we decided that something needed to break. It will also mean we don't have to feed haylage, only have to go up once a day and the girls get to taste sweet, sweet grass.

I asked for stuff for Nell this christmas instead of the usual Breyer. I'll miss not having another model on my shelf but her needs are much greater. So I was poking them the other day. My predictions are: Either a new rug or a neck rug, the purple web bridle I've been dying for, a purple saddle pad and either the purple adjustable helmet I was after or purple stirrup irons; although the box looks a little big for that.
Can you guess I like purple? ;)

A draft of the letter to Westphalian Registry

To whom it may concern,

We are looking for some information on a Haflinger mare we purchased last January. We noticed in the spring that she had a Westfahlen brand on her quarters and wondered whether you can help us identify her. We are not completely sure of her age because of her lack of history but she is roughly 16 which would make her birth year 1992. The number under her brand is 99. Could you please check for mares with this brand number and similar markings. You may have to search for mares of a different year due to the uncertainty of her age. We have enclosed a copy of her passport and a photo of her brand. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Gaenor Jehu




So what do you think? Anything to add? Anything to take out?
Any pointers on letter layout and writing would be much appreciated.