With Diva now happily being caught without the need for bribery, I decided I could trust her out of the small round pen and in a paddock. I was still very worried about introducing her to my big girls, not because they have any known tendency to kick, but because they are mother and daughter, and the daughter, Florence, has never been in with any other horse than her mum, Mabel.
Once again, the facilities at the yard came up trumps as I was given permission to use a small paddock which adjoined Talisman’s field. My friend Kirsten had returned to see Diva, so we turned her out and watched her get her bearings. She had a canter about, a few whinnies and then as usual settled down to eat the grass.
That afternoon when I went to catch her in, it was lovely to see her standing next to the fence with her Uncle Talisman just the other side. He looked very interested in his young, small neighbour and I am certain it helped Diva settle in.
Then the day came that I had been putting off for too long really. It was time to put Diva in with Mabel and Florence. I was ridiculously nervous and turned Diva out with Mabel for a little while before adding Florence to the mix.
My heart was in my mouth. Diva was so tiny and they loomed over her checking her out. To my utmost relief she wasn’t scared by these giants and they were not at all aggressive to her. They just seemed fascinated with her and she calmly followed them around the field. I caught her without any difficulty, and she marched back to her stable as if she owned the place. I was becoming aware of what little characters these ponies truly are!
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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.