Recent content by Annagain

It was always our plan for Archie and Monty to go together. They had been together for 18 years since they were both 9 and as other horses went around them or moved on, they got closer and closer. Monty had always done less well over the winter than Archie so when his owner decided not to put...

Jolly Scrooge... which must only apply after the Christmas Eve apparitions. It's also the most inappropriate name ever for good old Wiggy who is the kindest but least jolly horse ever. He's just quietly good! More Bob Cratchett than Scrooge.

This stuff is brilliant. You can cut it to size, it's flexible so can go round corners or deal with contoured walls and the holes are perfect for rosette pins. Cheap as chips too. A few different size/ colour options here or google "non slip mat"...

I went to a Dengie talk a while back and the nutritionist said that, while stomachs are small and hard food will pass through without being digested if you give them too much, it's wasteful rather than harmful and, unlike protein and carbs, fibre can also be digested in the gut so it's not part...

Regatta have got some good deals on coats. Not specifically equestrian ones obviously but I find them pretty good and refuse to pay the pony premium.

Absolutely. Archie's foot problems meant he'd never have done what I wanted him to do but he did hack and do a bit of low level dressage very happily for another 14 years. I could have sold him to a nice home but he just wormed his way into my heart by just being so loving and needing me. He was...

He'd be my dream horse. I'm with him on the speed thing!

Volunteer at your local riding club - it's a brilliant way to get to know fellow horsey people (and suss out the horses!) and you can then drop into conversation that you'd like to do a bit more riding. Most of my sharers have been through word of mouth - friends of friends etc.

I took Wig to the vet in the morning and flew to Australia for a month in the afternoon. He gave me a bill when I left. Somewhere over the Pacific I had that moment of realisation that I hadn't paid it and couldn't remember the amount. I texted the vet when I landed explained what had happened...

Mine gets all the veg peelings for Christmas, they last him at least a week. He loves the outer leaf of a sprout and a parsnip peeling.

This one's a bit niche but my old boy loved blackberry picking with me. In the field or on a walk. I stopped once to pick (and eat) some really juicy blackberries I spotted and he started tucking in alongside me. I then started doing it deliberately and every time he'd start snuffling alongside...

Is it that he really wouldn't want to do it Red or would he just pootle about in his own time and not be competitive? Monty was the latter - he'd happily pop round an 80 and never got any jumping penalties but he'd do it all at his own pace. We were well suited to be honest - I hated cantering...

May I ask about the benefits of long socks? Is it just a warmth thing or are they better under boots? It's never really occurred to me to buy socks specifically for riding. Should I give them a try?

I totally get where you're coming from OP. When Monty retired (and Archie to a certain extent but he was semi-retired most of his time with me!) I never thought I'd get there. It took me 14 months (including a 6 month break due to Covid) to find Charlie but he turned out not to be the right one...

I've had several sharers and my agreement has been different with each of them as they all wanted / could offer different things. Find the right sharer and then discuss the financial side with them based on what you both need and can both offer.