Wow those howling winds were something last week! I had sleepless nights as I had left the horses out (stables surrounded by huuuge trees) wondering how I'd find them the next morning and what capers they had got up to! Low and behold they were absolute angels – all standing together at the top end of the field, with the electric fence all still intact to my utter amazement! Hurrah! I’m sure everyone worries the same as me about their neddies in conditions like this and it’s so hard to determine what’s best for them (mine prefer being out).
Bob had been on good boy behaviour (what’s he after?), hasn't put a hoof wrong since restarting full schooling, and seems to have so much more confidence now. We rode in very strong winds on Friday, when a year ago, I wouldn’t have even contemplated trying it (he would have decked me in first 2 minutes). He schooled beautifully even when a huge swirling cloud of leaves blew at us whilst cantering around (obviously not lethal anymore!?).
Autumn's going through a bit of a fizzy stage again (always happens around this time of year when she starts to wear rugs overnight) - flighty in the field and explosive in the arena – she has cracking speed when she wants – not too good for potentially trialling a dressage competition in the next month or two! Luckily from owning her for years I know this will pass soon.
Autumn and Aria enjoying brunch together
Aria’s pretty much been Aria – making it her mission to destroy every electric fence I put up. Still progressing with her ground work and a lot more work required on her ridden work, although she is accepting her saddle when being tacked up a lot better now, as initially I think she was just a bit wary of it (No more eyeballing and she sees it being carried over). I’ve given her a break from the SimplyMare supplement to see if she’s actually maturing or if she needs it… by heck I need to get an order in!
Aria's 'devil on the shoulder' has begun to surface again starting with the dominant behaviour in the field arrggh! I'm in the process of organising a physio session for her too – let’s hope the supplement arrives in time!!
Normally blogs, just like my life, centre around the horses, however I can share some Paula stories with you this week. I had a rare day away from the yard, out visiting some different animals at the weekend which I thoroughly enjoyed – trekking up to Chester zoo, a long old journey but well worth it, seeing a Sloth just above my head in one of the walk thorough encounters was just brilliant as was the bat section! Chester Zoo is well worth a trip and I had the most amazing day and would recommend to all.
Back to horses and now to start planning ahead for the winter months dare I say! Hay sorted, feed to be bought then just the bedding to order and stables to tidy, and dragging out the medium and heavy weights…. Love the horses being snug when the temperature drops! Fingers crossed the weather maintains for a short while at least so they can stay out for a bit longer!
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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.