Recent content by vickyb

Doubly sad because I wouldn't put it past some unscrupulous people to tart him up, stick a saddle on him and sell him for an extra thousand or so within a few weeks, all the while lying about his age. I will never understand how people (the seller) can be so naive about the money making...

This brings back memories. I was born in Ewell in the 50s and all these yards are familiar to me, but especially the ones adjacent to Walton on the Hill. I was in the Pony Club with Anthea Towill and remember when they started their riding school in Ebbisham Lane in the early 70s. When I was a...

That was my impression too - I couldn't believe it. They now look substantially smaller than the average chase fence, and it also seemed to me that there was even more loose birch (?) being knocked off the top as they jumped. If they reduce the height of the fences and then make the top, say...

If it's only three, why is it being taken somewhere in a box every weekend and being given the opportunity to buck and generally be naughty in an arena? Is it already under saddle?

I have thought for many years that horses shouldn't be in the Olympics, and it should be reserved for human efforts alone.

I bought a lovely 13.2 ride and drive in 1975 for £120, mind you, they were desperate to sell as they had lost their grazing and had her in their back garden. Going back to my childhood (bear with me, I'm old and like to reminisce!), my first pony in 1964 was a branded Dartmoor who cost £50...

Being too heavy for a hang glider could have pretty terminal results pretty quickly!

Doing a dressage test as a child at a pony club event. I was more interested in going cross country - the dressage bit was just something you had to do to get to the best bits, so I never really used to do any training for it, so I was somewhat inept. The comment on my entrance at A, trot down...

Comparing that boot to the size of the hand holding it, it looks like it would be a suitable fit for a small dog, not a horse.

Are you still riding the pony you fell from? I would ask for a different pony (and not ride the other pony again) and then work slowly (literally, at a walk, with lots of balancing exercises, until you are bored and want to move on) to getting your confidence back and improving your stability. A...

I no longer ride, but when I did I was always fit. However, a lot of my riding was fast work/long canters on big strong horses. When I started doing that kind of work, I was amazed at how out of breath and weak I felt afterwards, but of course, I got stronger and much fitter over time. I noticed...

In my horse owning days, when I was constantly poverty stricken, I always used to wash my rugs in the summer only, and use a large plastic dustbin and a small broom as a washing dolly to agitate them, after having given them a good soak in a biological powder/liquid. I would then hang them on a...

Long time since I had horses, but....old saucepans as feed scoops, and a laundry basket and a pair of marigolds for quick skipping out. Much easier to pick pieces of poo out of shavings by hand.

I am long retired now, but the happiest time of my life was working with horses in my teens and twenties. I worked all over the place, including abroad, and I worked in racing as well for a time (and even in those days, racing was the best paid and regulated horsy job that I did). Being at the...

The house is Chavenage, which is in Tetbury, Glos. It amuses me to see him galloping along a cliff, then into the house drive. In reality the locations are around 200 miles apart. Ah, the wonders of television. I don't think I would like to gallop near a cliff edge - too many opportunities for a...