Happy Halloween

As promised my Halloween post, sadly this year we don't have any cheap devil horns to put on the horses and take funny photos of them, oh well another year maybe. I had planed to do quite a long post but I've left it rather late so it'll have to be a short one.

My family and I are off to watch The Shining tonight at our local cinema, but as this is a horsey blog if you were thinking of a horror film tonight I'd have to recommend Sleepy Hollow can't beat that good old headless horsemen horror with Johnny Depp, plus I think it's a better film than The Shining but each to their own, and whatever you have planned have fun.

Happy Halloween.

Moving to the River

 I mentioned moving the equines rather a long time ago and I haven't really done a proper post on the matter since then so here we go. If you'll take a look at the photo above you can see they've all been moved safe and sound, but the question is where have they been moved to? Although if you look at the post title it does kinda give that one away, yes they've been moved next to the river.

But more on that in a bit because now I want to show the photos of our stables being moved yes we had them moved too, here they are with the roof and doors off, looking a little over grown out the front. Also I got to help take them down which was actually quite good fun, odd I know.

 And this is them with the whole front and roof taken off.

Here's the roof after it had been loaded up, not all of the stable parts could be moved like this due to weight limits but the roof was ok.

And now this is the stable going up on the new land, as you can see they are fairly sheltered by the conifers which is nice.

And finally this is the roof going on.

Done, one four block complete with horses and the beginnings of a nice black paint job, that has sadly had to be put on hold due to rain, but let's hope we can get that done some sunny day soon.

Now on to what we've got at our new yard, well we have 7 gates 3 of which are metal yeah that's right we're living the life! Fine so we haven't got much here in fact we don't even have water we have to bring it from home, but that's working out ok for now, while we can still drive it down but I think it'll get hard when we can't drive down in the winter.

Here's a quick pic of our winter forage, see plenty for all they are 300kg bales, the horses are loving the stuff and all putting a nice bit of weight on for the winter, now while on the note of food I have news about Tipper.

This is an old photo of Tipper as I haven't had the camera with me the last few days. Sometime ago we had the dentist come out to do Tippers teeth but after taking a look he said that Tipper was going to need a lot of work done, and we all agreed that he wasn't going to be well behaved enough to have it done without being sedated. So Niko got done that day instead, and we had to book the vet to come at the same time as our dentist but the vet let us down the first time which was a real shame because of how long the waiting list is for the dentist. Well anyway we re-booked and this time we weren't let down and it all went very well so now Tipper is munching with the best of them, which is lovely to see.

But now back to the new yard I've shown you the gates, food, stables, and horses so now to the river and well here it is in all it's muddy splendor, it's actually pretty nice to be next to the river and we've been informed that it hasn't flooded for years and years, but having said that I wouldn't believe a word from the person that told me that so I guess I am just going to have to see for myself.

And as I oh so slowly come to the end of this post I'd like to point out a few other things we have here, post and rail on some parts, a road literally next to us, a creepy shed, some really big holes, and lots and lots of junk left here by our beloved lazy person who will not be named. But honestly it's pretty good here so no worries.

Oh and finally before I stop going on Halloween is nearly here so expect to be seeing a spooky post around here. Well that's it from me now I hope you are all having a truly glorious time of life, if not just a good time will do.

Congratulations if you read to the end of this long slightly rambling post and thanks.

Motivational Monday

 "Pain is temporary quitting is forever" ~ Lance Armstrong quote

This image is free for re-use so long as the quote's author and myequstrianworld.blogspot address are left visible.

How's My Riding?

I was doing a bit of flat work yesterday here are some of the photos. As no doubt you can see we've been rather lackadaisical towards getting the ragwort up due to the fact that we will soon be leaving, and our horses and ponies don't have a taste for it anyway. but back to the part of this post about flat work.

  

Niko was a fairly good sport about it, although I would have appreciated having my schooling whip but it seems I've misplaced it again still I was happy with the way it went. I don't currently have a instructor so I've got no one to tell me about the multitude of things I am doing wrong, so feel free to really go for it with that creative criticism.

A few things I am already aware of, one, I keep looking down, two, I haven't got Niko's hindquarters engaged enough, and three, I perhaps lean forward a tad too much sometimes, so any tips or advice would be rather helpful.

  

On a note unrelated to this photo when I try walking Niko on a long rein he is happy to have a good stretch and go nicely long and low but I find it hard to keep him this way, I was under the impression that when a horse is walked on a loose rein his poll should be lower than his withers which Niko's is but never for as long as I'd like, so any thoughts or help on that I would appreciate.

Visibly leaning forward in this photo bad me. I guess I need to get myself a instructor but that won't happening at least till the move so I've got a bit of waiting to do.

And now we come to the end of the post with this last photo, Niko looks nice I think, but he could do with being more engaged, and I am looking down. anyways that's it for my post today I'll have more up soon if all goes to plan.

Sherwood Forest New Derby Boot Review

Today I'll be reviewing my new boots as promised. They are Sherwood Forest New Derby Zip Jodhpur boots, now I quote the tag "Developed for country sports specifically hunting, shooting and equine enthusiasts, the country sports collection from Sherwood Forest fills the void in country wear market." Ok well I am not sure I'd say "fills the void" but on to the review. As you can see the boots have embellished toe caps helping with style and of course boot strength, they also have front zips, elasticated ankle area all adding to a more snug feel and better ankle support, the boots also have pull on tabs if you care to use them.

As you can see here the boot has a fairly standard sole for a jodhpur boot, which is a good thing a boot with too much grip can be very dangerous this boot has just the right amount, also the boot isn't too wide so all in all the boot is quite safe in the event of a fall.

And now we come to the heel of  the boot it's a bit dirty yes but these boots had to be tried and tested, the heel has a spur rest although this photo cuts it off, just, it is there, nothing great but if you should wish to use spurs it's there. So now we come to the final opinion of the boot, it looks quite nice nothing too amazing, it is fairly well made and shouldn't fall apart on you, it is safe, and it is very affordable.

So it's a nice looking boot suitable for everyday use and riding at home with great value, but if you are looking for a boot with all the bells and whistles that will really catch the eye of the crowd at a show this is not it.

All in all the Sherwood Forest New Derby boot is good.

Motivational Monday

 click to enlarge

I've decided to do a Motivational Monday post every Monday with a photo and motivational quote, the image is free for re-use so long as the quote's author and myequstrianworld.blogspot address are left visible

Zoom Pony Jump!

 

Hello all, this post was supposed to come a lot sooner than it did but better late than never, so on to the post.

It's about jumping, I've been doing a lot of jumping of late, sadly I've only got photos of Murphy and I jumping, as you can see we did get some more tires to make bigger jumps. I think this photo shows Murphy has quite a nice jump although he can jump higher than this it's too tough on him for his experience at the moment.

And here's another of him looking quite beautiful over this jump and nicely tucked up too, plus you can see my own fine jumping ability, ok so maybe I won't be going over the bigger jumps with him.

 

I've also been doing plenty of jumping with Niko but I've got no photos of that so you'll just have to see that another day, but as you can just about see in this photo I have new boots! More on this in another post where I shall review said boots.

 

And finally a photo of our three beloved thoroughbreds that I have edited with some good advice. Well that's it for me for now anyway.

Equine Photos

Recently we've been looking for somewhere new for the horses to live, we've been to see a few places, but we aren't sure if we'll move to any of them yet, and also there has been some trouble with haylage because a lot of it has been moldy, so that's my excuse for the most recent blog neglect not great I know.

Now onto a different note here are some photos I edited.

I did this one first. I was just playing around but I was advised to blog it, I thought that if I was going to blog it I should do one for all our equines.

I did this one for Niko, I was planning on giving him a military feel to his photo but after awhile it ended up with this old film look, which I think rather suits him.

This one I messed about with a lot and got this which I see as a kind of magic dark fairytale look, and yes that was probably a very bad description of this photos theme.

When I did Pippin's photo I wanted him to have something cool, but couldn't find anything I was happy with in the end I did this, and although it's not what I was looking for I do think all four Pips look very cool.

And finally we have Madeline's photo it's very bright and colorful with the rainbow effect, I know but I think it looks ok.

Well that's it for now I hope you liked the photos and if you had a favorite I'd love to hear it. More posts on the way very soon.

Not Bad for Six Tires and Three Logs

Here's just a quick post on some easy to make jumps, using just six tires (or tyres as we Englishmen spell it) and three logs. To start with here's a nice small jump, see above, with two of the tires at the sides of the jump to make a run out far less likely, and it's a cross, all in all a very inviting little jump, plus it's so small you can jump it at the walk.

 

This one is a little bigger but still inviting and easy to jump. The logs that we are using are all fairly heavy so if the horse does hit them he knows and won't want to do it again, but as you can clearly see the jumps are not solid so injury isn't so likely.

 

Now here is a more interesting and fun jump, a very nice little spread, everyone likes spread jumps right?

 

And finally we have some cavaletti which is quite nice and of course good for your horse.

So that's pretty much it they are all very small jumps but fun and hopefully we'll soon be dealing with the size issue by getting some more tires, and the best part is they are free because car workshops would normally have to pay to have them removed, so they are more than happy to give them to us, it's a win win

                                               Almost forgot horse photo, need one of those.

Hey I'm Back

Hello everybody it's been quite sometime since my last post, but I find myself looking back through my blog and feeling that I should continue it, so here I am. 

It's probably best if I start with a report on how all our equines are doing, this was going to be the bit were I go into great depth about how they are all doing but to be honest they are nearly always doing the same, they are happy, not working much, eating lots, and generally living the life of Riley.

And here are some shots of them all just so you can hopefully get used to seeing their lovable little faces again.

Here are some reminders of who they are just in case you are new to the blog or honestly just forgot about them.

Above is No Keep, his stable name is Niko but I have a tendency to swap between Booboo and Niko, he does most of the work out of our equines.

Above is Madeline Araxie, stable name well it kind of changes a lot but mostly just Mady she is the only mare in the herd and obviously the boss of the herd too, she doesn't do much work but she helps keep everybody in line.

This is Bold Hawk, stable name Tipper he's a lovely chap not a lot of use yet but he seems to be enjoying his relaxed lifestyle with us, and who knows he may find himself with a job to do soon.

This is Murphy Junior, seen on the left, stable name Murphy he is full of mischief and energy which makes him rather good fun to be around, I am currently hoping to do horse agility with him he's pretty good at what he's done so far.

And this is Bayfields Pippin Lord Derby, and yes I know big name for such a small pony, we normally just call him Pip. He is the only male horse that is still entire in the herd, I did want to have him gelded but that hasn't worked out just yet, still he is mostly a perfect little gentleman with me so I guess I can't ask for more than that.

So there you go that's the lot of our herd big and small I'll be doing a new post soon with more of a subject other than hey I'm back.

Well I hope you have all been happy and healthy in my absence, if I get the time I'll try to stop by your blogs and see what you've been up too.