Good ol’ Jim, says SOPHIA SALEEM as she has an email from a man who exercised him when he was a youngster

It’s been a lovely month since I last wrote in the Examiner, with quite a lot happening.

I got a wonderful email from a gentleman who used to exercise good ol’ Jim boy when he was at Sue’s and he told me about some antics that Jim had got up to, but did say that on the whole Jim had always been a super boy.

If the gentleman would like to come and see Jim and even take him out for a ‘memory lane’ ride do please get in touch.

I am happy for people to email to horacehorse@hotmail.com

I have been out riding more lately and it has been lovely.

Jim, for some reason, has thought that he is a three-year-old and has been twitchy and bouncing.

He has developed a sudden fear of wheeled bins, which I discovered on bin day through the village!

If it wasn’t wheeled bins it would be something else. He never does anything bad though and I really wouldn’t be without him.

It’s so nice at the end of a stressful day to take him out for a hack and to chill.

I still find it hard working full time and having so many horses and dogs and other animals and running a home and keeping in touch with folk. So a ride out is good when I can fit it in.

I have just placed an advert to sell Jasper, our young pony.

He needs to be doing something and to have his own family to dote on him, he is such a character.

I really do need to cut down on the number of horses I have on the yard this winter as well. It will be very hard to see him go though as he has only ever known us and the valley.

If you remember Horace; how could anyone forget Horace, the big buffoon of a horse I had? Well, Nicola is now the proud owner of him and the first event she did as his owner they came a fantastic fifth in the team showjumping, with big jumps and a difficult course. So well done to them both.

I know Horace has a home for life with Nic and will be loved lifelong, too, even though he is still a total looney at times.

Well last month I placed an advert on the Examiner Equestrian page for help with bringing Tiggy back into work and had a good response.

I now have a young woman called Shauni working with Tigs and it is going really well, apart from a few days into working with her, Tiggy went lame! Huh, horses! Tiggy has been so good though and is a lot more laid-back since she has had her two foals.

She used to be quite silly, shying at things that weren’t there; but so far she hasn’t put a hoof wrong.

We are taking it very slowly with her though. Shauni has got on really well with Tigs, which makes a big difference, and loves her to bits, Tigs has never looked so well.

On the yard front, the stables are painted at last and I am about to put new beds down, and we have at last found someone to do grounds maintenance such as trimming the hedges, sorting out the ragwort and weeds and generally keeping up to the place.

It all of course costs a small fortune, but then I don’t know a person who has horses and money! So, on the whole, it has been a productive month, with things happening for the better. I just hope it continues.