New Boots, Bloated Goats & Vizsla Training

So half term is officially over and it’s back to school for me... But what a busy half term it has been!

On Sunday, I competed in the West Midlands Area round of YFC Junior Member of the year... I really enjoyed giving my presentation and having an interview. There was some stiff competition so I didn’t walk away with a place card this time but there’s always next year! 

I spent the beginning of the week having a bit of a relax and catching up on some work. I also did some writing for a Farmers Weekly writing competition about my farming hero. I really enjoyed writing it so I will probably post it on my blog at some point.

I also did a piece with Farmland UK which I’m sure you already saw but if you didn’t I will link it here.

On Wednesday, I went up to stay with my Aunty in Worcestershire as my sister was going into hospital in Liverpool. I spent a couple of days up at the yard with the goats and horses which was well needed.

I’m pleased to report that little Beattie is settling in really well... When we first got her she was quite bloated and quiet, but within th first week we brought her up to date with the boys‘ vaccinations and worming. She definitely had worms but shes much healthier and happier now. Her bloat has gone down and shes eating much better. She’s a very happy little girl with a lot of personality so I’m glad that she’s with us now!

I also spent some time (attempting) to train my cousin’s Vizsla. He has had him for around a year now and he’s very keen to learn. In the three days or so that I was with him I got him to stop racing ahead and pulling on the lead out on walks, to walking to heel and listening to me all the time. We also did some practice of retrieving which he seems to really be getting the hang of.

Another exciting thing was that my Christmas present from my Aunty finally arrived from America! She got me a pair of Ariat Hermosa boots and I absolutely love them. They are brown leather, steel toe boots which will be great for wearing to the yard and for work experience. I’m looking forward to testing them out and I will most likely do a review of these on my blog in the near future.

I spent the remainder of the half term visiting my sister in Liverpool, it was great to see her and she was looking really well.

AgriBuy- a Modern Agricultural Marketplace

We have been talking about getting a little run around tractor for up at the yard for a few years now but not actively looking for one… We’ve constantly got an ear out in case anyone we know is selling a used one locally, but it’s difficult because as soon as you hear of a good one it has more often than not been snapped up before you can get out to see it!

I recently discovered a website called AgriBuy which is essentially the eBay of farm machinery! It is a dream come true for anyone who loves to flick through the classified pages at the back of Farmers Weekly!

It’s incredibly user-friendly and easy to navigate which is definitely a bonus. Anyone can list their used machinery, it’s free and easy to register and you can list things for free… They claim that you can post a sale in under 3 minutes which is really convenient and means that anyone can do it.

The website is designed to work on your computer and your mobile devices which makes it really easy to browse wherever you are and whenever you get a spare minute. This is really useful for someone like me as I can hop on the website for a couple of minutes to check for new stock, a much more efficient way of shopping than just asking around locally.

They are paired with some leading finance companies which can provide good options for you to make your purchases. But I’m sure that farmers being farmers will shop about for the best deal regardless!

I think that it is definitely worth a look for anyone wanting to buy or sell used agricultural machinery. You can visit the website here: https://www.agribuy.co.uk/

** Disclaimer- I have written this post in collaboration with AgriBuy, however, all opinions and points are my own and are honest.

Hunting & Exciting Projects

This weekend was a busy one we were invited to the wedding of one of my sister’s childhood best friends. On Friday night we went to the Mendhi and we attended the wedding on Saturday night but this still left time for hunting on Saturday morning!

On Saturday morning, after a late night, we headed up to West Warwickshire country for the meet. It was the children's meet and it’s always a good one as all of the kids are out on their ponies. There was even a pony with a heart clipped onto its bum out this week!

It was snowing in Worcestershire which of course made it very cold, but set the scene nicely. Although there was no snow settling on the ground... Nevertheless, we were wrapped up in tweed and fur so the cold wasn't a problem! I was very grateful for my Le Chameaus as I have the neoprene lined ones and they kept my feet toasty and warm.

The meet was at a large, well-known, local estate and they hunted on and around the estate. We stayed and followed for a little while but it was a very cold day and it was fairly quiet so we ended up nipping down the road for lunch.

We went for lunch at the Hillers Garden Café and I had my favourite Caesar salad and chips... We had a nice visit with my aunt and then we went home to get ready for the wedding.

Last week I was working on a few projects, one with Farmland Magazine that should be coming out soon, and another with my young farmers club that I am going to be covering on my blog. I will be letting you know more in the coming weeks about these as and when I can.

I am on half term next week and have something very exciting coming up with the lovely team at Ariat so I am looking forward to working on that.

To make sure that you are kept up to date with my latest projects, make sure that you are following me on Twitter and Instagram (both @woesofwellies) and like my new Facebook page! 

Weekend Update

This weekend was a busy one! On Saturday we went up to my Aunties house to meet with my sister's wedding caterer. It was also my eldest sister’s birthday so we spent the evening with my family having a nice dinner and visit everyone, tomorrow is my other sister's birthday so we will be celebrating with her then. As well as that we managed to get up to the yard to see Beattie, find out how she is getting on and to trim the goat’s hooves.

Beattie is settling in well although still not mixing with the boys... I trimmed her hooves as well as the boys this weekend and I was pleasantly surprised at how well she stood for it! When trimming their feet I tend to put them on a harness and then walk them up on top of the mounting block to make it a bit easier for me to see what I am doing, but as it was the first time doing her feet I didn’t want to make it too tricky so did hers on the ground. She was very good about it, even better behaved than the boys are most of the time so that was a relief! The goats were all wormed in the previous week so she is now up to date with their injections too which is a relief.

Sunday was a very different day... We had our young farmers entertainment competition which involved my club’s performance of a gogglebox skit. There were boys dressed as girls, renditions of Let it Go (complete with Elsa costume) and a lip syncing performance of Wannabe by the Spice Girls from me and the other junior members. It was a fun day out as we stayed to watch the other clubs performances too. There were lots of Britains Got Talent style performances and  Bake Off skit. It’s fair to say that Worcestershire has got talent! In the end, we didn’t win but we had great fun and got lots of good feedback...

Looking forward to the next few weeks I am hoping to do some lambing and spend some more time up at the yard as I am on half-term the week after next. I am working on a few exciting projects that I can hopefully reveal soon so make sure you are following me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates!