Hi Everyone,
Thought it was time to update everyone on the horse health front, as we've certainly had our fair share of problems this year!
Timone has now had his final treatment (around 4 weeks ago) so it has been a long road of box rest, walking out in hand and turning him out in the school. He is wearing round shoes now, and he is not great at keeping shoes on in the field in the winter, so we decided he would have to come and live in to give him the best chance of keeping his shoes on. Timone doesn't mind this at all, as he loves being in with all the attention.
He is now being lunged - meant to be quietly, but he has his moments where he takes off bucking and he is far sounder than he was before treatment. Unfortunately, he is still not completely sound and although he is happy being ridden in walk and lunged, he is still unlevel on his right fore, so unable to do any more work at this point. We're hoping that he will come fully sound eventually, but at least we're at a stage where he's comfy, happy and enjoying himself rather than feeling sore. We don't have any concerns with him continuing like this into the New Year, till we see if he comes fully sound, so you need to keep your fingers crossed for him!
Onto Reggie - who developed a worrying looking crack on his left hind foot and then went lame in the field. We decided to x-ray his back feet to see what was causing the crack, and to see how his foot balance looked as Reggie has always suffered from having dreadful feet - they are small, flat and in poor condition, so it is always a battle for our poor farrier to get shoes on and keep him sound, as well as keep his feet looking good. The x-rays showed that Reggie had poor foot balance, with his pedal bone basically veering off to one side, which was the underlying cause of the crack. Luckily, the x-ray showed no pedal fracture, which we were concerned about and showed that if we could get his foot balance improved, the crack would hopefully go away.
The vet and farrier discussed Reggies shoeing, as he is more problematic than a horse with good foot condition, as he is unable to take wearing heavier metal shoes (such as heart bars). They decided that the best type of shoe for Reggie would be an imprint sports shoe (there are photos of them coming soon on our facebook page), which are made of moulded plastic and basically glue onto the foot. This gives the foot slightly more mobility, meaning that the painful crack can move rather than being fixed in place. After 2 days - what a result! Reggie is now sound and ready to work, although he has had a slight problem when he pulled the plastic shoe off his good foot in his stable! He must know they are very expensive.......
Holly and Abbey are suffering from a bit of a cough this week, we were a bit paranoid and called the vet right away when Holly started coughing, as Chloe had a cough a week before we lost her, but the vet seems confident that it is just a bug that is going round them. They are obviously off work, and on a broncho dilator drug, and Holly has improved already. We often get bugs like this going round the yard every couple of years, so it just needs kept an eye on - Holly and Abbey appear to be enjoying their extra time off!
Speaking of Chloe, some of you may be aware that we requested a post mortem be done on her because we lost her so suddenly with such strange symptoms. Normally, we don't do a post mortem as the cause is obvious and the vet has been involved since the beginning, however with Chloe, we wanted to absolutely rule out that it wasn't something the other horses could catch or suffer from.
Chloes bloods showed that she was having a huge immuno response to something, and more telling, she had blood in her spinal fluid, meaning that she was haemoraging bleeding into her brain, hence why she started fitting suddenly. We also sent her lung and liver tissue away for analysis, which showed that she hadn't been exposed to any toxins, but that she had been bleeding into all her major organs. Although we won't ever have a complete answer, it would appear that Chloe had some kind of very odd response to something which led to her developing a clotting problem, or that she had a large tumour in her lung or close, which basically ruptured.
Whilst it is not an exact answer, it puts our mind at rest that there is nothing more we could have done for Chloe, and that euthanasing her was the right decision in hindsight.
Hopefully our next blog will have less horse health issues!
Friday 16 December 2011
Friday 9 December 2011
Crazy Weather!
Well, luckily we're all still here after the crazy gales that hit Aberdeen yesterday afternoon and evening. Obviously we had to cancel lessons, as we wanted to get all the staff home early and safely, but the horses are also much happier out in the field as they can work out what the noise is with the wind if they are outside - it is much scarier for them in the stable!
The evening managed to pass without incident, other than a slight panic when we thought the roof was blowing off the caravan...... We also lost the exhaust pipe off the tractor and one of the hay rings blew away, but thats pretty good considering how windy it was, and how much damage has been done elsewhere.
The horses had a nice couple of days off as we also had to cancel lessons on Wednesday because the yard was so icy - we couldn't get them in or out from the field, so they stayed cosy in their rugs munching at the hay bale.
We were going to moan about the weather, but then realised that this time last year, we were a foot deep in snow, and had already cancelled tonnes of lessons, so we're getting off lightly this year compared to last year.
The evening managed to pass without incident, other than a slight panic when we thought the roof was blowing off the caravan...... We also lost the exhaust pipe off the tractor and one of the hay rings blew away, but thats pretty good considering how windy it was, and how much damage has been done elsewhere.
The horses had a nice couple of days off as we also had to cancel lessons on Wednesday because the yard was so icy - we couldn't get them in or out from the field, so they stayed cosy in their rugs munching at the hay bale.
We were going to moan about the weather, but then realised that this time last year, we were a foot deep in snow, and had already cancelled tonnes of lessons, so we're getting off lightly this year compared to last year.
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Sad Days, and Xmas excitement
Hi Everyone,
A sad blog today I'm afraid - some of you may be aware that we had to have Chloe put to sleep last Monday - which was a real shock, and very difficult for our staff to deal with.
Chloe had a slight cough a week previously, which was treated with anti-biotics, and when the vet examined her she had some fluid on her lungs. She responded well to the anti-biotics and by last Monday was allowed out in the field for a few hours. She had a lovely day out with Aria, and was in really good health, galloping about the field. She came in around 5p.m. and appeared to have some type of seizure in her stable around twenty minutes later. We called the vet as an emergency, who sedated and thoroughly examined Chloe, but she had such a range of odd symptoms, she was very difficult to diagnose. Whilst the vet was there, her seizures became more regular, with less time in between and she was becoming extremely distressed.
We took the sad decision to put Chloe down - a horse having seizures is obviously extremely dangerous for both the vet and the staff to deal with, and there was no way of controlling it or helping Chloe. We decided that we would carry out a post mortem on Chloe, to ensure that whatever had gone wrong with her was not a danger to any other horses.
Chloes blood results showed that she had a big immunoresponse to something, so had some type of virus, and also that she was bleeding into her brain, which was the reason for the seizures. Luckily, it happened in her stable rather than when she was loose in the field, which could obviously have had catastrophic results. We're just glad that Chloe was with our staff, who all adore her at the end, and that we were able to soothe her and make sure her last couple of hours were as peaceful as possible. It would appear that Chloe was just very unlucky and had an odd response to her cough/virus, which then flared up when she finished her anti-biotics. Chloe was with us for over five years, and was one of the sweetest, nicest horses we have ever had the pleasure of owning. She taught our staff a phenomenal amount towards their Stage exams, and was always very popular for jumping lessons - so RIP Chloe, we hope you're up there with Pumba galloping about the fields and having fun.
On a happier note, we have decided to do a game show/panto this year. "The Equine X Factor" is on Thursday 22nd December at 7.30p.m and involves all the staff and many of the members basically making a fool of themselves! So, if you want to come along and laugh at us all, then make sure you get your tickets soon as we can only sell limited numbers due to the limited space in the school. Tickets cost £5 for children, £7 for adults and £12 for families (up to 2 adults and 3 children).
Hope to see you all there!
A sad blog today I'm afraid - some of you may be aware that we had to have Chloe put to sleep last Monday - which was a real shock, and very difficult for our staff to deal with.
Chloe had a slight cough a week previously, which was treated with anti-biotics, and when the vet examined her she had some fluid on her lungs. She responded well to the anti-biotics and by last Monday was allowed out in the field for a few hours. She had a lovely day out with Aria, and was in really good health, galloping about the field. She came in around 5p.m. and appeared to have some type of seizure in her stable around twenty minutes later. We called the vet as an emergency, who sedated and thoroughly examined Chloe, but she had such a range of odd symptoms, she was very difficult to diagnose. Whilst the vet was there, her seizures became more regular, with less time in between and she was becoming extremely distressed.
We took the sad decision to put Chloe down - a horse having seizures is obviously extremely dangerous for both the vet and the staff to deal with, and there was no way of controlling it or helping Chloe. We decided that we would carry out a post mortem on Chloe, to ensure that whatever had gone wrong with her was not a danger to any other horses.
Chloes blood results showed that she had a big immunoresponse to something, so had some type of virus, and also that she was bleeding into her brain, which was the reason for the seizures. Luckily, it happened in her stable rather than when she was loose in the field, which could obviously have had catastrophic results. We're just glad that Chloe was with our staff, who all adore her at the end, and that we were able to soothe her and make sure her last couple of hours were as peaceful as possible. It would appear that Chloe was just very unlucky and had an odd response to her cough/virus, which then flared up when she finished her anti-biotics. Chloe was with us for over five years, and was one of the sweetest, nicest horses we have ever had the pleasure of owning. She taught our staff a phenomenal amount towards their Stage exams, and was always very popular for jumping lessons - so RIP Chloe, we hope you're up there with Pumba galloping about the fields and having fun.
On a happier note, we have decided to do a game show/panto this year. "The Equine X Factor" is on Thursday 22nd December at 7.30p.m and involves all the staff and many of the members basically making a fool of themselves! So, if you want to come along and laugh at us all, then make sure you get your tickets soon as we can only sell limited numbers due to the limited space in the school. Tickets cost £5 for children, £7 for adults and £12 for families (up to 2 adults and 3 children).
Hope to see you all there!
Friday 4 November 2011
Fireworks Fear!
Hi Everyone! How exciting that its bonfire night tomorrow........ only not so exciting for us horses! We're pretty scared of fireworks, and each year it seems to get a bit worse with more and more fireworks set off around us. Some of the older horses are quite calm about it, and just keep munching their hay, but some of us get so stressed out we need to be sedated by the vet.
We understand that everyone enjoys fireworks night, but wish that people would go to an organised display, or at least let us know if they are going to put fireworks off next to us - so that we can get our ear plugs in and have our staff with us to keep us happy. Unfortunately lots of people don't think to say, so whilst they are having fun in their gardens round Milltimber, us lot are quaking in fear at the farm!
We had several incidents last year when the nursing home at Tornadee (right next door to the paddock) decided to have a big fireworks display. Unfortunately, they decided that the best place to set their fireworks off was behind the wall next to the paddock, so the fireworks came flying over the paddock and the stables that are beside them. We had to call the vet for one horse, and two of the school mares cut their legs as they were in the field beside Tornadee and were galloping about in a blind panic. We contacted the home after the fireworks display to explain the problem, and ask if they could avoid doing it the next year. They agreed that they would discuss it at a meeting and let us know asap if they intended to do a display again in 2011.
Unfortunately, they decided that it was best to have another display this year, despite several polite letters from us and us offering to go and explain to the residents why it is so scary for livestock. Luckily, the new owners of the site have agreed that it is far more sensible to have the display at the Western boundary of their property, rather than over our paddock, so that is a help at least. Having spoken to the council and the police over the last year about it, it is worrying that there is no legislation in place to prevent people letting fireworks off right next door to livestock, but we will just need to keep our fingers crossed that the horses cope tonight and tomorrow night. We have sedation, radios and staff at the ready to deal with it!
More refreshingly, Albyn School PTA have been excellent, and wrote us a very informative letter detailing exactly when their display was at the Milltimber playing fields, which makes it much easier for us to prepare for it. If only everyone thought to do this, life would be a lot easier for our furry friends at this time of year!
On a sadder note, Timone does not seem to be responding well to his recent treatment and medication for his athritis - he is now lame again when being ridden, so we have taken him into his stable and will get Mark to come and see him when he returns from his holiday, as he assessed Timone in the first place. We're not willing to put Timone through having more and more treatment, as he is 15 years old now, and has been a really good horse for us - we think he's owe either a good retirement, or to be put to sleep, so will take the vets advice when he returns and keep everyone updated.
Thats all for now!
oh - nearly forgot! Martin has bought himself a horse from Ireland! Its in isolation at the moment, but is called Bailey and is a big 16.2h.h. chestnut gelding of Irish Draft cross. He's very handsome, and unbacked so you will all see Martin doing lots of lunging and long reining over the next few days and weeks before he jumps onboard!
thanks
We understand that everyone enjoys fireworks night, but wish that people would go to an organised display, or at least let us know if they are going to put fireworks off next to us - so that we can get our ear plugs in and have our staff with us to keep us happy. Unfortunately lots of people don't think to say, so whilst they are having fun in their gardens round Milltimber, us lot are quaking in fear at the farm!
We had several incidents last year when the nursing home at Tornadee (right next door to the paddock) decided to have a big fireworks display. Unfortunately, they decided that the best place to set their fireworks off was behind the wall next to the paddock, so the fireworks came flying over the paddock and the stables that are beside them. We had to call the vet for one horse, and two of the school mares cut their legs as they were in the field beside Tornadee and were galloping about in a blind panic. We contacted the home after the fireworks display to explain the problem, and ask if they could avoid doing it the next year. They agreed that they would discuss it at a meeting and let us know asap if they intended to do a display again in 2011.
Unfortunately, they decided that it was best to have another display this year, despite several polite letters from us and us offering to go and explain to the residents why it is so scary for livestock. Luckily, the new owners of the site have agreed that it is far more sensible to have the display at the Western boundary of their property, rather than over our paddock, so that is a help at least. Having spoken to the council and the police over the last year about it, it is worrying that there is no legislation in place to prevent people letting fireworks off right next door to livestock, but we will just need to keep our fingers crossed that the horses cope tonight and tomorrow night. We have sedation, radios and staff at the ready to deal with it!
More refreshingly, Albyn School PTA have been excellent, and wrote us a very informative letter detailing exactly when their display was at the Milltimber playing fields, which makes it much easier for us to prepare for it. If only everyone thought to do this, life would be a lot easier for our furry friends at this time of year!
On a sadder note, Timone does not seem to be responding well to his recent treatment and medication for his athritis - he is now lame again when being ridden, so we have taken him into his stable and will get Mark to come and see him when he returns from his holiday, as he assessed Timone in the first place. We're not willing to put Timone through having more and more treatment, as he is 15 years old now, and has been a really good horse for us - we think he's owe either a good retirement, or to be put to sleep, so will take the vets advice when he returns and keep everyone updated.
Thats all for now!
oh - nearly forgot! Martin has bought himself a horse from Ireland! Its in isolation at the moment, but is called Bailey and is a big 16.2h.h. chestnut gelding of Irish Draft cross. He's very handsome, and unbacked so you will all see Martin doing lots of lunging and long reining over the next few days and weeks before he jumps onboard!
thanks
Friday 21 October 2011
Wintery Update
BRRRRRrrrrr! Its freezing! We can't believe how much the weather has changed in the last 2 weeks - we have gone from naked horses in the field enjoying the sun, to horses fully rugged with haylage out in their fields to keep them warm.
So whats new at the yard?
Well, firstly there is some sad news. Many of you will know Sarge, one of the livery horses that was owned by Alison and had been with us for years. Sarge sadly passed away in his stable three weeks ago, with a (presumed) heart attack. It was a very quick, peaceful way for Sarge to go, as he knew nothing about it and was happily munching his hay, but our thoughts are obviously with Alison, who had to deal with the shock of losing her best pal so quickly. Alison was very mature in how she dealt with it however, and we are all very proud of her.
We also said a sad goodbye to Deano this month, another livery. Deano had a condition known as "kissing spine" which is basically athritis of the spine. The verterbrae develop new bone at the top, and then touch together when the horse moves, causing obvious pain. Whilst kissing spine is normally treatable, Deano had a very advanced case of it, where his entire spine was practically fused together. Unfortunately, Deano showed no signs or symptoms of the disease until around 5 months ago, at which point he was x-rayed, his spine was medicated and then he was sent to Glasgow for an operation to remove the problematic vertebrae tips. Unfortunately, when they opened Deano up, they discovered that it was far worse than even the x-rays showed, however he was given a chance, he had the operation and then returned home. On his return, it became obvious that he was in quite a bit of pain, so after pain medication from the vet, his owner Tracy made the sad decision to have him put to sleep, as there was no other option for him and we felt he didn't deserve to go through the pain anymore. Tracy did absolutely everything available to Deano, but unfortunately he just shows that however good veterinary science gets, horses still have a way of breaking and not mending. Deano was very lucky in that he had every option available to him, however even with all options, the best decision was still to put him to sleep.
Onto some happier new now! The AGM was popular, with over 30 members attending to hear the accuonts talk and a demo on "indoor x-country", Miro enjoyed doing the demo greatly and showed off by trying to take off and jump everything faster than he was meant to. We had some good suggestions at the AGM, and it was a nice chance for members to catch up with everyone.
We have also booked Aria in to go away and get backed over the winter as she is now 3 yrs old. We have lunged her, long reined her, put on rollers and saddles and she has been very good with all of it, however we have decided that it is fairer to Aria to go away to be backed so that she can be given the time she needs and the regularity of work as we are struggling to get to her each day. Young horses thrive on routine and regular learning, so we hope that in sending her to a professional who has time for her each day, she will have the best start to her ridden career. Although Aria broke her leg as a yearling, it appears to be standing up to the work of lunging, so we are hoping she will remain sound through her backing. She is going to Alison West, who runs West Eventing and has a great reputation for starting youngsters.
Thats all for now
Thanks
So whats new at the yard?
Well, firstly there is some sad news. Many of you will know Sarge, one of the livery horses that was owned by Alison and had been with us for years. Sarge sadly passed away in his stable three weeks ago, with a (presumed) heart attack. It was a very quick, peaceful way for Sarge to go, as he knew nothing about it and was happily munching his hay, but our thoughts are obviously with Alison, who had to deal with the shock of losing her best pal so quickly. Alison was very mature in how she dealt with it however, and we are all very proud of her.
We also said a sad goodbye to Deano this month, another livery. Deano had a condition known as "kissing spine" which is basically athritis of the spine. The verterbrae develop new bone at the top, and then touch together when the horse moves, causing obvious pain. Whilst kissing spine is normally treatable, Deano had a very advanced case of it, where his entire spine was practically fused together. Unfortunately, Deano showed no signs or symptoms of the disease until around 5 months ago, at which point he was x-rayed, his spine was medicated and then he was sent to Glasgow for an operation to remove the problematic vertebrae tips. Unfortunately, when they opened Deano up, they discovered that it was far worse than even the x-rays showed, however he was given a chance, he had the operation and then returned home. On his return, it became obvious that he was in quite a bit of pain, so after pain medication from the vet, his owner Tracy made the sad decision to have him put to sleep, as there was no other option for him and we felt he didn't deserve to go through the pain anymore. Tracy did absolutely everything available to Deano, but unfortunately he just shows that however good veterinary science gets, horses still have a way of breaking and not mending. Deano was very lucky in that he had every option available to him, however even with all options, the best decision was still to put him to sleep.
Onto some happier new now! The AGM was popular, with over 30 members attending to hear the accuonts talk and a demo on "indoor x-country", Miro enjoyed doing the demo greatly and showed off by trying to take off and jump everything faster than he was meant to. We had some good suggestions at the AGM, and it was a nice chance for members to catch up with everyone.
We have also booked Aria in to go away and get backed over the winter as she is now 3 yrs old. We have lunged her, long reined her, put on rollers and saddles and she has been very good with all of it, however we have decided that it is fairer to Aria to go away to be backed so that she can be given the time she needs and the regularity of work as we are struggling to get to her each day. Young horses thrive on routine and regular learning, so we hope that in sending her to a professional who has time for her each day, she will have the best start to her ridden career. Although Aria broke her leg as a yearling, it appears to be standing up to the work of lunging, so we are hoping she will remain sound through her backing. She is going to Alison West, who runs West Eventing and has a great reputation for starting youngsters.
Thats all for now
Thanks
Monday 26 September 2011
Club AGM
Hi Everyone,
Just a quick note to let you know that the club AGM has been set for Tuesday 4th October at 7.30p.m. at the stables. The AGM will take the same format as last year, where Sally will do a 20 - 30 minute talk on the accounts and the year past/ahead and then we will give an educational demo. This years demo is:
"How to get yourself and your horse ready for x-country - indoors".
After the demo, the meeting takes an open floor format where members can make suggestions/chat to the directors or voting members.
Hopefully we'll see lots of you there - if you want to attend (members only) then you can add your name to the list in reception so we know how many seats we need.
Thanks
Just a quick note to let you know that the club AGM has been set for Tuesday 4th October at 7.30p.m. at the stables. The AGM will take the same format as last year, where Sally will do a 20 - 30 minute talk on the accounts and the year past/ahead and then we will give an educational demo. This years demo is:
"How to get yourself and your horse ready for x-country - indoors".
After the demo, the meeting takes an open floor format where members can make suggestions/chat to the directors or voting members.
Hopefully we'll see lots of you there - if you want to attend (members only) then you can add your name to the list in reception so we know how many seats we need.
Thanks
Monday 19 September 2011
Winter fast approaching
How depressing - we moved the horses to their winter fields today. Its depressing because it doesnt' seem like 2 minutes ago we were moving them to their summer fields - summer in the North East seems to be getting shorter and shorter (and wetter and wetter!).
We have also started using the haylage we have made now as quite a few liveries are now in for winter, and it is lovely stuff - the horses seem to be enjoying it a lot! We don't put haylage into the fields yet, as there is still plenty of grass, but come October, it will be time to get the feeders out to the fields again and then the huge task of supplying hay to all the fields starts - we'll be a bit sick of the sight of the tractor by the end of it!
The new riding prices were also implemented in September, and that all seems to go smoothly - hopefully all our members understand that we need to put a price increase in every couple of years to ensure that the club remains solvent and that we can afford to get the best equipment for everyone and afford to give our staff good training - we still think its very good value for money, and it would seem the BHS would agree as we were recently graded as "highly commended" in our inspection.
Some bad news on the horse front this month though - Timone started to go lame in front around 3 weeks ago, so we booked in in for an examination by the vet. The vet did nerve blocks on his right fore - nerve blocks are where the vet anaesthitises specific areas of the leg in order to diagnose where the lameness is coming from. Timone blocked out to his foot, and then when lunged looked a little unlevel on his left fore. The end result was that we booked him in for x-rays of both front legs to investigate the cause of his lameness. He was x-rayed last week and the x-rays confirmed our suspicions that he had low ringbone. Ringbone is athritis in the joint and in low ringbone cases it is athritis of the coffin joint, which is inside the hoof. Timone had a fairly hard jumping career in Europe before he came to join us and has worked really well with us in the school, so at 15 its no surprise that he has developed some type of athritis.
The prognosis is not brilliant for ringbone - the vet has injected the joint with steroids and he will be ridden in a few weeks to assess his soundness. We're hoping that the medication will make him sound enough that he can work through the winter, then be retired in the Spring and probably put to sleep at the end of next summer as we're not willing to keep going with him if he can't be made comfortable in the field. Hopefully the medication will work, as we don't want him to retire over the winter - we'd rather he could retire and enjoy a nice summer out at grass as a reward for his hard work.
Right, think thats all the updates for just now!
We have also started using the haylage we have made now as quite a few liveries are now in for winter, and it is lovely stuff - the horses seem to be enjoying it a lot! We don't put haylage into the fields yet, as there is still plenty of grass, but come October, it will be time to get the feeders out to the fields again and then the huge task of supplying hay to all the fields starts - we'll be a bit sick of the sight of the tractor by the end of it!
The new riding prices were also implemented in September, and that all seems to go smoothly - hopefully all our members understand that we need to put a price increase in every couple of years to ensure that the club remains solvent and that we can afford to get the best equipment for everyone and afford to give our staff good training - we still think its very good value for money, and it would seem the BHS would agree as we were recently graded as "highly commended" in our inspection.
Some bad news on the horse front this month though - Timone started to go lame in front around 3 weeks ago, so we booked in in for an examination by the vet. The vet did nerve blocks on his right fore - nerve blocks are where the vet anaesthitises specific areas of the leg in order to diagnose where the lameness is coming from. Timone blocked out to his foot, and then when lunged looked a little unlevel on his left fore. The end result was that we booked him in for x-rays of both front legs to investigate the cause of his lameness. He was x-rayed last week and the x-rays confirmed our suspicions that he had low ringbone. Ringbone is athritis in the joint and in low ringbone cases it is athritis of the coffin joint, which is inside the hoof. Timone had a fairly hard jumping career in Europe before he came to join us and has worked really well with us in the school, so at 15 its no surprise that he has developed some type of athritis.
The prognosis is not brilliant for ringbone - the vet has injected the joint with steroids and he will be ridden in a few weeks to assess his soundness. We're hoping that the medication will make him sound enough that he can work through the winter, then be retired in the Spring and probably put to sleep at the end of next summer as we're not willing to keep going with him if he can't be made comfortable in the field. Hopefully the medication will work, as we don't want him to retire over the winter - we'd rather he could retire and enjoy a nice summer out at grass as a reward for his hard work.
Right, think thats all the updates for just now!
Friday 12 August 2011
Catching up
Lots of stuff to catch up on as our blog has been broken, so we've been unable to update anything! Anyway, here goes...
We now have 260 bales of haylage wrapped and ready to munch! We are taking a second cut of haylage off the cow fields in order to try and save a bit of money by not having to buy in as much from elsewhere to supplement our own home grown stuff.
We are also raising the price of lessons by £2 as of the 1st September - we've held off having a price rise for nearly 2 years, but unfortunately needs must now and we're experiencing such higher costs, we have no alternative but to increase the price of lessons - however hopefully everyone can see the massive improvements we're making at the moment, with the new shower bay for horses and the x-country jumps.
The x-country jumps are now pegged and ready for use in the field - the bumps that we built will be out of action until next year as we are reseeding them with grass and the ditches are not quite finished yet as we're waiting for the wood to support them. A few of our liveries have already enjoyed using them.
We also said goodbye to Aero this morning as she was put to sleep. We had always planned to put Aero to sleep at the end of this summer as we thought she was struggling a bit last winter, and after a few years retirement, she was ready to go. So big thanks to Aero, who has been a great horse over the years both in the riding school originally, then working as granny to our foals in her later retired years.
We now have 260 bales of haylage wrapped and ready to munch! We are taking a second cut of haylage off the cow fields in order to try and save a bit of money by not having to buy in as much from elsewhere to supplement our own home grown stuff.
We are also raising the price of lessons by £2 as of the 1st September - we've held off having a price rise for nearly 2 years, but unfortunately needs must now and we're experiencing such higher costs, we have no alternative but to increase the price of lessons - however hopefully everyone can see the massive improvements we're making at the moment, with the new shower bay for horses and the x-country jumps.
The x-country jumps are now pegged and ready for use in the field - the bumps that we built will be out of action until next year as we are reseeding them with grass and the ditches are not quite finished yet as we're waiting for the wood to support them. A few of our liveries have already enjoyed using them.
We also said goodbye to Aero this morning as she was put to sleep. We had always planned to put Aero to sleep at the end of this summer as we thought she was struggling a bit last winter, and after a few years retirement, she was ready to go. So big thanks to Aero, who has been a great horse over the years both in the riding school originally, then working as granny to our foals in her later retired years.
Monday 11 July 2011
Lots of news
Loads of exciting news today!
Firstly, big well done to Martin, who passed his Stage 3 with flying colours. It's a difficult exam to get as it involves riding and stable management, but he did really well and got the whole thing so now both Hannah and him are fully qualified!
Our haylage baling also went well - we managed to get 168 bales, which came from the field across the road, the cow fields and the front field nearest the road. This means that we have the mast field and hill field still to cut, and hopefully a second cut from the cow fields and field across the road, so its all go and we're praying for good weather again!
We have also welcomed three new liveries in the last couple of weeks - Toastie - a big grey gelding, Possum - a 14.2h.h. grey mare and Meghan, a 14.2h.h bay mare s0 its nice getting to know all the new ones.
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Jumps have arrived!
Great news - the new jumps arrived on Friday morning so we now have a lovely course of showjumps up in the sand paddock, and cross country jumps waiting to be secured and pegged down into the field. We used the showjumps in our lessons last night, and they went down a storm so the horses seem to like them! As they're wooden, we'll be painting them each year with new colours and designs, so it'll keep them looking fresh.
The cross country jumps also look brill - there are lots of variety with brushes/rolltops/houses e.t.c. We're also planning to get a digger in to do some work to the field to make bumps/ditches e.t.c. so hopefully in around 5 weeks we'll have a new play area in one of the fields!
We're busy on the horse front as well, with 3 new liveries coming in this week - they are all existing clients who have bought new horses, which makes it easier as they know where everythng is and the yard rules, but it is still hard work as each horse has to get settled into its new group, get tack organised and all the other little things that we forget about until its time to get another new one!
The cross country jumps also look brill - there are lots of variety with brushes/rolltops/houses e.t.c. We're also planning to get a digger in to do some work to the field to make bumps/ditches e.t.c. so hopefully in around 5 weeks we'll have a new play area in one of the fields!
We're busy on the horse front as well, with 3 new liveries coming in this week - they are all existing clients who have bought new horses, which makes it easier as they know where everythng is and the yard rules, but it is still hard work as each horse has to get settled into its new group, get tack organised and all the other little things that we forget about until its time to get another new one!
Monday 27 June 2011
Assessments are over and poor Reggie
Yipee! The assessments are finished. Sally has spent the last seven days assessing over 300 weekly riders and she has square eyes from looking at her laptop and repetitive sprain injuries from typing! We were delighted with the standard that everyone rode at in their assessment - we already knew we had great staff, but this just proves it as the standard was higher than ever. The new way of delivering the assessment sheets seems to work well with the riders collecting them the next week, as it saves us running late for each class from giving out the sheets to the previous class. As normal, if anyone has any questions about their assessment, they can just ask Sally or their regular instructor to explain things. It will hopefully be a nice quiet week for everyone now so that they can recover from assessments.
We were also delighted with Hannahs results at Stage 3 - she passed her riding exam with flying colours, making her a full BHS A.I. The stage 3 exam is a difficult one, with a high standard and we're delighted she passed it as she put so much hard work into her riding in the months leading up to the exam. Martin is away doing his today, and his reports back are good so far in that he got through the jumping and flatwork - we'll need to wait 10 days for his results though, so fingers crossed!
On another note, poor Reggie got kicked in the field last night. It was his own fault really, as he has taking to "playing" with his pals Monty and Amos, and was seen climbing on their backs. One of them has obviously given him a kick to his forearm, and he has a small cut and a lot of swelling on it. Our first concern was that it was close to the joint, but it is just above it - however for safetys sake, we will be getting an x-ray done of his leg on Friday to make sure there are no small cracks or fractures. He is sound on it and happy in himself, but we want to be on the safe side as he's such a lovely chap. The small cut on his leg has bled quite a lot as he has nicked a blood vessel, so we're keeping an eye on it and if it doesn't stop the vet will revisit him tonight to try to dress the wound to stop it bleeding.
We were also delighted with Hannahs results at Stage 3 - she passed her riding exam with flying colours, making her a full BHS A.I. The stage 3 exam is a difficult one, with a high standard and we're delighted she passed it as she put so much hard work into her riding in the months leading up to the exam. Martin is away doing his today, and his reports back are good so far in that he got through the jumping and flatwork - we'll need to wait 10 days for his results though, so fingers crossed!
On another note, poor Reggie got kicked in the field last night. It was his own fault really, as he has taking to "playing" with his pals Monty and Amos, and was seen climbing on their backs. One of them has obviously given him a kick to his forearm, and he has a small cut and a lot of swelling on it. Our first concern was that it was close to the joint, but it is just above it - however for safetys sake, we will be getting an x-ray done of his leg on Friday to make sure there are no small cracks or fractures. He is sound on it and happy in himself, but we want to be on the safe side as he's such a lovely chap. The small cut on his leg has bled quite a lot as he has nicked a blood vessel, so we're keeping an eye on it and if it doesn't stop the vet will revisit him tonight to try to dress the wound to stop it bleeding.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Belinda is happy again!
So Belinda has now spend 10 days away from her baby Melody after the initial stressful seperation. We kept her in her stable rather than turning her out after her gate jumping incident, so good old Archie moved in with Melody and Aero to keep them company. We then reintroduced Belinda today who proceeded to chase poor Archie around and annoy him. He is so good though, he just keeps out of the way and looks at Belinda as though she is slightly mad - he's a great companion.
Melody came in and got her feet trimmed today and she was very good, standing to have them trimmed and tidied. More excitingly, for the first time in 2 years we finally managed to get Dinkys back feet trimmed properly. Dinky is terrified of farriers - when we first got her she was very nervous at being handled in general and whilst she has slowly become better and more confident, she still has an issue with getting her feet done. We keep her unshod to reduce her (and the farriers) stress, but it is nearly impossible to lift her back feet. So she was sedated today by the vet with special drugs so she was sleepy and then she didn't really notice her feet being done. Well done Dinky!
Assessments are still being done - we are doing them electronically this year, so our riders will collect their forms a week after their assessments rather than right after the class, but it is working well so far because we can do the assessments faster and keep a clear record of everyones standard for future assessments.
Melody came in and got her feet trimmed today and she was very good, standing to have them trimmed and tidied. More excitingly, for the first time in 2 years we finally managed to get Dinkys back feet trimmed properly. Dinky is terrified of farriers - when we first got her she was very nervous at being handled in general and whilst she has slowly become better and more confident, she still has an issue with getting her feet done. We keep her unshod to reduce her (and the farriers) stress, but it is nearly impossible to lift her back feet. So she was sedated today by the vet with special drugs so she was sleepy and then she didn't really notice her feet being done. Well done Dinky!
Assessments are still being done - we are doing them electronically this year, so our riders will collect their forms a week after their assessments rather than right after the class, but it is working well so far because we can do the assessments faster and keep a clear record of everyones standard for future assessments.
Monday 13 June 2011
New Jumps!
We have ordered our fancy new jumps which we are buying with our membership fees this year. We have ordered a set of 12 wooden show jumps and 15 portable x country jumps. We are hoping that the x country jumps will be put in the runway field (just down from the phone mast) and will be available both for liveries and riding school clients. We're very excited about the x-country jumps in particular, as we've been waiting five years to get some x-country jumps!
Stressful seperation!
Hi folks, we're having an exciting time at the farm this morning. Today was the day that we planned to seperate Belinda and Melody as Melody is confident without her mum now, and is very friendly with Aero, the granny mare that we use to keep the youngsters company!
So we went into the field this morning and caught Belinda in - which didn't bother Melody at all. She just stood at the gate with Aero.
Belinda was a totally different case though - she got herself very worked up for some reason - she was really calm the last time she had a foal weaned (Aria). Anyway, we put Belinda up with the school girls who she is used to from being turned out with them before. This didn't work though as Belinda was squealing and trying to kick the geldings next door over the fence. We intervened quickly as this is how she cut her hind leg before, so we decided to put her up to Murtle Den with Cali and Ben, where there were no geldings next door. Belinda was a bit strong and pushy on the way up the track and when we let her loose in the field she decided to chase Cali and kick her. Ben was not amused by his field friend getting kicked so he went after Belinda, who unfortunately decided trying to jump the gate was the best option. Now Belinda was never the best jumper when she was in ridden work, so unsurprisingly she didnt' manage to clear the 5 foot gate. However, she landed on it with her chest so the gate gave way and crumpled underneath her. She then got up, miraculously unhurt and took off past us back down the farm track. We phoned the other staff quickly and got the road gates shut but Belinda was quickly back down at the field gate, speaking to Melody. We were so pleased that she didn't hurt herself during all the excitement, so we've now decided to stable her for the next couple of days and will then try turning her out again. Poor old Belly - if only she would relax a bit and go out to a nice field!
So we went into the field this morning and caught Belinda in - which didn't bother Melody at all. She just stood at the gate with Aero.
Belinda was a totally different case though - she got herself very worked up for some reason - she was really calm the last time she had a foal weaned (Aria). Anyway, we put Belinda up with the school girls who she is used to from being turned out with them before. This didn't work though as Belinda was squealing and trying to kick the geldings next door over the fence. We intervened quickly as this is how she cut her hind leg before, so we decided to put her up to Murtle Den with Cali and Ben, where there were no geldings next door. Belinda was a bit strong and pushy on the way up the track and when we let her loose in the field she decided to chase Cali and kick her. Ben was not amused by his field friend getting kicked so he went after Belinda, who unfortunately decided trying to jump the gate was the best option. Now Belinda was never the best jumper when she was in ridden work, so unsurprisingly she didnt' manage to clear the 5 foot gate. However, she landed on it with her chest so the gate gave way and crumpled underneath her. She then got up, miraculously unhurt and took off past us back down the farm track. We phoned the other staff quickly and got the road gates shut but Belinda was quickly back down at the field gate, speaking to Melody. We were so pleased that she didn't hurt herself during all the excitement, so we've now decided to stable her for the next couple of days and will then try turning her out again. Poor old Belly - if only she would relax a bit and go out to a nice field!
Friday 3 June 2011
We're back blogging
Apologies for the delay! Things have been very busy at ARC, so there is a lot to catch up with! So here goes with all the latest:
Sadly, we had Peggy put down at the end of April - she came in slightly lame from the field and deteriorated rapidly over the next few days till we felt her best and only option was to put her to sleep peacefully on the Saturday night. It was very sad as Peggy had been part of our team for a long time, but at least she had a peaceful dignified end.
We have also taken charge of 2 new ponies:
Caley is a 14.2h.h connemara cross, who has been purchased by the RDA to hopefully work with them. As the RDA only ride three days a week, Caley will also work with us in lessons, which also helps to keep her well schooled for the RDA. Caley arrived on 31st May and she is on one months trial as whilst she is a sweet pony, it takes a very certain type of pony to be good at RDA, so she will be ridden by our staff initially and then used by an able bodied rider in the RDA sessions to see how she behaves. Watch this space for a future report.
The club has also now taken ownership of Boyo, who has been a privately owned pony at Oldfold for over 8 years. Boyo was initially up for sale from his owner Valerie, when Julia finished loaning him, however he came down with a bout of laminitis again (a grass related issue in his case) which made him more difficult to sell. Although we weren't looking for another school pony, we offered to take over ownership of Boyo to make sure he could stay at the farm. So we signed him over on Wednesday and our vets will now continue his laminitis care before he does any work.
So hopefully the new ones will work out well.
We have also been doing a bit of work with Aria, the club 3 year old. She has now worn a roller (used prior to putting a saddle on), has been lunged and has worn her first bridle and had someone lie over her back in her stable. She seemed to take to it all very well so fingers crossed she will continue to be so easy!
Sadly, we had Peggy put down at the end of April - she came in slightly lame from the field and deteriorated rapidly over the next few days till we felt her best and only option was to put her to sleep peacefully on the Saturday night. It was very sad as Peggy had been part of our team for a long time, but at least she had a peaceful dignified end.
We have also taken charge of 2 new ponies:
Caley is a 14.2h.h connemara cross, who has been purchased by the RDA to hopefully work with them. As the RDA only ride three days a week, Caley will also work with us in lessons, which also helps to keep her well schooled for the RDA. Caley arrived on 31st May and she is on one months trial as whilst she is a sweet pony, it takes a very certain type of pony to be good at RDA, so she will be ridden by our staff initially and then used by an able bodied rider in the RDA sessions to see how she behaves. Watch this space for a future report.
The club has also now taken ownership of Boyo, who has been a privately owned pony at Oldfold for over 8 years. Boyo was initially up for sale from his owner Valerie, when Julia finished loaning him, however he came down with a bout of laminitis again (a grass related issue in his case) which made him more difficult to sell. Although we weren't looking for another school pony, we offered to take over ownership of Boyo to make sure he could stay at the farm. So we signed him over on Wednesday and our vets will now continue his laminitis care before he does any work.
So hopefully the new ones will work out well.
We have also been doing a bit of work with Aria, the club 3 year old. She has now worn a roller (used prior to putting a saddle on), has been lunged and has worn her first bridle and had someone lie over her back in her stable. She seemed to take to it all very well so fingers crossed she will continue to be so easy!
Thursday 21 April 2011
Sunday 27 February 2011
Spring has sprung!
We've enjoyed some brilliant weather the last few days at the yard. The grass is finally starting to grow, the horses have had their thicker rugs off and we've been able to ride outside!
It's so nice to get back out into the fields and the sand paddock, so long may it continue. We even managed to have our lunch outside on Friday!
We have moved the school mares field, it was so muddy we were losing boots when going to catch them! We are moving the school boys on Wednesday - its disappointing to have to use a "summer" field so early in the year, but it has been so wet and disgusting we don't have much choice!
We have also been busy this week filling in the pot holes, and adding surface to the indoor school, so its been nice to catch up some of the jobs!
It's so nice to get back out into the fields and the sand paddock, so long may it continue. We even managed to have our lunch outside on Friday!
We have moved the school mares field, it was so muddy we were losing boots when going to catch them! We are moving the school boys on Wednesday - its disappointing to have to use a "summer" field so early in the year, but it has been so wet and disgusting we don't have much choice!
We have also been busy this week filling in the pot holes, and adding surface to the indoor school, so its been nice to catch up some of the jobs!
Thursday 24 February 2011
Exams, exams and more exams!
We've been very busy in February getting our staff prepared for, and booking exams for them.
Firstly, congratulations to Kim Masson, who passed her Stage One complete at the start of February. Kim designs our website, and keeps her horse Sam with us on livery, so her BHS exams are more for her own development. She did well in the exam and is now looking forward to her Stage 2 towards the end of the Summer.
We also have Martin and Hannah booked in for their next exams, so they'll be busily preparing over the spring for them - best of luck to them all!
Danny has his Stage 2 exam in April, which he is sitting down in England and combining it with a holiday at home.
Good luck to all of them - sure you'll do the club proud!
Firstly, congratulations to Kim Masson, who passed her Stage One complete at the start of February. Kim designs our website, and keeps her horse Sam with us on livery, so her BHS exams are more for her own development. She did well in the exam and is now looking forward to her Stage 2 towards the end of the Summer.
We also have Martin and Hannah booked in for their next exams, so they'll be busily preparing over the spring for them - best of luck to them all!
Danny has his Stage 2 exam in April, which he is sitting down in England and combining it with a holiday at home.
Good luck to all of them - sure you'll do the club proud!
Monday 14 February 2011
Comic Relief and RGU
We're busily gearing up to do some serious fundraising for Comic Relief. We've got the following things planned:
- Lesson donation - for every lesson paid for in cash on Saturday, we will donate £5 to Comic Relief. We are hoping that lots of our members (even those who ride on Block Booking Cards and Standing orders) will pay in cash that day to help boost the fundraising.
- We are selling cupcakes made by one of our liveries specially for Comic Relief.
- We have a Comic Relief sweepstake in reception
- We are donating all proceeds from the tea and coffee donations to Comic Relief.
- We are organising "photos on your favourite pony" for £20. £20 gets you a nice print and a jpeg of the photos. The full £20 from each session will be donated to Comic Relief.
So - we're hoping that everyone will dig deep and get their pennies out for this great cause!
We'd also like to say a big well done to RGU riding team (A), who have qualified for the regional championships. They won the Aberdeen uni competition, and their home one at Oldfold and then the Dundee uni one, making them the leaders by miles! Fingers crossed they get on brilliantly at the regionals!
A big well done also to our horses who did so well in the uni competition here - Freddie, Abbey, Charlie and Chloe who did the dressage, and Timone, Scrufty, Hagrid and Eric who did the jumping. They all performed really well and had a good day.
Monday 24 January 2011
Young horse update!
So, its been a while since we've told you guys about our youngsters. We have 3 on the farm at the moment - Blaze, Aria and Melody.
Blaze is a 5 yr old, fairly green welsh cob who had been backed a few weeks before we bought him. He did quite a bit of work with Hannah leading up to Xmas, and was happily walk/trotting and cantering, and crossing a small jump. We then gave Blaze a bit of time off over Xmas to have a wee rest, and absorb what he'd learned - often giving them a little break gives them time to mature a bit more, and they come back to work keen and ready to learn again.
Blaze is now back into work and has done a bit of flatwork and lunging. Our plan with Blaze is to reassess him around April time and decide then whether he will continue on with his training and become a school horse, or decide whether he should be sold on privately, as he has a lovely temperament and way of going. We'll keep you updated!
Aria has now reached a very busy point in her life! She will be 3 years old in April, so has started coming in each day to be groomed, get used to standing in, being tied up, having rugs changed e.t.c. She has previously been handled regularly, been introduced to a rug, met the farrier and stood in a stable, but her learning will progress fairly rapidly now. Our plan is to spend a few days getting Aria used to coming in each day, then introduce her to work in hand in the indoor school - she's never been in there, so that will be an experience for her! Once she is confident with her handling in the school, we will introduce basic lunging and long reining in walk and trot. She will also have a bridle introduced (happy mouth bit) and have a roller (girth type thing) put on. Once she is lunging in a bridle and roller, we will introduce a saddle, flappy stirrups, funny noises and anything else that she may have to become experienced with.
Finally, we will lean a rider over her back, then sit them up on top of her, then ask her to walk a few steps with a rider. At this stage, we normally then give the horse another few months off, before picking up their training again in August/September time. It is all totally dependant on how the horse reacts to the work though, and what their temperament is like. Aria has been very confident and forward so far, so hopefully this will remain the same for her training.
Melody will be a year old in May, so is 8 months old at the moment. She is a big girl, and is still living out with mum (Belinda) and surrogate granny Aero. She is no longer expecting milk from Belinda, and eats haylage with the other two, so is becoming more grown up and independant. Belinda will soon be reintroduced to ridden work, which will start the seperation process between her and Melody - Melody will stay in the field with granny Aero whilst Belinda is taken in to do a bit of work. Melody will continue with basic handling this year - leading in headcollar, tying up, standing in stable. She is already happy in a stable, as when it reached -18 in December, we took pity on her and took her in for the night! She loved the whole stable idea, and is delighted now if she comes in to get a groom/feed.
Blaze is a 5 yr old, fairly green welsh cob who had been backed a few weeks before we bought him. He did quite a bit of work with Hannah leading up to Xmas, and was happily walk/trotting and cantering, and crossing a small jump. We then gave Blaze a bit of time off over Xmas to have a wee rest, and absorb what he'd learned - often giving them a little break gives them time to mature a bit more, and they come back to work keen and ready to learn again.
Blaze is now back into work and has done a bit of flatwork and lunging. Our plan with Blaze is to reassess him around April time and decide then whether he will continue on with his training and become a school horse, or decide whether he should be sold on privately, as he has a lovely temperament and way of going. We'll keep you updated!
Aria has now reached a very busy point in her life! She will be 3 years old in April, so has started coming in each day to be groomed, get used to standing in, being tied up, having rugs changed e.t.c. She has previously been handled regularly, been introduced to a rug, met the farrier and stood in a stable, but her learning will progress fairly rapidly now. Our plan is to spend a few days getting Aria used to coming in each day, then introduce her to work in hand in the indoor school - she's never been in there, so that will be an experience for her! Once she is confident with her handling in the school, we will introduce basic lunging and long reining in walk and trot. She will also have a bridle introduced (happy mouth bit) and have a roller (girth type thing) put on. Once she is lunging in a bridle and roller, we will introduce a saddle, flappy stirrups, funny noises and anything else that she may have to become experienced with.
Finally, we will lean a rider over her back, then sit them up on top of her, then ask her to walk a few steps with a rider. At this stage, we normally then give the horse another few months off, before picking up their training again in August/September time. It is all totally dependant on how the horse reacts to the work though, and what their temperament is like. Aria has been very confident and forward so far, so hopefully this will remain the same for her training.
Melody will be a year old in May, so is 8 months old at the moment. She is a big girl, and is still living out with mum (Belinda) and surrogate granny Aero. She is no longer expecting milk from Belinda, and eats haylage with the other two, so is becoming more grown up and independant. Belinda will soon be reintroduced to ridden work, which will start the seperation process between her and Melody - Melody will stay in the field with granny Aero whilst Belinda is taken in to do a bit of work. Melody will continue with basic handling this year - leading in headcollar, tying up, standing in stable. She is already happy in a stable, as when it reached -18 in December, we took pity on her and took her in for the night! She loved the whole stable idea, and is delighted now if she comes in to get a groom/feed.
Thursday 20 January 2011
Newsletters
Our January newsletter is now out in reception, and available electronically if you sign up for it on our website. The electronic version is great - delivered right to your mailbox, so you can be sure that you are keeping up to date with all the latest news.
Our stable management bookings open this coming Monday at 10.00a.m so if you want to book a space for the Easter courses (beginner and novice), its best to call us early on Monday or come in past in person. The courses have a £30 booking deposit which guarantees you your space and pony of choice. Stable management courses are great for building confidence and improving riding as there is loads of pony handling practice and a riding lesson each day. Easter still seems so far away, but hopefully we'll have some nice weather by then!
Our stable management bookings open this coming Monday at 10.00a.m so if you want to book a space for the Easter courses (beginner and novice), its best to call us early on Monday or come in past in person. The courses have a £30 booking deposit which guarantees you your space and pony of choice. Stable management courses are great for building confidence and improving riding as there is loads of pony handling practice and a riding lesson each day. Easter still seems so far away, but hopefully we'll have some nice weather by then!
Sunday 16 January 2011
Respite from Crazy Weather
Thank goodness - its thawed! We've had some wild weather these last few weeks - its now been six weeks since we've been able to run a full diary of lessons for a whole week.
We've had the lot - snow too deep to get up the road, -14 degrees leaving us with a frozen surface, and then ice that was so treacherous, we couldn't get the horses in from the field!
It has melted for the timebeing though, so we're all taking advantage of it and riding outside whilst we can - the horses get pretty bored of the indoor school during winter!
The school horses and ponies have all loved it - they live outside anyway, so when the weather is too bad for lessons, they just get extra rations of haylage and munch away so some of their waistlines are a bit bigger than they were before Xmas!
We've had the lot - snow too deep to get up the road, -14 degrees leaving us with a frozen surface, and then ice that was so treacherous, we couldn't get the horses in from the field!
It has melted for the timebeing though, so we're all taking advantage of it and riding outside whilst we can - the horses get pretty bored of the indoor school during winter!
The school horses and ponies have all loved it - they live outside anyway, so when the weather is too bad for lessons, they just get extra rations of haylage and munch away so some of their waistlines are a bit bigger than they were before Xmas!
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