A day at the stables

[diamondlil]

This past weekend I was able to finally get back in the saddle after 2 1/2 months of not being able to ride due to back issues. And, just my luck, we were on stage! We did a re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings IN THE POURING RAIN! ( Great for chain mail! ) No one hit the ground, although my guy decided to swap ends and do a mini bolt when the warriors roared at him. FUN! But people loved our 3 blonde guys who were scrubbed within an inch of their lives and somehow stayed that way all weekend in spite of the rain.

At least they WERE clean until we came home. 3 days home and Indy decided to redo his hair himself. The round bale got down to the last of it and he's been reaching through the fence. Here's before and after shots!:headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang:

Devon

Any pictures of you in costume from the event? That 'after' picture made me laugh, but I can imagine how awful grooming those prickles out was!

 

[diamondlil]

And it looks so nice and cool and fall like there! We are having record heat here - 90 - 91F for the high lately. I am so sick of summer heat!

Glad you are able to ride and have fun, after all you went through lately!

It is cool, not too cold here yet. I think I'd have to carry on riding now even if I had to be strapped on in the saddle, I'm totally hooked!

 

[snakemom1961]

Janine, It's good to hear you had a great ride. Looks like merlin just wanted to give himself a mud spa treatment..lol

Devon. HOW do you get all those burrs out of his mane! That looks like it's going to take FOREVER! Hope you don't have to do too much trimming.

 

[diamondlil]

Another great day! Kim's teaching clashed with the farrier's visit, so I got to stay and look after the boys while Merlin had shiny new shoes fitted. Then groomed both horses, but couldn't get all the mud stains out of Merlin's coat, too cold for washing him.
We explored a new track through the woods, finding jumps made out of tree trunks in the clearings, (I love jumping, and Kim had no choice but to let me and Merlin go over them. She's been quite nervous about it and hadn't let us back over cavalletti yet) Merlin jumps well but gets over-excited, so a spanking trot up some steep hills helped him calm down again. Then we got hopelessly lost, ending up in a deserted scout headquarters, all overgrown, with dormitories, conference centre and a sports hall with huge mirrored windows that Merlin didn't like at all. Then through more woodland tracks and back onto the rides, finishing with a flat-out gallop home

 

[wade]

Sounds like a wonderful day. I love your stables. The look really nice and well maintained.

 

[windowswisher]

Hrm, I was fortunate enough to be given an Arabian when I was in 6th grade. Even at 14 years old, the mare was a handful. I got bucked off many a times, she got pissy when being cinched up (had ever since I got her), didn't take a bit well . . . but damn she was beautiful, fast, and brimming with personality.

I barrel raced on her, and owning such a powerful creature when I was 12 years old taught me the importance of safety, as well as a lesson in the deep connections that can be forged with animals. She's old, swaybacked, and retired now, but at the end of her riding life I would ride her up and down our residential streets bareback with just a halter and leadrope. She was my best friend.

 

[diamondlil]

Sounds like a wonderful day. I love your stables. The look really nice and well maintained.

Haha! They are the higgledy-piggledy ones Kim's inherited at her new house! All about to come down and american barn-type stabling to be installed in what was one of two big derelict turkey sheds. The horses are tied up there in front of old pigsties that we are using to store equipment.
And yes, it was a wonderful day. Merlin was very fresh and we actually beat Kim and Ben when we were galloping instead of trailing behind!

 

[wade]

I guess it was the mowed lawn I was looking at. I thought it all looked nice.

 

[diamondlil]

I guess it was the mowed lawn I was looking at. I thought it all looked nice.

Awww, thank you Wade. Kim is so proud of finally having her own place that she rakes every scrap of hay or straw off the grass every day! So although the buildings are old she's keeping it incredibly clean and tidy. The lawn area there will become another small paddock.

 

[diamondlil]

Hrm, I was fortunate enough to be given an Arabian when I was in 6th grade. Even at 14 years old, the mare was a handful. I got bucked off many a times, she got pissy when being cinched up (had ever since I got her), didn't take a bit well . . . but damn she was beautiful, fast, and brimming with personality.

I barrel raced on her, and owning such a powerful creature when I was 12 years old taught me the importance of safety, as well as a lesson in the deep connections that can be forged with animals. She's old, swaybacked, and retired now, but at the end of her riding life I would ride her up and down our residential streets bareback with just a halter and leadrope. She was my best friend.

She sounds wonderful! I'd love to see a picture of her. I drool over arabs, but Kim (very sensibly) argues that with my dodgy leg and back I'd be overhorsed on anything too firey!

 

[diamondlil]

Today was wonderful! Merlin has been getting very hot out riding, so he's had a complete clip apart from his lovely hairy legs. This means it's 'rugs on' and 'rugs off' time again. Ben is a highland x thoroughbred, so he got a belly and neck clip today because he's not as hardy as Merlin even with rugs on.
While Ben was clipped Merlin and I took turns in grooming each other, he decided to play putting the hood of my coat up and down and giving the top of my head a good rub.

 

[Hallie]

It's almost that time here too. We don't clip any of ours, but the ones that go to a stable with an indoor arena get blanketed to prevent excess winter coat from coming in. Someday I would love to meet Merlin!! He seems like such a character. Nicky likes to groom me, but he won't do it to anyone else. He is such a momma's boy...

 

[diamondlil]

Then it was off for another adventure, exploring a new track through the woods. Mostly quite steep downhill and lots of squelchy mud and puddles, which Merlin does NOT like. He needs lots of encouragement to go through water, and will trip over his feet if he's not kept collected on downhill sections. As well as limbo-ing under some branches it meant having to concentrate hard for this section of the ride.
At the bottom of the hill, we turned into a fantastic bridle path, with open rides through the woods to canter up, all at a gentler slope and with good drainage meaning surer footing for the horses. The ride was so long we had to rest the boys a couple of times before tanking off again, but we got a good gallop through one section and found a horse-friendly pub where we'll be able to tie them up in the summer and have a drink!
A quick brush off, settled the boys in their stables with their pyjamas on and then Kim insisted it was a tack-cleaning day before we could have a hot drink and off home for me

 

[diamondlil]

It's almost that time here too. We don't clip any of ours, but the ones that go to a stable with an indoor arena get blanketed to prevent excess winter coat from coming in. Someday I would love to meet Merlin!! He seems like such a character. Nicky likes to groom me, but he won't do it to anyone else. He is such a momma's boy...

Actually, now you mention it, Merlin doesn't groom Kim's head, I didn't realise until one time when he'd finished back-combing my hair and slobbering and she was wetting herself laughing at the results, then she told me it was only me he does it to! I'll wash my hair soon, because his saliva makes my head itch.
Merlin's quite heavy-coated in the winter, so without clipping he just drips with sweat. Ben's coat is finer but still too thick to leave if he's going to be ridden over the winter.

 

[Hallie]

Awww, he loves you a lot!! Nicky tolerates others, but generally isn't a fan. He won't let my mom brush his legs, he gets very upset and stomps his feet at her when she tries. He's also really stubborn with other people, but he'll do anything I ask him and follow me wherever I go (except into the trailer...we still have minor issues with that).

 

[NFS07]

What would we horse people do without horses? I for one would start killing people. Great looking horses. I am taking care of 4 horses at the moment, Arabian, Arabian/AQH cross, AQH, and a Percheron/Saddlebred cross. So far only the Arabian is getting a thick coat but it since I will be the only one riding her through the winter and only a few times a week once a day we are not going to shave her, plus this fall has been crazy so who knows how the winter is going to be. I have pictures of me riding the Arabian and the Arabian cross somewhere around here. I'll try and find the link so we can share pony pictures!

 

[NFS07]

Found it! http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91650

 

[diamondlil]

I'd go crazy without my pony time! Those pictures are great Nicole, that looks like so much fun. I'm working too many shifts to see Merlin next week :angry01:
Now he's only being ridden by myself and Kim again his manners have improved enormously, no fidgiting around and trying to take off when he feels like it. I think the girl who was loaning him must have been pony-kicking him like a mad person and far too keen on using the crop to get him going. He's back to being relaxed and responsive and fun to ride.

 

[diamondlil]

Today started early, straight into giving the boys their breakfasts, change rugs, turn out then mucking out. I'd just about got competent making a shavings bed before, but Kim now uses straw so I've been flinging it about wondering why the poops don't roll out nicely! So Kim's had to tell me how to handle straw without having a nervous breakdown, and how to make big fluffy banks that don't collapse. Of course my mucking out takes an hour compared to her 15 minutes but I was determined to get it right this week. Here's Merlin's nice clean bed and the glorious muck heap that's growing fast!

 

[diamondlil]

Then after the straw delivery Kim had to go off to run some errands, so I took a wander through the woods. I found masses of different fungi, I'll have to try to find a decent field guide to ID them.