STILL clearing out...

Monday 25th February

I have come home tonight smelling of haylage and straw – this is the first sign that I am getting back into the swing of things! This evening was much the same as Friday evening; due to it getting dark just after six and me not being able to get to the yard until around five, we’re limited to what we can do of an evening. That said, Mrs B delays work somewhat by insisting we sit down for a cup of tea and some cake before we go outside (I have to go into the house to change out of my office clothes, so there is no escape from the cake. Although in fairness, I have never been one to turn down a cup of tea, especially with it being so cold outside, and then the cake is there and so tempting…)

On Friday, The Boss was keen to make use of the evening light to finish some jobs around the yard, so I mucked out Maverick and Big Mac with my trusty wheelbarrow, and then chucked fresh straw in with Derek and Bucky, with the plan being to clear their deep litter beds out the following week. The Boss told me he’d been having a few problems with Bucky during the week, which has put a halt on his work in the cart. Pacers are raced in light, two-wheeled carts called ‘sulkies’ (right), however at home heavier jog carts (left) are used. A well built, well designed race sulky will contribute to the performance and success of a horse in racing, which is why they are as lightweight as possible, and aim to be aerodynamic too.
 
http://www.davewilsonharness.com/race-sulkies-51-c.asp

http://www.davewilsonharness.com/training-carts-57-c.asp

 

The jog carts have longer shafts, which can be useful for being able to see how the horse is moving in front of you, and there is no need for a lightweight frame as jogging work at home is just that – jogging, usually on both reins despite all bar one track in the UK and Ireland being left-handed. The Boss has a track on the top field which is roughly a third of a mile round, and each horse is jogged for 8/9 laps on each rein daily. The work begins slowly and is built up over a period of 6-8 weeks, with some horses given some faster work mid week as they get fitter. Once the racing season starts however the horses are fit and jogging is all that will be required of them. The track is up a hill which I always think is good for the horses to stretch going up and coming back down.

Back to Bucky – The Boss has been long-reining him around the yard, which is one of the latter stages in the breaking process, before the horse is put in the cart. The Boss will spend a long time on this stage, getting the horses used to walking around with the harness on them and responding to the pressure in their mouths from the reins. They are taught to ‘walk on’ and ‘stand’, both on the yard and up and down the lane. This had been going well with Bucky, until the middle of last week. With no reason or warning, he had started bolting whilst being long-reined around the yard. The Boss enlisted the help of his friend Wes to put the horse in the cart, as due to his episodes of bolting it was safer for one to take the reins from behind, and the other to lead the horse from the front. Bucky seemed to be fine provided there was no pressure on the reins, which was still a cause for concern. On inspection, The Boss found a problem with his teeth and we are now awaiting a visit from the dentist on Tuesday. Hopefully once his teeth have been seen to he will settle down and work can resume in the cart.

So this evening I made the executive decision that we would clear out the yearlings, who appeared to be a lot taller than they actually were due to the very deep litter system that had been employed over the
winter! Thankfully The Boss was on hand with his Bobcat so I didn’t break my back trying to do the job with the wheelbarrow! We moved Eryn in with Olympic to start, which caused much excitement between them despite having grown up together in the field, and having been stabled next door to each other ever since. In fact, we were momentarily distracted from mucking out due to figuring out which of the two was ‘top dog’. We’ve decided it’s Olympic, who although looks smaller than Eryn, is actually the same height at the withers. Eryn just holds herself a lot taller and more proud, which is indicative of her breeding – her sire The One-Night Pan is a very athletic, handsome horse and he knows it! He seems to have passed that self-assuredness on to his offspring, as we had a colt by him at home last year and he was cocky personified! (Excuse the quality of the photos – despite having lights on in the shed it was still difficult to get decent pictures using my phone!)

Meadowland Eryn

(The One-Night Pan x Meadowbranch Mama); half-sister to Meadowland Melinda [Mellie]

After The Boss had cleared out with the Bobcat, I filled it with straw and we moved Eryn and Olympic into the clean stable. The whole process then got repeated for Olympic’s stable, which was just as full. Once that was cleared and refilled, I decided that the logistically easiest way to clear Laddie out would be to put him in Olympic’s stable, then move them back to the correct stables after. The Boss agreed that this was a ‘good idea, Pike’, to which I asserted that this is why I am in fact the boss, because I am the brains behind the whole operation.

Meadowland Olympic

(Immortalized x Rebacrombie); full sister to Meadowland Maverick [giving her a sniff through the bars!]

Whilst The Boss was Bobcat-ting the last stable, I decided I would try to have a bonding session with Laddie. He’s been handled more than the two fillies as he needed his feet trimmed a couple of weeks back, and even though he stood to be caught and walked quietly out from his stable into the one next door (with the Bobcat running, headlights on and bucket looming large), he seems quite flighty. If you stand by his door he runs to the back, as if he thinks you’ll eat him. I assured him I’m not going to eat him (topical I think you would agree), and stood by his door innocuously. I figured curiosity would get the better of him in the end, and by standing there, not offering my hand or anything, I wouldn’t pose any sort of threat. It didn’t take long, even with The Boss banging around in the stable next door – his driving skills are sometimes questionable – for Laddie to come poking over the door at me. In fifteen

minutes we’d progressed to a full face scratch, ears handled and him chewing my coat. Before I went to fetch some straw from the top shed he gave me a kiss on the nose too, so it’s safe to say we’re becoming firm friends.

Honorable Lad

(Pro Bono Best x Radnor Melody)



Laddie is on what I assume to be long-term livery. His dam, Melody, was trained and raced by The Boss, and was the first horse I ever jogged (due to her being so quiet). Unfortunately Melody was retired from racing without securing a win, and the owner decided to put her in foal. She remained at the yard throughout her pregnancy, foaled there and went back to another stallion. She returned to the yard with Laddie, where he was weaned and she went to the Standardbred sale in Builth. She was sold to a gentleman who also bought one of The Boss’ mares, Rebacrombie, so they’d have each other for company. Laddie has remained in her place. He’s a bit behind the two fillies in size, although he was a late foal and we’re sure he’ll catch up. He may well be at the yard until he’s broken as a 2yo and maybe raced at three.

Laddie was moved back to his stable, Olympic moved back to hers (with a bit of theatrics, just for fun), and Eryn finally got her stable back to herself.


Before I left I spent a couple of minutes with Maverick, who has shown me that he likes having his cheeks scratched. He fidgets about until your hand is in the right place, and then waits for you to scratch; once that starts, he closes his eyes and goes to sleep. The Boss commented on how different he is from twelve months ago, where it was a challenge to even touch his face. Personally I just think he likes me :)


I’m heading back to the yard again on Thursday – hopefully the dentist will have paid Bucky a visit and we can continue onwards and upwards. I’ve already informed The Boss that he will be clearing out Derek and Bucky’s stables entirely, which will then make my future mucking out so much easier! Once those two are done, we’ll finally have finished clearing out and I can get into a routine with my wheelbarrow. More work at the yard, but thankfully my family’s own two-year-old filly, Daisy, has returned to her trainer to prepare for her assault on the 2yo stakes races this summer. One less at home to muck out, although my other two seem to make up for it!


Over and out,


Sarah (#1 Groom)

Hello!

Sunday 17th February

First things first - a big hello! Thanks for taking the time to have a read of my very horsey blog. My name is Sarah, and for the last five summers I have worked as a groom at a harness racing yard. This summer will be my sixth, and final, summer with the team that I would describe as my second family (animals included!).

I suppose I should introduce you to the members of the team who are constant: The Boss, Mrs B, Robbie and Ted. Before Ted, there was Tam, but now it's Ted. The horses that are broken, trained and raced may change, but these four are always there. The Boss is our trainer and driver; he drives us to and from the races, and drives the horses at the races. He's got amazing Bobcat skills (spotted some two-wheel action earlier when he was mucking out) and is very good with young, nervous horses. Mrs B is the driving force behind the whole operation. Without her we would get to the races and then not really know what to do. Mrs B is responsible for entering and declaring the horses we've brought, collecting any prize money and generally keeping us in order (an often difficult task). Robbie is...in my experience, a nuisance and a pest. He is also Mrs B's beloved Shetland. He always seems to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and very often appears from nowhere and moving at some speed. This is inevitably because The Boss has found him doing something he shouldn't be doing, somewhere that he shouldn't be.

Finally there's Ted. Ted is the worst guard dog in the world, a Corgi-cross-Terrier of some sort. I can't help but smile when I arrive and he's there to greet me :)

So today was my first day of the 2013 pre-season. I arrived after lunch to muck out and meet this year's class. The first meeting of the season is at the beginning of May at Tregaron; it's a meeting that attracts a small number of Irish and Scottish competitors, as well as the regular English and Welsh crowd. February is about the time that horses return from their winter breaks ready to get back into training, and the horses that have been broken during the winter months head home to fill out before trying their luck at racing. At present, none of last year's class (Sammy, Hamish and Jingo - you will meet them at a later date I'm sure) have returned. There are however nine stables full - three yearlings (two owned by The Boss and one on livery), one broodmare, two horses being broken in, three horses beginning their training for the summer, and Robbie (who is bunking with one of the racehorses!). This afternoon's job was to clear out the deep litter system in four of the stables and fill with straw. Now that I am back, each stable will be skipped out fully twice a week and just the mucky stuff emptied in between. The Boss put his Bobcat skills to good use to clear out whilst I groomed the horses whose stables were being mucked out in the cross-ties. While I refilled the stables with straw, he emptied the muck spreader in the field behind the shed. This is how the set-up works. I'm pretty sure he could manage just fine without me, we just get things done quicker when I'm there because we can do different jobs simultaneously!

Today was the first time that I'd met some of the horses. I speak to The Boss and Mrs B on a regular basis and have seen them several times in the last couple of weeks, so have had the lowdown on the horses that are in. They bred some of them themselves in the time that I've been working there, so I have had the pleasure of knowing the horses since they were born. For your benefit, and because I like talking about horses, I'll introduce the current tenants one-by-one:

M C Kelvy (pronounced McKelvy) - Big Mac, as I call him, is at least 16.2hh by our brief estimations, and is absolutely enormous! Every part of him seems huge; his bum, his head, his legs, even his back looks like you could sit around it and eat your dinner off it! He's also really long. There was a bit of a struggle in the beginning to find a rug that would actually do up around his chest, although this has now been resolved! The Boss told me today he's now got him in 63inch hopples. For reference, the length of a hopple on an average racehorse would be 57/58inches!

Meadowland Maverick - Maverick was bred by The Boss and is now three years old. He was a bit of a handful in his younger days, despite being regularly handled and by people who are excellent with nervous horses. All this changed the minute he was gelded! The change in him was shocking. He's still quite a fiery chap - just today he was jumping and squealing in his stable when he could hear the tractor starting up - but to handle now he is a true gent.

Meadowland Melinda - Mellie is Mrs B's filly. She was due to head to the sale in Builth as yearling, however only a couple of weeks before got cast in the stable and was diagnosed with a suspected fractured hip/pelvis. She is now three and has been broken by The Boss, who took things slowly with her after she'd been turned away for twelve months. Mellie shares a large stable with Robbie, and they appear to be inseparable. Today whilst we were mucking out, I tied her down the bottom stables in front of the yearlings. When I went to fetch some straw, Robbie had planted himself between her and Toby the sheepdog, who was watching her with mild interest. I think he fancies himself as her knight in shining armour! Bearing in mind she's around 15.3hh, I'm not really sure she needs protecting, but she seems happier when he's around.

The Fuffer Man (?!) - aka Derek, is currently being broken in. He's a very friendly chap, quite nosey too. The Boss told me he's seen him chasing the chickens around his stable (he's in one of the foaling pens which is massive), and he's also caught him chasing his tail! If anybody else has a horse that does this, please get in touch! All the horses I've seen come and go, and I've never seen one chase his own tail before!

Buckland Iscom - This fella is also in the process of being broken in. I'm not sure about his stable name (unlike most of the others I can't go making one up because his owner's family have usually assigned them names - they also own Sammy, Hamish and a horse called Bongo!). For now I'm calling him Bucky, although this may change in due course. We're all hoping that a previous owner will buy this chap, as he is currently racehorse-less, and keep him with us for the summer to have some fun with :)

Then there's the three yearlings, Meadowland Eryn, Meadowland Olympic and Honorable Lad - or Eryn, Olympic and Laddie :)

                               

And last but not least, Meadowbranch Mama, the Irish broodmare. She's Mellie and Eryn's dam and a lovely old girl.

I'll keep you updated of any new arrivals, and our journey to the start of the racing season. Once the racing starts we'll be into the full swing of things, and I'll be able to regale you with stories from the track :)

I hope you've enjoyed the first instalment; it can be a bit quiet at the start of the pre-season but I've introduced you to the team and I'm sure I'll find plenty of information to give you on the ins and outs of harness racing as we come across them!

Over and out, Sarah (#1 Groom)