Equine Life

Equifest 2020: The haul

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– Shopping shopping everywhere –

You can read my recap of Equifest here for Friday evening and Saturday here. Sunday’s recap will be out later this week. 

Like any good big show there were a whole lot of vendors at Equifest with some awesome bargains. I wasn’t planning on buying any big-ticket items but put aside some money for small bits and pieces. 

All the big shops like Saddlery Warehouse, TackShop and Canterbury Equestrian were there as well as small, independent retailers. The options were amazing. 

One of the big things I noticed at this show is the change in fashion since I was last competing a few years ago. Bling is all the rage. Helmets, show shirts, bridles and saddle pads are dripping in it. I’m not super into bling, I prefer a cool coloured horse with more subtle saddlery then the other way around so I steered clear of it. Le Mieux is super popular too with so many people riding with those saddle pads. I prefer saddle pads with big quilting rather than small quilting but I really love the matching boots and bonnets they are known for. 

– All the bargins! –

Anyway, here is my little haul! I am stoaked. 

– Look at this gorgeousness –

Here’s the rundown:

  • 1 x black Enzo saddle pad – $20
  • 1 x merlot Roma saddle pad – $30 (down from $70)
  • 1 x white no brand saddle pad – $15
  • 2 x 2L White colour enhancing shampoo – $9.95 each (down from $20 each) 
  • 1 x Prima Safety Ties – $7.99 (down from $9.99 each)
  • 1 x Horze Short Sleeve Show Shirt Navy Blue – $28.00 (half price)
  • 1 x Horze Short Sleeve Show Shirt Bright Blue – $35.00 (25% off)
  • 1 x Horze Long Sleeve Show Shirt White – $32.50 (half price)
  • 3 x white grooming chalk – $2.99 each (down from $6.99)
  • Schooling whip – $10.00 
  • 3 x cohesive bandage – $1.99 each (down from $2.99) 

– Horze Paige Show Shirts –

My favourite buys are probably the Horze Paige Show Shirts. I was actually hoping to find the long sleeve version of the bright blue shirt before coming to the show because I want it as my cross country shirt but they didn’t have my size. But I love the colour so I got the short sleeve one anyway – well actually its technically my Christmas present from mum so I have to wrap it up and put it under my Christmas tree. 

The other two shirts were the best bargain I got on the Sunday. They were down to half price which was way better then the 25% I got off the bright blue shirt the day before so I snapped them up. 

I was also pretty stoaked to get all that shampoo for so cheap. Its technically expired but I don’t think that matters and you need as much whitening shampoo as you can get when you have a grey horse.

– My poor whip lost its fight against the car door –

Sadly my schooling whip went up against my car door and lost – it wasn’t in the car fully and I shut it in the car door a few times before I realised and it broke near the tip but it’s still usable so oh well. 

So there you are, my little haul from Equifest. I’m going to need to start saving my pennies for Horse of the Year in March – the shopping there will be even better.  

Equifest 2020: Friday and Saturday

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– Equifest at the National Equestrian Centre –

This past weekend was the inaugural Equifest at the National Equestrian Centre in Taupo and it was amazing! 

Equifest was created in the gap that was left behind when Equidays was canceled earlier this year and was full of competitions, seminars clinics and demonstrations to cater for all horsey people. And shopping, lots of shopping.  I posted a bunch on my instagram stories throughout the weekend so if you want up to date updates in the future, make sure you are following me there. Here’s the link to my account. 

I was lucky enough to win one day pass from Vicky Wilson, one of the Equidays Ambassadors, and bought a second one so I could make it a weekend. I even managed to get a ticket for Friday night show before it sold out. I would have loved to go to the Saturday night show which was apparently amazing but they sold out super quick.  

The event started on Friday morning but I decided I would just go Friday evening so I wouldn’t have to take a day off work since I’m using those for my summer holiday. I did work some extra hours during the week so I could shoot off a little early on Friday afternoon and packed my horse mobile Petal for the trip, Taupo is about 3.5 hours from New Plymouth and the trip went quickly. I’ve been wanting to try out my SUV as a camping option for future horse shows (because I’m trying to be more budget-conscious so I can put more money into fun things like clinics and lessons) and it was great. It fits a double air bed perfectly and I had the best sleep the two nights I was there. I’m going to sort out some curtains and other bits and pieces to make it even better but it was a great trial run.

When I got to Taupo, I checked in at the campsite and then went straight to the National Equestrian festival for the Friday night show. It was speed night with a Table C showjumping competition with a pony and horse class. It was a hard course and the arena was tiny thanks to the grandstand taking up lots of room. The distractions were numerous too which lots of the horses had issues with. The majority of show jumping is done outside in New Zealand and many of the horses were obviously having a hard time with an indoor arena full of hundreds of people. The big screen in particular was causing issues, It was right next to jump two and almost every rider took their mount near it before they started to try to get them used to it. There was one slightly controversial moment when the screen was turned off when one horse was really losing their mind over it. The combo went on to win the class so there was a lot of mumblings of the unfairness of it all in the stands.

– Friday night speed event with the dreaded screen in the background –

It was an entertaining competition though with lots of disobedences, crashed into jumps and a few falls. No horse or riders were hurt though. There were some amazing saves too when riders almost fell off but managed to scramble back on and keep going. There were quite a few retirements which I think was mostly due to the atmosphere and the worked up horses. I don’t know why it worked out this way but the majority of the pony class were appaloosas which is not the most common breed in NZ and the horses were mostly dark browns (probably thoroughbreds).  Amanda Wilson was one of the commentators for the night and also competed her World Cup gelding Showtym Cassanova but didn’t go clear. I called it a night after the Table C competition and headed to the campsite instead of watching the polo match since I was pretty tired. 

– SA and I in our Kaipaki Horsemanship Cheer Squad tees –

Saturday was a stunning, sunny day and I got there before the gates opened. I slathered on the sunscreen but decided I didn’t need to do my legs despite wearing shorts which was a bad, bad idea because I got so burnt thanks to sitting in the sun. The gates lead you cunningly straight into the shopping area so I had a quick look before deciding to come back later. I headed off to the indoor arena to watch the vaulting demonstration which was amazing! Those riders (and the horses) are fantastic! I kind of want to give it a go sometime but I’m not sure about how flexible my 31 year old body is these days. I bounced around between a few of the other clinics and competitions before meeting one of my oldest and best friends to spend the day with.  I also managed to fit some shopping in and got some awesome deals which I’ll do a haul post later about. After the shopping we went to watch Russel Higgins who was doing an Introduction to Liberty educational session. He was amazing and his horses were so in tune with him. He ended up showing us some liberty work with three of his horses at once which was wicked. Really made me want to do one of his clinics one day. 

– The vaulting was amazing. They made it look easy which I’m sure st very misleading –

One of the main reasons I went to Equifest (apart from embracing my true horsey self) was to see and support another of my friends, Murray, who was one of the educators. Murray runs Kaipaki Horsemanship in the Waikato and specialises in starting young horses, schooling and coaching, drawing together the fundamentals of dressage and horsemanship to do this. He also breeds some amazing sport horses out of his Clydesdale stallion Saint Clifford Bay. 

– Murray with the gorgeous 3 year old Lilly –

– Murray is so kind when training, This is Lilly’s first time with a saddle –

He ran three sessions over the weekend educating people on his methods for starting a young horse which are so gentle and kind and really focus on working with the horse and not against it. He bought one of his Saint Clifford Bay babies Lilly to show his techniques with. She was fresh off the King Country hills and had only been lightly handled before Murray started her at the show. I wasn’t there for the first session on Friday but most of the session was spent getting her locked on to Murray and look to him for leadership and safety in the midst of the massive show. On Saturday she was soft and locked on quickly which meant Murray was able to introduce the saddle and get on her. She was such a generous and chilled out horse on Saturday but Murray is so kind and experienced that he got her to that stage fast. He reiterated multiple times though that this was just a demonstration and it usually takes at least 6 weeks to get a horse started and Lilly was being extremely generous. He was careful not to push her just for the sake of the demonstration.  It was a great session and it was awesome seeing Murray doing his thing. 

– Spot the Katie in the crowd –

We headed back to Murray’s stand after the demonstration to congratulate him and hang out for awhile. We had a look at a few more of the stalls and I ended up talking to the NZ racing people about Birdie to go into the draw to win a prize which turned out to be a great experience since they were able to find some videos of Birdie running (and losing) some races before I got her. It was so exciting to see her before she came into my life but I felt pretty sad when I saw her jockey whipping her lots in one video. I’ve got the videos for myself now so I’ll do a post about it at some point. 

We were nearing the end of the day by then so a bunch of us who didn’t have tickets to the night show ending up going to one of the many hot pools in Taupo for a chilled evening and then to dinner at one of the houses. We reminisced about the old days and had an awesome evening before heading to bed. 

This post is super long so I’ll do another post to cover the Sunday at Equifest. It was a cold, wet day but it was still lots of fun. Right now I need to head out into the bad weather to feed Birdie.  

Hoof angst

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The never-ending abscess is mostly gone, I think. I hope. I hopped on her on Sunday for the first ride in weeks and I might have felt a misstep or two but I think we’ll be back into it properly over the next week or so. 

We’re back to the beginning with picking up hooves though, the abscess treatment has really caused Birdie to regress in her willingness to let me do anything with her hooves, especially her back ones. I mentioned in this post here about trying to poultice her hoof after the farrier visited and having to give up due to her starting to kick. Unfortunately, before we called it quits, she connected with my grazing owner’s ear with one of her kicks. At the time she said she was fine and it barely got her, but after a week with a mild headache that wasn’t ending she went to the doctor who sent her for scans and it turned out that she had a tiny fracture above her ear. I obviously felt terrible and apologised profusely and she was as kind as one could be in this situation but I still feel so bad about it. She has already healed and is fine now but it really drilled home how careful you need to be with a stressed horse who doesn’t want you touching her hooves. I now always wear my helmet when doing anything that deals with her hooves and will keep doing that until I’m absolutely sure she won’t do anything like that again. 

– This is what Birdie feels about having a bath –

It’s going to be a bit of a journey back to her getting over the angst around having her hooves dealt with. She’s not an easy going horse who will accept what you are doing quietly or be bullied into it. You really have to get her to trust you for her to allow something and to work with you. We have already had some progress though, I can now touch all over her legs and hooves with no issues as long as I don’t try to pick them up but as soon I ask her to lift them up, she starts getting stressed and paces all over the place. I can eventually get her to lift her front hooves but the back ones are still a no-go.

At one point while asking her to lift the back ones, I obviously pushed her too far because she pulled back, breaking the bailing twine and cutting the inside of her nose somehow in the process. I felt terrible again and was terrified she had done some real damage to herself but after I got her calmed down and irrigated her nose with saline I could see that it was just a shallow cut in her nasal passage. It clotted up quickly so I spread some antibiotic cream on it and gave her lots of pats and apologised profusely. It’s going to be a long journey I think, but we’ll get there. 

– What ya doing mum –

Like I said above, Birdie isn’t the easiest going of horses. She’s opinionated and tries to dominate and doesn’t trust easily. I’ve been doing tons of groundwork with her to get her to trust and connect with me and I think it’s finally starting to happen. Her ground manners (aside from the hooves) are so much better and she doesn’t pace endlessly when taken from her mates anymore. She actually wants to spend time with me instead of going back to the paddock and her friends. She’s also started to come over to me in the paddock instead of walking away and will leave her horsey mates and follow me around when I’m doing stuff in the paddock so I think we’re finally turning a corner. 

Stocking Stuffers for Equestrians

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Christmas is just around the corner so if you are a crazy organised person like me, you’ve already started thinking about presents (or even bought a few). If you don’t overthink everything and aren’t at that point yet, then this post is perfect for you. I’ve rounded up some of my favourite stocking stuffers for the horsey people in your life. Most of these gifts are small and relatively inexpensive so you’ll be able to spoil your equestrian and keep your bank account relatively healthy.

As a way to support local, many of the retailers I’ve featured are local New Zealand businesses but many of these offer shipping overseas if you’re one of my worldwide visitors. 

Horse and Hound Shampoo Bar

I love this citrus smelling shampoo bar and it does wonders for Birdie’s sensitive thoroughbred skin. The ingredients are all natural and the bar is antiallergenic, anti-inflammatory and antifungal with insecticidal properties so it covers all bases! The bar is equivilent to 1L of liquid shampoo so it’s resonably priced (which I always appreciate) and since its a bar, there’s no plastic bottles to pollute the land. Get it here from Forbes Co ($16.90) or here from Saddlery Warehouse ($16.95) 

– Eco friendly with so many great ingredients. Horse lovers will love this in their stocking –

Natural Goat Hair Body Brush 

Going with the no plastic theme, this wooden body brush is a dream. This is the brush I have for Bird and its so so soft. It does an amazing job of cleaning the coat and making her shiny shiny. It’s super affordable too at only $12.50 from TackShop 

– Beautiful and soft, horses (and their humans) will love this body brush –

Enzo Dual Ear Bonnet

Every good pony deserves a ear bonnet for christmas. These come in one size and fits Birdie so could probably fit a Cob or Full size horse. These come in Navy, Purple, Royal Blue and Purple and you can even get a matching saddle pad seperately. Get them here from the Saddlery Warehouse ($9.99).

– Spritz up some fluffy equine ears with this cute ear bonnet –

Treat (and poop bag) holder

While these are originally made for dog owners, these little pouches are super handy for horse owners too especially for ground training. Coming in two gorgeous colours, these clip on your belt for easy access. Also, most horse owners have dogs anyway so they’ll be doubly useful. Get it here from Kmart for $5.00.

– Cute and practical – this treat bag is perfect for horse owners –

Horse Tech Breathable Glove 

This picture doesn’t do these gloves justice, the colour here appears a weird yellow colour but they are really a gorgeous light caramel tan colour (I should know, I bought these for myself). They are comfy, breathable and the horse shoe cut out design is vintage and so cute! They also come in black. A steal for only $16.99 from Saddlery Warehouse.

– Light and breathable, these gloves are perfect for summer –

Dreamers and Schemers Boot Socks

Boot socks are always a winner for stocking stuffers and these ones are SO CUTE. Punk Ponies is known for stocking some out of the box, fun items and these are no exception. I love this fox design and the horses with the glasses are another one of my faves. You can get them here at Punk Ponies for $25.00

– Spice up your favourite equestrian legs with these cute boot socks –

Brass Halter Name Plates

Every good horse deserves a custom halter or at least a halter with their name on it and these pretty little name plates are perfect for that. I love the traditional brass of these and they are a bargin at only $10.00. Get them here at Canterbury Saddlery. 

– Your favourite equestrian will love these for their favourite horse(s) –

Equine Eats n’ Treats Munchie Cookies 

Made with nautral (food grade) ingredients, these heart shaped treats are made right here in New Zealand and come in 6 different flavours of Mint, Garlic & Rosemary, Molasses, Rock Salt, Tumeric and Cinnamon! Support local and support your horses happiness and their bellies with these yummy looking treats. Get them here directly from the baker for $5.00 or here from Vet Post for $6.00. 

– Natural and delicious, these horse treats are a winner –

Hairy Pony Mane Sectioning Comb

This nifty little gadget is perfect for any equestrian that needs to plait and is even better for those who are multi disciplinary riders. The large part of the comb sections hair out for dressage plaits, the medium for show horses or dressage ponies and the small comb is for showjumping, hunter or western braiding. The gold colour is gorgeous too! Get it from Summit Saddlery for $15.00. 

– Practical and gorgeous, this sectioning comb has it all –

 

Electroplated Blunt End Spurs

Another great buy from PunkPonies, these gold blunt end spurs are gorgeous and with electroplating, the colour will stand up to the elements longer. They come in gold which is my favourite (are you seeing a theme here?) or rose gold and retail at $50.00. A bit more expenny then the other stocking stuffers but really, who can put a price on something as cool as these. Get them here.

– Your equestrians boots will shine with these gorgeous spurs –

So hit the shops (or their websites) and stock up on some awesome stocking stuffings for your favourite equestrian! Do you have any other stocking stuffers you love? Let me know and maybe I’ll do another post! 

Congratulations! It’s an abscess!

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– Poor baby with her weak thoroughbred hooves –

Welcome back to horse ownership Katie, where abscesses come in the spring and your plans don’t matter. 

So the farrier was out on Friday and confirmed my unofficial diagnosis of an abscess that probably originated from the seedy toe. She couldn’t dig it out since it’s in a funny place so she recommended poulticing it until the abscess burst and to try keep the hoof clean and dry… which is not the easiest thing to do in spring conditions in Taranaki, New Zealand. 

 

So once the farrier left and I finally managed to catch her (see video above), the grazing owner and I gathered together the many supplies that a hoof poultice requires. And then tried to put on her. And tried. And tried. And tried. And failed. Birdie has been getting more and more fed up with me messing with her hoof every day for epsom salt soaks and after the farrier used her hoof testers this afternoon, Birdie was determined we were not going to put that poultice on. She started kicking out and it was getting a bit dangerous so we called it, a poultice was not worth her getting any more worked up or one of us getting injured. 

She wasn’t very good with having her hooves picked out when she first arrived so we’ve been working on that and she was getting pretty good and lifting them up and putting them down on command before but now she’s taken a couple of steps back with this abscess malarky so I’ll spend the next couple of days working on that again and not actually doing anything to her sore hoof to get her used to it again. 

I’ve got the vet coming out on Monday to do her teeth which will mean a sedation so if we need something else done to her hoof, that will be the time. 

– The only photo I have with the mystery swelling –

Speaking of the vet, I’m going to need him to check out Birdie’s face while he’s here. She’s suddenly developed swelling along her upper jaw in the last couple of days, it started on one side and I thought it was because she leaned on her halter (enough to rub a patch in her face bare) to get away from the dreaded epsom salt soaks. But the day after her faced puffed up in exactly the same place on the other side so I’m not exactly sure what is going on. Could be spring grass thing, a tooth thing or something else completely so hopefully the vet can shed some light on that on Monday. I think the swelling has lessened today so hopefully it’s not a big deal. 

Oh horse ownership, my bank account has not missed you. 

One month (and a bit) of Birdie

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– Love having this cutie in my life –

It’s been just over a month since Birdie arrived in my life and she’s already a changed pony. 

Birdie had been off the track for a year when I got her but spent the majority of that time sitting in a paddock not getting too much attention. She had a month of schooling a couple of months before I got her but otherwise was left to her own devices. 

Birdie 1 month difference

– From nay (neigh?) to bae –

She was in pretty light condition when she arrived with a bit of rain scald and mud fever. Her hooves were long and cracked too with seedy toe in all four hooves. But one (and a bit) months having hard feed poured down her throat, a farrier visit, and copious amount of skin creams have really helped her glow up. 

You can see in the above picture she is looking pretty different. Her ribs have filled in, as has her rump and she is even getting a teeny bit of topline! Miracles happen! To be fair, these photos were taken at different times of day and in different light conditions so the harsher light of the first photo does emphasise the ribs and other sticky out bits but there is still a very noticeable difference. 

Birdie got back

– That feed is finally doing its job.  Birdie is getting a booty –

Her attitude and behaviour is better too. She was pretty strung out when she first arrived, especially when it came to being handled on the ground. She paced non-stop when I had her tied up and lost the plot when removed from her mate Buddy or when I went out of sight but now she is pretty good about being tied up and doesn’t try to escape whenever when I pop to the tack room. We’ve still got some work to do but if I reflect on what it was like when she first arrived, I realise she has already come a long way. 

I’ll do another photo at 6 months I think – hopefully she is super muscley by then and she has learned how to not kick me (that’s a story for another day). 

7 of the best Instagram gif creators for horse lovers

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Birdie is still a bit lame from a suspected abscess so there’s nothing really too exciting going on in our world. Instead, I thought I’d share some cool instagram sticker artists you may want to use in your stories. 

Instagram gifs and stickers are all the rage these days to make your stories pop. There are some amazing artists and creators out there with fun little doodads that can really add something to your Instagram and there are no exceptions for the horse lovers among us. 

Instagram utilises Giphy for its gif/sticker database which means you don’t just have to search a specific keyword to find something to decorate your stories with, you can search via username too which means you can easily get some great equestrian gifs if you know the right creators to go to. 

I’ve rounded up 7 of my favourite GIF and sticker creators for horse lovers for you so you can make your stories shine. 

1. TILLYMPHOTOGRAPHY

Tillymphotography is my favourite horse content creator. Tilly’s designs are light, bright and she has so many designs to choose from. If you’re an eventer, Tillymphotography should be top of your list for amazing gifs and stickers. 

Tillymphotography designs

 2. THEPOSITIVEEQUESTRIAN 

Another great artist with beautiful creations, The Positive Equestrian is another one of my top picks. This artist has a great scope of breed stickers so you can represent your ponies breed loud and proud and the soft pink used  is one of my favourite colours. The horse stickers are super cute too! 

Thepositiveequestrian

3. DAPPLEBAY

Dapplebay is another light and bright collection of horse gifs and stickers to sprinkle your stories with. The selection isn’t huge but if you have a TB or love jumping, this is the artist for you. 

Dapplebay

4. PONYMAG 

PonyMag’s set of gifs and stickers is full of colour and caters for more than just the eventer and show jumper. Living by the coast, I’m especially a fan of the Beach Ride gif and I’m hoping I’ll be using the Clear Round gif in the future. 

PonyMag

5. WINTERLICHTMALEREI

Sweet and simple, the Winterlichtmalerei collection is perfect if you just want a cute sticker of a horse. Apparently they’ve come in contact with a demon pony at some point though because one of the horses has red eyes.

Winterlichtmalerei

6. MILTONMENASCO

A good mix of English and Western gifs and stickers, The Milton Menasco collection has a lot to choose from. I have a feeling that I’ll be using the ‘Hey, I stayed on’ red ribbon sticker a bit in the future with my green OTTB.

MiltonMe

 7. SADDLEANDSAGE

Last but definitely not least is the gifs and stickers made by saddleandsage. The horseshoes are a clear favourite in this collection but I love the road-tripping gif too. If you’re a coffee lover, there’s a special gif here for you too! 

saddleandsage

Now you’re ready to head off to insta and spice up your stories with a bit of a horse magic. If you know of any other horse artists that deserve a shout out, let me know! I’m always looking for great gifs and stickers for my stories. 

Say no to seedy toe

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– Grubby pony is getting a pedicure –

Poor Birdie has seedy toe… in all four hooves. She is a typical thoroughbred with average hooves and unfortunately the farrier hadn’t seen her in awhile before she went to be sold on behalf. 

She arrived with some pretty deep cracks in her hooves and seedy toe got right in there so when the farrier came to visit this weekend, she had to get it cut out and treated. 

– Say no to seedy toe –

She’s a bit tender now especially on her right hind hoof (the one she’s holding up in the above pic) so she’s getting a few days off to heal up a bit which means our road ride with the other grazers had to be postponed – I think she’s doing everything she can not to go on that road ride 

I’ll keep treating her hooves and the farrier will be back in 4 weeks to re-trim – hopefully it will be all healed up by then and she doesn’t develop any abscesses. If her hooves are better, we’ll be getting some front shoes put on so she can work a bit harder and we can get moving towards our first shoe – no rush though… we’ve got years together.  

When rides don’t go to plan

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Birdie goes road riding

– What we were meant to be doing on Sunday –

Plans?! Ha! Can you hear Birdie laughing? She’s snickering right now as she grazes in her paddock next to her best buddy… Buddy

My plan on Sunday was to get up bright and early and take Birdie for a road ride to get her off the property and give her a bit of variety. But Birdie was having none of it… she did not want to leave the farm or her mates who were having a lazy Sunday morning and not being made to work. I was 5 minutes into the road ride when I decided it was best to change the plan and head home. She was stressed and wasn’t listening and given we were on the road, I was concerned that someone might get hurt especially if a car came around a corner too fast. There’s a lot of roadkill on the road I graze on and I didn’t want either of us to end up like that. I ended up getting off and walking her for a bit to take the pressure off.

Birdie is a green little budding baby (although she is 8) who still has a lot to learn and is still learning to trust this stranger (me) who was thrust into her life a month ago and took her away from her familiar life. A road ride with me was a step too far for her today. 

– I stand still when I want to stand still and that’s not very often –

Another step too far was standing still while mounting when we got back. She has a few bad habits we’ve been working on and this is one of them. She used to have that fun off the track thoroughbred thing where she marches off as soon as you get on which we nixed pretty quickly. But I realised today she’s been doing this thing where she will stand still next to the mounting block until you move to the stirrup and then she steps back a few steps and swings her butt away from you which often means you end up hopping on one foot or having to walk her in a circle to start again. She only does it when you mount from the correct side though, she stands perfectly still when you get on from the other side. She does her little move so perfectly it’s like a crazy person who likes a challenging mounting situation has trained her to do it. 

Birdie learns to stand

– Mum why you make me stand next to a chair and not move –

So instead of a fun ride, little green Birdie and I spent 40 minutes re-learning how to stand still next to a mounting block (or chair in this case) and not swing your butt when your short owner is trying to get on. I ended up having to get a whip to reach over and press against her flank to push her butt back to me. By the end of the session, we did it three times in a row perfectly and I left it there on that good note. 

It was a good reminder that even though Birdie is whip smart and learns fast, she’s still uneducated and is still learning to trust me and she is sometimes going to not want to, or just can’t, go with the plan. 

We’re going to try the road ride again this weekend but this time we’re going with two of the other grazers so Birdie has some moral support. We’ll also keep on smoothing over those rough edges and turning bad habits into good habits.

Here are some of the things we’re working on at the moment:

  • Standing still and not moving off straight away when mounting
  • Picking up and putting down hooves on command and not trying to rip them out of my hand while I pick them out (this is already a million times better than when she arrived)
  • Standing quietly when tied up and not trying to make a great escape when I go to the tack room
  • Not trying to bite my elbow or head or any other body part off when tightening the girth 

There’s a bit to do but it’s all part of the journey and we’ll get there one day. 

The very best place to start

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This is it! My first blog post as an adult returning to riding. Welcome to Equine Life!

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to write here and whether people will care to read it. Nothing is ever that exciting in a first blog post… all the juicy stuff comes after this but we have to start somewhere so here we are.

I love writing although I haven’t done it in a long while. Nothing has really inspired me to write in the past few years and I’m convinced that my movie, TV and podcast consumption has really stifled my creativity. It’s also left me pretty bored to be honest which is part of the reason why I decided to get back into riding. I was finding that all I was doing was going to work, consuming media and hanging out with my friends – which is obviously amazing but I really felt like I needed something to put my time and energy into that I was really passionate about outside of them. 

– Birdie checking out her new digs –

I’ve been thinking about getting back into riding over the past few years but I was so indecisive about going for it. Everyone who rides and competes knows that the equestrian lifestyle is time-consuming and gobbles up money like nobodies business. I wasn’t sure if I was better putting my time and money into other things I want to do like travelling (COVID put the kibosh on that one so that was helpful) but being indecisive meant I was barely doing anything bigger than my everyday life so I decided to take the plunge and go for it. I’m sure my mum and close friends are stoked because I’m no longer going back and forth constantly about what to do with my life. 

Blogging and riding goes hand in hand for me. I started my first blog when I was 15 to write about my adventures about my first horse Red and continued writing until I gave up riding. I find blogging keeps me focused on riding and gives me a place to express and vent as needed. Also most of my friends are of the non-horsey variety so having a place to talk horses as much as I want means I can appear relatively normal to the rest of the world. 

– Pouring feed down her throat to get those gains – 

I’m not sure where this blog will go – there’s a chance it will peter out into nothing but hopefully it becomes a place to connect with others and records my journey back into the equine life.