My year in Pictures!

[beckie]

Inspired by kpicks and other 'my year' threads, thought I'd let you all know mine

Jan 07, had recently moved in (at end of dec, just before xmas!) to where we live now, bungalow with seven whole acres all of our own! bliss. moved the horses over from the two different fields they were kept at only one field of grass at the time (other stubble) and very soft so squidged up immediately,had to fetch bales of hay 8 at a time in the car, tack was kept in the conservatory, but heaven

Ebony


Deej


Posie


Started exploring my new hacking areas and had fun on Ebony Also led Deej out for walks

In early spring, we part exchanged posie for Sparky with the dealers we got Ebony from. Posie had become impossible to catch when we'd moved her here from her previous field (we hadn't had her long and she was a project, but a bit too much for all of us, despite being 12hh!) also she really scared us when the farrier came to trim her feet and she attempted to kill us all with very ferocioius rearing and kicking. She was put in a stable after she left us and was handleable in a short time with a lot of work. Sadly we didn' t have enough time or facilities for her Shes now a companion in south norfolk and doing well apparantly, but still dislikes humans.

Sparky when we got him. Full of lice and very nervy.


Sparky ran away the day after we got him (we didn't have perimeter fencing and he just went under the electric) and we found him after he'd run right through the nearby town! had to walk him home, took a long time

Then a few weeks later the dealers he'd come from came over and harnessed him to a cart, which he promptly ran off with and turned over, trapping him under it with his leg through a piece of metal at the bottom of the shafts. Very scary time, but I got him free in the end, he was sore and cut, the vet came out for the first time in 2007 and gave us some summer fly cream and told us to put it on his leg daily, which we did, and he healed well.

he did lots of walks in the woods and field, we discovered his talent for jumping, his personal best is 2'6, and he's attempted 2'9 but knocked it down.
This pic is in the calendar bottom right of march


Then we got Berri, not ours, but my friends. Only hers however because of our clever pursuasion tactics Very nice pony, we took her shoes off and she sailed through her vetting the next day
Berri in her first week


By the end of the summer


My Birthday in July took us to the beach for a ride! Mine and Ebony's second time on the beach, Ellen and Berri's first
Me and Ebs

Ellen and Berri

Ellen falling off Berri because the saddle slipped! (She was ok!)


Ellen took berri back to her house at the end of the summer holidays

August brought us Milton, a 16.2hh 20+ yr old tb x id. We don't know why or how, but we had to buy him. We got the price down to meat money. He came from a dealer. skin and bones, dehydrated, wouldn't drink, already barefoot and feet broken and cracked. Lame on all four feet. The vets, RSPCA and everyone said he wasn't that bad, not bad enough at any rate. we had him for five weeks and then he went to Hillside animal sanctuary because he was going to need an awful lot of care and money spent on him and we couldn't afford it, especially as we weren't guarenteed to end up with anything more than a field ornament at the end of it all very sad, but he's living the best possible life now at Hillside, and we can visit him!
First day here

Four weeks later


After Milton and Berri went, we only had Ebony, Deej and Sparky. We built a manege whilst Milton was here, woodfibre surface. Very useful piece of equipment we found!

Deej discovered loose schooling in it, which he enjoyed very much!



and jumping 2'9, his personal record!


Ebony and I had fun...


It wasn't long before my instructor came up with another horse for us...

Graham was a 15.3hh thoroughbred gelding. broken at 4, ridden for two years in affiliated showjumping and pony club, his rider moved onto boys, he stood in a field for 6 years, before coming to us, aged 12. Again we don't really know how we ended up with him, but he's amazing!

I re-started him gently, getting him lungeing and walking out in hand, he was shod on front, we soon got rid of those he was 99% sound in the field, a bit unhappy on concrete and footy on stones, now he's 100% on fields and concrete, and a little footy on stones, so he has boots for his front feet to hack in.

He took to riding again like a duck to water. He has never put a hoof wrong. First in the school, and now out on hacks, his strength is building up gradually and he'll make a fantastic horse someday. My nervous novice mum has ridden him and been fine, he just plods along following Ebony. Not what we'd expected for our first ever 'flighty' tb!!

the day he arrived


first ever ride


and even my sister has had a go!


I need to get some more recent ridden pics!!

Then Sparky went on loan in the middle of December. We advertised him expecting nothing, but had lots of interest! We've found a lovely lady who is fairly nearby and he's now a companion to a lovely cob. They have very strong fencing that he won't get under, and lots of rough grass, the perfect stuff for him He's happy as anything there apparantly

settled into his new field.


and that concludes my year in pictures!!! Sorry its so long!!!!!

Have had a year of ups and downs, but in all, a great year! Ebony's improved no end, in her schooling and general riding, Graham is doing well, Deej is a sweetie, and life is good

Loads more has happened this year, but I won't bore you with it all!!

So now I end the year, with three horses, just as we begun it! But the grey is a different horse entirely... and there have been many more come and go

Not a bad year in all! despite the vet having to come for sparky's leg, Ebony getting choke and Graham and his mysterious symptoms

Roll on 2008!

[Emily+Meg]

gorgeous pics and looks like a very succesful year. I like graham a lot!

[Lorraine L]

Those are wonderful photos and its great to see all the improvements over the year, well done. I have seen the 'falling off ' photo before but i am sorry to say, it makes me laugh every time ... poor girl, i am glad she is ok. It is very unusual to see the actually " Oh S**t " expression on film. Its an expression that i have worn many times ! lol
Keep up the good work and i look forward to seeing next years diary.

[danielle]

Awww that was great enjoyed that! Have you hacked Graham out yet? What are your plans for him for 08 then?

[maxim]

Lovely story and pics!

[Casper]

What a great thread Beckie. And could I have Ebony please LOL?

Your school looks fantastic, and lucky you having them all at home. Hope you have a really great New Year xx

[kpick]

Beckie, I can't begin to explain how kind and good willed you are to help horses in such cases as Milton. He was one very lucky boy the day he met you I tell you. I hope you keep up the hard work with your horses because you are doing a fantastic job, and hope everything you work for happens.
Xx

[horsey123]

great story and lovely piccies

[beckie]

Thanks everyone casper, of course you can have Ebony! she's a right moo bag sometimes!! lol, I wouldn't swap her for the world!!

Danielle - yes, have been hacking Graham for about 3/4 weeks now, on his own and with Ebony at walk and trot. He's been good as gold and hasn't put a foot wrong! Has taken my mum out on a hack and also my two nervous/novicey friends (Ellen, above on Berri, who is fine, but nervous on anything bigger than berri - who's 14.1. And meg, who isn't a rider really)
Plans for next year with G? well, get him fully fit and healthy and happy, get his feet better and get him stronger barefoot, get him working in the school nicely and hacking out even better than he already is get him cantering and working properly. Maybe do some jumping when he's fit enough and work towards competing him (who knows??) and maybe doing some showjumping at unaffiliated level? I don't know, I'll take whatever comes, just as long as I enjoy him and he's enjoying it

Thanks kpick, really we didn't do much, there was no way we could leave him there, we knew what would happen to him and we couldn't let it happen. We had to buy him, we lost a fair amount of money on buying him and keeping him fed for those five weeks, and lost all our winter grass!! But I'm so glad we did it, he brought a lot to us, especially interesting as he was my first 'big' horse that reared (only when coming out of the field due to pain in his feet) but he wasn't scary at all (not like little posie!) and loading him was definately an experience! But I love him and it was a pleasure to own him for as little a time as we did. He was so gentle, I will always remember the picture in my head of my small friend (who is nine) leading him out of the field and down to the school so we could assess his lameness - and this is the horse who rears when coming out of the field and the experienced horse dealer was scared of

Thanks again everyone Hope all your years have been as good as mine

[sarahfox]

Lovely !!

[wozzer]

If Caspar's having Ebony, please may I have Graham? LOL! xx