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