For those who are interested, this will chronicle my journey with my very own first horse - Kali, a 16.2hh Polish warmblood - who I share with my (almost) 14-year-old daughter, Emily.
Kal has just turned 8. He's probably not what I planned to buy when I started looking (wanted something more ISH-y with more bone) but I fell totally in love with his temperament.
2nd December 2009 - First Meeting
Em and I packed up the car with snacks, I put on my brand new full-seat jods (more on those later) and we headed out on the three-hour drive to Kal's yard in Hereford. All we knew about him was that he was a 7-year-old, dapple-grey, Polish gelding who had done some eventing, hunting and hacking and that he loved to jump. I had seen him advertised in Horse and Hound back in October, had fallen in love with his picture (very partial to greys and there was something about him) and inquired about him but was told he was sold subject to vetting. Six weeks later, having tried (and not fallen in love with) at least 7 other horses, I saw him re-advertised and took a punt. As we pulled into the yard, there he was in his big purple rug with Lou his owner and I fell immediately in love. He had a very pony head - almost all white with big dark eyes and a scrap of grey forelock - and it was hard to see how big he was until Lou pulled his rug off . . . and there he was! Lou was friendly and open and I liked her instantly. She chatted to us while we said our hellos . . . Em fed Kal some polos and straight away he was following her around the corral, snuffling her pockets and trying to eat her hair. What struck me immediately was his temperament - sweet, even but far from dull. Lou tacked him up, I changed into my long boots and we headed off to the school. Lou rode him first, walk/trot/canter on both reins and then popped him over a couple of jumps. He was good as gold, but a little stiff in his right shoulder to start with. I rode him next . . . hilarious moment as my flashy, full-seat jods wouldn't allow me to bend my knee far enough to get my foot in the stirrup - Em had to help me (oh the shame!!!). Kal was a little fidgety and demonstrated his reinback beautifully and without being asked several times but once in the school popped nicely into a contact and felt relatively easy to ride. He was a little more challenging in trot and canter (not his best pace) but nothing to put me off. Em was next . . . while Lou and I chatted Em put him through his paces. At one point I looked up to see them galloping down the long side and wondered "did she ask for that?" but only had to see her grin to know the answer
First time that girl has ever galloped and she does it on a 16.2hh horse! Lou persuaded her to put him over a couple of fences, which he cleared with ease, and then we took him out for a hack. He didn't put a hoof wrong. Em trotted and cantered him away from and towards us and, aside from poking his head over the hedges to be nosy, he was good as gold . . . never rushed, never napped and never once spooked. Back at the yard, Em untacked him and rugged him up and I fed him and we fell in love a little bit more!
I left Lou telling her that I would chat to my instructor and get back to her on next steps - she, in turn, agreed that she would let us know if anyone else came to see him/circumstances changed.
18 December - Kal's Vetting
The first big snow of the winter. I woke up to impassable roads and, despite really wanting to be there for Kal's vetting, had to call Lou and let her know that we wouldn't be able to make it. Lou, bless her, took the day off and spent at least two hours putting down rock salt on the yard and making sure there were rideable surfaces for the vetting. I sat biting my nails on tenterhooks and got a text at 1.30'ish to say "all done - he passed." I spoke in detail to the vet and, satisfied with the result of the vetting, made Lou an offer, which she accepted. We were on our way to horse ownership!
9 January - Gotcha Day!
Worried about the snow and ice I had called both Lou and the YO of our new yard the day before to inquire about the roads - assured that they were "passable" we set off at 7 a.m. to be in Hereford by 10.00 a.m. Because we don't have a horsebox or trailer of our own, we had used AAA Transport and agreed to meet them at a service station on the M4 at a pre-arranged time. DH would drive us there, drop us off and then meet us at the yard once Kal had been delivered and we were ready to come home home. Unfortunately, the heater in DH's car has broken so, armed with a roll of kitchen paper and some de-icing spray, we set out. The roads were appalling - unplowed, icy, slippery and very treacherous. Every ten minutes or so, I had to de-ice the inside of the windscreen so DH could see - and we had to drive with the windows cracked because of the fumes from the de-icing spray! Eventually we made it and there was Chris from AAA waiting for us. We transferred the travel gear to the horsebox, Em and I climbed and off we went! Chris was lovely - kept us entertained with stories of his (very eclectic) life (including meeting Monty Roberts, Martin Clunes and Sheikh bin Mohammed). We had some very sticky moments with some icy hills but we made it to Kal's yard and there he was, head over the door, excited to see the horsebox! We filled haynets and water buckets, transferred all of his tack/rugs to the horsebox and then Lou kindly invited us back to the house for a warming cup of tea (and use of the facilities). We chatted for a bit, exchanged paperwork and then headed back out to the yard to load Kal. I put his headcollar on, but handed the leadrope to Lou for her to lead him up the ramp - it just felt right that she should be the one to do that. He walked straight up the ramp - called a little and then settled down to eat his haynet. We put the ramp up, Lou and I hugged (and we both cried a little) and then Em and I climbed back into the cab and we were off. Chris kindly turned on the box-cam so we could keep an eye on Kal during the journey - no need to worry he was already eating his hay - and we headed home to Kal's new yard. I had called ahead to let them know what time to expect us and we arrived pretty much on time. As we pulled into the yard, Kal began looking around, sniffing and calling. Chris lowered the ramp, untied him and led him down and Kal walked off calm as you please, into the barn (past alot of very curious horsey faces) and into his box like he owned the place. Tucked straight into his hay/haylage mix like he'd been there all his life. Em and I unloaded all the rugs, tack, etc. and stowed them in the tack room and his locker and said our goodbyes (and heartfelt thanks) to Chris. We spent a little time grooming him, fussing him and tucking him into his new jammies. Kal made friends over the wall with Finn - a connemara cross next door - also a grey. Dear friends came by with a flask of tea and some homemade flapjacks and then (very reluctantly) we headed home.
10th January - Day 1
As the horses were still being kept in due to the ice and snow, we opted to go up to the yard, give Kal a good groom and then turn him out into the smaller of the two outdoor schools for a roll/bit of a hooley. He said hello to Mac and Wesley whose boxes face the smaller school, trotted, snorted, rolled and generally made himself at home. I also took him for a walk in hand around the yard - letting him sniff, explore, look and generally take in his new home. Kal calls and frets if Finn goes out into the school and stands waiting to catch a glance of his new friend. Very cute.
N
Kal has just turned 8. He's probably not what I planned to buy when I started looking (wanted something more ISH-y with more bone) but I fell totally in love with his temperament.
2nd December 2009 - First Meeting
Em and I packed up the car with snacks, I put on my brand new full-seat jods (more on those later) and we headed out on the three-hour drive to Kal's yard in Hereford. All we knew about him was that he was a 7-year-old, dapple-grey, Polish gelding who had done some eventing, hunting and hacking and that he loved to jump. I had seen him advertised in Horse and Hound back in October, had fallen in love with his picture (very partial to greys and there was something about him) and inquired about him but was told he was sold subject to vetting. Six weeks later, having tried (and not fallen in love with) at least 7 other horses, I saw him re-advertised and took a punt. As we pulled into the yard, there he was in his big purple rug with Lou his owner and I fell immediately in love. He had a very pony head - almost all white with big dark eyes and a scrap of grey forelock - and it was hard to see how big he was until Lou pulled his rug off . . . and there he was! Lou was friendly and open and I liked her instantly. She chatted to us while we said our hellos . . . Em fed Kal some polos and straight away he was following her around the corral, snuffling her pockets and trying to eat her hair. What struck me immediately was his temperament - sweet, even but far from dull. Lou tacked him up, I changed into my long boots and we headed off to the school. Lou rode him first, walk/trot/canter on both reins and then popped him over a couple of jumps. He was good as gold, but a little stiff in his right shoulder to start with. I rode him next . . . hilarious moment as my flashy, full-seat jods wouldn't allow me to bend my knee far enough to get my foot in the stirrup - Em had to help me (oh the shame!!!). Kal was a little fidgety and demonstrated his reinback beautifully and without being asked several times but once in the school popped nicely into a contact and felt relatively easy to ride. He was a little more challenging in trot and canter (not his best pace) but nothing to put me off. Em was next . . . while Lou and I chatted Em put him through his paces. At one point I looked up to see them galloping down the long side and wondered "did she ask for that?" but only had to see her grin to know the answer
First time that girl has ever galloped and she does it on a 16.2hh horse! Lou persuaded her to put him over a couple of fences, which he cleared with ease, and then we took him out for a hack. He didn't put a hoof wrong. Em trotted and cantered him away from and towards us and, aside from poking his head over the hedges to be nosy, he was good as gold . . . never rushed, never napped and never once spooked. Back at the yard, Em untacked him and rugged him up and I fed him and we fell in love a little bit more! I left Lou telling her that I would chat to my instructor and get back to her on next steps - she, in turn, agreed that she would let us know if anyone else came to see him/circumstances changed.
18 December - Kal's Vetting
The first big snow of the winter. I woke up to impassable roads and, despite really wanting to be there for Kal's vetting, had to call Lou and let her know that we wouldn't be able to make it. Lou, bless her, took the day off and spent at least two hours putting down rock salt on the yard and making sure there were rideable surfaces for the vetting. I sat biting my nails on tenterhooks and got a text at 1.30'ish to say "all done - he passed." I spoke in detail to the vet and, satisfied with the result of the vetting, made Lou an offer, which she accepted. We were on our way to horse ownership!
9 January - Gotcha Day!
Worried about the snow and ice I had called both Lou and the YO of our new yard the day before to inquire about the roads - assured that they were "passable" we set off at 7 a.m. to be in Hereford by 10.00 a.m. Because we don't have a horsebox or trailer of our own, we had used AAA Transport and agreed to meet them at a service station on the M4 at a pre-arranged time. DH would drive us there, drop us off and then meet us at the yard once Kal had been delivered and we were ready to come home home. Unfortunately, the heater in DH's car has broken so, armed with a roll of kitchen paper and some de-icing spray, we set out. The roads were appalling - unplowed, icy, slippery and very treacherous. Every ten minutes or so, I had to de-ice the inside of the windscreen so DH could see - and we had to drive with the windows cracked because of the fumes from the de-icing spray! Eventually we made it and there was Chris from AAA waiting for us. We transferred the travel gear to the horsebox, Em and I climbed and off we went! Chris was lovely - kept us entertained with stories of his (very eclectic) life (including meeting Monty Roberts, Martin Clunes and Sheikh bin Mohammed). We had some very sticky moments with some icy hills but we made it to Kal's yard and there he was, head over the door, excited to see the horsebox! We filled haynets and water buckets, transferred all of his tack/rugs to the horsebox and then Lou kindly invited us back to the house for a warming cup of tea (and use of the facilities). We chatted for a bit, exchanged paperwork and then headed back out to the yard to load Kal. I put his headcollar on, but handed the leadrope to Lou for her to lead him up the ramp - it just felt right that she should be the one to do that. He walked straight up the ramp - called a little and then settled down to eat his haynet. We put the ramp up, Lou and I hugged (and we both cried a little) and then Em and I climbed back into the cab and we were off. Chris kindly turned on the box-cam so we could keep an eye on Kal during the journey - no need to worry he was already eating his hay - and we headed home to Kal's new yard. I had called ahead to let them know what time to expect us and we arrived pretty much on time. As we pulled into the yard, Kal began looking around, sniffing and calling. Chris lowered the ramp, untied him and led him down and Kal walked off calm as you please, into the barn (past alot of very curious horsey faces) and into his box like he owned the place. Tucked straight into his hay/haylage mix like he'd been there all his life. Em and I unloaded all the rugs, tack, etc. and stowed them in the tack room and his locker and said our goodbyes (and heartfelt thanks) to Chris. We spent a little time grooming him, fussing him and tucking him into his new jammies. Kal made friends over the wall with Finn - a connemara cross next door - also a grey. Dear friends came by with a flask of tea and some homemade flapjacks and then (very reluctantly) we headed home.
10th January - Day 1
As the horses were still being kept in due to the ice and snow, we opted to go up to the yard, give Kal a good groom and then turn him out into the smaller of the two outdoor schools for a roll/bit of a hooley. He said hello to Mac and Wesley whose boxes face the smaller school, trotted, snorted, rolled and generally made himself at home. I also took him for a walk in hand around the yard - letting him sniff, explore, look and generally take in his new home. Kal calls and frets if Finn goes out into the school and stands waiting to catch a glance of his new friend. Very cute.
N
