Coming home

The weather was frightful when we visited Dee on our way home from Cornwall. A gale-force wind was blowing in from the sea lashing stinging, icy rain into our faces. So much for Cornwall being warmer than Cardiff. All the horses were at the bottom of the first field where the hedgerow afforded them some shelter. We called Dee, but realised it would be impossible for her to hear us over the wind. We trudged across the field, leaning into the wind and holding our coats tightly around us. As soon as we were within earshot, Dee looked up and trotted over.

She no longer has one shoe on and her feet look as though they have been trimmed – which was confirmed by K. of Gorgeous Grazing when we saw her later. We gave Dee a dozen carrots and told her again that she would be coming home to Cardiff soon. In the warm of K's cottage we informed her of our intention to move Dee back home, and of our good fortune in finding a place where we could have both horses. We discussed how to move her and K. suggested a horse transporting company that she uses regularly, and gave us her number. We feel this will be the best plan as we are inexperienced in transporting horses and it is a long journey for us to take on in a hired vehicle. It would also possibly cost more in the long run as well, by the time we have paid for diesel, vehicle hire and an overnight stay.

We meandered home along the north Devon coast road rather than heading across to the motorway. It made the journey take all day but was most enjoyable with beautiful countryside and spectacular sea views. The cats were very pleased to see us.

So often in our dealings with Dee extraordinary luck arises. We had thought it would take quite a while to organise transport for Dee, but the transporter K. recommended happens to be coming to Cardiff on Wednesday. Amazing! So Dee will be back home on Wednesday. I have warned them at Briwnant Riding Centre that she is a dominant mare and will be aggressive at first. She has lived with other horses now for over two years and has been fine, so I am confident that she will settle down again after her initial assertive display. At least she knows Red, and Red is fond of her despite her moodiness. I'm sure he will be glad to see her. I've bought her a saddle on ebay—if you remember we had one of our saddles stolen—and think I have the makings of a bridle with a hackamore among my things. She will be fine in this until I decide to afford another cross-under bridle.

So once more I will have my lovely mare in Cardiff, and once again we shall be able to ride out together at the weekend. I am so thankful and feel blessed. I'll post later in the week when she arrives to let my readers know how she is settling in.

Move to Briwnant Riding Centre

(Photo 1: 'This looks interesting ...')

This morning we moved Red to Briwnant Riding Centre. 'ö-Dzin rode him over and I drove there with a car-load of rugs, tack and horsey items. We put Red into a stable for half and hour and then turned him out into a field. He is out with a few young and quiet horses who will not challenge him to start with, in the pasture next to the main herd. He will be introduced to the main herd in about a week once he has had time to get to know them. They will not work him for his first week either.

Red wandered out into the field completely relaxed and content. He had not neighed at all and seemed perfectly happy – which is quite a contrast to when we moved him to Wyndham, where he was very vocal and unsettled even though he had Dee in the stable next to him. So this bodes well. After about five minutes one of the young horses in the field noticed the new arrival and trotted over to meet Red. They greeted each other in a friendly way (photo 2). This photograph also shows the magnificent views from Briwnant – right across the Severn Estuary to England. Soon the other horses came over to check Red out. One of the mares was a bit fiesty and kicked out at him, but she has no shoes on and Red just got out of her way. It is a large field with plenty of grass, so he just wanted to graze. By the time we left he seemed to have made friends with two horses and they were grazing near one another. I have a good feeling about this place.

Another happy occurrence is that we met a lady we knew from Ridgeway at Briwnant. She had been interested in buying Red at one time, or loaning him, but decided she was not ready. She rode Dee a couple of times. She now has her own horse, a lovely mare called Star. I was so happy to meet her again, and I think we may ride together. It seems there may be more opportunity to ride with people from Briwnant.

I am sad to leave Wyndham. We have been happy there and Sally has been very kind to us. However I feel confident that Briwnant will be a good move for us – certainly Red seems relaxed there already. I shall telephone later this evening—after the time he is used to coming in for a feed and to be stabled for the night—to see how he is. They will feed him in the evening until he is used to the Briwnant routine, and will bring him in and stable him if he is distressed – but I think this is unlikely. I think he will be quite content to stay out in such a large field with plenty of grass.