Roses are red

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I realised I have 4 boys in my life and I didn’t get a single card… I’m sure they love me (and not just cause I feed them).

I was peopling this morning. The other receptionist had bought these beautiful roses to brighten the clinic. I put on a ‘timeless romantic songs’ playlist. Gosh there were some classics on there. And lots I hadn’t heard for a while.

I did get some ‘presents’. Buddy gave me an exceptionally filthy stable to muck out. Bert brought me an old piece of rope on our walk. And the kittens left a trail of muddy paw prints all over my bed. Who says romance is dead?!

Bouncy

Buddy and I tackled this exercise today. A bounce to a one stride upright for those who are wondering. A good gymnastic exercise get him back into jumping-mode properly.

He bounced through it like Tigger! Couldn’t fault him. Me on the other hand… a few dodgy lines. My focus for 2025 has to be straightness. I have a naughty habit of cutting the corner.

I kept it nice and small ashes had a bit of time away from these sorts of exercises. Still I’d say it was a very successful session.

Best get us entered for some competitions.

February sun

I felt like I needed to press the reset button today. I overslept (clearly needed it) so felt like I was chasing my tail (something Bert is rather good at).

So l thought I’d take the oversized Labrador out for a walk in the February sunshine. Well makes a change from the compact Sprocker.

I did one of my favourite rides. It definitely helped to reset my brain as I was getting a bit discombobulated with life.

Pine scented

I love the smell of pines. It’s such a comforting smell. Reminds me of living in Sweden. So walking through these woods was heaven. Bert and I stopped off for a wander on our way back from lunch. My goodness, it’s good for my senses to be around trees.

It’s also good for my stomach to have a lush lunch. I met up with a friend. He’s nearly 85, but we still have so much to talk about. Mostly horses. It’s fascinating listening to his stories of eventing and farming over the decades.

It’s one of the things I appreciate about the horse world. It’s very egalitarian. I have met so many people through horses. From all walks of life. In many age brackets. The common thread is a love of horses.

And horses are by far the best thing I’ve found for my heart and soul. But to be fair, being in nature comes a close second. Apparently you can ride in these woods. Now that would be a wonderful…

Rockstar

This is the face of a hacking rockstar. It’s a very handsome face too. Today Buddy had to overcome a lot of our hack. I hadn’t realised they were picking up the sugar beet. He put his brave pants on to walk under the dinosaur. Yes I’m sure it’s got a technical name. But it looks like a dinosaur hanging over the road. It also made a bit of a racket as it picked the beets up. It also made one hell of a racket as it dropped said beets into the massive lorry.

That made him jump, but still he held it together. Said massive lorry then came up behind him. Thankfully it turned right as we turned left.

Next we went past a fence being erected with banging and drilling. Lots of cars, dogs, prams and even a few cyclist. It seemed a rather popular time to go out.

Still he held it together. His undoing was a man walking round the corner. Fair enough, his little bucket was full.

After that spook, he didn’t break his stride with a cacophony of gunshots. Total hacking rockstar!

I have to say that there were some really lovely people out today. Who stopped, were patient and let us have space. It really does make all the difference. I’m also very grateful to have such a trusting and grounded horse. That makes all the difference too.

Mudpack

Buddy excelled himself in the mud stakes today. He clearly felt that he needed some sort of mudpack spa treatment. Because he’s worth it!

Lord only knows how he managed to cover himself like that. Can’t help laughing at his precision coverage.

And I know what you’re thinking. No I didn’t attempt to get it off as it was too wet still. Yes I rode like that. In the rain. Which cleaned my coat, but sadly not Buddy’s legs.

Club helper

Bert did his bit for Carleton Riding Club today. He helped us sort out the jumps we have stored at a local venue. We marked them too so it’s clear which ones are ours.

He was very helpful and definitely didn’t get himself wrapped round them. Or round a table. Or chair. He started ‘free range’ but a pony came into the arena, so he went back on the long line. Then became a bit of a trip hazard…

We’re all volunteers on the club Committee. We give our time willingly to support the club we love. It supports many people to do the things they love as well. All we ask is that our members do a little bit of volunteering too. Think Bert is setting a very good example already.

I’m looking forward to our next clinic where Buddy will be the one jumping them.

Bucketload

You’d think Bert would be tired after his second Puppy School session. Clearly not as he’s having a lot of fun with a bucket of all things. I popped a treat under it so he has to work for it.

He was a lot calmer at Puppy School today. He was much more focussed on me, rather than on all of the other puppies. So much better for training.

Today we were working on ‘sit, down and stand’, recall and tips for helping with biting. Bert is still in his piranha stage. He loves playing with his toys. Unfortunately, he’s accidentally caught my hands too. Man, puppy teeth are sharp!

I’m trying to get ahead of it before he starts teething. He’s now 15 weeks so he’s heading towards that.

He crashed out when we got home, so I left him sleeping while I went to pop Buddy over a few jumps. It’s been a little while since we jumped, so nothing big or fancy. But felt very good to leave the ground again.

Dimness

I was a bit scratchy today. It’s Tax Return time. Enough said huh?!

Honestly, I’m nearly 55. I should be able to do my return without a borderline panic attack. The joys of 30 years of PAYE and someone doing it for me. I think it’s the way the questions are written. I haven’t got a clue what they’re asking most of the time.

Anyway I did as much as I could (yes I phoned a friend who’s helping tomorrow) and headed to the yard for some much needed Buddy time. Bert has had to take centre stage so Buddy and the kittens have been supporting players recently. It felt good to get out on Buddy.

On my way back, I stopped at the garage to get my headlight sorted. I let them know that Bert was in the car. He had 5 people wanting to meet him and have cuddles. See, centre stage.

They all commented on how handsome he is and how calm. He wasn’t so calm this evening as he was tearing round my office and chewing my blanket. The former makes me laugh, the later made me cry.

It’s not damaged but it is the blanket I was given by my Nanna. It belonged to my Grampy. The man Bert is named after. I know it’s just a blanket, but the connection to my Mum kinda hit me. Lots of tears from me. I guess it’s going to happen. Grief is a very tricky path to navigate sometimes. But like HMRC!

Runaround

After lunging Buddy this afternoon, I thought I’d let Bert have a runaround in the indoor school too.

One of the yard dogs, Thor, came to join the fun too. There’s a considerable size difference between then and I’m not sure Thor totally knew what to make of Bert.

Bert was submissive when needed. He also jumped all over Thor. But they were so cute together. It’s a very good start to Bert’s yard induction.

When I take him out on the long line, it’s a bit like lunging a horse. He’s getting the hang of it. But Buddy is definitely easier to lunge. He doesn’t randomly change direction when he gets a good sniff…