No longer a lickit but a kickit

The weather has been getting us all down and I like my fellow Dales in Wales - hey that rhymes, I have started to search for entertainment wherever I can find it. Dave, Vince & Baby Brian are really lucky they have been given a football, so not fair, mind you I'm not convinced Zippy would play with me.

So I have invented two new games, throw the feed bowl, as you see captured by Mum on camera. It's really annoying when I play with it in the bedroom, as I often accidentally throw it out the door and then I can't play anymore as I can't reach it. Though I can get it quite a long way across the yard.

So with no feed bucket to play with I have invented a another game, which Mum doesn't like she says I'm getting too violent. My Christmas lickit which I do tend to bite, makes a great kick boxing game. What you do is you turn around bottom facing the Likit and kick it - it's best done with both barrels, BANG! It makes a great noise. Sometimes I miss and hit the stable wall instead - then Mum gets really cross and shouts at me. I normally like to show off my skills while Mum is making breakfast, she swears one day I'll come through the wall. I do hear her muttering about thank god she had kick proof walls installed in the first place!ii

Wonder what all my other horsey pals are doing to keep entertained - if anyone has any other self invented games please let me know, off to see what I can find in my soggy wet field.

Grass, grass, grass

Give me grass pleeease!

Like every other Dales pony bred for our hardy all weather capabilities - I have now had enough of proving how capable I am of surviving a long cold winter. I've done that! Can we now have some lovely warm sunshine, if only to cheer up the mood of my human!

Obviously with sun comes grass growth. I'm kinda of fed up with hay now. Now don't get me wrong I'm pleased we are getting hay and considering the weather last year we are lucky enough to have very yummy hay too.

But Zippy & I are now going slightly mad for grass. Our trip to the field each morning involves walking 1/2 mile down a single track road with mostly wide green verges!

Bring on the cars....why I hear you ask? Well every time a vehicle comes down the lane we have to go onto the grass verge & we are allowed to eat! Only we are getting sooooo desperate for grass it is becoming harder & harder for Mum to drag us both off afterwards.

I make Mum laugh though because I get so stuck into the grass I forget about the cars coming so when they pass I jump out of my skin normally straight into the stoic Zippy, who doesn't budge. Mums taken to saying 'Cyril, cars coming' I go yeah, yeah, yeah, munch, munch, munch, JUMP, where did that car come from?

We pray now for delivery to and from our field at local rush hour so we can eat lots of grass - the only problem is rush hour at best is usually only one or two cars - though someone loved us this morning - FOUR cars!

Dreaming of lots of passing traffic tonight but no BMW drivers please xxx

Allowed to stay muddy

Heee heee heee, I have learnt that Zippy & Mum have been scheming to get me to repay some of the debt I owe Zippy by going showing over Easter - really! I can't believe Zippy has been scheming against me, I'm very hurt!

Anyway it's all back fired - heee heee heee. Friday's NPS show and Saturday's Welsh Pony show in Somerset have both been cancelled/postponed - shame! The really good news is I now don't have to have a shampoo and set in this freezing weather, I mean brrrrrrr, can you imagine!

Which means I get to stay muddy and dirty (I hope) unless Mum gets bored and decides to wash my legs and tail over the Easter weekend.

Sadly our trip to my home stud at Easter has also been postponed because of this freezing weather, which is a real shame because I was hoping to show off my riding pony capabilities to the youngsters and Katy in particular because I know they are going to be sooooo jealous. Anyway I guess it gives me a few more weeks to work on my canter - I'm not very good at this yet, but I'm still young and not very fit - well that's my excuse! Plus Mum hasn't been riding me that much because she is busy with work to ensure Zippy & I have full tummies of hay - emergency rations have been brought in! And the sand house we hire is out of action because of a local outbreak of EHV - scarey!

Zippy and I have been banned from talking to any horses in case we catch this disease, as long as I can still kiss/bite Zippy I don't mind. So beware fellow equestrians keep your noses to yourselves for a while, hopefully the outbreak will die out and we can get back to going out and meeting new horsey friends very soon.

Keep yourselves safe off to bed now, extra pyjamas as its sooooo cold still.

BMW Drivers

Now I know Mum is not a fan of BMW drivers since one wrote off her beloved Shogun in the January snow - RIP.

But today I now truly understand her frustrations as I experienced the complete incompetence of a BMW driver made worse by the fact it was being driven by a woman - who to be honest should not be allowed to drive!

The scenario is this....Zippy, Benji & I are accompanying Mum back from the field, it's a single track road with plenty of passing places and large green (must eat) verges - that is except for the road going over the railway bridge where it is definitely only one car width at best.

Benji had dragged Zippy to the top of the bridge and Mum & I were walking beside her so we were doing quite a good job of taking up the whole width of the road, when a BMW comes towards us, they eventually decide to slow down and then just stop looking at us like we can magically squeeze past??????

The choice is Mum trying to turn us all around (away from home) walking back down the hill for a good 50yards to a safe passing place or BMW reversing (in a straight line) no more than 10yards to an equally safe passing place. After much gesticulation from Mum & stamping wild stallion impressions from me the thought finally filters into blonde (yes she was blonde) BMW driver that maybe she should reverse. It would have been quicker to ride to Mars!!!!!!

After 5 yards she stops we are not sure whether because she is now hugging the side of the bridge so close she thinks we can safely pass (we think not) so after more wild stallion moves & Zippy tugging for her stable & Mum telling us to be patient the driver finally manages another 5 yards of reversing after much forwards, backwards driving and at last we can pass.

I'm impressed with Mum for smiling sweetly and saying thank you - though out of ear shot, grumbles and muttering about women BMW drivers could be heard, in fact even after we were safely tucked up in bed & the lights were switched out I could still hear her complaining about how she ever passed her test, and BMW drivers need shooting at birth - a bit harsh maybe?

I think people just forget & maybe BMW drivers just don't know - THE HORSE CAME FIRST! That's why they have roads & canals and cars are measured in HORSE POWER.....,

A little respect road users please!

I am alive

I am alive just busy trying to work out how to make hours of schooling footage into a wacky little video. Video editing is proving tricky!

I've been out twice now to a house for horses that has sand on the floor and fabulous lights so you can see what you are doing even if its dark outside. Zippy has come with me, she did some work on our first trip but decided to stay in the trailer and rest while I had to work hard cantering circles the next time - lucky for some!

It took a while and an email to my clever pony friend Katy to learn that the handsome ponies I kept meeting at the sand house that looked just like Zippy & I were in fact our reflections - very mystifying, I'm still not sure she is right but he does follow me around wherever I go, so maybe she is?

No plans this week for any outings, Mum has been working very hard traveling the country to earn money for us to eat - but we have repaid her well and brought her lots of birthday presents - warm socks, special hand warmers and a nice cup teapot so she can have a lovely cup of tea once she has put us to bed. Zippy says we are really broke now and I have to start going out to compete and win rosettes but more importantly prize money so I can give her back the money I have borrowed for presents - opps!

I guess I had better concentrate and do what Mum is telling me at the sand house still I'm only 3 so I have plenty of time before I have to do any showing - I hope?!!?

Ditch monsters Human 1 Pony 0

Saturday - Yes, second ride in two days, this is the life. Mum turned up again in her posh new truck but with Uncle Tony & Benji in tow.

I love seeing Mum so as soon as I spot her I come rushing over to say hello. She caught Zippy & I a bit by surprise today because she was early to bring us in so we weren't waiting by the gate but were grazing the other side of the field, so after a quick poo I came cantering across the field much to Mums laughter & joy. I like the fact she likes to see me as much as I do her.

I was soon all tacked up but Zippy was again being left on her own (poor Zippy, though secretly I think she likes a little peace & quiet). I thought we would be going to see Eric again but no we set out over the farm fields with Uncle Tony walking alongside & Benji running free.

I'm ok up the track it's next to our field but then I have to go over the canal, really leaving Zippy behind and that's scarey. I tried to say no and kept backing up but Mum was very persistent so in the end I thought it best to go forward and follow Uncle Tony.

I was a bit jiggly over the next field, tried some passage moves, but they are not very good and sideways wasn't being appreciated so I gave up on that and jogged forward. I think Mum was remembering this was where she took a flying lesson, so she was being quite firm with me & I was thinking carrots so I was trying to behave!

We went through a gap into an EVEN bigger field, it was huge! I have ridden in here with Zippy a couple of times but never on my own. We proceeded around the edge in a bit of a nervous trot, I prefer to trot then walk in times of stress. Mum just kept talking to me until I felt a little calmer and managed to walk. Uncle Tony couldn't keep up so took a short cut across the field.

All was good, we had even started to turn towards home which means riding alongside a very deep stream ditch - it's so deep Big Monsters could live in there so it all became too much when one came flying out at me. I had no choice but to go into self defence bucking bronco mode. When I realised it was just Benji I was really mad at him and tried to tell him so, through all of this I forgot about Mum and carrots, but it was Ok Mum was still on top, phew!

We walk/jogged home, Mum and I ignored Uncle Tony's suggestion of going round the field again. We picked Zippy up at the field and I was allowed to be lead pony home. Mum suddenly jumped off just before the railway bridge, I was a bit confused but discovered why when we got over the top - the slurry truck was back!

Scarey with not much space Zippy & I squeezed against the fence, even Zippy was scared, but we survived it went past very carefully and very slowly. After that a motorbike, I was too tired to care by then and slightly steaming we made it home to the stables. Lots of carrots and hugs - an exhausting but good day, happy dreams pony friends.

Pony versus slurry lorry

You can smell it before you see it. All week we have been playing dodge with the slurry lorry, it's serious enough that Mum has been walking us down the lane, she's not even riding Zippy.

We have been doing really well, I'm not too sure whether its by design or accident but we haven't come face to face with the slurry truck all week. He's been hurtling up and down the road as busy as a busy bee.

Today Mum arrived at the big field this afternoon in her posh new truck with all my tack in the back. I got all tacked up, but Zippy was being left behind. To date Mum would have usually ridden me out, but today I was led down the road to Uncle Eric's. I think this was because we are still playing dodge with the slurry truck. Probably a good thing because 20 yards down the road with Zippy looking after me from the other side of the hedge the slurry truck charged passed - quite scary but Mum kept me on the grass verge and it was all ok (just)!

Met up with Geo who was riding Eric and we went off down the lane together - Mum was onboard by now. She's been allowed to take her ankle brace off, so she can ride me in proper riding boots.

We had a really nice ride but Mum and Geo started laughing at me, when I had my 6th poo of the ride, by the time I had my 8th poo Mum nearly fell off of me with laughter! Now I just do not understand what was funny, do you now how scary it is to go out without Zippy and have to dodge the noisey, smelly slurry truck?

Still we survived! I was even brave enough to leave Eric and after a little protest and a lot of neighing to Zippy and made the last 1/2 mile home all alone with Mum riding me.

I was turned out back in the field for some relaxation before being collected a couple of hours later and tucked up in bed. Lovely day enjoyed my ride, got a very big carrot in my feed! Wonder what tomorrow holds?