A Day on the Moors

I have just been on holiday in Cornwall and have been exploring the beautiful Bodmin Moors. Naturally, being completely mad about horses, I had to investigate the herds of ponies out there. Being June, it is one of the best times of year to see these ponies as many of the mares have a foal by their side. I thought I would share a number of my favourite photos from my weekend away.

"I'm watching you. I'm a big brave boy, but I'll stick with Mum just in case!"

Two of my favourite photos. The little skewbald was quite a character and definitely kept an eye on us for quite a while! We got quite close to the other little one. She was very interested in us and we almost got to stroke her, but mum soon got worried, told her off, and took her away. 

Me and my Minotaur!!

Ok, so this is not a horse photo, there are obviously also cows on the moors! However, this photo of me and my highland friend is a necessary addition, as the episode that caused this photo to be taken created much embarrassment and laughter!! My housemate and I took this trip to Cornwall immediately after a rather stressful University exam which finished at 6:30pm. It was about 1:30am when we were driving across the moors to the place where we were staying. I was very tired and I had literally been doing Greek and Roman mythology for about three weeks and I think I had gone a little mad by that point! We caught sight of a highland cow on the road and had to break quite sharply because it made us both jump as it seemed to come out of nowhere in the dark and mist! My immediate response was that it must be a Minotaur, a Greek, half man, half bull, monster! Clearly not, but revision had obviously sent me a bit crazy! So this is my Minotaur! :) Still, I maintain that it is more logical than recognising one of these as a buddhist monk, like someone else I know!!! Alcohol may possibly have been involved in that one....

Clearly it's a hard life on the moors!!! 

Something wrong with this picture?!

"I know you are there. You are disturbing my sleep!"

Beautiful mum and baby :) 

Oh dear! Stretch!!! :)

I am also curious about these ponies. I am told they are not always the same ponies from year to year. What happens when the ponies are rounded up? What happens if someone has a car accident with these horses who are allowed to roam all over the country roads as part of the moors? Who owns them? How do they select which ones to leave our and which ones to bring in, apart from obvious reasons such as health? Lots of questions! I shall have to do some investigating :)

I feel some introductions to Tye Lane's permanent residents are needed! First of all let me introduce Tara. She is my usual mount when I am at the stables, but belongs to my friend Trudy. Tara is an unknown coloured, who loves her work. She is easy going and relaxed to handle, which is deceptive to people who don't know her! She absolutely loves to jump, and her favourite speeds are canter and gallop! We have a tendency to argue when being asked to trot, when we know jumps are around! Despite the fact that she is sensitive to ride, I love her to bits and I feel completely and utterly safe on her back!

Me and Tara - photo taken by LRG photography

Next we have Winston. He belongs to Trudy's daughter, Sophie. He is a thoroughbred ex racehorse and is one of the biggest characters in the yard! Quirky would definitely be a word to describe him but we absolutely love him to bits! Winston and Sophie are best friends and Tara and I have many mad hacks on the south downs with them! 

Sophie and Winston

Rio is Tara's foal! His father is My Squire Caretino from the Brendon stud. He is now a yearling and becoming a very large bundle of mischief! Any guesses to what colour he might end up? I will post some more recent photos soon. We think he might look rather like Winston in colour when he is fully grown! 

Baby Rio! 

Finally we have Daisy. She is the 11.2hh, New Forest Pony who Sophie learnt to ride on. Daisy has been part of the family for many years. "Thelwell Pony" is the only way to describe Daisy! We all adore her no matter how cheeky she can be sometimes! 

Daisy! 

More posts soon :)

I decided this summer to start a blog, something I have wanted to do for a long time. I am a history student at university with a passion for horses, and every holiday I spend lots of my time at a lovely little yard called Tye Lane Stables, nestled in the heart of the South Downs in England. It belongs to my very close friends who are kind enough to allow me to ride their horses. It is nothing fancy, we don't even have a sand school, but it is one of the most beautiful and one of the most relaxing places I know. We compete, go hacking for hours, sometimes take in horses to find them new and loving homes, occasionally get ourselves into trouble but always learn and share adventures with our permanent residents! I thought that I would create a blog to share experiences, information, discoveries, and our horses, with people that love horses just as much or wish to learn about them! Hope you enjoy my posts! :)