So Jo and Lulu are still in the Top Barn Challenge, and week 7 is now finishing. Jo has used the last week as her rollover week, and so from Monday we buckle down to finishing the last 5 weeks. This week has been a non-starter. Jo has had home stuff to tackle, I am still next to useless (Chest Infection gone, but low on energy, breath and ribs still painful), and no sooner had Storm Ciara gone, then Storm Dennis rolled in.
Storm Dennis seems never-ending. He must have a very whippy tail, as the wind has not dropped below 20 mph, generally being around the 30mph mark, and according to my weather app, there is no end in sight. Despite being naked and on top of the only hill in Suffolk, the ponies are doing well. They are all like polar bears! Its at this point Winter seems to drag. Now the nights are drawing out, and the blossom and daffs are beginning to bloom, I get impatient for the T-shirt days to begin.
Last weekend it was so wet and cold that we brought Mini into the Tack-room so Nancy could dry her off before a quick ride. That child is hardcore!!! Mini amused us by showing how good she is at saying Please!
Speaking of Minis.....We are looking for another Shetland. Preferably a Standard Mare. Older rather than younger, but unbroken to ride is ok. Our Mini has spent the best part of her life with Sweet Pea (another Shetland who passed away 18 months ago) and just seems a little lost still. She would like a friend her size. We would be happy to do a loan swap with Dora The Explorer, a Welsh Sec A who is wasted with us at the moment. Dora would make a great 2nd pony, is fully papered and has great paces. She is just not really a lead rein pony.
So as I am still crook, and unable to do anything too strenuous with Charlie Bear, I brought him in for a breakfast date. I set us up a table and chair, and he had brekkie from the table, while I had my morning coffee. Was a great date.
While this may seem a little strange, you can't beat just bonding with your pony.
As Humans, we are always in a hurry. We often put pressure on ourselves to hurry hurry hurry, to 'achieve' something. Every moment with our horses must be spent doing what we feel is important (schooling, jumping etc). Horses live life at a much slower pace. They don't get the need to get on and learn something every time they see you. They don't go back into the field satisfied that they have learnt shoulder-in. If you work your Horse every time you see him, he is not going to look forward to you appearing in the field with a head-collar. If you really want to create a bond with your horse, just spend time together. Hang out with no agenda. Bring him in for a Breakfast Date. Spend time just scratching him. Give him a pamper session. Go for a walk together.
To learn some tricks check out my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYQBYhWqo_WPVdz9MFkCtA/videos?view_as=subscriber
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So the Challenge rolls on. As do Jo and Lulu. Positively inspired, Jo has been hacking out in all weathers alone. We had a slight to-do about a track in Week 4. Our lovely neighbours stopped Jo riding up a track we have used forever (16 years methinks), which leads to the Farm Tracks we have permission to ride on. Turns out the Neighbour does own the bottom on the track, but very quickly the Farm gave us permission to ride around that on the edge of a field, so no harm done.
Feeling worse and worse I confined myself to the Yard for Groundwork with Lily in Week 4, giving Charlie his holiday! Week 5 dawned. I gave Lily a week off and started working Charlie again. Until Wednesday when I went to Papworth for a routine check-up on my Dodgy Lungs and Dicky Ticker. I won't go into details, except to say I hate the new site. In a Heart and Lung Hospital I managed to walk 5 miles finding my way to various tests. I was away 12 hours including travel. They discovered that my never-ending cold is in fact a chest infection, and that my heart is struggling atm. Armed with some antibiotics, and some strict words from the Consultant about being in the Transplant Zone, and Resting etc, I had a very long journey home to think. I'm not ready for the Transplant stuff. I plan to be around for a long time yet. So I am taking the advice to slow down (temporarily), until the Infection has gone and my Heart Rate has come back to normal. So with a heavy (and poorly) heart, I decided to drop out of the Challenge, in the hope that I will still be around to compete next year.
So I have now become Jo's photographer, video editor and Unglamorous assistant!! On that note I gave her and Lu a few pointers on Sideways Shit and some schooling tips on Friday. Lu was broken as a Happy Hacker, so lacks the bendy school stuff. Enter the glamorous assistant!!! Hahahaha. Does that sound evil??? While I cannot teach Jo (as she can already ride perfectly well), I LOVE teaching green horses a better way to go. SOOO that is now my mission. I also threw in a few raised poles. Lu couldn't make her mind up weather to jump them or not. Her front end came up, while her back end trotted. Methinks this pair will be jumping cross-poles by the end of this challenge!!!!!
And so today Storm Ciara Hit us....as very well predicted. Being on top of the only hill in Suffolk had its drawbacks. The herd was fine in their naked glory. All warm and unbothered by the Winds,as they live out 24/7. But Room-Service had a few problems delivering the hay. I laid across the trailer like a starfish but we still managed to lose a bales worth of hay, last seen heading across the fields at some speed. We managed to deliver what was left, after we had swallowed a fair amount, and went back for seconds. Its very Yummy!! Today gets the record for the longest time ever taken to deliver Hay. And I am still rubbing it out of my eyes!!!
Still Spring is Following!!!
