I love this time of year. Spring is sending out new shoots of growth and the prospect of longer, warmer days to enjoy. At this point of the year it all stretches gloriously ahead into the far distance; the memory of wintry unpleasantness all too fresh in our minds and making the promise of the next few months even more delicious. Everyone feels like this, of course; it's the natural order of things, but it all has a particular piquancy for horse owners, and more so after the sort of winter we've just had, where record numbers of otherwise dedicated horsey folks have been questioning why the hell it is that they do what they do and whether it is all worth it. Undoubtedly, it is but I'm as glad as anyone to be emerging from the other side.
Yesterday, the last day before the clocks went forward, was very busy once again. Pheel came on Friday to roll and harrow the fields, which was nice. The restorative qualities of a good roll and harrow are not to be underestimated. By the time I got home on Friday evening it was a bit too dark to see much so the first order of business was to walk out around the paddocks to inspect developments. I also fenced off a bit of the spring paddock for the girls who were positively gleeful, kicking up their heels for about twenty seconds before settling down to the important business of grazing.
Pheel came back yesterday to fertilise the summer paddocks but we've decided to wait a bit until the winter ones are done as I didn't want to keep the horses in. Glad of that now as today is positively glorious and it would have been criminal to have to keep them stabled. Also, it seems that T does better ambling about outside than being confined so has been out grazing with his posse of goatie girlies all day, emanating that peaceful enjoyment and oneness with all things that horses do so well. We're taking him to the vet clinic on Tuesday for a work up to see if we can determine what is wrong. Depending on what happens he will then go to stud to learn to be collected in early April, the plan being that we can then get a chilled semen sample in time for Alfama's foal heat. Q can then go a bit later on with the same hope that we can time a good sample for Xacra's foal heat.
Q and I had lessons with Mandy both days this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed them. One of the exercises I particularly enjoyed was to go from E in travers, through to A on a half circle while maintaining the travers, then back on a short diagonal to E maintaining the travers and then at E renvers for a few steps, straighten and collected trot. The challenge was through the half circle to get the stretch and bend while keeping the lateral aspect. There was an interesting moment today where we heard a lot of noise, shouting and fast trotting emanating from two sets of our travelling friends thrashing their trotting ponies down the road at one hell of a whack. The girls took off, all the neighbour's horses took off, and I sat there on Q, feeling his heart beating very fast between my calves, thinking "hmmm". Bless him, he stood stock still throughout as they came into view momentarily and went thundering past the front gate, then carried on as normal. He is the world's most excellent stallion.
We celebrated Earth Hour last night with candles and a fish curry, followed by the best cheesecake I have ever tasted, courtesy of Knickers. It was a marvel to behold and ambrosia for the taste buds. Marvellous.
The CCTV installation in the foaling boxes is on hold as Sid is feeling rancid, so hopefully Alfama will keep her hind legs crossed for a while longer until that can be finished.
There's been such a sense of peace and contentment about the homestead today; the sun is shining and there are creatures everywhere. The new chickens have settled in and we've installed them in a new pen on the yard. Most of them stay put while the self-styled three amigos eschew the electric fence and escape daily to conduct their preferred hours and hours of free ranging about the establishment, scratting here, terrorising a puppy there, taking a dirt bath where they fancy. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them wearing bandannas and pootling about the yard on mini Harleys.
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