The Herd Explore

21/11/2024

Always in awe of a native coat. Nature is incredible! 😳🥰

14/11/2024

Well this was a first for the ponies 🤣

26/10/2024

Another misty and beautiful start to the day. Today membership share rider Jo and I were joined by Sarah who was returning for her second ride with us and her friend Mary, who was here for the first time. We were treated to some lovely weather and had a great ride!

24/10/2024

A peaceful herd of fluffies ❤

11/10/2024

Sabine is a great friend of one of our share team members Janine. What she offers and what she wants to develop is amazing. If anyone feels they can support this please do - it means so much to so many people 🥰

The Lads Lodge Riding School at Penton, near to the Scottish and English border, is at risk of closure. | ITV News Border

09/10/2024

Part of our herd, but not in the ridden team is the gorgeous Dylan ridden here by share member Kelly. He is the most beautiful boy ❤

07/10/2024

Two of our new herd members Hattie and Daisy hanging out together this morning.

Human Hattie and Elsie spending time with Danny before Hattie returns to uni.

04/10/2024

What a place for our herd to live ❤ we are so lucky

28/09/2024

Sunrise this morning ☀️ ❤

11/09/2024

Some of The Herd Explore gang foot stomped our way over to Sovereign Quarter Horses to have a go at a line dancing lesson with Amy at Buckin' Boots Line Dancing as a bit of a surprise send off to Hattie who is off to uni next week. Thank you Amy! Oh my goodness we LOVED it! It was so much fun and such lovely, welcoming people. Totally want to do that again!!!! 🤠.

Off to buy a hat and boots...🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

10/09/2024

Share team member Clare arranged for her sister Kate and husband Luke to come over and ride the ponies yesterday. Luke has Motor Neurones Disease so we chatted about it and decided we had one pony for the job...my right-hand man Matt.

Luke is a truly inspirational man, he is 35 and was diagnosed with MND just last year. He's a medically retired GP and mountain and lowland rescue volunteer. Despite his diagnosis last year he went on a three week expedition on horse back around Mongolia as the medical support for a team helping with community aid and scientific work within Zoology and Archeology. He told me the most incredible stories about his trip (it's always been on my buckets list) and my mind was totally blown by how he had not just embarked on such a trip but embraced and succeeded at it whilst grappling with his recent diagnosis, and also how he is clearly not letting this flipping awful disease define him - he is still determined to get out there and do the things he loves.

Earlier this year he helped to fundraise for MND and changed the narrative of it by walking Hadrians Hall - a whopping 84 miles and helped raise £52k towards MND charities he is immensely proud of the two incredible achievements and I'm sure there are more achievements to come. Yesterday he was very happy to simply be back in the saddle and to be able to immerse himself in the countryside alongside his wife kate, and Clare and I were very happy to help provide this experience, although it was Matt who truly enabled this to happen - he stood like a rock while Luke got on and off and was his usual calm, collected self. He is an incredible pony, one in a million.

If you want to check out Luke's Instagram account click below

https://www.instagram.com/lukesmndhadrianswallchallenge?igsh=d29pdnFoYzBsZjJy.

07/09/2024

Morning Burghley traffic 👋

06/09/2024

As it was hot today we decided to wander slowly down to the lake, have a picnic and treat the ponies to a dip.
Shock news...Pearl wasn't keen!! Gina on the other hand...

05/09/2024

Some of you will know just how incredibly special and moving this moment was this evening ❤️

Danny & Hattie

04/09/2024

There's a couple of spaces on our 2 hour trek on Saturday if anyone fancies it? You could always ride and then go onto Burghley as we're just 5 mins away in the car 👀

04/09/2024

This week we are celebrating getting our new field and are looking forward to the ponies enjoying it later on in the year, it's such a beautiful and peaceful field and is literally next door to our other one. As I've said before we've got exciting plans in the pipeline and one of these plans is to look at offering some limited retirement livery spaces to people who want their ponies to retire and be cared for in a natural grass kept, herd environment. We have our own herd of retirees so adding to their gang seems like a very natural progression and something that they would very much benefit from too. We've always strived to ensure that these guys have a varied and stimulating field/social life including in hand walks with the ridden gang - you've only got to meet them to see that they enjoy life, have strong friendships, are healthy emotionally and physically and they even have good muscle tone.

Our non ridden ponies have never been any less important to us than our ridden ponies so I get it, I really do. If you are interested in this particular development and would like your pony to join our equine community send me a message and I'll keep you posted on our plans 😊

03/09/2024

The strength, importance and draw of friendship.

Retirees Dolly and Dylan have just come to graze next to their herd friends Danny and Magnus. Although they are all away from the main herd ATM for various reasons they are long standing herd members. The other side of their field are two ponies they have never met before (circled in green) When we released them they went over to the new ponies, briefly said Hi, but then quickly headed back to their friends where a session of serious grooming/bonding began! If you're wondering why the four friends aren't together, it's just to make sure that Danny doesn't get too excited and put pressure on his heart, so until we know his heart is stronger he's living a quiet life with everyone's mate Magnus! Hopefully it won't be long before they can join their herd once again.

It's so lovely to see that friendships last even when they have time apart.