Pink horse box? Yes or No? 

I actually saw one of these for the first time while driving down to Tye Lane Equestrian....

Photo from Horse and Hound

Yes, its a Katie Price, PINK horse box. When these were first launched I distinctly remember Sophie squeaking that she wanted one, and me telling her that I wouldn't be going anywhere in it if she did. I have been known to go through phases of wanting a pink car, but in reality I couldn't do it. To me, this really is going too far and it is not my cup of tea at all! I love pink, don't get me wrong. I have a rose pink colour in my bedroom and I wear pink a lot. This horse box, however, looks better in the photo. It looked rather tacky in real life to me and was certainly a distraction while I was driving!

I'm sure there are many young girls who would absolutely love to have one of these, and good on them if they want it. If you are a girl who loves this, then go for it and don't care what anyone thinks of you! I'm just saying that its not for me!

The horse box I saw was much bigger than this. Maybe it was Katie Price's actual horse box.... You never know!

The Wonders of Dettol

Due to all the bad weather we've been having, I failed to stick to my golden rule of summer: Always have Dettol on hand, and don't forget to use it! I won't share with you the footage of the two very nasty horse fly bites I received, because I don't want to put you all through it. If any of you have ever been bitten, then you know how much it hurts. If you haven't been bitten, then you want to avoid it if you can!

There are many different fly sprays on the market, but diluting Dettol can be brilliant! I normally put a capful in a 1 litre spray bottle and fill the rest with water. It doesn't last as long as some normal fly sprays but is ideal for an extra boost in the field or before you go out for a ride. It is apparently also good for horses with sweet itch as it keeps everything clean too!

Before I go out for a ride, however, I don't just spray the horse. Yes, I spray myself. Everywhere. I do, from time to time, get some funny looks, but they won't be laughing when I don't get bitten and they do! Dettol has the advantage of smelling clean and fresh, and not like you have had a bath in your horse's fly spray! It is also rather refreshing on a hot day, and in the last 5 years of doing this, I have not been bitten. Until I forgot...

I managed to get bitten twice on the same day, centimeters apart so it looked more like a snake bite! My leg has gone through varying shades of red to what appeared to be black and purple bruising. That will teach me not to forget my Dettol!

Diesel's Story :) 

We have quite a few ponies that pass through the doors of Tye Lane. Of course we will follow our permanent residents on a regular basis, but often our none permanent residents have some interesting stories or issues. Diesel has been at Tye Lane for about a year now. We bought him from a lady who had originally purchased him for her daughter, only to find that he was too much of a handful for them. He was a bit scrawny, very green and a little bit silly!

Diesel's early schooling

Diesel had little respect for people on the ground, was very spooky to ride and would sometimes get stubborn and reverse himself to the gate when he didn't want to do something! He also paces, which makes cantering a difficult thing to achieve. Diesel has had lots of work from lunging and long reining, to riding with a bungee for a short while at the beginning of each session, to improving his confidence hacking, gradually getting him to lead parts of the ride. He has also had a great deal of handling on the ground and has now become accustomed to being tied up on the yard and has stopped barging into people! We quickly discovered he had a love of jumping and we used this as a reward to make sessions more fun and interesting.

This video was taken at the end of last summer. As you can see, he loves to jump but getting the canter is always an issue! He has greatly improved in this but I will post more on dealing with pacers later!

Diesel in his first British Novice Class

Now Diesel has begun competing in British Novice classes and is showing real talent. He still has some issues, like his pacing and occasional moments where he gets a bit spooky and silly but we are working on these and hope to find him a home where he can be competed successfully! :)