My Top 5 Favourite Apps

As those of you who follow me on Twitter and Instagram know, I've been back at home for a few days and only returned to university yesterday. I'm still pretty tired from the long journey, although my thanks does go to National Express for the service, so my creative juices weren't flowing massively for today's post. Then I figured seen as two of my blog descriptions are 'student' and 'lifestyle' I may as well share some further insight. What better than the apps I use most often? 

1. Twitter/Instagram

Okay, okay. I get that this is kind of cheating to have these two tied for first but they kind of go hand in hand as far as I'm concerned. My instragram automatically posts onto Twitter but I also find people to follow on instagram because of twitter so it really is helpful having both. Instagram allows me to connect with some of my former Pony Club friends whilst I generally use Twitter to connect with those I don't know irl. Having said that, follow me on either and if you talk to me I will reply :)

2. Gardenscapes/Fishdom

I promise that is the last one where two apps are tied but I couldn't pick between them! They are both made by the same company, and so are very similar. Sometimes I prefer Fishdom, but then I'll get stuck on a hard level and go over to Gardenscapes. The latter has a story line and I feel like you can do more things - like have a dog, plant trees, create fountains - but it very much relies on said story line. There isn't a store like in Fishdom, in which you can decorate the tanks very easily. At the moment I think Gardenscapes is more of a favourite just because I'm getting in the mood for summer and the garden is looking pretty good! Best part of these two apps is that no internet connection is required at all, which is great because it meant that I could play them on the coach without using lots of data. 

3. Disney's Magic Kingdoms

19 years old or not, Disney will always hold a place in my heart. This game I actually found on the Windows Store. Whilst the game itself is free, it does definitely try to get you spend real money. Not really that surprising considering the fact that is Disney. Have you seen ticket prices for their theme parks? Anyways, it is totally possible to play this game without spending a penny and I love seeing all the characters that formulated bits of my childhood. It's also such an easy game to play. I'll get notified when characters have finished an activity, so I don't spend masses amount of time just watching the screen. I can still do other things on my laptop before seeing that Woody has finished 'taking a break' etc. 

4. Choices: Stories You Play

This is a recent download but omg, I'm addicted. Currently, I'm focusing on "The Freshman" series of books, basically follows a story line of a girl through her freshman year at college, and you get to choose who your relationship is with through the choices you make. It's great for the mushy feelings, but if that isn't your cup of tea there are a couple of non-romance books. There are a few things I dislike about the app. You only get 2 keys (which I guess could be considered lives) and they take 2 and a half hours to recharge, At the end of each new chapter - i.e, one you haven't completed before - you get one diamond, and these diamonds can be used to unlock outfits and extra scenes. This, I find, is quite frustrating as there are times where I would do a certain action but it requires 20+ diamonds, so I can't. Spending money on games is not something I plan to ever do, so I think I've only seen two or three of the 'premium' parts. The graphics are good though, so it is worth looking at. If you can handle waiting for the keys, then there is plenty of drama waiting at your fingertips! 

5. Netflix

Ahh, Netflix. Every student finds something that aids in their procrastination, and I am certainly no different. I use the app on my laptop, but I did have it on my phone for a while. The only reason I deleted it off my phone was because I had very little space left. There are some great shows and films on Netflix, but the reason I haven't put this higher up my list is because there are a lot of shows I would love to watch but can't because they either aren't on Netflix at all or they are only available on the American service. I appreciate that there's probably licensing issues at play here, but this girl would love to be able to watch NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds and Supernatural. This can be applied to other things too - Sky box sets for example are sorely lacking in every crime drama I'd like to watch. Another issue with Netflix is that some series aren't up to date. 'Jane the Virgin', for example, only has one season available so now I'm hooked without a completely legal means of watching later series. Having said that, Netflix is home to BBC's Merlin and Doctor Who as well as Shadowhunters so credit must be given where credit is due for good programme choices!

And that just about makes my top five list. There are a couple of others that just missed out, such as the Despicable Me: Minion Rush game which I also have on my laptop but some of the areas cause the game to lag way too much for me to consider it a top five choice, even if I do still play it pretty much every day.

If you have any app suggestions please feel free to comment or get in touch via social media. I'd probably need to get a new SD card to fit them on my phone, but I will definitely make a note of them! Alternatively, if you have any suggestions for further top five blog posts, I would love to hear them ♥

Until next time~

Product Review: Caldene Westfield Wellingtons

Image courtesy of Caldene.co.uk

This weekend I was quite busy because of  yard duty. This is part of the requirement of a first year student at my college. Every Thursday morning and afternoon the other equine students in my year and I will muck out, groom and prepare the hay/haylage for the horses. Four weekends are also required, which is much the same but with the addition of turning out and catching horses. Having brought a horse in, I was rinsing off my wellies to get rid of the mud. When I went to walk away I realised very quickly that my sock was wet. On a cold, windy day my boot had managed to get a hole - thankfully this was about 4pm so I only had another half an hour left! Because of that, I decided to write a review about the wellies I've been using so here goes. 

Knowing since August that I would have yard duty, I decided to get a pair of wellingtons as they offer a bit more coverage and water proofing than ankle-high boots. The nearest Go Outdoors to me doesn't have a massive selection of shoes, and the Caldene Westfield Wellingtons (shown at the top of the page) were the only ones to actually fit my calves. Even though the choice was taken away from me, I did actually quite like the way they looked - which, considering the cost, is quite a good thing! The colour appealed to me, as well as the matte finish.

I started wearing these wellies in September. Given the expense of these shoes (£60 with the discount card at Go Outdoors, otherwise they retail at £70), I was really disappointed that they have already ripped. The work I do in them is ultimately quite minimal, and as the rip is above where the balls my feet are, I'm disappointed that the quality is poor enough for this to happen - I haven't been stood on, stabbed with a shavings fork or any other number of things that usually cause a hole in a shoe, particularly when said hole is basically on the top of the welly. 

"Keep your feet warm & dry this winter!
The Westfield wellingtons are designed for ultimate comfort and warmth.
These unisex neoprene wellingtons have a 3mm neoprene lining and a textured embossed matt finish.
They also feature a steel shank for durability and support." 

That is the description on the Caldene website. The wellies are quite weighty, but I did actually find them quite comfortable and my feet were always nice and warm. They just aren't durable, and the fasteners on the side are forever needing to be clipped back down. If Caldene were cheaper I think I would sort of expect them to rip, but because of the cost of them I expected better quality in the longevity of the product. I read some other reviews on the Go Outdoors website, and a few other people have had them rip quite quickly but these were dog walkers who travelled miles on foot frequently; for mucking out stables I am a little annoyed that they've died on me so soon. I fully expected them to last me to the end of the year, which for me is around April/May. 

As I have another eleven weeks at university yet, these wellies have to survive for another eleven Thursday yard duties and another weekend. Hopefully the rip won't get any bigger or I'll get a very cold foot! In the mean time, I will definitely be on the lookout for a cheaper, new pair (as I won't have yard duty next year I can get away with not actively seeking a long-lasting wellington unless my current pair completely fall apart in shreds). 

Overall, I can only give the Caldene Westfield Wellington ★★★ stars (three out of five is also quite generous - if I'd needed more use out of them they probably would have ripped last month at best). I wouldn't buy them again, and they certainly wouldn't be my go-to walking shoe no matter how muddy it is - they are just too heavy. Having said that, if you are only occasionally on a yard then I'm sure they are quite good and will certainly last longer than mine have. Nevertheless, I don't think I would go out of my way to recommend them. 

Have you ever owned/worn a pair of these wellies? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or get in contact via social media. Also let me know of some good wellington/yard boot brands - I'm in the market for a pair!

Until next time~

Blackpool Zoo

Visiting the zoo is a past time I have fond memories of from my childhood, but it's been years since I've actually visited one. I love seeing all the animals (although I do have issues with enclosure sizes) and what's better than getting a bit of VIP treatment when you go with university? Yes, you heard right! As part of the equine behaviour module, my class went to Blackpool Zoo this week.

One of the giraffes from the zoo, as you may have seen on Instagram
(@equiholly.blog)

Part of the module involves providing some form of enrichment for one of the college horses. In order to better appreciate the aims and objectives of enrichment, we went to Blackpool because they're in the process of building a new elephant enclosure, in the hopes that the elephant they have will take to a new herd. Kate is currently the only elephant, so enrichment is really important to keep her stimulated and happy.

This isn't something restricted to Blackpool by any means. Anyone who has seen any sort of TV show relating to zoos has probably seen some sort of enrichment activity. You can probably find clips from Chester's "The Secret Life of the Zoo" and similar programmes which show treats being put in balls for the animals to play with etc. Enrichment activities encourage the animals to think, as well as allowing them to use a greater repertoire of their inherent natural behaviour.

Can we take a moment to appreciate how cute penguins are? ♥

My fellow classmates and I received a talk from one of the keepers at the zoo, who explained that the main purpose of enrichment is to prevent abnormal behaviours. If we think back to horses for a minute, crib biting and weaving would be an example of this. For zoo animals, wall-licking and pacing are common stereotypical behaviours that the keepers try to prevent. This isn't an easy thing to do. The keeper told us about a zoo where the elephant kept nodding its head. That zoo responded by giving the elephant food to try and get it to stop, but of course the elephant then associated nodding its head with food, so ended up doing it constantly! As Blackpool use positive reinforcement across the board, they have to be careful to ensure they only reward the good behaviour and ignore the bad. 

Enrichment isn't just about treats for the animals though. It consists of nearly every aspect, from feeding and training to safe handling for vet checks; it's both mental and physical stimulation. Kate, for example, has lots of branches in her enclosure which she has to break up herself to eat, and there are hay nets in some rocks beyond one of the barriers. This is to encourage her to use all the muscles in her trunk, as some captive elephants only use a small proportion of the muscles in their trunk, which results in what the keeper called "lazy trunk" (this is the term used at Blackpool Zoo, but if anyone knows the actual term I'd love to know!). 

Kate has been trained to lift her feet up so that she can
have a pedicure! This helps keep her sound.

Something I found really interesting was the reasoning behind the displays for the sea lions. Blackpool does have shows with their sea lions, some of which does involve them jumping through hoops. Turns out that this is actually to encourage natural behaviour. In the wild, sea lions are a bit like dolphins in that they do that porpoising action. They do it so they can maintain a fast pace, breaching the water to breathe before going back under. In captivity, this isn't necessary as they can hold their breath in order to swim from one side of the pool to the other, so the trainers introduce hoops to encourage more natural behaviour. As training is part of enrichment any way, if you can teach an animal to exhibit more natural behaviours then it is definitely worth it - especially as they start to do it in their day to day lives. We saw the sea lions porpoising frequently of their own accord as they swam together around the pool.

So how can all of this be applied to horses? Well, for my module in particular we are looking to create an enrichment activity that will encourage whichever horse we have to display some new behaviours. This might be something as simple as using more of the stable or going some way to reducing stereotypical behaviours (we have one horse which crib bites and wind sucks constantly), but it might even stimulate the horse mentally if it has to work something else. For day to day life, however, it definitely makes us question the quality for the life of horses who are nearly always kept inside, and what can be done to improve the time they are in the box. One of my lecturers recently talked about how for horses on box rest, sometimes they will take a square of turf into the stable. The horse grazes naturally, and can then have a bit of fun with the soil if it so chooses. 

Likit's Snak-a-Ball is an example of an equine enrichment activity.
Photo courtesy of Likit 

If you have a specific enrichment activity for your horse, or any other animal really, I would love to know about it! Maybe you even have a video of your horse using a product like the one from Likit shown above? You can get in touch using the social media icons in the sidebar. Make sure you go check out Blackpool Zoo on social media as well, and if you get a chance definitely go and visit. Don't be afraid to ask questions as all the staff we met were really friendly.

Special thank you to everyone at Blackpool Zoo who answered our questions and talked to us whilst we were there. It was a great day and we learnt a lot about the life of the animals at the zoo, and we came away very, very satisfied. It's not everyday you see an elephant getting a pedicure or find out how good orangutans are at escaping haha!

Until next time~