Cause For Celebration and The Top Barn Challenge Begins

And so the 2023 International Agility Club year ended.  Where would we end up in the League Tables?  I waited, chewed my nails, waited a little more, gnawed up to my knuckles. When the results came out i couldn't look.....literally. The site crashed!!  So I am absolutely humbled to announce that Charlie and I became European Champions and Reserve World Champions in the Walk Only Liberty League.  It was my very joking pledge at the beginning of the year......But I never thought we could pull it off!  I am full of pride for my boy, who started life badly and found himself on a meat truck at 5 months old.  Luckily he was rescued by the fantastic Sara Higgins.  Having spent 3 and a half years running with other colts, he was pretty feral, and coltish, and very opinionated. He is also partially sighted in his offside eye, seeing only light, dark and shadows.  But after only taking up Agility in June 2022, he has pulled this off. Whatever next??? 

So as we continue at the moment with the Liberty Agility, I am also prepping for Equagility (The ridden version).  I would also like to do this with Daisy.  My main aim for Charlie this year is to get him out hacking.

So I have entered both ponies into the Top Barn Winter Challenge.  Charlie is doing Bronze Premium ( 3hrs a week plus some extra challenges) and Daisy Copper (1.5hrs a week).  The Weather has been a Bitch.  We have had Rain, Flooding, Storms, Hurricane force winds, a biting, finger numbing North wind straight off the North Sea (only about 4 miles away), Snow (which went as quickly as it came) and now a dry frozen week (currently -3c).  But at least its dry!! 

The ponies live out 24/7.  There are no stables, barn or inside to work in out of the weather. We have no School or Arena.  Just an area I call my Playpen where I do my Agility. Its just a small grassy area, fenced off with electric fencing and completely exposed to the North East (handy that). However a wise person once said "There is no bad weather, just the wrong clothes".  This year in all my years of working with horses I have had cold hands. Actually they have been numb in the wind.  So I have bought a pair of gloves. Lightweight neoprene. Brilliant. 

I don't advertise or promote anything normally, but I also got some waterproof, fleece lined over-trousers from a company called Cuddlr.  You may have seen their adverts on Facebook.  I also never buy anything from ads on Facebook, but thought this was worth a gamble.  It was!  They have been a lifesaver. I pop them over fleece lined leggings. My feet are encased in Nordic wool socks, and oh so attractive fur lined muck boots.  My top half is covered in t-shirt, sweatshirt, fleece and my brilliant Yak wool jacket that I got a few years ago from Tibet. With a fur lined wool snood covering my face and a silly wool/fleece hat, the weather can throw its worst at me.  I might look like the Michelin man in all this....but I'm warm!  

The Winter Challenge is a Challenge because of the Weather. It wouldn't be much of a challenge if it were in the Summer months.  So buckle up guys, smother yourselves in many clothes and waddle through the next couple of months. Its surprising how many things there are to do with your horse without actually leaving the stable (if you have one).  With this in mind I am posting a weekly Challenge (Charlies Challenges) to compliment the Mini Challenges.  I am posting on Friday nights/Saturday mornings. 

Most of Charlies Challenges will be Trick related.  So we are re-visiting all the Tricks we learned over the years (Check out Horse Tricks Club).  So Top Barn Challengers......Keep it up.. The nights are pulling out, at a rate of 1 minute a day. Before you know it, Spring will be here.  Achievements are achieved by sheer hard work.  No-one ever got their horse out of a field after months off and went and won the Puissance.  It takes hard work and perseverance through whatever life or the weather throws at you. So keep it up, YOU GOT THIS. X

Indian Summer, End Of Treasure Hunt and Rugs!

And so to the weather!!  Its been an Indian Summer, almost making up for the lack of real Summer.  Apart from a couple of Storms, the weather for September has been glorious (possibly hotter than the real Summer).  The mornings have been cooler, so its on/off with clothes. The summer shorts and crocs have been put away, and revived again.  THEY (whoever they are) say October will be up in the mid twenties again!!!! For those of us with Natives, who live out 24/7 naked its a bit of a pain.  They are growing their furry winter coats and sweating like a whore in church.

Which brings me onto rugs.......I have actually seen some horses already wearing rugs!  Rugging a horse will NOT stop the growth of winter coats.  Its the amount of daylight hours that does that!  Horses are designed to live outside in all weathers. They are most comfortable between 5c and 25c. Ok in mid winter if you have an elderly, or clipped horse, by all means rug it.  But right now even the night time temperatures haven't been below 8c.  They must be relieved when the sun goes down and the temperatures drop. 

And so its the end of the Top Barn Treasure Hunt Part 2. This time we had 30 Treasures to find. In multiples of 3.  To complete the Challenge we had only had to find 10 sets of 3 Treasures, but the hardcore went on to find 90 treasures!!!  RESPECT!!!!  Charlie and I completed 18 sets of 3.  We logged other treasures and finished with 62.  We also had to complete 5 tasks and declare miles in multiples of 10.  We only declared 20 miles (as its mostly on foot) and finished on 22.8 miles.  We did complete the 5 Tasks, but in our own way.  Charlie can be quite a handful in hand out on the lane.  My dodgy lungs and dicky ticker struggle when he's in racehorse on crack mode.  So I am most grateful for the help of Meg, who kindly came out for a walk with us, leading Mini the Shetland as a calming influence on Charlie and also took a shed load of pictures of treasures. Charlie was tacked up and I even had a hat on, just in case he was calm enough for me to ride a bit.  But he wasn't.  However, we did manage a few steps ridden in the Playpen (formerly known as The School) and a few more steps up the track. Well out of our comfort zone!!

The International Horse Agility Summer Of Sport has also finished and we all got our results. Charlie excelled himself with 3 x 1st, a 2nd and a 3rd. Aswell as getting a 1st in the August Liberty Class. The class I am most proud of is Horse and Hound.  We came !st with a score of 100/100.  The Hound in question is called Luna. She belongs to my friend Sarah.  She was rescued from Cyprus or somewhere, and had been in about 5 homes. Luna was on her last chance. Apparently she was vicious! I just happened to be dog-sitting and at the last minute decided to try the Horse and Hound class.  We had a 20 minute practice while I sorted out the camera angle, and 20 minutes to film the class. Both Charlie and Luna were foot perfect.

And so onwards to October.  A month I love.  The trees turn a fantastic colour, the nights are cooler and its Halloween Month.  Hopefully the flies will die off or hibernate.  I plan to carry on doing ridden work with Charlie. My goal is to complete an Equigility Class before the year is out.

 

Brrrrrrr......It's A Cold Cold Summer, The Treasure Hunt Madness Continues! And The Suffolk Show

 YES - I Am Going To Bang On About The Weather!!!!!   I mean WHAT is happening?? For the last month we have had not a drop of rain. Or Sunshine, or Warmth, or a change in the bloody wind!  That wind has constantly blown in from the North East.  The only variation is the speed. Somewhere between 15mph and 30mph.  It's cold.  Really cold.  Around 12c in the constantly grey skies.  I am still wearing fleece lined leggings, and vast fleece hoodies. And fluffy socks!!!! I'd Like To Complain!  I am also well aware that only half the country will understand.  I see the Weather...... I see the West is basking in summer temperatures.  

At least with the lack of rain, the eaten grass is browning off. I know that sounds odd, but with a bunch of natives ( and 2 of them metabolically challenged) the sooner the grass turns into standing hay the better. Mind you its become a mallet job to hammer in the electric fence posts in the ever expanding track system.  

And so the Top Barn Treasure Hunt madness continues!!  Some people have my complete and utter admiration. People have been travelling their horses on incredible long trips to get a picture of the Ocean. Makes me feel guilty as we are only 6 or 7 miles from the Ocean (North Sea) and yet we cannot get there!  Charlie can now be ridden 4 steps without throwing a class A wobbler.  But 7 miles may be pushing it!  And sadly no trailer.  Others have been hanging out besides motorways hoping to catch an Eddie Stobart Lorry!  Or calling 999 in order to spot a police car ( you know who you are).  And then there are the people who have camped with their horses in order to catch a sunset and sunrise.  Something I may consider if this never ending cloud lifts.  And the 200 milers...... Wow. I can only hope to do this with Charlie in the future.

Meanwhile we are plodding along in our own style. Since the road has been widened at the bottom of our drive and all the hedges removed, we have a good view of the traffic.  So Charlie and i have been walking to the end of the Drive (which is now scary to him) and up through the Hill Field, in order to lurk, phone ready in case something interesting comes by. We also have a telephone wire running across the field, but it seems to be repellent to the local birds. Although i have had a nice time watching the Kestrels, Red Kite and Buzzards hunting.  I have seen an ambulance (but not a police car) and a white lorry. The driver assured me it was an Eddie Stobart Lorry on it's way to be painted!  So the road leads to the Coast.  A mecca for Campers and cyclists.  After hanging out for ages on Tuesday, Charlie and I were on our way back, when I glanced back.....and saw not one but two campers decked out in pushbikes!  Too far away for a pic!

So with these Treasure Hunting Walk Outs and Agility Practice we have racked up a massive 12 miles (out of the 25 miles pledged).  We have this!  Talking of Agility,  Charlie managed another 1st place in the May WO Silver Liberty Course and a 2nd in our first Advanced WO class.

As promised we have been working on a new trick.  I am getting him to pass me his saddle pad.  its a work in progress....

Last week I went to The Suffolk Show. Its been a few years since I last went.  We had a great day out doing the usual......getting free samples, spending money (like £4 for a Latte) queuing for everything and annoying all the animals trying to catch a break in their stables/stalls. We also watched the Shetland Grand National. Love it!! And the Terrier baiting.  The Terrier was great, but the general publics dogs were sooo funny.  They let 3 Cockerpoos loose at once.  One chased the bait while the other 2 chased each other.  We happened on this cute (and very tired) Suffolk foal...

And a funny thing happened.  I was scratching the ears of a large friendly Suffolk gelding.  He started to groom me back, and smelt the tobacco in my top pocket. He then curled his lips to smell it better. Haha a smiler!  I tickled his top lip, and he curled it back. Next time I said "Smile". He did. By then we had an audience. So we did it again.  I patted him and said "Sorry Boy, I don't have a treat".  A nearby spectator said she had a mint. I told her Thanks, but we really shouldn't feed other peoples horses. "I thought he was your horse" she said. "No" I replied, "I've only just met him".  "But how did you teach him to smile?" she asked. 

Well that's how it goes!

The Top Barn Treasure Hunt, Track Systems, And When Is Spring Starting?

 So with the Top Barn Winter Challenge over, across the land, Top Barners were thinking of duvet days and box sets. BUT NO!  Rhi has come up with a Treasure Hunt for May and June. Brilliant. I love Treasure Hunts. We quickly joined up, and got the list of 50 Treasures.  We only have to find 10 out of the 50, though there is a bonus prize draw for anyone finding all 50.  We also have to pledge a certain amount of miles ranging from 25 to 200. Charlie and I have only pledged 25.....after all, with my lungs I can't exactly go on a hike. We all know how bad i am at doing mileage!!!  However over 2 months it's only.....er.....about....12.5 miles a month, which is......er.......less than 5 miles a week.  Can you hear my brain whirring??  However I am hoping we don't have to do it all on foot.  Charlie is most laid back about me mounting now. We even managed a sideways step the other day.  You never know.....some of our miles may be ridden!!

Of course we have no chance of finding all 50 treasures.  This is Suffolk. In the Back-of-Beyond.  Looking at the list now, I can confirm we will not be finding a Mountain, or a Dry Stone Wall, or a Steep Hill, an Eddie Stobart Lorry, a cobbled street or a tunnel!  The Ocean is a good 6 miles from the Farm, and I'm doubtful if The North Sea qualifies!!  However there is something for everyone to find, and I have already taken note of a few things not too far away.  I have realised how rare Orange cars are.  I followed an Orange Ford Focus the other day and got really excited!!

Meanwhile, Charlie and I are working on our Agility.  March was a tough course. A Dinger!  Lots of opportunities for Dings, aswell as trying to film in almost constant winds. Scores were lower than normal, but we got a 1st for Walk Only Silver Liberty and 2nd for Walk Only OLHA Medium Level.  The April course is fun, but it still has THE HOOP in it.  The nemesis of Hairy Footed Cob owners.  Cobs just DO NOT see hoops as obstacles.  Half blind ones even less so. Hoop?  What Hoop? Even if by some miracle they clear it with their plate size feet, the thick feathers inevitably catch it.

So with the move to pastures green I have been constructing a track system. Track systems can be made even in smallish fields.  We are currently in about 3 acres. On a small Hill. A Suffolk Hill.  So the track runs down to the bottom of the hill and back up again.  To get water the horses have to come down the hill and back up again.  This means they are moving more than they would if we just strip grazed our way down the field.  In the wild, horses do not have the same problems as our domestic horses. Because they are moving.  Horses are designed to move and browse for forage.  MILES a day!  I keep thinking of putting a tracker on Charlie to see just how far he moves in a day.  I can't make it too complicated as Daisy The Highland is known for getting lost!!!  But it does make them think as well.

https://youtu.be/bbVVXIPAqfk

So the main question is When Is Spring Starting??  Its still sooooo cold.  Apart from the odd day when it has warmed up in the Sun.  I think its the Sun. A yellow thing in the sky? Being on the East Coast we are used to the cold breeze off the sea, but I Am Bored of being cold now. So if anyone knows when I can put my shorts back on, please let me know!

Top Barn Challenge Is Nearly Done, A False Spring and The Lurgy

 Wow the Top Barn 2023 Winter Challenge is nearly done!!  How many people are still with us?  We are just beginning Week 10. Charlie and I still have our Rollover Week and our Holiday Week in hand.  We have banked 2 hours and 40 minutes. This means we can do a Rollover Week of 2 hours and 20 minutes.  I'm thinking that may be this week.  Then it will leave 5 hours next week, meaning we will finish a week early. We have managed a Rhi's Random each week (including a couple of Ridden, even though Charlie is not Ridden). Unbelievable to think when this ends we will already be 3 months into the 'New Year'. 

The Weather has been pretty kind.  Top Barn Challenges normally herald the beginning of Storms, Torrential Rain, or Beasts From the East bringing 6 foot snow drifts. As it is February has had a False Spring. NO rain (not good for grass growth) and some lovely days of sunshine and double figure temperatures.  I even rode out with no coat and my sleeves rolled up.  Sadly the temperatures have dropped severely and we are expecting snow by the morning.

That ride out........ Meg rode Lulu, I rode Daisy and ponied Charlie off her.  Daisy being the unflappable nanny pony and all. We went down a bridleway that goes through a campsite.  The Campsite is lovely with lots of fishing lakes.  The owner is the opposite to lovely and hates the fact the Bridleway runs through his land. He was soon monitoring us on his Quad Bike. No drama.  We passed through his land and went to look at the Ford which was pretty empty.  From that point its a very long way back via roads, or a turn around.  We turned around.  Nearly back through the campsite when a swan stood up and flapped its wings.  Daisy the Unflappable, had a malfunction and took off, Charlie having no choice but to come along.  Its hard to pull up 2 Cobs at once!  The Swan kept flapping. By now I had Daisy to a steady plunge/buck and Charlie had chilled out.  Lulu in the meantime, slightly ahead hadn't noticed a thing.

For most of the last month I have had some sort of Lurgy. Snotty, coughing, and absolutely exhausted.  Not Covid. I tested twice (due to looking after my elderly Mother).  The cough is still loud and clear, but today for the first time in weeks I have felt energetic.  I even hoovered the gaps between my floorboards.  Heres hoping thats the end of that!!!!

So I couldn't do a Blog without mentioning Horse Agility.  Charlie and I submitted our February classes mid Feb, so had a long wait for the results.  I am pleased to say we scored a 99/100 for WO Silver Liberty earning us a 1st Place, and 96/100 in the WO OLHA Medium Level which got us 2nd place. 

We have also been following Connection Training, which has shown us both how to relax and chill out, instead of rushing from one behaviour to another.  I have jumped up on him a few times, without moving (Obs I had to move, but he didn't) and he has been very calm about it.  Onwards and Upwards to riding!!

See y'all on The Other Side.

WHOA! We're Halfway There....Whoa...! Pool Noodles and Daisy's Colic.

Yes We are Halfway there.  Halfway through the 2023 Top Barn Winter Challenge. Doing the Silver Challenge has been a little tough, but it IS meant to be a challenge. We haven't had much rain, but its been pretty cold. Plenty of mornings breaking ice off the water butts and persuading the tap to thaw. My dodgy lungs and dicky ticker don't like frosty air.  It literally hurts to breathe. And I run out of power around 2pm.  In a ideal world, I'd go home to sleep!  But who has an ideal world.  My Mum is 85, so I have to run her about, shopping, hairdressers, chippy lunches. And I have a little business to attend to, and there is the never-ending household chores. I often fall asleep after tea. Or sometimes during it!  The house is incredibly cold downstairs.......11.6 - 14c generally. A lovely temperature outside, but not so good for watching TV.  So I generally retire upstairs around 8pm (and its getting earlier). Upstairs is warmer (due to no carpets and the hot water pipes making it feel like underfloor heating). The bed is warm and comfy, TV lulls me to sleep (I never see the end of anything).  I have been sending my OH weekly pictures so he doesn't forget what I look like!!!

But Charlie and I are thoroughly enjoying the Challenge.  As well as working on our Agility stuff, we have been working on Clipper Training ( I WILL get those hairy legs clipped), Picking out feet (Its a NO from Charlie), Being tied up (Another Big No), and Tacking up (Scary Horse eating equipment) and Mounting (Where has Mum Gone? Oh No. Panic!!! Everyone Run Away).  We have also been doing Rhi's Very Difficult Randoms.  A couple of the GW Randoms are based on long-lining.  Charlie has spent over half his life being terrified of not being able to see me.  I put this down his partial blindness and a hideous foal-hood. And so we have had to build up very slowly to this long reining stuff. Certainly a challenge Rhi!!! 

I certainly wouldn't be able to do Silver hours if it wasn't for my Yard Partner in Crime,  Jo Moore. We share the grazing and the work. Jo has 4 ponies.  The delightful Daisy, who I ride (a 23 year old Rescue Highland), Lulu (The Diva Blonde Haflinger), who I also sometimes ride, when friends ride Daisy (and I can't bribe them to ride Lu) and 2 Shitlands (say no more).  Charlie lives with Lu and Daisy. The Shitlands live together because they are Shitlands! Jo has been emptying The Shit Trailer.....Oh! Its not a Shit Trailer at all. In fact it's rather good, but full of Shit after we have done the daily poo-picking. And filling it with Hay for the next day, so I can get on with working Charlie. So huge Thanks Jo!

Anyway back to Agility. And more precisely Pool Noodles!!!  This month in my Agility classes I need 6 Pool Noodles. I only have 4. Have you seen how much they cost????? In this cold cold Winter, I can't afford to buy any more. But. Bingo!  I remembered i had 2 blow up Pool Noodles. Sorted! After a couple of days one went a bit floppy.  So I went to blow it up.  Charlie, ever helpful, decided to hold it for me! Sadly his bite is not far off the power of my dog (one of them highly dangerous Belgian Malinois) and the little sod has now punctured it....in several places.  I spent a good half hour the other day, patching it up with tape, blowing it up, only to watch it deflate again! (Reminded me of an ex haha) Eventually I taped it to another noodle to hold it up.  This meant contact breaks the tape and the noodle hits the deck. So in came the Noodle Scrambling Walk (think trying to avoid light beams while stealing some precious diamond from some precious museum) so Charlie had the full 6 Noodles to push through.  Although I'm not entirely sure Charlie has the Full 6 Noodles!  

So last Saturday was horrible! Daisy was laying down when we arrived. Not odd. She likes a snooze. Rob, Meg and Nancy arrived to help. I told them to go say Hello to Daisy.  She loves a cuddle while laying down.  However, she didn't get up when we put the hay out.  She loves food more than anything.  Instead she lay flat out. There had been a fair bit of sun and the ponies had been picking grass so there was a chance Daisy had laminitus. Meg picked her feet out and Daisy remained prone. My Colic Radar was going off at this point so I checked her out. Her feet were cool and no radial pulse so I ruled out Lami.  However her breathing was fast (19 breathes per minute) and her nostrils pinched.  By now Colic Radar screaming like a siren. Jo brought her a mash loaded with Buscopan and Bute. But she wouldn't touch it. Definitely Colic. 

Jo called the Vet, who was only 15 minutes away.  In that time Daisy did the full text book colic symptoms, up and down, rolling, sweating, panting.  She was breathing so fast I thought her heart would give up. We had a fantastic Vet. The first problem was getting rid of her polar-bear coat so the Vet could find a vein.  Daisy doesn't do clippers. The Vet only had dog trimmers. Daisy was quite a handful so we didn't think my Full Size noisy clippers an option. Scissors worked and the Vet was able to inject Buscopan and a pain killer. Daisy produced a couple of balls of normal looking poo. It looked like it might be gassy colic rather than a blockage.  But the fantastic Vet did a rectal to be sure. Dodging the kicks, she decided some of the intestine felt dislodged and she would like to tube her to be sure.  We quickly decided she needed to be sedated.  Daisy decided she did not want another injection, and suddenly felt well enough to rear up and plunge about.  Highlands are quite hard to hold when they decide to go somewhere at speed. Out came the Twitch. Only option.  Eventually twitched, The Vet got the sedative in and we were finally able to Tube Daisy. For those who have never had a horse tubed.......Its basically a long tube, shoved up their nose, which they swallow (the danger lies in the fact that the Windpipe is right next to the Stomach Pipe).  Daisy tried very hard to cough it up, but eventually swallowed it. Again for those that are lucky enough to never have had their horse tubed.....Once the tube is in the stomach, its held up in the air and a bucket of warm water with Epsom salts and liquid paraffin is slowly poured in, thus flushing the stomach out.

Huge Thanks to Rob, Meg and Nancy for completing the day-to-day chores while Jo, the Vet and I wrestled with a very distressed Daisy.

Having worked on large yards and owning a worm damaged colicky mare in the past I have seen and assisted in this procedure many times. But its still not a nice experience. My old mare sometimes needed tubing twice, and eventually died of colic as did my Paddy Pony.  And so I was worried.  Daisy was put in with the Shitlands, where the anorexic Coco is out on 3 Acres of reasonable grass, while the over-weight Mini is penned at night.  Coco immediately went into protective mode. Squealing and charging. Daisy just went to sleep. Having spent some time sitting with her, I eventually went home.  2 hours later, I went back. Daisy still laying down.  So I waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually she got up and started munching on Hawthorn bushes so I went home. 

Next  morning I was so relieved to find Daisy grazing!!  I was also relieved to find droppings caked in and threaded through with sand. So it was a sand blockage after all, which at least explained things. We are on sandy soil and sand colic is a thing. We use Psyllium to clear out sand, but we usually use it when it rains and its easy for the ponies to pull the grass out from the roots.  But we have learned to keep a closer eye on Daisy now! And we are very grateful to The Vet for tubing her, otherwise she would have been back.  We have also decided to use the Psyllium monthly.

So what idiot designed horse guts?  Had they cut all the intestines to length already?  Then they found out it was too long. But, It was obviously Friday afternoon.  Solution?  Oh yeah, lets fold it round here, no-one will ever notice. Oh and in the hurry to get to the Pub, they forgot to add a back flow valve. So the horse has to live with a spare piece of folded gut, and no way of throwing up anything bad. So anything that goes in.....It has to navigate it's way around a maze with a useless fold and push its way out of the back door! 

Meanwhile the owner of said horse is wondering if anyone would like to buy a kidney to pay the Vet bill. Or an I-Joy Vibrating Fun Machine? Or Rugs? Leg Wraps? Feed Buckets? Anything? We have Bits galore! Various bits of leather!! The odd Shitland? Ah no. They are not for sale!! I have 2 books for sale on Kindle. They might not be any good, but they are cheap!! Or how about subscribing to Charlie's Youtube Channel?  Charliethetrickpony.  It doesn't cost anything to subscibe.  And back to that Kidney......Good Working Order. Only one owner.

So, Jo and I will be busy in the future, but keep it up Top Barners.  You can do this!  See you on the Other Side.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYQBYhWqo_WPVdz9MFkCtA/about

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Top Barn Challenge 2023, Horse Tricks Club, and Spring Is Coming

 So Top Barners...... We are nearly a quarter of the way through!!  Already!  Keep It Up One Two Three!!!   We Got This!  The nights are pulling out.  Spring is in the Air!!  Charlie is starting to lose his Winter Coat already.  I keep telling him to hang on a bit:  We all know February can throw some Winter Weather at us in a big way. But Nature is unstoppable.  The days are getting longer, and this controls hair loss more than temperature.  

We have been very lucky here on the East Coast of England. After the Mud and Wind and Rain, the temperatures dropped again. But we have avoided the snow I know many of you have had. But that mild spell seemed to have caused a little grass growth.  At least the Big Pony Herd thinks so. They are out 24/7 on 4 acres and are actually still finding grass to nibble on.  Sensible Cob types, they are ignoring the large container of Hay during the day, and grazing, leaving the Hay for the frosty nights!  

So hopefully everyone is finding stuff to do, even on hard frozen ground.  I highly recommend teaching Clicker Training.  I may have mentioned this in the past, but most zoos and film animal trainers use Clicker Training now.  Its a much quicker way to teach behaviors.  I have recently been working on Charlies Fetch, for Certificate 3 in The International Horse Agility Club. Fetch can be well handy if you drop something when out riding (Maybe not your phone though).

Speaking of Horse Agility. We got the final results for December and the League tables.  Charlie and I finished with a 2nd in OLHA Med Level and a 3rd in Bronze Liberty. This meant we finished 41st ( I think) in the OLHA League and 15th in the Liberty League.  Not bad for 6 months with a half feral, half blind pony and a broken 56 year old with Dodgy Lungs and Dicky Ticker.  Even if I do say so myself!!  We have also just completed our Level 3 Certificate. (Blow Your Own Trumpet Day!!!!!).  I couldn't be more prouder of my boy.

None of this would have been possible without Clicker Training, and more specifically The Horse Tricks Club which I joined in 2019.  The Club is currently Open for new members......I highly recommend joining. There are lots of modules to teach step by step the 'How to' of Horse Tricks. Plus a great Facebook Community to join, share and ask questions. Just Google Horse Tricks Club.

I also have to add....None of this would have happened had I been fit and well and/or had an uncomplicated pony. Back in the day when I was fit and well, I had 'problem ponies' but was Gung Ho enough to 'ride it out'. This worked. I had some great ponies and had great relationships with them. Had I have bought the 'been there, done it' type I was looking for, when i found Charlie, no doubt I would still be bombing about the countryside (until I ran out of breath) and going on mad night  time pub hacks.  However, Fate intervened and Charlie has put me on a different path.  And I am still learning Soo Much.

So, Top Barners, Clicker Trainers, Horse Tricksters...... Whatever path you are on, What Small achievements have you gained this month?  

Those Feckin Birds, Top Barn Challenge Tips and Happy New Year

 So as usual we will start with the Weather!  The Ice finally melted.  Oh the bliss to have running taps!! Now we have typically British weather.....Rain, Mud and Wind!  But at least its a long way above freezing. Its been typically around 5c to 8c during the day.  I can cope with that!  

Of course during the freeze Mini the Shetland got Laminitus!  Its quite common in frozen weather as the the sugar in the grass migrates to the tips. We decided to house her in The Round Pen as it is mostly weeds. With Coco next to her in a pen with proper grass.  Although Coco is also a Shetland, she was starved in a previous life, and we couldn't keep the weight on her.  After some Mastersons from Jade Monahan (the wonder healer), it was discovered her jaw was locked and she was only chewing up and down. Now she can grind side to side and has gained weight. Coco loves her grass, and can be very fussy about eating anything else.  And so they have to have separate pens sometimes.  Mini is not overly happy about this and had a major tantrum today, when Coco's pen was extended.  After a proper broncing fit, I decided to film her.  She had calmed down by then, but its quite clear she is sound again!

Charlie and I managed to film and enter our December classes for Horse Agility. When the ice melted.  Now we are awaiting the final League placings. Of course we only started in June, so we won't be more than halfway up the League Tables. But its been both a blast and a learning curve.  Charlie loves learning the new courses each month.  In our 6 months, we have moved from Starter Level, Through First Level, into Medium Level. We have also completed a Liberty Class each month and have worked through Training Levels 1 and 2.  We are currently halfway through Level 3. Looking at our rosette board for this year we have 5 x 1st, 4 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd, a 4th and a Perfect Score.  Not bad for a half blind, half feral, late cut rescue who was on his way for meat, and a limping 50-odd year old with Dodgy Lungs and Dicky Ticker who was told her time with horses was over!

Even if I do say so myself!!!!

We have started on the January Walk Only Course. As we have moved up the levels we got more trotting. Charlie can trot!  But I can't.  Not even to save my life!  In fact, running may well end it.  So we are now in the Walk Only League. More technical and precise it seems.  If only the Feckin Robins would leave us alone!!!!!

Yes in the video I say sparrows but they are actually Robins.  Yup those cute little birds on the front of Xmas Cards. Now I love them. Up to a point.  The little bastards have me well trained! We have several Robins at The Farm.  But there are 2 of them that have got me wrapped around their little talons!  Muckheap Robin. He lives in the Gate end of 'The School' which is near the Muck Heap. Every day, he sits nearby, glaring and whistling. He demands I dig into the muck to reveal tasty, hot, takeaway worms. Not the best thing to do with Dodgy Lungs and a Dicky Ticker in Winter, but he has me under his spell!  Number 2 is School Robin.  He lives at the other end of 'The School'.  When I feed Charlie, he fluffs about, trying to share the food. Then he follows us around the Obstacle Course, fluttering about and scaring Charlie!  Sometimes the little shit sits on my phone! 

So I bought him some special wild bird peanuts, hoping they would distract him. But its just made him worse. He knows they are for him, so he leaves them and hassles me for more.  Today both Robins clashed.  Now Robins are very territorial and despite their cute Xmas Card looks, are aggressive little bastards. They fought like a couple of drunks at a Football Match. I'll be glad when they go where ever Robins go when it warms up!!!! Or I may start training them!!!!!

So, 4 more sleeps before The Top Barn Challenge 2023 Begins.  Are we all excited?  To be honest Top Barn has changed my perception of Winter. I used to hate Winter. See it as a time of Hibernation.  Get up, care for the horses and then leave to get back indoors. Even when I was competing, January was a chore.  Now I look forward to it.  This is my 5th year with Charlie. Each year we have done Bronze, as although I only have the one pony at the Farm, he is in a herd of 5 ponies.  They live out 24/7, but there is still plenty of work to be done. Hay, Water, Poo Pick, Ragworting, Fencing etc etc. Add in snow and ice and everything takes twice as long.  And we only have limited daylight hours.  

I failed to complete 2020, due to trying to do the Challenge with 2 ponies, and catching Covid in a big way.  I ended up with pneumonia, so quit on the 6th week.

Last year my 85 year old Mother became very ill.  I was driving a 30 mile round trip each day to look after her. I nearly moved Charlie to a Livery Yard, I nearly Quit the Challenge.  I nearly turned to drink. But I clung onto the Challenge like a life raft. It was My Time.  I simply got up earlier to fit it all in.

So this year is looking better (touch wood).  I have pledged Silver Premium with Charlie.  He has been a challenge full stop. But we have progressed a lot in the last year. Despite being 9, he has never been ridden properly.  He is having regular Craniosacral work done (by Jade The Miracle Healer) and has a new Farrier.  We have a lot to work on.  Agility, Muscle Building, Learning to be tied up, Long Reining, Lunging, Clipper Training, Wearing Tack and finally, hopefully, being ridden. So here are my  Challenge Tips....

1/ Do The Maths.  Work out how many hours you can realistically do each week. Bronze = 3 hours per week (per horse).  That = roughly 26 minutes a day each horse....if you work horse every day. 

2/ Don't leave it all till the weekend.  Every minute counts, so try to get the time in early.

3/ Don't use your Rollover and Holiday Weeks too soon. You never know whats ahead.  Remember The Beast From The East?  It didn't turn up till the end of February. Being on The East Coast, we were snowed under. Luckily that year I still had a Rollover and Holiday Week in hand.

4/ Bank Time when you can.  Its better to 'Bank' time early on.  Then if you need to have a Rollover Week, the time is already done.  It's hard to catch that time up. 

5/ Think outside the box.  There is so much you can do with your horse without riding or even moving!  Teach him Tricks......Smile, Hug, Kiss, Say Please, Target, Pick Up. Try something new.

6/ Become a Premium Member.  It's literally only a pound a week. There is so much to be gained. Rhi's randoms are a fantastic inspiration in themselves.  Plus you get to win prizes and join in Q & A time. I also think if you have paid for something, you have more incentive to complete. And the Top Barn Team give so much time and effort into this Challenge.....They deserve a little dollar.

7/ Check out the Mini Challenges, even if you are 'just' doing Bronze and don't have to. Pick a few Challenges for something to work on.  I try and and do as many as possible.

8/ Make it a personal Challenge. Find something you want to achieve for yourself and focus on it. It can be anything, from better connection with your horse to jumping a 4ft X Country course. Everyone is on a different journey and there is no Judgement.

9/ Remember to record what you do and post each week. Fill in your hours and aims in the Diary, in spreadsheets, on the printable pages, or even on a scrap of paper. It helps The Top Barn team check, and more than this it gives you a record so you can look back and see how far you have come.

10/ ENJOY THE CHALLENGE!!!  Remember its just fun and motivation. Its not a Competition. If you cheat ( and I'm sure no-one would) you are just cheating yourself. If you fail, don't beat yourself up.  Just do your best, and ENJOY YOUR HORSE!

So I guess I have to add.....I am nothing to do with Top Barn.  I am just a happy member looking forward to the new Challenge.  

And HAPPY NEW YEAR to my readers x

Winter Has Arrived - To Rug Or Not To Rug, And Its Nearly Time For The Top Barn Challenge

 So Winter has definitely arrived. A lot of the country has already had snow.  Here in the far East of England the snow has kept away (although some is threatened for tonight).  But its been frosty to say the least. Minus temperatures at night and only just above freezing during the day.  The ice has stayed on the ground with more ice added each night.  Taps and fingers have frozen.  And of course, the tractor sprung a major leak at the Weekend and suddenly spewed forth a lot of coloured liquid. Right in the gateway.  I feared it may have been the radiator. Jo and I quickly moved the Hay by hand before we had a riot on our hands, while trying to figure out how to move the stricken tractor.  Luckily for us Rob, Meg and Nancy arrived to help. Rob had a taste of the liquid on the floor and decided it was not anti-freeze. We looked under the bonnet and found a tube off. After some discussion we decided it was a pipe taking diesel to the Filter and so wasn't terminal.  Rob had another glug, but we were not 100% sure, however all the other important fluid levels were still full, so we risked firing it up and moving it out of the way.  Thank you Rob, Meg and Nancy for poo-picking with your car.  Our mechanically minded Horse Landlord confirmed it was just a diesel leak, so its all good!

And so to the main question......To Rug or Not To Rug.  I am a great believer in Not Rugging. Obviously if your horse is elderly, clipped or struggles to keep weight on, then go ahead, rug away. However...... If you have a fit, unclipped healthy horse, it does not need a rug. It takes away a huge amount of stress for you and your horse if you leave him as nature intended. Don't forget, horses survived the Ice Age!

So while as humans we are all freezing and wearing as many layers as we can move in, our horses are not feeling the cold. Apparently a human is comfortable between 25c and 30c.  That means we do not use energy to keep warm at those temperatures.  Although most of us in England would agree we are more than happy around 18c, and 30c is a tad hot!  Its called a Thermoneutral Zone.

Horses have a much larger Thermoneutral Zone. They are comfortable between 0c and 25c.  Horses also have an internal 'fire' which is stoked up by the fermentation of fibre in the hindgut (Ie....Hay Hay Hay).  If the Horse has his natural coat, it is waterproof and provides as much heat to the skin as a 400g rug. Horse hair also stands up when its cold, creating an insulating pocket of air next to the skin.  A rug will press this hair down and eliminate the natural coats ability to retain heat. When checking how warm your horse is, forget the ears.  Horses are designed to leave the extremities cold to direct the heat to the organs. Feel under the armpits!  Also if your horse is covered in snow which is not melting, you can be sure he is well insulated.  If you over rug your horse, not only will he be uncomfortable, he will also be prone to EMS and Laminitus. 

Our ponies are all natives, unclipped, unrugged and live out 24/7.  This is the most natural life we can give them.  They do not have hard feed. They do however have plenty of hay. They are all happy, warm and do not have 'problems' that many pampered horses have.  Yes they will drop weight this winter (hopefully), but that is natural, ensuring that when the spring grass comes around, they will not suffer Laminitus etc.  This includes Daisy (who had EMS) and Coco who the vet diagnosed with Cushings, but who is doing fine this Winter.  And we can sleep at night, knowing they are all fine, no matter what the weather throws at them.  

In the 2nd pic you can see Charlies hairs standing up doing their job.

Anyway enough lecturing! So last months Agility Comps were a little hard. Having moved up a level, Charlie and I had a lot to learn.  There were a few poles to step over, and back up over.  Being a hard nut (partially blind) Coblet, he has the tendency to plough through stuff! Poles? What Poles? Oh Yeah, I'll just kick em out of the way!  We also had a lot of wind, which kept blowing my course over. So I was hugely surprised that we got another 1st in the On-Line Medium Level Comp and 3rd in the Liberty.  We are currently working on The December Xmas Courses. They are fun and involve dressing up which we love. I would like soft ground though for Charlies enthusiastic jump!  There is a lot of running in our level!! I couldn't beat a snail for a seat on a bus with my Dodgy Lungs and Dicky Ticker, so next year we will be swerving sideways and joining the Walk Only Leagues. My November Rosettes arrived today.  I showed them to Charlie, but he was busy eating!

And so its nearly time for the Big Event!  No Not Christmas! Its just a day like any other.  Get up early and see to the horses!  No, I'm talking about The Top Barn 2023 Winter Challenge.  I have already printed off the worksheets and put them in Charlies File.  I know a lot of people have got the diaries.  Others will have computer based spreadsheets. Being old I prefer to write stuff down with a pen!

I have declared Bronze, but will aim for Silver.  Charlie and I have a lot of stuff to work on.  As well as The Agility Stuff, we have also been building up Charlies chest muscles. He is definitely looking more muscular, so its time to try and ride him again! 

Good Luck everyone taking part in the Challenge. 

November Rain. Top Barn Challenge, and The YouTube Shorts Phenomenon

 Yup its the middle of November.....And its raining. Constantly.  I know in the Summer I moaned about the lack of rain (constantly), but enough is enough. I am FED UP of getting wet now. I have even ordered a dry robe/human tent and am starting work on an Ark. Now in theory I don't mind the rain (being British and all), but its come with wind.  The wind knocks over my delicate Agility Course. As I have become addicted to Agility, I want to get on with the November competitions....If the wind could just drop, and stop blowing away my 'Flag Alley' and flattening my 'Curtain'.   Last month being Halloween, I had Witches Hats on my cones, and was constantly chasing after them as the wind took them.  But I did have a couple of calm days, and managed to film my entries.  I am thrilled to announce that Charlie got a First in Liberty with a Perfect Score, and a 2nd in The On-Line Course, which bumped us up a level, so we are now working on Medium Level Tests.  We also worked on The Level 3 Course Blueprint.  An easy set of moves.....but done on the offside.  Still pretty easy.....unless your pony is partially sighted on the Offside....Like Charlie.  It took a lot of work, and a lot of trust from Charlie, who prefers to have his Offside clear.  Working at his shoulder on that side meant I was blocking his view, and he constantly tried to swap sides.  But we did it!

We also had a lovely sunny day on Monday....Meg came over and we took advantage of the weather and hacked the mares out.  Meg rode Daisy and I rode Lulu and we all enjoyed a nice relaxed hack in the Sunshine.

And so we are revving up for the new Top Barn Challenge. It doesn't start till January, but its Sign Up Time, so everyone is hyped up.  Top Barn Online has been running the Winter Challenge for a few years now.  Perhaps Admin could let us know when it started?  I am now on my 5th Challenge. I failed to complete the 2020 Challenge due to catching the dreaded Covid and ending up with pneumonia and 2 cracked ribs from coughing!  But we completed 2019, 2021 and 2022. 

Top Barn is a very special Livery Yard in Gloucestershire, and they came up with a brilliant idea for an Online Community and a Winter Challenge to get people outside and doing stuff with their horses during the deepest darkest winter months. The Online Community has grown and grown, and there are now Summer Challenges and Competitions, aswell as a thriving Online Community.  Members have become friends, and visited each other.  Nobody judges and everyone is welcome no matter if you are just learning to ride, or compete at high levels.  Everyone is there to support each other.

 And so every January the Winter Challenge begins.  Its  NOT a competition.  Everyone pledges a Level Of Commitment.  I.E  Bronze Level....You commit to 3 hours work with your horse a week. 30 mins can be Pamper Time, which includes Hanging Out, Grooming, Carrot Stretches, Hand Grazing etc, with the other 2.5 hours consisting of training, which can include Groundwork, Hacking, Schooling, Lunging, Trick Training etc etc.  The Levels go up with the time committed...Silver is 5 hours and so on.  This goes on for 12 weeks.  During this time you get one Holiday week, and one Rollover Week.  The Holiday week is just that. A Holiday....Yeah put yer feet up, Get the Beers in.  The Rollover week is a week you may need to take due to sickness, 6ft snowdrifts etc, but the time needs to be made up before the end of the Challenge.  My advice is to get your Rollover hours 'banked' early so that week is in reserve.  It is based on honesty.  You should record as much as possible by Phone, Pivo or Partner-willing-to-film.  Or record your activities on an app such as Equilab.  Then upload your progress weekly. As I said, Its not a Competition, so if you cheat, you are only cheating yourself.

I strongly advise everyone to go 'Premium' .  I think it costs £12 this year.  Thats literally £1 a week.  Lets face it, you'd be lucky to buy a loaf of bread or pint of milk for a quid!  For the £12 you get many extras, such as Rhi's Randoms.  Each week Rhi sets a task.  If you Complete, Video and Submit the task in the week you go into a draw to win a prize from a sponsor. At the end of the 12 weeks, everyone who submitted all 12 mini challenges get a Rhis Randoms Rosette.  There is also access to Question Time ( with Rhi, not Rishi Johnson or whoever is PM), Rider Yoga, a fantastic time sheet to fill in, and the girls at Top Barn deserve your support. They work really hard, making up challenges and checking submissions.

I would like to add here that I am nothing to do with Top Barn.  Although this sounds like an advert, I promise you I am not being paid to promote this in anyway.  I am just a member of the Top Barn community who has enjoyed 5 years of friendship with fellow horse-owners and love the Winter Challenge. Its something to look forward to and a kick up the butt to keep working throughout the Winter, when it would be all too easy to see to the horses, then go home to hibernate.  I don't even have a link to join, just look-up Top Barn on Faceache.

If I wanted to promote something (and maybe I do) I would steer you towards Charlies YouTube Channel...... @Charliethetrickpony ..... I think. I have discovered YouTube Shorts!  Videos of 15 seconds or less.  For some bizarre reason Charlies YouTube shorts have attracted up to 25k watches and doubled our pitiful Subscribers. We now have  86 Subscribers.  Only another 914 to go and Charlie can pay for his own hay!!!  We are currently uploading 'band names' once a week. So go on, subscribe to our channel.  It doesn't cost anything and you can imagine me struggling to come up with a band name we can re-enact each week😀.  Example..... Wham.  https://youtube.com/shorts/osBy23XULxw?feature=share

So... Sign up for Top Barn, watch Charlies YouTube Channel, try something new with your horse, make a promise to yourself that you will achieve just one thing over the Winter, just embrace the wild weather......But Don't Hibernate!!  I will touch base once more before the dreaded C word x

Ragwort - The Struggle Is Real And Halloween Agility.

 As usual I have to mention the weather!!!  We are back to normal,  with normal rainfall and our fields are coming back nicely, which is some sort of miracle after looking like dustbowls all summer.  The mega dry spell encouraged the Ragwort and it got away from us. We spent hours with pickaxes digging the bloody stuff out of concrete hard ground. In the meantime it seeded........

Then it rained.  The baby Ragwort plants have sprung into life. Thousands of them. Like Cane Toads they multiply faster than we can clear them.  At least now the ground is soft they are easier to get out. So we have made it into a game.  We do 10 minutes a day.  As they form into family groups, or cities in our case, we pick a spot and uproot as much as we can in the time allowed.  We can do a 100 plants in 10 minutes!!! Jo generally uses a RagFork which gets the roots, but I find the bending over to pick up the plants hurts my lungs, so I just use the poo picker. This is OK on soft ground, but i have to watch I get the roots rather than cut through them.  I've noticed the roots spread out and they all join each other like buttercups. We are determined to have a better summer next year, and not put ourselves through hell uprooting tall seeding plants!

And so onto the Halloween Agility Course!!   Its been fun.  I love Halloween and have several decorations and costumes!!!!  The course is easier than last months where Charlie and i had to learn Sidepass and Send Away.  We managed a First Place in the Online Pony Class, and a 3rd Place in the Liberty Class, so not too shabby.  I thought I could get this filmed quickly. Hmmmm.  First the wind carried off my Witches Hats!!! Then Charlie took a sudden dislike to weaving through the cones!!!!  I thought he had got out of bed the wrong side, then I realised the sun was glinting off my fake blood covered plastic knife, and shining into his partially sighted eye.  Not being able to work out the source of this spooky light, he chose to hide behind Mummy!!  

Third day of filming (and me wandering about like The Grim Reaper), The Pivo went on strike.  It needed a charge.  Day 4, Charlie brought the Curtain down on his back.  To give him his due, he didn't bat an eyelash, but I don't think demolishing the course constitutes as 'Passing through the Curtain safely'. Day 5 he took a dislike to the Halloween curtain.  To be fair, it was quite straggly at this point and he'd already stood on it and wrapped it round his face.  He stopped dead, backed up, looked at me on the other side, and calmly walked around the scary corner to reach me.  The Thinking Pony, solving a problem.  I was pretty impressed!!

After all that I have given Charlie a couple of days off, and took Lulu out for a hack with my friend Viv on Daisy.  The weather was kind (warm sun) and we found another route avoiding the busy village of Snape at Child-Kicking-Out time from the local school. We had a chilled ride, with Lu only going into Arab mode once when she saw some people picking Lollo Rosso in a field (scary I know).

In other news, Charlie had a Craniosacral session with Jade Monahan the miracle Holistic Healer.  Turns out he has a lot of tight muscles to go with his non existent chest.  He was also very stubborn about letting go, and very vocal about where she could put her hands.  He backed up, barged forward, side-passed, reared! But he would not admit to any pain, and just let it out!  We got some releases, but it was a very physically and mentally tiring session for all 3 of us.  Luckily Jade is still willing to come back in a couple of weeks for another session!

https://www.facebook.com/jademonahan.esmt

Whoa! Its Nearly October. A Visitor and Revelations!!

 Wow Its nearly October!! How did that happen???? So much happened in September my head is spinning!!!!!  So first we will start with the weather like a good Brit should.  It rained.  Off course it did!  I mean its Britain.  It always rains, except for June, July and August.  But finally it happened....and has been happening.  The temperatures have dropped severely and having got used to the high 20s / 30s we are now freezing at 13c today.  But the grass greened very quickly and although its growing again, we are still feeding hay.

The other major happening was Amanda Cowsill came to visit.  She brought the rain from oop North.  Literally in a glass jar, which we are keeping for the next drought.  But she also dragged the clouds with her.  And brought a massive insight about Charlie. On day one of her visit, she and her daughter Debbie came together.  Debbie and I bombed around on Lu and Daisy, while Amanda got to know Charlie.  They got on really well and he connected with her immediately, which is a really big deal, as for many years he wouldn't go near anyone else!!!!  Whats more Amanda addressed the problem I was having getting Charlie to sidepass.  All while Debbie and I were riding around at random on Lu and Daisy in a homemade 'school' measuring 15 x30. Ish.  Next I got on Charlie and we tried to move off.  At this point Amanda had an Eureka moment.  She sussed out why Charlie is OK with me mounting, but not OK with walking. She noticed he has non existent chest muscles and concluded with the extra weight on, he was frightened of falling over!!  Oh how did I not see this?? Its been apparent for a while that me sitting on him was cool, but moving off caused a problem.  I put it down to him being unsure as I wasn't in front of him. What with his poor eyesight and all.  I never noticed his weak chest.  He has great Topline and a big arse and muscled quarters, but thats no excuse to not notice that you could barely get a fag paper between his front legs!!!!   I feel terrible.  Especially as I have been here before with Harry, my ex stunt horse.

When i bought Harry he was only 5 years old, but had been a stunt horse. He had a reputation for being mean and dangerous.  I was sure it was a problem I could fix.  But Harry did not have a bad bone in his body.  He was so sweet and affectionate.  I would go into his stable while he was laying down and sit in the straw with him, and he'd lay his head on my lap.  But he could buck for England, big huge 'Get Off' bucks.  Or throw himself on the floor when he couldn't dislodge me ( I could ride in those days!!!!).  It got worse as he got older and I began to realise it was pain, not a mean temperament.  So the investigations began as he deteriorated to the point where he was lame and would pin me to the wall if i tried to rug him.  We discovered he had a broken vertebra that was sticking up, and so at 7 years old I had him PTS as there was nothing that could be done and he was in pain.   

So imagine how guilty I feel for not seeing that Charlie has a physical problem. Again I thought it was a mental problem.  I should have asked myself Why? But there we go. No point beating myself up even more.  Amanda has shown me some exercises to build up his chest muscles.  We have changed Farrier (not going into that, but they all needed a lot of work) and I have the fantastic Jade Monahan coming on Friday to do the Masterson Technique.

And so back to Amanda's visit.  On the Saturday, with Debbie working all weekend I went to Norwich and kidnapped Amanda.  Having put her to work poo-picking, I then took her to The Suffolk Punch Trust.  Amanda loves Suffolks, and being in Suffolk, we unsurprisingly have the biggest stud just down the road. We watched a demo in the indoor school.  Then the heavens opened. It poured. Tropically.  No-one could leave the school for at least half an hour! Including the demo horse and groom.  Who were at our mercy as we asked a million questions.  Did you know its about double cost to shoe a Suffolk!

When we were able to leave I took Amanda to Shingle Street, the weirdest beach ever, because it changes weekly due to the North Shore Drift.  Now I knew Amanda doesn't like the sea, whereas I love it and have a hobby/business beachcombing.  But she was keen.  Yup too keen. We scooped up a few hagstones, some seaglass (not usually found here, but just as I said that, Amanda pointed a piece out - which she possibly planted -) and made our way back to the car, where she tipped her 'finds' into my hands.  This included a 'Gold' chocolate coin!!!! Obvs this made me laugh.  Even more when I told Mark the Mechanic and Part Time Horse Whisperer that we had found gold on the beach and for half a split second he believed us!!

Amanda's visit went downhill from that moment!  We cannot have anyone stay at the house because our crazy Belgian Malinois likes to kill and eat visitors.  But we have a camper van.  The plan was to stay in the van somewhere nice.  But Mark was in the middle of welding it.  So lovely Leiston was the destination.  Leiston is not that bad, but I warned Amanda if anyone knocked on the door in the night to say she wasn't buying or selling.  We went into town and had fish n chips and by about 9pm I was knackered from having dodgy lungs and a dicky ticker and left Amanda to it.  

On Sunday things went downhill even further!!!! Yeah so we had breakfast at the Beach and the sun was shining. Great for a beach bum like me, but we already know beaches are not Amandas thing!!  Then it was off to work, picking up poo etc.  We had a short session with Charlie and then set off to a local nature reserve to check out the wild herd of Konig Ponies.  During the Summer they graze Aldeburgh Marshes and are easy to find.  But in Winter they are driven further up the coast to Minsmere Bird Reserve.  Which is massive!!!!   

We walked into the Visitor Centre to be greeted by several long lens cameras!!  Yes I thought as we shimmied down the steps.  Either they know we are here.....or they are excited over a rare feathered bird instead of The Lesser Spotted Great Northern Explorer !!!  They were looking at Finches or something equally common.  I inquired as to where the ponies were and we were pointed in a vague direction.  We walked about 5 miles (well it felt like that) checking out some bird hides along the way.  They were inhabited mostly by Great Bearded Tits getting excited over Ducks!!!!  While looking for the ponies we saw an Egret (although I have no idea if its rare here) and a Heron took off over our heads (definitely not rare here).   When we reached the gate to the Konigs ten square mile 'paddock', I looked through my phone camera at 30x.  I thought I saw something moving in the distance.  I also thought I saw a mountain lion (or maybe a Lemur).  So we walked alongside their perimeter another mile or so.....and found hay bales.   At this point I had walked way too far, and the walk back was slow to crawling.  We considered stealing someones off road mobility scooter, but they were still using it.  Another thought was Amanda dragging a bench with me laying on it.  But in true Brit Grit fashion I put one foot in front of the other and we made it back.  I bet Amanda was glad to get back to Norwich!!

So gluttons for punishment, Debbie and Amanda came back on Tuesday.  We were after visiting a Tack Shop.  But first we went for lunch at a local Riding Centre, which has a great cafe, and you can eat lunch while watching their Camel grazing with the ponies.  So we rocked up in the Cafe.  We ordered food.  "So wheres the Camel?" I asked.  "He died" whispered the waitress.  Oh No!!!! 2nd Fail!!!  Still we found a tack shop via Debbie's highly intelligent talking car.  And hopefully we had a laugh.....even if a few things didn't go to plan!!!

So since Amanda has left I have been working on Charlies's chest with excercises and lateral work. Co-incidentally the LHS task on Top Barn Level 3 was turn on the Haunches and Turn On the Forehand. We had a go. Charlie has never been good at Turn on The Haunches and left a leg behind, as well as doing more of a 'Turn on The Belly', but its been a good excercise.  In better news we did real good in The International Horse Agility August competitions, getting a First in the On-Line First Level, a 2nd in Liberty and a 2nd and a 4th in The Summer Of Sports competitions.  We have been working on the September Competitions.....and Daisy is sound so we have been on a short hack!

October promises to be an exciting month, so tune in next month!