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.