Donna Melissa 2003 - 2022

"If I had to choose between breathing and loving you, I would use my last breath to tell you I love you.” – Deanna Anderson

At the end of January 2022, Mellu got diagnosed with Cushing's Disease after a blood test to see why despite losing her winter coat earlier than everyone else she was growing a thick coat back. After the results, she was immediately put on Pranscend and after 6 weeks I got good news that the new blood work showed a significant drop and the future looked better again. However clearly the disease was more progressive than what the blood tests showed us and in just four weeks Mellu started to go downhill and by the end of August, it was confirmed by the vets that there was nothing we could do for her. Losing Erkki a year ago shattered me, but losing Mellu feels like losing the last parts of my soul. 

Have fun up there with Basse and Erkki, make sure you keep them out of trouble, my angels 💔 My Queen I don’t know how I’m meant to go on without you or what I'm meant to do without you here everyday making me smile. Thank you for everything my love 💫

Trends to watch out for: Anky SS22 collection

Spring is officially here! The start of the arrival of new SS22 collections has begun, and that means that spring is really on its way - finally! I know I'm a little bit late to the game this year because of my work and real life, but I'm so excited to get back to sharing these gorgeous new collections on my blog again, and of course we will be starting with the new SS22 Anky collection as Anky is always the first to release their collections.

I always joke with one of my matchy friends that there will always be black, navy and pink in each Anky collection and once again there they are... BUT, we have a new shiny pattern and some absolutely beautiful new colours. In the below photo from left to right we have: black zebra, stormy weather zebra, jade lime, dark navy zebra, rum raisin zebra, pretty purple, cashmere rose, summer berry and finally frosted almond zebra. The zebra patterned pads are ridiculously pretty in real life, so if you are into your patterns these pads will make your day!

Personally patterned pads have never been my thing, but I appreciate that a lot of people do like them and that Anky is willing to try different materials and looks. They have been doing these collections for SO long that I'm pretty sure they'd have run out of colours to do unless they used patterns. I also love that there is always a pink or red colour, a lot of other brands don't do red at all so if you're a red fan (I so would be if I had a grey or black horse!) at least you can buy good quality matchy from Anky! But I must admit my absolute favourite from this collection is the pretty purple, it's one of those colours that changes depending on the light, ranging from purple to really light blue which is just beautiful! 

Merry Christmas!

Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas and all the happiness in the world! ❤️🎄🎅🏻

I finally managed to grab a few festive photos this year and I think these two are just so adorable! Next year hopefully we can introduce tinsel and out do ourselves ✨

Trends to watch out for: Le Mieux 2021 AW collection

Oh my favourite time of the year - autumn is here! I personally adore the autumn winter collections, and this year we start this year's trends to watch out for series with Le Mieux from HorseHealth. They have done absolutely classic colours for autumn - rioja (wine red), oak (dark green) and dijon (mustardy yellow). It feels like I'm looking at the colours one the trees that I see outside my window when autumn fully sets in 🍁♥️

HorseHealth have gone ahead and create ALL the possible equestrian clothing too, everything from scarves and socks to base layers, hoodies, short and long and waterproof coats. The Mollie hoodie and the Loire Waterproof ring coat are my favourites of this collection, and whilst I already own a winter riding coat it's not completely waterproof so I am very tempted by a waterproof one for riding! There's also thermals in matching colours and finally a men's collection too! It might be a small one, but it's a start - I don't think it's fair that so few equestrian brands cater to men and it is great to see another company join in!  For each saddle pad there is matching bandages (classic and loire) as well as grafter and fleece brushing boots - although weirdly enough there aren't any fleece brushing boots in dijon, only grafter boots. I have used both their fleece brushing and grafter boots and can wholeheartedly recommend both. 

“You gave me a forever within the numbered days…”

 

"So this is where we part, My Friend,
 and you’ll run on, around the bend,
 gone from sight, but not from mind,
 new pleasures there you’ll surely find.
 
 I will go on, I’ll find the strength, 
 life measures quality, not its length.
 One long embrace before you leave,
 share one last look, before I grieve. 
 
 There are others, that much is true,
 but they be they, and they aren’t you. 
 And I, fair, impartial, or so I thought, 
 will remember well all you’ve taught. 
 
 Your place I’ll hold, you will be missed,
 the fur I stroked, the nose I kissed. 
 And as you journey to your final rest, 
 take with you this… I loved you best." 

 

I tried everything to fix you, but our time was up. I wish heaven had visiting hours, and I would ask them if I could take you home 🕊️ The only thing that I could not protect you from was time. 

I love you always and forever my angel horse, thank you for letting me be yours.

'Til we meet again my love 🤍

Changes & life update

"Life is about change. Sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's beautiful. But most of the time, it's both." 

—Lana Lang

Although it may seem crazy to some, at the end of February I moved again - although with the way that the last two years have seemed to be going, it really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that I decided to move in with my boyfriend and take the dog and my three horses with me 🏡 I have contemplated for the last few months on whether I should just quit blogging entirely, to delete this one and start a new fresh one or to carry on with this one. I came to the conclusion that this blog, like it always has been, is first and foremost my diary of my horsey life. It just so happens to be a publicly available online diary that others can also read, but at its core it remains my diary - and with all of my history on here starting from 2013, it felt wrong to delete this and start again. So I'm carrying on here, because finally I feel like it's the right time to write again.

We've moved!

Yes you did read that title right! After two years in wonderful Wiltshire, it was time to move again. But this time, we've moved somewhere which is quite literally a slice of heaven here on Earth. I have been SO excited for the last few months but trying to keep this quiet because I didn't want to jinx it until everything was agreed and sorted out, but then everything got too busy. But now that we're here I am over the moon to share this news with you all 🥳

My own little house, separate from the main house

And in case you couldn't guess from the photos, we're moving back to Finland 🇫🇮 There's nothing quite like hard Brexit, a world wide health pandemic and the death of your grandparents, your dog and one of your horses to really teach you what you actually want from life and that the best place to live is somewhere close to your family and somewhere that is safe. I don't ever want to be stuck in another country away from my family if something like this ever happens again, it's not an experience that needs repeating.

PS of Sweden blush saddle pad review

I know a lot of people might know a lot about and already own PS of Sweden products, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the PS of Sweden blush saddle pad, that I bought from Foster Equestrian. I've blogged about all of PS of Sweden's collection since their SS18 collection, which means that I know their products inside out especially as we have collected a lot of their matchy sets over the years!

So looking closer at their saddle pads, PS of Sweden pads are created from a shiny, dirt repellent and breathable material with a PS crown patterned quilt. This pad also has a quick drying, anti-fungal and antimicrobial material on the inside to efficiently wick away moisture and keep the saddle pad fresh. I can't reiterate enough how well these pads wick away sweat and keep my horses cool. The older pads have a black material on the inside, whilst the SS20 and this particular blush pad have got a white material. Don't panic - both are equally good at wicking moisture away and the white does come up really clean after just a single wash! The material is such good quality, it doesn't snag, tear or damage easily so you don't have to worry about washing them.  

Things that have helped me to like myself more

I thought I’d share some of the ways I’ve learned to love myself more over the past few months.

1. Following Instagram and Facebook accounts that show more bodies like mine:

I made a conscious effort a year ago to try and change the kind of body I see in online. These days my media is pretty much solely Facebook and Instagram, with the odd lifestyle or news website thrown in for good measure. What that means is that for the most part, I have some form of control over what I see and I can use that to my advantage. I have filled my Instagram follow list with women who look more like me, so therefore I can make mid-size as the norm in that I see every day of my life. And in doing so, it’s helped me accept my own body shape as completely run of the mill ordinary in the best way possible. I am not a strange or hideous, instead I am completely and boringly normal. Oh, and my absolute fave (non-horsey) account for cutting through bullc**p diet culture is @drjoshuawolrich and @jameelajamilofficial.

2. And unfollowing/unliking anyone who makes me question myself: 
In the same way that I recognise which accounts make me feel good, I’m also quick to unfollow those accounts make me question myself or feel anxious about who I am. Unfollowing or unliking any accounts may feel harsh, but remember this isn’t about them – they could be  amazing and happy and the bee's knees – but they could also really play up my own insecurities, and so sometimes even if it’s temporary, I unlike/unfollow/mute them. I don’t follow any fitness accounts or anyone who discusses diets or describes foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. I also tend to avoid account which only show the glossy glamorous bits of their horsey life – I need a bit of a reality check in there. 

EOTRH operation

Carrying on from my last blog post (which you read by clicking HERE) you'll know that my mum's horse was going in to the clinic to have several teeth extracted after being confirmed to be suffering from EOTRH. But just a quick recap of what it actually is - EOTRH is Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis and is a syndrome in horses that results in resorptive lesions of the incisors and canine teeth. As the disease progresses, the roots of multiple teeth begin to resorb and the body tries to stabilise these teeth by laying down extra cementum, resulting in bulbous swellings around the roots of affected teeth. These teeth become infected, may loosen and can even fracture. It's still not a common procedure and as I couldn't find out much first hand experience of it online, I thought I would write a post about it, what they did and how Rama at the age of 22 has coped with it all!

So on June 4th Rama was taken to the Willesey clininc of B&W Equine Vets for his operation, which I'm so pleased to say went really well 🙌🏻 All in all, six teeth were extracted under infra-orbital and mental nerve blocks and sedation as well as morphine. All his teeth were chronically affected by EOTRH, with large cementomata formation and painful draining abscess tracts, and severe periodontitis . The sockets were debrided, lavaged and packed with dissolvable gelatamp sponges, and temporary polysiloxane dental putty.

Equine dentist visit - peripheral caries and EOTRH in horses

On Friday the horses had a dentist day! 🦷 It's been just over 6 months since they were last done, so it was definitely needed. I know some people still think that once a year is enough, but a lot of things can go badly wrong in that time which is why we have been doing bi-annual check ups for the last 7+ years. It might be more expensive but I think having the peace of mind that my horses have healthy teeth is worth it.

After the last disaster of a visit with a different vet, this time I spent a good few hours on the different Facebook local horsey groups and looking through posts to find a really good equine dentist/dental vet. A name which kept popping up with ridiculously good reviews was Pete Ravenhill BVSc, CertEM(StudMed), BAEDT, MRCVS who is an equine dental vet at B&W Equine Vets. The reason why we wanted to get Pete to do our horses is because he has a 100% equine dentistry caseload, split between routine and advanced cases, and he also teaches equine dentistry to vets and EDT’s, both on courses and in daily practice. He is a founder committee member of EVDA (Equine Veterinary Dental Association) and his special interests are periodontal disease, minimally invasive extraction techniques and restorative dentistry. So a proper specialist who knows his stuff!

Vallu, Erik and Melisse all got okayish reviews. Erik and Melisse have both got a chipped tooth (looks like a very old chip in both) but all three had peripheral caries. Dental caries are defined as “decalcification of calcified dental tissues by microbial acids, with resultant microbial destruction of the organic matrix" which in layman’s terms is that they are cavities/areas of tooth decay. Caries is the destruction of dental tissue by bacteria in the mouth, in a similar manner to people.  Most horses have peripheral caries, and peripheral caries rarely cause any problems. Commonly you see peripheral caries in horses leading to other dental problems and there could be a link between dental caries and diastema formation (gap between teeth) and associated gum disease, and as I want to prevent this leading to any of them getting a diastema, they are all going on a very low sugar diet as well as using Hexarinse twice weekly to help keep it clean 🧼
 

How to wash and look after your saddle pads and other products

Although you don’t get any extra marks for the turnout of you and your horse and it makes absolutely no difference to how happy your horses are, but a well presented combination does give others an impression of professionalism and tidiness. I love my matchy and will always buy high quality products for myself and my horses, and having us dressed smartly makes me feel more confident. There are PLENTY of days where I am definitely more mismatchy than matchy, but most days I do try to semi-presentable with my outfits! Recently I've often seen lots of people asking about how to look after and wash your your saddle pads, bandages, boots and other equipment to make sure they stay looking like new, so I thought I'd share my tips and tricks of keeping them looking their best. Let’s find out! 💭

1. Buy quality products:

In general, the price of the product will influence its quality to a certain extent. It's logical that a saddle pad which costs £50 will last longer than one that costs £5 💭 For example, cheaper saddle pads usually wear more quickly than expensive ones and soon become tatty after multiple washes, whereas quality ones can last years and years of consistent use. So the old saying that "you get what you pay for" certainly applies to all equestrian products, but especially saddle pads.

2. Washing different coloured saddle pads separately:

Whether you are washing dark or light coloured saddle pads, use the coldest possible water (I use between 20°C to 40°C depending on how dirty they are!) and wash them separately. I tend to put my matching saddle pad and bandages in the wash together, then after that do another quick wash with my bandage pads, over reach boots and any other products that need washing. I very rarely wash two similarly coloured pads at the same time, and so far nothing that I have owned has ever gotten damaged in the wash 🤞🏻 And whites are always washed totally separately!! I know some people soak their pads before washing them - whilst soaking the pads won’t necessarily get the dirt out, removing the dirt and hair will be helpful. I personally don't have the time for this, but I'm sure it helps.

The new plan for 2020

When this year started, I was very, very excited about the plans that I had made for the year and I can't remember when I’d ever felt better or more prepared for the competition season with my horses. I had weddings in America and Majorca to look forward to as well as my brother competing in the 2020 Olympics and therefore a trip to Japan was also planned! I had so many plans for arena hires, hacking out and competing once I'd had the flu jabs done for all the horses in mid-March. And then Covid-19 hit the UK. Of course, whatever great ideas I’d had were thrown out the window, and after nearly two months of grieving for a year where everything is cancelled or postponed, I feel like I need to make a whole new plan for 2020. And with more change coming soon (I cannot wait to share with you all about this, it's SO exciting) here's the new plan for 2020 👇🏻

The plan for Vallu:

I'd planned on hacking out, going to the gallops as well as doing the E-Riders veteran series competitions with him. Nothing too stressful for me and nothing too strenuous for him and his legs, and to be fair this won't be changing much apart from getting the chance to take him out hacking in the local woods or going to the gallops. Despite the fact that taking your horse out for a lesson/hack is now deemed to be okay, I don't feel comfortable enough yet doing so as we should still be staying at home as much as possible. Luckily, I'm fortunate in the fact that I can ride him around our bigger back field which can temporarily replace our hacking out plans! He just gets slightly more time in his paddock than I'd originally planned.

The plan for Erik:

The new plan for 2020 with Erik is to just focus on putting in the time to make him as strong and adjustable and relaxed as possible and for his injured leg to be able to cope with the advanced level training and competing that I want to do. When we come out on the other side of the pandemic, maybe I’ll have a few lessons with him to see how the leg copes and then if everything is good then look at a few arena hires before even thinking or looking at competing. In the meantime, I'll carry on working hard on the basics, making sure he has the strongest body possible and that he continues to put on all the muscle that he lost due to his time off and over the winter.

Not looking too bad here!

#rootd: pistage

Saddle pad: Equestrian Stockholm pistage

Bandages: Equestrian Stockholm pistage

Over reach boots: Kingsland

Top:  Primark sweatshirt

Gilet: Spooks crown 

Breeches: Pikeur grey Gia leggings

Lockdown horse interviews

I thought I'd join in on a fun lockdown horse interview that I spotted floating about on Facebook. There are quite a lot of new followers & readers on here so I thought it would be a nice way for you to find out a little bit more about my horses! I have no idea who created it despite searching (if this is something you created, let me know and I'll obviously tag you) I hope you join in and share this wide and far, god knows we need things that cheer us up at this point 🙏🏻

Registered name: Val De Mar

Barn name: Vallu

Nicknames: handsome, pig, William

Colour: bay

Gender: gelding

Disciplines: dressage

Personality: happy, kind and genuine 😍

Hates: puddles, pigeons, not being able to go in his paddock

Favourite treats: EVERYTHING! 🐷

Age: 18

Height: 17.1hh

Funny habits: likes giving kisses, will lift his hind leg up if he wants belly scratches and snores when he sleeps

Best feature: biggest heart, kindest soul, knows all the party tricks

Worst feature: costing money from numerous vet visits, having crappy legs!

How long you have had them: 8 years

Brinicombe Equine Think Fly spray review - sponsored blog post

Whilst warmer weather and longer days means more hours to spend with our horses, after a very wet but warm winter, it seems like we're going to have a summer that is full of flies, bugs and other annoying insects. It's only mid-April, yet I'm already having to use fly rugs and masks as well as using fly spray to keep the horses happy when turned out. Which is why when Brinicombe Equine got in touch with me about their new fly spray, I was more than happy to trial it out!

For me, the best fly sprays are long-lasting so that there isn't a need for constant reapplication, as well as being highly effective. I think it's pretty nifty if they don't smell horrible - a few that I've tried out over the years have not been a pleasant experience for me, never mind for my horses with their sensitive sense of smell!! The design of the spray on the bottle also plays a big part for me, especially if your horse is anything like mine where finding a gentle and quiet spray with good coverage is 100% important in order to have a calm and stressful turnout routine. Vallu is the most ridiculously sensitive creature to noisy sprays (as in if it's too noisy he won't let me anywhere near him when he spots the fly spray) so it's been fabulous to notice that he isn't getting tense at all about the Brinicombe Equine Think Fly spray being used before he gets turned out 🙌🏻

Feather & Fell limited luxe equestrian sweater review

Now that I've had the sweater at home for a few weeks and had the chance to use, test and wash it, I'm so excited to share with you my review of Feather & Fell's limited edition Luxe sweater. And as we're in lock down, I've only had the chance to wear it at home but it is the sweater that I always go to grab whenever it comes out of the wash. The limited edition Luxe sweater looks lovely whether you're riding or going out to the shops or grabbing a bite to eat (whenever that's allowed again!)  For only £30 I think it's great value for money, and if you use the code ROOSA10 you can get -10% off! Everything always comes beautifully packaged, which is a lovely touch 🤍

I think it's a gorgeous sweater - it's SO soft & incredibly comfortable. It's not too thin or too thick, so you can wear it for pretty much the majority of the year, right through from autumn to spring very easily. I hate when I end up buying a sweater or hoodie that is too thick and then there's only a limited amount of time throughout the year that you can wear it, but the Luxe sweater has got just the right amount of thickness. I have practically lived in it, and despite washing it constantly the logo is intact which in my opinion is a rarity, and the sweater itself hasn't shrunk in the wash either. I've lost so many sweaters to this, so I'm over the moon that this one looks and feels EXACTLY the same each time it comes out of the washing machine! It's a sign of great quality when it doesn't shrink and the logo stays in tact, and unsurprisingly this Feather & Fell sweatshirt is definitely a quality product! The reason why I waited to share this review was so that I could have the chance to test it out, to make sure it withstands day to day use in order to be able to tell you guys everything about it 🙌🏻

10 things you can do to cope with COVID-19

With the country experiencing a lockdown it's no surprise that competitions and arena hires have been cancelled, all but essential travel has been banned and most full care livery yards going into lock down and owners not being allowed to visit and a lot of people not riding at all, I know that a lot of horsey people are struggling. Not only is the situation terrifying, but to then also lose what keeps us sane means that 2020 is turning out to be a bit of a disaster. With the government recommending to practice social distancing and self-isolation, I’m sure a lot of people have found themselves es with some extra time on their hands and not quite sure what to do with it.

So, aside from riding/exercising your horses (if you're allowed to go to the yard and if you want to ride!), here are a few things you can do to keep yourself busy:

Blog hop: Gratitude

Through several blogs that I follow, I found this fabulous blog post from Liz who started a blog hop guaranteed to put a smile on everyone's face. She writes: In an effort to introduce a bit of positivity and happiness amidst uncertain times, I thought I would share some of my gratitude items here in the hopes that our lovely little community of bloggers will echo back with some of their own. It's been awhile since a blog hop has gone around, but perhaps our little group can come up with a suite of them in the coming weeks to ease us through these unknown times?

I have so much to be grateful for at the moment. In no particular order, I'm grateful that:

1. My horses are at home - having seen so many yards go into lockdown and not allowing owners to come and even look at their horses, I am so conscious of the fact that I am very lucky to have mine at home. I don't know how I'd cope without them. On Tuesday the only time I actually laughed out loud that entire day was when I was riding Vallu, so if I didn't have that I don't quite know what I'd do. I really feel for those who can’t see their horses or ride at this horrid time - it’s horrible to even think about.

2. My family and friends are still safe and healthy. I have several friends who are nurses, paramedics  and other GP support workers, and family who are doctors who are all spread around Europe and so far everyone is doing okay. Nothing would be greater if we all made it through this pandemic without having to lose someone.

Trends to watch out for: Eskadron Classic SS20 collection

Hello weekend! Let’s give you some new trends inspiration, and this one features the one that I always look forward to the most, the Eskadron collection! Normally there are always leaks a few days in advance but this time Eskadron managed to keep it under lock and key right until the release date... 🔑 So let's have a closer look at Eskadron Classic SS20 collection

To be honest I am a little bit disappointed in the colours, it definitely has the feel of more like a Platinum collection - papaya, sky blue, cool grey, navy and brown!! A spring summer collection should be filled with colour and Classic is normally one of my favourite collections because its bright and fun. It's basically tradition for Eskadron to always release navy with each collection, but a brown as well? Since when was brown a spring summer colour?? I for one cannot take anymore brown. And a pale beige grey, again... 🤦🏼‍♀️ This feels like they have left over material from their AW19 soft grey collection and have decided to use it up. I really do miss the old summer colours like berry, mint, mango etc which really pop and make you think of summer! I miss all of those vibrant and different colours. Don't get me wrong I really like the blue and the orange - it's been a long time since they've done a lovely pale blue - but a collection with just two nice colours? 👎🏻 Also, a Classic collection to me means a proper big square saddle pad with a stripe. This new style isn't it for me.