Elf On A Shelf
...
It's been a very mixed few weeks and some of you may not approve of some of the things I have done but that's life. You don't always agree with everyone.
We will start off with a massive high - Celtic has just won at Hexham 😁😁😁😁😁 his owner has been so very patient with him through injury and he is finilly starting to pay him back! A rare grey horse by Celtic Swing he is a horse I love. I hate riding him, he is a knob! But I remember seeing Cetlic Swing out on Lady Herries gallops as a kid (yes I am a born and bred southerner living in Scotland! Something I doubt many know!) So I have always taken a liking to his line.
During a routine piece of work last week I was on Weed and no one has ever, ever out galloped Weed! He's not the world's best racehorse but he is one hell of a work horse! And he had his back side handed to him on a plate by Ozzy! I pulled up at the top and said to the lad on Ozzy - "What the hell was that?!?! No one leave Weed! No one!" To say I was impressed in an understatement! I like work days where things surprise you! Weed worked as well as ever and this thing took a lungful going through through he dip and sauntered past!
Another horse I rarely sit on it got to do a bit of work on today and I came back beaming from ear to ear! Fatty is in the former of his life! You can't not be in a good mood when he is fly leaping out of your hands and pulling like a steam train up those gallops! He is a funny horse and some days he downs tools and does nothing. Not today!
Then yesterday I had wee Macattack for his first day back after a break. To say I was bricking it is an understatement and a half! This horse is notorious for burying people! He does just get you off he puts you 6ft under! After the first 2 weeks of this he turns into the most adorable, perfect gent to ride so at least he gets it all out of his system in a oner! But bless him, he must have grown up a bit as I hopped on and off we went out hacking in the half dark first thing in the morning! I'm not going to lie, I was waiting for the explosion at any moment! But it never came and he toothed round the railway, did all the gates and let a tractor go flying by without batting an eyelid! I do love wee Macattack!
Now the reality of clipping in this job is you just get the job done. I have a list of horses that require sedation and they are sedated for a reason. I screwed up. I didn't check one of the youngsters in time to get him sedated before he ran and he was too hairy to race so I had to grin and bear it. The little sod stood like a lamb whilst I ran the clippers all over him before I took any hair off. And that's where rheumatoid problems started. By the end he was blinkered, ear plugged, twitched and pinned to a wall. And even then I was fearing for my legs! No I do not ever normally go to such extreme measures and I don't intend to again. But as i said there are some things that people wont agree with and that's just life. No harm came to the horse or myself and the job got done.
As with any job or life involving animals there are always the lows. And when they come they hit you hard. On a simple easy lob up the gallops one of our favourite yard pets had a heart attack. The girl who was on him annihilated a dry stone wall and has done ligaments in her knee. I was ahead of all of this and by the time I got back down to him I leapt off of Weed, flung the reins at someone. I don't know who and told everyone to head home. I have never and would never ask anyone else to deal with a horse that was either dying or needed pts on the gallop. The hardest bit is getting everyone to leave.
I rang the boss as the old mans body was winding down. Said all that needed said and then I totally broke down. I'm sitting here in tears again. This horse meant the world to us. But it was quick and he wouldnt have known a thing. I kept apologising to him whilst I was taking his tack off and being as gentle as I could be about it. It sounds silly. He was dead, he was motionless and couldn't feel a thing but it didn't seem right to pull him about. He deserved far more respect than that. It took me nearly 10 minutes to untack him in the end. But he is at peace now.
I slithered about writing this but some people do not appreciate the fact that us stable staff do care about each and everyone of our horses no matter what.
We will start off with a massive high - Celtic has just won at Hexham 😁😁😁😁😁 his owner has been so very patient with him through injury and he is finilly starting to pay him back! A rare grey horse by Celtic Swing he is a horse I love. I hate riding him, he is a knob! But I remember seeing Cetlic Swing out on Lady Herries gallops as a kid (yes I am a born and bred southerner living in Scotland! Something I doubt many know!) So I have always taken a liking to his line.
During a routine piece of work last week I was on Weed and no one has ever, ever out galloped Weed! He's not the world's best racehorse but he is one hell of a work horse! And he had his back side handed to him on a plate by Ozzy! I pulled up at the top and said to the lad on Ozzy - "What the hell was that?!?! No one leave Weed! No one!" To say I was impressed in an understatement! I like work days where things surprise you! Weed worked as well as ever and this thing took a lungful going through through he dip and sauntered past!
Another horse I rarely sit on it got to do a bit of work on today and I came back beaming from ear to ear! Fatty is in the former of his life! You can't not be in a good mood when he is fly leaping out of your hands and pulling like a steam train up those gallops! He is a funny horse and some days he downs tools and does nothing. Not today!
Then yesterday I had wee Macattack for his first day back after a break. To say I was bricking it is an understatement and a half! This horse is notorious for burying people! He does just get you off he puts you 6ft under! After the first 2 weeks of this he turns into the most adorable, perfect gent to ride so at least he gets it all out of his system in a oner! But bless him, he must have grown up a bit as I hopped on and off we went out hacking in the half dark first thing in the morning! I'm not going to lie, I was waiting for the explosion at any moment! But it never came and he toothed round the railway, did all the gates and let a tractor go flying by without batting an eyelid! I do love wee Macattack!
Now the reality of clipping in this job is you just get the job done. I have a list of horses that require sedation and they are sedated for a reason. I screwed up. I didn't check one of the youngsters in time to get him sedated before he ran and he was too hairy to race so I had to grin and bear it. The little sod stood like a lamb whilst I ran the clippers all over him before I took any hair off. And that's where rheumatoid problems started. By the end he was blinkered, ear plugged, twitched and pinned to a wall. And even then I was fearing for my legs! No I do not ever normally go to such extreme measures and I don't intend to again. But as i said there are some things that people wont agree with and that's just life. No harm came to the horse or myself and the job got done.
As with any job or life involving animals there are always the lows. And when they come they hit you hard. On a simple easy lob up the gallops one of our favourite yard pets had a heart attack. The girl who was on him annihilated a dry stone wall and has done ligaments in her knee. I was ahead of all of this and by the time I got back down to him I leapt off of Weed, flung the reins at someone. I don't know who and told everyone to head home. I have never and would never ask anyone else to deal with a horse that was either dying or needed pts on the gallop. The hardest bit is getting everyone to leave.
I rang the boss as the old mans body was winding down. Said all that needed said and then I totally broke down. I'm sitting here in tears again. This horse meant the world to us. But it was quick and he wouldnt have known a thing. I kept apologising to him whilst I was taking his tack off and being as gentle as I could be about it. It sounds silly. He was dead, he was motionless and couldn't feel a thing but it didn't seem right to pull him about. He deserved far more respect than that. It took me nearly 10 minutes to untack him in the end. But he is at peace now.
I slithered about writing this but some people do not appreciate the fact that us stable staff do care about each and everyone of our horses no matter what.
