Sooo bored...

With all of the horses being in for the past week or so - since the snow the yard is a total ice rink - I've been thinking about ways to make the day more interesting as it must be soooo boring being stuck in a stable all day. For me as well, there's the added worry of arthritis (John's not mine) and swollen legs (again John's not mine). He needs gentle exercise - but if we can't ride out and he can't go out into the field what are we supposed to do?

Given that I can't stay with him all day, grooming him or telling him jokes, what's the alternative?

We do have a ball, it's an oval football. We did have one of those hexagonal ones, the unbreakable ones, but I loaned it to a friend last winter and her pony broke it. Our oval football keeps him interested for oh about 10 minutes, then he gets fed up and hoofs it into the wall with a look that says 'just give me the treats it would be easier'.

So I decided to research the subject - what can you do to alleviate the boredom if your horse cannot go out into the field:

This first one didn't take up too much time - from experience, all I have to do is scratch his ears and he's happy - but you can't do that for hours on end.

Footballs - hexagonal or oval-shaped, you just insert the treats in one end, the horse kicks it around the stable, then the treats fall out the other end to reward patient horse.

Mirrors - I haven't used one of these but the idea is that the horse sees his reflection and thinks he has a friend with him, someone to talk to so he doesn't get bored or stressed. Don't know how John would react to a mirror, probably try to eat it or groom it.

Likits - these are horsey sweets and they do adore them. The first time I gave John a Likit a few years ago he didn't know what to do with it. He soon got the hang of it though and loves them - though the size of his tummy means we don't indulge too often. And he hasn't got the hang of the name, Likit, he bites it and tries to eat it all in one, plastic holder included.

Hiding carrots in the stable - these days he misses carrots in his feed, so the chances of him finding carrots hidden in his stable are quite slim I think.

With any luck the snow will soon melt and life will get back to normal for John and his pals, until then, any suggestions for alleviating the boredom of being stuck in the stable would be greatly appreciated.

Snow fun

The horses are in, it's too slippy to turn them out. My boy doesn't like staying in and he certainly lets you know it. I did turn him out on Tuesday as frankly, even a couple of hours out is better than nothing - for his joints and his mood. He couldn't wait to get out but once he was in his field he started to whinny - 'What am I doing here mam, why is it so cold and where's the grass gone.' The other horses were uncovering the grass, wiping away the snow with their hooves; my prima donna was just standing there, waiting for someone (me) to do it for him.

Anyway, after mucking out I went back to the field to give him some hay and he had eventually deigned to clear away the snow for himself.

Since then he's been stuck in his stable, along with the others,so he's not a happy chappy. Looking at the snow coming down outside there doesn't seem much chance of him getting out for a few days yet.

What do other people do in this situation, to stave off boredom (the horse's, not mine)?

Hello again

I have been so lax at keeping my blog up to date, it's almost a year, give or take a few months since my last post. Not very good. In that time lots has happened on my journey with John. We have hardly been in the school, instead we have wandered around the countryside where we live, enjoying the summer and getting to know each other better, building trust, as we hack out.

He is so good, even when confronted with cows, tractors, white vans, bulldozers and bikes. If a blade of grass looks at him the wrong way or a bird flaps out of a bush, well, that's another matter.

A few weeks ago there were three of us riding out, we were talking and didn't realise we were about to pass a house where dogs always bark. Have you ever seen horses do a Mexican wave? The three of them jumped on the spot one after the other. We laughed so much - a year ago I would probably have fallen off.

Since them unfortunately John has suffered from lameness and has been resting. We started riding again this week but we have to take it slowly - no more schooling and no more working on a circle for him. He is coming up to 23 after all, bless him.

A bit of childhood history and a bit about horses

Considering I didn't ride when I was a child and nobody in my family has much to do with horses, I was wondering how and why I ended up hooked.

This could be the answer - found on YouTube. I loved this programme when I was little and it's still one of my favourite ever songs. There's a better clip on YouTube, the actual starting sequence from the show, but I can't work out how to get it from there to here.




Another great TV series for horse-mad girls was Follyfoot. I wasn't into this programme so much but loved the song, I still do.

Trotting on

John and I rode out this morning with another couple of girls from the livery yard and their horses, we were out for around an hour-and-a-half, the longest hack we have done so far. He was tired when we got back to the yard because we did a lot of trotting, more than we have done for ages.

Again, he was brill in all ways. We went a new route and he handled it really well, even though for some reason there were lots of cars around (on a Sunday morning can you believe, why weren't people still in bed?) We met several dogs, joggers and cyclists - the only one he seemed to be wary of was a very large poodle with a quiff.

I lost a stirrup manoeuvring our way through apple boxes stacked up either side of the path at one point - he did take a dislike to them - but he went through at a jog so didn't disgrace himself by taking off with me, and I managed to hook my foot back into the stirrup pretty quickly.

Another great step forward for us I think.

Why the long face?

Ho ho, the old ones are the best. He's actually happy as far as I know, though it was very foggy. He prefers to be out rather than in I'm sure, even if the weather is pants. We didn't ride until the afternoon when the fog had gone and there was brilliant sunshine - but by the time I had de-mudded him the sun had gone in and the light was going. We still rode out - and we did the short block by ourselves! He called most of the way round, joggged some and walked sideways looking towards home, but he still did it. I am so proud of him!

Riding out

He is definitely feeling better today. I rested him again yesterday but decided to ride out this afternoon and see how he coped - he was fine. We were going to go out alone but ended up going out with the new livery and her friend, John and I introducing them to the 'short block', which is about 35 minutes. Imagine, me showing somebody around on a hack!!!! That would have been unheard of just a few months ago.

Anyway, he was a star as always and we enjoyed a relaxing ride through the countryside. I'm so relieved his fall the other day didn't cause any damage. He seemed to have a good time - he always does - he definitely prefers being out and about to being in the school.

Another cold day today...

I'm getting a bit fed up with the weather now, it's so cold it's beyond a joke. I lunged John yesterday afternoon - I thought the school had defrosted enough and the sand seemed quite soft. But he fell and I feel terrible about it. He went down on both front knees.

I have rested him today but he seems out of sorts, he looks a little depressed. I can tell when he's not feeling right - I know my horse well. There doesn't seem to be excess heat in his legs, no more than normal anyway (he often feels warm in his front legs, I think it's his age). I'll keep a careful eye on him over the next few days.

I hope he's better tomorrow...

Outlook sunny

Why am I now so interested in the weather? I can't go to bed at night without first watching the weather report after the news. Darren tells me I'm obsessed! He doesn't get it but other horse owners will understand I know. Since having a horse what it's like outside has taken on a whole new importance. Is it going to be sunny - yay, great for riding; windy - not good as he spooks if it's gusty; rainy - oh not so bad, I can cope with that, though torrential is miserable; icy or snowy - well, we have to stay at home if it's too slippy. You see, the weather forecast is crucial.

Then there's the question of rugs. How many and what ones depend on the temperature - one, two, stable rug, sheet, blanket or both?

If the taps freeze there's no water, poo picking the field is easier though when the temperature is below zero, snow means it's harder to get to the grass, while too much rain makes for a quagmire.

Yes, the weather forecast has definitely taken on a new significance since I became horsey.

The first of 2010

I am so rubbish at this blogging lark and there have been so many good things happening that I should have written about. I’ve tried to remember them but of course, I can’t.

I’m going to put it right now though and from now on will try hard to post regularly.

We had another milestone yesterday, honestly, John is such a star. We hacked out alone, did the short block, about 35 minutes and he only tried to turn back once! He did call a few times but that’s all. He was so brave and he’s obviously trusting me more. When he did try to turn for home I managed to get him going in the right direction again quite easily, he didn’t put up too much of a fight, which means he is getting used to me being in command.

In the past few months we have also mastered the big block – over an hour’s ride – and we have hacked out in company most weekends.

I also fell off, which knocked my confidence a bit I can tell you. That was in the school during a lesson. We were almost finished and were cantering on a circle. I suppose I got too complacent, the end of the lesson and all that. He spooked, shot off sharply, then changed direction sharply and shot off again – and I went out the side door. I haven’t really worked him in the school since and I know it’s silly, but I’m a bit nervous about riding in there now, especially canter, which I’ve hardly done since my fall. I know, one more hurdle to master!