Mack

Yesterday I reached a milestone in mine and Mack's partnership - we went for our first ride together. Jeanette and I went up to Onewhero where our horses have been learning about how to be riding horses for the past couple of months. We had made an appointment to meet Sue Rudler from Saddle4you there to fit saddles so we decided it was a good idea to go up a bit early and go for a test drive.

Before we got started on our young horses, I rode Zack, a cute little Appaloosa who belongs to Dave while Jeanette rode Javago in the round yard. This gave us a feel for what Dave's cues were for stopping, starting, turning and going faster and slower. Once Dave was happy that we'd understood his way of riding, it was time for the young horses.

I was first up on Mack. I was a wee bit nervous, especially as he was quite a bit taller than anything I've been riding over the last couple of months but I had nothing to worry about. Dave legged me up and then walked with me for a couple of circles, then sent me out on my own around the round pen. We did some walking, stopping and turning. Mack was brilliant. Then it was some time for trot. Dave warned me that he has a very bouncy trot so not to let it catch me unawares. He was quite surprised when he first rode him as it was quite unexpected. And boy was it a bouncy trot! It didnt' help so much that the saddle I was riding in put me in an awful position and made me feel very insecure. Not what you want when you are riding a freshly broken horse.

Nevertheless we did some trot circles. Then it was time to canter. I was nervous as anything as going into canter and very tense which didn't help. Mack's canter was rather big as well which to begin with was a bit scary, but once I started to relax and sit back it was fine. We didn't ride for too long as Mack has been a bit sore with an abscess and only just starting to come right.

Once I was done it was Jeanette's turn on Diarnimo, her young Donnerwind Colt. He was really good as well, and just as she was finishing up Sue arrived so it was saddle fitting time. She had brought down quite a few saddles to try. We found a Jaguar saddle that was a really good fit, and there was also an Albion K2 that was OK. I decided to ride in the Jaguar saddle despite having reservations about the colour.

The second ride on Mack in the Jaguar saddle was completely different. I felt a hundred times more secure in my seat and so I relaxed a whole lot more and got some lovely trot and canter work in. Mack also relaxed and we just cruised around the round pen. I was so stoked! I decided that even though the colour of the saddle wasn't quite what I was after, I was going to buy it as I felt like I was glued to Mack and I felt very safe in it. What more could I want?

All in all it was a very successful day. Jeanette took Diarnimo home as he was more than ready, but Mack is staying up at Dave's for another couple of weeks. His foot isn't quite right yet so he's missed a week or so of work, and Dave feels he needs another week of work before he's unleashed on me. I'm more than happy to have him up there as its all good education. I'll probably go up at the end of next week for another ride and go from there.

Dave Marshall's property at Onewhero

Part of the driveway - 1.4kms of steep gravel

Getting ready

Up we go!

Easy does it

Our first walk with helper Dave

Round we go

On our own - lovely trot

Trot

Trot

Canter - zoom zoom

Look we're flying

Canter

More canter

Last circle

It's been a long wait to get to here but I'm really looking forward to the next stage of the journey. Exciting times ahead.

Carpark and Lawn

Chris has been working industriously as usual and has finished the carpark and sowed the lawn. Although we had the carpark done by the contractors that did all the concrete work, Chris wasn't happy with how it turned out so he decided to fix it himself. It's really good now, nice and level and raised up to the level of the footpath.

Gravel ready to spread

Checking the digger for vital ingredients

Spreading

More spreading

Rolling

More rolling

Even more rolling

The finished product

He also decided to take a punt and sow the lawn. It was a bit 'iffy' due to the fact its been so dry, and there are likely to be masses of weeds come up in the topsoil but he decided to risk it anyway. He has been able to get the water on to it regularly as we are on bore water, and the weeds can be sprayed out. It will certainly be nice not to have dirt blowing everywhere once the grass is up, that's for sure.

Sowing the lawn

More Sowing

Mulch in the garden

Watering the lawn

More mulch in another garden

More watering

Taking shape

Chris has been a busy boy over the weekend. All of the top soil has been spread for the lawn, all that it needs now is some grass seed. A truck load of sand was delivered today and is currently in two large piles waiting to be spread. One pile is for building up the driveway extension where we will park our cars. The other is in the yards.

Sand for car park

Sand for yards

This week's happenings at Waterford Estate

There has been quite a bit happening over the last week and a half at Waterford Estate. Chris and I collected the digger from Lockington Road last weekend and brought it back here. It was put straight to work shifting and spreading the topsoil that was removed for the paths, patio and driveway extension.

Patio concrete curing nicely

Building up the area around the patio

Spreading topsoil around the patio

Spreading dirt. Notice how the concrete is getting lighter as it dries.

Building up the level of the lawn

Digging out the topsoil in the yards

Nearly done

Flowers in the garden

Puss keeping an eye on proceedings

While Chris was doing the digger work last weekend, I oiled the tack room walls. This will help protect the wood from the damp, as well as making it look nice. I plan to have the second coat finished tomorrow so we can start installing all the brackets, hooks and storage shelves. It will be fantastic to be able to sort out all my horse gear and have it stored away in a neat and tidy fashion instead of spread out all over the floor.

First coat nearly done

Admiring my tack room - gee I'm lucky!

Oscar sleeping on the job

It's a Cat's life

This week's ongoing project was to dig out the topsoil from the yards so that it can be filled with sand. The yards are a two-yard, multi-purpose set-up that will have a loading ramp for cattle and sheep attached. They will also be used for drenching the animals, as well as doubling as horse lock-up yards for fat ponies.

The start of the digging

Removing topsoil

The digger at work

Digging

Topsoil removed and spread around house site

Taking excess sand from the house pad to the yards

On to the tradme trailer

Taking sand to the yard

Here comes the digger

Dumping sand in the yard

As well as spreading dirt and sand, Chris reworked the driveway extension. It was done by the contractors who did the concreting, but Chris wasn't particularly happy with the job they did, so has decided to re-do it himself. He borrowed the roller from the neighbour (thanks Kevin!), and used the sprinkler to wet the driveway ('cos that's what the roading contractors do, you know), and the digger to scrape and level the sand. It looks great now, and is nowhere near as lumpy as it was. As Chris often says "if you want something done properly, you have to do it yourself!"

Rolling rolling rolling

Driveway built up

Watering the driveway

Proud as punch!

To finish the day today, Chris cleaned out the sheep's water trough assisted by Muffin the sheep, Oscar the cat and Puss the lion.

Spending some quality time with Muffin

"Tenderising" Muffin

More pats for Muffin  - the other two aren't into cuddles

Chris and his assistant

Here comes the Supervisor

Muffin supervising the supervisor

Muffing checking on how the cleaning is going

Oscar "supervising"

Oscar

Puss

Giving the mower a bath before putting it to bed