Wow!

Driving home late last night I realised conditions were pretty severe but I was still surprised this morning, there was a good 8 inches of snow and it seemed to have blown into every corner of the yard, Seeking Power had about 3 inches in his feed trough, there must have been a blizzard more severe than anything we saw last winter which is saying something.  I console myself with the thought that at least Carlisle was off because there is no way we would have been able to get there anyway!

No plans to ride anything today so they all have an hour on the walker, looking ahead at the forecast for the week I am concerned and I find myself cutting the feeds back a little, not ideal but pouring in the rocket fuel when we might not be able to gallop them hard can have disastrous consequences.  I am heartened by the work ethic of the team who always make the effort to turn up despite conditions that would have most of the country staying at home, its probably the thought of the consequences of leaving me in charge that spurs them on!  Nevertheless conditions are so bad that I told the Sunday squad not to come back this afternoon and they have passed the baton to Mrs A & the "C" team..... silly old me will sneak round with a special treat - I've been sent a bale of sun-dried lucerne from the USA, its smells wonderful - a little taste of the American summer for the horses on a dark cold day.

Pictured below is Buffalo Ballet, this imposing 4yo son of Kayf Tara is a very exciting prospect to have in the yard, we bred him as we did his Flemensfirth brother who the champion trainer bought for Sir Alex Ferguson for a lot of money and "Buffalo" is twice the horse his brother was, he has a pedigree of the highest class and is a big strong powerful chasing type, he is also quite quirky and will need handled carefully, we have just started to let the handbrake off ocassionally and he doesn't disappoint, he is incredibly light on his feet for such a big horse.  I have held on to him in the hope that he can do something for the yard, I will need to find an owner for him at some stage or we will need to sell him, let's hope we can keep him here - in the mean time he is one of the many reasons that make slithering around in the snowy dark mornings worthwhile. Oh, and his name, where does it come from? the answer is here....enjoy....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOL2kwBrm4Y

and in the summer..