I’m moving John to a new yard today – and I’m soooo nervous. It’s a big deal moving your horse and not something you undertake lightly. Will he like it, will he settle, will he pine for his friends, would it be better to leave him where he is – these are all questions that went round and round in my mind and I’m sure it’s the same for everyone in the same situation. Trying to work out the pros and the cons is a nightmare, but after weeks of deliberation, sleepless nights and asking him (not that he ever replied) I have decided to go ahead and move him to Dedham…

… which is much further away from where I live unfortunately, but the reasons that swayed me are:

He will have year-round turnout, unless I decide to keep him in because the weather’s bad. At his current yard the horses were kept in rather a lot this past winter, even those days that other horses elsewhere were out, which I didn’t like.

One reason for this is the paddocks suffer from bad drainage and become waterlogged, so he was knee-deep in mud when he was out – which I didn’t like either.

At his new yard he will be able to live out 24/7 during the summer. Now I don’t know if he will take to that as I’ve never left him out before (never been at a yard where it was allowed), but I’m going to try it and see. You never know, he might love it.

The final reason – and an important one – finances. The new yard will cost me a lot less and even though I will spend more in petrol, it should work out cheaper. And I’m afraid that is a big consideration for me at the moment, as it is for so many horse owners. I have heard that many people can no longer afford to keep their horses, which is tragic. I hope never to be in that situation and I’m doing all I can to make sure John and I continue in our happy relationship, unaffected by the horrors of recession. If it means a longer journey for me then so be it.

The hunt was out in our area today so of course John had to stay in otherwise he might well have joined them when they went past. A couple of the others who knew what it was all about, having hunted before, got a little excited (the hunt was meeting just down the road) but in fact I don’t think John, happily tucking in to hay and carrots in his stable, realised anything was up, which seems to suggest he has not.

I wish I knew more about his past. According to his owner before me, he was an eventer in his younger days – and the state of his legs would seem to back that up – but she got him from a dealer and didn’t know anymore than that. He does have a freeze mark but again, according to his last owner, she tried to trace it and discovered the company responsible had gone out of business.

Is there any way to trace a horse’s history without putting a pleading ad in the back of horse magazines?

Who can believe it, it’s 2011 already and that means John is now 23 years young. As with people, I think age with horses has a lot to do with the mind – if you act like you’re old, tired and worn out then you will be old, tired and worn out; but if you act like a youngster then you will be a youngster – in outlook and deed. That’s certainly true of my boy, watching him canter up the field you would never believe he has seen as many summers as he has. Hacking out too, he can still throw a surprise or three at me, and while he casts a disdainful eye at his younger field companions spooking at a tractor, he can still outshine them in the nonsense stakes when he wishes.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The snow has now gone and the horses are at last out, yet turning him out after a week stuck in the stable was a joy, no pulling, no barging, no being Mr Tall Horsey, he behaved with the utmost grace and decorum, let me lead him to the field with no spooking or shying. What a star.

I’m looking forward to getting back in the saddle, I can’t even remember when we last rode out, but… I always get nervous when I don’t ride and so not having ridden in a while means more nerves than normal. I know it’s no big deal, I face this every time, but still, I’m looking forward to getting that first ride out of the way so we can move on – weather permitting of course, I’m told we are in for snow again…

With all of the horses being in for the past week or so – since the snow the yard is a total ice rink – I’ve been thinking about ways to make the day more interesting as it must be soooo boring being stuck in a stable all day. For me as well, there’s the added worry of arthritis (John’s not mine) and swollen legs (again John’s not mine). He needs gentle exercise – but if we can’t ride out and he can’t go out into the field what are we supposed to do?

Given that I can’t stay with him all day, grooming him or telling him jokes, what’s the alternative?

We do have a ball, it’s an oval football. We did have one of those hexagonal ones, the unbreakable ones, but I loaned it to a friend last winter and her pony broke it. Our oval football keeps him interested for oh about 10 minutes, then he gets fed up and hoofs it into the wall with a look that says ‘just give me the treats it would be easier’.

So I decided to research the subject – what can you do to alleviate the boredom if your horse cannot go out into the field:

This first one didn’t take up too much time – from experience, all I have to do is scratch his ears and he’s happy – but you can’t do that for hours on end.

Footballs – hexagonal or oval-shaped, you just insert the treats in one end, the horse kicks it around the stable, then the treats fall out the other end to reward patient horse.

Mirrors – I haven’t used one of these but the idea is that the horse sees his reflection and thinks he has a friend with him, someone to talk to so he doesn’t get bored or stressed. Don’t know how John would react to a mirror, probably try to eat it or groom it.

Likits – these are horsey sweets and they do adore them. The first time I gave John a Likit a few years ago he didn’t know what to do with it. He soon got the hang of it though and loves them – though the size of his tummy means we don’t indulge too often. And he hasn’t got the hang of the name, Likit, he bites it and tries to eat it all in one, plastic holder included.

Hiding carrots in the stable – these days he misses carrots in his feed, so the chances of him finding carrots hidden in his stable are quite slim I think.

With any luck the snow will soon melt and life will get back to normal for John and his pals, until then, any suggestions for alleviating the boredom of being stuck in the stable would be greatly appreciated.