A Very Non BHS Legover And Charlies Shock

Woohoo, the sun has been out.....maybe like -7 but the sun is out!  Actually its been around 6c during the day and the sun has warmth to it now.  So I have been working Charlie in the 'school' with both saddle and bridle on.  I have added some stirrups now as well.  At this point if you are very health and safety conscious, or a member of the BHS, please stop reading......
Anyone left?  So he has been very good about the saddle, even with the stirrups.  Oddly enough when I produced some baler-twine from my pocket to tie the stirrups together under his belly, he nearly reached Mars!  That said, he lunged very quietly, apart from one bucking, snorting fit, which I expected anyway when the stirrups first banged his sides.  Long reining not so good yet...He doesn't feel confident going in front of me.  Jo came to the rescue and walked by his head. So all good.  I then put my feet in the stirrups and sprung up and down a few times. While at the mounting block, which I am getting him to stand quietly at, I leant my weight on him.  Then slid a leg over, letting it rest on his bum for a while.  It was so tempting just to get on. But not without a hat (take note bhs people.....i'm not completely mad).

Daisy and Lulu also got lunged.....First work they have done since October, so they were both a bit woohoo about it.  Daisy appeared to have springs on her feet.  As I haven't ridden since October, I couldn't resist getting on. BHS peeps look away....Ok so I was bareback and hatless....Please do not try this at home. As I jogged about on an excited Daisy, I nearly fell off......Not through her jogging, but the look of sheer amazement on Charlies face.  He did a double take!  Thinking about it, he has probably never seen a horse being ridden.  He just thinks we are foot friends. I could practically see the penny drop!

Charlie in saddle and bridle

Daisy is keen

I've Got A Cold.....Moan, Moan, Moan!

Ok I hate it when people bang on about having a head-cold, and how ill they are.  Having PAH, (dodgy lungs and a dicky ticker), I find people going on about colds a little, shall we say, trivial.  But I have been really ill with this damn cold!! It's been a real effort to go and hay and poo-pick the ponies.  So they have had no work at all. Jo has been ill too.  In fact on Wednesday we both felt so rough, and it was raining.  We did the hay and water, checked they were all warm and dry, and most importantly, alive, and left the poo.  Luckily the sun was out Thursday, and for my part I had had about 12 hours sleep.

We have been so 'not with it', that the hay had nearly run out, and the guys couldn't deliver until last night.  Luckily we have a friend over the road that has a 5* yard for her shetlands. I mean, these guys are looked after like the most expensive race-horses.  So we bought some bales of last years £6 per bale hay, that they won't eat.  Wow!  It was so green and soft.....The absolute Ritz of hay. Our lot have attacked it like they were starving.  Today they have had to go back to the normal stuff......which is actually excellent hay, and costs £30 for a big round bale, perfectly good enough for natives.  Bet they are on the phone to the RSPCA right now!

Like Climbing Everest, and A Teeny Tiny Saddle

So having a few ripped rugs, on Friday we set off to the Tack Shop for repairs, and so I could ogle a whp saddle out of my price range.  It had gone!  Not to be deterred I found a step ladder, and climbed up to examine the saddles higher up. Something caught my eye.  Yes a teeny tiny 15inch whp saddle. 15inch sounds a bit small, my last whp saddle I had for Paddy was 16in.  But whats an inch between friends?  And it looked to be a wide/extra wide fit.  And only one hundred english pounds! And we have a weeks trial on it.

I couldn't wait to try it on Charlie the next day.  Even though he's never had a saddle on before.  He accepted it with his usual laid back attitude. It looks tiny, with teeny tiny saddle flaps.  But it fits across the withers which is most important.  A quick lunge, and it proved not to move. 

So the next thing is to ride in it.  But Ok the pony isn't broken yet.  I'm going to have to use Daisy. As she hasn't worked since October, we may well have to re-break her!!  So I'm waiting for a day when its not blowing 40mph winds. 

As we have the tail end of Hurricane Imogen lashing the country, that's a tall order at the moment.  Yesterday, I could barely walk against the wind.  Going up hill against it felt like climbing Everest.  Every step forward was a victory. Its days like that I really feel the dodgy lungs, as I gasped for each breath, and my dicky ticker powered along around 130bpm.  Putting hay out without losing it all was a serious mission.  We have found if we tuck rugs over the trailer full, we can at least get to the feeders in one go. Getting it into the feeders is interesting. I have adopted a new method....I call it Underwater hay feeding.  Yup, take a breath, Hold it.....Close eyes......And go for it!

Only Daisy Didn't Take A Naughty Pill Last Night

Daisy was the only one not to take a naughty pill last night.  Obviously dished out by the naughty pill fairy!  We arrived to find Lulu in with the minis (again).
Only a blonde would swop to a field with less grass.  And so the blondeness spread.  Having retrieved Lu, and removed a hanging tail flap from B,s battered rug, we moved the hay rack down the hill, out of sight of Lu.  Could they find it? Hell no. Its not as if we disguised it like a nuclear bunker.  Even when I stood yelling, banging the metal sides and waving hay, they stood watching from a distance!  
And then we set about changing rugs, as the wind is more than nippy again. Naturally Daisy was as good as gold.  But Charlie?  No he was offski.  Oh yeah a funny game.  Not amused!  Eventually I just hung out by the hay, until I could rub his head.  He then stood quietly for a rug change and lots of cuddles.  Weird boy!!!  By the time we had poo-picked in the ever increasing wind, both Jo and I were exhausted!

My Pony Looks Like Phil Lynott