Can't keep up - life too fast for the blog :-)

I'm doing a miserable job of keeping up with the blog - too much happening and too little time, but I can't complain, especially as I was able to take horses out on exercise till 5.30 tonight - yay! Admittedly I came down the drive in the dusk, but its all getting better from here on in.



Jack is the best news from the weekend. He went out on Sunday and instead of the short hack we planned, we ended up doing a full hour as there was a rally of vintage cars going up and down the hill, and although they were terribly polite and the horses were terribly bomb-proof, it got boring having to get onto the verge as they all came steaming down our single track hill.



So Jack got a proper hack out, much longer than he had done before, and across much more interesting terrain - fields and sheep and everything :-) He seemed to really enjoy himself and was fascinated with what was round the next corner, which is a great sign.



Charlie was also a star on Saturday, as we had a fast day hunting and went over some real mountain goat territory. Charlie was foot perfect and had no problems, even when I couldn't really see how we were going to get up or down some sheer pieces of rock - he reckoned that I shouldn't interfere because he knew what he was doing, and he was right - what a gem he is.



We've been interviewing UKNHCP students today, and they have been very inpressive - its also great for the organisation that we are getting more applicants than we can accept, even though its hard for the people we have to turn down.



The equine dentist is here tomorrow, so its a day on the yard and a chance to get on with jobs like clipping(!)

Back and catching up

Got back on Sunday night and spent the last 3 days catching up - lots of clients' horses to trim, plus lots to do on the farm. Still, it was a fantastically useful 4 days away, and as always it was brilliant to spend time with Sarah, Matthew and Paul and to brainstorm about UKNHCP and barefoot horses in general.

Here on the farm, there is lots of hedging due to be done this year, and it all has to be completed by the end of March, so thats a priority. The horses are pretty unimpressed with the weather - Andy said it rained continuously while I was away :-( and we are all looking forward to a bit of dry weather soon, I hope. It was salutary to drive down from the north and see how bad the flooding was around Shrewsbury and Gloucestershire - we have definitely been lucky down here by comparison.

On the positive side, the daffs are starting to emerge - shoots at least - on the negative - what on earth are they doing up at this time of year - we live at 1100 feet, for goodness sake?!?!?

One bonus of the bad weather is that I have managed to update the Barefoot Horses website with some new case studies, and have reposted the video clip of us riding on flint on Exmoor, which had gone AWOL somewhere in cyber-space...www.barefoothorses.co.uk if you are interested :-)

Off for a few days

The last week has flown - not sure where it has gone, but despite torrential rain the horses are all doing fine. Jack has done particularly well over the last few days, and is now hacking out fairly happily, albeit behaving like a just-backed 3 year old and finding everything amazing :-)

I am off to meet up with the other UKNHCP directors in Cheshire, to interview our prospective intake of students and to work out what the UKNHCP's objectives are for 2008. Andy is looking after everyone on the farm and a friend is taking Felix hunting on Saturday for me, so I am hoping Felix will be on his best behaviour...I am sure he will be (!)

Moving the blog

Sorry if you mislaid the blog...I had to re-host it as it wasn't working well where it was (not sure why, but then I am a bit of a computer muppet), so here it is in its new home... rockleyfarm.blogspot.com and I hope its happy here!

We've had a wild few days weather wise, but its been a great opportunity for Jack and Charlie to demonstrate how brave they both are, as Andy took them out individually in a howling gale yesterday. Although they found it rather challenging, they both excelled themselves and behaved beautifully.

Conto has been hunting, and the penny has dropped (previously he thought it was a bit pointless but he now realises that sometimes its fun to go up and down the same lanes a few times with your mates!). He hunts in a snaffle, and has such lovely manners that he is a real pleasure. The only thing I find it a bit worrying is going down the steepest hills, as he tends to just sit on his backside and ski down them, very calmly... Still Andy and Bailey are very understanding and catch us at the bottom if need be!

Monsoon was lovely to hack out yesterday, but I am still not totally happy with her, as she finds going down a slope, on any surface, very difficult. I am hoping Mary Bromiley will be able to shed some light on what is happening when she next comes.

Freezing!

Sudden change of weather today - very strong easterly winds, much colder and we may apparently have snow on the way. The horses are not impressed, and are all in the westerly yard, the barn and the firs, protected from the worst of the wind chill and refusing to come out!

I spent the first half of the day beating my paperwork mountain into order (new year's resolution is a scorched earth policy for my desk...) then gritted my teeth and went out and exercised Conto and Monsoon (who were both very good) and Ghost and Jack (who both thought it was a terrible idea to go out just before teatime and dragged their heels all the way out and sprinted all the way back, naughty boys).

Back to trimming tomorrow, and I am really looking forward to seeing one horse in particular, whose shoes came off 6 weeks ago. I'm hoping to see much improved hooves, so will post an update about him shortly.

Happy 2008 :-)

...2007 was definitely Charlie's year, and he went from being incredibly green, unsure of himself and physically weak to this :-) We are really pleased with him..

Today Andy took him, and I took Felix, to our neighbours' lovely New Years Day meet. Andy hasn't hunted Charlie for a while, and I have possibly made a mistake, as they both had far too much fun and I have a feeling I may have lost the ride... Still Felix was raring to go and was a joy, as always. We weren't the only ones having fun and taking photos, either, though I'm not sure how successful our young colleague was...

The other horses had a day off, of sorts, or at least self-exercised, as the hounds and field came through the farm a couple of times and kept them all trotting along the track and watching with interest!

Happy Christmas all!

...even if I am a couple of days late in posting :-)

We had a lovely few days, with Christmas Day itself very quiet, but hunting on Christmas Eve (Charlie and Bailey, who were both superb) and on Boxing Day (just me and Felix, as Andy was off visiting his mother).

I was especially proud of Charlie, who was at his biggest ever meet with lots of people, traffic, and excitement. He was 100% settled at the meet, and seemed to really enjoy himself, and then we were out almost all day, getting home about 4pm, after going up hill and down dale, as always, and home in time for a huge tea for the horses :-) He is turning into such a fun hunter - sure-footed, confident and with a surprisingly good turn of speed; he will be a quick horse certainly next season, when he is stronger and even fitter.

Felix and I had a short day on Boxing Day, as low cloud and poor visibility cut short the day, but he had a few good blasts, which he needed, and we will be out again on Tuesday, so he does not feel too hard done by. I am not sure he approves of me hunting Charlie as well (!).

Finally a quick update on the others: Jack is still doing well, but has had a quiet week, along with Monsoon and Lucy, and has just done some nice work on long reins. Conto and Ghost have worked lightly- I was going to hunt Conto today but decided that the week has been busy enough, so he will go out next week. All in all a lovely week, and I hope all of you had a lovely break as well!

Anyway, happy Christmas and happy New Year to everyone, and there will be more soon...