Kennedy: A new adventure and a new friend...

Good Morneigh,
It's been fairly sunny here at the moment and I've really enjoyed being out in the sunshine with all my friends - I'm one popular neddy among the other horses (and I'm pretty sure the humans too).  Sian has been a little bit obsessive about brushing my feathers recently.  It's fine (I suppose) but she's getting a little irritating brushing them with various brushes all the time.  And making noises like "hmmm..." "grrrr..." "argh..." and "aha!"  Of course, I've been using it as a good excuse to stand and have a nose about at what's going on in the yard.  I'm afraid to say that one of my doggy friends, Tess, has taken very ill.  She spends most of her time lying near the stables at the moment.  Everyone who walks past gives her a little pat or a cuddle but she doesn't move much - poor old girl.

Yesterday was quite a fun day.  First of all, don't worry this isn't the fun part, Sian brought me in on the morning and we spent lots of time just the two of us.  She brushed my tail and my legs and, guess what, my feathers (would you believe)!  She sprayed on some fly spray, then we stood and talked for a bit and she let Betsy (my other doggy friend) out of her kennel to have a little run about.

After a while, she suddenly made a 'hmmm...' noise and then went and grabbed my saddle.  "This is odd..." I thought as she still tends to like to have someone around if she's riding (don't ask me why) and there was no one at the farm at all.  Anyway, she popped my saddle and bridle on and after a little struggle negotiating the mounting block (it's a lot wobbly), she managed to jump on and we set off into the farm.  We just stayed on the car park tarmac and did some circles and walk and halt for about 2 minutes and then I heard the sound of hooves.  I looked round to see my old friend Rocky walking down the road towards me and with him a beautiful grey mare with stawberry roan flecks in her coat being led by Holly.

This mare is Jess.  She's 19 and is owned by Holly's boyfriend who Sian said hasn't ridden before but it looks like he wants to spend more time with Holly so he got a horse.  He was riding her - Debbie said he'd done "nothing but sit there and enjoy the ride!" all the way back from the vets but he seemed to be smiling so I guess Jess is well behaved too.

Sian says 'look at the beautiful feathers!'  Honestly
woman, get a grip!

After that, Debbie suggested that we walked Jess, Holly and Jordan back to their farm which is just down the road from us.  Handily, Sian had walked this way the night before looking for new places to ride so she knew what was down here.  Jess likes to be in front so we wandered along behind - well actually it was more of a power walk as Jess and Holly don't do 'wandering' as such.  When we got back to the farm, Debbie said she would like a coffee before we went back as it was quite sunny and she'd already walked to the vets and back and then to the farm.  Holly suggested we had a little go in the riding school if it was empty so we wandered round (my pace this time) and went in.  Sian said it was a little embarrassing as there were benches down the side where everyone sat and had a watch.  We had some walks and trots and even managed a few strides of canter - though Sian said the school was a bit small to expect much more than that from me.  I actually had quite good fun as there were some bits on the floor that we pracrised walking round.  But what impressed everyone the most, they said, was how calm and cool I was...particularly as someone had started a fire in the next field that was crackling a bit.  One funny moment was when I had my back to it and it did a crack and I thought it was a whip cracking so did an excellent unexpected transition from trot to canter.  Sian must be really starting to trust me as, instead of freaking out, she just laughed a lot and told me to keep it going.

We rode back with Debbie and I took it easy after the excitement of meeting Jess and having a go in the school.  It was warm and we were pretty tired (Sian had to drink Holly's coke before we set back off and spilled it all down her front - how embarrassing!)  When we got back up onto the road, we had a little trot and I decided to power on back towards the farm.  We left Debbie in the dust (sorry Debbie).  When we got back, Sian gave me a nice cool spongebath as it was warm, she said.  Then she told me she wished someone would give her a cold spongebath.  "Not me!" I said.

After that, I got one of my treats for being a 'good boy'.  Aren't I always?  And had a wander around the courtyard to cool off.  Sian popped me back out with Syd where I could watch the farmer filling his barn with hay and straw.  Sian said it was pretty funny when he came on his tractor with lots of bales of hay...  Rocky, Prince and Syd went wild and ran off and apparently, I just started walking, wide-eyed towards the gate as if all of my Christmases had come at once.  How rude - I was only being curious.  You'd think she'd be happy that I wasn't spooked by the tractor.  In fact, I was so unspooked by it, I didn't even flinch when yesterday, as Sian was bringing me out of the paddock, I reversed into the parked trailer whilst trying to get at some particularly scrumptious looking grass - well a boy's got to eat you know!

Anyhow, love and sloppy kisses to all my friends and neigh-bours.
xxx