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The First Year 2004
I started my life with horses in 2004 when I was 36 years old. I had always wanted a horse from childhood so going looking for my first horse was like a dream come true. I spent 3 days going round livery yards to try and find one that would help and teach me all I needed to know about horses. 
The yard owner from the livery yard I chose helped me find Murphy, (4 year old tb x shire who stood at 17'1) To the top left is a picture of Murphy getting his vetting. Unfortunately he failed his vetting as he had a splint injury (we waited 7 weeks then proceeded to buy him without a vetting). To the right is a picture of me and Murphy shortly after moving to our yard.
Meanwhile there was an opportunity of a share with a piebald cob called Rory who stood at 15'1 and was 7 years old at my yard with which I decided to proceed with. (Murphy was originally bought for my husband) I was told Rory was an easy ride totally suitable for be
ginners and that he had a little cheeky streak. The only problem was he had not been ridden for best part of a year.
I decided to take lessons at a local riding school to get me started. The first 3 lessons were fantastic I was learning on a strawberry roan cob called Megan and by the forth lesson we were cantering. On the fifth lesson Megan was lame and I was given a 13'2 pony to ride. I could not get my balance in trot and when asked to canter I felt so unsecure but tried anyway. I ended up in hospital with a shattered kneecap. (got bucked off then trodden on)
It was about a year before I was allowed to ride my own horses. I spent the best part of that year grooming them almost every day. During that year the girl with whom I shared Rory put him up for sale and I bought him (it was too late I had fallen in love with this cheeky cob)
The yard owner from the livery yard I chose helped me find Murphy, (4 year old tb x shire who stood at 17'1) To the top left is a picture of Murphy getting his vetting. Unfortunately he failed his vetting as he had a splint injury (we waited 7 weeks then proceeded to buy him without a vetting). To the right is a picture of me and Murphy shortly after moving to our yard.
Meanwhile there was an opportunity of a share with a piebald cob called Rory who stood at 15'1 and was 7 years old at my yard with which I decided to proceed with. (Murphy was originally bought for my husband) I was told Rory was an easy ride totally suitable for be
ginners and that he had a little cheeky streak. The only problem was he had not been ridden for best part of a year. I decided to take lessons at a local riding school to get me started. The first 3 lessons were fantastic I was learning on a strawberry roan cob called Megan and by the forth lesson we were cantering. On the fifth lesson Megan was lame and I was given a 13'2 pony to ride. I could not get my balance in trot and when asked to canter I felt so unsecure but tried anyway. I ended up in hospital with a shattered kneecap. (got bucked off then trodden on)
It was about a year before I was allowed to ride my own horses. I spent the best part of that year grooming them almost every day. During that year the girl with whom I shared Rory put him up for sale and I bought him (it was too late I had fallen in love with this cheeky cob)
The 2nd Year 2005
I arranged a training schedule with the yard owner (whom at the time believed she was a fully qualified instruct
or with full qualifications which at a later date found to be not the case) She was to spend the first half of the year schooling my boys, and the second part of the year I started riding lessons.
I was very nervous on Rory as most of the time I rode him he spun & bucked and I normally ended up
on the ground but I loved him to pieces. I was paying a fortune to have 2 lessons per week plus having my boys each schoooled 3-4 times per week) . (which at a much later date I found out they had not been getting schooled)
I suffered many bruises and batterings including a fracture in my ankle, hairline fracture in my foot, concussions etc.. and with my knee still not fully healed and all the batterings and bruisings I totally lost my confidence, I stopped riding and paid for both boys to be schooled 5 days each per week.
or with full qualifications which at a later date found to be not the case) She was to spend the first half of the year schooling my boys, and the second part of the year I started riding lessons. I was very nervous on Rory as most of the time I rode him he spun & bucked and I normally ended up
on the ground but I loved him to pieces. I was paying a fortune to have 2 lessons per week plus having my boys each schoooled 3-4 times per week) . (which at a much later date I found out they had not been getting schooled)I suffered many bruises and batterings including a fracture in my ankle, hairline fracture in my foot, concussions etc.. and with my knee still not fully healed and all the batterings and bruisings I totally lost my confidence, I stopped riding and paid for both boys to be schooled 5 days each per week.
At this time I decided to take a break from work (my husband and I founded http://www.xcalibre.co.uk in 2000 (we had at that time about 20 staff) to work at the yard and get experience with horses and yard duties. I did this for about 9 months (without pay). I would work from 8am until 8pm (6 days a week) sometimes longer. It was during this time 3 horses had been reported to the sspca and the owners brought them to the yard.
One of them, Baillie (a two year old Clydesdale and already standing over 17') was very poorly. The owners would not get the vet and he needed urgent attention. I asked the owner if I could take him on and arrange tr
eatment they agreed, but I had to buy him for £300 which I did.
The picture to the left was taken about 3 months after we bought him. We spent a fortune on vets fees and feeding. On one occassion we did not know if he was going to make it through the night.
He was very very loving and fantastic natured, he just loved people. When he went out to the fields in Spring he still had to get 3 feeds per day of build up, sugarbeet, oil & chaff. By the end of the summer he was starting to look much better.
We continued to nurse him back to health for a further year and during that time my brother in law took an interest in horses and he started spending a lot of time with him so we let him take him on.
Made the mistake tho of trying to ride Rory day after we got him to new yard and ended up bruised and battered again, but while riding him I had noticed that within 5 minutes he was knackered and breathing too heavily.
We got the vet who gave him a course of sterioids but told me that both my horses were totally unfit and had not been worked in a very long time. (you can imagine how I felt after paying out all that money to get them exercised every day) I think that with the fall on Rory along with the news of my horses not having been schooled was a huge step backwards for me.
Meanwhile my main job got extremely stressful and after a few months the doctor diagnosed me with extreme stress & anxiety. By Jan 2009 I decided to take a break from work and with a lot of encouragement from my husband decided to spend time back at the new yard with my boys.
I had a few lessons, but hated it I was so nervous I just felt relief when the lesson was finished. I became good friends with Carol (yard owner) she helped me work with my horses, she rode them for me to bring them back into fitness while at the same time I started helping around the yard.
By April I was getting very confident at dealing with most of the horses at the yard from the ground and I decided myself now was the time to ride. In return for helping at the yard I had daily lessons and after the 3rd lesson I really started enjoying riding. I had noticed that the lessons here were totally different from lessons at old yard. I was not being taught to ride at old yard, merely being taught how to walk and trot using hands, not any work at all with legs or position.
I went for my first ever hack on Murphy beginning of June and loved it. I then went on longer and longer hacks on him and for the first time ever I was feeling confident and enjoying riding. At the same time I was riding Rory in the school and he was so good that we went a short hack and he was a little spooky but very good.
On 23rd June I went for a very long hack on Murphy, got back and tacked Rory up did some school work with him he was so good I decided to take him a small hack with my friend Meganne walking beside me (no other horses) We had a little spook while walking past shetlands in a field, he spun a little and tried to go back to yard, but we coped well and we were just about back at the yard when a horse lorry came in opposite direction.
Rory got very wound up and was jumping about, (the lorry stopped) with Meganne's help we managed to calm him down. We had just got him to start walking past the lorry when the lorry revved a bit and started moving past us. That was it! Rory spun, bucked and reared and I remember being thrown into a fence and sliding down it. Rory bolted my friend went after him.
I tried to lift my body off the ground with my arms (I remember feeling pain) and the next thing I remember is my friend shouting my name over and over. I tried to answer her but I couldnt move or open my eyes. The next thing I remember is paramedics talking to me and telling me to breath into gas & air. I felt very sick with the horrific pain coming from my right leg.
The paramedics tried for about an hour and a half to get morphine into me but they said my body was going into shock so all my veins were collapsing so they had to move me without pain relief but with only gas & air. I was told later I was screaming with pain while they moved me.
To date (2 weeks later) I have seen a consultant and had a MRI scan. My knee, thigh and just below my knee is all badly bruised and extremely swollen. It is very painful to move and if anyone was to touch my kneecap I would yell with pain. I am hoping to get the MRI results in next few days. With the painkillers I was given I can get about on crutches as long as nothing touches my knee.
We are meant to be going on holiday on Friday so as long as all is well with scan I am going to try and go, its just down to England (about 7 hour drive) my husband will do all the driving and I can sit on back seat with leg up if it gets too sore.
One of them, Baillie (a two year old Clydesdale and already standing over 17') was very poorly. The owners would not get the vet and he needed urgent attention. I asked the owner if I could take him on and arrange tr
eatment they agreed, but I had to buy him for £300 which I did. 
The picture to the left was taken about 3 months after we bought him. We spent a fortune on vets fees and feeding. On one occassion we did not know if he was going to make it through the night.
He was very very loving and fantastic natured, he just loved people. When he went out to the fields in Spring he still had to get 3 feeds per day of build up, sugarbeet, oil & chaff. By the end of the summer he was starting to look much better.
We continued to nurse him back to health for a further year and during that time my brother in law took an interest in horses and he started spending a lot of time with him so we let him take him on.
2006 - 2008
I stopped working at the yard due to various reasons (went back to my duties at XCalibre) and for about 6 months I barely went near the place, although I was still paying for my horses to get schooled 5 times each per week.
I was really low, missing my boys, but so scared to even be around them or ride. I decided to look for part loans/shares for them. I had a couple of people who started shares, but they never lasted long due to clashes with the yard owner.
Towards the beginning of 2008 I decided to make myself go back to riding, I was so nervous, but I thought my boys have been getting schooled for a long time now, perhaps I should give it another go. First day up the yard I asked the YO to show me schooling them, she decided not to ride but to lunge instead. Below is a video I made at the time when she lunged him, she told me he was just having a little tantrum that he was not normally like that (this is after paying for well over a year of having him schooled)
After a few weeks of being around them again I decided I wanted to ride so I got Rory tacked up, took him to the school and within 5 minutes of being on him I was lying on the ground again! bruised and sore. I decided Im not giving up so I kept going up and riding him and I got to the stage where I could walk and trot without being thrown off. I was riding Murphy at the same time and was really starting to enjoy it then Rory took ill.
I took him to the vet, he had lots of tests and it was confirmed he had a form of copd & problems with hi
s liver. The copd was due to him being stabled in an open barn with 3 horses, they were deep littered and fed bales of hay in a ring feeder (bottom was full of dust as it was never cleaned out when new bales were put in) and the liver damage was due to the fact there was a lot of ragwort in the fields. As I had chose this yard to gain knowledge and experience with horses I was quite upset of what I was told.
Rory had been in a stable to start with, but he had jumped
out so he had full weaving bars over his door. It was difficult for me to get into his stable as he would barge and run over the top of you and when you did get in he would pace round the stable with his ears back and try and run into you.
In winter he was only getting 1 small haylage net & 2 feeds per day with no grass turnout (I had questioned her about the amount of haylage but she insisted she was the expert and she said I should listen and learn from her) It was shortly after this I made a huge decision to move to another yard.
October 2008 - June 2009
Moved to new yard and within a few days I had wished I had made the decision years ago. It was the best decision I had made. I stopped working at the yard due to various reasons (went back to my duties at XCalibre) and for about 6 months I barely went near the place, although I was still paying for my horses to get schooled 5 times each per week.
I was really low, missing my boys, but so scared to even be around them or ride. I decided to look for part loans/shares for them. I had a couple of people who started shares, but they never lasted long due to clashes with the yard owner.
Towards the beginning of 2008 I decided to make myself go back to riding, I was so nervous, but I thought my boys have been getting schooled for a long time now, perhaps I should give it another go. First day up the yard I asked the YO to show me schooling them, she decided not to ride but to lunge instead. Below is a video I made at the time when she lunged him, she told me he was just having a little tantrum that he was not normally like that (this is after paying for well over a year of having him schooled)
After a few weeks of being around them again I decided I wanted to ride so I got Rory tacked up, took him to the school and within 5 minutes of being on him I was lying on the ground again! bruised and sore. I decided Im not giving up so I kept going up and riding him and I got to the stage where I could walk and trot without being thrown off. I was riding Murphy at the same time and was really starting to enjoy it then Rory took ill.
I took him to the vet, he had lots of tests and it was confirmed he had a form of copd & problems with hi
s liver. The copd was due to him being stabled in an open barn with 3 horses, they were deep littered and fed bales of hay in a ring feeder (bottom was full of dust as it was never cleaned out when new bales were put in) and the liver damage was due to the fact there was a lot of ragwort in the fields. As I had chose this yard to gain knowledge and experience with horses I was quite upset of what I was told.Rory had been in a stable to start with, but he had jumped
In winter he was only getting 1 small haylage net & 2 feeds per day with no grass turnout (I had questioned her about the amount of haylage but she insisted she was the expert and she said I should listen and learn from her) It was shortly after this I made a huge decision to move to another yard.
October 2008 - June 2009
Made the mistake tho of trying to ride Rory day after we got him to new yard and ended up bruised and battered again, but while riding him I had noticed that within 5 minutes he was knackered and breathing too heavily.
We got the vet who gave him a course of sterioids but told me that both my horses were totally unfit and had not been worked in a very long time. (you can imagine how I felt after paying out all that money to get them exercised every day) I think that with the fall on Rory along with the news of my horses not having been schooled was a huge step backwards for me.
Meanwhile my main job got extremely stressful and after a few months the doctor diagnosed me with extreme stress & anxiety. By Jan 2009 I decided to take a break from work and with a lot of encouragement from my husband decided to spend time back at the new yard with my boys.
I had a few lessons, but hated it I was so nervous I just felt relief when the lesson was finished. I became good friends with Carol (yard owner) she helped me work with my horses, she rode them for me to bring them back into fitness while at the same time I started helping around the yard.
By April I was getting very confident at dealing with most of the horses at the yard from the ground and I decided myself now was the time to ride. In return for helping at the yard I had daily lessons and after the 3rd lesson I really started enjoying riding. I had noticed that the lessons here were totally different from lessons at old yard. I was not being taught to ride at old yard, merely being taught how to walk and trot using hands, not any work at all with legs or position.
I went for my first ever hack on Murphy beginning of June and loved it. I then went on longer and longer hacks on him and for the first time ever I was feeling confident and enjoying riding. At the same time I was riding Rory in the school and he was so good that we went a short hack and he was a little spooky but very good.
On 23rd June I went for a very long hack on Murphy, got back and tacked Rory up did some school work with him he was so good I decided to take him a small hack with my friend Meganne walking beside me (no other horses) We had a little spook while walking past shetlands in a field, he spun a little and tried to go back to yard, but we coped well and we were just about back at the yard when a horse lorry came in opposite direction.
Rory got very wound up and was jumping about, (the lorry stopped) with Meganne's help we managed to calm him down. We had just got him to start walking past the lorry when the lorry revved a bit and started moving past us. That was it! Rory spun, bucked and reared and I remember being thrown into a fence and sliding down it. Rory bolted my friend went after him.
I tried to lift my body off the ground with my arms (I remember feeling pain) and the next thing I remember is my friend shouting my name over and over. I tried to answer her but I couldnt move or open my eyes. The next thing I remember is paramedics talking to me and telling me to breath into gas & air. I felt very sick with the horrific pain coming from my right leg.
The paramedics tried for about an hour and a half to get morphine into me but they said my body was going into shock so all my veins were collapsing so they had to move me without pain relief but with only gas & air. I was told later I was screaming with pain while they moved me.
To date (2 weeks later) I have seen a consultant and had a MRI scan. My knee, thigh and just below my knee is all badly bruised and extremely swollen. It is very painful to move and if anyone was to touch my kneecap I would yell with pain. I am hoping to get the MRI results in next few days. With the painkillers I was given I can get about on crutches as long as nothing touches my knee.
We are meant to be going on holiday on Friday so as long as all is well with scan I am going to try and go, its just down to England (about 7 hour drive) my husband will do all the driving and I can sit on back seat with leg up if it gets too sore.
