I wrote recently about foraging for supplies to make some Christmas wreaths for my home, and when I was buying wire and such from a craft shop I noticed some jingle bells and couldn’t resist buying them.
I had them in the house just waiting for the right moment to have a little play with them and Diva (Melland Queen of Scots). When I opened my bedroom curtains one Sunday morning to see a covering of snow, I couldn’t get down to the yard fast enough with jingle bells in hand!
When I parked the car up I could see Charlotte and Erin had the same idea and Tilly the miniature Shetland pony was proudly wearing an elf outfit complete with hat.
Like a child, I jumped out of the car, yelling: “I have jingle bells!”
We decided that Tilly wouldn’t mind letting Diva play dress-up with her outfit. I got the stable chores done whilst Tilly was taken for a walk. When they returned to the barn we put the little fleece rug on Diva and then on went the hat to much chuckling. To complete the outfit I wrapped the jingle bells around Diva’s neck, after giving them a good jingle to make sure that she wasn’t bothered by the sound. As expected, Diva didn’t bat an eyelid at the noisy bells.
We carefully made our way to the arena as the yard was quite slippery. Diva again made me chuckle as she adjusted her stride, taking small steps to ensure she did not slip. Once in the school, as usual, off she went trotting and cantering about with no encouragement from us. Thankfully, despite the snow, she didn’t get down to roll.
Like all good Divas she had a change of outfit, but the reindeer antlers and red nose didn’t quite compare to the wonderful elf outfit.
Thank goodness I don’t have to put this little elf on a shelf!
With things getting off to a rocky start – I think I read this is the worst rainfall in over 50 years! – what better pick-me-up than the “Fred & Rowena Cook: A Life After Racing” rehoming service contacting me about the most precious four-year-old gelding, who was looking for a new home straight from the British Racing School (BRS)?
The trio have been keeping me busy these past few weeks: Freya has had a saddle fitting, Bob’s had a lesson and Autumn’s been out with a new friend exploring lanes not too far from our yard.
Diva (Melland Queen of Scots) usually gets her summer coat quite early compared to other horses and ponies, but this year she has been holding onto hers for a lot longer.
Is it spring yet? It’s been teasing us the last few days, going from a few dry days when I could walk across most of the field and it felt like spring, to heavy downpours, including hail, which reverted the field back to a quagmire. I didn’t let it put me off too much, though, and I’ve now managed to get all three horses back into work! Eek!