Only a few weeks until its time to come home!

With being up at Thurso for college its really hard for me to find time when i come home to fit everything in. For example horses friends and family-although horses are part of my family!!!

This weekend i was home but didn't have time to see the horses, but my Aunt filled me in on evrything the boys have been up to! I didn't realise how much i would miss them. Whiskey is still on rest but his leg seems ot be getting better .

Nimbus is just his usual self, full of beans and always raring to go when hes out on a ride!! As Nimbus is Connemara (his breed) he gets a real hairy coat in the winter and this means when he gets ridden he sweats an awful lot which is really uncomfy for him. Most horses that get worked in the winter get clipped out so that it is more comfartable for them ,then extra care is given to make sure they are kept warm when not bein exercised. Nimbus was clipped out in September but his hair doesn't take long to grow in, so he is due for another clip. I get christmas holidays on the 20th of December and iam home for two weeks, so we will be gicing nimbus another hair cut!!

Amos the oldest of our gang is keeping realy well for is age as he is 31. As Amos is older extra care is given to him, as he gets bigger feed than the other horses and warmer rugs to help him keep the weight on . He is dong realy well and i can't wait to see him when i get home.

When i come home for christmas holidays i will be ta the horses every day and riding -weather permitting!! I will have alot to catch up on, and also Frankie my own horse comes home with me for two weeks so he will also be full o beans when i take him out a ride!!

Whiskey Galore

Whiskey our 5 year old TB cross has been lame for a week now. My aunty noticed it last week as she took him into go and ride him. His back right leg was swolen and had a few cuts in it. He has been stabled for a week so that his leg can stay clean, so it doesn't get infected.
My aunty has been cleaning it everyday and hosing his leg to reduce the swelling and then called the vet out as it wasnt seeming to get any better. The vet provided him with antibiotics which he will get in his feed for a week.

We will keep a close eye on him to make sure his leg gets better and hopefully hel be back to work soon. Any volunteers who wants to get onhim first!!!!!?!?

Frankie 1st Show

Last year in July 2007 i bought Frankie. From the first day i got him my aunt and i gave him lots of attention and allot of handling, and i walked him out allot in-hand round to my aunt's field as he wasn't backed. This got him used to traffic and other road activities. That year in September there was a show about 25miles from home that i decided to take Frankie to. This was really good for him so he could get used to the company of other horses and different activities around him .

The night before the show i walked Frankie down to my Aunts house to give him a bath with the power hose! It took me a few hours to get hm shining white and his main and tail all clean. He was rugged up well that night so he didn't get his self dirty!! The next morning was the show so i was up early and round at Frankie's field by half 6 giving him another scrub and getting all my stuff organised for going in the trailer. I only had Frankie in a trailer once and he loaded no problem so i hoped he would be fine that day- which thankfully he was. My friend Karen took Frankie and i with her as she had her kids pony.

We arrived at the show and both horses unloaded perfectly. I was entered in three class these were The Coloured Class, Native Class and Condition and Turnout. He was so well behaved for his first time so i wasn't really bothered how we got placed. The judge had said to me how well behaved he was for a three year old and that he was really well turned out. This was enough for me as it was really rewarding for my hard work

It just goes to show that you don't need rosetes (although i got a few that day) to prove how well you have done with your horse!!

My Horses

Our Horses

At the moment my Aunt and i have four beautiful horses between us and one of which is my very own. They are Amos, Nimbus, Whiskey and Frankie. They are all geldings and mean so much to me. They all have their own characteristics and cheeky ways which i am going to tell you about and also what my Aunt and i do with them.



Amos is the oldest and i could say wisest out of the four horses. He is 31 years of age and is a skewbald(brown and white) Cob X Fell pony and is 14.1hh. Amos is also known as Amos The Famous as he is so well known for everything he has done for people over the years. My Aunt has had him for twenty four years and would never change him for the world despite his cheeky little ways!! In Amos' younger days ma Aunt done alot with him as he was ridden every day for hours on end which he enojyed so much. She also competed at many shows taking part in acitvities such as Show Jumping, Cross Country, Dressage and manymore. Amos has done so much for lots of people, such as learning them to ride and giving them so much confidence. There is a endless list of names!!Including me as i learned to ride on Amos and wouldn't be where i am just now if it wasnt for him.He gave me so much confidence as i was really nervous when i started, but was so rewarding for the hard work i put in.I rode him every day out hacking on the roads whith my aunt , down he beach, and was everwhere! I also went two a few local shows and done some shoj jumping, dressage and XC. Amos was 28 hen i started riding him and he always done his best top please ma and help me although somedays he mad me work for it!! I am so gratefull for eveything he has done and will never forget him.

Amos just retired last summer after well deserved many years. There was a poem written about Amos in the newsletter from the local riding club it reads-

Amos

A treasure, kind, gentle and swell

How many stories he could tell,

Of all the youngsters he's taught to ride

And carried safely with every stride,

Hes licked thier tears when they'v been sad,

And joined in th fun when they'v been glad,

Many rossetes have decked his bridle,

And over the years hes never been idle,

Always ready 2 be a friend,

To a multidute that knows no end.

Long may he riegn in crowning glory with this little tribute i end my story.

(A long time admirer at Redburn Buckie)

Nimbus is the second odlest in our gang! He is 16 years old and is a Black Conemara with 3 white feet and a white stripe on his face. His proper name is Nimbus Dark Knight. My Aunty has had him for twelve years and they have been through so much together. Before my Aunt got Nimbus he had been through alot as one of his ears had been tagged twice by people who had him in ireland. This has traumitised him for life and it took my aunty alot of time and caring to develop that special bond which they have. It also took My aunty alot of time to get Nimbus where he is today she put herself in a few dangerous stuations as he was young and very nervous and timid, they both have done so well together. They both enjoy alot of competing such as Show Jumping, Cross Country, One Day Events and Working Hunter. They als do some dresage which isnt realy ther thing as they are both always out to have fun and do something they enjoy! Nimbus has also taught me alot such as how to stay on when flying on like a bat out of hell round a coarse of jumps!! Iam also realyb gratefull for everything Nimbus has tuaght me. Here is a photo of Nimbus Dark Knight and there is also a few photos in another one of my posts of him in action!!




Whiskey is a five year old bay Thoroughbred X Highland Clydesdale who stands at 15.1hh but his estimated height is 15.3hh. Whiskey has been with us for 2 years. My Aunt bought him from a friend who breeds horses, he was three years old at the time and had just been gelded and never handled!! Whiskey has such a lovely, caring, honest temperamant but can also be cheeky at times. It took us some time and comitment to get Whiskey where h is today. Every day we handled him getting him used to us and doing things he needed to get used to. For example picking out his feet brushing him and having us workin around him. He adjusted realy well as he as such a nice temperament. A few months later after he was used 2 us we started puting the saddle on him, getting him used to the feel of things on his back and luckily he didn't seem to bat a eyelid. Then we decided it was tme to sit on him, so i was thrown up on to his back and again he didnt flinc. We took our tme with him and he is came on leaps and bounds and is doing so well now. He has done XC, Showjumping and Dressage and when he is olderwill g on to do more advanced level. In a few years he will be sold to My Aunts neice when her kids grow up, tey get on really well together and will learn so much from each other! We will miss him loads but we know he will be looked after and will be really happy! Here is a picture of him being his usualy cheeky self!!




Last but not least there is Frankie. Frankie is mine and i'v had him for a year and a half. His show name being Fun Time Frankie. He is four and a half years of age and is a Piebald Cob X standing at 14.3hh. My Aunt and i also broke in Frankie ourselves which again took alot of time , commitment and patience but was all so rewarding! I baught Frankie from a neighbour when he had just turned three, i passed him every day in the field which they kept him in and just knew that i wanted him. His markings and his cheeky face and characteristics stood out so a few motnhs later he was at home with me. It took us three months before we backed Frankie has as he was still quite young and wasn't properly matured yet. But once i got up on his back we'v never looked back. He always does his best to please although he has his days when he decides he doesn't want me on his back and hisn't short in telling me!! We have been to a few shows and he has behaved so well for not being used to the atmosphere. At the moment he is at the college with me but will be coming home ina few weeks for christmas. I will never get rid of Frankie as i have become so attatched to him and would miss his cheeky littl ways . Here is a picture of him doing what he does best!!

here is a picture of me and frankie :

What we have been up to!!

What we get up to!!

Most weekends i return home from college and spent my time with the horses , even though i miss frankie. My aunt and i always have great fun weather we are out at shows going out for long hacks, schooling the horses, jumping or even just mucking out!!

This weekend when i was home i had a lesson at our local riding school Grange Riding Centre as there was an female eventer Ailleen Farrari ther teaching. The lesson was a jumping lesson with four of us in the lesson and was to help us bring on our horses. Whiskey wasn't his usual self on friday as he is usually fulll of energy bouncing about and flying at the jumps but on friday he was really quite and didnt have much interest. The lesson wasn't my cup of tea orWhiskeys i could say as it was relly quite boring and we didnt seem to learn anything. On Saturday morning i had a lesson with my aunty which as much more fun and the jumps were a bit more difficult in height and the way we had to ride into them. Riding at the weeknds helps my riding come on and will aslo be helpfull for my exams coming up.

On the sunday before i went to the train we went out for one of our famous 'fast rides!!' I rode Nimbus and we were out for a few hours flying through the stubble parks with no brakes but once we got to the bottom of the park Nimbus decided he would stop rathher than jumping the fence!!

Here is a video of me jumping nimbus.

Yesterdays Lesson

As my horse Frankie is up at the college, other students other than me get to ride him. Recently i havn't had alot of lessons on him, but yestrday i had one with Alasdair. When we ride at the college our year gets split in to two groups for riding. In our group there is me, Ashley who was riding Casper, Rachel who was riding Ollie and Hazel who was riding Hi-Fi. I have had Frankie for a year and four months now and he has been backed for just over a year so i have put in alot of work and it is really rewardin when i have a good lesson. For being four years old Frankie is really good behaved and does all he can to please who ever is asking something of him, however you also have to be on the ball as he will take the mick on every oppertunityhe has!!! I was really happy with Frankie yestrday as he was going like a dream and did everything i asked him , all the dyas of hard work and tears have finally pai off!!