Clean pony xx

So I finally gave Blue his first bath of the summer :D
This was a proper TLC filled day of soap and brushes, I was thinking I would explain how I did everything and if you have a highland or a long maned pony this is how you get your pony prepped for a competition or outing.

1. Bath! Clean everywhere with shampoo, bum, back, belly, everything! I got a new Lincoln shampoo which I was disappointed with its texture and foam but it's actual dirt exterminating ability was decent, not amazing, but decent. Make sure you scrub all those nasty stains away and that you leave no dirt trails. I am able to hose Blue down thankfully and this is the best way to rise away the dirt, shampoo and foam.

2. Feather, make sure their feather is clean and brushed, I would then comb it. Make sure that it is floaty and free of dirt and dust.

3. Mane. Wash their mane thoroughly, get right into every single layer of it and make sure that the bed of it is free of dirt. I then after it had been washed and dried sprayed some baby oil on it, now this is good for competition but attracts more dirt to the mane, its a good idea to use it to condition the night before the show.

4. Hooves. Make sure that the hair all the way down to the hoof is clean and then clean the hooves. Once the hooves are dry and mud free I coated them in Carr and Day and Martin hoof oil. The oil stinks but is brilliant! Make sure when you are applying it that you don't get it on your pony's clean legs. Try to minimise the amount of dirt and hair surrounding the hooves when applying and drying the oil and also when you are cleaning the hooves.

5. Tail. Do similar with the tail as you did with the mane ( I didn't actually wash the tail shhh don't tell). If you need to cut the tail, if your at a competition it's nice to just give it the tiniest of trips to make it straight. Again, I would suggest defo putting the baby oil in the night before or earlier, no later.

That's pretty much it. If any of you know of a cheap-ish shampoo that is absolutely amazing feel free to comment or email to bluehoofprints@gmail.com as I will be buying a different sort next time. Have fun in the sun, there are plenty of new videos up of the Royal Highland Show on the youtube so feel free to check in there. Thanks for reading xx adios x

The Importance of a Companion

I think, if you have one horse and there aren't any horses in their field with them they will become isolated and lose their spark. Horses work in a herd pattern, they are rarely on their own. We had Melody on her own and she seemed quite quiet, and she never was, she was a bit more lost than usual. We have had Blue on his own, but he was mourning so it was hard to tell if he was more isolated because he was pining or because he was alone.

Horses rely on each other in danger and safety, the herd rota in Shannon and Blue's case is actually quite unique in the sense that Blue acts like the big man all the time but Shannon is a bit more in tune to what is going on around them and will react first if there is "trouble". In the wild ponies have "bands" within their herds which consist of one stallion, foals and younger horses and several mares, one of the mares being the lead mare, who is the dominant in the group. This lead mare is Shannon ("She is usually one of the more mature animals, responsible for the overall safety of the herd, familiar with the terrain and resources available") and Blue is a "younger" horse who is a bit boisterous. There are three other ponies which live nearby which form the herd, creating another band, one stallion and two mares, the "stallion" is actually gelded but he is still the leader of the entire herd. 

Although we didn't go down this route after Melody died, when looking for a new companion I think re-homing a companion is a good idea because, it is charitable, you will gain a new pony at small expense, if anything were to happen with your horse and you no longer needed a companion then they can be re-homed by someone else. However their are cons, one is that the charity will usually come an inspect you and require you to have a shelter in your field, with the ponies left to their own devices a lot of the time we didn't want to get inspected etc and not be here. Also we genuinely wanted to get our own pony and do whatever we pleased about it all without an owner or charity looking over our shoulders. 

Having a companion who can load is also helpful for bad loaders as you can take them away with you to make sure that the ponies will get in the trailer or box. We did this with several of ours but if you can't take them with you it's quite hard to make it work that way. I would suggest using the companion if you can to show the other how to do something, for example Blue doesn't get what lunging is, so before or after I have tried with him, I get Shannon and try with her, this means he sees what it is all about and she also gets some time with me. 

Anyhoo, I am off to spend some time with the birthday boy, Blue and give him a huge carrot. Love you all, adios :)

A day in the life...

Hello peeps :)
So I tend to wake up vaguely around 9.30 (9.26 today precisely). After I wake up and check the time I walk over to one of my windows to look out for the ponies, today I only saw Blue who was just outside the house. If my room is tidy, which it kind of is today, I only really need half an hour to get myself sorted but guess what? I am lazy! So I spent an hour watching YouTube with my cereal and doing my hair etc. So I went out and all the jumps had been tampered with.. I think they have been using the jumps for a scratching posts which I guess is okay, it just means that there is more work for me. It took me a good 20 mins to get the two jumps up since the ground is so uneven! That brings us to 10.50.

I then decided to go through to a neighbour's field where the ponies shall be staying in soon, for a week or so. There is a patch of ground with melted metal and various dangerous sharp objects which the ponies can't go anywhere near. I couldn't find the white plastic stobs to make a temporary fence, I then found only 2 intact! Safe to say that after all of that searching its annoying that I am now going to have to use jump stands to complete the fence.
As you can see from the picture the area is quite small which makes it more annoying as if it was bigger it would make more sense to run a line from the fence around it but its too far away to cut away that much of the field. Either way the ponies shall not be in contact with the lethal junk which lies there. That entire process took over half an hour and it was 11.30 by the time I got in again. Then had a half hour tea break and then received a huge amount of paper work had arrived and spent 3/4 hour going through it and seeing what I need to do to organise uni etc.  I then spent a while writing this and then went and got some lunch. Beans on bagel nom nom nom! 

At around 1.20 I went and got my lovely bridle and began to clean it :) It's such a long and tedious job since you need to take everything apart and then put it all back again but my new bridle was getting grubby and it was needed. I use Belvoir tack cleaner and conditioner but I recently have ordered a lincoln tack cleaner which I am excited for it to arrive. A good tip with cleaning your bit is to lay it in warm water, clean the rest while it soaks and then scrub it at the end, this allows all the grim and grass stuck on the end of the bit to soften and come off easily. Another tip is when you are putting it back together try placing it on your own head and aligning everything as if you were the horse. This means that the buckles and billets are more likely to be put back the right way round. I would suggest doing the bridle up normally and then putting martingale/breastplate/daisy rein on it when you are tacking up.

At 2.00 I went and got Blue from the field, it was weird, he decided as I let him walk himself to the gate that he would canter over the gravel and buck into me as I grabbed the lead rope, think he got a bit excited..
I then got to work on his mucky legs, the picture shows the left one done and right one about to be... he is such a mucky pony!! It took a while and I do take pride in his tail and feather but I got him looking less muddy and only little dusty. In the same order as the tack cleaner is shampoo which I can't wait to get since he really does need a deep clean! Blue is such a good lad when it comes to standing in the stable to be groomed. I always said I never wanted a grey (can I just point out that was my 9 year old thinking and I wasn't a spoilt brat) and not only did I end up with a grey but a HIGHLAND!! A BOG PONY!! When I was doing the jumps I actually saw the both of them in the bog but they got out and I made sure they didn't go back in.. once they go there I try and get their legs to dry so I can brush them off since I have no shampoo.

By around 2.35 I had a tidy pony with the best tail ever! I tacked him up in his newly cleaned bridle and his reasonably cleaned saddle. He looks so lovely in his matching tack, I can't wait for his new stuff to arrive... I was going to list it all but I will just make a haul since I have quite a lot of stuff coming. We just went out for a short hack because I stupidly timed it that if we stayed too long then we would be attacked by buses, one at 3.50, one at 4.10, one at 4.20 and one at 4.40... so that was rubbish! I got out by 2.55, after calling dad to say that I would be an hour and if I didn't call back after 4.30 then "I was dead" (over-dramatic Kate moment). I had a really nice hack out and blue had a conversation with a sheep and a few other ponies on route. I didn't go on outback because it was raining in the night and his legs had just been done. Blue didn't want to leave Shannon to begin with and was quite lively on the way back so we actually ended up out of the village by about 3.40 which was good, then we had a lovely gallop home :) That bit was timed well since if I had been early there would have been my neighbour coming home from school and later I would have been caught by the buses. 

When I got back I took Blue's saddle off and took him for a bareback wander around the diet field to cool down. The wind went mental.. super strong so the wander was fairly short. Blue was also super hungry and even though its a "diet field" its not had any ponies in it for months so it has better grass than the big field! I took him out and let him loose into the big field with his mummy.  I then got in around 4.15 and put everything away. I crashed and burned in my bed around 4.30, I don't know why I am so tired! I had a bit of a rubbish nights sleep but nothing too bad. Weird. 
Excuse the hat hair, I was too lazy to get a hair brush and do it..
Living next to the horses has its pros and cons. Pros being that I can do whatever I like and go to the loo, get a drink, have a seat and watch TV. Cons being that it increases my laziness and procrastination. I then went and found the most amazing thing ever, it perked me right up and was a reason to get excited.... it was... an... ICECREAM! 

Excuse the face..

I think that is it, its 5.40 now (6.00 actual upload) and I think I might have a snooze and then get some dinner later, I was going to do more today but the ground was wet and I also was under the assumption that my horsey delivery stuff would arrive today. Sorry for this fail of a post :) Adios!

Busy Life...

(Wrote this on Monday)
Hey guys :) I don't think I will be able to do a life in the day post until Wednesday+ since I need to tidy today and I might be going to BBQ tomorrow, I have just looked at the weather and it seems horrible. Either way I doubt I will get the post up by Wednesday. Here is a wee post for training and preparations for shows. 

Jumping (Show and hunter)

Make sure you know what height the class you have entered into and that you can jump that height. If you are like me and jump in a field rather than a paddock I would try and make a course in the field to give your horse more of a gist of it all. Also, make sure you go to an arena and complete a course of jumps. I find that the more you do it in an actual arena the better idea on your paces and turns you will have.
I would suggest looking at old course plans and replicate parts of them to practice. 
I would also train in whatever tack you are using so when it comes to the day there will be no nasty surprises when things don't fit. I would time your rounds and see where your boundaries are for speed. Also, you might either want to switch ponies, have someone ride your pony, have another rider and horse there to give you a better insight and flag up any bad habits you maybe get yourself in.

Dressage
Now I have never really done dressage but the training is simple. Make sure that you can do all the transitions within the test. Have the test ready and printed for training with, and maybe get a prompt for training too (Not me, cause I just blurt out rubbish). If you need and can have one for the day arrange a prompt and ensure that they will be there for your slot. http://www.cairolodge.co.uk has quite a few of the test sheets up for free. You are really going to need an arena area for training but a flat paddock would do but if it rains and you need to canter you are in a bit of trouble. 

XC

This is probably the hardest to train for because most people do not have XC jumps. If you can practice on proper ones but even if you got hunter jumps and put them in the field that would be better than nothing. I made my own this year which are quite like hunter jumps, I quite enjoy them cause they knock over and it feels safer. Obviously any form of jumps are the best to grasp a gauge for the heights you will get over and heights you cant.

Showing
This is what you will need, to be successful at showing:

- Spotless horse
- Smart gear (especially headcollar)
- Good position and good relationship with your pony
- Bombproof horse who is capable of all transitions and to pop a small jump
- GLOVES, when you are on the ground, you will want gloves!
- Punctuality

Some no-nos for showing:
- Unnecessary harsh bit/bridle
- Shaved tail
- Short stirrup leathers with narrow stirrups
- Incorrect tack such as a blocked saddle
- Overuse of sprays and make up and chalk
- One handed canters
- Bad hooves and shoes
- Overshowing of the young
- Overuse of the inside rein

Righto, I think that is it, have fun in this dissipating sun :) Adios!

Combined Training (Mini update)

I am just back from helping out a pal near by at their combined training show days. Safe to say, mixed results but super good day! I shot quite a bit of footage and already have two videos up :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4tO6K1H0HI - This is Amy's dressage round
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fPK9jB1oAM - This is both our ponies refusing to jump in the heat!

Just thought I would direct you there since there is actually stuff going on for once, I shall soon do a life in the day (Blog) and since I have shot quite a bit of footage I guess I should do a blog first then a video another time.
Thank-you for all your attention and I will be back with more shenanigans! Adios! :)

Summer Issues

WEIGHT GAIN
Summer is the time of year when horses gain weight. I have had 3 laminitics now and we have explored all the solutions to preventing laminitis. BEST way for us has been diet pasture. We had a larger one which was 2 weeks in 2 weeks out but now we have a smaller one which is one week in one week out. It worked at keeping the weight off especially when we had exams or went on holiday and couldn't ride them. Another solution is available which is muzzle, and can be used in a large paddock. I have used this but Blue has a talent for rolling and shuffling his head out of this. The best form of solution is exercise, lunging and hard workouts are bound to shift the pounds. Also, licks such as laminaze are good and general tips such as soaking the hay before feeding it to them are helpful to just keep the weight down. Also another good idea is to have your horse stabled during the day, they eat less at night and on these hot summer days its good to give them shade.


TICKS



Anti-tick solution can be sprayed on your horses and I would suggest having some tweezers handy for getting the wee buggers out. Shannon had tons of teeny tiny ones on her muzzle you can either wait to see if the horse gets rid of them or I find, smothering them in Vaseline stops them. You do have to leave the vasaline on for a while so you will need to keep your horse in for over an hour.




FLIES
Anti-fly spray for the win! Top Tip - CHECK THE LABEL TO SEE THE CONCENTRATION OF "N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide" or DEET, as it is more commonly named as. Citronella spray is sold and used for anti-fly purposes but due to the debate over its safety I stay away from it. NAF off - Deet power I find very effective with 19.8% concentration of DEET. You can also purchase by NAF off a bottle of spray called extra effect which uses p-Menthane-3,8-diol,  and I have never tried this. The NAF off deet power is the best I have found and I would only change it to make my own. Now, my old pony, Melody wouldn't be sprayed, she would just try to kill you, we once found an amazing green gel which I have completely forgotten the name of, but it was amazing, I could be mistaken but it might have actually been the gel version. This brings me on to my follow up point, GELS! if your horse is spooky around spray gel is the perfect solution especially for in the private areas and face. 

Anyhoo, another solution is to feed your horses garlic, Shannon (companion) doesn't get sprayed and its a bit of a kerfuffle to get her in and get her gel etc so I just feed them both garlic. Garlic granules are the best bet and none of my ponies have ever rejected it in their feed.
I would put a rant about fly rugs but I have never used them so I will leave that up to the people who do.

HOOVES
My ponies hooves get quite cracked when there are heat waves with no sun, if I can I usually put ointment and oil on their hooves, to keep them hydrated and strong. When I can't do that I or if they are really bad I feed the ponies biotin  in their feed or on its own. Its a very nice grass kind of powder which strengthens their hooves, I had Shannon on this all throughout her box-rest last year since the only moisture her hooves where getting was the blood (rarely) from the wound and if she kicked her water bucket. 

LICE, INSECTS, SUN BURN AND "HAY FEVER"

Lice: 
Keep your horses clean and groomed, check their coat for any signs of lice regularly. If you do find lice, go buy medicated, lice shampoo and use it over 2 weeks and also soak your brushes in it.

Insects:
Again keep your pony clean and groomed. When your horse has been rolling or lying down, I would suggest giving them a good groom to get rid of anything that crawled on them when they were down. (Similar thing if they walk through streams/puddles/ponds)

Sun burn:
On sunny days, especially if you are riding in the sun, with no shade, I would apply sun cream to 
their muzzle, chest, poll and groin area.

"Hay fever":
Some horses can have reactions to the grass they lie on so I would suggest having piritin handy for these situations.

THE END

Okiedokie, that's me, like always I will mention, this is my opinion, I am not professional, this worked for me and I am only suggesting that it could work for you. In any situations when you are concerned for your horse's health CALL A VET. Righto, enjoy the sun, adios :)

Update

Hello there, I AM FREE. Just thought I would let you know that I am no longer a High School Student! Woohoo! I am so happy now that I am free to do whatever I like, I have been through my lazy phase, first afternoon off I slept for a couple of hours then headed out to a lake with some friends. First DAY off I just laze about not doing a single thing. Today was the 2nd day off and I spent it being lazy and then finally decided to get off my fat bum and get tidying, so now my room is all lovely and I can actually walk through it without standing on anything :)

So now that I have done what I needed to do before properly jump starting summer I can now begin. I thought I might start with a day in the life video for YouTube but I am not sure what to do for you guys. Feel free to send suggestions in for blog posts. I really am not sure what you guys are wanting so how about one chatty one and one educational one. I could do a day in the life blog post and a how to deal with summer issues in ponies? Whatever I do, I hope you like it :) ok then I think that is me, have fun in the sun and enjoy summer :D