The return of the red squirrel to our bird table is the only positive thing that I can bring to any meaningful comment I feel duty bound to make on the recent weather conditions.

It has been some winter so far and for all livestock keepers it has meant a high degree of inconvenience but, worse still, a lot of additional work and expense.

With the price of hay and straw reaching dizzy heights following a wet summer and autumn, I suspect that the weather will be the factor which sadly ultimately sends many horse and pony owners out of the equestrian game.

There is some consolation that welfare cases of neglect and malnutrition of equines in Scotland have yet to come to our notice, save for the odd case which seems to have brought out the worst in the social media trouble-makers.

One has to wonder at the accuracy of the comments they post or, indeed, what motivated them to post such damning comments in the first place without evidence or proof. Surely, it would be more appropriate for those with genuine concerns on any welfare issues to take them up with the appropriate authorities and hold back from any naming and shaming which may, or not, be justified.

I suspect that this is a case of yet another ego massage for those who revel in social media gossip and questions what effective measures they are prepared to make on behalf of the horse or ponies for which they voice concern.

By stark contrast to our weather conditions, my friends Down Under tell me that they are living in a dust bowl at the moment, with soaring temperatures. As they gradually come to the end of their showing season, things are starting to pick up at home.

Needless to say, the wintry weather has played havoc with early shows here, which must raise the question for organisers as to the wisdom of going so early in the year. Sadly, the National Stallion Show was a victim of the weather and the organisers did well to rearrange a date, which sadly didn’t translate well into numbers forward for judging.

The story was worse for the Royal Northern Spring Show, at Thainstone, which went ahead regardless of conditions with only a handful of exhibitors attending. One has to wonder if championships there in 2018 will be remembered for courage, combined with stupidity, rather than quality?

Having judged at the BSPS Scotland Winter Show, last weekend, I have to applaud the organisers who did well to put on a show in difficult weather conditions and the exhibitors who, almost without exception, had their ponies looking well.

Admittedly, there were few stars in the section which I judged. However, there was evidence of the enthusiasm of those exhibitors who badly want to get started early in the season with new ponies.

No doubt some were egged on by the frustration of winter and others were keen to earn qualification tickets for later championships in the south.

Not so, however, the nursery stakes class within the working hunter pony section, where interests lay in qualifying for the Royal Highland Show, in June. A relatively early entry date for this has enforced limited opportunities to qualify, so competition for the restricted number of qualifying places has been healthy.

This year heralds the return of nursery stakes ponies to the Highland after a year’s absence and I see from the schedule there is also a return for a ridden show cob class, which was last staged in 1999 with an entry of 10.

It will follow the riding horse section in the Thistle Ring, on Friday, and hopefully those canvassing for the cobs will be able to muster a good entry for this class, which is always a crowd pleaser.

Its an interesting one to watch but without Horse of the Year Show qualification, it may prove difficult to achieve.

Also, in response to popular demand and following good class entries prior to this year, another new arrival to the extensive schedule is a stand-alone section for miniature Shetlands, which will lead the show’s main ring classes on the opening day of the show.

With much ‘pet’ appeal for the pony owner with limited facilities, the miniatures have established a keen following across the country, just as they have in other countries in continental Europe. Hopefully, their popularity will not be at the cost of the standard Shetland, whose size is much better suited to performance interests which are arguably the saviour of all equine breeds in today’s market.

Sadly, this has been the case with the British riding pony – often referred to as the show pony. Numbers in these classes have declined over recent years, with the result that a decreased number is being bred and good ones are difficult to find, should that trend be reversed.

Reduced numbers have been witnessed in both the ridden and in-hand classes, which is reflected in the Royal Highland Show schedule now collapsing the two sections for riding ponies and hunter ponies shown in-hand into one, which is all-encompassing, named pony breeding.

It is generally accepted that the demise of the riding pony can be attributed to the rise in interest in the mountain and moorland pony classes which, at one time, were considered easier to win. It will be interesting to see if the trend is reversed as these native classes continue to swell and red rosettes become more difficult to achieve.

Human nature being as it is, the easier way to success may well turn interests once more to the British riding pony.

Having recently attended a morning session of the Scottish regional dressage winter championships held at Morris Equestrian Centre, in Ayrshire, it does cross my mind that a potentially easier route to rider success may well be a motive behind the popularity of dressage.

Given that this championship attracted a good entry of qualified horses and ponies, at any one time there was little atmosphere, with few spectators and a small number of competitors around at any one time. Unlike those in the showing and jumping classes, riders never have the opportunity to eye-ball their competition and any weaknesses in performance are only really revealed to the judges whereas in the other disciplines they are there for all to see.

With individual tests carefully scheduled and presentations done on foot, with not an equine in sight, short of meeting fellow competitors in the cafe, there would appear to be limited competitor interaction.

Given the emphasis on the percentage scoring method, it would seem that the real competition lies within improving personal performance first and a comparison with others second. Perhaps this suits the less confident competitor. Each to their own, I say!