Horse Weekend Fun

We recently had another lovely Horse Weekend.

One of our regular visitors Bryony came with her friend and also a group of four young ladies came to stay with us and have fun in the stables. We were all pleased that the weather was good as it is always nice for us and the guests to get out in the sunshine.

Bryony and her friend, with some of our lovely volunteers too

Our guests all helped to feed us and muck out our stables, Tana was very good at pushing the wheelbarrow. On Saturday I had a bath which was lovely, its certainly helping my winter coat to come out. On Sunday Teddy and Henry had a good time practising a dressage test with two of our guests. Teddy was made to look especially smart with some plaits and ribbons in his mane.

Teddy showing off his plaits and ribbons

He did perform his dressage test wearing these, but one fell out during the test so Kerri used it as a cheerleading ribbon!

Kerri Cheerleading! 'Go Teddy Go, rah rah rah!'

Some of the guests also had fun with Hendrix and his carriage; as the weather was good they all had a carriage drive outside along the track. Hendrix told me he had worked really hard, but then he always thinks he has worked hard! In my opinion he doesn’t do any more than any of the other horses and ponies. 

I did some agility with Bryony on Sunday too which is always fun, I love to show of my skills to people.  At the end of the day our visitors went home tired but happy with their rosettes and certificates. A job well done once again by all the Calvert Equines!

New Wheels on our Wagon!

The four wheeled carriage needed some new rubber on the wheels this week.  The wheels had to be taken off the carriage by one of my favourite activity instructors - Oli. 

Then the wheels were taken a long way away to somewhere called 'Colyton', which I heard Nicky said took her a long time to get to, although its still in Devon. Devon must be a very big place I think!

I have never been that far, I don’t think I would like to travel a long way as I love living here. There is a man in Colyton called Greg who is a wheelwright and he did all of the hard work to put new rubber tyres on all four wheels. 

Removing the old tyre

Duchess is going to be pulling the carriage at the Devon County Show; Teddy said Calvert Trust Exmoor is their official charity for 2015, so Duchess and the stables team get to do some demonstration runs in the Lady Clinton Arena. I hope I get to go too, I don't want Duchess to have all of the fun!

Putting the new tyre on the wheel

Nicky also saw some very interesting things in Greg's workshop, and she showed me the photos. I particularly like the gun carriage; beautiful workmanship, although I think it would be a little heavy for me to pull!

The gun carriage

The carriage wheels now look as good as new, Oli has been working hard to put them back on the carriage so that Duchess can pull it again.

Richard has also been doing some touching up of the paint work so that the carriage looks lovely. 

I even saw Rob from the office measuring the carriage and he said he was going to get some big stickers made up with the Calvert Trust Exmoor logo on them, so I think by the day of the Devon County Show the carriage is going to look fantastic!

I'm sure Duchess will be very proud to show off her stylish new carriage in the arena, I hope she doesn't show off too much!

Night Time during the day?!?

All of us horses heard the stables staff talking about this thing called "the eclipse" that was due to take place on Friday the 20th. I asked Teddy what this was and he explained that he remembers back when he was younger an eclipse taking place. He said it’s when the moon passes the sun in the day time and it all goes dark. Usually when it’s dark I go to sleep so I was a little confused about it all!

On the Friday morning we all got up as usual but then Monique from activities came and took me to show me how to look at the eclipse safely. Apparently it's very dangerous to look directly at it, but they had an idea so we could watch it. I felt very honoured to do this as the rest of my friends had to stay in their stables.

Eclipse watching

Monique had two bits of paper and one of them had a hole in it.  I tried to eat them but Monique said I wasn’t allowed!  Anyway the reflection of the eclipse came through the hole onto the other bit of paper.

It got a bit darker than normal and also the birds stopped singing for a few minutes.  The reflection of the eclipse on the bit of paper looked like a moon shape to me and not very exciting but all the humans were quite interested in it.


I have never understood some of the things that humans get excited about, they ought to try some of the things that horses do to amuse themselves like chasing each other and eating grass!

Duchess competing again

Duchess has had an exciting weekend, she was taken for a trip out in the horse trailer. She went to Mullacott Event Centre with Nicky to do two dressage classes.

Now as you all know Duchess is quite a sensible girl, and nothing really fazes her. However she thought the idea of being away from home with lots of horses she didn’t know was very exciting! She did confide in me that she slightly forgot her manners for a few minutes when she first got there!

She was a good girl though and managed to come home with a couple of rosettes.  This was her second competition in the last two weeks and she says she has heard on the horse vine that she might get to go to Devon County Show with her carriage.

Teddy says he thinks that these competitions must be to get plenty of practice before going to a big show like that. I will of course keep you informed of what happens; that is my job after all!

The staff here at Calvert Trust Exmoor seem to be quite proud of Duchess's achievements, they have even put up a display board in the restaurant!

Lots of space for more rosettes, and a great photo of me too!

Silly Teddy!

Teddy has had a visit from the vet this week.  Now Teddy is very clever as you all know but he managed to head butt the wall in his stable the other day! Silly Teddy we all thought. 

Teddy is a little embarrassed and refuses to discuss this with anyone. The vet had to come out to see him and Teddy looks like a boxer!  He has had some stitches above his eye and now seems to be constantly frowning at us all. Nicky says it is just swelling which will go down and soon Teddy will look like his normal again. 

Teddy showing off his stitches

Teddy is a bit cross because he has to stay in now for a week or so.  He can’t go out in the field until his cut has all healed up and the stitches are taken out.  He has been out each day though for a walk and had some grass. The vet is coming back soon to check on Teddy and take out the stitches so hopefully then Teddy will be back to his happy self again!

Sunny Ride and Lead

On one of the recent sunny days the stables staff took a group of horses out for a lovely ride.  I heard afterwards from the horses that they all had a great time going through the woods and along the road.

Richard and Nicky both took two horses each; I've mentioned before this thing called 'ride and lead', which means one horse gets ridden and the other goes along beside it.

Ride and Lead

Some of the horses here are good friends with each other so they like going out like this together. Hendrix and Bertie went together and so did Duchess and Jack. I would like to have a go at this one day but I am not sure I would be able to keep up with any of the others!

My Spring Bath!

Hi everyone, I have lots to tell you all. 

Last week we had a couple of really lovely warm sunny days.  Me and all the other horses and ponies thought spring might finally be arriving, but the warm weather tricked us and only lasted a few days.  We all thought it was time to begin losing our winter coats and have begun moulting!

I had a lovely bath one day which has helped me to feel good.  There is nothing like being clean and shiny, although I wouldn't want to have a shower every day like humans do. 

After my bath!

Mind you, humans don’t need to have natural oils in their coat to help to keep them warm like us horses do. Anyway, I am feeling great and also looking pretty fabulous if I do say so myself!

... if I do say so myself!

Guest Blogger Duchess 2: A Very Exciting Day

Pilgrim: Last Sunday something really exciting happened to Duchess and Henry!  I have asked Duchess to explain, so over to her Ladyship...

Duchess: Hello everyone I have been asked to tell you about the great time Henry and I had on Sunday.  We were both groomed really well on Saturday and the arena had been levelled and watered so we had a slight inkling that something exciting might be going on. Then on Sunday morning Nicky arrived really early with her friend Emily, and they fed Henry and myself and groomed us AGAIN! Something was definitely going to happen.

Over the past few weeks Nicky had been practising riding me and Henry, and we were about to find out why.  Henry had plaits put into his mane and I had my feathery legs and lovely long mane and tail brushed out.  Suddenly outside the stables we heard hoof beats which we didn't recognise, how exciting!

Nicky tacked Henry up and took him outside, he was gone for about half an hour and when he came back he said with  a slightly surprised voice that he had just done his first ever dressage test in front of a judge! Now I also have never done dressage before but I am happy to try anything new so when my tack was put on I was quite excited.

Nicky got on me and we went to the outdoor arena to warm up.  We practised my paces and standing really still.  There were some other horses also warming up who were strangers and some of them were behaving as though they were a bit excited and showing off!

I just got on with my work in the usual way as I always like to try to do my best for whoever is riding me. Soon it was my turn to go and perform for the judge. In we went and after the judge rang the bell I was off, showing my lovely paces and behaving myself beautifully as usual.

Showing my lovely paces

It was all over quite quickly but I did get a big round of applause when I did my final halt and Nicky saluted to the judge.  I returned to my stable feeling very happy that we had performed well.  I had a word with Henry about his test and he was a little overexcited about the whole thing. He said he had also met some strangers in the warm up and had wanted to go and say hello and bounce around with them but Nicky had just asked him to concentrate on the job in hand!  Henry is quite young and not quite as sensible or experienced as me; Nicky said he was a little bit like a teenager at their first disco!

My Final Halt

Nicky soon came back into the stables and she had two rosettes in her hand and a little trophy!  I was amazed to have won my class and Henry was very excited to have been placed second!  Of course he now thinks he knows it all and will be able to compete at the next Olympics!

My Rosette and Trophy

I have explained that we only did an introductory test which is for horses who haven’t done dressage before but he has been telling Bertie and Jack how fabulous he is.  We need to bring him back down to earth! When we go out into the field tonight I shall gently remind him that I am the girl in charge.

Henry's Rosette

2015's First Horse Weekend

We have just had our first Horse Weekend of the year, we horses had a great time with all the visitors. Our guests had loads of fun with us horses and ponies and learnt lots of new skills.

They all had their own horse to look after and ride for the whole weekend, they got to muck out their horses’ stable and help to feed and groom them each day. They also helped to bring their horses in from the field first thing in the morning and put them back out each evening for a rest.

On the first day they all had a lesson and went out for a ride on the tracks.  Luckily the weather was quite good but everyone needed to wrap up warm.  Regular tea breaks were definitely needed to help to keep everyone warm and happy!

On the second day all the guests had another lesson and had a go at drill riding, which means that all the riders have to keep in line with everyone else.  In the afternoon there was a chance to show off all the skills they had been practising by riding their horse around an obstacle course. 

Everyone did really well at that. Henry who rode Brin all weekend had a bit of trouble with his riding boots; he couldn't work out which foot they should go on!  This meant it was really difficult to get them off when he had finished riding and it took four people to help him!

I am glad that doesn't happen with my shoes.  The farrier always knows which feet to put them on and he is also really good at taking them off, but he has had a lot of practice!