Spring is in the Air!
Here we are at the end of March and my Facebook memory feed is going bananas! All the things that I was doing this time over the past two to three years whilst living in Dubai, going on glamorous weekend breaks, sipping cocktails and admiring the ocean views. Now here I am in beautiful Devon, reflecting on what my memory feed will churn up this time next year, which I’m sure will mostly be horses, green fields and zero cocktails! However, all fantastic, happy memories of the next chapter of my horse journey.
How life has changed and I feel that I have learned so much about my horses since then. I have had all new experiences with them and watched how each one of them has adapted to life in UK. It’s clear to see that they all absolutely love it!
In November last year, I made the decision to give Tita a good rest. Being that winter was upon us, her arthritis was playing up, so I decided to stop riding her, rug her up and keep her moving naturally in the fields and wait for the weather to warm up again. That was four months ago and it seems to have been the right thing to do, as watching her run around the fields, she has never looked better. I was never able to give her a rest in Dubai, due to limited paddock space and being that she would spend a large amount of time in a stable, she had to be exercised every day in order to keep her moving. So this winter, to be able to give her four months off in a field, was a fantastic feeling.
Now the weather is warming up again, I am going slowly going to bring her back into work and I can’t wait! I have missed riding her so much but as always, I will take her lead on this and see how she gets on. Tita is 16 now and I have always known that she may need to be retired early due to her arthritis but I will continue to appreciate every moment I get to ride her until then, after which, she will become my favourite field ornament!
Dollar is a very happy elderly gentleman and is loving his retirement, where he gets regular cuddles, whilst getting to munch grass all day, run around with his field buddies and admire the incredible views!
Macho is my every day riding pony and keeps me entertained with his funny, quirky ways! He is very vocal and makes the funniest noises as we ride along together, he really is such a dude. We go on amazing adventures together and each day brings a new experience. The lambing season has started and it’s so lovely being able to ride past them on the moors and get so close you could almost touch them. They are like white fluffy clouds bouncing around the place and Macho watches them with keen interest and gentle eyes.
Reggie is loving life and is definitely my ‘because your worth it’ L’Oreal advert pony! Gorgeous to look at, extremely cuddly but proving to be a little bit of a challenge at the moment! He has been ridden for the past couple of months and everything has been fine, up until last week, when he started playing up and behaving very out of character. It always starts at the same spot which is approaching a nearby farm, which we have to walk past in order to get onto the moors. He has passed this way many times before and been fine but as of last week, he will get to a certain spot and start to leap about the place, ears back, chomping at the bit, stamping his foot and at times, trying to rear, which is my biggest concern. He will do this all the way past the farm and then once on the moors, he’ll calm right down and be as good as gold.
Reggie is 8, so still very young but he has never put a foot wrong up until this point and I have always been so impressed by his calm and confident nature whilst riding him. So I’m trying to figure out what has changed. Is it fear and if so, what has suddenly caused this, when previously he has been fine? Is it pain related, due to his previous tendon and navicular issues? Or is he being nappy and therefore stubborn, as he just wants to turn around and go home? I feel it’s the latter but either way, it doesn’t make for a fun ride!
Answers on a postcard please! :-)