forgetting what my ponies look like!?

Bonjour mes amis, cava!? I am bored, therefore I am writing a blog, figures right? And also, I'm in a jolly mood as I got to see my ponies for the first time since Monday today which obviously put a huge smile on my face! I am pleased to report they are all well and good and still have four legs, phew, although Sparkie's mane is desperate need of hogging(I am seriously OCD with that crazy ginger mane!). Hopefully tomorrow I will ride him for the first time in three weeks, as well as tackling his mane...wish me luck, it is most likely needed, although I do plan to lunge him for at least five minutes first! I really don't have anything interesting to write, I am just so bored, sigh... have just finished reading the Perks of Being a Wallflower, which I recommend to all book-loving people! I also recommend you go listen to Kodaline and have a little cry, you will feel a lot better for it... that is all I guess. 
Beth, Sparkie, Jack & Carling! xxx

& finally, Mr Jack.

I was meant to write this sooner, BUT,But,but, I have been very poorly and laptop/signalness in the good ol' countryside that is my Dad's house..so I do apoligise. Oh and I've been busy reading the Hunger Games again and crying over Finnick's death AGAIN, but that's not quite as legitimate a reason...oops. So the final part of the current story-my baby pony. I've only owned him, what, a year and 6 months!?, so there isn't too much too fill you in I don't think, but he's had his fair share of moments that deserve a mention and is probably the best £500 I will ever spend, so here goes!

Ceridon Gold Dust/Jack

 It's pretty simple really. Me and one of my best friends from school went up the yard to ride Sparkie and saw there was a new pony in the stable opposite! He was curled up asleep, was very babyish looking and had a long flazen mane and tail and as cheesey as this sounds, we just fell in love with him.

He was such an over friendly pony in the field, always following you around and playing with the other horses, it's hard not to love him really. Together we came up with about a million different plans on how we could buy Jack and share him between this, which is quite funny thinking about it now...we wanted him even then!

The second time I ever saw Jack however, was something I probably won't forget, haha! Me and a friend from the yard heard a horse whinnying and kicking, so went round the corner to check it out. Jack was in his stable, kicking the door and trotting round in circles scaling up the door...we were sure he wouldn't jump, it was about 3ft6ish right?But then I saw him turn to the back of the stable, take one canter stride towards the door and then he was over, slipped, fell on his side, jumped back up and trotted towards me looking rather pleased with himself! All Kayla said to me was "well you know it can jump now!" I remember another day going down the field and he was lying down next to Carling. I sat down, he put his head on my knee and fell back to sleep and (again cheeseyness, but I don't know how else to put this!) I knew there was something really special drawing me to this little pony. 2011 had been a really tough year, I'd lost what I knew to be the normal definition for 'family', two of my cats and sold a little pony that meant the world to me and I was starting to consider putting Sparkie on loan to get a bigger horse. I'm not scared to admit, I was an absolute mess and in a way, the right oppurtinity came along at the right time, something to say, 'do you know what, there is still something left out there'.  Jack came up for sale and on the 11th October 2011, I collected his passport.

First challenge was teaching him the basics. Obviously he'd already been taught, but he'd been turned out all summer and I was a new person. It took six weeks before he'd even stand properly to have his feet done! And tying him up was a nightmare...as soon as I went round the corner, even if my mum was there with him, he'd simply pull back and rear up until the rope broke and then follow me around the yard! Put him in the stable and he'd dig every last part of the bed up and throw it against the wall, kick the door and try to climb the door, whinnying and screaming until someone took him out. A few times I did think, 'what have I brought!?'. But then suddenly he calmed down. Too suddenly. Even now I don't feel like going until full details, but I can you I will never, ever forgive myself for the mistake I made, for being just a few weeks late. It seemed like a week, even days that went from me having a cheeky little 2yo to a pony that looked like he was going to drop dead any moment. Because that's the reality-I thought he was going to die. He was skin and bones and it took him about an hour to eat one bucket of food. It was one of the most awful things I've ever been through, especially knowing it was my fault-I convinced myself I never deserved to own horses ever again.

But Jack wasn't giving up on us that easily and I am so, so grateful for that miracle. The first day I lead him in and he trotted off and jogged at the end of the lead rope, I cried with happiness-there was some life in him! 

Slowly, but surely, I got my pony back. He went from being skin and bones, to very definitely 'plump' to put it politely, his coat shone and he began to grow again. He started to trust me again and I built a bond up with him, which even now seems to get stronger all the time. Every time he whinnies too me(which is about 5 times a day, he likes to make himself very clearly heard -_-) it brings a smile to my face! In May 2012, I sat on him for the first time. I've worked with a couple of youngsters and for me, there is honestly no better feeling than sitting on a young horse's back for the first time, it's such a sense of achievement and trust, especially after everything that happened when there were points in which I thought I'd never get that moment. He didn't even bat any eyelid! I do have a picture, but my Mum has banned it from the internet due to my lack of hat (#YOLO), woops... Seriously, I don't know why I didn't have a hat on, um!? After that, I started getting him used to tack and lunging etc...he was a star!! There were still moments when I doubted myself or others doubted me, which there's always going to be with young horses. Like when he came from the field crippled, on three legs, and then proceed to suddenly remember he had four legs actually and rear across the yard away from the vet. Or like when he wouldn't want forwards, just backwards, threatening to rear. 

It seemed like I spent ages just trying to get him to take one little step..but then we he did, there was no stopping him, he was off! I was riding him in the indoor by myself one night(not the wisest idea, I know!) when suddenly a bird flew out at us across the school. He jumped into a canter, which was a shock seeing as we hadn't even mastered trot yet, and bronced, I felt myself slipping and fell onto his neck and then he just stopped and shoved his neck up, putting my back in the saddle-that moment defined to me just why I love this horse. I remember being SO excited when we had our first trot and telling my mum we were just going to walk and do the odd trot for a while until he could do everything really well...within the next week we were cantering, no bucks, no napping or anything! 

The first time I ever took him in an open field (4/5 acres!) he did walk, trot and canter, no problem, minus the odd nap here and there. After that he seemed even better, although I didn't think that was possible! Riding in the field had made him more independent  so he no longer clung to the arena walls and was doing circles, serpentines, figures of eight... By the end of summer 2012, he did walk, trot, canter on the correct leg, in any school or field on the yard, had walked over a motorway bridge, past a tractor, done trotting poles. On one of my last rides before turning him away at the summer, I took him to school in the field and at the end, let him gallop up the long side as a reward...as always he was fab and loved it! I honestly am so, so lucky to have such a lovely little horse to work with, he is amazing. Someone one day told me that 'I'd done a really good job with him' and that's when I started to realise that the whole process with Jack is the proudest thing I have ever achieved. The one thing that I can look back at and say 'hey, I didn't do too bad there'. Once again, he has given me something to hold on to, to keep me sane. Obviously part of it is the fact that he's a 3yo with the brain of a 30yo, but I like to think that some of it is my work! 

Obviously it doesn't end there and it's no all happy happy, unicorns and rainbows. There's his first show, where he had a trailer accident, which was awful. But as usual, he did this thing he does, where he makes me smile no matter how dark the situation appears. I had a panic attack day after seeing him collapsed, helpless in the trailer, but he then went and behaved like an absolute star when we to lead him back. He has most definitely earned his nickname of 'Liability Pony'. A few weeks after the show, he put his leg through a gate and sliced his fetlock off..typical Jack eh! And he's not always an angel. He can be an absolute pain to catch one day, stand at the gate whinnying a greeting the next! But my Dad did point out just the other day how much calmer he is now... he'll stay in his stable all day and night without even thinking about kicking the door and stands quietly tied up outside to be tacked up or for the farrier or even..shock horror..to be left by himself for a minute! He even let us pull his mane the other, something that would have been a whole day job a year ago.. I can't believe how much he has grown up from a straggly pony, to a still-rather-scruffy-but-potentially-beautiful little horse, standing at 14.3hh and still growing... I don't know where the futures going to lead us, but if it's anything like last summer, then wow, bring it on! 

so, it turned out there was a lot more to write than I ever imagined...I'm sorry for all that guys, hehe!
Beth, Sparkie, Jack & Carling xxx

my favourite little pony.

off school feeling very poorly! :( which is why I didn't write this yesterday, but once again, it's time for a story..Sparkie's turn this time! so, get yourself a cup of tea, sit down and I will tell you all about my little star of a pony...*prepare for some cheesyness, I do apoligise*

Sparkle/Iris's Sparkle

On the 8th July 2008, I was asked by a friend of a friend to go up to ride two ponies that were in need of a rider-Sparkle & Gwennie. The first time I met Sparkie he was a just turned 4yo, whose face was bleeding and cracked all over from sweetitch. It took four people to put his bridle on because his ears were so sore that if you tried to touch them he would rear straight up. I remember think that after coming off an 11.1hh who struggled to canter a whole lap of the arena before running out of steam and trying to buck me off, that he seemed huge. I told my mum that he felt like a 'proper showjumping pony'. I'd been riding him for about a month when he came up for sale- we got first refusal on him. Sadly, a few weeks before this, my great, great Aunty Iris had passed away and had left some money to me and my brother. I brought Sparkie for £1500 and paid every penny for him myself with this money-hence the name 'Iris's Sparkle'. On the 4th August 2008, we brought him home.

I can't lie, a 12 year old girl buying a very green 4yo probably wasn't the best idea. At our first show, we ran over the judges twice(they were not most pleased) and he took off with me all over the place, even though he was the bottom ring of his gag. By January, I was seriously considering selling him to someone more experienced. I couldn't go any faster than a trot because I was too scared to canter him because he'd just bolt with me. On the ground he was horrible. He was so naughty for biting.. he'd quite literally charged at people across the field and try to take chunks out of them. Our field was down the road from the stables and got to the point where my Dad was the only person strong enough to be able to lead him down the road safely because he would rear and buck and spin round into cars. We had to twitch him and pin him against the stable wall to be able to tack him up and I could only get on him in the stable. One day it took me half an hour to mount him because everytime we went near him he reared up. 

Slowly though, we did start to get there, although I don't think we really started to get to grips with each other until 2010, which even now I'd say is the best year I've had with him. At the start of the year, I had to pull him out a class because he was being too dangerous, galloping off and trying to jump out of the ring, but each month we went back and my Dad came to the yard and helped me with him pretty much every day until by the end of the year we were unbeaten in one class, having won it every single month and finished 4th at the National Championships and were jumping up to 1m10 at home and 1m at shows! 

Then he had 6 months off over winter 2010-2011 due to having no where to ride. After moving yards in February 2011, I started to bring him back into work it was like he'd literally turned wild. I couldn't lead him around the yard without him throwing himself around and rearing up at me. When I first got back on him, it took four people to hold him for me to be able to get on. Jumping was out of the question- as soon as he saw a fence, he would gallop flat out round the school. We basically had to spend the first part of 2011 completely re-schooling him, but he seemed to come back even better, jumping some huge fences I never imagined us jumping...

2011 was also the year I finally got over my phobia of hacking. After being reared up with on a main road when I was 7, I'd always hated hacking, but in 2011 I started going out with some of the other people on the yard, until I was confident to go out on my own without panicking like I used to! We also finished reserve champion at the National Championships in the 3ft class, where he jumped amazing over the weekend!

As for 2012.. well it wasn't the best year. He started of jumping absolutely amazing, flying 1m5 at least without any hesitation! 

But after that, we got eliminated at least once at every show we went to, sometimes even in two different classes. He would stop or run out at different fences each time, completely at random, sometimes even tiny cross poles. It feels like we tried everything...he's not pain, we've tried reassuring him and being nice to him, giving him a smack on the bum and sending him forwards, giving him a break off of jumping...but still he just seemed to get worse, until we've decided not to bother with competing anymore. Maybe we'll give it another try again soon, but who knows! Although it sometimes feels like he's gone downhill more than he's improved, I can't deny how much of a changed pony he from the day he first arrived, and no matter what, he's still the best pony I could wish for and I love him to pieces-he's my rock! I just wish he knew how talented he could be...

Beth, Sparkie, Jack & Carling! xx

story telling time!

is everyone sitting comfortably? Good. Well, seeing as I've had a pretty boring day(yay for NHS Trust Induction), and haven't really got anything to write about, I thought I'd actually tell the story of my horses, how I ended up with them, the 'journey' I guess, with them and what not! Not all 6 of them...(we'll save that for another day), but the three I own now..starting from the start... 

Carling/Brooksy's Castle.

As with the majority of my horses, Carling was an accident really. A friend of ours said they had a horse up for loan and, well, we agreed to take him. We knew he was in a bad state, but we weren't prepared for how bad. He was skin and bones, covered in rain scald, scars and mud fever. He got off the trailer and just hung his head on the floor. When we put him in the field, instead of getting excited about there being a new friend to play with, all the horses gathered around him and let him graze in peace by himself, almost as if they understood how low he was feeling. We didn't even know if he'd make it through the night. 

Luckily, he did. He got lots of tlc and much needed food, including a red blood cell supplement to bring up his red blood cell count he had immunosupression, I guess is the best way to describe it. But he did get better, slowly but surely. The worst part in a way was just how genuine and trusting he still was. He'd been jumped and hunted in this state, been forced to wear a saddle that was far too tight(he still has bald patches along his spine from the saddle sores) and had been put in a paddock with a pony that had actually killed another pony. They thought that because Carling was bigger, the pony didn't bother, but he hasn't got a nasty bone in his body and didn't defend himself from the batterings the pony gave him. But still he didn't let any of this affect his trust in humans and still is the most honest, genuine horse I've ever met. After a few weeks, he started to put a bit of weight on, and we started riding him gently..

That's when we noticed the lameness. Or not so much lameness, but the weird way he moved, especially in trot, stretching out his back leg almost in a pacing action. When we looked closer, it was obvious something wasn't right. His hock was twice the size it should be and looked lumpy and knotted. After being checked by a vet, we found out that his flexor tendons had twisted and flipped round, an injury that could only be corrected with surgery and even that wasn't guaranteed to work. It was an old racing injury and although it looks ugly and will be with my for my life, it just means he's unable to jump or turn sharp corners or circles. 

That's really the main part of Carling's story, but it doesn't end there. Being a TB, he's definitely a liability at times and has put us through quite a few scary moments! Just a few months later, he came in one day with a small puncture wound. We put some sudocrem on it and thought nothing of it, until the next morning when we came up to find his leg twice the size it should be, swollen up to his knee. We phoned the vet who conformed what we thought..it was infected. He told us that if we had called even half an hour later, if the swelling had gone past his knee, that would of been it, the end. He was on box rest for six weeks and had to be injected everyday, but he was lucky, very lucky. There's  been a lot more sticky moments, but I don't want to bore you with all the gory details..absesses, more infections, lumps and bumps. 

But here he is now, 5 years later, looking like a completely different horse than the one that arrived in May 2008! Maybe this year I might even take him to a few shows, do a few best turned out classes, maybe even ridden hunter horse, ridden veteran or re trained race horse...we shall see! And(after a dare from mother) I am determined to teach him to be ridden tackless, the big dope he is, if I can manage to overcome the issue of his stupidly high withers... 

Sparkie's turn tomorrow! ;D 

Beth, Sparkie, Carling & Jack :) xxxx

hello...

Well. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing her or why I'm writing this, but after reading some of my old(and embarrassing blogs..http://www.theorangecobalob.blogspot.com don't laugh too much..), I decided to give it a go again! Which probably isn't going to work out well seeing as I don't have any followers and I don't have a clue what I'm doing, but we shall see...
*light bulb above head moment*
Going to start by writing down some of my 'goals' for 2013, so at the end of the year I can look back here and see just how many of them I've achieved (more than likely none, but we can dream hey)... so:
* to teach at least one of my horses to be ridden tackless. 
* to ride on the beach
* to go XC
* to get Sparkie's confidence back up...sigh
* to go to a show again
* to take Jack to a show!
* to take Jack on a hack (it rhymes, how fancy)
* hunter trials/ODE/hunting (I will probably die doing one of these)
so yes. Today has been a snowy day..I HATE snow, but it does do for pretty photos, so I made the most of that...

now I shall leave and pray no one ever finds this. Ta ta. 

Beth, Sparkie, Jack & Carling! x