Phew! What a weekend!

Hello!

I have had such a busy and eventful weekend, I thought I'd share it on here!

Saturday was work at GBB Horse Care. I got there as usual at 6.15am... the gate was shut and me being technically challenged couldn't work out, so I waited for 20 mins for someone to show up.... not a great start.

Then, I fed Billy and Oxy, then when they'd finished, turned them out. I noticed Billy was pushing against the temporary fence to get to the long grass, so I decided to move it back a bit. Whilst I was doing that, I noticed a large hole in the ground, not good for horses, with what looked like a de-composing carrier bag in it.... so I got two buckets of water and tipped them into the hole to try and loosen the soil to fill the hole.

I got back with the intention of filling it with horse poo, when I noticed a large swarm of wasps round the hole, it wasn't a carrier bag, it was a wasps nest. So I waited for the swarm to die down, then bunged half a barrow of poo into the hole and stamped on it, then I ran!
I went back later and there were still a couple of wasps, but I'm hoping they gave up and moved on.

Then I got the rest of the horses in, Ben, Grey and Bonnie. All were fine when I brought them in, but then later I noticed Grey had a huge eye.... silly thing had bashed it in his stable whilst he was scratching.

Greyson with his big eye. I had already bathed it at this point, which is why it looks wet. 
It must have been sore, as Greyson isn't usually the most co-operative with things round his head, especially things involving water. 
He stood there with his head down, whilst I squeezed cold water over it with cotton wool. I didn't even have to hold his head.... poor little man was feeling very sorry for himself. 

 Ouchy! Poor Greyson. He is a silly boy. 
I bathed this twice during the day and by the end of the day it was looking much better! 











After Grey was a little more comfortable, I got on and worked Bonnie who is with us to be sold. She's so cute. 14.2hh, we think Highland and 14 years old. She's not done much for a while as the owner couldn't ride her (not the horses fault) so she's very overweight. But she's so much fun! Really sweet and will make someone a cracking little horse!

Here is Bonnie, look at that little face!!
14.2hh, 14 years old, for sale £2,000 ONO.















Video of Bonnie being ridden - Here's a short video of Bonnie being ridden. Bearing in mind she's still a bit overweight, she has lovely movement and is stunning. She's had success in the show ring, can jump and has done cross-country. Please contact GBB Horse Care for more information. 

I then took Ben out for a hack who was very well behaved. Last time he had a little 'episode' because (we think) I'd put a different saddle cloth on him.... he's very sensitive!

The rest of the day involved the usual skipping out, feeding and then turning out, but the morning had been very hard work! By the time I got home, I was exhausted!

So that was Saturday.

On Sunday's I try to only work half a day so I can spend sometime with my husband and son together! My husband works full time all week, then I'm out on Saturday all day, so it's nice to have some family time together on a Sunday.

I have a lovely horse which I ride once a week for the owner, as she can be a little 'spirited' and is very opinionated. She is a beautiful Haflinger mare called Milly.

There is a horse under there somewhere! This is Milly. She suffers from a condition called Sweet Itch which is basically an allergic reaction to midge and fly bites. It causes the horse to itch and itch making themselves sore. It varies from horse to horse, but Milly has it quite badly and cannot be turned out without a rug on. 
This photo was taken in the early spring, so she has her lightweight field rug on, but in the summer she wear a full body, neck and belly fly rug made from mesh. 



Milly is a very intelligent horse, typical of her breed, but if she gets bored, she likes to amuse herself. When I first started to ride her, for about 4 weeks she would just start leaping about, bucking and squealing and generally trying her luck. After this period however, she is generally very good. She works nicely and has really shown improvement. The owner has also seen an improvement in her behavior and she really enjoys our Saturday session.

Here is a Haflinger horse with no rug on.... not one I know, I just put this picture here to show how she is built.
A very strong horse, with a tendency to work on the forehand. 
This breed has been described as the 'marmite horse' as in, you either love them or hate them. 








After Milly, I worked Orla on the long lines. Orla is a gorgeous chestnut, Irish sportshorse mare. Her owner competes her at riding club level. I long line her for the owner to keep her supple and add variety to her work.
She was feeling a bit tired today, poor thing! She went to Hickstead last week with her owner, so I'm not surprised!

Then I came home and had a lovely lunch with my family. A tiring weekend, but all in all, a good one.