Piccies!

With the good weather lately, the horsey times have been rollin' along nicely. We've squished in some schooling, some silliness and a trip to the RSPCA show to see the rehabilitated horses show off their skills and loveliness. The piebald is called Moon and was ridden side-saddle by his owner Claire for the demo: very, very impressive.

The final pic is Cady, with a tiny adjustment thanks to Photoshop. See if you can spot what's been added to give her some extra magic.

A fresh start

A few weeks ago you might remember my friend Emma came over and forced me to go on a hack with her before I disappeared for good into Harvey-related gloom.

It was just the ticket and while we drank our coffee afterwards she suggested I might want to think about moving yards.

There's nothing more depressing than walking past the empty box where your horse used to live, and I felt she had a point.

Fast-forward to Sunday and me, Cady and the boyf were up at sparrow fart to take her to her new home - a lovely yard with nice hacking, facilities and where she can live out all year round.

We settled her in and I returned in the afternoon to find a happy horsey. In fact, she looked so not-mad I decided I had enough of a death wish to try and ride.

Off we went, all on our own, careering about spooking gently at gates, water troughs, twigs and other horses. It was fabulous. 

A fresh start, a clean slate, a new day: sometimes that's what we need to feel better and move on with our lives. I can't bring Harvey back but I can give Cady the best life possible.

Escaped pony...

My morning drive to work is not normally a memorable event, but today was a little different.

I was driving up the A167 towards Chester-le-Street when I saw a chestnut pony grazing at the side of the road. At first I thought he might be tethered there as there's been a lot of that around here lately, but no, he had escaped for a wander.

Since horses and rush hour traffic go together like children and chainsaws, I doubled back and went to go and find him.

By the time I'd got back down the dual carriageway he'd headed back up the country lane Thank God, so I dismantled Cady's bridle and headed after him.

He wasn't wild about being caught but we got there in the end and I walked him up towards the RSPCA animal centre at Felledge where the kindly staff took over.

The pony was about 12hh to 13hh, chestnut, unshod, with a spiky mane and a Roman-ish nose. I've referred to him as 'he' but it may have been a girly, it was all a bit of a blur.

If you think you know this pony or its owners please give the RSPCA centre at Felledge a call. The pony was in decent condition so someone must be missing him/her.

* On another note - I will be putting a spare headcollar and leadrope in my car for any future events like this! Just in case...