I have honestly done absolutely nothing, but go to work Monday - Friday, working insanely long hours, and then not leave my house Saturday and Sunday!
Fortunately there is still so much work to do around the yard, and I am incredibly lucky to have my horses at home!
One thing I have really enjoyed recently though, is just spending time with them out in the field! I think they are as bored as I am, and will run over the minute I go out to them. We also have a new little 6:30am routine, where I will go and lay in the grass with them while they are still in bed!
It's really nice to just stand and appreciate the 'still'. I ask so much of my horses, especially this time of year where we would be out most weekends and riding 5 days a week, that it is nice to feel like you are giving something back.
Work has got a little quieter, and we have spent what we had saved for work around the yard, so here's to hoping I can get my bum back in the saddle very soon.
Once again I threw Arlo in at the deep end, affiliating him purely for the Arena UK second round show, and once again he pulled it out the bag. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful little horse? We haven’t really competed this year. I don’t really compete over the winter, and also my horsebox was away for repairs up until the beginning of June, so I had no transport even if I’d wanted to.
With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too.
After having a long wait and some lunch at the onsite café, it was time to get ready for the Joan Wolfe Overall Supreme Shetland Pony Championship. I got changed out of my usual showing outfit into black trousers and a maroon top with white spots, as you are expected to be a bit more “bling” in the evening.
We were all set to go for our next outing, and were super excited. That was until I heard the dreaded clunk of a loose shoe! I checked it over, praying it wasn’t too loose, but, nope, it was going to need a refit.