It Flooded

After a very long break from blogger I have returned to bring you all adorable photos of ponies and horses, and also to fill you in on what has happened during my absences on blogger. So let's start with the riverbank as it was the last place you all saw the equines. I didn't like the land owner and it wasn't really suitable for horses but to be honest I was pretty much forced into it, so what happened? I think you can guess it's a riverbank, it flooded, of course it had to flood at night while all the horses and ponies were boxed.

    

All the paddocks on the riverbank are in a straight line leading down to the stables, because of the very bad set up we had to walk through or drive through these paddocks just to get down to the horses everyday. So anyways we got a phone call telling us that the riverbank was flooding and we might want to check on the horses, when we turned up the first paddock was flooding rather fast, so I started walking down to get Niko and my mother went to see if she could get the key to open the big gate that was closer to the stables than the gate I had come in from. By the time I finally got to the stables the water was a little lower than my chest, so understandably the horses were getting quite upset in their boxes, but seeing how high the water was getting I couldn't let them out or they might have ended up in the river at night, which would have ended in tragedy I'm sure.

So I head collared Niko and got him out of his box, when he was out of his box he was as good as gold walking through the flood waters, we made it to the big gate with little trouble, unfortunately the chap that had the key for the big gate had left, I might add that he left knowing full well that the riverbank was flooding and that we would need to get our horses off, so there I was stuck behind a really big gate holding Niko while the riverbank flooded. Yay! ain't horse ownership grand.

So off my mother went to find the guy or something like that, after what seemed like an age of standing in flood water during the middle of the night talking to Niko she finally got back, about time too, one of my brothers and the guy with the key were with her so they got the gate open and my mother took Niko for me.

     

Then my brother and I went down the road that runs next to the riverbank till we got on the part of the road just above the stables, I told him to stay up on the road as he is not horsey and wouldn't be able to help me with them, when I came to the boxes I checked to see how everyone was doing luckily the stable doors were keeping lots of the water out, so it wasn't as high in the boxes, however Tipper was getting very upset at this point so I decided to take him next. Looking back maybe not my best idea. He came charging out of his box and nearly knocked me over, then as we left the paddock with the stables in it he went kinda crazy bucking and did knock me over, being knocked into dirty flood water by a crazy TB is perhaps the least fun thing I have done and I will definitely avoid it happening again. Luckily I did keep hold of him and got up, then Tipper decided he wasn't going to leave the paddock from either of the two gateways and in the end we had to climb up onto the road through barbed-wire, fortunately my brother helped hold the wire out of the way.

So we made it out with Tipper but by this time I was freezing cold and looking like a drowned rat I'm sure, honestly I didn't think I'd be able to get the others out by myself, so much to my shame we had to get the fire brigade in and after many more hours of being wet and cold all the horses were out and safe.  

 

We had the help of friends and other horsey people to move our five equines onto a new bit of land that they overwintered on, sadly with no boxes but they all came through winter in good condition. Then the time came to move them off of our friends land, luckily we were able to rent an orchard just across the road from the orchard they had been living in before we had to move them to the riverbank, now all is going well and everyone is happily enjoying summer.

All the photos that have been used in this post are of the equines in their new home. I still have a bit more to tell you all about what's been happening while I've been away from blogger but as I've rambled on for so long about the flood I think I'll save it for another post.  

I hope you're all well and that you and your equines are all enjoying summer.

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.

Not Much To Say

I haven't got a lot to say just a small report on whats going on.

It's starting to dry up, oh so slowly, so if the rain can hold off I'll finally get some riding in.

Also I realized that I didn't actually tell you guys how our equines are getting on so I will now, for the most part they are doing well. Madeline has perhaps a bit too much energy because they are staying in over night at the moment, Pip is well and still hasn't been gelded and now I am starting to wonder if he's ever going to get gelded but on the plus side he is so well behaved that he is really no problem, Murphy is good as ever and was working on bowing for me but now it's so muddy that's on standby, Tipper is really good and he has filled out so much since I got him, and of course Niko is his normal well behaved, calm self, I did get him to bow as well as Murphy which was nice because he is a full sized horse rather than a very little pony.

Oh and I have joined Facebook and have a fan page for my blog so if you happen to be a fan of my blog and have Facebook please go ahead and like the page, also feel free to add me as a friend If you want.

And finally just before I go I'd like to say thanks to you all for sticking around despite my long absence from blogger, and hello to my new follower thanks for following hope you enjoy the blog.

   
             

Swede on a Rope and Other News

I love feeding the horses and ponies be it hay, haylage or just giving them treats, so recently I made the ponies and Niko a Swede on a rope. Murphy loves a Swede so I knew it would be a success with him. I put two Swedes up for the ponies, one each, and one for Niko. Madeline and Tipper have not yet got rings to hang anything on in their boxes so they must wait for their Swede on a rope.

  
As you can see from this photo Niko wasn’t overly keen on his one, but the ponies ate both of their’s in one night, Niko still has the Swede in his box to nibble on if he wishes to.

In other news we’ve had some really nice weather here and the equines have all been out with no rugs. So everything has dried out a lot and Niko has had a good long holiday to give him time to heal any little strains or unseen injuries and to just generally relax and have some fun. But now that he has been rested and the ground is dry it may be time to start work again but that depends on how the ground is tomorrow as it did start to rain a little before we left today.

 Also now the weather is getting better I have started thinking about all the others and their work, I need to start some real work with Madeline and Tipper to let me see what discipline suits them best.

Anyway that is all for a later date, and for now I will content myself with fitting tie rings, and other trivial tasks. I hope everything is going well for you lot and that you too are enjoying better weather.

Niko Gets the Dentist

Niko had a visit from the equine dentist the other day, and I am pleased to say that everything is in good order. I was a little worried about his front teeth as he has worn them away lots from cribbing on his stable door but the dentist informs me that it’s nothing to worry about. You can take a look at the photo above to see what work the dentist did on Niko’s teeth.

So it all went rather well and I was very relieved, as Niko hadn’t had his teeth done in quite some time. Tipper also had the dentist’s help, I not sure if I’ve mentioned this on my blog before but Tipper had two baby teeth that were late to come out and we left them to see if they’d come out with a bit more time, one did and the other did not, so the dentist was kind enough to remove it for us free of charge.

So all in all very happy with the dentist and very happy that all Niko’s teeth were in good order.

Now before I go I’d like to say hello and thanks for following to my newest follower. I am just one off the 50 mark, not long now ;) sad I know.

Just an Update

  
All the snow here has melted and we’ve had a few day of dry weather so everywhere has dried out nicely, the horses are still enjoying their holiday and will probably do so for quite a lot longer, we had a spot of rain today but nothing too bad.

Also we found this sometime ago in our haylage, a golf ball, still I have heard that someone once got a pair of antlers in their haylage. Our recent haylage has been very dry almost like hay, so despite the fact that we are feeding the right amount of food for our horses, they are off work, they are getting two feeds a day, and the weather is very mild they aren’t even fat! And while I don’t really want them fat I would expect them to be and I am worried that Niko will get skinny when I start working him again.

  
Here’s an old shot of Murphy. I’ve been thinking about him and a show, I’m pretty sure that if we do ever go to a show that I want to show him in an in hand bridle because he gets very fast and it is easy to slow a horse/pony evenly in a bridle where as in a halter he often turns in on me when I try to slow him. Don’t know if any of that made sense.

I’ve also been thinking about Tipper’s coat, when I first bought him his coat was horrible with many bald patches and scars, now that we’ve had him sometime it has improved greatly, but it still is a bit patchy and it’s not as full and smooth as the others, which annoys me. So do any of you have some advise on getting his coat right?

Anyway as you can probably guess from all the rambling in my post there’s not a heck of a lot going on right now. Now before I go I’d like to say hello and thanks for following to my newest follower, also apologies to my fellow bloggers for the lack of comments I have been leaving. I do still read your blogs but it’s hard to find the time to read and comment on so many blogs, so a very big thanks to my commenters for finding the time :)

Snowy Days

As you can see it snowed and the whole orchard has got a good covering. I had hoped that it wouldn’t snow because the other times it has snowed since we had horses it has been horrible and has made looking after the equines very difficult, but thanks to having better facilities and by better facilities I mean a tap that doesn’t freeze, it’s been quite good fun.

This was our ride for the day down to the stables, it’s a Land Rover Defender 110 County TDI, and it is my father’s. We arrived with the feed already mixed so all the equines got a morning feed.

I try to give the horses and ponies as much turnout as I can and so they all went out in the snow, but before they got to their paddock they all had a play in the snow, here are a few photos.

Tipper rolling in the snow.

Niko heading off to explore the new snow covered surroundings.

Murphy going for a run in the snow.

Pip shaking himself down after a roll in the snow.

Here’s one of Madeline in the paddock, blowing off some steam. So as you can see they all had a lot of fun in the snow.

And finally to end the post my snow man of sorts, he is really rather dirty because all the snow came from our muddy paddock, he is possibly the ugliest snow man I have seen but it was fun making him.

I hope if any of you have snow fall you are enjoying it.

Now just before I go, hello and welcome to my newest follower and thanks for following.

In The Orchard

Now that we have portable electric fencing we can move the horses just about anywhere and as they have now grazed all the land where the trees were removed we decided do some pruning to make room for the horses to graze between the trees. Here’s little Murphy enjoying the new grazing.

  
And Niko too but he is more interested in treats at the moment. It’s still too wet here to be riding so he’s just having a long break from work, but I am sure it’ll do him good to have time off, he normally gets a long break every winter.

  
Pip looking very sweet and innocent, but don’t be fooled he is a little monster at the moment. He is still a colt so is starting to get a bit full of himself, so I’ve started to try and get him to behave himself a bit better. He has the annoying habit of lashing out with his front leg if he is made to wait and he ended up smacking me in the knee today, but afterwards I made him walk and trot about with me and stand to wait a bit as well and he was really good, so I was quite happy with him.

 

Here’s Tipper looking quite the fool with a weed hanging from his forelock, he’s muddy but happy. He to isn’t doing anything because of the wet, but I have taken to putting a bridle on him to take him out and in as he hasn’t been very good about having one on the few times I have put one on him. By putting the bridle on to take him in and out it shows him it is not just for work and can be a nice experience for him, he happens to get a bucket of feed when he comes in ;)

And finally last but by no means least Madeline who is loving the trees as they make for very good bum scratcher, quite a disapproving look on her face in this photo, but it’s the only one that is any good out of the photos I took. Lots of thought going into Madeline right now with regards to her future work.

It always amazes me how I can write so much about so little, anyway that’s about all from me now.

Riding Bold Hawk

  
Today I rode Tipper after a long break and lots of different problems he is finally sound and ready to be ridden. I only walked him as I don’t want to risk any problems re-occurring, but as you can see he looks pretty happy with himself.

Here we are turning, I am holding the reins in such an odd fashion because I am trying to get him to follow the bit. He was mostly very good a little ignorant and a little fresh but all in all a very well behaved chap.

Before I go I would like to say thank you to my many blogger comrades that have offered advice and well wishes with regards to Bold Hawk, and I would also like to say a very special thank you to Abby who gave me a selection of books for my 18^th Birthday, the books have proven very helpful with my riding and with getting Tipper back on track. Here is a link to Abby’s lovely blog, My Spotty Pony. 

December So Far

It’s my first December post, bad I know, I have been a very poor blogger of late. I hope you are all having a great December so far, my December has been very good but the weather is dreadful. It’s been very windy and we’ve had quite a bit of rain, today there has been a break in the wind and rain but sadly it did rain last night so no riding for today.

All the horses are well if a little muddy, well to be honest very muddy but they don’t seem bothered by it. But this does bring me on to the subject of Pip, sad as it may be, I fear he will have to lose those feathers of his as they have become caked with mud.

In other news Tipper is doing really well. I haven’t see him this good since I met him, he has been trotting about, kicking, and bucking so that’s good, I think he’s quite a happy chap now we’ve had him for a while. Also I’ve started putting his neck cover on at night and sometimes leave it on during the day if it’s very cold.

Anyways that’s about all from me and just before I go, hello and thanks for following to my new followers, and thanks for sticking around to all my other followers.

The HoneyChop Horses

In the past I have mentioned that we use HoneyChop in the horses feed and how much they love it, well sometime ago I posted that I’d been trying the horses on HoneyChop plus Garlic, which went down very well. I also received a comment from HoneyChop asking if they might be able to use some of my photos, here’s the link to my post.

After HoneyChop had let me know what photos they wanted to use, I was happy to say yes, and as a token of their appreciation they gave me five free bags of HoneyChop and I was allowed to choose the type of HoneyChop as well, thank you very much HoneyChop.

Anyway the HoneyChop website has now received its full makeover complete with some of my photos and many more, the new website is great it’s very informative and helpful. Here is a link to the HoneyChop website, take a look around and you’ll probably spot Tipper and maybe some of my other photos.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from, Niko and I.

Murphy.

Madeline.

Pip.


And Tipper but he didn’t want to wear the devil horns.

Hope you enjoyed seeing these photos, have a fun Halloween.

These Boots Are Made for Walking, Riding, and Maybe Sometimes Running

Sometime ago I bought a pair of second-hand Tredstep gaiters, and today my jodhpur boots arrived, they are not Tredstep. Anyways here are my new foot/leg wear I know that to many of you it probably looks a bit tatty but it was cheap and I prefer this to my old riding boots.

The boots are just standard jodhpur boots, they are very comfy but they do have grippy treads, which I have been advised against because they can stick in the stirrup iron and you’ll be pulled along with your horse. Still the other pair were out of stock so I just went with these, and at the moment I am not really going to fall off doing what I am doing. I think if I was to go cross-country I might have to worry. Well I am happy with the boots anyway.

In other news Tipper’s still sound from the walk work I have been doing with him, he’s still not ready to go up a pace but it’s coming along nicely.

I’ve also been trying to get Murphy’s mane to stay on the right side, it really, really doesn’t want to, I tried plaiting it and leaving it for a few days but when I un-plaited it soon went back to the wrong side.

And I am going to have a lesson tomorrow so let’s hope that all goes well. Now I must be off to clean my tack, I'll try to catch up with your blogs over the next few days and reply to your comments.