Build an Ark, Halloween Agility and the Top Barn Challenge Looms

 Oh what rain we have all been having. We need to build an ark!!!  2 weeks ago we had Storm Babette who threw down a months worth of rain in a day. There was massive flooding in Sunny Suffolk. Cars under water up to their roofs. Lots of people and their horses flooded out. Our ponies were ok as we are on top of the Only Hill in Suffolk.  But poor Jo had her house flooded as did a few other friends. Then last Thursday we had Storm Ciaran (?).  More flooding and near Hurricane force winds. Since then its been raining!  During high winds many people ponder weather to bring their horses in. My view is they are better left out. Horses are herd animals and are born to run away in danger.  Left out they can huddle with the Herd, or run for it, if a tree comes down.  Shut in a cage (sorry Stable), they can hear Armeggedon going on around them, but cannot run away.  The stress must be immense.  Our Ponies don't have Stables so have to stay out. And after a night of weather chaos we arrived to find them happily grazing, without a care in the world. Personally I am fed up of the Wet stuff now and would appreciate some dry days.

Horse Agility has been great fun this/last month.  I mean its always fun, but October had a Halloween theme. I love Halloween, so used Pumpkins, Witches hats etc to decorate my course.  Charlie and I had a hard time with the Pumpkin Weave which had to be done with me at his right shoulder. As he cannot see much from his right eye, he does not like me at his right shoulder which blocks his limited vision.. We have just had the results through and I'm pleased that we had a 1st in WO Silver Liberty and 3rd in WO OLHA.  When we had finished filming we smashed up the Pumpkins....

https://youtube.com/shorts/7eXjFHO2GrE?si=VH9npUoQOv1VNUKB

So with Winter approaching fast whats next?  Well a lot of hard work!!!  Jo and I are girding our loins.  Jo is waiting for a hip replacement and my Dodgy Lungs And Dicky Ticker are getting worse. Papworth have fitted me with a tracker so they can keep an eye on me remotely.  The good news is its a Garmin Venu 2 smart watch and I love it.  Every cloud and all that!  Between us we nearly make a whole person, but it is hard going looking after 5 ponies in Winter, so if anyone wants some exercise/tuition/rides/fresh air/numb fingers/wet clothes/kisses from a Shetland pony please let us know. 

Obviously I will continue Horse Agility with Charlie throughout the Winter and Daisy, who is ancient but doing really well will be coming back into work. Charlie is coming on with his ridden work, and needs to start hacking with Daisy as a nanny pony. And then the Top Barn Challenge is looming.  I have just signed up Charlie for Bronze.  This is our 6th Challenge.  I have been told to slow down, hence the Bronze only, but this year there is a Copper Challenge, so maybe I will do that with Daisy.  Its a great motivation to keep going during the Winter. 

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

https://amzn.to/3YI7XvC

https://amzn.to/3XgSvFC

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?  

The End Of The Challenge, Stressage Results and Clicker Training

 WOOHOO!  We completed the Top Barn Challenge.  With the Holiday Week still in hand!  I wanted to finish the Challenge by riding Charlie, but it was not to be. I did manage to sit on him for about 2 seconds and he was calm, but most of the last two weeks of The Challenge he has gone back to feral, suddenly afraid of the tack and being restricted in any way, so we spent our time at Liberty (his comfort zone) and learning to say Yes. The week following the Challenge (or Week 13 as I see it) we took a holiday.  Well Charlie did!  Obviously him (and the other 5) still expect room service daily! And the snow came!!  I Told You So!! Although it didn't lay for long, we had NE Winds bringing Snow, Sleet, Hail. I hate Hail, it hurts! Jo and I struggled on, pushing ourselves in the crap weather, wishing we had some weekday help.....So if you are that person sat at home, bored, wanting some hard graft and a good dose of fresh air in return for a nice Highland to ride, and coffee and biscuits......please get in touch.

And what of that Stressage Test?  Well it almost reduced me to tears!! If it wasn't a problem with filming, it was Charlie objecting to being led on his blind side. Not to mention I had to run. Ok not for long, but enough to reduce me to a heaving, gasping mess, ready to pass out. Eventually I ran out of time for perfection and submitted my best attempt. Imagine my surprise when i didn't come last!!! In fact we came 2nd.  I have just received my test marks!! 84% with a couple of tens and some lovely comments. I am soooo pleased with my boy,

And Finally I would like to talk about Clicker Training. Many people in the Horse World ignore Clicker Training, or think it may lead to a nippy horse.  BUT if taught right, it can actually teach your horse to be polite around treats. It is also a way to accelerate learning.  Horses and all animals (including humans) need motivation to learn and work. Imagine if you went to work every day and your boss just expected you to put in 100% with no praise and the only feedback you got was being moaned at?  Ok so this happens in the workplace (we have probably all been in that job), but that results in an unhappy employee. You are rewarded by a wage, so that's why you work, but there is no motivation to give it your all.  You become shut down, do the minimum amount of work required and have no job satisfaction. You are probably searching the Job Ads right now. 

But what if you had a nice boss?  One that praises you, thanks you? Brings in cream cakes on birthdays? Lets you have time off on school holidays? Works as hard as you do? Takes you out for meals? Yup you try twice as hard to get it right.

So it goes with animals. Tell your Dog s/he is a good girl/boy. The tail will wag. Dogs like to please their human family.  With Horses (and other animals) a "Good Boy" may not be enough reward. But a treat is usually a high value reward. 

Throughout the Animal Training world, Clicker Training is being used. Film and zoo animals are Clicker Trained, not only to perform tricks, but for veterinary work. I have seen videos of chickens playing The Star Spangled Banner on keyboards! Or Tiger coming in for jabs. My favourite was a Clicker Trained Polar Bear!

When I first began working with Charlie, he was feral. I tried a number of training methods, most of which messed up my head.  Then I found Clicker Training. It worked. We have a good relationship. When I call him he comes running. He wants to learn. Yes he wants his carrot treats, but he is excited to see what he has to learn to get them.

Here is a link to our latest YouTube Video - Begin Clicker Training

https://youtu.be/BCuQpoOIvoo

Top Barn Week 10, Stressage, And Hard Work

 Yes we have completed Week 10 of the Top Barn Challenge.  We have had our Rollover week, but not a Holiday week, so technically Week 11 is the last to complete the challenge, but I am still expecting snow! Ok so the last week has been mostly sunny.....I can feel the warmth of the sun, and layers have been stripped off.

Charlie has been full of spring grass, even though we cannot actually see it growing yet. It may be all in his belly. It is showing in his springy heels!!!

We have not been totally connected.....Charlie has his mind on fresh grass and the mares (probably in that order), so we have spent the last couple of weeks playing at Liberty and working on a dance routine. However although I haven't actually got on him, we are getting close.

We have also been working on our Stressage Competition. What was I thinking? Back in the day, I hated Stressage, the most boring part of ODE. And that was ridden!  In-Hand Stressage? Am I crazy? I have to run! With my Dodgy Lungs!! But anyway we are sort of getting there.  Jo filmed a couple of run-throughs today for me.  Charlie was fairly good. But I wasn't satisfied. So back I went this evening with Mark The Mechanic and Horse Whisperer for yet another take.  Although willing to work, Charlie decided it was too dark to trust me on his blind side.  I would say he 99% trusts me, but when he is struggling with what he can see.....At the end of the day (literally) I am not a horse!!  Yup Sorry to break that to you!  With his feral background he still looks to other horses to keep him safe. 

So more filming to come (sorry Jo).

As much as I have loved my 4th Top Barn Challenge, I may have to take a week off to recover at the end.  Its all been a bit hard core. I am still looking after my Mum 4 days a week.  And the Winter seems to have dragged on (even though its getting warmer).  It's the extra work involved in the Winter months that's the killer! Jo and I are on our knees!!! It hasn't helped this year that our Hay Barn is being restored.  So our hay is delivered once a fortnight. It lives outside, so we have a daily battle with a gigantic tarpaulin and several hundred bricks and pallets to keep it warm and dry.  We should be experts at putting up tents!

Daily we move 4 ponies onto the up-coming grass for 2 hours.(The other 2 stay on the night paddocks as they are Fat Fu****, I mean Good Doers). Then its a round of hanging up hay nets in the field, filling Hay Feeders, Filling Water Tubs, Poo-Picking, emptying Poo trailer, forking up Muck-heap, cleaning trailer, refilling Hay Nets and trailer with hay,  bringing back 4 ponies onto night paddocks. At this point we are exhausted and need to stop for a coffee and a biscuit! We have help at the Weekends, but we desperately need weekday help! It's the hay wrangling that's killing us.  SO.........

Do you have free mornings?  Would you enjoy the fresh air and exercise? Would you like to share a loving Highland Pony in exchange for a bit of hard graft and a small contribution towards her keep? Daisy has so much to give, and although we love her very much, she would love to have her very own human that she doesn't have to share with the other 5.  Daisy is a bombproof, but forward going Happy Hacker. She hacks out alone and in company, is very loving and sweet. She is in her 20's and is not going to set the world alight, but may well light up your world!

 

Storm Dudley, Storm Eunace and Storm Franklin versus Top Barn Challenge and A Dressage Test!

 Ok so this is not a weather Channel! However it may as well be.  After jinxing things with the last blog, by daring to mention how kind the Weather Gods had been to us so far in The Top Barn Challenge, they threw their toys out of the pram and sent us Storm Dudley, and Storm Eunace ....and Storm Franklin. Thanks! 

So week 7 of The Challenge started with Storm Dudley....  It was a bit blowy, but we are used to wind here on the East Coast. This coincided with my Nurse duties being upped as my Mum had hospital and hairdressing appointments. That was 3 days written off. As the well publicised Storm Eunace was do in on Friday I decided to take my Rollover Week ( still saving Holiday week for the Snow!!!).  Having banked 2.5 hours, I snuck in the needed half hour on Thursday, filming Rhi's Random, in between storms.  A Lunging task....Lunging is Charlies Nemesis.  However we have been working on it, and he completed the task.

 And so Friday dawned. Remembering the Non Hurricane of '87, I half thought the Weather Boffins were just covering their arses.  The other half was slightly excited at the thought of a mighty wind. Yup it blew a Hoolie.  I had to ride the hay trailer, to hold it down, standing upright was a bit of a problem, but it wasn't hurricane force.  The horses couldn't have cared less.  Bringing them in from the Summer Grazing to their Night Field, I got caught by a gust and the field gate.  As I sailed past Charlie, like a Galleon under full sail, I grabbed a handful of his mane.  He immediately anchored up and stood firm as if to say "I got you Mum". He's got Brownie Points for at least 3 weeks! 

 The wind got up, so I went for a walk down the Beach with Freya Dog, and Other Half.  I say walk!  They went for a walk while I filmed the sea. And got pushed nearer and nearer to the waves. Eventually I grabbed the anchor rope of a beached boat and pulled myself away from the Sea. As soon as I let go I was blown over.  My Other Half (Mark The Mechanic and Part Time Horse Whisperer) said it was like watching a rag doll being shaken by an angry Bear! Freya Dog who is 20kg lighter than me, had no trouble staying on her feet, although she is slightly lower to the ground and all muscle. 

And so Week 8 began.  With Storm Franklin, who was never mentioned until it started. Not quite as blowy, but very wet. Poo Picking was like having a power shower.  If I'd known I would have brought shampoo, and saved some time!

But this is the Top Barn Challenge, so to hell with the weather!! I seem to have entered The Hub In-hand Dressage Comp. It involves running....I mean who am I kidding???  Charlie and I set about practicing, in the 'School'.  Heaving for breath I measured the 'School' knowing it wasn't 20 x 40, but hoping it wasn't far off. it was!  In fact its 35m x about 14m.  So I set about making a 'Dressage Arena' in the flattest part of the Summer Grazing. The sun shone, the birds sang, spring was in the air. I grabbed Charlie and we started practicing. Suddenly all Hail broke loose. The 'Arena' was white within seconds. But this is the Top Barn Challenge...so we carried on!

Friday we had a Round Pen Session working on sharper transitions, and some standing at the mounting block. Of course I was up on the mounting block with my coffee. Charlie moved, so I asked him to reposition himself. He kicked the (flimsy) block, my coffee flew skywards and landed all over his ears. he curled his lips and that finished me off.  We may have to rework this!!

Today was warm (9c) and I was able to have my fleece surgically removed to soak up some Vitamin D.  Charlie and i spent a glorious hour playing at Liberty, starting Spanish Walk and generally having fun.  And so I have not got on him yet (again) as we have been pushed back a week......But next weeks looking good!

Top Barn Challenge, The Lizard and Nurse Ratched - The Story So Far

 Well we are already in Week 4 of the Top Barn 12 Week Challenge.  One way to make January whizz by. And the weather has been kind.  Its barely rained here in Sunny Suffolk, and more importantly the wind has been elsewhere. Yes its been cold (many frosty mornings), but its bearable without the wind and rain.

And what about that Lizard??? Well Top Barn has an extremely helpful Monday Evening Session with a lady called Vee Sheers.  Its all about confidence.  And what happens when that confidence disappears. This may be caused by a fall for example.  Next time you go to mount, The Lizard rears his ugly head, tells you that you are in danger, and pushes the panic button, which causes the fight or flight response to begin.  Helpful for staying alive in truly life threatening scenarios like being chased by a sabre-toothed tiger back in the year Dot. Not so helpful when you know better, and yet The Lizard still takes over.  The Lizard conveniently forgets the thousand rides you have had with no problem, and only remembers the bad ride.

I had a long chat with Vee. I am not lacking in confidence. I will get on any pony without the slightest fear. Except Charlie.  In fact I am happy to get on. But Charlie also has a Lizard pressing his panic button. He panics when i am not by his head. Once he panics, my Lizard pushes the button, and i jump off.  This has been going on a while.  I constantly get to the point where we are are both happy with me riding him, as long as someone is by his head. Once he panics, my Lizard reminds me of the time he bronced me off.  With my Dodgy Lungs and Dicky Ticker, I don't want to repeat this.  As the former Queen of Bucking Horses, I was more than surprised when he threw me, and so my Lizard remembers this and pushes the panic button......Charlie is a danger when he panics!

Vee suggested I get outside help. So I contacted my old friend Marie to see if she could help.  She could!! And Can!! Marie and I go back to The Dark Ages. We kept our horses together for many years. She was a top show-jumper as a child, and has started (and bred) many youngsters. So last Tuesday she showed up to access Charlie.  As our long-reining is a bit iffy, she started there.  She told me that I cannot do enough long-reining to get him used to going it alone with me behind him. Following another horse he is fine, but alone? Not so good, unless your idea of long reining is looking at the horses face!  Marie took up the reins. Charlie said No. Marie very firmly said Yes Get On. A look of fury crossed Charlies face. Here we go. Then he thought about it and decided he best get on with it. An hour later and we were all exhausted!  So I have been practicing ever since, and he has been a star.  We also addressed the mounting block phobia.  Although I can get on from the ground, the mounting block is a no-go zone. Progress has been made.  I can't wait for our next session.

As well as this, Charlie and I have been fitting in Rhi's Randoms (various groundwork tests), trick training ( We have just achieved our Intermediate Trick Horse certificate from Horse Tricks 101) and filming a Groundwork Competition for Top Barn. I've had more trouble from the Pivo filming the show, than I have from Charlie and i getting it right.  Every time I think I have filmed a perfect take, I find the Pivo has wandered off to intently film a non-moving, non-horse-shaped tree!! After take 1003 I have submitted my much edited entry and the Pivo is now for sale on Ebay!! Its lucky it's not stamped into the ground, or thrown into The North Sea!!! So if anyone wants to buy a 'pre-loved' Pivo.....I have one for sale!

As if this wasn't enough to be going on with, I am still performing my Nurse Ratched duties for my Mum.  Although she is slowly gaining her independence, it is a slow process. However there is light at the end of the Tunnel. We went to The Hairdressers yesterday. And she was less out of breath than I was!  She is regaining her appetite and microwaving meals for herself. I suspect she is sick of my burnt offerings!!  I am in quite a routine now, up early, work Charlie, look after ponies, see to Mum, sometimes eat, and fall asleep sitting up watching Emmerdale!!

Come back next month to see if I am riding Charlie at last!

Listen To Your Horse, A Crazy Month and Top Barn Challenge Begins!

 OMG Its been a crazy month!!! At the end of November my 84 year old mother became ill.  We thought it was a chest infection, so being the only child I began visiting daily ( hour long round trip).  I abandoned the Show-jumping classes and just did The Top Barn Fancy Dress classes with Charlie. (We got a 5th and a 6th and received some massive rosettes).  Apart from that Charlie languished in the field becoming feral, while I raced around in Headless Chicken mode.

Then I lost the plot slightly and decided to take him to a Livery Yard and put him on full grass livery. It seemed the only option in my new Time Short Life!! Christmas Day I went to Mums, and 'enjoyed' a Pot Noodle for Xmas Lunch!  I've had some dodgy Xmas Dinners in my time, but this took the prize!  But, never mind. Boxing Day lunch was booked up with Mark The Mechanic and Part Time Horse Whisperers family at our local Sports Club.  But upon ringing my mum, I discovered she had collapsed and an ambulance had been called.  Lunch abandoned, I got warp speed out of the Astra, and arrived just behind the Ambulance, running up the stairs and bursting into the flat, gasping for air.  The poor Paramedic!!  He was just about to give me oxygen as well and book a second ambulance, but I managed to gasp out that I had a long-standing heart and lung condition, and I would be fine....eventually.  Having extremely low oxygen sats, Mum was taken to hospital with Blue Lights and all.  My life then revolved around a booked in visit with daily Lateral Flow Tests, for a week, until the Hospital suspended visiting.  Turns out she has blood clots on her lungs.

So the day came to take Charlie to his new home.  He has always loaded fine.  In fact any time we have had a trailer or lorry open, he has loaded himself just to check for food. He wouldn't load.  When I say wouldn't, I mean he violently refused, rearing, knocking me over.  He couldn't have said No more clearly. It got dark. We gave up.  When I arrived the next morning, Lu was curled up like a dog. Charlie was flat out, snoring and leaning against Lu. When they got up, I realised Lu had Colic.  Jo and I went into nurse mode, like a well oiled team.  A few hours later, Lu was feeling better and I went home, thinking.  I don't generally think much. I kind of Do, and sometimes React, but never overthink.  However my brain was in Full Thinking Mode.  I realised the Ponies had spoken loud and clear about my decision to move Charlie.  They were not happy. I also realised that I had had a knee-jerk reaction to the changes in my life.  I have always had a habit of doing a thing I call 'Chucking The Balls In The Air'.  When things change, I react without thinking and change everything, and see where the balls land.  It has rarely worked out.  So this time I followed my heart and Charlie's feelings....and we are staying put.

And so the Top Barn 12 week Challenge has begun.  2 days later my Mum was released into the wild.  As weak as a kitten, living alone, but apparently not feeble enough for any help.  And so I am again racing over to cook her meals, shop, clean etc. But I will not give up the Top Barn Challenge.  The answer has been simple!  Get Up Earlier!!!  Plan each day like a Military General. Forgo the PH induced afternoon nap. Ignore the Side Effects from my meds. Oh and ignore the state of the house (Its NOT the end of the world if I don't hoover daily...after all the doggo makes a mess daily).  I have in fact discovered if I ignore the Washing Up long enough that Mark The Mechanic and Part Time Horse Whisperer does it! 

And so the first week of the Challenge has gone surprisingly smoothly. Charlie has forgiven me for trying to move him and is entering into the spirit of the Challenge with enthusiasm.  We have mostly been working on the next Top Barn Competition, and re-visiting our trick training.  We belong to a Trick Training Group, Horse Tricks 101 and are completing our levels. Who needs Sleep?

Somewhat Challenged, Those 100 Miles and Strange Weather.

 Oh Yes. It's the Weather Channel again!!!  I just feel I have to mention it, being British and all! August has been....er....odd!! Every day its been cloudy, heavy and around 20c. But NO RAIN, except for 5 minutes of mizzle. With a North wind steadily blowing its a been chilly enough to wear jeans, boots and jacket. Then the sun peaks out (usually late afternoon) and its clothes off, sweltering! I'm confused!

So the Top Barn Challenges!  Well Lulu and I went out of Last Horseman Standing on Level 4.  Simple Challenge!!!! Lunge horse in walk, stopping every quarter of a circle (like a clock-face on 12, 3, 6 and 9). Lu, like many horses has been taught to go forward on the lunge.  We worked at it daily. We really tried. I discovered in long reins off the bit, she would halt, but that was due to pressure on her mouth. The minute I went to one rein, no halt. I tried everything. Carrots (lots of), leading to start, a surcingle, a single rein through the bit, no bit, different words, waving a whip in front of her, jumping out in front of her, crouching down, sitting down, crying!!!! Lu was getting as frustrated as I was.  So that was it. We were defeated. On Monday I had a look at Challenge 5, And I Laughed! And Laughed.  Challenge 5 is a ridden challenge, backing up round a Figure 8.  I may have mentioned.....Lu does not back up for anyone!!!! That made me feel better.   Its been interesting to work with Lu.  She has been trained differently to Charlie, and its been a challenge in itself to communicate what I want.  I wish the remaining Challengers the Best of Luck.

And so the 100 mile Challenge with Charlie?  Well its safe to say we will never crack it in the time left, having just got under 90 miles left!!!!!! When I signed up, I thought the IV drugs may help my breathing. Which they have, a bit.  I forgot my right leg was as strong as a foal in its first 15 minutes! And I forgot Charlies ability to plant like a thousand year old Oak, when he is unsure. However, he is doing well at long reining.  I abandoned the idea of driving him when I uncovered his cataract over the lens of his off-side eye. BUT....Who is to say we can't drive without blinkers eh?  I asked Mark the Mechanic and Part-time Horse Whisperer to make me a large skateboard, so Charlie could pull me along.  He refused on the grounds of it being dangerous! ???????  So i have bought some roller-trainers!!

I have also caught Mark watching Pony Carts on Ebay!!!!!!  My (very bad) maths says we have to do 2.5 miles a day to complete in time.  I'm thinking that I will just see how long it actually takes me to complete 100 miles. I can crack on when Charlie and I have filmed our entry for the Top Barn Liberty class. Most of the test is no problem.....till we get to the Lunging part. On a line, off a line, Charlie does not like to move away from me.  So we are working on following a target around me.  We are getting there. We have a week or so to complete.  If I don't break my neck on the Roller-Trainers!! It all might be easier to just jump on and ride the bugger!!!!!!

Last Horseman Standing, The 5 Mile Challenge and Mr Pickles

 So the Top Barn Challenge is going well. Half well!  The 2nd Last Horseman Standing Challenge was to stand behind a pole, and get your horse to touch a cone 2 metres away! Charlie? No problem. Charlie has been taught to target. Lu has not. I started with a quick lesson in target training. Lu couldn't see the point. I tried lunging her to the cone, in the hope that she would touch it. Nope. I tried laying down reaching out towards the cone. Lu thought I had lost the plot. Prudence in the meantime thought this meant doggo cuddles, and Charlie kept zooming in, touching the cone, and begging for treats.  Eventually I 'ground tied' Lu to the Cone, stood behind the pole and relaxed with a coffee. Lu stood there staring at me.  I picked up a lunge whip and tapped the cone. Voila! She also touched the cone. Whoop whoop. Onto Level 3.  

Level 3 is simple. Mount horse from normal side, stand for 10 seconds, then mount horse from other side and stand for 10 seconds (without pulling their back teeth out).  Easy I thought, rushing over to the Yard. For a start it was windy, and farm machinery was doing its farming thing nearby. Secondly Lu was Hangry. We are strip grazing them, so she clearly thought I was there to move the fence back. Nope, I brought her into the "School" and tried the Challenge bareback in a head-collar. She Would Not Stand at The Mounting Block!!!!!! Then I remembered that I have to hold onto her when Jo mounts.  Ahhh Not so easy then!

Gave it a rest for 2 days.  Then took her to The Round Pen, tacked up. Lu thought we were off for a hack, and walked off the minute my arse hit the saddle. Several times. In between that, she slowly backed up, barged through me, and even bit me.  Eventually she was as bored as I was and stood still. For at least 30 seconds, while Jo checked the phone could still see us and was filming. Dare I hope for a repeat mounting from the Offside?  Yes I could.  Hopefully we are through to Level 4.  We await with baited breath to see what fiendish Challenge awaits us tomorrow. I suspect it may involve the pole, and backing up. Lu will not back up for the Pope, let alone a mere mortal like her Chamber-maid!!!

Charlie and I are not doing so well with the 100 mile Challenge. In 2 weeks we have done a grand total of...er...yup...5 Miles!!!  Only another 95 to go then. Our mileage has been gained in between The Last Horseman Standing Challenge, clearing out the old Barn and yet another trip to Papworth, where I had to perform my 6 minute walk test (pointless, as I had tweaked an old knee injury and pretty much dragged my right leg behind throughout the test).  My right knee, shin and thigh were smashed up, crushed and destroyed when I was 17, in an accident involving a horse falling on the road (with my leg still in the perfect position), followed by a motorbike accident 11 days after I had my cast off. My knee creaks like an old barge, and I limp like an ancient Farrier at the best of times. This is my excuse (along with The Dodgy Lungs and Dicky Ticker) if I get to the end of the 2 months having only done 20 miles!!!  And The Patchy Twat is not happy going out solo. Despite our bond, everything becomes a scary dragon when its just me and him anywhere beyond the Farm. However its not over Til The Fat Lady Sings. In my fantasy land, he will let me ride him, and we will zoom off into the Sunset together, clocking up the miles by October. In reality I will spend the next two months persuading a rearing, planting Patchy Twat that life beyond the Bottom Of The Drive is possible (without being accompanied by a grouchy Shetland mare and an 8 year old!

And back to that mention of Barn Clearance. Our old Barn is literally falling in. Our Horse Landlord finally decided to repair it. The Barn is full of 20-odd years of crap, which has mostly fallen to Jo to clear out. Many dump runs have ensued. 

On Monday, while Jo was slaving away, she found a Hedgepig, wrapped in the netting we discard from the hay-bales. How bad do we feel?  Just wanting to get the whole thing away from the hay, we have been discarding it into a no-mans-land of rubbish left by long gone liveries. So Jo and a friend managed to unwrap the said Hedgepig, who was quite small and very shaken.  I had a dog crate in my truck (along with a Kitchen sink.....Don't ask), so we set up home for the Hedgepig in the crate, with a cardboard box house, and kept him in the Tackroom for 5 days. Jo fed him the best Cat Food, while I dug up worms from the Muck-heap and caught ear-wigs for him.  We called him Mr. Pickles. All week he has wolfed the cat-food, and fattened up.  Yesterday he started to try and get out. Time to upgrade his rehab. Our friend Joey has a lovely big garden and a Hedgehog house!  So Mr. Pickles went to live with his new mum, in a large pen in Joeys's Garden. When he is settled, she will remove the pen wire, and Mr Pickles can live a normal Hedgepig life.

Do drop by in a couple of weeks to see how the LHS Challenge is going, and to see if Charlie and I have managed another 5 miles!!

Top Barn Mania, Transplant Options and Life Goes On

 Top Barn Mania has got to me!!! So I entered Charlie into some shows! And I had hacked his mane off....And he was still a bit Feral. MMMM What to do?  Ah yes. Hog him.  But he is scared of the Trimmers, and they would never go through that mane.   !!!! Ok buy some bigger Cordless Clippers. It would be fine!  Actually due to the work I have done with the trimmers, it wasn't such a bad plan! We spent an hour with the Trimmers and a lot of carrots. In that time I had trimmed Charlies face. Next day within an hour, the boy was hogged with the big clippers!

Next, teach him to lunge quietly!  That's where it all fell apart!  Charlie just doesn't do lunging. For a start, he is partially sighted in his off-side eye. So he doesn't like being lunged when his bad eye is on the outside. He is also more comfortable at Liberty. Still, we ran through the Groundwork Challenge. He cantered instead of walking in lunge. Then I got all dressed up to do the showing classes. Quite easy I thought.  But Charlie absolutely refused to trot up! Then I found out we had another week to achieve perfection. 

And what a week it was!  On the Monday I had to go to Papworth Hospital to attend the Transplant Clinic.  They just didn't sell it!  To get on the Transplant list I would have to live like a Nun. Then if I did get a transplant ( I need Lungs and Heart), I would have to wrap myself up in cotton wool. And all this would involve monthly visits to check I hadn't had any Sherry Trifle for at least 6 months, as well as going back to Hospital to be poked and probed. I politely declined going on the list. I have never wanted a Transplant anyway. i feel if your time is up, then its up.  And I would rather someone younger with kids had the new heart and lungs. I have had a good life, and intend to live the rest of it to the full, and if that involves a bottle of wine, then so be it. I'd rather go out with crash, bang, wallop, while laughing than live a half life! BTW Charlie and I never did get that perfection. Still sulking, he refused to trot up and I simply don't have the puff to push him. But at least we tried.

And now I have become a Top Barn Challenge Junkie!!! I entered The Last Horseman Standing competition, even though it involves riding. Jo is currently unable to ride, with a bad hip, so kindly lent me Lulu for the Challenge.  Each week a new Challenge becomes available, and we have the week to complete it.  First week....Send horse around you in a circle on both reins without moving your feet. Its harder than it sounds, but Lu aced it (being well trained by her mum). Can't wait to see what next weeks Challenge is.

As if working with a different pony isn't enough, I have entered Charlie into the 100 mile Challenge. We have to complete 100 miles together in 2 months. I will have to do most of it on foot. Lets hope the inconvenient IV drugs are working!!!  Its one way to find out! He is a wuss when going out without another horse! I'm hoping he will take pity on me, and let me ride him!!! As well as that, I have a trick video i want to create. Charlie and I have just received our Level 2 Award from The Trick Academy, so we need to keep working onwards.

I'll update you all next month (if I'm not in my bed with exhaustion!)

BOOM! Top Barn 12 Week Challenge Completed! Now What?

 Whoop Whoop!!! Both Jo and I completed the Top Barn 12 Week Challenge.  I went to the Wire! Only completing my hours on the very last day.  But we did it!

Week 11.... Charlie started in Full Patchy Twat Mode.  Took him for a walk out in-hand down the lane.  This brave pony that doesn't mind me popping balloons in his face, took exception to daffodils, waving gracefully in the wind!! He planted more than a farmer in spring.

Funny how a 14hh pony can grow to 16hh in seconds!

On Day 4 I decided to go for some TRT methods of leading.....that was after I spent 15 minutes trying to catch him!! This used to happen every day, but since I began Clicker Training its a rare occurrence. A sure sign that he needs a break!  Come on Charlie.....Not now!

The following day Patchy Twat mode was disabled.  We had a pamper session, some TRT leading and RIDING!!! With Jo at his head (but not leading) we rode around the Round Pen several times, with Charlie looking like a Riding School Pony!!

We finished the week in High Winds with some tricks and a balloon popping video for Horse Tricks 101 Group. The wind carried off a few balloons!!!

Week 12 - At last the weather was OK.  I started off with some Clipper Training. Most pleased..... Managed to clip some feathers and Charlies withers!!!!! Big deal for a pony that took off at the sight of running clippers!!

So Day 2 - Jo and I thought we would film some Mini Challenges.  The In-hand stuff went well. And so to the Ridden Challenges.  As I had ridden Charlie all of 4 times (with Jo on foot), I naturally thought I could hop up and do some ridden challenges, while Jo was doing them on Lu.  Charlie said No Way, Too Fast, NOT Happening!!!! Having got up he planted.  I got him moving, then he planted again. Jo and Lu came to give him a lead, but the only thing that was working was reverse and spin. Like some sort of washing machine cycle.  He was as tense as a crossbow, shortened up ready to explode. I caught sight of his rolling eyes and decided to get off. The Old Me would have stayed on and got after him.  The Old Me nagging away says I was a coward! The Old Me would have sat the explosion.  But the New Me is Old, with Dodgy Lungs and a Dicky Ticker.  The New Me also realises that frightening Charlie is going back several months. He had reached Station Shut Down. I think I did the right thing.....At least the right thing for me and Charlie.

So my goal for The 12 Week Challenge was to be hacking out by the end.  The Final Hours of the Challenge were a Fizzle rather than a BANG.  We spent the final time doing old tricks, nothing too stressful for the Boy. BUT......We have achieved Riding and Clipping.....my 2 goals if not completely, then we have made a good start.

So Whats Next??? Well Charlie has had the last week off. Typical English weather! Tuesday and Wednesday were 20c, T-Shirt weather, now its snowing again!! But on Wednesday, I had a lovely hack on Daisy, with Jo and Lu. Charlie and I have a new trick to learn, and I will continue to ride him, but slowly with Jo beside him, until he is OK with that. Repetition is everything with this pony!

This last weekend being Easter, and Charlottes last week with us (Charlotte has been doing her Duke Of Edinburgh award with us), we had an Easter Egg Hunt down the lane for our stoic Saturday Helpers. Easter eggs were found!

A Big Shout Out to our Saturday Helpers!

First up Neecy who has been with us since she was 13.  She is now 18, and could look after the ponies blindfold. She is indispensable and has a special relationship with Daisy.

And then there is Nancy, who is 8 years old and has been helping for the last 4 years,  She is happy to poo pick, dragging a heavy scoop to the trailer, and is much loved by Mini The Shitland.

Finally Thanks to Charlotte, (13) who has been doing her D of E with us and has worked her butt off every Saturday for the last 6 months despite the cold Winter. We will miss you!

Happy Easter...............See You all Soon.