The NagTivity Play, And a Happy New Tier!

 Hope you all had a Happy Xmas, and Wishing you a Happy New Tier. I mean Year! Yes as we rush headlong into 2021, we here in Suffolk are in virtual Lockdown again, having been placed in Tier 4 on Boxing Day. For anyone reading this outside of Britain, here is a brief explanation!?!  To combat the plague our government has put us into a Tier system, depending on how bad the plague is locally. At the moment Tier 4 is the worst place to live!!! Essentially it means pubs, restaurants, non essential shops, gyms, cinemas etc are shut. We must not mix with other households indoors. We must not travel out of Tier 4 into other Tiers. We must not stay away from home.  However this does not seem to apply to the 10,000 Londoners who have flocked to The East Coast to spend Xmas in their Holiday Homes! We are sharpening our Pitchforks and preparing flaming torches!!!!!

Somewhat lacking Xmas spirit, I only decided at the last minute to recreate The Nativity Play with our ponies. None of them are trick trained, except Charlie, and he is only beginning his journey into the world of tricks.  What could possibly go wrong?? I had a title....The NAGtivity play. And the cast.....Charlie as Joseph, Daisy as the Virgin Mare-ry (although as she is the only one to have had foals, is the least Virgin like), Lulu in her golden magnificence as The Angel (and the Bar Keeper), the 3 Minis as The Wise Ponies (Mini also had a part as the Town Cryer), and of course The Maligator as a lone Dutch Shepherd. Ok so she is a Mali, but had Dutch Shepherd blood.  Prudence the Bull-Dog desperately wanted a part, so I made her the Director and The Elf and Safety Officer.

Now to film the scenes with a bunch of ponies not trained to perform certain actions (like standing where they are put, holding things, ringing bells etc). I started with Lulu as she at least ground ties. However I was unsure is she would like being dressed up, especially the Angel wings attached to her ears!!! But she was a superstar!

Charlie and Daisy were a challenge!!  Although they live together, they have a strange relationship. They nag each other like an old married couple, but in their field they have Lulu to sort out any squabbles.  Without Lu as a referee, I just kept filming and got some good bits!!  Daisy decided she must be a film star, and acted like a Diva, with more dressing room Riders than Christina Aguilera!

The mini herd were as good as.....almost!! Mini was a star, ringing the Bell briefly as The Town Cryer.  Unfortunately she thought she had done her bit, and as a Wise Pony, ate her gift of Burrs.  Lily has never been dressed up before, and was a little wary of her clothing.....and her gift of Frankies Mints! Coco happily accepted the Costume and was happy to hold (and eat) her gift of Golden Hay. The main problem was stopping them wandering off!!

Both dogs played their parts well, and with the use of a voice changer and a LOT of editing THE NAGTIVITY was made........

https://youtu.be/OvTbrPbw1Yk

And so as we free fall into 2021, we are ready for the snow and The Top Barn Challenge. Happy New Year. x

A Slightly Mad Xmas, and Happy New Year...

So Xmas got very sociable!!!!  First up we had a Mini Pony Party. About 12 girls played gymkhana games and pony glittered.  Lu was brought in for gymkhana which may have been a little beneath her Eliteness!!

But Mini enjoyed it....

On Xmas Eve Rob and Meg brought a 'Picnic' up......which was actually an oven to make wood fired pizza which was yummy.....Good job the O'conners turned up to help us eat it all!!

Xmas day itself I wasn't doing anything special so volunteered for the poo picking. It was a beautiful sunny day and I took a lot of selfies and general pics. The Ponies looked like they had been to the pub the night before.  There was a lot of dozing going on. Mini was happy to do the 'Xmas Pose'

Boxing day!!!! Maybe least said the better Lol.  Please stop reading right now if you are anyway BHS or Health and Safety conscious!! I went on a Boxing Day Alcohol Hunt with Sarah. I truely meant not to drink much.........
I borrowed a horse off Georgie who shares grazing with Sarah.  Monty, a lovely big black cob, who hasn't been out for ages. (Poor Monty). With Sarah on her lovely William, we started with a glass of port. And off we set.  The idea is to ride around Aldeburgh blagging drinks!!!  I have to say....we DID have fluorescent sheets on the horses (Aldeburgh being full of tourists at xmas).  The first two stops we received very pokey sloe gin.  By the time we got into the High Street to stop at the White Hart, we threw caution to the wind and opted for Zambuka Shots!! 

More Zambuka at Dps Bar.  By this time we were hugely photographed, while grinning like loons and waving like the Queen. We went home via the beach, somehow avoiding the hoards of walkers, calling in for a final glass of Champagne at the last house. It seemed wrong not to attempt to finish the bottle of Port when we got back!!

As if all this wasn't enough Jo turned 60 during the week so on Saturday she had Tackroom Cocktails... Or as I kept saying Cockroom Tactails!!   The Cocktails in question were Champagne Cocktails, made with Champagne, Brandy, Angostura Bitters and a Sugar Lump.  The Tackroom was packed and people were very merry!!!!  BTW - The horses were looked after first!!!

On New Years Eve we had a very eventful ride.  And that was before any alcohol was imbibed!!!!   It all started out innocently enough.  Meg was all set to take Nancy for a plod on Mini.  As Daisy was looking sound, we were talking about taking her for a walk. So I suggested Nancy ride her, led by Meg, while Jo and I accompanied with Lu and Molly.  Molly was like a cat on hot bricks!!! She just wanted to go.  Which was not possible with a 5 year old on Daisy. The more I held her back the worse she became, gathering her body up and cantering sideways. So we turned back. Not the best idea!!  Molly revved up more, and then Daisy (who was very sound), thought a jog would do no harm. She jogs a lot with me, I find it quite comfortable as I am used to it, but actually its quite bouncy.  Too bouncy for a 5 year old!  
Molly was completely sideways at this point, so I saw poor little Nancy fall. Quite a long way down off a 14.2hh when you are 5.  After years working at an Equestrian Centre and the RDA my instinct when a rider is down is to jump off to assist.  So thats what I did.. As I started back up the track with Molly, it dawned on me that it would be nearly impossible to grab Daisy without Molly kicking her, as they haven't really made friends!
Thankfully Nancy was fine, although didn't want to get back on, which left her walking while Meg led Daisy, after helping me back up, which wasn't easy as Molly wouldn't stand still. I rode back with one stirrup 4 holes longer than the other, while Molly still pranced!
When we got back Nancy agreed to ride Lu in the school and had a lovely time. I never forget being told by my Dad that you have to get straight back up. (I think that was when I was 6, after I had concussion from my hatless head being knocked against a road as the pony I was on bolted while I was being dragged as my plimsoled foot had gone through the stirrup)

And so as Jo and I have a New Years Resolution to ride more for fun, and try to find more of a work/fun balance, we took Lu and Daisy out for a nice long hack on Wednesday. We went down the lanes of Snape, across the common to the Burger Van, where I was tempted by an eat now pay later burger.  Lu was bored by the time it was cooked and black clouds were coming over, so we legged it down the road that takes us back to the Farm tracks, while I was still eating.  Yes awfully BHS to be trotting down the road, scoffing a burger (I did lose a few onions!). 

It has turned a bit colder today.....But we still haven't rugged.  They are all furry and not at all cold. Its easy to think of the horse being as cold as we are...BUT they survived the Ice Age.  They have thick skin and coats. We don't!.  We are feeding plenty of Hay and they still have grass.  Plenty of forage equals an internal central heating system. 

Meanwhile as cold humans we have a lovely wood burner on the go in the tack room.

An Exciting Buy and Merry Xmas From Us xx

Well what an exciting time.....Jo has only gone and bought a lorry. Its well cute. Ford Iveco, 2 horse, side loader. We went and picked him up last Saturday...I had the easier task of following her back in her Subaru. Oh yeah.....Its a boy lorry.  Harry the Horsebox. Top tip here though......If driving a car with a seat-belt sensor do not have a loose Jack Russell with you.  Or any dog come to that. Or a handbag! At first I was alarmed at the beeping....then I realized it was Scrumpy, my Jack making the beep. Unable to reach the seat-belt and plug it in at 60mph, I turned the radio up.....Which was fine until it starting playing the chart of 1966.  No offence to 1966.....its when I was born, but i like slightly newer music. A plus point is Harry the Horsebox almost fits in the barn, thus becoming a really solid Dove-pigeon baffler.  My other half came along Sunday to check out Harry......he's a mechanic....Mark the Mechanic.  We waited with baited breathe until he pronounced we had a good un.

Over the last 3 days I have been taking pix of the ponies wearing xmas hats...Or trying to.  Last year I photo-shopped a hat on Charlie and myself.  This year, with the trust between us pretty strong he was happy to wear a hat and pose with me loose in the field for a selfie. Trouble is what with holding the hat on in the wind, and not having gorilla arms, the pix ain't that good.  Daisy wore the hat but wouldn't stop eating, and Lu ran off snorting. The Shetlands on the other hand are born models. With smaller ears I was able to secure the hats and they stood and posed.

Meanwhile at the Rda we had our final session before xmas.  We played pass the parcel.  As the speakers are all packed away for the move I ran around holding my phone aloft as it played xmas songs. Oh did I mention I had an elf tee-shirt and hat on?  Tilly wasn't at all sure of me.....I thought it was the music coming from my pocket, but it was the hat.  After kneeling down to let her sniff the hat, she then realised it was just me. And guess what was in the parcels? Yes a carrot in all of them. All the riders got a pic of themselves mounted on a card.

So its Merry Xmas from me, The Super Model Shetlands, and Him.

The Shetlands

Me and Charlie

Harry the Horsebox

Xmas Selfies....And yet more Rain

Well this week has rolled by in a haze of rain....... Lovely. Backed up by a cold wind.  We have upgraded all the rugs to medium weight.  Even Charlie.
He is back to being caught up and taken for a walk every day.  Though Jo and I are doing it as a two-man (woman) team.  Its time to get tough. I have been thinking of him as a baby and doing it all gently gently.  But actually he is a very coltish, bolshy, chunky 3 year old BOY, and needs firm handling.

Next week we will move fields and they will all be in the 4acre.  I am going to fence off a very small schooling area, and hopefully work them all in hand as much as poss.  Its hard going in the constant rain, wind and mud for some reason!!  Could be that part of us that says we want to get home and snuggle in front of the fire with cheese on toast, watching Netflix!!!!

Anyway, here's our xmas selfie.....Hats photo-shopped!!