Guest Blogger Duchess 2: A Very Exciting Day

Pilgrim: Last Sunday something really exciting happened to Duchess and Henry!  I have asked Duchess to explain, so over to her Ladyship...

Duchess: Hello everyone I have been asked to tell you about the great time Henry and I had on Sunday.  We were both groomed really well on Saturday and the arena had been levelled and watered so we had a slight inkling that something exciting might be going on. Then on Sunday morning Nicky arrived really early with her friend Emily, and they fed Henry and myself and groomed us AGAIN! Something was definitely going to happen.

Over the past few weeks Nicky had been practising riding me and Henry, and we were about to find out why.  Henry had plaits put into his mane and I had my feathery legs and lovely long mane and tail brushed out.  Suddenly outside the stables we heard hoof beats which we didn't recognise, how exciting!

Nicky tacked Henry up and took him outside, he was gone for about half an hour and when he came back he said with  a slightly surprised voice that he had just done his first ever dressage test in front of a judge! Now I also have never done dressage before but I am happy to try anything new so when my tack was put on I was quite excited.

Nicky got on me and we went to the outdoor arena to warm up.  We practised my paces and standing really still.  There were some other horses also warming up who were strangers and some of them were behaving as though they were a bit excited and showing off!

I just got on with my work in the usual way as I always like to try to do my best for whoever is riding me. Soon it was my turn to go and perform for the judge. In we went and after the judge rang the bell I was off, showing my lovely paces and behaving myself beautifully as usual.

Showing my lovely paces

It was all over quite quickly but I did get a big round of applause when I did my final halt and Nicky saluted to the judge.  I returned to my stable feeling very happy that we had performed well.  I had a word with Henry about his test and he was a little overexcited about the whole thing. He said he had also met some strangers in the warm up and had wanted to go and say hello and bounce around with them but Nicky had just asked him to concentrate on the job in hand!  Henry is quite young and not quite as sensible or experienced as me; Nicky said he was a little bit like a teenager at their first disco!

My Final Halt

Nicky soon came back into the stables and she had two rosettes in her hand and a little trophy!  I was amazed to have won my class and Henry was very excited to have been placed second!  Of course he now thinks he knows it all and will be able to compete at the next Olympics!

My Rosette and Trophy

I have explained that we only did an introductory test which is for horses who haven’t done dressage before but he has been telling Bertie and Jack how fabulous he is.  We need to bring him back down to earth! When we go out into the field tonight I shall gently remind him that I am the girl in charge.

Henry's Rosette

2015's First Horse Weekend

We have just had our first Horse Weekend of the year, we horses had a great time with all the visitors. Our guests had loads of fun with us horses and ponies and learnt lots of new skills.

They all had their own horse to look after and ride for the whole weekend, they got to muck out their horses’ stable and help to feed and groom them each day. They also helped to bring their horses in from the field first thing in the morning and put them back out each evening for a rest.

On the first day they all had a lesson and went out for a ride on the tracks.  Luckily the weather was quite good but everyone needed to wrap up warm.  Regular tea breaks were definitely needed to help to keep everyone warm and happy!

On the second day all the guests had another lesson and had a go at drill riding, which means that all the riders have to keep in line with everyone else.  In the afternoon there was a chance to show off all the skills they had been practising by riding their horse around an obstacle course. 

Everyone did really well at that. Henry who rode Brin all weekend had a bit of trouble with his riding boots; he couldn't work out which foot they should go on!  This meant it was really difficult to get them off when he had finished riding and it took four people to help him!

I am glad that doesn't happen with my shoes.  The farrier always knows which feet to put them on and he is also really good at taking them off, but he has had a lot of practice!  

A Pony Palace Just for Me!

I have been going out in the camping paddock to eat grass for a while now, and have been wondering why I am not turned out in my usual paddock next to Archery.

Rooster and Duchess came in from their field over the road the other day and told me lots of things are happening in my archery paddock.  A building has been put up and there is a big pile of earth. Duchess said she thought I wouldn’t be going out there for a while.

I thought I should ask Teddy if he knew what was going on; maybe I was having a brand new pony palace built in the paddock fit for a celebrity like me! 

The Pony Palace!

This turned out to be wishful thinking. Teddy said he had heard someone say that the workmen are actually putting in a biomass boiler. None of us know what this is exactly but Teddy thinks it is to do with keeping the centre nice and warm which is a lovely thing for all our guests.

I hope I will still have a little paddock left when they have done all the work.  Imagine cosying up to a boiler in the winter; that sounds lovely to me, I do like my home comforts. 

I think I will have to make sure that I get to keep that little paddock all to myself, I don’t fancy having to share it with any of the big horses!

Many Small People!

Last week we have had lots of small people here.  I felt quite big!  They were all from a local primary school in Shirwell. 

Some of them have horses and ponies of their own at home so they already knew quite a lot about looking after a horse and how to ride.  Those who had a bit of experience were very kind and helped their friends if they felt a bit nervous. 

Even one of the teachers had a go at riding.  He rode Rooster and said he enjoyed it but he thought Rooster was a very bouncy horse! Alice proved to be a very popular riding instructor with all the children.  They all had a great time.

Rooster

All the children helped to put out an agility course for me on the back yard.  It has been very cold this week but I still have my woolly winter coat and we shetlands are a hardy bunch, so I was fine.  The children all had to wrap up warm with coats and gloves on. Everyone had a practice first and then did a timed round of agility with me. 

Showing off my agility skills (and my woolly winter coat!)

Let me tell you I feel like I certainly earn't my hay that night!

Full Steam Ahead

It's full steam ahead now for all of us horses and ponies and the staff here in the stables, we are all looking forward to a busy and fun year.

Alice and Richard have been learning all about different types of groups who come to Calvert Trust Exmoor since they started work here. Now we are busy and they have been able to put into practice what they have learned so far. 

Last week we had a group of young people from Pathfield School.  They all had a great time trying lots of activities and of course getting to know us here in the stables. 

I was able to show them how clever I am at jumping. Bertie had a go first but I think he was feeling a bit lazy as he knocked down the fence several times!

I on the other hand did my usual fantastic leaping over the jump, and earned myself a round of applause from all the people watching me from the gallery. Richard has quickly got the hang of helping me to put on a fabulous show for our visitors and I really love working with him.

I love to jump!

Bertie eventually managed to haul himself over the jump. I think he felt a bit embarrassed watching me make it look so easy! 

Bertie prefers his fences to be this high!

Volunteer Training Day

Fitness work continues for all us equines here at Calvert Trust Exmoor.  Some of us have been long reined, some schooled by staff members, some of us have been out for hacks, Duchess and Hendrix have been pulling their carriages.  Soon we will all be the fittest horses and ponies in the land! It is great fun doing all sorts of interesting things with the staff.  I have even shown Alice and Richard how brilliant I am at jumping little fences while I am being loose schooled in the arena. 

Training with our Volunteers

Our fantastic volunteers have been to see us for a training day.  They learnt about harnessing up a carriage horse and how to help in an emergency.  It was a freezing cold day when they came and they all needed lots of hot drinks and coats to keep them warm! 

They also helped Nicky and Richard to do some hoist training with Teddy, just to remind him that he needs to stand really still.  Teddy was his usual brilliant relaxed self about it all and behaved perfectly.

 All the volunteers then had a photo with Teddy which he loved as he adores people and will take any attention he gets with a big grin on his face! 

Teddy loving all the attention!

Hullo Milo!

I would like to introduce you all to Milo, who is the new addition to our family. He's a horse on trial! 

That doesn't mean he is a criminal; in fact he's a very nice chap! It means he comes here for a month to see if he is suitable for the very important job of being a Calvert Trust Exmoor horse. 

In this month of trial he will get to try out lots of the jobs he will need to do here and see how he likes them.  He’s moved into the stable next door to me now, and I have to tell you that his big hooves don’t half keep me up at night as he stomps about munching hay!

He's been doing lots of work with the instructors since he arrived, and tells me that he really enjoys learning new things and being part of the Calvert Trust team. So far he has got used to being in a stable in the main yard, been introduced to Hendrix and Jack in the field, fallen in love with me (of course!), and been learning how to behave when he is being lunged and long reined.

He has been ridden in the past but not for a while so this work helps to get him a bit fitter and used to wearing his tack.  He will begin being ridden by the staff very soon. 

Milo

He has also learnt a little about the mounting block in the arena which is a very important thing here.  Lots of our riders need the horse to stand very still in the mounting block while they get on.

We actually have two blocks, which the horse stands in between. This means that a helper can assist the rider with their mounting by standing on the other block and holding the stirrup while the rider mounts.  Sometimes they also need to help the rider to get comfortable in the saddle.

Hopefully it won’t be long before he can join in lessons…although Teddy says that you can’t rush these things! 

Horse Weekend

Hi everyone, I have only just had time to write this, as it’s been all systems go in the stables recently.

I’ve just heard that our first horse weekend of 2015 is approaching on 21st and 22nd of February. My friend Kerri, who is one of the riding instructors here, had the fantastic idea of giving each horse weekend this year a fun theme (she’s definitely the creative one of the group!).

There are lots of rumours going around amongst us horses as to what the theme is this time; as usual Kerri isn't giving anything away, but it promises to be a weekend to remember!

Some of the action from a previous Horse Weekend

Training new Instructors

Training is under way again here in the stables.  We have lots of new activity instructors this year; as part of their job they have to come over to the stables and get involved during group sessions for our guests.  They may be needed to help to support a rider or carriage driver.

As they are normally climbing walls, cycling, abseiling, canoeing or sailing it is nice for them to come and spend time with us horses.  Obviously the main difference is that I am much, much cuter than a climbing wall or a boat!  Also sometimes we remind people that we have minds of our own, unlike all the other activities!

The other day Brin was called into service to help to train the new instructors. Off he went into the arena with Nicky, Richard, Alice and all the new activity instructors. He was needed to show the new guys how horses are fantastic at helping people.

Nicky asked Monique (who is a new instructor), to sit in a wheelchair.  Brin was positioned in between the two mounting blocks and Monique was then hoisted onto Brin.  This was a great way to show the new activity instructors one of the jobs we horses do here.  Monique was very pleased to have a try at being hoisted, but Brin said he thinks she didn't realise how far up in the air she would have to go!

Monique hoisted onto Brin

It was also a good training session for Brin who is a brilliant hoist horse.  His favourite thing is standing still and he needs to stand for as long as it takes to hoist someone on. This could take up to 15 minutes; Brin just has a quick doze!

Yesterday all of the activity instructors came over to the stables to spend the morning here, as Nicky had some training organised for them.

They learnt about how to care for all of us horses and ponies and how much is involved in keeping the stables running. 

They were also learning skills that will help our guests, things like how to load wheelchairs into the carriage, how to lead and side walk with ridden horses, and how to assist the stables team to make the session as brilliant as possible for our guests. Duchess and Hendrix put them through their paces and made sure they are all ready.

Duchess leading Matt in a trot!

The whole team observing Harry's leading technique

Learning Emergency procedures with Hendrix

They also got to spend some time with your truly, so I showed them how fabulous I am at horse agility and generally cute and wonderful I am! 

Picture Perfect...

Do you remember me telling you about having my picture painted by two great local artists?

Well, someone had whispered to me that my lovely paintings are now up in the centre, so I snuck into the Acland room today to have a look, and there they were!

Don't I look lovely!

I'm so pleased that they are up there, it means that all of our lovely guests will get to see them!

 I also want to say a big thank you to Gillian and Sandy for painting such fantastic portraits of me.

Roadwork and Clipping

After a couple of weeks holiday as you can imagine we were all feeling just like people do when they have been eating lots and not doing much exercise. We all needed to get back to work! The fitness campaign started with gentle exercise, most of the horses went out to do ‘roadwork’.

This means that they get out for a lovely ride.  Some even went in pairs, called ride and lead.  Jack was very happy because he got to do ride and lead with Duchess who is his best friend. 

Jack and Duchess out for a 'ride and lead'.

Bertie was very excited to be going out riding on the first day, but by the third day he told me he was feeling like he needed another holiday!

I have been doing some lunge exercises and also been out for a couple of walks.  I will be fit and ready to do my agility again soon, I can’t wait for that.  As the fields are very muddy we have all been allowed to go into the arena in groups to roll and have a scratch and play with each other which has been great fun.

Some of the horses have been clipped again this week. Henry and Bertie look particularly smart.  Some of us are still looking very shaggy though so I think it is probably only a matter of time before the clippers work their way around everyone!

Henry being clipped

I know Duchess is looking forward to being clipped; she's very hairy at the moment and I think she will feel much better when she looks a bit sleeker. You know how girls are about having a new hairdo! 

All our regular carriage drivers and riders are now coming back in for their lessons so we are back to normal which is great, especially for Rooster as he loves a routine. 

Bye Bye Safari

Hi everyone, its great to be back. 

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Safari just before Christmas, He has gone back home to his owners. 

He had a lovely time working here at the stables but has now gone to semi retire and enjoy some light riding work and  relaxing time in the fields with some new pony friends and his owner Kat. We will all miss him but I think he will enjoy life there.

As you know Rooster was very friendly with Safari and although he probably misses him a bit, he has now completely fallen in love with Duchess, which she seems to be quite happy about! 

Duchess and Rooster

We horses and ponies have all had a lovely holiday over Christmas and New Year;  lots of cleaning and some painting has gone in in the stables while we were having our holiday!

One thing that looks a bit different is the indoor arena.  It now has a bright yellow line all the way around the edge of it. I was a bit surprised when I first saw it and Bertie thought it was a bit scary!  (He is a bit of a baby about new things!). 

The line makes it much easier to see the edge of the arena and Teddy says this is what it is for; to help people who are visually impaired to see where they need to steer their horse when they are riding. I am sure it will help a lot of people to have a great riding experience. 

New Faces for 2015

Do you remember I told you a few weeks ago that some of the staff in the stables were going and new people were going to come and look after us? 

Louise has now left us to work at a vets and will be training to become a veterinary nurse. I think she will be really good at looking after sick animals.  When any of us horses and ponies felt a bit sorry for ourselves she was great at cheering us up and caring for us.  We will miss her but hopefully she will pop back in to see us all in the future.

Abi has also moved to a new job which is closer to her family. She will be working with some event horses and their family of humans, I think she will be great at training all of them! She said she hopes to come back and see me soon, I hope she does as I will miss her cuddles.

Cuddles with Abi...

... and kisses too!

Our two new staff Richard and Alice have been with us for a couple of weeks now, so I thought it was about time I introduced them to you.

Richard has lots of experience with horses and people; we are all getting to know him now and showing him how we like things to be done!

Richard

He has worked with carriage horses before and one of his jobs here will be driving the carriages. He has done some carriage driving with both Hendrix and Duchess, they both said he was very nice and kind to them and they are looking forward to taking him out driving in their carriages.

Duchess is a very sensible mare and I'm sure she will soon have Richard under her spell! Hendrix will just be his usual cheeky loveable self and get Richard to do things exactly how he wants him to without Richard even realising! 

Alice volunteered with us for a few weeks before starting her job with us, so we have got to know here already. She is our new Riding Instructor.

Alice

Alice has lots of experience with horses and has taught many people to ride so she has plenty of ideas for us equines and for all our guests too. I have also been chatting with Brin about Alice and I think he may have a new number one fan; apparently Alice loves him already!

Muddy Buddies

This week things are quiet here at the stables, we horses and ponies are enjoying a well-earned holiday. We have spent lots of time gossiping, playing, giving each other a lovely scratch and of course enjoying some winter sunshine in the fields.

The fields are a bit muddy now but horses and ponies love mud! 

A rather muddy Teddy enjoying some lunch!

I particularly like to have a good roll in the mud when I am put out in the field.  It is very satisfying and I love to see the look on the faces of the stables staff when they see the mud plastered all over me! 

Bertie makes all us horses smile; he waits until he hears the stables staff coming to check us all in the field and then rolls right in front of them to get as dirty as he can!

Yummy Christmas Dinner

Today we have had our Christmas treats!  Very nice they were too.  We had apples and carrots each in a little surprise pile with our hay. I had mine in my stable when I came in from the field. 

Yummy!

All the other horses and ponies had theirs with their usual hay in the field.  They always gallop down to the feeding area when they hear the wheelbarrow which brings the hay; they were all very impressed with the extra treats today! 

The Dinner Queue

Bertie enjoying his Christmas Dinner

We certainly all enjoyed them very much. Thank you to all our lovely friends who have generously given us nice things to eat for Christmas; we all had a lovely time munching!

Spring Cleaning already?!?

The staff here in the stables have been very busy.  Each year they pressure wash all the stables and the stable mats we have to lay on, do some painting and have a big clean up around the yard.

The stables looking sparkly and clean

I heard them saying they were spring cleaning.  Now I have heard of being organised but that can’t be right; it’s only December!

They do all this work at this time of year because there are no guests here and it's holiday time for us horses, which means that we are out in the fields and our stables are empty for the cleaning to be done. Of course I am still able to come in every night to go to bed! 

A busy day with the R.D.A.

I haven't had a chance to tell you before, but this time last week we had a really busy day here in the stables.

First thing in the morning I knew something special must be happening because there were lots of people here. As well as Nicky, Abi and Kerri our two new members of staff Richard and Alice were here too. Oli, who is an activity instructor, was also in the stables with Amy, one of our regular volunteers.

After we horses were brought in and given breakfast the two carriages were set out on the back yard. I thought we must be expecting a group of guests from the Centre.  Then Nicky went off to reception and came back with four people I had not seen before.

I heard all the humans talking and they discussed the carriages and the two driving horses Hendrix and Duchess. I kept hearing R.D.A.  being mentioned and thought I should ask Teddy what on earth was going on! He said he thought the people had all come to assess the carriages, horses and drivers.

The R.D.A. (Riding for the Disabled Association), is an organisation which provides riding and carriage driving for people with disabilities; as you all know that is what we do here at Calvert Trust Exmoor too. 

The staff here all think it will be great to be part of the R.D.A. I heard this morning that Nicky and Richard are now R.D.A. whips (this means they passed their assessments). Duchess and Hendrix also passed their assessments as R.D.A. driving horses. Abi was also assessed as an R.D.A. whip and hopes to be able to help at an R.D.A. group near to her new job. 

Christmas fun and games

A lot of our regular local riders have had great fun here over the past two weekends.  As it is nearly Christmas it was time to play games on horses.

Christmas fun and games

We horses and ponies love playing games as much as people do, so the whole thing was enjoyed by everyone who took part.  My buddy Brin gets quite competitive when the games start but he only likes racing in one direction in the arena! 

They played musical statues to warm humans and horses up then they had a go at weaving through some cones.  They also played dress the snowman –each person had to put gloves, a hat or scarf onto the snowman.

Playing dress the snowman

Then they played a bucket in a ball game;Teddy and Henry thought the balls might be apples.  They had a little taste and said they weren’t very nice to eat! Teddy had a very tiny rider for some games which he loved!

Jack was being very serious and carefully looking after his little rider.  He didn’t show his competitive side. Bertie and his little rider Bethan were the quickest to begin with but both got a bit tired and decided not to have a trot. 

Who was that man in the red suit?

I've heard that most humans decorate a tree for Christmas;

for the last two weekends the staff in the stables have put decorations all over Hendrix’s carriage instead!

Every year at Calvert Trust Exmoor there are several Christmas Special Weekends. For these weekends Hendrix has a very important job to do, he has to pull his carriage with a very special passenger travelling in it. He also gets dressed up with tinsel too!

Hendrix looking great in his tinsel

The passenger has lots of white hair on his face and he wears a very cosy looking red coat and trousers which have furry trimming on them.  He also wears boots and a hat too which matches his outfit.  I don’t know quite what his job is but the humans here call him Father Christmas so I guess he is very well known.  

He always carries a very full looking sack with him but I don’t think it is full of horse feed because he doesn’t give any food to us! I hope someone has remembered that we would love a Christmas dinner too. Some carrots, apples and special horse treats are what I am hoping for this year!

Feeling Sketchy...

We are really busy right now getting ready for Christmas (yes, we horses celebrate it too!), but I thought you might like to see these drawings.

A lovely family called the Ostler's stated with us couple of weeks ago, and Sheri has sent us a couple of sketches she did of Brin and Rooster.

Brin By Sheri

Rooster by Sheri

Brin and Rooster both love their pictures; I was a but surprised she didn't draw me too, I'm definitely the best looking!

If you have any drawings or photos you would like to share with us (especially if they are of me!) you can send them to me on pilgrim@calvert-trust.org.uk.

See you soon!

Rooster's Showing Off!

A couple of weeks ago Rooster had a visit from Angela, who is a McTimoney chiropractic practitioner. After she had given him some treatment Rooster said he felt much better. He is 20, which is equivalent to about 60 in horse years (don't tell him I told you!); I think he looks great for an old chap! 

Here is a great photo of him showing off a bit; cantering round on the lunge. I hope to be bouncing around myself at that age!

Rooster Showing Off!

I think we must be due to start our Winter break fairly soon. All us horses and ponies get a few weeks off while the centre is closed.  This a great time for us to be out in the fields catching up with all the other horses and ponies who we don’t get turned out with normally. We do all get on and it’s great to get play time together. I will still need to come into my stable at night though because I get cold as I am closer to the ground than most!

Comings and Goings...

Two of the staff are moving onto new green pastures to go and look after other horses, Abi and Louise are both leaving before Christmas.

I am sure that wherever they go next the equines will appreciate the work that I and the other horses here at Calvert Trust Exmoor have put into them; we've got them both very well trained now!

Me telling Abi how to do it

Safari training Louise to use a bareback pad

Because of this there have been a number of new faces coming through the stables recently, and they all come to see yours truly of course! 

I am sure that whoever comes to join us here in the stables will think I am gorgeous; how could they not?!? 

I will soon teach them who the most important pony is, and exactly how we equines like things to be done. There's no point in having humans to care for you if they don’t do things how you like them to be done!

I will make sure I introduce you to the new staff when they arrive.

Cheeky Henry!

Last week we had another visit from our friendly local farriers,you may remember last time I introduced you to Dusty the Farrier? This time we were visited by Clive, who is the boss farrier.

Clive has been a farrier for a long time so he probably knows all there is to know about horses and ponies feet!  It was Clive who came up with the idea of my little plastic shoes, or as the stables staff call them, my 'trainers'!

I am very glad Clive thought of this because they feel great for my tiny feet. Clive is probably very glad too, as they take only a few minutes to put on.

Normal horse shoes take a long time and the farrier has to bend down all the time. This is hard enough with a regular sized horse or pony but imagine how hard it would be to shoe a miniature like me!

Cheeky Henry!

This photo is of Henry having his feet attended to by Clive. As you can see he's very laid back about the whole thing, and likes to rest his chin on the Clive's back while his shoes are being put on! What a lazy, cheeky horse Henry is!

Learning to Drive

Abi has been teaching Kerri how to drive our carriages.

They started with Kerri learning how to hold the reins for carriage driving (which is very different to riding). Bob was chosen to be her first driving pony as he is so patient!

Kerri 'driving' with Bob

 Once she had the reins figured out it was time to hold a long driving whip as well.  This is necessary to help steer a driving horse.

Next Abi radioed Oli to ask if he could come to hold a horse as she was planning to take Kerri out driving with Hendrix.  Oil arrived very quickly and went to hold Bob!  As you can see Bob wasn’t likely to move very far!

Oli 'holding' Bob while Kerri drives!

Once Kerri had the hang of it with Bob she moved on to real horses, Hendrix was very patient with Kerri practicing in the indoor school. 

Driving with Hendrix

things went so well in the indoor arena that they decided to try driving outside in the big arena. 

A 'driver's eye view' of driving with Hendrix!

Kerri held one set of reins and Abi was holding the other set in case she started steering towards the fence! they were still talking to each other when they had finished so I guess it all went very well. 

Hendrix tells me Kerri said she is looking forward to having another go! 

Jack's Feeling Sprightly

Jack has had a haircut!

He's been clipped; Teddy tells me this happens to keep the horses which get ridden and driven a bit more comfortable. They don’t sweat as much and they cool down and dry off quicker when they have finished work.

Jack said he had not been clipped before so it was a new experience for him. Kerri did a lovely job with the clippers though and Jack looks very smart.  However he is now full of beans and bouncing around the place! 

Jack enjoying his haircut

This morning Jack made all the other horses in his field go for a gallop with him. I think he is very proud of himself and how great he looks!  I guess it feels really nice to have a good haircut.  Nicky says I don’t get clipped because apparently I don’t work hard enough. Huh! how dare she!

This week we have had some lovely young people staying here from Petroc, which is the local college. We met some of them yesterday and this afternoon we will meet the rest. 

Yesterday’s groups did really well with their riding and also groomed Bertie, Duchess and Jack.  I then had a great time with them doing my agility course.  I was feeling great yesterday and even showed them how I can jump onto one of my obstacles. They all seemed to agree that I was terrific!