After the brilliant Supreme Products makeover day with Team Hollings I
started to use the Supreme Products Mane & Tail Builder from the Heritage Collection
on Quest’s rubbed out mane and he is enjoying the massage down his mane every
few days! To be honest I am also enjoying it too as it smells really nice and
is starting to work already.
Since the visit to Team Hollings, I have been thinning
out Quest’s mane a little at a time. I was advised to do this by Stacey as Quest
has such a thick mane I need to thin it in small amounts each time. Stacey took a lot out on the day, so it is just a case of
keeping an eye on it. Hopefully I am
doing it correctly as I don’t want to make it too thin and I have to be
careful that the frustrated hair dresser in me doesn’t strike again!
It is most definitely an art form and one that I need to
master before the showing season gets underway.
We have been suffering like everyone else with the
adverse weather conditions of late, the ice and snow have been that bad that my
usual 15 minute trip to the yard was taking in the region of 35 minutes. I even
had to dig my car out on the Saturday as it was a good eight or nine inches
deep with snow, not to mention the snowplough that had gone through the
village and pushed all the snow against the cars!
 |
| Quest in the snow |
At the yard, the ice on the farm track leading to the
other stable block and sand paddock from where my stables are was so icy I
dared not risk either of my ponies slipping and injuring themselves when
walking to the sand paddock so I have been working Quest in-hand in the field
next to the stables.
It was not an ideal situation but needs must so we have
been working on our in-hand development, standing correctly when in front of
the judge, long-reining and working on the lunge with roller and side reins,
ready for backing in the next few weeks.
I had planned to sit on Quest and to have walked him off
the lunge by now but if I am honest I didn’t want to hit the deck in the big
freeze that we have had as the sand was as hard as concrete and I don’t bounce
like I used to.
My plan now is to work him every day. When I am at University
he will be working in the morning before I go to my classes and on my days off
I will be able to spend more time with him and hopefully have him under saddle
and walking solo with rider by the end of February! Fingers crossed that the
weather improves!
Apart from that
this month has been the usual round of hospital appointments as my son badly
broke his leg at the start of December and he has just had the cast removed
after being in it for the past 10 weeks, so now we start the physio stage,
although he is wanting to get back in the saddle now that the cast is off!
My youngest and I are planning our showing seasons. My
daughter will be doing her first ever season ridden as she now has a pony that
will do the things that she wants to do.
We have been looking at her joining the local Riding Club
so she can do dressage and showing with her pony, and she may do a few other
shows as well as a few clinics to improve her skills.
As for me, well I have sent Quest’s passport off to be
over stamped with Chaps and have become a member.
I hope to get him graded with CHAPS in April as a
stallion, he is already a licensed stallion with the WPCS. I have also booked
my transport for Cheshire County Show, I just have to decide which classes to
do with him now and have been looking at doing the spring LWPCS show which is a
bronze medal event.
As yet I am still undecided as to which shows to do and
where, not having my own transport is an issue, but I have always managed
to get round that with hacking to local shows, walking Quest out in hand along
the roads means when backed we will have no issue hacking out or troubles with traffic.
So the biggest issue I have had this month is deciding
who I should apply for membership with and what shows to do!
Will write soon Kerry.
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