Horse archery course

Yesterday we went to the Centre of Horseback Combat for our first proper mounted archery lesson. Have ben looking forward to this for a while and it didn't disappoint.

First we had to get the right equipment. As we would be drawing the bow with our thumbs we had to tape them up so we didn't lose any skin. Epic fail by the teenager who managed to get her tape stuck to itself rather than her thumb and had to be rescued by mother. Then we were issued with natty little gloves for the bow hand to stop further skin loss as the arrow looses. Might also come in handy for preventing skin loss during ride and lead with naughty baby horses who like to stop dead to get their heads down to the grass......

Next it was time for a bow or two. "What's the poundage of your usual bow?" Karl, our instructor, asks the teenager. Blank look, shrug of shoulder. Luckily her father knew the answer.....

So suitably equipped, we went out to the garden for a bit of practise on the ground. We were carefully shown the thumb draw technique and practised everything really slowly one step at a time. Took a while for my old brain to get it right and just as I thought I'd got my head round it, Karl announces that the average run lasts 14 seconds so let's see how many arrows you can get off in that time. Er, one......

More practise without the time pressure. Then he timed us again. Still only one! Meanwhile, Karl and Michael, one of the BHAA guys who had joined us, effortlessly got 3 shots off in the time. So some work for me to do there! Next we had a little competition to see who could get 3 arrows off the fastest, I managed to beat Ali the first time, but then she got her own back and beat me the rest of the time......should be used to it by now.

After that, it was time to get on a horse. I got to ride Jupiter, the horse Ali rode at the BHAA Championship last year. First time I have ridden a horse in a bit for a long time, felt very strange. Also was strange to have a horse brought out all tacked up ready to go, doesn't seem right really.......

To start with, we went up the run at a walk, Karl holding the horse so I only had to worry about getting my arrows off. At the walk, you have considerably longer than 14 seconds, so this went well.

Ali did the same, in the other direction since she shoots left-handed.

Once we'd done a few runs at the walk and managed to get 3 arrows off each time (so that's me ready for Club 3 next time we go to France) it was time to move up a gear to trot. This meant poor Karl had to trot along beside us, shouting the litany of "bow, string, push, pull, thumb, finger, nock, loose....." so I could get it fixed in my brain. Kept forgetting to slide the arrow up to the nock on the string so arrows were going all over the place! I did get a few in the target though and was starting to get all 3 off in the runs at the trot before we stopped for lunch, so quite pleased with that.

Even remembered my "flourish", you bring your arm back over ready for the next arrow as soon as the first one has gone, and you don't have time to stop and watch whether you've hit anything or not ;-)

Meanwhile, the teenager and Michael were off and running, making it all look easy......

Once we stopped though I realised just how windy it was getting as I noticed a freezing cold Éowyn standing by the run, and my photographer was looking a bit disgruntled too. The horses were  on edge because of the wind and Karl decided that it wouldn't be prudent to continue in the afternoon since the weather was set to worsen as the day went on. So sadly we didn't get to do the rest of the course but the good news is we're going back in May. Can't wait :-)

Livin' in a box.....

So today I notice two of the newspapers (although I guess that's a term you can only loosely apply to the Daily Mail) have articles about a new study that has revealed the astounding news that horses don't like being shut up in individual stables.

Really? Who knew?

Marvellous revelations abound in the Telegraph article such as  "Group housing provides horses with an environment where they are able to display natural behaviour, and contact with other horses improves overall welfare." and "Researchers.......found that the animals became more stressed and increasingly difficult to handle the more isolated they became."

Talk about stating the bleedin' obvious.

Sadly though, in my experience many horse owners, who consider themselves caring, expert owners really do say that they'd rather have their horses "safely tucked up" in a stable under a pile of rugs in the winter than out in the field getting wet and muddy. They claim that their horses are always waiting by the gate ready to come in at night because they want to. But what I reckon is that the horses wait by the gate because they know that when they come in, they get a nice big bucket of feed and a haynet. They accept that they have to go into a stable to get this food, so they are happy to do it. But what about when the owner has gone home and the hay has run out? What do they feel like then with many hours of the night left to go with nothing to do, no interactions with other horses, nothing to eat? Given the choice would they want to stay shut in?

My horses live out all the time for most of the year, but in here on our farm livery in the UK, the rules are that they must come off the land at night for a few months in the winter. Because otherwise the field would get too muddy. This is what it looks like out there when they do come in at night, can't imagine it could get much worse if they didn't, but it's not my land, so I don't get a choice.

They don't go into a stable because quite apart from the negative social aspects of that, Gandalf's COPD would kick off. They go into a yard with an open barn down one side of it, next to the cattle. Do they choose to stay in the barn all nice and sheltered? Judging by the state of them in the morning after a night's rain (soaked) I'd say no, they'd rather be outside......

When we first start bringing them in at night, all the other liveries wait by the gate since they know they're going in for those nice big feeds, which apparently they need, all being thoroughbred types, but mine choose to stay down at the far end of the field. Night after night, we have to go and fetch them. They seem reluctant to come with us, judging by the amount of stopping they do (or buggering off refusing to be caught in Sky's case). After a few weeks of wading through acres of mud looking for them, we give in and start giving them a small feed when they come onto the yard. They eventually get the message and start waiting for us by the gate. But they wouldn't bother if it weren't for the buckets! And in the morning they are all jostling for position by the yard gate to be let back out. Says it all, really.....

Teeny TRECcer!

We made it to the last of the winter TREC comps today, the NO decided she wanted a go, so I lost my ride and had to follow them over there in the car......

Ali is looking really happy in this pic, she and her sister managed to argue pretty much the whole way there.....

Anyway, Gandalf was great, as usual, and as Éowyn was in the starter class where lead reins were allowed, I basically just did the whole thing as in-hand obstacles, and she managed to fall off the mounting block

But she still managed to score enough to come 6th (OK, it was only out of 7, but she wasn't last!), and even got 4 tens (thanks to Gandalf )

Sky was of course a total tit, there was no control in the control of paces, she just went as fast as she could, then in the immobility she managed all of 2 seconds before wandering off. She did manage to do the gate quite well though.....

We took advantage of an empty outdoor arena to do a quick bit of work with her afterwards, and she was much better in there, I don't think she likes the indoor school much......

By this time, Éowyn was cold and tired and Ali was only too happy to bring both horses home since she'd had enough of her sister, did a good job with the ride and lead too...

So, not exactly a brilliant performance, but all good experience. Wish we could do some proper TREC comps like we used to do in France, I miss those......

Kinna goes jumping

Just seen some pics from Mademoiselle's first outing to a proper Showjumping competition at St Seurin sur l'Isle, home of Jappeloup and the sort of place where you're expected to look posh.

Doesn't look like she gave her young rider an easy time judging from these......

....and, er, this!

I'm sure Diane-Claire won't mind me putting these pics on here as they're already on Facebook. But fair play to her for sticking with it and getting Missy to jump round the course (which is more than we're getting Sky to do at the moment)

Seems like she's been for  bit of a haircut too ;-) Looking good though....and full of beans!