Many new things!

There have been so many new things going on that haven't have time to write.  In January we took a short vacation and drove to Northern Sweden to pick up our new gig which a friendly Swedish lady had brought up to us from Southern Sweden. The gig looked perfect but was in fact very heavy. It is the same 016L model from Dominiak we have from before but with smaller tires and breaks. Home I noticed that the shaft ends where a bit different too and for fitting the carriages to our ponies it was better to change the new carriage's shafts to the old one and vice versa! Now they both fit better our ponies.

Haven't been able to take some proper photos of the new gig but here some, in the lower photo with Swinghill's Paulette

The point was to drive the 3 yr old colts with this for the first time but as these shafts go very low on our ponies it will be better to use the old gig. The only problem has been this terrible road conditions, with lots of snow on fields and clear ice on roads there has not been any chances to drive them safely as they don't have shoes and studs. To my big dissapointment as I really had looked forward to get them into driving as soon as I got the new gig :P Well you never have enought patiance so good patience training for me instead...

Besides the new gig I got yesterday my new harness for pair! I had sold my old Ideal leather harness to a friend earlier and intended to by a Zilco pairs harness. But in the last minute I change my mind... There is nothing wrong with the Zilco but as we compete in combine driving and breed show performance classes I still prefer old classy style with leather in dressage and cones, so I just bought a new Ideal leather harness set. What I have been up to instead now is to find out if it would be possible to combine Zilco emphaty breastplates with this harness to use that part on marathon, I'll let you know... The harness I bought from the Finnish Ideal Harness retailer Hessi-talli.

The new harness!

And as this would not be enough, we have also a new pony! A breeder from Southern Finland, Ani, changed ponies with us. She got our lovely yearling filly Elenya Ax and we got her 2 yr old colt Anyan Raphael who is definitely stallion potential in my eyes! Big, nice colt with good gaits and top pedigree. He was a very tuff one with the boys in herd for the first two days but now the situation has calmed down as he gave up and they are all friends, so he hangs out with Ivanhoe the Boss, my driving gelding and our two 3 yr old colts Thorin and Dunedain Ax.

 

Anyan Raphael and Dunedain Ax

 

Anyan Raphael running away from Thorin Ax

 

Anyan Raphael being chased by Ivanhoe av Friheten

 

All settled and now friends, Anyan Raphael with his white tail and Thorin Ax

Shetland size equipment wanted

It is quite difficult and expensive to try to find suitable equipment for Shetland ponies. It seems manufactures has not yet realized there is a market for Shetland size sheets, wraps etc. Still there is an increasing number of especially adults who drive and train their ponies goal-directed. If you are lucky enough to find for example a suitable sheet, it is probably pink. Well a bit exaggrated by generalising. But you don't always find what you are looking for. One major problem is that often the product is just a smaller version of horse size without no adaptions for Shetland propotions, this leads to for example bits with horse sized rings or sheets that are suitable in lenght but hangs to knees. As I am quite pedantic of colors (visual as I am...) I sew two green cooler sheets and two tartan driving sheets for special occations as you don't find such in shops. I've always used green as team color but with Shetlands I also use both brown (because of our gig) as deep red as it looks great on black ponies. As Paulette and Ivanhoe are in training for next summers combine driving competitions one have to take extra care of them when driving and afterwards to keep their muscles relaxed when we can have temperatures as low as -15C when driving. Of course they have a good coat as I haven't clipped them, but therefore it is even more important to have good fleece rugs to help them dry. I put a fleece sheet on neck and a fleece rug on them after driving - and change into a dry new rug after 30-60 min, if necessary I change the rug once more and might ad a Back On Track back-warmer (horse size but covers a Shetland nicely). You can read of Back On Track products here, they are much used in Finland by trotters.

I'm definitely not a good sewer but these will do :) Swinghill's Paulette presents the cooler sheet and driving sheets I sew :)

 

Cooler is handy when you walk a horse after driving

 

Driving sheet likewise but these ones I might use on a colder day in spring or autumn before and after performance