TCJpart85 Sky & Horses

THOSE GREY SKIES:

Have you noticed how the stormy skies during summer are particularly atmospheric?  There's a weird crackle in the air like it's about to thunder and lightening, the birds are silent and the horses huddle together like they're expecting something to happen.

...how cute are Tom & Henry?  Used to the summer of rain, they take another soaking in their stride, they wander into the middle of their field and stand with their bums to the downpour.

...but, their coats are shiny and soft.

SPECIAL SHINY EDITION

SUNGLASSES ON!

Too hot to ride (or do anything) and finally I'm wearing flip-flops!  ..still wearing wellies in the fields though, this mud will take more than a hot weekend to dry out!

The boys have spent all weekend in their stables getting out of the heat and away from the flies, despite Saturday morning being field-swapping time, and they have access to new grass and venue, they have decided the yard is the place to be.  Of course they have fresh haylage and sweet smelling clean beds to lie-down in, so it's all very luxurious.

Even the young swallow babies are leaning over the rim of their pre-fab  RSPB nest John put up for them, and panting...I have warned them Africa is hotter, but they don't go there until September!!  The swallows arrived late and by the time they got here and started mending last years nest, Min had discovered a way into it....

.... despite John putting up barriers so the cats couldn't get near....she's very cunning.  Anyway, we felt they were running out of time if they were going to have babies and fly back to West Africa by September, so John put up a pre-fab, which they've had 4 babies in!

Tom & Henry have been brushed to within an inch of their lives, and are super shiny.  Here are a few shots form the weekend...

...wish I could get my hair as shiny!

...yummy

...such a beautiful neck Tom has.

..and Henry's bottom..can't be beaten either...like a polished conker!
...being hot, drinking from the buckets John put up for them, having a leisurely brush and generally living the gorgeous life..Tom & Henry xx

TCJpart49 Thundery Skies

MUD:

We sometimes complain about bad weather, the rain for example.  But these skies are often a wonderful kaleidoscope of watercolours.  And the light gives a moody effect to photos of horses.  And of course, if you can imagine lovely bays underneath, photos of the horses are actually quite beautiful.

The skies above our village are swirling and churning with weather, clouds of vapour rolling and changing colours from dove white to dark gunmetal.  Thundering in a palette too interesting to leave unnoticed.  The consequence of extreme weathers in particular lots of rain as we have had recently is mud, and of course horses like few things better than rolling about in it.

I use a rubber tipped hairbrush to remove the worst, and a secession of gradually softening bristles of a variety of brushes to get them sparkling again...or, more likely, to make a clean spot to be filled with a more recent application of the wet stuff - I expect it's good for the skin.

I almost had a bit of a tail-trimming disaster too. Stupidly I began a job in the raging wind I was unable to satisfactorily complete in one go since they wandered off in mid-chop...yes, both of them!!  Their tails looked hacked and uneven, and pure-bred Trakehners can only have perfectly Vidal'd tails in my book.  Getting them perfect took a second attempt, and their tails are a little shorter than I usually trim them, but at least they look like dressage stars now, not rocking horses!!

Now, no photo diary of Tom & Henry would be complete without lots of shots of their amazing bums!!  Tom's  bum is all dapples at the moment as you can see, and Henry's, well of course you must recognise it... so rounded and perfect...even covered in mud!!

They love this weather, they both roll a lot.  They pick a perfect spot and take it in turns to smother themselves in earth.

In the opposite camp, the cats stay indoors when it's raining, they have us light the fire, put their snugly blanket out and they curl up with Fergal, their sharky!!

And left here is Fergal, Mum bought him back from her holiday in South Africa.   They love it!