The end of another excellent course at Judd Wood Farm in Kent.

Many people to thank. Jane and family for hosting us again. Your facilities are great and your warm hospitality can’t be beaten.

Thank you Martine for organising and supplying us with a great variety of willing four legged participants and to the owners who allowed them to participate.

Paul, thank you for coming to our rescue when our van gave up the ghost. We also thoroughly enjoyed the lovely old pubs, great meals and much shared laughter with you both.

Thanks to all those who brought along their horses. It’s good to have interesting cases and they were very much appreciated.

Lisa, we didn’t expect to see you in England! A real surprise and thank you for coming along and joining in with us.

Last but certainly not least, thank you Andy Eckley for putting it all together for us. We couldn’t do it without you!

After lunch we headed out to have a look at Hever Castle. This 700 year old castle was the home of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry v111 and mother of Queen Elizabeth 1. The castle has been immaculately restored and the beautifully panelled rooms are filled with tapestries, furniture, antiques and portraits. The Gatehouse and curtain walls were constructed in 1270 and you can listen to an audio of the ?full history as you walk through the castle. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and this time of the year as the leaves are starting to turn, the autumn colours are lovely. The huge lake (38 acres) that was dug out by hand is bordered by willows and there are 4000 roses in the English Rose Garden. We have added some pictures below but I’m not sure that they really do it justice.

Right next door to the motor cars we found the Green Cross Inn.

If you are ever in the area, don’t miss the chance to have a meal here. They served us a succulent steak cooked to perfection and by far the best scallops I’ve ever eaten! So far, they have the award for the best food in England.

We have managed to fit in a rest day today and a great day it has been. We set out this morning to have a look around some parts of Kent that we hadn’t seen before. This is a very pretty part of England and it’s a real pleasure sight seeing around here. Late morning we came across an area called Goudhurst and something special caught our (Steve’s) eye! Two Rollers and a Bentley no less!!!

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Wow, this is such a pretty country and it’s good to be back back again.

Our first course this trip (Level 1 and 2) at Spreyton Equestrian Centre over the weekend was a great success. Thank you so much to Debbie and Paul for your kind hospitality and the use of your facilities.

Thank you also to Jacky and Joyce of Oaklands Riding School for supplying some extra horses for us and to Nicola and Jasmine for staying on helping us throughout the day.

We are heading on towards Tonbridge today for the next Level 1 and 2 starting on the 13th!

Last day home before we fly out to the UK again for another round of horse courses. If you need to contact us over the next couple of weeks, we should receive your emails at equusmusclemanagement@bigpond.com or you could drop us a message on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EquusAustralia where we will endeavour to share our journey with you.

Please note our New Contact Details are email: equusmusclemanagement@bigpond.com and new landline Phone: (07) 5484 5414. The mobile is the same 0411 272 537.

There is always much confusion when people are trying to work out horses age by their teeth. This is a little rhyme we were taught when we were younger. I’m not sure who originally wrote it and whenever I’ve seen it written it has always had anonymous at the end. Here it is:

THE AGE OF A HORSE

To tell the age of any horse
Inspect the lower jaw of course;
The six front teeth the tale will tell,
And every doubt and fear dispel.

Two middle nippers you behold
Before the colt is two weeks old;
Before eight weeks two more will come
Eight months: the corners cut the gum.

At two the middle “Nippers” drop:
At three the second pair can’t stop;
When four years old the third pair goes,
At five a full new set he shows.

The deep black spots will pass from view
At six years from the middle two;
The second pair at seven years;
At eight the spot each corner clears.

From the middle “Nippers” upper jaw
At nine the black spots will withdraw.
The second pair at ten are bright;
Eleven finds the corners light.

As time goes on the horsemen know
The oval teeth three-sided grow;
Then longer get – project before -
Till twenty, when they know no more.”

Anon.

June HORS-E-NEWS

G’day all,

upon our return from the UK this week, we had many voicemails in our inbox but when we tried to listen to them, they disappeared. Telstra say they don’t know how this happened, it just has.

If you have left us a message and we haven’t replied, please give a call on 0411 272 537 or drop us an email at equus@skymesh.net.au and we will be very happy to hear from you.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Kath and Steve