Mud wollowers

Toffee

I am happy to report that all of the foals or should I say yearlings have mastered the art of rolling in the mud, applying an even coat to every inch of their bodies - I'm sure this new art skill will put them in good stead throughout their lives.........So you will forgive me for concentrating on photos of their heads today on what is surely a "Day Lent" of gloriously warm sunshine the rain having gone through in the night - leaving behind mud of just the right consistency for earnest plastering said fur coats.




Sophie by Danilon will she grow into those ears?




Sophie again - now gate sized




Toffee and Magic two sparing parteners - mega mud bathers

who love each other really

I asked Charles to bribe Archie and Amie to look up from their hayledge

Diva the long suffering baby sitter

So that is how they have grown this month -all getting really tall - I sometimes look back through the blog to see how thy progress and find it amazing - the progress they make. But every day is a pleasure to watch them grow and interact with each other - the friendships, the squabbles, the rivalries. They for their part have learnt that Charles will be filling the haynets by mid morning and arrive tactfully, slowly and discreetly to see "excuse me????" if there is a little hayledge over to supplement their daytime grazing and then spend the rest of the morning quietly ruminating together and watching our progress with their stables. Diva normally organises this swathed in rugs to protect her short glossy coat picking her way carefully over the muddy field towards us with an expectant expression on her face - well who could resist the old girl!

Dani's dressage course



Charles working on Danilons right bend



Flu is no fun i can report and as the Dressage course that we have been waiting for with Peter Madison Greenwell came closer I felt sicker and sicker. The day dawned when Danni came home sweating from exercise and i came home shivering and so the game was up and I went to bed...........cough cough cough.

A week went past and Charles and Danni grew confidential and I wondered if I would make it out of bed just to see them go - phew just!

Danni and Charles looked great together - Charles is quite the "canter er" anyway with his show jumping background and and Danni was soon bouncing along in front of Peter shaking his head gently as he does when feeling really well and happy, causing Peter to chuckle and remark "He's feeling well!"

Danni working on his right bend with Charles - he's a little stiff in the poll sometimes



Charles and Danilon at working trot

A lot of the work that we do with Danni is geared to a simple assimilatin of the balance and freedom of paces - no fancy tricks juts straight forward daily work to improve his way of going whilst making sure he is mentally HAPPY!

Dani particularly likes the emphasis on happy! Then he is free and relaxed and able to progress to his ability. This weekend his transitions improved and he added a much improve half pass to his repertoire............half a packet of polos and some very nice carrots for tea!



Danni's winter outfit and other chilly mutterings

Danni looked rather like Desert Orchid today for his morning exercise as we both piled on as many clothes as possible before setting out between the snow showers. He grew rather err ummm whisper - portly, after he last snow incident, so I'm trying to keep going until we are stopped by too much ice on the roads.






We still have our robin with his haunting song amongst the barns rafters diving down into the horses feed buckets ans scooping up every spilled oat that falls - I'll miss him when the winter ends and he moves off to do what robins do for the rest of the year!



At the back of the farm a pair of buzzards wheeled above the stables with their poignant shrill call as I mucked out today and i disturbed one later, dining on a rabbit in the little group of apple trees that we have planted up there but he didn't go too far and was soon back on the ground with his rabbit lunch.

The youngsters make the most of the days picking at the hedgerows and ambling about as we beaver away carting wheelbarrows, haynets, water buckets and feed buckets. We break the ice on the water troughs only for them to freeze again and so if it is OK could we send the new cold spell back, Christmas or no Christmas - thank you so much!

I can't be snowing

I went up to the top of the farm this morning intent on getting a picture of Mounts Bay which can be magical cast in shades of white from jack Frost but as I fussed about looking fro the best spot not the very best spot to take my picture I looked across to see our youngsters pounding towards me with an "Oh goody there's Mum" expression on their combined faces. As you can see tails were raised heads lifted and even the old passage thrown in for artistic effect as they explored the strangely altered world this morning..........acting credits by each participant below!



Sophie in the lead with Toffee Amie Archie Magic and Diva Right to left

Magic was staying uncharacteristically close to his mum this morning

Do you remember Sophie who was orphaned at four months old well here she is doing very well

Sophie is by Danilon out of Morwen Lissie a Holstein mare


I think she is going to be substantial shall we say!

It is the fastest they have moved for some time

Diva Brood mare in charge

Archie about a year and a half is by Danilon


Diva with foals Magic and Toffee our very own Totilas and Fuago - it will be fun to watch them grow up side by side the Warmblood and the pre/TB cross

Danilon yesterday

Well Danni goes out each day for his daily road work which he regards as a sort of morning patrol to check the neighbourhood out but when he gets back I sometimes do a little bit of in hand work gradually gaining a better balance and carriage and a bit more stretch behind. I've just progressed to attempting traver around the car park - we might need some more gravel when I've finished the winter!



It's on a bit of a slope as yup can see but it has really helped him find his balance

The only colt to look at the camera in an intelligent fashion - Mr superbug! Magic the others just keep eating!

Toffee whispering to Amie

We had a week of storms last week and I came to terms with mucking out ten each day, had a close encounter with a mangy fox (collected by the RSPCA) made a facebook page from which I'm occasional arbitrarily logged out when i least expect it, got very wet riding Danni but not as wet as Charles on Sunday and chapter four -Sooty's story came out in Pura RAza Espanola. Phew who's got time to ride!

Find Dani on facebook

Danilon now has a page on facebook!! please pay him a visit he is getting very lonely!

Christine Taylor

Create your badge