So apologies - we have properly fallen behind with the blogging, but are hoping to keep up with it now! Loads of stuff has been happening since the last blog, so we'll try to update you with it all now!
We now have a new horse in to try for the RDA and riding school. JR is a coloured cob, 5 years old who appears to be very quiet and sweet. He is in isolation at the moment, waiting for the results of his strangles test - which we take from all new horses when they enter the yard. Freddie is currently keeping JR company as he was a bit unlevel in front and we thought he would enjoy a bit of time out in a quiet field.
Dixie is still off and has her last session of shockwave this Friday..... she has injured her suspensory ligament, so will be getting walked out slowly after her last shockwave session and we are hoping that she will then come back to soundness and normal work - so fingers crossed!
Reggie has been doing well with his plastic shoes and has managed to keep them on. His feet are so good now, he only wears the plastic shoes in front and is barefoot behind at the moment. We will be shoeing him again in the summer so that he can enjoy some months of grass, but we're delighted that he is staying so sound at the moment.
The members committee have been quite busy - they have built a shelving unit in the coffee hut and are looking into new frames for educational posters for the portacabin.
We are also running an educational night on Tuesday 19th March titled "How to reduce the risk when buying a horse" at 7.30p.m. Sally is giving the talk and everyone needs to dress warmly as it is a practical talk in the indoor school. There will be horses in the school going round for everyone to compare/look at and it should be a good night for everyone to attend.
Right, thats all for now - we'll be back with another blog soon (hopefully)
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Friday, 31 August 2012
Water, water everywhere
Crazy weather! Half our car park washed away last week in the monsoon conditions on the Saturday. We are ready to get the holes in the road filled in, but we need a dry day to do it, which is easier said than done!
Its been a busy few weeks at the club - we have been trying to fit everyone in for lessons as they return from their summer holidays. It is often difficult at this time of year, as a few children who have reached secondary age can no longer manage 4p.m. lessons, so we need to do a bit of reorganising to fit everyone in! This is why we tend to do the assessments just prior to the summer holidays, so that we can organise lesson moves easier when everyone comes back after hols - its a lot easier if someone has been recently assessed.
Reggie now has his 4 expensive shoes on and is sound and well after his antics with the drill and his artery. I have told him that he needs to do at least 2 lessons per week average to keep himself in credit, as he's proving to be rather an expensive beast at the moment! I'm sure he'll soon outfox us by pulling a shoe off the day before a jumping lesson.
Things are getting busier for the ponies with RDA returning after their summer break and RGU due to return at the end of September. RDA is a great piece of work for the ponies, as its all mainly walk work and the ponies enjoy getting out of their stables for a walk round the farm/indoor school. RGU work is slightly harder for them, but there is nornally quite a good mix of standards so that the horses get plenty of variety.
We are also organising a few educational evenings for our members - there is one tonight (30th August) at 6.30 p.m with Martin, titled " how to do basic lateral work and what the point is". There will be a riding school horse and member demonstrating the lower level stuff (turn on the 4hand/leg yielding) and then a more advanced livery horse doing some of the fancier stuff.
Hannah is also running an eduational evening on Sunday 23rd September @ 6.30p.m, titled "conformation and how it affects the horses way of going". Both evenings are free for ARC members, and you just need to add your name to the list in reception - there is no charge for either evening as we are keen to promote further training/knowledge within our membership.
Sally is also running a British Horse Society training evening on Friday 28th September at 7.30p.m. The evening will demonstrate all types of groundwork/handling that you can do with a horse and how to deal with behavioural issues in some horses. It will include youngsters, horses that don't catch and horses that can be difficult to tack up. We will also be demonstrating how to loose school and the benefits to this type of work - if you'd like to come along to this, it is open to both BHS members and non-members, and a donation will be taken on the evening (all proceeds to Grampian BHS).
Lastly, Murphy is sadly still lame. He is comfortable in the field with Henry and Reggie, but has not come completely sound after his fracture. We are happy to give him plenty of time as long as he is comfortable, but it looks at the moment as though he is heading for retirement rather than coming back into work. We're sure even in retirement he will keep everyone on their toes, especially the staff and he will be a good field companion!
Thats all for now!
Its been a busy few weeks at the club - we have been trying to fit everyone in for lessons as they return from their summer holidays. It is often difficult at this time of year, as a few children who have reached secondary age can no longer manage 4p.m. lessons, so we need to do a bit of reorganising to fit everyone in! This is why we tend to do the assessments just prior to the summer holidays, so that we can organise lesson moves easier when everyone comes back after hols - its a lot easier if someone has been recently assessed.
Reggie now has his 4 expensive shoes on and is sound and well after his antics with the drill and his artery. I have told him that he needs to do at least 2 lessons per week average to keep himself in credit, as he's proving to be rather an expensive beast at the moment! I'm sure he'll soon outfox us by pulling a shoe off the day before a jumping lesson.
Things are getting busier for the ponies with RDA returning after their summer break and RGU due to return at the end of September. RDA is a great piece of work for the ponies, as its all mainly walk work and the ponies enjoy getting out of their stables for a walk round the farm/indoor school. RGU work is slightly harder for them, but there is nornally quite a good mix of standards so that the horses get plenty of variety.
We are also organising a few educational evenings for our members - there is one tonight (30th August) at 6.30 p.m with Martin, titled " how to do basic lateral work and what the point is". There will be a riding school horse and member demonstrating the lower level stuff (turn on the 4hand/leg yielding) and then a more advanced livery horse doing some of the fancier stuff.
Hannah is also running an eduational evening on Sunday 23rd September @ 6.30p.m, titled "conformation and how it affects the horses way of going". Both evenings are free for ARC members, and you just need to add your name to the list in reception - there is no charge for either evening as we are keen to promote further training/knowledge within our membership.
Sally is also running a British Horse Society training evening on Friday 28th September at 7.30p.m. The evening will demonstrate all types of groundwork/handling that you can do with a horse and how to deal with behavioural issues in some horses. It will include youngsters, horses that don't catch and horses that can be difficult to tack up. We will also be demonstrating how to loose school and the benefits to this type of work - if you'd like to come along to this, it is open to both BHS members and non-members, and a donation will be taken on the evening (all proceeds to Grampian BHS).
Lastly, Murphy is sadly still lame. He is comfortable in the field with Henry and Reggie, but has not come completely sound after his fracture. We are happy to give him plenty of time as long as he is comfortable, but it looks at the moment as though he is heading for retirement rather than coming back into work. We're sure even in retirement he will keep everyone on their toes, especially the staff and he will be a good field companion!
Thats all for now!
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Haylage, x-rays, arteries and umbrellas.
Yes, this could be the weirdest blog title ever, but kind of explains our month - a bit weird, and definitely very hectic!!!!
Firstly the haylage:
Last year, we got 370 bales of haylage from our first cut (3rd week of June). Unfortunately, this year, due to the monsoon season type weather, we are around 7 weeks behind with our haylage, and have only just taken the first cut during the last fortnight. As normal, we split the first cut (take a few fields, and leave a few) - this kind or reduces our odds of losing the whole crop - particularly this year, when the weather has been so dreadful. When the grass is cut, we need at least 2 days of warm, dry weather - easier said than done this July! So we got 200 bales off the first section, then nervously waited last week once it was cut for our dry weather. The sun arrived Thurs/Fri so cue frantic activity on the farm with 4 farmers turning, baling and wrapping constantly. The good news is we now have 400 bales of haylage, which is great going considering what a dreadful summer its been. The bad news is that we have decided not to try to take a 2nd cut - we are too far behind, and just won't get the daylight hours in Sep/Oct to make it worth our while to try to get it to grow. This will leave us around 50 - 100 bales short, which we will need to buy in, but at least we have the majority of our stock!
Onto x-rays- we had the next group of school horses front feet x-rayed and hocks flexion tested last week. Reggie (surprise surprise) had changes to the joints in his front feet, and positive flexion tests so he will now have his fancy plastic shoes put on his front feet (as well as his back ones) and have his hocks medicated. Blaze, Charlie and Scrufty were also tested and are fine.
Onto arteries - and Reggie again. Our very kind farrier agreed to come in on Friday afternoon to replace one of his plastic hind shoes which he had lost. The plastic shoes require small holes to be made in Reggies feet to "glue" the shoe onto . Good old Reggie decided to jump just as the hole was being made, only to put the drill straight through his artery in his foot. Many dressings and a vet visit later, and Reggie is none the worse for wear, enjoying a few days in his stable before he gets another shoe on in a week.
Umbrellas have been causing a bit of a nightmare on the yard - unfortunately, many of our parents have no idea how terrifying they look for the ponies! We have had a couple of near misses where someone has put an umbrella up and a pony has shot off across the yard - so please, if you're reading this, try to put your umbrella down before coming onto the main yard!
And finally, a sad goodbye. We had Belinda put to sleep last Friday - which had been planned for this summer, as she was looking stiff in the field last winter. Whilst it is always a sad decision to make, it is nice to ensure that the horses are looked after right to the end, and Belinda gave us 2 lovely foals, although sadly we lost the younger one Melody earlier this year. So thanks for all your hard work Belly - you were a pleasure to own, even though you were a little "strong minded" at times.
Firstly the haylage:
Last year, we got 370 bales of haylage from our first cut (3rd week of June). Unfortunately, this year, due to the monsoon season type weather, we are around 7 weeks behind with our haylage, and have only just taken the first cut during the last fortnight. As normal, we split the first cut (take a few fields, and leave a few) - this kind or reduces our odds of losing the whole crop - particularly this year, when the weather has been so dreadful. When the grass is cut, we need at least 2 days of warm, dry weather - easier said than done this July! So we got 200 bales off the first section, then nervously waited last week once it was cut for our dry weather. The sun arrived Thurs/Fri so cue frantic activity on the farm with 4 farmers turning, baling and wrapping constantly. The good news is we now have 400 bales of haylage, which is great going considering what a dreadful summer its been. The bad news is that we have decided not to try to take a 2nd cut - we are too far behind, and just won't get the daylight hours in Sep/Oct to make it worth our while to try to get it to grow. This will leave us around 50 - 100 bales short, which we will need to buy in, but at least we have the majority of our stock!
Onto x-rays- we had the next group of school horses front feet x-rayed and hocks flexion tested last week. Reggie (surprise surprise) had changes to the joints in his front feet, and positive flexion tests so he will now have his fancy plastic shoes put on his front feet (as well as his back ones) and have his hocks medicated. Blaze, Charlie and Scrufty were also tested and are fine.
Onto arteries - and Reggie again. Our very kind farrier agreed to come in on Friday afternoon to replace one of his plastic hind shoes which he had lost. The plastic shoes require small holes to be made in Reggies feet to "glue" the shoe onto . Good old Reggie decided to jump just as the hole was being made, only to put the drill straight through his artery in his foot. Many dressings and a vet visit later, and Reggie is none the worse for wear, enjoying a few days in his stable before he gets another shoe on in a week.
Umbrellas have been causing a bit of a nightmare on the yard - unfortunately, many of our parents have no idea how terrifying they look for the ponies! We have had a couple of near misses where someone has put an umbrella up and a pony has shot off across the yard - so please, if you're reading this, try to put your umbrella down before coming onto the main yard!
And finally, a sad goodbye. We had Belinda put to sleep last Friday - which had been planned for this summer, as she was looking stiff in the field last winter. Whilst it is always a sad decision to make, it is nice to ensure that the horses are looked after right to the end, and Belinda gave us 2 lovely foals, although sadly we lost the younger one Melody earlier this year. So thanks for all your hard work Belly - you were a pleasure to own, even though you were a little "strong minded" at times.
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Assessments, veterinary day and x-country fun
Hi Everyone,
Its been a very, very busy week at the yard and we're quite relieved its (nearly) over! Many members don't realise that the assessment week is the busiest week of the year- not due to customer numbers, but because we need to cover every lesson with two members of staff to make sure we have enough to assess everyone! Everyone seems to have enjoyed their assessment, and assessment sheets that are being handed out are going down well. Just a wee point - we try to make the assessments as public knowledge as possible - we put it on the website, on facebook, on here, on Twitter, in the paper newsletter, the electronic newsletter, on flyers on the desk in reception and on posters on the yard. Its dissappointing when we then have a couple of members complaining that they didn't know about it - we feel we are telling everyone in as many ways as we can, but if you have any ideas for other ways to get the information across, just let us know!
To try and let everyone understand why the assessments are such a busy week, we've done the timetable below from a member of staffs week - this will maybe explain why some of the assessments flip into the second week.
This member of staff would normally be off on a Sunday and a Thursday.
SUNDAY
Into work for 8 as assessing all day so no day off. Help on yards and do surfaces, then assess straight through from 10.00 a.m. to 5.30p.m. Assessment sheets are done on computer, so need to get them all typed up whilst assessing, and sometimes have to do two lessons at once, which is a challenge! Finish at 5.30, but still have to ride 2 horses as no time during day. Home at 8.30p.m .
MONDAY
Into work for 8, no lessons at night as torch coming! Spend a few hours doing staff training, going over what had been noticed in Sundays assessments, teaching staff on Hagrid. Start assessing at 4p.m. till 5.30p.m. and then spend 2 hours ensuring all Sunday and Monday sheets are up to date (can't go home, as have to wait and make sure torch gets past without horses going bananas). Ride one horse, help livery with another. Home 9p.m
TUESDAY
Into work for 8 - crazy day as vet coming to x-ray 4, do 6 teeth, vaccinate 4. Farrier is also here (shoeing 10) and private lessons on through day. Help vet with x-ray horses, discuss results, dash off to help livery with another vet for their horse. Try to ride at least one horse that has been booked to be ridden by livery. Start assessing at 4p.m., finish assessing at 6p.m but then due in x-country field to prepare demo riders for Saturday night x-country demo. Finish 8.30p.m, check own horse, home 9.30p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Long lie! In at 11.30 (hour early as need to ride own horse), staff training for an hour, catch up with Tuesdays assessment sheets, get Wednesdays sheets ready. Start assessing at 4p.m. Finish 8.30p.m. Home 9.30p.m by time yards checked and horses out.
THURSDAY
Day off, well needed. Unfortunately, come in to ride own horse to find a complaint that Thursday lessons are not being assessed till next week - try to explain that a day off is needed.
FRIDAY
Riding school closed. Own horse private lessons (3), do surfaces in prep for weekend, staff training, prepare Saturdays assessment sheets (busiest day with over 100 riders so takes a while). Finish 6.00p.m. ride two horses. Home 8p.m. Was meant to be admin day catching up with bookkeeping/wages - ooops.
SATUDAY
Start at 8, catch up with another member of staff who is in to cover lessons for assessments. Start assessing 9.30a.m, finish 4.30p.m. No time for lunch break as lessons on continually. Dash home at 5.00p.m. to drop dogs off, back for 5.45p.m to prepare for x-country demo. Quickly scribble some notes on what to talk about, as no time during week for prep. Demo starts 6.30p.m, runs till 8.30p.m. Seems to be a success. Have a nice BBQ in school after, enjoy a well deserved cider and look forward to day off next day.
So whilst we think the assessments are great and that its a good tool for everyone (including us), we're glad its only once a year!
The veterinary checks all went well - the first lot (Hagrid/Henry/Apache and Chance) show no athritis in their front feet, have good balance and have perhaps the start of athritis in their hocks (expected) so their hocks will now be medicated with steroids. The next lot will be x-rayed next month.
Thanks to everyone who attended the x-country demo, a turnout of 50 was pretty impressive in the pouring rain for an outdoor demo!
Thanks again!
Its been a very, very busy week at the yard and we're quite relieved its (nearly) over! Many members don't realise that the assessment week is the busiest week of the year- not due to customer numbers, but because we need to cover every lesson with two members of staff to make sure we have enough to assess everyone! Everyone seems to have enjoyed their assessment, and assessment sheets that are being handed out are going down well. Just a wee point - we try to make the assessments as public knowledge as possible - we put it on the website, on facebook, on here, on Twitter, in the paper newsletter, the electronic newsletter, on flyers on the desk in reception and on posters on the yard. Its dissappointing when we then have a couple of members complaining that they didn't know about it - we feel we are telling everyone in as many ways as we can, but if you have any ideas for other ways to get the information across, just let us know!
To try and let everyone understand why the assessments are such a busy week, we've done the timetable below from a member of staffs week - this will maybe explain why some of the assessments flip into the second week.
This member of staff would normally be off on a Sunday and a Thursday.
SUNDAY
Into work for 8 as assessing all day so no day off. Help on yards and do surfaces, then assess straight through from 10.00 a.m. to 5.30p.m. Assessment sheets are done on computer, so need to get them all typed up whilst assessing, and sometimes have to do two lessons at once, which is a challenge! Finish at 5.30, but still have to ride 2 horses as no time during day. Home at 8.30p.m .
MONDAY
Into work for 8, no lessons at night as torch coming! Spend a few hours doing staff training, going over what had been noticed in Sundays assessments, teaching staff on Hagrid. Start assessing at 4p.m. till 5.30p.m. and then spend 2 hours ensuring all Sunday and Monday sheets are up to date (can't go home, as have to wait and make sure torch gets past without horses going bananas). Ride one horse, help livery with another. Home 9p.m
TUESDAY
Into work for 8 - crazy day as vet coming to x-ray 4, do 6 teeth, vaccinate 4. Farrier is also here (shoeing 10) and private lessons on through day. Help vet with x-ray horses, discuss results, dash off to help livery with another vet for their horse. Try to ride at least one horse that has been booked to be ridden by livery. Start assessing at 4p.m., finish assessing at 6p.m but then due in x-country field to prepare demo riders for Saturday night x-country demo. Finish 8.30p.m, check own horse, home 9.30p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Long lie! In at 11.30 (hour early as need to ride own horse), staff training for an hour, catch up with Tuesdays assessment sheets, get Wednesdays sheets ready. Start assessing at 4p.m. Finish 8.30p.m. Home 9.30p.m by time yards checked and horses out.
THURSDAY
Day off, well needed. Unfortunately, come in to ride own horse to find a complaint that Thursday lessons are not being assessed till next week - try to explain that a day off is needed.
FRIDAY
Riding school closed. Own horse private lessons (3), do surfaces in prep for weekend, staff training, prepare Saturdays assessment sheets (busiest day with over 100 riders so takes a while). Finish 6.00p.m. ride two horses. Home 8p.m. Was meant to be admin day catching up with bookkeeping/wages - ooops.
SATUDAY
Start at 8, catch up with another member of staff who is in to cover lessons for assessments. Start assessing 9.30a.m, finish 4.30p.m. No time for lunch break as lessons on continually. Dash home at 5.00p.m. to drop dogs off, back for 5.45p.m to prepare for x-country demo. Quickly scribble some notes on what to talk about, as no time during week for prep. Demo starts 6.30p.m, runs till 8.30p.m. Seems to be a success. Have a nice BBQ in school after, enjoy a well deserved cider and look forward to day off next day.
So whilst we think the assessments are great and that its a good tool for everyone (including us), we're glad its only once a year!
The veterinary checks all went well - the first lot (Hagrid/Henry/Apache and Chance) show no athritis in their front feet, have good balance and have perhaps the start of athritis in their hocks (expected) so their hocks will now be medicated with steroids. The next lot will be x-rayed next month.
Thanks to everyone who attended the x-country demo, a turnout of 50 was pretty impressive in the pouring rain for an outdoor demo!
Thanks again!
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Assessments are coming!
So the assessments start this Sunday, 10th June - please don't be nervous about your assessment - we try to make it as nice an experience as possible! It is quite a difficult two weeks for the staff, so please be patient with your assessment! We can't confirm exactly what week out of the two your assessment will be, as it is dependant on a huge number of factors, but hopefully the following will explain it a bit more.
You will ride in your normal lesson, at your normal time - the only difference is that Sally will be sat somewhere in the school with a computer. You won't be expected to do anything different from normal, although depending on your standard, Sally may ask you some questions at some point in your lesson. After your lesson, you can leave as normal and then assessment forms will be available to collect from reception the next time you come for you lesson (they will be in reception with your name on the envelope). Its easier for us to hand out forms after the assessments are finished, but obviously if you have any questions about your assessment forms, then you can either ask Sally or your instructor, who will be happy to discuss it with you. You may need to move lesson, but only if Sally and your instructor feel that you would benefit more from another class - again, this will be discussed with you.
Please also remember that our assessments are not just to give you guys a grading, they also ensure that our lessons are set at the correct standard, our staff are teaching correctly and riders are keepimg their stable management up to date. Assessments should be looked at as a learning tool, and you should use the form/comments to help understand what you should be working on with your riding for the next 12 months.
So, enjoy it! And if you have a spare minute, why not make a coffee/tea for the isntructor/assessor, who have probably been sitting there for hours!!
- We have around 350 weekly riders. All of whom are due to be assessed.
- The majority of the assessments are done by Sally, to ensure consistency across the boad, and also because each assessment needs 2 members of staff (Sally to assess and another to teach/command).
- Between 4.00 and 6.30p.m. (and after 6.30p.m on a Monday) we have double lessons - one in small school and one in big school, it is very difficult for Sally to assess both at once, hence why it takes a fortnight. The same occurs at the weekends when we also have double lessons.
- We run lessons until 8p.m Mon - Thurs and all day Sat and Sun. This is a long week! Whilst the staff commit to extra hours during assessments (each does an extra late night to cover the double staff), Sally needs to do each late night assessment and both days at the weekend - its impossible to fit all this into one week.
You will ride in your normal lesson, at your normal time - the only difference is that Sally will be sat somewhere in the school with a computer. You won't be expected to do anything different from normal, although depending on your standard, Sally may ask you some questions at some point in your lesson. After your lesson, you can leave as normal and then assessment forms will be available to collect from reception the next time you come for you lesson (they will be in reception with your name on the envelope). Its easier for us to hand out forms after the assessments are finished, but obviously if you have any questions about your assessment forms, then you can either ask Sally or your instructor, who will be happy to discuss it with you. You may need to move lesson, but only if Sally and your instructor feel that you would benefit more from another class - again, this will be discussed with you.
Please also remember that our assessments are not just to give you guys a grading, they also ensure that our lessons are set at the correct standard, our staff are teaching correctly and riders are keepimg their stable management up to date. Assessments should be looked at as a learning tool, and you should use the form/comments to help understand what you should be working on with your riding for the next 12 months.
So, enjoy it! And if you have a spare minute, why not make a coffee/tea for the isntructor/assessor, who have probably been sitting there for hours!!
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
The rain has finally stopped!
Yipee! The rain has finally stopped, the sun has come out and the horses have finally gotten their rugs off! Its so nice to get out in the sand paddock and ride out round the fields again.
So, whats new at Oldfold? Well, we have a great hacking track now, which John kindly put up around the farm - it means that we can now ride a big loop round the whole farm through the haylage fields without having to get off and open gates or turn back, so thanks John! The track has a big puddle on it because of all the rain - some of the horses have been very funny and tried to avoid getting their feet wet, but most of the horses love it and go paddling happily.
Henry is now happily in lessons too - he is proving to be a real gentleman and very popular with the members who have been lucky to ride him so far. He will be staying out in the field with Reggie overnight for the foreseeable future, as they are great friends and both a bit too polite and posh to go in with Scrufty and Boyo!
We are also running a "livery" grid lesson on Tuesday 29th May at 6.00p.m. The lesson is limited to liveries on horses over 15.2h.h., but is a great opportunity for riding school members to come along and watch the grid lesson and learn a bit more about distances e.t.c.
We are also running a cross country demo on Saturday 16th June, at 6.30p.m. The idea is that we will show members how to walk a cross country course, how to ride different fences and there will be a variety of standards of guinea pig riding round. It will be a great fun evening, which the members committee are organising and there is a barbeque as well, so hopefully you guys will all be able to attend!
If you would like to come along on the evening, entry is for members only and is free - just add your name to the list in reception.
Thanks
So, whats new at Oldfold? Well, we have a great hacking track now, which John kindly put up around the farm - it means that we can now ride a big loop round the whole farm through the haylage fields without having to get off and open gates or turn back, so thanks John! The track has a big puddle on it because of all the rain - some of the horses have been very funny and tried to avoid getting their feet wet, but most of the horses love it and go paddling happily.
Henry is now happily in lessons too - he is proving to be a real gentleman and very popular with the members who have been lucky to ride him so far. He will be staying out in the field with Reggie overnight for the foreseeable future, as they are great friends and both a bit too polite and posh to go in with Scrufty and Boyo!
We are also running a "livery" grid lesson on Tuesday 29th May at 6.00p.m. The lesson is limited to liveries on horses over 15.2h.h., but is a great opportunity for riding school members to come along and watch the grid lesson and learn a bit more about distances e.t.c.
We are also running a cross country demo on Saturday 16th June, at 6.30p.m. The idea is that we will show members how to walk a cross country course, how to ride different fences and there will be a variety of standards of guinea pig riding round. It will be a great fun evening, which the members committee are organising and there is a barbeque as well, so hopefully you guys will all be able to attend!
If you would like to come along on the evening, entry is for members only and is free - just add your name to the list in reception.
Thanks
Friday, 4 May 2012
New horses settle in
Hi Everyone,
Its been a bit quiet on the Blog front as we've been busy getting the horses out for the summer and getting the new ones into work. So its well overdue for an update!
Firstly, the new horses have settled in well after a slightly longer than anticipated isolation - they ended up in isolation for nearly five weeks! However they're down onto the yard now and happily settled in.
Henry has become very good friends with Reggie - they are both a pair of gentlemans, stay in at nights and go out with each other during the day, so they have been enjoying each others company and feeling very posh seperated away from the rest of the school ones! Henry has been ridden quite a bit by Hannah and did his first lesson (flatwork) last Monday. He will now start to pick up his jumping work a bit more, but has settled in really well and seems to enjoy the environment in the riding school.
KoKo took slightly longer to settle as she is younger and greener, and had become very attached to Jazz after their five weeks together in isolation. She has now been ridden by Sally and Martin, and is going to be a project for Sian to ride for a while as Sian is keen to do a bit more riding and KoKo seems ideal as she has a nice quiet way of going. She can be a bit pushy in her stable, so we are working on her manners a little bit too before she will fully join lessons.
Aria is doing really well and being ridden most days by Martin in walk/trot/canter so she will soon start some pole/jumping work. She is a nice forward going mare to ride, so we are hoping that she will become one that our more advanced riders can enjoy in years to come.
Murphy disappointingly has gone lame again after his 3 months box rest and pen rest, so he is back in annoying everyone with his door kicking! There is no real treatment available for Murphy after rest, so we are hoping that he maybe just overdid it in his pen and will look better after some more box rest. Amazingly, he still hasn't lost any weight, although he is stabled and not getting any access to grass, but fingers crossed he will trim up soon.
Thats all for now!
Its been a bit quiet on the Blog front as we've been busy getting the horses out for the summer and getting the new ones into work. So its well overdue for an update!
Firstly, the new horses have settled in well after a slightly longer than anticipated isolation - they ended up in isolation for nearly five weeks! However they're down onto the yard now and happily settled in.
Henry has become very good friends with Reggie - they are both a pair of gentlemans, stay in at nights and go out with each other during the day, so they have been enjoying each others company and feeling very posh seperated away from the rest of the school ones! Henry has been ridden quite a bit by Hannah and did his first lesson (flatwork) last Monday. He will now start to pick up his jumping work a bit more, but has settled in really well and seems to enjoy the environment in the riding school.
KoKo took slightly longer to settle as she is younger and greener, and had become very attached to Jazz after their five weeks together in isolation. She has now been ridden by Sally and Martin, and is going to be a project for Sian to ride for a while as Sian is keen to do a bit more riding and KoKo seems ideal as she has a nice quiet way of going. She can be a bit pushy in her stable, so we are working on her manners a little bit too before she will fully join lessons.
Aria is doing really well and being ridden most days by Martin in walk/trot/canter so she will soon start some pole/jumping work. She is a nice forward going mare to ride, so we are hoping that she will become one that our more advanced riders can enjoy in years to come.
Murphy disappointingly has gone lame again after his 3 months box rest and pen rest, so he is back in annoying everyone with his door kicking! There is no real treatment available for Murphy after rest, so we are hoping that he maybe just overdid it in his pen and will look better after some more box rest. Amazingly, he still hasn't lost any weight, although he is stabled and not getting any access to grass, but fingers crossed he will trim up soon.
Thats all for now!
Monday, 19 March 2012
A very sad goodbye, but exciting hellos!
Firstly, some very sad news I'm afraid.... it seems we have an awful lot of sad news lately....
We had to have Melody, our 2 year old home bred filly put to sleep yesterday morning. Melody had been on the farm since she was a week old (she was born at our vets), and was our pride and joy. She lived in the hill field with her mum Belinda, and was always a happy, sweet and well behaved youngster. For some reason, on Friday morning, she decided to jump out of her field - she had been happily munching her hay with Belinda at 8.00 a.m. when Sally drove past to check the new horses, and by 10 past 8 she was standing on the track outside her field with a sore back leg. She was uncomfortable walking, so we called the vet immediately, who diagnosed a fractured tuber coxae (pelvic bone). These fractures have a fairly good prognosis, so Melody was given painkillers and taken down to her stable, given a deep bed and was happy in herself and eating well. She did well through Friday and Saturday, but lay down on Sunday morning and was sore when she tried to get up. We called the vet right away, and discussed her options - in order to get her up, we would have had to roll her over on her back onto her good hip, give her a lot of painkillers and then if we were successful in getting her up, she would have to be tied up for 4 - 6 weeks to prevent her lying down again. We decided that this would be too painful and too stressful for a 2 year old horse and that the best thing to do was to put her to sleep peacefully whilst she was lying down. Belinda is doing well, is in a stable for a few days and will hopefully go back out with some of the mares soon. It was a very sad day, as it is particularly difficult with a younger horse, but these horrible things happen if you work with horses for long enough.
Onto the more exciting news - Sally came back from Ireland last week having made 2 purchases for the school. She bought Henry, a 16.1h.h. chestnut 9 year old gelding, who has done a bit of everything and will be the new jumping horse for the staff/advanced riders to replace Timone. She also bought KoKo, an appalloosa 5 year old mare, who Apache was very excited to see walking up the farm! He is delighted that there is another spotty horse on the farm - particularly a lady!
KoKo will do quite a bit of training with the staff before she joins lessons, but she is a 15.3h.h. cob type, so will be useful for both adults and kids.
The new ones are currently in strict isolation as coming from a horse sale is high risk for diseases, and they have had a blood test taken already to test for strangles. They will have another blood test taken a week on Monday and if these are all clear, they will slowly be introduced to the farm.
We look forward to seeing them progress soon!
We had to have Melody, our 2 year old home bred filly put to sleep yesterday morning. Melody had been on the farm since she was a week old (she was born at our vets), and was our pride and joy. She lived in the hill field with her mum Belinda, and was always a happy, sweet and well behaved youngster. For some reason, on Friday morning, she decided to jump out of her field - she had been happily munching her hay with Belinda at 8.00 a.m. when Sally drove past to check the new horses, and by 10 past 8 she was standing on the track outside her field with a sore back leg. She was uncomfortable walking, so we called the vet immediately, who diagnosed a fractured tuber coxae (pelvic bone). These fractures have a fairly good prognosis, so Melody was given painkillers and taken down to her stable, given a deep bed and was happy in herself and eating well. She did well through Friday and Saturday, but lay down on Sunday morning and was sore when she tried to get up. We called the vet right away, and discussed her options - in order to get her up, we would have had to roll her over on her back onto her good hip, give her a lot of painkillers and then if we were successful in getting her up, she would have to be tied up for 4 - 6 weeks to prevent her lying down again. We decided that this would be too painful and too stressful for a 2 year old horse and that the best thing to do was to put her to sleep peacefully whilst she was lying down. Belinda is doing well, is in a stable for a few days and will hopefully go back out with some of the mares soon. It was a very sad day, as it is particularly difficult with a younger horse, but these horrible things happen if you work with horses for long enough.
Onto the more exciting news - Sally came back from Ireland last week having made 2 purchases for the school. She bought Henry, a 16.1h.h. chestnut 9 year old gelding, who has done a bit of everything and will be the new jumping horse for the staff/advanced riders to replace Timone. She also bought KoKo, an appalloosa 5 year old mare, who Apache was very excited to see walking up the farm! He is delighted that there is another spotty horse on the farm - particularly a lady!
KoKo will do quite a bit of training with the staff before she joins lessons, but she is a 15.3h.h. cob type, so will be useful for both adults and kids.
The new ones are currently in strict isolation as coming from a horse sale is high risk for diseases, and they have had a blood test taken already to test for strangles. They will have another blood test taken a week on Monday and if these are all clear, they will slowly be introduced to the farm.
We look forward to seeing them progress soon!
Friday, 2 March 2012
Sad days, but exciting times ahead
A sad day for us all today, as we had decided to have Archie and Timone put down. Logistically, we normally do this (if planned) on a Friday morning, as the yard is shut so it's nice and peaceful, and Sally is free to assist the vet with it, as it can be a difficult thing for the staff to deal with.
We had always planned to put Timone down in the Spring - he was never going to make a fully sound recovery to work from his athritis, and the treatment we gave him over the winter was to ensure he was comfortable and could have a few months retirement and time out at grass. The weather was so good this week, that we took advantage and gave him a few days out at grass with no rug on with Ben and Fuzby. He had a whale of a time, galloping about, bucking and generally enjoying himself, so we knew the time was right to put him to sleep this week, rather than delay it and risk him becoming lamer and uncomfortable again.
Archie had reached the grand old age of 35 years. Whilst most of you know him now as the old retired pony who we use as a companion, he was one of the best riding school ponies we had, and taught hundreds of kids to ride. He used to make us all laugh with his ability to poo (and stop for it) every 2 minutes, his timing of having a pee every time it was his turn to canter, and his dislike for coloured ponies, leading to him chasing poor Gemima round in lessons! Archie has had a great 4 years retired, but had grown a sarcoid (a cancerous wart) between his front legs. It had become bigger over the winter, and we didn't think it was fair to give him treatment for it that is often quite painful, so we felt the best thing to do was to put him to sleep before his health started to fail. He always behaved like a mini-stallion, so he'd have hated having to slow down if he had gotten stiffer and older.
On a brighter note, Aria is returning today from being backed and has already been ridden twice by Hannah who describes her as "strong and forward" - like mother, like daughter then! Belinda always liked to go forward!
Sally is also away to a horse sale in Ireland on Monday/Tues/Wed in search of a couple of jumping horses and perhaps a cob, so fingers crossed there are some suitable ponies over there! We'll keep you updated.
We had always planned to put Timone down in the Spring - he was never going to make a fully sound recovery to work from his athritis, and the treatment we gave him over the winter was to ensure he was comfortable and could have a few months retirement and time out at grass. The weather was so good this week, that we took advantage and gave him a few days out at grass with no rug on with Ben and Fuzby. He had a whale of a time, galloping about, bucking and generally enjoying himself, so we knew the time was right to put him to sleep this week, rather than delay it and risk him becoming lamer and uncomfortable again.
Archie had reached the grand old age of 35 years. Whilst most of you know him now as the old retired pony who we use as a companion, he was one of the best riding school ponies we had, and taught hundreds of kids to ride. He used to make us all laugh with his ability to poo (and stop for it) every 2 minutes, his timing of having a pee every time it was his turn to canter, and his dislike for coloured ponies, leading to him chasing poor Gemima round in lessons! Archie has had a great 4 years retired, but had grown a sarcoid (a cancerous wart) between his front legs. It had become bigger over the winter, and we didn't think it was fair to give him treatment for it that is often quite painful, so we felt the best thing to do was to put him to sleep before his health started to fail. He always behaved like a mini-stallion, so he'd have hated having to slow down if he had gotten stiffer and older.
On a brighter note, Aria is returning today from being backed and has already been ridden twice by Hannah who describes her as "strong and forward" - like mother, like daughter then! Belinda always liked to go forward!
Sally is also away to a horse sale in Ireland on Monday/Tues/Wed in search of a couple of jumping horses and perhaps a cob, so fingers crossed there are some suitable ponies over there! We'll keep you updated.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Vet has been again!
Poor little Murphy is broken - he came in lame on Tuesday and we had the vet to look at him on Friday, who booked for him to be x-rayed today (Monday). He was slightly lame on his right hind, which got worse when the vet flexed his fetlock area. X-rays showed that Murphy has a small fracture to one of his sesamoid bones (small round bones at back of fetlock) and our vet is going to refer the x-rays to another vet to find out the best treatment. There is a small chip of bone in the joint area, which may need to be removed, but we are hoping that with lengthy rest, Murphy will recover - we'll be keeping our fingers crossed until we hear back from the other vet though! We have no idea how Murphy did this - he has no cuts or anything on him, and very rarely moves at any speed in the field! But fingers crossed, and wishing him a speedy recovery. Apache was also lame, but it looks as though he just kicked himself in a lesson and he is much better today with the swelling down.
Murphy does seem to be enjoying his box rest though - he can't believe his luck that all he has to do is stand there, and everyone brings him his food and water and picks up his poo!
Murphy does seem to be enjoying his box rest though - he can't believe his luck that all he has to do is stand there, and everyone brings him his food and water and picks up his poo!
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Murphy is lame!
Murphy has gone lame! This is a phenomena! Murphy has never been lame in all the time we have had him - he has steel legs! We are hoping he just has a foot abcess so he is in with a little pink stable rug on (much to his disgust) and a poultice, which will hopefully make him feel better - poor old Murphy, although he will be enjoying the stable and hay!
The other horses are fitter now, after another weeks work so they have started doing some jumping. We are keeping the jumping quite simple with them this week so that they keep getting fitter slowly, but they are all enjoying themselves!
Just a little reminder as well for any riders who want to use their discount vouchers that they got in their Christmas presents - the block booking ones in particular have an expiry date on them, so make sure that you get them used in time!
Thanks
The other horses are fitter now, after another weeks work so they have started doing some jumping. We are keeping the jumping quite simple with them this week so that they keep getting fitter slowly, but they are all enjoying themselves!
Just a little reminder as well for any riders who want to use their discount vouchers that they got in their Christmas presents - the block booking ones in particular have an expiry date on them, so make sure that you get them used in time!
Thanks
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Happy New Year!
A Happy New Year to all our blog followers! We are all back at work now after a nice relaxing Xmas and New Year both for the staff and the horses and ponies. As you probably know, we close for four days each week over Xmas and New Year, so the horses and ponies all have a nice rest in the field with plenty of haylage, and we go onto skeleton staff numbers each day, so that the staff can have some extra time off.
Firstly, we hope everyone enjoyed the panto - it was really good fun, and everyone seemed to have a great night that came along to it. The videos worked well and all the horses behaved (apart from Murphy, who behaved like a stallion for the evening)! So a big thank you to all our staff for putting in the extra work getting ready for the panto and rehearsing.
The cough that was going round a few of the school horses appears to have cleared up now, so they're all much happier, but a little unfit after their time off over the festivities, so we're going to be doing flatwork only in the lessons this week to give them a chance to pick up a bit of fitness before they start jumping again. Abbey took the longest to get over her cough, and ended up having around 6 weeks off in total, so she is slowly puffing her way back into work with a bit of a belly to lose!
Reggie is doing well and is sound, apart from constantly pulling off his fancy sports shoes - the poor farrier has had to reattach one each week since he had them fitted - its not even when he's working, he pulls them off when we put him back in his stable and he turns round, so perhaps he needs to be a bit more organised with his feet!
Timone is pretty sound now, so we have gone back to open heeled shoes with him to see if he can get a couple of hours turnout each day (he can't be turned out in his round shoes) so we're keeping our fingers crossed that he can go on and have a bit of fun in the field now.
Aria is (fingers crossed she loads and travels well) meant to be going away to start her backing this week, so we'll report back with some pictures and things of how she's getting on once she is away and settled at Alisons.
We are having some staff changes at the end of January as well - Danny has finished his time training with us so will be moving on, and as Nic is his partner, she has decided to go too. We are interviewing next week for a new instructor and training student, and hopefully we'll find someone who fits in well with our team and enjoys teaching. We've had quite a few applicants, so its just a case of trying to find the right one.
Thats all for now!
Firstly, we hope everyone enjoyed the panto - it was really good fun, and everyone seemed to have a great night that came along to it. The videos worked well and all the horses behaved (apart from Murphy, who behaved like a stallion for the evening)! So a big thank you to all our staff for putting in the extra work getting ready for the panto and rehearsing.
The cough that was going round a few of the school horses appears to have cleared up now, so they're all much happier, but a little unfit after their time off over the festivities, so we're going to be doing flatwork only in the lessons this week to give them a chance to pick up a bit of fitness before they start jumping again. Abbey took the longest to get over her cough, and ended up having around 6 weeks off in total, so she is slowly puffing her way back into work with a bit of a belly to lose!
Reggie is doing well and is sound, apart from constantly pulling off his fancy sports shoes - the poor farrier has had to reattach one each week since he had them fitted - its not even when he's working, he pulls them off when we put him back in his stable and he turns round, so perhaps he needs to be a bit more organised with his feet!
Timone is pretty sound now, so we have gone back to open heeled shoes with him to see if he can get a couple of hours turnout each day (he can't be turned out in his round shoes) so we're keeping our fingers crossed that he can go on and have a bit of fun in the field now.
Aria is (fingers crossed she loads and travels well) meant to be going away to start her backing this week, so we'll report back with some pictures and things of how she's getting on once she is away and settled at Alisons.
We are having some staff changes at the end of January as well - Danny has finished his time training with us so will be moving on, and as Nic is his partner, she has decided to go too. We are interviewing next week for a new instructor and training student, and hopefully we'll find someone who fits in well with our team and enjoys teaching. We've had quite a few applicants, so its just a case of trying to find the right one.
Thats all for now!
Friday, 16 December 2011
Update on the sick, lame and lazy
Hi Everyone,
Thought it was time to update everyone on the horse health front, as we've certainly had our fair share of problems this year!
Timone has now had his final treatment (around 4 weeks ago) so it has been a long road of box rest, walking out in hand and turning him out in the school. He is wearing round shoes now, and he is not great at keeping shoes on in the field in the winter, so we decided he would have to come and live in to give him the best chance of keeping his shoes on. Timone doesn't mind this at all, as he loves being in with all the attention.
He is now being lunged - meant to be quietly, but he has his moments where he takes off bucking and he is far sounder than he was before treatment. Unfortunately, he is still not completely sound and although he is happy being ridden in walk and lunged, he is still unlevel on his right fore, so unable to do any more work at this point. We're hoping that he will come fully sound eventually, but at least we're at a stage where he's comfy, happy and enjoying himself rather than feeling sore. We don't have any concerns with him continuing like this into the New Year, till we see if he comes fully sound, so you need to keep your fingers crossed for him!
Onto Reggie - who developed a worrying looking crack on his left hind foot and then went lame in the field. We decided to x-ray his back feet to see what was causing the crack, and to see how his foot balance looked as Reggie has always suffered from having dreadful feet - they are small, flat and in poor condition, so it is always a battle for our poor farrier to get shoes on and keep him sound, as well as keep his feet looking good. The x-rays showed that Reggie had poor foot balance, with his pedal bone basically veering off to one side, which was the underlying cause of the crack. Luckily, the x-ray showed no pedal fracture, which we were concerned about and showed that if we could get his foot balance improved, the crack would hopefully go away.
The vet and farrier discussed Reggies shoeing, as he is more problematic than a horse with good foot condition, as he is unable to take wearing heavier metal shoes (such as heart bars). They decided that the best type of shoe for Reggie would be an imprint sports shoe (there are photos of them coming soon on our facebook page), which are made of moulded plastic and basically glue onto the foot. This gives the foot slightly more mobility, meaning that the painful crack can move rather than being fixed in place. After 2 days - what a result! Reggie is now sound and ready to work, although he has had a slight problem when he pulled the plastic shoe off his good foot in his stable! He must know they are very expensive.......
Holly and Abbey are suffering from a bit of a cough this week, we were a bit paranoid and called the vet right away when Holly started coughing, as Chloe had a cough a week before we lost her, but the vet seems confident that it is just a bug that is going round them. They are obviously off work, and on a broncho dilator drug, and Holly has improved already. We often get bugs like this going round the yard every couple of years, so it just needs kept an eye on - Holly and Abbey appear to be enjoying their extra time off!
Speaking of Chloe, some of you may be aware that we requested a post mortem be done on her because we lost her so suddenly with such strange symptoms. Normally, we don't do a post mortem as the cause is obvious and the vet has been involved since the beginning, however with Chloe, we wanted to absolutely rule out that it wasn't something the other horses could catch or suffer from.
Chloes bloods showed that she was having a huge immuno response to something, and more telling, she had blood in her spinal fluid, meaning that she was haemoraging bleeding into her brain, hence why she started fitting suddenly. We also sent her lung and liver tissue away for analysis, which showed that she hadn't been exposed to any toxins, but that she had been bleeding into all her major organs. Although we won't ever have a complete answer, it would appear that Chloe had some kind of very odd response to something which led to her developing a clotting problem, or that she had a large tumour in her lung or close, which basically ruptured.
Whilst it is not an exact answer, it puts our mind at rest that there is nothing more we could have done for Chloe, and that euthanasing her was the right decision in hindsight.
Hopefully our next blog will have less horse health issues!
Thought it was time to update everyone on the horse health front, as we've certainly had our fair share of problems this year!
Timone has now had his final treatment (around 4 weeks ago) so it has been a long road of box rest, walking out in hand and turning him out in the school. He is wearing round shoes now, and he is not great at keeping shoes on in the field in the winter, so we decided he would have to come and live in to give him the best chance of keeping his shoes on. Timone doesn't mind this at all, as he loves being in with all the attention.
He is now being lunged - meant to be quietly, but he has his moments where he takes off bucking and he is far sounder than he was before treatment. Unfortunately, he is still not completely sound and although he is happy being ridden in walk and lunged, he is still unlevel on his right fore, so unable to do any more work at this point. We're hoping that he will come fully sound eventually, but at least we're at a stage where he's comfy, happy and enjoying himself rather than feeling sore. We don't have any concerns with him continuing like this into the New Year, till we see if he comes fully sound, so you need to keep your fingers crossed for him!
Onto Reggie - who developed a worrying looking crack on his left hind foot and then went lame in the field. We decided to x-ray his back feet to see what was causing the crack, and to see how his foot balance looked as Reggie has always suffered from having dreadful feet - they are small, flat and in poor condition, so it is always a battle for our poor farrier to get shoes on and keep him sound, as well as keep his feet looking good. The x-rays showed that Reggie had poor foot balance, with his pedal bone basically veering off to one side, which was the underlying cause of the crack. Luckily, the x-ray showed no pedal fracture, which we were concerned about and showed that if we could get his foot balance improved, the crack would hopefully go away.
The vet and farrier discussed Reggies shoeing, as he is more problematic than a horse with good foot condition, as he is unable to take wearing heavier metal shoes (such as heart bars). They decided that the best type of shoe for Reggie would be an imprint sports shoe (there are photos of them coming soon on our facebook page), which are made of moulded plastic and basically glue onto the foot. This gives the foot slightly more mobility, meaning that the painful crack can move rather than being fixed in place. After 2 days - what a result! Reggie is now sound and ready to work, although he has had a slight problem when he pulled the plastic shoe off his good foot in his stable! He must know they are very expensive.......
Holly and Abbey are suffering from a bit of a cough this week, we were a bit paranoid and called the vet right away when Holly started coughing, as Chloe had a cough a week before we lost her, but the vet seems confident that it is just a bug that is going round them. They are obviously off work, and on a broncho dilator drug, and Holly has improved already. We often get bugs like this going round the yard every couple of years, so it just needs kept an eye on - Holly and Abbey appear to be enjoying their extra time off!
Speaking of Chloe, some of you may be aware that we requested a post mortem be done on her because we lost her so suddenly with such strange symptoms. Normally, we don't do a post mortem as the cause is obvious and the vet has been involved since the beginning, however with Chloe, we wanted to absolutely rule out that it wasn't something the other horses could catch or suffer from.
Chloes bloods showed that she was having a huge immuno response to something, and more telling, she had blood in her spinal fluid, meaning that she was haemoraging bleeding into her brain, hence why she started fitting suddenly. We also sent her lung and liver tissue away for analysis, which showed that she hadn't been exposed to any toxins, but that she had been bleeding into all her major organs. Although we won't ever have a complete answer, it would appear that Chloe had some kind of very odd response to something which led to her developing a clotting problem, or that she had a large tumour in her lung or close, which basically ruptured.
Whilst it is not an exact answer, it puts our mind at rest that there is nothing more we could have done for Chloe, and that euthanasing her was the right decision in hindsight.
Hopefully our next blog will have less horse health issues!
Friday, 9 December 2011
Crazy Weather!
Well, luckily we're all still here after the crazy gales that hit Aberdeen yesterday afternoon and evening. Obviously we had to cancel lessons, as we wanted to get all the staff home early and safely, but the horses are also much happier out in the field as they can work out what the noise is with the wind if they are outside - it is much scarier for them in the stable!
The evening managed to pass without incident, other than a slight panic when we thought the roof was blowing off the caravan...... We also lost the exhaust pipe off the tractor and one of the hay rings blew away, but thats pretty good considering how windy it was, and how much damage has been done elsewhere.
The horses had a nice couple of days off as we also had to cancel lessons on Wednesday because the yard was so icy - we couldn't get them in or out from the field, so they stayed cosy in their rugs munching at the hay bale.
We were going to moan about the weather, but then realised that this time last year, we were a foot deep in snow, and had already cancelled tonnes of lessons, so we're getting off lightly this year compared to last year.
The evening managed to pass without incident, other than a slight panic when we thought the roof was blowing off the caravan...... We also lost the exhaust pipe off the tractor and one of the hay rings blew away, but thats pretty good considering how windy it was, and how much damage has been done elsewhere.
The horses had a nice couple of days off as we also had to cancel lessons on Wednesday because the yard was so icy - we couldn't get them in or out from the field, so they stayed cosy in their rugs munching at the hay bale.
We were going to moan about the weather, but then realised that this time last year, we were a foot deep in snow, and had already cancelled tonnes of lessons, so we're getting off lightly this year compared to last year.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Sad Days, and Xmas excitement
Hi Everyone,
A sad blog today I'm afraid - some of you may be aware that we had to have Chloe put to sleep last Monday - which was a real shock, and very difficult for our staff to deal with.
Chloe had a slight cough a week previously, which was treated with anti-biotics, and when the vet examined her she had some fluid on her lungs. She responded well to the anti-biotics and by last Monday was allowed out in the field for a few hours. She had a lovely day out with Aria, and was in really good health, galloping about the field. She came in around 5p.m. and appeared to have some type of seizure in her stable around twenty minutes later. We called the vet as an emergency, who sedated and thoroughly examined Chloe, but she had such a range of odd symptoms, she was very difficult to diagnose. Whilst the vet was there, her seizures became more regular, with less time in between and she was becoming extremely distressed.
We took the sad decision to put Chloe down - a horse having seizures is obviously extremely dangerous for both the vet and the staff to deal with, and there was no way of controlling it or helping Chloe. We decided that we would carry out a post mortem on Chloe, to ensure that whatever had gone wrong with her was not a danger to any other horses.
Chloes blood results showed that she had a big immunoresponse to something, so had some type of virus, and also that she was bleeding into her brain, which was the reason for the seizures. Luckily, it happened in her stable rather than when she was loose in the field, which could obviously have had catastrophic results. We're just glad that Chloe was with our staff, who all adore her at the end, and that we were able to soothe her and make sure her last couple of hours were as peaceful as possible. It would appear that Chloe was just very unlucky and had an odd response to her cough/virus, which then flared up when she finished her anti-biotics. Chloe was with us for over five years, and was one of the sweetest, nicest horses we have ever had the pleasure of owning. She taught our staff a phenomenal amount towards their Stage exams, and was always very popular for jumping lessons - so RIP Chloe, we hope you're up there with Pumba galloping about the fields and having fun.
On a happier note, we have decided to do a game show/panto this year. "The Equine X Factor" is on Thursday 22nd December at 7.30p.m and involves all the staff and many of the members basically making a fool of themselves! So, if you want to come along and laugh at us all, then make sure you get your tickets soon as we can only sell limited numbers due to the limited space in the school. Tickets cost £5 for children, £7 for adults and £12 for families (up to 2 adults and 3 children).
Hope to see you all there!
A sad blog today I'm afraid - some of you may be aware that we had to have Chloe put to sleep last Monday - which was a real shock, and very difficult for our staff to deal with.
Chloe had a slight cough a week previously, which was treated with anti-biotics, and when the vet examined her she had some fluid on her lungs. She responded well to the anti-biotics and by last Monday was allowed out in the field for a few hours. She had a lovely day out with Aria, and was in really good health, galloping about the field. She came in around 5p.m. and appeared to have some type of seizure in her stable around twenty minutes later. We called the vet as an emergency, who sedated and thoroughly examined Chloe, but she had such a range of odd symptoms, she was very difficult to diagnose. Whilst the vet was there, her seizures became more regular, with less time in between and she was becoming extremely distressed.
We took the sad decision to put Chloe down - a horse having seizures is obviously extremely dangerous for both the vet and the staff to deal with, and there was no way of controlling it or helping Chloe. We decided that we would carry out a post mortem on Chloe, to ensure that whatever had gone wrong with her was not a danger to any other horses.
Chloes blood results showed that she had a big immunoresponse to something, so had some type of virus, and also that she was bleeding into her brain, which was the reason for the seizures. Luckily, it happened in her stable rather than when she was loose in the field, which could obviously have had catastrophic results. We're just glad that Chloe was with our staff, who all adore her at the end, and that we were able to soothe her and make sure her last couple of hours were as peaceful as possible. It would appear that Chloe was just very unlucky and had an odd response to her cough/virus, which then flared up when she finished her anti-biotics. Chloe was with us for over five years, and was one of the sweetest, nicest horses we have ever had the pleasure of owning. She taught our staff a phenomenal amount towards their Stage exams, and was always very popular for jumping lessons - so RIP Chloe, we hope you're up there with Pumba galloping about the fields and having fun.
On a happier note, we have decided to do a game show/panto this year. "The Equine X Factor" is on Thursday 22nd December at 7.30p.m and involves all the staff and many of the members basically making a fool of themselves! So, if you want to come along and laugh at us all, then make sure you get your tickets soon as we can only sell limited numbers due to the limited space in the school. Tickets cost £5 for children, £7 for adults and £12 for families (up to 2 adults and 3 children).
Hope to see you all there!
Friday, 4 November 2011
Fireworks Fear!
Hi Everyone! How exciting that its bonfire night tomorrow........ only not so exciting for us horses! We're pretty scared of fireworks, and each year it seems to get a bit worse with more and more fireworks set off around us. Some of the older horses are quite calm about it, and just keep munching their hay, but some of us get so stressed out we need to be sedated by the vet.
We understand that everyone enjoys fireworks night, but wish that people would go to an organised display, or at least let us know if they are going to put fireworks off next to us - so that we can get our ear plugs in and have our staff with us to keep us happy. Unfortunately lots of people don't think to say, so whilst they are having fun in their gardens round Milltimber, us lot are quaking in fear at the farm!
We had several incidents last year when the nursing home at Tornadee (right next door to the paddock) decided to have a big fireworks display. Unfortunately, they decided that the best place to set their fireworks off was behind the wall next to the paddock, so the fireworks came flying over the paddock and the stables that are beside them. We had to call the vet for one horse, and two of the school mares cut their legs as they were in the field beside Tornadee and were galloping about in a blind panic. We contacted the home after the fireworks display to explain the problem, and ask if they could avoid doing it the next year. They agreed that they would discuss it at a meeting and let us know asap if they intended to do a display again in 2011.
Unfortunately, they decided that it was best to have another display this year, despite several polite letters from us and us offering to go and explain to the residents why it is so scary for livestock. Luckily, the new owners of the site have agreed that it is far more sensible to have the display at the Western boundary of their property, rather than over our paddock, so that is a help at least. Having spoken to the council and the police over the last year about it, it is worrying that there is no legislation in place to prevent people letting fireworks off right next door to livestock, but we will just need to keep our fingers crossed that the horses cope tonight and tomorrow night. We have sedation, radios and staff at the ready to deal with it!
More refreshingly, Albyn School PTA have been excellent, and wrote us a very informative letter detailing exactly when their display was at the Milltimber playing fields, which makes it much easier for us to prepare for it. If only everyone thought to do this, life would be a lot easier for our furry friends at this time of year!
On a sadder note, Timone does not seem to be responding well to his recent treatment and medication for his athritis - he is now lame again when being ridden, so we have taken him into his stable and will get Mark to come and see him when he returns from his holiday, as he assessed Timone in the first place. We're not willing to put Timone through having more and more treatment, as he is 15 years old now, and has been a really good horse for us - we think he's owe either a good retirement, or to be put to sleep, so will take the vets advice when he returns and keep everyone updated.
Thats all for now!
oh - nearly forgot! Martin has bought himself a horse from Ireland! Its in isolation at the moment, but is called Bailey and is a big 16.2h.h. chestnut gelding of Irish Draft cross. He's very handsome, and unbacked so you will all see Martin doing lots of lunging and long reining over the next few days and weeks before he jumps onboard!
thanks
We understand that everyone enjoys fireworks night, but wish that people would go to an organised display, or at least let us know if they are going to put fireworks off next to us - so that we can get our ear plugs in and have our staff with us to keep us happy. Unfortunately lots of people don't think to say, so whilst they are having fun in their gardens round Milltimber, us lot are quaking in fear at the farm!
We had several incidents last year when the nursing home at Tornadee (right next door to the paddock) decided to have a big fireworks display. Unfortunately, they decided that the best place to set their fireworks off was behind the wall next to the paddock, so the fireworks came flying over the paddock and the stables that are beside them. We had to call the vet for one horse, and two of the school mares cut their legs as they were in the field beside Tornadee and were galloping about in a blind panic. We contacted the home after the fireworks display to explain the problem, and ask if they could avoid doing it the next year. They agreed that they would discuss it at a meeting and let us know asap if they intended to do a display again in 2011.
Unfortunately, they decided that it was best to have another display this year, despite several polite letters from us and us offering to go and explain to the residents why it is so scary for livestock. Luckily, the new owners of the site have agreed that it is far more sensible to have the display at the Western boundary of their property, rather than over our paddock, so that is a help at least. Having spoken to the council and the police over the last year about it, it is worrying that there is no legislation in place to prevent people letting fireworks off right next door to livestock, but we will just need to keep our fingers crossed that the horses cope tonight and tomorrow night. We have sedation, radios and staff at the ready to deal with it!
More refreshingly, Albyn School PTA have been excellent, and wrote us a very informative letter detailing exactly when their display was at the Milltimber playing fields, which makes it much easier for us to prepare for it. If only everyone thought to do this, life would be a lot easier for our furry friends at this time of year!
On a sadder note, Timone does not seem to be responding well to his recent treatment and medication for his athritis - he is now lame again when being ridden, so we have taken him into his stable and will get Mark to come and see him when he returns from his holiday, as he assessed Timone in the first place. We're not willing to put Timone through having more and more treatment, as he is 15 years old now, and has been a really good horse for us - we think he's owe either a good retirement, or to be put to sleep, so will take the vets advice when he returns and keep everyone updated.
Thats all for now!
oh - nearly forgot! Martin has bought himself a horse from Ireland! Its in isolation at the moment, but is called Bailey and is a big 16.2h.h. chestnut gelding of Irish Draft cross. He's very handsome, and unbacked so you will all see Martin doing lots of lunging and long reining over the next few days and weeks before he jumps onboard!
thanks
Friday, 21 October 2011
Wintery Update
BRRRRRrrrrr! Its freezing! We can't believe how much the weather has changed in the last 2 weeks - we have gone from naked horses in the field enjoying the sun, to horses fully rugged with haylage out in their fields to keep them warm.
So whats new at the yard?
Well, firstly there is some sad news. Many of you will know Sarge, one of the livery horses that was owned by Alison and had been with us for years. Sarge sadly passed away in his stable three weeks ago, with a (presumed) heart attack. It was a very quick, peaceful way for Sarge to go, as he knew nothing about it and was happily munching his hay, but our thoughts are obviously with Alison, who had to deal with the shock of losing her best pal so quickly. Alison was very mature in how she dealt with it however, and we are all very proud of her.
We also said a sad goodbye to Deano this month, another livery. Deano had a condition known as "kissing spine" which is basically athritis of the spine. The verterbrae develop new bone at the top, and then touch together when the horse moves, causing obvious pain. Whilst kissing spine is normally treatable, Deano had a very advanced case of it, where his entire spine was practically fused together. Unfortunately, Deano showed no signs or symptoms of the disease until around 5 months ago, at which point he was x-rayed, his spine was medicated and then he was sent to Glasgow for an operation to remove the problematic vertebrae tips. Unfortunately, when they opened Deano up, they discovered that it was far worse than even the x-rays showed, however he was given a chance, he had the operation and then returned home. On his return, it became obvious that he was in quite a bit of pain, so after pain medication from the vet, his owner Tracy made the sad decision to have him put to sleep, as there was no other option for him and we felt he didn't deserve to go through the pain anymore. Tracy did absolutely everything available to Deano, but unfortunately he just shows that however good veterinary science gets, horses still have a way of breaking and not mending. Deano was very lucky in that he had every option available to him, however even with all options, the best decision was still to put him to sleep.
Onto some happier new now! The AGM was popular, with over 30 members attending to hear the accuonts talk and a demo on "indoor x-country", Miro enjoyed doing the demo greatly and showed off by trying to take off and jump everything faster than he was meant to. We had some good suggestions at the AGM, and it was a nice chance for members to catch up with everyone.
We have also booked Aria in to go away and get backed over the winter as she is now 3 yrs old. We have lunged her, long reined her, put on rollers and saddles and she has been very good with all of it, however we have decided that it is fairer to Aria to go away to be backed so that she can be given the time she needs and the regularity of work as we are struggling to get to her each day. Young horses thrive on routine and regular learning, so we hope that in sending her to a professional who has time for her each day, she will have the best start to her ridden career. Although Aria broke her leg as a yearling, it appears to be standing up to the work of lunging, so we are hoping she will remain sound through her backing. She is going to Alison West, who runs West Eventing and has a great reputation for starting youngsters.
Thats all for now
Thanks
So whats new at the yard?
Well, firstly there is some sad news. Many of you will know Sarge, one of the livery horses that was owned by Alison and had been with us for years. Sarge sadly passed away in his stable three weeks ago, with a (presumed) heart attack. It was a very quick, peaceful way for Sarge to go, as he knew nothing about it and was happily munching his hay, but our thoughts are obviously with Alison, who had to deal with the shock of losing her best pal so quickly. Alison was very mature in how she dealt with it however, and we are all very proud of her.
We also said a sad goodbye to Deano this month, another livery. Deano had a condition known as "kissing spine" which is basically athritis of the spine. The verterbrae develop new bone at the top, and then touch together when the horse moves, causing obvious pain. Whilst kissing spine is normally treatable, Deano had a very advanced case of it, where his entire spine was practically fused together. Unfortunately, Deano showed no signs or symptoms of the disease until around 5 months ago, at which point he was x-rayed, his spine was medicated and then he was sent to Glasgow for an operation to remove the problematic vertebrae tips. Unfortunately, when they opened Deano up, they discovered that it was far worse than even the x-rays showed, however he was given a chance, he had the operation and then returned home. On his return, it became obvious that he was in quite a bit of pain, so after pain medication from the vet, his owner Tracy made the sad decision to have him put to sleep, as there was no other option for him and we felt he didn't deserve to go through the pain anymore. Tracy did absolutely everything available to Deano, but unfortunately he just shows that however good veterinary science gets, horses still have a way of breaking and not mending. Deano was very lucky in that he had every option available to him, however even with all options, the best decision was still to put him to sleep.
Onto some happier new now! The AGM was popular, with over 30 members attending to hear the accuonts talk and a demo on "indoor x-country", Miro enjoyed doing the demo greatly and showed off by trying to take off and jump everything faster than he was meant to. We had some good suggestions at the AGM, and it was a nice chance for members to catch up with everyone.
We have also booked Aria in to go away and get backed over the winter as she is now 3 yrs old. We have lunged her, long reined her, put on rollers and saddles and she has been very good with all of it, however we have decided that it is fairer to Aria to go away to be backed so that she can be given the time she needs and the regularity of work as we are struggling to get to her each day. Young horses thrive on routine and regular learning, so we hope that in sending her to a professional who has time for her each day, she will have the best start to her ridden career. Although Aria broke her leg as a yearling, it appears to be standing up to the work of lunging, so we are hoping she will remain sound through her backing. She is going to Alison West, who runs West Eventing and has a great reputation for starting youngsters.
Thats all for now
Thanks
Monday, 26 September 2011
Club AGM
Hi Everyone,
Just a quick note to let you know that the club AGM has been set for Tuesday 4th October at 7.30p.m. at the stables. The AGM will take the same format as last year, where Sally will do a 20 - 30 minute talk on the accounts and the year past/ahead and then we will give an educational demo. This years demo is:
"How to get yourself and your horse ready for x-country - indoors".
After the demo, the meeting takes an open floor format where members can make suggestions/chat to the directors or voting members.
Hopefully we'll see lots of you there - if you want to attend (members only) then you can add your name to the list in reception so we know how many seats we need.
Thanks
Just a quick note to let you know that the club AGM has been set for Tuesday 4th October at 7.30p.m. at the stables. The AGM will take the same format as last year, where Sally will do a 20 - 30 minute talk on the accounts and the year past/ahead and then we will give an educational demo. This years demo is:
"How to get yourself and your horse ready for x-country - indoors".
After the demo, the meeting takes an open floor format where members can make suggestions/chat to the directors or voting members.
Hopefully we'll see lots of you there - if you want to attend (members only) then you can add your name to the list in reception so we know how many seats we need.
Thanks
Monday, 19 September 2011
Winter fast approaching
How depressing - we moved the horses to their winter fields today. Its depressing because it doesnt' seem like 2 minutes ago we were moving them to their summer fields - summer in the North East seems to be getting shorter and shorter (and wetter and wetter!).
We have also started using the haylage we have made now as quite a few liveries are now in for winter, and it is lovely stuff - the horses seem to be enjoying it a lot! We don't put haylage into the fields yet, as there is still plenty of grass, but come October, it will be time to get the feeders out to the fields again and then the huge task of supplying hay to all the fields starts - we'll be a bit sick of the sight of the tractor by the end of it!
The new riding prices were also implemented in September, and that all seems to go smoothly - hopefully all our members understand that we need to put a price increase in every couple of years to ensure that the club remains solvent and that we can afford to get the best equipment for everyone and afford to give our staff good training - we still think its very good value for money, and it would seem the BHS would agree as we were recently graded as "highly commended" in our inspection.
Some bad news on the horse front this month though - Timone started to go lame in front around 3 weeks ago, so we booked in in for an examination by the vet. The vet did nerve blocks on his right fore - nerve blocks are where the vet anaesthitises specific areas of the leg in order to diagnose where the lameness is coming from. Timone blocked out to his foot, and then when lunged looked a little unlevel on his left fore. The end result was that we booked him in for x-rays of both front legs to investigate the cause of his lameness. He was x-rayed last week and the x-rays confirmed our suspicions that he had low ringbone. Ringbone is athritis in the joint and in low ringbone cases it is athritis of the coffin joint, which is inside the hoof. Timone had a fairly hard jumping career in Europe before he came to join us and has worked really well with us in the school, so at 15 its no surprise that he has developed some type of athritis.
The prognosis is not brilliant for ringbone - the vet has injected the joint with steroids and he will be ridden in a few weeks to assess his soundness. We're hoping that the medication will make him sound enough that he can work through the winter, then be retired in the Spring and probably put to sleep at the end of next summer as we're not willing to keep going with him if he can't be made comfortable in the field. Hopefully the medication will work, as we don't want him to retire over the winter - we'd rather he could retire and enjoy a nice summer out at grass as a reward for his hard work.
Right, think thats all the updates for just now!
We have also started using the haylage we have made now as quite a few liveries are now in for winter, and it is lovely stuff - the horses seem to be enjoying it a lot! We don't put haylage into the fields yet, as there is still plenty of grass, but come October, it will be time to get the feeders out to the fields again and then the huge task of supplying hay to all the fields starts - we'll be a bit sick of the sight of the tractor by the end of it!
The new riding prices were also implemented in September, and that all seems to go smoothly - hopefully all our members understand that we need to put a price increase in every couple of years to ensure that the club remains solvent and that we can afford to get the best equipment for everyone and afford to give our staff good training - we still think its very good value for money, and it would seem the BHS would agree as we were recently graded as "highly commended" in our inspection.
Some bad news on the horse front this month though - Timone started to go lame in front around 3 weeks ago, so we booked in in for an examination by the vet. The vet did nerve blocks on his right fore - nerve blocks are where the vet anaesthitises specific areas of the leg in order to diagnose where the lameness is coming from. Timone blocked out to his foot, and then when lunged looked a little unlevel on his left fore. The end result was that we booked him in for x-rays of both front legs to investigate the cause of his lameness. He was x-rayed last week and the x-rays confirmed our suspicions that he had low ringbone. Ringbone is athritis in the joint and in low ringbone cases it is athritis of the coffin joint, which is inside the hoof. Timone had a fairly hard jumping career in Europe before he came to join us and has worked really well with us in the school, so at 15 its no surprise that he has developed some type of athritis.
The prognosis is not brilliant for ringbone - the vet has injected the joint with steroids and he will be ridden in a few weeks to assess his soundness. We're hoping that the medication will make him sound enough that he can work through the winter, then be retired in the Spring and probably put to sleep at the end of next summer as we're not willing to keep going with him if he can't be made comfortable in the field. Hopefully the medication will work, as we don't want him to retire over the winter - we'd rather he could retire and enjoy a nice summer out at grass as a reward for his hard work.
Right, think thats all the updates for just now!
Friday, 12 August 2011
Catching up
Lots of stuff to catch up on as our blog has been broken, so we've been unable to update anything! Anyway, here goes...
We now have 260 bales of haylage wrapped and ready to munch! We are taking a second cut of haylage off the cow fields in order to try and save a bit of money by not having to buy in as much from elsewhere to supplement our own home grown stuff.
We are also raising the price of lessons by £2 as of the 1st September - we've held off having a price rise for nearly 2 years, but unfortunately needs must now and we're experiencing such higher costs, we have no alternative but to increase the price of lessons - however hopefully everyone can see the massive improvements we're making at the moment, with the new shower bay for horses and the x-country jumps.
The x-country jumps are now pegged and ready for use in the field - the bumps that we built will be out of action until next year as we are reseeding them with grass and the ditches are not quite finished yet as we're waiting for the wood to support them. A few of our liveries have already enjoyed using them.
We also said goodbye to Aero this morning as she was put to sleep. We had always planned to put Aero to sleep at the end of this summer as we thought she was struggling a bit last winter, and after a few years retirement, she was ready to go. So big thanks to Aero, who has been a great horse over the years both in the riding school originally, then working as granny to our foals in her later retired years.
We now have 260 bales of haylage wrapped and ready to munch! We are taking a second cut of haylage off the cow fields in order to try and save a bit of money by not having to buy in as much from elsewhere to supplement our own home grown stuff.
We are also raising the price of lessons by £2 as of the 1st September - we've held off having a price rise for nearly 2 years, but unfortunately needs must now and we're experiencing such higher costs, we have no alternative but to increase the price of lessons - however hopefully everyone can see the massive improvements we're making at the moment, with the new shower bay for horses and the x-country jumps.
The x-country jumps are now pegged and ready for use in the field - the bumps that we built will be out of action until next year as we are reseeding them with grass and the ditches are not quite finished yet as we're waiting for the wood to support them. A few of our liveries have already enjoyed using them.
We also said goodbye to Aero this morning as she was put to sleep. We had always planned to put Aero to sleep at the end of this summer as we thought she was struggling a bit last winter, and after a few years retirement, she was ready to go. So big thanks to Aero, who has been a great horse over the years both in the riding school originally, then working as granny to our foals in her later retired years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)