I know, you could get bored of all these similar photos but I’m not so there! We went up to the Forest for 2 hours on our own on Saturday and it was lovely. The trees are beautiful at the moment. We met other ponies, dogs, bicycles, all manner of stuff and Dino was totally unfazed. Wonderful horse that he is <3

Having decided not to clip him yet I have to say he was a bit damp when I was done getting up the hill! Have to think about whether to clip or not soon. Not doing much schooling so it may not be worth it but we shall see.

In feed news I did a bit more research and made some slight tweaks. I realised the base mix and the daily essentials is just overkill and really plain linseed would be cheaper. I’m trying to get him off the Succeed and onto something cheaper, it’s just too expensive….so here we go again:

Morning:
– 0.5kg Simple System Timothy Chop
– 250g Linseed
– 25g Thunderbrooks Daily Essentials
– 25g Spirulina
– 25g Protexin Acid Ease

Evening:
– 0.5kg Simple System Timothy Chop
– 250g Linseed
– 25g Thunderbrooks Daily Essentials
– 25g Spirulina
– 25g Protexin Acid Ease

I hoping in the longer term we can move him onto the Protexin Gut Balancer which is super cheap but the acid ease is a bit of a halfway house and about half the cost of the Succeed. Just hoping it works though. He has seemed a bit more comfortable in the gut this week so I think the autumn flush grass is almost gone.

After doing some ST work in the school this morning we took advantage of the quiet time of day to sneak in some free jumping as someone had left a fence up. Not the most enthusiastic he’s ever been but we’ve not done any for ages and he’d only just got up! Still I think he enjoyed it.

It’s fair to say that although I sometimes feel a bit annoyed about how ‘laid back’ Dino is in the school and would like a bit more oomphf for dressage what I really wanted when we bought we Dino was a safe horse that could do a bit of everything and that is something he does very well!

This weekend we ventured out up to Epping Forest on our own. It’s probably a 25 min hack to the Forest edge, initially doing maybe 500m along quite a busy road which doesn’t faze him at all. We’re then onto a country lane which can be more alarming with traffic passing too fast too close and motorbikes and stuff but he took it all in his stride yesterday:

And then there’s a bridleway that goes up to the Forest itself.

We only went a few minutes into the Forest as I’d told the yard I would only be an hour, but we did meet other horses and bicycles – all of which he’s seen before but never on his own – and he was just chilled about it all. Very pleased with him!! Means we can get out hacking on our own at least on weekends when there won’t be too much farm traffic on the lane.

When he got back there was plenty of time for a bit of mutual grooming with the lovely Dolly who lives next door. They really like each other:

We’ve had our first few days on the new feed and he’s eating it with a bit of Spirulina but not a full dose yet. Hoping to see some difference in the next 4 weeks or so.

Feeding horses is so complex. Dino has largely fibre feeds, with a balancer for vits and minerals. I had him on Equi-feast LamiCORE for a while but it’s super expensive and he’s just not that keen on it. Also you have to order it and get it shipped which means it ends up at work and then I have to carry it to the yard….it’s just annoying.

Thunderbrooks Base Mix is more easily available from the feed store so I’ve switched to this but I’m a bit concerned he’s lacking in something. He looks really scurfy and is very itchy. I’ve been emailing with Debbie at Thunderbrooks and she’s suggested adding a spoon of their daily essentials and perhaps some spirulina to give him a boost. Not cheap but might just bring him back to better condition.

I’m guessing the stress of moving twice is taking its toll on his immune system so hopefully now he’s settled things will improve. I’m keeping him on the Succeed for the moment too.

His new feed regime will be:
Morning:
– 0.5kg Simple System Timothy Chop
– 250g Thunderbrooks Base Mix
– 25g Thunderbrooks Daily Essentials
– 25g Spirulina
– 27g Succeed

Evening:
– 0.5kg Simple System Timothy Chop
– 250g Thunderbrooks Base Mix
– 25g Thunderbrooks Daily Essentials
– 25g Spirulina

I shall try this for at least 3 months and see how we get on! Hoping we don’t need to do all of this for too long or it will get expensive…

As I arrived at the yard today thinking ‘you know what, it would be a great day for a hack’ my friend Alex was walking past the car and said ‘fancy a hack?’. So out to the Forest we went! It was a lovely day. We just walked, but for a couple of hours which is so good for their overall fitness. There are spots in the Forest where you can trot or canter but on a weekend when there’s lots of people about it’s nice just to mooch.

Alex is keen to get her super talented little Juniper out competing again next year so maybe we’ve found some transport to get us out too! That would be cool.

I’m a tiny bit worried about his diet at the moment. His coat is very scurfy and I’m a bit concerned there might be something lacking so I’ve emailed a couple of people to see if they think something needs tweaking. It’s always so difficult! Hopefully they will have useful suggestions. He is still looking beautiful though.

Four years ago today a very scared, upset pony arrived at Frith Manor, leaving the only home he’d ever known to spend his first ever night in a stable and come and live with us. It’s fair to say it took a long time for him to properly settle but he’s a delight the whole time.

This year has been pretty stressful for him, with two house moves, but he seems pretty settled at Barnfields and I’m hoping 2017 will be a more relaxing year for him.

So happy anniversary Dino! I replaced his leather headcollar as the old one got broken in our last 24 hours at Woodhurst. Here’s a slightly damp Dino for the day: