OUCH!

Yesterday was not entirely cool :(
Took my car and float in for work required for WOF, and closed my fingertip in the door when exitting.
Popped the nailbed up above the flesh, blood everywhere, lots of thoroughly innappropriate language (which funnily enough seemed ENTIRELY appropriate under the circumstances).
Doctor was surprised from the mess to find no break.
I must have looked decidedly odd driving Poppy down the beach with half my hand wrapped up in a bread bag, and soaked head to toe as I worked her mid-cannon deep in the sea.
Luckily her manners are pretty good, and I was able to hold her.
Even more painful than the finger are the prices on the required repairs.
I can't believe how damn expensive it can be, or how bloody long it can take a frickin' mechanic to do the same thing it took Shane and I 25 minutes to do!
If I had more time up my sleeve, and easier parts access I'd do it my bloody self....GRRRRR

New Year Catch Up

The ponies are gone or going with the exception of the 3 I am keeping for my girls.
There are too many SBs now to be worked to do both.

Poppy has lined up again 4 times since the last post, for a third, a win, a big fat nought, and a fourth.

Biki has gained heaps of weight, and started yesterday for a 7th, but most importantly, trotted all the way, which pleased me immensely.
And Volare, who only arrived earlier in the week also started, but broke off the start.

Q and Kicks have also arrived this week, both 3 yr olds, Q a trotter gelding, and Kicks a pacer filly.

Oh Bugger!

As Geoff texted me, "From hero to zero", just like that. Poppy decided simply not to front up to race last Thursday whatsoever, stood on her mark while the others stepped, cantered when she finally did move off, and never really got trotting.
Who knows exactly what was going through her funny head?
I know she was rather pissed off after the race, and in fact was on strike for a couple of days. I actually am pretty sure she was in season, and it's not so cool if she's going to do that when she is, fingers crossed it was an aberation.
Brought her straight home and took her straight down to the beach for a run and plenty of stand and trot off practise.
Will stick to that right up until next race day.
On a happier note, I'm almost positive Whinney is ready to qualify, and we are going to keep Jack for the PC season, and Tieryn is riding him. They will be competing at Windemere games next weekend.
So instead Indi and Bramble will be advertised soon.

Been far too busy and excited...

to post anything recently.
My gorgeous girl had her first start back on Oct 30th, and WON!!! WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO
We started her at Cambridge last Thursday and realised we haven't totally resolved her starting issues, and she broke and gave the field a hell of a headstart. Massive run though, and managed a 3rd despite that, so we are looking forward to seeing what she can do this Thursday.

I'm Buggered

Started out my day at 5:30am checking all the commotion outside thinking someone must be out of a paddock with the sheer volume of the pounding hooves. They sounded so bloody close. Turns out it was just Molly and Saffy sorting out the pecking order, and Dumpy haring around his adjacent large yard/small paddock in response. Binky and Jack were also racing up and down their communal fenceline making fierce looks and gestures at each other, but everyon was where they should be, and otherwise fine.
I gave those in the yards hay, and came online briefly, cleared lastnights emails, mostly re Jack, then went out to bring Crystal in from out the back at Don's, taking Saffy out in her place. Mouse and Whisper went out into the hill paddock for the day, and hubby took Darky out the back and brought Bronson in. the days hardfeed was made up, everyone fed breakfast.
I trimmed Crystal's hooves, then a mate showed up with her big black beauty, recently off the track, but having spent long enough fattening up in a grassy paddock to have fattened up and look stunning. Only her third time on his back, and she came on him, I rode Bronson, and a friend of hers rode my Crystal out along the beach, up through the forest and the dunes and back along the beach home. Quite a few offroad motorcycles and quads out in the dunes, but the boys were impeccably behaved despite being somewhat worried. Crystal was her usual lazy unenthused self.
My mate rode Bramble before she left, who proved what a little toerag she can be by behaving herself as soon as she realised she had an actual rider on her back, rather than a hopeless kid, so we'll have to see how she goes as we bring her back into work.
I trimmed Molly's feet and washed and iodined a bit of rainscald on her back. She was an angel to trim, and with any luck will be as good when I saddle her up.
Went and checked Megan, Indi, and Toby up the road, as I am checking Megan every day for signs she is waxing up. She is due more or less any time now.
Came home, had dinner early, went and lunged Poppy, fed everyone again, brought Whisper and Mouse in for the night, and I am now about ready for bed. Tomorrow is my "easy" day as I go to town and do a morning at the Salvation Army in the kitchen preparing a lunch meal, and while everyone here still needs to be fed, only Poppy will be worked, and I'll do that in the evening.
I'm off to bed now to swot up on the rules questions for the oral part of the licensing test I hopefully will get to do on Thursday. I still have to work out how the hell I can manage to get my oldest daughter to Pony Club on Sunday afternoon, given that Poppy will probably race early in the afternoon. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it maybe, I'm sure we can work something out. At least being this busy I'm keeping out of trouble ;)

Jack Frost

Jack came home about a year ago, bought from the partner of a work friend who had had him as a petting feature at a tourist lodge.

He was friendly, but had not really had anything done with him.

I took him to PC and let him have a look around while my daughter rode her pony, and found him to be very calm.

He stared out with no problems on the lead rein with my oldest daughter aboard, and she attended a couple of PC rallies on him when her own pony was lame.

He made the transition to being ridden off the lead with ease, and spent several months with a good local instructor, being schooled under her supervision by her daughter, and several of her pupils.

He attended PC while with her, started jumping, and showed a talent, and liking for games.

He has a super ground covering walk, and genuinely forward without being a puller or taking off. His trot and canter are also reasonably quick.

He will best suit a confident child with some experience. He does not require a huge amount of talent, or skill, but is not suited to an absolute learner.

He has just been returned from trial as the people who took him decided he was too small,(I'm thinking he hadn't shrunk since he left here!?), and has unfortunately come home with a nasty skin infection on his face and ears , and 2 pressure sores on his wither, so as a consequence will be unavailable for 2-4 weeks while they heal.

I have $3500 on him, and if you come and see him and like him, 50% deposit will allow you to take him on trial for 4 weeks.

The balance is due if you decide to keep him at hte end of that 4 weeks, or if prearranged, then he can be paid off over a maximum of 6 months.

Crystal

Crystal is a mustered in Kaimanawa, (feral horse from the North Island of New Zealand's central plateau), who has spent almost her entire life since muster in a trekking establishment packing tourists and occasional riders who often had barely seen, let alone ridden a horse before, through sand dunes, forrestry, and down an open beach. She is a nose-on-the-tail-of-the-horse-in-front type that carries cargo willingly, as opposed to actual riders. She is rather lazy, and more interested in getting her head down to eat than doing any real work.

She is naturally a pretty good doer, and for most of her life has been in good weight, however we had a drought last season, and her owners failed to ensure adequate supplementary feed, which meant when we bought her 3 months ago she was somewhat underweight, in fact there was almost a clear 2" between her upper hindlegs.

She is looking much better now but still seems hollow below her point of buttock, and her neck is still not as I remember it a few years back, but I suspect it will take work rather than feed to remedy them, as it is more to do with muscling than fat cover.

She is reasonably "over" people too unfortunately,(I think I would be too given her job description for the last 8 years), and I am contemplating breeding from her this season rather than using her under saddle, and bringing her back into work once the foal is weaned, hoping she may have a change of heart in that time.

Crystal was not a cheapy, in fact is the second most expensive horse I have ever purchased, however I believe given what she has done already, and how useful she still potentially is, that she deserves a good forever home where she is well looked after.

She is not likely to ever become available for sale, but will probably be used for lessons here, if not now, then certainly in the future.