Dani's morning

It was a glorious day today and I hacked Dani along to an outdoor scholl several villages away for my first session since ooh........... November. Anyway I think I put the winter to good uses hacking Danni out on a long rein and asking him to stay loose and elastic with a lengthened neck and swinging back, getting rid of some of the tension that was starting to creep into his work (and mine)

Collapsed my waist again

His canter is so comfortable (i suppose to slide my leg further down the saddle and release the knee)

Warming up

Ping, Pang and Pong

Amie


We remain confined with Ping, Pang and Pong, our three foals from last year, as the ice is too treacherous to get them across the lane to the field or even for our stallion Danilon to do anything more than trudge, slipping gently around the car park in hand. But still they enjoy coming out on to the little area in front of the stables for a daily fuss and brush supervised by Danilon of course in his role as Baby sitter!


Annie from a Holstein mare Lizzie, who was born in May, seem here supervised by her father Dani in his stable behind her.




Annie again with Charles ( who's rather smitten)



Archie, born in July whose fur coat does look better than that in the flesh but spends a lot of time in bed asleep probably waiting for spring.....getting rather plump too


Archie is just starting to develop the wavy Iberian Mane!

So that was today at Ednovean Farm - still snowing steadily tonight and all brood mares only leaving their stable for a brief time with great reluctance! I've written more about them in my Ednovean farm blog:- http://ednoveanfarm.blogspot.com/ for some more of life on Ednovean farm.

more snow

As always with horses the daily routine went ahead as usual - just as horse expect it too. We were grateful to Ryan this morning for struggling in this morning against the weather and there was a further heavy snowfall as the mornings work started.

We decided against leading Diva Belle and Dolly down the by now treacherous lane, to join April and Lizzie and turned them out for a few hours beside their stable once the snow had stopped a little but it must be said working conditions were a little challenging to say the least.

Lizzie wasn't impressed as there is no point in being boss horse if you don't have any other horse to boss except April! still, they too settled down outside of their field shelter for the day with bulging haynets hanging inside and the doors open for them to come and go as they pleased for the day

Charles ventured out to retrieve a wheel barrow - you can just see Dani's capacious bottom and his daughter Amie in the next box

Dolly and Belle above Mounts Bay

Belle and Dolly's dam Diva

A view across the bay from the top of the farm

Dolly mounted a lookout position for the day

because a young thoroughbred filly can never be too sure what is lurking in that strange white stuff.

We are trying to keep the horses in their regular routine as far as possible to avoid accidents with over fresh horses galloping about but it is a worrying time. Poor Danni hasn't been out of his box for two days now although I popped to the corn merchants yesterday and bought some complete nuts to substitute for his usual Horse and Pony nuts............I've just been back out to the stables (2.00pm) and found him doing what Spanish horses do if unemployed - tucked up asleep in his bed.

Snow bunnies

Well the snow set in jut as we finished getting the horses in last evening and by the time we went back out to check them at 9.00 o' clock, it was "deep and crisp and even" to coin a phrase.

This morning the world was still white but with a thaw in the air and so we decided to keep the TB brood mares in their usual routine and take them along the lane to join Lizzie and April. Belle and Diva skated along the lane, looking entirely suspicious with the ever optimistic Dolly in tow before creeping carefully into the field to park themselves for the day. I took them some hayledge to pick at, which nearly caused consternation as it blew away like tumble weed in the viciously cold wind. Heads shot up, nostrils flared and I was forced to retrieve it before mass panic broke out...............hay with legs .....Hay with legs......... RUN

We were so lucky to get Dani's schooling session in on Sunday - he's been confined to his stable today babysitting as usual, although he does tend to dose off between haynets.

Archie this morning, we kept the babies in as the yard was icy.

Charles has named the foals the three piggies because of their exuberant high pitched whinnies whenever they see us

Dani today

We don't have our own school here at Ednovean after i unwisely made our old one into an Italian Garden beside the house.............well I thought our horse schooling days were finished but now we have Dani and Dani's babies waiting in the wings ..................so a flat enclosed space would be very nice indeed! Still we have obtained permission to construct a new one and I'll keep my gardening urges to myself this time!!

After the shock of loosing Sootty life has settle into a sort of order with Charles and i sharing Dani every other day now to tramp around the cold, wet lanes - but today Charles chose to take Dani up on to the top of the farm to start the new years schooling resolutions - forward to 2010





Charles mostly worked on Dani's lateral work aiming for a more relaxation in the steady rain as i huddled as near to the hedge as possible wearing three jumpers and a coat




Happy new year