Chris's Blog » Horses

October Half Term

Chris Rogers — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:53:12 +0000

October Half Term has been a hectic week. On the monday Steve, Jen and I travelled to Northampton to continue our training to coach vaulting. We were both assessed and passed and are now Level one coaches for vaulting. We took the trailor with us to pick up a barrel for vaulting practice. It was a long day and we didn’t get back till late. Tuesday we had Pony Day and lessons in the evening and I had all the preparation to sort out for the team jumping. Wednesday morning was an early start and late finish for the team jumping. Thursday Client show jumping I thought would be quiet after the team jumping but it turned out to be quite busy in the tipping down rain. Thursday was also my birthday so Steve and I left for Bristol after the client show jumping. We had a nice meal in Bella Italia (curtesy of Tesco’s clubcard vouchers) then went to see We Will Rock You in the Theatre. We stayed over and came back the next day. Ready for the Halloween Party on Saturday. Another successful event organised by the Pony Club Centre committee made up of the older members. There was a good turn out and great to see so many adults supporting the event and even dressing up. The Halloween Party finished about 11.30 after a clean we had a few drinks in the house, five of us went to sleep in my lounge and I woke up on the floor in the early hours, so I assume it was a good night. See photos in the Gallery.

Show an Hunter Trials

Chris Rogers — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:31:38 +0000

We have been a bit short on help on the yards the last couple of weeks and Kate Malissa and Zoe M have turned up every day to help out. I had planned to take Jimbob to a couple of competitions so we decided to take some ponies for them too. Last sunday it was the Millbrook/Llantwit Riding Club show. Sarah took Jimbob, Kate has grown out of Hannah and just bought a new horse Bodie so Kate took Hannah for her final outing and we took Jasper. Kate had a 2nd on and a 4th in the jumping on Hannah and Zoe had a bit of a stumble after planks on Jasper, nearly fell off but then had a fence down. Sarah won the 2ft 3 on Jimbob and was 4th in the 2ft6 and Malissa had a 3rd in the Best horse for riding club activities on Jimbob. The girls did the gymkhana classes at the end of the day winning several rosettes. Kate won the one up polo beating the ‘games ponies’ and Zoe fell off in the bending. I took my camera but forgot the card so Photos were taken by Pat Blake (Sarah’s Gran). This Sunday we went to the Hunter Trials at Alps. Sarah and Carys took Rosie and Jimbob in the pairs and Zoe and Malissa took Jasper and Foley all went clear. Bethan and Angharad were also there and did very well on Diesel and Sid. Toni Thomas won the Minimus seniors on Emma. In the Novice class Malissa and Sarah had a few stops, Zoe went clear and came 5th in the junior section and Carys and Jimbob won the senior section. Julie Whiles took the photos because I took my camera and card but forgot the battery. When we go to competitions I always say to the girls – Have you got your hat, Whip, Bridle etc and they are now going to reply with – Have you got your camera, battery and card. Photos on the Gallery

Horse Sales

Chris Rogers — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:46:18 +0000

The maddening thing about trying to buy horses from private sellers is the time it takes. Once you have found a suitable advert, tracked down the sellers, cleared at least half a day off work, travelled 30 plus miles and thats if its local, got lost then eventually found your destination invariably one of the following occurs – the horse/pony takes 3 steps forward and you can see its lame (the owner can’t or doesn’t want too), It has sweet itch, its 14hh (was advertised 15.2), It is not quiet in fact bordering on wild, it has several confirmation faults. I tend to find one in twenty matches the advert. I try to see at least 3 in the same direction if that is possible and I’ve been known to have to take the entire day off to do this then find none are suitable, get stuck in traffic on the way home, forsake the diet and buy a very unhealthy meal to ease onset of depression. The other option is to visit the horse sales, easier because there are several horses to look at in one place but not without its problems. When buying the private horse the owner will lovingly tell you everything about the horse down to what it eats for breakfast, they even tell you things that eventually put you off buying the horse. At horse sales the majority lie at every opportunity, favourite saying when selling small ponies is “only selling because I don’t have anyone small enough to ride it” , one wonders why she bought it if she doesn’t have anyone small enough to ride it. The other classic is we have to many so we are selling some from our riding school, on that basis would you take the best or the worst to the sales. Most of these people are dealers. You do get the odd genuine people at sales but it is hard to work out which is which and some people are very unscrupulous. Being short of ponies we decided to take a trip to Leominster Sales. The sale starts at 11.30am with the biggest horses and works its way at a rate of about 40 an hour to the smallest ponies. We decided to aim to arrive about 12 noon in order to give us time to look at the ponies before they went in for auction. Unfortunately half way there the engine overheated and set fire to the insulation under the bonnet. Slightly worrying but glad the diesel tank is at the back. Arrived at the sales just before one but in time to have a look at the ponies. I marked off a few in the catalogue to look at in the ring. A small palomino and a grey I was interested in were bought by the same person, both looked lovely but didn’t look sound and a couple I liked the look of were much sharper and spookier in the ring. In the end we settled on a 12hh bay pony who appeared to have a laid back nature, called Evan and still stopped on the way home for an unhealthy meal of pie and chips. I am glad I am not a dealer I don’t think I could cope with buying and selling horses every day, its bad enough just trying to buy for the riding school now and again.

Summer Shows

Chris Rogers — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:29:11 +0000

During the summer months May to end of September I prefer to hold our show jumping competitions in the outdoor arena instead of indoors. The winter dressage series finishes which is replaced with Mini Hunter Trial events throughout the summer. Last year we were very lucky and managed to hold all Mini Hunter Trials and most of the show jumping outdoors. May this year has been a bit of a wash out, so far we have managed only one Show jumping in the outdoor school (I’m glad we have the option of going indoors) and we had to replace our first Mini hunter trial with indoor Show jumping last Sunday. Lets hope June and the rest of the summer is going to be better. The initial tryouts for the Open Day take place randomly in May and priority is given to level 4 and 5’s and some level 3s that have given their time free during the year to help out on the yard. Most of the try outs for the Open day have been done now except for the Gymkhana and serious practices start next week. It is only 6 weeks to the open day and there is a lot to organise. Horses for displays are going to be difficult this year as we seem to be going through a phase of having a lot of new horses some being a bit on the young side, although we have got some exciting displays and a couple of new ones this year. The open day is Sunday July 10th. Gates open 1pm, tickets are £4 to raise money for the Pony club. Refreshments available, everyone welcome.

R.I.P Simply Blue

Chris Rogers — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:07:28 +0000

Last Thursday at 8am Blue was found in her stable and appeared to be cast. She struggled to stand but seemed unable to hold her wait. The vet arrived and on investigation discovered that she had broken her leg (Femur). I am not sure how long we had Blue I think she was a 7yr old when she arrived and she would be 12 now so around 5years I guess. I remember the evening that Blue arrived on the yard, it was cold, dark and raining. I didn’t know that she had arrived as they had unloaded her at the top of the drive and walked her down. I assumed that she hadn’t travelled well as she was quite worked up and had a cut on her head. We had prepared a stable for her and soon discovered that she had quite a phobia about being in a stable. if something alarmed her she became extremely upset and pannicky. Over the years she had become a lot calmer in the stable although still somewhat temperamental and prone to biting. She could never be tied in the stable but was fine to tie on the yard. She was difficult to shoe and impossible to clip. She was an attractive 16hh black mare but despite her moodiness many people enjoyed riding her. She never reared bucked or ran away. When she first arrived I rode her for awhile. She was excellent in traffic and good to hack out. I had assumed she may not travel well as she didn’t like being in the stable but she was fine on the lorry and I jumped her over a few small courses at Sunnybank and Broomes, she wasn’t very careful or talented then. Eventually Carys Morgan took her on. Carys persevered with the jumping and improved Blue no end. They had a wonderful partnership and I truly believe that Blue trusted Carys completely. Carys gave her confidence and she became easier for others to jump but she was always at her best with Carys. No one would have thought Blue would have jumped the 4ft planks at the open day and leave them up but she did for Carys. She will be missed by many and it was a sad and tragic day to lose such a nice horse in the prime of her life. Our thoughts this week have been with those who loved and cared for Blue especially Carys who had a special bond with her.

Talygarn Equestrian Centre 2010

Chris Rogers — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 02:34:01 +0000

Looking back over the 2010 it has been quite an interesting year It seems to have started and finished with snow and my dieting has followed the same plan as last year, although I am hoping to be a bit more successful this year. Quite a few horses have come and gone over the year. Polo and Lizzie were sold Storm and Athena went back to their owners Coffee has gone to Sharon. Harry, Winsten and Abi came on trial but didn’t stay. Trevor is on loan, Jimbob, Foley, Stuey and Diesel came this year, Angharad now owns Diesel and Amelia sold Destiny and bought Zac and she also has Jo Bailey’s Lily here. The Talygarn Pony Club Centre has had a very busy and successful year. Winning the Area Quiz and the Senior Horse Care. placed 3rd in the National Quiz in Warwick. 5th in the Horse Care Champs and the Overall Team winners of the Pony Club Centre Championships in Derby with Sarah Blake and Chloe Reakes both winning their individual sections. Carys Morgan rode Fred in the Dressage to Music at the Champs and did a lovely test to the music from Lady Gaga. The Pony Club Committee have all worked very hard this year running and organising The Fun Dog Show, Show Jumping and hacks to raise funds to run the Halloween Party The Annual Open Day turned out to be a lovely day despite threats of rain. The Displays included Show Jumping, Musical Ride, Bareback Jumping, 101 Dalmations by the Mini Pony Club, PoloCrosse and Gymkhana. We have also ran many competitions this year The Dressage series was very successful ending in April and has got off to a very busy start for 10/11 series. We are also holding some Pony Club Dengie Qualifiers during the Dressage series and Kate Owen riding Hannah and Carys Morgan riding Buffy have already qualified for the second round in 2011. The indoor Show Jumping and the Team jumping have been very busy with Talygarn picking up quite a few wins in the points series. This year we held the Summer Jumping in the outdoor school and that proved to be very popular. We were also lucky enough with the weather to be able to hold all four Mini Hunter Trials. We have had numerous students passing BHS & NVQ exams this year and Gareth Evans was also chosen by Yale College as Student of the Year Other Activities this year have included The E3 Schools Riding, Pony Days, Camps, Centre Days, Birthday Partys, and a Parents Quiz Night Unfortunately we had to cancel the Pony Club C test because of the snow but we did manage to hold the Child Protection Course and the Christmas Gymkhana which was a bit quieter than normal due to the weather but turned out to be a good day. There a lots of pictures on the Gallery from 2010 and beyond. Lets hope to make 2011 and even more successful year.

Kirby Cane Genius

Chris Rogers — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:50:54 +0000

When Jennifer was 6yrs old we bought her a second pony called Kirby Cane Genius. He was a very well bred pony and was related to Princess Anne’s first Pony Kirby Cane Greensleeves. Kirby was Strawberry roan, 12.2hh and 17yrs old when we bought him. Jen was very tiny on him. He was a wonderful pony and Jen had many years of great fun riding him and winning many show jumping competitions. When she grew out of Kirby she didn’t want to sell him so we used him in the riding school for a while. He became ill when he was about 23yrs and lost a lot of weight to the point that we thought he may have to be put to sleep. We had vets and the dentist look at him to no avail and then a new dentist happened to come along who noticed that one of his teeth was preventing him from eating so he removed the tooth and Kirby was very keen to eat straight away. We put him in the field and unfortunately he had a bout of mild colic from over eating after a couple of hours. After that incident he regained weight and looked very healthy. I was approached by the parents of a young child at the riding school who wanted to buy him for their daughter as a first pony. Jen was reluctant to sell him but she knew he would have a good home and it would be better for him than being in the riding school. Gemma also had several years of fun riding and show jumping with him. When Gemma grew out of Kirby they retired him and have always sent us a Christmas card with a note letting us know how he is. This year we received the sad news that Kirby has been put to sleep at the age of 34. He could no longer eat and it was felt that he was suffering. If you do get to read this Margaret, Ian and Gemma. Thank you so much for giving Kirby such a wonderful home, it has meant a lot to Jen to know that he was so well cared for.

Half Term

Chris Rogers — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:27:59 +0000

What a busy and varied week half term has turned out to be. Monday Steve and Gareth took Buffy to the Rhondda Heritage Park where a film was being made on the life of Aneurin Bevan. Steve and Gareth were dressed as miners and with Buffy as a pit pony they had parts as extras. Don’t know how much of them they will use though Steve and Gareth were ok but Buffy kept smiling at the camera. Whilst they were there I had 20 kids between 11 and 15yrs from an activities scheme in the Rhondda for the morning. The vet arrived to sedate .Michigan at lunchtime giving me an hour to get him clipped. I managed to get some of the paperwork done for the team showjumping before going swimming, thankfully my Yoga class was cancelled. Tuesday was pony day all day lessons in evening and another vet out to see Cleo. After teaching at 9pm I finished all the prep for the team jumping which took me till 2am. Wednesdays team show jumping was a brill day but long and tiring. Thursday was my birthday so I managed a fairly quiet day spent the morning updating the paperwork, hacked my horse out in afternoon. Thanks to all who gave me alcohol and chocs much appreciated but having spent a week trying to lose a lb I probably gained 5lb on Thurs night. Fridays client showjumping I thought would be very quiet but turned out to be very busy. The Halloween Party Saturday night was great fun and but as you can see it was not Alcohol that induced me to sleeping on the kitchen floor just sheer exhaustion!! Yesterday I was at Badgeworth Arena in somerset with Amelia who was jumping Leo. Amelia was pleased with Leo who jumped well as this was his first show since his ‘holiday’. We arrived at 2pm, they didn’t jump the first class till after 6pm and we didn’t get home till after 9pm. Cleaned up the garden today, cleaned out the chickens, hacked out my horse, went to swimming and Yoga and started counting down the days till I go on holiday.

Coffee update

Chris Rogers — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:39:50 +0000

Well it appears as though there is still a good bit of life left in Coffee. Sharon moved him to Oakland’s Livery yard which is a lovely place but it is their policy to have new horses in isolation for a week before mixing them with other horses. Good idea but Coffee didn’t take kindly to this. He was given a lovely pen with a field shelter and an outside area surrounded by 4ft fencing – he jumped out. Then he was put in a field on his own – he pushed over and broke six fencing posts, Through the week he has decided he doesn’t like to go anywhere near the horse walker not even to walk past it, he has dragged Sharon all over the place, ripped his rugs pulled a shoe off, bit Sharon’s finger, stamped on her foot and reduced her to tears. He is out of isolation now and has made friends in the field and is back to his normal self and Sharon is enjoying having him now. Sharon also discovered that another livery owner on the yard used to ride coffee before we bought him. Today was such a nice day to be riding. There was no BSJA Show jumping so Steve and I took Jimbob and Buffy to the beach at Kenfig. Jimbob obviously hasn’t seen the sea before and when he first spotted it in between the dunes he he planted his feet to the ground and refused to move. We did eventually get onto the beach and had a good canter along the beach but only managed to get into the sea about 2 inches deep before he beat a hasty retreat.

Coffee

Chris Rogers — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 07:43:59 +0000

It was the end of an era yesterday when Coffee left for partial retirement. Coffee has been with us for over 10years and is in his twenties now. He has been an excellent riding school horse giving no end of clients confidence, although when we had him no one under a good level 3 could ride him as he was too strong and forward. I wish I could have a yard full of Coffees’ once he settled down he has never reared never really spooked always been willing and always forward. These last few months age has been telling on him and I am pleased that he has a lovely home with Sharon who I know will love him to bits. He has gone to a nice livery yard with lots of grass which he will love. Many horses have come and gone over the years and some have stayed for quite a number of years. I was looking over the list of horses we have now and I can’t remember exactly how long some have been here. I know I bought Lucy when Lisa worked here and there are 11 out of the 34 we have now that I bought when Emma Davies was here. So the rest have come in the last 4 years. Lucy was 7 when I bought her and is now 22 so I think I will be looking for a retirement home for her soon. I thought Smartie would be going this year as he has been so thin due to not being able to eat anything. We had tried everything but I’m pleased to say soaked high fibre cubes and cereal meal 4 times a day has turned him into a different pony. We have gained a few more horses as well just lately, Stuey a 13hh coloured pony, Trevor 14.1 who is here on working livery and there is a new 14.2hh coming tomorrow on trial and I am looking for a 15.2hh cob type to replace Coffee. My ducks have started laying eggs, well one of them has. I moved the duck pond (Argos swimming pool) into their run and they love it, trouble is they won’t get out of it at night for me to shut them in and I’m worried a fox will have them. Last night I was trying to get them out of the pond at past midnight in my pyjamas. The black one (Peggy) swam quite close so I tried to grab it. I missed and it splashed the water so hard it soaked me from head to foot, I was not impressed. Mavis my brown chicken is learning to be a parrot and sitting on my shoulder. We started clipping this week but I only had one set of blades that weren’t blunt, so we’ve managed six ponies and now clipping has stopped until I get the blades back sharpened next week and I’ve also been invited to a speed awareness course this week. Halloween Party Sat 30th Oct 6pm. The Pony Club Centre have organised a Bouncey Castle, Gladiator Jousting, Rodeo Sheep, Sumo Wrestling and Disco, Tickets now on Sale £2 each. Fancy dress optional