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.

What we know already

Ok, so everyone pretty much knows of our quest to find my Haffie Nell's past but here's a small list of what we already know about her.

• She came to us with the name "Nell". We think her previous owner said that she had a different name they couldn't pronounce but sounded like Nell.
• She is an older mare. Not sure of exact year but sold to us as 16 making her a 1992 horse. She may be older or younger but has suffered malnutrition which has affected her teeth.
• She has a Westfalen haflinger brand with 99. beneath it. This may be the year she was foaled or the year she was branded.
• She was bought from a Dealer in early 2007 and has lived in Cornwall ever since. She may have been hanging around Britain for a while or she was imported by the dealer.
• She has had foals. From the shape of her ribs and udders she is suspected to have been a broodmare at some point in her life.
• She is well broken in English riding style. She is a bombproof ride which suggests she has been broken for a while now.

My opinion on Haflingers

Ok. So I was searching for haflinger forums on the off chance that I might find some more information on Westfalen Haflingers. No such luck but I came across a thread on the Horse and Hound forum about them. Someone was asking about them for her friend's begginer child and many of the members told her some stuff that would make most haffie owners annoyed to hear. Here's my opinion on some of the things mentioned.
"I would not think of them as being a child's or nervous rider's pony" This, I would say is true. They are very strong willed and need a rider who knows how to deal with strong personalities.
"Hafliners are like our strong natives and can easily carry 15 stone all day out hunting!!." Very true. I'm roughly 12 stone and Nell easily carries me for three hours without breaking a sweat. They're very hardy.
"The ones I've known have all been very bombproof, but also a bit stubborn and strong." Again, True, or at least of Nell. She's solid as a rock and willing to do whats asked of her but she knows what she wants and stops dead in the middle of the road if she doesn't get her own way.
"Majority have bad feet, a lot are awful on the ground, certainly not child friendly, and many are a pain in the ass to ride too." I could agree with the bad feet thing but Nell was neglected so it was probably malnutrition that caused brittle hooves. To our knowledge however, she's never been lame and she's as sure footed as they come. As for on the ground, yes they are strong and they know it. But it all comes down to how much groundwork has been done with them. Nell was very bolshy on the ground when we got her but now she's good as gold. She still has a few moments but never as bad as she was.

In a nutshell:
Are they good first ponies? No. Although there are a few, they are very strong willed so are more suited to riders who can deal with stubbornness.
Are they any good at competing? Yes, definitely. Haflingers are great to be shown in any discipline and excel in anything from halter through jumping to endurance or western.
Have they got good tempers? Yes, in general they are quite sweet and bond well with their rider. My Nell has a nasty bite though and bad habits are very difficult to get rid of in Haffies.
Do they have any breed related health problems? Not really although some have been known to have bad feet and as most haflingers are long in the back they can get tender in that area. Otherwise though, they are built like a brick outhouse and are tough as nails.

If you find the right haflinger for you, they promise many years of safe riding, comical moments and are probably the most quirkiest and fun horses you'll ever own or ride.

History lessons

I was browsing the net for Haffies the other day when I came across something rather unexpected. I discovered an old show picture of a stallion named Aristo.

Lo and Behold there on his quarters was a familar firebrand. I had noticed the mark during the spring after Nell shed her winter coat and we had been searching for a lead on what it may have meant. Suddenly out of the blue we find Aristo bearing the same mark and the excitement starts to build. Finally we have something on our horse without a past.

Whether it was fate or purely amazing luck a few moments later I came across this:

This is the brand for Westfalen Haflingers. Unfortunately the site is all in German so I cant tell you what that means. We sent emails to people who seem to have a connection in the hopes they understand english and can tell us more about the brand.

It is strange to think that my Nelly Noodles came all the way from Germany. We always had an incling that if she was british she would have come with more history and its not unusual for dealers to buy horses abroad and sell them for more over here. It is a shame that all her past was lost along the way but now at least there is a chance of finding out who bred her if there is a registry. I always wondered why Nell never really listened to me. It was probably because she speaks German! ;)

The most wonderful thing so far about finding her brand is that we now have proof that she is PURE haflinger. I always knew there must have been a mistake when we got the passport saying she was a cross. Hopefully on these facts and pictures alone we will be able to re-register her.

I'll update you as we get more information but even if we don't it has been wonderful just knowing where she came from.

Horse Profile: Nell

Nell came to us in January 2008 in an awful state. Rode into the ground and fed little, she had no energy left to show personality. What was worse was that she had come from a knowledgable stables. It was the speed at which she recovered that really told us how neglected she had been. A horse who is hard to keep weight on will stay underweight for months at a time before recovering wheras Nell took only a few weeks. It was obvious that she was a good do-er who had just been run into the ground. 6 weeks into good feeding she started exhibiting more personality. She was headstrong and would walk well ahead of you and it was obvious she was getting bored standing in a field all day so we started to ride her slowly and gently.

A few months later and she was looking very well. We did notice that although still a bit ribby and roach backed, she was shaped very roundly. Our vet confirmed that in the past she had been a broodmare which is why she looks like she does and pees so often. We often joke about how she needs Tena lady!



Summer came and we moved her to Kestal Farm with the others. Lucy came along too and they spent the summer munching on long, lush grass in a field all to themselves. Her condition was fantastic by now; her coat was soft and shiny, her roach back disappeared and her personality really shone. She proved herself to be a wonderfully bombproof and fun ride, although exhibiting a stubborn streak which is well known in Haflingers.


This summer me, Emma and my sister took the horses to a show. Lucy was a veteran to showing, Tralee was a hunter so unfazed by large crowds and Nell was just Nell. It is possible that she was loved once upon a time and she too wore a blue ribbon but for me it felt like the first show. All around the in-hand ring she acted like a bitch, pulling me and standing on me but looking back at these photos, all I can think of is how beautiful she looked. She may have only won a 5th and 3rd but I think she looked wonderfully conditioned and clean.

Nell has a home for the rest of her life with me. We may not know about her past, whether she was ever loved or just used as a foal factory, but as for her future; she is secure and in a home where she will never go unloved.

A quick run down:

• Name: Nell


• Height: 14.2hh


• Gender: Mare


• Breed: Haflinger (x?)


• Colour: Flaxen chestnut pangare


• DOB: 1992
  
• Strength: 4/5


• Stamina: 4/5


• Speed: 4/5


• Riding Comfort: 4/5
  
• Temperament: 3/5
  

Horse Profile: Harriet

Harriet does not belong to us but is owned by a good friend of ours. She is a Shire x Cob and was the first horse I'd ever sat on. In fact it was Harriet who taught me to ride. A 16hh, 6yr old Shire x Cob is probably not most people's first option when their 11 yr old daughter says they want to ride but in our case she was our only choice. In fact Harriet turned out to be a perfect ride; Quiet, gentle and the most bomproof horse you've ever met but also willing and eager to move up a gear.

I learnt everything I could on Harriet and she is a perfect hacking horse. In the school was where I had difficulty. She was a big, strong horse and I was still learning. Although I continued to hack Harriet, I went elsewhere to have lessons. Two years on and I was able to handle Harriet much better and even Emma who started lessons in the same place began riding her. Although she has a naughty side which manifests itself in bucking when on the beach or cantering through a field, Harriet has been a solid and sturdy mount that always has a place in my heart, and now it seems Emma's too.

A quick run down:

• Name: Harriet
• Height: 16.2hh
• Gender: Mare
• Breed: Shire x
• Colour: Black Sabino
• DOB: 1997

• Strength: 5/5
• Stamina: 3/5
• Speed: 4/5
• Riding Comfort: 5/5
• Temperment: 5/5
  

Bloody horses! Bloody Weather!

I could have killed Nell last week. After not being able to ride for 2 weeks thanks to atrocious weather, Tony Marr puts a brand new set of shoes on the mare. A few days later she's thrown one off. Tony shoes well, and even with her hooves she normally keeps them for at least 6 weeks, but somehow managed to pull it off. The hoof was in great condition - it hadn't cracked at all - and it looked like the shoe had just slid off the hoof, it was that clean. Thankfully Tony came out again and replaced it and today I finally managed a short ride 'round the lakes with my friend, her horse and our dogs. The weather has been as unpredictable as ever - wet and windy one day then warm and innocently sunny the next and now it's half term its just Sods law that it will pour down until the day I get back to college. On a tremendously positive note: Sarah's selling her half of Nell to me! The grumpy, bolshy, stubborn old mare will actually be all mine after christmas. Yes so she might not appeal to everyone with her headstrong character but I can't help but love her all the more for it. First things first though; I must buy her a new girth as her current one lost a buckle a few days ago and I went riding with only one buckle on the left today. Probably not a brilliant idea, but I was NOT going to miss another day of riding. If I hadn't been able to use the saddle I would definately got on her bareback. I was that desperate to ride.

It is horse related...

Zahra is our puppy; a springer x Cocker spaniel. She's 3 months old at the moment, smart and incredibly loyal. We had always decided that when we got a dog it would be taught to follow the horses out on rides so yesterday was Zahra's first walk with me on horseback. It was a very short ride, no more than 10 mins and was literally up one lane and back down another. Nell had just had a shoe replaced so it needed bedding in but as I knew we wern't going out for long I hopped up on her bareback. It was halfway down the lane I realised I'd forgot my helmet as well, but knowing that if I turned back Nell wouldn't start off again, I left it at that and continued with Zahra behind. Nell was fresh, bouncy and impatient to get going. It's funny how different she is when shes out on her own.

Zahra was a little uncertain at first and at one point scarpered back towards the stables when a pair of dogs scared her. I waited for a moment then called and Zahra came streaking towards me, tail between her legs. She was terrified of the dogs but being so loyal she found the courage to go past them and we were off. She stayed close to Nell, who had no problems being followed by a pup and when we got to the road, I told her "wait", which she did willingly. She's very obedient. Perhaps I'll take her into obedience classes when she gets better at ignoring distractions. We came across a car on the road but I clicked to my left, telling Zahra "here" and she slipped behind Nell and walked next to us as the car passed by. We then headed down another lane which would bring us back to the Rescorla's yard. Zahra was well behaved in spite of Nell prancing a bit to get back, and we even tried a little trot up the drive.

Next time we will go a little further and further again after that until she gets the hang of staying to the side of the road. Next time though, Although I trust Nell, I will remember my helmet.

Not quite Home

A few weeks ago we moved Nell and Lucy(my sister's pony) to another yard. Mainly due to a lower cost it was logically a good move. That doesn't mean I'm happy about it though. It doesn't feel right walking up someone elses driveway to get to the horses and now we have to trek over to Kestel before every ride if we want to use Tralee or Harriet. Needless to say it doesn't feel like home. Perhaps we will move them back at some point but for the time being I'll have to put on a grin and bear it.