Dino is settling really well at the new yard. Much better than at Woodhurst. I had a lovely afternoon on Saturday sitting outside his stable cleaning my tack with his sleeping with his head over his door. Couldn’t be much more chilled I don’t think

New yard continue to be lovely and seem really chilled about things. I was doing on straightness training yesterday evening whilst the wife half of the yard owner partnership (Tasha) was teaching in the other school. As I was walking Dino out and her lesson had finished she came over and said ‘is that straightness training? I looked at that a bit but didn’t pay for any of the courses’. She’s also interested in classical dressage, has heard of Heather and has lessons with the chap from Contessa (local-ish classical equitation yard) once a week. So I think we have a lot of common ground. It’s nice that she’s interested in the same thing. It’s possible I might be able to tag along with her occasionally to dressage competitions as they have a box.

Bit of an annoying weekend in some ways: Saturday I ended up paying £200 to NOT go to the Heather clinic in Essex as I hired a horsebox that I can’t drive as I haven’t had my licence long enough and then my driver pulled out at the last moment. So I lost £140 on the box hire and £60 on the lesson. :rant: However sitting out cleaning my tack with the pony was actually lovely in the end and i got the yard owner (husband half – Dan) to put up the rug rail and haynet rings in Dino’s box.

Yesterday I went to a straightness training clinic with Roz Richmond in Bucks to spectate and it was really good. Feeling inspired to get on with that a bit more!

Loving being at a yard that so full of other animals too. Here’s the chicken who was waiting to take my livery payment yesterday

And a very hard working cat!

Popped into the arena to do some in hand work this evening. Dino a bit tense, but not out of the ordinary really and more settled than he was at Woodhurst. Went to put him in the field and he started jogging a bit when we got near the gate so I expected him to run off when I got his headcollar off. He turned run and waited, somewhat impatiently but he did wait, for the treat he always gets from me when I turn him out and then mooched off. Oh he’s just going to mooch I thought at which point he suddenly trotted and the flew at flat out gallop into a pack of grazing ponies scattering them like skittles. 😮

They all looked a bit surprised. There was some leg waving and bit more galloping about. What looked like chief pony had a bit of a go, presumably because he didn’t like being made to jump! Fair enough. After a bit more leg waving Dino settled down to groom with a small pony who was on the edge. :wub: Too dark for video or photos sadly but I’m glad he’s making friends even if he did feel the need make them all jump for some reason! :laugh:

Move went very well! I arrived at Woodhurst to find someone had taken Dino’s headcollar from the fence in the field, meaning I had to bring him in with just a leadrope, and left it – slightly damaged – in another part of the yard. Great start to the day as all his other equipment was at Barnfields by then!!! Anyway, we were ready and waiting for Rosie, he walked straight onto the trailer with no hesitation at all which I was super pleased about :wub:

He’s settling really well, much better than at Woodhurst. The box is a bit smaller which I think he finds more comforting. It’s a proper old brick stable so it’s super cool in the hot weather and should be pretty cosy in winter.

It’s a nice row of stables, we have lovely neighbours – 2 year old Welsh called Dolly to the left here and a tiny pony to the right!

Nice new view:

We had the worm count done so he went straight out in the field overnight yesterday:
New field by SilkyRaven, on Flickr

There were other ponies in the field but they were busy eating and he was much more concerned with the grass so I hope introductions went well but the for the whole half hour I watched them he didn’t go anywhere near the others!

In addition to the equine occupants I have counted:
– 5 cats
– 4 dogs
– some chickens

It seems like a really friendly yard. Busy on the weekends but everyone seems lovely. Lots of teenagers; mostly kids who learned to ride on the riding school, shared riding school ponies for a bit learn about pony ownership and now have been bought their own horses. They seem like good kids though, not bratty ‘horsey set’ types but kids that have really worked to get their own horses.

Went up to the new place today. Met the people who work during the week and they were all super lovely too. Seen his box and my storage area. His new box is lovely and cool and a bit smaller, which oddly I think he will find more comforting and safe. Took a worm count up to RVC today and that’s back already and clear so he can go out on Sunday night as soon as he’s moved. So I think we’re all set.

He’s not got any more bites and the ones he had are healing nicely so that’s good. I think this will be more positive for us and honestly was what I had in mind when I first decided to move him….close to my home, hacking distance to Epping Forest….I was swayed by winter turnout to Woodhurst but hopefully we’ve got to the right situation in the end.

Sadly, and very much to my surprise. Dino will also be on the move again. If you remember there are several reasons why I left Frith and the reason I picked Woodhurst over any other option is that I was told all liveries get seven day turnout on grass all winter. A letter arrived from the yard owner on Thursday. DIY liveries have two options…all must do the same thing so somehow we have to vote and the option with the most votes is the one that happens. Options are:
1. horses go out three days per week (either Mon/Wed/Fri or Tues/Thurs/Sat – she splits the herds in two basically) OR
2. horses can go out six days a week but only until 12.00.

So either he gets stuck in multiple days with no turnout at all or I have to pay to have him turned out and bought in as we’re DIY and I can’t get there at lunch to catch him. Um….no. This was not what I signed up for!!!! :rant: If you horse is on part or full livery you get seven day turnout. Apparently she’s lost a field and doesn’t have enough space to turn everything out every day. I’m pretty annoyed and honestly with the other DIY lot who’ve been there in some cases for years… Yard owner has made it clear there are no exceptions, and not other options and she’s not willing talk about it. She’s also indicated that she would prefer fewer DIY (if any) and basically wants to run it as a full/part competition livery type yard. Well…we know where we’re not wanted. At least 6 DIY have given their notice already and I think if she doesn’t get everyone out like this we’ll be at the bottom of the decision making process for anything else that happens. It’s a long way from my home and next to the M25 which were big compromises I made to get him turnout.

So. There is a lovely little yard in Chingford (20 mins drive from my house but actually a distance I could cycle in an emergency) and they have a space. It’s not as posh, although they do have a horse walker and it’s a working riding school which not ideal but when I went round on Saturday everyone was lovely. They gave me a cup of tea, the liveries who were there were interested to say hello and everyone seemed really happy. It’s a very short piece of road work away Epping Forest so hacking is much better and much easier to get to.

Turnout again is not ideal. In summer I pay extra and he can go out on grass overnight as he does at the moment (it’s extra because they’ve leased and extra field to do this and need to pay for it!) so that’s fine. They keep this field open until ‘late November’ if the weather is ok which is at least a month after everyone else has shut their summer fields….but winter turnout is half days in mud paddocks. This is basically what happened at Frith but they are upfront about their being no grass at least. It’s not great but nowhere else round here does winter turnout at all. In fact a lot of the other yards at Chingford have closed.

This is them: http://barnfields-stables.com/page5.htm

So I’m going. I think he’ll cope with non ideal winter turnout. He’ll get a few hours each morning to socialise with other ponies, in small groups. They put bark down to try and stop the mud getting too wet and soupy which might make close contact boots and option for stopping so much mud fever. But hopefully the winter period for them will only be four months instead of six which is a big plus. And I have to say the idea that I could finish on the yard at about 20.00 and be home and in shower by 20.30 is quite appealing! I’m off to pay the deposit on Wednesday and will give notice at Woodhurst today. I will move him 1st October probably as the new turnout at Woodhurst kicks in on the 3rd and I want him gone before then.

No ideal to move him twice but I think he’ll settle better at this year (although he was sleeping with his head over the door and lip hanging down when I arrived at Woodhurst yesterday! :wub:) but it seems a bit more our style. They seemed to think hacking alone was possible and as it’s a riding school I can pay them for an escort to show me the routes if I can’t find a willing livery!!

So onwards and upwards then, huh?