is it too cold in the tack room?

[MitchyInge]

if I put the mulled wine kettle on, will you all come back in for a chat?

what are you all DOING anyway?

[skihorse]

Pixel/Owls I hope the CD is working well for you guys - I think this is why I bit my tongue on saturday - I've been there - I know what it's like to be bloody terrified of a perfectly safe horse!

Cows? Did somebody say cows? I used to be in a yard next to a military base and one day when schooling we had 4 Apaches come over the top of us, I didn't have time to get off or move... She stopped, looked and chomped. A cow on the other hand? Those horse-murdering bastards! Did you know that cows hunt down horses and BBQ them? For sport?

[Butkin]

Just got back from very enjoyable trip to LA for the Breeders' Cup. However reality is that my cob is still unsound and DD hasn't ridden either of her ponies since I went away.

We're now only going to Topthorn show on Sunday as we need the ponies ridden on Saturday and trimmed and pulled.

Weather not too bad for time of year but my suntan is fading!

[MitchyInge]

Oooh, welcome back Butkin and 'see' you there - will be with the Harrisons (work permitting). Will probably also be too shy to say hello in person

[Pixel]

Skihorse I know exactly what you mean. We are on a hill overlooking an airport and every year a weekend is given over to an airshow. We sit in the field with a picnic and watch for free and actually have a much better view than the people down below who have spent £20 on entry tickets. The big jets come so low over us that the ground literally shakes but the horses (even new ones) never so much as lift their heads.

The first time dhorse saw a cow he was so surprised he fell over!

[Butkin]

Mitchy, What classes are your friends doing?

We were going to FYFR and pairs on Saturday but lack of riding and DD's best friends birthday party ruling that out.

We'll just be doing the Concours on Sunday I think - you won't miss DD in burnt orange!

Please say hi - I've never had anybody say "hello I'm MitchyInge" before

[MrFibble]

Hello, it's cold and muddy over here. Can I sidle into the tackroom for a cuppa?

Your talk of cows amused me but what you really need to watch out for are those piles of twigs and leaves in forests.... DMare knows all about those, she knows how they ALL, WITHOUT EXCEPTION contain horse eating saber toothed tigers. Cows, no problem. Except the dead one we found once that was bloated and farting passing wind.

[MitchyInge]

hahaha I can't say THAT!

I hope I don't skip up to all sorts of randoms and blurt out 'mitchy inge!' without thinking - yikes

[Owls]

I think you should do just that Mitchy although duck the punch from Butkin's DW.

Korma, I've listened to the CD two and half times now (grrr interuptions) but is the problem with you or is your horse difficult? Pixel and I seem to be of the same mind - young but perfectly sane and sensible (for 4yo) horses but our nerve has gone awol. Can you tell us more?

[MitchyInge]

will the show actually go ahead tomorrow?

weather is VILE

there is also difficult clash with suffolk land rover owner club driving day, in aid of children of need - it will be perfectly muddy

what to do?

[mummydoc]

morning everyone in the tack room, for the next 3 weeks i am convalescing from big op so will be hanging around needing company - already bored and only day 1!

[Butkin]

Hi Mitchy did you go to Topfest? We didn't go on Saturday because of weather/DD party to go to. However we went on Sunday and really enjoyed ourselves. DD did the Concours d'Elegance and did really well considering she was the youngest there and had to trot round with mostly adults on big beasts (a few who were being naughty).

She came 3rd of 19 - yes the ring was packed. We were impressed with the facilities at Topthorne. Not only the viewing restaurant but also the viewing gallery, the covered collecting area and the all-weather menage meant that it all worked very slickly. They tried so hard with the children in need raffle etc and we'll definitely keep supporting them.

[elastamum]

hi All,

Thought i'd pop in. Laughed at the cows. when we moved to Derbyshire my 16.2 hanovarian mare nearly fainted at the sight of all those SHEEP!

[skihorse]

Sheep eh elastamum? Wooly fuckers! Strangely enough we ran in to a field full of llama in rural Belgium once and she didn't bat an eyelid. How are llamas/helicopters "normal" and cows/sheep are scary terrifying lions & tigers & bears type monsters?

[mummydoc]

i am so bored and in pain now ....my children will not be going near the new new pony for 3 weeks, old new pony still at schooling yard as loan home people taking a very long time to make up their minds , and i am forking out 2 lots of livery fees and not working at present - i know i should have stuck to breeding chickens. please someone come and cheer me up and tell me next summer will be a lovely long fest of picnic rides and shows with happy children and happy ponies ....
btw my cosmic ordering of a large lottery win got me £5.20 on the euro millions - think i may be doing something wrong

[MrFibble]

Poor you. It's vile being sick.

Next summer will be wonderful - lots of lovely hacks out with the DCs. I am envious. I would love to be able to do that but with 2 mares already I just can't afford livery fees for a pony for DD (unless I up my hours and then I won't have the time - viscious circle) and she's not that interested either. Ah well, not everyone shares our obsession.

Did you teach your DCs to ride yourself?

Oh, met something on my hack this morning that has put cows, lamas and sheep into perspective....

We met running water down the middle of the lane! Da da dah!!! My daft mare was on tippy toe the whole way up the hill. Probably thought it had sharks in it.

[Owls]

Korma, in that case you might well benefit from the CD. I am due to hack out on Sunday (weather permitting) so will have a better idea. Pixel said she thought she noticed a difference. I will try and use it every day this week (managed ok yesterday) and if you are interested am happy to post it onto you if you like.

Mummydoc - Poor you, all sounds a bit grim atm. Yes, next Summer will be gloriously long and hot and we will all be complaining about heat, hard ground, dust, flies and will be fantastic. Have your DCs thought about joining the Pony Club?

Butkin, congratulations to you and your DD! You must be very proud.

[MitchyInge]

Butkin I didn't make it but got a full report, well done! I'd have been far too shy to say hello never mind my username Piglet (very macho little grey section B, did you see him?) did amazingly well, given that just a few weeks ago he hadn't ever been handled and was a nutcase bit wild - he took champion in one class but might have disrupted others from what I heard.

haha for long lovely summer not to mention itchy pollen head-shaking, roaring motorbikes on a sunny Sunday afternoon, sweaty hats, fat, lazy ponies - we're never satisfied are we!

[skihorse]

MrFibble Sharks are an underestimated problem in the UK - please don't mock your mare - she may have encountered them before.

[MrFibble]

I know I should take her fears more seriously. In fact later on we met something much worse - her reflection in a puddle. Lots of snorting ensued - I love hacking out when it rains!

[MitchyInge]

one of us should really make some of these CDs for our horses - repeating soothing mantras such as 'butterflies are not sabre-toothed' and 'puddles are our friends'

[skihorse]

Every time you pass the word STOP written on the tarmac in white paint just touch your hooves together and say "ponynuts".

[mummydoc]

thanks for sympathy - have had bad day today and spent most of the day asleep, feel abit brighter now. I definightly do not teach the dc, that would involve one or all of us being murdered. they have oly been riding a few months and dd2 aged just 5 will got to pony club winter lessons in 3 weeks when i am back up and about, pony club have found me a teenage girl to lead her for me. dd1 is nearly 10 and has gone straight of the lead as the pony she rides is borrowed and an absolute ploddy school master . they are both going to have lessons at our livery yard with another teenager doing the leading, i have tried tolead in lessons but is start interfering ...better to sit on bench with glass of wine cup of coffee and watch

[mummydoc]

why did my glass of wine not strike out ? perhaps musnet are secretly watching me