The beginning of June and some lovely weather in the UK.. When more convenient to book a holiday to the beach and of course, with Buddy! Our first holiday together in the 2 years that I have owned him and I was very excited to say the least.. We booked 3 days and 2 nights away at a lovely farm in North Norfolk. Since I have owned Buddy I have always wanted to ride him along the beach and now we had booked to go to Holkham Beach! First time for Buddy!
Monday morning we set off from the yard around 11am in the 3.5t Equi-Trek horse box that we hired from a well established trailer and horse box hire company not far from where I live. The horse box was in immaculate condition and was perfect! We loaded up the trailer and we were off! Buddy loaded first time which is always good and it was safe to say he was rather excited.. He doesn’t go travelling very often as we are lucky to live in the countryside! It took around 2.5 hours to reach our destination with a stop half way for a Starbucks and to give Buddy some water. Starbucks is always a must have on a long journey.. Or any journey at that! Buddy travelled really well in the side load box bearing in mind he is used to travelling in the trusty Ifor Williams!
It was safe to say that he was rather excited..
I travelled Buddy in his blue and red Weatherbeeta Scrim sheet and his matching Weatherbeeta travel boots. I really recommend both of these equestrian items. The Scrim sheet fits really well and is very cool when travelling, it wicks sweat and is very breathable. The travel boots have faux fur inside for extra padding and fit Buddy’s legs perfectly.. They have hard wearing material around the bottom of the boot and the velcro is easy to tighten which leads to non-slipping when travelling! Don’t let me forget to say how amazing the colours look on Buddy and we are loving the ‘Matchy Matchy’ theme.
We are loving the ‘matchy matchy’!
We arrived around 3.30pm to a lovely farm surrounded by stunning cottages and stone walls.. My kind of place! It was a lot nicer than what I expected that is for sure! The stables, paddocks and glamping pods/Yurts were kept in immaculate condition and it was a very well run business. We were the only people there for a holiday as it was the week after half term so I had the pick of which stable and field I wanted. I ended up leaving Buddy outside in the paddock over night due to the livery horses living out 24/7. Buddy would have been on his own in the stable and probably wouldn’t have settled in as well – No mucking out, result! Buddy settled in very well into his paddock with his dinner and new friends so dad and I set off for dinner to the Victoria Inn.. The food was incredible and so were the views on the estate! It was finally time to go back to the Yurt and get an early night ready for the next few days and it was actually very comfortable!
The Glamping Pods/Yurts were kept in immaculate condition..
After hitting the sack early on the Monday night Tuesday came around quite quickly.. I was up bright and early to go and feed Buddy and prepare myself for the day ahead! The plan was to do the hour hack route to Holkham Beach itself, ride along the beach and then ride back while my dad strolled next to me.. Put it this way, we didn’t even make it out of the farm! Buddy decided that he was way too excited. He was a bit lively when I was getting on but I managed to calm him down quite quickly.. Little did I know what was about to happen! As we walked through the field past the paddocks he was being quite well behaved – We then reached the small back road that we had to cross to get to the bridle way and a car was coming and Buddy wouldn’t stand still.. I circled him back round in the field as the car went by and as I turned around Buddy got set off by another horse in the paddock.. We was off – Literally! Bucking and bronking I lost my seat and came out the side door while Buddy galloped off showing off to all his new friends! I got up straight away as Buddy was my main concern at this point, but as I started walking I got a really hot sensation in my right shoulder/neck and my headache was getting worse.. A&E for me with a potential broken shoulder! Oh the joys of owning horses! This was the worst fall I have ever had on Buddy and he has never acted this way previously so it shocked me slightly. After being seen very swiftly by the doctor due to hitting my head/shoulder and falling off of a horse it turns out that I didn’t break anything, but I had torn the ligament between the two connecting bones – NO RIDING! The whole point of the holiday was to ride Buddy to the beach and now I couldn’t ride at all. I was advised to attend the fracture clinic the following day. I made sure I gave Buddy a good lunge that night in hope that I would feel well enough the next morning to be able to have a little ride! Dad and I then sat in front of the fire outside the Yurt and had a lovely relaxing BBQ which was a nice end to a not so nice day I guess..
He was a bit lively when I was getting on
I woke up Wednesday morning and my head and shoulder was pounding.. Probably not the best idea to ride. I decided to leave riding for today as it was not worth it if something happened like that again! However, I was not letting the opportunity go to waste after my dad had taken the time to bring us here on holiday.. I boxed Buddy up and we drove to Holkham Beach. I walked Buddy along the beach in hand and I was surprised at how well behaved he actually was especially after his antics the day before! We walked down the beach for around 45 minutes and my shoulder was getting sore so I thought it was time to call it a day and end the holiday on a positive note. At least I could say I took Buddy on the beach even if it was in hand – I even had him trotting while I ran beside him!
At least I could say I took him on the beach.. Even if it was in hand
Boxed up and on the way home feeling slightly disappointed with the whole holiday and Buddy’s behaviour I tried to keep positive. It not always plain sailing when you ride horses, they are unpredictable animals at the end of the day.. That is what we sign up for when riding horses! That is why no matter how much you think you know your horse you should always take the relevant safety precautions! The holiday wasn’t a total write off! We arrived back on home ground and Buddy was over the moon to be home with his friends! We were both very tired so that caused for an early night – After seeing my boyfriend of course! I decided not to attend the fracture clinic as it felt a lot better but as the days went on after being home and busting out my moves on Friday night at my works do my shoulder is not feeling too great now!
We will try again next year or maybe even later on this year with another horsey holiday – we shall see what happens! I would highly recommend White Hall Farm – It is about a 5 minute drive to Holkham Beach itself and about an hours hack away by bridleway. It has lots of other amazing hacking routes as well and owned by lovely people who keep the premises in outstanding condition throughout – If you are interested then head over to their website – www.Whitehallfarm-accomodation.com
Thank you for reading, until next time..
Francesca x
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