Equine

Taking Time Out

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This has been another busy week for me – what with work, an agility competition with the dog, taking my stationery to another summer fête and photographing a whole load of new cards for my online shop I haven’t had much time for myself. However, I have been making a point of going out to ride every day when I get home from work and that has definitely been beneficial.

It is so easy to get overwhelmed by the to do list and focus on getting that completed before anything else but I have learnt from experience that it is not a good idea. It is so much better for my health – both physical and mental – if I get outside, even if it is just for a half hour hack.

This evening – after the photography session – Cookster and I went for a lovely little jaunt. Not very far really but enough to blow the cobwebs away. It was a gorgeous evening and it was wonderful to be out in it. We even had a beautiful sunset to enjoy – although as usual it has not photographed well!

Getting Things Done

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Friday was all about chores for me. I had several jobs that had needed doing for a while but sometimes it’s hard to make the time after work. I’d much rather be in the saddle! On Friday though I used my day off to actually get them done.

My Dad and I started by collecting a load of posts and rails from where they were lying about in a field that’s just had some work done on it. That was pretty easy but then I had to sort out the hay. The hay store needed a new roof in the spring and while that was being sorted some of the hay got a bit damp and mouldy. Obviously it couldn’t stay so I pulled out anything that looked a bit dodgy and carted it off to the muck heap. The ponies were very interested indeed!

The muck heap itself needed some work as I have not done a good job of keeping on top of the weeds this summer and just getting to it had become a bit of a fight. While I was sorting the hay my Mum did a sterling job of pulling up the weeds so access is now perfectly easy.

By that point I had got quite enthused by the tidying and even straightened out the tack room a bit. Not that it was too bad to start with but I was shocked by how much I swept off the floor! Rug washing and mending is an ongoing chore at the moment but the end is in sight!

After all that it was good to take Galahad out for a hack. We needed some time to relax and I picked our first blackberries of the season. A very good end to the day!

Thrills and Spills

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Last week definitely had the full spectrum of highs and lows for me. We started off with a great schooling session which finished with some jumping. Galahad was feeling so good that I raised the fences higher than we had jumped for a while and he soared over them without a second thought. He can sometimes back off his fences a bit and so to feel him really keen to jump was wonderful.

This was just over 2’4″ – we have jumped this height before but not for a long time – so not huge. It felt like a big achievement for us though, especially as previously this height has seemed to intimidate him. This time, he made it feel tiny.

The low came a few days later when we were just having a gentle hack around the fields. We had just popped over a small ditch on a downhill slope when a pheasant flew up on our right, Galahad shot off to the left and I pretty much stayed where I was. Thankfully my sister was there to catch Galahad and call for reinforcements in the form of my parents – I was still lying flat on my face and she couldn’t cope with that and two ponies! I had told her I was fine so she wasn’t being callous leaving me there but at the same time I was clearly not okay – I am normally trying to stand up sooner than I should.

I was in fact fine, just rather bruised and I had pulled a few muscles which are still feeling sore a week later. The shock was the worst bit – I cannot remember the last time I cried when I fell off – although it had been a bit of a stressful week for me and I think the fall just finished me off emotionally!

It is clear that the blogging bug has infected more than just me now. Even as my Mum ran – in her slippers – out of the house to pick up the pieces she paused to wonder if she should bring a camera to record the event for posterity!

Managing the Heat

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We have been having such a heatwave this past week! The ponies have been spending as much time as possible in the shade and the riding has taken a bit of a hit as well. When we did manage to get out it was always for something very gentle to keep down the temperature. Having said that, on Friday morning I took Galahad out for an early hack only to find that the dog had tagged along too. She isn’t really safe on the roads without a lead so our hack turned into a schooling session – albeit one that was still not too strenuous.

The evenings have been so much nicer and cooler this weekend that I have been able to get out again after work. Both ponies have enjoyed some lovely hacks – at least, I enjoyed them and I hope they did too!

I have also been very much enjoying the snippets of the Olympics I have been able to watch in between working. I will watch pretty much any Olympic sport but of course I am enjoying the dressage and am so looking forward to the team final on Tuesday which just happens to be my day off!

Evening Saunters

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Galahad and I have had some lovely evening hacks this week. By the time I get home from work the heat has somewhat lessened and it is good to get out in the fresh air. We had one particularly good ride where we went a little further than usual. The sun was shining, there was a bit of a breeze and with no reason to rush we had a very relaxing saunter through the countryside.

There is something very special about the light and the air in the evenings – and the early mornings too. There is just a wonderful feeling which isn’t there in the middle of the day. Riding out in it is always a treat.

In fact, the only problem is that as the sun is getting low it can be difficult to see. We cope but it does make me wonder if a car driver will be blinded by the sun and hit us. Of course, we are very careful and it really is beautiful – still the best way to end the day.

Dodging the Showers

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This has been rather a disappointing week for me riding wise. I had my covid vaccination on Wednesday and I have been exhausted pretty much ever since. I have been managing to get through a day at work, then coming home, turning out the ponies and collapsing on the sofa.

Today however, I was determined things would be different. I had a difficult day at work but I made myself go out and tack up – between tennis matches and, fortuitously, between the rain showers.

I was so glad I made the effort. The exercise and fresh air definitely did me good and it was lovely to be outside. The rain shower that had just finished had got rid of the mugginess for a while and everything was wonderfully fresh. It was the best way to set up the week.

Ragwort Season

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Yesterday I took advantage of my sister being around and roped her into helping pull up ragwort. We don’t have a huge problem with it here but every year we find some plants so vigilance is vital. I had noticed a patch so I knew it was time to go out looking (to be clear – the ponies were not in that field or I would have pulled it up right away!).

We got quite a haul which is always satisfying – but also infuriating. They never get as far as seeding, how do they keep growing? Of course, we almost certainly don’t manage to get up every bit of the roots and they are tenacious things. On the bright side, being out in the field gave me the opportunity to enjoy all the clover and other flowers. The smell is just wonderful!

In other news, we are finally getting the rain the fields so badly need. When I went out to ride today I thought the ponies might be able to have a rare afternoon mask free because there was no way there would be flies about in that downpour. Sadly, by the time we finished the rain was easing and the flies were back. It was a nice thought though!

Father’s Day Fête

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Today being Father’s Day, we held a little summer fête style event in the field. We had a lot of games to play – things like archery, cheese rolling and wellie wanging. We even built a coconut shy on one of the cross country jumps and at one point I found myself climbing a tree to retrieve my paper plane. I actually very much enjoy the climbing. It’s the getting back down again which scares me a bit!

We set up the gazebo with plenty of bunting to look pretty, although we ended up having to eat indoors because it absolutely poured down over lunch time. That didn’t stop us going out again for more games though – including a scavanger hunt. That offered extra points to anyone who found a fly mask in the field but sadly nobody earnt them. I know there are two lying around somewhere so I need to make the time to go and have another hunt for them soon – I did have a look when they were first lost but as I was in a hurry to get to work at the time it probably wasn’t the most thorough of searches.

Our day ended with turning the ponies out and I had a turn riding Cookster out bareback. I’ve never done that in a dress before so it was quite an experience. I wouldn’t risk it on Galahad – I am extra cautious when I ride him bareback anyway as he always feels ready to explode. Trying it wearing a skirt would be pushing it a bit too far I feel!

Navigating Corners

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Galahad and I have been continuing our education this week. Having started a quest to build scary jumps for us to face I decided to have a go at building a corner fence – the only one we have jumped before was about six inches high.

Corners scare me because I’m convinced that I will manage to pilot the horse towards the widest bit of the fence and something catastrophic will happen when we attempt to jump it. Of course, this has never actually happened but it’s always possible that this time will be different.

As I am presumably therefore pushing the horse hard towards the narrow end of the corner, it would be very easy for them to run out and I was fairly sure that this is what Galahad would do. I was delighted that he just popped over it with barely a hesitation.

We jumped it several more times without a worry so it turned into an excellent day for me. It is great to have another skill to hand!

Summer Tasks

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I write a lot about the fun things the ponies and I get up to in the summer but of course there is hard work as well. One of the worst jobs is hunting for ticks on the ponies. We don’t really have a huge number here but there are enough to making finding one on a pony a relatively regular occurance. Not that finding them is difficult – it is the removing and then dealing with them which is unpleasant. The other day Cookster had three on him at once, although one of them was not actually attached which was a very nice surprise. Of course, the other two were firmly attached to his face which is more difficult.

This time of year is of course peak fly season too and as Galahad can have a nasty reaction to fly bites I have to keep a close eye on him. Thankfully though, he has finally accepted that it is more or less safe for me to spray him with the fly spray so that job is now much easier.

I am also having to keep a close eye on any ragwort which might pop up in the field. Again, we don’t have a huge problem but every year a few plants appear – apparently from nowhere.

On the bright side, we still have gorgeous weather and I have been having a lot of fun with the ponies. Galahad is still hanging on to the last dregs of his winter coat so he can get pretty sweating riding in the heat. I do enjoy washing him off afterwards!