The smell of mud and hot horses in a freezing downpour elevates the spirits, while the eventual toe-thawing in the shower is a cause for jubilation, finds an undaunted Tessa Waugh

A Christmas shopping trip turns into a chance to catch up on pony gossip for Tessa Waugh , who is on the back foot as far as present buying is concerned but replete with tales of happy new homes

A trailer-coupling mishap and a wild goose chase searching for lost keys confirm Tessa Waugh’s concerns that she’s suffering from the brain fog that sometimes affects women of a certain age

Reading Laura Mauro’s “Japanese Toilet Ghosts” [FT459:30-35], reminded me of a less well known fear in the Western world, which –according to the modern rabbinical Internet resource site TheTorah.com

Last Christmas, Kieran O’Brien MRCVS opened up the world of the urban horse in Victorian times. Here he describes the care of their rural counterparts

There’s a last-minute change of huntsman for the Bedale opening meet, and hounds do their very best in less-than-ideal conditions