A certain little lady recently had a birthday. No birthday cake, but a few carrots were enjoyed that’s for sure.
Diva was 3 years old on the 13th of July and has begun to appear more mature – that or all the grass! Joking apart, with most of our wonderful native breeds, we need to be careful of their weight.
I’m delighted with how Diva is turning into a lovely young pony, and I am determined to keep the spectre of laminitis at bay. One good way to do that is for her to have plenty of exercise, so in addition to going for walks in hand, I have also put her on the horse walker and done some work with her in the lunge ring.
She is a very happy and energetic pony and for some reason absolutely loves going on the horse walker despite the sides being too high for her to see out!
Over the lockdown period, competitions were cancelled and suddenly virtual shows were popping up all over social media, with some big organisations, such as Royal Windsor, holding virtual versions of their shows. It’s been a great way for people to have fun with their horses and ponies.
I entered Diva into a Shetland pony virtual show whose profits go to a Shetland Pony Charity. I will tell you how she got on next time.
Some shows are now being held under strict social distancing rules, and it is lovely that people are able to get out and about again.
Check out Julius Caesar, the mini-Budweiser Horse’s Facebook page. He’s a young traditional cob who is embarking on his ridden career and got it off to a great start by winning his first-ever ridden class and being Ridden Champion. He is produced by my sister, Michelle, and lives with Diva’s relative and showing companion, Melland Jackson Jive.
It would be great to see your photos of either virtual or real competitions. See you next time!
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.