TCJpart51 Family Edition

FAMILIES:   And Tom & Henry's are incredibly talented and beautiful.

Holme Grove Prokofiev - Henry's Father

HOLME GROVE PROKOFIEV: a 17year old Graded Trakehner stallion, and Henry's Dad, has just become the new 'face' of Lloyd's Bank.  Congratulations all at Holme Trakehners, you must be very proud.

The Lloyd's Bank black horse has never been a thoroughbred, instead they chose the Trakehner, for obvious reasons not least beauty.  And now the banks newest star is Henry's Father.

You can clearly see where Henry gets his stunning looks from.

The LLoyd's photo above was taken by George Brooks, London based renowned animal photographer amongst other things including fashion and food.

Stephen Charlton photographed Prokofiev during the shoot.

A stunning Stallion, and an amazing photograph by Stephen.

Henry's Blood Line

Holme Grove Gwygion (Henry) (Bay Colt) Born: 16 March 2001 at 19:30 Family Tree
Sire Holme Grove Prokofiev (Black)	Begg xx (Bay)	Gelikon xx (Chestnut)
		Baschma xx (Bay)
	Pilar III (Black-Brown)	Goldino (Black)
		Primadonna III (Black)
Dam Holme Grove Genevieve (Bay)	Holme Grove Istanbul (Bay)	Flaneur (Bay)
		Idyll (Chestnut)
	Holme Grove Gotschna (Black)	Schwalbenfreund (Black)
		Gerdsen (Black)

TCJp50 Special Wedding Edition

WEDDINGS & HORSES:

Today, Jenny (Tom & Henry's 'Auntie' Jenny), married Mr Lee Hughes, at the Golf Club in our little village. An old beamed building set in lovely grounds.  We could hear the peacocks, the popping corks from the champagne and the horses hooves of Jenny's carriage.

Congratulations to them both, and I hope she doesn't get hay all over her dress when she does her horses later, it has a very long train!

 Congratulations Mr&Mrs Hughes.

..and Jenny, you look beautiful.

Clearly this really is a horse-related post since Jenny had horses at her wedding today, a pair of very handsome greys with plumed headpieces.

...I wonder whether we'll ever see Lee in a suit again?

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!

TCJpart48 Cowboys of Hawaii

COWBOYS: ORIGINATING FROM MEXICO, THE COWBOYS OF HAWAII

We decided to go for a 'horseback ride', we mustn't call it a trek, because they think that's disrespecting their craft of riding and herding. We chose the first ride of the day since it was less likely to be too hot, and actually it was lovely, sunny and clear and windy too, but unlike Tom & Henry, these horses didn't mind the wind, I guess they are used to it.

The Parker Ranch is the oldest ranch in the USA, 198,000acres of grazing on the Big Island called Hawai'i.  A working ranch with Black Angus beef cattle and real cowboys to look after them. They breed thier own horses too.

So, we arrived in the hills of the Big Island, signed many wavers and disclaimers before our group met our steeds.  Ponies mostly, Quarter horses, bred for rodeos and trialling.  Small and agile, strong legs and small feet - all fully shod because of the lava rock on the ground.

Mine was a 14hh chestnut called Missy , and John had a 15hh bay called Freckles .  You can see from the shots that we stowed our phones in a saddle bag which hooked over the tall pommel at the front of the saddle, and the horses were so calm it seemed safe to hook the rein over the pommel and take photos with our phones.  We would definitely not try this at home!

Our 2 horses were the ones who hated each other, so we were not going to  be riding side by side on this adventure.  I had never ridden western before, the seat position is very different, and if you don't partake you could be forgiven for sitting rather than riding. Neck reining with a one piece plaited string rein was a new experience, I begun to feel a bit like a pedestrian rather than a participant.

We were soon out onto open planes with volcanic mountains in the scenery. A unique view of this incredible landscape form the back of a horse.  We were out for 2 hours, we had some uphill spurts of trotting and Missy wanted to be in-front, so I had the best uninterrupted vista of all.

Sure footed, those little ponies, navigated all the rough lava rock strewn about everywhere, but the 'between the ear'  photos speak for themselves, I strongly recommend getting out when your on holiday.  You might even see a cactus in the shape of a tuning fork like the old western movies.

I was of course, totally prepared to turn around and not ride were I not completely satisfied with the health, fitness and happiness of any of our mounts, but they all appeared to be well and stress-free. So I was happy to participate.

We had a wonderful time.  But it made me miss Tom & Henry.  I began to be glad we were nearing the end of our holiday, I couldn't wait to sling my arms around my own horses necks and give them big hugs.

We went straight to the only tack shop on the Island Wimea Country & Tack, and bought a halter for Jenny, and a strange short rope device all the cowboys use, I will attach it to Tom's headcollar to use to lead him in when I need to, instead of a leadrope, that way if he ever pulls away he wont have a long rope dragging around his legs as he gallops away, which of course he never does...

On horseback might be the only way to get some scenery in, and certainly beats driving about in a car!

TCJp47 Holiday Edition:

HOLIDAY: WE USUALLY DIG HOLES BUT THIS YEAR WE DID HAWAII.

WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ENTERTAIN LEAVING THE COUNTRY AT ALL UNLESS WE HAD THE APPROPRIATE GROWN-UP AT HOME LOOKING  AFTER OUR CREATURES...namely Jenny.

If you ever have to leave your horse, even if it's for the trip of a lifetime, with the man you love, and the person you're leaving them with is brilliant....and knows more about horses than you do...and you still worry....you are not alone!

John and I have been in Hawaii, the Big Island for 9 wonderful days.  9 amazing days in paradise, an exotic location with everything you could possibly dream of, or want to do, or eat.  Some time together, just us.  Time to relax and enjoy ourselves, and we did.

But, that meant leaving Tom & Henry, and Coco, Lemmy and Min...and someone had to feed the birds...

Jenny. Thank you Jenny.

Before we left I had sent Jenny 10 texts and had her over for a consultation, with a written document as always.  I told her all the usual things, left her all the important numbers.  I know it's silly, Tom & Henry love Jenny, she is good with them they are good with her.  But I can never shake that feeling that if something happened and I wasn't around to manage the situation, would everything be OK?  Would I ever be able to relax knowing someone else is looking after them...and the cats too?  The simple answer is: I try very hard to be, and that's where John comes in, because he has helped in a profound way - with cameras.

We have CCTV covering every inch of our land, yard and stables.  John has designed a website with password only access which I can use anywhere in the world.  I can log on on a computer and of course my phone.  I get a snapshot of 9 selected cameras and in 1 of them, I will get an image of Tom & Henry, usually eating grass, since that's what they seem to spend most of their time doing.  If they're in the yard at their haybars I get a real close-up and can almost count the hairs in their manes!

I am not checking up on Jenny to be clear, I have every confidence in her, and her relationship with my boys.  Rather, it's to relieve my extreme paranoia where those horses are concerned, and John has set this all up to accommodate that. 

It works too, I log in every day to get my horse fix, and sleep soundly knowing they are still fine, and if I'm very lucky, I might catch a glimpse of a cat too!!

I can refresh the page, and depending where in the world I am, whether data roaming has to be switched on or I can link into a WIFI network, the only downside is the cost. It's not cheap, but it's cheaper than therapy for a neurotic horse-lover!!

Cameras also have another use, you can watch your horses in private, at work even like I do, and have a window into their worlds without you around.  Which can be quite revealing.  Watching them go quietly about their day, doing horsey things, communicating with each other, it is truly amazing the views on their lives you can see if you care to look.  I wholy recommend a similar system if you can.

Of course, home now it all seems so silly to ever to have worried, when will we holiday again?  in 10 years or so, there'll be more holes to dig soon!!!

phew!

TCJpart46 Special Feline Edition:

THE CREW:
...not every creature with 4 legs has hooves at WW, cats are a perfect accompaniment to a stable yard, they keep the critters at bay and are very entertaining...

You have already met the cats, furily intermingled amongst the horse blogs, slinking their way through Tom & Henry's legs and always being about when stuff happens.  Now it's time to share some recent shots of each of the players, with a short bio and list of characteristics.

We have 3 cats: so lets see the so-called 'mog shots'

LEMMY:

Lemmy named of course after the famous Lemmy of Motorhead, loves Countryfile, Springwatch and anything on Animal Planet, and typical of a boy, loves control of the remote, and the snugly blanket!

His friends call him 'vintage' because his fur has a smoke grey tint near his skin, and it's black at the tips, giving him an unusual colouring.

Rescued off the streets as a kitten, far too young to be separated from his Mum, spent a week at the vets, looked after by Sam, and re homed with us....

Lemmy also likes puffa jackets and anything soft he can sleep in/on/under....you know cats!

John and Lemmy enjoy shopping on-line and  playing Halo Reach on the x-box.

Lemmy jumps on the table when you're distracted by food and when you're not looking will lick all the butter of your bread...he prefers lightly salted!!

He will stand on his back legs with his paws around your neck or on your shoulders and but you in the nose with his nose...we call it the 'nose-but'

COCO:

Coco 'the stealth' Rand.  Black as the soot in our chimney.  She's big, but you'll never see or hear her coming.  She sleeps in a comfy cat bed on the fridge in the feed-room, making certain no little critters try to sneak a nibble of Tom & Henry's dinner.

Left on the streets of Leigh on Sea as a kitten of 5 weeks old, rescued by MediVet in Southend and re homed by our vet's assistant Sam in Danbury with us.

As Coco's full name suggests she's a ninja, you can never spot her and real tangible evidence of her existence is rare.  Photos are few, in fact, no-one but John and I have ever seen her...but here are a few shots.



...a rare sighting, the mini beast of WW, a glimpse and then she's gone.

She's fast, and can catch a sparrow in mid flight.

MIN:

Min likes the daredevil life of tree climbing, bath edge perching and the ultimate in feline adrenaline fulled activity, running between Tom & Henry's legs in the yard, even when they're walking...very tricky timing-related problems easily tackled by this speed-demon.

Min named after my Grandma, ('Min' was her nickname). Min was born in Burnham, and came to us via the wireless Internet mast installation man...from Burnham.

As you can imagine therefore she already embraces the country lifestyle!



Min is a lunatic!

She will launch herself from the windowledge in our bedroom onto us lying in bed to wake us up, a cat moving at terminal velocity will do that - have you ever seen a kitten moving at 130MPH?

She slept in John's hood when she was small enough, and now she's not...sleeps on his shoulder like a wrap, compare the photos below: one as a kitten, and one now (she's not 1year old yet).

She jumps on our heads in the morning to get us up, I feed them before I go out to do the horses every morning, but at the weekends I have a lie-in.  Min still wants me up at 5.15am, and 7.30am is just not good enough!

It really doesn't get cuter than that xxx

WW cats:

favourite places to sleep: on us and anything we're reading, looking at, concentrating on, typing on.....on top of the wardrobe, in the wardrobe and boxes particularly if they contain tissue paper

favourite food: mice, tuna in brine and Felix fish menus...yogurt lid lickers include Lemmy and chewers of cardboard club members include Min

favourite music:  they all like 80's stuff particularly Soft Cell, Depeche Mode and Yazoo (well, who doesn't?), some Nickleback, Korn and Green Day too

favourite TV stars: Bill Oddie, Spike Milligan and John Craven (they just love him in Countryfile)

favourite colours: anything light, they love jumping on John the most when he's wearing a light shirt in the mornings when they have muddy paws, thus forcing him to change...they can't do it to me I've  only worn black since 1982 (hence the music taste)...well black, and some shades of dark grey if I'm feeling wild!

favourite book: A Street Cat Called Bob, a recent read, this is a very moving story about friendship, the cats loved it...and anything written by Assimov, they love science fiction

hero's: anyone who works at the RSPCA or Redwings Horse Sanctuary, Sam the cat rescuer/rehomer and James Bowen.

Have tissues at the ready.

TCJpart45 ...another windy day

MONDAY MORNING & THE THUNDERING OF HOOVES:
YOU GUESSED IT, JUST ANOTHER DAY WITH TOM & HENRY!

 Picture this:  today the weather is warm, about 12degrees, quite windy and the grass seeds have germinated where I sprinkled them.  It smells wonderful out here and the birds are singing.  It's raining, not 'proper' rain, but the lazy type that gently makes the air wet.  Tom & Henry are enjoying their breakfasts...when Colin drives past with his noisy trailer...

 

Colin our neighbour drives a Defender and tows a very large, noisy trailer.  He owns a livery yard at the other end of the village, and must drive that Land Rover with trailer past our house, past the horses, down the lane several times a day in all weathers (Land Rovers laugh at extreme weather).  This morning was no different, only this time Tom & Henry took a faked exception and spooked into the field!  Pretending they were scared as a trigger for playing.

I believe horses and cats share a common interest: cats play to practise catching and killing prey, horses play to practise running away.  And that's exactly what they did this morning.

Charging about, Tom letting out one of his loud snorts (that has at least once given him a nosebleed), Henry extending in trot, with his nose near the ground, swaying and swinging his head from side to side, twisting and turning, heads up, tails up and perfect in-sinc galloping.  Manes blowing in the wind behind them. I must remember to trim Henry's tail, it's getting long again...kicking up, rearing, Henry squealing and off again.

It doesn't matter what starts it, the result is always the same, a playful thundering of hooves, and a perfectly choreographed escape from invented foe..

Then it's all over as quickly as it began, and back to munching.

Oh, Happy Easter!