First Weekend back Pony Trekking

After what seems like a long winter the pony trekking season has finally started.  I celebrated with a marathon weekend of two full day treks.  Although it was actually only four hours the first day and four and a half the second day, it felt like a lot after not getting on a horse for over a month.  I was riding Black Sam again this weekend but am hoping to try out some new horses this year now the season is starting again.

On Saturday, there were two half day treks so we went up the Grange and onto the mountain which was nice because didn't manage to get up the top over the winter.  The views never fail to amaze me and I feel very lucky to ride in such a beautiful place.  Having become such a regular, I've been asked to close the gates as I always seem to end up at the back of the trek, my favourite place.  I didn't get off to the best start, by completely forgetting to keep my hands down when I pulled him to a stop just before we left the yard and got a nagging reminder to look like I actually knew how to ride if I was going to be helping on the trek.  I had varying degrees of success with the gates in the morning and ended up dismounting quite a few times rather than risking leaning to far over and falling off.  By the afternoon, I was starting to get the hang of it and getting to know the which gates shut easily and which had required a certain knack.  I managed to shut virtually all of them on horse back that time.  We also had a couple of canters which was nice as there was limited opportunity over the winter, as the ground was a bit hard and we spent a lot of time on the road.  It is lovely at the moment up there now that Spring has well and truly arrived and there are cute little lambs everywhere and daffodils and other flowers starting to appear too.

Having stayed over at the farm last night, it was an early start to get all the horses fed and those who were riding tacked up before the other trekkers arrived.  There must have been twenty horses coming in for food this morning, now that most have arrived back from their winter holidays.  Today, I did a full day trek up to the Queens Head.  I made a bit of a faff of the first few gates.  I think I need to have a think about how to approach them before I get to them so that I can concentrate on controlling the horse instead of having to experiment with the best way to approach each gate and confusing the poor horse who hasnt got a clue what I want him to do because I wasn't sure myself.  After a slow start with one beginner rider who struggled a little in the morning, we made fairly slow progress.  The horses are a bit slower than at the end of the season as they need to get their fitness back after their long winter holiday. Whilst the beginner went on a head with the trek leader, her friend and I managed managed a lovely long fast canter before lunch.  The four of us finally arrived at the pub for lunch at 1.30 and had a quick sandwich and drink before heading back.  The ground is still quite boggy in places but we managed another short canter before the day was out (even the beginner managed to join in this time).  Finally, we got back to the stables at about 4.30 where I had to untack quickly and rush home to collect my kids and open my mothers day card.  Roll on next Saturday, another day's pony trekking already booked.

A Canter on the Beach



Me riding Monty



Haven't been blogging much for a variety of reasons.  Few things going on at home which included once again the breakdown of my computer and I managed very little horse riding this year disappointingly.  Have been feeling a bit down recently and so the weekend before last, I decided that it was time I went riding again as it always lifts my spirits and I feel much better physically and emotionally.  I decided to try a different trekking centre that I have been meaning to try for the last year.  Various reasons why I haven't, not least a feeling of loyalty to Trevelog where I love riding and have made lots of friends.  However, I decided time for a change and decided to try out the trekking at Ogmore on Sea in South Wales. It is very different scenary from the mountains where I normally ride but it was fantastic for a change.  I was a little bit nervous trying somewhere new, where they didn't know me or my riding abilities but I had a lovely time.



The view from the top of the dunes.

They offer two hour treks to the beach or one hour treks in the countryside so I opted for the trek along the beach.  It was a beautiful route with no road work at all.  We set off across the river and then followed the river down to the beach, where there is a large open sandy bay - cue time for a canter across the bay.  I couldnt believe how different it felt riding on sand but it was a lovely experience.  As instructed, I had been given a nice slow horse coloured gelding by the name of Monty.  Unlike my previous experiences of cantering on a trek where everyone stayed strictly in line one behind the other, the horses lined up in a row across the beach next to the sea and then we just took off across the bay.  I did get a good canter along with some fast trotting which suited me fine.  I managed to nearly lose my reins but recovered myself just in time to avoid any major problems.  It was very exhiliarating and I thoroughly enjoyed.  On the way home, we went up onto the sand dunes along a path, with the opportunity for another canter.  When I asked for a slow horse though, they definitely took me at my word.  No amounting of kicking or tapping him with the crop could get him out of a fast trot and into a canter.  As the rider in front increased the gap and went out of sight around a corner, I was convinced this would be his cue to canter as I have so often found on a trek before but still no joy.  That said,  I was not too disappointed as this was the first canter I had had since I fell off in November and was still a little nervous.

 At the end of the ride, I was a little achy but amazed to find myself still aching after four days.  Trekking at Trevelog starts back next weekend but I have unfortunately got no childcare so won't be joining them til the following weekend where I am planning to do two full day treks.  I guess I better plan on an easy week the following week as I will be walking like John Wayne if last time was anything to go by.

Down at the Farm

Unfortunately my blog posts have been fewer and far between this winter than I would have liked.  This is due to a combination of things including less opportunities for me to ride and therefore less to write about, partly due to the weather and partly due to my lack of experience meaning that even though I had a horse available to ride, I have found him difficult to cope with outside the organised pony trekking season because he prefers a big group and my riding skills are far from good and I just don't have the confidence or ability to make him do what he doesn't want to do. Added to this the bad weather and snow in December and the start of January has made it even more difficult.  If that wasn't enough, there have been various personal issues like redundancy and job hunting to contend with.

This weekend, I was hoping to go horseriding but the weather was horrible and the rain came down all day.  I would have braved it but no-one else wanted to brave it with me so contented myself with hanging out at the farm feeding the horses, checking out the new foals that have just been brought down off the mountain and ooohing and aaahing over the first baby goats and lambs of the year.

I even had a go at bottle feeding one of the baby goats which was great fun and reminded me a little of when my boistrous noisy boys were tiny babies on the bottle.  I am kicking myself because I forgot my camera and so have no cute photos to share with you.

On the upside, trekking starts again in six weeks on 1 April 2011 when Trevelog opens for business again so i am looking forward to some decent treks again.  Anyone who lives in the West of England or Wales and fancies some pony trekking in the beautiful scenery of the Brecon Beacons or who is planning a holiday in the area, prices are £25 for a half day and £40 for a full day.  Incredible value and highly recommended by me.  I wouldnt trek anywhere else.  If you are interested in booking check out the link to the website.

No Riding this weekend

I didn't manage to go riding this weekend as I had nobody to come with me although I did get down to the farm Saturday afternoon anyway. Instead of riding, I spent the afternoon running around after a lot of goats.  I've actually been just waiting for the opportunity to spend a bit of time with the goats as I think they are really cute.



My youngest son with the goats, last summer.



When I arrived they were just about to start vaccinating them so joined in herding the goats up so the farmer could grab hold of them and vaccinate them.  There were a lot of them so this took some time and they weren't overly keen but to be fair they made less fuss than my children or possibly even myself when faced with the prospect of being jabbed with a needle.  Then,  I watched whilst the ones that were a bit lame had their feet trimmed.



Last order of the day was milking.  I think there are about seven hundred goats to be milked twice a day which takes sometime.  The milking parlour can milk about forty goats at a time so more rounding up goats and then attaching them to the milking machine.  I actually got to have a go at this.  Brought back some memories of breastfeeding my two kids which I am glad to say they are too old for now.  Spraying the teats with antiseptic after milking to avoid mastitis and then sending them out and getting the next lot in. 

I was surprised at how much fun I had and it certainly cleared away the hangover.  I'm not sure the novelty wouldnt wear off if I had to get up at six every morning to do it but I enjoyed the novelty.  However, I think the smell of goats is even worse than the smell of horses and the first thing I had to do when I got home was strip my clothes off and put them in the washing machine before jumping in the bath for a nice long soak.

A New Years Ride

After all the snow, but with the expectation of more to come, my only opportunity to ride over the Christmas holidays when there was no snow and I had no children was the afternoon of New Years Eve.  Nevertheless, I was determined to go and it still left plenty of time to go home and get dressed up for a night in the pub on New Years Eve. 

That said with all the snow, I have been quite relieved that Sam is back at Trevelog as it meant I was spared a half an hour journey through the snow and ice every day to muck out and feed him which I would have needed to do if he had still been in Cardiff.  I now have the luxury of a horse I can ride whenever I want with none of the day to day chores.  I do, of course, groom him before I tack him up and again when I get in before I put his rug back on and put him back out in the field.  I am also reliant on finding someone to ride with, as not only do I not feel sufficiently experienced to ride out alone but Sam is not a fan of going out on his own, as being a trekking horse he is used to travelling with the "herd".  He does not like to be the lead horse either.

I actually retreived Sam from the field myself this time which was an experience.  The mud (and horse poo) was like sinking mud and I found the mud creeping over the top of my wellies and was in grave danger of falling flat on my face as I tried to catch Sam.  He wasn't running anywhere fast but was reluctant to leave the nice big pile of hay that he was eating.  Unfortunately, I think I made myself a little unpopular because whilst I remember to shut the gate, I didnt actually tie it shut properly and a few of the horses escaped.  I don't think they went too far but I believe someone had to go round them up on the quad to get them back. 

My winter rides have been shorter in distance than when I go pony trekking in the summer.  Typically, we seem to end up going a bit slower as the horses are less confident in small groups and are not as fit as in the summer when they are working regularly.  New Years Eve, we went down the lane to the bridle path back onto the road past the pub and up to the forestry where we did a small loop before going back down, through the river, to clean the mud off the horses a bit and then back along the lane to the farm. 

I am still struggling a bit with the basics though.  I know I have to keep my heels down and my hands down but when things don't go right, I tend to forget and then I seem to do the opposite.  Particularly true, when I am trying to get Sam to do something he doesn't want to do and he starts resisting and trying to turn around and go backwards if I try and get him to lead, for example, or on a few occasions, where I am convinced he is about to try and buck me again.  I am getting better at mounting unaided without someone holding the stirrup on the other side, but as I was reminded the other day, I should be able to mount without a girth on the saddle, in theory so tightening the girth tighter so it doesn't slip is not really the answer.  I am hoping my diet and some weight loss may help with this bit.

The weather is still cold but surprisingly, it never seems as bad as expected when I actually get out although I do tend to wear thermals and a couple of fleecies at least.  As well as New Year, I also managed another ride yesterday and the sun even came out to shine for a while which was lovely.  We had a lovely ride, but took an awfully long time to cover the distance and didn't go quite as far as originally planned because the horses decided they wanted to turn back before we got up the mountain.  Nevertheless, we had a nice little ride down the bridle path and the lanes and managed to get them through the river even if we didnt make it as far as the road on the top of the opposite bank.

Apologies for not including any photos but keep forgetting my camera.  Apologies to those blogs, I normally visit, I have not been reading much either as have been so hectic with xmas, new year and now the first week of school and job hunting.

A Nice Winters Ride

The ice finally thawed out at Trevelog enough to ride so I was one happy girl.  I'd managed to get down there the previous weekend for a bit of socialising but the road was still pretty icy and not suitable for riding but this weekend the snow and ice had finally cleared.  Unfortunately, more is forecast this week so I was even more determined to get out riding, in case I dont get a chance for a while.

Even better, I had company for the ride as Dave has Pringle over the winter and he was down to ride Pringle as well.  I think I would be a bit nervous going out on my own and not sure Sam would go anyway as he is pretty stubborn when he wants to be.  I dressed up warmly but for the winter, it was a pleasant day with some sunshine and didnt regret my decision not to bother with gloves.

Dave took Pringle down to the camping field to lunge him for a bit whilst I was tacking up.  Its only about five minutes walk so I followed, ten minutes later on Sam.  Although, it wasnt far, he started to play up as soon as we got out of the farm drive and kept trying to turn around and go home. Dave could hear me coming long before he saw me because I was yelling at Sam.  Probably, not the textbook way to get him to do what I want but I got there eventually.

Once he had company, Sam was fine although Pringles western saddle wasnt fitting very well so we went back to change it for an english one before setting out down the lane, along the bridle path as far as the river.  Sam was fine when he was following Pringle but got quite stroppy when I tried to go at the front and wouldn't walk side by side either.  I had decided today was the day to practice my gate opening both on and off the horse so was quite pleased that managed to hop on and off quite a few times with out anyone holding my stirrup or needing a mounting block.  I managed to close a few gates on horseback too.  Maybe, one day I might actually get good enough at riding to help out as a trekking guide lol but think I still have a way to go.  We had a few little trots but no where really suitable for a canter so on the way back we thought we'd go down the other bridle path and maybe call in the pub for a quick one.  Having past the farm drive, surprisingly easily, we got onto the bridle path and shut the gate.  Suddenly, the horses decided they had had enough and wanted to go home and kept trying to turn around.  I came Sam a tap with the crop but was convinced he was getting ready to buck me again and Pringle had had enough too, so we headed back and took the car to the pub for lunch instead.

Sam is a lovely horse and very much a beginners horse when he is trekking with the herd, but it is amazing how different he is when he is on his own or in a very small group.  I'm sure it will all benefit my riding in the end though.

Not loving the snow

I am not loving the snow at the moment.  I was hoping to go up to the mountains to ride Sam last weekend but decided even if I could get up there it would be too cold and slippery to ride him.  On the bright side, at least I didn't have to drive half an hour to the stables and try and get up what would be a very icy unmade road just to feed him now he is back home.  Given this week's snowfall, it seems he went home at just the right time.  I am hoping this is not going to be the theme of the winter though.