So much has happened
I cannot believe it's been over 6 months since I posted something. I have been busy keeping our horsemanship website updated which has been eating most of my spare time!
So much has happened over the last six months that I don't really know where to start. For one, our natural horsemanship centre has picked and we've benefited from plenty of media coverage. Incredibly, we've had the BBC World Services come to film us and we've been featured over a full spread in one of India's most read magazine.
It seems that animal communication, and therefore natural horsemanship, is in the 'air du temps' and more and more city people with no particular connection to the horse world are coming to us. We've met all sorts of interesting and funny people, from the passionate hard-core animal lovers to the peace makers looking to escape the city's rat race.
The other major thing that has happened is that we have now got our own farm. We had to leave the polo club after it was taken over by a new owner. It happened faster than we would have wanted but to be honest it's one of the best things that could have happened. Sometimes (often!) you just get too comfortable and even though doing something might make a lot of sense, the effort required just puts you off. Finding a piece of land has not been easy at all. In the Indian countryside everything is about who you know. And no, not in a 'I know important people' kind of way but rather 'are you friends with locals?' There is still a lot of land available but most of it is being used to farm. Land owners were quite reluctant to lease to horse people, and let's not even get into the fact that no one wants to have a proper contract. We tied up with some friends who also have horses, and who are in the same frame of mind, and were able to pool our efforts and resources to find where we are now.
The place is gorgeous, quite close to where we were before so we have access to the great hacking tracks. The problem is that the farm is currently covered in a mustard field. Back in January, when we were talking to the landlord, he said the field would be cleared by mid-February. We are now at the beginning of March and the mustard is still very much here. Luckily, there is a small area on the side where we were able to put the stables in the meanwhile. We've had to put our horse courses on hold, causing a lot of confusion (and smiles) when we explained that we didn't know when we'd be able to start again as it would all depend on how ripe the mustard gets!
We are now told that the field will be harvest in two weeks. The surprise, however, was that we found out that the cut plant need to stay another 2 weeks in the field to dry. You can imagine how disappointed we were! But we are trying to take all this in our stride as we know that we are about to have a fantastic place.
The third notable thing that has happened is that we are working with people in Jodhpur to try and find ways to improve the welfare of cart pulling horses. The project is still in its infancy but we are very excited because it's exactly the kind of thing we want to get involved in.
And finally, we have adopted a fifth dog. Yes, a fifth one. She's an Indian greyhound, a breed called Chippiparai which is very rare. A family in Delhi had a litter and was looking for homes so we could simply not say no. I have always dreamt of having a greyhound. It's official, we are hoarders. The cutest thing is that she's become inseparable from Laila the Great Dane.
March should be another exciting month, not the least because the mustard will go! I'll try and be better and post more regularly.
So much has happened over the last six months that I don't really know where to start. For one, our natural horsemanship centre has picked and we've benefited from plenty of media coverage. Incredibly, we've had the BBC World Services come to film us and we've been featured over a full spread in one of India's most read magazine.
It seems that animal communication, and therefore natural horsemanship, is in the 'air du temps' and more and more city people with no particular connection to the horse world are coming to us. We've met all sorts of interesting and funny people, from the passionate hard-core animal lovers to the peace makers looking to escape the city's rat race.
The other major thing that has happened is that we have now got our own farm. We had to leave the polo club after it was taken over by a new owner. It happened faster than we would have wanted but to be honest it's one of the best things that could have happened. Sometimes (often!) you just get too comfortable and even though doing something might make a lot of sense, the effort required just puts you off. Finding a piece of land has not been easy at all. In the Indian countryside everything is about who you know. And no, not in a 'I know important people' kind of way but rather 'are you friends with locals?' There is still a lot of land available but most of it is being used to farm. Land owners were quite reluctant to lease to horse people, and let's not even get into the fact that no one wants to have a proper contract. We tied up with some friends who also have horses, and who are in the same frame of mind, and were able to pool our efforts and resources to find where we are now.
The mustard field
The place is gorgeous, quite close to where we were before so we have access to the great hacking tracks. The problem is that the farm is currently covered in a mustard field. Back in January, when we were talking to the landlord, he said the field would be cleared by mid-February. We are now at the beginning of March and the mustard is still very much here. Luckily, there is a small area on the side where we were able to put the stables in the meanwhile. We've had to put our horse courses on hold, causing a lot of confusion (and smiles) when we explained that we didn't know when we'd be able to start again as it would all depend on how ripe the mustard gets!
We are now told that the field will be harvest in two weeks. The surprise, however, was that we found out that the cut plant need to stay another 2 weeks in the field to dry. You can imagine how disappointed we were! But we are trying to take all this in our stride as we know that we are about to have a fantastic place.
A cart horse in Jodhpur
And finally, we have adopted a fifth dog. Yes, a fifth one. She's an Indian greyhound, a breed called Chippiparai which is very rare. A family in Delhi had a litter and was looking for homes so we could simply not say no. I have always dreamt of having a greyhound. It's official, we are hoarders. The cutest thing is that she's become inseparable from Laila the Great Dane.
Leila & Shelty
March should be another exciting month, not the least because the mustard will go! I'll try and be better and post more regularly.
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