The Peanut Factor - By Alida

Well, I’m starting to suspect that Peanut has a crush on our vet.  Now that her colic problem has been resolved with water (yes, good old H20, or lack thereof seemed to have caused most of her colic), she decided she is missing the vet too much, and has started to limp. The instructor / yard manager from next door came over last night to give us some advice, and she reckons it might be either a suspensory ligament or the tendon that has an injury.  She doesn't think its a splint but its possible that it just hasn't shown up.  The vet will probably come take a look but until then, we've put stable bandages on both front legs with foam underneath (instructor showed us how to wrap it right).

We've put her in the small 10m arena to limit her movement and will put her in the stable during the hottest part of the day as the arena does not have shade, and if the weather turns bad.  The stables are open - no doors - so the horses usually come and go as they please, but we'll use electric tape to keep her in. Plenty of room inside for 5-6 horses with a partition halfway, pine shavings on the floor and shadecloth on 3 sides makes for a very nice stable that they only use during the hottest part of the day for a snooze, or if there is a really bad storm, but I’ve peeked out and even during heavy storms they will only take cover for a short while, and only if there is plenty of hay!. We've taken Peanut off concentrates while she is at rest, and giving ad lib watered hay and water.  We are rotating the other horses with her to keep her company in her exile. We estimate that the rest period will be between 4 - 6 weeks, depending on what the vet says but I think the instructor is spot on with her initial diagnoses and a good period of rest is what Peanut now needs.  She has shown some initial talent in jumping, but if flatwork is all her leg can stand, then that is all she’ll do.  I’d rather have a healthy happy paddock ornament than an on-again off-again lame horse in pain.

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Spring is in the air and so is Love! Have you seen the birds in your area making out yet? Everything is full of new life and colour and I cannot wait - it's the best time of the year!

Have a Superb Spring Day on the 1st of September, Bloggies!

Busy Weekends!

So here we are again, approaching the end of August! Unbelievable how time flies when you're having fun! The past weekend, I had the opportunity to stay on Alida's plot as a semi-permanent resident, as they are away until Wednesday. So I have been looking after the kids and the horses and it has been a blast!

On Friday evening the kids spent the night with me because Alida and Hein left bright and early on their roadtrip to KZN. So on Saturday morning, after we woke up, we had some breakfast and then it was off to Dance class (for Annelise), which was a bit of a change for me as I had been going to the riding school on a regular basis for the past two to three months! After dance class we went "home", which truly is a regular paradise for kids when you look at it from an outsider's point of view!

There is a sparklingly bright blue swimmingpool, trampoline, jungle gyms and lots of wide open spaces to run or to ride bikes. Then they have the five wonderful horses on the plot, ranging from pony size for little ones, to the bigger horses, all people friendly and rideable. Bliss in my opinion, which is why I cannot understand how ANY child would want to spend more time indoors watching television or dvd's! Saturday was a gorgeously warm day as well, with winter gradually taking its leave of us! Summer is on its way!

Because Alida was away, her horse riding lessons fell onto me, but I did not have a lot to do as some of the little people cancelled due to illness and other reasons. (Another reason for winter to just rather go away as it is interfering with our activities!) :-) However, we had lots of fun during the few lessons that did happen. Zander, the feisty little redhead who just wants to "go fast" actually rode on his own on Saturday, in the big lunge arena and his concentration was also much approved. Then Okkie, who was really only supposed to be back for lessons in September (he was naughty and punishment was no riding for a month!) tried out his brand new boots for the first time, riding Peanut. Near the end of his lesson as he was starting to try the rising trot, he forgot to squeeze with his knees just as Peanut went over into a light canter and Okkie had a spectacular fall!

I call it a spectacular fall because he came off in slow motion, holding onto her neck and gracefully landing on his feet in the dust. It was understandably frightening to him at the time, so the tears started welling up, but I ran over and congratulated him on the greatness of his first fall and I also informed him that he cantered for the very first time! His tears disappeared and he was all smiles and back onto that horse in a matter of seconds! We ended the lesson in high spirits and he is ready for more action when he returns officially in September to continue his lessons with Alida!

The rest of our Saturday was spent taking Peanut and Butter for a leisurely trot around the arena and outside and then it was time to feed them and bed them down for the night! We had dinner and a bath and relaxed a bit before all the eyes started to droop and we traipsed off to bed.

Sunday was another busy day for us, because it was sunny and warm and just right to spend the day outdoors. The kids however, was allowed to watch one DVD and then it was playtime, soccer time, bike time and even reading time! All done outside in the balmy weather. Late afternoon we had some more fun with the horses and before we knew what was happening, another splendid weekend was over!

I therefore highly recommend sunshine, fresh air and physical activities as a regular occurence as those ingredients make for smiley, happy faces with rosy cheeks!

Enjoy the last bit of winter, welcoming Spring in all its glory!

Colic!!!

This word must surely be the one word that sends any horse owner rushing to their phones to phone the vet, home remedies, boere rate and 11 herbs and spices! If you've ever had a tummy ache and nothing has helped, this is what colic in a horse generally refers to - tummy cramps magnified to 400kgs of horse.

Seeing Peanut go down with colic on monday, after doing so well in the arena on Sunday, was just hearbreaking. Fortunately, with Tuesday being a Public Holiday, I managed to go home early on Monday and had to watch helplessly as Peanut just did not have the will or the energy to get up. Time and again I managed to chase, drag, beg and rock her to her feet. I would walk her around for a bit, then let her rest again, waiting and watching.

The decision was made to call the vet, and another marathon session on the phone ensued. No vets available until the morning. I sat with her until late into the night, feeling helpless as she looked at me with her big eyes. I know that colic can get so bad that the horse would thrash, heart rate would be way up and the horse would often sweat profusely. Peanut showed none of those symptoms, would still graze every now and again and passed manure every time I walked her around, so I assured myself that it wasn't that bad. I wasn't very convincing...

The next morning I called the owner and asked her to again contact a few vets to see if we could get someone out. Sunrise had brought about no change to her condition. She was eating listlessly and taking in no water. She kept looking around at her tummy and seemed very uncomfortable.

Later that Tuesday morning, the vet came and examined her all over, listening to gut sounds and heart rate, taking temperature and giving her a good once over. Impaction colic was the verdict. He also examined her internally. My poor daughter, Annelise, was straight in the line of view of the procedure, and I could not help but laugh as she was turning green at the vet's "unauthorized entry" into Peanut's nether orifices! Peanut was a trooper and although she was not impressed, she tolerated the exam without too much fuss and didn't try to kick the vet when he had his hand up to his bicep up her bum.

After an injection for pain, and sticking a tube up her nostril all the way in through to her stomach and flushing her with water and Epsom salts, she looked considerably brighter. On Wednesday evening we gave her a small quantity of concentrate, soaked with plenty of water and she slurped up every last drop and looked serene and content with life in general.

I think she is over the worst, but it was not an experience I care to repeat anytime soon. I'm glad it's over, but I learned so much in such a short space of time.

An update after being quite quiet

So if you have been wondering why Alida and I have not been actively blogging lately, it may be because the animals have been keeping us rather busy!

Alida's friend, Lee-Anne, has started riding Peanut and Butter with regularity and we have been at her side all the way, looking on and cheering, which is what we do! I have to once again reiterate that we love everything that has to do with horses, and it's not just about riding one. We enjoy watching just as much as we enjoy being up there ourselves! And so, this is what has been happening.
On top of this, Peanut, the one gray mare, has had a bout of colic. She was not feeling well a couple of weeks ago and then again, started experiencing pain on Monday, just before Women's Day.
Alida sat up with her all night, she tried home remedies and kept her as comfortable as possible and as quiet as possible. I think Alida will report in more detail on the colic as she was right there, in the thick of things.

On Tuesday, Women's Day, we went out to Alida's riding school, where she gave Fernando some exercise and we watched and cheered as Blanche worked with Big Chester. Now, I feel it prudent to write a few notes on Big Chester, as Alida has written about him, loves him and worked with him extensively. Blanche is half-baiting Big Chester now and regularly joins in when Alida has her Saturday riding lessons. I have been privileged to ride with them on a number of Saturdays, thanks to the generosity of superb friends, allowing me to display my farmstyle riding antics (I have a sneaky suspicion that they enjoy laughing with me in the arena!) and so I have noticed that Big Chester reacted somewhat sluggishly on Saturday mornings.

When we went through on Tuesday however, we met up with a completely different horse. Alida has explained before that Big Chester dislikes sharing the arena with any other horse and this was wholly evident on Tuesday morning. Blanche put him into trot and canter and they made such a pretty picture that Alida and I could not help cheering along! It seemed as if he truly wanted to please her and he was also enjoying himself. Now, bear in mind, Big Chester is not a youngster anymore. Last we heard, he was 27 years old! In horse years, this means that he is more or less considered to be geriatric, however he is strong and gorgeous and so steadfast and impressive.

The bright winters morning at the arena with Fernando, Alida, Blanche and Big Chester put a smile in my heart!

The vet came out on Tuesday as well to treat Peanut and she has since improved a bit, however I suppose she will be taking things easy for a while. We consider Tuesday very successful all in all!

Khalief, my Wolf Hybrid, turned 14 on Sunday. He is another old-timer in dog's years and has been battling a bit lately. I got him some vitamins and supplements, however, for his birthday and I am happy and relieved to report that he, too, is showing a lot more spunk and improvement. Come Summer he will be swimming again to build his disappearing muscle tone.

At this rate and with the abundance of love that these animals in our lives are showered with, they will continue for many, many more golden years at our sides! We receive unconditional trust and love from them, which is why we do what we can for them to keep them healthy and happy and safe!

Another contribution by Alida

Since the arrival of the 5 ponies/horses on our plot, I’ve been on a rather steep learning curve.  At the yard where Fernando is stabled, the horses get fed and cared for without me having to think about it.  Boy was I in for a surprise!  I had to quickly get up to speed with feedstuffs, farriers, fitters and fff…well, a lot of other things.

Sonia, the owner of the 5, relies on me to keep an eye on her babies.  And I take the trust she puts in me very seriously.  So weight, condition and temperaments get monitored, are they too fat, are they not fat enough?  Are they getting enough energy food to sustain their increased work load and how are they doing on the adjusted feeding regime?  If their intake of energy food exceeds their output, it could be dangerous to their young riders. Not enough feed, and they drop weight and their hips stick out something awful.  I tell you, it ain’t for the faint hearted. 

But I have noticed something remarkable about how memory works.  I cannot for the life of me remember on which days my daughter needs to take her hockey kit with her to school, or when my son plays cricket or has to take craft supplies, but I can remember gram for gram how much food, hoof supplement and probiotic each horse has to get on a daily basis!  I leave post and newsletters unread for weeks on end, but the mailer from Ecovet, the latest publications and info on African Horsesickness, deworming research and training methods in the UK does not get put aside until every morsel of information has been consumed and retained, cross referenced and digested for future use.  My reading list is very limited too.  Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover’s soul, and 2 books on horse training decorate my bedside table.  The enriching, life changing book that my dear friend Anya gave to me to read several weeks ago, is gathering dust next to them, still untouched, and an audio CD from another friend, is still lying near the CD player waiting to be played.  I’ll get there (eventually) I’m sure.  But hey, everyone has their priorities, right? 

I’ve had enough of winter now. I’m sick and tired of being cold, getting up in the dark and freezing my extremities off when I go for a horseride.  This past Friday, I was supposed to have a dressage lesson, and CANCELLED – this from a person who has gone riding sick as a dog, almost passing out in the saddle, and not wanting to cancel.  But on Friday, it was just too bitterly cold, and neither man nor beast should be out in weather like that.  The only advantage is that the flies and the muggies also don’t like the cold.

But hopefully Spring will sprung soon, and we can enjoy long days of summer sunshine once more.

Happy trails everyone.

The tale of a little fledgling Grey Lourie

In September 2009 I was quietly sitting inside the house when I heard a commotion outside, and I saw my dogs pawing at something on the ground. As I have had experience with my dogs grabbing mice and birds before, I ran outside to go and help whatever was facing their clutches at that point again! On the ground was a little baby grey lourie, or some form of a mousebird, I thought at first glance. He wasn't injured too badly as far as I could see but I brought him inside and put him inside my parrot's travel cage to calm him down. I was more worried that the little bird was in a state of shock as we all know that shock is the danger in situations such as those.

I left him in there for a little bit while I pondered helping him make it through the night. He was still a baby and I had no idea where his nest had been or the rest of his family. At closer inspection I saw that he was indeed a little grey lourie and my heart sang, because I have always had an affinity for these calling birds of the Bushveld and thought them beyond beautiful. Suddenly I had my own baby lourie and so I truly wanted him to make it through his first night and become strong and healthy and sound.

My brother got home as he was living with me at the time, and upon seeing the newly acquired member of the household just shook his head, as he knew that there would be a flood of tears the next morning should the little one not make it through the night. I got him out of the cage and tried feeding him a strawberry as I know the louries are mainly fruit-eaters. He gobbled up that strawberry! It was delicious, you could see the little wings flapping ecstatically and he was making baby sounds which probably meant something like 'yum yum, gimme more!'.

That night I put him next to my bed in the cage with lots of towels to keep him warm, and it was with trepidation that I peeked in the next morning to see whether he survived his first night. He sat there with big, bright eyes, hungry again and right as rain!

My brother named him Punkie, due to the grey lourie's upright fringe on the head when they are on the alert and he has now been with me for nearly 2 years. Punkie has a deformity on his legs which would make it impossible for him to land on a tree and hop from branch to branch as they do in the wild. He can fly, but when I take him outside of his cage, he flies beautifully although he prefers to fly around the house once whereafter he seeks me out and finds a spot on me to sit and then fall asleep. He loves feeding time, which is more or less the whole day! I have never seen a little bird eat as much as this little one, but I adore him, he is the sweetest little soul, always happy when he sees a special treat. He flaps his little wings and emits a chirping sound when he sees an especially yummy treat and he loves to bathe himself.

My dad built him a special cage that enables him to sit outside when the weather is nice and warm and he can view the garden and take a bath and look at the other birds. He listens to the African Grey and although it breaks my heart to know that he will never be able to return to the wild, I know that he is happy and healthy with me and that is as it should be.

Jayden's story

Anya and I must be telepathic. I was just thinking this morning that it was time to get on with blogging again about our weekly adventures. No specific reason why I didn't recently. It's just hard sometimes to get to between having a full time job, a husband, two kids, 1 dog and 5 horses on the property, with three of them going for lessons regularly at the riding school next door, another horse (my awesome Fernando!) on lease at my instructor's yard and fitting everything in - it is quite a juggling act sometimes! Some of my friends have told me that they really don't know how I do it. Frankly, neither do I. Fortunately there isn't time to question HOW? You just DO.

My little teensy riding school is picking up speed at an alarming rate - this despite the fact that I frequently and loudly proclaim my total lack of training in being a horseriding trainer. My style is more informal, which seems to put people at ease, as many (including Anya) has felt the snob end of the stick at proper riding shools, and was put off them due to stuck-up attitudes and know-it-alls from the people at these places. My only qualification seems to stem from the fact that I did (and still do!) so much wrong when I ride, that my poor instructor has to use every trick in the book known to man in an effort to teach me how to do it right. So I guess that qualifies me? Thank goodness Ricus has the patience of a saint. Oh boy, and I'm quite the drill sergeant for my older students, with a "hands low! heels down! elbows in! back straight!" (all those things I so regularly have to be called on when I ride!) and so it continues. I have 7 students of various ages and abilities - fromt he very young (3 years old) to a teenager. Each come for their own special reasons, whether just to learn how to ride, or as therapy for A.D.D - they all bring their own talents and personalities to the arena, which I love!

I shouldn't have a favourite student, but I do have a very special place in my heart for a boy that comes to me for riding lessons, or more for physical therapy actually. Never have I felt more unqualified than when I first dealt with Jayden. Jayden has various challenges that he has to face in his life. He is 7 years old, is blind, autistic and has Asperger's syndrome. Don't worry if you don't know what this means - I also had to look it up. In addition, he currently has very little verbal communication skills. However, this youngster has taught me so much. I thought so grandly of myself that I was going to make a small difference in his life, instead, I must humbly confess that he ended up making a huge difference in mine! His parents are incredible. They personify the Biblical meaning of love: it is unconditional, limitless, enduring and just radiates from them to their son in tidal waves. Not in spite of his disabilities or for any other reason than because of the mere fact that he is theirs to love. After Jayden's lesson on Saturday (which was a bit difficult as he kept wanting to doze off!) he decided to go for a stroll. Being blind does not seem to deter him from wanting to explore his surroundings. And he walked around fearlessly. OK so every teacher has their 'witbroodjie', and I confess happily that he is mine!! I just wonder who is the teacher, and who is the student?

I use the little Shetland pony, Elvis, for Jayden to ride on. Now Elvis, being the only male in this little herd of five, has always been my hero. But never more so than when I first put Jayden on his back. Jayden has difficulty keeping himself upright in the saddle - he will waiver and topple and squeal in delight or aggravation at any moment. He sometimes will fall backwards and then lurch forwards too, and it takes both me and his mom or dad to keep Jayden steady and upright during the ride. But Elvis is my rock. He holds himself so steady and keeps his head down and ears forward, and he just seems to understand implicitly the precious cargo on his back. He doesn't put a foot wrong where Jayden is near. I love that furry little pony! Of course none of this would be possible without the help of our trusty groom Percy who leads Elvis, and whom I rely on so much to help Jayden enjoy the ride.

Feathered friends

We've been rather quiet over the past week or so, after Murlan's tragic accident. I think both Alida and I felt a bit dispirited but life goes on and doubly so in the animal kingdom. We've been writing a lot about the horses but the A Squad is about animals in general, and so today I will blog a little bit about Aboyami Azizi, which means "Bringer of Joy" and "Precious". My African Grey Parrot.

It has taken me rather a long time, years in fact, to decide on his official names, as he may be called Aai Aai for short! Two A's for his initials, of course, with the added 'i's' to round it off nicely. He has had so many names since I've had him as a baby parrot as he truly is a ray of sunshine in my life.

I have always been fascinated by parrots, especially the bigger ones, the talkers. Early on I read that these guys are the true talking parrots and we have all seen documentaries about Alex, the African Grey Parrot who could decide for himself and come up with the right answers when asked certain questions. We have all heard or read or seen on tv, that the experts believe them to have the brain capacity on par with that of a child of five years old. All people have some idea about parrots, their ability to talk, and so, when I got my baby, I was over the moon. I have yet to return from the moon!

When I got my parrot as a youngster, he was very shy and afraid of people. When animals are afraid, they either try to hide away, or they bite out of fear. This little one was no exception and let me tell you, parrot beaks are very hard and very sharp and they draw blood easily. I did not know too much about the breed and was reading up ferociously but I really wanted to make friends and reassure my little bird that I was no predator about to gobble him up!

One day I held him, carefully, in my hand, trying to stroke his head and befriend him, but he was only content to sit with me. I had a bit of a brainwave and grabbed a peanut or two, showed him the peanut and as he happily grabbed it to start peeling it, I gradually and very gingerly started stroking his head with the other hand. He adored it and from then on we became fast friends!

Some parrots are naturally shy and others are quite social. My little one is naturally shy, so when people visit he tends to go quiet or try to be threatening by puffing himself up into a little fluffball! He has even made growling noises when children visited and he royally dislikes cigarette smoke! Needless to say, this is a non smoking environment...;-)

Alida and her family laugh at our antics, but my African Grey is more human to me than anything else. He likes to cuddle with me and readily moves nearer when I approach his cage and asks him if he would like to sit with me. He responds with a "Come" and then promptly climbs down and up onto me when I open his cage. He perches on my shoulder or he climbs into the crook of my arm to be cradled like a baby or positions himself to get a tummy scratch. When it is time for a bath (for me!) he will sit on the side of the tub and keep me company, sometimes singing along with me, or dancing or playing with the water. He gets along well with my brother, but he would never dream of taking him out of his cage, as he has bled a few times in the past for being a little too sure of himself, poking a finger into the cage for a second or so too long or simply for not being fast enough. The parrot even makes a laughing sound should he catch my brother off guard....!

Some Greys form a really close bond with their humans, so much so that they will regurgitate 'presents' and present them to their human. I have received a number of slightly digested and gooey sunflower seeds etc. You have to be really happy when you receive these gifts, as they are only given to The One in their lives. Parrots in the wild will regurgitate to their mates, and so, when this honour befalls you, you have to display the appropriate gratitude!

I have not had my parrot sexed as I believe that he is a male. There is method to my madness, as I have observed a number of other females, all of which have some kind of nesting instinct, they tear the newspapers at the bottom of the cage into shreds, they wash everything in their waterbowls and tend to be quite destructive inside the cage. They generally don't preen as much too. The females also do not make certain sounds, as I think the male may be somewhat more vocal towards the female and my little one has specific noises he makes before the regurgitation starts. I met one other parrot who also quite liked me and made the same noises, but the females may like you, yet they do not make those specific sounds. Those sounds are hard to explain, but the closest I can venture is that they sound like a little baby bird wanting attention.

Normally people are not interested in the finer aspects or traits of these birds, as described above. They want to go straight to the most popular aspect of the African Grey Parrot. Their talking. So yes, he talks, and boy does he ever talk! They are highly intelligent as we have mentioned before, and so I do not think teaching parrots three syllable swear words is much of an accomplishment! My parrot does not swear and I do not allow swear words near him as they will pick up on those quite fast for the simple reason that those words do not take much intelligence to learn. (Perhaps people can catch the hint here...)

He whistles and he sings and when he is concentrating on something you said, you can see it in the eyes and in the way he cocks his head. Listening intently to process later on. He is quite clear when he speaks and people can generally hear what he is saying,  unless it is something that he is still practicing.

He whistles the MacGyver themesong and he sings 'Jan Pierewiet' but in such a way that he has me in stitches every time I hear it. Sometimes he forgets and then he adds whatever comes into his head to complete the song or the line or the lyric. He mashes sentences that he has learnt and the outcome is often quite hilarious as well as fitting. He says "Knight Rider" with the real American twang and he will ask you what sound the Car makes (K.I.T.T, remember?) He will then proceed and make the sound...:-)

He has moods, just like people and sometimes he wants to be left alone. Sometimes he wants to stay in his cage and at other times he has to come out NOW and then he will proceed to bite at his cage, so that you can run there and open up. Sometimes he wants a snack and if he sees YOU with one and you have not given same to him, then there will be trouble.

As I wrote in the beginning, he is so much more a little person than he is an animal. He is my special feathered little angel and I love him dearly!

Murlan - A tribute

Murlan was a resident of Alida's riding school under Ricus and Chene. I met him when I first met Lee-Anne, who rode him regularly. Lee-Anne told me Murlan's story. He used to be a Railway Horse, quite used to riding hard but not so used to 'going to school' which was why she put a lot of work and sweat, frustration and heaps of love and carrots into her efforts of schooling him properly and bringing him on.
Murlan was lovable on the spot. He had a sweet disposition and enjoyed cuddles and pats, but he could perform in the arena when something did not suit him or if he decided to act up. Lee-Anne jumped with him and they looked really good together, they had an understanding and affection towards one another, even though he belonged to someone else. Sometimes in life, that happens. Lee-Anne will sorely miss his sweet little face.

Saturday was his time to go. It will always remain a shock to hear about broken bones, but ours not to reason why. Perhaps some day broken equine bones will be healed as easily as broken fingers.

We will always remember you, Murlan, because you were a living, breathing little soul, who we loved. And so, we know you will enjoy jumping Heaven's fences with four strong and healthy legs, chomping carrots and running free, another proud and noble example of your kind, safe forever.

Rest In Peace, Boy.

On an emotional Rollercoaster - By Alida

Emotional Rollercoaster

This weekend was a mixture of absolute joy, and absolute sadness and it just feels like it was a lot longer than just two days.

The Joy:

I got back in the saddle after six weeks of being grounded.  I sustained a stress fracture on my right foot around six weeks ago, and was told to take it easy.  For a change I listened (boy I must really be getting old!) and I didn’t get up to too much mischief.  I could feel the odd twinge in my foot over the six week period, which reminded me to take things a little easier.  I didn’t always – if things needed to get done, it needed to get done! 

Fernando was feeling my tension for sure.  He was chewing on his bit a lot more than usual – grinding his teeth but generally his usual well behaved self.  I was rusty but it started coming back to me pretty quickly and I even managed a good canter or two.  My attention though was not completely where it should have been.  I dismounted at the end of the lesson with the help of my hubby so that I wouldn’t place undue stress on my foot – he had me landing on the ground as soft as a feather – not a twinge from my foot at all.

The sadness:

On Saturday morning, Murlan (a lovely little school pony) broke his leg in a freak accident and had to be put down.  His owner took him on an outride, and while I was in the arena, I heard a shout and looked up to see Murlan struggle to his feet just outside the school yard.  He had (I presumed) spooked at something – perhaps at some cyclists coming past?- I wasn’t sure, but he had fallen and his owner came off too.  Chene took over our lesson from Ricus while he went to investigate and assist the owner and Murlan.  From a distance, it looked like Murlan could not put any weight on the leg.  Perhaps just injured, or bruised I hoped?  We carried on with the lesson.

Afterwards, I went to where they stood waiting for the vet.  An ambulance had arrived to take the lady to hospital – thank goodness her injuries did not seem to be too serious.  Murlan, however, was not so lucky.  As I walked up, Ricus just shook his head.  A few friends stood by, quietly holding Murlan’s leadrope.  They had removed his saddle and bridle and had put a halter on him.  Ricus said it seemed that Murlan’s leg was broken in two places.  Blood pooled in the grass where he stood quietly.  No lashing out, no drama, nothing.  Just him being his usual quiet self if you looked at his face.  But you couldn’t help but look at the leg that he held off the ground.

Tears that I had been holding back started pouring down my face.  I tried to be brave for the kids’ sake that were there, but I wasn’t being very good at it.  I said my goodbyes, got in my car and left.

Another task remained though.  My dear friend Lee Anne regularly rode Murlan and had formed a close bond with him.  She had had her struggles with him where he could barely do a decent canter and was generally a difficult little horse, and she had worked with him a lot over the last year, to a point where she could recently jump a 80cm course with him in a training show.  I had to break the news to her that he had to be put down, and to make things worse - it was her birthday.  She was at work that morning for a stock-take which was very involved and needed her full attention.  I knew I couldn’t call her right there – she wouldn’t be able to focus on the task at hand.  We celebrated her birthday on Sunday by going out for lunch with a couple of friends.  It was very hard not to break down, but somehow, with Anya’s help, we got through the day in one piece.  That evening, when all had settled, Anya and I set off to their home to deliver the terrible news.  We sat her down and I had to tell her what had happened.  Lee-Anne was heartbroken.  We all cried, hugged and cried some more.  Had some coffee, talked, and cried some more.  I was emotionally wasted.  It took me some time before I could settle down last night and my dreams were troubled. 

This morning, I feel like I have run a marathon.  My muscles are aching from riding for the very first time in six weeks, and my head feels like I have a hangover.  It was a weekend of highs and lows that I hope not to have to experience any time again ever.

Rest in piece sweet little horse.

Trick Training Saturday

So there we were on Saturday afternoon! We tried to be dressed against the onslaught of the wind and the chill, but most of us failed dismally. Well, I know I did. However, that did not curb our enthusiasm as we ventured outside and next door to the riding school to enjoy the trick training demonstration.

Wicus and his daughter, Aluschka demonstrated the way they teach their (and other) horses trick training. Well not the way really, but the outcome, as you can see Aluschka hanging from the saddle - just as they do in the cowboy and other western movies where the cowboy hides from the gunmen or shoots out from the shelter of his horse's neck. They also demonstrated sliding a leg over the horses' back as the horse is still trotting, or in other instances, going at full speed. Perhaps Butter was also a bit cold on Saturday, because she only went as fast as a trot. It was still quite impressive, as Aluschka swung her leg over, hang down from the saddle and then pushed herself back up again with one leg touching the ground and then swinging back up into the saddle again.

She ended the demonstration by flinging herself off the horse, to land on the ground and roll away, as the stuntmen do, so the last photo is not of her falling down, but a calculated falldown-and-roll-over-jump!

They also showed us other training techniques, but I cannot write too much about that, as those techniques are familiar to us, we know them, we employ them and we incorporate them with Monty Robert's joining up techniques, and common sense and remembering the herd mentality of the horse.

We would have enjoyed to see a bit more of the tricks, as they also show the horses lying down, or rearing up, but I think the cold became a bit too much and in the end, what we saw was quite enjoyable, but we would not suggest anybody try these at home. They are used for stunts in movies and for exhibitions, why anybody would want to do this on an outride besides just showing off, is beyond me.

So happy riding as usual, folks!

Weekend antics!

We have an exciting weekend ahead of us! While everyone will be sipping hot toddies and lounging in front of fires or watching dvd's under duvets (I am sickening myself with mental pictures!) we will be out watching a demonstration on trick training.

Alida has mentioned in her posts before that the two greys (Peanut and Butter) had been taught by a previous owner to do trick training, and so, he has agreed to do a demonstration tomorrow afternoon. The next door riding school has graciously agreed that we use their facilities and so I will endeavour to take a lot of pictures so that we can display them on the blog next week!

We have no idea what to expect but we understand that we will be suitably impressed, however, what remains to be seen is the MANNER in which the horses are treated, which is of paramount importance to us. As mentioned before, I am no fan of outdated or harsh training methods and neither is Alida, but we remain open-minded and will each write up our opinions formed after tomorrow.

So while we shiver in the breeze, enjoy staying warm this weekend and watch out for the report back next week!

Blog comments

Dear Readers

Apparently, our blog is behaving badly, so much so that our Readers battle to post comments! So even though it seems that our blog traffic is a mere trickle, we are receiving great feedback and we appreciate it tremendously! Thank you to all of you who have commented directly to us, or those who do so on Facebook! We will try and rectify the situation, however we are still slightly technologically challenged!

We welcome any helpful hints and or suggestions!

We would love to hear all the comments, and we would be more than happy to be able to respond to those comments, so to provide an alternative for now, please visit me on Facebook to leave a comment there should you wish to. Alida will be joining Facebook shortly too! It's about time, I'd say!!

Apparently the Cold will be invading us again soon! Stay warm everybody and please continue reading!

Justice has a name....by Alida

Justice has a name…..

In our little herd, we have Peanut and Butter – two grey mares of around 15.3 / 16h (haven’t officially measured) but a nice size nevertheless.  Then there is Dezzi – a feisty little Welsh mare, and then our two littlies – Elvis and Snowbell.

Peanut is soft.  Her body, her eyes, her nature – everything about her is good natured and amicable.  A real easy girl to get along with.  Butter is a bit more difficult, more stubborn, but once in the saddle, she will (reluctantly) comply with your requests, but you have to keep repeating the question!  Both have that “endurance horse” trot that is very economical, with their heads carried long and low, and once they get going, they look like they could carry on for hours.  Peanut more floaty, Butter workman like in her efforts.

Dezzi has spirit, the eyes of a dreamer, the legs of a supermodel and a kick like a donkey.  She went to an instructor for a month which was over far too soon, and now that she’s back, she will be used for riding lessons on the slightly bigger kids.  Her spirit is awesome.  She is a gentle soul with a streak of mischief in her that can cause two riders in quick succession to get dumped in exactly the same spot in the arena, but when you establish your authority, she retreats in minutes and becomes meek and mild.  I know that with time, the right training and gentle care, she will be a stunning little show pony.  But its as they say – pretty is as pretty does. 

Elvis is my rock, my hero.  A furry little Shetland, with a woolly winter coat, dark chestnut with black main and tail, and a white mark here and there.  Nothing phases him, and the only thing he ever gets grumpy about, is when his grazing time is interrupted or when the food is slow in coming.  He accepts anything, carries everything and does all of that with the same even temperament, slogging forward, carrying the world on his shoulders.

Then there is Snowbell.  Snowbell is a tiny little thing that is about hip high, but was ‘blessed’ with some seriously accurate back feet that can deliver justice in quick and harsh blows to the body / leg / backside of anybody that crosses her line (wherever she might decide to draw it).  She is in charge and knows it well.  The walk-in open stable is there for all to enjoy as they choose.  Should Snowbell decide she feels like some company, they can all stand happily and doze together.  But she can change her mind in an instant, and with ears pulled flat, she reverses towards those whose real or imagined transgression deserves a dose of her swift justice.  The only real opposition she gets is from the sole male figure in the herd – Elvis.  I’ve never seen him retaliate, but she also never seems to aim any of her aggravation against him either.  When she wants a little lie down, he dutifully stands guard over her, and where she goes, he follows.  She will happily share a pile of hay with him, where any of the others gets chased off with bared teeth and a squeal if they dare approach her. 

It’s a happy little herd, and I love to watch the powerplays, the silly games they play in the paddock, or just the peacefulness of it all at the end of the day as they graze with the last of the winter sun just dipping below the horizon, leaving me with a smile as I smell the feint smell of wood shavings, and listen to the quiet chewing, the odd snort and a deep sigh of contentment.

Sultan - A Cloete Boerperd

So, I was a bit hesitant to write Sultan's story, because I had to let him go after 12 years and it breaks my heart to remember.
I got Sultan as a 20 month old Boerperd Colt and from the beginning he was The King. We had two other colts (therefore 3 boys!) on the property, but Sultan established himself as the Top Ranking Official in no time. He then set about to assert himself over his humans too, but that caused some sparks, some laughs and some sore bones!

When you have an unruly stallion for twelve years, there will be amusing stories to tell! Like the time he decided to go visit the other paddock as it contained a very old mare, but he was very interested, just like Twister had been (Alida's Black Beauty!). Sultan promptly started to literally climb over the railing and more or less got stuck with the wooden pole pressing up against his abdomen. During his adventure, he also opened up a huge gash above one eye, so we had to get the vet out to stitch that up and to advise us about what to do with this naughty boy hanging over a pole! We had to take the pole down, as it was pressing into his stomach, which could end up causing a lot of internal damage! And so, Doc Dobie gave him a shot to quiet him down, and I held his big head in my lap while he was falling asleep and the doctor could stitch him up. Doc Dobie splashed a lot of sterile solution onto Sultan's head, which splashed down my front as well, and he jokingly told me that I had just been sterilized too!

No matter how serious a situation, we could always laugh about something!

I trained my big boy. This I can mention with Great Proudness today! Even though he was a stallion and I had more or less no idea what I was doing, I trained him to accept a rider, go through his paces and also to back up. Sultan was never treated harshly, he was not 'sacked out' as some people to this day do to horses, apparently to ensure they become 'bombproof'. Sultan was a stallion, ladies and gentleman, and he was not bombproof, but he was a gentle ride, always taking his cue from his rider. We had lots of kids on his back and he ran along with me leading him on, to reassure the kids.

Then I had a scare with him one day, but even the scare was not his fault. I was riding him on an outride, which is what I like to do with my horses, no showjumping or dressage as my horses and I only enjoy hacking out. I let them be horses and I enjoy them allowing me on their backs as they carry me safely where we want to go. That is the essence of my relationship with these noble and magnificent creatures. They are So strong, yet they gently carry us about.
So anyway, along came this big truck and as he passed us, the driver thought he was oh so funny, and he honked his horn at us. Sultan had a huge fright, as did I, but he only shied slightly. I, however was not amused and had a huge fright and so I got off, to stand by his head and calm him down. Apparently, the truck was dumping rocks at the quarry and so he soon returned, and as he passed us, he honked at us again! I was on the ground and because of this, Sultan had no reassurance and he bolted away, into the nearest veld. Luckily I had chosen a quiet day, so the traffic was more or less zero, but I had to whistle to Sultan to turn and run back to me, which he did, at top speed! To have a big horse run straight at you, is rather a daunting sight and feeling, but I knew he was running to me for his reassurance. He was shivering when he got to me and I had to calm him down, again!
Needless to say, we walked back home that day.
After that, I took him out once more, and for the first time ever, a dog that jumped up suddenly and barked, spooked him. Yet, he only started a quick run to the side and forward and as I was on his back, I could stop him and calm him down, which he did easily. Not long after these incidents, I had to move the horses to the farm in Groblersdal, as I had to move and could not take them with me where I was going.

Sultan and Czar stayed on the farm, in the bush, for two years. As I mentioned in Czar's story, I then could go and fetch Czar to bring him back to Johannesburg, but I could not bring Sultan and so I had to let him go. He went to a farmer in Groblersdal and he works on the farm on a daily basis.

I often wonder how my boy is doing and with the terrible horse sickness season we have had, I was too afraid to ask, but on Tuesday I found out that Sultan is alive and well and happy, the farmer enjoys him tremendously. He is a wonderful riding horse, so much so, that the farmer is now teaching his son to ride, on Sultan!

When I heard this story, my heart literally swelled up and I knew that I could now tell his story with a happy heart! Sultan is safe and happy! Still a stallion, still a naughty boy, still trying his luck, but to date still has had no riding accidents or casualties! I am so proud of my boy!

Fernando - by Alida

As some of you may already know, Fernando is a Thoroughbred, although at 17.2hh, he is certainly not your average size horse.  If you do the conversion, a 17.2h horse is 1.7 m tall at his withers.  Add his giraffe neck to that and when he stands gazing into the distance, he is truly a magnificent sight to behold.

He had 7 starts as a 3 year old in his racing career, and came nowhere – probably because it interfered with his grazing time!  But I just think that he does not have that fighting spirit required to win in a top competitive field.  He is just too gentle a soul.

For the purists : his breeding lines :  Some of his ancestors had excellent racing careers, but the apple fell just too far from the tree.  But its very lucky for me – I get to ride a very chilled (almost lazy) magnificent horse that is quite sensible and won’t get all silly just because others around him go galloping across the field.  But if his rider asks for it, he will gear up into racing mode and he enjoys a good run. 

                                                                FERNANDO 7 year old Bay ('03)

           Fahal (USA)                                                                                   Zephyr Girl (1993)

Silver Hawk (USA)   By Land By Sea (USA)                             Tumultuous (NZ)                         Lindross (GB) 

Roberto (USA) Griss Vitesse (USA)                                       Zephyr Bay (AUS)                 Miss Devine (NZ)

Sauce Boat (USA)   Like a Train (UA)                                     Ardross (IRE)              Linda's Fantasy (IRE)

                                                                         

Alida's Response

Anya I’m so proud of you!  I can only guess what it must have taken for you to enter into the big bad world of horseriding schools!  You did amazing!!  Even managed a tiny little jump over a cross bar which I really didn’t expect at all.  Well done girl. 

Anya is most complimentary about my riding skills – thanks Anya!  But its because she can compare my current skills to what it was when I was riding Twissie and knows about most of my injuries and all my fears and issues and their origins.  I just know that every time I ride, I do try and do it a little better than before, not only for myself, but for that wonderful horse Fernando too – he deserves to have a rider that tries incredibly hard every single time, because he does the same. 

One thing you must all know about Anya is that she is an anti.  Not as in my brother’s wife is auntie to my children.  But anti as in anti-authority, anti-establishment, anti-rules and anti-regulations.  So the fact that she was wearing a riding hat, was a bonus! Very un-Anya.  That, and riding English style on an English saddle nogals, made for much entertainment.  And she looked very fancy with chaps, jodhs and boots!  A real proper riding school rider, correctly turned out…very un-Anya hahaha.  If you look at one of the pics of Anya on the big grey mare, Peanut, you’ll see the western saddle that has travelled with Anya over the years.  That’s more her style.  Very similar to mine I had, that I sold years ago (again, bangs head against desk for stupidity)  Mine was just black.  Handmade by El Paso, beautiful workmanship, and still going after many many years.  Just needs the odd fixing due to Czartjie being his normal stallion self!.

Anya is still the same, the original plaasjapie, kaalvoetkind that I got to know so many years ago.  Life happens, but unlike many of us, Anya did not become blinded by the big city lights or modern technology.  She uses it to her advantage and to run her business – and is STILL bugging me to upgrade to a Blackberry!, but for the most part, still prefers the simple things in life.

When Anya changed rein with that 180 degree turn on the forehand, I really did pack up laughing.  But I was laughing with her – not at her! 

Not because it was a “mistake” (I would not laugh at anybody for making one as I make so many every day) but because it is EXACTLY what I would expect Anya to do!  Ag, little Chester is so bombproof.  He is, after all, a schoolmaster pony and has taught most of the young adults at the riding school as little kiddies learning to canter for the first time.  He is an awesome little pony.  His body might be small, but he has the heart of a giant, and I’ve seen him jump extraordinary heights in the showjumping arena, and he can do a very decent halfpass and reinback in a dressage test.

(Anya replies: a decent halfy what-y and a reinback how? Hehehehehehehehehehehehe)
WE LOVE OUR FRIENDS!

Teaching older dogs new tricks...and the consequences thereof...

So, to lighten the mood somewhat, I would like to share a silly little story with you....

First, a little background. Alida is known as someone who likes to make things happen. Sometimes, this involves organizing things behind your back and organizing surprises! I love surprises and I have often said that the male species lack a certain imagination when it comes to things like that. However, that in itself is a whole other topic that may need its own blog!

So, to explain - for my birthday this year, Alida had a birthday cake made with a picture of Czar smack dab in the middle of the cake. She had devised a clever ruse to get me to forward a good picture of my boy to put on the cake, thereby surprizing me royally with the gorgeous cake! It was quite hard to cut through the picture!

Well, as you know if you read Alida's stories, she is an avid horse rider these days and she goes to a reputable riding school in Muldersdrift where she gets her 'fix' every week. Unfortunately, she fractured her foot about two weeks ago and so is out of commission for a few weeks. So, once again, behind my back, she organized and k-nived with the instructor over there, so that I may go for 4 riding lessons, in her place!!!

If you could recall from a previous blog, my experience with horse riding schools has never been positive and so it was with more than a little trepidation that I accepted this very generous and loving offer. How could I NOT accept her offer, as it would allow me to continue my 'hobby', gain valuable experience,  and force me to do it every weekend at a stipulated time, which is always a good way to get one to practice.

However, if you know my personality and my history, you would know that I am more of a cowboy on the back of a horse, than someone who 'canters on the right leg'! To be honest, 'cantering on the right leg' has no meaning to me, whatsoever....Where I come from, we got on the horse, sometimes bare back, sometimes even without bridle and reins and off we went, into the veld, happily riding around, kidding around and having a grand ole time!

Alida, however knew that I had had a bad experience and had lost some of my confidence and had not ridden in a long time. However, thanks to her, I had already been on quite a number of animals this year! But, one can never practice too much, I suppose?

Thus, on Saturday, off I went to Alida's riding school, as a student! I had been there before, so I have met all the horses and most of the instructors and students, which I must admit, helped a lot. As I arrived, I took one look at Alida's face and we both burst out laughing! They were all friendly and welcoming. We were full of high spirits and jokes, the day promised to be quite eventful! True to her nature, Alida had yet another surprize up her sleeve. She had arranged things with Lee-Anne, her co-rider/friend, so between the two of them, they got together a pair of jods, riding boots and chaps for me to wear, so that I would even look the part of a proper Riding School Student!

I am used to riding wearing any old thing, ie jeans and takkies, or shorts and barefoot and Alida was having none of that!

Unfortunately, the boots, chaps and jods were a little too big, but I felt rather grand as I remembered back then, as a kid, I had looked with longing eyes at the kids with their super outfits on the backs of those huge beasts, so I felt like a million bucks! But I still had a goofy grin on my face when I mounted Chester!

The lesson went fine and dandy as Chene, the instructor, was briefed about me beforehand (I'll bet!). She let me get on at my own pace and settle in, getting used to the feel of Chester and explaining his ways to me. She was very reassuring and kind. And then it happened...

Chene asked all the students (we were only three, thank goodness!) to 'change reins'. I, of course had no idea what that meant, and so I merely turned Chester around, to go the other way. I was going in the opposite direction, as the others were still coming towards me! It was the funniest blunder on my part! Alida nearly packed up laughing and I had a lot of trouble not startling the poor Chester with my guffaws! The next time this happened though, I was ready and so I merely let Chester follow Lee-Anne on Fernando!

Something I had noticed while riding around the arena was that the riders all concentrated really hard while they were riding. They were making very sure that they listened and adjusted their posture and legs regularly. They looked straight ahead and you could feel their concentration. I, on the other hand, sat and enjoyed the scenery as two of the younger horses in the far paddock were chasing each other playfully, there were chickens strutting around and some of them were quite amusing. I enjoyed the scenery as if I was out on a regular outride. The ghosts of the past had been thoroughly exorcised (however they may still require some exercise)! 

I enjoyed the experience and I am forever grateful to all parties involved in getting this 'plaasjapie' al geared up in the right way and riding around with proper horse riders in a proper arena at a proper horse riding facility!

I'll do my best next time to 'change reins' properly when asked to, but I guess I may just always remain the class clown!

Waving at Aida taking pictures with her mobile!

The rising trot I can do, but I got tired too (Lazy bum)

Letting Chester follow Fernando, in case we have to 'change something' again...;-)

A little guy named Chinuke

Reading all these stories puts a smile on my face, mingled with a touch of melancholy. Reading Alida's descriptions puts pictures in my head and I can see Twister hopping in the vegetable garden with Daan on his back, trying to get him to calm down, or Twister bouncing around the lunging arena. He was a beautiful horse and it is so sad that he had to succumb to African Horse Sickness.

Yes, Alida did not name him, I forgot about the fact that he arrived on the plot already named, but she may as well have named him, and Twister became Twissie...She trained him with voice commands but after he passed away she, understandably, lost her drive and a bit of her dream. (Thank GOODNESS that she started riding again, and she now has 5 new horses on the Honeydew plot (that belongs to Sonia) and Alida has developed into an EXCELLENT rider but the best is that she is the dearest of friends and we can laugh and cry and write together!!)

Not too long after this, I moved to a plot in Chartwell and I moved the horses with me. By this time, I had acquired a little Shetland pony named Chinuke. He was supposedly halter trained but he was the most head shy little thing I have ever seen. He was another little stallion, would you believe?! I often wondered what had happened to the little guy as he seemed almost broken, so aloof and so very, very shy and retiring.

So there I was, with my three stallions, and we moved to Chartwell. It was heaven on earth, to be able to wake up in the morning, look out my front door and see my horses grazing about 50 metres away. After work at night, we would sit on the patio and look over the garden at the horses peacefully grazing and next door we could see a few species of buck and a few ostriches gambolling around, it was utter bliss and we felt very blessed.

One day, the dogs on the plot decided to chase down Chinuke, for whatever reason. Maybe they had excess energy or maybe they were downright delinquent, I don't know, but the results were undesirable. The poor little pony ended up right at the far end of the paddock with a gaping hole in its neck. Now, as you know from my previous stories, when you have animals, you are bound to come across injuries and so you deal with them, but it remains rather challenging when you are trying to comfort and treat a scared and untame little stallion. Believe me, he may have been little, but he had an iron-fisted will!

However, that particular day, as I approached him, he somehow just knew and understood that I wanted to help him. I walked over, looked at the 'eina', held him and started applying the wound spray. Suffice it to say, I always had wound spray in the house. When you have so many animals, you have to be prepared!

Sultan and Chinuke grazing together

The little Chocolate Shetland

Chinuke thereafter continued to try and bite me when I handled him or wanted to move him. He loved kicking back those stumpy little legs to sort out Sultan and the two of them bonded quite easily. To this day I am not altogether sure who ruled the roost. Sultan, the biggest and oldest stallion, or this little chipmunk of a shetland with the heart of the biggest, strongest stallion! The big bay stallion and the little chocolate brown stallion loved grazing together and Czar knew to keep well away from them!

Flying lessons - by Alida

Flying lessons

By the way, Twister had his name when we met.  Little did I know then that his name would prove to suit him very well!  That boy could crawl underneath the paddock railing and through a hole in a wire fence to get out when he wanted to.  He also on occasion managed to flip himself over the paddock fence and landed on his back (just got up, shook it off and carried on running!).  He managed to entangle himself in the only piece of barbed wire that we didn’t spot on the ground, and we had to untangle it from his tail hair by hair!  Twister by name, Twister by nature! 

So through the years I’ve sustained a number of injuries to wrists, elbows and ankles, bruised my coccyx at least twice and have a few scars to remind me of my exploits.  My latest injury (a stress fracture on my right foot) happened two weeks ago just because I landed wrong on dismount.  Very unglamorous! 

I’ve had one fall from Fernando just a few months after I started leasing him.  I managed to scrape together the amount of courage one would normally reserve to climb Everest, and had done a few jumps at 50cm height with him.  Fernando would be quite capable of walking over the cross bar, but I would approach at a trot.  Being the show-off that he is, he would bounce into a canter one stride before the jump, and launch himself in spectacular style at least 1 meter high over the jump!  I managed to stay on and I was just thinking “Hey, I can actually maybe perhaps do this”. I approached the next cross bar and as we launched over, I heard my instructor say “Nice jump”.  Well, the next sound was a resounding THUMP.  That was me landing shoulder first on the ground, face in the dirt.  How did that happen?  I was a bit dazed and very sore.  Fernando was standing a few steps away looking mildly worried.  My kids witnessed this along with my husband, so I had to maintain my composure even though I wanted to cry like a baby!  Upon closer inspection of my saddle, it became clear that the safety catch had released the stirrup leather as I went over the jump so when I put my weight into the stirrup to sit back and balance on landing, it unhinged and fell to the ground, with me following suit. 

My husband is, fortunately, quite strong and managed to haul my bruised body back into the saddle.  He almost threw me right over the saddle!  I lost my nerve to jump completely right there.  I think the fact that even when neither the horse nor I did anything wrong, and I still managed to fall, made me think that maybe jumping is not for me.  I have since tried going over a 30cm jump in a trot, but I’ve lost my nerve.  So I guess I won’t be in contention to win the showjumping event at the next Avis Derby, but hey, that’s fine with me!

Coming up.

Dezzi goes to boot camp

Czar - Part 2

So there he was, running free in his new paddock, so scared of people! All this 8 month old ever knew of people thus far in his life, was that they were cruel and harsh and to be avoided at all costs!

We fed them 10% Alzu concentrates as suggested by my friend's cousin and they had erogrostis bales throughout the day and fresh water and soon settled down, Czar and Topaz the best of friends as they shared their terrible traumatic ordeal at the hands of people. Topaz turned out to be a very unfortunate little filly, as she had boxy feet and a very bad back so we ended up selling her to people who had a big plot and wanted her as a companion horse to their other horses. I am hopeful that her life ended up pretty happy too!

In the meantime, Alida purchased her beautiful black stallion, and promptly named him Twister and I bought Sultan, a 24 month old Boerperd Colt. I just couldn't refuse him and we got him as an older boy to be ridden sooner as Czar was still a baby. So we had the 'big boys' in one paddock and the 'babies' in another one. I also was given a very old lady who wanted to retire and spend her last years in a quiet and happy environment.

So, before we knew what was happening, our horsey dream had become a reality and we had 4, soon to be 5 horses on the property!

It took a very, very long time for me to gain Czar's trust, and I would and could never blame him. To this day, and he is 13 years old, I still remember his utter terror and trauma experienced at the hands of people and that is why I would never break the trust he placed in me as his caretaker.

Czar is highly inquisitive by nature, and very soon he would start looking in my direction as I approached. I had gotten into the habit of sitting in the middle of the paddock, reading a book or playing with a piece of string, completely ignoring this little charcoal coloured boy strolling over to see what I was doing.

I did this for quite some time and he was so intrigued and wanted to see what I was doing that he would come right up to me. Slowly but surely I would lift my hand and touch him, he would shy away and I would go back and continue what I was doing. I was down on the ground so I posed to real threat to him and he soon figured this out. It was a complete breakthrough the day that he let me touch his muzzle and stroke him. A light went on in his eyes, because this was feeling rather good!

Then we progressed smoothly, he got carrots and he tolerated me moving about inside his paddock. He got possessive about his food and would kick out at the little filly when she came too close. He really came into his own and I could not be more proud.

We had to catch them to give them their first African Horse Sickness shots and boy, was this another story! We had two very wild young horses running all over the place, jumping and kicking madly and I was worried that all the hard work would be lost. So in the end, I strolled over to Czar who was standing quite close to the crush at the time, and I merely asked him to hold still, as I needed to catch him. I reached out, took a hold of his halter and that was the end of the story. This was the beginning of our extraordinary bond.

As time went on, and as Alida explained in her first story, Twister became rideable and we rode him and Sultan on outrides in the area which was a lot of fun! We have lots of stories to tell such as me ending up hanging from a branch after a wayward pony decided not to stop for a tree...Twister became ill and we lost him, people came and people went, and still Czar seemed unperturbed and was growing up to be a beautiful and strong young stallion.

At some point I decided to see if we could back him, as he was so very very tame. He would come at my whistle, as he does to this day. He seemed genuinely interested and happy to see me as I did not live on the plot with him and had to visit as much as I could. We put the small saddle on his back and I got on and we had no drama whatsoever.

We had our share of injuries, because stallions and mares together make for some interesting tales to tell! Sultan, my Boerperd stallion, decided to go 'next door' one day and ended up nearly impaling himself on the paddock railing. We had to get the vet out to stitch up a gash above the one eye and unscrew the wooden pole as it was pressing right into his stomach, which in turn, could cause him serious damage. Czar also ended up with a huge gash over the one eye another time, but a lot of tlc and woundspray took care of that particular injury. So we learnt as we went along and they came to understand that we were there to take care of them. I firmly believe this and I believe this is why my horses would run to me whenever something spooked them, such as end of year crackers or thunder and lightning.

When the old lady (the retired pony I mentioned before) lay down in the sand one day, I knew the end was near and we had to call the vet again. He arrived with his gun and I had to take Czar and Topaz up and away for them not to see (and I guess for me not to see either!). When the shot rang out, Czar bolted to one side and Topaz the other and it was very clear that the sound of a gun shot was embedded in their minds! I was holding onto the leadreins and did not let go in time, which resulted in burnt and sore palms! Doc Dobie went one way, crying over the dead pony and I went the other way and only once we had our emotions under control, did we face one another again. It remains very hard to have to let an animal go, but our vet always felt exactly the same and that was a comforting thought.

The years went by and Czar was a happy, healthy and magnificent boy! He received compliments in abundance whenever strangers saw him and we finally figured out that he must be a Nooitgedacht Pony, with a lot of Arab in there too, because he would proudly prance around the paddock with an arched neck and an elevated tail and he was utterly gorgeous. To this day he is highly energetic, lifts his legs high and prances around like the prettiest boy in the country.

It's true that parents always think their children are the smartest and prettiest and in this case, it is most definitely very, very true...! Czar had come a long way, from a wild and highly traumatized youngster, standing in a queue at the abbatoir to be shot and killed, to a happy, bouncy and oh so tame 13 year old who lifts me up with his head and loves a cuddle!