Just a little lazy

Yeah, So its summer. I've been lazy about riding and the sticky hot weather does not help. Tonight however I am a free woman, as College is finally finished! I'll be sad to leave many wonderful tutors and fellow students behind but I now have some very firm friends for life who I will certainly make an effort to catch up with regularly. Lisa will come riding with me as well as taking our pet rat passion to the market, Kathryn is interested in trying to ride and lives just up the road and as for Emma, well shes family, so I'm stuck with her.

Tuesday evening was a lovely day for the beach so Lisa and I headed down for a nice ride. The water looked lovely and cool and I got Nell in further than I ever have before. I might even get her to swim with me someday. Mum and I will be speaking to Chris Cook this week about training Nell to pull a trap, which is going to be my big summer project.

This autumn we are also hoping to hitch a ride up to the Joe Moyle's sale with the Tregurtha lot and have a good look around. Who knows - we may bring something home if I can find another job to support an extra beastie. I have been planning for a while to get a quiet youngster as a first breaking project. Something hairy, a bit lazy and about the age of 3 but unbroken. The plan is to break it in then ride it out for 6 months to hopefully make a profit - although the experience is always good even if I never make any money!

Helen's friend has a haflinger stud colt who should be ready for breeding by next spring. providing I can get Nell down to a fair weight I am hoping to breed her at the beggining of summer, ride and drive her for a few months then turn her away for the winter, during which I might fit in a breaking project youngster. It would definately be a keeper, either to replace Tralee, when he gets too sore, if it's a colt or as something with a bit more go for myself if it's a filly. Even Helen said that our old horses won't last forever and that if I am going to have one last foal from Nell it better be soon. after all she will be 19 next year although she could be older. You'd never know it though looking at her! I know the Westfalen Haflinger Association have her on record somewhere because her brand number is unique to her, but as most people will they are trying to weedle more money out of me (250 euro to be precise) for a full DNA test that she should not need! It would be helpful if I could get her information that would allow her foal to be registered, but if I can't then its not going to be sold anyway so it doesn't really matter to me if I know its pure. Anyway though, that's a long time off so I shan't think about it too much or get my hopes up. I'm just going to look to the near future first and work on getting her in a trap and driving.

Jump up

Nell might be a bit fat at the moment but it has hardly hindered her jump. In fact we are jumping roughly 1 1/2 foot with no effort at all. I'm actually holding back more than she is because I haven't had the confidence to jump as big as I used to - but we are both gaining trust in each other and jumping bigger and better.


Got a bit close to me in an attempt to run out - but still jumped the stick we placed there to prevent her running out instead!


A real long shot here but such fabulous form! She did one of these jumps with me on top the other day and almost threw me out the seat. Thankfully a substantial neck with plenty of mane helped me stay aboard that one. With her jumping like this you I feel confident we can do a few small shows this year.

Due to a tendon strain last summer I'm wary about how high I jump her but she seems to be clearing them with plenty of room to spare and no signs of it playing up.

You can see here that she really is enjoying herself! Last years action photos had a lot of ear pinning and threats to kick - this year is so much different! I really think she has bonded better with me now and feels happier to work for me. There wasn't a single pinned ear in any photo. On the downside I think the camera on my phone is getting worse. Ah well, you can't win them all.

Spring has sprung

It seems like months since I last blogged... Oh wait, it has. Yes, my internet connection is an ass and yes my computer is as slow as an octogenarian tourist but yes! I have photos!


Backtracking to snow in January...





A bit of jumping in February...




And our first beach ride of the year in March...

So the current news is that the horses are FAT. Rocky isn't too bad but could lose a bit of fat and gain some muscle instead. Tralee is about 30Kg overweight and Nell is about 70Kg overweight. Fun. She was about 100Kg overweight a few weeks ago when we started so we are getting there slowly. We rode around Perran Downs yesterday at a steady trot almost all the way and completed our ride in just 45 mins. There is so much going on I'm going to have to do several posts to cover them all but right now my current target is to get Nell back down to a healthy 450Kg in time for summer.

Still alive

Not much happening at the moment. Thankfully we havn't had another incident of horses being let out so things have been pretty drama-less. So umm... yeah. This was just really to let people know that I havn't yet been eaten by horses.

So much to write... So little time!

So my internet connection has been down and of course I've also been on christmas holiday so haven't had access to a computer. As it is I'm hurriedly typing this on my Dad's computer before he gets back...

Anyway. Emma and I took Nell and Tralee on the tinsel ride where they were totally chilled until all the other horses started leaving the arena in their groups. We left at a trot and ended up prancing almost all the way around the ride. We caught up with the group in front of us and stayed pretty close behind all the way back to Laura Janes. We suspected we had completed it a bit too quickly when we only got a "Special" consolation rossette. I'm not complaining too much; it was a fun day and I got a purple rossette. :)

Before the onset of snow, we went on the mock hunt - more or less a very fast ride with lots of horses and no hounds. Tralee was kicking out and trying to back up into people at the meet in the barn while Rocky and Nell stood quietly, occasionally pulling at the hay nets tregurtha had strung up. For most of the ride Tralee pranced, Rocky rushed around with his head in the air and running ponies over while Nell positioned herself at the back of the pack behind Tralee and stayed there all the way. The rein was long and she responded gently to everything. We turned back a bit early as Nell was showing signs of getting sore and Rocky was starting to stumble. A pasty at he end of it all was the icing on the cake.

Then of course we had snow! And lots of it at that. It has only just recently dissapeared witht the downpour of rain and I finally made it out on a ride today. Nell was absolutely full of it and we trotted most of the way around.

We also had an incident this week where someone entered the stables during the night. The had obviously been in with Rocky as his kick bar was up and the clip removed and had also been in with Tralee. To make things worse they had left Tralee's chain off so he got into the tie up area and didn't bolt the tie area door. Thankfully they put the rope over and Tralee didn't try to fiddle with it but I just cannot believe someone would be that disrespectful to enter our private property and tamper with animals that don't belong to them. It was most likely some silly kid who thought they were a horse whisperer but knows jack s**t about horses, but we worry it could have been someone who intended to hurt them. We are putting some signs up in the hopes that they will be smart enough to take the dvice and if not then we will have to take further action... Here's hoping its a once only time and either Tralee or Nell left a mark of warning on them.

Work it!

Well, the horses have settled nicely and they are starting to be ridden separately again after their initial few weeks of insecurity. Nell has so far been left alone in the stable while the boys go out and ridden on her own. She threw some tremendous tantrums but the ride was highly enjoyable. I do love riding her when she's fired up. She's all speed and power and fury but still remembers that I'm on top of her. God I love her.

Tralee went out by himself as well resulting in a similar scenario. He's like a lit firework when he's in that sort of mood and you suddenly remember that he was a full time hunter only 2 1/2 years ago. Steve Otty (our vet) confirmed what we had been noticing a while now: the ringbone is bigger. So the old lad has been put on a sachet of bute per day just for winter while the ground is hard and the weather cold.

Rocky couldn't give a crap. He's just too chilled for his own good sometimes.

So the nearest thing on our agenda now is getting the horses fit and ready for hunting this year. Tralee's fitness is excellent, Nell's is good and Rocky's is somewhat below average so Nell needs some fast paced rides to tune up and Rocky needs more schooling to develop the correct muscles and longer rides at a quicker pace.

Jumping is going well and Nell and Tralee have really enjoyed themselves. We have to wait now for the field to dry out a bit before we can do some more but we are at least hoping to make some more jumps and make the existing ones bigger.

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!

Patience is a virtue

We have been waiting for a long time now for a cheaper field to come up close to home. Although Kestal has excellent facilities and everyone there is great, as soon as Jane asked if we wanted to swap places with her we jumped at the chance. As long as Tess; her daughter, likes Kestal we should be moving Nell, Rocky and Tralee down to Gears Lane. Its a 5 minute walk to get there and it should save us around £100 a month or more. We will have 2 large fields that we are fencing into 5 for grazing and a small one that will be used for schooling and jumping, or as a spill over field when the grass gets too long in there. Hopefully Tralee will accept Nell in with him and Rocky, but if not we will just fence off a piece for her. There is no hot water or electrical outlet but you can't have everything and still pay so little.

There are a few things that need to be done though:

• Tralee and Nell's stables need a door put on. They only have a chain across currently to stop them getting into the tie-up area which Tralee and Nell would both figure out how to get through/under etc.
• We might get a small solar powered generator/battery to power a kettle, lighting or other small electric items.
• Electic fencing temporarily around one of the sides of the schooling field due to barb wire. Eventually would like to replace the wire with a proper fence when we have enough money.
• Someone wrote their horses names in pen all over the wood doors. That needs to be scrubbed or sanded off so that we can put some real name plates up.
• Move everything. Our boxes, tack, rugs, fence posts, tape, trolley, feed bins and of course the horses all need to be moved down there in october.

In other news, Nell seems to be looking well again although her fitness has taken quite a knock. She was very lazy today on the ride so will consider adding oats to her feed this winter. She was happy enough to trot all the way up to her field and across it with me bareback today and ran over to the gate to flirt with Justin. She seems to be back to her usual self but has definitely lost stamina since being rested.

Rocky has developed a swelling above his pastern. The girls rekon it is probably just a windgall that won't go away with exercise as he isn't lame with it. Emma and I changed his bit last week to a straight bar half-twist snaffle. It adds a bit more pressure for when he decides to tank off but is milder for him - no more nutcracker action! He is much happier in it - mouthing less, lowering his neck and head and not hollowing out when the reins are pulled - all signs that a bit change was just what he needs to start building a better outline.

Tralee is, as usual, grumpy. He was fairly mellow today though and is happy to be on longer grass. Moving will be more traumatic for him than the other two though. Nell will settle as long as there are horses she knows, food and her humans. Rocky is so chilled anyway he won't be worried at all. He might become a bit withdrawn for a few days until he settles down but he'll be fine with the other two and as long as we give him plenty of cuddles. Tralee is a worry though as he was in the same home for 14 years then for the past 2 has never lived anywhere else but Kestal. We hope that he should be ok with Nell, Rocky and us there but there is always a chance he will try and go back to Kestal.

Fingers crossed Tess likes Kestal and we do get the field. If we do, hopefully moving will go as smooth as possible.

Money don't grow on trees

...Which is quite unfortunate when you've just had a big vet visit.
All three horses had their teeth done which was pretty dramaless apart from Tralee throwing his head as high as possible. Nell had her flu jabs - the only horse we bother vaccinating against it as Tralee has NEVER been flued and Rocky's was out of date by about three years so he has probably built up some immunities by now. The vet had his microchip scanner stolen so we couldn't check Nell for that but he had a good look at her leg and shoulder, finding nothing. She flexed through all the way and there was no abcess in the foot. He noted that she is short-stepping in front but I know that already and that is simply due to her upright shoulder. He also said she wasn't tracking up behind properly, which I also noticed when mum trotted her up. Sooo... It could be her back. We're going to try and get some money together and have the back specialist come out to sort them all. + there's a free massage for the horse owner after! Optional of course. Then a couple of days ago Nell's shoulder swelled up and became very liquidy. We rekoned a kick but yesterday I went to sort her and couldn't really see what was wrong. When Alex checked her she was surprised at how much it had gone down - it had apparently been very puffy - and it looked almost completely like the other side. So thankfully she doesn't need to go for X-rays. At least that's some good news. She is however on Bute for whatever is causing the pain in her leg and therefore riding her is out of the question for now. I'm also back at college on Wednesday which I am pleased about. I have the weekends to ride Tralee or Rocky until Nell is better, and three days a week of brain stimulating bliss.

The end of an era

Lucy was put to sleep on Wednesday, the day after her 29th birthday. She had come down with mild laminitis a week or so before that suddenly became very much worse. She was put down at her home with her owners around her and had recieved many welcome visitors the day before to say goodbye. Everyone who knew her well was alerted and most pitched up that afternoon with the exception of myself and Sian, who both for the same reason didn't wish to remember her in that way. Lucy's death marks the end of something in everyone's lives and she will be sorely missed by us all. In some ways we think that if we still had her she may not have become ill. In others, we are glad she was at home rather than with us when it happened. In the end it turned out Lucy had Cushings, something we had suspected when her curly winter coat took a long time to shed. She went downhill so suddenly it was a big shock to everyone but with Gemma returning to Uni in only a few weeks and the fact she was an old pony with Cushings; putting her to sleep before it got worse was the kindest thing to do. Lucy was a remarkable little pony who taught so many children to ride that she will never really be gone as long as people remember her.

quick updates

Well Nel and I missed out on the jumping down at L.Jane's again. This time it was because she threw up lame. She had an old injury to her shoulder that plays up from time to time so she is on the No Bute as well now. Even Mum said that its time to face facts that they are old horses so now Tralee is on 25ml, Nel is on 15ml - which we will start reducing to 10ml again soon, and Rocky is on 10ml.

We saw Gemma the other day and Lucy is doing fine back in her home. She and Jasper are getting along great and her back shoes have come off - an official sign of retirement. Gemma is still taking her out occasionaly but we are hoping that she will not be coming back to us this winter.

Emma is riding again and we are back to our usual pace with lots of canter work. The trotting is a bit much for her so we try not to do much of that. She is coming up this week to help re-paint the stable walls and Alex and Pip have asked if she would ride Truffles as he is starting to get a bit too wide for the little girls to straddle. ;D

I'll blog again later in the week but for the moment I'm busy busy busy!

Some beach photos

Just a couple of photos from mine and Sarah's trip to the beach a couple of weeks ago. Can't figure out how to turn them over so you'll just have to make do.

Emma has been doing some light riding but cruddy weather today meant we just decided to hang around the stables. Nell has had her mane plaited to encourage it to grow and choose a side of the neck to fall on. She looks very pretty plaited and I expect I'll do it for the showjumping on the 12th.

Why do I end up working harder than the horse?

Mum took my uncle's ex riding today. Beverly has said for a while now that she wants to get back into riding so give's us £10 when she uses Rocky. She's still very novicy and hasn't rode in about 14 years so has very little balance, therefore mum rides out with her. I didn't go with them but took Nell around the lakes in the hopes of burning some fat off her due to her putting on some unwanted weight. We whizzed round the lakes in about 15 mins, trotting flat out pretty much all the way but it took about an hour to do the full ride. I'm careful about trotting on the roads for too long as it doesn't do Nell's hooves or legs any good and I wouldn't dare go faster than a slow walk down halammaning hill so it takes at least 20 mins to actually get down to the lakes. After Croft Gothal we'd still only been out for half an hour so I extended the ride a bit. By the time we got home, Nell was warm, tired and breathing quite heavily but she didn't even work up a sweat. There was a small patch under her thick saddle pad where the saddle sits but otherwise I had sweated more than she had. On the plus side I wasn't as hot, tired or sweaty as usual so I must be getting somewhat fitter.

Sarah said she would accompany me to the show jumping on the 9th August with Gully. We went to the beach last week and he was so well behaved for a 4 year old. I think thats Cobs all over though - you can't beat Cobs for temperment and amiability. We got some action shots and are hoping to go down again to get some more - possibly closer this time.

Rocky's nose, which was badly sunburned, is now looking lovely again and is smooth as a baby's bottom. He is developing some muscle tone now and seems to be more eager to go out these days. Tralee on the other hand is feeling rather grumpy and we may need to up his No Bute. His ringbone is getting bigger and seems to be more painful as the heat in his hoof today was much more than the other three. We knew when we got him that the ringbone would probably be the one thing to put him out of work but the riding does seem to ease it more so than just standing in a field.

Well, I'll try to get the photos up here soon but if not then you'll just have to be patient.

No go

Well the show is out of the question. Both Nell and Tralee are about ready to throw their shoes. Nell is holding on to them better than ever - they've both been about 8 weeks since Tony last came out and considering this time last year she was losing them after only two weeks her hoof horn has definately improved. It also goes to show that if you are trying to save money, ride your horse a bit gentler and the shoes and hooves will both benefit.
So now I have my gaze fixed on the 9th August when the next show jumping will be happening. Perhaps it's for the best and Emma may be able to take Tralee by then.
Well, having to shoe Nell less frequently will save me quite a bit of money and other news, I bought out the share Allison had in the jumps with her horse Fliss for £80. That now means we can use the jumps whenever we want. We now have plenty of time to practice for the next show and hopefully I will have someone to come with me.

Holidays

Well, the summer hols are here and I am already starting to feel a little bored. I have been riding between the rain showers but haven't felt as enthusiastic as normal. I am however, very excited about the upcoming show! Lisa said she was probably going to be busy that day as she's just got a job so it depends on whether Emma is off her legs. Damn surgeons had a poke around but didn't actually bother taking the cyst out from behind her knee... I'll phone her tonight and if she can't come I may have to ask Liz. Even if I don't make it this time around, there are plenty more shows this year.

Jumping

On the 12th July I am hoping to take Nell for her first showjumping event down at Laura Jane's. Lisa has agreed to come and jump Tralee as Emma will not be able to ride for a few weeks after her knee op.

She said she would try jumping him this week and with a bit of luck we'll get a few ribbons! Fingers crossed everything goes well and the horses don't suddenly throw up lame.

Just one mistake...

Sometimes people make big mistakes. Mum made one of those mistakes today by letting my sister ride Nell. To her credit, Mum honestly thought Sian would be careful on a horse she didn't know. I guess she was wrong.

Mum, Sian and Marion on Quids went for a ride today. It was mostly lots of roadwork as Quids is an old lad - the same age as Tralee - and also suffers quite badly with ringbone. Sian, being the defiant and contrary twat she is had a tantrum because they were only doing roadwork due to Quids being a bit lame. She threw a hissy fit and decided that she had had enough and was going home.

The stupid cow turned Nell around at Lucy's lane and made her canter off. Quids was spinning, Tralee was being arsey about being left behind and Sian was running Nell right towards Lucy. Great. So Mum hurriedly apologised to Marion that she had to get Sian before she got to the road and went after her. Thanfully Marion was fine and continued on her way, but Quids can be a funny character and is not 100% bombproof as our horses are.

Mum had called after Sian who had pulled Nell up right in front of Lucy who started screaming to Nell, and Nell back to Lucy. Then she booted her and made her canter the rest of the lane. Mum was absolutely shaking with both fear and anger when she caught hold of Nell at the end of the lane. She took poor old Nells reins and led Sian back to the vicarage where she immediately told her to get off the horse and that she was never riding any of our horses again.

Nell had only been doing what was asked of her and unfortunately it had been a stupid, selfish and dangerous act on behalf of a rider who knew better. That is why I refused to let her friend use Nell. That is why I worry about other people riding her. It's because I know no-one else will ride her the same way I do. I don't think I have ever hated Sian more than at this moment in time and it's going to take a bit of time for Nell to forget Lucy all over again thanks to her.

My sister will not be going near my horse again. I have made that quite clear, as has Mum, who I think has lost a lot of confidence in her. Marion as well was rather angry and ticked her off for doing what she had done.

Tomorrow I plan to do some quiet schooling and in hand work with her, getting her neck reining, stops and I might work on the rein back or turn on forehand. After today I think she just needs some time to chill out a little.

Wet weather blues

The glorious summer is once more being clouded by the forecast for another spell of rain. Riding is, unfortunately, not on the top of my to do list and I'm in a bit of a slump at the moment.

On the positive side, I schooled Nell bareback last week. We practised neck reining which she did fantastically well in. Serpentines, circles, diagonally across the school; she did it like a pro. I woder if she was ridden western at some point in her life or whether she's just learnt from how I ride her. We did a little bit of free jumping as well. She jumped about 1 ft but wasn't overly excited about doing so. She prefers being ridden really and kept running out. We ended on a good note by making her do a small jump so that the last one she'd remember doing would not be getting away with a run out. I jumped up again and did a bit more turning and stopping then finished for the day. I'm hoping to do it again this week and possibly do some jumping in the sandschool.

Summer is here!

Summer is here and boy does it feel like it. The weather is ecceptionally warm and its just too nice to be stuck in college all day. So tonight Emma and I are riding down to the beach after college.

I'm not totally into riding again, especially when its so hot you come back sticky with sweat, but I'm certainly going to make the most of it in case we end up with a crappy summer holiday like last year.

I should also be taking Lisa and Jade out again this week or next, so keep an eye out for photos.