Home Based Business

I've been looking at ways to start a home based business online in order to pay for these horses of ours. I thought that if I worked from home then I would have time to spend on the horses as well as earning the money to pay for them. I've looked at just about every idea there is on the internet and have found lots of ideas although many of them are just scams that cost money not make it. I have however found things about affiliate marketing and adsense and things like that so that is the line that I am going to go down. One of the best websites seems to me to be the Money Pump Guide which gives you a step by step guide in simple language of how to start a home based business on the internet.
It is more important than ever to earn money because since I last wrote we seem to have acquired another horse, this time a little 14 2 mare we’ve called Ruby who is in foal. This again came from the meat farm. Apparently it is common practise to get mares pregnant before sending them form meat as they weigh more and the meat tastes better. Just doesn’t bear thinking of.

Horse Care

So I've now been talked into enrolling on an NVQ course on horse care. Probably have to have insurance for that as well!

Went today for my yard induction and first riding lesson in many years. Didn't actually do too badly I don't think. We were given a talk on health and safety, risk assessments and the like and then given a tour of the riding stables and a quick look at some of the horses.

Had to go out into the field with a few others to catch the horse that I was riding and bring him back into the stable yard. Then my first lesson on how to care for the horse. I had to brush him to get all the mud off, pick all the mud out of his feet and then tack him up with saddle and bridle. It's quite some time since I did that but I managed.

Then we went into the school for a riding assessment. Don't think I did too badly but I didn't think I should canter on my first ride for about 10 years. Just had a walk and a trot. My horse was very nice, much more responsive than Pilgrim. At least he did walk and trot when I asked him too.

Afterwards we watched how you are supposed to lunge a horse, then came home and mucked our own horses out.

Who needs to go to the gym!

Angela took Pilgrim out for a walk again. This time she went with another horse, a coloured cob. Our big heavy horse decided to be a bit of a bully and tried to kick the smaller horse – not very friendly of him.

We took him out again just on his own, Angela riding and me walking in front. That was really hard work. He only has two speeds, slow and top. Took us nearly an hour to walk half way to the next village but once we turned him round to come back, we found that he could go quite a bit quicker if he thought he was going home for some more horse food! And talking of horse food a large bale of haylidge lasts no time at all the amount this Percheron eats.
We have now enrolled for a course on horse care so that we can get more experience in looking after our growing herd of horses.

So the big lad is back and broken in – at least partly. On the day he came back Angela rode him and declared him just my kind of horse – slow and safe so yesterday I went for my first horse ride in several years on a 17.3h percheron. We managed to find a girth that would go round him and a saddle that would fit. We did have to improvise the bit slightly and adapt it with a bit of bailing twine – classy! I did of course have to get on him via a large set of steps but once up there it was quite comfy except for the fact that I was using Angela’s stirrups and they were far too long for me. Felt a bit like a cowboy with a western saddle. We managed to walk down the lane but it took quite a lot of persuasion to actually make him move and not just stand and eat grass.

Pilgrim's return

So now Pilgrim is back home and all our horses are back together. The two heavy horses and the racehorse. Two nearly white horses and a bay horse. Perhaps we should get another one so we can have two white horses and 2 brown horses.

My daughter is also a good artist and has done lots of paintings of horses, wild horses, draft horses and racehorses.
This weekend we will have to start cleaning all the horse tack ready for horse riding together. Pilgrim is really a draft horse but we are going to ride him until we have the money to invest in a carriage of some kind.

I have just started Blue on a horse supplement as he is getting older and has creaky joints and needs extra vitamins.
It is going to cost us lots of money now for the different types of horse feed we are going to have to get. No doubt we will also be checking through the horsewear catalogues for waterproof rugs if the weather continues like this.

I've also just looked at the insurance. Have you seen how much it costs for horse insurance. Going to have to find out how to make money from home to pay for everything.

I tried to stand but my leg wouldn’t work. I just had to drag myself to the side of the ski run and wait. Meanwhile he had got so far down the mountain and stopped to wait for me but I didn’t appear. There was nothing for him to do but take off his skis and walk back up the mountain. Another occasion for him to get very, very hot. When he eventually found me I told him that I thought my leg was broken and that he had to go and get help. He then had to go all the way down the mountain to find the paramedics. I want you to bear in mind what I told you – he is not very good at turning. He just went straight down the mountain, gathering speed and cheers for snowboarders as he went.

Eventually they came to fetch me and I was brought down the mountain, flat on my back on an oilskin sled thing dragged behind a paramedic skier.

Here endeth my skiing career.

And the final time we went to Canada. Just me and him. We stayed in Whistler - what a beautiful place. The temperature was about minus 12 but the sun was shining so you had to have your sunglasses on as well as your fur hat. You could also sit outside and drink beer – something you can’t even do in England in August! I could go about half way up this mountain because it had a gondola and we did several trips up and down until the third day.
There had been a fall of fresh powder which I now know is notoriously difficult for European skiers – especially crap ones like myself! We were on our second trip down, me a short way behind my husband, when my ski tip dug into the snow on a turn. The next thing I know I was falling and I could hear my knee go pop!.

The next time we decided to go skiing ten of us went. Six adults and four children. We decided to go to Bulgaria because it was cheap. Unfortunately so was the hotel! You had to rush down to the dining room or starve to death! Anyway our skiing did improve somewhat as there was plenty of snow. The children actually had a better time that we did as they were not in the least afraid of falling. As I said I am scared of heights so it is impossible for me to go on a chair lift. I have to only go to places that have a gondola or stay at the bottom of the mountain.

Our ski instructor was the gorgeous George who tried to chat up any available English girls, even if they were too young for him. We did manage to buy our own boots and skis this time at a reasonable price so the pain was not so great!

All in all we had an excellent few days that first time we tried to ski. I have never laughed so much in my whole life nor have I ever had such painful calf and thigh muscles!
We had to go further up the mountain on the second day to practise our snow ploughs which necessitated using the button lift. The burn that that causes in your thigh muscles is unbelievable. My husband was going up the mountain on the lift and got distracted by looking at a snow making machine trying to see how it worked. We he turned to look at the machine he promptly fell over and had to walk the rest of the way up the mountain so he was boiling hot as well as knackered by the time he joined the rest of us! Neither of us will ever be famous skiers on the television I’m afraid

Not Horses - Skiing

About 15 years ago the same friend who had got me into horse riding suggested we all went skiing. Not really a good idea for me because I don’t like heights and I don’t like being cold. However, I was out voted and the four of us set off to a log cabin in Scotland. It was a really nice cabin and the weather was lovely – no snow but sunny. The first morning we all went to be kitted out with boots, skis and snowsuits. I just couldn’t believe how uncomfortable the boots were! Then we had to drive to the nursery slopes where there was fortunately plenty of snow. Put my boots and skis on and promptly fell over. Just the start of the hundreds of times I was to fall over that weekend. My husband of course, being rather sporty, found it reasonably easy, at least to go in straight line. He never really mastered the art of turning on skis

I had been pretty anxious about looking after Blue as he can be hyperactive but in actual fact he has been a bit of a gentleman. He has actually waited until I have let him off the lead rein in the school before going berserk and running and bucking. Thank goodness for that. Oscar on the other hand has been an absolute nightmare. Perhaps it is because he has been out in the field, perhaps it is because he wants to be next to Blue all the time, I’ve no idea which. All I know is that everytime I try and take him out to the school he tries to bolt and squash me against the wall at the side of the farmhouse. Needless to say I won’t be putting him in the school today! I was really frightened yesterday that he would bolt. Perhaps we will have to save up and send him away to be broken!

Pilgrim's Coming Home

Angela has had a call to say that Pilgrim is ready to come home this weekend. He has been gone about a month and the only previous comment was that he would never be fast but he needed a lot of persuasion if he didn’t want to do something. That is the understatement of the year. Perhaps a piece of 3x2 on the back of the head might have worked, nothing much else did for me! Thinking about it, it also means that I might have to start riding him next week.

Because Angela is away, this also meant that I had to get one of the other stables cleaned out ready for his return. Today was my day off so, no time like the present! So there I am with my Jeyes fluid trying to scrub years of muck off a stable floor. Good job I was inside because we had yet another thunderstorm and downpour.

After much discussion, we did decide we should bring them in again, at least while Angela is away so it was another early morning start to walk them through the village before most people got up. There were no mishaps in the field catching them – unlike when the vet came to give Oscar his jabs and he ran around like an idiot making Angela feel quite foolish. In fact there was no trouble really walking to the barn, despite a stupid car driver who just drove out of a junction with no regard for the two horses walking quietly at 6 a.m. The only thing Oscar found slightly dangerous was some rainwater running into a drain rather loudly.
So I am on my own again looking after two horses, feeding, mucking out, turning out in the school – who needs to go to a gym! Doesn’t seem to do anything about weight loss though!

A few days later we were passing the field and noticed that Oscar had again gone through the electric fence and was in the area at the back of the field that was not really horse safe – it has deep holes and ruts which could trip a horse or worse. Another family trip to move the blessed electric fence! We then decided that a proper fence was required and so we are paying a local farmer to come and put in some posts so we can make the field Oscar proof.
The weather has been so very wet that the field actually is too muddy to leave them in all the time – they don’t seem to want to go in the shelter even in the worst of the weather. Angela was due to go on a week’s holiday and it was decision time because if we left them in the field whilst she was away there was no way I could move both of them on my own

So we carefully put Oscar in the part of the field away from Blue and surrounded by the electric fence. Bad idea. He just walked right through it! Blue came trotting up to investigate who was in his field. He was doing a lot of strutting and shouting, he is such a bully but a coward really. Then there was squealing and sniffing, then Oscar obviously felt enough was enough and gave Blue a kick in the face! Ever since then have been firm friends. Horses, who knows how they think!
Next time we go to check on them, they (or probably Oscar as the ring leader as Blue is scared of electric fences among other things) had knocked down the fence around the new haylidge and were helping themselves! That necessitated a family trip, in the rain, to rig up a much stronger fence around the bales that we were saving for winter in the barn.

Blue and Oscar Meet

We decided to put Oscar out in the field with Blue for a while. The plan is eventually to build stables in the field but there is all the rigmarole of planning permission etc. and at the moment there is only shelter for one horse. Blue, being the thoroughbred would be in the part of the field with the shelter and Oscar, being a cold blood would manage. So we spend ages putting up an electric fence to divide the field so that they could introduce themselves without actually being in the same field.
The day came when we got up at 5 and walked Oscar through the village to the field. We were a bit anxious about this as Oscar was a nervous, unbroken young horse. Rubbish. He shied only the once when he heard water running down a drain other than that he was 100 times better than Blue is when you walk him anywhere and Blue is 13 for goodness sake.

Pilgrim goes on his holidays

In all the time we had had Pilgrim we had not been able to get him to pick his feet up. We could brush him, put blankets on him, bath him, anything at all except pick his feet. This is quite worrying as it is important to keep a check on their feet, even when they are as big as dinner plates. We were having much more success in picking Oscar’s feet even though he did nearly fall over one time because he leant on the foot that was off the ground. Intelligent then!
We decided then that we would have to get someone bigger, stronger and more expert to teach Pilgrim how to behave more like a horse and less like a stubborn teenager. We looked around at different places to send him and eventually settled on a man who was an expert in heavy horses. (We had by this time joined the Heavy Horse Society and met some kind and helpful heavy horse enthusiasts). So about a month ago Pilgrim went on his holidays up to the Lake District to learn how to behave.

We kept him in quarantine again and he seemed to have sore eyes and a runny nose but this apparently is common when they have been travelling for a long time. It is after all a long way from France in a wagon.
In the meantime Angela decided it was time to start breaking Pilgrim in. I had been teaching him to stand, walk on and go back by using a special type of bridle that we had found on the internet. It is impossible to make Pilgrim do something by force as he is so very big. Pilgrim’s life is centred around food so that is always a good incentive to make him stand still! We took Pilgrim out to the school and Angela started to lunge him. BIG MISTAKE. He decided he didn’t like it and bucked like you wouldn’t believe. How can a ¾ ton horse lift his legs higher than my head – impossible – no it isn’t Pilgrim did. Next time we thought we would let him have a walk round the school on his own and then start to lunge him. BIG MISTAKE. How can a ¾ ton horse jump a 5ft fence – impossible – no it isn’t Pilgrim did

Oscar Arrives

The same nice man turned up a few weeks later with the wagon of horses from France. There was ours and a couple of little Shetlands left to be delivered. He brought our new Percheron down the ramp and Oscar had arrived to join Angela’s growing herd of rescued animals.
Where we had thought how massive Pilgrim was, we were surprised how small Oscar was. He was only about 15h at the most and very, very nervous. When we got the papers we realised why. He was only 18 months old and not actually a registered Percheron. You do actually get paperwork, in French naturally, with the rescued horses. So sad really. Pilgrim had been fully vaccinated and everything and then his owner had suddenly decided that he was not good enough and signed the form to send him for meat “for human consumption”. Oscar however must have been bred for meat because although he had been microchipped, he was listed as unknown origin. Angela seems to think that he is part Bretton as the French used this type of horse a lot for meat. There is some Percheron in him as he does look a little like Pilgrim, just seems to have short legs, poor little chap. It will be hard work for him to keep up with the other two!

Buy one get one free!

Anyway, he was still there in the morning so now all we had to do was keep him from getting it again! Unfortunately a couple of weeks later he didn’t look too well when I went up to muck him out – yet again it was on my watch. I wasn’t happy with the look of him so I sent for the vet again and yes he was building up to having it again and had to have more morphine and anti-spasmodic. I did eventually find a product on the internet that we give him on a daily basis that seems to stop him getting “trapped wind”.
It was about this time that Angela told me that a lady wanted to rescue a horse from the website but hadn't got anywhere to keep it so asked Angela if she paid for it would be look after it. Naturally my insane daughter agreed, so then there were three! This one was advertised as another Percheron, only 3 years old, an entire and about 15 3h. The woman agreed to pay to have him gelded so he would be arriving as soon as his health check was OK after his “little operation”.

Have just found this helpful piece on the internet, wish I’d found it before!

Colic takes place in a horse when the gut becomes bloated as a result of a build up of blockage or gas. Blockage may occur when fecal material is impacted, or in the most grave type of colic, by twisting of the gut. Causes of colic in horses can vary greatly. Reasons for this condition may include damage to the gut resulting from worm infestation, sudden diet changes, stress and even wind sucking. Acute colic can lead to a build up of toxins in the gut or possibly fatal shock and maybe both.
Colic symptoms in horses can vary. If a horse has a mild bellyache he may be uneasy, you may observe him looking at his flanks. If a horse has a full blown twisted gut the horse will be in tremendous frantic pain. Most of the time, a case of colic in a horse will fall somewhere in between these two extremes.If the gut is blocked by fecal material, medicinal mineral oil is normally administered by tube into the horse's stomach. This may clear the blockage in the gut causing the horse to colic. Surgery is usually not necessary in these cases. However, vital surgery is generally necessary if the gut is twisted.

Fortunately, it wasn't twisted.

The vet slapped Pilgrim as hard as he could to make him move and said that he had to help himself. Nothing happened so I got the lead rope and tried to lift him up myself. There were eventually five of us pushing and shoving at this huge horse to get him up. Eventually he did lift his head and then dragged himself up. Never has there been such a cheer for a horse standing up!! We had to keep him walking round for as long as possible so that he could pass as much wind as possible. After about 15 mins of walking around he appeared a lot better and wanted to eat! The vet said that the morphine would last for about 4 hours or so and that he might get ill again when that wore off. Angela decided that she would sleep in the school with him just to make sure he was OK. He did actually get ill again in the middle of the night and she had to send for the vet – more expense.

The only thing I knew was from watching James Herriott that you had to keep the horse moving. Not the easiest thing in the world with such a big horse! Angela rang the vet who came after about half an hour by which time Pilgrim was down on the floor of the school rolling in agony. It was the most awful thing I have ever seen. Here was this massive horse, sweating, rolling, kicking and there was nothing I could do. The vet came and said that it was colic, examined him and said that he couldn’t feel any twisted gut and gave him morphine. By this time Pilgrim was just lying there not moving, just groaning. I was quite sure that we were going to loose him. After saving him from the slaughterhouse we are going to loose him to colic. There was no way of course that we could get him into a horsebox and drive him to the vets for an operation so if he didn’t respond within a few minutes, the vet said the best thing would be to put him down.

And then nearly dies!

We were keeping him at a local farm as he should be in quarantine really after his trip. The vet came and gave him a good looking over and was quite impressed that he was so quite. I’m no expert at looking after horses but I am learning fast. Angela has taught me how to muck out and feed him and as I get up earlier than her it is my job to do the morning feeds.
We had been taking Pilgrim for walks down the lane but he was a pain as he wouldn’t do what he didn’t want to do and would just stop dead to eat grass and even though I’m not small, ¾ ton of horse can’t be moved if he doesn’t want to be! Anyway I went up one particular day to find him standing shivering in his stable covered in muck where he had been rolling on the floor of his stable. I got him out of the stable and saw that he was most unwell. He wanted to go down on the floor and I knew that that was a sign of colic and that horses could die of that and I forced him to walk to the sand school that is there so that he wouldn’t fall on the concrete yard and then I rang Angela

Pilgrim Arrives

While I was in Ireland with my best friend I got a text saying that the horse would be arriving and could I think of a name for “my” horse. Ruth and I were looking at the Book of Kells at the time and I decided that a good name would be Arculf, who had been a pilgrim from Gaul. I was still in Dublin when he arrived and Angela told me that she thought Arculf was a bit of a classy name for the horse that had arrived so we decided on Pilgrim. When I went to see the horse I knew what she meant!!! My 16h 5 year old cob is in actual fact a 17 3h, 4 year old Percheron (French equivalent to an English shire horse). He has the biggest head on a horse I have ever seen and massive legs and feet. Fortunately he is quite gentle and non-aggressive just ENORMOUS! He tends to stand on your feet and walk into you just because he is a teenage and isn’t quite sure where his feet are himself!

The First Horse

So soon we acquired Rhapsody in Blue (Blue for short) a 12 year old, 17 2h bay ex racehorse. He is extremely beautiful but quite nuts and I would not have been able to ride him even in my youth. So then when she went on holiday I was in charge of checking he was OK and making sure he had his rug on at night. Fortunately he is quite polite when you are catering to his needs, just highly strung if you were to lead him on the road or ride him.
About 12 months later I get an email asking me to help her. She had seen a website that rescued horses from French fattening farms where the horses are sent very inhumanely to Italy for slaughter. There was a particular horse on there that she had fallen in love with and could I buy himand bring him over and WE could look after him. He, allegedly, was 16h and cobby and would therefore be perfect for me after we had broken him in. It said on the site that he was used to being handled and was 5 years old.

I took her for riding lessons when she was old enough and she had ridden ever since. When the children were small we got a couple of fell ponies on loan from a man in Tebay and kept them in a friends large back garden. I didn’t really ride much after than as there was no way I could afford lessons and keeping a pony for them.
Moving on several years Angela worked after school at a racing stable and helped to bring the horses on. There was however no way she could be a jockey as she grew to 5ft 11 and 8 stone would have been impossible! She then went off at a tangent and got a job as a trainee professional golfer. Then one day I came home and she said to me “mum I’ve got something to tell your” – my immediate thought was that she was pregnant but no it was “I’ve bought a horse”.

Getting nearer to the point

Just read through what I have written and realised that I haven’t explained why I’ve called this Pilgrim’s progress. Best to start at the very beginning as Julie Andrew’s would say. I have been interested in horses all of my life. In fact as a child I wanted to be one not just own one. Naturally I never had lessons as my parents couldn’t afford them. When I was about 28 I worked with a women who had ridden all her life and she persuaded me to go to a local riding school and learn how to ride. We had a great time and I got so that I was not bad and could ride the middle of the road type of horse. Not the nutcases but not just the plodders either. Then I got pregnant with my second daughter and had to give up for a while. However my daughter Angela was born obsessed with horses. As young as 18months she used to sit on the arm of the sofa and watch channel four racing pretending to be on a horse.

There are things about her that are like her aunty Angela as well. She has the longest legs of any baby you have ever seen. Perhaps she will be a model. She also has the longest fingers imaginable – perhaps she will be a piano player. In any event she will have to be a Manchester United fan because her nana Tassart and her aunty Vicky and her daddy are all obsessed. She will also have to learn to ride horses. Perhaps aunty Angela could add to her collection and get a Shetland pony for her to ride. If also goes without saying that she will have to learn to play golf. With two professionals in the family it could be that she will be the next Michelle Wei. At the moment she has two tone hair, fair at the front and dark at the back. At least it isn’t bright red which was her mother’s greatest fear! Jessica had her heel prick today but didn’t seem to mind. She also came out in a rash which her mummy did mind. Midwife thinks it is just an allergic reaction to fabric conditioner.

So if I have to start writing a blog then there is no time like the present. What to talk about, so many things. Granddaughter, horses, golf, life. Might as well start with my wonderful first granddaughter. Her name is Jessica Ann Tassart and she is of course beautiful. Nearly as beautiful as her mother was at her age. She was born at 6.16 p.m. on Wednesday, 13th August, 2008. She also seems to have her mother’s personality as she doesn’t know when its time to sleep or when it is time to be awake. She does however know when it is time to eat, which of course is as often as possible. We will be having her ears tested shortly as well as she appears to like me singing to her in the middle of the night when she doesn’t want to sleep. She has a full wardrobe of clothes which means that perhaps there is a little of me in her.