Great advice on photographing your horse

I've just watched this short video on horse photography and thought I would share it with you. It's on the Horse & Country website and here it is, courtesy of H&C.

My photographs of John are rather hit and miss so I'm looking to improve. I will be dusting off my camera this weekend and popping down to the yard for a few action shots - just call me the David Bailey of Dedham.

I would love to hear more tips on taking great photographs so if you have any hints or good advice why not share them?

Horses and cars - king of the road?

Out riding a couple of weeks ago John and I were met by a 4x4 pulling a livestock trailer, one of those closed-in trailers with open slats along each side. My horse just doesn't like them and started to mess around. I wasn't worried and put my leg on to get him past, but he wouldn't go. The friend I was riding with moved her mare in front and we all went through fine.

I was completely shocked when the driver of the 4x4 - who admittedly had turned off his engine to avoid frightening the horses further - shouted to me 'they shouldn't be on the road, they are too dangerous'.

Now I've heard that some people believe such guff but I've never come across anyone like that before. Call me naive but I always thought, and still think, that people are pleased to see horses and riders; they're a reminder of a more peaceful time when life was lived at a slower pace and folk were not so stressed out and materialistic, when things other than possessions mattered.

The road we were riding along is not busy with traffic, it is close to Dedham village, it is rural. Our horses are educated and mature. John is not a youngster, shying away from the slightest object or noise, he is a school master in every sense of the word.

The livestock vehicle was noisy with metal jangling and creaking, and quite frankly it scared him. Obviously. If the driver had stopped earlier we might well have passed without problem, but he didn't. At no time did we present a danger to anybody.

Why do drivers think they own the roads? What represents the biggest danger - a horse quietly walking, enjoying a country hack or a large, heavy 4x4 towing a trailer, which was frankly going too fast? I know which one I would rather run into.

A bit of commercialism here...

In my day-to-day role as a freelance writer I'm often contacted by PRs who have new products to promote or services to try, and yes, I do take them up on their offers from time to time, usually when I'm writing relevant features. It hasn't happened to me in my capacity as a horse lover and equestrian blogger, sadly... until now.

I have recently been sent a product for dogs (dogs and horses often go together and I'm no exception, see the cute photos of Spice), which has an unusual purpose - to keep those brown pee spots off your green lawn.

It's a rock that sits in the dog's drinking water, and the minerals it contains are supposed to neutralise the effects of urine. It's harmless to your pet but it just stops your grass going brown and patchy.

Our dog is a tiny creature and has an equally tiny water bowl, so I've bought him a big one to try it out (it's so big he could probably bathe in it). It will be a while before I see results, good or otherwise, but I'll let you know how I get on.

Now I just need a friendly PR to send me samples of their spring/summer clothing ranges for horse and rider...

Puppy love

In all the time I've been blogging over the past year I don't think I've mentioned our little dog Spice. He came to live with out last May as a birthday present for my daughter, who has wanted a puppy for years. Spice is a cross Jack Russell Chihuahua - a Jackahuahua - and is the most adorable, feisty little fellow that ever lived (and I'm not exaggerating).

As the smallest in the litter, little Spice didn't have too much to say for himself, he was quiet and the object of much rough and tumble when his brothers and sisters were playing. But when they all went to different homes and Spice came to us, well it became a different story. The shy little puppy found his voice and his character - and he hasn't stopped telling us all about it since.

He's a little man with a big attitude, he barks for England (unfortunately) and he will grrrrr you as soon as look at you but he's adorable and Anya loves him. We all do. Here's a few photos of him as a puppy last May/June, playing in the snow with Anya last winter and him as he is now...

Camping out... almost

The horses at our new yard live out during the summer and, thanks to the lovely weather we've had this month, some of them have been living out for a few weeks already. Now, I have never left John out all night and I have no idea if he lived out before he came to me, but one reason for moving yards was so that I could try it. Everybody I've spoken to about it says their horses love it and of course, living outside is natural for horses in the wild.

Nonetheless, for us it was another one of those big steps we seem to encounter regularly, and I was prepared for a night of camping out at the yard with a sleeping bag and flask of coffee to hand, to keep an eye on him.

Except my friends refused to stay with me and as I'm a bit of a baby when it comes to being outside in the dark, on my own, in the middle of nowhere, I bottled it. I went home and worried instead.

When I went to see him the next morning he was a picture - I have never seen a horse look so tired, his eyelids were drooping and his head hung down heavily as if he was about to drop. I guess he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

The second night was better - he still looked tired but seemed happier.

The third night I decided to bring him in for his supper and a hay net, and if he seemed content, to leave him in his stable for the night.

I had convinced myself he was unhappy out in the field and preferred the creature comforts of his own space, with soft shavings to sleep on. Well, he polished off his supper no problem, then he started to call for his field neighbours. His calling became more urgent and he began to pace around his stable. At that point I got the message. He didn't want to be in, he wanted to be out.

So I led him back to the field and since then I've stopped fretting about him. He spoke and I listened.

Cracking hacking!

My horse never hacked out, not with me, not for the first four or five years I knew him. Then we moved yards and gradually we started riding out. If you've read my blog over the past couple of years you will know how difficult that was for us and how proud I am that we came through and were able to enjoy the gorgeous countryside around Little Horkesley where he was stabled at the time.

Then I moved him to Dedham. As I said in my last post, he's settled brilliantly, but for me, the first ride at the new yard was something akin to riding Splash Mountain at Disney - something I was totally terrified of but something that had to be done.

So after John had been at the yard a week, I saddled up to ride out with a friend... he was a superstar. Why did I ever doubt him. He didn't put a hoof wrong and it was as if he knew where he was going. We enjoyed a lovely hack, he was chilled, laid back, didn't spook, it was as if he had walked those paths all his life.

Perhaps he has. I know nothing of his history but surely horses don't travel that far when they're traded? Perhaps John's life before I knew him centred on or around Dedham. Perhaps he grew up there, spent the first 17 years of his life there, before his owner decided she/ he didn't want him anymore. Oh my, their loss is my gain.

Since then we have been riding out regularly. He has become even closer to his field neighbour Libby, who is also his hacking companion, and we are loving the country lanes and tracks of Dedham!

Settling in

I worry too much. John travelled well, he was a little stressed for the first couple of days, calling and walking around the stable, but other than that he's settled beautifully. I think it helps that he already knows a couple of the horses there - friends who moved from my last yard to this one before I did. He has also fallen for the flirty chestnut filly in the next paddock - though she doesn't return his affection, more like turns and kicks out at him. Poor love, he always falls for the girls and they always reject his advances, usually with a bite on his nose.

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. You would think he'd been here for years (and the filly is actually an 18-year-old mare, but she doesn't know that, still thinks she's a baby - after all, you are as old as you feel and she (Libby) obviously still feels good as she has been known to act like a four-year-old). He has a large paddock and a very large stable; it's peaceful, surrounded by fields, and you can't hear the traffic. Dedham is also a very beautiful place and I'm so happy to be spending time there (the artist Constable thought it was okay too).

The petrol prices are crippling but hey ho, what can you do. I'm still glad I moved.

Moving day

I'm moving John to a new yard today - and I'm soooo nervous. It's a big deal moving your horse and not something you undertake lightly. Will he like it, will he settle, will he pine for his friends, would it be better to leave him where he is - these are all questions that went round and round in my mind and I'm sure it's the same for everyone in the same situation. Trying to work out the pros and the cons is a nightmare, but after weeks of deliberation, sleepless nights and asking him (not that he ever replied) I have decided to go ahead and move him to Dedham...

... which is much further away from where I live unfortunately, but the reasons that swayed me are:

He will have year-round turnout, unless I decide to keep him in because the weather's bad. At his current yard the horses were kept in rather a lot this past winter, even those days that other horses elsewhere were out, which I didn't like.

One reason for this is the paddocks suffer from bad drainage and become waterlogged, so he was knee-deep in mud when he was out - which I didn't like either.

At his new yard he will be able to live out 24/7 during the summer. Now I don't know if he will take to that as I've never left him out before (never been at a yard where it was allowed), but I'm going to try it and see. You never know, he might love it.

The final reason - and an important one - finances. The new yard will cost me a lot less and even though I will spend more in petrol, it should work out cheaper. And I'm afraid that is a big consideration for me at the moment, as it is for so many horse owners. I have heard that many people can no longer afford to keep their horses, which is tragic. I hope never to be in that situation and I'm doing all I can to make sure John and I continue in our happy relationship, unaffected by the horrors of recession. If it means a longer journey for me then so be it.

Family trees

The hunt was out in our area today so of course John had to stay in otherwise he might well have joined them when they went past. A couple of the others who knew what it was all about, having hunted before, got a little excited (the hunt was meeting just down the road) but in fact I don't think John, happily tucking in to hay and carrots in his stable, realised anything was up, which seems to suggest he has not.

I wish I knew more about his past. According to his owner before me, he was an eventer in his younger days - and the state of his legs would seem to back that up - but she got him from a dealer and didn't know anymore than that. He does have a freeze mark but again, according to his last owner, she tried to trace it and discovered the company responsible had gone out of business.

Is there any way to trace a horse's history without putting a pleading ad in the back of horse magazines?

Happy - horsey - new year!

Who can believe it, it's 2011 already and that means John is now 23 years young. As with people, I think age with horses has a lot to do with the mind - if you act like you're old, tired and worn out then you will be old, tired and worn out; but if you act like a youngster then you will be a youngster - in outlook and deed. That's certainly true of my boy, watching him canter up the field you would never believe he has seen as many summers as he has. Hacking out too, he can still throw a surprise or three at me, and while he casts a disdainful eye at his younger field companions spooking at a tractor, he can still outshine them in the nonsense stakes when he wishes.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

The snow has now gone and the horses are at last out, yet turning him out after a week stuck in the stable was a joy, no pulling, no barging, no being Mr Tall Horsey, he behaved with the utmost grace and decorum, let me lead him to the field with no spooking or shying. What a star.

I'm looking forward to getting back in the saddle, I can't even remember when we last rode out, but... I always get nervous when I don't ride and so not having ridden in a while means more nerves than normal. I know it's no big deal, I face this every time, but still, I'm looking forward to getting that first ride out of the way so we can move on - weather permitting of course, I'm told we are in for snow again...