A long weekend!

We've had Scarpa visiting all weekend and the poor sod had to experience Juniblest's increasingly hard life.. My barefoot trimmer Lucy Priory told me that to get Juniblest's body to use the sugar he's getting through the grass rather than storing it he needs to get his pulse up above 80bpm for 30 mins at least 5 days every week! I'm not exactly sure when this happens but I've taken his heart rate once after some 'power trot' and it was just above 80 - which means he should canter or trot very fast for at least 30 mins at least 5 days every week. 30 mins of canter equals 5miles ish - I've hacked out with the GPS again you see ;) 

So poor Scarpa had to run for about 6 miles Friday, 3 miles ish Saturday and 6 miles + again on Sunday. He didn't seem to mind too much except when he got a lesson from one of the forest ponies he tried to encourage to play with him. He hurt his pride quite a lot and left the ponies alone for the rest of his holiday/boot camp.. 

But hey! This is Juniblest's diary! 

Not much to say, though, apart from him being a star with the dog. I'm working on teaching Scarpa to jump up with his front legs to make it easier for me to clip the lead on and off from horseback and Juniblest doesn't even look to see what's going on. I honestly believe that pony is genuinly fond of dogs and when I'm getting my own in the future it's partly because I know it would make a dream come true for him as well.. =)

And clipping him again payed off as he can now work harder for longer without getting too hot. I did mess up his face, but he'll need a clip again in about two weeks anyway so I can get it right then. Maybe I'll try some 'clip art'? Like stars and hearts and stuff.. 

This is why he needs a clip quite often - this is one month of growth!  

Scarpa is doing all he can to get Juniblest to move, but Juniblest is having lunch - thank you very much!

Harmony...

...but only until Juniblest wants to take a look at the furry fella and Scarpa lives up to his name. 

'Oh sh*t! Scarpa!'

New haircut! And a tired Juniblest - babysitting is hard work for ponies..

Juniblest is taking his new job seriously. I can leave them like this with the stable door open while I go and get bridle, helmet, boots etc =)

Training him to stand has made my life so much easier! We have a gate even I won't ride through and getting him to wait for me as I close it saves me some hassle ;)

We have a cartoon super hero in Norway named the Phantom. Now I know what the world looks like when you're him ;) (He's got a white horse and a wolf)

Life is hard, but not always.

Canter!

Sunset on the forest =)

Thank you for reading! I'll write more soon =)

Scarpa the dog

We have been training the last week but I normally don't see the point of blogging about day to day business unless I have some pictures or something interesting happens. Today, I did not have a camera but we did have an unusal guest for our ride - Scarpa the wolf. He's male husky, about a year old, and not too used to horses so at first he went flying around barking in a state I'd call a mix of fear and playfulness. Like: 'move, horse, move!' and 'oh bugger' when Juniblest turned his head to look at this furry thing jumping around.

Juniblest did jump slightly the first time Scarpa barked but after that he just ignored him. Took Scarpa about 20 minutes to get used to Juniblest in the stables and within 45 minutes of hacking the three of us could canter comfortably side by side =) There were three times where Scarpa suddenly found Juniblest scary again and started charging around, but thankfully I have a very sensible pony who stood still when I asked him to so Scarpa could get himself together and find his safe spot by Juniblest's side.

Juniblest is very good with dogs! He genuinly likes them and shows this by cuddling them when he can and being extremely patient when they're scared. It didn't take long until I knew Scarpa felt safe enough to be let off the lead - I didn't want to do it before I knew he wouldn't try to run away from Juniblest - and he went zooming back and forth for about two hours.

Riding with a dog gave it another dimention and all of us had a great time! Juniblest got hot and needs another clip (he needs one every month in the winter!...) but I'll do that tomorrow - I'll make sure to get some pictures =)

Also, next time Scarpa comes out with us I'll take the camera!