Florence arriving back at the yard has altered things a little. She and Mabel are very close and so Diva was feeling put out. Lots of grumpy-faced little black pony and unimpressed Florence glaring at each other over the first few days until Mabel decided to share her time between the two.
We’ve been blessed with lovely warm weather and so I decided that the girls could be out 24/7 for several days, and I think that helped them to sort out their issues. Luckily no kicking or biting was involved.
With the warmer, drier weather I thought I better get out my walking shoes and restart taking Diva for walks around the village. Despite not being led out along the lanes for such a long time, Diva was perfectly mannered. We encountered a tractor towing a trailer, a motorbike, several cyclists and even a man drilling a fence in his garden as we passed. He was so intent on his task that we made him jump when he saw us and not the other way round! The poor man couldn’t apologise enough for not stopping the noise. I thanked him but Diva didn’t so much as twitch about it. She has got such a great attitude.
I had the presence of mind to put some money in the pocket of my jeans, so we were able to stop at The Boot in South Luffenham for refreshments. They were delighted to see us again especially as we could introduce them to dog Flora. They provided a bowl of water for Flora, and Diva was delighted to accept a carrot. Sadly, although I remembered money for drinks, I forgot to take any photos! I guess that I got my priorities right. However, the next day I remembered to take photos but no money!
Once again I threw Arlo in at the deep end, affiliating him purely for the Arena UK second round show, and once again he pulled it out the bag. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful little horse? We haven’t really competed this year. I don’t really compete over the winter, and also my horsebox was away for repairs up until the beginning of June, so I had no transport even if I’d wanted to.
With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too.
After having a long wait and some lunch at the onsite café, it was time to get ready for the Joan Wolfe Overall Supreme Shetland Pony Championship. I got changed out of my usual showing outfit into black trousers and a maroon top with white spots, as you are expected to be a bit more “bling” in the evening.
We were all set to go for our next outing, and were super excited. That was until I heard the dreaded clunk of a loose shoe! I checked it over, praying it wasn’t too loose, but, nope, it was going to need a refit.