heat! gas! rain!

from which you'll gather that our new boiler is in and running, the minor (exceedingly minor) gas leak has been found and fixed - but that it rained all day- heavily, horribly, ponds everywhere and roads into rivers type of rain. kept the horses in to give the field a break, they'll have to go out tomorrow irrespective as, inter alia, Charlie's back legs don't like the standing in. so just as well the skys were clearing and you could even see some blue sky just before it got dark...

no gas...

the new boiler is in place, not booted up yet... but when i went to start cooking tea, no gas, so i rang up to see why not...he thought there was a very minor leak, possibly from round the cooker... and thinking about it, he's probably right as i regularly double check to see if i have left something on due to a very faint whiff of gas that i think i have imagined. clearly i haven't imagined it!

so went to the chippy

in the meantime - who ordered this rain? euch. so long as we don't get the forecast snow tomorrow!

mad march gales

we've been spoilt over the winter as we've had little wind (just as well, with all the other weather we've had) but made up for it this weekend...

if there's one thing calculated to wind me up and put me in a temper, it's that sort of wind, so i don't do anything with the horse when it's like that on the grounds that me being wound up will wind the horse up

it was a good drying day, anyway ... shame it then rained after i'd got home!

toady's mistake (typo, honest!)

was thinking that the bright sunshine meant I'd be warm poo picking the field. i was in fact FROZEN, that was 2 1/2 hours ago and my skin still feels a bit chilled ...i should have known, the alacrity with which the horses came in ... wind got a vicious nip in it and too lazy to go round, if you know what i mean... straight through you. and after then spending about an hour getting the mud off the entire horse (they'd both been turned out without their rugs, as it had in fact been warm this morning...)

and worming weekend.

the good news, you can tell the grass is starting to come through!

clean horse

well, she was when i'd finished getting all the mud off!

let's hope it stays dry tomorrow!

the original thought

was fried by the weather this morning, it was very very wet - huge ponds on the road down to the stables - no chance of doing anything, kept them in off the incipient mudbath! (they went out in the afternoon after the sun came out) .. but partners birthday today mandated that i had to be home for tea, not out horsing at the time i normally would have been..

looking forward to the weekend, and i think tomorrow will be another black coffee day!

meal out

partner';s birthday tomorrow, another friend today, so meal out in newcastle straight from work...so gaynor did molly and i had a reasonably nicemeal

another interrupted day...

people at the door, mostly, and gaynor asked me to go down earlier than planned - good reason, but wish i'd had more notice. ah well...

when i got to stables, didn't think i wanted to do anything, but then did, and enjoyed what i did - another lesson for molly in concentrating on me whilst a rather nice PRE gelding was ridden past, and in the park outside our field where we were working...

stuffed

that's me, full of food...

school friend of partner's here for dinner - salmon with salad & garlic bread followed by blackberry crumble with cream (the last an afterthought, since i had the ingredients and the oven was on anyway)

very tasty!

but of course meant that i didn't do anything with molly, as i had to come home...apparently by about 0930 this morning she and charlie had both eaten all that had been given at 06.30 that was meant to last until about 2....(today was a keep in day to rest the grass)

calm down dear...

in the tone of voice used by michael winner in that dreadful advert...

Gaynor took Charlie out for a ride, and i was going in the field to do some ground work.

She woul d have calmed down quicker had she not also spotted the horses being taken out of the field across the river!

i ended up walking her in hand round the field several times; then she was calmer. then we had some liberty - took the halter off, and she followed me, stopped when i stopped, walked on when i walked, turned when i turned .. i was well impressed with that!

so since she'd calmed down a fair bit i put the halter back on and did some rope circling - plan had been to try the standing at the mounting block/lean over again, but then i realised she'd heard charlie coming back (couldn't see him but knew!) so i concentrated on ensuring she stayed listening to me despite having half an ear cocked for him! and she did, even though he was getting closer and closer ...she wanted to but didn't.

so overall i was pleased.

the thing on her back is healing but needs some fresh air, and it's still not right to leave her rugless i don't think ... might be if she was back in harbour house (warm corner stable) but not where she is, yet.

of weasels and knees

first, weasels

partner was painting in the front room this morning and called me down in great excitement .. there was a weasel in our front garden! it vanished before i could get a pic, and goodness knows what it was doing here (it's a garden, not a field, LOL) but never seen one before save runnijng over the road, which doesn't count!

knees?

we'd turned the horses out lunchtime and after we'd mucked out stood watching them and chatting for a bit; Molly was licking charlie's knee...

weird, or what?

it's always the way

That when it's been a lovely week whilst you're in working, it's a naff weekend.... rained all morning so far (in fact, it started when we were on our way home last night) and looked as though it might let up lunchtime .. but not.

green.....grass!

the field looked green today when i went down this evening ...noticeably so.

and it's raining now, so should go greener...

we've been turning them out more, but have decided they should have at least 2 days a week in to help preserve what there is... also thinking keep them in after it's rained...

so we'll see how we feel tomorrow!

and partner got last minute tickets for the Dubliners tonight, at the city hall, so off we went and an excellent night was had!

more work in the field

with the mounting block to finish

she was a shade sluggish, but didn't challenge like she did the other day.

and at the end when i was standing on the top of the mounting block, she didn't move a muscle and i was able to lean over her.. would have been able to do that better if i'd placed her a shade nearer the block, but since i had my jacket under it and slightly poking out, and hadn't trouble to rearrange that, i was pleased... a lot of horses would have spooked for that one!

in case you're wondering, i still can't put saddle on as she still has a very residual place where that heat spot was ...

as soon as i can, of course, i will!

that was after a slightly worrying day....

nessie kitten went out with me this morning when i went to hang the washing out .. vanished under the gate into the graveyard .. and vanished nowhere to be seen....

thank goodness reappeared about 15.40 or thereabouts, just after I'd finished walking all round the area shouting for her and looking for her ... having gone out the graveyard side, came back the other and went back through to the front garden for one last look, and she reappeared!

i reckon she'd got herself shut in somewhere and has just been able to get back

then when i went to get the washing back in this evening, she had a great time scooting round, in and out of the garden, i could hear by the bird calls where she was.. then climbed the tree and terrified herself on a twig!

in the meantime, it had been Avril's funeral today - the place was so full it was standing room only at the back, and a lovely pic of her on her horse Dylan playing horseball on the front of the programme. a Humanist service, which was nice, well taken by the officiant

the complete works of shakespeare - abridged

was the evening offering at a local small theatre, by student theatre group - very well done, totally hilarious

wasn't the original plan .. but partner suggested it so went...

Molly?

we'd kept them in today to give the grass a chance (they'd been out all days since friday...and time i got mucked out and groomed it was really getting a shade to dark to start...

rope circling....

the field has dried up enough to be useable for work!

so i did, given that Charlie was in. for this work, it's more sensible in there than out in the park, as it's a confined space

thought some back to basics rope circling would also be a useful use of time, as we haven't done that for ages, and that tends to be the key to mounting.

so took the mounting block in there as well

did a fair amount of circles, stand, back up, come forward and the like.

half way through she decided she might try it on ... failed.

so the end of the session was to stand at the mounting block with me standing on the top step of it (bearing in mind, not tacked up etc, this is just for practice)

first time, she moved - so got circled away again both directions

second time - she stood perfectly still and let me rub my hands along her back etc

so that was the end of the session.

more of that as well i think! and that's a good place to do that, and in due course will probably be a good place to mount generally.

and in the meantime, the new wood pellets i'd ordered had arrived this morning so she has a nice new bed down .. was on shavings all winter but i do prefer the pellets!..

flexions.....

in the 1/2 hour while the agnus castus steeped...

i COULD have lunged, but the wind was biting - felt colder than the deep frosts we've been having! and it occurred to me i hadn't done any attempts at flexions for ages...

so got the mud off, took her outside and put the bridle on and did 5 minutes or so of that (lost track, TBH, of the time...)

i was pleased with her, she didn't give me too much argument at all, and did some relatively reasonable downs without stepping forward!

freezing again though tonight!

round the park

on the longlines...

Molly was very brave, in fact, and volunteered to go a way she hadn't been before, and in fact that I hadn't been before! then back along the top fenceline and down the hill from the other side - essentially a big circle with a small circle at the far end... and then on the way back to the stables i decided to not go straight back, but to go past into a field leading towards the track under the road... for two reasons, firstly i don't want her to assume that we always go straight back to the stables, and secondly because we hadn't been that way for a while.

it ended up taking longer than i thought as she started napping away from the gap to go under the bridge from way back, so i spent a long time trying to get her to go through by herself, and finished up leading her through - didn't want to leave with her not having gone under the road! which she has done before several times, but last time was last october ...

so overall successful

all fortified by 2 mugs of strong black coffee!.

tell me....

why Gaynor and I were both too tired to move?

I expect the after effects of along week, but we agreed it was a waste of a glorious afternoon... between yawns .. the best we managed after mucking out was to take the horses into the park for some grass, and even then she had to lie down, LOL .. i was struggling to stay awake in the chippy on the way home, and declined a trip to the sage with partner .. she'd been given a ticket, and i would have been quite happy to go, but I saw little point when i could see I'd yawn my head off and fall asleep (and then probably snore, never good in a concert!, especially when it's classical music)

RIP Avril

who has died of cancer....

she'd been such a fighter, i think this was her 4th go round that finally got her...

she was so bad last winter she gave her horse to another lady who had just lost hers, a good home on the same yard..

very depressing.

so was the weather, it rained.

a long day...

partner wanted to be up at 0530 to go into work early.

as it goes, i woke up before that and couldn't drop off again...

turns out it didn't do her a lot of good .. she set off very early (before 7!) but had to stop as her windscreen froze up and she couldn't see - even to get to the next layby! (her car heating is b***d as well and it's waiting to go in to be sorted under, hopefully, the warranty)

to cap her day, she had just got in the car to leave work tonight, when a colleague reversed into her.

she says no damage done

i got down to the stables with a view to doing something, but b the time i'd taken partner's call telling me of her dire day, i felt very very tired...

the agnus castus i'd ordered had arrived .. directions include, putting in a bucket with a 1/2 pint boiling water and leaving it for at least 1/2 hour to evaporate the alcohol it is suspended in off! doh. so molly didn't get that tonight, really couldn't be chewed to loiter about for 1/2 hour just for that.

i did get the kettle out of it's box and plugged it in .. but it seems the sockets have no power. they MAY run off the garage somewhere, will have to ask gaynor

but i got a lot of work done!

feet

trimmer & I realised we should have taken before pics, to show the improvement to now...

her feet are looking hugely improved.

defined walls.

much less difference between the asymmetrical front feet

the incipient crack in the left front (which was, i am told, developing because of the asymmetry and the fact that one side is higher than the other) is now under control and the new hoof growing down is showing no sign of that.

the heels are more to the floor allowing the frog to contact more and that will firm up more.

altogether good.

and the weather? minus 4 this morning, hard frost; very warm by the afternoon .. now how can you rug right for that?

another nice day - if a shade exciting!

exceptionally, i decided to go lunge molly in the afternoon, on the grounds that partner is always out tuesday evenings, i'd be back by 5 and do more then.. so guess who walked in at 5.30 or so? and then ate my tea! but i carried on working anyway....

anyway, Gaynor had an unexpected child free afternoon so said, why did i not go down and we'd go work the horses? so i did, and given the lack of people in the main yard, we went over there to use the arena.

now that was exciting, getting there.

you go across the bridge and ther'es a paddock on your left with two horses in it.

charlie grew 3 inches.

molly wanted tot alk to the grey which put it's head over the fence (and bear in mind there's cars behind us at this point, and a blind bend ahead...)

then chestnut came tearing over, spooked molly who pushed me aside and ended up on the other side of the road..i was lucky not to get knocked over, luckily i wasn't and thank goodness nothing coming the other way

apparently charlie had to be circled before he reared..

so that was a shade entertaining, not!

but once we got to the arena, molly at least settled and was starting to seek the bit - I'd put the bitted bridle in, and the side reins very loose - she looked good for a few circuits, once she'd decided to work!

home by 5.15, just

but bad me... when i went to make her tea - I'd forgotten that the original plan invovled going the feed store .... had enough top spec for tonight, but not for tomorrow, so i may be having a scoop of gaynor's mix tomorrow...

and with being earlier than I'd planned, i wasn't there when the people (hopefully!) turned up with the joint supplement.. hope they dropped it off!

hurray again!

evening lunging!

granted not for very long - it was getting dark (and cold)! but we did do 5 minutes which is more than we've been able to manage on a weekday for a while!

would you believe, minus 5 this morning, up to plus 6 or 7 during the afternoon?

glorious sunshine in a cloudless sky ..... which is why we're getting the overnight frosts, of course!

sunny!

allday - but freezing this morning...but not to worry about that....stayed nice,, laundry on the line :-), warmed up, longlined in the park this afternoon (whilst Gaynor just let charlie graze...)

i thought, she needs the work, and longlining even in walk gets her back in the idea of work and helps us both get a shade fitter...

shedding? yes, now why was it i wore a fleece top?

new plan 0 they go out in the morning and g brings them in at about 2.30...

well i never ...

lunged! with roller and side reins (loose, of course) in the field beside the house...

i was surprised, as at one point it had started raining, and i though, here we go again! but it stopped and stayed dry for the rest of hte afternoon and there we were.

both horses were a bit on their toes - a few boings going on - don't you just love the 4 legged spring jump? :-)

AND there was NO FROST this morning. but i've horrid feeling there will be tomorrow. but made getting up a shade more pleasant than yesterday!

we're going to investigate oil filled electric heaters tomorrow, Gaynor has a couple and says they're very effective and of course they have their own thermostats, once they've heated up they switch off but the oil retains the heat and pushes it out...

is it getting warmer?

it was 8 degrees at the stables tonight, when for the last few weeks it's been hovering about 1 or 2...so fingers crossed! and we're going to turn them out in the morning, so fingers crossed some more! i have to do some work lunchtime (only time client available!) but you never know, may get some work done with molly in the afternoon..will make a change to be able to say something, hopefully useful, about work done with her, LOL

in the meantime, partner is trying to have a bath using hot water from the shower ... and has retrieved the electric radiator from the loft, so using that to heat the bathroom..which was very fridge like! when the heating's working, it's by far the hottest room in the house, with sauna like qualities; but now is the coldest.

think we need another one of those for the kitchen...

oh dear....

boiler is dead.....

no heating...

something has gone wrong with the boiler... i thought so this morning, but thought that it was probably the vent pipe frozen and that thawing out through the day would sort that .. but no such luck. so i rang the man when i came home and found we still have no heat, put the gas fire on in the front room (which is not where the PC is, of course!) and put warmer clothes on ...

hope he can come tomorrow. hope he isn't away! it's cooooooold

new tyres!

ouchy!

the one thing that upsets me about my car, which i hadn't twigged when i bought it, is that it has to have sporty tyres (being a HDI sport!) and they're not cheap. so i got the cheapest i could! hopefully they'll last a bit longer than the last ones...

Horses went out in the sun and were still playing when i went down @ 5, but the sun had gone in then and it rapidly became cold...

Gaynor hadn't been able to find my lightweight rug for Molly ... she knows where it is now, and you can guarantee it won't be nice tomorrow!

why is it....

that, at the weekend, the weather is pants, but come monday when one is at work, it's a lovely (if nippy in the shade) day?

still, can't complain bearing in mind what's happening in yorkshire/France/spain/portugal/madeira/chile/everywhere else except here...

the forecast was correct

in that it rained. in the afternoon. when otherwise we would have wanted to do something. doh.

turnout

i, along with everyone else, believe that horses should be turned out as much as possible.

but sometimes, it just isn't possible

if you have no grass, will have no grass in summer if you do let them out (as they will trash the rest due to it being so wet), are not allowed to put hay in the field, and do not want to see your horses standing chewing fences/weaving/take your pick of consequential behavioural issue, or see them go down with colic...

then you keep them in with hay/haylage

I felt moved to say that due to people saying should turnout without thinking of those for whom it is not possible.

anyway, i rather hoped to be able to do something today. i'd turned them out for a few hours mid morning as it was starting to get out, and it stayed not wet until i set off back down to the stables...at which point, the heavens opened.

so time i did get molly in, she was wet... and the area round her poll was NOT drying, so even if i got the mud off everywhere else i could not have put a bridle/lunge cavesson/whatever on with a view to doing anything

also, she has been overheating - a heat spot on her back ... have had to dig the medicated cream out..

it would be about where the back of the saddle would be... i could probably put the roller on without a problem, but won't be able to ride until that has healed.

having said all that, at least it was light enough for me to be able to SEE!

and of course .. it hasn't rained since...doh.

rain all day

there's a surprise...

they went out..

as they do every day for a couple of hours or so...charged round like idiots, then wanted to be straight back in because it's still a bog and there's still no grass growing...so the end result is that they were only out for about an hour whilst G mucked charlie out..

on the other hand, molly is reducing her intake overall by herself, probably because she doesn't spend all day trying to eat what isn't there in the field, if you see what i mean....

the weather? got up to 6 C today, damp but still, a bit mizzly .. if it keeps warming up and stops being damp, we MIGHT rescue the field enough for there to be less mud and more grass...fingers crossed!.

improving?

possibly - above freezing this morning but it was raining slightly and where i get out of the car at the stables was VERY slippy - you know the sort of thing, been turned into ice by the car, then really frozen on surface with no grip, then the rain slicks it...very dodgy! snow through the morning and then fog this evening!

fingers crossed for continual warming (but without any wind! the one good thing about this winter is there have been no winds! well, not here..)

from minus 5 to plus 3

this blog is now all about the weather....doh!

more snow...

to the extent that they closed Cocken Lane and various others (that's the one i have to drive down to get to the stables) in the morning and didn't open it again until mid afternoon. G panicked as the haylage was due and she thought he wouldn't be able to get so her OH went and got two wrapped bales .. .then they opened the road and the man got through...still, means she's got some spares (OH had winged at the policeman that he lived on the closed road...)

happily they hadn't closed it when I went down...it wasn't that bad then as not too much traffic had been down to turn it into an ice rink

but getting anywhere by 8 am was a nightmare!

thawed by the afternoon. at least enough for the roads to be clear, but i had to be very careful when i got out of the car at the stables again as it had turned to ice....not looking forward to the morning!

freeze, thaw, snow

in that order

the cars were covered in heavy ice this morning.

eventually the temperatures got above 0 enough for the frost to leave the cars.. then it started snowing... and got heavier ... and lay ....

ggrrhh...

extremes...

-5 C when i went out this morning about 07.30 .. brrrrrrr

11 C when I went out at about 3 pm ... but that was only cos the car was in full sun, it was 3 degrees and falling everywhere else, LOL! all round the car is still icy...weird!

and what was drying out mud at the field gate is now a pond again .. the ballcock on the trough had got wedged, somehow, in the open position and wasn't discovered till lunchtime (it was still frozen when i came home again this morning at 08.30 ...) so none of us, people or horses, are happy about that!

but the horses were able to be out for longer today, lovely sunny afternoon despite the cold, and we took them for some grass in the park after we'd groomed them..

and a huge temperature difference even between the middle of the field (sunny) and the front of the stable (in shade.. )

yes, i could have done some work with her...but i didn't...grass in her was the better option ..

and here's a good one ... molly deliberately poos OVER the fence! bizarre! hope YM is reading this... we don't want anyone thinking we've chucked it over (clear, in fact, that it is a proper horse done pile, not a person chucked one)... maybe Molly thinks she's saving us a job? in which case, she could do that with all her poos, which she doesn't...just along the one fenceline.

and it snowed again ...

but not for long and didn't lie!

horses didn't go out until 4 - g's youngest had to go to doctor! not a well boy! so all mucking out done after i got there from work - but they still didn't volunteer to come in - i think they hate the mud at the gate which is deep and boot sucking (and claimed charlie's shoe the other week!). he's now barefoot altogether and won't be doing any road work ...when we ever get them back in to work LOL

again, i haven't looked at the forecast...

didn't want to come in...

after her couple of hours out .. wouldn't be caught for gaynor! and i had to go through the mud to get her... don't think she was that keen on being out, either, TBH!

snow this morning, just under freezing; but thank goodness it stopped rapidly and didn't lie

looking forward to, i think, maybe 2 weeks time by which time it should be a good bit light enough to be able to do something. fingers crossed. it's not quite there yet, time we get done with the working day ...

interestingly, despite them being in a lot more, we're not going through the haylage the way we thought we might...or the bales are bigger than they looked!

20.13, partner just rung, still at work....but going to chippy on the way home!

minus 3...and again..

will it ever warm up?

apart from anything else, I'm sure the extremes don't do things like our cars much good...let alone us and our animals! thinking about trudi the other day - from -9 to +9 in one day?

breaking ice on the trough to get buckets to do the water in the stables this morning...

first day in...

wasnt' so bad ...

I did try and turn molly out, but she was clearly just going to stand and stare at Charlie, and he was going off it wanting to be out, so she came back in again!

They were both turned out about 3, when G comes home from work, and she said they were happy with that and grazed a bit, ran around a bit, and so on.

They hadn't eaten all the hay we'd given them; hoping that they will pace themselves better and we may end up using less, since they won't be starving all day and then gorging all night.. that's the hope, anyway. i know when Molly had that 6 weeks in with her bad legs Autumn 2008, she didn't eat huge amounts, so we may be ok.

the only minor glitch was that the nozzle on the end of the hose was frozen.. i was only pleased the hose itself wasn't, I hadn't taken it in last night (i did tonight!). but as I said to G, if it IS frozen in the morning we will have a problem and she will have to fetch water from the house..

and in case you're all wondering - i like to do mornings, as I like to have all the mucking out etc. done before i go to work - whether horse staying in or going out. saves having to do it all later!

lack of grass

now results in charlie having to stay in for a couple of weeks and go on a different feed to bulk him back up again (after consultation over phone with vet). not quite sure what i'll do with molly. she isn't stressing (he is!) and hasn't lost any weight - i could tell on Sunday when i put the massage pad on, no adjustments required in the straps ...hadn't used it for a while... She stands a bit, then grazes a bit, then stands a bit ... i'm told! where he stresses. and there's a concern that they are fed up with each other as well (too much time together?)

of course if we keep them in, they'll have to have a couple of hours out just for exercise..and it's still not light enough to work them at night after work (well, not for me, and G has children to mind as well until her OH comes home, so not for her..)

we've decided i'll turn Molly out in the morning and if she ends up just loitering about in the deep mud looking at charlie G will bring her in before she goes to work...

too much wet! too much cold. poached fields... doh.

mould...

for the first time for a while i got down the roller .. but didn't put it on Molly, instead brought it home for a good clean! hadn't realised how damp it had been in that tack room!

so molly went over to the arena to be lunged with nothing save her bridle and horseman's halter...and i took dresssage stick as well as lunge whip, thinking do some in hand as well, but most of the way over the bridge realised I'd not picked the reins up, doh!

never mind, she did some sensible lunging, none of the boinging we've had lunging in the field, and even though she coudl hear Charlie screaming, she didn't worry too much about him - cocked an ear every now and again, but that was about it.

didn't let her get sweaty, of course, just warm and the walk back cools her down - i really don't understand the traffic there, they will insist on passing when they can't see what's coming round the next corner!

then came home and cleaned the roller and put the pad & girth in the wash!

the saddle will be ok, as it was in the house whilst we were away..

anyway, glad to get something done with her, it didn't rain at all today was in fact quite a nice afternoon! not yet light enough to be able to do anything after work, but it'll not be long..

missing shoe....

but you say, Molly is barefoot!

True, but Charlie isn't and so can't be ridden and so we can't ride out.. between the showers

i said to gaynor today, my next horse is one that has been well brought up and will hack on it's own and not be terrified of gates/approaching fences/nothing at all...

the weather forecast

i haven't looked at it.. because i think that would be tempting fate ! :-)

2nd post of the day; Colonel Carde response to FEI

copied from facebook, linked from Horses for Life

Colonel Carde : Response to the FEI statement regarding the Feb.9th FEI roundtable on Rollkur/Hyperflexion

I am not surprised with the outcome of the meeting. Had the FEI truly condemned the hyper flexion of the neck, it would have rejected the training technique behind the success of a triple Olympic champion, and disowned the judges, trainers and riders who have benefited from it until now.

In reading the text of the FEI’s press release, we find that the FEI is now authorizing Hyperflexion when it is obtained without force (“Using the technique known as Low, Deep, Round (LDR), which achieves flexion without under force in acceptable”.) It appears the roundtable of February 9th did not really change anything.

To justify its position, the FEI committee implied that Rollkur and LDR are different. They chose to completely ignore the history of Rollkur. One must remember that this training technique was developed by trainer Sjef Janssen who baptized it “Low, Deep and Round”. It then became commonly referred to as Rollkur by Swede Theresa Sandin on her website. Without a doubt, Rollkur and LDR are exactly the same technique as all the pictures published on this topic can attest to.

In reality, it would have been better to set aside Rollkur and LDR which are one and the same, and focus the discussion instead on hyper flexion, which is easier to define. To forbid Rollkur and authorize LDR is meaningless. It is akin to forbidding the consumption of pork but allowing pig!

In the final analysis, the conclusions arrived at by the FEI will only be valid if the FEI produces different photos showcasing on the one hand, the difference between Rollkur and LDR, and on the other hand photos showing horses in the authorized LDR posture. Otherwise, the ambiguity will remain.

minus 4...

is this ever going to end?

it did (according to the car's temp gauge) warm up to about 5 degrees in places, but not sure i believed that - think that was very localised where there was a bit of sun .. although the frozen mud turned to soup again!

FEI & rollkur

for those who haven't seen it:

http://www.fei.org/Media/News_Centre/News/Pages/summ.aspx?newsName=news-RoundTable-9Feb10.aspx&inc=0

hyperflexion is bad, LDR is not....

and the man looking sour in the pic is, apparently, Sjeff Janssen...

progress of a sort, one supposes... at least people now can't be seen in public in rollkur without everyone being able to say they shouldn't

one hopes, therefore, the rules will now be enforced.

Molly? didn't come in till about 5.30 pm; gaynor had been out the full day as well and it was still daylight! WOW! shame about the continuing snow showers...

showers and sunshine

snow showers, of course!

light....

just, but still light in the sky at 5.30 pm! so progressing towards spring, i would think in another 3 or 4 weeks i can look to being able to work Molly evenings.. no doubt that will upset her a bit, but it'll please me, LOL

in the meantime, it was trying to snow again..

and the scones turned out fine!

rain.....dry....rain

rained all morning b ut did eventually stop

you'll never believe - actually lunged! gaynor was involved with her 5 year old's birthday party, so no riding, but it was not raining so wanted to do something!...had to leave Charlie in the field - odd, he was ok at first, but then after we'd been out 10 minutes (bearing in mind he could see us) molly kicked off a little (boing!) and so he did too...

i think she'd had enough - she actually did quite nicely and offered right rein from the off

then left rein she started boinging .. and then made it clear she'd had enough... by heading in a straight line back to the stables... then charlie started boinging as well... and i had to be careful not to be knocked over!

a rod for our own backs, really, only two of them

in by 4 pm, they were...

roll on spring?

then home and did some work, and made a stew, and then some scones....which may end up a disaster as i misread the amount of liquid and put too much, and so had to tip more flour and baking powder in ... but they LOOK ok...

a rather good anti rollkur logo

we are all free to use:

right click and save as to put on your pc....then use wherever.!

thanks to deborah norris on facebook..

fog....

in varying degrees of intensity.

my mother, 20 mils north west, said she had clear blue skies and frost on the pavements (sidewalk, for american readers).

we couldn't see far and had fog lights on

in South Shields, 12 miles or so north east, no fog but no sun.. but at least clear

At the yard, when i got there - the fog had cleared, but they were shooting in the woods all round the stables, so thoughts of lunging in the field went out of my head

but i did spend some time grooming, and discovered i'd overrugged her - heat scabs! pah! i wouldn't have thought it would have been too heavy a rug, as it's been so cold, but there you go.. i was wrong!

and poo picked the field again - left a couple of bits as the barrow was over full by that point ...

thawed .. and rained!

rained all day....gaynor got them in early as they were SO wet...rugs hanging up to dry ...we're hoping it clears for tomorrow but i'm not holding my breath.

the only good news - gaynor found some drowned rats! not arguing about that!

do...

so, partner says she'll be home early from work as she has an evening meeting of a local group she's in.. so i, knowing i had no time to spend with Molly, didn't ...

guess what

that's right, partner didn't come home on time from work...

there were going to be more pics, but it crashed... and facebook upload didn't work either!

pic from christmas

Gaynor took this, has just sent me it

from minus 4 to snow

and it only got above freezing after 5, just enough to enable it to snow... pah.

stopped again now, just, but who knows! i've invested in some more de icer for the car...

three sorts of weather

in the one day.

it was raining this morning, but not that cold (above freezing) and the rain was easing.

after i got home, about 9, it started snowing!

then after lunch it got out clear and sunny ... but time I went down to the stables @ 4.30, it was 0 degrees C

but at least it was light enough to poo pick! need to keep on top of that...

bad us

well, bad me really ... took purse to stables this morning to leave money for haylage which is delivered today, running a shade late due to ice, couldn't find charlie's breakfast, did jobs, came home - purrse still in car with money still in it - result, not enough money for haylage. thank goodness he's fine about it and will collect thursday! Oops that could have been dodgy!

the sheet ice has largely melted from the roads today, thank goodness - was a shade iffy this morning as difficult to spot the bad bits even with full beam on!

still coooold

I didn't go out until the car had thawed out today - probably about 2! gaynor does turnout weekend mornings.... but it was still pretty nippy, still dodgy ice on the roads, nearly lost the car at one point but happily didn't! you'll have noticed our original plans for the weekend went pear shaped!

this is nessie last night (she'd been after my tea):

doesn't do a lot for me, of course...

ice rinks

on the roads, as they hadn't gritted. i was toodling along at 15 mph or thereabouts in 2nd & 3rd gear and using engine braking, and people were driving too fast... the road to and from the stable is a hill..scary where the sun had hit it, fine, but not much of that.

on the other hand, poo picking frozen poo is easy, and i took my jacket off whilst doing that as the sun was beating down on the field and i would have melted.

and i bought us a present - new wheelbarrow, LOL

overnight snow

but only a couple of inches at home and it's a gloriously clear sunny day - but freezing!

cooold

and there was us thinking it was starting to warm up.

ZERO tonight on the way home (i had planned to go to the car wash when leaving work,but decided against, the mud etc. will have to stay a bit longer!)

i didn't go down to the stables tonight; late out of work, freezing, and had made up teas etc this morning, and gaynor volunteered to fetch in etc.!

Do hope we can ride over the weekend, that was the original plan, but it may not happen

but, something is growing grass wise, or was earlier in the week; molly more than happy to stay away from the gate with her head down nibbling and they're both happier to stay out later, than goodness!..

thrush gone!

thought it was better, but a really good look in really good light today, showed i was correct.

Her feet are now trimmed, we're very pleased with how they are looking.

She has that (I am told) rare thing, bars that grow further forward than bars generally do, overgrowing somewhat and thus creating a space where dirt can be trapped, hence the thrush. now that's sorted and the trim is right, that shouldn't happen again.

She was pleased to be out, i'd kept her in until the trimmer had been due to the mud!

it was not dark!

well not fully - still a glimmer of light left in the sky, in a vague sort of way .. another month, i reckon, before we'll be able to do anything at night (we are already planning lunging for the period when it gets dark at 7!)

new trough looks good, could just about see it!

molly fine - but nessie kitten a bit put out!

because she had her first visit to the vets today for her jabs, had her ears well poked (mites!) was weighed and generally assessed!

hadn't intended that for today, but got her registered and they had an appointment, so did it - next jab 3 weeks, then she will probably be big enough to think about wrestling with the cat flap and to meet neighbour's cat Charlie and then the other neighbourhood felines.

this is her firstly helping me work last week, and secondly popping her head out of her favourite sleeping place..


Molly?

had her feet done - we're just about on top of the thrush, but still scrubbing and medicating every other day - hope we'll be able to stop soon!

the water trough? will be replaced tomorrow. chap had only replaced the ballcock yesterday, didn't believe there was a leak until gaynor showed him!

still dark at night...

2 weeks ago it was light at 5 but last week and this it hasn't been - too much cloud cover, depressing! so tea and done is the order of the evenings for a while longer, but molly is happier to stay out longer, which is good.

the trough has been mended, yay! so fingers crossed we get no rain to speak of for a week or so (i know, wishful thinking, but it would be good if the muddy pond would be able to dry up a bit!)

rode!!!!!!

we went up the park down beside the geldings field to harbour house, had 10 minutes in the arena there, and then back; I had to get off and lead to go back down the park, it's a seriously steep hill and molly wasn't having any of it and started backing herself towards the cattle grid! that was fair enough, i haven't asked her to go down a hill of any great steepness since we left blackdene (you will recall, the hills there showed up her lameness); so i doubt she has the confidence to do that sort of steep hill mounted yet! fine when i got off.

does poo picking

keep you fit?

4 barrows out of the paddock today - we're still wrestling with the stuff that was buried under the snow, and I think this finally got on top of it!

that was after mucking out

end result, no time to do anything with molly (we'd been out in the morning to hairdressers...)

Just saying to allison, not totally sure i've enjoyed this winter with molly, first time for years with no immediate safe access to arena at all times...so no work done really! she has kept some muscle (more than Charlie, I think) and not dropped more weight than she needed, which is good, but it's all to start again!

rain and water...

it was raining this morning, and the trough still leaking. we've decided to tie up the stop cock and empty out the trough and just use large tubs (of which we have a selection) until the trough gets emptied. then if it stops raining the area round the gate might dry up, you never know...

hoping for reasonable weather at the weekend!

the cover up...

covering up the suit with the drizabone and long muck boots, lol!

haven't done that for a few years!

we have a hole in the water trough in our field ... happily the water keeps running in so it isn't emptying, but it's clearly been there for a while and the ice has finally made it large enough to be noticeable.

this will account for the mudbath inside the gate/round the water trough as well, we'd thought it was just run off from the slightly higher ground outside the gate on the stable side, but clearly not!

hopefully it gets replaced soon!

out earlier

because i've got part time self employed work in addition to what i was doing anyway (pays money!) so the horses went out 1/2 hour earlier than usual... at least it had thawed a bit! no frost on the car, water could be done....but then of course i didn't finish and get home till 5.30...

minus 3 again...

and guess who hadn't taken the hose off the tap and emptied it?

doh.

and then freezing fog through the morning ...

at least it came above freezing for the afternoon!

warm or cold?

this morning when i turned out it was 7 degrees C. tonight when i brought in, it felt really really cold - it was in fact 3 C.

and more snow is forecast!

But - it was still light at 5pm, so can look forward to lighter nights and being able to start bringing her back into work again soon...

the river subsided!

We were somewhat surprised, but subside it did thank goodness... probably until the hills start melting sometime later than the lowlands.

and we did lunge - took them both out together! they were pretty good considering it's the first time they've done anything at all for weeks. a bit full of beans, but settled well and we were pleased with them.

Molly's feet improving - of course, the one advantage of all that snow was that Gaynor didn't have to deal with muddy feet, but with clean feet - she says, they were pristine! not cured yet, but a huge amount better than they were...

river rising with the thaw...

at 10.30 it was still 3 degrees C and sleeting/raining and the river was full but within bounds and not too fast.

by 11.45, when we got back from getting shavings, it had noticeably risen

by 15.30 it had speeded up substantially, all sorts of interesting things were being swept downstream (entire trees, Gaynor saw a huge bit of ice with a bin on top!) and it had burst its banks...

we are, of course, keeping a very close eye on it and Gaynor is hoping not to get a call from the flood watch people....

and by that time it was 5 degrees C and thawing fast, very little snow left our way, i saw some people riding (we'd spent the afternoon digging out the beds and grooming, as they hadn't been groomed for a while!)

we think we need to do some lunging before we start riding again!

doctors....and kittens...

is where i'm going on tuesday... i've had a cold since just after i went on holiday, spent the entire time carrying boxes of hankies round with me, and lost my voice wednesday just in time to get back into the country...someone pointed out this morning that getting pneumonia would not be a good plan, and since this has now gone on for too long and self medication isn't working, the doctor is the next port of call... oddly, i feel fine in myself, and no problems sleeping ... anyway, we still, of course, have snow lying, although it is starting to thaw... not that you would have felt warmer today, windchill being what it is!

horses were pleased to come in this evening, and pleased not to do anything even though they are bored.. but no where to take them anyway if we wanted to -

pics of new kitten...

guess what? snowed some more!

but it's a lot better than i am told it has been.

Molly is now in Charlie's old rug - the one he first had when he was 3 (some years ago, that was) - as the thick one i had for her got soaked and also Gaynor thought this might fit her, which it does.

if it carries on thawing a bit (currently hovering just over 0 every day) then we may be able to go into not quite so heavy rugs.

no prospect of doing any work with them though .. and no point taking them out for the very small mouthfuls of grass that have appeared under the trees.

we are hoping that any thaw is slow, as a rapid thaw in the pennines up Weardale may result in a flood... gaynor and i both had the same thought on that one a couple of weeks ago...

have got some pics of kitten to put up...

and for caroline:

http://clairesholidayblog.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-12-20T00%3A20%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

explains all...

hello again!

had a good run back, got off the boat about 9 or thereabouts, and was home by 16.45, having gone via a farm outside Doncaster to pick up a new kitten, 9 weeks old (photo when she's settled enough to sit still when a camera is pointed at her!). All black.

Given we were in good time, I went down to see Molly - had thought it would only be possible to talk on the phone, but turned out I could go down.

Gaynor is REALLY pleased I'm back - and whilst she is pleased it is thawing out, she's a bit annoyed it didn't hang around long enough for me to see just how bad it was, LOL.

went in to see molly who was still discussing her tea and not that bothered to see me in consequence.

Gaynor's had them out most days, the only horses on the estate that have been able to go out regularly due to it being no distance from stable to field ...

BUT she says they're both bored rigid due to there being too much snow and no other animals of any sort to be seen (one email whilst i was away, she said Charlie had taken to chasing the pheasants for something to do)

dratted royal mail were meant to have all my post on hold... and still tried to deliver a special delivery item on the 5th; it'll have been sent back to sender by now, drat!

snowy busy day...

we were both up at 5 EEK couldn't sleep .. so hopefully we get some kip before setting off at an early hour tomorrow! work, bank, letter hand delivered to court, rescued gaynor from her carless state - here's a nightmare, yesterday Gaynor's car died, starter motor, just when she was going to pick her sons up from school/granny (one 5, one 1); so that's bad enough. today, her OH's car died terminally - drive shaft broke! and he was at the other end of the county...

so i collected her from work, her mother & children up, took her home, we did evening stables and i showed her the feed/feet things, then she had to borrow my car to go shopping whilst i did child minding...

molly i think will be pleased to be out tomorrow (despite the lack of grass) and her front feet are looking a lot better already with teh stuff i was given to put on it - a hardener and germ killer that you brush on to the affected area.

right that's this for a bit; gaynor's in charge! see y'all on the holiday blog!

snow and thrush

i think i mentioned the thrush 6 weeks ago when her feet last got trimmed. since then, been religiously scrubbing and spraying and it hasn't improved (which was why changed the bedding last weekend!) and is now into the hoofwall.

so she stays in again tomorrow (in today because trimmer was coming! yesterday because of the weather) and we have some new hoof hardener stuff to brush on to the toe area where it all is every other day... and poor Gaynor has to deal with all that whilst I'm away on my Christmas jollies (burglars reading be aware it's all locked up and the neighbours are keeping an eye out).

I will be blogging tomorrow night (not that there'll be a lot to say!) but don't know when thereafter, although i will have internet access... over on the holiday blog...and i'll let you all know where i am when i get there ....

more rain again!

kept them in this morning to save the grass a bit.. not that it'll do a huge amount of good, but still...they went out for an hour this afternoon...

on molly's quantity of eating. it occurs to me, last year when she was in for 6 weeks whilst her legs recovered from whatever it was that caused the hair to fall out, she wasn't pigging out like this..... there was always something left... and i'm sure i wasn't feeding more haylage than i am this year!

why i keep thinking i might ride in an afternoon i don't know.. clearly isn't going to happen this week, anyway!

december

so i don't know why i complain, i should expect this weather.. but i suppose because there's nothing on their paddock

had them both in by 2.30 today; molly had a 20 lb net - gaynor rang at 6.20 to ask if i'd left a net for overnight! so she had to make a new net up for her...

this is ridiculous.

oh, and i meant to say - following up from mary lou's post about rugging - left her with her aerborn thermatex under a thin stable rug (the outdoor had leaked) and gaynor had to change her rug to her thicker indoor...

doh.

bad me missed a day...

yesterday's post...

the plans for teh day went a shade pearshaped.

we had thought - get them in about 1, then go over to the arena to ride whilst everyone at work.

it rained ... and it rained... and then it rained some more... so got them in about 2.30 for the night and they were well pleased!

back to normal

Molly is.. we'll just have to keep a close watch on her seasons

in the meantime, there's practically nothing left for them to pick at and their field is gonna be trashed (albeit it's the only one that is poo picked religiously!)because it has been so wet this year it isn't surviving. so we're going to keep them in more; I'll turn them out in the morning, and they'll come in around 1 ...

today, I tacked up and went over to the arena... should have gone this morning! the riding club were doing pony club games for adults ...

so went and lunged in the field! she did some nice canter, a few bucks, we had a bit of a walk up the field and back down, and then I let her pick some grass before we went back in (i mean the big field outside theirs...)

not os bad...

in that molly was turned out today and they had 2 hours or so of just chilling before she started spraying, so i go her in again rather than wind charlie up more...

we think it'll all be fine again by monday - hope so! - and we'll investigate that agnus castus stuff....

unfortunately, even though the weather came out not too bad, didn't have time to do anything at all except bottom her bed ... but will have time tomorrow, and the weather is supposed to be ok! at least the fog should lift.

hand in front of face

was very hard to see in the thick fog we had today, horrid! full fog lights on when i went out, truly awful.

so the plan to have one horse out half the day and the other the other half worked reasonably well . and my friend mucked out for me as well, which i hadn't expected!

here's a couple of pics partner took at saltwell park tonight; the dancers are not people, they are silhouettes - there were lighting installations based on the song "12 days of Christmas". the green lines are lights along the tops of hedges making up a maze, and the thing sticking up from that is a "pear tree"

agnus castus

has been recommended for both - am consulting with friend, but in the meantime they are going to have to be separated - one out half the day, the other out the other half.

oops.

on a lighter note, someone sent me this video. hope it works.

we have a problem...

charlie and molly like each other a bit too much....

oops.

we're all upset as we thought charlie had grown out of this ...(he's not a rig we know that)

oh dear.


had i been able to stick to the first though (which was go down earlier and ride, plan interrupted by work) this wouldn't have happened (well, not today, and not so they got caught)

but it's as well that we know...

any words of wisdom out there?

a safer christmas

an acquaintance was sent this, and it's brilliantly funny so have to share. word of warning ot jean, though - you might need to not read this until after you've healed, laughing might not help you at the moment!

The Rocking Song
Little Jesus, sweetly sleep, do not stir;
We will lend a coat of fur,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you,
We will rock you, rock you, rock you:

Fur is no longer appropriate wear for small infants, both due to risk of allergy to animal fur, and for ethical reasons. Therefore faux fur, a nice cellular blanket or perhaps micro-fleece material should be considered a suitable alternative.

Please note, only persons who have been subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check and have enhanced clearance will be permitted to rock baby Jesus. Persons must carry their CRB disclosure with them at all times and be prepared to provide three forms of identification before rocking commences.


Jingle Bells
Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

A risk assessment must be submitted before an open sleigh is considered safe for members of the public to travel on. The risk assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such a venture, particularly if passengers are of larger proportions. Please note, permission must be gained from landowners before entering their fields. To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we would request that laughter is moderate only and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.


While Shepherds Watched
While shepherds watched
Their flocks by night
All seated on the ground
The angel of the Lord came down
And glory shone around

The union of Shepherd's has complained that it breaches health and safety regulations to insist that shepherds watch their flocks without appropriate seating arrangements being provided, therefore benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available. Shepherds have also requested that due to the inclement weather conditions at this time of year that they should watch their flocks via cctv cameras from centrally heated shepherd observation huts.
Please note, the angel of the lord is reminded that before shining his / her glory all around she / he must ascertain that all shepherds have been issued with glasses capable of filtering out the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and Glory.


Little Donkey
Little donkey, little donkey on the dusty road
Got to keep on plodding onwards with your precious load

The RSPCA have issued strict guidelines with regard to how heavy a load that a donkey of small stature is permitted to carry, also included in the guidelines is guidance regarding how often to feed the donkey and how many rest breaks are required over a four hour plodding period. Please note that due to the increased risk of pollution from the dusty road, Mary and Joseph are required to wear face masks to prevent inhalation of any airborne particles. The donkey has expressed his discomfort at being labelled 'little' and would prefer just to be simply referred to as Mr. Donkey. To comment upon his height or lack thereof may be considered an infringement of his equine rights.


We Three Kings
We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star

Whilst the gift of gold is still considered acceptable - as it may be redeemed at a later date through such organisations as 'cash for gold' etc, gifts of frankincense and myrrh are not appropriate due to the potential risk of oils and fragrances causing allergic reactions. A suggested gift alternative would be to make a donation to a worthy cause in the recipients name or perhaps give a gift voucher.
We would not advise that the traversing kings rely on navigation by stars in order to reach their destinations and suggest the use of RAC routefinder or satellite navigation, which will provide the quickest route and advice regarding fuel consumption. Please note as per the guidelines from the RSPCA for Mr Donkey, the camels carrying the three kings of Orient will require regular food and rest breaks. Facemasks for the three kings are also advisable due to the likelihood of dust from the camels hooves.


Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.

You are advised that under the Equal Opportunities for All policy, it is inappropriate for persons to make comment with regard to the ruddiness of any part of Mr. R. Reindeer. Further to this, exclusion of Mr R Reindeer from the Reindeer Games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty of this offence. A full investigation will be implemented and sanctions - including suspension on full pay - will be considered whilst this investigation takes place.

but not today

i might have thought about going out to do something with molly after lunch if the weather had been relatively sensible, but it looked horrid .. and then i forgot the time again, as well, as I do...

she was pleased to come in, of course!

good lord i rode!

turned into a nice day eventually (but had been raining at the time booked for partner's lesson so that got cancelled again!) and i took molly over the bridge to the arena, just on spec but the person having the lesson & her pupil were quite happy for me to work round them (thank you them).

little bit of the usual chew getting on, and i think i manage to accidentally hit poor molly in the head with my whip as i tried not to fall backwards off the mounting block as she moved! ooops. but whatever in fact happened, she then stood stock still..

she was slightly unsettled, and i never got her standing long enough to put my nearside stirrup up the required hole (i have to have it a shade longer to get on, or i can't) so just did a lot of walk keeping changing the rein

can tell how long it is since we've done anything, i knew i was a bit tight everywhere! but considering she hasn't ever been ridden in that arena before (only lunged twice) and we could hear Charlie screaming for her from across the river i was quite pleased really..

going back, some d**k head decided to try and pass me despite the blind bend ahead, so i told him loudly he was an idiot and he told me loudly i was the same... but he didn't try and pass (but still as well no one came the other way, as he didn't drop back in behind me!)

think gaynor got stuck christmas shopping ...the perils of having family, i think! shame as it was anice afternoon, despite the fact that it did try to rain whilst i was in the arena.

in hand again.

if i'd not bothered going home for lunch, i would have had time to go over to the arena with some prospect of getting back before it got dark...

as it was, by the time i got the mud off (it was still slightly damp when i got her in!) etc, there wasn't going to be time to do that

so in hand along the lane again, via the puddle!

Actually, had a relatively good horsey day... after the hairdressers went for feed and stables on my way home, to went that way to drop feed off; G was there just finishing her mucking out, i did mine, during which time YO and YM turned up to look at, we think, proposed arrangements to move the field gate and water trough; then we took the horses through into the house lawn for some grass (given that it's too late in the year to mow, LOL, and they need some - very good at that lawnmowing they are!), then put feed away and went in for a cuppa before going home for lunch

Scott's dog mic

Jean's horses were shod and Scott's dog was very disappointed she wasn't out to play ball (I have his permission to post this pic) (and Danni, you should go say hello to her...)


and molly & I?

well, another day of work for me and another day in the field for her.. they're scratching round for smething to eat and getting everything by way of overnight hay/feed, but at least they're both moving about!

plans for any joint efforts tomorrow have ben scuppered - i'm getting hair done in the morning, and gaynor in the afternoon.. doh.

looks like sunday might be scuppered as well, the weather forecast is to teem down all day

good news from new jersey

Jean is out of surgery, doing ok and was well enough to receive a visitor last night! which is good.

Will keep you all posted here and by comments on her blog (when blogger lets me in there LOL)

in the meantime, hoping for good weather for the weekend, you never know i may be able to ride my horse and partner may be able to have her deferred lesson...

hurray!

blogger wouldn't load ... at one point it said i wasn't following anyone, and then kept timing out...

server instabilities? i note i'm not the only one having problems!

thinking of jean for tomorrow....good luck!

i don't understand

what seems to be wrong with blogger, and i think something is.

the blogs i follow have their own space at the bottom of my dashboard and i can see who's updated and go read and say hello etc.

so far as I was aware, Nicola, for example, hadn't posted in ages.... tonight, a load show up as being posted 25 minutes ago, and when i go read, i find others had commented on the day they were posted.

bizarre!

ditto for Marylou

all VERY strange!

anyway, change of subject - has anyone seen one of these?

http://www.furlongs.uk.com/products/haynet.html

and if so, in what way are they different from your bog standard small holed haynet?

my routine has changed so much that molly is now in a lot earlier than has ever been the case, and feeding by weight from my usual small holed haynet means that she has nothing for a long time. if i feed from the haybar, as i would prefer which is why i have it, she eats it quicker!