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

I am finally able to tell you what's been going on round here apart from everything else. The problem was, I got so used to being sworn to secrecy (not putting anything on facebook etc) that now I'm able to say something, I hardly know what to say.

Basically, after ten years of working at the same firm, and hating it, John has got a new job, and started there today. His last couple of weeks at the old place have been very stressful. They've divided John's job responsibilities between four different people, so you can imagine what his work-load has been like. John's ex-bosses have asked for a number where they could get in touch with him, in the hope that he could still go there and work for them at weekends. I don't think so, guys!
It was a very strange and difficult place to work. I worked there myself for three years, so I know what I'm talking about. Everything was a bit barmy. I worked in the sales office, and people used to make up prices as they went along. They also used to lie and then deny things. It made it so difficult to do my job properly. I don't know how John has coped for all these years, but I do know it's been hard work being a sounding board when he gets home.
So he's had his first day in the new place, and I think he's going to like it. There's lots to do, anyway. My main worry was that he'd get bored as he did so much problem-solving in his old place.

The new liveries are coming on Saturday. We've been frantically painting stables to get them ready. The thing that's really been worrying me is the weather forecast saying it could snow by the end of the month and us having very little straw in. The horses will come in if it snows, and I need something to bed them down with. It drives me mad when Missis says they'll go and get it on Saturday, and then they don't.
Fortunately, Missis' dad turned up today with 138 bales of straw on his trailer, which we've managed to reverse into the barn. This is a load off my mind.
The other thing that's cheered me up is that the new livery man came on Friday and put up electric fencing to give his horses the grazing I've allocated. I'm really glad no one argued with me about what I'd decided. I'm thrilled with the way John has altered the other fences so the horses have the maximum grazing, but we've also got a big holding pen. This is the area between the gates, so the horses can't go anywhere if they get away from me when I'm getting them in. It's finally all coming together.

And finally, the thing that's thrilled me no end is that I've started jumping Barnaby again. I have to do it at the weekend, as I need John here in case something happens. The first Saturday I did it, I went for a quick hack to take the edge off Barnaby's energy, then went in the manege and just jumped a cross pole. I felt physically sick all the way round the hack, and my brain was like spaghetti, but I still did it and really enjoyed it. Barnaby didn't try to tank me or anything, it was really good.
Then the following week I bottled out and said John could do it, so he took him round a whole course. The outcome of this is that I've said John can compete him next year, as he's only 14, in the prime of his life, and I don't see why he should miss out just because I can't do it.
The only thing that bugged me is that I've spent a year teaching Barnaby to go straight when he goes round the school, rather than going round with his head swinging to the outside. As soon as John got on, Barnaby started doing it, and John didn't do anything to correct it, which I found quite frustrating.
So this Saturday I decided I would have another go. I also decided just to go in and jump rather than go for a hack first, as all that happens is that I feel as sick as a dog while I'm on the ride and my legs turn to jelly.
So I went in and jumped. Nothing particularly high, but I jumped it on both reins and absolutely loved it. My style came back and my head was really clear. I really had to trust Barnaby as I can't place his feet. Max used to really stand off his fences, but Barnaby gets in a lot closer. You have to trust that he will take off as there's no room left for another stride anyway. But he just launches off those fabulous hocks and sails through the air. His whole body is straight and it's utterly fantastic. Never a hint of a run-out.
I can remember some girls watching John competing at a hunter trials years ago and saying, "I'd like a horse like that - point and press!" and at the time I said, "Huh, you ought to try riding him!" but actually he almost is. Because he's not a spooky horse he isn't distracted by anything going on around him and is totally focused on the fence. It really is a fantastic feeling.
If I was 100% nervous the first time, I'd say this time I was only 25% nervous, and there's nothing wrong with a bit of adrenaline, anyway. I am trying not to have plans and ambitions just yet, especially as winter is approaching fast. My days of winter showjumping are well and truly over, but we'll see what I'm capable of in the spring. When I get a bit better I'll get John to take some piccies. I'd love some of me jumping Barnaby anyway, as I don't have any as yet.
Well, I'd better be off,
Thanks for dropping in today, and for your kind comments on my last post. I'm certainly feeling a lot perkier now!
Jane x

It's been a hectic few days.  I suppose I am blessed really that I am too busy living life to have time to sit down and write about it!
I hacked Barnaby out yesterday.  As you know, he is a bold horse, who is afraid of nothing.  So when we went down the first lane and a pigeon flew out of the trees just above our heads, and Barnaby leapt to the right, I thought it was acceptable.  It actually startled both of us.  Fair do's.
We continued down into the village, where a number of the scarecrows from the weekend were still lounging about, minding their own business.  Barnaby didn't turn a hair, and was quite close to some of them, including Lady Gaga... 
And yet, when we came to the yellow circle painted in the road, apparently this was terrifying and required an energetic leap to the left ('It's just a jump to the LEFT!) in front of some elderly types at the entrance to the nursing home.  I was not embarrassed, no siree!
We trotted on until we came to a gate.  Not just any gate, but the gate, beyond which lives the love of Barnaby's life.  Yes, Maud the donkey resides there.  Barnaby arched his neck, ("Hello, Pretty!") Maud batted her eyelashes, ("Oh Sir Barnaby, how lovely to see you!")  Oh for goodness sake, can we get on? 
Instead of going straight home, I decided to take a detour.  At one point there is a garden which is about 2 feet above our heads.  I don't know how to explain why it's so high above the lane, but it is.  I know there is a dog in this garden and that he will come out all guns blazing, which he does, so it's a good job I'm ready as Barnaby does another death defying leap to the right.  It's amazing that something so heavy can leap so speedily in the opposite direction to that in which it was originally travelling.  I guess I can forgive him for this one, too, as, let's face it, a barking dog must look pretty scary to a horse when it's above him, it must look as though it's about to leap on his back or something. 
So I got home in one piece, and so did my noble steed.  Or not so noble, now I come to think of it.  All we needed was a few guns going off and I'd have ended up in Derby!
Jane xx

Travel Trauma - Bonsall Moor Pleasure Ride

I hardly know where to start.
We set off with Barnaby and Zak yesterday morning, to go to a place called Bonsall Moor.  Zak was pretty quiet in the lorry, only one brief bout of banging around.  We arrived at the venue and were patting ourselves on the back for a job well done as we lowered the ramp.  We opened the dividers and there was Zak looking sweated up, but none the worse for the journey.  John led him down the ramp and tied him up.
I went back into the lorry to get Barnaby out, but stared at the partition in horror.  There was blood and hair all over it, and a big pool of sweat and more blood on the floor.  The wooden part of the partition had been smashed.
I went straight to John and said, "You need to check the other side of him."  John walked round and stared in disbelief at Zak's side, which was covered in lacerations.  Zak began to shake.
It took a while to calm down and try to think what to do.  Both of us were trying not to cry.  I think I was shaking as much as Zak was. 
I got Barnaby out and saw loads of flies on him.  I swept them aside and saw blood on Barnaby's flank, but realised it was Zak's blood.  For goodness sake.  Barnaby just stood there stoically.
We knew we couldn't travel back in the lorry.  John said he would ride Zak home and come back for me and I could do the ride, but it wasn't really viable for either of them to travel in the lorry.  I knew Barnaby wouldn't want to go round without Zak, and who really wants to swan off on a pleasure ride while their husband's horse is injured?  I said we'd ride home together.
Then we couldn't think what to do about the lorry.  This is one of very few weekends where Pongo and Missis are away.  They'd gone to the V Festival in Birmingham.  If they'd have been there they'd have whizzed over in the car and Pongo could have driven the lorry back.
In the end I said we'd have to ring eldest daughter and son-in-law to see if they could help us out.  We knew it would take about 2 hours to ride home so rang them and asked if they could be at our house by 1pm and they agreed.  They dropped their children off with Daughter 2, then set off for our place.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the ride had given us 2 hi-viz vests and a mobile phone.  We couldn't very well ask someone to transport the horses home as
a) they'd come to do a pleasure ride, not sort us out and
b) there is a massive liklihood that Zak would trash their vehicle, too.

So riding was the only option.
Fortunately, after John had cleaned Zak up and dressed the wound, we walked him round and he was sound, so we tacked them both up and set off for home.
At this point I'd like to count my blessings, because
a) Zak could have broken a leg in the lorry or something that doesn't bear thinking about.  I don't want to go there, but imagine having to call a vet out.
b) It wasn't raining!
c) Considering where we were, it's a miracle that we knew how to get home, as we were south west of Chatsworth.

We decided to make the best of it, as we'd come to do a pleasure ride anyway, and both mentally broke the ride up into sections, so nobody felt like saying, "Are we there yet?"  The traffic for the first half was horrendous.  This area is very popular with motorcyclists, and hundreds of them must have gone past us.  I am so glad I knew I could trust Barnaby and that he would get me home.  He didn't bat an eyelid at anything going on in the fields next to us or anywhere else.  I love him so much.
And very quickly they knew we were on a mission and not just a normal ride.  We had to go up the steepest of steep hills and they did it.  It shows how fit they are.  Obviously it was a long journey, but when we got to a place called Darwin Forest, they knew what was going on, it was weird.  Barnaby just suddenly started the shoulder roll and could have trotted for England, it was amazing.
I was worried about John as he'd signed up for a 10 mile ride and suddenly found himself doing 20, but he was fine (because of him being not very well lately).
I have never been so glad to see signs saying 'Ashover Parish' in all my life, and it was actually thrilling to turn into our road and know we'd done it.  They are such strong boys, and so fit, I never doubted for a moment that we'd make it.
I untacked Barnaby and washed him down and John cleaned Zak up again.  It's hard to see how bad the wound is because he's got purple spray on dark skin, but it isn't nice at all, poor boy.
Then Lisa and Steve arrived and we went in the house to have a cup of tea while the men went to collect the lorry.  I am meant to clean it out today but I just can't face it.  It looks like somebody was murdered in there. 
So we made the best of what was an awful situation.  I don't know what we'd have done if Lisa and Steve hadn't been able to come over, I suppose we'd have had to leave the lorry there until today. 
I've seen both horses cantering about this morning, so they are obviously fine.  I am going to put my foot down though, and insist that Zak doesn't travel again for ages (if at all) and that Barnaby isn't going anywhere with him until I know he's totally calm again.  It's not fair on Barnaby to have to put up with that.  He's been a total man about it, but I don't want him to be put off travelling when he's so good.
I have slept through the night for the first time in weeks, absolutely exhausted.  I never want to go through that, or put a horse through it, again.
Mrs O.

Poor Barnaby

Oh dear!  Disaster has struck.  I went out to get Barnaby in to ride him on Monday and noticed immediately that something was wrong.  When I looked closely I could see blood on his fetlock.  I brought him in to the stable (thereby noticing he wasn't particularly lame, thank goodness) and examined the whole area.  He's got a gash that runs in a ring around the fetlock, and it's very bad at the back.  It's obviously very tender to the touch but he let me wash it, and put cream on it.  I have a feeling he's been caught in the electric fence and cut himself open trying to free himself.  It's one of those wounds that's borderline on getting a vet out, but once I'd cleaned it up it looked a lot better.
I've taken the line of electric fencing down, but it surrounds the apple tree.  He'd jumped over it once last week and was a bit stressed as he wasn't sure how to get out and now it looks as though he's had another go and got caught up in it somewhere.
I tried to stay very calm, and he'd been calm too, but I noticed how, after I'd given him lots of sympathy, he went out slightly lamer than he'd come in, obviously milking it for all it's worth!  (That was worth a couple of mints at least!)
But the downside is, I can't take him to Ashover Show, which is today.  After all that hard work and schooling, what a waste of time.  I am so cross.  But now it's raining anyway and I have to go all the way down to say I'm withdrawing him.  Better take a camera and make the most of it, then.
George, the cockerel, has been unwell this week, too.  I went out on Monday morning to find him floundering on the floor.  At first I thought he was having a dustbath, but it soon became apparent that he couldn't get up if he wanted to.  We put him in isolation and sprayed him with the red-mite spray, and I'm pleased to report that he's much better.  He doesn't look his best at the moment, as he's moulting anyway, but I can't bear for him to be ill.  He's gone back with his girls this morning, which has cheered him up considerably.  The girls are gutted thrilled!
Pongo and Missis came back from their holiday in Cornwall early, on Sunday instead of yesterday.  They've been greeted by a letter that says planning permission for the roof has been denied.  They wanted to have a square roof instead of the sloped one, in order to have an attic and a higher roof on the ensuite bathroom, which is tiny.  It is for the children, but adults can't stand upright in it.  I am disappointed, too, as we'd have gained an extra bedroom, which I would immediately have turned into a craft room! 
And crafting I am, as the weather is bad and I'm not going to get on Barnaby until the weekend, and see how he is.  I need to clip the hair off his legs (not a good look for the show today anyway) but there's no way he's going to let me while his leg hurts.  My poor baby.
So I'm off out, to have a look at other people's horses, cows and chickens, while mine stay quietly at home.
Have a great day everyone,
Mrs O.

The Things We Have Done, and The Things We Have Not Done

I have to confess I ended up not going to the show on Sunday.  On our old yard we would have bathed the horses Saturday night (along with 20 other people!) and kept them in, but we tend not to do that here.  There's no way Barnaby would stay in on his own anyway.  So I was left with having to bath him Sunday morning and the weather was terrible, plus Pongo and Missis were away so I was dog sitting and a duckling hatched in the night (will put on some piccies asap) so I just decided enough was enough and gave it a miss.  We'll try again on July 3rd.
I must tell you that on Monday I finally got round to doing something I've been dying to do for ages.  I had run out of milk, so I tacked Barnaby up and put his saddle bags on, and set off for a farm down the road that sells milk from a little shed at the top of their lane.  We rode all the way there, much to Barnaby's annoyance and I dismounted to get my pound coin out of my jods pocket.  I'd brought my lunge line in case Barnaby wanted to wander round eating the grass while I went in the shed, but as it happened I opened the shed door and peered inside and the next thing I knew, Barnaby was standing next to me, peering in with me, as if to say, "Any carrots?" 
I put my one lonely coin in the vending machine, the slots turned and I opened the door only to find the slot presented to me was empty - completely devoid of milk.  I tried pressing buttons, to no avail.  As far as the machine was concerned, it had presented milk unto me and it's job was done.  It's mouth stayed firmly shut. 
Unabashed I decided I'd better ride down to the farm to explain what had happened.  By this time, two cars had pulled up and two women had got out to buy milk.  They obviously knew each other, and one of them turned out to be the owner of our local riding school, just down the lane from us.  She turned to the other woman and said, about me, "Is that the woman from L*&! Lane?" as if I couldn't hear her.  "Yes," I said, "It's me!" and rode down to the farm.  It'll be all round the village now, "That mad woman from M- Farm, you know, the one on the big grey horse she can't control, well I've just seen her trying to buy milk while still on her horse!"
The farmer was very kind and put two litres of milk in my saddle bags and we set off home, Barnaby quite happy when he realised that was all he had to do, and that he was now very busy and important.  We did quite a bit of trotting on the way home and Barnaby wasn't at all phased by the weight of the milk tapping him on the side.  I was a bit worried we'd have milk shake by the time we got home and didn't dare risk a canter, but it was fine. 
We came home and  I untacked and turned Barnaby out, but was thrilled at how good he'd been.  I really thought he might spook at the milk shed, but he took it all in his stride.  He went marching into the field, to tell the others he'd been on a very important mission, and would probably be mentioned in dispatches.  Thankyou Barnaby, I am very proud of you.

Fun at Chatsworth

We had the most glorious ride yesterday.  We have actually bought a photo, but I can't scan it in to show you any more (boo hoo!)
Anyway, I rang for our time on Saturday evening and she said we could go either at twelve or ten thirty, so we chose the earlier option as the weather forecast had said rain for later.
I got Barnaby in from the field.  The poor boy had been laying down, and getting up for a bath wasn't on his agenda, but I stuck to my guns and dragged him in.  I didn't have much time, so I decided to wash his tail as that was the worst bit, but as it happened I had time to do him all over and he looked fantastic by the time we were ready to load up.  We put Zak in first, then Barnaby and set off.
We approached the 'Golden Gates', a rather grand entrance to the main estate, and drove through.  We had arrived quite early, but as it happened it was spot on as it gave me time to give Barnaby a bit of a groom and comb his tail out, which looked fabulous by the time I finished.
We went off to sign in and hand over our sponsor money, and the ride began.  We rode through the glorious countryside, sheep scattering in all directions,  to the bottom of a steep hill, turned up it and went into a flat out gallop to the top!  It was fabulous. 
We did this ride two years ago, but last year it was so unbelievably hot we decided it would have been mean to have travelled the horses in a red hot lorry and slogged round, but today the weather was perfect and we cruised along, through the sheep fields at the top, past where Pongo had come off last year (Pongo and Missis didn't do it this time as the tax has run out on their lorry and they weren't able to get it sorted in time). 
There were little direction arrows hammered into the ground at regular intervals.  I'd like to say it was impossible to get lost, but having overheard a conversation in the photographer's van later on, I can't actually vouch for that!  We just followed along and cruised round, overtaking several sets of people along the way.  We came out onto the moors and shot up the track, but then it started to rain, so I got my mac out of my saddle bags and put it on.  I'd decided there was no point getting soaked if I didn't have to, especially as I was so ill not long ago.
We got onto the 'track I don't understand'.  It is very rocky and gravelly and full of dips and bumps.  I have no idea why they leave it like this (maybe for drainage?) but it makes it very tricky to ride down.  You have to really concentrate.  This shows up quite a difference between Barnaby and Max.  Max was very clear about where he was going to put his feet and that he'd be making the decisions at all times, but Barnaby leaves the decision to his rider, so you have to pick the best ways for him to go.  He is quite sure-footed, but he is what you call a 'wide gaited horse.'  This means his legs are set quite wide apart on his body, and he can't walk along ground that slopes to one side, whereas Max never had problems with this, and could walk along a very narrow track, practically putting one foot in front of the other, but Barnaby can't do it.  Just another little discovery as we go along.
By the time we got to the bottom it was time to turn back into the park grounds.  We rode along and just galloped and galloped, it must be at least a mile, if not more, and then you're streaming along in front of the house (which unfortunately is covered with scaffolding at the moment, so not looking its best, but here is how it usually looks:

Barnaby was being really good and listening to me and Zak looked wonderful.  Galloping is effortless to him.  We slowed down and went through the next wooden gate, and then we were nearly home.  We came to Queen Mary's Bower (named after Mary Queen of Scots) which is the water jump on the cross country course.  When we'd been a few weeks ago to the Horse Trials, I'd been looking at it, as I wondered what a rider does if their horse absolutely refuses to jump out, and I'd noticed a grass slope that leads down into it.  So next year, if my horse happened to bolt and go through the water jump, I'd be powerless to stop him, wouldn't I? 
We went back into trot and then went down a steep grassy slope, and when we hit the bottom, for some reason Barnaby went into a flat out gallop.  I shouted at Mr O not to overtake me as I hadn't intended this at all, so near to home.  Of course, Zak was galloping on behind us which just made Barnaby go even faster.  In the end I had to really get hold of him to pull him up.  I don't know what brought that on.  Quite honestly he had so much energy he could easily have gone round twice, it wouldn't have bothered him at all.
Finally we managed to get back down to a walk and strolled back to the lorry to cool them off (well Barnaby anyway, I don't think Zak broke into a sweat at any time.) 
We untacked them and let them relax and eat the quality Chatsworth grass, and went off to tell the organisers we were back, and really to say thankyou for putting on such a wonderful event, we had an amazing time.  We got a beautiful rosette each, then went off to the photographer to see what we'd looked like, and liked the photo so much, we obviously bought it.
By now it was raining quite considerably so we decided to load the horses up and get them home.  Zak didn't travel very well at all for some reason.  We were going along quite a quiet road and he was practically rearing up, then lashing out with a back leg, as if to say, "Get me out of here!"  It was so bad I climbed into the back to hold onto him, talk to him and calm him down.  He really doesn't travel very well sideways.  He can't stick his legs out and brace himself like Barnaby does, so he sticks his front legs out and sits on his back end, but with the slightest bump in the road he flings himself against the partition.  It was awful, but he seemed to like me being with him and he calmed down a lot, but was steaming up the lorry with the sweat pouring off him.  I think the partition is too wide apart and needs to be much closer to him so he can reach it to lean against it easily.  Poor boy, no wonder he has cut himself in the past.  I don't know why he's started doing it this year, though, he never used to do it.
We got home and had to keep them in for half an hour to let Zak cool off properly before we could turn them out.  I think they might happily have stayed in as Barnaby was nodding off, too.  It poured with rain for the rest of the day and most of the night, so Barnaby went out with a rug on too, as I'd bathed him in the morning.
So all in all, a fantastic day, the highlight of my year, really.  And although I can't show you the photo, I thought these from last week at Osberton, would do just as well.

Splashing through the water.

Mr O went so fast the photographer only had time to take a couple of snaps before he was off!

Have a great week everyone,

Mrs O.

Disasterous Day!

Part of me doesn't want to write this!

I had the brilliant idea of finding some showjumping for Mr O to do so he could get some practise in before his second round of Trailblazers on April 17th. We had a look around and found a competition at a place called Hargate Arena. As it happened, it was part of a combined training competition, which meant there was dressage on at the same time. So clever old Mrs O. has a brainwave and decides to enter the dressage, just as a bit of fun for her and The Bardy Lad.

It was quite warm on Sunday morning so I got up early and bathed Barnaby. I have to say, he looked stunning afterwards. His tail was like silk. I put him back in his stable and he promptly rolled. He stood up and had straw all over his head, grinning away at me like the village idiot.Marvellous.

Anyway, the time came to load up, so we set off for Hilton, just south of Derby. We parked and decided to leave the horses in the lorry for a few minutes while we went for a look round. It was a beautiful place, with a huge show jumping arena, a big indoor arena to warm up in and then we walked further along and found a huge dressage arena. The warm-up arena was completely separate too, the whole place was vast and looked fabulous.

We came back and got the horses out of the lorry. They stood quite happily munching on their haynets so we went off to sign in and watch the showjumping. There was a 1'9" class, followed by a 2' class, with about 8 competitors in each. Then there was a 2'3" class which seemed to go on for ever. We'd been there for ages by then.

My dressage was on at 1.22pm and it was 12.30 so I thought I'd better go and tack up. Mr O didn't come with me which felt a bit odd. Barnaby was quite calm so I tacked him up and got on and rode off to find Mr O but he'd vanished. I get very flustered when things like that happen but decided I had better concentrate on what I was doing so I carried on round to the warm-up arena. Once we got in there Barnaby completely changed as he realised he wasn't with Zak. I tried to trot him round and get him to concentrate but it was awful. I was in a snaffle, remember, so had a lot less control than I would normally have. The test has canter in it, so I thought I'd risk a little practise, but Barnaby just cantered round with his head between his knees. I knew it was ridiculous to keep going and decided to quit while I was ahead so I rode up to the judge's caravan and said I would withdraw. So that was that.

I rode back to the showjumping area and found Mr O. in the warm-up arena. Zak was behaving very oddly as well. Basically, he just refused to jump. It was so strange, he was getting right up to the fence before running out. He has never done that in his life. He did it a couple of times, then Mr O asked me to leave, as Barnaby was being a bad influence on Zak!

I walked back to the lorry and made Barnaby stand and eat some grass. After a few minutes of worrying that Mr O was going to get thrown off, he appeared at my side and said that he too was going to withdraw. He tied Zak up at the lorry and stomped off to the secretary's caravan.

So what a total and utter waste of a day. We were both so disappointed and frustrated. We loaded the horses and drove home, knowing we were going to have to say to Pongo and Missis that we hadn't even done it, whilst putting a brave face on it. As so often happens on these occasions, we talked and talked about why on earth it had happened. Basically we've decided that apart from the Amber Valley rides, the horses aren't going anywhere together in future. I really don't understand how a horse like Barnaby, who is as bold as brass at home, can't be separated from his best buddy once he's travelled with him. He used to do it with Max. We were at a hunter trials once years ago when it was announced over the tannoy, "Could the owners of the blue and silver lorry please return to their vehicle as their horse is distressed." Distressed? Barnaby was rearing up and typing his name into the bodywork with his hooves. As soon as he saw Max he calmed down.

So, bear in mind that we sold Max last year. And what happens? Barnaby immediately latches on to Zak. Blooming marvellous.

But the good thing is, we've had a look at the things we want to do and Mr O has finally agreed that I can do some TREC on my own. Because it does seem that if Mr O wants to go somewhere, like the showjumping, he goes, but if I want to go somewhere I can't unless Mr O wants to do it too, and if he doesn't it never occurs to him that I might want to do it on my own. Or he'll make an excuse such as the entry fee is too high or it's too far to travel. It doesn't seem fair to me. So we have decided that if one of us wants to go somewhere they can go. If we both see something on the same day, the most important competition wins, eg, I can't go somewhere on April 17th because we've agreed that Mr O's second round is the most important thing on that day. I think this will work out very well, and am so excited to be able to do the TREC training day and a ride in Clumber Park on April 16th which I am desperate to do.

Oh, and just to cap it all, when we got home the heavens opened with hailstones, thunder and lightening so we got drenched. And then, the cat came in and threw up in Barnaby's water bucket, just to finish the day off nicely. It's a good job I can see the funny side now, isn't it?!

Have a great week, everyone.

Mrs O.

Meet The Gang, Cos The Boys Are Here!

It occurs to me that if you're a newcomer to my blog, you may not know who the boys are, especially as the newest arrival hasn't had much of a mention. We talked about it, and decided it would be best to to let them introduce themselves, so here goes...

(Do you mind? I'm having my feet done!)

Hello, the name's Barnaby, and I can't waste valuable eating time talking to you, so I'll be brief. I'm in charge, obviously. I organise everybody in the field and make sure they don't get above themselves. The haylage is mine, the trough is mine, you get the picture. I'm in the prime of my life and it goes without saying that I'm dashingly handsome (you can see that for yourself, clearly). Things have changed a bit around here recently. I always belonged to Dad, but last year the Little Woman got a bit above herself and started riding me instead. We go out, we gallop, we come back, like I did with Dad, but she's obsessed with running round in bally circles, too. Total waste of time if you ask me, everyone just gets dizzy, but she won't listen. She also insists on kissing me and doing lots of slobbery stuff in front of the other chaps. At first I didn't like it but I've taught her to scratch me in all the right places and she's getting really good at it, so I suppose the odd kiss when nobody's looking is acceptable. She has her uses though, after all, someone's got to bring me my tea, make my bed and change my rugs, haven't they?

Is it my turn? Is it? How frightfully nice. Well my name is Zak but sometimes I'm called Just Enough. I am an officer and a gentleman. I have a passport with parents and grandparents (Did I tell you my grandsire was Nijinsky?) I belong to Father. He's terribly nice. I used to race and still like to run up and down whenever I get the opportunity. Barnaby and I are chums. I do like the Little Woman, too. Whenever it rains, she dashes out and pops my pyjamas on, which is jolly useful, as I'm not allowed to get cold or I drop orf (whatever that means).

Right my name's Lyndy and I'm a southerner. I used to be in a riding school, so I get totally fed up if my dad, or anyone else for that matter, tries to school me. I used to be in charge until 'he' came and I'm not happy about it, I can tell you. If Barnaby comes in from the field I always try to get in ahead of him, just to show him I can still do it. I've got a new hobby now anyway, it's called 'trashing the electric fence' and I'm the best at it. None of the others can do it as well as I can. I'm ace because I can do it even when the power is on and I can't feel it and I just push against it until it snaps, cos I've got super powers and Barnaby hasn't so there! And in case you're wondering, I'm huge and rugs don't fit me and I jump the stone wall in the summer, just for fun, but when mum takes me to a competition I pretend I can't do it, which is really really funny. Don't tell her. You won't, will you?

Top o' the marnin to ya! Moi name's Hugo and I've kissed the Blarney Stone, to be sure. I'm part Connemara and part Thoroughbred and I was an event horse until I came here. That involved workin, really hard and, if I'm bein' honest, I wasn't that keen. I've come here and you've got to like the craic, it's like bein' on holiday, so it is. I only get ridden once or twice a week, it's flippin great. And I get turned out every day, with other horses. I didn't think much of the grazin' to be honest, so I stuck me head under the electric fence and jumped the wall from a standstill, into the next field. It was worth it just to see the look on their faces. Apparently there used to be a horse here called Max, and he was in charge of games and telling bedtime stories, so Barnaby gave me that job and I love it. I love to play 'bite your knee caps' or 'who's got the highest head?' or 'bite yer face,' it's great. And of course, at night I can tell stories of my adventures on the cross country course and keep everyone awake for hours. I do like to play games with mum in the school, it keeps her on her toes - well on her back, actually, I don't know why she likes it down there. Never mind, she'll get used to it...

Butterflies and Bows

I am on a roll with card making at the moment. Sometimes I get to my desk and I'm so excited I don't know where to start. I can't decide whether to flock something, put glossy accents on it or heat emboss it! No piece of card or paper is safe. I've made more cards for Mother's Day. I don't know if I mentioned that my own dear mum died about five years ago. I've never missed her on the big occasions like Mother's Day or her birthday until last year's Mother's Day where I felt that I couldn't make any cards without a mum of my own to send one to. But this year I've decided to make each one with love as if they were all for her, and I'm really enjoying myself.

Look:

These beautiful little toppers (the chipboard with the boy and girl on a swing) were free with a magazine I bought recently, so this card cost me absolutely nothing to make. I got the butterfly punch for my birthday. I could easily get carried away with these, don't be surprised if it's 'butterflies with everything' from now on.

I'm very pleased with this one, too. I've used a flower punch on the white vertical strip. For some reason I've had this punch for ages and only just worked out how to use it. Again, there is a very sweet image on the topper.

It's beautiful and sunny here. I am very affected by the weather, I've realised, especially as my job is outside all the time. The slightest bit of sunshine totally changes my outlook on life. Barnaby has gone out without a rug on for the last few days and even Zak is in a rug without a neck cover. Cats, dog and chickens are sunbathing for most of the day. I went for a fabulous ride yesterday. We came to a place where, for some inexplicable reason, someone has dumped two whole bales of haylage (Why?) . Barnaby was having none of it, reared up and spun round, but this was partly naughtiness, as he didn't think we should be going that way anyway, so he set off in the opposite direction. It was one of those times where you have a brief second's realisation of 'I bet he looks stunning' even while you're trying to sort things out! I was extremely pleased that I was able to stop him, turn him back and make him go past the spooky object. He was clearly fooling, silly boy, he isn't afraid of anything and we both know it. There were a few fabulous canters after that, whether I wanted to or not (this is at a place called Stubbing Court which is beautiful. You can see where the hall looks out across the lake. With the sun shining on the water it was a blissful place to be).

I hope you're all getting some time to make the most of this lovely weather, too, although I gather some of my American friends have snow, good grief.

Well I'm off to bake a cake (and maybe some biscuits too, if I get time).

Blessings, everyone,

Mrs O. (who is pleased to say that Zak is no longer lame, judging from the way he was belting up and down in the manege this morning...)

Fat Club

It has come to my attention that Barnaby is a little on the porky side. This may be an understatement...
The trouble is, Pongo and Missis put out a whole haylage bale once a week and just leave the four horses to get on with it. Barnaby immediately and firmly takes possession and rents it out to his friends (this doesn't include Lyndy who only gets to eat some if Barnaby goes off for a sleep or comes out of the field to be ridden!) I think it really started when we had the snow in November. The horses didn't move around much and just stood there eating. Plus they were having lots of haylage at night. Mr O actually suggested I increase Barnaby's feed, but I stuck to my guns and said no, as he wasn't doing any work. I'm so glad now.
Haylage, by the way, is cut first, in June or July. It is only turned once or twice, and then it's baled, so it's slightly moist. We cut our hay in September. It's turned over for 3 or 4 days so it dries out properly, then it's baled. It has a lot less protein than haylage. Haylage has a lot to answer for really.
At our old yard, the horses had proper grazing. They walked around all day snipping off tiny bits of grass with their teeth. Winter grass has very little nutrition in it, so they'd have to do a lot of walking around to gain any sustenance at all. Now they go into the field, stand there gorgeing on haylage all day and don't move because the field is so muddy. They probably stroll up to the trough occasionally, but that's about it. Plus they're still having a huge net of haylage at night, too.
So Barnaby is a little barrelly, to say the least. There we are, all desperately feeding Zak and trying to get him to keep the weight on, when all the while, sneaking in under the radar is Barnaby, the size of a house.
Fortunately he is only on a basic brand of feed called Pegasus Mix which has very little protein in it. He only has half a scoop in the morning and half a scoop at night, with a scant scoop of HiFi Lite, which is a very basic chop, suitable for laminitic horses, so you can imagine how light it is. I've decided to keep him off haylage at night and give him hay. I have to soak it because dry hay makes him cough. He never has carrots or sugarbeet or anything like that (pure sugar).
The first day I gave Barnaby the hay he hardly touched it. He kept looking at me as if to say, "Excuse me love, you've given me the wrong hay net!" Sadly for him, I haven't at all. I have noticed he's eating quite a bit of it since then. Needs must 'n all that.
And the main thing, obviously, is lots and lots of lovely exercise. Most horses have a day off (or two) during the week, and some horses don't get ridden much at all. Barnaby is more like a dog that needs to have daily exercise. He has to go for a run, bless 'im. So I have been motivating myself for his sake and we've been doing a lot of riding. Because we do a lot of road work, it's possible to Google the map of where we've been and work out the distance. Recently we've done a 12 mile ride and several 7 mile rides and he's coping really well. I've decided I must at least make him walk as much as he would in a normal field on a normal day if he was in a field of proper grazing.
It's just as well, too, as I've booked us onto a 14 mile pleasure ride on 12th March. I am really looking forward to it. We don't normally do our first ride until April, which is also 14 miles. Last year they managed it well and we had snow in February so we didn't have long to prepare for it. Surely this year they'll wing it. I hope so. It's so hilly here they are fitter than we realise, which will be proven the minute we take them onto flat land, where they'll be off like rockets.
But in the meantime, just to put it on record, Barnaby weighs 596kg, which is at least 50kg too much. I am so ashamed! This is taken from a weigh tape which isn't totally accurate, but it's near enough. I'll check him again in two weeks and see if there's been any improvement. Watch this space.

Slightly AWOL!

Hello lovely readers, I'm sorry I've not been about much. After a fabulous ride on Friday afternoon, I came indoors and was struck down with illness really suddenly. All I had was a sore throat, not even a cough or a cold, but I kept shivering and felt really unwell. I was in bed by 7.30 pm! I slept most of Saturday (when we were supposed to be having our Valentines meal) and quite a bit of Sunday. Mr O has been wonderful, as he's mucked out for me, done loads of shopping and all of the ironing. The weekend has been a bit of a blur really, I've felt so strange, but I'm much better now, thank goodness. Such a peculiar illness.
However, during this time, I've finished reading, 'The Jane Austen Book Club' by Karen Joy Fowler. Unfortunately these days I'm not up on all Jane Austen's characters. The best thing to do would be to read Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey, then read The Jane Austen Book Club and you'd probably see what she's getting at and find the book a great deal more amusing and clever, but it didn't really have that much appeal, to be honest.

It's been a bit strange at home, too, as Mr O was suddenly put on a shift system at work for last week. It's just an experiment to see if they can keep up with production this way. At first it sounded wonderful, Mr O would work from 6am to 2pm and be home when it was light, so he could ride. Fab. What it actually meant was that he'd get up at 5am to leave for work, and say, "You could have Zak tacked up ready for me to ride when I get home!" Sounds good, but that would mean getting Zak in at exactly the time of day I would normally ride. I usually get Barnaby in around 2pm, wash his legs off (which I only want to do once a day for each horse) go for a ride, come back and untack him, then go and get Zak in to keep him company, and give them their tea. This works really well, but now Mr O wants me to be getting Zak in just when I would normally be out myself. I work to this time frame as I quite often have Missis' two sons after school when she's away, so I like to have everything done so I can meet them off the school bus at 4pm, but this shift system has totally scuppered my routine.
And do you know the worst thing of all? Normally Mr O gets up at 6am and brings me a cup of tea in bed, in a thermal cup with a lid on (how spoiled am I?!) that is still hot when I wake up at 7am. Because he's left for work at five, there's been no point in doing it and I've had to get up at seven and make my own cup of tea. I'm afraid this puts me in a bad mood before I've even woken up properly! So I am probably the only person delighted that the shift system has been so successful they've decided to abandon it - Yippeee!
Last Tuesday I had a conversation with Missis where she was saying she couldn't bear to watch someone else ride her horse and I said I've never had a problem with other people (instructors I mean) riding Barnaby. I suppose this is because I'm so used to seeing Mr O on him, as Barnaby was his for so long.
Anyway, the very next day I was so tired I asked Mr O to ride Barnaby for me. I helped Mr O get on and watched them sail off up the road together and couldn't bear it. I thought I was going to burst into tears. The odd thing was, Barnaby was really naughty on the ride, (snigger!) and when he came back he kept looking at me as if to say, "Why didn't you and I go? You're my mum, aren't you?" It was so fab, I think we've obviously bonded, as I used to be this way with Max. I couldn't stand watching other people riding him. He used to look at me as if to say, "Why are you allowing this?" From now on, if I'm too ill or tired to ride, or the weather's bad, he doesn't get ridden. It's as simple as that. It's because Mr O is always saying, "You don't ride that horse enough!" Well I can't believe Barnaby is in the field thinking, 'It's about time someone rode me, isn't it?'
Finally, you may have gathered that Barnaby is a bit of a bolshie sort, especially with being led on a lead rope. Sometimes he's fine and sometimes he just barges off wherever he feels like it. The day after he cut his eye, he was barging around in the stables, swung round and hit his head on a post and made his gums bleed. What a twit! A few times he's come in and decided he'd rather go in Zak's stable than his own, so he tries to force his way in through the closed stable door, leaning so hard he nearly wrenches it off its hinges. It's like having a half tonne aggressive teenager with ADHD.
I've got so fed up (and embarrassed) about this, I started to look into possibilities for prevention. The first thing I found is called a Dually halter, made by Monty Roberts, which is meant to be brilliant (and I'm sure it is) but it's forty-two pounds. Gasp! My friend Debbie put me onto a Kemp Controller, which is just a thin piece of cord that you clip onto the headcollar and clip the other end to your leadrope. I was a bit sceptical, but it only cost 7.50 so I decided to buy one.
And I have to tell you that Barnaby has been walking round like a lamb in it ever since. It is absolutely amazing. To be honest, if I'd known such a thing existed I'd have bought one years ago, even before we moved here. It looks so simple, but it has such a powerful effect on the horse. As I've said before, Mr O has been able to combat Barnaby with brute strength, but I am just a normal woman and I can't fight him. With this simple device I can make him go wherever I need him to be (or tie him up to have his legs washed) and he has no choice but to stand there. I was concerned that it worked in the same way as a Halti on a dog. This goes onto the muzzle and has a clip underneath where you attach the lead. It's great for gaining control of the dog, but it doesn't teach them to walk to heel. You haven't actually altered the dogs behaviour. With the Kemp Controller you actually alter the horse's behaviour, which is wonderful. I would recommend one to anyone struggling to get their horse to walk nicely with them.
I'd better pop off now to go and clean out the chickens. Finally, it is like a real spring day. In fact, I think I might go for a ride...
Mrs O.

Stitch Up

Crikey, what a hectic weekend! Mucking out four horses a day this week seems like a rest by comparison.
Firstly the disappointment of shopping in Matlock. To be fair, it was pouring with rain, but the shops were very boring. Bakewell is much nicer.
Mr O went for a long hack, even though it was throwing it down. I went to get Barnaby in and washed his legs off. I stood up to look at him and realised he had a long, wide gash right next to his eye.
I brought him into his stable, tied him up and washed all around the eye with hibiscrub. It was obvious he wanted sympathy. He tried his, 'Now look what you've made me do!' expression, which didn't work. The gash turned out to be quite wide, and I knew it needed to be stitched. It was either that or stand there all night, holding it between my finger and thumb.
The good thing was that I remained really calm. I felt I let the side down a bit with the 'stuck over the stable door' incident and decided to make up for it now. I gently chatted to him and assured him that I was going to get it sorted out. He took this at face value (horses - no imagination!)
Eventually Mr O returned and I calmly pointed the wound out to him and he knew we had to call the vet. They said, as it was so close to his eye (no more than 1mm away from the outer edge of his eye) that we needed to bring him in. We were a bit concerned about this as it was pretty windy, but there was nothing for it. I slapped on the travel boots and away we went. Barnaby wasn't keen at first but soon settled down on the way. I think he knew we were doing our best for him.
We arrived at the vet hospital and unloaded him. He was confused as to why he was travelling in the dark but walked willingly into a stable that had been prepared for him. He was quite happy to introduce himself to the mare next door, but she was having none of it and kept squealing at him. Barnaby kept returning to me in confusion. (Mares - no sense of humour!)
The vet came out (the same one who dealt with Zak when he had choke) and injected a pain killer, antibiotics and a sedative. Then she looked into his eye and confirmed that there was no damage to the eye itself. Barnaby wasn't on speaking terms with her by then, but it was too late as the sedative had kicked in. His head gradually got lower and his legs spread out to support himelf - a good job as holding up 438kg of inert horse is no easy task.
Then the vet came out with a small curved threaded needle. I held Barnaby still while she put the stitches in. Fortunately he was very calm. I just kept talking to him and he was fine. We were given his paperwork. It just said 'Stitch Up'. By the time we got the bill (we won't go there) I wasn't sure exactly who this applied to!
Eventually the sedative began to wear off, and then something very interesting happened. Every time the vet reappeared, Barnaby flung his head up and gave a deep warning whinny, as if to say, "Don't let that woman come near me ever again!" It was so strange. Horses aren't stupid, are they?
He came round a bit more, then we had the fun task of loading a woozy horse into a lorry in the pitch dark. After a few false starts he eventually walked up the ramp and we fastened him in and put the back up.
Half an hour later we were back home (the wind had dropped by then, thankfully) and walked him slowly into his stable. Zak was very concerned about why his friend had left him. I took Barnaby's travel boots and rug off and put his pj's on. He didn't even want a bedtime story, poor boy. Zak was full of questions, but Barnaby just slept, relieved it was all over and glad to be back in his own bed.
I asked the vet if he needed to be kept in the next day. She said no and that it was very likely he'd rub the stitches out and could do that just as easily in the stable as in the field, so on Sunday we put him out as usual. He immediately began to drink from puddles in the field and when I mucked him out I realised he'd drunk his bucket dry. He must have woken up in the morning with a terrible hangover.
So thankfully he is fairly unharmed, the silly Hoof. And to think, when I sold Max I thought I'd hardly have anything to write about on here, as Max always had something up his sleeve. Life with Barnaby was going to be so simple!
Loads more to tell you but it will have to wait until my next post.
Hope everything is well with all of you (and not so expensive!)
Mrs O.

Breakthrough

I've come to a decision with Barnaby. Let me explain. My very first pony, Crispin, was the love of my life. I never took him to any shows. I didn't even know what showing was back then. Loads of other people from the yard used to go. I never felt I was missing out on anything, or that I was deprived in any way - I had a horse, for goodness sake, what more could a girl ask for? Crispin was the love of my life.
Then I got Max, and I loved him too, but felt under constant pressure to perform. This meant I liked him more when he did well, and got frustrated with him when he didn't. It's very strange. It's why a lot of people sell their horses all the time. That's quite a confession, really. I think it stems from doing that Bible study last week about unconditional love. I have actually stood in the show ring with Max and as the judge has placed me fifth or sixth, I've whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, darling, the judge is completely blind!"
But I've realised with Barnaby I want to get back to what I had with Crispin, i.e. I want to love him for who he is, not what he can do. I used to ride Crispin out and every ride was an adventure, because I had a horse. It was the most thrilling thing in the world. I wanted to shout it to every passer-by, but I expect my idiot grin was a bit of a giveaway.
So last week, on Monday I rode Barnaby in the school and it was awful, just doing flat-work. Then on Wednesday I tried to jump him and it was disasterous and nearly dangerous as he tanked round with his head between his knees and tripped over the trotting poles, nearly tipping me over his neck. Honestly, I don't know what's going on with that.
Then on Friday I decided to hack out and it was utterly fantastic. We did about six miles, up hill and down dale, on roads, being passed by every kind of traffic known to man, which Barnaby doesn't even look at. We passed dogs and a woman feeding a flock of seagulls, and a skip full of rubbish and Barnaby never gave it a second glance. I was as high as a kite when I got back.
So, after big discussions with Mr O, I have decided to chuck in any kind of competing, because I need to ride this horse with no pressure whatsoever and actually be allowed to enjoy him.
I honestly feel that a massive weight has been lifted off me. If I want to ride, I will ride. If I don't, I won't. Yesterday I rode for an hour and a half, and it was absolute bliss. We went for miles. I am going to do lots of pleasure rides this year, and the odd bit of TREC and thoroughly enjoy what this horse does best, and that's that. Because I utterly love him for who he is - enough said.

I've been having lots of fun making cards, check these out:
I've liked these cute bunnies for ages and finally got round to ordering the stamp a couple of weeks ago. It took a lot of trial and error with my Promarkers to get the paleness of the two rabbits right. The paper is from My Mind's Eye and I've had it for ages. I originally bought it to do my scrapbooking with last year, but I've got loads left. I think that's the thing with these papers, the initial outlay can be quite a bit, but you get so much out of it, it more than pays for itself in the end. The main thing I wanted to do with this card, was the two bits of ribbon with the buttons on the end, which worked out really well.

I'm really pleased with this card, too:

This is a waterfall card, and I've been wanting to make one since Christmas. There was an article showing you how to make one in one of the magazines I buy, but the instructions weren't very good. If you want a brilliant tutorial, try here. This is a really good card for a man, and uses stamped images of boats and sailing things. You pull the tab at the bottom and the pictures flip up, revealing 'Happy Birthday' at the bottom. Once you've got the hang of it, I think they could be quite addictive. You could put hearts and flowers on each flap, then have 'Happy Valentine's Day' at the bottom. The possibilities are endless.

So, last Thursday, daughter 1 rang me and said, "Don't forget it's Caelan's christening next Sunday." "Pardon?" I said. "Well," she said, "I did tell dad about three weeks ago..." Marvellous. So I have sprung into action and ordered the bits I want to make his card, which fortunately came in the post yesterday. Nothing like a bit of warning, though, is there? I'll show you the card as soon as it's done.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

I'm feeling much better after a fairly quiet weekend. I must tell you, though, that Mr O's grasp of what a lay-in means is baffling. He wakes up at 6.50am and immediately starts talking to me. This goes on until 7.30, when he declares that I've had a lay-in and now it's time to get up! I really don't understand it. If anyone asks me what I'd like for my birthday, I'll say, 'A lay-in.'
I have to confess that 'Er Indoors has been coming up to bed with us since before Christmas, as it was far too cold in the kitchen when it was snowing, to let her sleep down there on her own. She doesn't sleep on the bed, she sleeps on the floor at my side. This is fine unless she wakes up in the middle of the night and insists that I stroke her. I just put my arm out of the bed and leave her to get on with it.
The only thing is that she sleeps between me and the bathroom door. This means if I need to use said room in the middle of the night, I have to put my feet out of bed and try to find her with my toes, so I don't tread on her. Last night I made it safely to the door, when she decided to lick me on the back of the leg. I jumped several feet and nearly crashed into the basin. Well done, dear.
Then I come back and do a sort of karate roll to get back into bed without treading on her again. Sometimes my lack of stealth wakes Mr O up and he asks what on earth I'm doing. By the time I've finished explaining he's usually fallen back to sleep.
I have lunged Barnaby on Friday and rode him yesterday and today, but I have come to an important conclusion. Basically, for some reason I don't quite understand, Barnaby can't do dressage. To be fair, Mr O did tell me this when I took him on, but I decided to find out for myself. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I even got an instructor in to school him, and even she didn't really make any difference. I don't know how to explain why he can't do it, because sometimes he even comes on the bit, but he walks or trots round with his head facing the outside and I cannot get him to bring it in. It is bizaare. He doesn't do that going up and down the road. He can look from side to side, but doesn't go along with his head strained to the left, but that's what he does in the school.
This puts me off jumping him, because it makes him feel very unbalanced. If he's bad in trot he's going to be worse in canter, but if I can get him to stop rushing I'll be satisfied. I think he could jump well in a field, because it's a big space, but he's not very good in an arena. We'll see. Either way, we were supposed to do some dressage next Sunday, but I'm going to withdraw. I really don't see the point of travelling all the way there for a judge to tell me something I know already. I am still going to school him as I'd like to do some showing this year, but I need to put the work in. Watch this space.

Kelly Marks - Perfect Manners

Kelly Marks heads up an organisation called Intelligent Horsemanship. She studied under Monty Roberts for some years, and they still work together quite often, but her methods have really taken off here in the UK. She is, without a doubt, a very experienced horsewoman.
Now, what bugs me about a lot of these organisations, like Parelli and Enlightened Equitation, is that they tell you they have brilliant methods, but then share absolutely nothing with you unless you're prepared to pay quite a lot of money for it. (The British Dyslexia Association is exactly the same!)
But Kelly Marks has actually written a book to share lots of her methods, and the one I've been reading is Perfect Manners. If you've read it, I'd love to know what you think of it.
I don't know what I thought it would be about (like the title's not a dead giveaway!) but I read it last January, so I could see if it 'worked' on Max. All I was interested in was the section on Join-Up, so I think I must have skipped the first couple of chapters and got straight on with it. You can read about my rather thrilling experience here . But after that I left it for nearly a year, and now I have Barnaby and not Max.
But the thing is, Barnaby is a very arrogant, dominant horse (but not nasty, and not a bully). Mr O has coped with this by... being Mr O. He has used brute strength (being a man) and stubbornness (they don't actually come much more stubborn!) and this has won the day.
But I am a woman, with the average woman's strength, faced with a horse who barges out of his stable, with no way of being able to stop him. And as my strength isn't likely to undergo a massive increase any time soon, I had to find another way of getting Barnaby to improve his manners.
So a couple of months ago, I turned to 'Perfect Manners' once again. I did Join-Up with him back in November. It's a method of getting your horse to want to be with you and respect you as his leader, but more importantly for me, the horse learns to respect your space. I have to say, it worked brilliantly. We were running round the school together, jumping fences side by side. It was fabulous.
Then we went back into the stables and shortly afterwards Barnaby jumped over the stable door. You know all about that. And it left me wondering what the point of Join-Up was, and what it had actually achieved.
This was followed by five or six weeks of snow, so I couldn't do anything with Barnaby at all. But in this time I managed to read the chapters I'd skipped, and it turns out these are the chapters with the key stuff in it.
Then on January 2nd I took Barnaby into the manege to lunge him and he had a fit because he'd got so much energy. I ended up doing Join-Up with him again, and again it was fabulous. He followed me everywhere.
Now then...
I have noticed that he doesn't like me putting his headcollar on from outside the stable door. But I can't go in without him being tied up, because he'll barge past me, so I can't go in unless I've put the headcollar on. I've waited patiently for him to stick his nose in the headcollar, but he actually steps backwards, further into the stable. My first thought, was, 'He's stepping backwards, inviting me in.' Then I realised he's stepping backwards, out of my space. I decided to risk opening the door and the possibility of being flattened. He took two more steps back. I was stunned. I put the headcollar on, changed his rug and turned him out.
The next day, the same thing.
I can't tell you how fabulous this is, not being crushed against a stable wall, while half a tonne of horse cruises past me.
Next thing:
One of the exercises to teach your horse manners, is to get him to stand still without moving. Standing with your arms outstretched means, 'stand still.' Putting your arms down, and looking down (and non-threatening) means 'come to me.'
I rode Barnaby Thursday and afterwards had to open the gate. It opens towards you and you have to make your horse step backwards to get out. I decided to try what Kelly Marks suggests. I stood there with my arms out, meaning 'stand' and walked backwards to the gate. Barnaby stood motionless. This had to be a fluke, so I put my arms down and glanced down and he immediately began to walk towards me. I was so thrilled I was trembling. I caught his reins, gave him a rub, and we left the arena together.
Then on Friday they were in from lunchtime onwards as it was snowing quite heavily. I fed Barnaby at tea time as usual, but afterwards he kept banging his stable door. At first I thought he hadn't realised I'd put his haynet up. I watched him really closely. He realised he had my full attention and looked down at his rug, giving it a little nip. I realised immediately what he wanted. Normally after tea, I would take his turnout rug off and we'd have a big scratching session. This movement meant, 'Hey mum, can't you get this rug off and give me a groom!' I couldn't believe it. I opened the stable door, he stepped back, I took off his rug, and the grooming commenced. I'm not sure who was happiest.
We aren't out of the woods yet, but at the moment, I can't believe how much he's changed in such a short space of time. I've learned a lot about him, but a lot about myself, and the way I am around horses (not very assertive). I would recommend this book to any horse owner. If you read it and read it before putting it into practice, it'll reap rewards. Unless of course, your horse has perfect manners already. There will be more to come on this topic I'm sure.
For now, I thought I'd leave you with a little video snippet of what this grooming/scratching session really involves.
See here. It's well worth it.
Have a great day everyone,
Mrs O.

Busy Bunny = Happy Bunny!

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you're enjoying the first few days of 2011. As the title says, I've been pretty busy, but to be honest I'm looking forward to everything returning to normal.
We had a lovely dinner with Pongo and Missis on New Years Eve, and got back in the early hours of the morning. This kind of wiped out New Year's Day, which is a shame. Now I have a sore throat, which I'm not exactly thrilled about.
Over Christmas I've been praying for my friend Diane's daughter, Joanie. She went into labour on 23rd December and finally gave birth on December 27th. That's quite a time, isn't it? They've nicknamed the baby 'Grinch' because he stole Christmas! The poor girl was exhausted when she finally gave birth, but I'm sure the sight of her new baby son made it all worthwhile.
I've seen on a blog somewhere how to make a little box. I would love to credit this to that blog, but I can't remember where I saw it. Anyway, I've made this little box from a chocolate orange box Mr O got for Christmas!
I've used my Nellie Snellen dies to cut the ovals for the front. No matter how talented you are, it is extremely difficult to cut a good circle or oval, whether you use scissors or a craft knife, it doesn't look that good. With the dies and the Bigshot, though, it's a doddle.
Here is the top:

I've had that stamp for ages, and never used it. I'm going to buy some little baby socks to put in the box. I'm pretty sure I've got a matching card somewhere, so I'll send it up via Mr O next week. I hope she likes it.

Finally, there has been some action on the horse front, as the snow has slowly slipped away. Barnaby has been incredibly badly behaved, though. On the first day I took him into the manege to lunge him, but he was kangarooing on the end of my arm all the way there. Once Mr O opened the gate, I'm afraid I took the cowardly option and let go. He went careering around for quite a while, with the lunge line trailing behind him (not a good idea at all, as if he treads on it he could injure his neck.) After a little while he let me pick it up, and I decided to take it off and do some join up with him. It was brilliant, as he caught on really quickly, so we played tag around the arena, and we were jumping over the trotting pole side by side, which was fabulous.
The next day we went to catch him, and he just went mad, galloping up and down in the field. It took ages to make him stand, and Mr O put his head collar on. He managed to get Barnaby as far as the gate, but Barnaby suddenly whipped round and set off, dragging Mr O behind him and breaking the headcollar. To be honest, I was tempted to leave him, but Mr O goes back to work on Tuesday, and if I haven't got upsides of him by then, I've had it.
Eventually Mr O got him in and tacked him up and took him out for a hack. Barnaby had calmed down a bit by then. He's all mouth and trousers at the moment, as he has loads of energy, but no stamina, which is a good thing.
So today I've plucked up the courage to get on him myself. I took him into the school and he was like a coiled spring at first, looking for something to spook at, but after a couple of minutes he settled down. I kept changing pace and direction and he soon began to concentrate. He's not as supple as he was after five weeks off, it was like riding a cardboard box, but it'll soon come back. I really want to do the dressage at the end of the month, so that will give me something to work towards. At least he didn't go bucking and leaping around the school. Most of my horsey friends on facebook are having the same problem, so I'm not alone. I'm hoping to hack him out tomorrow. I'm sure if I go with Mr O, he'll be fine. Here's hoping!

The Ice Man Cometh

Yes indeed, we have post! I am thrilled because:
My papers have finally arrived from America. They are beautiful and well worth waiting for.
My December stamps have come from Little Claire Designs. They are little elephants and very, very sweet. I can't wait to start using those.
My pack of envelopes has come, so I don't have to panic about not being able to make square cards.
Crisis over then. Still no photo for Mr O, though. It's been nearly a month. We've decided to wait until Monday and if it hasn't arrived by then, he'll be contacting them.
Now if only the dustmen would come...
This morning I have woken up and there are patches of solid ground visible in the snow, patches of black and green, and unfortunately lots and lots of dog poo. We won't go there. There is supposed to be a thaw over the weekend, but it's supposed to go down again next week, which is going to be very, very depressing!
Barnaby is, strangely, being an absolute sweetheart while this bad weather is going on. It reminds me so much of when he was on box-rest because of the broken pedal bone. He got a bit stir crazy and used to help Mr O muck out at night. I am making sure I groom him every day, and he absolutely loves it. He has increased his actual 'scratch me' time to twenty minutes. He just loves that time with his rug off, to let his skin cool. I am his only opportunity to mutually groom. Have you ever been goosed by a horse?
He has also started doing something he used to do with Mr O, but has never done it since we've been here. He walks down to the field carrying his own leadrope in his teeth. It's very sweet. And the biggest thing was that when we came back from shopping on Saturday, he did his deep whinny as soon as he saw me. Mr O had already gone in and he didn't do it to him, he did it to me. My heart absolutely leapt. Pathetic, I know.
I tie him up before I go in to his stable and he does what I call wiffleing (I just had the big decision there of how to spell a made-up word!) He wiggles his muzzle over the leadrope and undoes it. I really don't know how it works. He can also wiffle on your jacket pocket when he wants a mint. So it occured to me, that that makes me Wiffler's Mother, doesn't it? (Snigger!)

Here comes a bit, that isn't for the faint-hearted (or vegetarians). If you are either of those, or both, you may want to wander off and come back tomorrow, and not read any further, although if you didn't blanch at the dog poo comment, you can't be too feeble!
As you know, we have chickens. And this year, they have hatched quite a few eggs. It turns out that chickens hatch 60% males. You only need one cockerel and his name is George. Unfortunately, three of the four chicks Penny had in her first batch have grown up to be fine, handsome cockerels, too. This presents a problem, because they are beginning to do what healthy cockerels do best (and it isn't eating!)
Missis has tried to source someone who might come and take these chaps off our hands, but we can't find anyone locally who can 'do the deed', so Mr O has bravely volunteered. Obviously we weren't entirely sure how to go about it, but last weekend we watched a video of a man who did it in a very calm and humane way, so we have decided this Saturday will be the time to do it. I've debated about putting this on my blog, but the whole point of it is to catalogue our experiences while we're here, and this will definitely be one of them. I'm just so sorry I've named one of them Arthur.
So think of us on Saturday evening while you're enjoying yourself at the cinema or a Christmas party...

It's All Good...

...but it's also freezing cold. We seem to have escaped the snow so far, though. For the past two days the ducks have come out of their coop (if that's the correct term) run to the pond, assessed the situation, and run straight back to the coop. They stand there muttering to themselves about the injustices in the world and where the next meal is coming from. This morning I realised they are actually thirsty and filled a washing up bowl full of water for them. They looked at me gratefully and tucked in.
Water seems to be the thing, actually, as everywhere is frozen. I noticed Lindy looking glumly into the trough. I went up with the largest hammer I could find, and smashed a hole in the ice. Barnaby appeared instantly, pushed Lindy to one side and began slurping through the hole. He drank for ages before submitting to Zak. Next was Hugo, then finally Lindy, by now a bit disgruntled that he'd actually been the one to point out the situation, but the last to be served.
Penny has been out of confinement with her nine babies for the last couple of weeks, as we were worried she was suffering from a lack of daylight. She reminds me so much of 'The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe...' She immediately abandoned her babies and went for a dustbath in the plant pot. Little chicks were cheeping in distress, but she just slammed the bathroom door in their faces. Mind you, if I'd spent a month in a rabbit hutch with nine babies, I'd probably want some 'me' time, too.
You have no idea how difficult it is to muck out two stables with 17 chickens in it....
Fortunately Barnaby seems to be recovering. He's actually worked every day this week, and the swelling is reducing. I asked Mr O to hack him out on Wednesday. I don't know what he did, but Bard was very calm for our hack yesterday, and impeccably behaved when I lunged him today (apart from the girly squeal at the beginning). I am so relieved he is okay.
I am wading through the cardmaking, but I am really enjoying it now. I've made two for some boys, which I'm also going to be using for my grandsons this year. I realised I am suffering from a lack of decoupage in my life, so I made this:
I love these little ticket sentiments. They are so original.
Now I can tell you that of all the cards I've made, this is my favourite Christmas card this year, not because I've made it, but because I love the stamps, the colour scheme and the simplicity of it. Again I've used the ticket sentiment stamps. I just love them.

I am a bit frustrated because I ordered some papers from an American company (which will deliberately remain nameless) which are taking absolute ages to arrive. I specifically wanted the 6"x6" size, which I couldn't get in the UK, so I ordered them from America and they haven't come. They are so beautiful, I'm dying to use them but I can't. Do I order the 8x8 size and start using it, and put the 6x6 away when they eventually arrive, to use next year? I'm not complaining about the company, I'm just champing at the bit to use these papers, and fed up with hanging round the post box all day like a disappointed bloodhound. What would you do?

Of course the plan is to go showjumping on Sunday, but I'm not building my hopes up, as I'm sure it'll be snowing here by then, and Mr O and I agree there's no way we're taking the lorry out with snow on the road.

Have a good weekend, everyone, and for goodness sake, wrap up warm!

Mrs O.

Great Jumping Jehoshaphat!

The vet came out yesterday to have a look at The Bardy Lad. He examined him thoroughly and I trotted him up for him. Barnaby is clearly not lame and the vet said he'd be very surprised if he had an infection. He said it looked like an oedema, almost as if he's been on box rest, but it's because he's gone from lots of exercise to a week of doing nothing. It can't be helped, there's no way I'm going to ride a horse who spent the previous evening hanging about over his stable door, is there?
Basically, the vet said to exercise him to dissipate the oedema. It is pretty big actually. I rode him in the school yesterday, then Missis and I hacked out today. I only wanted to take it steady, so we walked all the way down Press, then turned and trotted all the way back up. Lindy was cantering along behind me (on the road) which really sets Barnaby off, and I can only just hold him. Missis realised what the crafty beggar was doing and put a stop to it. We trotted to the top of the steep bit, then walked the rest of the way home. I think if we'd cantered on the verge like we normally do, we'd have been home in time for tea and medals. I can just about hold Barnaby in that sort of mood, so I think I'm going to hack out in a double bridle for a while, just to remind him of his horsey manners.
When we got back, Missis tacked Hugo up and we went into the school. I gave her a lesson in 'gymnastic jumping.' Hugo was quite lazy at first, but soon perked up and did really well. She has got a lesson with Nicky tomorrow, which seems a bit pointless now, but there we are.
This is all because Mr O and Missis went showjumping a couple of weeks ago (the day before Barnaby did his leaping episode). It was at a place called Marchington, which is an hour and a half to the south, in Staffordshire. It was a really nice place, with a big indoor warm-up arena, as well as the main showjumping arena.
It was 2-phase jumping, which means you jump the first eight jumps to see if you go clear, then fence 9-14 are timed. Mr O went in and walked the course but felt like he hadn't really learned it but it was time to go and get Zak and get warmed up.
He jumped quite well in the warm-up. It's the first time Mr O's ever competed him, so we weren't sure what he'd be like. As it turned out, he was going very well, and clear, when Mr O completely forgot the course. It was difficult, because in the end I shouted, "Green planks!" but didn't want to eliminate him for outside assistance. Mr O saw a green fence and jumped it, and immediately got eliminated anyway! It was such a shame, because he was going beautifully. Mr O said when he walked the course he kept counting his strides, which he never normally bothers with, but didn't concentrate on the course itself. We've decided next time he must take longer just to walk it and learn the route and I'll walk Zak round in the collecting ring so he's warmed up a bit before Mr O gets on.
Missis also did it, but had several fences down. I've watched the camcording, and she looks terrified. I don't think it was the fences particularly, she just got totally overcome with nerves. They are going again on Sunday afternoon, so both of them have decided to get some more practise in. I have to say, for a Trailblazers competition, there were a lot of fences, and the spreads on them were really big. I know when you're competing you can think, 'the fences were huge,' but that's just nerves kicking in. I wasn't competing, and I still thought they were big!
There are 14 fences, too, which is quite a lot, but it's because it's two phase. I suppose it's quicker to get everybody to do both parts in one go, but I think I prefer a jump-off. Maybe it's calmer this way, but I find it very peculiar to jump some fences both ways when you're doing a course. It's all good experience, though, isn't it?
Overall, though, we were very pleased with Zak's performance. He certainly had no trouble with the height. I think Missis was quite surprised too, as she's been having lessons with Nicky and is on a proven event horse. We've got an ex-racehorse, coached by little old me, and he did really well.
It turns out there is a rather spectacular photo of Mr O jumping. We are both quite astonished by it and have ordered it, so as soon as it arrives, you can rest assured it will be on here, facebook, my screensaver and Mr O's computer at work!
I am interested to see what this Sunday brings, but we are forecast snow on Thursday. I've no way of knowing what sort of quantity we're talking about, but it could totally scupper our plans. Never mind.