Monday 10 March 2014

Wonderful Weather

I spent two glorious hours hacking in the woods yesterday with L on O, myself on Nancy & Kika came along with us like a  good puppy on a leash - she is such a pet to hack this way as she just dozes while strolling alongside the horse "ponying" her - which is lucky as it was such a beautiful day (21C - crazy for early March !!!) we met lots of people (mostly families with kids) and cyclists as well as other happy hackers from our yard while out in the woods. N bravely led the way past everything as L had Kika (she rides in western saddle for wood hacking and can attach K to horn) & the two dogs to keep an eye on without worrying about passing in front - Nancy is such a solid citizen I am truly blessed. *knock-on-wood*

Best way I could get us all in photo as we came home,
our turnout is trees in background & shadow on right of photo is myself & Nancy
(I wish I could have an explanation for my wayward foot - leaning back for photo perhaps *blush*)
 The weather has been so stunning that we have turned the girls naked (no rugs) yesterday & today and hopefully for the rest of the week if the weather holds as promised buy forecasters!

The ponios are getting pedicures this evening as we try a new blacksmith (for us), he is actually the yard farrier and thankfully speaks French (unlike our current farrier who only speaks German - not ideal for me as my knowledge of German is limited at best yet severely hampered when it comes to equine specific terms). The Guru's mare needs a special type of shoeing and this guy says he can do it for a considerably cheaper price-tag than the guy we have been using since last summer - so chances are he'll also be cheaper for my pocketbook with Nancy only getting pared & Kika - two front shoes.

I sadly will not be there myself as work has me slammed again (#sadtimes) and L & I won free tickets to a concert this evening so rather than stressing to get across town.
L offered to "mammy" the horses with new farrier and meet me at concert hall. I do not know how I lucked out with a friend like her!
We're going to see The 1975 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRss6RUhsYU&list=RDyRss6RUhsYU&index=1 ) - we saw them last year when they supported Two Door Cinema Club (a band I love) & I've been listening to the above linked songs on a loop while working - I really like the Happy-go-Lucky vibe to their music.
I'm sharing the video for their first single (I think) below - def one the songs that got them noticed in any case.


Tomorrow I shall be back in the saddle, might even half myself a half day as the bath I chose for the flat won't fit where we want it in the bathroom & I have to go back to shop to chose something else within budget. Oh the joys & I hate decision-making...this has been one steep learning curve for me LOL!

12 comments:

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    1. It was, I had hoped to snap the picture without the poop on the floor, but by the time I had my phone out we were upon it - woopsy!

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  2. You live in a beautiful area! What lucky ladies (you, your friends, and your ponies)!

    I looove Two Door Cinema Club, so I'll definitely be checking out your band recommendation when I'm not at work (boooo!)

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    1. Thanks Erika, I really am blessed with where I can keep my girls and am extra lucky to have been able to buy (thanks bank) a place within walking distance from yard.

      Two Door Cinema Club are awesome, I'm so glad to hear that others have heard of them. I first came across them 2years ago when they played a featival here & were pure class. Saw them again last year and cannot hear enough of their tracks!
      The 1975 were really good, their first album is also supppsed to be a bumper edition as they released 4 EPs prior to their debut album and then dropped the album with ALL the singles from EPs & other tracks so album has like 20 songs! First link above is to a youtube playlist for a sampling of their sound, listening to that convinced me to go to concert & helped really enjoy it as I knew more of their tracks than I otherwise would've ;-)

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  3. Yay for good weather and good rides! I got one in today as well. :)

    Out of curiosity how many languages do you speak?

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    1. Yay Amanda, hope weather stays good for all & we can all play with our ponies!

      Erm, as for languages...speak well or understand? I speak English & French fluently, I have tried on three seperate occassions (and ages) to learn German; gitten so far with it & then packed it in as sooooo many rules!
      I learnt Spanish at uni, but sadly don't get to speak it much anymore - although new liveries are Spanish on yard so must buck up & pick up my nerve to see if they'll play ball and let me practice my now very rusty espanol con ellos.
      I also have a smattering of Irish (Gaelic) which I learnt in secondary school but again have sadly forgotten a lot...I keep meaning to brush up on it as I love the fact we have such an old language & actually wish it was more common.

      On my wishlist of languages to learn are Romanian and/or Dutch...nit sure why, just something that took my fancy...sorry much longer an answer than you were expecting

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    2. I enjoyed the long answer. :)

      I speak a little bit of Spanish but sadly it is quite rusty as well. My husband I learned Arabic at a military language school. I know enough to "survive" but not much to add to conversations. I would love to find the drive and time to learn other languages, though. I think it is such a good skill to have.

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    3. Wow Arabic is cool, I haven't been brave enough to venture into a new alphabet yet...but never say never ;-)

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  4. Looks like such a fun ride!! Also I don't want to be a party pooper or a worry wart, but please ask L not to attach Kika to her saddle horn (if that's what she's actually doing). It is VERY dangerous especially on slippery asphalt. If Kika spooked and pulled back she could knock the other horse over, or she could fall herself or the saddle could slip. When I pony in my western saddle I will sometimes wrap the rope around the horn if the horse is balking, but only if I can get it unhooked quickly. It's safer to be able to drop it. I know these are grown horses with good training and they don't act up, but anything can happen with animals. They are unpredictable. It's like the story about the dog that goes around... the dog was very well trained and offleash all the time. In thirteen years the dog never ran off, then one day it ran across the road and was killed by a car. Sorry if I'm being paranoid or preachy, but it just freaks me out a little.

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    1. Thanks for the tips, K's rope isn't actually tied to horn just looped around it - but stupidly had never considered those possibilities. Shall have a word to L and see what we can do about it ;-)

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    2. It's no problem. I almost had a horse get pulled off of her feet when I was a kid so I learned my lesson quick. I just hope I can help other people not have to go through that. If it's just looped around the horn, but not tied back to itself it should be fine. If there is a loop tied in the rope and then put over the horn it can be just as bad as tying it, because once the horse has weight on it then it can be hard to slip it back off. :) I'm glad you're going to mention it. I don't want to be paranoid or come across as a know it all, but that's just one of those things that really freaks me out hehe.

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    3. Deff not know it all, I truly am grateful for the advice as I have zero experience of western tack/ponying horses from horseback so if people who do have experience (and negative at that) don't share...sadly the only way I'd learn would be to have the same negative experience which could end worse!
      Please don't ever be shy about expressing yourself in comments on my blog.
      *hugs*

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