Few days Away.

On Tuesday till Thursday i spent some time with my friend up in Naki. here are a few photos from the trip.

They own and breed guinea pigs and a few of the girls had just had babies:

Photo of her Pony :D

Down behind the house the river runs thru the property, they have built a swing bridge across where an old dam used to be:

Mama's Birthday

Today was mama dearest birthday, my present to her this year was a week off work so i have been doing her night job for her this week(cleaning a local office), which i have quite enjoyed. She also had a cuppa tea(Rooibos) in bed :D. We got off to a late start today so didn't end up biking out to Chester which i have started to do on Mon,Wed,Thurs,Sat & Sun, it is a 20 - 30min ride depending on the direction of the wind etc. So Mama and me drove out to Chester & Polly, I feed Chester checked their water bucket gave him a hug and a kiss and left them to it. I became a chauffeur for the day, We drove around all the 'good' op shops(good will shops) while mum browsed and enjoyed herself, i twiddled my thumbs(i don't tend to like rummaging, which is what you tend to do at op shops) But i do enjoy the driving. We had lunch at McD's and i had a yummy mocha, i think i am now quite hooked on them. We went to one op shop and i thought no i'll just wait in the car, but mum did end up dragging me in, and clever me locked the keys in the car oops! Just as well we have a knight in shining armour(My Uncle) who came to our rescue with a spare key :) Tomorrow is a *big* busy work day, but hopefully, if the weather is nice to me, i can spend the day out with Chester on Saturday. I will try to get some updated photos of the paddock and Chester, oh and i also brought a wormer so shall hopefully do that too. I am heading up to the Naki to spend a few days with a friend and help her out with her horse next week from Tues - Thurs so shant forget my camera so i can show off what we get up to :) her blog is here: A Kaimanawa Called Prince I am hoping to get Prince's feet trimmed, him ridden hard for a few days and teach him to canter and jump with a rider, he can do this just needs to build some confidence :) shall be fun, he is a small pony so will be a big difference from Chessie Bear :D

Day off

Well today being my day off, meaning to*day* literally as i work tonight. i thought i could spend a nice day with Chester, grooming him, riding, groundwork etc. But what does the weather go and do...Rain! soooo not fair! I biked out this morning, gave him his feed and a hug, then biked back home. I have no worries about the rain, a little water can't hurt you, its just like having a cold shower, right? Anyway i do have another morning off tomorrow so lets hope the weather is nice! Chester is moulting at the moment, gradually thou, as i have taken his cover off and he has been coverless now for about a month give or take a few days/weeks. He is in a new paddock with lots of grass(rough sea grass not clover or rye) and he has a paddock mate, i can't quite work out who is boss it does seem to change quite often. I shall leave you with a few photos to look at :D

A little late in posting

I had a wonderful ride last Thursday, Just a quick one. I hadn't ridden Chessie bear for a few months being winter, i had done quite a bit of groundwork thou. With it now coming into summer it is the time to get into gear and ride :D so i jumped on bareback with just his halter and lead rope tied around his neck like reins(I never ride in a bit with Chester, he is very soft and respectful just with a halter) I took him for a short hack just a little ways away to see how he would act when he could no longer see his paddock mate Polly, i was so proud of him, he did so well and didn't do anything silly, he was very keen just to hack around and spend time with me :D Aww what a sweet boy. Anyway, we came back into his paddock, which has hills in it, steep ones and not so steep ones, we did a few of the 'not so steep ones first' we cantered up those, then i got really keen and we tried some of the steeper ones which was great fun! There is a flat piece at the top of the hill also so we practiced 'just' cantering. I think i may need to invest in a new saddle i am not sure, as when i ride bareback he is happy and willing to do everything, but with the saddle at the moment(which is a treeless) he doesn't like to lengthen his stride.., hmmm maybe if i just invested in a 'better' saddle pad?? I already have a Old Mac's therapeutic half-pad  with memory foam so can't get much 'better' than that. Before my treeless, i had a Bates Caprilli which we both liked and felt comfortable in so maybe back to that? Or..., i know one of his previous owners had a Isbell Werth dressage saddle on him which is the same brand just a dressage version. But i would like to stick to a jumping or GP saddle as i am not a big dressage rider, although Chester has hidden talents in that area, he apparently is quite the 'dressage horse' his previous owner not the one mentioned before but another(i know he has had alot, poor boy being passed around so much :( )
brought him just as a return to riding, hack horse, but she had a friend come around and ride him once and he was just fair prancing around the paddock doing all sorts of fancy things, im not exactly sure what he did and didn't do as she wasn't a dressage person and couldn't tell one thing from the next so im at a bit of a loss at what he can actually do, but fancy footwork works well enough for me :D I think as a saddle pad i would use a BJ Merino they look soooo comfy :D shall keep you posted(no pun intended) on the goings on when it comes to saddles and changing etc. We have a local show coming up on labour weekend, next weekend on Sun 23rd, The 'Petre Mini Show' Shall hopefully get some pics for you all to oggle at there is a few gymkhanas and other shows going on but unfortunately they are on the days im working :-/

Another New Blog on the Block :)

Here is another 'Horsey' Blog you can add to your following list or google reader or feedly :)

This is Grace's 'Horse' blog enjoy :) her other is a writing one which you can check out here.

Equidays - The Three Horsemen

Our very own 'Road to the Horse' in a way...., here is what the website says about it:

Horse starting clinic with three renown Horsemen

The Three Horsemen showcases three respected horsemen working with three halter broke horses, representing an excellent viewing and learning experience for those interested in handling and starting young horses. The Three Horsemen are:

Scott OMalley - New Zealand Horseman living in Oxford, Canterbury
Dan Steers – Australian Horseman living in North Arm Cove, NSW, Australia
Ben Longwell - American Horseman from Colorado, now living in Warkworth, North of Auckland

The Three Horsemen is a horsemanship event, taking place daily from 10:30am. Each horseman will be working consecutively in a round pen with a halter broke horse. This is not a competition, nor a race, instead the pace will be set by the horse, making for a true starting and learning experience.
The focus is on the methods being used and how progress can be made with each horse depending on it’s temperament and response to pressure. Being halter broke there may also be prior handling influences to be taken into account.

Each horseman will be dedicating their full focus on the natural progression of groundwork and getting the horse ready for backing. Being good communicators, each horseman will also explain the steps they are taking, what they are sensing from the horse and how they are working through any issues.

Quote for This Week

Thought i would try posting a quote once a week ~ horse related of course :-) 

Hows this one for a first:

“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway”

~ John Wayne

Exciting Arrivals!!

Don't y'all all just love parcels!?! well i most certainly do and we had 5 arrive today, 3 for mum, and 2 for me. I am over the moon with my books much like mum is with hers :)

Mum purchased 4 paper dolls books, 1 is still yet to arrive. They are for inspiration for her dolls she is going to be making. The books that arrived are:

Little Women Paper Dolls
Favourite Storybook Character Paper Dolls
Old Fashioned Children Paper Dolls in Full Colour.

Here are some photos for you too oogle at:

 Old-Fashioned Children:

 Favourite Story Characters:

Little Women:

I saved the best till last :-) My books that arrived are: 

Horse Anatomy - A Colouring Atlas

Horse Anatomy - Dover Colouring Book

Photos for you to oogle at:

Horse Anatomy Dover:

 Horse Anatomy - A colouring atlas:

I now know, that i am going to be uber busy! these books have so much info in them, i shant have a bored moment! Shall have to go and find my colouring pencils :)

Equidays - Only seventy-four days to go!

Wow this is going to be huge!!!!
Here is the Clinic's line up to far:

Ben Longwell -

Dan Steers

Double Dan Horsemanship

Jackie Chant

Josh Lyons - Lyons Legacy

Scott O'Malley

Lazy Saturday Afternoon - Pony Pics :)

Best way to spend a Saturday afternoon: with your ponies :)

Brushed and Loved on both ponies :) 

Took Pol for a spin, well not really... just a walk around with and a small trot, didn't want to do to much or go to far with her feet as they are at the moment after i trim them i will take her for a good ride :)

So i just jumped on bareback with the rope halter, sorry no pics or video's shall try and get some asap.

Enjoy the photos:

Possible new addition

SO what do you think?