Happy (belated) Burns Night!

Sorry about that, I meant to post this last night but err...forgot.



Anyway, we had a nice evening at Abigail's with a really nice little Haggis that Nikolai caught for us up in the hills. It was a bit of a challenge to capture but it was definitely worth all the hassle for the taste! Because of two of its legs are shorter (so it can run round hills) you can surprise them and tip them over so they roll down the hill and you can grab 'em.

(Stop teasing everyone David! For those who don't know, Haggis is actually a traditional Scottish delicacy made from sheep's heart, liver and lungs with oatmeal, suet, onion and spices. It sounds horrible but it's actually really nice if you get a good one. Unfortunately some people like to perpetuate the myth that it is an actual creature which entertains the locals and confuses tourists.

- xx Lisa.

Snow Day!

The snow is with us once again which means that every man and his dog is wrapped up as warm as is humanly possible - and that includes the ponies!

The kids were sent out to make sure everyone was snug and cosy in the field but I think some people got a little distracted!

 

We had to bring Merry in as he'd somehow been turned out in his stable rug and then rolled so he had to be dried off and re-rugged in more appropriate outdoor wear before we could put him out again!

Mhairi and Andrea took Pirate and Fred out for a quick hack around the top fields before the snow got too deep to go out in. Fred came back with half his feather frozen solid but he didn't seem to notice, daft horse.

Mhairi recorded a little bit of video of the ride - it's not longer because immediately after shooting this Pirate had a little spook at a blackbird who shot out of his blind side and he got a bit of a fright!

Burns Night tonight! I'll let David fill you in on all the happenings later on.

- Lisa, xx

Brrrr!

The snow has returned to Hollowcroft and with it, the inevitable grumbling about the state of the roads, lack of grit/salt and who drew the short straw to wade through the snowdrifts to bring the ponies in. (namely me - D)

One the plus side, it made for some good photos.



As we were both intending to ride later on but needed to give their stables a much needed deep clean, Jenny and I decided to turn Harper and Kerry out in the outdoor arena for an hour or two to let them stretch their legs without getting lost in the big fields. (also so we didn't have to get too chilly when bringing them in, lol!) As she was due to go out anyway we put Tegan in with them.

I hope everyone's paying attention to Kerry's new rug - it was FREEEE! I won it in a competition in one of the horse magazines and it's brilliant; fits him really well and he hasn't managed to get it too dirty yet either. (I give it a week, he's been eying up that muddy patch next to the gate in the field - D)

 

 Well that's all for now, here's hoping the roads aren't too treacherous on the way home tonight!

 x x Lisa.

Archie and Ailie's schooling session.

I got some photos of Ailie and her lovely cob Archie this afternoon while they took advantage of the outdoor school being free. Unfortunately I managed to miss the actual moment of jumping as Lily bounded over and nearly knocked the camera out of my hands but I can assure you that they made it over in style.





 

 A lot of people underestimate cobs in terms of jumping ability but I challenge anyone to watch Archie on a showjumping course and not appreciate how much ability he has!

- David

Christmas wish come true...

 Happy (belated) Hogmanay everyone! 
This was supposed to be posted last week but David we all forgot so sorry it's a bit late.

---------------

Who here hasn't asked for a pony for Christmas?



Normally it's nothing more than wishful thinking but sometimes...



...miracles do happen.



Just as with her friend Rosie a few years before, the whole yard was in on it and keeping the new arrival a mystery was very hard but it paid off well in the end.

He's a Welsh Sec B/Shetland called Max and he and Sarah are getting on like a house on fire!

 

xx Lisa.