At ten o'clock we had a visit from an ecologist who was looking to approve the work that is about to start on the stables. She has now approved the work and so we can go ahead with the concrete base for the first lot of stables. Hopefully the work will start very soon as we have encountered a lot of problems in trying to get these new stables put in. In the afternoon Ros took everyone to Solihull as Jasmine and Nina were part loaning Indy and Amelia and Alice were part loaning Apollo. Nina had her day off today but the other three rode and the tackroom had a tidy up. Apollo and Indy are quite new to Alice and Jasmine so this was an interesting challenge. Later Jemma took Buster for another schooling session on the menage. This time he was much more settled as he understood what was expected and he was more familiar with his surroundings. He worked well and Jemma was very pleased with him. Well done all!

As it was still wet on the field all the horses had to be ridden out on Sunday. Nina and George rode out early from the Solihull field on Indy and Apollo. They rode up to the club but the grounds were closed and the members field was very wet and boggy so they went down Conker lane and into Knowle village. The horse were both very good but Mona was upset at being left behind and han managed to escape from her paddock and had been galloping round the whole field as she had left lots of hoof marks in the grass. She was settled and grazing when the other horses got back so they were left together in her paddock and after a quick canter round they settled to graze. At the home field Jemma, jade, Alice, Lauren, Kezzia and Jasmine rode out on Merlin, bess, Belle , Ted, Bobby and Maisey. They went on a long ride out and ended up at the back of Swanshurst Park. There they praciced jumping ditches. Some of the horses were quite confident at this but Maisey and Merlin were just led over as they seemed unsure. All went well and the horses enjoyed the work as the field has been very wet so they have not had much turnout.

Today was sunny in the morning but wet underfoot so the Saturday riding was a hack out.  Everybody did very well and  the ponies were very well behaved. Many thanks to Maria's Dad for the shavings for Merlin's stable (Merlin has a dust allergy). In the afternoon George, Jemma and Jade went to help with the combined training at Solihull Riding Club.The day was quieter than expected but  jobs ranged from collecting dressage score sheets, to keeping the judges warm with blankets, extra coats and cups of tea as their heating was broken. It was an enjoyable afternoon and everyone was rewarded with a £5 voucher that can be used for entering competitions or hiring the school.
Buster was allowed out with his two new friends today. They got on well but as the weather was so wet and they were cantering round a lot, Barry, who owns the land, decided to separate them later to allow them to graze and settle as the heavy horses together were ploughing up the mud. We are hoping for a dryer day to allow them to canter round. They were all pretty happy but probably would have preferred to continue their play.

Today was very wet so the horses at the main field were only turned out for a little while in the morning while they were mucked out. As these horses were unable to be ridden we focused instead on the new horse Buster. As he seemed to have found his feet in his new home we hired the arena down the road and took him for a small schooling session. He was a little unsettled as the weather was not good and there was also a digger working loudly in the next field. His work was really simple- working on a twenty metre circle on both reins in walk and a little trot. He seemed a little bored as he is used to hacking out but was happier when he realised he would be given polos as a reward for doing well. Altogether a promising start! All the horses were stabled for the night as rain was expected. Buster will be in the same field as his new friends for the first time tomorrow morning.

Today Sheree had to do her AS horse riding which involved being filmed riding over a set of 3'3'' fences. As our horses are still unfit from the winter as we do not have a menage we went to a friend to borrow her horse. Sheree and Ros went in George's car and got there at about 10 o'clock. Sheree did not get on with the first horse she tried as it was too forward going but the second horse, a 5 year old welsh cross thoroughbred was much better. She took her for a practise jump round the cross country course and was very pleased with her as the horse went very well. We returned at 3.45 pm to film the jumping after the horse had had a rest.  The horse jumped well on the film. Well done Sheree! Hopefully that will be enough for the AS level however they may require show jumps rather than cross country jumps in which case another filming session, this time at Solihull Club, will be needed. Meanwhile the girls rode at the home field in the morning. Jade on Bess, Jemma on Merlin, Lauren on Belle, Kezzia on Bobby and Jasmine on Ted. and did very well with Belle staying calm but Merlin was a bit grumpy. Also Apollo and Amelia did well at the solihull field. Mona started canter work on the lunge and was doing well. She was a little jumpy being ridden at first as she wasn't ridden at the same time as her friends but she soon settled and was going very well towards the end. Buster was happy today and wasn't so upset when brought in for a feed. Hopefully he will be able to go in the field with his friends tomorrow as they get on very well over the fence. The money for the stables has also been sorted as we were contacted by Birmingham City Council and the money should be paid over by next week.
All in all a really busy day!

Today the horses at the home field went out out for a hack. Just as they got back it started to rain so all of the horses at the home field were stabled until it dried up. George, Heidi and Amelia went to the Solihull field and schooled Apollo and Indy. Ros and Lauren went to check on Tuppence whilst Jade and Jemma were very good and tidied the tack-room, the caravan and the feed-shed. George, Amelia, Heidi, Jade and Jemma did the last check on Buster. He was calm to handle but was still not happy about being separated from his new friends and was unsettled when tied up in the yard having his feed. Everyone was very tired and most are planning on an early night tonight.

Today was a hectic day. Those with horses on loan at the home field rode in the morning and schooled them for about an hour. At Rowney Green  Buster has become so attached to the other horses that he tried to jump out of his stable when  Molly went for her lesson. Apollo and Mo had a lesson at Solihull Riding Club with Gill Rose. She said they had much improved from last time, particularly Apollo was unrecognisable! Both Apollo and Mo worked a little on leg-yielding and later Mo started some canter work. Gill was very pleased with the horses, and with Sophie whom she had not seen ride before.

When checked at 9.00 Buster was a little unsettled as he was obviously missing his friends and family. He was mainly staying along the fence  line close to the horses in the next field and had not shown much interest in his hay. At lunch time he came in for a small feed and as it was sleeting it was decided to put his rug on. When checked at 6.00 he was much more settled and was warm under his rug. He had a small night-time feed and when we left he was eating his hay.

Today at 2.45 buster arrived at the Rowney Green field. He was very sweaty after his long journey from Staffordshire but seemed happy to get out of the trailer. he was very interested in Molly and Tulley but had to wait in his stable until he had cooled down before he could go out in the field to meet them. When he had cooled down he went in the bottom field next to the other two so he could get to know them. Tulley was a bit too interested and ended up getting stung on the nose by the electric fence! After a quick gallop round they all soon settled to graze occasionally pulling faces over the fence. Buster will be having the rest of the week to get settled in before he starts to be fittened up ready to ride. Buster's previous owners are very sad to see him go but we hope he will settle in quickly and he will stay with us permanently. They will hopefully be visiting in the next few weeks to see how he is getting on.

this blog is written by: alice, billie, jemmie, jazza, kezzwii, lozwii, sophie!!
Good friday so we had the day off school and went and mucked out :) then we went to the cafe for crusts (20p!) but jasmine was being greedy so had a bacon sandwhich!! piling on the pounds!!
then we rode!! jemma and heidi on merlin and bess and bobby did dressage on the lunge!! :s with alice and kezwii!! then we all swapped :D we had a fun day`(y) then we decided to stay at georges, so lauren met us, jemma died her hair black and we all piled into the little car and came here, yay!! then we went round the corner to get pizza in our pyjamas! the end.....x