Getting ready for Winter

I heard the staff in the stables talking about the summer holidays being nearly over for school children; I thought that this might mean that it was time for me to go on my holidays, but Teddy has informed me that this is not the case as we work all year round! 

I don't really mind though; although us horses don’t mind a bit of a break, we do actually prefer working as it stops us getting too bored.

Because the summer is nearly over Kerri and Louise have started sorting out the winter rugs, read for all of us to wear when it starts to get a bit chillier.

Even though we do grow thick winter coats (especially me; I've only just got rid of mine!), we can get cold when its rainy and windy,so our rugs give us a bit of extra protection to stay snug and warm. I look especially fabulous in mine of course!

Me looking  fabulous in my coat last Autumn!

It can get wet and a sometimes cold up here on Exmoor. When it does we think of our cousins the Exmoor ponies who live up out on the moor and feel very grateful for our the rugs! 

A week in the life of a Calvert Pony

Our busiest days in the stables are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, when we are working with groups of guests staying in the centre. For this blog post I thought you might like to hear about what else happens in the stables for the rest of the week.  

Teddy says a week is seven days, and starts on a Sunday; this means we get to start our week with a day off! Sundays we get to stay out in the field all day relaxing and eating and some of us also like to have a play. Brin and Bertie especially enjoy this; they are very good friends, but the staff in the stables say they are like a couple of little kids chasing each other around! 

Brin and Bertie (and me!) enjoying a good chase!

Mondays, Wednesday evenings, Fridays and Saturdays are taken up with private riding lessons and carriage driving. We have some lovely regular riders let me tell you a bit about some of them.

Daisy and her mum Lynn who come twice a week on a Monday and Friday all the way from Bude. I don’t know where it is but Teddy tells me it’s too far to walk and they have to come in a car. Daisy does stable management and riding on a Monday then she rides with her mum on a Friday. 

Lynn and Daisy in the arena with Bertie and  Teddy

Jack (not Jack the pony in the stables!) and his mum Michelle also come to us from Bude. I hear it's really nice there with lots of grass! Maybe I will get to go there one day. Jack must be a very popular name as we also have another Jack who visits on a Monday to ride Duchess.

I don’t tend to see the people that ride on a Wednesday evening as usually I'm out in my paddock for the night by then, but Teddy tells me they are all very nice, and even some of the activity instructors join in on the lessons.

They've made me a Logo!

Have you wonderful people been reading my pieces in the North Devon Journal? You might remember I told you a while ago that I was going to start writing for them.


If you've been reading my column you might have noticed, the lovely folks at the Journal have made me into a logo!

I love it, and I'm going to start using it on my blog too; it makes me feel like Leo, the MGM lion! roar!

Yummy! Fresh Grass!

Hi everyone it’s the mighty atom here!  I am just about to go out into my field next to the archery range.  All the other horses will be excited when they go out today because I saw Nicky and Kerri taking electric fencing to the field…

... this means they all get lots of lovely new grass to eat!  Happy horses all round tonight!  

Me in my lovely little paddock

I don’t get any extra grass because I am too small to have too much grass.  It can make ponies get a horrible illness called laminitis which makes their feet very painful. I've never had it, and I don’t want it! So I am quite happy with my little paddock.

Hoist Training

Kerri had a very busy afternoon a few days ago, Nicky was training her how to hoist riders onto horses, this is an important skill for the riding instructors here at Calvert Trust Exmoor to have, because lots of our guests need this kind of assistance.

Preparing to hoist

Kerri had to practice hoisting a rider from a wheelchair onto a horse. Brin is trained as a hoist horse and so is Teddy. Today Brin had the very special job of helping to train Kerri.

Amelia on her way

 I told you about Eilish last time I blogged didn’t I?  She also helped along with Amelia; they both had a go at being hoisted from a wheelchair onto Brin.  As usual Brin took the opportunity to stand as still as possible and have a little nap!

Landing on Brin's back

Irish? No, Eilish! (and a photobomb from Rooster!)

Last week we had a lovely person here in the stables on work experience.  Her name is Eilish but she’s not Irish! (Sorry, but if you're a horse that joke is really funny!)

She's actually originally from New Zealand, but has lived in the UK for 9 years, and is just about to start her 3rd year of an extended diploma in animal management at Bicton College, which sounds very clever to me! 

Rooster Photobombing Eilish!

She's been doing work experience here at Calvert Trust Exmoor, finding out what it is like to work in a stables. Rooster really liked her, and he's such a show off that he couldn't resist getting in on the photo I took of her, as you can see!

Eilish loved meeting me of course, but she said that her favourite animals are dogs! (Maybe that’s why she thinks I am great, I'm about the size of a large dog!)

After her week here she has gone to the Donkey Sanctuary for work experience to see what they do. I am sure she will have a good time there too, although Donkeys are nowhere near as nice as horses of course!  She has been brilliant here and we have loved working with her.

A visit from SSAFA

This week we've had a group here at Calvert Trust Exmoor from SSAFA.  Their name means "Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association", they are a charity that was set up under a Royal Charter from George the 5th.

I had to ask Teddy who George the 5th was, apparently he was king of England a long time ago and also granddad to Queen Elizabeth the 2nd, who is the Queen right now. I've not met her, but I did meet her cousin, Princess Alexandra when she came here a couple of years ago.

So anyway SSAFA has been going for a very long time, Teddy says since 1926, and they provide help and support for British Forces families.  We've had a lovely group of young people and their volunteer helpers here this week, they have all been to see us here in the stables and done some riding with the bigger horses and ponies. 

Some lovely SSAFA young people

I also got to do some of my agility work with them, which as you know I love doing! I've had a great time this week meeting lots of different new friends. 

I also did some jumping this week in the outdoor arena which I always love.

I do love jumping!

I like to show that I can do all the things the other bigger horses can do even though I'm tiny!  I think people are often surprised that a small Shetland pony like me can be so agile!