BUCKET LIST - HORSEY STYLE!

 Looking ahead to the Spring and Summer and thinking of all the 

COOL stuff we can hopefully get up to !!

I thought it would be quite fun to make a bucket list of FUN THINGS. And also a list of Jobs and projects i would like to do over the coming few months. I am ever hopeful for some 

FANTASTIC SUNSHINE'Y' DAYS!

BUCKET LIST (HORSES)

• Picnic ride to the river
• Try archery on horseback
• Trip to the Seaside
• Cross country schooling 
• Jump a course of showjumps (75cm)
• Find a new hack
• More dressage and maybe a score above 60% would be nice and with alot of work well deserved (achievement)
• Do more liberty. BONDING TIME
• Pass my stage 2 CARE exam (will do blog post next on my DREAMS and my AMBITIONS and the journey so far)
• Have weekly lessons
• Join the riding club
• Do more clinics! LEARN, LEARN, LEARN!!
• STUDY LIKE CRAZY (At least 2 hrs a day!)
• Get better at riding and prepare for STAGE 2 RIDE.
• Keep teaching Z 'Get better at lesson plans. Get creative. See results. HAVE FUN!!'
• Start a beginner and get them to Novice stage
• Take Viv to the Durham hydro spa
• Take Viv to the gallops
• Make time for cartooning (I like to draw horse cartoons!)
• BE MINDFUL. ENJOY. BE PRESENT. FEEL IT!!

JOBS

• DEEP SCRUB STABLE
• TAKE RUBBER MATS OUT/CLEAN MATS 
• PAINT STABLE
• CLEAN RUGS 
• BATH VIV 
• CLEAN FEED ROOM
• CLEAN BOOTS 
• CLEAN TACK 

Hack through the woods ~ Such Fun!

 I love it when I have the opportunity to borrow my friends horse. She is an Appoloosa all 17.3/18hh of her!! She is a beaut. A bouncy beaut, but either way a beaut! 

We went for a hack through the woods. Out for about 2 and a half hours in the glorious sunshine which felt like a SPRING DAY! Listening to Z chatting away to Viv and the birds chirping away in the background was like magic. Such special moments, such special memories! 

With the nice weather we have also made time to give Viv a good tail scrub! Her tail was in desperate need of some scrub a dub dubbing with all the mudding hahaha!!! 

Today was cold though BOOHOO! I took Viv for a short hack round the block as i was pushed for time today but BOY DID I WISH I HAD TAKEN MY GLOVES! Frozen fingers on returning home!!

Winter RECAP

 My last blog post was written just after christmas (I forgot to publish it until now) so I thought I would do another post to update on how our first winter as full time mummys to Viv has gone!

It has been AMAZING! We have loved the jobs and the snuggles on a night under the lights. The MUD? Maybe not so much haha!! We got off lightly weather wise right up until January. But then BOY did the snow come! And it stayed for a very long time! It was not only cold and wet. But Icy and dangerous. Viv didn't get out hacking much for a couple of weeks as it was just two icy most days to risk it. 

BUT we have been blessed with a nice warm snap this last week. It has been into double figures at times. Still cold on a night but much warmer during the day. PLUS SUNSHINE! Oh how we all love a bit of sunshine! The only problem with that is MUD and layers on, then layers off! But the hacking has been AMAZING :) 

Here are some pictures of our adventures!

The end of our third lockdown is almost HOPEFULLY OVER!! And we are looking forward to some DRESSAGE (ME) LESSONS (US BOTH) and lots of ADVENTURES WITH FRIENDS . . . Staying safe, of course. I think social distancing will be around for a long time yet! BUT we can at least breathe now knowing there is a breather in sight. Time for a 'LITTLE' bit of normality in a very NOT THAT NORMAL WORLD!!

Guess who joined our family!

 It has been an awful year with Covid. The beginning of LAST year was MAYHEM and HYSTERIA. People panicking. Shelves cleared. Nobody with any clue as to when or what was to come. Media fed the fear, panic ran through society quicker than the virus itself! We were told to stay in. But could also go out. Nobody knew what they were supposed to be doing?!

The year has continued in waves. Right into this year. We were lucky that we were blessed a good spring. The weather was glorious so we  could be out in the garden, also having to go and look after Viv on our days. And when we were given the go ahead to be able to ride again we enjoyed some lovely hacks. 

This Summer we have been on picnic rides to the woods and the river (My friends have been letting me take their horses out sometimes. It saves my legs and meant we could go further and have more fun).

I also entered my first Dressage competition this Summer. We did Prelim 2 and got 60% which i was over the moon with as it was such a wet and windy day and the arena had a SPOOKY puddle at the bottom of it! Haha!

It was a dressage and go event due to the covid restrictions. IT POURED DOWN and it was really windy! The outdoor arena had a fetlock eating monster hidden in the puddle right at C!! We had a few hairy moments the first few times round haha! Luckily they were before the horn went and after that she scrambled through it changing her rhythm though. (She hates getting her feet wet!)

I was over the moon with 60% though. THANKYOU JUDGE! Viv tried her litte heart out for me. The judges comments were really positive.

Also this year I have seen a massive increase in Z's confidence. She has been practicing really hard on her flatwork and her jumping and she has come on leaps and bounds! She especially LOVES polework. And so does Viv it seems! 

NOVEMBER BROUGHT A SPECIAL OCCASION

CAN YOU GUESS WHO JOINED OUR FAMILY?

Vivienne! OMG we couldnt be happier! We have taken Viv on full loan and it has been AMAZING SO FAR! The daily trips to look after her. Watching the sun go down after school and finishing the yard under the lights in the darkness. SO COZY!

Z Has been brilliant and proves she can be a fantastic horse owner.

WE HAVE SO MANY ADVENTURES AHEAD OF US. CANT WAIT!!

A bit of all weathers this week!!

It has been a mixture of many seasons this week.

 Not hot mind, but warmer days mixed with FROSTY mornings. 

And OMG. 

Do I LOVE a FROSTY MORNING!! :)

Monday while the kids were at school i decided i would do the school run and then housework as QUICK as possible. Quick meaning fly hoover over, dust what is visible, do any stray away dishes (OMG a pre-teen room makes for a sink full!!) Washing on, Dryer run, Last nights Washing AWAY. . . Bugger the ironing hahaha!! So whats left? OH YES . . .  sneak in a nice hack. Needed obviously!

I have been literally KICKING MY ASS from Monday and all  this week as I feel I have lost my mojo with riding. I decided that to sort this i would start the week making myself ride EVERY DAY, And just BE HORSEY EVERYDAY!! Apart from Wednesday as I had something on! Im not kidding, some days it was hard to motivate myself, but I knew it was in my best interests to lift one's mood! SO I WENT!!

I have loved it. Once there I am internally 'HAPPY' I am able to feel truelly 'LIKE ME' the hours pass quick because they are AMAZING!!

I have decided to KEEP THIS GOING. I am going to try hard to ride most days and just enjoy spending time with Viv. Because she is . . . well amazing for the soul!! 

Back to being GROOM . . . EEEK SO HAPPY!

THE WORLD IS FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS, MANY MIRACLES CAN BE FOUND!
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT MIGHT BE THERE, HEAR THAT SUTTLE SOUND!!

I HAVE STARTED A NEW JOB AS A GROOM AT A LOCAL YARD AND I LOVE IT!!

THE HORSES ARE AMAZING, THE PEOPLE ALL SEEM AMAZING AND THE WHOLE TIME I AM THERE FEELS AMAZING!! SO MANY MEMORIES TO BE MADE!!

Back to blogging

Hi guys, sorry i haven't updated this blog in a long time. 

But I have missed it so I cannot wait to get back to my weekly blogs. 

I love keeping a record of our adventures! And of course sharing it with you!

The winter has been easy on us. Easy meaning DRY and this has meant we haven't had the big issues with mud that we usually do through the winter months. The gateways are still muddy but the majority of the winter paddocks have stayed dry. However Springtime things could change, we are not quite out of the mud season yet!

Viv has stayed in tip top condition all winter. Her coat has gleamed even with all that fluff! Where she is clipped she's like a new penny!

We are coming into spring again now, and i cant wait for the warmer weather and hopefully LOTS OF SUNSHINE!! We had a few mild days last week and it really lifted our spirits and got us excited. I picked Z up from school one day last week with Viv and it was glorious! Z loved it so much, as did her class mates when they seen there was a horse outside of school!!

It is back to frost and a bitter cold day today. Winter needs to hurry up and go now!