Paddy Muir

Winter Projects

With the event season over for this year and the nights dark and dismal our horses are put on a every other day work plan and the ponies are only ridden weekends. Also with the wet and mud turnout is more limited than in the summer and I find the horses only really enjoy 3 or 4 hours out. Our feeding consists of Dengie Hi Fi, mixed with Alfa-Beet and either soaked oats or Fibremix depending on the temperaments. I find this diet enables me to feed a substantial feed to each horse – as they do seem to live for feed times in winter -without undue weight gain or hotting up. I can happily work them 3 or 4 times a week and they remain chilled. Anything which needs more conditioning is given extra Alfa-Beet and oats. This diet also enables me to feed plenty of haylage which helps stop boredom through the winter.

Stanley Brown is still in light work and will keep battling away with his showjumping all winter!!! He finished the season jumping a couple of quite encouraging rounds at Allerton and Aske Hall and so long as I keep him happy and have his back checked regularly he keeps jumping very well –(for him).

Our new addition Olania – the chestnut mare – was quite hyper when she came and was a double handful to ride. With plenty of flatwork and hacking and a high fibre diet she has calmed down dramatically and is fairly laid back now. She was thrown in at the deep end and entered in 4 BE Novice events proving an absolute star and finished jumping double clear at Witton and just had one fence down at Bishop Burton. Although she has only ever showjumped – she is a natural on the cross country – very bold and forward going with an amazing jump. She is a lovely mover and will spend the winter doing Dressage and Showjumping. It is actually a real joy to ride something with such a fabulous jump and I think she will be really exciting project.

Lucy is 13 next year and we are now having to make a move to sell her lovely 12.2hh pony and look for a 14.2hh to move onto. We are making the most of the last two months of BSJA jumping this year and she is jumping 12.2hh Winter qualifiers which are quite meaty at 1.05m! I try to keep the pony level headed with a bit of lunging and work on the horsewalker, her diet is Hi Fi and pony nuts and plenty of haylage.

Although the weather is rubbish and the days short, I kind of enjoy this time of year, it is nice to work on youngsters and take time to go indoor showjumping and dressage and not have all the heavy fitness work with the Eventers to do every day.

 

Paddy