The 12 days of Christmas...2014 memories. The 3rd day of Christmas

When thinking of what I could do for this years "12 days of Christmas" theme on my blog, Mark and I came up with several ideas for what you guys as readers would enjoy reading and what would seem dull.

In previous years I've focused on products that I would recommend using on your equine and canine friends, and the posts have always been well received. However, this year it's safe to say my blog has taken a very different approach. Ceaser's fan base has gotten considerably larger in comparison to previous years, and with the new addition, Ziggy, people seem to be coming to me to find out just how that loveable grey is getting on. Add this to the surprise Mark and I have coming up for you on the 13th December and we decided why not do a post every other day where I pick a favourite photo that means something to me and reflect on the memories I gained from it.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Quitting your job! 

Spring - Celebrating with my main boy!

These photos go hand-in-hand. Celebrating here with the 2nd boy! Sometimes in life you've just got grasp what's out there and take chances. 

Let me explain. I've never been adventurous. Well, hang on, let me rephrase that - I'm adventurous when I'm on a horse and I want to try a new jump, or go down a bridle path I've never been down before, but when it comes to real life I quite like routine. That means taking chances is a new thing for me. I hate change. 

So, when I walked in a meeting one day with a job and walked out without one you can imagine my heart was beating ten to the dozen and part of me thought what the hell have you just done. (My Mum was fuming by the way...!)

I'd been in a job I really disliked for 6 months. I was fed up and wanted a change, I wanted to embrace new beginnings and after endless talks with people I realised my job wasn't going to take me anywhere. You see, I have this plan. In a few years time I want my own house, the cockapoo (or spoodle) dog, I want a bigger horse lorry, I don't just want to be 'another person', I want to be successful, I want to be someone people look up to for advice, I want to leave a stamp on this earth, whether it be through getting some books published, or simply by motivating people to follow their heart. 

Anyway, the moment I realised I wasn't going to get anywhere where I was and I'd had enough, I went into a meeting with a job and came out about to work my months notice. 

I didn't want this blog feature just to be about the ponies, because whilst they're such a huge part of my life, I do enjoy working and I get joy from seeing a project completed. The top photo is a very poignant photo for me as it was my last day in the job. I don't think I'd been that happy in weeks, possibly months. My friend met me at the yard with some champagne and we sat there for hours talking about our plans for life and enjoying listening to the horses munch their hay. It's the day I vowed I wasn't going to sit on my bum anymore and allow opportunities to come to me, I was going to go out there, find opportunities for myself and embrace any fantastic offers that came my way. I was going to make use of my mantra "Dream, Believe, Achieve" and be as successful as I'd always wanted to be. It was almost like that photo signalled the start of the rest of my life. 

The second photo is a mere month later; Mark and I are in Prezzo's celebrating the news that I'd just been offered a new job! From that photo onwards I've freelanced for Horse & Hound, I now blog for Carr, Day & Martin, I've had numerous wins with Ceaser, I've got more time for him than I had in my previous job and I've been involved in workshops on behalf of BD....but most of all, I love my job and I love waking up in the morning. 

So you see, sometimes it's good to take chances in life. 

(Disclaimer: I'm not telling everyone to quit their job. For the record I woke up the day after the top photo was taken not just with a sore head but wondering what the hell I had been thinking and whether it'd be possible to beg for my job back. hehe)

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Mud fever - just what exactly are you dealing with?

I have noticed a huge increase in my blog statistics again over the past few days and people seem to be researching mud fever.

Whether you are preparing for winter or your horse is struggling with mud fever now, then no doubt it will be a stressful time for you.

 

What is it?

 

Mud fever is a group of diseases that causes irritation and dermatitis in the lower limbs of horses. Often it is caused by a mixture of bacteria called "Dernatophilus congolensis and Staphylococcus spp". Although mud fever is normally associated with mud, it can also be caused by mites; this is less common but owners should be vigilant.

 

Before Ceaser was got mud fever last winter I thought it was something that was associated with winter, wet weather and mud. However, this myth is wrong and a horse can suffer an attack at any time of the year - autumn, winter, spring and summer.

 

How will I know if my horse has mud fever?

Any of the following can be signs:

 - Matted area of hair containing crusty scabs

  - Thick, creamy, white, yellow or greenish discharge between the skin and overlying scab

  - Raw looking skin

  - Inflamed, sore looking legs

  - Lameness

  - In bad cases: lethargy, depression, loss of appetite.

 

In Ceaser's case, sometimes his legs looked clean and I struggled to find the scabs. However, I was told once that even the smallest of scabs can cause swelling and lameness. You have to be very vigilant when checking the legs and almost go through with a fine tooth comb to ensure you get every scab off.

Last year Ceaser suffered with mud fever continuously for a year. Whilst it was both a stressful and worrying time for me, it gave me the opportunity to research what exactly caused mud fever for hours upon end whilst trying to find a cure.

If your horse is suffering with this awful problem then take a look at my previous two blogs about mud fever.

 

1) How I dealt with Ceaser's mud fever

 2) What is it? Is it a myth? How do I get rid of it? - All you need to know!

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A very wet, windy and snowy weekend competing

Well, despite the very wet and horrible weather we experienced yesterday, Ceaser still managed to do me proud and pull out all the stops once again.

A friend, Kirsty had agreed to take me to Dressage yesterday in our lorry and what a day it was!

I knew I probably should have cancelled going anywhere when at 2am in the morning I woke up to hear it hailing outside and blowing an absolute gale. However, not wanting to be defeated by the weather, I woke up to 8am alarm and trekked to the yard to get Ceaser ready.

Luckily, my dressage times were not until late afternoon so it meant no rushing around, no loading ponies in the dark and I could do all my jobs before we left - bonus!

I had decided to take Sara, my 12.2hh along to dressage with us to keep Ceaser company as he always travels better with a friend. Once I had mucked out, got haynets ready for both the journey and for the evening, loaded the lorry with my tack and made sure I hadn't forgotten anything we loaded the ponies and went off into Spilsby to fetch chips from the chip shop on the way to the competition - just because we could and we had time, unlike usually!

However, once we got on our way, things started to go a little wrong! The rain started to come again, rather heavy and Kirsty noticed the lorry was making a bit of a peculiar noise. At first we passed it off as nothing, but soon realised something was wrong when despite being in 4th gear we were only doing 15MPH.

Luckily we weren't far from the venue we were competing at and Kirsty made the decision to just keep driving and get me where I needed to be and then worry about the funny burning smell that was looming!

Once we arrived, I phoned Dad and told him what had happened as by now the clutch peddle wouldn't even come up from the floor. He told me to just get on competing and not to worry, he would send someone to sort it for us.

So, off I went to warm Ceaser up. Initially I was booked in for a Prelim and Novice test as the classes were qualifiers for the most important championship of the season. The Veteran Dressage Championship. However, when I got there I made the decision to withdraw from my Prelim, do the Novice test and swap to the Elementary as it was a much better test for Ceaser. We can do the Prelims with our eyes shut and I know I need to stop entering him in to them and just work on our Elementarys and then getting a medium test in before too long. It isn't that I think the Prelims are beneath him, but I can tell he gets bored and isn't really listening during simple tests. During the more complex and difficult tests he feels a lot more switched on and certainly works so much better.

I knew from our previous outing that Ceaser needed to show more of an extension during the medium trots in stead of simply quickening his paces. So many people I know mistake a medium trot for a 'faster' trot and it really isn't anything of the sort!

Anyway, I quickly hoped on, 10 minutes before my Novice test and attempted to warm up in the arena. Despite it being very boggy and wet he warmed up well and seemed rather switched on and listening. Finally we didn't have a tantrum during the first canter and he only flicked one back leg up in excitement. As usual, I hadn't ridden through my tests at all during the week and in fact, had only ridden twice due to the wet, horrible weather and university! So, our test would be interesting...

Much to my amazement it really wasn't that bad. I thought with such little warm up time it would reflect in our marks but it really didn't. I think if I had of had more time to warm up we could have done better but he did the walk to canter transition fine and everything else I asked, which included 10 and 15 meter circles. There wasn't anything I could fault and was happy with how he had gone. He was uphill, did every transition in the right places and as usual tried his little heart out.

With just 15 minutes until my Elementary test I quickly jumped off, checked how the man who had come to sort the lorry out was getting on and then hopped back on! I don't know how I got through the Elementary test if I am honest. I read through it once before I was due to go in and I had a different reader to usual as Mark was busy working at a gig!
I couldn't hear what my caller was saying as by now the rain was coming down on the roof and when I'm concentrating I need someone to read very loud.

However, despite one minor blip where we broke in to trot two strides too early, the test went rather well. If I had read it more times or had time to go through it during the week I may have been able to prepare transitions and extensions better. As I am sure you are aware by now though, I don't do things by halves and always love to throw myself into the deep end - which I sure did with that test!

I put Ceaser away in the stable we had been allowed to borrow because of our broken lorry and quickly went to see what was happening and then collect my scores.

I was thrilled to find I had got 3rd in the Novice with 64.64% and 2nd in the Elementary test with 60.31%. Not bad for our first Elementary test of the season. Getting these scores also luckily meant we qualified for the Veteran Horse Dressage Championships which was fantastic as it was I set out to do that day! I loved the comment at the end of my sheet which stated I had a "lovely, obedient little horse".

Unfortunately for the lorry it wasn't good news and I was told a recovery truck for both the lorry was on its way, as well as a horse transporter to take me, Kirsty and the ponies home! I must say and recommend to absolute everyone that they ensure to take recovery insurance out on their horse lorry. Luckily for us, Dad pays roughly an extra £80 a month with the NFU to ensure that if we break down we get the horses as well as the lorry recovered. Had we not have had the extra insurance, the recovery for the lorry alone would have been £1000 apparently, and then there would have been the costs of getting the horses home! So, despite an extra outlay each month, if something does happen it is completely worth it. The service we were also provided was absolute with was second to none. We were asked what type of horses we had with us, what size and what they were currently traveling in. Up until the point when the horse transporter arrived for the ponies, I had been phoned 3 times to check I was okay and the ponies were also comfortable whilst we were waiting. Despite us telling the recovery people we were at an equestrian centre and okay, they still phoned and kept phoning every so often until they knew we were all loaded and on our way home.

The lovely horse transporter that came to take the ponies and us home was also fantastic. When I told her I was going to fetch my haynets she told me not to bother as she had provided haylage for them...which Ceaser loved! She saw I was worried about loading Ceaser in to a different lorry because of his previous problems loading but didn't pressure me into hurrying up and helped as much as she could! Amazingly though, Ceaser loaded after just two tries and was very relaxed, despite having a previous bad experience in a small lorry very similar. Sara also loaded with no problems and soon enough, only an hour and a half after initially calling for breakdown services, the ponies were tucking into their haylage and we were on our way home with the lorry not far behind on the recovery truck (with a rather nice looking recovery man driving!).

We drove lovely and slow home and the lady driving very kindly put the CCTV on for me so I could watch the ponies in the back. I now have no idea what I worry about every time Ceaser sets foot in a lorry as watching him travel on the camera showed me that he is in fact a perfect traveler and barely moves! I think I often worry because he can panic in small spaces that I think he does whilst we're moving too. It has also proved to me that I can accept lifts from friends when they offer them now as he will go into another horsebox, despite me thinking he wont and we have to go everywhere in ours! Although it was a very mixed day of some goods and some bad, I think the good that came out of the bad made everything worthwhile. If we hadn't of broken down I would have never have known Ceaser both travels and loads fine into other boxes and not just our! By 6pm, we were all home and the ponies were back in their stables eating dinner. What could have been a very stressful day, turned out to be not so bad. (thanks to Dads recovery insurance!)

Our lorry has now gone to be fixed and should be back in the next 2 weeks so it wont stop us from competing too much - I have also had offers of lifts to my next competition just in case anyway! There's no getting rid of us off the dressage circuit that easy. Plus, since getting home I have been pestering Dad that I need a 3.5 tonne lorry that I can drive and he hasn't outright said no. I think he realises now that it is much easier to have a smaller lorry for so many reasons. When I told him the benefits he also agreed. Of course, the lovely 3.5tonne horsebox I have seen on Ebay is now on my Christmas list.....

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Hectic few weeks...

Sorry I haven't updated much about Ceaser lately - apart from there not being much to tell, I have been busy with university, riding and blogging about lots of other things that I just haven't had the time.

We've got our first dressage competition of the new season coming up soon which I am really looking forward to. He's had some time off from competing for about 4 weeks now as after the hectic summer spending most weekends out showing I like to give him some 'him' time and I've just been riding as usual, but not competing. However, we are back in the full swing of things now and ready to hit the dressage circuit once more.

These last few weeks have been spent on trying to get him to work from behind a bit more as last year, in the higher level tests such as Elementary level he was beginning to get a bit deep and hollow whereas he needed to use his back-end more, carry his head higher and push from behind. He's working really nicely now and I am finding the canter a lot more collected than before. I can now feel him sitting back on his hocks and using himself correctly, whereas before the canter tended to go a little flat and were at risk of loosing marks.

We are starting off with an unaffiliated Prelim and Novice test to ease us both back into the swing of dressage nicely and then will go straight back to working with the big boys in an affiliated competition before the end of October at Elementary level. Well, that is my plan anyway!

I am absolutely loving being able to come home from university and be able to still ride. As I said in my previous posts about university, I found it very difficult to leave him every weekend during my undergraduate degree. Whilst it was the right thing to do for both me and him I still found it hard, so you can imagine now I am loving going to uni, coming back and being able to ride!

Unfortunately I chose not to apply for this universities equestrian team as I decided that I had made it to the top of De Montfort universities team by being A team captain and chairperson, so there was no further I could go. Whilst it would have been fun I am now throwing myself into competing, running our livery yard and riding school, our local riding club and my masters - yes I like to keep busy!

My masters is such good fun, albeit a little hard! We are covering much more broadcast parts of journalism and I am learning interview techniques and so much more! In fact tomorrow, I am interviewing Oliver Townsend for my blog so am very excited.

The whole yard had a fantastic day away at Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) on Friday, which was lovely. The majority of us went and it was nice to spend some time together away from the yard but still surrounded by equines! We all spent a lot of money, screamed just a little too much for John Whitaker and spent most of the day in fits of laughter.

A little while ago I was recommended to buy some stable boots for Ceaser that wicker water away to help the prevention of mud fever. Whether they work or not is a different matter, but I decided to spend the money and see if they do! So, now if he comes in from the field with wet legs because I have washed the mud off, or because of the rain, I can now just put these boots on and they dry his legs rather quickly. I am also using them as a stable boot in general though, which they are also very good for. They are manufactured and sold by Premier Equine which is a fantastic company for anything equine - I have a few of their products now and really rate all of them. I'll let you know how I get on using them, as if they work then I am sure other owners which have horses with mud fever would love to know about them!

I also want to mention the most pointless but fantastic little product I purchased. Tub Trugs have bought out some mini water buckets that  are quite cute. I can actually think of plenty of uses for them, such as a money pot for my car, dog treat pot, hair bobble pot, plaiting band pot, and so much more! My mum has also taken one of the ones off me that I got from HOYS. They may be tiny, but they do have so many uses!

As well as this, Love Likits very kindly sent me a Snak-a-Ball for Ceaser and some treats. He isn't the easiest pony to deal with when the weather is wet and he has to stay in as he gets very bored. The Snak-a-Ball is fantastic for keeping him quiet in the stable when I need to and he spends absolutely hours playing with it!

With the wet weather making more appearances lately I am also finding my Golly Galoshes to be very useful. The lady who owns the company very kindly sent me a set of four back in March because I had been dealing with Ceasers mud fever and trying to find boots to prevent it. The Golly Galoshes stop his boots that he wears in the field from getting covered in mud and are also great for putting over his exercise boots to keep them clean when its a particularly wet day! As well as this they are also fantastic for using when hacking out on wet or dark days as they are fluorescent. I would recommend the Golly Galoshes to anyone as they have so many uses and are well worth their money!

I also don't know if you have noticed me posting on twitter about how many views by blog is getting lately. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be on 12,000 views in only 9 months of setting the blog up! So, because of that I will be making some HUGE changes in the next few weeks. I promise they will be exciting for those that follow my blog and enjoy reading it.

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Sian Lovatt Equestrian and Journalism is going to HOYS!!

I am pleased to announce that I will be at Horse of the Year Show from Wednesday 10th October until Friday 12th October reporting both for Equestrian Life Magazine and this blog.

As well as this I will be live tweeting class results such as:
- Search for a star
- M&M classes
- Miniature Horse classes
- CHAPS coloured classes

and lots more!

If you or a friend are competing at HOYS please let me know so I can arrange an interview at a convenient time for you.

My email address is slequinejournalism@gmail.com or alternatively you can tweet me @FurryMane . If its easier then please leave a comment below this post with your contact details and I will get back to you. 

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Paralympic Dressage - What an amazing day!!

With the Paralympics now done and dusted, I thought it would be a great time to take a look back at the highlights of the Equestrian events. 

The equestrian events were held in the manicured parkland of Greenwich Park in south-east London. As I sat in my seat I was breath-taken by the fantastic views of Canary Wharf, the City and much of London's fascinating skyline.

I was lucky enough to get tickets to both the Olympic show jumping as a graduation present and the Paralympic dressage. Although watching Great Britain win silver in the show jumping brought tears to my eyes, that was nothing compared to how I felt when Sophie Christiansen took gold on the final day of the Paralympics. 

The atmosphere throughout the whole afternoon was absolutely electric. From chanting to clapping, to Mexican waves, the crowd was simply going wild and I am sure by the end there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd.

“So before we get started, what’s the difference between the grades?”

Athletes are classified according to their functional ability when mounted across five grades (Ia, Ib, II, III and IV). The grading determines the complexity of the movements riders perform with their horses during their tests, ensuring that the tests are judged on the skill of the rider, regardless of their impairment. Riders may use permitted assistive devices such as dressage whips, connecting rein bars looped reins, and so on. Riders who have visual impairments are permitted to use ‘callers’ to help them navigate around the arena.

 - Grade Ia riders are usually wheelchair users with impairment of all four limbs. They may be able to walk, but this is usually with an unsteady gait due to difficulties with balance and trunk stability.

- Grade Ib riders are similar to Grade Ia in that they are mainly wheelchair users. They must have poor trunk balance and/or impairment of all four limbs. Some riders will have both, but some will have just one of the two listed impairments.

- Grade II riders are often wheelchair users. Riders in this grade can have severe impairment involving the trunk but with good or mild upper limb function, or can have severe arm impairment and slight leg impairment, or can have severe degree of impairment down one side.

- Grade III riders are usually able to walk without support but may require a wheelchair for longer distances. Riders can have moderate unilateral impairment, moderate impairment of all four limbs, or severe arm impairment. Blind riders compete in this category but must wear blacked-out glasses or a blindfold. Riders who have learning disability also compete in this category at non-Paralympic level.

- Grade IV riders have an impairment of one of two limbs or a visual impairment at B2 level.

Riders with just a hearing impairment or who have a visual impairment at B3 or B4 level are not eligible to compete at a Paralympic Games in Para-Dressage. Riders with recovering or deteriorating conditions such as MS are eligible but must have been reclassified within six months of a World Championships or Paralympic Games to ensure their classification is correct.

What struck me as I watched each rider enter the arena is that no rider is the same; each has a disability that despite having to live with is still as brave and determined to aim for that gold medal position. 

Lee Pearson and Natasha Baker were just two of the riders on the British team to bring home medals. I was surprised whilst listening to the commentary that a lot of riders were left disabled because of some form of riding accident, bike, car or even motorbike accident. 

Whilst we cannot even begin to imagine what it must feel like thinking you will never ride, let alone walk again, each and every rider that entered that arena were all as inspirational as the last and deserved to be there.

One rider that can empathise with all of them is Claire Lomas, a talented event rider that was left paralysed after a freak accident whilst competing at Osberton Horse Trials in May 2007.

I caught up with Claire and found out her thoughts on the Paralympics. 

“Everyone’s achievement is fantastic, both in the Paralympics and Olympics – I have equal respect for all of the competitors, they are all amazing.”

Many people I have spoken to have commented on both how hard but enjoyable it has been to watch the Paralympics. One particular person I caught up with said it was difficult the varying forms of disabilities shown on television. When I asked Claire her thoughts on this she only had positive things to say.

“I have only heard good reports to be fair. These are active, determined, dedicated athletes and I think most people have seen them as that.”

Despite wanting to applaud and show my encouragement to each individual rider, the crowd were told not to unless instructed to by the riders. This was so it did not spook or startle the horses in case riders weren’t able to hold them.

Instead we were told to wave at the riders and if they gave us an instruction to clap, then we could. Although we were able to once they were back with their trainers and out of the field of play. 

Whilst it was strange not applauding a rider that had just performed a beautiful test, it simply emphasised the hard work and dedication they had clearly gone through to be there.

I enjoyed how accessible the Paralympics were to everybody, tickets were cheaper and for those that didn’t already have them, 1000 more became available on the day, making it both more affordable and available to everyone.

Tickets did not have reserved seats, instead you could chose where you sat and if you wanted different views from throughout the day you could move to another vacant seat. Initially I thought this would cause a problem but thankfully I didn’t hear any grumbles bout the seating arrangements and I was lucky enough to get right at the front where the parents of the riders were sat!

Deborah Criddle on Akilles, riding for Great Britain took second in the Grade III individual test to start the afternoon off with what was a fantastically ridden test that was a pleasure to watch. 

The crowd went wild on Criddle leaving the arena and British flags were flying everywhere. The 46 year-old, who had her right arm amputated in 2003 after losing the use of it in a motorcycle accident in 1985.

In the afternoon the crowd were treated to an amazing ride by Sophie Christiansen whose score was clearly unbeatable and almost 11% above second place for quite some time.

Christiansen, 24, was born with cerebral palsy and had other health problems including jaundice, blood poisoning, a heart attack and a collapsed lung. She took up riding at the age of six through Riding for the Disabled, and what had begun as physiotherapy eventually became her life’s passion.

When the last riders score was confirmed and wasn’t a patch on Christiansen’s the crowd were mesmerised and stood to give her a standing ovation as she departed the field of play. 

The whole arena was covered with British flags and I would be surprised if there was a dry eye in the whole of the crowd as they all went wild.

Natasha Baker, Lee Pearson, Deborah Criddle, Sophie Wells and Sophie Christiansen were all in their own ways deserving medallists. Between them they brought home 11 medals, consisting of 5 golds, 5 silvers and 1 bronze. 

The great, Lee Pearson has won nine Paralympics gold medals at three successive Games, along with six world titles. He has a remarkable 100 percent success rate in Paralympic competition. 

Having been to both the Olympics and Paralympics I was absolutely thrilled with how successful and well they were both ran. The opportunity to watch our fantastic athletes compete and even come home with medals in our home country was one I will never forget. Wiping away a tear as I shouted, chanted and stood for Christiansen to take her Gold I had no other feeling at that very moment than being both proud and honoured to be British.

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Old Style Horse Remedies

When I was out reporting last week at the Horse Parade show in Ledstone, Yorkshire I stumbled across a brand new business that I immediately liked the look of.

After approaching them and asking whether they would be interested in me doing a blog in return for products they immediately obliged and here I am.

Old Style Horse Remedies was created by Alex a mere few months ago and is already going from strength to strength.

All products are made using both homemade and natural herbs and remedies that offer various health benefits to your equine.

You can use any of the products knowing that you are not putting anything harmful onto your horses coat that could cause lasting damage to internal organs. 

Products available are:
* 3 in 1 - Fly spray, detangler and show shine with tea tree. 
* Itchy Stop - A leave in herbal conditioner which stops itching and promotes hair growth. Also heals and soothes cuts due to the added Aloe Vera.
* Calmer Horse - A herbal remedy to calm both horse and rider with rose oil.
* Equine sports therapy massage oil - with added sinus clearing remedies.

All products are varied and do a number of jobs.

I have been using both the 3 in 1 fly spray on Ceaser to keep him in tip-top show condition ready for our championship shows next week and the Itchy Stop for around his mud fever to ensure the area is not irritating him.

So far I absolutely love the 3 in 1 fly spray. It does exactly what it says on the label; detangles his mane, helps keep his coat shiny and keeps the flys away! I am not a huge believer in fly spray and never buy it. In fact I would rather spend money on a decent, genuine fly rug than fly spray so I was very apprehensive about using this as fly spray. However, after just a few sprays I noticed the flys around him were all gone and he wasn't as twitchy.

His tail has since been lovely and silky soft, making it a lot easier to brush. Cobs tails are always horrendous to brush because they have so much of it so its nice to find a product that does as it says it will.

As well as this, Ceaser has been rubbing his tail a lot lately due to fly's and the humidity in the air, so I have been using the itch stop to help soothe the itchy area. So far this has worked a treat and we have had no usual bedtime scratching! 

People at my yard have even asked what products I'm using and are now keen to give them a try, saying the added bonus is, it leaves your horse smelling nice unlike lots of other products like these on the market.

I love the fact these products are all created using natural and herbal remedies. I am a big believer in going the natural way rather than anything else and I believe this will make these products even more so popular because of this.

I will be updating in the next week or so to let you know in more detail how I have gotten on with these products with both pictures and reviews.

So far: 9/10

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Another successful weekend

I will never get used to someone saying to me "Oh, I wish I'd not entered this class now I know you're in it" or "I'm never entering another class you're in."

I remember, back when I was small (yes I was once a child) and riding my 12.2hh, better known as "You've been tango'd" out on the show circuit. In a working hunter class, gymkhana games or show jumping class she would ace it and we would always come away with red ribbons, but in a showing class like Style and Appearance we would always be at the bottom of the line up and I was used to it. She jumps like a trooper, never touches a pole, refuses, runs out, is as fast as lightning and 'knows her job' but when it comes to showing she gets bored and I was never well turned out as a child. Having a mum that wasn't interested in horses proved difficult in my younger days. I never had someone following my every footstep with a tea towel wiping my boots or helping me plait, I did it all myself. So, lets face it, a nine year olds judgement of a well turned out pony isn't going to be up to the standards of the judges.

To be fair we went quite far, qualifying for and competing at county level shows and jumping 3ft working hunter courses. BUT, converting from a show jumper to a show rider is difficult and suddenly I found myself plaiting with a needle and thread rather than boring old bands and having to coordinate tack. It was a expensive, difficult conversion, but one I found myself enjoying.

So, I started to win showing classes in stead of show jumping classes and was always immaculately turned out for working hunter.

This weekend was no different. Ceaser (known as Billy the kid on the show circuit) has been going brilliantly lately. Rather than schooling in my snaffle at home I have been schooling in my show pelham that I compete in and think it is making quite a difference. Now out at a competition its not such a harsh change of bits for him to deal with.

First to go into the ring was the lovely coloured I have at the moment. She is a 14.2hh, rising 3, tri-coloured mare. Nothing bothers her and many cannot believe her age when I tell them. She certainly takes everything in her stride and is so willing to please. She went to her first show last weekend and won both of her classes so I was looking forward to the day with her. I entered her in to the youngstock coloured class had some very big competition in, with 10 entered. In my opinion all of them could have won the class and I am sure it was a very hard class to judge. Taysha did a lovely trot round and we were pulled into 4th place. I knew for our individual trot we would have to do better to be pulled in higher. Her paces make her look like she is floating and so for the second trot I 'put my running boots on' and asked her to extend more. Obviously the judge liked what she saw as we were then pulled in to 2nd place and invited back to the championship. The judge couldn't have complemented her more and commented on her fantastic mannerism for a youngster.

There was some fantastic quality in the championship as 1st and 2nd from every class are invited back to take part so I didn't hold much hope seeing as it was only Taysha's 2nd show. When the judges were deciding on who to pick I honestly couldn't look and was stunned to find her pointing at us for the Reserve In-Hand Champion spot! What a brilliant surprise. I honestly could not have asked more from Taysha and was thrilled with her.

Just as I was about to go into Ceasers class the rain absolutely began to pour and the horrendous thunder and lightning started. The show organisers began to discuss cancelling the rest of the classes but it was decided to carry on. Despite the constant crackling of thunder and bolts of lightning Ceaser produced a fantastic, foot perfect show piece, with a walk to canter included to take 2nd place and best turned out in the Ridden Veteran class.That was another huge surprise as included in the class was some lovely big hunter types that often win this sort of class.

Next up was Family Pony, a class I just absolutely love doing because it simply describes Ceaser. In the go round, whilst it was pouring with rain and still thunder and lightning the judge asked us to ride on the buckle and do lots of transitions without taking up the reins to show that the pony was a real family pony. This included walk to canter, trot to canter, walk to trot and so on. The ground was slippy and I was very apprehensive about doing it without having a contact in case he slipped but as if he knew he steadied up and produced some lovely transitions for me. The judge pulled us in 1st place and again congratulated me on how well Ceaser was turned out and how perfect his manners were despite the weather.

Getting such a complement is always one that I enjoy as I do put a lot of hard work into my horses, their fitness, feeding regimes and schooling plan. I have only had Taysha for a few days now and to come away from such a big show with those show results is simply fantastic. As with Ceaser, to win a class and come 2nd in another at a show like Revesby Country Fair is brilliant; a lot of county level riders use that show as a warm up for bigger shows so the competition is always quite tough.

After I received 2nd in the Ridden Veteran I had a few comments about people not wanting to enter classes anymore if Ceaser and I were entered, but I really hope we do not put people off! You always win some and loose some, but that is showing for you. I put a 100% into Ceaser and showing him so getting rewards like the above is lovely.

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