Love My Horse

Back To School

2012-01-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

First lesson today in ages for Amy and I- new instructor, Sally Philips took us back to basics with ground work; stop and start when asked to. Amy can be bargey, expecially when there is open haylage, a haynet or a barrow full of juicy haylage on the yard, which we have to go past to and from her stable.

Sally showed me how to use the whip as a tool,rather than a punishment, tapping her with increasing pressure if she ignores the aid and quickly removing the "iritation" when she responds. We worked on using the bit pressure effectively for leading, again taking the pressure off as soon as she responds. Common sense, but boy can I get it wrong!

We moved on to walk forward, she has to take the step first, then stop as soon as asked, and moved up to big walk without breaking into trop. That made the stop harder!

Finally we did it all by the open haylage; that took a few attempts, going into the stable and coming out again.

Now I have to put it all into practice tomorrow morning! Plenty for me to work on over the next couple of weeks.

2012-01-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

Happy New Horse Riding Year! It's raining and the fields are getting very muddy but Amy loves it! Well I presume she does as she comes in with every bit of her body not protected by her rug well and truly plastered in sticky mud from rolling. We've got a batch of juicy meadow hay at the moment, not ideal as she can eat it far quicker than the stalky rough stuff, but she's happy! I'm looking forward to better weather and more riding and really must get into the school a bit more as she was doing very well before Winter, managing to stay in trot and change direction which is pretty good for us. Have to admit I enjoyed my week off from mucking out etc over Christmas. Thanks Pamela and Alan, it's so good to know that she is in safe caring hands when I am away! Here's a Summer photo to brighten up this damp day.

Almost Christmas

2011-12-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

This time last year we were deep in snow. So far it has just been wind, rain and a bit of frost restricting riding but no doubt there will be some snow at some point. The mud has got pretty bad now at the gates and areas where horses are taken in and out of the fields. Otherwise the fields are not looking too bad though. Amy loves to roll in the mud, bless her, and has managed to break a strap on her new rug after only 2 weeks. Mane and tail conditioner is a blessing in this weather. I just brush some through once a week and it keeps her mane silky and helps the mud drop off; yes, even with a neck cover on she can get mud in her mane. I leave her feathers on all year so her feet get very muddy, but under all that hair her skin is dry. It seems to work for her though many owners of hairy horses prefer to take the feathers off for winter. I work on the theory that they were designed to work in muddy fields so feathers are there for a reason. Roll on Spring!

Winter's coming

2011-11-06T09:06:00.000-08:00

Where did the summer go! Lots of lovely riding, taking advantage of the improved bridle paths around Boston Spa and Wetherby and enjoying a bit of cantering on the stubble fiels before they re-seeded them.

The unusually warm weather kept the grass growing longer than usual and the paddocks are looking good for Winter.

Very few mares at the yard this year so Amy is in a paddock nearer the yard for a change. Saves me 20 minutes in the morning as it is much nearer for turnout.

She has loved going through the orchard - apples are abundant this year and there is always the opportunity to grab one on the way past.

She has been in over night since mid-September so dieting is going well adter a Summer of lovely grass. I only feed hay and balancer and the poor fatty has had to manage on very small rations for now.

The vet came this week to do teeth and winter vaccinations and the farrier for a hoof tidy. I am glad that she isn't shod, as it saves me a lot of money and her feet are great.

She is very hairy and due a clip any time now. We will take everything off apart from her leg hair ( one girl who doesn't mind having hairy legs!) and a saddle pad. She will have to go into a winter rug then, but it will soon grow back.

The dark evenings are depressing and restrict riding but there is something lovely about coming to see her tucked up for the night.

Hope we don't have as much snow as last year !!

June in the summer pastures

2011-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well after such a lovely month in April, May was hit and miss and June has not got off to a good start. Still not much rain, though today it is raining, but the lack of warmth is not good.Everyone is saying that the cost of horse feed will go sky high, and it will not be easy to get hay and haylage. Fortunately Amy is a "Good Doer" so the current lack of lush pasture is great for her. We had to use the grass muzzle for the first few weeks and despite what appears to be a lack of grass she is still managing to put on a bit of summer fat. I sympathise - show me chocolate and I can put a pound on!

We have all been swapping fields regularly to give the grass a chance and our mares have had to get used to some new experiences. They have to come past a field of someone elses horses, which brought on a bit of prancing and snorting at first, then there are the lambs and now a new mare and foal, oh and the driving carriages that practice in the field we go past. Yesterday there were lots of people working in the potato fields - a tiger would have been less scarey!

We are loving giving the little foal a scratch, she is very inquisitive and the mare seems happy enough to bring her to the fence for us. It brough back memories of Amy's foal on June 4th 2004. I can't believe that she was 7 last week - hope she has turned out to be as lovely as her Mum, she was certainly a lovely little foal as you can see.

Flies and midges - the battle begins

2011-05-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

It's great to have my horse Amy out on 24 hour turnout for the summer, but it comes with it's own problems. Amy react quite badly to biting insects. She doesn't really suffer from sweet itch, but still gets very itchy and will scratch herself raw sometimes. As a typical feathery heavy horse type, she gets itchy heels all year round and I regularly dose her lower legs (when I can find them under the feather) with a mix of oil and sulphur. This can be bought ready mixed or by buying pig or heavy horse oil ( I think it is the same thing) and mixing in sulphur powder. She has been very itchy on her dock this year and I am trying a horse product by NAF which is specially prepared to soothe and help itchy skin. Watch this space. Biting flies can cause my horse to come out in nasty sceptic blisters. I use a gel fly repelent under her tummy and round her teats and also in her ears, and fly spray everywhere else. This year I am trying adding an oral fly repellent by Feedmark to a handfulk of Lo-cal so again - watch this space. You can get this by following the Feedmark link on my horse directory. Anyone else tried anything that works well?

Spring is here!

2011-04-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! daffodils blooming and at last a couple of warmish days. Amy is frantically shedding her winter coat, leaving me and all my possessions covered in white hair. Shedding blade helps and I love taking off layers of dead hair and hanging it in the bushes for the birds to line their nests with. In a few weeks we should move to 24 hour turnout. I look forward to a few months rest from mucking out, but full turnout brings with it the worry of overeating and constant application of fly spray. Amy is a "good doer" and will be wearing a grass muzzle to restrict just how much grass she can get through in a day. She has been on restricted hay and just chop with Lo-Cal all winter and is looking trim and gorgeous. I will be stocking up on fly spray and keep some diluted cider vinegar handy to apply to bites. It's light enough to fit in a ride after work now and it's so much nicer riding out without layer upon layer of warm clothing. Have to remember it can still be a bit nippy though and although we have had a few days of being able to go out without a rug and have a good scratch, summer lightweight is back on today.

It's getting lighter

2011-02-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

February and thank heavens the days are lengthening. Getting up to muck out and turn out is easier now that it is light and what a joy to go up to feed etc in the evening in daylight. It will be nice to be able to fit a bit of riding in after work, even if only in our little outdoor school. Amy is a typical coloured cob - can't see a lot of point in going round in circles but we have persevered and with a bit of help from a better rider than myself, can now do a decent session in the school. We are working on improving bending, flexing and keeping in trot! Most of the horses are starting to lose their winter coats now and Amy is looking good after a winter of very tightly controlled diet. She's a foody though and we have a battle getting past the open haylage and any tasty looking bushes when we are riding out. I am looking forward to giving her tail a good wash and her hairy feet a bit of a trim when it gets a bit warmer.

Oh no it's snowed

2010-11-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

Oh the sinking feeling when I woke up at 5am on Sunday and could see that it was far too light for that time of morning. Creeping to the window I peeked out and yes - several inches of snow had indeed fallen over night. First thought - oh no, how am I going to get the car out and get up the yard. By 8.30 I realised that I wasn't so a quick call to our livery yard to see if anyone could help. Fortunately they are very helpful and had already fed Amy and were ready to take her down to the field for me as they guessed I would have a problem. I managed to get there mid afternnoon to muck out and fetch her back in - she was ready and hungry - couldn't understand where the grass had gone suddenly.

Another big fall of snow overnight last night so same routine today. At least she is clean as there is a good covering of snow.

Not fun walking on it though and driving up the lane to the yard is exciting - especially if you meet anyone coming the other way.

Looks like we are in for at least a week of it, so no riding.

Roll on Spring

Winter Riding

2010-11-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Autumn has crept up on us bringing all kinds of changes to my riding and horse care.

It has been warm but that has not stopped my horse Amy from growing a winter coat. Amy is a typical heavyweight coloured cob and grows an amazing thick winter coat, as she is basically designed to live outside, without a rug. However, she is also a very hot horse and sweats badly at the slightest bit of exercise. So, she has now had a blanket clip, which leaves the hair on her legs and in a blanket shape across her back, but takes the thick hair from her neck, chest and belly. She is now in a medium weight winter turnout rug with a BossyBib protector to stop her rug from rubbing at the front. She has already managed to break a leg strap on her rug, probably by rolling - hey ho - back to the menders. I take her rug off and check her regularly, giving her a good grooming to get rid of mud, loose hair and work in the natural grease that she is so good at making.

Hooves are checked and picked out each evening to remove packed in mud and stones and I rub oil into her heals and back of her legs where she is prone to problems from mud.

I will have to trim her tail as it touches the floor and will get very wet and muddy.

Although the winter months mean that I have less oportunity to ride I do enjoy seeing my horse in her stable at night and sharing quality time with her while she munches on her hay.

Hopefully it will be dry and not too windy so we can get out for a nice ride at the weekend

Appleby Horse Fair

2010-06-06T08:30:00.001-07:00

Well I finally managed to get to the Appleby Horse Fair. For those who don't know about it, gypsies from all over the country gather here once a year to show off and trade their horses. It is a very old tradition which unfortunately has been given bad press, generally due to problems caused by a few who are really not a genuine part of things. I was generally very impressed by the standard of the horses, and the friendly carnival atmosphere. Yes, my heart went out to some, in particular a mare who was so pregnant and tethered on a verge at the side of the road. Having had the pleasure of seeing my own mare with a foal I thought of the rotten start that one was going to have and just hope that someone was there to make sure they were ok. Watching them bath the horses in the river was great, and nothing seemed bothered, though some were a bit cautious first time in. Long may this tradition last and hurrah for all those who really care about our wonderful traditional coloured cob and keep the breed going.

New bridle path ride

2010-04-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

It's 2nd April and we were lucky enough to get a nice sunny morning before the rain came. As part of upgrades to the A1 in West Yorkshire we now have a series of new bridle paths, which have opened up the off road riding in our area. We ventured into unknown territory this morning, taking the track from Boston Spa through to Grange Park, Wetherby. Crossing the roudabout is a bit dodgy, as there is nothing to slow the traffic down as it approaches or comes off the roundabout, but with three well behaved horses we were ok. The track then runs through trees and besides the fields, and although there is the noise of the A1 traffic,preventing any form of conversation, at least we were off the road. If the council maintain the verges there will be some good canter stretches, and there are plenty of opportunities for a good trot. You can cross the A1 on a bridge and return along the other side, but we came back the way we went this time - enough adventure for one morning. Horse riding has become so popular we are now seeing plenty of riders round our way due to these new tracks. Lets hope the motorists give us a bit of consideration when we do have to use or cross a road.

Beating the Mud

2010-03-20T03:11:00.000-07:00

Typical - Saturday and it's raining here again. The fields will very quickly become muddy again if it keeps up, so Amy's neck cover went back on this morning.

Amy gets problems with mud if she gets too wet, but I have taken advice from lots of heavy horse owners, and this Winter used a mixture of pig oil and sulphur powder applied to her lower legs and backs of her leg joints and it certainly has helped. They say it stops the grease building up and also kills off any nasty bacteria that gathers in damp patches.

She is shedding frantically at the moment, which means that everything I possess is covered in white hair!

I will give her a good scrub with a curry comb when she comes in and then put the hair into the bushes for the birds to nest with. Those baby birds must have the cosiest nests around.

With a bit of luck it will brighten up later as we have a lesson booked at our yard.

Spring is coming

2010-03-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hurrah - the fields have been harrowed and rolled and there is a little bit of grass showing through again - it will be lovely to get some fresh grass instead of just hay.

The days are getting longer and mucking out in daylight is a treat after what seems to have been a very long winter. It's also nice to come up in daylight after work and won't be long before there is time to get in a quick ride before the sun goes down.

A morning ride in fresh Spring sunshine makes up for those long dark days