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