The Challenge Is Over, Will Someone Please Turn Up The Heat! And Goodbye Prudence.

 So the Top Barn 12 Week Challenge 2023 is officially over!  Charlie and I completed the Silver Premium, which equates to 5 hours training every week (except the Holiday Week).  I'm not gonna lie......Its been hard doing this all on the ground, even with The Agility Practice to keep us busy. One of the things I wanted to do was get Charlie used to my noisy clippers.  And clip his great furry feet.  One of the things I have learnt was that he is now not scared of the clippers, but of any form of leg tidying.....or even touching!!!  Its all my fault.  Last year I was using sheep shears to clip his legs. With a very pointy end.  He spooked at something and the pointy end stuck in the bulb of his heel!  No big deal really. Lots of blood but no infection or anything, due to me administering lots of stinging iodine.  But it seems he hasn't forgotten this incident.  Which is odd, because today (after only 2 days off) he has completely forgotten how to cross a tarpaulin with me on his blind side!

The other thing I wanted to work on was building some chest muscle.  This we have achieved with a lot of polework and reverse round pen stuff. This is all with a view to finally riding himself. With this in mind I have been tacking him up a lot and mounting, sitting there and dismounting.  We are both bored with this now!

As we went into March the False Spring vanished and the Snow came.  It didn't amount to much, but it's been bloody cold this month. And wet (which is good), and windy (which is definitely not good). As I write the temperature is dipping to zero again. The Daffodils are out, but The Blackthorn Blossom is still very much out. And so The Blackthorn Winter continues!  Please someone turn up the heat.

Poor Daisy had colic again last week.  Its not looking good in the long term. Yes we are on sandy soil and sand colic is common when the grass is short. The ponies pull up the short grass and ingest the sand with the roots. But twice in a month is not that great.  Daisy is 23 now, and never had colic before this year. In my experience at her age this will happen more frequently now. So we have put them on the Spring Grazing a little early.  It could do with a bit longer to grow, but needs must. Meanwhile Charlie has lost his brain cell in the grass somewhere. Not only has he forgot his Agility Course (and we only have 3 days left to get it right), he managed to rear up with the Farrier tonight, while the Farrier was holding a hind leg up! 

And now its time to get the tissues out. On March 7th, Prudence the dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Prudence was Jo's dog and came everywhere with her, so was at the Yard every day. She was such a character.  Sweet and loving, and funny.  She pulled such funny faces.  She had me wrapped around her dew claw, and conned half my food out of me each day.  She was great friends with my old dog Scrumpy, and patiently put up with my new pup hanging off her wattle. 

Without her the Yard felt very odd and empty. Freya (my dog) is banned from the place due to being big and scary and a committed horse herder. Jo had never been dogless before and asked me how long it took to get used to it.  My honest answer?  Forever, or until you get another dog. Luckily a Bulldog needed a new home, so Jo has a new companion and we have a new yard dog.  Dolly the Bulldog who is about 4 years old and was used for breeding. She is adorable and is healing our broken hearts. 

Run Free Sweet Prudence, and give your old mukker Scrumpy a kiss from me x

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