LOL - my horse is an alien !!

[cvb]

just had to post these from the weekend, it was sunny enough that both Red and Fi had their "alien fly" masks on. (Guardian Masks).

http://groups.msn.com/NRphotos/cvbfifi.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=5628

http://groups.msn.com/NRphotos/cvbfifi.msnw?

http://groups.msn.com/NRphotos/cvbfifi.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=5631action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=5629

http://groups.msn.com/NRphotos/cvbfifi.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=5632

The day before Fi had a sun rug on as well (white) and looked more like an astronaut !!

[BeachRiding]

Very Cute!

[sapphire_girl]

that is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute!!!!!!!

[becs]

hilarious - ...but how do you keep your sand manege so weed free?

[cvb]

hilarious - ...but how do you keep your sand manege so weed free?

It gets graded regularly (by me) and at the end I go round with a rake (like the ones they use for golf bunkers ! :p ) and do the corners. At the same time, I pull any weeds from the edges where the grader hasn't got them.

The main problem is the end where the school is straight next to grass, and some is doing its best to grow through, and where one of our horse's gets fed in the summer.

but other than that, its fine :D

Of course it has membrane etc under it which will stop a lot.

[Tootsie4U]

She likes to lay in that sand, doesn't she?!?!?

Those are so funny - I dont think I've seen them before. They look like gas masks!

:D

[cvb]

Yes, both her and Duds will lie down in the school. Red doesn't but he is 33 and I think it affects both his breathing and his joints, so he stays standing.

Duds is pure black - and looks very funny with a coating of light sand :rolleyes:

[Brandy]

LOL, def like gas masks, what make are they?

[cvb]

Guardian. The eye pieces are removable (velcro) so you can take them out to e.g. treat the eye. And you can get 80% and 95% eyepieces. I have a set of each but think I might need a second 80% set as I worry that 95% would be too much blocked out for Red (who's sight is not great at 33) and also for Fi.

But the alternative is to go for an Equilibrium or Shires mask for Fi (to cover the nose as well) as the strap over the top is rubbing the hair a little in the hot weather (appies do have fur that does this). The Shires and Equilibrium masks don't have such thick straps.

red, the old chap, has suspected uveitis and on bad days his eyes run, which attracts the flies and drives him mad. So this mask has been really good for him :D

[hApPiNeSs]

I hope you dont have a mirror in that sand school - they will be scaring themselves

'Ah, theres an alien looking at me' :eek:

Fi's very cute though :)

[cvb]

LOl - Fi loves mirrors as well :rolleyes: so I can just see that.

Red had his on last year and the others didn't seem worried about it at all.

[michelle c]

aaaawwwwww so cute, i think fi looks more like a giant fly!!!! lol :p ive never seen one like that, does she always lay down?

[becs]

cvb, sorry to be thick but what's a grader / grading? I'm a bit new to this manege business, in case you hadn't noticed...

Perhaps if we all rode out on hacks with those fly masks on, we could scare everyone away and have a wonderful time! - have no further probs with...wobbly noisy kids doing wheelies on bikes, most drivers, stray dogs etc etc.

[cvb]

Michelle - yes she does lay down a lot. In the winter they are in at night, and she lays down most nights (and gets a "yellow" bottom as a result). In the summer we don't see what she's up to at night but they will all go into the arena and have a snooze. So we have her and Duds lying down together, and Red "on guard". LOL, they look so gorgeous :D

Becs - grader/grading is what you do to level the school. You can use a harrow type device, or what looks like a metal gate that you drag, or we have a grader, which in our case is a towable "thing" with a vertical blade that you can adjust, and the "outside" edge can be set out at an angle to do the edges.

You have a lever to lift the blade up e.g. to go out the gate or tow it but not grade (before you get into the arena). Fi was grazing right next to this device and hooked her headcollar on the lever :eek: so now its behind a fence and she has a breakaway headcollar. Actually we just got a field harrow as well so we're developing a collection of farming implements :cool:

[KarinUS]

And I thought the Crusader masks were bad! I can almost hear her breath in and out... I am your father. :D