Recent content by Shay

Surrey is such a massive mix of yards and prices. The best thing is to visit those nearest you and look to see where you might want to keep your pony and what that will cost. There is no point budgeting for a supoer cheap grass livery price only to find the only yards near you are super smart...

My lovely old boy struggled with Canker last winter. He did die - but not becuase of it. He had a massive anurysm (can't spell that..) and just dropped. Anyway - I digress. Purple Mush was highly reccommended but I found it impossible to import. For a long while we used a mix of iodine...

It depends on the venue! Personally I take everything. I want my own hay anyway so there isn't a change for the horse and I am sure of quality. I tend to take bedding because it is expensive to buy from the venue. I prefer a small barrow, fork and broom - but I know others do manage with a...

Feed is sold by weight - if there are stones there you are paying for rubble!

Its hard to advise when we can't see but almost everyone hunches forward a bit when they are a bit nervous or have lost a bit of confidence. That puts you in a different position in the saddle which might press on the horse's back and cause discomfort - also if you tip forward most horses will...

I'm not sure for CEC specifically - pop in and ask. I know they do school livery, full livery and hunt livery. I think they might do grass but I'm not sure if it is year round. There are loads of livery yards around here. Woodstock South, Brightside, Manor Farm, Bridle Road, slough Farm...

There will be exclusions simply because of age - regardless of whether they pass the vet or not. (And nothing truely"passes" these days!). It does depend on what you want to do but I don't insure any of mine past 15 and only past 11 if they are actively competeing. The premiums go up too...

Take your vets advice. It may be possible to medicate the joint pain is origionating in and continue in light work. We finally retired our 28 year old this year. We tried to retire him 5 years ago but he wasn't happy. We'd injected his hocks to help athritis in his last full on ridden year -...

Echo Speedy pony. I have a mini cob with exactly the same issue. Buy the bridle bits seperately. We found a cob headpeice and nose band, pony cheek pieces and a cob - and even sometimes full - browband worked. Watch only that the pony cheek peices are the right leather width. Some pony...

Depends on precisely what you mean by bucking - and in response to what. But in general terms it sounds like something of a can of worms. Bucking can be a learned behaviour - but they learn it for a reason. I would worry about being 20 and having been out of work for 12 months. Assuming...

We had a similar issue with a young Connie. Only ever travelled in lorries and with others. He travelled from the dealer to us in a trailer with no issues - although the dealer did say she wasn't sure he would go on. We spent 3 or 4 months I think with loading practice interspersed with...

I've been to Olympia for Christmas every year since the early '70s. I'm now in two minds... All those memories. I won't be the same but different can still be good. Althugh it will now take nearly 3 hours to get there instead of 45 min by car! And now I won't know exactly which seats to book...

My 29yr old retired boy is shod in front. He was initially shod all round but when he got canker last year we took all 4 shoes off to facilitate treatement. Fairly quickly the white line broke down in the fronts so we put those shoes back on. Oddly the canker cleared in the front faster but...

You will need a wheelbarrow - unless the yard has some. I presume you also have grooming kit, first aid kit, feed and water buckets, tack and rugs? The type of shovel / spade will depend on what bedding you are using and what your surfaces look like - but my personal preference is a basic...

Building muscle takes work. Not supplements. All the others are right. Good quality food. Good quality forage. Good quality work. And time. No shortcuts.