A YOUNG HORSE'S TALE

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal

2012-01-16T09:18:00.003Z

My Granny Dunblane passed away on Thursday morning, she was 94 years old. I've been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days, about my Granny, growing up with her and my times spent with her. I have a lifetime of wonderful memories. She was an incredible Granny, everything you imagine a Granny should be. She was a fantastic knitter, knitted jumpers, dolls,if you had a hole in your socks, by the next morning it would be darned. She would bake, the cake tins were always full, I can picture her chocolate cake now and I can almost taste it, that was always my favourite. My sister and I would bake with her, licking the mixing bowls and spoons once the cake was in the oven. She made me a Hedgehog cake for my Birthday, I had been desperate for one I had seen in a magazine. I cried when we cut it to eat it, as I wanted to keep it. The table was always set, complete with table cloth and silver for every meal. Her home made soup and mince and tatties. She used to put oatmeal through the mashed turnip, something which I do now. I remember Christmases spent at Granny's with all the family, the food we had. She would always watch Countdown. She always kept a hanky up the sleeve of her cardigan, I used to always wonder why she didn't just put it in her pocket. I do that now,put hankies up my sleeves, I didn't realise I did until the other day. She would always sing and hold our hands and cuddle us. At bedtime, we had a special song that we would sing, Granny, my sister and I. We sang it every night we stayed there. My sister and I are very different, we always have been,but my Granny encouraged us both to be ourselves, whether it be reading or making mud pies. If we couldn't find something, she would make it. I have a scar on my forehead where I was running from my sister and tripped and hit my head off the corner of my Granny's coffee table. There was a lot of blood, Granny wrapped my head and covered it in tea towels. She woke me every few hours during the night to speak to me and to change the tea towels, thinking back, she was probably awake all night. My sister got told off for chasing me, but all 3 of us knew that I had most likely been tormenting my sister before hand. I was supposed to get a skin graft on my forehead to cover the scar, but as they wanted to take the skin from my bottom, I never wanted it (my sister having the ammunition to call me bum face for the rest of my life was too much!). People have always asked where I got the scar and I've always been conscious of it. Now though, as I touch it, I'm glad it's there as it's another memory that can't fade. Granny wouldn't think twice about letting us turn her larder cupboard into a shop and she would be there as our first customer. What I remember most though is when staying at Granny's house is how safe and loved she made us feel. It really was unconditional. She enjoyed walking and we went on many walks through Dunblane. We used to pass a horse in a field and we would stop so that I could pat the horse. She would tell me about her father, my great grandfather, who loved horses and would never pass a horse anywhere without stopping to give it a mint or a pandrop. She spoke with such affection about him, that I was proud to be related to this man that I had never met, but obviously loved horses as much as I did. I know there are things that I have forgotten, stories that she told us. I am trying to remember everything. I am thinking of all my family right now. Everyone is very sad and hurting, but I am sure that the lifetime of wonderful memories Granny has left each one of us will help. Goodnight Granny, I understand that it's time for you to leave us now. I love you.

Wolfie Woo

2012-01-13T08:52:00.002Z

I still haven't managed to get Wolfie back into work. Things have been a bit hectic this week with Honey arriving and getting into a new routine,but things should hopefully settle down now I can start bringing Wolfie back into work or at least begin the groundwork when the weather allows. He's still being a menace and the farrier said yesterday that every time he drives past the field, he always sees Wolfie cavorting around. I just close my eyes now and pretend it's not happening. He will settle once he's being ridden consistently and tired! He's on a complete low sugar, fibre diet with soaked hay. That boy doesn't need any excess energy.

Wolfie was shod again yesterday. He seems to be between shoe sizes at the moment. The bigger size up however, is just a little too wide at the heels. The farrier said he would have a look into ordering a couple of different types of shoes to try on him.

Buttons and Honey now have their own blog and you read all about their adventures here http://ponytales-cat.blogspot.com/

Update on Honey

2012-01-11T23:01:00.000Z

Honey has done remarkably well over the last few days in terms of settling and starting to gain a little confidence. She is a smart little girl and you can see her constantly watching and absorbing everything that is going on around her. The biggest help and influence to her so far has been Buttons. She obviously takes great comfort from him being there. She still doesn't want him completely in her space (which is understandable and being a mare she probably never will) but she keeps him in view all the time and in the stable will stand at the adjoining door between the two stables to be near him. I deliberately put her in the larger part of the stable so that she had the option to move much further away if she felt she needed to. I moved her hay further up the back of the stable so she had space to eat it without feeling she had to protect it from Buttons, but she will walk to the back of the stable, take some hay and move back to Buttons door and stand and eat it there. Buttons is such a great wee guy. At the most he can be a bit boisterous but never aggressive. He is so sociable. He has respected Honey's space when she has told him to move away, but he doesn't give up and has worked at encouraging her to start to let her barriers down and trust that he isn't going to hurt her. They now graze side by side in the field. The fact that she now has companions in the field that she can feel safe with and is not being bullied or hounded is hopefully going to help her confidence and general well being both physically and psychologically immensely.

Catching Honey to come back in from the field was a little difficult to start with. She wasn't acting like a horse that doesn't like to be caught in terms of it would rather stay in the field, but more warey. She couldn't understand why all the horses were all of a sudden getting their headcollars put on and led away. The horses are usually already standing at the gate by 3pm waiting to be brought in, knowing they are going to their stables where there is hay waiting. Honey, however had no way of knowing where the horses were being taken to and it might not have been to somewhere safe. She is however getting better every day. She doesn't know me or any of the other people who handle her so her trust will have to be earned.

The Dentist is coming out on Monday to have a look at her teeth. I've been watching her eat hay and it is obviously very difficult for her. It takes her a long time to try and chew the hay and by her body condition I imagine she is getting very little of the goodness from her food due to her teeth. I am going to gradually increase hi fi lite into her diet as a hay replacer as it is chopped it will be easier for her to chew at the moment. I have started her on a feed balancer but she will need ongoing dental care and I doubt we will see much improvement in her body condition until her teeth are improved. Her coat is very fluffy and fine, not at all like Buttons. I suppose like everything else that will improve with time when she starts getting the correct nutrients and care. It's hard to tell in any photographs how thin she actually is due to her coat, but she really isn't carrying any condition. I've ordered her a little rug, incase we get any more torrential rain.

The farrier and vet are coming tomorrow. The vet will start her course of vaccinations. Wolfie and Buttons are due to be shod / trimmed tomorrow so I will ask the farrier to have a look at Honey's feet as well. I will take some photographs of her feet before any farrier work begins to use to look back on. Her feet actually make me feel a little squeamish when I look at them with their overgrown and odd shape. And they are not anywhere near as bad as they were when she was rescued. I would like to wave a magic wand and make everything perfect for her but it took years of neglect to get her to this stage so it will take time to repair the damage. I'm very happy with the way she has progressed in less than a week and hope that it continues. Every night I notice her to be looking more relaxed. Her fear of the feed bucket disappeared quickly, surprisingly enough! She has suffered so much and I just hope we can undo the damage which people have caused her. Horses are very forgiving, but they don't forget. I will post some photographs soon and will get Buttons and Honey's blog started - if I can remember how I started this one.

And then there were three....

2012-01-09T07:32:00.000Z

I have rehomed another Shetland pony from the SSPCA. Her name is Honey, she is 13 years old and approximately 10hh, so a little bigger then Buttons. She is also chesnut with a flaxen mane and tail, but more of an orangey colour in the body and her mane and tail are not as flaxen as Buttons. She was taken into the SSPCA as part of a welfare / neglect case with a horse and her Shetland pony mum. Unfortunately her mum had to be put to sleep 2 weeks after they were rescued. Her feet were horrendously overgrown and she has been badly bullied. The farrier at the SSPCA has said that her feet do show signs of having had laminitis in the past. She has been in the centre for a few months receiving treatment and became available for rehoming at the start of last week although she will need the Dentist and ongoing farrier work. I went to see her at the centre on Thursday with my sister. She is very sweet, very timid but basically going through the motions every day to survive, not to want to live. Her eyes and coat are very dull and there is sadness oozing from every part of her. At the centre they tried keeping her with the other horse she came in with, but the horse terrorised her so they kept her with a 6 month old colt who was there who has front leg deformities. There was no way I could leave her, so I applied to rehome her. We went home and Susan brought Zoe to see Buttons. Looking at him after seeing Honey was like night and day. Glossy coat, eyes bright, full of mischief, just the way he should look. The SSPCA inspector came to do a home check on Friday afternoon, just to check where Honey would be and see Wolfie and Buttons. We saw Wolfie in the field, he was a little unsure (might have been the Vet disguised in a uniform), Buttons came into the stable and was Mr Charming. She thought he was lovely. Buttons makes me laugh. He never discriminates, he was raking through the Inspectors pockets of her big coat. He treats everyone the same, it could be the Queen visiting and he would still raid her pockets or her handbag. Buttons stable has a partition as he used to share with a Section C pony. The doors are all shetland pony height so they can see over. The Inspector said she was more than happy to pass us. She called the centre there and then and it was arranged that I would pick Honey up yesterday.

She loaded and travelled ok, she did manage to turn herself around in the trailer so travelled backwards. She went out in the field with G and Buttons for an hour. She was ok, but didn't really know what to do. She was waiting to be attacked and on the same note was defensive, sort of I'll get you before you get me, but she's not very threatening. Buttons has fallen in love. He was doing extended trot across the field with his neck arched. In the stable he was just standing looking at her looking absolutely delighted. At the moment she's very unsure, her life has been turned upside down again, but it is for the greater good. She's very protective of her hay, I found out that she's terrified of plastic bags and she was scared of the feed bucket when I took it into the stable. She just needs time, consistency, a lot of TLC and reassurance. So Buttons and Honey will have their own Blog which will detail Honey's road to recovery, her feet, Buttons daily antics and managing laminitis. I will try and get some photographs today.

When I told my dad I was thinking of rehoming her, he said I couldn't rehome them all. I know I can't but I'm sure I can make a difference to this little girls life.

When I last posted, I said I was going to ride Wolfie. I was a little optimistic with the weather as we were hit with severe storms, so I still haven't ridden, so fingers crossed for the weather.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T09:13:00.000Z

'what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events may in fact be the first steps of a journey' Lemony Snicket.

It's 2012, another year has passed. In some ways, I would like to close the book on the events of 2011 and not re-open it. Wolfie's virus, Buttons laminitis, we lost 2 horses at the yard. Ridden wise I did not accomplish many, if any of the goals that I set out at the beginning of the year. However, on the other hand, we got through it, the three of us and we are a much stronger team because of it. I have learned many lessons from all that has happened. Both Wolfie and Buttons, despite being such different characters have one thing very much in common and that is spirit. I look at them now, their eyes are bright (Wolfie's gleaming with mischief)and they are both in good health and happy. I am so proud of them both and what we haven't achieved in terms of showing or competing, we have made up for in just spending time together and strengthening our partnership and our understanding of each other. Wolfie is back to misbehaving in the mornings, not standing to be rugged, bouncing around on the way to the field and generally just making a nuisance of himself. Those who have read previous posts will know that this is a pattern which occurs around about this time every year. He's bored and he's letting you know that it's time to get back into work, winter and his holiday is over for him. Normally, I get a bit upset about this, when I hear the tales of his 'naughtiness', however, this time, I am delighted. He is in great shape, he looks physically strong, he's back to cavorting and carrying on in the field. Wolfie is back and 'misbehaving' or not, I would rather have him this way than quiet. As soon as he gets back into consistent work, he settles down. I don't know what weather January will bring, but Wolfie's holiday is now over and I'm going to ride today. I am so excited to be getting back on him. Our main goals for this year, are to enjoy ourselves and have fun and we will do some Trec.

2011-11-19T20:10:00.000Z

I've been very lax in posting for the last few months, ever since Wolfie's virus really. Things have just been ticking over really, concentrating on getting Wolfie stronger and back on his feet. With it being dark at half past 4 at night now, it's a case of trying to ride in the school during the week, weather permitting. Wolfie's flat work is really coming on though. We work in walk and trot and practice lateral movements. I'm not introducing canter again in the school just now as it's very badly lit with flood lights and Wolfie still thinks there are horse eating goblins lurking in the corners and over the fence. He's becoming much more rhythmical and our work and transitions are much more consistent.

I wormed them both a couple of weeks ago, it's the syringe and paste type. This is what Wolfie thought to it.

Buttons is doing great. His weight is fantastic. He is fenced off on restricted grazing with his favourite mare and they both are watching their waist lines. The mare can be a bit of a nippy sweety with other horses, but for some reason she adores Buttons. His laminitic rings have grown down and now as they are growing out they have caused some separation of the white line. It is a concern that he may develop an abcess if any dirt or grit tracks up, but so far (touch wood) he's been fine. The farrier is checking his feet every 3 weeks, so fingers crossed we can get his feet back in decent shape.

With the weather being so mils, Buttons is really feeling the heat with his full winter coat. I keep waiting for the temperature to drop, but so far it hasn't.

I've decided to make Christmas cards this year using photographs of the horses and also the dogs. I thought I would practice with the dogs today, until I can decide on how to make a good Christmas background setting. They are very good and so good natured, they really do humour me. Bilbo, the cat decided to get in the photographs (mostly facing the wrong direction!) so I ended up giving him something to wear too. When taking the real pictures, getting them all to look the same way, may prove to be very difficult if today is anything to go by!

Lucky Horseshoe Superstition

2011-10-19T22:09:00.000+01:00

I'm decorating a couple of Wolfie's shoes to give as gifts to two friends who are getting married soon. It got me to thinking of why the horseshoe is considered lucky. Like everything, there are plenty of superstitions, old wives tales and myths surrounding horses.

According to ancient folklore, small-framed 'fairy folk' existed during the Stone Age across what is now Northern Europe and the British isles. When migrating Celtic tribes began invading the lands around 400BC, the fairies hid in forests and camouflaged themselves by wearing green – much like today's leprechauns. The new settlers told stories about the mysterious, magical 'little people' living in the woods, who were also referred to as elves and goblins.

The goblins were accused of causing many misfortunes among the settlers, from casting spells to prevent cows from giving milk and chickens from laying eggs to causing infertility in couples. Legends also told of babies kidnapped by the fairies. It was believed that the primitive goblins feared the metal weapons of their enemies, and were therefore afraid of iron.

To ward off goblins and evil spirits from their homes, the people hung iron horseshoes over their front doors. Horseshoes were doubly frightening to the little people because they looked like the Celtic moon god's crescent. The horseshoe resembles the crescent moon and is thought to protect against the evil eye. Similar shaped charms were used amongst the Chaldeans and the Egyptians. Related to animal worship, it approaches the form of a serpent biting its own tail, a universal symbol of eternity. The horseshoe invokes the crescent moon shape of pagan moon goddesses and so invites their protection.

Horseshoes are considered for their healing powers, and are believed to cure hiccups (this would probably work, if the horse stood on your foot whilst still wearing the shoe!) and for their protective influence. Horseshoes were commonly made from iron. Iron was considered to have magical powers and repels fair-folk and witches, keeping your house free of mischievous demons, imps, pixies and elves.

Traditionally there used to be 7 nails in horseshoes, invoking the traditionally lucky number. There is a time honoured belief in the magical power of iron. Blacksmithing is considered to be a very lucky trade because it involves work with fire and iron. Blacksmiths were often identified as sorcerers and the efficacy of fire as a bane to demons. It is believed that a witch cannot walk under a horseshoe and if the devil gets too close to a horseshoe, he will be sucked in.

There is also a tale that the Blacksmith engaged to shoe the Devil made the shoes red hot, then burned the Devil's feet with the hot iron…..the Devil then tried to withstand the pain, but screamed to have the shoes removed when the Blacksmith began to drive nails to hold the shoe in place. The Devil remembers the pain so vividly that whenever he sees a horseshoe he slinks off into the shadows. The Devil will go nowhere near a home which has a horseshoe over the doorway.

Although the lucky emblems status has survived over centuries, there's still some debate over the proper way to position a horseshoe in order to repel bad fortune. Some believe that a horseshoe with the two ends pointing up collects good luck and keeps it from falling out, while other traditions state that the two ends should point downwards so that luck pours onto those who walk through the door.

There are two things that are mandatory if the horseshoe is to bring you good luck. The horseshoe must have been worn by a horse and the horseshoe must have been found not purchased.

The horseshoe superstition seems likely to be the result of a combination of folklore and myth. It's one I like to believe in though. Unfortunately today's horseshoes are mostly made of aluminium and often have 8 holes and not the traditional 7 but they still look good hanging above the door and I consider Wolfie to be a lucky horse, so I'm sure they will offer protection and bring good fortune.

There are numerous old wives tales and myths involving horses. I think the only one I pay any real attention to is 'Changing a horse's name is bad luck'. I would never change a horse's name.

Here are some of the ones I found –

A circular ring made from an iron horseshoe nail can be used as a talisman and gives the same protection against evil as the horseshoe itself

It was thought that warts could be cured by circling them in horse hair

Mythical cure for colic – Pour turpentine into a saucer, and hold it against the horse's navel. It'll suck it up and the colic will be gone (if only this one worked!)

It was once thought that whooping-cough could be cured by going to the stables and inhaling the breath of a horse; being breathed upon by a piebald horse, or riding upon its back was another supposed cure. Horse hairs chopped very finely and fed to a child in bread and butter, were thought to be a certain cure for worms, and the horse spurs (an old word for the chestnuts on horses legs) were believed in the eighteenth century to be a cure for cancer if dried, ground and drunk frequently with new milk

If you break a mirror the misfortune can be averted if you lead a horse through the house. Same applies if you spill salt in the kitchen

Horse brasses protect the wearer from the evil eye

Seeing a grey horse on the way to church is considered lucky for the bride and groom

Carrying a rowan-wood whip prevents witches from casting a spell on your horse

If you put horse skulls under the floor of a house they improve the tone of a piano that was above them

When its master dies, a horse will shed tears

Spotted horses are magical. Grey horses and horses with four white socks are unlucky.

There are also the 'old sayings' about horses with white feet, white legs and blue eyes.

There are two poems regarding white feet in horses

One white foot, buy him
Two white feet, try him
Three white feet, sell him to a friend
Four white feet, pass him by

Or

One white foot, keep him not a day
Two white feet, send him far away
Three white feet, sell him to a friend
Four white feet, keep him to the end

Some horse people tend to believe that black feet tend to be harder than light feet, but there does not seem to be any research that indicates there is any proof either way. Wolfie has one white foot and three black and white feet and so far he is proving to have 4 very good feet.

Four white stockings were said to be evil. However, two hind and one fore was good. One hind and one fore on opposite sides were excellent.

There is also the saying that you don't buy a horse with blue eyes.

I used to know a pony who was coloured. He was black and white but I wouldn't call him a piebald, he was marked more like an American paint horse and had Indian paw prints on him. He had two blue eyes, 4 white legs, 4 white hooves and a prophets thumb print. He was a fantastic jumping pony with a great temperament. He was never lame and had good feet. In reality, a horse's colour or markings does not determine its temperament or ability.

A sad day

2011-10-17T14:04:00.001+01:00

It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things

Lemony Snicket

One of our family cats was very sadly put to sleep on Friday night. He was my mum's cat and one of a pair. A little black and white cat with the biggest yellow eyes I have ever seen. He was quite a timid little cat, almost aloof, very unassuming and often overshadowed by the other dogs and cat who are very confident and much more demanding for attention. Saying that, he was always there with the others, sitting on the arm of the chair, always staring at you with those massive marble like eyes, you could never really tell what he was thinking but he was affectionate in his own way. He wasn't a hunter and the two things he enjoyed most were sleeping and eating.

He is at peace now and it was very quick, but he was a part of our family, another thing of my mum's gone and I certainly wasn't prepared or ready for letting him go. He was such a quiet, placid soul, but he has left a huge hole and he will be very sadly missed.

My Dad used to often recite 'The Owl and the Pussycat' to both cats. They would sit mesmorised. Every time they heard it, it was as though they were hearing it for the very first time and couldn't believe such a tale. They would sit transfixed and their eyes would widen, almost in disbelief at the line 'they sailed away for a year and a day in a beautiful pea green boat' and they would close their eyes and almost smile at the 'what a beautiful pussy you are' line.

For Frodo, our brave and magical little Hobbit cat. We will all miss you.

The Owl and the Pussycat

Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea

In a beautiful pea green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,

What a beautiful pussy you are,

You are,

You are,

What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

Pussy said to the Owl, 'you elegant fowl!

How charmingly sweet you sing!

O let us be married! Too long have we tarried:

But what shall we do for a ring?'

They sailed away, for a year and a day,

To the land where the Bong-tree grows

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

With a ring at the end of his nose,

His nose,

His nose,

With a ring at the end of his nose.

'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling

Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will'.

So they took it away, and were married next day

By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of the moon,

The moon,

The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

Moving forward

2011-08-30T12:30:00.000+01:00

Wolfie's last set of blood test results came back last week. His white blood cell count is up and is now well within normal parameters. For the last 3 weeks I have been hacking him out in walk, trying to strengthen him back up. He is actively cavorting about in his turn out area effortlessly and has continued to show no symptoms or problems with his wind which I was concerned about. Over the last week I have taken him into the school a few times due to trying to ride between thunder storms and rain. Normally when Wolfie has any lengthy time off work, once I get back on, he wanders around a bit to start with like a drunken sailor, feels very babyish and any level of straightness is apparently 'forgotten'. However, on Sunday I took him into the school, I worked him in walk on a loose rein, then asked him to soften as we worked on 20m circles and halt/ walk transitions. He immediately softened, was stretching down through his back and neck, swinging through his back and taking a nice loose long stride. We had a trot round the school once on each rein, he bounced into the transitions, seeking the contact and felt, well amazing really. I've continued twice more in the school for short sessions and he's been the same. I'm not quite sure what to make of this. Of course it's fantastic, he feels better than he ever has, it's as though something has clicked in his brain and if I didn't know better, I would say that the fairies have been up schooling him during the night when I'm not there. Or maybe he was listening when I did all the reading to him when he was ill! I've been continuing the ground work doing lots of suppling exercises and continuing the clicker training with him and doing lots of stretching exercises with the carrot stick so physically maybe that has been beneficial. He had his teeth done by the dentist last week, so that may have helped, although he didn't need much and just got a general tidy up of any rough edges. However, I also think it is in his mind set, he is absolutely desperate to work. With the nights getting shorter, we will be spending more time in the school so the plan now is to continue building and strengthening him, lots of variation in schooling exercises but keep it simple. Introduce pole work again and continue with the ground work and clicker training. I have treated myslef to a little video camera, so once I work out how to use it, I'll hopefully be able to post some videos of our schooling and groundwork sessions. I would like to continue to wrap him in cotton wool, but he is telling me that he is ready for more. I am paranoid about him catching a chill, especially with his winter coat coming through and being more likely to sweat up. I will clip him in September and rug him accordingly. I'm going to re-proof a couple of his turnouts and invest in another couple of good quality rugs.

It's been a tough year, both financially and on my energy levels with both Buttons and Wolfie being stabled at night for practically the whole summer due to the grass, fertiliser, weight issues, illness etc. There's been no reprieve from mucking out or the cost of bedding and hay since last winter. However, I looked at them both last night and they look so well, that it really has been worth it.

Result

2011-07-29T22:06:00.001+01:00

The results of Wolfie's blood tests came back on Tuesday. He is negative for anything infectious. His white blood cell count has shown that there has been some sort of virus. He is continuing to pick up and I'm starting to see the old Wolfie 'spark' return. He is to have another week of rest and recuperation and to be monitored still for any signs of dullness or loss of appetite. If he continues as he is, I have to gently bring him back into work at the end of next week. He will get more blood taken in a couple of weeks and his white blood cell count will be checked again. I have mixed feelings about the results of the blood work. On one hand I'm relieved that nothing showed, although I really didn't think he had anything infectious. On the other hand I would liked to have known exactly what caused this. He was only given the one jab of antibiotic by my own vet. He was given fluids and electrolytes and support by the vet school, so his own body has fought this which my vet says is a good thing. The vet school wouldn't give him any antibiotics until they could identify what they were treating. My vet also said it was fortunate that he was young and healthy prior to this, otherwise he might not have been so lucky. Wolfie's love for life is untangible and I'm sure his spirit and will have contributed to him fighting this. So three and a half weeks on from that fateful Tuesday night, things are looking much brighter.

I've finished painting Wolfie's stable (it's been like changing rooms!). It looks much better and I will move him back into his own stable tomorrow.

August is a busy month for the boys. Wolfie has his blood tests, they both have their flu and tetanus vaccinations and a dentist visit and they are both also supposed to be getting freeze marked at the end of the month, although I have to make sure with the vet if this can go ahead for Wolfie. I detest freezemarks and have always refused to have them done, but with more and more horses being stolen I have to be sensible. It's every horse owners worst nightmare for a horse to be stolen, they say freezemarking is the only real deterrent, so I have to be sensible.fell that I have to do it. It's not just the worry of them being stolen but ultimately what would happen to them and where would they end up.

Blood, sweat and tears

2011-07-22T21:38:00.003+01:00

Wolfie has continued to improve, although it does seem to be slowly. His appetite has increased and he is a lot brighter. He does perk up a lot when you interact with him, I think part of it is the change in stable, isolation and change in routine. He isn't suited to the life of being a pasture ornament. He's still not 100%. I've began doing a little clicker training with him for 10 minutes or so at night. We just have a little play in his stable as he can't go anywhere else on the yard just now. He is very enthusiastic about it and seems to really enjoy it. He's working for a measly piece of carrot (this boy is on a diet!), but he totally gets it. You can actually see him processing and thinking about what he is being asked to do to earn the click and then ultimately the reward and praise. He does seem to see it as a good game. I am conscious of him performing actions he has been taught at times when he is not asked, so I have given him verbal cues in German.

The vet came up to take his bloods today. I've been aprehensive about this. He was getting better with the vet before this all happened, but this has set him right back. I gauged his reaction when he saw the vet walking towards his stable. We decided before the vet even entered the stable that he would get a mild sedative. Wolfie stuck two hooves up at the vet.... literally. Kinder for Wolfie, rather than him getting himself in a complete state. So the bloods are on their way to Newmarket and the results should be back on Wednesday hopefully. Fingers crossed. We discussed everything that had happened and how long I felt it had been for Wolfie to start really picking up. The vet said he had only ever seen one horse with a temperature as high as Wolfie had once before in his career and that horse hadn't made it. He said I'd done a good job that Tuesday night, staying with Wolfie and keeping him warm and dry and as hydrated as I could. He said he had spoken with the vet school the day Wolfie had came home and they were both very surprised that his temperature hadn't spiked again. I was surprised that Wolfie got something like this, he's never sick or sorry and if he is, it's due to a knock or a kick. I have always thought that he has incredible healing power, so maybe this is the same. It has really knocked him for six though. I really wish we could get some sort of conclusive answer though.

Whilst Wolfie is out of his stable and it has been emptied of bedding, I decided to use the opportunity to paint it. It's a job that's long over due and I've never really got round to as there was always a bed in it or Wolfie was in it. I started today and painted the walls. I've still got to do the woodwork and I should have enough paint to do the outside. I'm glad I have done it as it looks so much better. Redecorate for him moving back in!

Work in progress!

Wolfie in his temporary stable

Masked crusader

Hello Wolfie

Buttons is doing great, full of cheek. Zoe has been up to ride him. He's casting his summer coat........does that mean winter is on its way?

The fever of the horse

2011-07-15T20:55:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry for not posting and updating on Wolfie sooner, we've had a rough week. After I posted in the early hours of last Wednesday morning, Wolfie's temperature started to go up again. I called the Vet who was out on a call. He told me that I had to try and get his temperature down. I was soaking rugs in cold water and sponging him down and then quickly having to get dry rugs on him to keep him warm. His temperature came back down and he was a little brighter. I gave him a small haynet at 6am which he picked at. He was moving around a little more (he had stood like a statue most of the night) and he would occasionally put his head over the door and prick his ears and take an interest in his surroundings. However, he was still very subdued, his eyes were very dull and appeared sunken and his mucous membranes were quite pale. He was also very prickly and really didn't want you touching him. The Vet came back around 9am and examined him and took his temperature which had remained normal. We discussed options. If the vet had sent the bloods away, it would be Friday before they came back. If we took Wolfie to the Vet School they would be able to have the results back the same day. There really was no decision to make. The Vet School had the facilities to cope if his temperature went sky high again and they would be able to treat him straight away and keep him hydrated. They could provide him with the supportive care and monitoring that I couldn't at home. Being up all night with him on Tuesday night was exhausting. It's very lonely and frightening in the middle of the night when you are on your own with a sick horse with no-one else to help, speak to or offer an opinion. So I loaded Wolfie and we headed over to the Vet School on Wednesday afternoon. I can't explain how much I appreciated having my own trailer. Knowing it was there and I could get him to the Vet School at any time was very reassuring. Trying to organise transport is very stressful when you have an ill horse, especially if you end up with an emergency situation. I also realised again how lucky we are having the Weipers Centre only a 25 minute journey away.

On arrival at the Vet School, Wolfie was taken to the isolation unit as he had an unexplained / unidentified infection. The vets were wearing the full protective suits like forensic people wear and looked a bit like oompa loompas. To start with, Wolfie wasn't going to let them any where near him. I was pleased to see him putting up a bit of a fight, it was half hearted but it was something. I ended up taking his temperature, putting a tail bandage on him and shaving a patch of hair on his belly. He let me do it he just didn't want the vets near him. The vets were very good with him and seemed to take on board what I said about about handling him and speaking to him. They eventually managed to get the bloods without sedation. He was then given a mild sedation and they did a full examination, rectal examination, took a faeces sample and they did a stomach tap. They also intubated him and gave him 6 litres of fluid. On Thursday they did a respiratory examination and gave him more fluids. All of the test results have came back unremarkable. They have now taken blood samples to test for EHV-1, EHV-4, EIV, Adenovirus, Rhinovirus, ELISA for Strep. equi var equi and a general virus profile. Being down in the isolation unit, Wolfie was completely locked up. He had no window and no door to put his head over. He became totally distressed and by Thursday afternoon had started manically trotting around the stable and had stopped eating. As his temperature had remained normaI, I discussed options with the vets and although he had to have bloods taken again in 2 weeks time for the virus profiling and they would have kept him longer for monitoring, we all agreed that if isolation conditions could be provided for him, it would be better to try and take him home and see if he would settle and get him eating again. I picked him up late on Friday afternoon and he was really distressed. As I loaded him, he launched himself into the trailer without any of his feet actually touching the ramp. He has been put into a different stable as he is in isolation, so that added to his upset when he got home.

It's been a worrying few days since he got home. He was hardly eating anything. He has been getting turned out onto a grazed part of the field for a few hours every day. Yesterday is the first time that he has actually shown any sign of an appetite and really wanting to eat. His temperature has remained normal, he is drinking and passing dung. He just still seems very depressed and lethargic. Understandable I suppose if you have had a high fever and been very stressed. I've been sitting with him for an hour or so at night. He gets great comfort from you just being in the stable with him. I sit on an upturned bucket like 'Oor willie' and read to him. He picks at his hay, when I stop reading or to turn the page he turns his head and looks at me. When I start reading again, he goes back to picking at his hay. He responds so well to your voice that I think he also finds this comforting. I've just bought a few books off Amazon that I have wanted for ages, so it's an excuse to sit and read. We've just finished Sylvia Loch's Dressage in Lightness.

He gets his second set of bloods taken on the 22nd July and these will be sent to the Animal Health Trust at Newmarket to be tested. So it will be the following week before we get the results. If they are negative and he is continuing to show no other symptoms then he can be reintroduced to the herd and go back into work. The vet said that he thought it was unlikely that he had an infectious disease. I have seen and worked with strangles before, and Wolfie's symptoms just don't 'fit'. He has never shown any signs of nasal discharge, runny eyes or a cough. He coughed once at the vet school, but that was after they had put a tube down his throat, so that was understandable. There are viral infections which cause a biphasic fever. This means that the horse may have a normal temperature in the morning, but later in the day it will spike a high fever. This is characteristic of a viral infection. There is also fever of unknown origin which has been documented in horses. It's an unexplained fever associated with non-specific signs of illness such as lethargy, inappetence etc. The vet said he thought the most likely scenario is that he had a viral infection which was caught immediately and the antibiotic and anti steroidal that the vet gave him just knocked it on the head. He said that there were so many viruses in the environment that they may never be able to identify the cause of it.

The vet school and my own vet have told me that I need to get the excess weight Wolfie is carrying off him. I know he is overweight. I have battled for the grazing to be restricted for years. The grazing has been restricted this year, but I often arrive at the stables and find the fence has been moved 12 foot and Wolfie is standing up to his belly in fresh grass. It is very difficult with a horse kept at a livery yard when I do not have control over his grazing. All he gets to eat is grass and a balancer. His hay is always soaked in excess of 12 hours and I ride him as much as I can. I have bought him a grazing muzzle. I have my concerns about the use of grazing muzzles and they need to be used and managed properly. I'm not quite sure what will happen when the bloods come back. If anything shows as positive, then a further diagnostic / therapeutic plan will be put in place. If all negative, theoretically Wolfie could go back out with the other boys. However, as he cannot be grazed on fresh grass I am thinking he will have to stay in his restricted patch for the rest of the summer. It really is for his own good. If I can get a little weight of him now, I stand a better chance of getting his weight down over winter. I bought him the Shires grazing muzzle, but straight off I knew it wasn't going to be suitable. I've now 'invested' in the Greenguard muzzle and halter. I tried it on him tonight for size. Bless him, he caught his own reflection in the stable window and jumped 3 feet in the air when he saw himself.

So it's really a waiting game now. Hopefully, Wolfie has now turned a corner and will continue to improve and gain strength. At the moment I'm just taking each day as it comes with him.

please say a prayer for wolfie

2011-07-06T03:18:00.023+01:00

Wolfie is sick, really sick. If there was ever a time that this horse needed his guardian angel its now. It's 3.30am and I'm at the stables doing hourly checks on wolfie. I arrived at the stables about 4pm yesterday. Wolfie was standing at the back of his stable looking very subdued and down. I went in and checked him over, couldn't find anything. I took his temperature, heart rate and respiratory rates all of which were normal. He didn't look physically sore he just looked exhausted and down. He came in at 9am yesterday and had eaten half a leaf of hay and passed one small dropping, not much of either. He wasn't dehydrated. I left him for half an hour, keeping an eye on him to see if he perked up. He didn't. I took his obs again, all of which were still normal. Wolfie is a vibrant, energetic horse, I have never seen him like this, not even when he had the schirrous chord. He looked like he had been sedated. I called the vet and explained the lack of symptoms, but how out of character this was. The vet arrived at 7pm and took his temperature, it was 106 degrees f by this point, dangerously high. He took bloods and gave him an antbiotic, painkiller and anti spasmodic injections. He got his hay taken away and is only to get warm treacle water till morning. The vet left with the instructions that he was to be monitored through the night. Any change or worsening and I was to call, if stays same, vet will come back in morning. About ten minutes after the vet left his heart rate went sky high and the sweat was pouring off him. Around ten minutes later his heart rate lowered an he stopped sweating. I've been trying to keep him warm and dry without him getting too hot. My thermatex has earned its keep tonight. It's worth its weight in gold that rug. His temperature had remained at 37.7 degrees c. He is brighter and looking for food. The vet thinks we are dealing with some sort of infection and are waiting to see if the blood tests show anything. I haven't even began to process this or how it has happened. He has no other symptoms than a seriously high temp and being down. Please cross your fingers for him as right now I am very scared.

Tiggers don't jump they bounce

2011-07-03T21:24:00.001+01:00

Things have been going well with Wolfie. Over the last month we've started jumping and even jumped a little upright on Tuesday night. He feels very bold over the fences and gives you a lovely feel. He does however find jumping very, very exciting and is extremely enthusiastic about it. I will need to try and do some more pole and grid work with him. The other night we had a canter up one of the fields and Wolfie was jumping clumps of thistles.

On Friday evening I arrived at the yard and he was in his stable. I thought he was standing a little awkwardly. I checked him over and couldn't find anything. I brought him out the stable and walked him up. He wasn't lame, but he wasn't level. I checked him over again and I still couldn't find anything. The flies and midges have been horrendous the last few nights. Black clouds of them everywhere and they are really distressing the horses. I don't think I have ever seen them this bad. I think that he's been haring around on Thursday night, probably to get away from the flies and given himself a dunt or pulled something, the ground is pretty solid and it's quite stoney in the field he's in. The boys have been sectioned off in part of another field the past week as one of the fences in their field was broken. There is no shade and no escape from the flies in there. I kept him in yesterday to let him rest and keep him out of the flies. I trotted him up tonight and he was sound. I wanted him out to walk and as the boys were going into their own field I decided to turn him out. The electric fencing had been moved to allow them some more grass so I had hoped he would just go out and get his head down and eat. I turned him out and led him most of the way down the field. He galloped up to the rest of the horses and started grazing. Around twenty minutes later I heard thundering of hooves and whinnying. I looked down to the field and saw Wolfie galloping around the field on the other side of the electric fencing from the other horses. I ran down and watched in horror as he galloped through the knee deep grass, doing his legendary cork screw bucks, twists, spins, squealing and all at top speed. The yard owner came down and between us we managed to get part of the fence down and get him back through. We then walked the entire fence line to check it. I've seen Wolfie duck under the line of tape if the current is low, but this fence was up properly. There was no loose tape or poles, the battery was on and the current was strong. There is only one way he's got into that part of the field and that is over the electric fencing. He's jumped it. It sends shivers up my spine thinking about what could have happened if he'd caught his feet and it is some height. The other horses had decided even the lure of some fresh grass wasn't enough to endure the flies and they were all at the top of the hill under the trees. I have ordered Wolfie a fly mask and fly rug. I don't think he's particularly thin skinned or overly sensitive to them, I just think the flies are much worse than they have ever been and they really are driving the horses past the point of no return. No amount of fly spray will deter them. So I shall see if he is still sound tomorrow after his shennanigans. I love that horse, quirks and all but sometimes I would like to string him up by the feet. The only one the flies don't seem to bother that much is Buttons. They land on him and you see him swishing his tail and kicking at them, but they don't seem to be able to bite him like they do the others. The yard owner commented on how fast Wolfie can gallop. It is really surprising how he can shift. I remember one of the first times he was turned out after he came home from the vet school and he galloped around the field. Me and my friends just stood there in stunned silence. The farmer who owned the fields was like 'did you know you'd bought a racehorse?'.

2011-06-09T19:33:00.000+01:00

Time

2011-06-07T22:15:00.000+01:00

My friend's horse was very sadly put to sleep today. He is at peace now. My thoughts are with his family who loved him dearly. He was a funny, intelligent, mischevious character and he will be sadly missed, but hopefully in time, his family will treasure the memories and many funny stories they have of his antics and the times they spent together.

A horse in his own mind has no thought of the future. Tomorrow is something the horse does not plan for. He only knows the present - now. And he would only ask one thing from his owner and that is compassion and freedom from pain and suffering.

I hope you gallop free across the Rainbow Bridge Mr M.

RAINBOW BRIDGE

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,

Don't cry for the horses
That life has set free
A million white horses
Forever to be

Don't cry for the horses
Now in God's hands
As they dance and they prance
To a heavenly band

They were ours as a gift
But never to keep
As they close their eyes
Forever to sleep

Their spirits unbound
On silver wings they fly
A million white horses
Against the blue sky

Look up into heaven
You'll see them above
The horses we lost
The horses we loved

Manes and tails flowing
They Gallop through time
They were never yours
They were never mine

Don't cry for the horses
They will be back someday
When our time has come
They will show us the way

On silver wings they will lift us
To the warmth of the sun
When our life is over
And eternity has begun

We will jump the sun
And dance over the moon
A Ballet of horses and riders
on the winds
to a heavenly tune

Do you hear that soft nicker
Close to your ear?
Don't cry for the horses
Love the ones that are here

Don't cry for the horses
Lift up your sad eyes
Can't you see them
As they fly by?

A million white horses
Free from hunger and pain
Their spirits set free
Until we ride again

I don't think I'm alone tonight in giving my boys an extra scratch and feeling very grateful and lucky.

Buttons goes to the Ball!

2011-06-05T08:34:00.003+01:00

I haven't posted much in the last month as things with the horses have been pretty busy and stressful for various reasons. I will update a separate post later explaining. However, things are so much very worse for one of my friends at the yard and that puts everything into perspective, so I shouldn't grumble.

Yesterday, we loaded up Wolfie and Buttons and headed off to Campsie Show. It was a fairly last minute decision, due to the various reasons above, but we went for me to get towing experience, Buttons to do an in hand class with Zoe and Wolfie went as a training exercise and to get experience.

Wolfie having his bath on Friday evening.

Buttons ready to go

Both boys bounced up the ramp and into the trailer without hesitation. I was really proud of them both.

They both seemed to travel well, Buttons sauntered off the trailer cool as a cucumber. Wolfie got very excited and wound up at the show field. So much going on for him to try and take in and process. He was very hard work at the beginning. I left him tied at the trailer with Buttons to try and let him settle, but in hindsight I should have tacked him up sooner and got on and ridden him around and worked him in. As later on when I did feel brave enough to ride him as soon as he saw his tack he began to settle. Obviously something familiar to him which he knew. He had a couple of really 'silly' moments,involving taking off and spinning. He threw in a couple of bucks out of frustration and not being allowe to go but I managed to get him back quickly. He's not used to a lot of horses working at speed around him, but it's really only at events like this which I can expose him to this kind of thing. At one point he was performing classical high school movements, levade, capriolle and he was also performing spanish walk, no kidding. If only he was trained under saddle to do this when asked. I managed to get about 10 minutes of really lovely work out of him and I really felt he would have given the big hunters who were warming up for their class at the same time a run for their money. He got some lovely comments from people at the show and one lady was very complimentary about him (who I later found out was the judge for the coloured class).

Due to Wolfie being so unsettled, I really had to leave my sister Susan with Buttons and to get him ready, and she did a great job. She doesn't have vast amounts of experience with horses, but she learnt quickly yesterday and Buttons looked fantastic for his class. I cut my fingers quite badly and Susan was trying to bandage them up. Buttons was passed to Susan's mother in law (who hasn't been near a horse in her life), Buttons probably took the opportunity to rake through her hand bag but we all mucked in.

I know a lot of horses travelling together will just pair bond in a different environment, but Wolfie was getting separation anxiety when I left him, and I ended up having to take him over to the other side of the ring to watch Buttons class. He and Zoe looked brilliant as they walked into the ring. Buttons got very excited once he got into the ring (he had behaved impeccably up until this point) and started to walk faster and faster, broke into a trot which got faster and faster. Zoe is too little to stop him and her legs are too short to keep up with him. He trotted off at speed with Zoe on the end of the rope doing her very best to keep up with him and with the judge of the class in her tartan hat and skirt in hot pursuit. It was really funny and a real Thelwell moment. He stopped and Susan came in to lend a hand. He ended up with fourth place and Zoe was very pleased with her rosette. I was really proud of them both, they looked so smart and did brilliantly. Buttons really did have a ball and revelled in the atmosphere. They definitely had the cute factor and random people were asking to get their photograph taken with him. He was clearly enjoying his minor celebrity status.

Again, they both just marched straight onto the trailer when leaving to come home. Wolfie was a bit sweated up when we got back to the yard, but Buttons didn't have a drop of sweat on him. It was a long day and tiring, but good fun and good experience for us all. I need to get Wolfie out more, but I feel much more confident now about towing etc. I need to invest in a good wicking travel rug for Wolfie. We turned them out when we got home and they both had a good roll and seemed very pleased with themselves. Good horses.

Went for a wander

2011-04-23T23:18:00.001+01:00

The weather has been lovely over the past week (actually too warm for me, but I better not complain about it). Today when I went up to the stables it was raining and showing no sign of clearing up. By the time I had finished mucking out, the rain still hadn't gone off, but I had planned to hack Wolfie and didn't want the weather to stop us. I put on my waterproofs and we headed off. We headed up to the Castle and into the forestry. Wolfie was very keen and happy to be out. We explored some of the trails that I had walked on foot. We found a nice long canter track and found a few more paths that I want to explore. I knew there was a way back down onto a different road at the castle, but I've never walked it. We followed one track in the direction of the road, we ended up in a small forest, I got off as I couldn't really see where the path was going. It ended up leading onto a very steep, muddy hill. I didn't go down it as I didn't know where it would finish at the bottom and I figured me and Wolfie would end up sliding down on out bottoms! I ended up pretty much having to go home the way I came so I will have to back up on foot and have a look. I like to ride loops and vary the way out and the way home. Wolfie was very good. He seems to get a bit spooky and upset when I get off and lead him from the ground, I'm not quite sure why as he settles as soon as I get back on. Maybe it's because he's not used to me being on the ground in unfamiliar surroundings and feels more secure with his rider on top. I'll try and get off a bit more and lead him intermittently whilst we are out to try and build his confidence. There is a way up to the castle which would cut about 1 mile, maybe more off the trip. There is a public right of way, which goes past a house which sits next to the railway line. I have never used it as you have to pass through the garden of the house. It is however a right of way and would allow for more time up in the forestry so I think I'm just going to use it. I'm keeping my eye out all the time for any little logs which we could have a little jump over. Again today, he negotiated all sorts of different terrain. Stepping over any logs or obstacles on the path. Sometimes in marshy or muddy areas, he doesn't know before stepping over if it's 6 inches or 6 foot deep, but he is very brave about it. We covered almost 14km today. Wolfie really was born to do this type of work. He is a cheeky, mischevious character, but he is very, very honest. On days like today, my heart bursts with pride at him. I'm lunging him once a week in side reins or long reining and doing a little in hand work. I'm schooling once or twice a week. I find the school we have difficult to ride Wolfie in. The surface is very deep and Wolfie has never liked it. It's a small school and the fence leans inwards (I know!) meaning you almost have to use the three quarter line as the outside track to prevent getting knee capped on the fence, and in turn this lessens the limited space there is already. Walk and trot is doable but canter is impossible at the moment. I have rarely cantered him in there as it is so small. He is unbalanced, which encourages him to speed up. One of the girls at the yard hit the nail on the head the other day by saying his canter was just too big for the school. At the moment it is. He has a huge stride and he only just gets a few strides, doesn't even get a chance to establish any rythmn and the corner appears and neither he or I are prepared for it. A balanced horse would manage but I am leaving canter at the moment until lambing is over and I can ride in the fields again. I would much rather school in a flatter part of one of the fields.

Some photographs of the forestry today

Who's been sleeping in my bed?

2011-04-22T21:25:00.000+01:00

When I got to the yard yesterday, I had a strange feeling that someone was there, even though I was the only person and all the horses were in the fields. I was walking down to Wolfie's stable when a little head popped out of Wolfie's stable doorway.

The stable door had been left open and the sheep must have found a bit of shade from the sun inside the stable.

Zoe came up last week to help me muck out and Buttons had his first ride of the year (and since his laminitis). Both Zoe and Buttons thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Only Wolfie was put out as he didn't get to go.

Wolfie has been demolishing buckets again. I've had to chuck two in the last few weeks. I don't know how he does it, but he manages to turn them completely inside out.

Wolfie has been working consistently since my last post and I'll blog in more detail soon. I'm on holiday for a week so I'm hoping to get a lot of riding done, starting with a long hack tomorrow. The horses should be going out 24 /7 for summer a week today. It's been a long time coming. Personally I think they should have been out weeks ago, but it's not my decision. I need to sort out some electric fencing for Buttons as he won't be going straight into the summer field straight away. I also need to order him a grazing muzzle (I'm not sure if it will work, am almost certain he will get it off in minutes but feel it is worth a go) and get various fly sprays etc. I'm thinking of getting Wolfie a full face and muzzle fly mask which also keeps a lot of the UV rays out. As he has such a pink muzzle he gets sun burned really easily. If I put sun cream on him he usually rubs it off within minutes on the nearest object, which is normally me.

Clocking up the miles

2011-04-03T20:55:00.000+01:00

Now that there is more daylight, I have been able to get Wolfie out and work him for longer. On Monday and Tuesday we hacked. Wednesday he had a rest day, I lunged him in side reins on Thursday and we hacked Friday, Saturday and today. I've introduced more trot and yesterday and today we had a couple of canters. Wolfie is absolutely thriving on the work. He has been outstanding this week. Wolfie is evidently a horse that needs work and lots of it. He really has been a pleasure and great fun to be with. He's been hacking with different horses from the yard, boldly crossing the 'scarey' bridge, and really striding out. Wolfie has one of the most amazing walks I've ever felt in a horse. We've been averaging 5 miles per hack and varying our routes. I'll continue to increase his workload as he gets fitter and introduce more schooling. I'll keep introducing more trot and canter and extend the distance on the hacks we mainly walk on and add more hillwork. I really want to keep it varied for him. I've got an app on my phone which measures the distance we are covering. I really want to get back up into the forrestry, but I'd like him to be a bit fitter before going up. It's a fair distance to get there and if I want to do some faster work whilst I'm up there I want him to be prepared. I've been up on foot and have a good idea of some good tracks. Some of it is quite rough terrain and a tired horse is more likely to make a mistake or end up injured. I just need to continue to monitor his recovery times and he will let me know how he is feeling. Yesterday I was hacking with another girl from the yard. We met J. and C on route returning from their hack. I wondered if Wolfie would try and nap back towards the other horses heading for home, but no, he barely gave them a second glance as he continued on. We have been hacking with other horses, and today is the first time I've hacked on my own for a while. I wondered again if he would notice or be funny about it, but no, I got on and he marched off without hesitation. I'm definitely feeling the effects more than wolfie. I'm shattered. The horses are still in, so I'm still mucking out at night as well. But it's defintely worth it as I'm already seeing the benefits.

Mad as a March hare

2011-03-24T22:29:00.000Z

The weather has been amazing this week and with the nights getting longer, I've actually been able to work Wolfie every night this week. Spring is here and Wolfie knows it. He's been somewhat 'difficult' this week. I'm putting it down to the change in season, better weather, increased daylight. The grass is growing in the summer field, there is greenery sprouting everywhere and he's still stuck in his winter field which is completely poached. He's bored and when Wolfie gets bored it means only one thing, mischief. I managed to get him out for a slightly longer hack on Monday and Tuesday. Both times as soon as I've got on and started walking, I've known straight away that he's been looking for an 'excuse' to be silly. He got it on Monday when a rabbit darted out from under a fence across his path. He shied violently sideways, span around and managed to set J. off too. He then took off, I pulled him up and he stuck his head between his knees and bucked. He was then pretty well behaved for the rest of the hack but this has set the presedence as he now stares at the area where the rabbit was constantly waiting for another one, as rabbits bounce around there all the time, he doesn't have to wait long till one appears and then he spooks. It's in good spirits and seems almost like a game to him. Not a game I enjoy though. If he wasn't quite so excuberant about his games, it wouldn't be so bad.

He was shod yesterday and was pretty naughty. He was fidgeting, spooking at nothing and at one point span and took off. I didn't even realise what was happening until he screeched to a halt about 10 yards along and my feet hit the ground. He then casually walked back like nothing had happened. I lunged him last night and tonight I schooled him. He's on a complete fibre diet, he doesn't get any concentrates and he certainly won't be until, well until I feel that he requires it, despite his increasing workload. Hopefully after the clocks change this week I'll be able to work him for longer.

I brought him in tonight and tied him up at the trailer with a haynet and left him there whilst I mucked out, just keeping an eye on him. He was relaxed and just stood eating his hay, even when the other horses were brought in from the field. I will start tying him up at the trailer and tacking him up as at the moment he only ever gets tacked up in his stable.

He worked well in the school tonight. I worked him in and walk and trot and then we worked the last twenty minutes in walk, concentrating on just asking him to relax and soften. I have to be much more consistent in my rein contact and clearer in what I'm asking him. For all he is full of bravado, he doesn't like to make mistakes or get it 'wrong' and worries and tenses. A couple of times I felt that I had confused him tonight and I really don't want to do that when he is trying. Like most young horses he takes time to warm up and settle, but I always seem to get the best work out of him in the last 5 minutes of any session. I got off, slackened his girth and we did a little leg yield and shoulder in, backing up and just placing his feet in hand which he seemed to really enjoy.

Buttons is great. He's the slimmest he's ever been. His coat is coming out thick and fast, every time I brush him, mountains of hair comes out, but when you look at him, his coat just looks as thick and huge as ever. The farrier commented yesterday on how well he was looking.

Without a hitch

2011-03-06T22:31:00.003Z

I hitched the trailer up on Friday to have a little practice loading Wolfie. I wasn't really too sure what he would make of it this time. However, I needn't have worried, he bounced up the ramp bursting with enthusiasm. I tied him up and he had a little sniff and a look around. He ate a couple of carrots and I took him back off. He actually looked a bit bemused when I led him back down the ramp, I think he thought he was going somewhere!

Trailer happy!

2011-03-03T21:44:00.001Z

An amazing thing has happened. I have a trailer, my very own trailer! It still hasn't sunk in and even as I type this, it still doesn't seem real. We picked it up last night and today as I was mucking out, every time I walked past it, I smiled at it. This really is a dream come true and will enable me to do so much more with Wolfie. This wouldn't have been at all possible if it hadn't been for the kindness of my family, for which I am so grateful. It's an Ifor Williams 505 Hunter. I think it will take a while before it really feels like ours. Like my saddle for example. Although I loved my saddle from the minute I got it, now that it has been used and broken in, there are creases in the leather and a few marks, it feels completely like our saddle and I love it even more if that's possible. I feel like I know it and I trust it.

So Wolfie and Buttons have got some wheels. I need to take it out a few times empty just to get used to towing it and build my confidence up. I'll hitch it up and practice loading. Wolfie has never had a problem loading in the past for the few times he has been in a trailer (touch wood) so hopefully that will continue to be the case. I can't even begin to explain how excited I am.

I've managed to ride Wolfie almost every night this week. He's been very good. I'm concentrating again on building his confidence. The word 'can't' is not in our training vocabulary. He's enjoying getting out. I have started introducing trot along the straight, flat parts of the fields. He bounces into trot and takes off in extended trot, on Monday I was half halting and asking him to soften, slow and bring his weight back every second or third stride, tonight it was every 6 or 7 strides, so it is improving but it's time to get into the school a few nights a week now and continue his education.

He's been out without his rug on every day this week as it has been dry and fairly mild during the day. It will now take a chisel to get all the caked dried mud off. He doesn't entertain any sort of brushes or grooming. I use a very soft body brush and a sheepskin mit to do his saddle and girth area. The rest of him can stay dirty for the moment.

When dreams don't come true

2011-02-27T20:41:00.002Z

I rode Wolfie today. He's only been ridden once over the last week, due to the weather and me being very unmotivated. It was a nice day and I had planned to go along the road onto the line. However, within minutes of getting on I realised he was way to fresh and changed my mind and headed up the hill. He was looking at everything and leaping sideways, but he didn't back up or try and spin. We passed a bonfire which was crackling and the wind kept changing and blowing the smoke in different directions. He stopped a couple of times, but then walked forward when asked. Very brave. We went further up the hill than we've been recently. We haven't been up there since last year and we used to canter quite a lot. He took off with me a couple of times and when I pulled him up, he stuck his head between his knees and bucked. I know the only answer to this is to ride him every day. He was happy to be out.

Lidl had some horse stuff in last week. I got a summer sheet, a fly rug, a set of travelling boots and a set of stable bandages for about twenty quid. I don't know how long they will last, but seeing as Wolfie wrecks the good quality stuff he gets, it doesn't really matter. I'm really pleased with them, particularly the travelling boots, I ended up going back and getting another set and another summer sheet. Wolfie has never worn travelling boots before. He was walking in them like he was on the moon.

Wolfie modelling his travelling boots

One of his summer sheets

Pretty boy

Just randomly, a picture of Wolfie's hind quarters. He has one little patch that has stayed brown (the colour all his markings were when he was a foal).

Buttons is back on full day turn out. We've had persistent heavy rain for the last couple of weeks which has evidently washed or leached all the sugars from the grass. He is keen to get out but also keen to get back in and eat his soaked hay. Wolfie is eating more at the moment than he has all winter.

I went to catch Buttons in today and he was sun bathing.

It's a case now of monitoring Buttons very carefully, especially with the spring grass coming through. I'm basically taking each day as it comes with him with regards to his turn out and keeping a very close eye on him. I'm still contemplating the grazing muzzle. I've read that speedi beet helps to regulate the acid balance in the hind gut and can be fed to laminitics before turn out to fill them up a bit before going on the grass. The horses are craving greenery. I'm thinking of getting them some herbs online to add to their feed, including rosehips etc. I'm still trawling through the ingredients on the backs of feed backs, it's amazing how much 'hidden' sugars there are. Buttons isn't getting fed anything that hasn't been approved by the laminitis trust.

This and That

2011-02-07T20:39:00.000Z

My bitless bridle arrived. I'm very pleased with it. I tried it on Wolfie yesterday and had a little sit on him in the school with it on. It's a full size, and does come up quite big, but the Cob size definitely wouldn't have fitted across the brow band or nose band. It's really lovely soft leather. He was very responsive to it, we were only walking, but once we start schooling some more, I will be able to see better how it sits and make any adjustments to the fitting. I enjoyed riding in it and Wolfie seemed quite pleased with the fact that he could still ram mouthfuls of hay into his mouth without it getting tangled around his bit. I'm looking forward to riding in it.

We went out for a hack with H and J yesterday. That's the first time Wolfie has been ridden in a week. He was quite fresh and had a couple of minor spooks, but nothing major. He was very forward. We came home along a track which runs next to the river and the road is on the other side of the river. For some reason this track makes the horses a little joggy and silly. Wolfie strode along it with his back arched. He felt like at any second he was going to explode. I concentrated on trying to get him to stretch down and relax, trying to give him a long rein, staying in walk with a nice long loose stride, keeping his shoulders straight and trying to encourage him to relax through his back. He was very good and listened and most importantly he didn't errupt into a complete bucking fit.

I really want to get Wolfie into consistent work now. Not only because I want to get him fit, but also for Wolfie's sake. He enjoys work and doing something so much.

Buttons is continuing to do well. He is so good, he even eats his soaked hay with enthusiasm. It can't be very tasty, having been soaked for over 12 hours, but he seems to like it more if I pour a kettle of hot water over it. He's starting to moult now. I think it will be nice for him to get rid of that big coat now, although it has served him well this winter. It's a petty we couldn't just unzip him and take it off.

I've been trying to look into finding somewhere to hire a trailer. It's not proving easy in Scotland. England has loads of places where you can hire them for the entire summer season, for very reasonable prices. If I hired a trailer from England, I would have to drive down to pick it up and return it. I've got a list of numbers for places which hire out various types of trailers, so I'll need to call around them and see if they hire horse trailers. There is a place in the Borders which hires trailers, but they are rear facing trailers. I participated in a Study into the effects of horses travelling facing the rear when I was at University. It's supposed to be better for the horse, I just would kind of prefer a front facing trailer. I think that's just because I am new to towing and I know Wolfie travels well facing the front. If anyone knows of any places which hire horse trailers in Scotland, please let me know.

The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind

2011-02-04T20:47:00.001Z

When I wished that it would rain, I didn't quite mean for this amount of rain and gale force winds - sorry everyone, I don't normally get what I wish for, but this time I got my wish, and some. When I went out to catch Buttons in this afternoon, I physically couldn't walk up the hill for the wind. Buttons wasn't giving a hoot about the wind or driving rain and was using it to his advantage to have some more grazing time.


Buttons kidding on he can't see me under all that hair or hear me shouting him over the noise of the wind.


5 more minutes, pleeeeeeeeeeease

Elvis isn't dead!

The weather is wild. Anything that isn't bolted down at the stables is getting blown around. Wolfie doesn't like the wind. He was a bit wound up last night. Today he was very tired, so I presume he's spent most if not all of the night wide awake due to the howling wind and noises of various things getting blown around.

It's too windy for the horses in Wolfie's block to stick their heads over their doors. They try it and then promptly retreat back inside.

I've bought a bitless bridle.

High Mane-tenance

2011-02-03T08:46:00.000Z

The weather and lack of daylight has ground riding to a halt again this week. Torrential rain, but I had been hoping for rain for Buttons sake as apparently it 'leaches' out the sugars being stored within the grass. It all seems to make sense now, from what I've read about freezing temperatures, sugars in the grass and the prolonged very cold and dry winter we've had. Well, there's been plenty of snow, but very few rain showers. Never thought I'd hear myself say I wanted it to rain. Buttons has been getting 2 hours of turnout in the afternoons this week. He goes out roughly between 12pm and 2pm. The temperatures have stayed above freezing, but I asked for him to go out around this time, to allow the mares time on the grass before he goes out and to allow the temperature to increase. If the temperature does go below zero or the ground is hard, I have asked that he be kept in. I feel that 2 hours is enough for him at the moment, but I do hope to slowly increase his turnout time. I've also been having a little look into grazing muzzles. I have never used one and have always been dead set against them, but I have to weigh up what would be best for Buttons. Extended times being put in his stable to keep him off the grass or the possibility of more turnout time if he wore the grazing muzzle at 'high risk' times and it worked for him. I had thought about one in the past for Wolfie, but he gets frustrated at haynets, ending up with his feet stuck in them, he definitley wouldn't cope with one, but Buttons I think would be more tolerant. It's definitely something I have to consider even just to try it. It might not work for him. Most articles I've read have said that the majority of horses get used to them and accept them very quickly. I've looked at the green guard muzzles and also Dinky rugs make muzzles especially for minatures and Shetlands. I don't like horses being out in the field with headcollars on, so I would need to get the breakaway halter. Buttons is also a bit of a houdini. Many a time I have tied him up, gone to get something, came back and his headcollar and leadrope are still where I tied him, but no Buttons. He can slip his headcollar. If anyone has used a grazing muzzle, I would appreciate your thoughts. Good or bad.

Wolfie and I went for a nice hack with H and J on Sunday. We went along the road and down onto the line. That's the first time Wolfie has been out on the road and that way since about October. He was very good. A bit joggy and bouncey when we first got onto the road, but that was just freshness and anticipation. As we got onto the line, some trees have been cut down and there were piles of stacked tree trunks. He had a bit of a spook and J took the lead and we passed them. Wolfie then walked the line, really striding along. We approached the 'scarey' bridge. He was looking, but he didn't hesitate and stepped straight onto it. He was walking like he was on hot coals over it and as he stepped back onto the tarmac off the bridge, he spooked himself at the change of sound of his feet on the tarmac as opposed to the wood of the bridge and leapt in the air. But he was fine and I was so impressed at how he boldly tackled it, no hesitation whatsoever. He's warey of it, but I really don't think it's going to cause too many problems and his previous bad experiences at the bridge, don't seem to have produced a totally negative response.

I've been choked with the cold this week, simple things such as changing rugs and picking out feet have proved exhausting. Yesterday I decided to redo the plaits in Wolfie's mane. Because I see Wolfie every day, his mane always looks the same, but when I do brush it or plait it, I notice that it has actually grown. The longest part of his mane is now about 1 and 1/2 inches below his point of shoulder. If I'm honest there are times when it really annoys me, it gets caught in the reins and my fingers and on many occasions I have seriously considered cutting and pulling it, but I know that I would regret it as soon as I had did it. It's part of him and I love it when it is all clean and brushed. Not all of them can grow manes that length. In the summer I leave it and just put a running plait it when I ride. I'm really only plaiting it just now as he keeps sticking his head in those burr things and even with a full neck rug on, manages to get them tangled everywhere and it's a job and a half to get them out, especially when he doesn't particularly like having his mane brushed.

A work of art

2011-01-29T22:05:00.000Z

Buttons is continuing to do well. On Thursday evening I took him up to his field for a walk around. All the horses were in, so I let him off his rope to have a roll. He lay down and rolled and rolled, just as I was walking over to clip his lead rope back on, he took off at a flat out gallop up to the top of the hill. I think he thought the mares were over the top of the hill. He got to the top and realised that they weren't there. He then came haring back down the hill at a flat out gallop and proceeded to do another two laps of the field whinnying. Buttons copes well with routine and being stabled on his own, but he gets very, very upset if he gets turned out on his own. I suppose after living on his own for so long and then being given a herd, it's understandable. I caught him and walked him to cool him off. He looked alright and fortunately the ground wasn't too hard. Yesterday I turned him out in the field with the mares for an hour. Today we went a walk with his good friend Abbey who is also bare foot and this afternoon he got turned out for an hour. I am keeping a diary of everything that he is doing / eating daily, weather and ground conditions etc. to try and note any changes. I will continue to turn him out, hopefully building up the length of time he is able to stay out (as long as the temperatures remain above freezing). I think it's a case of monitoring him now and seeing what's going to work for him. The farrier is back in just under 3 weeks to do them both, I am going to ask if he thinks that Buttons should be trimmed every 3 weeks for the next wee while.

It was my Birthday during the week and I got a lovely surprise from my sister, brother in law and niece. A painting of Wolfie and Buttons taken from one of the photographs I had taken over winter. It's something I have always wanted and I have very few pictures of the two of them together. It is absolutely stunning, the artist has managed to capture both of them and the 'moment' perfectly. The colours are wonderful and I think it is very striking looking.

A photograph of the painting. It's acrylic on canvas. It couldn't have been easy to get Wolfie's colouring. He is blue and white, but is actually tri coloured and changes colour between winter and summer. It is very special and I will treasure it. A huge thank you to Susan, Martin and Zoe and also to the artist Jacqueline Mcateer for doing such a fantastic job. If anyone is thinking of commissioning an artist for an equine painting, I would definitely recommend contacting her.

I rode Wolfie today. If I manage to ride tomorrow, that will be 5 times this week he'll have been out. I want to be able to ride him at least 5 times every week - weather, are you listening? He was good, still very bouncey, but very good fun and enthusiastic. We went a slightly longer hack today and he coped fine, felt as though he could easily have done the same again. We opened and shut all the gates mounted and he hasn't lost his touch. Good boy.

On the road to recovery

2011-01-26T20:49:00.000Z

I'm pleased to say, Buttons is doing brilliantly, far better than I expected him to be at this stage. The farrier came up yesterday and checked and trimmed his feet. It's been just over 3 weeks since he was last trimmed, but there was a lot of growth. He brought his feet back and is confident that we caught this early and any damage done will be very minimal. He wants me now to start walking him out, to get the blood flowing to his feet. He's walking well, even on harder, stonier parts of ground. I'm trying to keep him on soft surfaces just now. He's walking forward and breaking into trot and looks comfortable. Aside from physical improvements, the biggest change I've seen is in him himself. Buttons is back. He has a sweet, feisty, cheeky character and a huge personality and I'm pleased to see it back. He's back to pawing the ground and tossing his head when I don't do things quite as quickly as he would like, he emptied all the shelves in the tack room yesterday (don't worry there's no food in there!). He feels better and he wants out. Today I took him a little walk around the yard and we stopped off to visit some of his friends. I was leading him around one of the empty fields as the ground was nice and soft, he was getting frustrated at me as he wanted loose. I was walking along when I just saw a flash of blonde and then Buttons back feet about 2 inches away from my face. He had done a massive handstand buck, he landed and tossed his head and then turned to look at me a bit sheepishly. I feel for him, but I'm still proceeding with this cautiously. I'm not taking any chances.


Visiting Big J. and M.


Buttons and two of his 'girls'


Looking longingly into the field

I managed to ride Wolfie yesterday and today. That's the first since our eventful first ride just over a week ago. He was really, really good. Bouncey, looky and very forward, but none of the dramatic behaviour of our previous ride. I'm really looking forward to getting him fit. A couple of the tups followed us around the field today. They are much braver and nosier than the sheep. We walked up the track where he came across the scarey horse eating turf. Turns out it wasn't turf, but a massive pile of dirty snow. It's now melted and all that's left is a dirty patch on the ground. He was looking for it as we neared the top. I don't think he could really understand where this awful thing had gone. Really pleased with him. Wolfie always seems really happy after being ridden, I really think he enjoys the mental stimulation and he thoroughly enjoys hacking.

Sometimes your best isn't good enough

2011-01-23T20:05:00.000Z

Buttons has laminitis. On Thursday night I led him out of his stable and thought he looked a bit foot sore on the frozen ground. I tied him up outside and watched him standing, he had that weight shifted back laminitic pose. Walking, he is 'footy' it is most noticeable on asking him to turn. He seemed down and was obviously sore. I later found out he had been reluctant to come out of his stable on Thursday morning. That's not like Buttons, he's normally half way to the field before you have even finished fastening his head collar. The vet has advised 2 weeks box rest with anti inflammatories and a sugar free diet. Shetland ponies apparently don't react well to Danilon so I have decided to treat this to start with homeopathically.

I really couldn't understand it. Buttons weight is brilliant this year, he's the slimmest he has ever been since he's been with us. If you clipped off all that hair, there's actually a very small pony underneath. Both Buttons and Wolfie are on low sugar feeds. Unmollassed chaff, speedi beat and a general purpose supplement is all Buttons gets, and even then it is a handful, a token to make him think he is getting something. He gets a small amount of hay. Nothing has changed in his feeding regime, he has not had access to gorge. I have really only heard of laminitis in the winter as a secondary condition caused by something else. The vet believes it has been caused by the sugars in the frozen grass. I knew frozen grass was not good, but I was not aware of how dangerous it actually was.

'A chilly and bright morning with frosty grass often creates horse feed that triggers laminitis, because frozen grass becomes high in fructans from the chemical reaction of the frozen grass to sunlight. Sunlight causes the grass to produce sucrose, a sugar needed for the grass to grow. However, when there is frost, the grass doesn’t grow, instead storing extra sucrose as fructans. The horse’s digestive system treats these fructans as carbohydrates or grains, and — the grass turns the fructans into. Fructans are a carbohydrate that occurs in horse feed and leads to digestive issues.
Cold, sunny days are dangerous for horse diets, because sunlight spurs grass to produce sucrose, a sugar needed for its growth. However, grass does not grow in cold temperatures, so it stores the excess sucrose as fructans. Fructans can cause laminitis because the horse’s body treats them as carbohydrates or grains.'

Many of us with laminitic horses look forward to when our pastures die so that we can turn them out longer each day. We have learned that near freezing nights in fall can cause sugars to sky rocket, so horses at high risk for laminitis should be pulled off grass during this time. Many people ask ‘when is it safe to graze?’ Like many others things concerning management of laminitic horses, I learned this the hard way. One year in mid December, I turned my ponies out on a grass paddock that was nearly all dead. By the second day, they were sore footed again! Because they were barefoot at the time, I called my farrier, Gene Ovnecik to ask who could come down to put their therapeutic support shoes back on. He told me that his own chronic laminitis cases recently got sore on dead grass. So I asked him to send me some of the grass in a cooler on ice; which I froze as soon as it arrived. I also started sampling some of the dead grass in my research plots. Some of the samples still had some green, living tissue at the stem bases even though it had been below 0 F. Stem bases are a storage organ for sugars in grass, so this will have the highest concentration of sugar. I sent the frozen samples overnight with dry ice to Dairy One for analysis. Any live, green tissue must be kept frozen to preserve the sugar because otherwise the sugar might respire or ferment during shipment, giving you much lower test result, and a false sense of security. The results were quite surprising. This dead grass had some of the highest WSC concentrations I had ever seen.
Water Soluble Carbs will not wash out of grass until it is completely dead and brown. Then you have to have enough rain or melting snow after it’s completely dead to leach the sugar out. Until then, please take care with your high risk horses. Proceed with caution, and allow them to acclimate slowly, just as you would if it were June. It might be best to assume that any green grass that has been subjected to repeated freezing nights is candy - full of sugar, even if there is snow on top. If it’s still green, the rain/snow cannot leach out the sugar.'

Has Buttons had laminitis before, I don't know. I've always battled to try and keep his weight down and worried particularly at the 'dangerous' spring and autumn months, this however is the first time he has shown any signs of laminitis. Do I blame myself? Yes. I always try and give 110% to them both and always try and do my very best for them, but this time, my best was not enough. We've had hard frost again this week and periods of sunshine.

He's coping well with box rest, for the moment. He's now on a shavings bed as opposed to straw, which is a dream come true for him. He loves rolling in shavings and can be frequently seen sneaking into anyone's stable that has the door left open and a shavings bed for a quick roll. He's already much more comfortable standing and he's willingly moving around inside the stable. He's getting hay that has been soaked for in excess of 12 hours, fast fibre and happy hoof all in measured amounts, split into 3 tiny feeds a day. He doesn't understand, but is coping better than I thought he would. Buttons loves turn out and he loves the company of his hareem of mares every day. Before he came to us, he was frequently locked in a massive stable with no bedding, food or water. He couldn't see over the door and could be in there for up to a week at a time. I don't know if he's ever had laminitis before, these little horses are predisposed to it, but metabolically after everything he has endured in the past, it wouldn't surprise me, thinking of it now, it maybe has made him even more susceptible. He's heart broken as he can't have his beloved carrots. The farrier is coming up this week to have a look at his feet. Everyone is going out of their way to stop and say hello to him when they are passing and I will do everything I possibly can to get the little man back on his feet.

Susan and Zoe came up today and Buttons was given lots of TLC being groomed and scratched and fussed over. He loved every second of it.

Buttons has decided that he doesn't get enough blog time on Wolfie's blog, so he's going to have his very own blog. I'll keep you posted as to when Pony Tale is up and running.

First injury of 2011

2011-01-19T20:07:00.001Z

Despite my good intentions, Bootcamp had to be postponed. We managed all of one day. I arrived at the stables on Monday, saddle in tow. Wolfie was still in the field, I looked over at him, he appeared agitated and I knew straight away something was wrong. I headed over to the gate and he came galloping over. Blood was dripping onto my jacket, coming from a wound under his chin. I got him into the stable and managed to clean it up. Looks like a bite and a pretty gruesome one at that. The hair has been ripped out and taken a huge chunk of flesh with it. It's not big in diameter, but deep. It was really swollen and very tender all around it. He couldn't manage to put his head down to his feed bucket as it must have nipped or pulled at that last stretch. He was pretty upset. In hindsight I don't know whether I should have called the vet and got it stitched. I just left it open after I'd cleaned it and gave him some Arnica and Hypericum. A good scab had formed yesterday and it was much less swollen and tender and he had full range of movement. Today it's better again. I just need to keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected. So he's had the last few days off again. I'm hoping to get on tomorrow and have a little walk around the school.

I'm going to put it down to an 'accident' in the field or horseplay getting out of hand. It was this time last year that Wolfie started to come in week after week with a different injury, each one worse than the last. I can't even begin to describe how frustrating I find these scrapes he gets into in the field and the resulting injuries which keep him off work. Never mind the constant worry and wondering what I'm going to find when I get to the stables. I have never known a horse like Wolfie, even a youngster who requires so much mental stimulation and interaction. The only thing I can think of at the moment is to get him into work and keep him tired, so he doesn't have the energy to noise up the others. In the meantime I will get him a gum shield and some boxing gloves.

I had put together a 4 week fittening plan, just for walk. Well, it's really just stage 1 of hardening and strengthening him up properly. I don't have enough daylight at the moment to really put it into practice, so I will see what we achieve over the next couple of weeks and then I can modify it. I also want to get some ideas of distances so that I can measure speed over distance.

First ride of 2011.....

2011-01-16T19:58:00.004Z

....and it was an exciting one. Wolfie's had almost 9 weeks off work, the first time back under saddle, I expected him to be full of beans and he certainly didn't disappoint. We've had torrential rain for the last few days, the higher temperatures have cleared the ice and left vast amounts of water and flooding in its place. I had thought about getting back on yesterday, but the rain didn't stop, it was pretty windy and Wolfie looked very high spirited in the field, so I decided to leave it another day. I brought him in today, having made sure he'd had the best part of the day out in the field. I tacked up and he seemed genuinely pleased about getting his tack on. I put his exercise sheet on, there was a cold wind and hoped it would keep him a bit warmer and less likely to act silly if he was cold. I had thought about lunging him before I got on, but the school is waterlogged and to be honest I don't see the point in having him running endlessly around in a circle, not achieving anything. For the first few weeks back in work, I want to keep him walking in straight lines. Harden him up to his tack and strengthen him. I don't see the point in lunging unless he's being asked to work properly and at the moment it would be putting too much stress on him physically. Also, if he's going to do anything, he'll do it regardless of whether he's been lunged or not, in the past I've never found that it's tired him or helped to settle him that much.

I got on at the gate to the tracks, he stood completely still and waited to be asked to walk on. We walked down the tracks to the gate, he was striding out and bouncing and very looky, but he felt good. I was thinking how well it was going and decided to go up another track which passes a house. We made it almost to the top of the track when Wolfie stopped dead, head raised and neck rock solid. I couldn't see what he was looking at, but he suddenly half reared and span to the left. I managed to turn him back to the way he had been facing, and then struggled to keep him straight as he leapt sideways. He took 2 steps and then started backing up at speed down the hill. I stopped him and managed to turn him and bounced back down to the bottom of the hill. All I had been able to see was what looked like a tree trunk in the field next to the track. I walked into the field and decided to approach it from the other way, to try and let him see it without trees and a wall obscuring it (if this was what he had been spooking at). We walked through the field and he tried to take off, I brought him back to walk and he did his infamous rodeo demonstration in frustration. We began walking up the hill and the tups started to run past us. Wolfie thought he would go with them and when I pulled him up, he did two huge bucks. Obviously annoyed that I was ruining his fun. We got to the top and started to walk across the field to the track we had tried to come up initially. The man from the house was outside, so he caught Wolfie's attention first and then about twenty feet away, he spotted it. It wasn't a tree trunk, but a roll of scarey horse eating turf.

He stared at it, trying to process what it was for about 5 seconds, then decided it was obviously incredibly dangerous. He started cantering sideways and then span and tried to bolt. I managed to turn him and he was leaping around, sliding everywhere as the ground was so wet. He worked himself up into a complete blind panic. I decided to get off, to see if I could lead him a little closer so he could see what it was. Even that proved difficult, he was spinning, leaping and backing up so fast I couldn't get off. Eventually I managed to get off and led him a couple of steps towards it when he span and made to bolt again. He nearly dragged me off my feet. The wind was up, the trees were creaking, this wasn't the day to be trying to work through this. I managed to lead him past it on the other side of the wall and back down the track. I led him back to the stables, got back on and walked along the tracks to the gate and back again. He was settled and very good.

As Black Beauty famously said 'I'm not afraid of what I know'. Wolfie didn't know what this was. He's young, had a long holiday and was looking for a reason to be silly. He blew it out of proportion and got himself completely worked up. Wolfie can be very unpredictable. He is so fast when he reacts, you get absolutely no warning. Some horses favour a direction when spooking or napping. Not Wolfie, he can pull any trick out of the bag, you never can tell which way it's going to be. I felt rusty being back in the saddle today after not having ridden for so long. I don't think I was riding completely effectively, in fact I know I wasn't. I know from past experience with him, that the quicker you get control, the better chance you have of riding through it. Today, I was too busy trying to sit to everything that he was throwing at me, that I feel I kind of abandoned him and never gave him any direction. I know it's just down to time and work to re-establish the trust and confidence. Wolfie has a very strong play ethic. His enthusiasm knows no boundaries and he needs constant mental stimulation. I need to find a way to channel his enthusiasm and energy positively, to have him concentrating on his work but also keep it fun.

So bootcamp begins. It's still too dark to hack after I finish work during the week, but weather permitting, I'll try walking him around the school at night. I think it's actually me that will struggle with bootcamp more than Wolfie will. He loves having something to do and learning.

That was fun!

I've been looking at the GPS wrist units and thought the Garmin 205 forerunner looked good. It does a few things but I really only want it for measuring distance. Has anyone used these types of things before? I'm not very technically minded and want something that will be straight forward to use.

Cute as a Button

Ice Age

2011-01-12T20:07:00.000Z

This is what I am tackling every night on foot to get to the stables. Believe me, it's like glass. It's not any easier walking on the verge next to the fence as it is frozen solid too. Most of the snow has melted in the fields now, apart from the boys summer field, to the right of the picture. For some reason the snow isn't melting in there. I fell again today, getting out the car on my way to work. My feet just slid away when I stepped out the car. My arm got stuck at a strange angle and I heard something tearing. My arm has got increasingly more painful as the day has gone on. Leading Wolfie and mucking out was really sore. My Dad slipped and fell last week and he has cracked some ribs, so really I should be grateful I'm still in one piece.

Wolfie is still bored but his appetite seems to be increasing again. I ended up buying him some readi grass to try and stimulate his appetite and it seems to have worked. He's still not eating his full ration of hay or haylage but it's definitely an improvement, and I'm slowly starting to increase it again based on the amount he's eating and what's getting wasted. When I walked into Wolfie's stable tonight, he was still in the field. Wolfie normally does a demolition job on his stable during the night. Bankings down, bed coming out the door, buckets turned inside out and buried under the shavings, hay everywhere, sometimes rugs buried in there too. He has always done this. People worry when their horse's bed is a complete mess, incase they've been cast, upset during the night. I was worried tonight, because Wolfie's stable was in perfect order. Obviously it hadn't been mucked out and there were visible droppings, but apart from this it was very neat and tidy. I was walking about it like someone entering their house and finding it to be burgaled. Very strange. Not that I'm complaining. Maybe Wolfie has turned over a new leaf and decided to be a tidy horse. We'll see how it looks tomorrow.

The handle of my sweeping brush broke in half. I'm upset about it. I'm funny about mucking out tools and when I find some that I'm really comfortable using, I like to keep them. To be fair, it wasn't an expensive brush and I've had it since I got Wolfie. I like a brush with a long handle and this one had a good long handle, now it would have a long handle if I was 2 foot tall! I went to B & Q to see if I could get another handle, but have decided I may aswell get a completely new brush. I'm going to tape the end of the other one and Zoe can use it. She enjoys mucking out, but all my tools are huge for her. I was telling my Dad about the brush / handle dilemma when he asked if it was like Trigger's sweeping brush in an episode of Only Fools and Horses. Trigger had won an award for using the same broom to sweep the streets for twenty years, even though he'd replaced the head 17 times and the handle 14 times. Made me laugh.

Buttons is just being, well he's just being Buttons. He's as happy and as matter of fact as ever. I'm glad to say he hasn't lost his appetite at all. He's taken a shine to parsnips at the moment. He's looking forward to a visit from Zoe soon, as due to the weather and the conditions at the stables she hasn't been able to get up to see him.

My camera seems to be taking hazy pictures today, not sure why. I'm absolutely desperate to get back to riding.

Never trust a horse with a sense of humour

2011-01-08T20:26:00.001Z

Another week and the weather hasn't given up. I slipped and fell on the ice twice walking up the driveway to the stables the other day. I fell once, got back up, took 3 steps and fell again. When I eventually made it half way up the road to the gate on the driveway, I spotted Wolfie leaning over the fence, practically on his tip toes so he could get a better view, tossing his head around as if to say 'that was brilliant, do it again!'.

I decided to clip Wolfie again today. I just made a start on his neck and shoulders, but forgot the extension cable so couldn't do too much. The owner of the stables walked past and commented that Wolfie was an absolute nightmare to rug in the mornings. Apparently he just runs in circles around them when they are trying to change his rugs. I was literally speechless. I know last year, he often went out in his lovely Thermatex with a turnout rug on top (much to my horror) as they couldn't get him in and out his rugs, but this year I had absolutely no idea he was causing any problems. I have spent most of the winter reaping praise on him, for his manners and politeness in the stable. I really do find him so easy to work with in the stable and I'm not being biast. I muck out with him in the stable, not tied up. I generally don't tie him up to do anything, if I was having problems though, I would tie him up. Don't get me wrong if he's not been turned out, he's an absolute menace. Tipping the wheelbarrow, following you around the stable, pulling your hood, but he's been getting turned out every day recently. I've been up and turned him out in the mornings several times over the holidays and he's been no problem, stands to get his rugs changed. I don't know what's getting into him and I don't really know what I can do about it. I just asked that they tied him up on a short rope to change his rugs and don't let him run circles around them. He honestly doesn't do it, when it's me. He's no angel, I know that, but I find him one of the easiest horses in the stable for general day to day working with. Having worked on various yards handling and working with large numbers of horses daily, stable manners are of great importance to me and many a night whilst I have been mucking out this winter, I have actually thought what a real pleasure Wolfie is to work with and around. I now think I live in a parallel universe. He has his moments, he needs reminding sometimes but this took me completely by surprise. He has no problems with rugs going on and off. I can only think that I should go up and work with them when they are changing his rugs, but I really don't think he would try it if I was there. I then thought, maybe he should just go out rugless (forgetting I had just half clipped him again) but he's been rugged all winter and with the weather we are having just now, I'm not prepared to turn him out without a rug because he is running circles around people, literally. Am I missing something or is Wolfie just taking the absolute mickey? The majority of the horses at the stables are older, very quiet and established in their ways. You could pretty much do anything around them at any time and they wouldn't bother (not that I think you should, but that is the type they are). I think people become complacent and forget that Wolfie is still young and very sharp. Give him an inch and he will take a mile. He's also the type to test people and see how much he can get away with. I'm not defending him, he knows to stand, but it seems at the moment that my little horse has the upper hoof.


Butter wouldn't melt....

Wolfie's field is full of plants with burrs on them. I don't actually know what they are called. I call them Trebles because I think they look like those things from Star Trek. Wolfie normally comes in with them matted in his forelock and tail. They are an absolute nightmare to try and get out.

Today he came in with them stuck all over his legs. I don't know what this plant is called or what it looks like in summer, but I am going to identify it and then go out this summer and pull them all out.

2011 - Bring it on!

2011-01-04T10:13:00.002Z

I had originally planned, when I sat my trailer test to try and get Wolfie to one of the Kelly Marks Trec winter series events being ran on 23rd January. The one I had planned to go to was in Lanarkshire, but whilst looking at the competition dates I've just realised that there is one being held at Sandyflats on the same date. Sandyflats is really close to us and would have been perfect to get to, they have an indoor school, even if it had been just to take him for a look around. Due to the recent weather grinding everything to a halt, I will not be going to either. Disappointing. I have decided, however, that we are going to work towards going to this to take part in the Level 1-

2 - 3 July 2011 Brenfield Farm Scotland Q

Levels 1, 2 and 3 Individuals and Pairs
Level 4

This event will be the STAG Scottish Championships 2011


Venue	-	Brenfield Farm Lochgilphead Argyll Scotland PA30 8ER

One of the girls from the yard took her horse to this last year and another couple hired horses for the two days. They had fantastic weather, a brilliant time and were very impressed with the venue and the organisation. Wolfie would need to be coralled over night, I'd have to get electric fencing, I'd probably camp. To get us there organised and prepared, will no doubt be a military operation but also very exciting and a huge challenge.

For anyone who doesn't know, Trec was developed from the expertise required of horse and rider while out hacking, it is designed to test navigational competence, control of horse's paces and ability to tackle a variety of obstacles. These skills are tested over three phases - orienteering on horseback (POR), control of paces (CoP) and cross-country / obstacle course (PTV).

Okay, now we just need the ice to melt.

I have decided to get Dr Cook's bitless bridle beta (a synthetic, leather-look, washable bridle). I have read vast amounts of information on the various types of bitless bridles, sidepulls, cross overs, their actions and the material they are made from. Like everything, some may work well for some horses and not for others. My main concerns, were pressure points and the bridle twisting or rubbing. I'm going to give the Dr Cook a go and see how we get on. Fortunately, they allow you to customise the size, so I'm going up the stables to measure Wolfie's head today.

Happy New Year

2011-01-03T09:05:00.001Z

2011 is here. I have, despite myself made resolutions and set some goals. If you don't have dreams or goals, then you can't be let down if you don't achieve them right? However, I always believe in having something to work towards. I am lucky, I have a healthy, sound horse (touch wood) who is more than ready to come out and work. He is generous and game and I am excited about what we can achieve together as a partnership, even if it is just on a schooling level this year. The goals I've set for this year, pretty much haven't changed from last year. So here goes, these are not in any particular order.

1) Work on more lateral movements, turn on the forehand, leg yield and shoulder in. Start to introduce rein back, traverse and some lengthening of steps.

2) Establish rhythm, balance and straightness. Have Wolfie working consistently long and low in his outline, soft in his mouth and through his poll and back. Depending on how the schooling progresses, start to ask for a little more collection towards the end of the year. Work in the bitless bridle (if I ever decide which type to get).

3) Introduce more ridden pole work, building up to jumping.

4) Trailer out to Mugdock and possibly Aberfoyle forestry and hack around the bridle paths.

5) Trailer to an indoor school to ride as a training / schooling session.

6) Take part in a trec obstacle phase and hopefully a level 1 orienteering phase.

7) Enter a Dressage test (even if it's just a walk and trot test).

8) Take both Wolfie and Buttons to a local show

9) Take Wolfie to the beach.

10) Work with Wolfie and the umbrella.

My main aims are just to get Wolfie out, expand his world and build his confidence in travelling to new surroundings. Everything is just part of his training / schooling just now. I have no plans to seriously compete this year, we're just going to have some fun.

My resolutions are to run the Glasgow half marathon. I have only ever ran a 10k before, but I got such a buzz out of finishing that I want to attempt this. I'd love to run a marathon, just to say I had achieved it, but I'm not a natural runner, so I will attempt the half marathon to raise sponsorship for the Sepsus Charity. I'm going to try and talk my sister in to running it with me. Good way to help get riding fit too. I'm also going to give blood a few time this year if I can. Try and stay positive and try and go away for a weeks holiday in the sunshine somewhere.

We have had a thaw over the last week, however the stables is still covered in ice. It seems to take longer to thaw there than anywhere else. I did have some ideas about trying to get Wolfie out along the tracks, however as C. was being brought in from the field yesterday, he slipped on ice and went right down. I don't really know what happened after that, but I think he gave himself such a fright and was so tense that every time he put a foot down, he slipped. He couldn't get a grip anywhere, it was horrible. He's a little worrier at the best of times and when he panics or worries, he just walks super fast with a little choppy stride. We ended up just scattering bedding down to make a track he could try and grip on to get back to his stable. On the ice he looked lame and sore on every leg, but once he got to a small flat concrete area that was clear, he seemed to walk fairly normally. Hopefully he's just given himself a bump and a fright. Everywhere has been gritted, it just seems to be at varying times of the day, depending on the temperature it can be even slippier. Having seen C. fall, I had thought about keeping Wolfie in, but then I run the risk of him coming out as a high as a kite and doing something silly if he's been stuck in the stable. Getting him out every day at least keeps the edge off him.

I've been having a look into what sort of equipment I would need to take part in a Le Trec orienteering phase. Map measurer, map case, compass. I could pick them up in a camping shop. First aid kit I could put together myself. There are various types of saddle bags available. I like the ones that fit over the front of the saddle, they seem to range in price from basic economy ones at around £15.00 up to £50.00. I definitely think it would be worth buying good quality ones as it's something I would also use out hacking. It would be good to have a water canister with us and normally I cram everything into my pockets, so I could off load some of that.

I have found out that a lot of endurance riders use GPS tracking systems. Like the Garmin wrist mounted units. They are commonly used by runners and cyclists and do a whole range of things, but the rider can wear them and they can measure the distance you have ridden. I'm interested in getting one of these, mostly for personal use when we are out and it also means we'll always be found :-).

Last post of 2010

2010-12-31T22:09:00.001Z

In some ways I'll be more than glad to see the end of 2010, but it's also hard to move on and start another year because part of me doesn't want to leave things behind. No matter where we turn at this time of year, it's impossible to avoid being confronted with the fact that someone very important is missing from our lives. The season of goodwill has been hard, filled this year with the longing of what can never be. 2010 has pretty much been a write off for me. I have not achieved any of the goals I had set for Wolfie. I am not going to dwell on it though. We have achieved many things, just not reached the goals I had planned. I shouldn't be morose about it. To Wolfie, it hasn't made any difference, I suppose bringing him on slowly can only be beneficial to him. I'm only disappointed for myself. I feel like it's been a long, long road to get Wolfie to where he is. I've put a lot of hard, hard work into that horse. From nursing him through his illness, getting him back on his feet, basic handling, ground work, trying to build his confidence at every step. I would do it all again in a second but I've taken everything really slowly with him and I just felt this year was going to be our year to start working seriously , but it wasn't to be. To be fair, the relationship I have Wolfie is like none I have ever experienced with any other horse. It is very intense and sometimes I worry about what would happen if he did ever have to be sold or move on to anyone else. I just have to hope that we will never have to cross that bridge. To me, Wolfie is a horse for life, so it doesn't matter how long it takes us to achieve our goals or live our dreams. At least I know that he's now physically mature enough to cope with any work being asked of him. I don't know if Wolfie remembers much of his life before me, to Wolfie I am still that main consistent thing in his life that made him two promises. One was to do everything I possibly could, to make him better and the other was always to ensure that someone always fed him. Wolfie hasn't changed, he does his best to learn and work with me. It's me that now wants to achieve more, I see so much potential in him, but I'm positive that no matter what comes our way, we'll get through it and you never know, we might just even be quite good at it.

The boys got their feet done today. New feet for the New Year. Wolfie has been pretty subdued. He's not really interested in his hay or haylage. He's still eating his hard feed, but he just seems to be completely bored and fed up. I need to get him back into some form of work. Buttons is just Buttons. It's difficult to put into words little Buttons personality. He's such a good, nice person. He certainly knows his family now and is completely secure. Sometimes at night, I sit in his stable with him, scratching him. He loves affection and I only stop when he eventually tries to sit on you.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2011.

Merry Christmas from Wolfie and Buttons

2010-12-27T06:43:00.000Z

I was going to try and get a photograph of the boys together in their hats, but that probably would have turned into complete chaos.

Wolfie is completely bored now. He's had a break and the novelty has completely worn off, he enjoys being in work and a life in the field doing nothing doesn't suit him. I took him a little walk yesterday along the tracks in his Dually halter and led him from a lunge line. He was so happy to be out, even just a little walk in hand. He was very, very excited and exploded a few times. I just sent him further out onto the lunge line and let him get it out of his system. We couldn't go far as it was too icey, but it definitely cheered him up. I know how he feels. I'm fed up and want to get back to riding. I was staring longingly at my saddle the other day.

Wolfie thinking 'If you let me go now, I could gallop up the hill and still be back in time for tea'

I got some money for Christmas and have decided to buy a bitless bridle. I have absolutely no problem in riding with a bit (as long as it is used correctly) and Wolfie is currently ridden in a bit, but I have always wanted him to be able to work in both. We do a lot of hacking and I would like to be able to do this bitless. Although I'd like to do a little of everything with him, including dressage and maybe even some working hunter classes, our main goal is to start competing in Le Trec and we would be able to do this bitless. I've been doing some research into the various types of bitless bridles available and how they work. I found a website called bitlesshorse which had a few I liked, but at the moment I keep coming back to the Dr Cook.

The Big Freeze

2010-12-24T07:54:00.000Z

Apparently December has been the coldest month in Scotland in history. I can believe that. Since this weather started, I have been really concerned that the horses haven't been getting enough to drink (alongside the other worries of hard ground, ice etc). Their water is freezing very quickly and nothing I've tried will stop it. I've attempted to put an apple in Wolfie's bucket to try and stop it freezing over completely. The first time I did it, he just submerged his whole head in the water, got the apple at the bottom of the bucket, took it out and ate it. The second time I tried it, he obviously thought why get wet, and just pawed the bucket till it tipped over and got the apple that way. I've tried insulating the buckets with straw, but that doesn't make any difference in these temperatures. I've been making sure the first drink they get when coming in is warm / tepid water. Ice cold water hitting their stomachs if they are thirsty is not good either. Studies have shown that horses will choose warm water over cold water in freezing temperatures and will drink more of it. We are not equipped for winters like this here and the horses are not acclimatised to it either. The little horse stabled next to Wolfie colicked on Wednesday night. It was horrendous. She made it to the vet school and seems to be doing well after surgery, so fingers and toes crossed. If I was worried before, I'm terrified now. Increased amounts of time in their stables, less turn out, lack of water, these conditions just predispose to colic and other things. J. has a massively swollen sheath due to standing in. We have created a path so the horses have been getting turned out all week, but the conditions in the field aren't good either. They are getting a lot of hay, so they need access to water all the time.

I went to catch Buttons in one afternoon last week and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him. He looked like somebody has coated the ends of his coat in icing sugar. The outer layer of his coat was sticking straight out and was frozen. His beard was frozen solid and he had icicles on his whiskers. He didn't look cold, but I took my glove off and pressed my hand through all his coat to his body, he was warm. Obviously why his breed survived on the Shetland Isles whilst the bigger horses didn't. He's designed to cope with harsh conditions, but saying that he's usually first at the gate wanting into his stable and loves standing in his big deep straw bed munching on his hay.

I really hope this thaws soon.

Elf and happiness

2010-12-15T22:04:00.000Z

This was last year's Christmas photograph. The only thing missing is the snow. We have another costume for this year, but due to the weather and too much snow, we've not been able to take the pictures yet. Don't they look brilliant?


Kind eye

Walking on frozen water

2010-12-12T18:28:00.000Z

Ice is not nice. The horses have been stuck in their stables as the yard is like an ice rink and too slippy for them to cross. Wolfie could get to his field from where his stable is situated but none of the other boys can get there. The girls were turned out in the school today with Buttons for a little while. I thought I could put Wolfie in his field, even though none of the others were out, he could see the girls. I turned him out and he went bananas. Galloping flat out, bucking, spinning, striking out leaping through the air and performing movements the stallions of the Spanish Riding School would have been impressed with. I thought at one point he was going to jump the fence. He set the girls off and they were haring around the school. Buttons was rolling about in the snow and didn't seem to notice the chaos which had errupted around him. I caught Wolfie and eventually managed to get him back in his stable, him prancing and snorting the whole way . I waited until the girls were brought in and turned him out in the school. I don't really like him being in the school as if he starts carrying on, he gets up too much speed for such a small space and doesn't allow enough time to stop before the fence. He also kicks out and manages to break the fence. My heart is in my mouth every time he's in there. He was quite settled in the school, he must have tired himself out with all that galloping around (on the rock hard ground no less). His speed amazes me. He isn't really text book built for speed but he can certainly shift. I remember when I first got him, after he came back from the vet school, he got turned out and was galloping around the field. The farmer who owned the place Wolfie was kept at was standing watching him and turned to me laughing and said 'did you know you'd bought a racehorse!'. I hope they get normal turn out again soon or at least some turn out. Wolfie cooped up in a stable does not make life easy for me.


Having a roll

Pink hills

My Dad kindly drove to me to collect some hay today. It seems quite good quality, Buttons and Wolfie both seem to have given it the thumbs up, so I'm pleased and it was cheaper than the hay I had been getting.

It snow funny

2010-12-05T20:04:00.001Z

What a week. I don't think I've ever seen snow like this, well here anyway. Luckily my Dad very kindly let me use his truck all week, meaning I've been able to get to the stables and up the driveway. If not I'd have had to walk to the stables as the roads were so bad, my car wouldn't have made it. The truck is great, it doesn't even seem to notice the snow.

The boys have been great. Wolfie loves the snow and seems almost put out that everyone else doesn't find it as exciting and as much fun as he does. Buttons doesn't mind it, but it's too deep for him and walking around must be tiring on his little legs, but like everything else he comes across in life, he makes the most of it without complaint.


Waiting on a bus?

I put Buttons and Wolfie in the school today to try and take their photograph, but Wolfie just wanted to play and the snow was way too deep for Buttons to move in, never mind play.


Come back, please play with me!


The snow is practically up to Buttons' belly

Wolfie began to get a bit insistent that Buttons play with him, so I took Buttons out and left Wolfie to play by himself. I wish my camera was better, he was doing some great vertical bucks, but my camera is too slow to capture them on film.

Everybody loves Buttons

Possibly, the cutest pony in the world

So, no riding. I don't really mind, it doesn't do any horse, especially a youngster any harm to have a holiday, some time off to recharge physically and mentally. As long as this doesn't go on too long. The snow has postponed our plans to get out and about in the trailer, but there's no rush. I've decided to join the riding club after Christmas. The boys have been so good and I know I am biast, but I feel very lucky to have such nice horses who are so special in their own individual ways.

Snowman!

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence......until it snows

2010-11-28T09:09:00.002Z

I had a good ride on Wolfie last Sunday. I went up to the yard early, tacked him up and headed down onto the old railway line. He hasn't been down there in a while. He was very good going along the road, just a little looky. One of the fields has been turned over and is absolutely covered with potatoes which caused a little spooking and snorting. There was a clear plastic bag snagged in one of the trees which was rustling in the wind. He screeched to a halt, head up, neck rock solid and started backing up. I managed to get him into shoulder in and ride past it with his head and neck flexed slightly in the opposite direction from the 'scarey' bag. We approached the bridge. He stopped, but didn't back up. Now the leaves have fallen from the trees, the visibility is much better. I managed to walk him to the edge of the bridge and he walked calmly over it. I've noticed that if I can get him to the egde of the bridge, he will cross it, so it's obviously what he can't see or what he's anticipating on the approach which scares him. No wonder after all the frights he's had in the past. He had a couple of silly moments, spooking and leaping sideways at the old bath in the field, ending up procariously near the edge of the river. No need for that as he's passed that bath loads of times. He was desperate to get going, normally I would have at least had a few trots, but I knew he was looking for more than trot, the line was busy with people cycling and walking dogs and I didn't want to risk him taking off and barrelling into someone coming around a corner. That's my own fault, since I started cantering and galloping around the fields towards the end of summer, he seems to think now that we just go everywhere in canter. With the ground the way it is though, we'll be sticking to walk and he'll soon realise again that we're not going to be hareing around and will settle. I hope.

The boys got shifted into their winter field during the week. We weren't given any notice that they were being moved and when I got to the stables on Tuesday night Wolfie was in a comatosed state standing at the back of his stable obviously having gorged himself on an afternoon of grass and he's been like that pretty much all week since. If I hadn't known that they had been out in that field, I would have been seriously worried about him this week. I haven't ridden as he's been in no state to go anywhere and not to mention the increased chances of laminitis and colic. Although there's not much goodness in the grass now and they will have it eaten in a couple of weeks, a horse like Wolfie can't be exposed to it. He knows what it is like to be hungry, although it was early on in his life, he hasn't forgotten and he will just eat and eat until he's fit to burst. When I got Wolfie, he had spent a winter surviving on gorse bush, his teeth were all worn completely unevenly from trying to eat it. He's a bit more relaxed about it now, but it takes thought and management to ensure he has enough to eat to stop him becoming stressed and destructive without overloading him with calories. So in a way, I was glad to see the 3 inches of snow which fell on Saturday night. That should kill the grass and whilst it is lying it makes it harder for the horses to get at any grass underneath it. My mission this year is to slim Wolfie right down before heading into summer. He's clipped and only wears a rain sheet during the day. He's on completely soaked hay with just a fibre hard feed and a balancer. He was on the right track up until last week and had already started to drop a little weight. Hopefully we can get back on track soon.

To tow, or not to tow, that is the question

2010-11-18T18:38:00.000Z

To tow. I sat my trailer towing test today and ................ passed! I did the intensive course which consisted of 2 full days training on Tuesday and Wednesday and a couple of hours this morning before my test. I've never done a course like this before, when I took my driving lessons it was over a number of weeks, months even. They don't call it intensive for nothing. I feel mentally and physically exhausted now. The driving was okay from the start, it was just the reversing. The reversing manouvere you have to do in the test is pretty difficult (well for someone like me it is). I was pretty nervous before hand, to be honest I would have been gutted if I'd failed, but it went without a hitch. I wasn't going to do it, as I felt I couldn't have taken the knock if I had failed. I'm glad I have done it, even though it was expensive, it's given me a lot more confidence and self belief in myself and my driving and that Wolfie will be in safe hands out on the roads. The instructor said my driving was very good and now that I can reverse (sort of) I'd like to keep it up, as it will only improve now with practice. The people who run the yard have a trailer that can be used. It doesn't make many trips (really only if anyone has to make the unfortunate journey to the vet school) and the brakes have seized on it. Just my luck as soon as I pass my test. However, once it's back in action, I think Wolfie and I will be looking out the travelling gear and making a little road trip.

2010-11-14T18:39:00.001Z


Wolfie -eating

It actually stopped raining today. The weather has been unbelievable all week, but the sun came out today and I managed to get Wolfie out for a little hack. I had planned to go along the road and down onto the line, but once I got on, Wolfie felt a little too sharp, so I decided to stay around the fields. He was okay, he felt very happy to be out, but was very spooky and on his toes. I eventually let him gallop up one of the fields to see if that would take the edge of him. Hmmm he put in two massive bucks and squealed, raced to the top and then shied violently at some plastic containers piled up at the sheep pens. He's pretty ambidextrous, he doesn't have a favoured side for leaping 4 foot in the air sideways. He's perfected it in both directions.

I love Wolfie's ears

Cozy in his stable

He's like a giant teddy bear

On Friday, Buttons and the mares got moved into their winter field. When I went to catch Buttons in, he was at the furthest away corner of the field. There is a stream that divides the field, it had completely burst its banks, was really deep and flowing really fast after all the rain. I thought Buttons must have crossed it before it had got so deep and I began to panic thinking he had got himself marooned. I led him over to the stream, thinking we were going to have to carry him across or build him a bridge. He paced the edge of it for a while and then all of a sudden took a massive leap and cleared it. For such little legs, he can really jump. He then carried on marching down the field with me trailing behind him as though he did that every day. He's so funny. He's so matter of fact, he calls a spade a spade, The only time he gets ruffled is when his dinner is late.

Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail

2010-11-11T20:12:00.000Z

I don't know if it's officially winter yet, but it certainly feels like it's on its way. The horses have been stabled at night for a couple of weeks now and I'm getting back into a mucking out routine. Every night I give Buttons a lovely warm straw bed with big bankings and before I've even left the yard, he's demolished it and piled it all up against one wall. He's like a giant hamster. He's appreciating being in at night though. I clipped Wolfie mid October before they came in at night. I'll need to do it again soon as his coat is growing back fast, obviously trying to keep himself warm! He was good to clip in that he has absolutely no fear of the clippers now but he's a fidget. Straight lines on him are impossible. He also has so many whorls on his coat and it doesn't lie in the same direction anywhere. It's not the neatest of clips, but it will do. I was clipping on my own so I wasn't able to get right under his elbows at his front legs, I would definitely need someone to help me otherwise he'd probably clunk me on the head with a foot.
The horses are both eating me out of house and home, Wolfie in particular. Just had the good news that the livery charges are going up and we're to be charged for having the muck from the stables taken away. On top of the ridiculous price of hay and feed, will it ever end.
The rain has been torrential this past week, combined with me having a really horrible cold I decided to give Wolfie a week's holiday last week. I've managed to get him into the school a couple of nights this week for twenty minutes with the sole purpose of trying to get him used to the flood lights. He's been pretty good, it's been windy and cold, but apart from leaping into the air at his own shadow every few minutes, he's been okay. We've even managed a little trot, a very fast, out of control extended trot, but it's a start. As soon as he's settled in the school I want to concentrate on bending laterally and lots of suppling exercises. He finds the school difficult as any issues he has with stiffness and bending laterally in there are due to him being unbalanced because he is young, green and not yet developed. His leg yielding has came on and the shoulder in is coming on. I'm thinking of beginning to introduce travers, just to use them all as exercises for warming up and down and freeing up his shoulders and back. Plus it's something else to do to break up the monotony of endless circles which Wolfie hates.

The boys got their feet done tonight. their next shoeing is on the 23rd December. I can't believe Christmas is only 6 weeks away, I'm not looking forward to it. I wish I could be like a bear, go to sleep and wake up again in the Spring.

A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart, and wins with his character

2010-09-27T21:41:00.001+01:00

I loose schooled Wolfie today and put him over a couple of jumps. He didn't really 'get' the loose schooling thing to start with ane used it as an excuse to gallop flat out, perform sliding stops and turns that any reining rider would admire and his usual flying corkscrew bucks. I wish I could have filmed it, but I couldn't keep an eye on him (incase he did anything too silly) and film at the same time. He settled after about 10 minutes and he trotted and cantered around. I put out a few poles and he cantered over them. I put up a small cross pole and he jumped it nicely on both reins. I then put it up to a little straight bar. He wasn't paying attention as he came in to it and obviously expected it to still be the cross pole. He clattered it with his front legs. He was well booted up, but when he came back around he cleared it by about two feet. I was seriously impressed with him today. He was picking up the correct canter leads on both reins and the couple of times he went onto the wrong leg on the left rein, he corrected himself. He looked so strong and powerful. The jump was pretty tiny, but he was careful, bold and it seemed effortless to him. I've always thought when I've seen him jumping in the field that he makes a nice shape, but I've never seen him jump any great height. I've always thought he was naturally better on the flat, but today made me rethink. He was working things out for himself and was getting himself out of any difficulties which is really encouraging. The one time I put him over a cross pole last year, he was good, but seemed a bit clumsy and not too sure what he was doing with his legs and feet. Today, it was a different horse jumping. I was so proud of him. He's been brought on very slowly, due to various reasons, but it might have been better this way. He's certainly much more able to cope with things mentally now as well as physically. He made me feel excited today, I need to get a body protector, I want to jump.

M and J are back from the vet school and on box rest. C is back in the field, so there is three of them out at night, but Wolfie seems to be tired when he comes in and looks as though he's been awake most of the night. I'm not sure who's in charge at the moment, Wolfie seems to be creating chaos and herding the others around. Today, he was lying down sleeping in his stable, you rarely see him doing that.

Buttons has got a little rain scald. I was surprised, but I can only think it's because it was so wet last week, and once he gets that wet, because of his thick coat, it takes a long time for him to fully dry out. He has a got a field shelter, but the rain was torrential last week. If I put his rain sheet on at the moment he would be too warm. They'll be in over night soon.

Fuzzy wuzzy what was he?

More haste, less speed

2010-09-25T21:45:00.000+01:00

Here comes Wolfie. The video below shows the way Wolfie likes to get about the field. That's quite a sedate pace for him. The video function on my camera isn't great, so it's not really in focus, but it was a practice to see if I could upload a video. And I did it! My sister has kindly loaned me her video camera. I really want to get some videos of me schooling Wolfie, to self critique and also to use as a comparison later on. I just need to talk very nicely to my sister now to see if she will video us.

I'm glad to say that Wolfie has redeemed himself since his performance as a flying circus horse last week. We've hacked and schooled a couple of times. I worked him over poles and he was great. Really stretching for them and using his back and being very careful. I'm thinking more and more about starting to jump him. I think he would enjoy it and it would also be a break from schooling and flatwork over winter. Firstly though, I need to get a new body protector. Can't afford not to be sensible and if all else fails I can always wear it on windy days.

I schooled today. Since we got the saddle and Wolfie has been back in work consistently, although I have been schooling a little more (maybe once a week now), I have only really been working in walk and trot. I canter in the fields, but the school we have is so small when he is still unbalanced. Previously he has struggled with the right canter lead. Today, however I cantered on the left rein, just once. I was going to leave it at that, but then decided to try the right rein. He bounced into canter on the correct right lead and actually felt quite balanced (more balanced than he actually did on the left rein). The difference, I actually rode the transition properly, riding deep into the corner and set him up for it. I was so pleased with him. As usual, as soon as we started thinking about canter and canter transitions, the trot work improved. If he makes mistakes, they are green mistakes. I get frustrated at myself when I know that things are down to rider error and me not being effective. Things are starting to come together, it's very rough around the edges and not entirely consistent, but with more schooling over winter, I think he will come on leaps and bounds. He still needs to learn to relax more and soften his jaw, but that will come.

2010-09-25T21:13:00.002+01:00

In 'Alice Through The Looking-Glass' by Lewis Carroll, who kept falling off his horse?

2010-09-15T20:00:00.000+01:00

The White Knight. When it stopped, he fell off forwards, when it walked on, he fell off backwards and every now and then he fell off sideways.

I fell off Wolfie yesterday. It's the first time I've came off him but I'm sure it won't be the last. The weather has been horrendous the last two days. Yesterday, it was very strong winds with intermittent heavy rain showers. I decided to ride in the school due to the wind and I thought if the rain came on heavy we could just abandon it. I got on and he was spooking at everything at the outside of the school fence. The noise of the wind was loud and buckets were blowing around and a few of the jump wings clattered over. We were walking on the right rein, when a piece of felt on top of the old sheep shed blew up as we were passing it. That was just the excuse Wolfie needed. He leapt 6 foot sideways and started bucking. I lost a stirrup but he stopped and for a second I thought that was it. However, something clattered and he took off at a gallop around the school doing flying leaps and corkscrew bucks. By about the third one I had lost both my stirrups and knew the inevitable was coming. We parted company and I landed at the opposite end of the school from Wolfie. As I was sitting in the soaking wet school checking that I was still in one piece, Wolfie had the good grace to trot over to me and snuffle my hat. He was looking at me as if to say ' why did you get off and why are you sitting down there?' I stood up took a deep breath and forced myself to smile. What else can you do? I brushed myself down, checked Wolfie over and got back on. I worked him in a little more in walk and trot, constantly keeping his attention focused on what we were doing and not what was going on around him. I kept him off the track, changing the rein, circles, serpentines, transitions, continually half halting and balancing him. I had him between my leg and hand and made sure I had control over every one of his feet and where it was being placed. There's nothing quite like getting bucked into next year and hitting the ground with a bump to make you start riding effectively. Wolfie went really nicely. I brought him back to walk and we worked on leg yielding and shoulder fore. I've been working him ridden in shoulder fore as he doesn't require so much bend and have been continuing introducing and starting shoulder in from the ground. He finds it much easier to flex and bend to the left and leg yield moving to the right than to push and cross over with his off hind, leg yielding to the left with right bend. We have been working on this and he is getting stronger at it. I ended it there and gave him a big pat. He is very spooky and can be difficult in the wind and I probably should have lunged him before I got on. Note to self. Get a hammer and nail down the felt on the roof of the sheep shed.

I wish someone had been there to see it. I'd like to have known just how high those bucks were. I've seen him in the field and know what he is capable of. It felt like his back feet were going to touch my head. I'm feeling the effects of it today and feel like I've been hit by a truck.

**********************************************************************************

It feels like winter. Wolfie has been rugged the last two days. I really debated over whether to do it. I always feel that they are rugged for so long over winter, the longer you leave it before starting to rug the better. However, the rain on Monday was just too torrential and the wind was biting. Wolfie doesn't have much shelter in his field so I've put his summer sheet on. It took a lot of persuasion to get Wolfie down to the field on Monday night. Just as I had convinced him that he should go to the field, the rain started hitting us front on as well as from behind and the side. Wolfie made the rest of the trip to the field walking backwards as he refused to walk into the sheeting rain. I don't blame him. It's about this time of year that Wolfie starts voicing his opinion that he doesn't want to be put back in the field at night, he doesn't feel there is enough to eat down there, the weather is miserable and he'd rather stay in his stable. Wolfie came in for winter on the 20^th October last year. Wonder if he'll last till then this year. I'm fairly organised for winter. I had to replace Wolfie's rugs again this year as he's gone up another size, but I've been collecting them over summer and have managed to pick up a few good bargains on new rugs from EBay. They are not the nicest of colours, but they are the make that I was looking for and at less than half price I can't complain. They all end up covered in mud anyway. Buttons has a new lightweight turnout and a little fleece rug to dry him off when he's in the stable. Wolfie could probably do with another turnout and I had wanted to get him a heavy weight stable rug in case it gets as cold as it did last winter but I have enough lighter weight ones to layer the rugs if necessary.

I think Wolfie's also feeling a bit unsettled as M and J are at the vet school and C is on box rest due to an infected cut on his leg. That leaves just 3 including Wolfie in the field and I think he's feeling a little out of sorts. I hope they all get better soon.

Forever Friends

Wolfie isn't the gentlest of horses. He's affectionate in his own way, but he's sharp and has a dominant personality and a very intelligent mind. Saying that he seems to sense that Zoe is small and he has to be more careful around her. They are both 5 now and he has known her since they had both just turned 2. He recognises her walking up the road and always gallops over to see her. He is even gentle when taking food from her.

Up, Up and Away

2010-09-12T17:40:00.000+01:00

My Sunday hacks with Wolfie are turning into a weekly event. I'm trying to make the most of the weather and the daylight before winter. Today we rode up the hills which are behind the stables.


We were headed for the trees at the skyline

It's pretty much uphill all the way and some parts are quite steep. There are some good tracks though and the ground was good today.

We passed this old ruin of a house. It would be nice and peaceful living all the way up here!

We headed passed the ruin and had a good canter along a nice long, pretty flat track. The views were stunning.


The Campsies

Wolfie admiring the view (and the grass!)

You can just see in the photograph above, a track through the bracken. That's where we were headed.


The hill

The track doesn't look like much, but it is really, really steep. At the top part it almost looks vertical. You would have to gallop up it. It's one of those ones where the horses legs are moving but they aren't actually getting anywhere. I didn't attempt it today. Wolfie seemed up for it, but he'd hacked uphill for over an hour to get there. I don't feel he's quite strong or fit enough yet to attempt it and I definitely don't want to get stuck half way up it. We will do it some day as there's a whole other world over the top of that hill.


Blog wouldn't be complete without a picture of Wolfie's very expressive ears.

Wolfie bounced all the way back downhill and home. He kept taking off into canter randomly for no reason. He's definitely getting fitter and his recovery times are improving, but that was hardwork for him today. Once we got home I fed him and turned him out. I spotted him half an hour later lying flat out in the field. He must have been tired. He's such a good horse.

Buttons sleeping in the field (before he was ridden!)

Just woke up

I'm coming

Zoe came up to ride today and we went out for a walk to pick some rose hips for the horses. Buttons was very good, but he was feeling the heat, it was very warm and he's got a very thick coat already. Just as we were almost home, he stopped dead in his tracks, I turned around to see him lie down. He went down and he just kind of looked at me, I growled at him and he got back up on his feet. He obviously was feeling itchy and sweaty under his numnah and thought he would just go for a roll, forgetting he had a rider on board. He was wearing a thick wooly numnah and when I took the saddle off he was very sweaty underneath. That's such a pony thing to do. Zoe was very good and didn't panic although she did say that she thought the two of them were going to roll down the hill!

Open Wide

2010-09-09T18:40:00.002+01:00

The boys had their visit from the dentist today. Buttons was very good (considering how bad he was last year). Obviously he was a lot more comfortable in his mouth this time, but it was almost as if he realised that it would actually help him. He just got the sharp edges taken off. The dentist has to kneel down to do Buttons so fortunately he kept his front feet on the floor for the most part this time. The dentist even agreed that Buttons reputation as a Shetland pony proceeds him, but he might just be the one that broke the mould as he's very good really.

Wolfie was also very good, it always amazes me how good he is with the dentist considering how bad he is with the vet. But then, I suppose I've always used the same dentist since I got Wolfie and he's always been very kind to him and never given him a bad experience.

Waiting patiently for the Dentist


Getting the gag on

Wolfie had quite a lot of rough edges and ridges, but just due to him being young and the teeth still changing. He still has two canines at the top which haven't yet erupted and the dentist said that could still take another year. Slow maturing.

His lower canines are different sizes and it was his right canine which took the brunt of the kick to his face. However, it appears to have came through and although a strange shape and much bigger than the other one, it's not causing a problem and the dentist said it was healthy enough. He hand rasped it down a little bit. All in all he said Wolfie had a nice set of teeth.

Clever Boy

I was very pleased with how both boys behaved today. It was straight forward and easy for everyone involved. I use Mark Twigg from Beith, Ayrshire and would whole heartedly recommend him to anyone looking for an equine dentist. He is very good and also very calm, considerate and kind with the horses (he also slackens the gag every time he stops working even for short periods which I like). I have great confidence in his ability and he is able to spot problems. He does my two routinely every 9 months which he hopes should pick up any problems emerging.

Forest Adventure

2010-09-05T18:34:00.002+01:00

I had an amazing ride on Wolfie today. I got up to the yard early (Wolfie was still lying down sleeping in the field), got him in, tacked up and set off.


This is where we were headed. The forestry (Just to the right of the tree, you can see the top of Lennox Castle).

We headed down onto the line. Just as we came into sight of the bridge, 4 people approached with a dog. They took the dog down into the river, maybe the dog wasn't good with horses, but to distract it, they started throwing sticks into the river. Brilliant. I got off Wolfie and led him to the end of the bridge. He could see the people and the dog, but as noise echoes around that area, I don't think he could associate the noise with the people. I managed to lead him across the bridge and made a huge fuss of him at the other side. He had that petrified look again and he was poised for flight, but he stayed with me and relaxed at the other side.

We continued on and headed up towards the Castle. It's a long, windy track on a hill. Great for power walking and working Wolfie's hindquarters.


Lennox Castle. It used to be a mental hospital. It lay derelict and was set on fire by vandals. Shame as it is an amazing building.

We passed the castle and headed up into the forestry. There are main tracks throughout the forestry or various paths throughout the trees. It's vast and you could be up there walking for days without retracing your steps.

A view from one of the tracks

I wanted to do a bit of exploring. We followed the main tracks and then deviated through the forest. You have to be very careful with the footing off the main tracks. Very often, it can look like firm ground, but turns out to be very boggy or wet. Wolfie was fantastic. He was clearly loving it and was more than game for everything. You cover every sort of terrain, from soft, rocky, tree roots. He took it all in his stride. He seemed to love getting onto the softish ground which is covered in pine needles from the trees. He just wanted to go. We were negotiating bankings, streams, fallen logs, low branches. We came to a dropped banking. I checked it out and figured he could carefully step down it. Wolfie had other ideas and just jumped down it. We came to another one, it looked safe and the footing and ground was good at the bottom, so I asked him to jump it as a dropped fence, and he did beautifully. He was so bold and forward. I often think Wolfie was born in the wrong country. He should have been an American trail horse. I also think he would be great as a horse working cows. But he has the makings of being a very good Trec horse.


Look at his ears


The branch ahead was actually really low and both of us had to duck to get under it.

We saw some interesting things. It's amazing what you see up there. People are terrible for fly tipping. It makes you wonder how they get the stuff up there as cars can't get into the actual forestry.


This was hidden deep amongst the trees.


Giant mushroom. Wolfie was very interested

A bath - of course


And you can't have a bath, without a toilet, obviously!

Wolfie and I have a story involving the bath and jumping from last year. But I'll save that for another day. It still makes me come out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.

We stopped for a break. I really wish I had some saddle bags. I could have brought some juice and a piece and cheese and jam.

Wolfie having a break and enjoying some thistles

Wolfie felt as though he would have kept going all day. We headed for home and came to the bridge again. Wolfie completely tensed up, so I just got off. 3 horses were approaching us from the other side of the bridge. I waited for them to cross and as they passed us I heard "Hello gorgeous" and "Oh aren't you beautiful",............directed at Wolfie. Oh well. I led him across the bridge and got back on and we set off for home. Wolfie didn't feel tired at all. I was feeling shattered! Not riding fit at all.


Nearly home and his ears are still pricked

We were out for 3 hours. Once we got back I fed Wolfie and turned him out in the field (stopping for some brambles on the way to the field). I really thought he would be feeling a bit tired, but he cantered off to his rolling spot had a good roll, got up and took off galloping and bucking. Obviously feeling pleased with himself. He was so much fun today. He just gives you the feeling that you're totally in it together and he's up for anything. He really enjoyed it. I really hope we can try some Trec next year. Loving my little horse and my saddle.


Having some brambles

My special little horse

Buttons doing some gardening


Buttons winter coat is coming through thick and fast.

Cheeky

2010-09-02T20:15:00.000+01:00

Here's a video clip of Wolfie crossing the bridge yesterday. It's the second bridge, hopefully he'll be walking over the other one in the same way soon. I know it's not the most exciting of videos, but it's a big achievement for Wolfie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FazdNjuO2s

Feeling Down? Saddle Up

2010-09-01T21:33:00.000+01:00

Some days are better than others for me and everything always seems so much worse when I'm tired, or more tired than usual. I am however, looking forward to and enjoying riding once again and am finding being around Wolfie and Buttons a time when I am relaxed and at ease. My horses are helping me in a way that they could never understand and quite simply by just being themselves.

Yesterday, we hacked up the hill with H. and J. We've devised a new route which enables us to have a canter and a few trots, combines a few hills and flat stretches and takes about an hour. I was letting Wolfie trot up the field when a few sheep bounded past. Wolfie decided to bounce after them and did a leap / arched back bounce into canter. I totally wasn't expecting it and fortunately he stayed in canter and didn't throw anything else at me, otherwise I would have been off. He was good the rest of the hack.

Today we hacked down the line with H. and J. We got to the bridge and Wolfie stopped about 2 feet away from the edge. J. walked over and Wolfie followed. I was so pleased with him. I expected it to take a lot longer to even get a lead over there after everything that's happened. We hacked on and came to the second bridge. Nothing has ever happened at this bridge, it's exactly the same as the other one but we haven't crossed this one either since the stone throwing incident. Wolfie was in the lead and walked straight over, he was looking, but didn't stop or hesitate. I love Wolfie's attitude. I had wondered if he would cross this one due to association, but no, he's separated what happened at the last bridge completely from this one. He is so genuine. When he reacts, it's 100% genuine, it's complete instinct. But at times you can see him battling with what his instinct and every part of his mind and body is telling him to do, which is to take flight, with staying and trying to do what his rider is asking of him. We had a long hack, we stayed in walk but were out for about an hour and twenty minutes. Wolfie is very particular (or shy) about where he does the toilet. Stable or field, that's it. I know sometimes on the way back from a hack that he needs to go and I try and encourage him and keep him out a bit longer in the thinking that once he knows he can do it outside and with a rider on, then it may encourage him. But to no avail. Today, however, he must have been desperate because he did a big poo on the way home. I gave him a big pat and he turned to look at his dung pile. He then started pawing at it aggressively and scattering it about. I don't know what that was about. Hopefully, he'll learn that it will be more comfortable if he just goes when he's out.

Dear to me is my bonnie white (grey, black and brown) steed; Oft has he helped me at a pinch of need. - Sir Walter Scott

2010-08-29T20:40:00.001+01:00

I gave Wolfie Monday and Tuesday off. On Wednesday we hacked back down the line with H and J. As we approached the bridge Wolfie stopped and started backing up. J. took the lead and crossed the bridge. Wolfie was hesitant, he walked forward and was really trying for me, he didn't want to cross but he wanted to answer what I was asking. Just as he was at the edge of the bridge and about to step onto it, a cyclist appeared right behind him. That put an end to that so I got off and led him over. He walked calmly with me. My plan is to approach the bridge, stop him on my terms and get off and lead him over. I will do this and hopefully be able to get closer and closer each time until he will confidently stand at the edge of the bridge. I wont attempt to ride him across it until we've built up his confidence again and he realises that it's no problem for a courageous horse like him. The bridge itself is not the issue, it's what's happened recently on either side of it.

We hacked again on Thursday and on Friday we went for a nice hack up the hills with H and J. We had a nice canter across one of the fields. Wolfie got a bit excited and was stuck bouncing and bucking on the spot as J. cantered away. He leapt forward and soon caught up though.

I've been thinking recently how far Wolfie has come this year and then I realised, he's only really been ridden since we got the saddle, which was a little over 2 months ago. I've also been thinking a lot about his schooling (or lack of it). I take him in the school maybe once a week at the most. He has been giving me some beautiful, powerful work out hacking, but I've never been able to achieve this in the school. The more I thought about it, I realised that pretty much 99% of what Wolfie knows and has learnt has been taught outwith the school. Even his long reining has been done through the fields. In the school, he is tense through his neck and back. He tries so hard to please and do what is asked of him that he ends up tieing himself in knots and it is almost counter productive. It's so glaringly obvious that he's sensing it from me. Once a week I take him in the school, my head full of plans of what we are going to do and work on. It's good to have plan, but I'm so intent on making things interesting and working on different things, that I'm sacrificing all the lovely work he has produced. I turn it into a huge event and he doesn't understand. I'm putting unnecessary pressure on him and struggle to get the basics, the things that come naturally without thinking about them when we are working in the fields. He is picking up all this from me, I'm different and I'm probably riding differently. I had thought about taking him in the school more often, just for 5 or 10 minutes before we hack, so that it isn't such a big deal, but then I thought, he's going to be in the school so much over winter and once the clocks change that I may as well just leave it until then. I need to ensure that I mix the schooling with ground work and keep the focus at the moment on straightness and relaxation. I rode him in the school today, warmed up in walk on a loose rein for 10 minutes. We worked on transitions in walk and trot and I gave him plenty of rests on a long rein and made much of him, just trying to get him to relax and soften. There were a lot of people at the yard this morning who haven't seen Wolfie being worked in the school for I don't know how long (probably because we only do it once in a blue moon). They were all very complementary about how well he was going and how lovely he moves. It was nice to know that other people can see an improvement, but also disappointing because he can go so much better than that. I've had a taste of just how well he can work and I want that all the time. I just need to be patient and consistent until he finds his feet in the school.

Streuth mate there's a shark in the water...........

2010-08-22T20:10:00.002+01:00

............Or a crazy person throwing rocks. I took Wolfie out for a hack this morning. We rode the short distance along the road, past the 'scarey' house and down onto the track. Wolfie was forward going and energetic. He crossed the bridge without hesitating and we had a few nice trots before turning for home. We were approaching the bridge and were maybe 10 feet away, Wolfie was relaxed and forward when someone threw a rock (or more like a boulder) into the river. I couldn't see what or who was there but they were continually throwing rocks into the river, one after the other. The river was high and flowing fast, the noise and splash was loud and echoing. I can only describe it as sounding almost like a gun shot. Wolfie reared straight up, walked backwards while rearing, came down and went straight up again. He then plunged into the undergrowth, panicking, cantering sideways, backwards and leaping forwards. I managed to get him back onto the track and jumped off. I thought if I could lead him close enough that I could see what was happening, I could try and ask the person to stop. Crossing that bridge was our way home. The noise was relentless and by this time Wolfie was even further from the bridge. As I stood next to him every time a stone hit the water every muscle in his body would tremor and he would leap off all four feet. I couldn't get him forward and I was worried he was going to spin and bolt in the opposite direction. I looked at his face and saw his eye. My little horse was absolutely terrified. He looked so babyish and so scared. I felt awful. I couldn't have known this would happen and he wasn't really in any danger, only what he perceived to be danger, but still. I had to try and work out what to do, and how we were going to get home, but firstly I had to get Wolfie out of this situation, give him comfort and take him back to somewhere where he felt safe. I managed to turn him and led him away from the bridge, the noise still echoing around us. At points it was as though he was going to bolt, and then stopped himself. I managed to get back on and we walked back down the track. The only other way home was along the road. I've only ever ridden him this far along the road with another horse, but we had no choice but to do it on our own this time. He felt like a coiled spring, but he settled and walked home bravely along the road with no spooking. His ears were pricked and he seemed quite pleased with himself. Although, he is a spooky little horse, once he's taken fright at something and reacts, he tends then to leave it behind him and carry on. He doesn't get completely wound up, and start fussing or being neurotic. He's not had much luck recently and had a few frights which will have dented his confidence. H. said that it happened to her when she was out riding and J. slipped down onto his knees after panicking. If it's enough to panic J. then it must be pretty scarey. I don't think Wolfie will overreact to this. I'll make sure I hack out with H and J to give him a little support. J is good at being Wolfie's wingman. However, we got through it and I'm sure it can only strengthen our partnership. I fully expected to get home and find he'd knocked or cut himself on one of his legs, the way he had been lunging around, but not a scratch on him. I've just got the Equilibrium stretch and flex training wraps and he was wearing them. They were expensive, but they've already proved their value and that they do provide protection to the legs.

On a more positive note, we've had a good week with one schooling session and some nice hacks. Our gate opening and closing skills are getting better and better. Wolfie takes it quite seriously. You always shut your gate. The boys got their annual vaccinations on Friday and Wolfie managed to let the vet stroke him on the neck. That's real progress!

Wolfie's a funny one. Although he is spooky at some objects, he's also very brave and inquisitive at others. I've seen him stick his head in the drivers window of the lorry which is resurfacing the road next to his field. Smoke billowing every where, the smell of hot tar and loads of noise and a man with a big stop and go sign, not a problem. But ask him to walk across freshly painted white lines on the road and he'll be snorting and spooking. I suppose it comes down to what he perceives as danger.

Buttons is doing great. He makes me smile. He's such a happy pony and so bold and confident. Zoe rode him today and we went out for a walk with H. riding J. Buttons seems to be the only pony J. doesn't scowl at. Buttons was taking 3 strides to every one of J's but he didn't lag behind. He really doesn't realise that he's only 36 inches tall. I'm sure he thinks he's sizes with J.

Spooking and spinning

2010-08-15T19:39:00.001+01:00

Wolfie's been busy this week, we've hacked, lunged and had one schooling session and introduced some pole work. He's been very good, although now he's generally working more in trot and canter than he has done before, he seems to now think that we should just go everywhere at a very, very fast trot or canter. I have to be very careful to vary the places where I trot and canter, so he doesn't anticipate it all the time. He's becoming much stronger and the hacking and hill work is slowly helping to build him up and strengthen his hindquarters. Today we went again for our early Sunday morning hack. As we were walking along the road, he has to pass a house with very high hedges which he can't see over. There were children playing in the garden on a swing set, a lot of noise, people and a dog. He could see movement through the hedge, but had no idea what was going on in there. He stopped, neck again rock solid and started backing up straight away. He walked forward two steps and reared and span so we were facing the opposite direction. If there had been another horse with us that could have blocked us in or led us past the house it would have made a difference, but it was far too dangerous on the road to wait it out or try and force him to go on. I got off and led him the last 20 yards down the road onto the track. It's the same scenario, if he could see what was there, I think he would accept it. I'm not really concerned about his spooking, it's mainly because he's not getting out enough to experience and face different things. When I hack during the week, I stay on the hills as the road is too busy as the time I ride most people are going home from work. The rest of the hack he was outstanding. He crossed the bridge quite boldly and he gave me the best trot I think we've ever had. It was one of those moments when everything just seems to click and fall into place. He was working through from behind and beautifully soft on the contact and through his neck. He was totally on my aids and felt completely relaxed. Now we have to aim to transfer that level of work to the school and build up consistency in the work he's being asked to do.

Wolfie got his new shoes on Thursday. He's gone up a shoe size and now has Equilibrium shoes. They are still quarter clip shoes, but are supposed to be designed to allow correct fitting of the shoe on the hoof and have a safed off toe to allow correct breakover and equilibrium. They are popular with farriers who want to shoe the horse in a natural balance way and are supposed to offer a midway alternative between drop forged natural balance shoes and traditional concave shoes. I meant to take a before and after photograph of the old and new shoes, but I forgot.

Wolfie doesn't like any form of grooming or brushes. I think he is very ticklish and he gets nothing out of being brushed. He likes to be scratched, so I use a hand garden rake which he loves. It looks like an instrument of torture, but he likes it. I normally scratch him and then give him a curry to try and shift the grease and dirt. The photographs below are of Wolfie today being scratched.

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

2010-08-08T19:40:00.000+01:00

I set off this morning for a hack on Wolfie. From the minute I got on, he was acting very spooky, shying at things in the hedges, open gates, things he generally sees every day. I just put it down to the fact that he's had 2 days off in a row. We headed down to the railway line and as we were about 20 yards from the wooden bridge he stopped suddenly. Normally I have found that if I give him a couple of minutes to look at something, give him time to gather information about the object he is looking at and assimilate the information, he will walk on, normally without any further shying. Not today though, his head was raised, every muscle tight, his neck was rock solid. He has crossed this bridge a good few times now and although he's not fully confident at it, I found his reaction today strange. I asked him to walk on and he started to back up. Normally if he gets to this stage, the next thing he will do is half rear and spin. I didn't want this to escalate to that today and undo all the confidence I have already installed in him in crossing the bridge. Training is a fine line between creating new challenges and establishing a safe environment and I never want to demand so much from him to the extent that I discourage his generosity. I didn't think he was just being silly, there seemed to be more to it than that. Trying to keep my adrenaline low, I dismounted and walked him towards the bridge. As I got closer I saw that on the other side a bike and cycling helmet were propped up against the side of the bridge. I slowly led Wolfie across the bridge and as I did, I noticed that the owner of the bike was down the embankment at the river edge, almost under the bridge fishing. I hadn't seen any of this from the other side of the bridge, but Wolfie had obviously seen or heard something. I think if the man had came out and been visible, Wolfie would have been alright once he realised it was a person, but from the other side, it could have been a big horse eating alligator. I got back on and we continued our hack. I rode up into the forestry to explore a few tracks and see if we could find some new hacking routes where we can have a trot and canter . We found a brilliant track which we walked along and then trotted and cantered back. There were a few hills, low branches and fallen trees we had to negotitate. Wolfie was brilliant and evidently loved it. He really wanted to go and as I held him back he put in a few leaps and bucks, out of frustration I think, but the track was too twisty to go too fast. We hacked home and Wolfie crossed the bridge boldly (the fisherman was gone). We were out for just under 2 hours. Wolfie was tired, but he marched home with his ears pricked. I'd really like to be able to take him down and stand him in the river, but so far I haven't been able to find a place which would be safe enough for him to go sown, the bank is really steep. I'm very impressed at how skilled he become at opening and closing the gate at the yard. It's completely not horse friendly, but Wolfie has mastered every manouvere he is required to make to allow us to open and close it. Clever boy.

2010-08-01T19:56:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased to say that I've still been managing to ride Wolfie consistently, dodging the rain. Wolfie was up to his old tricks in the field yesterday, galloping around and winding the others up. At one point he had his head down, galloping flat out, bucking and corkscrewing, that he didn't see M lie down and start rolling. By the time he spotted him, he had no option but to jump him and jump him he did, taking off at the other side to do some more bucking. Poor M stood up wondering what on earth had just happened. I don't know what comes over Wolfie sometimes. I love watching him when he's like that in natural self carriage, neck arched, performing movements I just wish we could transfer to under saddle (that doesn't include the bucking), but honestly, no wonder he gets injuries. He's not aggressive to the others, but he certainly winds them up and herds them all the time, keeping them moving.

We went for a good long hack along the old railway line today. I timed it early enough that the road was quiet and there wasn't many cyclists or dog walkers around. Wolfie was good, a little hesitant before crossing the wooden bridge, but once over he crossed the second one no problems. We alternated between walking on a contact and walking on a loose rein. The ground was good, so we had a few trots, he was bouncing into the transitions and felt powerful. He definitely enjoys working at faster paces. There isn't a great variety of plants in Wolfie's field and he loves sampling the local delicacies when he's out. His favourite at the moment is the purple heads of thistles and rosehips.

Having a good look at the bridge

Buttons has been good. Zoe is back from holiday and I think he was pleased to see her. Especially since she brought with her a bag of wild berry flavoured horse treats which he took a real shine to. He was good being ridden today.


Hello Buttons

J. came back from the vet school on Thursday and is pleased to be home. He looks well and hopefully will continue to recover quickly with some rest and recuperation and lots of TLC.

Grounded

2010-07-27T22:18:00.001+01:00

I decided to do a little ground work with Wolfie tonight instead of hacking as it looked as though it was going to pour down. I've decided to try and teach him shoulder in from the ground to start with. Having always ridden shoulder in, I have never tried to introduce it from the ground so it is a bit of a learning curve for us both. I warmed him up and then just tried a few exercises to begin to teach him to step under and over. Wolfie is not keen on being told off for anything and can be sulky about it, he does however love praise and to be told how good he's been. One thing I have learned with him is that I have to be extra quick in praising and rewarding the slightest correct effort. He learns so quickly and this encourages him to try again, he is a horse who wants to work with you and please. This I feel is the key to 'unlocking' Wolfie and I have seen moments when he has demonstrated what an inspiring work ethic he could potentially have. Once you have his attention and willingness he will give you 110%. Whether it be out hacking or working from the ground, when he's tuned in, he really gives the feeling that it's complete teamwork, just you and him. Tonight was good, he picked up the cues for stepping over quickly. He does know how to move over ie in the stable and he has leg yielded . Within minutes I was able to turn him on a large turn on the forehand, and then cross both directions in leg yield for a few steps back to the track. At one point I looked at him and the look of concentration on his face was priceless. Don't get me wrong, he's full of nonsense and sessions like this have to be kept short, but even to have a couple of minutes of good work makes it worthwhile.

Canter

2010-07-26T21:30:00.000+01:00

I introduced canter to Wolfie in the school at the end of last week. Wolfie hasn't really done much cantering at all. He knows the aids and that's about it. It was very fast and unbalanced, again to be expected. It's a pretty small school which makes it more difficult for an unbalanced youngster. He put in a couple of bucks, possibly due to the saddle. I decided since the ground is much softer after the rain to get him out and let him canter in a straight line, making it easier for him to start with. I've found a nice flat length at the bottom of one of the fields where I ask for canter, the field is on a hill so I turn him up the hill to slow him down if he starts to get too fast. He's not fit, so the canters have been short, but he's been great. He bucked a couple of times on Friday but tonight he was fine. It gives him a chance to stretch, become rhythmical and I can get up out of the saddle and off his back without us having to worry about steering and corners etc yet. I thought his walk and trot were lovely, but his canter is now my new found favourite pace. He has such a long stride and it feels as though it is absolutely effortless to him. He's very responsive and easy to stop, but I'm careful to try and bring him back to trot gradually and then ask for walk. If you pull him up too suddenly or try to slow him down quickly that's when he starts clowning around and bucking and leaping. I think he's really enjoying working at a slightly faster pace, he's always game for anything, but this is fun to him. It makes me wonder what it would be like to gallop him. There will be plenty of time for schooling over the winter, so I'm going to have as much fun as I can out in the fields with him whilst there is plenty of daylight. I can already feel a difference in him since I started riding him again after I got the saddle. He's also gone up a hole in his girth. I haven't got the saddler back out yet as I'm still happy with the way the saddle is fitting and I'd like to get Wolfie working more so we get the full benefit from the fitting.

I'm trying to sort out my blog and link my pictures to previous blog posts. It may take a while, so I apologise if it's messy looking for a while.

'Snot funny

2010-07-23T21:42:00.000+01:00

For the last few weeks J's had a nasty green discharge coming from his left nostril. H had contacted the vet who just referred him straight back to the vet school. As it was the same side where he had the tooth removed last year, it was assumed that it was related to this. It was strange, he had absolutely no other symptoms, the discharge didn't smell (which you would have expected with infection) and he was fine within himself. He went to the vet school yesterday and I went along to give H a hand as he doesn't travel well. The vets took x-rays of his head and jaw which they then showed to us. The right side was clear but the left side showed a cloudy mass. They then scoped him. This was super interesting and we have now seen the inside of J's nasal cavities including his gluttoral pouches in great detail. The scope was clear. J was seated and standing in stocks. Once they removed the scope, J cleared his nose and covered the 3 vets and all the vet students in snot. Was pretty funny, H and I were wise and stood at the side of him. So the next move was they would drill a hole in J's forehead and insert a camera that way to see into his sinuses. We left at that point as J wasn't going to be coming home that night. It's easier to detach when it's not your own horse there, but H was very brave, considering we left not really knowing what they were going to find. The vet called H later and said that they had found a cyst in his sinus which they would have to remove under general anaesthetic. That's the last thing anyone wanted was for the big man to have to undergo any more surgery but there wasn't another option. They operated late yesterday afternoon and H said he was fairly bright today considering and she had him out for a grass walk. They have removed another slab of bone, this time from his forehead to allow access to the cyst. He has a drain in place just now to allow them to flush it. I read today that sinus cysts in horses are uncommon (trust J) and it's thought that they may be born with them. They can also cause secondary dental problems, so maybe the tooth that fractured last year was secondary to the cyst and not the other way round. We always wondered what caused that tooth to go. The cyst must have bothered J but he never showed it. He must have been in some discomfort at the very least, but he just got on with it. Even in the vet school he was fully co-operative. He's a salt of the earth type with a great big heart. Here's to a speedy recovery J. Get well soon, Wolfie wants you back home, he misses that nice grumpy face you pull at him :-). Also, Buttons might have some ideas about moving into your stable so you better get back quickly.

This and That

2010-07-19T20:13:00.000+01:00

I've had a fairly productive week and have managed to ride Wolfie consistently up until today when it was just too wet. We've been hacking with H and J. Wolfie's been pretty good, although on one ride he had a good spook at a rabbit darting out in front of him and took off. He's very responsive and pulls up, but the forward going energy then gets transferred to on the spot bucking. Anyway, it was a mild episode and he walked on quietly after it. I hacked him on Friday in what turned out to be gale force winds. I hadn't realised it was so windy until we got to the top of the hill and into the open. Wolfie felt like he was going to explode at any second. Certainly got the adrenaline pumping. He managed to contain himself and we made it home unscathed, but I felt like I'd ridden a cross country course not hacked for twenty minutes around the fields.

I've been looking into trailer towing courses. I phoned a local place to enquire what it would cost. For 2 days towing and then sitting the test on the third day it is £878.00!! Once I had picked myself up off the floor, I politely declined their offer to book me on the course at the moment thank you. Imagine paying all that money and you failed. I've found another place that does 2 hour lessons and you can hire their vehicle and trailer to sit the test. I think that's more what I need to try and do and then have as many lessons as I can and then sit the test when I feel ready. It's such a rip off, just because I passed my driving test after a certain date.

Buttons has been fine. He's such a happy little guy, his glass is always half full although I think he's been spending vast amounts of time in the field shelter because of the rain. The horses are starting to lose their summer coats. Winter is coming. As soon as Wolfie's winter coat is through, he's getting clipped. I was quite late in clipping him last year, but plan on doing it much sooner this year.

I have read that feeding dried nettles helps with itchy skin. It's also supposed to bring out the dapples in the coat, Wolfie doesn't need any more dapples but I've been drying out nettles to add to his feed to try and help his skin. I doubt he will be impressed. My dad usually buys a couple of turnips each week for the horses. I've noticed that Wolfie eats all of the turnip but leaves the bottom (where the flat bit is) about an half an inch thick. Obviously he doesn't like that part. Never mind, I give what's left to Buttons. There's never anything wasted when Buttons is around.

Goals and poles

2010-07-06T19:13:00.000+01:00

I'm apprehensive about setting any goals as something always seems to happen, but I always think it's good to have something to work towards. I rode Wolfie in the school for around twenty minutes yesterday. It was a bit of a train wreck. Only to be expected, I can count on one hand the number of times he's been schooled since last year. There were horse eating goblins in every corner of the school, walk to trot transitions were more like walk to gallop, the downwards weren't much better. It was all a bit rushed and unbalanced but it's a start. Wolfie's not keen on the surface in the school, he prefers a grass surface. He doesn't really see the point in endless circles, he may have the conformation of a dressage horse, but he certainly doesn't have the warmblood mentality for endless circles. This all means that I have to make things much more interesting for him. Really we are still only working on the basics of relaxation, rhythm, contact and impulsion, but my aim is to utilise Wolfie's natural athleticism and make him more gymnastic and supple through progressive exercises using basic flatwork and pole work, eventually, hopefully this will help him to bend, straighten and move with impulsion and freedom through his back whilst keeping his attention and making it fun. I have seen these pole pods which raise the poles, I like the look of them, but they would be expensive to buy as I would probably want about 8. I think I am going to make something which will do the same thing, like the old style cavalletti. I felt weak riding yesterday, my lower leg felt weak. There are no short cuts and you only get out of horses what you put into them, but hopefully now we will be able to maintain some consistent work and progress Wolfie's training. I also hope to have a few centered riding lessons which I think will really help me.

I will continue to hack and at the moment will keep the schooling sessions short. I still want to know what sort of distance we are covering. My dad found something called a horseometer which is a horse pedometer and straps to a breast plate. You can only get them in the States, but I think I will eventually get one, it will also be a helpful for fittening work.

When I turned Wolfie out tonight, he went straight over to C. and was turning his hindquarters on him, just forcing C. to move. He didn't lift a leg, but his body language was very dominant. There didn't seem to be any real reason for it and C. just got out of the way. The dynamics of the herd have certainly shifted. Wolfie followed me down the fence line as I walked down to my car. I got in and was driving along the road when I glanced out the window and there was Wolfie galloping alongside the car (in the field of course), I was going around 25mph and he was keeping pace. I burst out laughing, he's such a strange little horse. As he reached the end of the field I saw him in my mirror galloping and bucking up the field.

Big Feet

2010-07-01T21:56:00.001+01:00

The boys were shod / trimmed today. It's been 5 weeks and 6 days since they were last done. Their feet are done religiously every 6 weeks, however it looks as though, at least over the rest of summer, I am going to have to get them done every 5 weeks as they both had a huge amount of growth since they were last trimmed. Wolfie's feet have grown again and at his next shoeing, he will be going up a size in shoes. He will now be getting the equilibrium natural balance shoes on the front and a heavier shoe on the back.

I have been continuing to hack Wolfie out around the fields, trying to get him fitter. He's been very good and it would be nice now to begin introducing some short trot work. Ideally I would like to do this in one of the fields to keep him straight, however the ground is just too hard. The farrier was talking today about the increase in unsoundness in horses this summer due to the hard ground. I will start introducing a little trot work in the school alongside hacking. We have been working on a little leg yielding and turns on the forehand whilst out.

Buzz Off

2010-06-20T08:09:00.000+01:00

The flies have been horrendous lately. I don't know if it's because of the weather and it being so warm, but they are worse than ever, particularly the horse flies. Even Buttons who is quite thick skinned and doesn't seem to affected by them has been coming in with big lumps and bites on him. They are driving the horses nuts and it's not nice to see them getting so distressed. Wolfie is sensitive to bites and he's also sensitive to fly sprays. Both Wolfie and Buttons have been coming in during the day to keep them off the grass, but they seem quite happy about it at the moment as it is much cooler in their stables and it gets them out of the flies. Buttons in particular seemed floored by the heat yesterday, they're just not used to it. I have tried numerous types of fly sprays and nothing seems to work. I have to be careful what I put on Wolfie and he hates anything which has a strong smell. Wolfie also seems to have mild sweet itch on his tail caused by a reaction to the midges and he's been rubbing his tail. I'm trying to keep away from the brands that contain a lot of deet and citronella. I have been trailing the internet this morning trying to find something and have just spent a fortune on fly spray and a wash to try and see if it works to try and give the horses some relief.

I had a great ride yesterday. Wolfie was very spooky, which started with us passing a field that had been ploughed and had a big pile of fertiliser sitting in it. If Wolfie could have gone over and had a closer look at what it was I think he would have been ok, but from a distance I don't think he knew what it was and obviously it was potentially horse eating. He then spotted two old ladies in the distance (who to be fair did look quite scarey with big huge sun hats, flowery dresses and a shopping trolley). At the same point when he was looking at the ladies, two cyclists cycled up behind him and didn't speak or alert us that they were there. This caused him to leap off all 4 legs and came back down with sparks practically flying from his feet . He was powering along with every muscle tensed and ready for flight. A leaf came off a tree and landed on his hind quarters and he again leapt 5 foot in the air. It really is like sitting on an unexploded bomb when he's like that. I just spoke to him and kept him moving forward and straight. He wasn't being asked to go anywhere he hadn't been before, he was feeling out of his comfort zone and the accumulation of people and scarey things had got him a little overwhelmed. He wasn't being naughty or silly, he had genuinely got himself in a tiz, however he didn't nap and was listening to my aids. He was very tuned into my aids and was super responsive. I crossed the wooden bridge (with Wolfie walking like he was on hot coals) and hacked as far as Haughhead before turning for home. We came out of a shaded part into the sunshine and Wolfie leapt 4 foot sideways at his own shadow. That's the second time he's nearly put me in the Glazert river. We then hacked the short distance back along the road. Normally I don't take my hands off the reins to slow traffic, but as Wolfie was so spooky I wanted the traffic to be aware and pass us slowly. He was being so responsive to my seat and leg that I felt I could keep him straight whilst taking my hand off the rein to slow the traffic. Two motorbikes and a van were approaching too fast. They had seen us and obviously didn't see the need to slow down. I signalled for them to slow, but they didn't bother. I was so angry. Not only are they endangering themselves, but how dare they frighten him like that, he doesn't deserve it. Fortunately, although he was still bouncing along, he stayed straight and we hacked the rest of the way home on a loose rein. He got a huge pat yesterday. He loves to be told how good he has been.

I don't know why it was such a good ride, as Wolfie was pretty difficult at points. I think it's because it's another thing we've overcome. He was genuinely frightened, but he didn't do anything mean or underhand and he accepted and looked for direction from his rider. I have always tried to install confidence in Wolfie from the very beginning (it's his creative side I try not to nurture), even when I am not feeling very confident myself, I owe it him to keep my adrenalin low, be quiet, calm and effective and provide him with comfort and reassurance. I am beginning to feel that the trust Wolfie has in me on the ground is now being transferred to our ridden work. He is honest and it makes me hopeful that one day he will be the sort of horse that will go that extra mile to get his rider out of trouble, if the need ever arose. Can't ask for any more than that.

Have I mentioned recently how fantastic my saddle is.

Curiousity killed the cat

2010-06-16T21:29:00.001+01:00

I hacked Wolfie around the fields on Monday and Tuesday night and he was great. No more bucking or carrying on. Last night when we were out, Wolfie spotted the sheep shearers working further up the hill. He was desperate to go over and see what was happening, thought he might just canter on over there, but he's not fit and the ground is rock solid. We half walked, half bounced our way over to the sheep pens. When Wolfie is like that his enthusiasm is contagious and it's hard not to just join in with him. His interest and inquisitiveness amazes me. We stood and watched the sheep being clipped and Wolfie was mesmerized. He was snorting at the clipped sheep coming down the chute into their pen. One of the clippers came over and gave him a polo, which he promptly spat out as he doesn't like mints. He then got a piece of apple which suited him much better. We then walked back down the fields. I can't get over how impressed I am with the saddle and as the saddler said, it will only get better with use as it beds down and moulds. I didn't ride tonight, gave Wolfie a night off as he'll be ridden Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was so muggy tonight, I had a headache and the flies were really bad. If Wolfie continues to behave, I will take him along the road and down onto the line on Saturday for a longer hack on the flat. I still would like to know what sort of distance we are covering. My idea about the pedometer didn't work as it makes you program a weight into it and the maximum weight is 120kg. I'll try and get an ordinace survey map of the area and work it out that way.

A dream come true

2010-06-13T19:39:00.000+01:00

The big day finally arrived, the saddler came out to fit my saddle today. What can I say, It's absolutely stunning. I'm so, so pleased with it. Wolfie was warey again of the saddler (he possibly could have been the vet carrying a saddle). Wolfie gets quite tense when anyone new enters his stable. We fitted the saddle and girthed it up. Straight away when the saddle was placed on Wolfie's back I could see where it was supposed to fit. I got on and began walking him around the school. Almost immediately, I felt his back arch and he put in four bucks one after the other, getting bigger each time. The saddler just encouraged me to gently ask him to walk forward and he settled and walked calmly around the school. I then asked him for trot and he put in a full blown rodeo demonstration. He then settled again and trotted beautifully around the school. The saddler felt that it was partly remembered pain from the last saddle not fitting, as he objected at anything new and then when he realised it didn't hurt, he was fine. And also the fact that he's a 5 year old that's not been in any consistent work for a long time. Also it is a close contact saddle and would have felt completely different to Wolfie and my weight distribution would also have been different. None of my girths fit the new saddle, so I was riding with a very loose girth, but despite that, even after Wolfie's handstands, the saddle didn't move. I also felt very safe and secure in it, it's really comfortable. The saddler commented on Wolfie's lovely paces and athleticism, he's good at being vertical. I walked up and down one of the hills and the saddle felt great. The plan now is to get Wolfie hacking out over the next few weeks and get him a little fitter. Once I start schooling again, the saddler wants me to get him back out and he will do another assessment as the saddle should have bedded down by this point. I'm glad I ended up getting the saddle custom made (not that I had much choice), but I am really impressed with the service the saddler provided and he told me to call any time if I'm worried about it at all over the next few weeks. The saddle has a 'Y' formation girthing system. I need to get a new girth. I'm not a fan of synthetic girths and will probably buy a leather girth further down the line. I always have to use a sheepskin girth sleeve on Wolfie, he's not cinchy in any way, but he is very tickly and sensitive on his belly. I'm thinking of getting a Christ girth which is fully lined with lambskin. The seller where I got Wolfie's bit has some, I've never seen them anywhere else and I liked what I read about them. In the meantime I will buy a smaller synthetic girth and use that with the girth sleeve. Another blogger commented recently that once in a while you come across a horse that you don't want to get off. Wolfie is one of those horses for me. We have a lot of work to do over the next few months, but once Wolfie's fitness is built up I feel that he is physically and mentally ready to cope with a few more challenges and it will be time to ask a few more questions of him.

I missed being able to tell my mum about the saddle. I know she would have been pleased for us. She liked the horses and she liked Wolfie. She used to enjoy hearing about what they had been up to. My mum was never scared off Wolfie, she would just go into his stable beside him and pat him. She didn't have any experience in handling horses, but she wasn't intimidated by him. I remember when Wolfie was in the vet school I used to go and visit him in the evening and would take him outside for a grass walk. My mum came with me a few times and I remember on one occasion we were standing hand grazing Wolfie when I saw one of the vets. I gave my mum Wolfie's rope and went to speak with the vet. I was gone around 10 minutes and when I came back, my mum and Wolfie were gone. I was imagining every scenario that could possibly have happened. I started running down the road when I happened to look over and there was my mum still holding onto Wolfie and he was happily grazing on Glasgow University's cricket pitch. He had done his usual marching off in walk and my mum had no option but to tag along beside him. That's a habit that's never been broken. He never tries to break away or goes faster than a walk, he just marches off. I hope that my mum knows that we have the saddle.

2010-06-09T21:41:00.001+01:00

The rain is back. It was needed as the stream in the horses field had dried up and the ground was rock solid. It was really muggy on Tuesday night when the rain came on. I watched Wolfie grazing and he seemed to be enjoying the rain. I took Buttons up to his field and turned him out. All the mares were grazing and also seemed to be enjoying the rain. What did Buttons do, tossed his head and went and stood inside the field shelter. For a pony who is supposed to be able to withstand the hardiest of conditions, he can be very precious. He really doesn't like the rain. I went out last night to do some muck picking in Buttons field. Buttons came over and was wandering around the wheelbarrow. My barrow was pretty much full and as I turned to put my last load in I heard a clatter. The very helpful Buttons had tipped the wheelbarrow over and looked like he was trying to stand on it upturned. He tips the wheelbarrow over when it's on the yard, I thought it would be too heavy for him full, obviously not. Outwitted again by the pint size pony. He was a bit upset tonight as the girls have moved into another field. I asked for Buttons to stay behind for a few days to let the others eat the grass down before he goes in. So he's with another two ponies for a few days and then they will be put in with the mares again. I'm totally fed up with everything . I'd prepared myself for the saddle coming last week but it wasn't finished. Not sure when it will be ready.

2010-05-31T21:08:00.001+01:00

The saddler called today, he's still working on the saddle, so it looks like it will be the very end of the week before he brings it up for fitting. There's a Le Trec competition on near Lochgilphead this weekend. It's a championship qualifier so the horses entering are vetted on Friday night, do the 12km orienteering on Saturday, are vetted again on Sunday morning and then do the obstacles on Sunday. One of the girls from the yard is taking her horse, just to enter the level 1. Another couple of girls are hiring horses for the weekend from a local trecking centre which leases trail horses to take part. I thought about going up and leasing a horse as I've sold my Wintec saddle (I think it's gone to a good home and the lady who bought it seems really pleased with it) so I could afford it. It would be great fun and would let me experience what is involved. But, there's really only one horse who I would want to be riding and that's Wolfie. I know I'm biased, but he really is a lovely horse to ride. A big part of it for me would be the challenge and excitement of doing it together with Wolfie. He's an exciting, fun horse to ride and to spend two days doing the Le Trec would be brilliant. Regardless of the way this year has turned out, Wolfie wouldn't be ready anyway to do the two days this year. He would be coralled over night and I would camp. It's a lot to ask of any horse not used to it never mind a youngster. Hopefully if we can get a few one day competitions or training days under our belt, then we could have a go at a two day competition. Maybe next year. I hope they get good weather.

The Lone Ranger

2010-05-30T19:30:00.000+01:00

I woke up today tired, with another headache. I went to look at gravestones for my mum which was not a nice way to start the day. I didn't do any work with Wolfie today, just gave him a scratch and his tea and turned him out. Zoe came up to ride Buttons. I gave her the reins which were attached to his headcollar. I bought him a little snaffle bit, but he doesn't seem to like the nutcracker action. I think he has some remembered pain from when his teeth were sharp. I managed to pick him up a little mullen mouth so I'm going to try putting that in and building up the length of time he has it in. If that goes ok, I will long rein him in it. For the first time, Zoe managed to steer Buttons and ride him around the school in walk on her own. He was a little cheeky at first and tried it on, but she's a little bigger and stronger now. Once she managed to get the desired action from him (walking forward) it gave her much more confidence in her ability to ask him to do things. Buttons has a mind of his own, he's not bad, but he has a strong character, I like the way pony minds work. He's also very used to being led everywhere and having someone walking beside him and naturally thinks he should be where people are. Long reining should help encourage him to go forward on his own. Zoe thinks that he has a bit in his mouth. She's been sent home with her homework to practise lengthening and shortening her reins. The countdown begins until Wolfie's saddle arrives.

Umbrella and rain.....not a good combination

2010-05-27T19:44:00.000+01:00

I rode Wolfie bare back again on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday we did a little work again mainly in walk and on Tuesday we just ambled around and then hacked along the tracks and picked some hawthorn. Wolfie loves hawthorn. It hasn't even flowered yet, but he adores it. I was going to ride him tonight, but when I got to the yard he was full of beans. I took him into the school to do a little work first with the umbrella. He was good, still very cautious of it but will stand near it and touch it whilst it is on the ground. However, it then started to rain. To Wolfie, the umbrella is 'safe' whilst it's on the ground not moving, but the umbrella on the ground, not moving with rain hitting it is most definitely not safe. The sound of the rain hitting the umbrella turned it into into a completely different object to Wolfie, most certainly a horse eating object, and he wasn't entertaining it at all . The rain went off and he was able to go back over and inspect the umbrella and give it a good sniff and even tugged at it a little. I decided to end it on a good note and turned him out to enjoy a little rain on his back. He went out and rolled in a big muddy patch, got up and exploded. Bucking, galloping, spinning, rearing. He did perform some nice canter pirouettes. The other horses just disappeared off to the very far corners of the field out of his way. Good call not getting on him tonight and so long nice, clean bathed horse, it was nice having you for a few days.

Baths and bare back

2010-05-23T18:02:00.000+01:00

I bathed Wolfie today, he was okay, but I did it quickly before he got too bored. He has a lot of dapples this year. Zoe came up with Susan and we went for a walk with Zoe riding Buttons. A dog ran out of a garden straight up to Buttons' front feet and head, he was very good and didn't move, just looked at it.

I then did a little in hand work with Wolfie in the school with the umbrella. Wolfie hates umbrellas. I've been doing a little with it over the past week. We're now at the stage where he will go over and touch it, when it's up in the school, but if you move it or try and pick it up, he will back off snorting. A little more work and I'm sure he will be fine.

I then decided to ride Wolfie bare back. I've been thinking of doing it all week, what's the worst that could happen, I fall off, I haven't came off Wolfie yet, but it will happen one day. I decided today was a good day as it was very warm and he was feeling the heat and looked quite lethargic. I got on at the mounting block and rode him into the school. He seemed a little hesitant at first, probably felt strange and a difference in weight distribution but he settled into his stride quickly. He was very good. We just worked in walk mostly and did some flexing and straightening exercises and then some leg yield and the beginnings of introducing shoulder in (we have also been working on this from the ground over the past week). We did a little trot work, he has an amazing big bouncy stride and apart from a few whizzy moments, he worked nicely and was focused on what he was doing. I haven't done much sitting trot with him under saddle, so need to build this up. He also hasn't been in the school for ages. It was fun. I'd forgotten how much more aware you are of your body, position, movements etc when you don't have stirrups or a saddle. Wolfie responds to your seat and weight aids beautifully. I spent years riding without stirrups and bare back, and it's all still there, I spent half an hour concentrating on the work we were doing, feeling his movement, the lovely swing through his back and for the first time in ages for that short time, I was the old me, where nothing would distract me from schooling a horse and for that short time, my huge weight was gone. I felt light and my horse felt very light. I then rode him around the yard and he was very good. I'm planning on doing some more bare back riding this week. I don't know about hacking him out, but maybe I'll take him a walk along the tracks. I wanted to get a photo today, but there was no-one at the yard when I was riding, maybe get one during the week, as proof.

Bath Time

2010-05-21T20:02:00.001+01:00

I bathed Buttons today. It was still really hot at 2pm when I got to the yard, so I thought I would have enough time to do Buttons. He was really good, just using buckets of water and a sponge. It's the hose he doesn't like, not the water. There's nothing really that phases Buttons at all, but he's scared of the actual hose pipe itself and he's nervous of you sweeping or skipping out around him. I often wonder if someone's chased him at some point. He was bathed with tea tree and aloe vera horse shampoo, just to try and get rid of some of the residual scurf from his winter coat. He shines up like a little conker. The weather is supposed to remain hot over the weekend, so Wolfie's next.

Fitbaw!

2010-05-17T20:29:00.000+01:00

I played Football with Buttons yesterday. The ball was too small and light and kept blowing away under the fence, it was just a child's football. Zoe came up and she kicked the ball and Buttons went haring after it, he was getting really into it. I need to get him a bigger ball. There is a ball designed for horses called an equi spirit ball. It must be reinforced as in one of the videos I watched, there was an 18.1hh horse practically lying on top of it. I imagine they would be very expensive to buy. Was thinking if a human exercise / gym ball would do instead, but it might just burst. There are some great videos of horses playing with the balls. I think Wolfie and Buttons would both love it. Check out this little guy in the link below, he's having a 'ball'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQXiYC7S8wU

2010-05-16T20:27:00.000+01:00

I was looking at video clips on You Tube today and came across these clips of mules which have been clicker trained. I don't know how to copy the links so you just click on them to see them. I have always had a bit of a fascination for mules, despite only having ever met one once in my life when I spent a summer working in Wyoming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spp9ph4enCc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE-jwD1yg9A&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cget0_49Buo&feature=channel

The mule performing dressage movements at Liberty is brilliant. Three time canter, lateral movements and moments of self carriage. That mule could perform a nice dressage test. They are being rewarded for carrying out desired actions but look as though they are enjoying the work and the interaction. The girl working with them treats them with real kindness. Their ears are hilarious. What can I say, I want a mule.

Apparently mules are much less tolerant to dogs than horses and are capable of striking out with any of their hooves in any direction, even sideways if needed. Mules exhibit a higher cognitive intelligence than their parent species. They also aquire greater height and endurance than either parent. Mules are highly intelligent and the stereotype of the mule being stubborn appears to be somewhat unfair.

Cruel to be kind............

2010-05-16T09:02:00.000+01:00

................or just bad management on my part. Wolfie clearly isn't coping with being kept in the stable for full days. The field isn't getting split until the beginning of June so I need to have a rethink. Yes, it is for his own good that I am trying to keep him off the grass (although I am not sure of the benefits of this as and am sure that he probably goes out and gorges himself over night). I'm going to try next week having him brought in at lunch time, so he's standing in for a shorter length of time. The whole situation is not ideal and to me the only sensible solution is to have the grazing restricted immediately, but it's one of the difficulties of being at a yard and I'm not in charge. I understand why people use grazing muzzles, but it's not something I would want to do and feel that Wolfie would not cope well with it. Fortunately, Button's field has much less grass in it, although I'm sure he is already stalking up for winter.

Wolfie still seems to be intent on establishing his position within the herd. When I turn him out, he looks for C. (the horse who kicks him), gallops over to him, bites him on the hindquarters. C then moves out the way and Wolfie eats the patch of grass where C was standing. I've also seen him galloping flat out after C. It appears however that C. most of the time now tries to get out of Wolfie's way and does not appear to be entering into any full on confrontation with him. Wolfie is instigating all of this, but even when he bites or lifts a back leg, there is no real intent to do any damage. I rarely see him kick and most of the time he just makes threatening faces (which to be fair are not very threatening). C. has never came in with any wounds apart from a grazed nose (Wolfie lost a tooth and almost an eye so it balances out). It would appear that Wolfie is getting his way and has moved up the line. J and M are top of the herd and they seem to have a mutual agreement in leadership. Wolfie sees himself just behind those two. I dread to think what will happen if he ever gets any ideas about taking those two on.

Acrobatics

2010-05-11T22:45:00.000+01:00

I've been thinking alot about the picture of all the horses lying down. You very rarely see all of them down at the one time. Then I realised the formation they had taken. Two lines of three back to back. They have every angle covered and between them can see 360 degrees. Clever.

I attempted to long rein Wolfie again tonight. I have been having him brought in during the day to get him off the grass and been giving him soaked hay to eat. This was my proposed idea to try and restrict his grass intake until the grazing gets restricted. However, whilst I wanted to concentrate on long reining, Wolfie's 5 year old mind and body had been stuck in a stable all day. All he wanted was out in the field with his friends. Half way up one of the fields, he started bucking which escalated into complete handstands giving me a birds eye view of his back feet. He was going every way but forward. He was performing some lovely passage and half pass. Eventually I managed to turn him and we crossed another field, still performing some lovely lateral work (not intentionally) and we returned home with Wolfie bouncing the whole way. That was one argument I wasn't going to enter into with a 5 year old who has been cooped up in a stable all day. It was a combination of freshness, boredom and frustration on his part and I fully understand why he did it. It wasn't badness, just how he was feeling. If the grazing was restricted he could stay out most of the day. The issue with fat horses is so widely publisised these days, and everyone that has any responsibility for any horse has a duty of care to ensure that measures are taken to control their weight but it is still so hard to try and get people to take it seriously. I'm thinking of buying my own fencing and putting it up during the night, see if anyone notices.

2010-05-10T22:22:00.000+01:00

Wolfie was measured for his saddle on Saturday. The spring grass is coming through thick and fast and the battle with weight begins. I have asked again this year for the field to be divided with electric fencing and the grazing restricted. The majority of the boys in Wolfie's field are good doers and could all do with being strip grazed.

I long reined Wolfie tonight. At first he was a bit confused, but he remembered. He was very good and I had forgotten how much I used to enjoy long reining him around the fields. Although when I stood behind him tonight, I was like whoa, I actually felt slightly intimidated at first by the sheer size and power of him. It's over a year since I last long reined him, he is now a very big boy. I seem to have been oblivious to the changes Wolfie has gone through over winter. We long reined up and down a couple of hills. Wolfie seemed to really enjoy it and only had a couple of silly moments one of which was trying to bounce after a couple of lambs, but for the majority of the time he listened and was very responsive. I want to continue and long rein him up the hills to try and keep him active whilst he can't be ridden. Only problem is, I can't actually keep up with him. When he's walking forward I can barely keep up on the flat, but going uphill is worse especially if he powers up it. So here's to building up my fitness at the same time.

Shouldering On

2010-05-07T06:11:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was not a good day for me. I woke up feeling very, very sad. I spent the whole day trying to remember what my mum's voice sounded like and I couldn't. My head was thumping all day, I did everything at a snail's pace, but couldn't speed up no matter how much I tried. The saddler arrived and came down to see Wolfie. I opened the stable door to lead Wolfie out and his words were ' wow, look at the shoulders on him'. Wolfie exploded out of the stable (I have no idea why) and the saddler had a good look all over him. He was very complimentary about his big sloping shoulder and length of stride, saying it was text book angle for stride and elevation and any serious dressage rider would be envious of that shoulder. (Hmph that would be all well and good if he was a 16.2hh Warmblood). However, coupled with Wolfie's flat back and no real defined wither, it makes it a very difficult fit for a saddle. The saddler listened to all my thoughts and fears on the whole saddle / fitting issue and we discussed various options. Ultimately, I have known that every saddle I have tried on Wolfie recently does not nearly fit. I no longer have any confidence in myself or my judgement that I can even put a saddle on him and know that it is even placed correctly. If I am to ask any more of Wolfie in terms of his schooling and level of collection I need to have confidence in my tack. I need to be sure that any resistance shown is not down to a badly fitting saddle causing him discomfort. Wolfie is still pretty much a blank canvas to me, the foundations are there and so far he's a happy, confident horse who enjoys his work, I don't want to ruin everything we have achieved so far by making him sore and sour. As I've said before, Wolfie wears his heart on his sleeve. He lets you know how he is feeling every inch of the way. Like most youngsters, everything has to be in black or white, and with him you cannot skip a step, but I feel he would be a horse that could easily become very angry and bitter if things weren't done correctly or he was forced into something which caused him pain.

So the upshot is, Wolfie is having a custom made saddle. This is not something I wanted to be doing right now. This was a 'one day' dream several years down the line, but I have to do what is best for Wolfie right now. The saddler is coming out on Saturday to measure him up, take tracings and photographs. The saddle will be black, and he has said I can have any choice of leather at no extra cost. The tree will be made to try and allow as much room for alteration as possible as Wolfie continues to change shape. It will be a close contact balance saddle. It will take 3 to 4 weeks for the saddle to be made and the saddler will come out fit the saddle and watch me ride in it. He will then make any final alterations. He said he will then come back out after we have been using the saddle for a few weeks as a follow up call to check it. The saddle comes with a 2 year guarantee (the majority of saddlers only offer 1 year guarantees) and the tree has a lifetime guarantee. After much discussion with the saddler I have decided on the Wallace GPD which has a medium deep seat and straight cut flaps. The panel has been designed to give maximum comfort for the horse, allowing an excellent fit while allowing freedom of movement around the shoulder area. It is a general purpose saddle but straighter cut like a working hunter type to free up his shoulder but also means we can still jump in it. I love tack and leather. Normally, I would be so excited by the thought of our very own custom made leather saddle, it's a dream come true, but right now it just feels like another set back even though I know it's the only way forward. The saddler then went off to fit J's new saddle and I was left with Wolfie, who was looking particularly pleased and happy with himself as my world once again came crashing down around my ears.

Fortunately, J's new saddle was a good fit on him and only needs reflocked. H came down to see me after the saddler had left, with her jaw on the ground, she said the saddler had commented that Wolfie's shoulders are bigger than J's. I'm trying very hard at the moment to think of the positives of Wolfie's shoulders. With his huge stride, he covers alot of ground, so we can hack in half the time it takes every one else to do the same route. I mentioned to the saddler that I had to have Wolfie's bridle customised as even his head doesn't fit a standard size. He laughed and said that it's the complicated ones that often make the very best ones.

I think in my heart, I knew that this is where we were going to end up, although part of me had hoped that the saddler would miraculously fit a saddle and we'd be able to join in the centered riding lessons next week, I really want to try that. But no riding Wolfie for the next month. I had considered getting on him bare back in the school, but I've never sat on him bare back and I really don't fancy ending up face down in the surface at the moment and could do without any injuries. So I will get the long lines back out and we will do some ground work for the next few weeks.

I have started clicker training with Buttons over the last 2 days. It took me a little while to get my head around it and timing is crucial. I used a schooling stick as the 'target'. At the moment it is teaching him to understand the clicker. Every time he touches the target, he gets clicked and rewarded with a tit bit. Buttons is a pony that has always been fed from the hand. He mugs anyone near him and is at perfect pocket height. When I tried for the first time on Wednesday, after a couple of goes, I could actually see him processing the whole thing in his mind. He was working it out. Normally he always snuffles around your jacket, but he was standing back, and then he would hesitantly 'touch' the target, he was then clicked and rewarded. You could almost see him thinking, 'what's the catch, this is too easy'. Yesterday I took him into the school for 10 minutes to do some clicker work. When there's food involved, you have Buttons undivided attention. To say he is food motivated is an understatement. He touched the target as I moved it around. He was desperate to do anything else to be 'rewarded'. I think Buttons would stand on his head if he could if he thought there might be a 'reward' in it. It's good fun, I'm still getting the hang of it with timing and co-ordination. I've been giving Buttons a good brush every day, trying to get that winter coat out. He's brilliant, he loves being groomed and would stand all day being fussed over and cuddled.

Saddles and Centres

2010-05-05T08:25:00.000+01:00

I hacked Wolfie on Monday. Yesterday I went to place a saddle on his back, just to try it and he scowled at me. Wolfie has never done that on seeing any form of tack. Something has pinched or hurt him during our ride on Monday. I was using J's saddle. There were no marks, raised areas or swelling, but I have a feeling the girth I used may have pinched him. Earlier I had given him a good scratch and pressed over his back and sides and he was fine, but something has definitely irked him. The saddler, Andrew Sankey is coming on Thursday to see a potential saddle for fitting and hopefully to offer some very much needed help and advice. The whole saddle issue is worrying me. I know how detrimental an ill fit saddle can be, but I just don't know what the best option is for us. Wolfie is not an easy shape to fit. I just want to do the best by Wolfie, so we will wait and see what Thursday brings.

Some of the girls at the yard had a lesson last night on centered riding. I hung around to watch H and J's lesson. I've read some articles on centered riding, but have never really given it to much thought. It is a method of teaching which takes the focus back to the rider, providing exercises on and off the horse which enhance body awareness and help riders recognise areas of tension and imbalance. It looked brilliant. The instructor just had H doing exercises in walk, but the effect it had on J's way of going was amazing. He was striding forward without the usual cries of 'leg on' and 'flexion' that you hear in lessons. H was beaming when she got off, having thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a great feeling to come out of a lesson and have achieved something. It's definitely something I would like to try. Maybe once the dreaded saddle issue is sorted out.

Growing up....... and out

2010-05-02T08:13:00.000+01:00

It was Wolfie's 5th Birthday on Monday 26th April. What do you do when you turn 5, well if you're Wolfie you completely change shape and outgrow your saddle. Since I started hacking Wolfie again, every time I've ridden, the bottom of my back has been hurting me within minutes of getting on. I put it down to just the way I have been feeling lately. Last Sunday we went for a hack with H and J. H was riding behind me and noticed that Wolfie's saddle wasn't even touching his back. It's tipping me forward. I check his back merticulously after each ride and thankfully we've only been walking and staying on the flat. He doesn't seem to have suffered from this, but when Wolfie starts any carry on it's normally with a wing and a prayer that I stay on and as H pointed out, if he bucks with the saddle sitting like that, not only would it be awful for him to have the saddle slam onto his back, but I wouldn't stand a chance of staying on. On Monday I went up to the yard, stripped off the numnah and girth and put the saddle on him. It didn't fit anywhere at all. I have the Wintec 2000 with adjustable gullet. I got the Wintec measuring gauge out and Wolfie is off the scale. I felt my heart sink right into my boots. It's part and parcel of having a young horse that they are going to change, grow etc, but I really thought we might have at least got another year out of the Wintec. He isn't an overly wide horse. He is in soft condition and carrying a bit too much weight, but he's been bigger. It's his shoulders, they are huge. The way I'm feeling right now, everything seems like a mammoth deal and effort and the slightest stumbling block makes me just want to chuck everything. I seriously considered just locking everything away, turning Wolfie out to grass and giving up. Fortunately H arrived after she had finished work armed with her 'new' second hand leather saddle she had just bought for J. H came along, looked at the Wintec and agreed whole heartedly that it didn't fit anywhere. She tried her new saddle on W and although it wasn't 100% perfect, it was pretty good. We girthed it up and she encouraged me to get on in the school and have a little walk around in it. I was never a fan of synthetics, but when I got the Wintec they grew on me. I could see their benefits, especially with a growing youngster. I had even thought that if the GP was working out, maybe this year we could have got a second hand synthetic dressage saddle. Sometimes I wonder what planet I live on. However, sitting back in a leather saddle was like coming home. There is nothing like it. The lines of communication were clearer, I could feel his movement much better. Obviously the Wintec has been tipping me forward, making me crooked, forcing Wolfie even further onto his forehand and restricting his shoulders, but even when it did fit, it wasn't a patch on the feeling I got in the leather saddle. H without hesitation offered us the use of her saddle to enable us to keep riding until we can find another one. I can't thank H enough for this, she hasn't even ridden in it yet! I hope one day that I can repay her kindness. The Wintec is completely the wrong shape of saddle for Wolfie now. The next step up in synthetics is the Wintec Wide, but I think that this would end up rolling. I have decided to get a second hand leather saddle, I don't think I can go back to synthetics now. We have a limited budget, but I will sell the Wintec, they seem to hold their value well and have a massive clear out and sell anything we don't need. H has been brilliant and has been trawling EBay on the saddle hunt. We think we may have found one. I don't want to say too much just now as I don't want to jinx it, but if it is suitable it will be brilliant.

We have been out hacking with H and J several times this week. I am still lacking self motivation to ride. H has been quietly encouraging me to go out with her and J. I don't mind riding on my own and usually enjoy just concentrating on Wolfie, but right now it just gives me too much time to think. H had a half day on Wednesday, so we went for a longer hack. We rode up around Lennox Castle and around Celtic Football Club's Training ground. Their football pitches are immaculate. We were wondering what we would be charged with if we broke in and galloped across their pitches. I think we settled on criminal damage and riding with undue care and attention. There is a housing development in process up there at the moment. Normally when H hacks this route, it's at the weekend and the building site is closed. It wasn't on Wednesday. There were huge lorries, road sweepers, cement mixers, pneumatic drills, dumper trucks and diggers everywhere. Wolfie led the way. Eyes and ears on everything. He didn't balk or stop, just seemed more interested than anything. He had J behind him for support. J is brilliant, he just does anything. The workmen were great and stopped the machinery as soon as they saw us, but you could have forgiven any horse for getting upset. Think extreme police horse training and it wouldn't even be close. We then went off road and took some tracks that any Le trec enthusiast would be envious off. Different terrain, steep hills, low branches, wooden bridges. J took the lead down a few of the hills to show Wolfie the way to go. On hacking home a man started sanding his garden gate with a piece of sand paper. Both horses had a massive spook which seemed ridiculous after what they had just encountered. I was completely astounded at Wolfie. I knew he had a huge huge heart, but he is proving that he has real guts. So far he is answering every question that is being asked of him. He must have been mentally and physically tired after that hack, but walked home with energy and his ears pricked. J is hilarious. He pulls the grumpiest of faces at Wolfie and you can almost hear him muttering under his breath about 'the state of youth today'. Wolfie absolutely adores J and I think deep down J has a little soft spot for Wolfie too. Wolfie is a one off, he's a quirky little horse and I can honestly say that I have never met any horse before quite like him and I know that I certainly wouldn't ever be able to replace him.

Farewell old friend

2010-04-22T19:15:00.000+01:00

Several years ago I did work experience and trained at a Classical Stud in Manchester. There were over 30 stallions and various youngstock and broodmares of Iberian breeding (including Lusitano and Andalusian) but there was also Friesians, Morgans, various breeds of Arab and Lippizzaners. All the stallions were trained in Classical High School, Circus and Liberty and many performed at demonstrations and events throughout the UK. I heard today that one of the stallions, a magnificent black Lusitano was put to sleep at a grand old age. His legacy will live on in the offspring he sired over the years, many of which are exceptional dressage horses, but many also went on to become successful sports horses. He has three foals due this year. This particular horse holds a very special place in my heart. I hope he is galloping free over the Rainbow Bridge to pastures new.

My time at the stud was magical. It was on the Lusitano that I first experienced the true movements of high school. He was trained to piaffe, passage, ballotade, capriole, levade, etc all of which were effortless for him. I still remember exactly how I felt the first time I sat on him. I won't say I was riding him as he performed these movements on cue and I was just a passenger. I knew even then that being on this horse was a once in a life time experience. The owners of the stud were fantastic. They encouraged and enabled me to ride their amazing horses and their trainer gave me lessons on the various stallions several times a day ridden and from the ground. I rode the Lusitano almost every day I was there. It was an absolute privilege to work beside these amazing and beautiful horses. Their manners, attitude, power and elegance was simply breath taking. The earliest surviving work on many of the principles of classical dressage emphasised training through kindness and reward. These stallions were so proud and they wanted to work. I cherish my time spent there and everything that I learned influenced the way I rode and handled horses following this. I have decided to integrate a little Liberty work to Wolfie. It's something I've thought of doing often, but something else has always taken presedence. However, I think now is as good a time as any, as with the longer days, even if I ride Wolfie, I can always come back later in the evning and do a little Liberty work. I really think it will benefit us both. I am going to get Carolyn Resnick's book, Naked Liberty.

I have also decided to try a little clicker training with Buttons. It's something I have never done before, so it will be a learning curve for us both, but could be good fun. They use clicker training to train assistance horses for the blind in America. I don't know how much of an assistance Buttons would be, but he would make a very good pick pocket. He's pretty smart and enjoys any sort of interaction so I think he might quite enjoy it. So for Buttons I'm going to get Clicker Training for your Horse by Alexandra Kurland. I love horse books. Any excuse to buy more.

I didn't ride today.

Lord of the dance

2010-04-21T20:54:00.000+01:00

The problem with Wolfie not leading and misbehaving has been niggling at me since yesterday. I have heard numerous times over the winter about how mischevious he is in the mornings being difficult to change his rugs and turn out. I've never been able to work it out. I was disappointed in a way as I thought that his ground manners were well established and I felt like I'd failed in a way. He's on assisted DIY livery and gets fed and turned out in the mornings. To be fair I am not there in the mornings to witness this, but any time I have gone up early, he has been absolutely fine. I made a point of going up early this morning to turn him out. As he was going back in with the boys I also wanted to put boots on him. I put brushing boots on all 4 legs and over reach boots on. He stood like a rock. I then wandered him around the yard a little bit before turning him out at the far away gate. He was like a lamb. It would appear that darling boy Wolfie has been leading people on a merry dance thinking he can get away with it. Don't get me wrong, like any youngster he needs reminded every now and then of what is acceptable and what's not, it's just part of his education, but he knows how to behave, he's obviously chosen not to. He has a wicked sense of humour, but he made me smile today. I think also that Wolfie is a horse that needs to have his breakfast and be turned straight out. I like to keep things simple and make life easy for myself. If he's standing in watching the other horses be turned out first, he's just winding himself up.

The horses spent the afternoon today in their summer fields in preparation for going out full time. I went to catch Buttons in thinking he would be reluctant to leave the grass, but he was happy to come in. He loves his stable and his dinner. He only gets a handful of chaff and a carrot to make him think he's getting dinner, but it's obviously worth it to him. His winter coat has taken its time in starting to come out. He's looking a bit scurfy just now. Once he's lost most of his winter coat and the weather is warmer, I think it will be bath time for Buttons. That should be fun, he doesn't like the hose or getting wet

I didn't ride today. I had planned to, but I had several things to do and got stuck in traffic and roadworks for ages. By the time I got back to the yard I was really tired and not motivated. I'm annoyed at myself that I didn't ride, but I will tomorrow.

Walk on

2010-04-20T20:43:00.000+01:00

I hacked Wolfie, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today (gave him Monday off). He's been absolutely brilliant, a total star. We've hacked along the road ourselves to get onto the railway line, he's been very forward and looking at everything, but he's so bold. I like a brave horse. We will just be walking for the next few weeks so it's completely aerobic work, but out of interest I want to try and roughly measure the distance we are covering. I don't always plan my route and take various tracks so working out distances from maps would be difficult. I have thought of strapping a pedometer to his leg, measuring his stride in walk and seeing if that would work. Endurance riders must use something I would imagine. It's not for any scientific fittening reason, just out of interest.

Wolfie has been separated from the rest of the boys and in the paddock with Jake again for the last couple of weeks. They are going back in with the boys tomorrow as the horses are supposedly being turned out for summer this weekend. I don't know if that's such a wise decision with the drop again in temperature and the weather being so unpredictable, but it's not my decision to make. It also means that I am going to have to buy Wolfie a new summer turn out as he shredded his other one. I thought I could have left it a bit longer, but if he's out all the time I need to be prepared for the weather to turn. Apparently Wolfie has been misbehaving and very difficult to lead going to his field in the morning. I turned him out on Saturday and Sunday morning, he was as good as gold, he's been an angel all weekend for me so I'm not going to comment on that.

Time goes by..................so slowly

2010-04-16T05:22:00.000+01:00

I haven't posted much lately, to be honest I haven't been doing anything with Wolfie over the last month. My mum sadly passed away Saturday 10th April and her funeral was yesterday. I suppose I have been fortunate in life that I have never really experienced losing anyone very close to me until now and I have never experienced the pain of true grief, until now.

Normally, I have always found solice in horses. If I am angry or upset, horses have always been where I will turn. Even the smell of the yard and the muck heap is calming, but not this time. I have been going to the stables and mucking the boys out, filling haynets and water buckets because I can do that like a robot. But I feel like something is gone, my heart has just not been in spending any time with them and certainly not riding. I feel that I am carrying a great weight that is so heavy it is sometimes even difficult to walk. That weight is too heavy to burden a young horse with. It has been panicking me that I feel like this. Wolfie senses there is something wrong, he is confused. I am there, but I am not there. His behaviour has been somewhat erratic. He was extremely naughty being shod last week, worse than he has ever been. He has been hauling his rugs down and destroyed one (my fault really as I should have remembered to move them) and he has been undoing the bolts on his stable door and escaping during the night.

Things got to the point last week where I thought for the first time ever that maybe I should sell him. He is a talented horse with alot of potential and I thought he was being wasted with me as I have not worked him consistently since the start of the year. Wolfie is a very sensitive, complex horse. I think that very few people actually know the real Wolfie. On the surface he is full of bravado, he's friendly, cheeky and somewhat arrogant. But there are very few people that have his true trust and respect. After all out time together I am still trying to work out his intrinsic mind. I often think of him as the horse equivalent of the rainman.

But after everything we have been through together in the last 3 years our bond is very strong. Maybe I am not giving him enough credit and he will help share or ease my burden along with time.

I am disappointed that we are not where I expected to be at this time ridden wise, due to various injuries and my mum. I had expectations of getting to some shows, doing some le trec and maybe a dressage test. However, although these goals have not changed, the goal posts have moved. I will get back on and ride Wolfie. We will hack for as long as it takes, to get fitter and happier. We will not worry about outlines and schooling. We will eventually go for a hack with our very good friends H and J and we will canter, the sort of canter where the horses start to get faster and race, your body feels like jelly because you're laughing and adrenalin. You can't really stop and only do when the horses tire or you reach the end of the track. Wolfie being Wolfie will then stick his head between his knees and buck. When we are ready we will school. We will begin jumping. I am going to work very hard to try and get my trailer licence to try and give us some independence. There's a lovely country park about ten minutes drive away that has miles of bridle paths and some cross country fences. We might even take a trip to the beach.

As many people have told me, this will get easier, I really hope so. It will take time, and I have Wolfie and crazy Buttons to help me along the way.

What's your horse's personality?

2010-03-09T22:07:00.000Z

There is a book which enables you to unravel your horse's personality. I took the quiz for both Wolfie and Buttons.

Buttons was..........

The Steady Eddy
If you are a novice or amateur, this is the horse for you. They are quiet and predictable, loving and engaging, willing to learn new things, willing to hang out with you and do nothing. This is not your big ego, career - oriented horse. They are happy just to be. Consistent and loyal, all you need to do is enjoy.

And Wolfie was.........

The Goddess
The Goddess is loved by most of the other horses and most people. They are expressive and sensitive and emotional. You will know how they feel. They try very hard to please and will worry and be anxious if you are not happy with them. In the negative they can have scattered energy that is hard to get focused. this personality can be loved on as much as you want.

That's true for Wolfie, he certainly wears his heart on his sleeve and lets you know everything he's feeling.

Good fun.