Just An Ordinary Day

I went up to the yard on Saturday and the horses had to stay in, as the rain hadn't stopped so the grazing was too wet for the horses to go on. 
I wanted to ride Barnaby so I didn't want to give him any breakfast first.  I brought my tack down from the tack room and then got Barnaby's head collar so I could put it on him and tie him up in the stable.  Unfortunately he had other ideas and came barging out of the stable.  At first I held him but he just set off trotting along the walkway until I couldn't stand it any longer and had to let go.  He cantered down to the field gate and I was terrified he'd try to jump it, but luckily he buried himself in the bottom of it.  I went down to try to catch him but he shot past me, then went for a little trotting session round the YO's lawn.  Oh, my, flipping GOD! 
Next he went the other way and ended up round the back of the muck heap, but came charging back down to the field gate.  Haylie was there and appeared, having stuck Frankie in his stable (whose eyes were on stalks at all the excitement!) and we both stood with our arms out and managed to catch hold of the leadrope. 
I dragged Barnaby back into the stable, tied him up and slammed the door shut!  How embarrassing is that?  We've only been here a couple of weeks, they'll be telling us we have to move on at this rate!  Stupid horse.
I tacked him up and rode down to the kennels, as I'd been for a walk the day before to suss out how the bridle way works that's further up and found it makes a brilliant loop back to the kennels. 
So we set off and it all went swimmingly.  What took me ages to walk up with the bike on Friday took only seconds to trot up on Saturday.  Unfortunately the big metal gate on the left was closed so I had to make my way across the farm yard then round a sticking out metal gate to try to open the little wooden gate a bit further up.  Barnaby managed to get round the metal gate but slammed my leg into it.  It was absolute agony.  I collapsed onto his neck trying not to scream/cry and get my breath back.  Barnaby was rearing and trying to turn round in this tiny space.  Finally I managed to open the little wooden gate and make my way through. 
The rest of the ride after that was brilliant, and I will try to go that way again, but the pain in my leg is unbelievable and I still had to go to work in the afternoon. 
John seems to have finally twigged that I really do need his help with riding Barnaby.  You can give Barnaby a day off and think that you've done him a favour, but really he could be ridden every day and not be bothered.  He's more like a dog that needs his daily exercise. 
So John cycled to the yard on Sunday morning while I had a lay-in (bliss).  He rode Barnaby a long way (going through the gate again to make sure Barnaby did it properly this time) came back, turned him out, mucked out, poo picked and then cycled home. 
By the time he got back he said he was ready to collapse!  But just think:  I do all of the above, and then go to work until 9.30 pm, or I've been to work and then do all that.  It just goes to show, doesn't it?  He said the worst bit by far was the cycling, so I am having an electric bike for Christmas!  How excited am I?
Back soon I'm sure
Jane x

The Saga Continues

I went down to Barnaby's field Monday morning to get him in and noticed he was playing 'high heads' with Fred, in the field next door.  They stopped when they saw me, trying not to look guilty, but as I got closer, Fred couldn't resist it and gently took the front of Barnaby's rug in his teeth and gave it a friendly tug.  Then he bared his teeth and rested his chin on Barnaby's face.  Barnaby sighed contentedly.  Like a total buffoon, I just thought, 'awww, how sweet!' and took Barnaby out for his ride.
On Tuesday morning, unbeknown to me, my phone was on silent.  When I checked it I had two messages, one from the YO and one from John asking me to ring him re: Barnaby.  Trying not to panic I decided to ring John first.  If it's bad news, I'd rather cry in front of him, first.
It turns out that on Monday evening, after John had got Barnaby in and fed him his tea, Steph came and took Fred out past Barnaby to ride him (they are next door neighbours) and Barnaby went ballistic, rearing up in his stable and tearing at his haynet.  They were worried he was going over the stable door.
Then the next morning when Steph went to turn Fred and Marley out, Barnaby went mental again.  They were so worried about him they put him in one of the outside stables to calm him down (thinking about it now I don't know why they didn't just turn him out).
So when I got there last night, there was a bed made for him in the outside stable, next to Cracker, who he also likes.  I think it might work better for him out there as once Cracker and Ty come in, they don't go out again until the morning, so Barnaby should stay calm.   What a flipping saga though, I'm so embarrassed.  Thank goodness he didn't jump over the stable door.  It wouldn't be the first time, would it?  I daren't tell anyone he's actually capable of leaping over. (If you want to know what I'm talking about, read this.)
More soon
Jane x

Waste of a Day!

John saw an advert for a horse for sale and rang up about it yesterday, so we went to see it this morning.  We drive for ages around Derbyshire (still my least favourite county, I wonder why that is?)  until eventually we come to a nursing home and ring the woman up and she comes out to meet us.
The mare (Bella) is standing on the yard, with her friend next to her.  We go and greet her and get all the sniffing out of the way.  John has a good feel of her legs (never going down that route again) and then we pause.
Nothing happens.
So in the end I ask the woman if we can see her ridden.
"Oh!" she says, "I didn't bring any tack!"
We start to say we'll leave it then and she says something about perhaps we'd like to come back tomorrow.  I am thinking to myself, 'there's no way I'm coming all this way again,' and hoping John is thinking the same when suddenly she says, "My friend's tack is in the back of the car.  I suppose we could try that and see if it fits." And bugger me if it wasn't a perfect fit!
So then, John gets on the mare, with her friend going ballistic, and sets off up the drive on her.  I pray and pray and pray.  And God says nothing, which I find quite disconcerting.  The woman has brought the gelding down to watch the mare go, but he broncs and gallops back off up to the stables.  'Struth!
Eventually John comes back and looks quite okay on her.  I am trying to see if the mare is dishing but she is swerving from side to side on the track so it's hard to tell.  Then suddenly the horse goes mental, backwards, forwards, sideways, up to the fence, trying to take John's leg off, broncing, all four feet off the floor, until in the end I get hold of her and lead her in.
Eventually we are back on the yard and John gets off and we tell the woman we'll go away and think about it.
Oh, my flipping God!

In other news:  We've been to R and R horsey shop and I've been trying on boots.  I have, to my astonishment, ended up with the most beautiful boots I actually went in for, the Ariat Bromont boots.  They are stunning and the most expensive boots I've ever owned, but they were so comfortable.  I can't wait for Christmas now!

Yummy, yummy!

I've been for a fab hack when we got back.  I went down KL road and met a horse coming the other way.  Barnaby suddenly woke up, as if to say, "Blimey, there's another horse there mummy!"  It turned out to be Chloe on Indie.  We stopped for a chin-wag.  Barnaby's quite fond of Indie actually.

Then we carried on into the village and went up G road to the roundabout.  Barnaby was only too willing to go all the way round the roundabout and come back the way we'd gone, but I insisted we carry on past the senior school.  I'd reasoned that, being a Saturday, it would be nice and quiet up there, so we set off at full tilt past the playing field... where there was a hockey match in full flow.  "Smash!" went the ball against the fence, "Hooray!" shouts the crowd at the top of its voice.  Barnaby, bless him, doesn't bat an eyelid.  I am so proud of him.

We came home through the brook, which was slightly deeper than usual, after all the rain, and carried on home.  Superb hack on a superb horse. 

I love you, Bardy bear.

Jane xx