Had to send Mum to Wales

After my mate Dave the Dales sent me a distressed message about abuse and mistreatment I thought I had better send Mum to find out what was really happening. So a couple of weekends ago Mum went on a crisis mission to find out what the problem was. 

It turned out he is having to learn to grow up and start wearing a bridle and starting circle work.  Dave doesn't like the bit and is very silly about having it taken out of his mouth - silly pony I'll have to sort that out, but he is quiet good at the circle game and can be controlled quite well by voice alone now in walk and trot. Ironically Vince is the opposite and is quite good about having his bit in but likes to tank around the arena, so Mum tried to install some manners into them while she was there.

Now I sent her to do serious work sorting out these youngsters so they can follow in the clever hooves of all other Dales ponies and in fact she was out having fun.  Delia and John specially mowed the field into a race track so all the ponies could have a blast around the field. I'm really cross because whenever I go we can only really walk and trot around the mountain tracks and now they have their own personal racetrack.

Even Benji got to join in the fun, he's fast. He beat Katy around the field no problem. 

June struggled a little, she's not so used to speeding along and it is quite an up hill stretch. 

This is Suzy, she is a bit faster and nearly caught Benji, but by then he had raced around the field with all three riding horses several times, so he did well to keep ahead of Suzy. 

Hmmmmm not fair. I want a go.  Still I have been having my own pony adventures out on another fun ride, but more about that next time. Off to race around my field just in case I can go use the Welsh racetrack!

First competition of the year and.....

Wow mum woke me up this morning, she found me laying down snoozing! I was excited to see her and both Zippy and I were brought in for breakfast. Yummy!

Then I had a bath, yuck I hate having my mane washed but it was over and done with fairly quickly. The horrible horse flies are out so Mum was really kind & put my ghost rug back on. The flies are even worse than the shampoo.

I got loaded into the can on wheels. Poor Zippy was left on the concrete yard with a tiny bit of hay & a big bucket of water. She did have access to the hay stable for shelter from the sun, unfortunately we had already eaten all the hay!!! She looked grumpy when we left.

Me I was off to Breach Lane for a circles competition. To be honest I was still quiet tired from my session yesterday but today there were lots of other horses. My blonde friend Wilfie was there who did the pleasure ride with me a couple of weeks ago - go Wilfie go!

Lots of Mum's friends were there too, so it was great fun. I was quite keen to show the judge my canter work but Mum tried hard to make sure my first test was just in walk and trot. I kept trying to offer canter before A and then spooked when I saw myself in the mirror, I didn't realise my duplicate friends had come with me! 

Because of my antics Mum was so shocked when we came.........1st!  Well the judge couldn't resist my charm though she did say I needed to relax more. So with top marks in the bag time to show off my canter work.

I was sooooo excited about this, but I was a bit too keen. At each corner I offered Mum canter, ummmmm, evidently this was not required. It was so exciting I got my legs muddled up too, oops. The summary from the judge was I was rushing, tense & excited but when I do relax I'm lovely. Lady this was important. Sorry Mum I tried my hardest.

Mum says because I got a red ribbon on the first test and because I tried sooooo hard on my second test, she still thinks I'm the best, phew, I love you too Mum.

Zippy was very pleased to see us as it meant she could go back out in the field. I had lots to tell her, I enjoyed my first ever canter test, must try to be less excited next time. 

Where was the rain?

Hmmmm it was forecast for horrid thunder and torrential rain today and as I was skidding & spinning around the back garden yesterday including performing an unasked for canter pirouette, Mum decided to book the very posh indoor arena with lots of ponies like me in there. In fact they are identical and copy my every move.

So I loaded up and off we went, at 1pm we arrive, errrr in baking hot sunshine! Great! That meant an hour of hard work sweating my little pony coat off! We were supposed to being smug enjoying the dry but instead we were wishing to be outdoors - weather men get you act together, it's hard work practicing your canter transitions in a boiling hot box.

I was up for the challenge and kept offering Mum canter, now? Now? NOW?

Evidently I was a bit keen and canter isn't needed in a walk, trot test - well if that's the case why the hell has mum been teaching it me!!!!! I was just trying to show off my new skills!

Honestly being a pony can be very confusing sometimes.

Dave, why did I bother?

I don't know, I spent three long months teaching Dave how to be the perfect pony companion.  How to share my field, be nice to retired veterans like Zippy.  He learnt how to stand tied up while Mum spent hours turning us into girls and I am horrified that after all my training he got turned down at interview for the most perfect job - companion pony to Kaiser a lovely (big) horse.  He didn't have to travel far, just to the next farm, I have seen those fields - HUGE!  More grass than any pony could hope to eat and he was only going to share it with one horse.

I have no idea how he failed his interview, obviously my training went in one ear and straight out the other.  Even more embarrassing Baby Brian who is a whole year younger and has no idea about being a grown up pony companion got the job.  Boy that Dave has a lot to learn!

And then to top it all off I yesterday I get a distressed hoof mail from him asking to come back!  I mean he didn't listen to a word I said last time, so I have no idea how I can help and I am not sure I even want to!  It sounds like he is resisting growing up.  I think his strategy is a bit backwards.  Basically he is now being told by his Mum he has to grow up and wear a bridle with a bit and learn to be a proper riding pony.  He is not happy about this, I think because he lost the best job ever next door to Baby Brian, he thinks if he acts like a baby maybe they will change their mind!  Oh Dave you have so much to learn about humans.

Dave, if you are reading this I can send my Mum to help but I promise you she will only do more of the same as your Mum is currently doing.  GROW UP!  Being a riding pony is fabulous, just look at all the adventures I get to go on.  Open your mouth accept the bit and have fun.  No kicking humans - always a bad move, never bite the hand that feeds you either - because you will go very hungry!

So my advice is HORSE UP!  I'll send Mum, and I'll try and catch a lift too and show you how it is all done properly later this month.

Youngsters, honestly they have no idea!

Buried alive in mud!

I think Mum is loosing the plot having abandoned me for a week, while she went off to look at Zippy's homeland - supposedly Zippy is an Irish cob, not that it says anything such thing in her passport!  Mum says it was for work, but I have had a look through her phone, now do these pictures look like she was working????

OK, maybe this one does, but it still looks far too much like fun and not hard work at all!

Anyway I digress, back to Mum's craziness.  Now she says its adventurous to go on our expeditions and its exciting, personally I think she is starting to take me on suicide missions.  I haven't told you about the cow episode (mental note will tell you another time) but today fresh from not being ridden for a week it was decided we would do a fittening ride up the road along the track and back.  OK I was up for that.  I set off at a smart pace, happily trotted long sections of the road until we got to the top. Then it all started to go very wrong!

Mr sheep man and his dogs were moving the nosiest set of sheep I have ever heard and annoyingly he was taking them towards the track Mum and I wanted to go along.  OK, so we quickly reformulated a new plan, go up the hill instead.  So up we went through the gate like usual, now the next section is steep and muddy, so Mum in her wisdom (not) decided the ground to the left with bright green grass looked better than the muddy slope we normally climb - how wrong could she be!

It's only about a 10m stretch from the bottom to the top of this section and I found myself all too quickly knee high in mud, then thigh high, and then tummy deep.  Errrr Mum I don't think this is the right route to take.  I did not panic, we took a moment to assess the situation, Mum considered getting off (but hey Mum we don't want to get your boots and chaps dirty do we!) and then stayed on.  I thought about turning around, Mum thought about that too and in the end we decided to push on. It's one of the few times I have wished I had longer legs, but we made it out of the depths and to the top of the bank - phew, definitely time to catch my breath!

You can see from the picture below the mud tide-line on me, I was seriously that deep in mud.  Mum so was proud of me to get us both out safely and I didn't even loose a shoe!

And still there was more drama, well nearly, so once on top of the bank Mum decided a little canter around the bottom field would be better than going up the steep track - just in case the crazy cows were around - ohhh Mum how wrong AGAIN!  The cows were in the bottom field, this required some serious stamping and snorting (from me) and slowly and quietly Mum and me turned around and crept away - neither of us could cope with the drama of being chased again - not this morning anyway.

After that I decided to take control we headed left over the hills to avoid having to go down the muddy track and had a nice canter there and back before carefully walking down the hill back to the road and trotting most of the road home to get some very well deserved tea and all before 8am!

Definitely time for a nap and a snack.