playing with ponies

building blocks....
training from the ground up.
its not all about riding, its getting used to different things, its accepting that when you're asked to walk past something scary you can trust the rider and go...
she's learning trust, sometimes very sceptical...

sunny summer

having a great lead horse is so important in training others. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to help me. Quince did not leave the farm environment till she was 9 and then spent two years in a quiet out of town place though she did get used to cars and bikes there. for the last six months she has had to get used to going past houses and people, and all the mad things they do. scaffolding to re -roof, cutting grass and hedges, washing cars, putting up new fences and just as she gets used to that they paint it a different colour. a childrens play park and the children who run screaming to see a horse. .... just beyond the houses we have lovely off road paths to wander, only a few miles but I love it.
on the subject of houses... I am still camping in my daughters spare room. I sorted through some boxes this week that have been packed in a hurry in various places over the years. there was a few surprises in there. I got from six boxes down to four, a bag of stuff for the charity shop and some stuff to sell on ebay. and a few good finds to use, some t-shirts and a waterproof jacket. I need those.
I'm not feeling too great today. I came home from work early last night not feeling well. either sun-stroke , food poisoning or a combination of them both. I left Quince to cool down before getting a feed.. myself? I was rushed into the farmhouse and given a wonderful lunch containing a lot of mayonnaise , eggs, cream , fruit.... I usually don't eat that much during the day particularly before going to work as I have heavy duties to do.
and my work has a policy that if you have been ill you cannot have an extra shift. so I am not allowed to work the shift that was an extra today.. that leaves them short staffed and me short of money.

reposting from 12 years ago.. 12 !! ''Sunday morning''

this little black viola has self seeded. these are meant to be edible but its too pretty to pick.
Cerinthe major purpurescens, grown from seed.. I am sure I planted seeds for a yellow one as well but they have not appeared yet.

sweet pea 'Borderline' , lovely colour and good scent too. there's no point in haveing them unless they're good and smelly!
this is a funny plant, Parahebe perfoliata, common name - diggers speedwell, its kind of spidery and creepy with these lovely little sprays of flowers.
and here's the cold frame still full of stuff which should have been planted out by now? and I do believe there's a fine crop of dandelions growing up the front of it too.....
I am going to an open garden this afternoon so will hopefully have some nice pictures from that to put on through the week.

fat shiny pony

summers here with dry weather. lots of buttercups in the field. .. looks pretty but not really what you want . still plenty of grass as all ponies putting weight on.
looking forward to a week of warm weather so I might give Quince a bath, not sure what she'll think of that.,,, got some citronella shampoo that helps to keep the flies off.

trailer loading

my aim is for Quince to stay calm. there's a net of hay hung inside so she can eat in there .

horse care article

feeling a bit down today, found this article to read and its given me a bit of hope for the day.

http://www.soulfulequine.com/natural-horse-care-principles/

took a nice bit of video of our loading practice yesterday and I'll get it on here tonight or tomorrow.
a wee photo to be going on with. 💗

to go in the trailer

a bit dark but a record of out practice. Quince is not fond of small spaces. if I want to take her on outings then she needs to learn to tavel in this box to tow on the road. a friend very kindly took the time to bring her trailer down so we could walk through... its okay walking in but a panic starts at midway and Quince just wants to get out and quickly... so we spent an hour just walking through till she could do that calmly. I used a clicker to mark good moments and treated with pony nuts.
hopefully get another practice soon.

to see the sea

a recent visit to friends in Dumfriesshire. we are looking over to Auchenlaire Caravan Park, but I forget the name of the viewpoint we are on. the car was parked close to the sea on a rocky beach, I thought briefly about dipping my toes in but too chilly.
there's a couple of little islands there, sure that I have kayaked this area in the past.

sleepy bees

a sleepy bumble bee on a  fencepost at the farm. the sun was shining and they are appearing here and there. there is a frost forecast for this weekend, I hope its not too cold for them.
the farm has a hive and honey bees look quite different. I haven't seen any of them yet.

snow to mud, cold

lots of snow. halted Scotland for four days... its all turned to mud now which Quince says is a much better thing...
I had booked a week off work, just as well as there would have been no getting there. I was meant to travel to visit friends but cancelled with the weather reports... we've re-arranged for a couple of days at  the end of the month.
the horses were out in the big field for the snow storm, with big round bales of hay and extra bins filled with water. there was no traveling to them either so they were left to the farm owner to check .
feelings are generally that winter is too long, too cold, and everyone is fed up.
the nights are getting lighter and hopefully it will warm up soon.

the dumbing down and poisoning

I read labels of food when I shop. sometimes having to choose between affordability and nutrition...
large conglomerates of shops leading the market with their products... not food... non food?
lemon curd as an example. homemade is eggs, lemons, sugar. butter.
Asda... a Walmart shop... er... none of those are in it....
and everything, it seems everything, has palm oil in it. bread, biscuits, peanut butter. like biting into blood....
shop local, shop health food stores... better for you but I can't afford it.
very grumpy about this.

to lighten my mood up a bit, the sun is shining and  I'm having a lazy day, watching Star Trek Voyager.

sunny but cold

the sun is shining on me and Luna the dog so we're snoozing.... the cats have not come back after the screeching over the laptop..
I've a bad cold so I'm slouching on the sofa with dogs and cats for company... and Sam, the cuddliest one, he nudges you just as you drink your coffee...  today he spilled it right over my laptop... oh my.
its taken a lot of drying and 20 minutes of system restore to get it back on... all seems to be working and files are calling up as usual,,, I'm going to leave it on now so that it keeps good and warm and hopefully any residual damp will be heated off. and I will back up files to a store later on too.. just a reminder of how easily things can be lost.
the weather is just winter yuck horrible, snow, that melts into muddy sludge, nice sunshine but freezing temperatures. I'm glad the nights are now showing a noticable difference in lightness.
photograph is of coffee in the bottom of my keepcup that was left in the car.. frozen solid !!

Christmas is coming....

decorating the pony. bless her she's such a good girly.

realised its Winter Solstice today.. wishing happiness and peace to  everyone. x

marching marching

we're getting out and about, marching down the road.

https://plus.google.com/+TourismsaskatchewanCanada
http://www.tourismsaskatchewan.com/

I just watched a tourist video for this town. looks lovely... but in my grumpiness I have this to say,,,
-they do tourist adverts like this for Scotland too, quite different from actually living here, in the cold and the wet. difficult to find decent decent jobs and affordable housing. the violence, not even hidden anymore, the drugs, people seem proud to be involved... children left to fend for themselves... overcrowded prisons.. is there anywhere in the world actually ''nice'' ??-

retirement with a view

Abbey has settled nicely into her retirement and is looking lovely and relaxed. 

Abbey and Quince

 it was always my dream to have these two girlies... this was the morning Abbey was leaving to go to her retirement. hope to visit her in a week or two. this is the one decent photo  from a series of about 20 where they wouldn't stand, moved around, made faces at each other, i had my eyes closed etc... lol
Quince is convinced she can't have her front feet lifted to be picked out... we're working on it... the hoof trimmer is due this weekend so she might not have much done this time. her fronts look like they've been cut too short anyway so they need to recover. Abbeys feet are perfect.

ooops... bought a pony....

I have decided to retire Abbey from riding, she is 17 but has spooked violently all her life and its getting worse, I sometimes think she can't see properly but vets cannot give me any clue.
she is returning to the people I bought her from and they are retiring another welsh cob called Glen, 22, so she will be his companion.

and .... ooops... bought another one...
a horse I know from a few years ago, another welsh cob.. I do like them... Quince, she is 12 and we've been out a couple of walks together now so hope to start  getting out for some longer rides soon.
Abbey on the left and Quince on the right , picture from a few years ago. 

no objection to men in dresses....

 quite clearly a man in the background wearing a dress.... lol

this episode .... wondering if there is a special club somewhere for trek bloopers.

hmmm, blogging as a daily goal..

there might be something in it... but could I commit...
https://medium.com/higher-thoughts/how-one-year-of-daily-blogging-changed-my-life-fc20fb79d1d1