MoreToLifeThanHorses Blogs

30/7/22 BARN BLOGS /4 Hey again guys! This morning I got up to the yard at 8:45 and went into the sand school where me and two other helpers were tacking up the ponies. Me and the most experienced helper (G) and my friend helper (E) went up onto the yard to clean out D's (a shetland pony) feed buckets, whcih we usually do after the lead rein lessons but since we had half an hour to spare we did them first to get them out the way so after the lead rein we could just turn out ponies and muck stalls. After half an hour we went to get the four ponies doing the lesson ready (untwist their reins and do up their girths). All the kids arrived and got on their ponies, and we started to lead them around and do trots. Then we did races since it's the beginning of the holidays. They went really well and everyone had fun. Then it was an older woman's lesson on Zen, so we had time to let the ponies cool off and go onto the yard again, where we mucked some more stalls. Then we went back t

 27/7/22 BARN BLOGS /3 Hi again everyone! I know its been nearly a month since I lasted updated you guys on my volunteering at the yard, but it's because I've been really busy finishing primary school and starting off summer holidays! This morning (Wednesday 27 July 2022) I got to the yard at 9:20am, to get ready for the Own a Pony morning going on. All the girls doing it turned up and we went onto the yard. I followed up at the back of the group to close the gates. We went up to the bench so they could put their stuff down and get settled. They were assigned stalls to muck in partners before we all went down to get the wheelbarrows and forks. As we went into the stable blocks the other helper took one pair down to the other end of the block to muck out a stall owned by a livery pony, an older grey mare in semi-retirement. Me and the riding instructor went into the last blocks and gave the partners their stalls. I helped them push the barrow over the bump of wood separating the

 1/6/2022 BARN BLOGS /2 Hi everyone! I hope your doing well! Today I was at the barn at 9:30 because there was an Own A Pony morning going on. As a helper, I was there to help. I stood outside the stalls of the girls who were mucking out, before helping them with the horse's water and feed buckets to be cleaned and filled. We went over rules of feeding and then practiced tying up in the correct way. We went up the field and caught in the riding school ponies. I helped the girl lead down Ellie, an older fleabitten grey mare. Ellie is around 25 years old (in horse years) so they are looking for a new riding school ponies so they can retire Ellie. They had a snack on the yard and then brushed and plaited their ponies. When they had done that the helpers tacked up for them and helped them get on. When we got into the sand school they did a walk around for a few minutes before doing a trot around both ways. They then put out the cones and blocks and did some fun races since it is half t

 31/5/22 BARN BLOGS /1 Hi everyone! Today I had a really good riding lesson on Zen, a black Cob cross Fell 14.2hh pony. He started of rather lazy, doing a plodding walk around the sand school. We changed the rein and did a trot to wake him up before doing some no stirrups. We did this to get my lower leg in the correct position - underneath me - instead of bringing back to use it. It felt really strange having my leg so far forward - it felt like I was leaning back in a chair! When I had found the correct spot, we did some rising trot without stirrups (which almost killed my thighs) and then took back my stirrups. It really helped me in canter, when I was cantering Zen around the school and it helped me keep him going with out flapping my legs.We got six canters, all a circuit around the school or on a twenty-metre-circle.  After my lesson I helped on the yard with the livery ponies - I caught a tiny, cute bay mare in from her field (her hunter green LeMiuex headcollar was so small it