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#EquestrianBlogtober Day 31: So what have you learnt, loved and who have you followed through this?

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 31: So what have you learnt, loved and who have you followed through this?

The #Blogtober challenge seemed like a great Idea back in September. Looking back I can see I have Rhea Freeman to thank for this idea in the first place. I had already had a little go at blogging and kind of enjoyed it, but I had never really been committed to it. I am glad that I accepted this challenge, it has made me learn how to use IT tools that I have been overlooking for a little too long now. Huge thanks to Charlotte Miller of http://www.theforelockjournal.com/ fo

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 30: Share a horse photo from the past and the story behind it.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 30: Share a horse photo from the past and the story behind it.

This is not a very old picture, but there is a bittersweet story to it. Meet Midge everybody. Midge is a 12.3hh new forest cross we're not sure. 20 years old now I first met him when he was about 2. Lindsey Roswell went with her friend Clare to the New Forest sales and they bought 4 foals. One of whom was Midge. Midge was backed, and is still very good to long rein, then went to work in the trekking centre run by Clare. He was ridden in both western and English style, mostly

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 29: What Discipline would you like to try?

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 29: What Discipline would you like to try?

Over the years I have worked with a lot of horses and Ponies. Hunters, Eventers, Dressage horses, pony club ponies, polo ponies, even had a go at polocross on my first Horse, Biddy, while she was up at Warwickshire college with me. One thing I have never done and would absolutely love to try driving, in particular scurry ponies. I remember watching the scurry ponies on the TV 40 plus years ago. The ponies with names like 'Sugar' and 'Spice'. Galloping around, with the comment

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 28: What was your first Horse experience?

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 28: What was your first Horse experience?

Testing the grey matter to stretch back to the far distant past! Very few photos from back then but my earliest pony memories are more than 40 years old. My parents were not particularly 'horsey', they still aren't to be honest. My grandfather, known to us as Dambie, took his twin daughters and their families on holiday to Sheringham. I must have been about 6. We walked from our hotel to the beach, which I remember as a really long way. When you got to the shore you had to g

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 27: Things You May Not Know About Me.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 27: Things You May Not Know About Me.

Some of you who know me may find this hard to believe, but I have always been painfully shy. I was the child who hid behind her father's legs meeting new people. I still absolutely dread walking into a room full of strangers. If I arrange to meet friends in a pub I will always be a couple of minutes late so they are already there when I walk in. I find new places and new people absolutely exhausting, and I always have. Which may make my other 'secret' seem strange, because I

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 26: A Piece of Advice for a new Horse Owner

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 26: A Piece of Advice for a new Horse Owner

Where do I start? One single piece of advice or should I just write a book? No book writing today, I'm going to give you my most important piece of advice - Pay for EXPERT advice. There will be plenty of people offering you advice, all with the best of intentions but please, for the sake of your horse, please get expert help. The first question I ask is 'did you have him/her vetted?' I know it's expensive, and many people don't unless they need to for insurance. If they hav

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 25: Throwback Thursday.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 25: Throwback Thursday.

There are so many things I could write about, and as I'm sitting waiting for my car, contemplating going home to try and get my laptop working, I'll see what comes to mind. There are so many things I used to do, and for varying reasons don't anymore. Jumping is one thing, I used to really enjoy, but lack of balance has stopped that. A little bit of me is very tempted to ask the guys at Talland if I can have a little go on one of their stage 2 horses over a tiny cross pole. Ma

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 24: What have you done today or are planning to do this week.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 24: What have you done today or are planning to do this week.

Today has been a non starter so far, back pain & trouble standing, my friends with MS will understand. I'm off to deep water Aqua Fit later to see if that gets me moving. It had better, the Terriers want to go and see Midge. These two are used to being yard dogs so they get bored stuck in the house. Hopefully we'll get back to a yard, in the meantime they make do with visiting Midge in his field. This Friday is my Tysabri infusion day. Every 4 weeks I have an infusion of this

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 23: Tip Tuesday

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 23: Tip Tuesday

It's really late, so I'm going to keep this short. My tip today is to find the right person for the job. I was bored with my old logo, which looked a lot like the British Dressage Logo. I looked at Apps that design logos for you, but none of them worked for me. I looked at a couple of design sites, and took the plunge. Carla at ByTwig has done a great job. I had an idea, she made it work in I way I could never haved imagine, but I love it. I am very proud of all of my qual

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 22: Monday Motivation, motivational quotes.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 22: Monday Motivation, motivational quotes.

Ronald Duncan wrote his beautiful poem, 'The Horse' in 1964. Many of us have grown up hearing the beautiful words being read at the close of the Horse of the Year show, often with a lump in our throats and a tear in our eyes. This video reproduced the poem with permission from the Ronald Duncan Literary Foundation. HoofRide is the BEFs campaign to encourage people to take up horse sports, something I try to do too. The horse is my motivation, my therapist, both physical and

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 21: Tell us about your favourite hacking route, and why?

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 21: Tell us about your favourite hacking route, and why?

This is a great question, and I bet lots of my fellow bloggers will have some great routes to tell us about. My story is different, as usual! I learned to ride in the beautiful parkland that surrounds the National Trust property Dyrham House. Over a hundred acres of parkland, with some very steep hills which were great for galloping up. The only rule was we were not allowed to startle the herd of deer. Totally spoiled me for hacking anywhere else! The park is surrounded by

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 20: Which Horsey events are you going to in the next few months and why?

Horse events in the autumn and winter, hmm, let me think. Its been a couple of years since I made the trek up to Stoneleigh, but Your Horse Live is running over 3 days this year, with slight emphasis on training in the demos on the Friday. It's very tempting, especially now I have a blue badge and can park closer. Being on my feet all day is really hard, at Badminton I hired a mobility scooter which made it possible for me. Unfortunately this isn't available at Your Horse L

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 19: Your goals for the Autumn/Winter season.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 19: Your goals for the Autumn/Winter season.

19 days of blogging and I'm starting to enjoy it. This heading is one I can definitely work with. I am not good at goal setting, I tend to have big ideas, but fail to break them down into achievable steps. It's this problem that sets me up to fail, so I'm getting some help from a coach to help me & my business. This is not an easy step for me. There is a cost involved, but if I went to a riding coach that would be the same. 30 years in to my working life I'm still dealing wit

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 18: Horse Themed Pumpkin carving.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 18: Horse Themed Pumpkin carving.

What??? This theme is one I'm struggling with. I have no children of my own, other than 4 footed ones, which does sadden me but it's too late now, I'm single & that rules it out. When I was little we lived in Suffolk and a local farmer gave the village school mangols, which were a lot like Swedes, for us to carve for Halloween. Can you imagine hollowing out a Swede? It's not easy, especially when you're 6! No one went Trick or treating, we had parties with Apple bobbing, toff

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 17: Your favourite horsey Bloggers/Vloggers to follow

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 17: Your favourite horsey Bloggers/Vloggers to follow

That's a pretty tough title actually, but first a quick up date on this morning's work. The fluffy pony is now naked.😨 An impressive amount of fluff from a fine coated boy. Oh and yes, I'm itchy. How does the hair get there? Now, my favourite Bloggers. The first blog I read regularly is still a Friday essential for me. I am a Hovite, following the life of Hovis thanks to Horse and Hound and his Friday Diary Hovis is soon to release his 6th book, which raises funds for Bransb

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 16: Tip Tuesday, Autumn related.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 16: Tip Tuesday, Autumn related.

Vague title today, but as I am currently preparing to start my favourite Autumn/Winter pastime, I may as well tell you how I do it. Tomorrow morning I am going to clip the fluffy monster that is currently Alfie. For the first spring in years I actually sent my clippers off for servicing in March, so I know they are good to go. I am, however, going to make sure all batteries are charged. I clip with Lister Liberty clippers, not having mains leads to worry about is great. Last

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 15: last week in pictures

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 15: last week in pictures

Photo diary of last week.🤔 Monday Any day I get to ride my pony is a good day. Tuesday 2nd day, 2nd ride! Alfie persuaded Stephanie to share her apple with him before I got off. Wednesday No ride, but hosted #TheDressageHour lovely hour of virtual chat all things dressage. This week we will be following the announcement of the #HorseBloggers finalists for The Equestrian Blogger of the Year Award 2018! Thursday Quality time pulling Burdock bits out of Midges forelock - agai

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 14: what did you do today.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 14: what did you do today.

Long day for me started with a trying drive up the M4 in appalling weather. Then a day judging. Wish my view had been like this, unfortunately the weather was not so kind, and visibility was tricky at times, what with pouring rain outside & misting up Windows inside. Fair play to the Team Quest riders who battled the elements. RTA on the motorway on the way home made it a long journey. Oh, and I forgot to take any painkillers with me, so I'm off to soak some aches away before

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 13: What's your perfect/ideal autumn/Winter day.

#EquestrianBlogtober Day 13: What's your perfect/ideal autumn/Winter day.

I can still remember my best ever winter day as if it was yesterday. It was Christmas day, I was 18 and working for Richard Meade. Clare, the other groom, and I had done as much as we could on Christmas eve to make Christmas day as easy as possible, extra deep beds and filling every haynet we could find. So I left home at 6.40am did a 3 point turn on the A46 out of Bath, went home, put the Turkey in the oven, and still made it to work by 7. No other traffic on the road, inclu

#EquestrianBlogtober day 11: what is your horses Autumn wardrobe?

#EquestrianBlogtober day 11: what is your horses Autumn wardrobe?

Easy question to answer for Midge, he's got plenty of padding & will stay rugless until it gets really cold & wet and he loses some weight. Obviously I will be monitoring him, and will put his New Zealand on before he loses too much weight, but that won't be for a while. Alfie is not so easy. He is out at night in an old middleweight New Zealand at the moment, buy he has a very fine coat. This last weekend he turned rather fluffy. Unlike the gentleman of leisure, Midge, Alfie

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