An Animal-filled Weekend!

The Burghley Horse Trials are one of the biggest horse events in the UK. Dad was very generous and bought us tickets! Unfortunately, it rained all day long so we couldn't completely enjoy the day out. Even so, I really loved looking at all of the different horsey products. There were so many huge white tents to explore, I bet we only saw half of them! There were people selling everything you could ever need for a horse including  specialised feed,  shiny leather tack,  padded head collars and my favourite, saddle pads! I know it's a bit weird but I really have a thing for saddle pads!
There were physiotherapists for horses, horse dentists,  and even solariums for horses! I loved the life-size horse models showing the muscles and skeletons.

Amongst the stalls there was a woman advertising riding holidays to amazing places like Andalusia, Iceland and Costa Rica. I would love to go on a riding holiday. My first choice would be Iceland because Icelandic horses are very special.

Back to Burghley. Of course, actually seeing the horses tackling such challenging jumps, was the best part of the day. The very first fence that the horses had to jump over was gigantic! I couldn't believe that the horses could actually clear it. Further along the course, there was a long, straight track with a  clear view, where you could take great pictures of the horses galloping at full speed towards you. It was amazing!

Exotic Pet Refuge

Who knew there was a bunch of wild animals just 20 minutes up the road from me?!!

Sleepy Barn Owl

 The EPR is a safe haven for animals that have been rescued from the animal trade. It's run entirely by volunteers and is not open to the public like zoos are. However it has 6 open days a year and last Sunday was one of them. They have open days to educate the public, raise awareness and of course, raise much needed funds.  Despite having no government funding and relying solely on donations, they have a massive collection of rare and special animals. They have everything from domestic snakes, shell-less turtles, monkeys and owls,  to wolf-dog hybrids! Despite how amazing the wolf-dogs were, my favourite animal was by far the ocelot.

Thatch

The ocelot was female and named "Thatch". She came to the refuge from a zoo where she lived and worked in the "Pets Corner" as an experience animal when she was a kitten. She was hand reared and has never had any contact with other ocelots. At first, she was very nervous when she came to the refuge and only tolerated female members of staff. When I saw her on Sunday though, she wasn't shy at all. The keeper put a deer's leg in her enclosure and Thatch slunk gracefully out of her den to eat it. She was beautiful and very agile. Her teeth crunched the meaty bone like it was a packet of Quavers!




The wolf dog hybrids were called Freya and Boscoe and they have only been at the refuge a few months. A couple of people had tried to keep them as pets but they quickly realised that they couldn't control them. They are half wolf, half dog but their wolf instincts are more dominant and powerful.
Freya was more timid and shy than her mate Boscoe and she rarely appeared from the undergrowth where she was hiding. Boscoe though, was quite the opposite. He was not afraid of the people spectating, especially when the keeper hurled joints of meat and whole chickens over the fence! I spent a long time looking at him. He was so strong an magnificent! I would have loved to be able to touch him; his coat looked really thick and soft. Maybe one day I will get to stroke him, as the refuge welcome volunteers from 14 years old!

Boscoe

On the way home we drove along the banks of the Welland river. We came across three beautiful ponies: a Shetland, a Welshie and a magnificent Cob. I just had to get out of the car to get a better look. They all came trotting over!That was the best end to an animal-filled weekend.