Monday 20 December 2010

Crazy weather

Well, we're certainly getting plenty of winter weather just now! Luckily, the horses and ponies with their nice hairy coats are warm enough and happy spending time in the field, but we've been managing to get some lessons on as normal.
It's really hard work when the weather is this bad, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the livery horses cannot be turned out first thing in the morning if its icy, so instead of having 15 to muck out, we have over 30! Its also much harder to push the wheelbarrows around and we have all been feeling our leg muscles!
Water is a total nightmare - we have one ground feed tap on the yard, so it is very easy to defrost once temperatures drop below zero, but as it is in the hay steading, it can be quite a long walk to the paddock boxes with buckets! We have been using a clean wheelbarrow to transport the water about, but again, its pretty hard work.
The fields also need watered each day, as they have automatic filling troughs, which freeze over. So we need to fill a massive container which we then drive around the farm, filling bins with water in each field. Haying and watering the field horses alone can take over an hour and a half when its bad weather, which all adds up to a pretty long day.
Quite a few brave members have been making it up for lessons - well done to them! However, we're still advising that if you aren't comfortable driving in these conditions, then you should stay at home - it simply isn't worth it for a riding lesson if it will make you nervous!

Sunday 12 December 2010

Recent News

Thank goodness the snow has gone now! It has been a very hard couple of weeks - mainly because when we have that much snow, the staff have double the work to do because the horses need hayed and watered in the feild constantly, and the liveries take much longer to look after as it is occasonally too icy for turnout.
The school horses and ponies had a great holiday because of the snow - it was lovely that some of our members got in touch to check that the horses and ponies were coping. They cope much better than people! Horses in the UK can cope with temperatures of up to -20, as long as they are dry and out of the wind. Our horses all wear nice thick waterproof rugs, and have loads of haylage in the field, so they are happier out than in!
We took Melody, Belinda and Aero in as Melody and Belinda don't wear a rug (Aero does as she is a bit older). Melody and Belinda were fine, but we were worried that the cold would affect Aeros breathing, so we thought best to get them into the cosy. Melody behaved really well and enjoyed her stable time in the warm next to mum.
The school horses and ponies were all quite fresh when they came back into work, so the staff had to ride some of them for a bit before members got on them. Worst culprits were Timone and Scrufty, who took the greatest of pleasure in squealing and jumping about with what appeared to be a sense of humour.
We are nearing Xmas and New Year now, and all the staff and horses are looking forward to some nice days off.

Saturday 27 November 2010

Snow.... and some sad news

Wow, after posting about the gales, we should have expected nothing less than snow....... and lots of it! It started on Wednesday, with most of our evening riders failing to get for their lesson because the roads were at a standstill. Whilst Thursday wasn't too bad, the snow on Friday got ridiculous!
It started on the Friday morning, and just kept thumping down. By lunchtime on Friday there was at least 6 inches of the white stuff and it kept going. Unfortunately, we had to cancel lessons on Saturday because we just couldn't risk taking the school horses in over the ice, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for the rest of the weekend.
We also had some sad news this week. Ed, who is one of our most popular livery horses, was put to sleep. Ed had been at Oldfold for over three years, since he was bought by Tracy (one of our directors). He had spent the last year on loan to Laura (who works in reception) and was one of the nicest horses we have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Ed spent his older teens with us, having been in the North East for the majority of his life and being very successful in his two previous homes. He was a horse in a million, who taught so many people so many things - he was dearly loved by everyone on the yard, but in particular Tracy, Laura and Fay who had so much fun with him. He will be dearly missed, but we're just glad that he had a nice peaceful, dignified ending as he so deserved.

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Windy weather

We've had a bit of a time of it with crazy gales recently! We had to cancel some lessons last Monday and then cancelled nearly all lessons this Wednesday.
Many of our members cannot understand why we cancel when there is severe wind, but its a safety issue - we want all our members to have fun, but sometimes when it gets really windy outside, we decide that its safer on both the staff and members to cancel. Our horses and ponies, although very quiet and well behaved, can be unpredictable when its really windy due to the noise and things blowing about. For our smaller, more novice members, we worry that the ponies spooking in the wind may make them lose their balance and come off - whilst they are very unlikely to hurt themselves, it doesnt' help their confidence.
For our more advanced lessons, it can also be a problem as the more advanced horses tend to be a bit more "flighty" in these situations. Whilst we are happy that our advanced members are more than capable of coping with windy weather, it can be pretty detrimental to a horses confidence to work in a group situation when things are a bit loud and windy - there is also the issue that the riders often cannot hear the instructor.
We are lucky in that having an indoor school, we can keep going in most weather conditions, but please be understanding that if we cancel your lesson due to the weather, it really is for your own benefit and safety!

Thursday 11 November 2010

Website is Live (and other updates)

Our website is now fully functional and online for everyone to see. If you would like to receive monthly newsletters, go online and sign up for it. We think the website is great and that Kim has done a brilliant job with it - Thanks Kim!
We've tried to make the website in a way that makes it appealing to both our junior and senior club members, and there is loads of information on it about the club, including great photos and info on all the horses and ponies.

Other news is that the vet had a look at Rafiki the other day, and was happy with how sound she is. She looks really good, and is moving better than she has for a long time. We're really pleased at her progress, and hope to write up her case on the website soon for everyone to read and learn about. The only problem now is her weight - she still refuses to lose anything despite being fed very little and obviously her weight is not helping her back leg problems when she is carrying so much extra belly!

We are also about to put in another order for hoodies (with the club logo on them) so anyone who wants one needs to pick up an order form and complete it (in reception).

Wednesday 3 November 2010

what a great AGM

We had a brilliant AGM last night, with over 50 members attending, which we were delighted with. We had a brief talk on the accounts by Sally, then a ridden demo by Sally and Martin, then a website talk by Kim.
Dixie and Hagrid really enjoyed their display - showing all the members how happy they are to go forward if ridden correctly. Hopefully lots of our members have picked up tips on how to make Dixie and Hagrid happy ponies when they are riding them!
The website looks brilliant and goes live online on Friday - how exciting! It looked really good projected onto the wall of the school and all the photos of the horses and ponies up there.
well done to everyone who worked hard to make the AGM a success.

Monday 1 November 2010

New Website

Hi Everyone!
Murphy here - I'm very excited as the new website goes live tomorrow, and rumour has it that there are loads of very cute pictures of us horses and ponies!
If you want to be one of the first to have a look at the website, go to:
www.aberdeenridingclub.com

We are having our AGM tomorrow night (Tuesday), where we will go through the year end accounts, are doing a demo on "how to ride Hagrid and Dixie" and then launching the website.
We hope to see loads of our members there asking questions and giving suggestions.

Other news is:
Rafiki is now sound and up to doing canter work.
Belinda and Melody are back out in their field following Belindas cut leg.
Apache, Abbey, Bluebell and Blaze are all settling in well to the farm.
Our liveries did really well at a recent team showjumping competition coming 2nd in the 75cm, 1st in the 90 cm and 1st in the 1metre class. Well done guys! A big thankyou goes to Julie Bultitude for organising it and making sure that everyone knew when to jump and where to jump!

Right, thats all from me for today - everyone is so busy getting ready for the AGM. We'll write some more tomorrow!
Murphy xxxxxx

Friday 17 September 2010

Sad news and new faces

Firstly, we had a really sad decision to make this month..... we had to have Nelson put to sleep. Nelson had been with us for four and a half years, after we took him on as a school horse after his owner sadly died. Nelson had been a livery at Oldfold since he was four years old (some 12 years!), so when he lost his owner, we offered to take him on to ensure that he could end his days at Oldfold.
When we took him on, we thought we would use him as a field companion, and some staff training/hacking.... but Nelson was a revelation. He absolutely loved work, and became one of our best, nicest school horses. We always gave him a fairly light work load as he had slight athritis in his hocks, so he did mainly flatwork and was only allowed to do poles and very small fences very occasionally. He didn't really agree with the light work and spent most of his years trying to get in from the field (when we wanted him to have a day off), cantering with people (who really only wanted to trot) and charging over to the school for his work when the members were trying to lead him over quietly. Mind you, when we first moved to Oldfold and met Nelson, he used to spend his Sundays dragging his owner away from the trailer she was trying to load him into, and taking off up to the furthest away field on the farm! So we really should have known what to expect.....
We had semi-retired (or tried to!) Nelson over the last year, and he was getting older and stiffer, particularly in the cold weather. We had discussed his future for this winter at length and decided that he would tell us if he was happy in the field......
The decision was made on Wednesday 1st September, when Nelson became lame in the field. When the vet came to see him, we suspected that he had damaged a tendon or ligament fairly badly in his front leg. Whilst in a younger horse, this can be treated with lengthy box rest and very gradual reintroduction to work, we didn't think this was fair on Nelson as he hated being stabled and would have had to spend up to 6 months in his box. We decided that it was much more respectful to him to put him to sleep on a nice day, when he was in good condition and happy. It was a really difficult one for the staff, as Nelson was everyones favourite because he was so lovely to handle and work with, so big thanks for all your work Nelly - you were a complete star.
On a happier note, we have taken ownership of a new young chap for the riding school. Blaze is a 5 yr old chestnut welsh cob gelding. He is strikingly handsome and has settled in very well already in his field with him companion Fuzby. He had a test to confirm he is clear of any disease today so we will hopefully be able to take him out of isolation soon and introduce him to the rest of the farm. He was only backed around 6 weeks ago, so he will be working with our staff for a good few months before joining any lessons.
We'll update about him soon.

Sunday 20 June 2010

Assessments

Well done to everyone who took part in the recent assessments. There was a really good standard across the board and all the staff assessing were impressed with the standard. There were several riders who showed a remarkable improvement over the last year, showing that our instructional staff are making a great job of training everyone.

Friday 4 June 2010

Latest News

Its been a while since we've updated the blog, so thought this was a good chance to let you catch up on all our latest news.

Archie has now retired!
Good old ARchie has been with us for years, and has done a great deal of work over the years teaching loads of people to ride. We decided that as he had reached the grand old age of 25 it was time for him to retire to the field. He is now happily living out with Aero and Aria, acting as grandad. We were a bit worried he wouldn't settle to retirement as he has always worked, but he has taken to it like a duck to water and spends his days trying to escape past the staff at the gate, and teaching Aria how to behave now she is a big bold 2 yr old.

Rafiki continues to improve
Rafiki is still (slowly) losing weight in the little fatties paddock. She is walking out better now and is less stiff, so we are hoping that she will be able to return to flatwork again soon. She is very happy with herself as she has a good view of the new foal Melody, so she spends most of her time whinnying at her.

Assessments!
Assessments will be running from June 7th - 13th inclusive. We will be assessing all lessons (with the exception of some advanced ones) so make sure you are there to get your assessment sheets!

Summer stable management
The bookings are now open for summer stable management and are filling up fast - if you would like a space, get in touch with reception and we can get you booked onto the best standard of course for your ability.

Website
The website is now beginning to take shape and will soon be online for everyone to see. Kim (our web designer) is very busy graduating and putting on her design show at the moment so she will be finishing the website after the next two weeks.

Update from Belinda and Melody

So, Belinda has had her foal!
Melody is a bay filly with a white star and a white hind sock, who was born on Friday 14th May at around 6 in the morning. We had moved Belinda out to our vets to give birth as she was due whilst Sally was away, so she had the best of care for her labour!
Melody is a full sister to Aria, so we were expecting a foal around the same size, but Belinda got bigger and bigger as her pregnancy developed - she had a very "good" winter chomping on great haylage and hard feed and obviously put a lot of time and effort into growing a big foal.
Melody is around a hand (4 inches) bigger than Aria was when born and has very long legs and big knees and hocks, which can be used to guesstimate her adult height, which we suspect will be a bit bigger than Aria, who stands just under 15 hands at the moment as a 2 year old.
Because Melody was a big big, she was born with slightly scrumpled up legs from where she had been squashed up in the womb. The vets kept her and mum in for a couple of days until her legs had straightened out a bit and she is happily cantering around the field with mum now.
We took her home on Wednesday 3rd June, which was certainly an experience. Belinda has never been brilliant about loading - it takes her about 40 minutes to work out that once she gets up the ramp, there is room for her to turn round, so after 45 minutes of running in and out of the trailer on one of the hottest days of the year, both her and Sally were a bit sweaty. She went in happily eventually and little Melody wondered what all the fuss was about - she just followed her mum up the ramp in a very brave fashion.
They are now both happily sleeping in the sun in their own little paddock at the back of the school and are happy to have visitors as long as they dont' feed them titbits!

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Rafiki update again

Rafiki here! I had my friend the vet out last week to have a look at me and assess how I'm getting on. He thinks I'm a bit better - still a bit stiff and sore, but bit more comfortable so I'm getting out for a few hours each day now... .heaven!!! I'm going out to play in the field with Ed, as he has had sore feet too so he has to take it easy like me. There is little chance of me doing anything else as I've got a wee bit of grass under my feet, so I just put my head down and munch!!!
My friend Kim is still helping me to get a bit fitter by walking me out and I am very much enjoying my little days out wandering round the farm or paddock.
Rafiki
xxx

Wednesday 3 March 2010

Update from a fat haflinger

Hello,
Rafiki here again - just thought I'd write a quick update on my progress. I am feeling quite a bit more comfortable now I have my fancy high heels on and I made enough progress last week that Kim was able to take me out for ridden walkies. I am very excited about doing a little bit of work as surely if I'm working they will feed me more........ NO?.......

Rafiki

Friday 26 February 2010

Rafikis update

Hi All,
Rafiki here - just thought I would update everyone on my progress with my dodgy back leg. It is now just over a week since I had my steroid injections into the hock joint. I have been resting nicely in my stables - other than one day when the temptation of a bit of hay outside my door was too much and I ran off over the wheelbarrow to eat it and had a trot round the yard. No-one seems to understand how hungry I am! This diet nonsense is awful!
Anyway.... where was I..... Oh yes.... I got my injections just over a week ago and then Jason the farrier came on Thursday to put my graduated heel shoes on my back feet. Very fancy I say! - they're like pretty lady high heels, and everyone tells me that heels make you look taller and slimmer - so they're a great idea in my book.
Apparently they are helping a bit as I was resting my left hind leg all the time in the stable, but as soon as the new shoes went on I was putting weight on both legs evenly - I hadn't really noticed to be honest, but I guess a girl should make the most of her Jimmy Choos!
For everyone who is keeping up to date and wants to know the costs of what I've had done so far, I'll be posting about it early next week as I need a couple of days with my calculator to work out how much the shoes cost, how much the injections cost and how much all the extra time I get to spend with that nice man that everyone calls "vet" cost.
For now,
Rafiki

Monday 22 February 2010

Rafikis legs

Rafiki is having some trouble with her hind legs at the moment. We have decided to keep a running report on what Rafiki has done, with costs included to allow our members a chance to understand the type of work that goes into keeping a horse sound.
Rafikis problems began in September 2009 when she went lame behind. Once the vet had looked at her, we agreed that the best option was to turn her away to grass for three months and see if there was any improvement. She improved quite a bit over her time off and was brought back in the middle of February, with one of our staff taking her into work lightly. After a week of walk work, Rafiki went lame behind again.
We then had the vet out to look at her again and had x rays taken of her left hock (joint in her back leg). The x-rays showed that Rafiki had bone spavins in the hock (like athritis).
At this point we then have to discuss the matter at length with the vet as this diagnosis means Rafiki will never be able to do jumping work in the future.
Rafiki is also slightly more complicated than your average horse as she suffers from a serious problem with her weight - even out in the winter in the snow, she manages to get fat on air alone, so retiring her to no work at grass is not an option.
We have therefore decided to have the vet treat Rafiki with steroid injections into her hock, and follow it up with hand made shoes (graduated heels) from our farrier.
We are now at the difficult stage where we have to wait and see what improvement we can get from the treatment before deciding how to proceed with Rafiki.
We have always agreed that our school horses will be looked after to the end of their days at the farm, so although selling an unsound horse on for a relatively small sum of money to a dealer is a possibility, it is not one that we are willing to consider for Rafiki. We will hopefully get her sound enough that she can do light hacking and some slower school work with a member, which allows her to enter semi retirement without getting too fat. However we'll keep you posted.
We also intend to put photos up on the blog soon of her fancy shoes being hand made, so keep an eye out for it.

Monday 15 February 2010

Rafikis guide to falling off

Hi all,
Rafiki here - I'm laid up on box rest at the moment as my hocks (joints in back legs) are giving me grief with athritis, so Mr. Vet is a busy man taking photos of my hocks and coming to put something called "steroids" into them - Sid has been telling me that steroids will make me big and muscley - but I already am big and muscley!!
So anyway, I've been having a think about what I can add to the blog... and I've decided to do a piece on how to fall off! Us horses and ponies sometimes get a right old laugh at you lot lying on the ground when you're still meant to be on our backs, so we thought we'd give you some tips!
  • TRY TO STAY ON. This may seem obvious, but its important! If you feel you are losing your balance, try to concentrate on relaxing as much as possible and finding the middle of the saddle - the taller you sit, the more chances you have of staying on!

  • DON'T SCREAM OR SHOUT! If you are falling off - try to stay calm. The fall from trot is likely to be a nice gentle fall - if you start screaming you are likely to fall from a gallop - which hurts a lot. Us horses like nice calm people and if you suddenly scream you can frighten us.

  • DON'T TRY TO HANG ON TO US - If you fall off - protect yourself. Us horses are very good at looking after ourselves and in the indoor school, once loose we will normally wander happily over to the instructor or another horse. If you try to hang on to our reins once you have fallen off, you can hurt your arm - or our mouth!

  • ROLL OUT OF THE WAY - Don't try to use us to break your fall - we are moving machinery! We will continue moving and not notice you are in our way, so the best thing you can do is think about tucking yourself into a ball and rolling away.

  • GET BACK ON - The saying really is true - you need to get back on the horse! Obviously if you have hurt yourself, this is not sensible, but in most cases where you are unhurt, getting back on quickly is the best thing to do if the instructor advises it.

  • REMEMBER "THESE THINGS HAPPEN" - It is not anyones "fault" (particularly us horses!). Riding is a sport which involves you trying to learn to stay on us horses. This will inevitably result in you getting it wrong sometimes as you learn and parting company with us. It is the same as falling down skiing/missing a goal/playing a wrong note. It is even more difficult to learn to do as we are horses with a mind of our own!

Thats all for now.

Rafiki

Monday 8 February 2010

Hello from "Sir Charlie Fox"

Hello everyone - Sir Charlie Fox here. I'm getting to write a blog as I'm the new chap on the yard and as I'm in isolation at the moment, I've got a bit of spare time to be writing stuff. I came up from Carlisle on Thursday and spent my first three days in the field with Aero just recovering from my trip and getting lots of nice food to eat. The staff tried to catch me in yesterday but I wasn't having any of that - I ran off round the field! So they went up today with lots of feed and I caught quite happily then - I just wanted some treats!
I got ridden today in walk/trot and canter and Sally says I'm a nice chap. I'm well schooled and happy to do most things on both reins. I'm a little bit unfit because I need to put weight on and get some muscle, but apparently that will get better as the staff take me into work.
They've told me all about Pumba, who apparently was a brilliant school horse, and it seems I'm meant to replace her. I'm a bit nervous about replacing her as she was so popular with the staff and customers, but I'll try my hardest!
So you'll need to look out for me soon appearing in a lesson!
Thats all I've got to say for today.
"Sir Charlie Fox".

Sunday 7 February 2010

Whos the foal?


Hi all - Miro here. Just thought I'd let you in on a little secret. Lots of people were wondering who the cute little foal on our blog is - quite a few people thought it was Aria, but no it's me! The photo was me as a foal just after I was born and long before my mum Sally came and bought me. I'm a bit bigger now though so you may not have recognised me! Here I am on the left now as a big grown up - not quite so little and cute, but I'm hoping that I'm working the "handsome" look.

Friday 5 February 2010

Welcome "Sir Charlie Fox"

Us horses and ponies got a new pal yesterday - his name is "Sir Charlie Fox" no less! We've already decided that he's going to have to get used to getting called Charlie as there is no way us lot can manage that mouthful! We suspect he may be a bit posh before someone has given him that great long name - but we'll soon sort that out when he joins us all in the field!
He's living in a field at the back of the farm just now with good old Aero, just in case he has any bugs with him that we don't want the other horses catching - this is standard practice when we take a new horse onto the yard.
He is a 16h.h. 12 yr old coloured gelding who has previously done a bit of everything in a private home and we are hoping he will be a fitting replacement for our beloved Pumba who we lost at the start of the year to colic. He has enormous shoes to fit if he is going to be as good as Pumba, but he has a lovely nature which is a good start. He'll come in to be ridden by a member of staff tomorrow and then start a bit more intensive work towards going into lessons once he recovers from his trip up here and puts on a little bit of weight. Aero is showing him how to behave by standing at the hay bale with him and making sure he doesn't go hungry!

Wednesday 3 February 2010

Equine language

Hi Everyone. Sid here.
I have to confess, it gets a bit boring being a horse and not being able to speak English to people. I'm a very wise old chap and have seen a lot of people learn to ride so I thought I'd go through a few common statements that the instructors make, to be sure that you guys are all clear on what they actually mean.

"Shorten up your reins" - this normally means that the reins (one of the ways you tell us horses what to do) are too long. Liken this to trying to drive without holding your steering wheel - slightly scary for both you and the instructor! Steering obviously works better if you can actually tell us horses what you want.

"Put your leg on" - Dont' worry - this doesn't mean your leg has fallen off. It means to put your leg against our side. Leg that is - not heel. A kick from a heel is uncomfortable and will put us horses in a bad mood - even if it is a nice new expensive heeled boot that you are very proud of and feel that you should "wear in" to look a bit more horsey.

"Sit up.... Sit up..... SIT UP....!!!" This cry from an instructor often comes when they sense you may be in danger. This may be from a) Us horses going slightly faster than you intended, often round a corner. b) Your bottom being a considerable distance away from its desired location - the saddle or c) Any situation where your face is too close to the horses ears/head.

"Why don't you try Daisy, rather than Ferrari" - this may well be the instructors polite way of keeping you safe. Whilst Ferrari may be a beautiful, black, enormous, snorting powerful looking horse, you may need to realise that quiet, hairy, sweet (if a little lethargic) Daisy is more suited to your current ability and coordination.

"OOOhhhhh.... that wasn't a very big jump was it?" - this is normally mumbled quietly from the red faced, slightly-out-of-breath instructor who is giving you a leg up onto your horse. A leg up is as described.... Jump on the count of three. Hanging there, waiting for some kind of power lift to the saddle can result in a fairly tired instructor.

"Sid prefers the left rein" - this one is saved especially for me. It means that I am a fly old thing. Whilst I am the patron saint of all riding school horses, I do Riding for the Disabled, I do beginner lessons and I star in the panto each year... I am not shy to take the mickey. I do indeed prefer the left rein and if you ride me with long reins and not much direction whilst travelling right, I will just turn left when the opportunity arises. This can result in a rather embarrassing moment if you are lead file and then suddenly find yourself looking round at the rest of the riders that you are meant to be leading round the school.

Right, I think thats enough for you humans just now..... I'll be back soon with some more tips and translations.
Wow! Isn't this exciting! A new blog....... specially for us horses and ponies! This blog will be updated regularly so you'll need to keep checking back to see whats happening at ARC in the future. Us horses and ponies are going to write the blog... none of that nonsense written by the staff as we know much better whats going on at the stables.
The blog will be a combination of things - funny stories that have happened to us, news about whats coming up, notices to members and photos.
So we're going to start with some exciting news - we have a new horse friend arriving tomorrow! Although we don't know what his name is yet! He is black and white, 16h.h., 12 yr old and is a boy. He has done lots of unaffiliated competing and has been in the same home since he was a 5 yr old, so when he arrives he will be isolated at the back of the farm to make sure he doesn't have any diseases he could pass onto us lovely horses and ponies, and will then start training with the staff and joining lessons.
We're also saying goodbye to Noah this week as he leaves to move onto pastures new. Noah has been with us since he was a yearling and is now a big strapping four year old. He is a bit too sharp to join the riding school when he is older, so he'll go on to a private competititve home now to make room for the new boy.
We'll update with the new horses name once we've all gotten to know him and let you guys know a bit more about what he's like.
Thats all for now!
ARC horses and ponies.