[Top Find] Wild Horse Canvas

I recently popped into 'The Range' and whilst browsing, came across this Hand Sketched Wild Horse Canvas. I fell in love with this canvas, and at only £24.99, it's an absolute bargain! Unfortunately I have no where to hang it, however when I get my own place I think it would look great hanging in the lounge over the sofa...I just have to hope they stock it for a long time as who knows when I'll be able to afford my own place! 

Thanks for reading,
Laura xx

[#LBEqFit] Colour Rush Obstacle, Milton Keynes

Yesterday, my friend and I travelled to Milton Keynes for the 5k Colour Rush Obstacle Run. The weather was terrible with it non-stop raining all day and it wasn't the best organised as we were left waiting for over an hour to start but it was great fun! I've still got colour all over my car and it went through all my clothes so I have nice green patches on my arms, haha! 

There were so many people there of all ages and abilities. We entered the 'Colour Rush Obstacle' which includes inflatable objects such as slides (a couple were slightly pointless!) & a large majority of time was spent queuing to get over them. In fact we had to queue for an hour just to get to the start line because of the first obstacle! You can by-pass them if you wish, but as there's an ordinary colour run each year as well, then I think you might as well give a couple a go! 

We were the last slot to go so the ground was horrendous and the obstacles were rather wet and muddy by that point but still great fun. I think it probably would have been better to be one of the earlier slots though as by the time we finished there weren't many people around and we were so wet and cold that we just wanted to get home! 

All in all I think I would enter again, or maybe just stick to a normal colour run, but it was great fun! 

Thanks for reading,
Laura xx 

[Laura Loves] Mint Horse Wear

I love colourful things. Not too over-the-top but like bright, bold colours or also soft, pastel tones too! Having a grey horse is pretty awesome in the fact that virtually any colour suits! I am forever finding new colour combinations that I just adore and want to buy for him - not so good for my bank balance! Previously it's always been kind of more 'dull' colours in a way..?! Navy used to be the main colour choice in my riding wardrobe/horse wardrobe but since discovering Equissentials Dressage I have started to want a lot of colour (If you've seen Pea's bright orange pad you'll know what I mean!)! 

One item that popped up on my Facebook newsfeed from Equissentials was the fairplay saddlepad & bandage set in mint. Oh my, I fell in love instantly! It's ridiculously gorgeous and although it's not a bold colour, I think it would suit Pea so well! They are also reasonably priced at £38 for a pad and set of 4 bandages making it seriously hard to resist! 

And then to top things off, I was scrolling through my Instagram at lunch time and saw that they had posted a picture of some lovely over-reach boots in mint as well! I mean, come on! They are 'Rider by Horse - Mint Platinum over-reach boots' and are just £15! I think that come pay-day I might just purchase them all.... 

I would definitely recommend checking out Equissentials Dressage as they truly have a wide range of gorgeous pads and boots as well as rider clothing in a whole heap of colour combinations! Top Tip: Maybe don't actually follow them if you want to keep hold of your money. You will want to buy everything ;)

Thanks for reading,
Laura xx

[Laura Loves] H&M Loose Tee's

Jersey Top - £7.99

A slightly odd post I guess but these tops are perfect for riding in! They are loose fitting so perfect during the warmer weather as it means they don't cling to you so give you a bit more air to breathe! I picked up a couple a few months ago as, although I love polo shirts, I just find that when we do have some warm weather, polo's are just a bit thick and not too suited for warm weather!

The tops are £8 and come in a wide range of colours. They are great to wear at the yard or out shopping and are easy to pair with any breeches or jeans in any pattern! I am definitely planning on picking up a couple of more as I love mine! 

So, like I mentioned, slightly unusual as you normally see 'equestrian' products featured on here but these tops are more affordable than many 'riding' tops and as I mentioned, they can be worn anywhere and not just at the yard but still look stylish!

Thanks for reading,
Laura xx

[Monthly Review] May 2015

Blink & It's Gone!
That's how I feel that this year is going! I can't believe that we're already in June! 

May was a pretty good month, though it ended not so well! Pea had the first week off whilst I was on holiday (cannot believe it was only a month ago - feels like it was months ago now!) but he came back working so well! His canter has improved no end and we're now working on increasing his stamina and getting him fitter for it which will hopefully help him be able to use himself better as he tends to get a bit tired easily and then goes flat and leans. 

Bending and flexing is one of those where some days he's great and others it's more entertaining being a giraffe... Luckily the days he's being a giraffe, I do still get some decent work from him. It's just learning that on those days it's best to work on something else like doing lateral work or pole work and not focussing so much time and energy into getting him to soften as that results in an argument. 

As he had been going so well, I decided to take him out to a local dressage test. If you've read my post that I wrote on it then you will be aware it didn't quite go to plan! We just did an Intro and Prelim as he hadn't been out for nearly a year so I thought it would be best to do an Intro for a warm-up. He was a bit spooky down one side of the arena to begin with and wasn't quite as forward and soft as I would have liked so I didn't think we had done so well, yet somehow he came second though we only scored 58%.. (I've actually just looked at the results sheet and he was 2nd out of 3 in the open section - always forget to put restricted though we wouldn't have done well at all if we had!). In the Prelim, he decided to just deposit me on the floor...It was third time lucky for him in his attempts as he'd already tried to do so once in the warm-up and once in the first canter before successfully dumping me in the second canter! I have since done little with him as it has killed my knee a bit but he's down for the physio in a couple of weeks and he's been lunging well. 

So not quite the ending of the month I envisioned but at least we're in one piece and can learn from it. I'm going to do a couple more e-dressage tests and see if my yard have any on. I might also try and see if they have any competitions on to ride him round in the warm-up as he really needs to get used to working with lots of others horses around and I need to get braver at cantering him with other horses around! 

Thanks for reading,
Laura xx

Meet Poppy!

Okay, so she's not quite a horse but meet the new member of our household - Poppy! We've adopted Poppy from the Dog's Trust and despite only coming home yesterday afternoon, she has settled in well! Our two cats are still to get used to her (one just smacks her on the nose but avoids her and the other runs the opposite way!) and she will eventually meet Pea.

Poppy (originally called Sasha) is a four year old collie cross. She hadn't been at the Dog's Trust long when we saw her but she seemed ideal for us as she used to live with cats and also had the right energy levels - ie still oodles of fun but not too boisterous! She came from a home where she spent a lot of time in the kitchen and wasn't walked often - the total opposite to what she has at our house! As I type this she's currently flat out on the sofa despite having a lovely bed! 

We decided to adopt a dog from Dog's Trust because we've always said then when we do finally get a dog it would be a rescue one as it's so rewarding to give them a new home! The Dog's Trust is really good as you can happily look round at the dogs and they all have their information outside their kennel. They also have some dogs that are up for adoption but are elsewhere as they are a bit nervous of people or need a bit further training. If you find a dog that you like then you register your details at reception and a member of staff comes over to check that you'll be suitable owners for that dog. We then got the chance to meet Poppy and take her for a walk. You then have three options in that you can agree right then that you want the dog, reserve the dog for 24hours so people can still view them but can't have them until you've made your mind up or you can say that it's not suitable and they will keep your details and let you know of a more suitable dog. We decided to reserve Poppy whilst we went home to discuss a few things as we were told she can guard her food and toys so wanted to check if it would be fine with my niece and cats. We then went back the next afternoon with my niece and took Poppy on another walk and things went really well so we signed up for her! We had to go for an interaction talk Wednesday evening and Sunday to go over a few things as well as a pre-adoption talk Saturday morning but all was fine and she came home yesterday afternoon!

It costs just £100 to adopt a dog from the Dog's Trust and they come with a collar and lead, 4 weeks insurance, 2kg food plus you can give them a call whenever if there are any issues. I would definitely recommend thinking about the Dog's Trust if you're after a rescue dog as they are really friendly and helpful. 

I'm sure you might see a lot more of Poppy, especially if you follow me on instagram or twitter!

Thanks for reading,

Laura xx