Yesterday afternoon I spent a fair bit of time on the gallop, by 7 p.m I knew we had little chance of getting on it today, therefore, I got a couple of the lads and went on a salt finding mission, we salted a 4ft wide strip up the middle. This morning, although, the salted strip was hugely improved it was still unsafe. Stow Ag were called and a tonne of salt was delivered by midday. At midday Billy Biscuit, Full Shift, Trouble Digger and a filly that has been suffering with tying-up were exercised on it, the salted strip was safe and we had a quiet hack canter. Once they were safely back in their stables we set about salting the whole lot. This evening it is looking vastly improved and tomorrow everything will be back on it. I couldn't sit back and wait for it to disappear as it would have taken the whole week without any help. The salt is expensive but when one charges gallop fees as I do, I think I have a duty to get it back into action as soon as possible.
This morning was also a good opportunity to fog all the stables whilst everything was on the walker for an hour or more. Today is the first day we haven't managed to ride them all. I think that is pretty impressive given the weather that we've had, the lads have worked hard to keep to show on the road and I am very grateful to them. The forecast remains pretty cold for the rest of the week but I am still optimistc that Larkhill may go ahead. Their forecast is better than ours.
Billy Biscuit, Trouble Digger, Frankenstorm and Full Shift will be the last to be excercised tomorrow and hopefully will be able to work on our gallop, if not, they will be boxed up and taken somewhere where they can. Where, I have no idea, judging by what I am hearing and told we may have the only useable gallop within a 30 mile radius.
We had to unolad the feed at the end of the drive today as the lorry missed the drive and had no way back up the hill, it has been an exhasuting long day, I am now off for a bath.
