Firework Fortnight and Donkey Cuddles!
I call this firework fortnight as it seems that for the past week and the coming week everyone will be spending their hard earned money watching pretty things make loud noises and frighten animals, we are lucky in a way as being so close to Bristol (yet in our own little paradise) our horses seem to be acclimatised to the fireworks, however we will still be having a yard BBQ on what we think will be the busiest night, so the horses can have our attention and we get to eat yummy food and be social :)
Now the clocks have gone back we are met with dark nights, thank goodness for arena lights, a infra red wash room, a great coffee machine and heated tack room. One of the things I love about England is the changing seasons and the variety it brings, so winter brings cold, wet and mud, but it also brings lovely looking horses once clipped, a chance to dress them in that whole wardrobe of rugs you have bought them, enjoying a good wash (whilst trying to wash your horse) in the heated washbox, filling their stables with treats and toys to keep them busy when they are in, enjoying coffee in the tack room with all the other lovely livery owners, warm boiled barley for the horses dinner, and bandages it brings us here at Hill Livery lots of bandages, you see we use fleece polo bandages as mud fever prevention and it works marvels for us, we simply bandage them up for the field and when they come in, off come the bandages and hey presto, clean dry legs! we then wash a heap of bandages and untangle them once they come out of the washing machine, thank goodness for our roof driers in the tack room. Winter also brings donkey cuddles!!!!! as you can see from the picture attached, Jeremy our miniature mediterranean donkey loves nothing more than a cuddle especially from the person who loves him the most! Georgia has a total love affair with Jeremy and if she goes missing on the yard she can be found cuddling her horse Sam or Jeremy! but hey who wouldn't want a lovely warm fluffy donkey cuddle!
So you see winter is not all bad, and then we get a little nearer to Christmas, with Secret Santa, yard night out and a run to the Bristol Fruit market for a boat load of carrots, apple, swedes and parsnips for the horses to enjoy over the festive period. but more about Christmas in December, so for now, stay warm and dry and safe :)
