Fai and LEGO

There was a time when the windows, doors and wheels were in separate containers. But that is all in the past, now every LEGO piece is jumbled up in a plastic box.

Fai prefers his creations to be monotone and would sift through the box for his desired colour as he builds.
Now, he has taken this one step further. He would arrange all the different pieces into rows of varying sizes before starting work.

Mornings with the horses

JY, Fai and Han's horse riding lessons are early in the morning, so we get to see the work being put in to keep the stables clean.

Cleaning out the stables with a pitchfork.

Horse poo

This is where all the horse poo and soiled sawdust ends up. It would be marvellous for my plants at home and Zarina gave us the green light "Take as much as you want"

Bales of hay

The horses are irritated by flies and would stomp their feet, swish tails or stretch out their heads and take a bite at the offending 6-legged critter.

A pitchfork

Fai enjoys petting the horses and they seem to be loving the attention.

It is an indescribable feeling when I gaze into a horse's eyes and feel the warmth

under their silky smooth coat.

Perhaps the verse below that I found on the web can describe it better....

When God created the horse, he said to the magnificent creature:

I have made thee as no other.
All the treasures of the earth shall lie between thy eyes.
Thou shalt cast thy enemies between thy hooves,
but thou shalt carry my friends upon they back.
Thy saddle shall be the seat of prayers to me.
And thou fly without any wings, and conquer without any sword.

KC taking a playful nip at Fai.

KC has a tendency to nip at King when JY trots by in the next paddock.

Han waiting patiently as King gets ready.

Saddle and Rope

To hasten the boys in learning how to balance on a horse, a rope and saddle were loaned to us. The idea was to get the boys to balance on the saddle while someone bounces them up and down.

Fai's brothers thought it was hilarious to see their brother fall from the saddle, so they tried their best to sway and bounce him off.

Fai using leg power to push the rope up and down

Han found using a backhand pull more effective.

Fai's rodeo stance.

Horse Bathing

The boys were eager to bathe the horses, so we went after dinner. The horses take bath at about 7pm.
The moment the tap was turned on, Han went "Whoa! What kind of water is that?!"
It turns out that the brown, murky water is pumped out from an underground source to save on their water bill. The water was clear after a few minutes.

Han gave a few quick, hesitant scrubs and said that he didn't want to get wet. He ran off with Fai to play at the sheep's enclosure - running up and down the ramps amidst the bleating of the hungry sheep waiting for dinner.

The brush that was used.

Washing the horse's leg and hoof

Half-way through Zarina came to check on the horse's heartbeat. She said anything below 60 beats a minute is good.

After a thorough scrubbing with the brush, shampoo poured onto the horse an another round of scrubbing followed.

Farrier and KC

Second day with the horses and we get to see a farrier at work.
King was walking cross-legged and a farrier was called in to investigate.

King's horseshoe was pried off and his hooves filed down. Bits of the hooves were thrown to the dogs as treats.

The farrier's tools.

Zarina naming the different parts of the saddle and bridle.

Han requested for King again and I was told that all little kids would ask for him - the biggest horse they have.

JY had Amir as her trainer, he had trained for 8 years in Germany. He will be around on weekends to give JY the finer points in horseriding.
JY is riding KC, a beautiful thoroughbred.

First Lunge 1stJuly 2011

Our first time at a horse ranch. We came upclose with beautiful horses and playful dogs.

Fai feeding Norma, a 6 month old foal.

The kids were encouraged to feed the horses with carrots and long Napier grass that is used as high protein fodder feed for horses and sheep.

First up was JY. She was told to sit up straight, and put her heels down in the stirrups. She was taught the rising trot that required her bump up with the rhythm of the horse's trot, instead of getting bounced around on the saddle.

Then Han.

The smile on his face was priceless when he got up on King. His feet couldn't reach the stirrups, so they were placed in a loop above the stirrups. Han was taught the rising trot too. He was also taught how to stop the horse by twitching his fingers slightly so that the reins are pulled. The sense of satisfaction he must have felt as he gained control over a horse weighing half a ton.

Ean hanging around and peering at hungry nestlings waiting for their next meal.

Fai on King.

Fai could reach the stirrups and was raring to go as he had to wait patiently for his turn.

Fai obviously had a great time.

Getting words of encouragement from Zarina and Nazlan.

It was a very successful first lunge. The kids loved riding King and had no qualms being 5 feet off the ground. We signed up for lessons and was asked to come again the very next day.

The Horse

Ask me to show you poetry in motion, and I will show you a horse.

A thousand horse and none to ride!

With flowing tail, and flying mane,

Wide nostrils never stretched by pain,

Mouths bloodless to the bit or rein,

And feet that iron never shod,

And flanks unscarred by spur or rod,

A thousand horse, the wild, the free,

Like waves that follow o'er the sea,

Came thickly thundering on,...

~Lord Byron, XVII, Mazeppa, 1818

The Horse

Where in this wide world can man find

nobility without pride,

Friendship without envy,

Or beauty without vanity?

Here, where grace is served with muscle

And strength by gentleness confined

He serves without servility;

he has fought without enmity .

There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent.

There is nothing so quick, nothing more patient.

~Ronald Duncan, 1954

That day marked the start of our love affair with the horses.
Read about Zarina and her horses here