Accomplishing the title😉and making yoghurt…from scratch!

Hello guys! Today on Cinnamon, Stitch & Sidepass, we have an update on how Mackenzie is going… she has recently been learning something I have been aiming at for a while… any guesses? Hint: the truth is in the title…. plus, something I made from scratch in our Thermomix, with a recipe! Happy reading!

Alright, I wont keep you in suspense…. I started teaching Mackenzie to sidepass. Sidepass is when a horse moves sideways, in a straight line, crossing their legs over each time they step. I have a couple of great online training subscriptions, and while you can’t learn it all from books and videos, it was excellent with learning the theory of teaching it. Mackenzie is a fast learner, but gets frustrated quickly, so spread out over a couple of weeks, she learnt to move one step, then three steps and now over a pole one the ground! She can do both ways (left and right), but goes to the right a bit better. It can be quite confusing for horses to do something one way, and then do it the other way because in their brains, it is a completely different thing. Like for example teaching a five year old to get fairly good at writing with one hand, then telling them to write like that with the other. She is quite proud of herself, and got well rewarded.😊 To polish off the movement, I will ask my instructor to help, but at the moment she is confident and it is pretty good!🩶

Recently, we had two days of rain. It was very welcome, as rain is in some places, and the paddocks got drenched!😁 Which was good, no complaints!😄 It did mean that riding Mackenzie would be on the old trotting track, which is a dirtish sandy fine gravelly surface. Mum wanted to come (she had a feeling she should). We rode out, or drove in Mums’ case, and I trotted around. Mackenzie was going a bit fast so we did a few voltes (small circles) to remind her to slow down. It was nice, we had a canter, the middle of the paddock was slippery and a bit muddy so we tried to stay on the track for the voltes, but one time either I went a little far out or she pushed out a little, and Mackenzie slipped. She’s very surefooted, but this time couldn’t regain her footing and slipped. All of a sudden, Mackenzie and I were flat on the ground. I was terrified for Mackenzie, but thank goodness, she was fine and got up. My leg had been under her, so I got up too, and walked her a few strides. She was fine, and wanted grass, so that was a sure sign she was back to normal. We then headed home. It was an accident, but I think we will avoid riding on overly soggy ground, just to be safe – we were quite lucky we were both okay. My foot was a bit sore, but it’s fine now.

Yesterday, I made yoghurt with some leftover milk we had. Making yoghurt is very easy and also fun, and rewarding. This is my Thermomix recipe, though you could probably adjust to make it without one, if you put it in a thermos wrapped in towels in a warm spot for the ferment, and with a saucepan and a food thermometer. The recipe is for a TM6.

That’s it for now, I hope this was an interesting and convivial – we’ll be back soon! Love, Amarylli🩵🐴