Here are some of my tips for staying warm at the yard!

Wear Ski Pants instead of waterproofs/over trousers – for the last couple of years I’ve been using ski pants (or salapettes) instead of a thin and not very warm pair of waterproofs or expensive riding over trousers. I never really liked full chaps because they still let your bum get wet! Yesterday I went into TK Maxx (Halifax store) and treated myself to two new pairs of Ski Pants – £30 each. Both waterproof, both snuggly warm, and then I wore one pair to the yard with only my knick nacks underneath – toasty! Make sure you buy waterproof ones and check that there are no zips on the inside of the legs. I’ve never needed half chaps underneath to avoid rubbing, and when it gets really cold you can layer up underneath too. Great for all things horsey, just don’t get white!

Get a Choob – again in TK Maxx (deadly place) I found this thing called a Choob. You can wear it on your head or around your neck. Much safer than a scarf because there are no flappy ends to get caught, and less bulky but still warm. Of course, I bought a hi viz one, but I’m sure it comes in other colours. You can also get similar things in fleece but these tend to be a bit bulkier.

Cover your ears – Ok. Big woolly hats are not the worlds sexiest items of clothing. But they do have their benefits. People lose a lot of their body heat through the head, so it’s important to keep this part of your body warm. Making sure your ears are covered too makes a big difference to how warm you feel.

Invest in a good jacket – I confess to using ski wear here too on occaision; I hated skiing, so the jacket needs to get used somewhere! TK Maxx will probably do well out of this, but they have a great range of ski jackets too. I also have a fantastic riding jacket – it’s a Shires Calgary, in hi viz of course. I love it, and it quickly became one of my Must-Haves last year. It’s seriously warm without being overly bulky, and there is a good mix of reflective and fluorescent material which means I don’t need to put a tabard on over the top. When buying a jacket, make sure you check that it is WATERPROOF, rather than water resistant. Also make sure it gives you enough room to move; I find that I don’t need the vents in the back of my jacket, but I do need the room across my shoulders. It’s worth ensuring that the sleeves will overlap your gloves, and that you can fit several layers on underneath.

Layer up – lots of thin layers are better than one thick layer, because they trap more air which means greater insulation. Look in the supermarkets for cheap long sleeved tops and thin fleeces. It’s also great to be able to whip (no pun intended!) a layer off if you find yourself getting too warm. Body warmers/gilets can be great here too. You can use tights instead of thermals, but remember that thermals are designed for the job.

Gloves - Again, thin layers can be better than thick. My all time favourite gloves are the Roeckl Chester gloves, and I have the lined winter ones too. Generally they do just fine – but they aren’t waterproof and if it’s really cold, I’m better off putting my hands in my pockets! [I don't recommend that on a skittish horse] I have a pair of SealSkinz, which I love too. They’re quite bulky (and for a cheaper alternative look to ski gloves) but great for yard work and I can ride in them easily. You may find it beneficial to get a thinner pair of reins for winter riding so you don’t end up with too much bulk in your hands. Test the grip on any pair of gloves you think about buying – you don’t want to find that you have no grip on the reins!

Hand Warmers – worth having a pair of these in your coat pocket. I believe Tesco sell them now, but most saddleries do too. You’re probably looking at about £5 for a pair, but they are multi-use and instant heat. Bliss.

Get a kettle – this might sound silly, and obvious, but keep a kettle on the yard, with tea/coffee/squash/hot chocolate as appropriate. Not only will it allow you to warm yourself from the inside out, but you can hold the mug and warm your hands too. If you don’t have a power supply – a flask will stand you in good stead so invest in a decent one.

Socksies – Similar to wearing lots of thin layers, a couple of pairs of thin socks (and room in your boots!) is better than thick socks and your feet feeling a bit squashed. I like to wear some thin Tesco-special cotton socks, and a pair of ski tubes/long riding socks over the top.

Emergency kit! - Being cold, wet, hungry and probably needing to pee as a result, is thoroughly miserable. I like to keep a full change of clothes and footwear in the car along with a towel just incase I do get drenched. A torch (thus reducing the likelihood of going bum over bust into the mud) and some spare gloves and a hat never go amiss either. Possibly the most important thing in my kit – a bar of chocolate. Yummy.

Sorry I’ve been MIA peeps – more on that later.

This week’s poll of the week - how often do you get to ride your main riding horse now that the dark nights and manky weather have fully set in?

I was good last week and managed to get out three times! I’m aiming for four times a week – I’m quite lucky in that my University time table is mostly half days which means I get some daylight at the yard every day of the week.

Good evening to you all bloggers, Jenny blogging tonight.

Well today we discovered that the lane at the bottom of the driveway of our stables this morning has in fact become even more flooded and deeper than it was on the weekend. It’s also moved up the driveway a little bit more which means that the water is getting close to our home, which is not a good thing really. The water is still running though the yards and down the drive and passed our home, but good news is that we now have ten sand bags in front of our front door that hardly any water is getting though. To get into our home we simply open the top part of our front door and in, simple really. Picture below is some of our grazing flooded, and this was on high ground, the bottom two fields are a good 2 foot under water at the lower end of them so no using the bottom fields again this year me thinks.

For the staffs personal wellbeing me and Motoko and told them to wear their 66North waterproof clothing, we normally only ever use for hacking out. Reason is that the 66North clothing is same type as Ocean which is that oil skin type, but its orange and very hi visibility. Unlike our Ocean gear that is Orange and Blue. So all of our staff members now wearing their 66North clothing so they show up on the yard, this means we can see each other though all this flooding and rain. Also Motoko told them to go to their provided cottages and, do a stock take on all of their food and note it down and hand a copy to us so we know how long we can all home out. It’s good news as every one as plenty of supplies for a good whole week, and by then all this flooding should be slowly going. We have a plan to use our canoe and paddle around the flooded lane for supplies from local farm shop which is not as flooded as we are. Also Sam our friend is a flood response operative and she lives on the arm with her partner. So help is a flooded lane away if we really badly need it.

With all this weather no one as you know can enter our leave our stables, so today has been customer free. So that’s not so good, but means that there are no lessons and treks to take and lead. That means there is more time to work on other things.

Also if you are a fan of the band called Muse, you will love this video.

I think it was a really great performance but not as good as their Devon gig which was just fantastic to hear.

Everyone here been really cheerful and up beat about the whole thing and Motoko has been wearing a lifejacket all day over her gear as a joke all day, that made me smile. Also have a painted sign on our yards driveway gate with a cartoon raft with lots of horses on board it. Was my idea, so I was the one to wade in and tie it to the gate, once again I got my hunters flooded. I really must remember to wear my waders next time I do anything like test the depth or put if funny signs.

Here is another RNLI video to continue Motoko’s RNLI support in her last blog.

But that is it for now, I need to see to our fire and then help Motoko with our dinner. You can’t go wrong with bangers and mash!

Jenny and Motoko Carter

Our Online Gaming Playstaion 3 ID

Alright, I feel like this happens to me more than I would think that it should.  Usually when I’m at home I like to put my iTunes on shuffle, it’s really the only way to find things that I haven’t listened to in a while.  So, The Sleepy Jackson came up and got me wondering what the Perth, Australia group had been up to.  Well, if I would have been paying attention, I would have noticed that Sleepy Jackson frontman Luke Steele is 1/2 of the Empire Of The Sun duo, Nick Littlemore being the other.  After re-listening to the album it’s completely obvious… Nick Littlemore is also a member of Pnau and Teenager, Teenager consists of Nick and Pip Brown (aka Ladyhawke)..  Below are a couple of tracks from The Sleepy Jackson’s 2006 release One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird and a weird ass video for Teenager’s track titled “Pony” off of their recent release Thirteen.

The Sleepy Jackson – Devil Was in my Yard

The Sleepy Jackson – Don’t Say

This weeks worthy winner of Pony of the week is Katy!! http://www.ponymatters.com/weekpony.php

"Katy" This weeks "Pony of the week"

Yesterday I went to look at buying  a racehorse. Well actually, I went along for the ride, to watch a friend buy a portion of a race horse (as you do). Having never really been to anything like that before I didn’t really know what to expect. In my mind I thought it would be all hairspray, hunters and tweed – lots of “rah , rah, yaah Daaarling’s” being bantered about. But it wasn’t the case – it was prime-time people watching heaven. I was in my element! I love horses, but I very nearly missed the ones being paraded about looking at a fellow “buyer” who had the most bling I have ever seen on a man or a woman. No digit was left unadorned. Gold and diamond rings on every finger and thumb. A real diamond geezer who no doubt had plenty of pony to invest in a racehorse or two, or three…

The Hackney is a breed of carriage horse or pony that originated in England and is one of the oldest breeds in the horse kingdom. The Hackney pony cannot be over 14.2 hands(58 inches) in height. The high stepper of the show ring, these ponies have extreme action both in front and behind. Judged for brilliance and show ring presence, the Hackney presents a picture of sheer daintiness and perfection being driven to a four-wheeled vehicle called a viceroy. The Hackney is shown only at the trot, but in most cases is judged at two speeds – the park trot and the faster “Show your pony”, but never should sacrifice for speed. Custom demands that the pony be shown with a docked tail and a mane braided close to the neck. At the trot, the pony should snap the knees and hocks and show high, straight, true action. The Harness pony has a full, flowing mane and tail and resembles the Saddlebred Fine Harness horse in conformation and way of going. They have grace and high action but cannot exceed 50 inches in height. Like the Hackney pony, they are shown to a viceroy both ways of the ring at the park trot and the faster “Show your pony”.

Hello bloggers this is Jenny blogging tonight.

Well what a hard, wet and long day it has been for us, our home and sables are located in a natural basin and last nights long hard rain tipped the balance and we got really flooded out last night and this morning. Out ground floor sports a stone flagstone floor and only has two rooms and its all open plan, that’s living room and kitchen / dinner room. We woke up to find that the ground floor was just less than two foot of water and you can guess the rude words that we spoke. At this time of year we always flood but this year has been the worst for a while, but not the worst we have ever had. After five hours of brushing out the water and putting up new sand bags and water we can at last relax a little, but we are some what a little worn out but today’s goings on.

On top of all that in the middle of the night a power transformer blew up and that woke me up and somewhat creped me out a little. It also spooked my new horse Saber, who in turn cut himself open so I had to walk up to the yard in the morning in full Ocean waterproofs and sort him out.

As with all these things it didn’t look as bad as it first seemed and after a short while he looked as good as new. Also today made a Global Herds order, but with all this flooding I am unsure when it will arrive. The yard its self (we lie in our own home o the yards drive way) is cut off by about ¼ of a mile as the lanes are fully under water.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better, and a little more relaxing. Motoko wondered around in a buoyancy aid and wore one of out Ocean waterproof suits that is work uniform today to make the whole thing slightly more cheerful. A good friend sent some funny llama pictures and the good old llama song which also cheered me up.

The Llama Song

Well that is it for now, take care everyone and hope you are well.

Jenny and Motoko Carter

Our Online Gaming Playstaion 3 ID

I just got home from playing Coco Deville….  It was an event for some t-mobile shit…..  So what was in the giftbag????? Not a phone…….it was a mug. WTF?!?!? Awesome.  The crowd was ghetto for Coco……Lots of Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, Fly Boys, and lets not forget a lil’ Ginuwine…..Pony got those girls gettin’ low…….Some chick puked in the back and at the end of the night the manager was walking around with a lost bra…….how does that happen.  People were stoked, singing along n’ shit.  My girl and I came up on some crucial iphone accessories…..

I just joined the Next Music Group Dj pool and they gave me a stack of cd’s to go through….. Looking forward to hearing new tunes and tell u whats what.

Getting ready for a big mansion party saturday night!!!!!

Goodnight Peeps!

It was spotted pony heaven October 6 through the 10th at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. The 2009 International POAC (Pony of the Americas Club) Futurity Show was held on the 7th & 8th, with the 2009 International Sale on the 9th & 10th wrapping up the week. One hundred ninety-seven ponies, from weanlings to proven show horses, were listed in the sale. Some even had winnings and show experience from the recent futurity.

The high selling pony, Judge Roy Bean, brought $6,100. This 2006 chestnut roan gelding, with a blanket to the shoulders with spots, is a son of CR Star Kid out of Starlight Starbright. He had 60 days professional training and had been started in showmanship.

Of the 197 ponies offered, 141 were sold with 6 being out and 50 of them no-saled. The top selling ponies (there were 6) averaged $4,800. The sale average was 72%, with the ponies averaging $1,228. The sluggish economy contributed to the fact that the prices were lower than last year’s.

Technorati Tags: Pony of the Americas, POA, weanlings, horse, equine, gelding, showmanship

Sharing some photos today of Boomerang’s latest trick…well sort of. You may think by the photos that I taught him to lay down (which I do fully intend to to). But in actuality this little photo op happened by accident.

I was working with Boomer in the ring on his leading (while not trying to bite off my arm) when I walked away from him for a few minutes to get something. When I got back I saw that he was about to lay down and roll. Probably not the best idea when he has a saddle on. But rather than freak him out and run at him with flailing arms – yelling get up – I decided to use this opportunity. Instead I approached him slowly (before he rolled onto my saddle is the key here) and offered him a treat. Intrigued Boomer layed there trying to figure out what he was doing to warrant the treat. I gave him a few more rewards then proceeded around to his backside so I could sit on his back. (at which point I yelled to my little sister to get the camera – I never pass up the chance for a good photo). After several minutes (and photos) later I asked him to get up with me on him. I then made a big fuss and gave him another treat.

The goal here was not to teach him that laying down with a saddle on would get him food because I’m sure you can imagine how that will end. The goal was to get him used to having me around while he was in his most vulnerable position and make it a positive experience for him. So that when I do go to officially teach him the cues for laying down he will see it as a positive thing. I also decided to give him a big reward for getting up because I wanted him to know when I ask him get back up there is a reward for that as well. That way just incase our little session prompted him to lay down right again I would have asked him to get up quicker and then rewarded – I really didn’t want him confusing being saddled with laying down.

But – as I suspected – after Boomer got back up he tried a few things to get more treats (offered a few behaviors like giving me a kiss and saying no) but he didn’t think to try laying down again. Which is fine, because I’m not to the point with him where I want him to learn to lay down yet.

Laying down is in Blitz’s and Boomer’s future for sure, Minnow…I’m not so sure. Minnow has a lot more trust issues…and I’m worried laying down will undue a lot of training I have done with him. But perhaps one day we will be able to master this feat. Maybe little brother Boomer can show him that its ok.

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

Nichts, ich hab nur meinen Pony zurückgesteckt! Er ist nämlich zu lang und dann würde ich nichts mehr sehen! Sieht aber ganz hübsch aus, liebes Wunderbärchen, jetzt sehen wir eeendlich mal deine schönen blauen Augen! Im hübschen rot-blau-gestreiften Kleidchen sitzts am Schreibtisch und gestaltet Etiketten. Bruchsicher oder nicht, hauptsache auf der U1 ist es erkennbar… Ist auch gar nicht so einfach, ein Etikett für Bruchwarnungen zu gestalten, vorallem wenn das Cover schwarz ist und die Etikette auch…also doch schwarz auf weiss?

floskel1

Die Zeit ging vorbei und nichts ist getan, floskel1. Aber das Wunderbärchen arbeitet fleissig weiter, als gäbe es kein Morgen. Schliesslich sind wir hier nicht bei floskel3.

Zu tischschsch! macht sich das Wunderbärchen Gedanken darüber, obs bei Beate Uhse wohl auch Latex für Schwangere zu kaufen gibt? floskel1, leider hat in der Runde noch niemand bei BU nachgefragt. floskel5

Yet another HDR from the Pony Farm in Temple, NH

Here is another HDR from the Pony Farm in Temple, NH. I probably should have masked the pony to the right.

On Friday I did something I haven’t done in a really long time…but was long overdue.

It was a surprisingly mild November night, and after finishing all of my barn work and chores I decided to spend some time with Minnow. Armed with a few brushes (and the dachshund bundled in his winter coat) I settled myself into the pile of hay in Minnow’s stall. Minnow munched around me, occasionally giving me and the dachshund kisses (he’s so sweet like that). I scratched his itchy spots, brushed his muddy coat (from all the rain we’ve had) and basically just enjoyed being with him. I sat in his stall for about an hour before dragging myself away.

I’ve always known the importance of just enjoying my horses, not asking for something specific from them, just letting them be horses and observing. Its of huge importance for horses to bond with their owner/rider/special person – and to be undemanding of your horse helps to accomplish this. But, in actuality its always hard to find time to do this. You carve out time to go to the barn – and you want to “do” something. I know the feeling, I’m guilty of this all of the time. But horses don’t feel this same need, and sometimes its better to do nothing.

I think I spent the most time doing nothing with Minnow when I was in college. When he was in his most intense part of training with me I decided to bring him to college with me. Needless to say I think I spent more time at the barn evading school work than anything else. But it brought Minnow and I much closer.

I’d just sit in his stall and watch him eat hay, or I’d lay in the grass with him while he got his fill. I even studied in the pasture while he was just “being a horse”. Most of the time he ignored me, but occasionally he’d wander over and nuzzle my hair, or tug at my boots – signs that he was interested in me and what I was doing in there with him. Getting a horse interested can sometimes be one of the toughest things to accomplish – and for Minnow especially, these steps were huge. He was a pony that was easily terrified of everything – but rather than touching it to see what it was he opted to completely ignore the situation – to the point where when faced with a strange object he would turn his head all the way around so he didn’t even have to look at it. So bringing curiosity out of him was always a major struggle for me. So with each time Minnow CHOSE to touch me, or my books he was becoming more and more curious – curiosity that helped me to get him over his fear of the mounted games equipment, fear of noises, fear of pretty much anything.

So on Friday night as I sat in Minnow’s pile of hay I thought back to those wonderful days we spent together in college and I vowed that I MUST do nothing with my horses more often.

-KD
WWW.PONYPAINTINGS.COM

Here is another HDR from the Pony Farm in Temple, NH. The saturation may be a tad high (the buckets), but I think it works in this photo.

GAY PARIS
Gay Paris sound like “the devil’s silver tongue, brass knuckle pacifism delivered with more gusto than sense, garrotting guitars, howlin’ wolves on heat in the swamp just after thaw, skeleton crews working night shift in a fable and desire hitting a wall”. They hail from Sydney and while they’re down in Melbourne, they’ll be playing some shows. See them with The Balls Revolution, Hands That Break Hands and Killing Independent George. Catch them all at the Tote on Thursday, October 15.

Beat, October 14, 2009

SHARKS, TERRORDACTYLS AND PETS
It’s been a long time between drinks for the Albion, but the club night that brings you the best new indie bands Melbourne has to offer is finally back and ready to party. Pets With Pets will make you grind your way to sonic pleasure; watch as Terrordactyl incite riots while exploding goon bags on stage; you’ll go, like, fully mental during The Sharks, They Bite!, while Cast & Crew will assault your ears with their jazz-trained noise and The Orphans will send you swooning. What’s more, DJ Post-Percy will be playing all the indie hits you’ve been perfecting your dance moves to over the years! Starts 8.30pm at the Evelyn this Friday and entry is $10.

Inpress, July 2, 2008

TERRORDACTYL
Now with new members, Terrordactyl will be playing their first show at The Tote on Thursday March 26 since that fateful night in December when everything fell apart. Also playing, Hands That Break Hands, In Tongues and Zebra’s Can’t Be Tiger’s. Doors at 8.30pm, $7.

Beat, March 25, 2009

PET A POLICE SHIP
It’s not often that you’ll see such a great line-up for such a low price, but this Friday at Pony, you get not one but three awesome Melbourne bands for $8. The worlds have collided and created this amazing show thanks to Albion. Pets With Pets, Ships Piano and Popolice will be setting your nights on fire, with doors at 9.30pm. Then, in the 2am late slot, Sydney’s Chain Gang keep things moving with their tribal punk hollering.

Inpress, March 25, 2009

SHARK SIGHTING
The Sharks, They Bite! are the newest post-punk band to emerge from M-Town. They play Pony this Friday, along with pals Pets With Pets, Quiet The Few and Hoshi In The Clouds. While each band has been busy recording EPs, they’re all set to make a lingering impression on the eyes of the watchful Pony crowd. Starts 9pm. Strick around for DJ Les Fong spinning choons from 1am.

Inpress, May 14, 2008

THE SHARKS, THEY BITE!
You know what’s fucking kickarse? The Sharks. On May 15, The Sharks, They Bite! along with their pals Pets With Pets, Quiet The Few and Hoshi In The Clouds history will unfold. While each band is busy doing their own thing, be it recording split EPs or releasing EPs or even recording EPs, they’re all set to leave a little impression on the eyes of the watchful Pony crowd. Be there or else kick yourself for missing this amazing show.

Beat, May 14, 2008

Welcome to J.Hutchins Photography blog! Here you can see my latest Flickr uploads. As always, comments/critiques/etc are more than welcome. Make sure to view all of my posts LARGE on Flickr!

Artwork by Caroline McCurdy.

Artwork by Caroline McCurdy.

Artwork by Caroline McCurdy.