YOU CAN REACH MY CARD MAKING BLOG HERE
PitaPata Horse tickers

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Crafty Boy!

The horses are coming in at night now, which means more work for me, of course.  Barnaby is notorious for door-banging in the mornings.  I don't need an alarm clock.  I noticed that Missis had thrown out the rugs she had in her kitchen, and an idea was born.  John nailed one of them to the inside of Barnaby's stable door on Sunday night.  What a brainwave.
So I woke up to peace and quiet on Monday morning and couldn't believe my luck.  If this is the shape of things to come, I'll be happy.
So imagine my shock when I went into the stables to find the light on and Barnaby in the feed room, head stuck into a sack of Hi-Fi Lite!  I was speechless, to be honest.  I stayed very calm and grabbed his headcollar.  He didn't object to me putting it on and leading him back into his own stable.  I then went back to the feed room to assess the damage.
Fortunately Barnaby hadn't been able to get any of the lids off the feedbins, but he had eaten his and Zak's breakfasts.  Marvellous.  I was more concerned about how he'd managed to unlock his own stable door and the feedroom door, but highly amused that Simon had been considerate enough to switch the light on, rather than let 'poor' Barnaby stumble about in the dark. 
I've used a leadrope clip to lock Barnaby in at night ever since, but then was worried sick that he'd try to jump out.  Thankfully he seems to have realised the game's up and has stayed put.  It's lucky he didn't get colic, too, isn't it?

I always wear hi-viz when I ride, but John and I have recently bought some new ones.  Check these out:
We have a hat band with the blue and grey check on as well.  When you're riding along, people definitely think it says Police, especially as my pony tail hangs down and covers the 'T' up.  My normal hi-viz says, 'Please pass wide and slow,' which is quite good, as it gives an instruction to the driver.  A vest saying, 'Caution Young Horse' is pointless as it has no significance to drivers.  They just think, 'You have a young horse, so what?'  At least 'Please pass wide and slow,' tells drivers what they should be doing.
But these vests are in a different league.  Motorists are frightened to overtake me from behind, whereas normally they just go past.  One woman was on her mobile phone, saw me and flung it onto the passenger seat!
It improves your riding, too.  Being seen as a possible member of the Met means you don't want to let the side down.  Barnaby could quite easily pass for a police horse, too, so I am thoroughly enjoying this new look. 
I'd better go and lunge Zak.
Have a great day, everyone.
Jane

7 comments:

  1. Hi Jane, oh wow some horses have more sense that you give them credit for, he obviously thought you took far to long to get up, and I think that is was very clever of Simon to put the light on to for Barnaby. Im so glad he didnt suffer with colic because of it, daft beggar.
    Enjoy your ride, hugs Shirleyxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barnaby is obviously a smart horse! One of the ponies at our yard got out one night & ate all the other horse's breakfasts which were outside their stables! The other horses were highly indignant & poor Pico had a tummy ache.

    I think those hi-viz jackets are great - one of the liveries at our yard is a policeman & he has one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Barnaby is too smart for his own good....*G*

    Here in NJ, we have a law that motorists are supposed to slow to 25 mph in the presence of a horse. Almost no one knows the law.

    Too dangerous to ride on the road around here but that vest is great!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. WOW....what a smart horse! We don't see too many horses around town, only once in awhile. But thankfully when we do, I noticed that they all slow down to almost a crawl!

    Blessings~
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jane, I do hope that you are ok, its a while since youve blogged and Ive seen you leave comments on my blog so I know your still around. I do hope the horses are fit and well and the livery is working out ok for you. Hope youve not had any snow yet. take care hugs Shirleyxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your high vis jackets are brilliant! I smiled out loud at Barnaby going on a stealing food spree! One of my cats would do pretty much anything to get his face round some grub! Luckily he hasn't figured out how to get into the cat food cupboard and instead sits right in front of it staring at me trying to channel the words "give me food" into my brain! Your pizza man sounds like a health and safety nightmare. Em xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hee hee . . . amazing horse you have there. So clever.

    GREAT idea about the high viz jacket. Glad it's so effective. Got to be good for safety. x

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from visitors, so please let me know you dropped by, and I will visit you as soon as I can.