Kennedy: Sampling the gardens...

Hay!

Today I'm getting the hang of things a bit better.  I walked out of the farm with a swagger this morning and even had a bit of an uphill trot to catch up when Rocky marched off with his trotter like paces!  I'm getting pretty confident that I knew where I'm going and Sian said she's pretty sure that I'll know the routes before she does!  

I decided today to test her reaction times as well as sampling some delicacies from local gardens.  So, when we were waiting for a car to pass at a junction, I popped onto the pavement and helped myself to a bit of a bush.  I don't think Sian was impressed because she stopped telling me I was a 'good boy' then and said it was a bit naughty of me - oops!  After that I decided to appease her and carry on being a good boy because she seemed to prefer that.  

After I got back, I went out in the field with my friend Syd who seemed just as pleased to see me today and ran over to give me a good groom.  Sian said she was a bit nervous as Syd seems to keen to get to me that he might run out of the field but it's OK I think because he follows me around like a shadow!  I like him a lot too and if he grazes very far from me, I move to get a bit closer to him.  I overheard Debbie and Sian laughing and calling us "Little and Large".  I take offence to that - I'm not that large!  In fact, I'm feeling pretty toned just now!

Tonight, Debbie went pretty early so Sian stuck around and we spent some time together - she brushed and picked and applied creams and I munched away at a hay net which she'd soaked for me - it was pretty nice so I didn't mind her messing around.  But I did decide I didn't want to really have my feet picked out.  I tried quite hard to stop her but then she got her teacher voice out so I decided I better do what I was told and very kindly lifted my feet one at a time before she even got to them - she said I was very clever as I've remembered which order she does them in now!  She seemed pretty impressed!

When she eventually decided to leave me to my net in peace, I carried on munching so she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and she was off.  

Tomorrow, we are going to go out again and add a little addition to our hack - the road up to the woods.  I heard Sian saying to Debbie that she was a little bit nervous - she was this morning too but I quickly turned her frown upside down by being the best behaved I could and by the time we got home, she was busy telling Debbie how much of an angel I am again (I do try).  Soon we will be out exploring the wilderness of Errington Woods!  It's going to be so much fun!

Lots of love and neighs,

Kenners

Kennedy: Out and about!

Good eveneigh to you all and so good to see you visiting my blog,

The last couple of days have been a bit of a whirlwind and I have been far too busy to turn my hoof to being a blogger but Sian stood me in my stable today and told me it was about time for me to start thinking about writing a post and that we've had a lot of fun today so maybe I could write about that.  I hope she's transcribed it OK as she is a little bit ditzy sometimes - today she has lost 3 pairs of gloves!  See what I mean...

In my first couple of days at Sparrow Park, I think I've managed to make a good impression as my equine friends seem to be pretty keen on me (Syd ran over to meet me at the gate this morning) and my human friends are doing lots of smoochy noises at me (I think that's good?).  Sian has been hanging around for most of the day again, wanting to come over and interrupt my eating to make more smooch noises and give my nose a rub.  I entertain her sometimes but it grows tiresome when I'm very busy trying to eat.  Various other visitors have also been graced by my presence today; Auntie Lynne, Damien and Sian's sister, Laura.  Pardon my saying so, but they are all a bit fussy, particularly when I'm most busy trying to eat my hay net on an evening and keep being disturbed by my new human friends blowing kisses at me over the stable door.  I do like to offer them some tokens such as moving towards the stable door and sticking my head over to say hello for a second or so.  However, one cannot leave one's hay net unattended for too longer period for fear it may grow legs and wander off...

This morning, it seemed that Sian wanted to tell me that I was 'a good boy' as she kept telling me over and over and also she told everyone else that came anywhere near to me whether they wanted to know or not (how embarrassing).  She was here at the crack of dawn, as I expected since she kept hanging around until I had to give her a subtle hint and ignore her last time.  I stuck my head out of the stable door and there she came round the corner.  As soon as she arrived, she was off.  She picked my feet, gave me a brush and then she was off to get my tack.  Apparently I must have stood like a good boy for her to put it on because she told me about a million times that I was.  After that, she brought me outside to the courtyard area where she almost immediately slipped off the mounting block (I don't think she's got the hang of rain making things slippy just yet!).  Anyway, I stood like a good boy and it wasn't long until she was on and worrying about her stirrups (as always) when she gets them right, I suggest she superglues them into place and stops making me stand still so she can faff around with them.  It's a good job I'm such a good boy - maybe that's why she told me a hundred times.  

She's decided to dress me in blue today - what do you think?

My new mate Rocky came out with us too.  He gave me a guided tour of the estates near the farm.  He seems pretty nice but he walks like a train.  Sian kept having to ask him to slow down because we don't march quite as fast as him.  Rocky seemed to be having a really good time showing me about so that put me at ease and I wandered along behind him, occasionally having a look into people's gardens and peering into the odd drain or two.  When we set off it was pretty quiet but we were out a little while and in the end, there were a couple of cars to pass.  Probably this is when Sian said 'good boy' the most and Rocky's mum, Debbie, said she was dead impressed with my behaviour.  

Me and my pal Rocky

Pretty sure I did a good job of looking after Sian - she seems to be smiling!

Anyhow, I spent the rest of the day in the field with my friends until it was time for Syd and I to come in.  Then, Damien stood and gave me a good brush whilst I chowed down on a net.  They went off to tidy the tack room for a bit so I could still hear them talking but I got some time on my own before they left.  I think I heard Sian saying she wanted to make sure I was happy and settled before she left.  I think she might have forgotten that I'm a happy and settled sort of chap!  I'm pretty sure he wasn't supposed to, but Damien kept coming back for a bonus fuss and a chat.  He seems alright for a French bloke I suppose.  He did ask me if he could have Sian back at some point - I wonder what he means?

Anyhow, I shall bid you farewell for now.  I need to get my beauty sleep as I've had a busy day and Sian will be back up for another ride tomorrow morning. I'll be back soon with another adventure!  

The big day!

Today has been one of the single most exciting days of my life so far yet I was absolutely petrified for it to begin.  In part that was because there was such a lot of hurdles to get through.

First was remembering everything!  Then, it was how I was going to feel when I picked him up from his lovely mum (I have big shoes to fill!).  Then there was going to be loading him and then how was I going to feel watching him on the CCTV camera and then of course there was unloading him and then there was 'what next?' which happened once he got out of the box - the possibilities being endless; walk around the yard, stable, pen, field...a combination and in what order?  Field with his pony company, field on his own first...?  And then what - would I dare leave him?  What if? What if?  It's no surprise that at 3:00 I took a momentary break to go and get some ibuprofen and water.

However much I like to worry, Kennedy has neither put a foot wrong today nor batted an eyelid.  When I say that, I don't mean in the way where people are forgiving of out of character behaviour because of a change of yard, I mean he has literally taken everything in his stride today!

He loaded onto the box fine after Caroline managed to get him out of his stable with his travel boots on!  He travelled like a saint never seeming to get stressed or uncomfortable (and I watched the camera fixedly the whole way home).

(I do apologise that it's sideways!  I've no idea why!)

When it came to unloading, I felt a little more nervous.  My Caroline safety net had been taken away and I had to step up and be the calm and sensible one.  Luckily, Debbie had been thinking on her feet and not only gone out and bought me a pie (she knew I'd suddenly hit a wall having not dared eat or drink for fear of being sick) but also put a load of hay down in the field which meant (sorry Kenners) that the other horses weren't interested!  Kenners went straight into his field, plodding along behind me on a nice loose rope.  I expected something when I let him off - maybe a jog about or a whinny but good old Kenners decided it was exactly the time to sample the grass and got to the business of eating it right away.  

Next, came the Syd test.  Syd, Debbie had told me, is a little like marmite - horses either love or hate him.  However, equally, Syd either loves or hates other horses and Debbie was a little concerned at how he might react to Kennedy so she decided to keep him on a lead rope.  Initially, there were a couple of snorts and whinnies from both parties.  However, a few minutes in, it seemed that Kennedy was the nice sort of marmite and Syd started to look for affection from him.  Luckily Kenners seemed happy enough to repay a bit of back scratching and they were off.

"Hi!"

"I'll scratch your back - you scratch mine!"

Soon it was time for everyone to gather round and the other big boys came over to say hi too.  Everyone was pretty civil with only the odd squeal here and there for good measure...

After that, Kennedy had missed some valuable eating time so he decided to go back to the grass for a bit, stopping every so often to share another good back scratch with his new friend Syd.

At just after 6, Syd and Kennedy came in from the field and back to their stables.  Kennedy was pretty sure he wanted to eat his bed and not the freshly prepared haynet or even the desperate bid at stopping him treat ball with broken up crunchits in.  So, whilst I sought professional Kennedy guardian advice from Caroline, I popped him in the courtyard with a hay net.  He then decided he'd rather eat very small weeds making their way up from the cracks in the concrete - what's the issue with my nets Kenners?  

"I refuse to even look at that hay net!"

  Anyway, after much deliberating, I popped him in his neighbour, Rocky's, stable where he wasn't on quite such a clean bed that took someone quite such a long time to rustle up with lovely soft banks and a nice squishy floor (just saying Kenners).  Anyhow, he seemed happy enough when he discovered the nice fresh hay in the net that was so lovingly organised for him.  I managed to finally pry myself away at about 9pm after leaving him chewing on hay in Rocky's stable.  

So there's our most exciting, stressful, fun, scary and exhausting day out of the way.  I'm going to say night night and I'll update again tomorrow as we take our first ride in the morning!

Meet the boys!

Today is all about preparing for Kennedy arriving tomorrow. It's all been very exciting and we even got a choice of stable - I'm never good at decisions so that took some thinking through but thankfully as always Kenners's mum came through with some good advice and we've chosen the stable next to the lovely Rocky!

Also today I've been spending a bit of time with the boys. Getting to know them better. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to introduce them all. 

I'll start with Syd:

Who particularly likes a good back scratch and who I had a little go at long reining (first time ever) today!  This is him with his mum, Debbie, having a right good scratch!  He's a cheeky monkey but he was a good boy for me when I had a go at long reining him! And we managed 3 whole laps of the yard!

Next, say hi to Rocky;

Lovely Rocky is very calm and kind and let me lead him back to the field with no problem at all. What a gent!  He will also be Kennedy's next door neighbour in Mr K's new stable:

(He'll be on the right).

Finally, meet Prince. He's still quite young and very friendly - he likes to come over and say 'hi!' when you come into the field. It will take some time for me to feel confident around him as I've never been around younger horses! But I know we will get used to each other soon enough!

For the first few days, Kennedy will be in a field with Syd while he gets used to Prince and Rocky on the other side of the fence. I'll keep you updated on how it's all going! 

A Lovely Day with Mr K!

Things hadn't exactly gone to plan when I arranged to visit Kennedy on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.  By this time, if the original plan had gone as planned, he should have been in his new home at Sparrow Park for at least 3 days but things do have a habit of never quite happening as they are supposed to.  And this is why, on Wednesday of the week before, myself and my auntie, from now referred to as Auntie Lynne - who is potentially more excited about Kennedy than I am (if that is possible) - found ourselves Googling places to stay in Durham.  She had wanted a few nights away and I was looking for an opportunity to spend some time with the man of the moment (which is Kennedy and most definitely not any of the locals of The Bay Horse - particularly the very friendly man with a whippet and a cigarette who decided to ask us lots of questions whilst we were attempting to have a very civilized picnic).  So a couple of nights in and around Durham suited us both well.

I do get butterflies when I go to see Kennedy but I'm pleased to report that these have matured from this initial slightly sick with nerves to the mostly excited with the odd sprinkle of 'what if?' mainly on my part.  So as I pulled up, I got that familiar fluttering feeling about seeing him and spending some time with him without his mum, Caroline, being there to give me confidence and the odd pointer here and there.

*On a side note, for anyone reading who doesn't know me in person.  It is well to know that I worry about absolutely everything.  This will come across in my blog posts no doubt but serves me both positively and negatively.  I'd elaborate but you'll get the point.

With nowhere to be and no other plans for the day, it was lovely to have lots of time to spend with Kennedy and spend some time fussing about him and grooming him and finding his nice itching spots and applying various lotions and potions.  Then of course we did some selfies (most important on a spa day as we learnt from the aptly named 'Mr Selfie' at Ramside Hall the following day)...

"Did you get my good side?"

After sending these off to anyone we'd get a nice reply from, including Kennedy's mum, we decided to stop all this foolishness and head out for a bit of serious hacking!  So we got tacked up and headed off out, Aunty Lynne on foot.

I will be 100% honest in this blog and say, I was nervous.  I've ridden Kennedy quite a few times now but always had the safety blanket of his mum, Caroline, being there (albeit quite far in the distance on the last hack).  This time, however, I felt like it was our first step, foot and hoof, into trusting each other to look after each other whatever.  It definitely felt like some of the safety net being taken away - sink or swim - as it were and I was determined to put our best foot forward.  So, after checking my stirrups were right 400 times, checking his girth one last time and finally sitting up and remembering to breathe, we were off with Auntie Lynne walking alongside.

As usual, a few metres in, and Kennedy had reminded me why he is so special.  Suddenly, every little bit of anxiety had gone and I was enjoying myself.  We trotted a little to lose the flies and I decided I was going to have a canter in the place Caroline had told me was good.  I knew we were getting closer and as the hill came into view my heart sank.  As could only happen to me, two men in mobility scooters were sat half way up the bank having a conversation.  To squeeze past them in walk was just about enough so we went a little further than planned as we crossed into the second part of the path where we were able to have 3 nicely spread out but absolutely amazing canters.  For those confident regular ridery horsey type people that may seem fairly expected but for me, cantering has always been a worry.  However, as always, Kennedy seemed to emit calming vibes and rock me into a comfortable, confident canter that I didn't want to end!  I told my auntie I felt brave on Kennedy and she said "you look confident and calm" and I think she's probably nailed it.

I hope that Auntie Lynne will be a big part in Kennedy's life and I know that Kennedy will look after her and warm to her as he is such a loyal and trusting boy - this has been evident since I met him.  So, on the way back, she hopped on and rode Kennedy back up the drive to the farm.  It has been a long time since she has ridden and, like me, she lacks confidence so it was lovely to see her smiling and enjoying Kennedy so much.  I know he will make a lot of difference to her and I hope they'll also form a strong bond.  

Here are some pictures of the pair of them enjoying the end of the hack:

Getting her balance and confidence.

The Kennedy Effect:  Smiling her head off!

Tomorrow is all about sorting out Kennedy's stable and section of the tack room.  Hopefully I'll be able to update with some photos.

Thanks for reading!

* 2 sleeps to go! *

Welcome to Kennedy's Adventures!

Hi everyone,

I've spent the afternoon messing around creating a blog so that I can keep everyone of Kennedy's family and fans up to date with what he has been up to!  We'll be posting regular updates of our adventures together.

Looking forward to the adventures!

Sian