Over the stable door: Getting the bullet for our improvised ski frolics

DURING similar Siberian weather some years ago, my friend and I decided to make the most of the snow.

We unearthed our skis and decided to hitch the driving reins to her niece's Shetland pony, Bullet. He trotted round the field as we skied along behind him shrieking with laughter at our brilliant idea. I tapped him to canter, holding tightly to the reins as we belted round the big field.

Our blood was up until Bullet, who was thoroughly bored of our antics, craftily stopped dead and let us smack straight into his backside at full speed.

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Momentarily my internal organs were the filling in the sandwich (my friend weighs a few pounds) Groaning in pain we lay tangled in a heap with skis pointing in all directions. Bullet stood watching us like a teacher eyeballing her naughty school children. We laughed so hard my friend wet herself. We have never admitted our snow day antics to anyone, least of all her niece.

Last week I had the British Horseracing Authority annual inspection at my yard. Yvonne Mee (nee Stapleton) from Teesdale has worked for the BHA inspecting racing stables for 18 years. A familiar face on the northern racing circuit, Yvonne is always thorough but diplomatic in her task, having had many tricky characters to deal with.

Stringent rules are in place for those holding a training licence.

Health and safety regulations fill a large folder alone. We must keep accurate records of each horse's medication, veterinary records, accident books, feed batch samples, locked medical cabinets, insurance records, staff registrations, owners' training agreements, horse passport files, arrival and departure records. All are checked on inspection by Yvonne along with facilities and stabling updates. To acquire a full licence, candidates must fulfil certain requirements. All must hold a level three NVQ in racehorse care, spent five years working in the industry, attend three courses at the British Racing School, have access to 35,000 in assets (or a kindly backer) and a suitable training establishment with access to a gallop, schooling fences and starting stalls. Purchasing a licence and attending the courses may set you back around 4,000 with annual costs of 1,000 renewal fee. That is before the rigorous interviews begin.

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On the pointing front, the first northern meeting is another casualty of the weather. The Ratcheugh at Alnwick was to be held next Saturday but course preparation has proved impossible. My wagon is curtailed in the yard - so much for a Mercedes being reliably robust. I nearly wiped out the tack room as we slid sideways across the snowy cobbles when attempting to move it. Luckily we are within hacking distance of some useful facilities including an indoor school. It helps keep the horses' fitness levels at a reasonable level and allows me to introduce my trainee jumpers to pole work in a safe, enclosed environment.

Lengthy, unexpected disruption from the intense training our horses are used to creates a variety of problems. Other than loss of fitness, they can"tie up" (lactic acid builds up in muscles during work and cannot be absorbed fast enough causing, hindquarters to seize up) Colic and stomach ulcers relating to feed/work ratio levels being unbalanced.

Their high protein cereal diet means vigorous energy levels need working off daily. Any diet changes must be gradual to avoid colic.

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