As we are coming to the end of August, so the evenings are starting to draw in. It is this switch in daylight hours – not the cooler temperatures that we may begin to have in the next few weeks – that prompts horses and ponies to begin to change their coats.
Keeping their coats for shows etc. can be a combination of rugging to keep the coat flat and sleek and also having the lights on in their stables for several hours after dark. This tricks them into thinking the daylight is still long into the evening, but only if it is of sufficient brightness. Obviously, this is difficult if the horses and ponies are on a livery yard rather than kept at home, as lighting up a whole barn will make the poor yard owner’s electricity bill shoot up!
As I have some shows coming up with Diva, I decided to buy a lightweight rug to help keep her coat looking good. She is still very shiny and has lots of dapples but is certainly beginning to change her coat so lots of grooming to get the dead hair out is required.
When I began to look for an appropriate rug for Diva, I found one I just couldn’t resist. StormX rugs have got a range featuring the iconic Shetland ponies drawn by Norman Thelwell. I grew up with Thelwell books and absolutely love the fact that my Shetland pony is wearing a rug covered in drawings of Shetland ponies! They do larger sizes too, but I don’t think Mabel would be too impressed with one. I bought a no-fill turnout rug as it is nylon lined and so will polish the coat better than a cotton lined one would, and she doesn’t need it to be thicker as she keeps warm easily.
Despite the days beginning to get shorter, the temperatures are still pretty warm. I had to have a chuckle when Darcy, a cocker spaniel, had got hot running about the fields and took advantage of the open door to Diva’s stable for an impromptu cold bath.
Diva, however, was not so impressed at a pooch in her water bucket. Her grumpy little face made me chuckle even more!
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.