The pig-sties are coming on really well. Doug the very 'handy man' has finished the rendering and they will be ready for painting tomorrow. We are hiring a paint sprayer for the day so it shouldn't take too long. When they are done it will be good to be able to have a separate yard from the main yard. I am sure that part of our problems this year with various coughs and colds have been due to the fact that we had to bring the foals around to the main yard when Eeyore got colic. Youngsters are notoriously full of germs and even though they were kept in the bottom two stables as far away as possible the older horses still caught their bugs.

Red, Frog and Dream had a good piece of work yesterday. They went up the long gallop three times and worked really well. All the HR's and recovery rates were much improved so I think they are coming through the virus now. Dove and Dream have just finished their course of anti-biotics, so fingers crossed we are back on track. Dove didn't go out with the rest as she had an appointment with Jo Johnson our equine dentist - her teeth were a bit of a mess as she didn't see the dentist when she was in foal and she was overdue a visit. We wondered whether that was also stopping her from going forward on to the bit, as now she seems to plant when she is gathered up before being asked to do fast work. Clutching at straws maybe but we want to make sure that every box is ticked before she races again so that there are no excuses.

We took Dove, Frog and Dream hunting today with the Bicester. They met at Chipping Warden aerodrome which is just over the road from us. The day was held in honour of John O'Neil who is retiring after 15 years in the mastership. He had invited a crowd from Ireland and there were a lot of guests from other hunts out, a very big field, and we were the retrobates at the back. To be fair they all behaved themselves until we got close to home and then Frog and Dove got a bit silly. The hounds went well and we were on the move for almost two hours so we called it a day then. We have been invited to Trafford House this evening to celebrate John's retirement, should be entertaining with the Irish contingent there....