Spring

Spring!

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It has been a very strange week for all of us but there have been some lovely, positive moments for us here as well.

Firstly, Galahad has a cheerful new set of ears which is really brightening up our hacks.

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Secondly – as you can see if you look closely – the pussy willow is coming out and spring is definitely springing.  It is always a wonderful feeling.

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Today has been utterly glorious, with blue skies all day long.  I managed to sit outside with my cup of tea and even felt like I was running the risk of burning.  The dog had some time in the sun and Galahad enjoyed a day without his rug.  I’m pretty sure he appreciated that!

Signs of Spring

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We have had rain nearly every day for weeks.  The fields are absolutely sodden and the ponies are very often dripping when they come in.

However, we do have the odd day when we can really feel that spring is coming.  I rode out on Tuesday in beautiful sunshine – it was still rather cold but perfect weather for hacking out.

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Galahad and I had a lovely time pottering along the lanes.  The primroses and daffodils were out looking cheerful and making life feel good.  It is amazing how uplifting a bit of sunshine can be!

Spring Cleaning

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The ponies being away last week seemed like an excellent opportunity to get in some spring cleaning.  It was more than time for me to properly clean the rubber mats in the stables and the beautiful weather made it seem like an even better idea.

It was a difficult job getting the mats out of the stables – they are very heavy and the dog didn’t help by jumping all over them.

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Having got them all out but done no actual cleaning I then swanned off to a riding lesson leaving my sister with all the mucky work.

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I was not expecting her to finish the job but she worked incredibly hard and not only cleaned the underside of the mats themselves but scrubbed out the stables as well.

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All that was left for me to do was clean the other (less dirty) side of the mats, wait for everything to dry and put it all together again.  It was actually extremely satisfying to clean something which was so very dirty.  I could definitely see that I was making a difference!

The stables looked beautifully clean afterwards.  Of course, now the ponies are home again they are not quite so pristine but at least they won’t need such a thorough clean for a while.

Easter Bonnets

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Sorry for the lack of blog yesterday – I was rather caught up in the Easter festivities.  I sing in a church choir and we had five services over the past few days.  It is something I love to do but it did mean that by yesterday evening I was exhausted and completely failed to write anything.

It has been a glorious weekend here and the ponies are enjoying the spring grass very much.  The downside is that Galahad’s mane is once again filling with burrs most days and I spend most of my grooming time extracting them.  On the bright side, he did look very fetching in his Easter bonnet.

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We have been having a lovely weekend.  Normal service will be resumed next week.

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Spring is Springing!

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Every year I seem to write a post about the joys of spring but I just can’t help it!  There is just such a wonderful feeling in the air as the season changes.

 

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Of course, all the blossom appearing helps a lot too but one of the very best things is having enough light left to ride out after work.  That’s even before the clocks go forward!

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The lambs are alreading pinging around the fields and everything seems right with the world.

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Winter Chills and Signs of Spring

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Galahad and I made full use of the whole twelve days of Christmas – we have been wearing our Christmassy outfits all week.

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On New Year’s Day we went for a hack with my sister and Cookster, then came back to wassail the apple trees.  This is something we do every year, although the ponies don’t often get to join in.  They definitely appreciated the apples!

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Yesterday was our last Christmassy ride and we had a lovely time, pootling along the lanes which were, for the most part, nice and quiet.

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We had a couple of stops along the way – we met some new friends.

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We admired the view and we even spotted a few signs of spring.

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It was a perfect day – sunny but with a chill in the air.  Wonderful.

Quality Time

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It is always good to have productive days of schooling, fun jumping sessions or exciting competitions.  Sometimes though, the best times with the ponies are much more relaxed.

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Today I had two lovely hacks with the ponies.  They were feeling lazy, I was feeling lazy and we just pootled along the lanes having a great time.

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Besides that though, time spent around the yard doing the chores and just spending time with the ponies is wonderful.

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One of the best parts of my day is turning out the ponies in the evening and watching them as they wander out.

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We are having such lovely evenings at the moment that I could stay and watch them for ages.

Comeuppance

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Monday was a glorious day so Galahad and I went out for a hack.  The road was quiet, the birds were singing and everything was right with the world.

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Until we came home.

We had to come down a narrow lane which is closed off by a hurdle at the top.  The hurdle needs lifting and really needs to be opened dismounted.  As it is a little awkward to manage I always seem to end up on the off side of the pony when I have closed the hurdle again.  Without much room to manoeuvre it is far easier to hop on from the wrong side and on Cookster I do that without thinking.

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Never with Galahad though.  I tried it once at home and he panicked.  Partly because he isn’t used to it and partly because my muscles aren’t tuned enough to mounting from the wrong side so it isn’t as smooth as my mounting usually is.

On Monday I was feeling lazy and hopping up from where I was seemed a good plan.  After all, sometimes trec competitions ask for the rider to mount from the off side so practising is a good idea.  At least, that’s what I told myself.

It did not end well.  He shot off forwards when I was only half on.  I ended up in a patch of nettles minus my hat cover and with only one boot.  I had to paddle through the mud to find that – there is a spring at the top of the lane so it is wet all year round.

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We were only about a hundred yards from the house so as I plodded home I was imagining the concern Galahad would cause when he careered into the yard witout me.  In the event, nobody saw him and I found him unconcernedly munching grass.  He was nicely decorated though!

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Obviously mounting from the wrong side is something we can work on – especially if I want to be able to use it in a trec competition.  I will improve my own ability by practising on Cookster before I try it on Galahad again though!

A Really Useful Pony

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The ponies are constantly escaping from their fly masks.  At the moment it is just a fact of life that when I go out to see them the chances of them both wearing hats are fairly slim.

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When we first put them on this year they actually managed not to remove them for a couple of weeks and I was very hopeful I would have a summer without having to walk round the fields hat hunting.

Obviously that is not going to happen but I have found I can make use of the ponies – or at least Cookster – to find them.

As you can see, Cookster is great at this game.  Me – less so!

I haven’t tried it with Galahad yet – mainly because I haven’t had the chance.  I’m sure it is something which will scare him at first but it’s probably quite a good exercise to try and it might even help us with our trec obstacles.  Plus, it’s fun!

The Joys of Spring

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For the past few days Galahad has been feeling nice and forward.  Not in a spooky or dangerous way – just in a not having to push him on way.  We have had some lovely hacks!  Perhaps it is the springtime.

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Cookster has also been feeling the spring in a different way – he is moulting with a vengeance.  I’m sure I spend more time grooming him than I do riding!

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I happened to pick up a magic brush at my instructor’s yard one day and I loved it so much I bought one for myself.  It is great for cleaning hairy ponies!

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Yesterday was the ponies’ official birthday – they were born on the moor so we don’t know their actual birthday.  Of course, we couldn’t let it pass without a carrot at dinner time!

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