Recent content by baran

My driving pony has painful aural plaques in one ear. Dismantling a driving bridle is a pain. With the help of polos, my pony has worked out how to flick his ear forward and manouvre it into position without causing himself any discomfort. He now happily does this and is more interested in...

When I was at a local riding school, I would often ride a 13.2 in the morning lesson then a 16.2 in the afternoon. Made me adaptable. Both were fun to ride.

Not sure why distance of vet practice is relevant? The vets in the practice we use are out and about all over the area they cover during working day. Very rare to phone the office and a vet to be there! If you simply want to speak to a vet, receptionist takes message and vet phones back from...

Once I had explained, she could see the sense of it,

Does no one use "quartering" any more or do it any longer? Teenager who comes to help at weekend had no idea what I meant when I told her to quarter my pony as it was so cold.

I am sorry if it comes across as a horror story. I am of a similar age to OP and am offering her the advice I would give to a friend. It is easy to under-estimate how much age can affect things like balance, confidence, ability to bounce and the time and money available to solve a problem. OP is...

Sorry but the "laidback and kind" often go through the worst Kevin stages! I have seen too many people be fooled by the baby willing-to-please stage.

I would sadly agree. An lady in her 60's at our yard was in a similar situation, novicey nervous rider and young horse from Ireland. I don't want to be scaremongering but she was badly hurt when the horse took off with her in the school. No malice in horse but immature physically and mentally...

Our vet practice has split visit and consultation fees for some time. If they are seeing more than one horse, the visit bill is split between the horses. Seems pretty sensible to me.

Tell the surgeon that you ride and intend to carry on riding as it can affect which replacement you get given. Surgeon initially laughed and said "I suppose you want to be able to play the violin as well". However, when presented with a photo of her going over a jump, he took her seriously and...

Always found NFU excellent and you pay monthly without extra cost. Last time 7.5 ton lorry broke down as we were bringing new pony home. Company liaised with police about shutting the road. However, mechanic who came out managed to create a part at the roadside which allowed us to limp home...

Does freezing get rid of eggs? I have been told that by the time you have noticed damage, the moths will have laid eggs which will hatch and perpetuate the cycle. I need a spray I can use on a carpet in a room that the cat sunbathes in!

Can anyone recommend a moth killer that can be used round cats? Bought one from internet which was billed as pet-friendly but instructions are not to use anywhere the animal might lie! Have asked at a couple of hardware stores who were very helpful but couldn't find anything suitable.

Not sure I see the advantage of turning a horse out with other horses when they are wearing a muzzle. They can't interact normally in terms of grooming each other, facial expressions and body language are changed. They might as well be in a separate field. At least that way they may be able to...

Also be aware that in Scotland, you will normally be expected to offer over the asking price. A friend from down south kept doing the English thing of offering well under and expecting to haggle. She couldn't understand why her solicitor was tearing his hair out!