Summer 2017

Going to sort photos soon!
Sheltie has now started to be ridden in the school off the lead and is responding to the riders efforts to steer... it has taken a long time for him to understand that he does not have to be my shadow -which is nice really, he still knows there is a carrot at the end of being good.
I have new students and youth club children so have a ready supply of smaller riders in the making.

WELL, the cart was cute and Sheltie was a good boy in it, but the traffic on the lane had increased so much in the last year with huge tractors pulling trailers up and down it that I decided to sell the cart. There are no verges or escape places on the lane, I couldn't risk a trauma with a combine harvester blocking the lane and a cart attached to Sheltie, it is not worth risking Sheltie's life for. The wheels on these tractors tower above me and their implements fill the lane.  

We are back  on lead and small riders or walking with the dog. There has been another huge gap since I  revisited this blog for the first time in ages I have changed my work and no longer have the franchise. I have visited Ethiopia, Canada and Australia  in the summer hols over the  last three years.I do a little supply and some private tuition and that leaves me with time to enjoy my daylight hours with the furry friends. Sheltie is part of my life and my daily routine. He sees the car and comes running. He knows he is my boy and has been lunging in the manege at our farm without a rope... he follows me around without a line, and if I twirl my hand and point my arm he does his circle! He stands on command and comes up, he goes back and shakes hands.. all the same old routines :) This is good when for the summer he and his mini friends went to graze at Delph and did nothing or a couple of months. He is also the best behaved for the farrier out of all 6 shetland ponies. He lives with four and then there is the tiny stallion who does not get to mix with the rest . 

There is also a rescued cat and rabbit in the house now, Mollie has accepted them without a fuss, I wish I could get Sheltie in there too that would be so neat! But there are too many stairs.  Never mind. I am looking forward to some decent weather and to getting him out a bit more. I will find some photos to put up to to compare his shape  with years gone by. He is in fluffy monster mode at moment but just starting to shed his coat. 

I have owned Sheltie for 9 years now, as long as I had the pleasure of Spice, and her loss is still there,  her memory is still strong and raw at times, heaven help me when I have had this wee man for another ten or twenty... I am planning on a bequest in my will to a charity to safeguard him if he outlives me..unless one of the girlies takes him on -but as two are in Australia I can't see that happening.. 

watch this space...

a giant step for sheltie...

Well, I have had this little chap now for 6 1/2 years and finally have an exercise cart for him. I got one from Robinsons  and a lovely real leather harness from Mottram horse show. Sheltie has been out for one ten minute walk and then a proper walk down to the arena carpark which probably was a round trip of 45 minute twice. I was a nervous wreck, he was very good apart from rearing in fright when a gelding in the  field beside the road started bucking alongside us...a bit hairy but he settled, and then on last trip doing really well  until a bloke on a push bike suddenly appeared up our bums. I would have reared too if I had been a pony he took me by surprise.
I haven't had anybody in the cart yet but have managed to tack him and connect him all alone and undo at end, he was very calm being unhitched he knew it was going to be field time again and he just stood in middle of yard waiting while I undid buckles and swingle tree loops and walked cart away from him. I am very happy with the way he behaved, it felt really worrying going out; the trap is so confining for a pony but after sorting out rearing twice with no problem I will feel more confident next time. Once the fright was over he got back to pulling and seemed relaxed again. I kept singing sunday school songs to keep my nerves as we had traffic passing us two buses came towards us  all well, but we did not have one from behind thank goodness.
Yesterday I took him and Mollie Collie a walk  without the cartand paid a visit to the greengrocer who gave me Sheltie so long ago. We had people in the street stop to pet him, a couple of cars pulled over to talk and he was so calm and interested in his admirers it was no problem at all, he stood patiently when I chatted and accepted the petting. He got a carrot at the shop so that will make a nice memory for him.
When I drive to the fields he sees the car and rushes over to the gate before I even call him. All the years  of routine visits and walks and handling are paying off now, he is a pleasure to take out, accepted his new toy with great aplomb and I am looking forward to little riders on him again soon. We have been walking and long reining in the arena so that when he has off- lead riders on this summer I am hoping he will follow the schooling shapes we have practised and accept the rein aids from the rider rather than from me behind...I will report on the  reality...my theory seems hopeful but the proof will be seen in the summer hols!
And do you know it is four years in two months since Spice died....still hurts.

jump forward two and a half years

WELL as I was saying earlier about same old same old...don't bank on it.
 jump forward from then to now and the world has changed, including Sheltie's home, my home  my marriage  ended.,my daughters and everything. Actually Sheltie is the only constant apart from work .
I have a beautiful collie again, Mollie now two years old.
I have a tiny little house where she and I live now, and Sheltie has gone free range on land with three mini shetlands, living out and being a proper pony.  I am able to access lovely safe bridle paths  and old trails for walking him and his education has gone on in leaps and bounds since moving him' in spring this year.
so after that human interest lets get onto the main man - SHELTIE  yay.
 Now he has been out almost daily from spring to Autumn, long reining and lead walking on various routes from his new home. He has carried children with and without a saddle for walks of up to an hour and a half, letting them swap over along the walks. He has discovered that he likes ice lollies at the rest point  at the halfway point. He has been to visit the Jill at the greengrocers in Greenfield, where he originally came from  so she could see what a handsome boy he has become. Mollie can walk with him and so I can walk both at the same time  how nice is that. and if Sheltie slows down and I say gee up or walk on, the collie takes it upon herself to bark at his heels and encourage him.
I  took my Sunday school children and some students from my work to  one night camps on a local farm and so that clever little pony had up to half a dozen kids fussing and petting and riding him  without a problem by the summer. he came to the campsite and  enjoyed a chomp on the rich grass there as where he now lives is shetland pony quality grazing so no danger of laminitis and no need to be shut in for 16 hours a day etc. though the couple of years of fancy living helped him mature, he is seven now and really ready for the next challenge.
One little girl has ridden him along side me at  trot and he was beautiful, she posted correctly and he arched his little neck and stepped out on the way up the hill to his farm, I have not let him trot with kids on at all since the day he bucked one off a couple of years ago, didn't want to excite him but now we can work at trot too.  He is not likely to be ridden loose by a child but to have him walking close by is enough for now.
AND THAT IS ENOUGH UPDATE FOR NOW  TOO MANY WORDS AND NOT A PICTURE TO ADD TONIGHT COS NEW PHONE NEW LAPTOP BUT WILL GET ORGANISED SOON .

same old same old really ..bliss

I can't believe it was August the last time I wrote on here. the point I guess with animals and certainly ponies is that they like routine and so one day just blurs into another...feed pick up poo turn out bring in feed pick up poo and so on. Sheltie has just been the same old cutie all the time. He still picks up a glove when I throw it a short distance. I stopped giving him titbits as rewards and that has kind of spoilt the point of doing it for him so just now and then I have to sneak a bit of carrot in my pocket.
He still shakes hands and now will walk backward when I pull on his tail...don't copy this on another pony kids, and don't ask me why I thought it would be a good skill to teach him. Anyway. He long- reins well, but has not had a rider on since the last report. However he now has a big macho looking leather roller which I have used to attach him to an old car tyre and he now can tow that around the sheep field without worrying.
This is part of my long term plan to have him pull a cart or a sledge, anything really to push his usefulness and education on. If I don't keep doing little bits he will be just a very cute field ornament and as he has never done a day's work in his life, nor been a poor neglected rescue pony who deserves a break I feel he ought to earn his keep by letting me play with him a bit.
He has his winter coat on now but has been looking trim all summer - for a Shetland anyway. Last year it was severe snow six weeks from now so I am going to make the most of mornings out with him while I can. After a night in it suits him better to graze for a couple of hours while I do chores then be brought in to work, otherwise all he wants to do is grab grass.
It was wormer time last week and the farrier is due again in three weeks, just little regular attentions that need doing (and paying for). He is one very contented little chap and he does not know how lucky he is to have ended up where he is xx

Humans 1 Pony 0

Ha. that got the little blighter sorted.
He let the rider on good as gold, standing properly and relaxed. When asked to move forward he tried a rear...really scary - not - as he is only a bit taller than me when he did it. Lauren said "I like a horse (!) with spirit". He then did a tidgy little buck which never quite reached his back legs.
I led them through the bending poles and then removed the lead rope. Lauren was able to guide him through the poles using the reins properly. He was a bit twitchy but went where he should. Lauren came again a few days later to repeat the task. He tried to go into reverse but once under way she was able to steer him about the poles and track quite nicely. She said he felt much more relaxed the second time too. He knows exactly what we want and he can do exactly what we want so if he does not do it when small people are on board it is because he is being a very naughty boy.... He is a Thelwell pony through and through xx
Lauren mastered long reining him...it is good if he is biddable and understands commands from others even though I do not intend letting anyone else have him!
He jumped on the lunge beautifully, even  knowingly, he really lifted neatly, not rushed or a mad clearance but just right. I think he is a smart little pony and hope that we do get him gentler for little riders.

WATCH THIS SPACE...

Well, since Sheltie was a naughty boy, I never took any chances with the last visitors, I kept him on a short lead and we were able to give a couple of little boys a new experience, but I could tell by the body language that given half a chance he would have been somewhere else. However, at work today I was talking to a very dainty 14 year old girl who is a very experienced and brave rider...she is going to come and have a turn on Sheltie in the morning...she is quite used to falling off, has been dragged by a stirrup and loves jumping so she could be the one to teach Sheltie a new way of working.
Having had the bad times I have to say that he and I have been working on the bending poles and he is absolutely brilliant weaving in and out of them. I added a small jump on the track after the pole on the ground and he has taken both on his lunge very nicely. Today after bending I went back over the pole with him and then slipped a rein over his shoulder and we jumped the jump side by side! (well I can't do it on his back can I ?)
I am either a very dedicated pony person or seriously simple. I am still happy , nay excited, to be able to go round in circles in a field with a short fat pony on the end of a rope. You decide!
I will add the result of the new rider tomorrow xx

SHELTIE IS A BAD BOY

Oh dear~ everything seemed to be going so well. We had two little girls up on Sunday and he was really good, a little lead and a little lunge work. The lunge was so good that the little girl was able to halt him with the reins and move him on with voice and a nudge. So another little friend who can ride to a trot came on the Wednesday to do a bit more.....but she rode at 10 not 8 and methinks Sheltie was a bit fed up not being in paddock with pals by this time because he decided to have a little buck and another and another...the little girl bounced and bounced and then left the saddle...she bruised her elbow and bit her lip good and hard, there was blood everywhere...I felt so awful as it was meant to be a treat for her and she ended up in tears. I called to see her later in the day and she was fine but it was not a good morning! The next day my next victim was at 10.00 as well so I took no chances, we just did lead rein with an eye on grumpy bum's ears. All went well but I need to make sure he isn't starving to death by the time riders arrive! He has extra hay before they came but it is not the same as being out in the field.
Two days later he long reined down a line of bending poles and took a pole into his lunge work, his jump was really neat and he was quite relaxed. Which goes to show he is not a machine and knows what he likes and does not like. I have two or three youngsters from church over on the 16th Aug so I will try to have him in a better frame of mind...don't want more tears.
Lately, since he realised how well I could groom him , he has been trying to groom me while I am poo picking in the stable. Because he is little his droppings are dinky and scatter easily and so I can be grovelling about for quite a while picking up bits from the bedding (Eezibed) he is at me constantly with little nibbles saying " come on, let's groom each other" If he was 15 hands it would be daunting to have him in your face like this but 'cos he is not it is just funny. He tries to give you his foot so that you have to rub him and love him, he is rather like a big dog wanting attention and that is why he is so much fun. It is probably very bad horsemanship to let him fuss around me but I am glad that he wants my attention even if it is for his own personal gratification.

Kay is the boss, repeat after me, Kay is the boss

Now Sheltie is five. He has been getting a bit bold of late and has needed taking down a peg or two. It became apparent when the landowner looked after him when I went away for a few days. He never tried to squash her in the stable nor move around when she brushed him. Basically he knows me too well and does not show me the same respect as someone who treats him like proper horse and not like a teddy bear.

I understand these things but he is so cute and I want to hug him BUT I am now giving him the cold shoulder and not loving him. It seems so mean to treat him like this before he does anything naughty but it is the way to go. Lately he has been virtually demanding that I scratch his withers and shake his hand...he is making the first move and he is not meant to that. He nipped my arm the other day, I had bare arms for the first time this year in the stable and as I was picking up poo he had a sniff and then a little nip...nothing nasty just a bit exploratory but I really chased him for it. He went round his box a few time while I played big bad mare behind him. Then I ignored him while talking over the door. Next thing he was standing behind me like a little lamb, head by my knee waiting for further instructions. Must be something in this tough love. He does not get edible treats after working well either, nor when being turned out. Instead he gets a good rub on his shoulder which pretty well sends him into ecstacy anyway...but now it is only when I choose, not when he leans on me in the stable ! Just like someone with a spoilt brat of a kid it is hard to see the faults in your own baby..but we are now back on track.

We are on regular walks out now with his bit in. The walks only last for half an hour so I lunge him a short while before we go out at walk trot and canter. He knows exactly what I want and is long reining a lot better, and can back up in his reins.

Been a long gap between posts, I will have to try to move this action packed life of ours on a bit so that there is something to report!

APRIL UPDATE

Well I can't belive where the time has gone either. It is almost the end of April and I have not reported on the great cuteness in my life for weeks. That is probably because although he looks cute he is not. He is one ornery critter as they say somewhere.

We are waiting for the equine dentist to visit again in May. When last here she advised on a new bit and let me have a really good look into the mouth of Sheltie. I have found a bit I think is ok but am waiting till she assesses it before doing any more rein work.

That is not to say he does nothing, but a few lunging times and a few walks up the track are quite bland now. He will follow on a loose line and he will walk, trot and even a canter on a lunge now, though I made him canter when he was being stubborn rather than let him avoid forward motion so even if he looked good doing it it wasn't being done under best conditions. One day I will ask him to go up the pace steadily rather than just chase after him like I did then. He was being a stubborn boy...

He has given a few rides again, only short, twice two weeks ago and twice this week. He stands to allow the riders to mount well enough and will walk and lunge with them on, but he would rather go to the paddock where his friends are and stuff his face. One of the riders is ready to try a rising trot on the lead, he is more ready to head for the field and has thrown in a couple of baby bucks, fortunately he is little and the rider thinks it funny so if he thought he was getting rid of her he was wrong. We just kept moving.I think it is more showing his frustration at being kept busy than out and out trying to getting rid as the jumps he did were very tiny and we have seen how he broncs around the paddock when he feels good- so if he tried those actions with a kid on board there would be a few nailbiting moments..but he doesn't so that ok then. He looks so sweet but is not at all.

He is still moulting like mad. It is white hairs all over me and you can see in the paddock where he has rolled leaving a white mist over the grass. It is a shame there is no use for a carrier bag full of white fluff..

He is still playing fetch with his glove and a brush and a bucket and anything he can carry which is really fun, he wants a reward and almosts asks me to throw my glove, trying to pull it off my hand. He steps back as if waiting to see which way it is going to go, it is a very deliberate movement and impressed the dentist and the farrier.Unfortunately he is not moving on much with riding pony skills. I am so short of a rider who can bring him on. I have not sat on him this side of the snow as I am too big and that is the trouble with his best friend Alysha, she is too tall now although she has had a good long ride around the hill on a lead so he has shown he is ok out and about...until he wants to sniff a pile of horse droppings on the path. He is like a dog, he cannot walk past someone elses business, perhaps because his nose is so low to the ground.

Morning are the same as ever, early out, feed and groom, work him, walk him or turn out and then the rest of the stable chores (except they are not chores). it does not matter what the day or the weather, he is a commitment and this has been over a year of blogs so far and he is only rising 5, his birthday is late June. There are years and years of life in him, probably more than I have left in me which is not a joke, it is a serious responsibility. Each day I see his face for the first time I get that gooey "isn't he gorgeous " moment and then the work begins. Mums out there - do not treat your child to a pony, little as they, are unless you truly want to live the life, it has to be what the grown up wants to do, never mind what the child wants. I am just so lucky to have my own MILKY BAR KID pony to enjoy, it doesn't matter if the rest of the family think I am bonkers. xx

I am off to my very best friend's tomorrow for a few days and the landowner  is in charge of Sheltie, I am lucky there too, I can trust her with  his life !!

THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT

February half term and Sheltie has visitors. They say a picture paints a thousand words (Perry Como??!!) These will show what a long way my boy has come. What a great time we all had. He now plays fetch in the stable and a little outside before the Spring grass calls too strongly. I will get photographic evidence of that claim before too long!
When  my daughters saw these pictures they were worried about the safety of the children...but you can see by the body language he is not a bit bothered. I have spent enough time poking and prodding Sheltie to know that he was going to be ok...besides there are plenty more kids where they came from!!!

New year new skills.

January is almost over. It seems ages since I updated this. In the time between I have seen two beautiful horses put to sleep before Christmas and a third only yesterday. I can still weep for my lost Spice, the more we look back on her the more we realise what a good horse she was and how kindly disposed to us humans. Sheltie has settled so well in his new home, he never seemed to stress at all and recently had a new mare join him and his pal so he is in a little herd of three and very content. After breakfast and a grooming session I have worked for 10 or 15 minutes most mornings, but where it used to be on the lunge it is now on the long reins. He understands whoa as a prelude to stand these days and we can do a slalom down a line of fence posts (with no fencing between, like bending poles) on the long reins, so steering is pretty good. He has just got the hang of backing up in them as well. He is very good at walking backward any old time but in the reins was a new skill. He moves off quite well too, at first he used to turn around and look at me ... can't see that being too good if in a cart! I am at the stables by 7.45 seven days a week, when the snow was bad it was a six mile walk round trip to get there.but he is worth it! Doing his bed does not take long, he is on rubber and easy bed; it takes two minutes to make his buckets for next meals ,the hardest thing has been water when the outdoor supply was frozen, fortunately there s  a handy utility room in the home close enough to carry buckets to and from. I only went flat on my back once this winter on the ice, no harm done thank God. Looking back on the last year Sheltie has gone from being a bit of a thug to being a very clever boy. He is quick on the uptake but has to ask why he ought to do stuff at the outset. After a million repetitions he gets on good as gold, but it is the repetition and the very regular routines that push the message in thoroughly. We have started doing a regular weigh tape check on the three ponies, all needed to lose a bit, but as we head into spring with the restricted grazing I am hoping to see Sheltie become a bit more slender. At the mo he is so hairy you cannot really tell his shape so the tape is a quick way to monitor all is well. I do not want him to end up a fat and laminitic pony. I got his crupper ok, and now am trying a different bit as he has not stopped opening his mouth in an unsettled way despite being light to steer with his bit in. I would even consider bitless if need be but we will see how a different bit works. He has such fat lips...all the better to kiss you with my dear! I am looking forward to having a few young riders up at half term to work on his rein skills from on board, Alysha did a couple of circles loose on him recently, I just stood in the middle and he did let her steer. WANTED, FOUR FOOT JOCKEY ,APPLY TO KAY. He is very small, very cute, very clever and very good, his personality is there but he is calm and biddable....I love him to bits.

THERE ARE FAIRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GARDEN

Look what I found today!!! Sheltie is turning into Pegasus. Apparently he is an orange belt in flying lessons and will get bigger wings as he improves...
The snow is gorgeous but means he can't stay out all day. He has a wander about while I am there and then goes back into his deluxe stable when I leave at dinner time. He gave two little girls rides last week and was good on lunge but I could not risk him off lead, the girls were beginners. Now weather is bad he is having a bit of holiday just a little ground work each day. Last week though he long reined all the way from here around Hartshead Pike which was a good hour's walk and he went really well except for a couple of power struggles when passing his old gate and when two ponies ran to fence and spoilt his concentration. I was even able to hold both reins in one hand on way back and he is responding to a squeeze on them for directions...pretty good eh!

SHELTIE PUT A SMILE UPON MY FACE!!!

Today I have to say, Sheltie excelled himself. He makes me smile anyway but today he made me BEAM! Little things mean a lot to some folks don't you know?
I have long reined him a few times in the winter paddocks now. I want him to be able to give the small kids a ride on soft going in the future, and so need him to realise that everything he does outside the field can be done inside.
After the first time when there was a little power struggle for direction he has taken to it really well. I can do all the turns with gentle rein aids and he went up and down hill too. Today I had to stand him and wrap all his reins round as the shepherd had called the sheep and they were all at a gate on our side unable to move on. They usually go under the rails but we had to close the gate so Sheltie did not go away over the furthest field too. I left him and let the woolly ones out and by the time I had turned round of course Sheltie had bobbed under the tape on the other side of the paddock to rejoin his friend. They graze like this...the two ponies go onto one side of a field and Sheltie being little is able to graze under the tape into the next paddock too. When I work him in there I go on the side away from the old pony so we do not disturb her and so she does not come over when I give Sheltie a treat when he has done well. The sheep graze here too and they are able to get under an even smaller section of rail at the bottom onto rougher land again. Sheltie has not bothered about them at all which is nice and from a distance it wold be hard to tell if it was a sheep bottom or his you were looking at.
Anyway, back to the story.. I stood with my hands as if I had the lunge line attached to him (from the distance of about twenty feet on the other side of the tape fence still) and moved my hands as if drawing the line in. Sheltie came straight up! He ducked the tape and then right up..what a good boy. I took his bridle off and let him loose but then asked him to walk on as if on the lunge, holding my arms and the schooling whip in a shape. He went around me, very wide and back into the next field...but then, ducked back under the fence and did left and right rein circles completely free with a "stand" and "come in" in the middle before I gave him final treat and said we were finished. Is that not one cute, clever, special pony???
The photo is an old one, we are not at that farm any longer , I just liked hs face .

Who's a clever boy then?

Well, it has been seven weeks now since saying goodbye to Spice. A friend said that grief was like standing on a beach with your back to the sea, having a lovely time when suddenly a big wave crashes over you. Other times smaller waves lap at your ankles. That is a good picture, I am getting along ok than suddenly a wave of loss comes over me. If I sound chirpy in the blog it is because I can be, but it is not always so; for the sake of any readers' sanity I will not mention Spice again in these adventures of Sheltie. Sheltie has settled so well into his new home and has already come on in leaps and bounds in his work. He loves his stable and walks in from the paddock without an escort! He is a friend to Fudge, Goldie and Whisper. He would make a fantastic companion pony as he is so sociable with others, but that is not to be his destiny yet. He has finally understood what I want when long reining him. He responds to the signals to turn left and right with just a tweak on the reins, and an open rein to allow him to turn. He is able to do a figure of eight and circles now, without stopping or booting me. He has stopped mouthing the bit so much and carries it quietly . I even trotted him on long reins this week to prove we have control at speed. I am very proud of the way he has changed in the last year, if you read back to January I was as thrilled when he finally understood lunging. You might think that we are making slow progress but I want him to be rock steady in the things he can do, not just say that he has done it once...If you read between the lines of some horse sale adverts you get the impression that "has had tack on" means literally that and just once! I have also sat on him a few times...short of a mount now aren't I. He has carried on grazing or walked a few steps. He has not batted an eye as I have hitched my welly over his rump or shifted about to get comfy. I am only on for a minute and he is not concerned, so when a small child wriggles he is not even going to feel it. Also, to get off I put my hand on his neck and lean a little, again he ignores my movements. This is really to make him a safe mount. I am long reining so that he will understand rein aids from a rider though a child would never be left alone on him anyway.Got a crazy teacher friend who is tiny though and I expect to see her off the lead one day!! I have taken him a few walks back around his old farm on Hartshead Pike, and he is really doing well leading now. Remember back in Spring he was very nappy and I had to go back to some change of direction work. It has all paid off. Five days a week I do a short training session with him after he has had a couple of hours grazing while I do stable jobs. He comes away from the others nicely, does his little tasks and then has a big roll when released as if to say thank goodness that is over. He is a lot of fun and a source of exercise and through him I met my new friend with the lovely stables and land, so most everything in the garden is lovely ...just don't mention the S word xx

AND THEN THERE WAS SHELTIE

When you take on a pet you are responsible for all its needs. The final need is the hardest to face but has to be faced. Life does go on and in this case Sheltie has needed to be sorted and cared for no matter what had happened to Spice and no matter how awful I felt. There was a day last week when I did not even like him. I was so sad to lose Spice and he was running around the hill in the dark with the mad arab mare for company refusing to come down from the ten acres and the mare threatening to drive me away except for my big stick. I found myself thinking what was the point of him. Why stress out in the wind and the rain for a little beast who would squash you rather than go around you and obviously felt no bond. He was not in my good books and for three nights after losing Spice I left him to run. The Arab was too dangerous to deal with on a dark wet hill so I saw him in the mornings and did not attempt to go up after work. I knew that he would soon go wild and woolly again in these circumstances. Without the wise old girl to set the lead he was taking his cue from one a lot less biddable. I took the offer from a friend of a stable on her land. There are post and rail paddocks with controlled grazing and no ragwort. Sheltie has a stable as big as my kitchen with the units taken out. It is at the end of the trail around Hartshead Pike so we can go for long walks without going on the road, and he is tucked up in bed each night learning to be a pet pony and not a feral monster. It is the Hilton for horses and Sheltie has settled instantly to a new routine. He loves his new stable, there is room to lunge him inside it!
He walked up the two miles last Saturday night as good as gold on the road past Hannah's through Thornley Lane and up Lane Head. Only ten months ago I had to pay for a box to move him the same distance as he was so difficult. He did excel himself and looked so cute and winsome Ha.
He has made tentative friends with the other two ponies here but can graze alone if necessary. He is learning some manners from my friend, she is an excellent horsewoman and will not let him be rude to her. She is an angel in disguise offering a home here, lights and flat paths for me in the bad weather and all covered paths etc. She wants no rent from me either. It is all a yard should be , safe and orderly. The routine settles the ponies and I know things are going to be cleaner and easier than I have ever had them in 9 years. Perhaps God is looking out for me in my old age now!
I restarted serious long reining yesterday which was stopped almost as soon as it started when Spice took ill. He has had his bit and long reins on and fed through his stirrup leathers. I have been teaching him to walk a circuit, whoa and gee up with voice and rein pressure. I am close up behind him, probably too close for comfort but he knows me. Just as well when I had to bump start him with a knee under his tail DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS .He got the hang of it today and actually halted and the set off again on command. I had quite a tender moment with him inside the stable I sat on my stool eyeball to eyeball with him and he stood and enjoyed a chest rub for ages without doing anything rough. When you sit down he looks a nice size, but when you stand up he is really only diddy, all 8 hands of him. Thanks to my friend there has been a silver lining to my big black cloud. Thanks to Sheltie my life still has the rhythms and routines of horse keeping. Imagine if I did not have the little one, what would I do now? Two other friends have offered to let me ride their cobs but I don't feel a need for that at the moment. Spice was such a steady ride I haven't been on another horse for nine years and I just loved being around her as much as the riding. Horses are very calming because you have to be calm for them and it comes reflecting back deeper and deeper. When you hug them they seem to give you strength and peace. Sheltie is just the wrong size to turn to for comfort...he is more a distraction and a plaything than a romantic hero.
Without Spice to save him Sheltie is really going to be getting some work done, if he thought he was busy before he is going to be in for a big surprise: this is the start of thenext chapter in my life and his.....

THE SADDEST DAY

I did not know that when I told you about my beautiful mare that she would be gone a month later.I had to have her put to sleep today, with some progressive mental degeneration. She looked sweet and well till you saw her stumble and act in an aimless manner. She had begun to lose weight and had a bout of colic after which it was just a downward path with no return. She did not suffer, the end was painless and stress free she still was beautiful but the time had come.I do not know how the hole she leaves will ever be filled nor the pain and loss I feel will ever fade. I loved Spice every minute of the nine years I had her. Sheltie has got a hard act to follow, I don't think he will ever have the same charisma, she was gentle through and through, never knew the meaning of temper. I am glad to have been able to give her a peaceful and dignified end but I wish it was not so soon. Goodbye my darling, and she was a darling.

HERE I AM no wonder she loves me

NOT FORGETTING SPICE

The blog is about life with Sheltie but those of you who know me might think I am ignoring the first love of my life.(apart from my girls) Of course I have not forgotten nor have stopped loving every inch of Spice. So today I am going to just tell you all what a lovely old mare I have and how special she is. She is Sheltie's adopted mum in his eyes but in her eyes he is just a white hairy object orbiting her at regular intervals.
Spice is a 14.2 hh Irish cob. She is bright bay with a white blaze and hairy feet and is in her early twenties best we know.
I have owned her for nine years and she has been an absolute dream to keep. She is not the smartest looking pony, nor the fastest or cleverest at schooling BUT she has carried more children and adults about for treat rides than probably any horse outside a riding school. She has had babies sat on and special needs adults . She has stood like a rock while small tots brush what they can reach and she has never put a foot wrong with them, in fact she stands so still you would think her legs were nailed down. She has been a steady hack, willing for a bit of a burn up but ready to drop the pace as soon as asked in her younger days. She walks past revving buses with traffic on the outside of her, the only thing she has ever said she is scared about is hissing hoses on a car wash and even then she will accept guidance at a safer distance, for which I forgive her as her only long standing worry, even though she will let me hose her legs when a necessity.
She is calm and gentle, wise and beautiful. She never gets into scrapes or hurts herself. She is wearing the same tack as when I bought her. She lives out and is a real good doer, in winter she can be in when she wants but it is only this last year that I stabled her regularly to ensure she dried off and filled with hay as the snow lasted ages.
As a family pony she has been a treasure, easy to do, cheap enough to run and so undemanding. Every day I see her I have to kiss her. She stands and gazes back into my eyes and I just hope that in her animal mind she understands that she is loved and appreciated and safe, she is the best thousand pounds I have ever spent. I would rather be in the field or stable with her than anywhere else on the planet.xxx

one more step along the road I go

This week Sheltie has excelled himself again. I have not been off the land lately as he was so nappy and I have been quite insistent with lunge work at different paces on the land. I also used the small birch trees as bending poles and have done a lot of stop start etc.
This week I made the decision to hit the road seriously. We left the gate and set off. Sheltie skittered once in the first few minutes as a car came from behind us and then seemed to settle. He never napped at all ! we took a circular route which is 7/10 of a mile..I know cos I drove it later..sad I know but it is a measurable achievement. He had a steady stream of traffic up his bottom plus we walked on the road towards oncoming traffic part of the way. On a quiet bit a few little girls came to see him and they stayed on their garden wall at his head height to pet him. I explained that if they did not offer titbits he would not learn to eat their fingers. I carried the lunge whip and tipped it out towards the road, as a bit of a signal to cars not to come too close. The walk went so smoothly, he had his ears pricked and had a nice steady pace, I felt as if I was leading a really sensible pony. A few nights later I repeated the walk. No issues at all. I actually tied a bit of rag to the end of my whip so that cars would really think "what the heck is that up ahead" well the drivers, not the cars.. it also served as a brake if I tipped it in front of Sheltie when he wanted to walk faster than I asked. He was not bothered by our flag swishing about over my shoulder. I probably look absolutely barmy walking along with a white flag above me and 8hands of apparently docile sweetie pony behind me, but I know the dangers of traffic and the potential for sweet looking ponies to be naughty. Having said that however, I feel Sheltie has made another leap of faith with me and accepts my leadership and trusts me in the new situations he is meeting. If he coped with the traffic each time he is not suddenly going to revert to being scared. I just need to keep up with the bigger walks now.
He also gave two small children a few laps on each rein in the barn this morning without any fuss, even standing and then changing direction when I commanded from the centre, he was on the long line but has done the same off line with a five year old last week!!
If he was my child I would be embarrassed to gush on about him but cos he is God's own creature I feel nothing but pride in his development. Creation is wonderfulxx
by the way, my daughter Laura was 21 on the 21st July and my second daughter Hannah married Kieran on Saturday 24th so they were pretty good days too. SORRY GIRLS, you know I love you really xxxx