Dressage Test

Our guests did lots of riding and carriage driving this weekend, and on Sunday they had a go at a dressage test. 

Henry, Teddy and Brin were chosen to take part and they were made to look very smart, having their manes and tails plaited and muddy bits washed. Two of our lovely volunteers also tried the dressage test. Everyone got judged on their riding skills by Nicky who sat up in the gallery to watch what was happening. At the end of the day everyone had a rosette and certificate to take home with them. 

Brin having a little snack before his big moment!

One of our guests this weekend used to work with race horses. He rode Brin this weekend; I think Brin was a bit worried he might ask him to gallop round the arena! Brin is not too keen on going fast, luckily for him the dressage test only involved walking and trotting! I would not have been the only one amazed if Brin had suddenly decided to show a burst of energy, he's definitely built for comfort not for speed!

The weather is certainly starting to change here at Calvert Trust Exmoor. It has been quite a bit colder and rainy this weekend. I think I will soon be tucked up in my lovely warm stable every night, I can't wait for that.

We are all going out in the fields wearing our waterproof rugs again now. Needless to say we have rolled as much as we can to make them all nice and dirty!  Ah the joys of being a pony......

Horse Weekend and Spooky Goings On!

This weekend we had some visitors to the stables on a horse weekend. All the centre had been decorated with spooky stuff so us horses and ponies were feeling a little left out. However we soon realised that two of us had been chosen to join in the fun, myself and Duchess were decorated to look like skeleton horses!

Nicky got some chalk and we had all of our bones drawn on us! Duchess kept turning round to look at herself while she was being drawn on. I am quite sure she thought she looked fabulous!

Skeletal Horses!

Our visitors then watched us in the arena, as we moved around they could see which bones were moving which part of us. I decided to play a trick of my own though and had a lovely roll. This rubbed all the chalk off so Nickys hard work was no longer visible! Ha Ha!!!

Rolling around

 Hendrix was then allowed to come into the arena to play with us. He must have felt a bit left out because he tried to design his own outfit using a cone! Duchess was not impressed by this but i thought it looked like a good game and tried a cone on for size too.

Hendrix's Cone Costume!

Guest Blogger Daisy 1: My Lovely Horsey Friends

Hi my name's Daisy and I ride every week here at Calvert Trust Exmoor. 

Daisy

I was chatting to my good friend Pilgrim the other day and he asked me if I would write something about the stables. He said that everyone would like to know about my horsey friends so I said that I would; I hope you like it.


I know Bertie very well,he was one of the first ponies I rode here, he's very gentle and loves being groomed, he loves to potter around the indoor school and not do too much if he can get away with it!

Learning with Bertie

Then there's Henry, he's had a bit of a rough summer as the flies really like him! This makes him unhappy,but he's OK now autumn is here. 

Enjoying a ride with Henry

And Jack, well Jack loves to play and zoom around the indoor school, then when he's had enough he takes himself off to the door and asks to go back to his stable! Pilgrim thinks he's really funny.

Zooming with Jack

And of course there's Hendrix,he listens very hard to what I am saying and loves to have fun with me.

Having fun with Hendrix

I mustn't forget the others: There's Duchess she's the only girl and I think that she is in charge! Then there's Safari and Rooster, they are best friends and like to do everything together. And finally there is Teddy and Brin they are the big boys, and both very handsome.

Thank you Pilgrim for giving me a chance to write about my lovely friends, riding here makes me feel really happy, I love learning about the horses and thank you Nicky, Abi , Kerry and Louise for helping me.

Love Daisy xxx

Guest Blogger Duchess 1: A Mare's Eye View

Hello ladies and gentlemen, lovely to have the chance to give you a mare’s eye view of the Calvert Stables.

Hi I'm Duchess!

I have been here for nearly a whole year now and I must say I am thoroughly enjoying keeping all these boys in check!  I do have a special friend here who I lived with before I arrived here, his name is Jack and he is a very gentle soul.

I am quite popular with all the other horses and ponies which is great.  I do try to treat all the boys fairly though, as horses can get quite jealous of each other just like people. I love living here and enjoy both my jobs, I get ridden and also I pull a big carriage.  I am a multi-talented girl! 

Me pulling the big carriage

I'm a traditional cob by the way, which means I am fairly stocky and have a beautiful long mane and tail.  I also have amazing feathers on my legs…

...I know what you are thinking but these feathers are nothing to do with birds! When horses have feathers it means they have long hairs on their legs.  The feathers can be very thick and long.  They help to protect our legs from muddy conditions and also look rather splendid. I like it when my feathers have been brushed to make them smooth and shiny, all the guests here remark how gorgeous I look which is good for a girl’s ego!

The best thing about living here is the amount of fuss and attention I get from all sorts of people; I would stand and be brushed all day long.  

Must go now, my carriage awaits! - Duchess x

Dusty the Farrier

Hi everyone, it’s me back again, the smallest, mightiest pony here at Calvert Trust Exmoor! This week we have had lots of guests here in the centre doing all sorts of activities, including carriage driving and riding.

We also had a visit from the farrier, so I thought I would introduce you to Dusty.  He comes here to shoe some of us horses and ponies, along with his friends Clive and Jordan. Dusty is very friendly and as you can see from this photo of him shoeing Safari he loves having his photo taken,a bit like me! You may remember me telling you before, I have special plastic shoes when it is my turn to be shod.  

Dusty Shoeing Safari

Another visitor this week was the vet.  He came out to see Henry who has had an argument with a fence! The fence came of worst, but he was left with a cut on his leg which the vet had to look at.  Henry is fine again now though and will be back working very soon.

I've had a chat with Duchess who's the only female horse here at the stables.  She is very beautiful and quite outspoken so I thought you might like to hear about life from her point of view; so the next blog later this week will be written by Duchess rather than me.

Synchronised driving and competition fun

Last time I blogged I wrote about the Horse Experience Weekend that we had just finished; I thought this time I would tell you a bit more about it.

On the Sunday morning all our visitors had a carriage driving session, both Duchess and Hendrix were in action pulling their carriages.  This meant they could have some competition fun in the arena taking visitors around a course of cones, there was even a stop-watch involved!

Don’t tell Hendrix I told you but Duchess beat him in every trial!! Also they had a go at synchronised driving! It looked quite tricky to me but Duchess and Hendrix both had a fun time.

Synchronised Driving

After lunch it was time for the Horse Weekend Challenge.

Competing in the challenge

Our visitors had to ride or drive around a course of obstacles in the arena, while they all watched each other and cheered each other on. At the end the staff and guests enjoyed a well deserved cup of tea while the stables staff handed out certificates and rosettes to our guests. We equines were happily munching hay by this time. A good weekend was had by all!

It's Rosette time!

Smiles and fun for the Horse Weekend

Hi folks, it’s your mini-Shetland mighty atom reporting again!

It's starting to feel like summer is finally over, but I must say that we horses and ponies here have really enjoyed all the lovely weather we have had this year. I'm sure all our visitors have loved being here in Devon in the sunshine.

Although it has been a bit cooler this weekend we've still had some good sunshine, which is great because we have had some guest here having lots of fun on our Horse Weekend. 

Grooming

The guests all get involved in looking after us and learn how to feed us, groom us and muck out our stables, they also learn about how to clean our tack and harness. The guests this weekend had a go at working out how a harness fits and works – to help them do this they tried Hendrix’s harness on themselves!!

Trying Hendrix's Harness!

Sometimes the guests get to do agility with yours truly as well as trying riding and carriage driving. This weekend Bryony got to ride Henry, She practised her trotting and steering around obstacles in the arena. 

Bryony riding Hendrix

Our other visitors Sarah, Natalie and Karen, went in the carriage with Hendrix.  They drove in the arena and Hendrix showed how great he is at going through cones. When all the horses had done their work Bryony helped to feed us all our lunchtime hay.

In the arena with Hendrix

After lunch Bryony went for a ride outside on Teddy.  Sarah, Natalie and Karen went out driving in the carriage with Duchess. They drove down the track where lots of leaves are starting to fall off the trees. (Teddy says that’s because it is autumn now).

a beautiful Autumn drive

Everyone was worn out at the end of the day. When our guest had finished for the day all us horses and ponies went out for some lovely grass – our favourite thing to do! 

Rubber Mats

we've just had a delivery of new rubber mats, they're for Rooster's stable as his are looking a bit worn out.

Having rubber mats on the floor means that our stables are nice and soft to stand in; we still get bedding on top of the mats too.

It's much better and more comfortable to stand on the rubber mats rather than the concrete floor, It also means the floor is warmer which is good in the winter. 

Rooster enjoying his new floor

I'll let you know what Rooster thinks of his new 'des res' next time; I wonder who got the job of taking the old mats out and putting new ones in? They look pretty heavy to me!

Meeting Lucinda Green

The other night some of the people from the stables went on an outing, a famous rider came to open a new Event Centre at Mullacott Stables, which is not very far from here. The new centre is a venue for shows and competitions for people to take their horses to. 

Nicky went along with Amy who is a regular and longstanding volunteer here, and with one of our regular riders, Jack.  They met Lucinda Green MBE who was there to cut the ribbon and unveil a plaque.

Meeting Lucinda Green

I asked Teddy about Lucinda Green and he said she is very famous as an eventing rider. She has also written some books about her horses and her career. 

Nicky said she was lovely and Jack and Amy had a great time, Jack even got a signed book. I thought all this sounded brilliant but they could have asked me to do the official opening as I am something of a local celebrity! 

Teddy says I'm nowhere near as famous as Lucinda Green; maybe not, but I'm working on it!

Duchess on the pull...

Duchess and Hendrix have been very busy pulling their carriages lately, we have had lots of lovely guests who have enjoyed going in the outdoor arena and out and about around the are. As you know Hendrix was recently given a new harness set, which is lovely.

Duchess has also had something new, she had a new set of shafts for the four wheeler carriage which are the perfect length for her to make her job of pulling the carriage as easy as it can be.  She loves pulling the carriage and she is very strong with great muscles!

Duchess looking great in the carriage

I'm Pretty as a Picture!

Hi everyone, the mighty atom is here with the Stables Report for you all!  I know you like to keep up with what is happening here in the Calvert Trust Exmoor Stables.

We've been very busy in the past few weeks meeting lots of lovely groups. I have been doing my bit, showing people what I can do and what fabulous creatures us horses and ponies are! I've also been out on several walks with guests and have noticed there are loads of blackberries growing round here.  I did taste a few but I definitely prefer grass!

Last week I had a very special visitor. You may remember I told you all a while ago that an artist was coming to paint my portrait.  Well, two pictures have now been done and the lovely ladies who painted them came to see me. 

Me with my pictures!

They brought the portraits of me with them, I took a look at them and thought it was just like looking in the mirror in the arena! Now I'm not being big headed, but I do think I look very cute in these paintings! 

New Kit for one Lucky Pony!

A couple of weeks ago a lovely lady called Sarah rang up to say she would like to donate some equipment to the stables. As you can imagine this was very exciting for everyone here, we were all wondering what it would be and which horse or pony would get to wear it!

Well, Sarah arrived with a very smart driving harness set; Hendrix and Duchess are our two driving horses here at the stables so they were both looking over their stable doors with interest. Lucky Hendrix now has a lovely leather harness to wear. He says he is very happy about it and seems to be showing off rather a lot; but then he is a rather a show off anyway!

On a Monday morning all the tack is always shiny and clean too so I think whoever works Sunday must spend quite a lot of the day with a bucket of water and some saddle soap!  We each have our own tack and equipment so there is quite a lot of tack to clean.

Just some of our tack; there's a lot to clean!

The stitching also all has to be checked to make sure the tack and harness is safe to use. I'm very glad I'm the pony who gets looked after and not the person who has to do all the cleaning up! 

My lovely tack looking all clean and shiny

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!

Brin's had a Haircut!

My buddy Brin looks a bit different today than he did a few days ago, he's has had a session with the clippers with Louise and Kerri.

He has had his mane ‘hogged’, which means he has his mane clipped off to make him look smart.  Brin said he really likes having his mane hogged becuase he doesn’t like people touching it when it is long.

I think he must think people are trying to pull his mane out when they touch it! I like having my mane stroked, but Brin doesn't.

He also has his legs clipped to keep him looking stylish.  His legs get REALLY hairy if he doesn’t have that done! 

Brin's smart new look

Poor Henry has been suffering badly with his Sweet Itch this week.  I heard Nicky say he is going to spend a few nights in and not go out in the fields to give him a bit of a rest from the flies.  I'm pretty sure I saw Henry smile when he heard that, he really hates those pesky flies!

Pilgrim goes Camping

Earlier this week I got moved in to the field by archery and I wasn’t sure why, but then Teddy told me that there were some guests doing something called camping in my other field!

He said this is where humans come and put something called a tent up on the grass, and then they sleep inside it overnight. Sounds a bit like a stable to me! 

As none of the other horses in the stables have never seen anything like this before I felt it was my duty to investigate and report back to everyone.

So this is tent!

Abi and Lynn led me up to the camping field where the tents were, and I had a good look around and inside the tents.

In I go!

I was pretty impressed but I don’t think I'd fancy staying in one overnight, I much prefer the freedom of my paddock.

So, what's in there then? 

I must go now as I can hear my name being called to go and do another of my amazing agility sessions; see you all soon. 

Playtime with Jack

Because I'm doing so much agility over the summer the stables staff thought it would be nice if I could have a bit of a break and do something different. On Wednesday afternoon Abi took me for a long walk around the reservoir with one of the guests so I could stretch my legs a bit more. I found this very exciting so I thought I would show off some of my moves. Of course everyone enjoyed watching me perform!

I've also been in the arena with Jack and Teddy to have a bit of play, as I have to go in my own separate field during the evening so I need some time to catch up on the gossip, otherwise I will have nothing to write about!

Come and play Jack!

I was in quite an energetic mood that day but all Teddy wanted to do was have a rest, luckily for me though Jack was keen to have a play. We also had a good grooming session and it was nice to be able to have a chat with Jack as we don’t get to meet very often.

Having a nice chat with Jack

Flippin Flies!

The last week in the stables we had loads of groups in, which meant all of us horses have worked really hard. This also includes me of course; although I don’t do any ridden work I've done lots and lots of agility. I do love showing off my abilities to our lovely guests!

Not only has it been busy it has also been really hot and the flies have been out in force. This makes it  a bit difficult for us in the stables as it gets too hot to work in the indoor arena but going outside means we get lots of bites from the flippin flies! The good thing about this though is it means we get to have a cool down with the hose pipe once we have done all our work!

Visitors from Jersey

Just recently we had a lovely group of visitors staying with us from Jersey. Even Teddy didn’t know where that is! 

I heard the stables staff chatting and they said that our guests are all part of Jersey R.D.A., who provide riding for children and adults with disabilities on the island of Jersey. 

On Saturday morning they all had a horse riding lesson, they were quite excited to be riding horses a bit bigger than Toffee and Darcy who are two of the ponies they ride at R.D.A.  After a bit of getting to know us horses they played a game of chase with Abi to practice steering. Some of the riders used special reins with loops on to make steering easier.

The group also did some grooming and learnt about the parts of a horse.  The mums even got to have a ride which the children found very exciting!  They took lots of photos, some of which are in the gallery on their website.

The children all went for a ride on the track in the afternoon, down towards the reservoir and round the woods.  Everyone loved this as they hadn’t done it before. 

On Sunday morning they did more riding and then some carriage driving with Hendrix, he said they loved driving round obstacles and it was great fun.

All the children also spent some time with me in the morning and I showed them all how brilliant I am at doing agility, then at lunchtime the children all helped to feed us our hay.

Sunday afternoon was spent building an obstacle course in the outdoor arena. All the riders had a go at riding around the course which was made up of steering along the sneaky snake, riding through a wiggly worm, staying inside the circle of doom, stopping in the penalty box and walking across the black hole! All of this was done while avoiding the scary bear and using lots of imagination!

Lots of smiley faces receiving their certificates! 

At the end of the afternoon everyone got together to have a presentation of certificates and rosettes. I know all us horses and ponies and the staff enjoyed the whole weekend and judging by the smiles I saw I think all our guests from Jersey had a fab time too!

Film Crews Galore!

Hi everyone it’s your favourite horsey spokesman here. We had a very busy week last week with film crews galore!

Firstly we had Martyn Sibley here, making a film for the Visit Britain "Access All Areas" series all about Exmoor, so of course they wanted to include Calvert Trust Exmoor in the film!

Then the next day we had some visitors here to do some filming for Forces TV. They came to the indoor riding arena gallery and watched Safari and Brin being ridden during a centre group session. I know Brin loved being on camera, he told me he felt like a movie star! 

Watch the film on Forces TV

Safari also enjoyed showing how good he is at his job by trotting around the arena with his rider. Hendrix also got in on the act; he never misses an opportunity to get involved! 
He was giving one of our guests a carriage drive in the outdoor arena and also ended up on the film. 

Hendrix showing off for the camera!

I think that I must have been busy taking some of our guests for a stroll to find some nice grass, I'm sure I would have been first choice for the camera if I had been out doing agility when they were here at the stables! How could they possibly resist me?

I would have liked to have prior warning though so I could have been pampered and made to look my fabulous best! I must remember that for next time…

Sunburn is no fun for horses

My mate Teddy is a piebald horse, which means his coat is made up of black and white patches, and he has a pink nose.  We actually have several horses here at Calvert Trust Exmoor stables that have pink skin.  This makes them more likely to get sunburn, just like people who have fair skin.  

Teddy's pink nose!

All the horses with pink noses get sun cream put on before they go out in hot weather, Teddy says it feels nice but is a bit tickly! The staff also put sun cream on themselves when they are outside; most of them have tanned arms and faces.  

You might remember I told you a while ago I had my shoes taken off to give my feet a bit of breathing time.  I'm ready to have my plastic trainers put back on as my little feet are getting a bit worn down when I walk on the stones.  I have heard the staff saying that that the farrier is coming to the stables again soon, so I hope he has my little plastic shoes with him! 

Sweet Itch? what's sweet about an itch?!?

This morning I was talking with Henry about why he has not been out with us in the fields or in the Horse Watching sessions, and he explained to me that he gets very bad Sweet Itch. 

We asked Teddy about it and he said Sweet Itch is also know as Summer Seasonal Recurrent Dermatitis, which sounds a bit of a mouthful to me! 

In the hot weather there are lots of nasty little flies about, which none of us like, but for poor Henry they are particularly annoying; he is is allergic to their saliva, so the bites make him very itchy and he rubs himself.

At this time of year we all get fly repellent put on to make us more comfortable, and we get washed off quite often when we have been working which feels great and cools us down. 

Because Henry has such a bad reaction to the flies, he gets to wear some special clothing; he has a fly mask for his face and a fly proof rug for when he is out in the fields.

Henry in his fly proof clothing