Summer

Summer Pastures

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This week has been an exciting one for the ponies – they have been spending a few hours each day in their summer pasture.  This field has a stream in it and tends to be quite wet in winter so it can only be used when the weather is dry enough.  We have been having such lovely weather for the past couple of weeks though that they have finally been turned out.

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Only for a few hours each day though – they haven’t been in there for about six months so it it full of lovely, lush grass.  The ponies love it but it would not do their waistlines any good at all if they were turned out there full time!

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I thought this first turning out might be very exciting to see but it turned out to be rather dull.  They weren’t at all interesting in running about – all they wanted was to eat that delicious grass.  Very disappointing!

Fun Riding

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On Friday my riding club had a fun ride around the grounds of a local National Trust property.  I have done a couple of sponsored rides before but never a fun ride and I was very keen to go.  I couldn’t get Galahad there but my instructor had a horse I could use and I jumped at the chance.

The weather could not have been better – we have been having a heatwave recently but this was an evening ride so everything was much cooler but still lovely and dry.  Even better – we were barely bothered by flies at all!

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The ride was a mix of woodland, quiet lanes and open fields.  We had some great canters but also plenty of time to walk and absorb the surroundings – there were some stunning views.

It was a lovely, sociable ride with the added interest of a treasure hunt to follow – I do love looking out for clues!  We even had a barbecue waiting for us when we got back which was just wonderful.  Of course, as we hadn’t started riding until nearly seven, it was getting dim by this point and it was properly dark when we got the horses home.  In a way that just added to the excitement though.  I had a fantastic time and I can’t wait for the next ride!

Intrepid Explorers

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As happens most years, this week I went up the lane from our house for the first time in a couple of weeks and poor Galahad had to fight his way through a wall of greenery.

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I’m sure it’s worse this year than it has been before – probably thanks to the rain we have had over the past few weeks.  The picture doesn’t quite do it justice as I took it on the return trip after we had already trampled it down once.

It’s amazing how quickly it gets overgrown – nature rally is powerful.  Galahad was also extremely impressive in the way he just ploughed through it all – I wouldn’t have enjoyed it much on foot!  As it was I got badly stung by all the nettles.  We managed to bring a fair bit of it with us too.

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It was pretty dark under the trees, hence the rather blurry picture.

It was an exciting adventure but I must remember to keep using all our routes regularly if I don’t want to get stuck!

Fly Season

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It seems that the fly season is upon us already.  We have had to fish the deosect out of the tack room and have sprayed the ponies.  Galahad hates fly spray so he didn’t enjoy it at all but at least deosect doesn’t need to be applied so often.

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The fly masks are back out as well.  It seems very peculiar to have Galahad’s rug on at the same time but it’s still pretty cold here at night and not warm enough to leave it off yet.  He is enjoying the time without it during the day though.

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Of course, all of this means that hunting for lost fly masks in odd corners of the field is once again a regular part of my life.  That’s how I’ll be spending the next few months!

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Summer Shows

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The summer show season is definitely upon us.  For us it started with Woolfardisworthy (Woolsery) Show at Clovelly Court.

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I spent a lovely day inspecting the livestock and watching the horses.  The heavy horses were great but I especially loved the driving classes.  How amazing is this mane!

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Today we were at the Exford Show.  It is always good to see the Exmoors and mentally compare them to Galahad.

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I also love to see the inter hunt relays.  There was one at each of these two shows and they are always fun to watch.

We have also had our local village garden show.  There were no ponies there but I did enter some of the competitions.  I maged to get thirds in the poetry and painting classes (it was a painting of Galahad!) and I won a photography class with a picture I took on one of our hacks.

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I also had my book stall at the show and had a lovely time selling pony books to the local populace.  It was a great day.

Reliving My Childhood

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As a child I loved to ride my instructor’s ponies in from the field (and indeed back out again) bareback.  It was something everybody did in my pony books and it was the best feeling.

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On a visit to Scilly I saw a girl riding her pony bareback along a road in flip flops and that seemed like the ultimate goal for me.  I should mention that this was one of the islands with no cars and obviously I am not advocating the wearing of flip flops around horses – it is dangerous.  To a child it seems idyllic though!

I have always wanted to be able to do the same with my own pony but Galahad has been too tense and spooky for me to feel safe. The trouble is that if I’m nervous he can tell and it makes him nervous and tense which makes me worse.  It’s a vicious cycle.

The last time I tried it I ended up being thrown into the fence which is never good.  It was a shame as it was going so well before then but he did not react well when I got unbalanced.  That was two years ago now though so I would really like to try again now.

In the meantime, I have Cookster to ride and he is not fazed by much.

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Riding a pony in from the field at home is every bit as good as I imagined.

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Keeping the Flies at Bay

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Every summer we are bothered by the flies but this year they seem to be even worse than usual.

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Galahad had pretty much destroyed his mask now. The ears, however, are still intact so I am very happy indeed. It has also lasted much longer than his old mask so it was definitely a good investment.

As ever, we are using deosect – Galahad hates being sprayed and anything that can reduce the amount of flyspray we have to use is a bonus.  NAF’s citronella gel is also great for this.

This year we have also gained some of their citronella wash which we use when we wash the ponies down after exercise.  It is certainly much easier than trying to spray Galahad – although he has improved greatly and sometimes barely moves whilst he is sprayed.  Other times, of course, he kicks up a huge fuss!

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I have also taken to soaking the fly masks in the citronella water.  As you can see, they can get covered in flies and although the ponies are protected from them it can’t be at all pleasent.  It certainly doesn’t look nice.

Jungle Pony

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One of our hacking routes takes us up a very overgrown lane.  Galahad used to object strongly to walking up it but now he amazes me by the way he so willingly walks through a wall of greenery.

He normally comes out the far side rather well decorated. I haven’t managed to get a great picture but he does tend to look very pretty!

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It is definitely worth fighting our way through though – we get to go much further afield this way and the views are stunning.

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We have been having some lovely hacks, meandering through the countryside. It is too hot to do anything too strenuous but we are enjoying exploring nonetheless. I think Galahad enjoys his baths afterwards too!

Being Bugged

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I mentioned last week that the flies were being very bothersome.  The next day Galahad came in from the field looking like this.

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I thought at first that he was just incredibly scruffy but when I looked closer I realised that he was in fact covered with fly bites.

He does have a tendency to react badly to bites – every year he gets lumps where he has been bitten.  Never so many at once though.  I can only assume that he rolled on something which fought back!

Thankfully he didn’t seem bothered by the bites and didn’t react at all when they were touched.  Within a couple of days they had started to go down and they are now almost completely gone.  They can’t have been nice though.  Poor little pony.

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Green and Pleasant Land

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We have been having some lovely hacks recently.  Just Galahad and I meandering through the countryside in the evening sunshine.

We get to see some wonderful things.  The hawthorn is particularly beautiful this year.

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There are also some interesting things.  This patch of road for instance.

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It is always wet, even in the middle of a heat wave.  It is not under any trees and the water does not appear to be coming from the hedge.  I can only assume that it has managed to make its way up through the tarmac.  It is pretty powerful stuff!

Then, of course, there is the wildlife.  Isn’t this eggshell beautiful?

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Mainly though, it is just good to enjoy the view.

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