Guest Blogger Rooster 2: My life at Calvert Trust

Hi everyone, its me again, Rooster.

This December Safari and I came to live at Calvert Trust. Now I thought I had seen every kind of place but let me tell you there is nowhere quite like this place! 

Meeting Pilgrim was a surprise; I didn’t realise a pony could be so small! Most of the horses here are pretty hairy compared with my racing buddies, especially Jack with his moustache and Duchess with her feathers!

Duchess showing off her feathers 

All the horses here have very special jobs.  We are here to help anyone to ride and drive who would like to give it a go and also so that people can spend time learning what fantastic creatures we are. I am quite tall but once people realise how gentle I am they all seem to love me. It took me a few weeks to work out what was going on but now I absolutely love my job.  The best thing is we get to do plenty of slow and gentle work which is great for me! I can still remember how fast I used to go though and have reminded the staff who work here on a few occasions!

Me enjoying a ride in our arena with my friend Justin

Guest Blogger Rooster 1: A little about me

I am delighted to have this opportunity to tell you about myself folks, thanks Pilgrim for asking me.

Saying 'hi' to Pilgrim

I'm an old gentleman now, but I think I have lived an interesting life. I was born in Ireland and I am a thoroughbred. For anyone who is not sure what that means; I was born to gallop and LOVE to run!

I have done a fair bit of racing during my life both in Ireland and in England, so as you might expect I am a well-travelled chap. I moved from Ireland to England when I was about 7 years old, and have raced at quite a lot of different places. 

All ready to go out

I was quite good at racing, but like everyone I started to feel my age and needed to slow down a little.  Now obviously that is not very good for a racehorse! So it was time for me to find another job.

The next chapter of my life was spent going for lovely long rides in the countryside with a very kind man. I also met Safari while I was doing this job and we became the best of friends. It was lovely to have time to make friends because in racing you spend so much time travelling around you rarely get to put down roots.

My friend Safari doing bareback riding in the arena

Pilgrim may have told you about Safari? He is a spotty horse who also moved here to Calvert Trust with me. I was so pleased he was able to move here too, I would have missed him terribly if we had to separate.

Pilgrim say's I can have another go at blogging, so next time I will tell you about my life here at Calvert Trust Exmoor.

Exciting News!

Hi everyone, I have some very exciting news to share with you!! 

On Monday some of the Calvert Trust staff went off on an adventure!  They went to Cheltenham Racecourse for the Visit England Awards for Excellence 2014. Obviously, I would have been a superstar if I had gone but two things stopped me; it was way past my bedtime and because it was held at a racecourse I thought that I might get asked to gallop really fast!

I decided to ask Nicky, who is in charge of the stables, to go as my representative. So off she went on Monday afternoon with some of the other staff and trustees.  They came back home with not one but two awards! We won Gold in the Access for All Category and Highly Commended in the Tourism Experience Category.  Everyone here is very pleased to have got these awards.

Our team receiving the Gold award

Nicky was telling the other staff in the stables about the evening, I heard her say that they had a lovely time.  She said they all had a really nice dinner; well it didn’t sound like anything I like to eat but then humans don’t have the same tastes as me! 

Me with our Visit England awards!

Yesterday afternoon I had a look at the awards.  I think I would like to have them hung up in my stable but I am not sure that will happen!  Maybe I could just have one that is for the cutest pony instead!!

More about Bob...

Hi everyone!

Do you remember a couple of years ago I introduced you to Bob? I thought I would bring you up to date with what he's been up to.

He's definitely the quietest horse we have here at the stables; I'm not sure what sort of horse he is but he doesn’t ever make a noise! I have tried to have a chat with him but it’s always been a bit one sided!

He's not very chatty is he!?!

Bob  is only about as tall as me, he has been here at the stables for a few years now but he doesn’t ever move very far. He lives in the middle of the yard, never gets fed and doesn’t need mucking out! Bob is made from an old barrel with a saddle attached. He is used to see whether people can sit on a horse before they get to try the real thing.  

The good thing with Bob is he is very still and quiet, but he gives people a good idea of what it is like to sit on a horse.  He also has a head with a bit and some reins on it.  This means people can learn about how to ask a horse to turn and stop. Bob never gets upset if someone makes a mistake!  Bob is very patient and will let people practice for ages on him before they get to do it for real. Lots of our visitors here have sat on Bob and he is a very important member of the stables team.

Me meeting Bob, with Rooster and Safari watching!

It's been a while since I've had a guest blogger; having just seen him in the photo I've decided I will ask Rooster to tell us a bit about his life for the next blog post.

See you soon!

I'm a film star!

One of the staff here at Calvert Trust had a video camera in the stables today, so here is the first ever piece of footage of me!

I know i'm not doing very much in it, but its an exciting new development, I'm becoming even more of a superstar!

I'm hoping to star in many more films in the coming months!

A strange machine in the stables...

The other day something quite odd happened here, I had to ask Teddy what was going on.  The vet arrived with a machine of some kind, and then another vet arrived to help her.  Teddy said they were taking an 'X-ray' of Bertie's knee. 

A few weeks ago Bertie had an argument in the field with one of the other horses and ended up getting kicked.  His knee has been a bit swollen since then. Teddy says an 'X- ray' is a sort of picture of the inside the horse so they can see bones and stuff and tell whether anything is wrong!  I think the vets must be really clever (maybe even as clever as Teddy). Hopefully Bertie will be fine again soon.

Last week I was very busy with our visitors, and it looks like i'm having just as busy a time this week too!  I've done some agility and also I showed Kerri (one of our Instructors) how good I am at jumping! She thought because I am small I wouldn’t be able to get very high. I'm not called the mighty atom for nothing, I proved I am small and mighty with a great big leap!!

Me showing Kerri how to do agility, I'm such a superstar!

Nearly time for my new trainers!

I had a lovely groom after my breakfast hay today, which made me feel great! I am losing my Winter woolliness at the moment so all the long hair which protected me from the wind, rain and cold is starting to fall out.  I was brushed for ages but I still have loads of hair falling out!  Soon I will get my summer coat which is shiny and sleek, much shorter coat than my winter one to keep me cooler in hot weather.

Me in My summer coat. Gorgeous aren't I!

After breakfast the Farriers came to do some shoeing.  They were very busy as lots of us horses and ponies needed new shoes and a trim. I wasn't due for shoeing today but I'm looking forward to next Friday when I will get my new shoes done. I have special shoes because I am such a special horse; unlike the others with their metal shoes my tiny feet get plastic shoes. The staff in the stables call them my trainers!  

Worms? how very dare you!

This morning something strange is going on in the stables, I've seen some of the staff wandering around with gloves on, picking up droppings and putting them in a bag!

Picking up droppings!

I had to ask Teddy what was going on because it seemed a bit strange to me, he says that the staff take this to the vets and they can check to make sure we don’t have worms.

Humans are strange sometimes, but I guess they do it to keep us healthy. I don’t think I would like to do that job!!

I haven’t done any agility yet this week but I am waiting for my turn to do some work.  Obviously everyone comes to see me in my stable though because I am quite famous, and of course I have a reputation for being really cute!

I do LOVE doing my Agility course!

What a Busy Week!

On Monday we had our Open Day and we had lots of visitors who haven’t been here before, some of us horses and ponies were giving people rides and carriage drives for the day.  Duchess is one of the horses who pulls the carriage and said she had a great time in the sunshine meeting people and taking them for a drive.  It was great that lots of new faces came and saw what we do here, I love meeting new people!

Duchess pulling a Carriage

I have moved into my Summer paddock now.  It is next to the Archery Range but I don’t go out when there are people shooting at the targets in case one of them has a stray arrow!  I know horses in the past were used by riders with bows and arrows, but I don’t think I would like it much!

Me enjoying some yummy grass in my summer paddock

Are Easter eggs nice?

All us horses and ponies are enjoying a bit of sunshine and grass! As you all know it was Easter this weekend, and I did see lots of brightly coloured and glittery eggs hiding around the stables and the yard. 

I think this was so that guests could find them, I didn’t get any though and as I have never tasted chocolate I do wonder what I have missed? The staff say chocolate is not good for ponies so we all had some carrots instead which were yummy!!

______

The other day I heard some music coming from the indoor arena while the guests were riding. I wondered what was going on and why I wasn’t involved, after all I'm a very talented fellow!

Bertie said they were doing a musical drill ride which sounds like a lot of fun (although I'm not completely sure exactly what it is!).

Louise and Hendrix

Our new member of staff Louise has been given a project by Nicky.  Hendrix told me that she has been lunging him and this morning Nicky lunged him and Louise got on him!

He has been doing lots of driving but hasn’t been ridden for a few months, but now Duchess has joined us to do some of the driving, he gets to do both again. Hendrix said he is looking forward to having some fun with Louise.

Louise and Henrix having fun

We are all happy to see loads more people coming to the stables, its getting really busy again. Roll on Summer!

More about the Newbies!

Jack is being ridden by all sorts of riders.  He is a jolly chap and he has the most amazing moustache! Also he has been out with Bertie doing something called "ride and lead". This means one horse is ridden and the rider also leads the other horse. Jack enjoyed this as he gets on well with Bertie. 

Once they had had a practice they then went out on a ride with one of our regular riders, Daisy on Bertie, Abi on Jack together and Nicky on Safari.

I told you Rooster had been a race horse before he came here, but he is loving life here as it is much quieter.  He's a favorite with some of our regular riders already.

Justyn riding Rooster

This week we had a visit from our friendly vet Jenny.  She came with her dentistry kit this time, and some of us had our teeth checked and vaccinations done.  Because us horses have so many teeth the vet has a special thing which she puts in our mouth so that she can see all the teeth, then she puts a rasp over the teeth to smooth them off as our teeth can get quite sharp. This doesn't hurt us and helps to keep us comfortable when we are eating and being ridden or driven.

Jenny doing Rooster's teeth

Bare back? well, sort of!

Hi everybody, it’s the mighty atom here again!

We are very busy in the stables now with loads of lovely guests, and finally the grass has started to grow, so we are all a lot happier in the fields. I have even stayed out overnight on a few occasions as it has been warm and dry; lovely!  As you know I don’t like getting wet and cold so I am usually tucked up in my stable at night!

The new horses I told you about have all fitted into the team very well. Duchess is pulling the big carriage regularly now and she says she loves it.  It looks quite big and heavy to me but she is a big strong girl and she pulls it easily!

Safari has a new saddle type thing that he has been wearing.  It has no stirrups and is very soft. I heard the staff call it a bareback pad and Nicky, Abi and Louise have all had a go at riding Safari with it on.  

Safari looking great with the bareback pad.

It's looks strange to see people on him with no stirrups! but Safari says it feels great and some riders find it very useful as they like the feel of it.

More New Arrivals!

I mentioned new arrivals, well I haven't finished telling you about them; A couple of weeks ago we had another two horses arrive! 

The first one is called Duchess. She is a black mare who is going to pull our big carriage, she says she has done lots of driving before she came here and also she likes being ridden.  She has VERY hairy legs!! (she calls them feathers, but it looks like hair to me!)

Duchess trying out our carriage with Abi & Louise

Jack is a piebald pony so he will fit in well as we have several piebald’s already.  He is a riding pony and has worked in a riding school before so he is used to this kind of job. He also has a mousetache! I've never seen one on a horse before, I thought only humans had them!

Jack showing off his Moustache!

They both seem very friendly although Teddy tells me Duchess thinks she is going to be in charge of all the horses in the field.  I heard the Nicky say that quite often girl horses are the boss, so we shall see!

We are now all ready for the busiest time of year here with lots of visitors coming to stay at Calvert Trust Exmoor so I am looking forward to meeting lots of new people and saying hello to those I have met before.

I'm back! Hello again!

Hi everyone, I know it’s been a while but things have been rather busy here.  We had a wet but mild Winter here this year, I was looking forward to some of that white stuff falling from the sky but so far we've had none of that!

through the winter I've been tucked up nice and warm in my stable every night, so its lovely now that the weather is brighter to get out into the fields again.

All the other horses have also spent quite a lot of time in the stables at night too as the fields have been very muddy and us horses can only cope with so much rain; a bit like humans I suppose! We are all very excited about being out in the fields in the sunshine again.

The main reason why it’s been so busy is that we have had lots of new arrivals since Christmas, and I've been showing them the ropes.

The first to arrive were Safari and Rooster, who came together from another stables.  Safari is an unusual looking chap.  He tells me he is an Appaloosa, apparently that’s a breed of horse!  He is chestnut but has white spots and patches on his back and hind quarters.  He tells me this means he is "a Chestnut Frosted Blanket" which he obviously thinks makes him quite special! 

Safari posing for his photo!

Safari arrived with Rooster who is very, very tall!  He said he used to be a racehorse but now he is a bit older he was looking for a quieter life so Calvert Trust Exmoor should fit the bill for him. He is a chestnut but with none of Safari’s fancy spots. They seem very happy to be here and are both working with our guests really well.

Rooster ready for action

We also have some new humans too! Kerri-Anne and Louise have joined Nicky and AbI, to help them look after us and all of the new horses too.

Will you come and help me?

I've just heard Nicky and Abby talking; it turns out that they are looking for someone else to come and work here in the stables!

It's quite exciting; I wonder who it will be? It would be great if it could be you!

If you  want to find out more its on our website: http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/exmoor/work-with-us

Big plans for 2014

We have had a busy time this year with loads of brilliant people visiting me! (Also a few people may have ridden and driven the others). It is now getting a lot quieter here which I thought meant we all got a holiday; but I thought wrong!!

We are all in horsey boot camp getting fitter and doing some different stuff. This is actually great fun – even Brin and Teddy think so – I think! 

Hendrix told me about going out for a lovely long drive. Henry and Bertie have been practising being dressage ponies, something about balance to help our riders?! 

Brin and Teddy have been doing some faster work with the staff riding them, usually they are the slow and steady guys. Apparently they are both going to get a bit fitter to make their job easier.

I have been doing all kinds of stuff, including jumping mini grand national type jumps in the arena.  I heard Nicky and Abi talking about big plans for me next year, I don’t know what they mean but I’ll keep you posted!!

Here comes the big guy in red...

The staff have been up to something here, there is lots of shiny stuff around the yard, I think I remember from last year it’s called tinsel.  

Also they have decorated the carriage so that Hendrix can take Father Christmas somewhere to deliver some presents. 

All ready for the big guy in the red suit!

I am sure Hendrix will feel very important and we won’t hear about anything else from him for ages!

Snow? No thanks!

Hi everyone it’s your favourite pony blogger here!

I would like to say a HUGE pony thank you to everyone who voted for Calvert Trust Exmoor in the Peoples Millions. Teddy said that means more people can come and see me (and the other horses!). 

__________

The weather is getting colder and all us horses and ponies are now wearing our Winter Woolies in the fields.

Here's me looking gorgeous in my Winter Woolies!

I overheard the stables staff say they were preparing for snow.  I remember the white stuff from last year and have every intention of being tucked up in my stable nice and cosy, watching the snow fall through the window!!

I know I'm a tough little shetland but I'm too small to be outside when it snows; I'm so close to the ground my tummy gets cold very quickly!

Did you see me on TV?

Did you watch our film on ITV WestCountry news?

I don't have a TV so I haven't seen it; The film crew from ITV who made it were lovely and took lots of film in the stables, but they said it will only be 90 seconds long, so us horses are dying to know who made it into the film!

I hope it was me; I'm definitely the best looking horse at Calvert Trust Exmoor!

gorgeous aren't I!

Anyway, its not too late to vote yet, lines are open until midnight; please call 0871 62 68 104 to register your vote! you can vote 10 times from each phone; thank you for your help.

I need your help today!

Hi Folks, its me again, the Mighty Atom!

Today is our big day, its People's Millions day! Please can you vote for us, and so the lovely staff here can use the money we will win to support people like my friend Charlie?

I heard the stables staff saying you can vote up to 10 times from any phone, to vote call 0871 62 68 104.

If I could, I would, but horses aren't allowed to use phones! can you please do it for me instead? Thanks folks!

Can you do me a favour?

Can I ask a very big favour of you?

I understand now that us horses here at Calvert Trust Exmoor can’t vote BUT I wondered if you would vote for us?

I've heard that people are allowed to do more than one vote, which got me thinking…

...would you mind voting on my behalf?   Apparently everyone can vote more than once, so if you could do some voting for all of us in the stables we all would be very happy indeed!

Thanks so much – we will all keep our hooves crossed!

 

Please Vote! Thanks!

I'm going to need your help...

I was very excited last time I did the blog but I must admit to being a little disappointed today.

Why is that you might ask?   
   
Well last time I told you about the People’s Millions and asked if you could vote for us on Monday 25th November – I’m sure you all will if you can. Well it seems only right that I should ‘do my bit’ and was quite ready to do my share of voting.    

All ready to do my bit

But I was chatting to Hendrix and Brin yesterday about voting, Teddy took me to one side & told me that us horses aren’t allowed to vote!! 

Now that doesn’t seem quite fair; what do you think?

However, Teddy is usually right about everything, so he must be right about this. What a pity!

Exciting Times!

I’ve just heard about a very, very exciting project for the Calvert Trust Exmoor which I've just got to tell you about!!!!
It’s called the ‘People’s Millions’  which in its self sounds very grand & exciting!  

Well Calvert Trust Exmoor is in the running to receive a grant which the folks here would put to very good use. Teddy told me that ‘The People’s Millions’ is a grants programme funded by the ‘Big Lottery Fund’ and apparently the winners are decided by a public vote!   

Now at first I thought Teddy meant that just the good folks of Devon would be voting; but he told me that the whole of the UK will be voting! WOW!!!!!

It’s all happening on November 25th,  and he said that we will be on T.V.; another WOW!!    

He said that we need everyone we know to vote and to get their friends and family to vote, and anyone else they might know to vote…

...would you please vote for us? 

I’d be ever so pleased if you would and do ask all people you know to vote as well.  If you want to know more about this then have a look on our website as I'm sure all the details will be there.

THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH ALL OF YOU!       

Tired but Jolly Happy!

Yours truly is feeling a bit tired BUT jolly happy! Why’s that you may ask?

Well we’ve been very busy at Calvert Trust Exmoor with another Open Day.  It was great, we saw lots of people at the stables & the weather even behaved itself (or for most of the time anyway!)

I have to be honest, I didn’t have to do any carriage driving like Hendrix or Maxwell, but I was greeting all the folks as a representative of Calvert Trust Stables. 

Were you there? Did you have a great time?  I hope so! If you want to know when the next Open Day is keep an eye on our website for news of events coming up, like our facebook page or follow us on twitter; you could check them out (once you’ve read my blog of course!) 

We also had a group of lovely folks on a Horse Experience Weekend and I did some of my agility work with them;  they all did well and it was great to feel them get more confident as they progressed on the agility course.    

That’s why I’m a tired but happy pony; but all I need is a day off in my field and I’ll be ‘ready to rock’ again!

Just what I need after a busy weekend!

Getting darker

Another bit of news is that we've all moved fields now the stables are back to normal. I'm back in my own field next to the archery; I'm still close to the others and the view is great!   

I've also noticed how it’s getting darker very soon after we've finished work; that means one thing to me…

…it’s going to get colder!   

Looking dapper in my lovely warm rug

No worries though as I've got my nice rug on!

Let There Be Light!

Yours truly was the first of us guys to go into the indoor arena; and what do I think? One word sums it up…

...WOW!!!!!

It looks so much bigger & it’s so much brighter; Teddy may have been joking about the sunglasses but having seen it for real he might just have a point!

In fact it’s been the topic of conversation in the field in the last few days as none of us expected it to look so different!

The Indoor School in use

Mind you I think that will be it for a while now; we've had a new surface, new watering system & now new skylights. 

You know, It’s almost as if we've now got a brand new indoor school…

...aren't we lucky!

Running with the Herd!

You’ll never guess what I did!

Yours truly manage to get out of my field and have a run with the other guys, it was so cool!!

I had a great time playing about with the others until someone must have seem me and told the staff. So here I am back in my own space now, but it was fun while it lasted!

Now I bet you’re all wondering how I managed to get out of my field; did I put my new jumping skills into action?  did I get down onto my knees & sneak under the fence? 

Well that would be telling! I happen to know that the staff read my blog so I’m just going to leave you all guessing!

Practicing my escape skills?

In the Big Field

I forgot to tell you that while the roof is being done I’ve changed fields; I’m now the big field down the road with all the others.  How cool is that!   Mind you I’ve got my own ‘mini-paddock’ inside the field –  shame as it would be great to run round with the others.

But they’re a good bunch & most of them come up for a chat during the day.    What’s really good is I’ve got to know Lammert a bit better – he’s really cool & so big!

Lammert visiting me in my mini-paddock

I’ve got to be a bit careful though………..I noticed Brin giving me a funny look when I was chatting to Lammert yesterday & I don’t want to upset him as he’s a good mate!

Busy doing nothing...

It’s really busy here at the Calvert Trust Exmoor – although yours truly is able to put his feet up! Why is that I hear you ask as we are usually so busy here at the stables? Well it’s good news & very exciting!

I don’t know if you’ve heard but we’re having new skylights in the school.   Now until I spoke to Teddy, I though skylights were some kind of bird; well it sounded right to me! 

Teddy told me that skylights are the parts of the roof that let in the sunshine; to be honest I’d never noticed them so maybe that’s why they’re having new ones.Teddy reckoned that it’ll be so much brighter in the school we might have to wear sunglasses!

I managed to sneak into the arena and a get a photo when the workmen had gone home; can you tell which half they have done? :-)

half and half!

Just as I was planning which pair of ‘shades’ to get, Maxwell told me that Teddy was only joking! Pity, I think I’d look good in a pair of Ray Bans…

...what do you think?

You'll never guess what I've been doing!...

You’ll never guess what I’ve been doing...

...Yours truly has been Show Jumping!!!

Well, maybe show jumping is not quite right; but I have been jumping over some coloured poles & looking GOOOOD!!! 

here’s some photos of me in action to prove it!:

I never thought that I’d get a chance to jump. To be honest it’s never occurred to me to ‘have a go’ before! but now I’ve done it I feel great, I can’t wait for the next time...

....I wonder if they do Shetland Show Jumping without a rider?!?

Lammert's a BIG fella!

Hi there! You know I talked about our new horse, well I didn’t really tell you very much about him other than he’s a nice chap, so I thought I would tell you a bit more!

Well, firstly he’s a lot bigger than me: yes, I know that most horses are bigger than me but I mean much, MUCH bigger than me! Lammert looks much bigger than my mate Brin, & Brin is the biggest horse I’ve ever met!   

I had a word with Teddy to find out a bit more about him as he knows everything about anything that’s worth knowing about around here. According to Teddy, Lammert is a Frisian horse, which is a breed from Europe (wherever that might be!); Frisians are always black in colour and have long manes and feathers on their legs – that sounds exactly like our new guy & I know he’s caught the eye of a few of our guests already!

Teddy told me that he’s almost ready to start doing some work with our guests; but just as with all the new ‘recruits’ he will start off slowly so he can get a feel for  the job. I’ll keep you posted as to how he gets on.

Lammert? Really?!?

We’ve got a new horse at the stables, and his name is Lammert; yes, I know it’s a funny name but he’s really very nice!
   
I’ve only met him over the fence as he’s in the field next to mine, but he’s very nice and so relaxed. he told me that he does driving as well as riding and seems to like both the same.

Lammert enjoying some yummy grass

He couldn’t believe that someone my size could pull a carriage; he’s obviously not met many Shetlands!   We are very strong, in fact for our size we are stronger than a big horse; I bet he doesn’t know that!

Anyway, Lammert is a nice chap and I reckon he’s going to fit in here just fine. You never know he might like to do a bit for my blog; but I’ll let him settle in first.

Time flies when you're having fun

Hi Guys!

Sorry I’ve not been ‘online’ for a bit, but I’ve busy here & time seems to have ‘galloped away’!

As you’d expect we’ve had loads of people over here at the stables & yours truly has been doing my bit.  You already know how good I am at agility and carriage driving, but I’m know showing people how to long rein!

What’s that I hear you say? Well it’s a bit like driving with me in a  carriage; but minus the carriage!  How cool is that?  

Mind you I don’t want to be doing it too much as I’ve only got little legs you know!

Carriage driving without the carriage!

Getting a bit colder?

Is it me or is it getting a bit colder at night?

I noticed that Maxwell is looking decidedly ‘woolly’ now; He’s usually the last to get his summer coat & the first to start growing his winter one!    

Maxwell in his winter coat... (joking, sorry Max!!)

Having said this, I’m still keeping warm enough in the field & if a get a bit chilly I’ll have a nice trot round which soon gets me warmed up!

Talking of trotting round the field - I don't know exactly what was going on this morning but Bertie, Brin & Henry were having some kind of race with each other!  Not sure who won but it made me tired just watching them!  They soon calmed down when they were taken into the stables though, I spotted all of them munching away at their breakfast as if nothing had happened!

Open day fun!

We had a very exciting day a couple of weeks ago, with lots of new people visiting Calvert Trust Exmoor for our Open Day.

Here at the stables we did carriage driving – well, Hendrix & Maxwell shared the driving as I am a bit out of practice with my driving at the moment (I’m just so busy with other things, you know how it is!)

Hendrix at the open day

Hendrix told me that he had lots of fun taking different people in the outdoor arena, they had a go at giving him clear voice commands to go forward & to halt.  He also said that he took them round a course of cones, which he just loves doing!

By all accounts the day went really well; people also had a go at some of the other activities that we do at CTE - if you missed it this time round then keep your eyes open for the next one!

inundated with little people!

Hi guys, I’m back again for a bit to keep you informed as to what’s going on here at the stables.

I thought Henry did very well for a first time blogger, don’t you?   His first blog was sent off before I got a chance to ‘edit it’ – which is why there wasn’t any full stops or commas!!!  

I’ll give him his due though, the second blog was so much better; I’ve heard the staff say how quickly he picks things up & I totally agree with that! He’s very keen to do the blog again so you will hear more from him soon.

Meanwhile we’ve been busy here with more smaller people visiting the stables – that’s great for me as their more my size!   When I mentioned this to Teddy he said it’s because the schools have broken up....

.....I must have looked a bit puzzled as he then explained it meant the children weren’t at school at the moment rather than the schools were damaged. Phew!!

Guest Blogger Henry 3: The trouble with Flies

Hi, Henry here with a bit more info about me.

Pilgrim told me that a picture of me has already been on the blog – so how do you think I look?   I’ve been told that my coat has a good shine and I’ve got nice dapples too (that’s where I’ve got a mix of dark and light brown that form a nice pattern on my body), pretty cool, yes?

I do have trouble with flies in the heat as when they bite me it makes me itch so very much!   I know I shouldn’t scratch but I can’t help it and because of this I can get quite sore.    People call it  ‘sweet itch’ – but believe me there’s nothing sweet about it at all! 

Anyway, to help keep the flies off me I wear a light rug that covers most of my body, plus I have a face mask so the flies don’t get in my eyes. The first time I went into the field with all this on the other guys teased me something terrible, but I don’t mind one bit as I feel so much better. I also get a mini bath once a week and the staff put a cream on that helps to stop the itching; so this year I’m doing a bit with my skin, but I can’t wait for it to cool down!

The latest in 'fly-street' fashion!

I’m one of those horses that looks forward to the cold weather; that means no more flies!!!!!!

Good news - Pilgrim says that I can do the blog again, but he’s got things he wants to tell you so he’ll be doing the next one;  so bye for now but we’ll talk again soon.

Guest Blogger Henry 2: Barefoot and Indoors

It’s Henry again.

Pilgrim’s just given me a lesson in writing things down properly.   He says that I can’t write things how I say them and he’s shown me a few new buttons I must use when I do the blog! I’ll give it a go and see if I can do things how he wants them done;  it’s more stuff for me to learn – but it’s such fun!

Anyway; Did you know that I’d never been ridden in an inside area until I came to Calvert Trust Exmoor?
It’s really cool and easy on my feet, as I wasn’t wearing metal shoes when I first got here. I now have shoes on my front feet and I just love the cool noise I now make walking out to the field!

Teddy told me that he went ‘barefoot’ for a while until last year and much prefers having front shoes on; I totally agree with him and talking to Hendrix last week he reckoned that when I’m doing more work on the tracks I might get back shoes as well – cool!

Pilgrim’s just been round and said I did OK with the blog; he showed me a few things that weren’t quite right and changed them for me, but otherwise it ‘up to standard’.   He said I could do one more – great stuff!

Guest Blogger Henry 1: New Kid On The Block

Hi! it's Pilgrim - I promised Henry that I’d start off his first blog – he wants to do it right and felt that if I said hello to you all first he’d then feel better about writing the first bit. 

I must admit to a seasoned reporter like myself, writing the blog is like rolling downhill – but of course it is his very first time! So may I introduce Henry – the ‘new kid on the block’ here at Calvert Trust Exmoor; 

Henry enjoying a ride in the outdoor arena

Hi every one I’m Henry I’m 6 years old and Ive lived on a farm close to here for as long as I can remember
I was with a few other ponies who were all great but different and we shared the farm with loads of cows who were also great
My owner used to ride me round the farm and sometimes one of the other ponies would come too but the cows take a lot of time to look after so I havent been for a ride on the farm for ages
When she heard that the Calvert Trust were looking for new horses my owner thought it would be a nice for me to come and work as Im only young
I found it all a bit strange when I first come here but now I love it  I get lots of attention and Ive been learning loads of new stuff
I tell you more next time because Pilgrim said I shouldnt say everything all in one go