June

*****NOTE -  THERE IS A DEAD TURKEY IN THIS POST!!!!! IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH OR DON'T LIKE LOOKING AT DEAD THINGS I'LL GIVE YOU A HEADS UP RIGHT BEFORE YOU GET TO IT - HAD TO INCLUDE IT, PART OF OUR JUNE ADVENTURE*****


June was a month full of horses coming and going, for tune up's and for week long stints with Pam. Our barn was full to the brim one evening we had to have a mare sleep in the indoor for the night because we didn't have a stable for her!! I continued working daily with Pam and jumping on the side -  I was loving it, even though I was nearing exhaustion most days (and still am!!) I loved testing my adaptability, going from half passing to related distances. This was the month that I was tested to the max with a mare's! I am more of a gelding and stallion lover but in the end the three mares I had ended up going like dreams! It was definitely a month that echoed Pam's phrase of that you RIDE the horse you have today, not dwelling on how good or bad they went the previous day. You ride EVERY stride of the horse that is in front of you, regardless of what you have been told by other people too, of how they 'normally are '

Our very attractive human fly mask - saves you getting eaten alive by the bugs when you are handgrazing the horses that can't turn out

Lovely flowers I pass on my awful running route

An unusual affectionate moment with Medea

Medea, was one of the mares that I was riding throughout the month, the other two were Reagan (who you met last post) and Tess who you will meet in more detail in the next post! Medea was a test for me at first, an alpha mare that does not like being asked things, so as a rider you have to make her think she is doing it herself rather then being asked by you. Spurs and whip for the first few days were a no no, which meant TONS OF FUN!!! By the end of the month, her hind end straightened up. She was much more stronger and able to do her up and downward transitions without launching or falling out behind. And her owner Diane is doing a great job with her since she left Foster Meadows!

Tough work out in the grass with Medea

Next up is my adventure to Windswept Farm! My great friend Kelly Pullen's barn is home to an array of great horses and people and the disciplines at the barn vary from happy hackers to PSG dressage horses. Kelly asked me to be involved in a project of a sale horse which involved jumping, this project is Tess - more to follow in the next post but so far this mare has come on amazingly! The first day I rode her, she tested the waters but I am LOVING her! Windswept is a great facility and I have met some great people since working on Tess. And due to the barn being full and things working out great Pam moved Peanut over there for a few weeks, which left us with a stable to take on another horse and gives Peanut a great experience in leaving his nest at Foster Meadows, as everyday there is something different for him to look/spook/ride passed at Windswept. Here is the link to  Windswept - have a look! More pics of Tess and Peanut at Windswept to follow next month!


http://www.windsweptfarmnh.com/WindsweptFarmnh.com/Welcome.html


Kelly and I

Peanut enjoying his new temporary home

Guard cat

Fitting right in!



Under the lights on the dancefloor on a night out!


The newest member of the family Misha is still alive!! No coyotes/bobcats/cars have gotten her just yet! Alas  she is slow on the uptake of the whole, killing mice in the hayloft business - baby steps

Best buds



Not really seeing eye to eye



Our weekend car! Actually belongs to our lovely client Kelly - she is also the owner of Phillip the Morgan who ye will meet in the next post!



My wonderful co-work Clara Maynard

Our wonderful lake (not personally owned!) is where we go to swim and relax when it has been a hectic and HOT day (sorry - not trying to rub it in at home but 30 plus degrees warrants cooling down especially when you are in jodphurs for part of the day!!) 

By our lake



By the bluebells

Once again the famous and brilliant Potasky's came to our farm for a visit and to ensure that we were eating right! A mighty spread was put out Kris and Todd outdo themselves everytime they visit and are simply the best adopted family I have here, especially when I don't get to see my family that live in Boston that much!! 

Myself and Pippa Potasky

Strawberry shortcake - calorie free obviously!

Flowers in bloom



After work activity by the lake!



Misha and I chilling

Quiet night in with our friends Ben and Jerry

******COMING UP TO THE DEAD TURKEY!!!!!!******

Heading to our local farm supplies store - The Barn Store, we stumbled across a turkey that was being brought in to be weight and purchased by the store. It was a MASSIVE fecker! Turkeys are everywhere here in NH, we have a family of 5 that float around the farm and that chase the dogs occasionally.

Early Xmas dinner

Maaaaaaa-rian and Dustin the dead turkey

A nice find

Ginger's anti-tick fat burning ensemble

So, the entire month of May and June we had a tick problem - given that the winter was apparently so mild while we were in Florida, alot of the flora, fauna and nasty stuff like ticks survived and thrived. The dogs, horses, and humans were the worst effected. You couldn't walk five yards and you would have one in your hair, neck, even legs although you  would be wearing jeans. So I came up with this 'ingenius' device that served more then one purpose for the canine in question.... GINGER!! Since she is a Corgi, and low to the ground she was a nightmare for us but a dream come true for ticks, not wanting her to get an infection or Lime's disease we kept a close eye on her. So a fly bonnet, a polo wrap and a dish cloth made this off the run way get-up. But this outfit kept ticks off her and slowly burned fat cells (which she has alot of) giving her a hourglass figure in no time! (This was scientifically proven - obviously!)

Dress up - but PRACTICAL!!

Another day another fat burning anti-tick outfit!

Peanut - not impressed with the colour bonnet he was made wear!

Kipling - hogging the bed!!

This is Chance, he came to Pam's for a tune up and is a solid guy! At first I didn't know or understand why the rest of the barn were so taken with the fact that Chance was a PMU baby and a rescue, only after questioning them as to what a PMU was ( I thought was a breed or something!) I was horrified to learn what a PMU was. This link is the most objective site that gives answers that I have found, you should have a read it is very interesting - and to the women out there that are thinking about taking the menopausal drug, this can be a help when you are researching it!!

 http://www.greenhorn-horse-facts.com/pmuhorses.html


HAD to include this pic - nearly got sick when I saw these in Nordstrom and even sicker when I saw the price of them! Don't think the equestrian world is ready for them just yet!! 

Lastly a huge congrats to all the Irish competitors who did brilliantly at the Pony Europeans in Fontainebleau in France, and fingers and toes crossed for all the Irish heading to London.


Until next time! I am off to my first Connemara show this weekend in Vermont, fingers crossed it goes well! And after that venture I am on a plane back home for a quick visit - I CANNOT WAIT!! Real milk and chocolate!

PEACE LOVE AND HOOFOIL!! 

May

May flew in, and finally the weather started to feel like it did in Florida (those first 3 weeks in New Hampshire which really was just like 'normal Irish' weather nearly killed me!!) May was my favourite month so far from a work point of view as I got to get back in the jumping saddle! (Ended up jumping in the older dressage saddle we use, but I have since found a general purpose one that does the trick!) 

Herself with Reagan

Meet Reagan - a 6 year old mare, with not a whole lot done, and was coming in from a long winter off,came to Pam's for some fine tuning in dressage, with the hopes of being sold. However as it turned out, jumping and entering the hunter-jumper world was more what this mare was cut out for, as confirmation wise - she was more of a jumper then a dressage horse. With the basic flatwork constantly being worked on, Reagan got jumped for the first time. The video will follow - one of the first days we jumped and Reagan was still figuring out weather she liked all this picking up her feet business, so you'll hear Pam shouting! Even with never having jumped before this mare showed so much potential and caught up pretty fast, she really started to love her new job as a jumping horse - and didn't mind just doing flatwork some days - added bonus!  I loved riding her as it was a change of pace and was a great test for me and my riding. Going from shoulder-in, passage and collected canter, to up out of the seat, dog legs and jumping over bales of shavings. A great way for me to keep testing out my adapt-a-bility!! Reagan has since gone on to a jumping barn where she is excelling and loving every minute of it, and I am still jumping! More on that in the next post!!! 

Reagan chilling in the roundpen

The strangest of sights - jumps in the dressage arena

A random adventure we took one evening after work was to a local dairy farm. We were given a private tour of the farm - compliments of Jill Dumont a fantastic co-worker at Foster Meadow's! 

Ali making friends

The little babies in their igloo! 

Me attempting to make friends

A sleepy Ginger on one of the first hot days in May! 

Cody chilling in the flowerbed - as you do

After much deliberation it was decided that the sheep was going to be taped onto my hat and taken for a spin on the wonderful Peanut ( a regular on the blog, a danish trakenher - one of the fastest movers and spookers I have EVER been on, you can never rest or try take a break on this one - as Pam says they are quick. Peanut is nothing short of a master when it comes to working your core and perfecting your seat, trot work, passage, half passes you name it - once you think you've got it he'll test you out time and time again!!) Hope you enjoy the little snippet of Maaaaaaa-rian cam, she had to dismount shortly after due to motion sickness. I am sorry if the quality isn't great - working off an iPhone but I hope you can see it!! 

MAAAAAA-RIAN CAM

Another visitor to the farm for some fine tuning were the lovely Kat and Paulis, you have to check out what this duo does - AMAZING! From doing quadrille's in the past with the Connemaras, I can appreciate how much time and effort goes into a performance but the detail and the costumes of this team is mind blowing! Here is her facebook page to have a look at them all dressed up! 


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katherine-Dow/337236029663344 


Personally speaking I am not the biggest fan of Frisians, but Paulis can move and is saint like to deal with.

Meet Paulis, Maaaaa-rian favourite type of horse, a Frisian

An unbelievable find on top of the horse box, which we relocated to the bluebells

A chick I befriended at the feed store

On our way for a (rare) night out!! 

The newest corgi at the farm - Kipling

A TREASURE found in the hayloft

A view from of some of the farm on a glorious day

Another not so successful episode of Maaaaaa-rian came was recorded on Dancer, but due to technical difficulties and the sheep falling off in the long grass -  production had to come to a halt!

What was supposed to be a 'safe' place for herself to sit!! 

Dancer and Maaaaaa-rian - who came to Foster Meadow's to learn how to do one tempi changes

Taking a Saturday stroll through the long grass in  the hay field 

Knee deep in grass with herself! 

Another day brought another adventure - this time it was to celebrate Sarah-Jane's birthday. We hit Manchester, another city - with more of a student vibe to it then Concord!! Cocktails, dancing and banter with the Foster Meadow crew was had, and then back to work for 6.30am the next morning!! 

Herself and her cocktails

Me and the birthday girl

Myself and herself on the way out

So that's a wrap for May, I am working on June at the moment and fingers crossed it''ll be up by the end of the weekend  then I'll be on the ball and we can continue with July, which is proving to be a HECTIC month!! 

PEACE, LOVE AND HOOFOIL!!