With vast quantities of rain about, the mud is currently my best friend.  Its bludy everywhere, in my car, in my ear, encrusted in my saddle, under my nails and everywhere else.  Hence, you may see me riding in my wellies on a consistent basis as I refuse to get my new Brogini's covered in crap quite frankly.

Well the ponies this weekend were all impeccably behaved, other than a brisk scoot forward on Dillon whilst I look back at the people on the yard saying how good he is being, off he trots in to the distance with me still yacking/yelling, fortunately he soon pulled up and off we went.

My mare has gone a little feral with a little time off due to injury, and having taken her for a quiet walk on the weekend, I shall definitely need to keep her engaged with the human race before she turns feral pony - looking wily eyed as she throws her head around whilst attempting to put her bridle on! 

Meanwhile the two that are supposed to be wild have been impeccably behaved and perfect gentlemen which is great news - although I am awaiting for some naughty behavior to come out at some point...........off XC and hunting next weekend, so that shall be the test I think! 

One 17hh warmblood did decide however that a green oil bin was marginally scary, and had to be skirted around, while the 16hh ISH took a dislike to one particular cyclist wearing red, whilst whispering how very dare he come so close when there was also a puddle to the left to negotiate (he had forgotten the 50 puddles we had just been through - this particular puddle was of course different and contained the Loch Ness monster) but we all got safely through and made it home alive.

All in all, a great weekend, my best friend leant her able hand to ride some of my ponies with me, despite Daisy's camel head nearly taking her out a few times, we pooh picked in the freezing cold rain and dug ourselves out of knee high mud whilst pushing the wheelbarrow across the swimming pool/field.  All of which was a complete joy and ended with large Gin & Tonics and a tack cleaning expedition in front of a great horror film.  Good times ;)

PS:  I don't think I have ever been so lucky as to have two different ponies on two different yards and the people in each yard are amazingly lovely and helpful - whether it has been catching my free range stock at 6am or holding a horse for a farrier or holding a head whilst I leap on-board, thank you to you all :) I always go back to the saying that your yard is the most important place - and mine are bludy awesome !!!

The main worry with having a number of horses is TIME.  Never having enough time EVER and the un-ending dark nights.  But there is hope for us yet.  Soon the clocks spring forward on the last Sunday in March which will make a huge difference.

Until then, my handwritten timetable of what to do and when will have to suffice.  When I was revising for Law School way back and my nerdy timetable was the only thing that held my little brain together.  I find the same works now and just about helps me to exercise two to three horses.  I still run around like a bludy headless chicken, but at least I feel like I am actually running somewhere effectively.

During the week its generally ride before work and at lunch when I can, generally I get a very short amount of light after work so its a bit tricky to ride then but hey, mornings and lunch times seem to tide me over at the mo.  The weekends are just a manic horse splurge of riding everything I can whilst sorting farriers, hay, feed and pooh picking whilst every now and again taking a second to look inside my car and see the mud splattered sides that permanently take hold of the interior, oh what a joy!

But, to be fair, would I have it any other way? Probably not.  I love the mad dash from yard to yard and wondering what to do with the next pony, for one thing it doesn't give me time to think about what these mad buggers I have taken on might do next, although to date, no-one has put a hoof wrong.............

So, I have managed to acquire four horses.  I went from owning 2 horses, to 4 horses over the course of one weekend. Quite a feat I have to say, even for me.

You will all be thinking that I am absolutely bludy insane and, yes I am.  But, the horses I have taken on were due to be deployed up to heaven in all likelihood due to bad behavior.  This is their last chance saloon.  And for me, well you only live once and this is something I absolutely love doing.  Its my passion, I work bludy hard so why not?! 

I won't deny these horses are quirky and difficult but for me, I wouldn't have them any other way.  If the horse I am riding doesn't push my boundaries, I get complacent and bored.  I haven't owned a quiet hack once in my entire life (yet).  Carl Hester once said that the best horses are always the quirky ones, and I whole heartedly agree with this.  These types give their all to you and that is why I have them chilling quietly in my paddocks.

First Training Lessons will consist of:

1) Teach the slightly smaller bay to let his rider get on from the ground without pissing off = mounting and dismounting until this becomes an extremely dull process for the horse instead of a very exciting one;

2) Teach the much larger bay to move forward off the leg = forward fun work such as XC and hunting......hence XC training 20th Feb and hunting soon thereafter!

Updates to follow........

This is a question that unfortunately comes up a lot in the horse world, in the context that I have dealt with it most recently, the question has arisen from behavior issues.

One horse that I have seen was bolting and bucking with its rider who lost confidence and the other that I am due to see is rearing.  Both sets of owners were unsure what to do next.  The predicament is that you cannot sell a dangerous animal, but at the same time the horse is costing in excess of 500 pounds per month to keep in livery - what do you do?

First port of call should be the vet to diagnose any physical problems.  Now, fortunately (or not depending on how you view this) after I rode the horse a few times and it relaxed a little, we found that the first horse is actually lame in front, his behavior could therefore come from the pain and unwillingness to work as it hurts.  However, to add I do think the horse is a pushy brute that will test his rider with or without lameness.  BUT, first step is to try and get the horse sound and take it from there.

The second horse rears.  I do not yet know the veterinary history.  The horse is due to be PTS imminently.  Now, in my view the rear is the most dangerous thing a horse can do, mainly because if it rears and comes back down on its owner, you are in huge trouble.  I take a rearing horse very seriously.

From what I have been told, this rear arises from napping, i.e. an unwillingness to move forward and it has learnt that this behavior has the desired effect of removing the rider - it then repeats this as required.  In a horse that is lazy with no desire to work, the rear is more prolific unfortunately as it is merely a more forceful expression of having no desire to move. 

How to treat?  There are no hard and fast rules here as I am sure you can imagine.  My top tips for a rear would be:

1) Do not pull on the horses mouth as it rears - grab a handful of mane or anything else apart from the reigns;
2) Try and move the horse forward - always think forward;  a horse cannot rear whilst it is moving, it needs to stop, if you can get it moving, even if sideways, this will lessen the chances of it happening again;
3) If you are scared of your horse, do not ride it again - seek help from a behaviorist and your vet to see what the cause is;

My main advice is not to ride a horse if you are nervous in any way, shape or form.  The horse will know this and react in a non-positive way. Get some help from someone who has been recommended to you.  A horse beahviourist will help you to work out the cause of the rear and a way to deal with it.  Your vet will help to ascertain if any physical ailment is causing the rear.

Coming back to my main point on PTS - the horse I am going to see today will most likely be PTS unless I can offer it a home.  I will only offer it a home if I see a flicker of hope that the horse can reform.  How do I gauge a flicker of hope? Well who knows, its simply a gut instinct that will come from spending some time with the horse and seeing how it feels when ridden.  Update to follow..........