Meet Tina Wallace LOTLR

... Well actually it’s more a day in the life of Banksy..! Don’t tell my husband, but life really does revolve around him as you’ll see!

So the last few days here in Cornwall have been far from typically Cornish! We’ve had snow and lots of it.

I am extremely fortunate in that I live on a small holding on the outskirts of Truro just 2 miles from work and so my alarm doesn’t sound much before 7am (well it’s set for 6.45am but I do like to press snooze once or twice)! However, for the last few days, I have been wide awake before my alarm knowing that I need to get wrapped up warm & get out to the horses, (which thankfully is just a 50m metre walk from the bottom of the garden path) to feed them, muck out and fill hay nets. Not much fun in minus temperatures but doing all of this to care for your most loved possession is very very rewarding, especially when you get a generous helping of frosty kisses as a thank you!

Banksy has got to be the most affectionate horse that I have ever met, and I’ve met A LOT of horses over my 32 years! He is full of character, adores attention and although he can be a terror at times, he has the heart of a lion and the ability to put the biggest smile on my face on the darkest of days!

I don’t have children, (my husband is quite a bit older than me and we made the decision not to have children relatively early on in our relationship) so Banksy and my puppy dogs - Sam my springer spaniel and Blue my Weimaraner, are my babies! They get absolutely spoiled rotten and I’m not ashamed to admit it!

I’ve digressed… back to “A Day in the Life of Me”…

Generally I would turn Banksy out, skip out and then head back inside for a shower and change before leaving for work at approximately 8.15am. As previously mentioned, work is only 2 miles away but can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 25minutes depending on the traffic. I generally always pop home at lunchtime and either skip out if I haven’t done it in the morning, or in event season when they are out 24/7 I take full advantage of my lunch break and clean tack, get XC gear together, pack the trailer etc. I have even been known on a Friday to bath Banksy in my lunch break, especially if we have social commitments on the Friday Evening (which again is known to happen quite often!) I’m yet to ride on a lunch break, I don’t think it’s quite long enough to give it my full attention, knowing me I’d forget to do something up, or put something back on and it would end in disaster!

After work, in the summer I hack or school at home (I’m not fortunate enough to have a sand school but thankfully I do have a flat field and we set up our hand painted white boards and arena markers). The hubby and the dogs come out and cause as much distraction as possible and I do my best to stay on top of my patchy pony, who at home is often more of terror than at a party!!

The last few days have again been a whole different story. I have been getting home from work, putting extra layers on & stomping out to the stables through the snow to see a mesmerised Banksy who is in absolute awe of the white stuff!

I’ve changed what he gets for tea slightly to help him cope with this very unusual cold snap (Cornwall is usually more yellow sand than white snow!) and have been giving him a nice slushy tea with added apples, carrots and electrolytes to ensure he remains hydrated. Impaction colic has been my biggest fear during this cold spell. Banksy is one for routine and only likes to drink from his auto drinker or the field trough and so replacing frozen water drinkers with tub trugs on the floor has been met with a big “no” from him. I have offered him every temperature water under the sun and will he drink it, NOPE.

Storm on the other hand (Banksy’s Girlfriend) guzzles half a bucket every time I present her with the opportunity. So the last few evenings I have been out straight after work approx. 6pm and then once an hour up until about 11pm (this pony really doesn’t know how loved he is). I just pray he repays my by keeping his cool in our first event of the season which I am hoping will be mid April.

Roll on the clock changing and the fitness work commencing. I do hope everyone and their ponies have remained safe and sound over these past few days and are starting to look forward to a fun filled horsey season now that Spring is hopefully just round the corner..!