What are the best days made of?

They are made of spending time with our loved ones and that includes those of the furry kind. I had one of those this morning... 

I was meant to attend a lesson this morning but it had been fully booked, so Dawn and I decided to go  out for a hack instead. It was perfect, lovely still and quiet morning, no wind. Rainbow was really chilled out and so was I, which I think why she was too – they really feed off our moods, don't they?

I am not proficient at whipping my mobile out of my pocket and take snaps as I ride, so in order to have some proof of our lovely hack, a friend took a picture of us when we rocked back to the yard.

Lovely hack out - sorry about the 'realism' of the muck heap behind us!

Dawn and Rodney, Elina and Rainbow

Tim came to meet me at the stables to measure Rainbow's box after we got back from our outing. I am planning on putting some rubber matting in Rainbow's stable, as it currently is just a concrete floor and I know it's not the best for their joints in the long term, and in terms of general comfort. I do always supply her with a good and generous straw bed but I am aware that despite my best efforts, by the next day, when I am back, Rainbow has managed to rather flatten the bedding, often just standing on nearly bare concrete. 

Tim was super helpful and we quickly measured the stable while Rainbow was waiting outside and performing her party trick of opening and closing the lid of her storage trunk in rather a brisk manner. Tim hadn't seen it before and found it rather amusing. I find it less so, as she's nearly already knackered the box in the 3 plus months I've had it... I feel that every time she inadvertently manhandles it, I take it personally, as I feel she's saying "Well no wonder, serves you right for having bought cheap c***p on eBay again!"  

I can see a new storage trunk being on our Christmas wish list. When I was a 'normal' person, my Christmas wish list used to contain items such as clothes, books, woolly socks, perhaps a DVD or a gadget, and some chocolate... Now, I dream about agricultural equipment. This year's list already contains the following items: a sturdy wheelbarrow, a pitching fork, a broom and some rubber matting. And no, it's not equipment for a re-enactment of an elaborate theme from Fifty Shades of Gray! I just want to shovel Rainbow's muck out more efficiently.