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https://www.lagganglamping.co.uk/horses-macequestrian

Mac Equestrian Melrose, Middle Yard, Pavillion Estate, Melrose (2026)

13/09/2026

🎓 MONTGOMERY | GRADUATION DAY! 🐴🏆

And just like that, Wee Monty’s time at Mac Melrose has come to an end — and what a couple of weeks it has been! ❤️

This little Highland has absolutely loved getting stuck into his Early Years Foundation Programme, and this week he has been busy putting all those new skills into practice before moving on to one of the most important parts of his education — loading and travelling.

Now, we have to be honest… loading wasn't exactly Wee Monty’s strongest subject when we picked him up! 😂

So it was important that we gave him plenty of time to understand that walking up the ramp and into the lorry wasn't some strange trick!

He was a little hesitant to begin with, and quite rightly wanted to have a good look at what was going on. But once he had figured out that the lorry wasn't going to eat him, he started to get the hang of it.

A few goes later and you could see the confidence building. In, out, have another look, in again… and suddenly he was starting to understand exactly what we were asking.

That's the lovely thing about these young ponies. Give them the time to work things out for themselves, keep everything calm and positive, and the penny eventually drops. ❤️

By the end of the session, Wee Monty was looking much more comfortable with the whole process — another really useful skill ticked off his list. ✅

And now it's time for this little chap to head home to Dunfermline, with The Mini Mac Express taking him back tomorrow morning. 🚛🐴

He leaves us with something rather special too — his very first rosette! 🏆🎓

Wee Monty is officially a graduate of our Early Years Foundation Programme!

It's been lovely watching him develop from the slightly unsure little chap who arrived with us into a much more confident youngster who is keen to learn and investigate whatever we put in front of him.

And with that face, that personality and those Highland good looks… we're hoping this is just the first of many rosettes for this stunning little boy. ❤️

Well done, Wee Monty. What a good boy! 👏🐴

12/09/2026

🐴 PILGRIM | FOLLOW THE JOURNEY — WEEK 3 🐴

Pilgrim has had another great week, and he’s starting to show us more and more of the sensible, laid-back character we hoped we would see. ❤️

Following on from getting his Childeric tack fitted last week, we moved on to the next important step — long-lining.

For us, this is a really important part of the process, but it can also be one of the more difficult transitions for a young horse. Up until this point, Pilgrim has always had someone right there beside him, at his shoulder, helping him understand what we are asking.

Suddenly, there’s nobody there… because Michelle has disappeared behind him! 😳😂

It’s a very different feeling for a young horse, and Pilgrim took a little time to work out how this new arrangement was supposed to work. There was a bit of thinking, a bit of processing and a few moments of “hang on… where have you gone?” before the penny finally dropped.

And once it did, there was no stopping him! 😄

Of course, just as Pilgrim was beginning to feel rather pleased with himself, we had to negotiate another important part of the lesson — the trailer and pickup.

Now, Pilgrim wasn't convinced that these strange, large objects were entirely trustworthy. There was definitely a moment of “Michelle… are you absolutely sure there isn't something in there waiting to jump out and eat me?” 😂

A little reassurance and encouragement from Michelle was all he needed, though. He took his time, had a good look, and then decided that perhaps they weren't quite as frightening as he had first imagined.

And that is exactly what these early stages are all about. ❤️

We don't expect young horses to know everything straight away. We give them the time to look, think, process and understand what is being asked of them. Once they realise that the scary thing isn't actually going to eat them, confidence starts to replace the uncertainty — and that's when the real progress happens.

Once Pilgrim had made it past the trailer and pickup, the rest of the session was pretty straightforward. He settled into his long-lining really nicely and continued to take everything in his stride.

So, what's next?

It's time to introduce Pilgrim to Golly. 🐴

Then comes the big swap… Golly for Michelle! 😁

He's getting closer every day to having his first proper steps with a rider on board, and we couldn't be happier with how this lovely boy is progressing.

The journey continues… ❤️

11/09/2026

🐴 Poldark – Follow The Journey

Poldark’s first big adventure! 🌿🐴

Poldark has had a great couple of weeks since being backed, and this week it was time to take the next step in his education — his first trip around our Summer Hacking Loop. 🥰

This is always a big step up for a newly backed pony. Up until now, Poldark has mainly been working on relatively flat, hard surfaces around the Pony Backing Loop, so suddenly adding hills, slopes and plenty of different ground gives them a whole new set of things to think about.

And Poldark coped brilliantly. 💙

He took the hills and undulations in his stride and showed us just how sure-footed he is. There was no fuss, no drama, just a young pony taking in his surroundings and getting on with the job.

He even produced a lovely, forward trot on the home stretch — always a nice way to finish a first adventure! 😍

Every outing like this is helping Poldark grow in confidence, and it won’t be too long now before Ava gets to have her first sit on her pony. ❤️

For the next week or so we’ll keep building on what he has learnt and let him become even more comfortable out hacking. Then, once he’s ready, we’ll start introducing him to some of the longer hacks around the Melrose lanes. 🌳🐴

One adventure at a time… and Poldark is certainly enjoying the journey! 💙

10/09/2026

🐴 Fred – Follow The Journey | Week 3

Well, that didn’t take long! 😂🐴

Fred didn’t hang around for long once he met Golly!

Having been backed previously, Fred seemed to decide that he already knew what this riding lark was all about and that there really wasn’t much need for Golly’s input. 😂 So, after a very quick introduction, we made the swap and Michelle took over.

Once Michelle had run through all the usual backing safety checks, there was only one thing left to do…

Off they went on Fred’s first hack at Mac Melrose! 🌳🐴

And Fred was absolutely brilliant.

The big yellow dumper from last week had been replaced by a trailer, a ride-on mower and a pickup this time, but Fred wasn’t bothered in the slightest. He took everything in his stride and carried on as though he’d been doing it here forever.

There was even time for a lovely, forward trot on the way home. 🥰 That was a really nice moment — not only was Fred happy to go forward, but he was relaxed and confident enough to enjoy himself too.

So we can officially say that Fred is re-backed and hacking! 🎉

We’ll spend the next few days building on this and getting Fred settled into his new routine before introducing him to our Summer Hacking Loop. 🌿

And we’ll also see what he makes of some work in the school. 👀

It’s early days, but Fred is certainly making a very good impression. No Drama Fred is living up to his nickname! 💙🐴

09/09/2026

🐴💙 CRACKER — WEEK 4 OF HIS “FOLLOW THE JOURNEY” PRE-BACKING! 💙🐴

Cracker has had another really good week, and this time his education took him away from home for a rather important day out! 🚛🐴

After the planned trip to his Futurity grading a few weeks ago was unfortunately cancelled, his owners Liz and Catherine asked if we could arrange an indoor arena familiarisation day instead.

We are very lucky to have the lovely big indoor arena at ISEC just 20 minutes from us, so on Saturday Cracker and Charlie caught the Mini Mac Express for their big day out. 🥰

Both boys loaded and travelled really well, and once they were tacked up we took them into the arena together and led them around, giving Cracker the opportunity to have a good look at his new surroundings.

There was certainly plenty for a young horse to take in.

A huge indoor arena, different sights and sounds, a horse working alongside him and, of course, that rather suspicious picture on the wall! 👀🐴

Cracker wasn't entirely convinced about the horse in the picture…

Why was that horse just standing there?! 😂

Thankfully, after a little time to process it all, Cracker decided that the mysterious wall horse wasn't actually going to cause him any problems and he was able to settle back down and concentrate on the job.

Michelle started the day by doing a schooling session with Charlie, who has another dressage competition coming up next weekend, before it was Cracker's turn.

And he did really well.

Once he'd taken everything in, Cracker settled into his long-lining and produced some lovely work, showing us that all those weeks of preparation are really starting to pay off. 💙

These familiarisation days are so valuable for young horses because they give them the opportunity to experience a completely new environment before we ask them to deal with the additional challenge of carrying a rider.

Cracker has now experienced travelling, new venues, indoor arenas, different surroundings and plenty of unexpected things along the way — and each new experience is helping him build that all-important confidence for the next stage of his education. ❤️

So we're now just about there with Cracker's pre-backing.

We've got one final week to put a shine on everything he has learned and make sure those foundations are as solid as we can make them.

And what a great job he has done!

From figuring out long lines, meeting Golly, encountering big cars and yellow machinery, right through to travelling away from home and working in a completely new arena…

Cracker has taken every challenge in his stride. 🥰🐴

All of those experiences will be a huge help when the time comes to finish the job and get this lovely young horse backed.

We won’t actually be backing him until next year, but everything he has learnt over these weeks will give him a fantastic foundation when that time comes.

For now, he gets a break to grow up and enjoy being a young horse — and when start with him next year, we’ll pick up exactly where we left off. 💙🐴

The groundwork has been laid… now we just have to wait for him to mature! ❤️

🐴💙

08/09/2026

🐴🏆 RUDI — HIS FIRST ONE DAY EVENT

A very special day at Foresterseat

Sunday was a big day for little Rudi, who is owned by Karen, as he caught the Mini Mac Express to his very first One Day Event at Foresterseat in Perthshire. 🚛🐴

This was always going to be another big step forward in Rudi's training, with plenty of new experiences thrown into the mix. It was his first time travelling on his own, his first dressage test and showjumping round on grass, his first time wearing studs, and his first experience of having to cope with wet and slippery conditions.

But, as we've come to expect from Rudi, he took it all in his stride with his wonderfully laid-back attitude. 💙

He started the day with a lovely dressage test, despite the arena seemingly being positioned on the side of a mountain! 😂⛰️ His score of 32.5 was good enough to put him in the lead after the dressage, giving him the perfect start to his first event.

The showjumping went equally well, with Rudi producing a perfect clear round. ✅

Then came the biggest challenge of the day — cross country.

This was a significant step up from his last little pick-a-fence outing, with plenty of new questions for our little superstar. Rudi set off really well and quickly found his rhythm, although those Perthshire hills certainly started to sap some of his energy!

There were drops, ditches, water and plenty to look at along the way, but Rudi just kept on doing his job. He did take a rather leisurely stroll through the water 💦 and had a good look at the carved sheep 🐑😂, but other than that he jumped a fantastic clear round, picking up 20 time faults along the way.

And the time faults were absolutely part of the plan.

We were never aiming for a fast cross-country round. At this stage, the priority is giving Rudi the confidence to understand the job, take in all the different questions and finish feeling like he has conquered another challenge.

Once he knows exactly what is expected of him, we can easily start to increase the tempo and work towards getting much closer to the optimum time.

For now, it's all about confidence, experience and allowing Rudi to progress at the right pace.

And what a way to finish his first One Day Event…

🥉 5th place overall! 🏆

Not bad at all for your first ODE at 5 years old, little man. 💙

Another big milestone ticked off, another collection of new experiences under his belt, and plenty more to come from this little horse.

Our Rudi really is turning into a little superstar. ⭐️

🐴💙

07/09/2026

🐴💙 WEE MONTY — EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION PROGRAMME

Week 1 — Settling In & Finding His Feet

What a difference a few days can make with this lovely little c**t yearling! 💙

Wee Monty has settled into life at Mac Melrose incredibly well and is absolutely loving the big shavings bed in his stable. In fact, each morning he is usually wearing most of it, having clearly enjoyed some very serious slumbers! 😂💤

We gave Monty a couple of days to settle in, get to know his new surroundings and become comfortable being led to and from the paddocks before we started introducing some groundwork.

He has picked everything up really well and, even though this video was filmed after only two days of training, Monty is already happy to work on a loose rope and confidently walk around the arena, exploring whatever happens to be in there.

He can now yield his quarters, back up and work a couple of circles in both walk and trot — and he is doing all of this with the attitude of a little pony who is simply enjoying finding out what the world is all about. 🥰

We will do a little more groundwork at the start of this week, continuing to build his confidence and understanding, before we move onto another very important part of his Early Years Foundation Programme — loading and travelling in the Mini Mac Express! 🚛🐴

But for Week 1, we have to say that Wee Monty is proving to be an absolute pleasure to work with… and, quite frankly, a proper little stunner! 💙

This is only the beginning, but he has certainly made a very impressive start to his journey. ⭐️

🐴💙

06/09/2026

🐴💗 FRED — FOLLOW THE JOURNEY
Week 2 — Meet the Big Yellow Monster!

Fred has had another great week, and he is clearly rather enjoying this whole getting-out-and-about business!

This week saw another couple of important steps in his re-backing journey. Fred was fitted for his Childeric saddle and bridle, and after starting off by taking a couple of trips around the pony backing loop in hand, we moved on to the long lines.

And Fred? Well, he seems to think long lining is all rather easy!

He has taken to it incredibly naturally and, if we didn’t know better, we would certainly say Fred has done this before. He has been calm, willing and very straightforward, and there is none of the overthinking or drama that can sometimes accompany a horse learning something new.

That natural ability means we can move through the remaining stages of his re-backing a little quicker, while still making sure that Fred is completely comfortable and confident with each new step.

But there was one major obstacle to overcome this week...

🐴 The BIG YELLOW DUMPER! 😳

Now, Fred had a choice here.

He could have stopped.

He could have stared.

He could have decided that the enormous yellow mechanical monster was clearly plotting something.

Or...

He could simply walk straight up to it and have a good sniff.

Obviously, Fred chose option four. 😂

After having a thorough inspection of the big yellow beast, Fred decided that it really wasn't worth any further consideration and simply carried on as though passing large pieces of construction machinery was something he did every day.

And actually, it is moments like this that tell us far more about a horse's temperament than almost anything else.

Fred didn't need convincing, he didn't need to be pushed past it and he certainly didn't need a long discussion about the dangers of yellow machinery. He just went over, had a look, decided “Yep, that's fine”, and carried on with his day.

You couldn't ask for a better reaction. ❤️

It is exactly this sort of attitude that gives us so much confidence in Fred as we continue his journey. He is showing himself to be a wonderfully genuine, sensible horse who takes new experiences in his stride.

And now, at the start of this week, there is another rather important introduction to make...

Fred is going to meet Golly. 🐴

We will give them a quick introduction at the beginning of the week and, assuming Fred is as happy about the arrangement as we expect him to be, we won't be wasting any time before making the big swap — Golly for Michelle!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when this journey starts getting very interesting indeed... 👀💗

Fred's journey continues. 🐴❤️

🐴💗

05/09/2026

🐴💙 PILGRIM — WEEK 2! 💙🐴

Follow The Journey | Backing Story

Another great week in the bag for our lovely Pilgrim, and he is settling beautifully into life here at Mac Melrose. 🥰

Pilgrim has such a lovely, laid-back nature, combined with a naturally curious mind, which makes our job just that little bit easier. He seems to take everything in his stride, quietly looking at the world around him and taking the time to work things out for himself. 👀💙

This week we took another step forward in his preparation for backing, with Pilgrim being fitted for his Childeric saddle and bridle. Once he was all kitted out, Michelle took him for a walk in hand around our Pony Backing Loop in preparation for starting his long-lining work.

And it was clear that Pilgrim was rather enjoying his little adventures! There was plenty to see and lots of new things to take in as they made their way around the loop. 🌳🐴

Coming from Shetland, perhaps spotting one of our native Shetland ponies out in the field gave Pilgrim a little moment of familiarity. 🥰

But then came the big yellow dumper! 😳💛

That definitely deserved a closer look, but Pilgrim approached it with exactly the sort of calm curiosity we're hoping to see at this early stage. A little investigation, a good look, and then… apparently it's not that exciting after all! 😂

It's these seemingly simple experiences that are so important in the early stages of a young horse's education. We're not looking for Pilgrim to simply ignore everything around him — we want him to notice, investigate, process and then carry on. And he's already showing us some lovely qualities in that department. 💙

Next week we'll take another step forward and introduce Pilgrim to long-lining, giving him the opportunity to start learning some of the skills he'll need once we progress towards backing.

And after that… it will be time to meet Golly! 👀🐴

One little step at a time, we're building the foundations for what comes next.

Follow Pilgrim's journey as he discovers a whole new world, one experience at a time… 🐴💙

🐴💙

04/09/2026

🐴💙 CRACKER — WEEK 3! 💙🐴

Follow The Journey | Pre-Backing Story

Another great week in the bag for our lovely Cracker, and this week brought a rather interesting new addition to his education… Golly! 👀🐴

Cracker has been getting plenty of experience long lining out and about on our Pony Backing Loop, and all that time spent exploring the world from the ground is really helping him to build his confidence and understanding.

So this week it was time to introduce him to Golly for the first time!

And honestly… Cracker couldn't have cared less! 😂

Michelle carried out all the usual safety checks and, once Golly was safely girthed up, they headed out onto the loop.

Now, Cracker is a very curious and sensitive character. He's constantly looking around, taking everything in and keeping himself on high alert — which is exactly what we want to see from a young horse learning about the world around him. 👀

So when they came across a big white car on the loop for the first time, well… that was certainly something worth investigating! 🚗😳

Cracker wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but thanks to some great, considerate driving and plenty of calm reassurance, he was able to process what was happening. And once the car had passed, Cracker simply carried on with his job. 💙

That's a really important part of this stage of his education — not expecting him to never be worried about anything, but helping him learn that when something catches his attention, he can look, think and then carry on.

And that's exactly what he did. 👏🐴

There are plenty more experiences coming his way, too, because Cracker has a big outing booked for this weekend! He'll be buddying up with Charlie and heading out with the Mini Mac Express for a familiarisation day at our local indoor arena. 🚂🐴🐴

Another new place, another new experience and another opportunity for this lovely young horse to learn that the world isn't quite as scary as it sometimes looks!

We're really looking forward to seeing how he gets on. 💙

Follow Cracker's journey as we continue building his confidence, one experience at a time… 🐴💙

🐴💙

Mac Equestrian Melrose

13/09/2026

12/09/2026

11/09/2026

10/09/2026

09/09/2026

08/09/2026

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06/09/2026

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Monday	7:30am - 7:30pm
Tuesday	7:30am - 7:30pm
Wednesday	7:30am - 7:30pm
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