So where is he?

I told you a little while ago in this post that I would be leasing Phoenix and he would be arriving in the next couple of weeks. Well in case you haven't noticed there hasn't been much word on him here, so heres an update:

He was supposed to come about 2 weeks ago but the girl who has him can't drive him as shes on her restricted license and her parents were over seas for a couple of weeks so we had to wait for them to get back.

Then last week she rang me to say that her parents were back but when she had gone out to see him that day she had felt some heat in his hooves which meant he could be lame. She was going to get someone to check it out and see if he would be alright to travel.

She then rang me on Friday night and said there was no heat anymore and would it be alright if they brought him up on Sunday afternoon (yesterday). Of course I said yes, glad that something was happening and I would be able to show you all some pictures. She said they would probably get to the Pony Club at about 4.00pm. So about 3.30 I was just about to leave to go up to the Pony Club when I got a call from her. Apparently they had been trying for two hours to get him on the float and he utterly refused to go near it. They had some experienced horse friends helping them and even they hadn't been able to get him on. One of the friends ended up having to go to hospital because Phoenix ripped a rope out of his hand and cut it to the bone.

She said they were going to try for a little while longer and then get back to me. So I sat at home and then about 1/2 an hour later her mum rang to talk to me. She told me basically the same thing but she said they were going to call it a day and maybe try later on in the week. So yep thats about it.

I don't know when he's coming and even if he'll come considering they can't get him on the float. So we'll see what happens.

Now for some good news: My Cross Country event shirt and hat cover arrived on Wednesday! Its sky blue and black (my colours for those who dont know) and its awesome! I'll get mum to take a picture of me in it tonight and of course you will see in featured during the cross country phase of my competitions. Now all I need is some black boots for Red to complete our Cross Country outfit haha :)

Also if you remember in my post Shopping List I wanted a Hanoverian Collegiate Bridle... we'll I got it last week. I felt a tad guilty about spending that much on a bridle but I love it! I even brought a bridle bag to protect it so it dosen't get ruined in the back of my car. Reds not quite excited about it as I am.. he wouldn't stand still when I was fitting it to him.

So thats it in the news of Katie and Red. A story for another day will be coming soon (if not in the next hour or so) so keep your eyes peeled for that.

The cold windy days

When my annoying alarm woke me up this morning I realised it was raining outside and I though to myself "Red will not be a happy boy today" and I was right. He was the grumpiest I have ever seen in him in my whole 3 years of owning him. First he gave me his evil eyes and angry ears when I walked up to him in the paddock. He then turned and walked away. But he soon stopped and I was able to get him. Then as were walking all the way down to the wash bay he went as slow as he could. Honestly I could not get him to move out. And he wanted to stop to eat every few metres.

When I finally got him down to the wash bay it all went bad. Aparently everything I did annoyed the heck out of him. If I was undoing his cover he would try to nip me, if I picked up a brush he would try to nip me, and sometimes if I was just walking past me he would go in the for the kill. After telling him off a few times he finally got the message that nipping me was not on, so he decided to take his anger out on the air instead. His teeth nashed, his tail flicked and his ears were laid against his head at anything I tried to do. He was not a happy boy.

Then when I went to mount him he would not stand still! This horse just did not want to be ridden. But once we rode around a bit he settled down and got on with work. It just took us awhile to get there.

Last night I got the call that Pheonix can come onto grazing early!!!!!! Wahoo! Its going to make life so much easier. He'll be up in the next couple of weekends. I'll probably find out the exact date tonight! I'm really excited. Reds going really well at the moment, and Pheonix will be a great new challange so I'm in for a exciting 3 months while hes here.

Well thats all for now!

Some news...

So it was Pony Club sign up day on Saturday. I went along, paid my money and applied for grazing for Red and Phoenix. Things with Phoenix are just sitting on hold at the moment until I find out whether he can come onto PC grazing earlier then the rest of the summer grazers. Honestly I think the committee should let him considering they have let 4 other horses onto the PC land recently and I have a valid reason for Phoenix coming early. The committee meeting is this week so hopefully I’ll be able to give you some good news. If the committee says no Phoenix will go to graze at my friends house for a couple of weeks but its going to be a nuisance since I’ll have two horses at two different places with limited time!

We were also given a new PC key at sign up. We have had heaps of attempted break-ins and we think a few of the old keys are in the wrong hands. Its not like everyone has access to the club rooms. The key is just for the front gate and the toilets. In one of the attempted break-ins the people rammed the gate with their car and smashed it to pieces, they then tried smashing one of the clubrooms door down but didn’t succeed. There are some mighty big dents in the door though. The front gate had to be replaced. Also there has been a sneaky old man stealing our old arena turf! The bark has been piled up in a massive mountain to the side of the arena and we use it for heaps of the muddy spots around the grounds. Twice recently while my dad and I have been there in the early mornings a old man drives in with his white 4-wheel drive and trailer and starts shoveling the bark into his trailer. Once its full he drives away. Now my dad and I always thought he was ligit. I mean how many people would steal bark when someone was watching! But nope! That old man is a thief! I happened to mention it to my friend’s mum who is on the committee at PC and she was like “What?!” So I told her all about him, how he comes in after us and leaves before us. So she checked it out and he has no permission to do it! Luckily some alarm bells rang in both my dad and my own head and we wrote his number plate down… but I had to take it off this site in case he saw it and I got sued for defamation. So hopefully he’s been reported to the police!

In other news it was wet, windy and cold today which means one thing: Red did not want to be ridden. But sometimes we have to do what we don’t want. Luckily I’m so in tune with my horse that I know he’ll most likely spook on days like this because he’s a High Strung Horse . So I was ready. He spooked a few times but they were nothing to worry about. Except one time I was changing my stirrup length when there was this MASSIVE bang which gave ME the fright of my life. Red instantly felt my fear and he then spun but it was all good. He settled after that. I take all responsibility for that spook, the rest was his fault.

If you have been reading the national news in NZ, you’ll know that Equine Flu has broken out in Australia. All horse imports and exports have been banned in and out of New Zealand. The races have closed down, as have many other horse related sports and clubs. For those who don’t know New Zealand and Australia are the only two countries in the world with a large equine population that has not had the Equine Flu. That means all our horses have no immunity against it, which in turn means if it gets to New Zealand it will spread rapidly through the equine population. Other countries with large equine populations have annual vaccinations against the Equine Flu. I’m guessing that once this crisis is over it may start to become implemented here. I’m not going to tell you all about what the Equine Flu can do, but if you are interested you can read about it here . I’m praying it won’t make it to New Zealand. The horses that have been imported from Australia recently are being tested but it will be awhile before we find out if the virus is here or not. Let’s just hope it doesn’t arrive because it means many will have serious problems with our horses and also we won’t be able to compete! I am so looking forward to this season and I don’t want anything to stop Red and I having fun. And if any Aussies are reading this I’m sending all the healing warmth I can from here! I hope your horses get better soon!


Heres a pic of the happy, healthy Red. He better stay this way.


Until later!

Hear ye, hear ye: I have an announcement to make!

There will soon be a new addition to A Girl and Her Horse... for I am leasing a sweet little pony called Phoenix until December.

Everyone meet Phoenix:

Isn't he just darling? He was broken in last summer and thats us on his first trek. He was great, so laid back and he did everything I asked of him. From what I understand the girl who he is leased out to now hasn't been able to ride him much and as a result hes getting a bit naughty. So hes coming to me!

I was sure he was the same size as Red (15.3hh) so I would be able to use Reds covers on him, then Sarah-Anne told me he was only 14hh. Oh well, I guess I'll be buying some stuff for him :)

I can't wait for him to arrive! He'll probably come in 2 or 3 weeks! And just to reasure all my readers who are thinking about poor Red, I will still be riding him as often as I did before and he'll still be loved. Because seriously Red is my number one!

PS. A girl and her horse might have to change to a girl and her horse and her pony :P but we'll see what happens