Who else has felt the pain of this winter? It's hard to believe we are coming into spring, and yet the last of lockdown is still keeping those winter blues in place! Unfortunately due to the weather here, and the ridiculous hot headed nature of my horses, combined with no travel or arena hire allowed I haven't been able to take the boys out anywhere or ride.
On the plus side, it has meant we have been able to get other yard jobs done. The stables now have brick work around them, and are starting to take shape in what feels like a forever process - although we did have a few silly moments the first few days with all the horses, who apparently didn't approve of the workmanship and were too scared to go in!
I also managed to get the inside of my lorry repainted, and new rubber matting laid. This has been a huge project, as I didn't have the budget to buy a decent 7.5t and lost a lot of money when Travis broke my trailer, but I do have a newer cab, with lots of mod cons and what was an empty aluminium shell is now starting to look like a horse box, all thanks to my partner who loves nothing more than spending his weekends on a project that has been problem after problem with electrics, flooring, leaking roof ...... (watching the pounds float away)!
Anyway, all the important stuff is now done, so now I can actually start making it look pretty, with the inside horse area finished, paint ordered for the outside, decals all designed and waiting to go on once painted and windows quoted. It's been 3 years in the making and I would love to get some living put in next year. The lorry and the yard have been a nice distraction from the lack of riding and have helped me not lose all my marbles!
We are also really close to having all the new fencing finished, although now the ground has started to dry I am going to need shoulders of Arnold Schwarzenegger to get finished - atleast it will make up for the gyms being closed!
There are some fantastic horse associations to be found in the UK, all with their own unique cause, protecting and promoting the interests of horses and their owners. As someone who’s interested in horses, having an awareness of these associations is absolutely crucial, as you don’t know when you might need to lean on their support and expertise.
The weather recently has been providing perfect conditions for an increased risk of laminitis to horses and ponies, with cold frosty nights and sunny days increasing the sugars in the grass. The next week or so sees warmer overnight temperatures and some rain, so the grass will be growing rapidly. Laminitis is such a horrifically painful condition and leads to the death of many horses and ponies each year.
What do you need to know about taking care of a pregnant mare? How should you stable her, feed her, and exercise her? And how can horse insurance help you keep her healthy throughout that long gestation period? Read on for our guide.
We’ve finally had some of the wet stuff from the sky hurray! Hoping the grass will now shoot up as I was reverting to using a sprinkler on the grass seed (although as sad as I am I did find it fun especially when trying to soak my partner if he got close to it)!