John... meet baby

Talk about stress! Saturday was one helluva day for it with two new horses arriving at the yard and one, sadly, leaving. First to arrive in the morning was a 14-month gelding who is normally so laid back he's almost horizontal. But not that day. As soon as my friend Clare led him into his field - he jumped out again. An impressive feat from standing and all the more so because the fence has to be four feet tall.

When I arrived Clare and baby were in a stable, Clare a bag of nerves and baby not much better. After much discussion and too'ing and fro'ing we decided to try him in the field with my boy John. As you know if you read this blog, John is a gentleman, not a mean bone in his body and the loveliest, cuddliest horse you could ever have the good fortune to meet. We started off with them in head collars and us holding on to lead ropes, but pretty soon we let them loose. John immediately took charge of the scared youngster and made it his duty to be daddy, mummy and babysitter all in one and within minutes.

After that, wherever John went baby followed and vice versa. I have to say baby could not have a better teacher in the ways of being a horse - yesterday John was teaching him how to groom. We are keeping them together as they are so happy in each other's company, are besotted with each other, and both are completely chilled.

I think my boy was bored - there's nothing to do all day in the field except eat grass and even if that is your favourite thing in the world it becomes too much at times. As he's retired now he can't even look forward to going out for a hack and I think that was getting to him. Since our frightening illness at New Year he seems to come down with something every few weeks and he seemed depressed. But not any more - he looks younger, his coat is shiny and his appetite has increased loads (it's such a hard job babysitting). He loves having company in the field with him, not just someone to say hello to over the fence.

And at night he is quite happy to hang up his babysitting shoes and relax in his stable, eating his tea and haylage. We thought we might have a problem when we separated the two in the evening as their stables are not close to each other, but not at all. I think John is glad to have the evening to himself to recharge ready for the next day and spend a few peaceful hours chomping away before a well-earned sleep. They are so lovely together it brings tears to my eyes to watch them.

Just hours after meeting and already the best of friends

New posts over on 40s Chic

To keep up to date on my adventures with John and horsey news in general, please visit my lifestyle blog at www.40sChic.blogspot.com where all new posts (as well as all existing posts) can be found.

Many thanks x

Great advice on photographing your horse

I've just watched this short video on horse photography and thought I would share it with you. It's on the Horse & Country website and here it is, courtesy of H&C.

My photographs of John are rather hit and miss so I'm looking to improve. I will be dusting off my camera this weekend and popping down to the yard for a few action shots - just call me the David Bailey of Dedham.

I would love to hear more tips on taking great photographs so if you have any hints or good advice why not share them?

Horses and cars - king of the road?

Out riding a couple of weeks ago John and I were met by a 4x4 pulling a livestock trailer, one of those closed-in trailers with open slats along each side. My horse just doesn't like them and started to mess around. I wasn't worried and put my leg on to get him past, but he wouldn't go. The friend I was riding with moved her mare in front and we all went through fine.

I was completely shocked when the driver of the 4x4 - who admittedly had turned off his engine to avoid frightening the horses further - shouted to me 'they shouldn't be on the road, they are too dangerous'.

Now I've heard that some people believe such guff but I've never come across anyone like that before. Call me naive but I always thought, and still think, that people are pleased to see horses and riders; they're a reminder of a more peaceful time when life was lived at a slower pace and folk were not so stressed out and materialistic, when things other than possessions mattered.

The road we were riding along is not busy with traffic, it is close to Dedham village, it is rural. Our horses are educated and mature. John is not a youngster, shying away from the slightest object or noise, he is a school master in every sense of the word.

The livestock vehicle was noisy with metal jangling and creaking, and quite frankly it scared him. Obviously. If the driver had stopped earlier we might well have passed without problem, but he didn't. At no time did we present a danger to anybody.

Why do drivers think they own the roads? What represents the biggest danger - a horse quietly walking, enjoying a country hack or a large, heavy 4x4 towing a trailer, which was frankly going too fast? I know which one I would rather run into.

A bit of commercialism here...

In my day-to-day role as a freelance writer I'm often contacted by PRs who have new products to promote or services to try, and yes, I do take them up on their offers from time to time, usually when I'm writing relevant features. It hasn't happened to me in my capacity as a horse lover and equestrian blogger, sadly... until now.

I have recently been sent a product for dogs (dogs and horses often go together and I'm no exception, see the cute photos of Spice), which has an unusual purpose - to keep those brown pee spots off your green lawn.

It's a rock that sits in the dog's drinking water, and the minerals it contains are supposed to neutralise the effects of urine. It's harmless to your pet but it just stops your grass going brown and patchy.

Our dog is a tiny creature and has an equally tiny water bowl, so I've bought him a big one to try it out (it's so big he could probably bathe in it). It will be a while before I see results, good or otherwise, but I'll let you know how I get on.

Now I just need a friendly PR to send me samples of their spring/summer clothing ranges for horse and rider...

Puppy love

In all the time I've been blogging over the past year I don't think I've mentioned our little dog Spice. He came to live with out last May as a birthday present for my daughter, who has wanted a puppy for years. Spice is a cross Jack Russell Chihuahua - a Jackahuahua - and is the most adorable, feisty little fellow that ever lived (and I'm not exaggerating).

As the smallest in the litter, little Spice didn't have too much to say for himself, he was quiet and the object of much rough and tumble when his brothers and sisters were playing. But when they all went to different homes and Spice came to us, well it became a different story. The shy little puppy found his voice and his character - and he hasn't stopped telling us all about it since.

He's a little man with a big attitude, he barks for England (unfortunately) and he will grrrrr you as soon as look at you but he's adorable and Anya loves him. We all do. Here's a few photos of him as a puppy last May/June, playing in the snow with Anya last winter and him as he is now...

Camping out... almost

The horses at our new yard live out during the summer and, thanks to the lovely weather we've had this month, some of them have been living out for a few weeks already. Now, I have never left John out all night and I have no idea if he lived out before he came to me, but one reason for moving yards was so that I could try it. Everybody I've spoken to about it says their horses love it and of course, living outside is natural for horses in the wild.

Nonetheless, for us it was another one of those big steps we seem to encounter regularly, and I was prepared for a night of camping out at the yard with a sleeping bag and flask of coffee to hand, to keep an eye on him.

Except my friends refused to stay with me and as I'm a bit of a baby when it comes to being outside in the dark, on my own, in the middle of nowhere, I bottled it. I went home and worried instead.

When I went to see him the next morning he was a picture - I have never seen a horse look so tired, his eyelids were drooping and his head hung down heavily as if he was about to drop. I guess he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

The second night was better - he still looked tired but seemed happier.

The third night I decided to bring him in for his supper and a hay net, and if he seemed content, to leave him in his stable for the night.

I had convinced myself he was unhappy out in the field and preferred the creature comforts of his own space, with soft shavings to sleep on. Well, he polished off his supper no problem, then he started to call for his field neighbours. His calling became more urgent and he began to pace around his stable. At that point I got the message. He didn't want to be in, he wanted to be out.

So I led him back to the field and since then I've stopped fretting about him. He spoke and I listened.