So the warm weather continues (and the rain and wind today). Xmas day itself was warm and sunny... Yup t-shirt weather. All the ponies had a xmas day feed as a treat. Not sure they knew why though.
So on Boxing Day we decided to move the minis right to the far end of the 4 acre, fence off the whole way along giving them a fairly narrow strip, and move the shorter cross fence back daily to strip graze them. That's the sort of thing horse owners do on Boxing Day, as opposed to getting up late and munch leftovers while watching naff xmas movies! We let them run free while we did this, much to the disgust off the biggies!
After 5 hours of fighting the self tangling fence wire, and the hose pipe connections that refused to connect, we caught them up and went home to enjoy eating leftovers and watching naff xmas movies.
And so to yesterday...the fence needed moving back. Jo does the moving, while Prudence and I fend off the circling sharks (I mean ponies). Scrumpy usually shouts instructions from the other side of the fence. We had a longer strip to defend than normal, but armed with a poo picker, for about 20 minutes I held all the ponies in an obedient row.....Hey I said, Olympia here we come next year. Liberty ponies!! The ponies meanwhile were making plans. First they sent in Jasmine, the smallest and cutest miniature Shetland. My favourite as it happens. And I had a pocketful of polos. While she fleeced me of polos, pretending she didn't understand that I wanted her to lift a hoof and say please, the others watched obediently from distance, lulling me into a false sense of security and dreaming of my Olympia Liberty Ponies. They waited until only the middle strand of fence was left,then Jasmine legged it to the right. Being nearer the fence line, I lunged right, flailing like a beaten goal-keeper, as Sweet Pea and B, made the run for it on the left, clearing the wire (god knows how they even saw it). Polly, who probably couldn't see it stopped, while dear little Jasmin simply ran through it.
Well you have to laugh.....me and a Bulldog, beaten by Shetlands, a mini tb and a welsh pony! Jo and I convinced ourselves that they would stop eating when they were full and the ground wouldn't get so poached. We commented on how the bigger ponies were not as sharp!!! So far Sweet Pea hasn't come up for air.
Today I was at work till 12-ish, and Jo was finishing off the minis field when I arrived. "That bloody Piebald", she greeted me with. Oh no, whats the boy done. Apparently Jo got warm and left her fleece in the trailer, which Charlie is obsessed with. After a while she looked up to see him cavorting around holding something fluorescent. Yup it was her mobile phone, which he had removed from the fleece pocket. Apparently Jo had a bit of a tussle to remove it from Charlies teeth. Needless to say the screen is broken, and Jo can't see who is calling. Oh dear....it wasn't that long ago Scrumpy stood on Jo's bag, squashing an ice cream carton, which caused her bag and the said phone to be filled with cappuccino flavoured goo. I think I owe her a new phone!!!
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| enjoying the sun |
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| xmas lunch |
Then bring it on!!!!! The temperature reading in the car today for outside was 17c !! In December? The Daffs are coming up, and we have Bindweed flowering. On the downside, its very windy. If it wasn't for the wind (which is mildly warm) and the rain showers, all the ponies would be naked. If we hadn't rugged them, they would certainly have been naked, but as we have, it seems a bit cruel to strip them, although they are only in macs.
I have shed my jacket, and today nearly my fleece......Its only my brain keeping the clothes on, that bit telling me its December!
I have managed to rope off a training area....but xmas is getting in the way. So Charlie....watch out for the new year. I actually can't wait to be riding him.
Polly has been roaming the 4 acre while we are there, and today I had a good laugh at myself. I was taking her back to the others on the invisible headcollar, thinking she could have been a dog, as she follows to heel. When we got to the electric gates I told her to stay as I switched off the electric and undid the gate. And for some reason I was surprised when she wandered off back to the grass! Hmm have a word.....
Although we had sunshine on us today, there was a dramatic sky in the distance, which stopped me for a shetland photo shoot.....as they say in suffolk.....It was black over Wills Mothers...........
So on Monday it finally stopped raining, and we moved the ponies. But not after a good hour moving electric fencing and water tubs, while the ponies constantly patrolled up and down the Hill Field trying to see what was going down. We use rolls of self tangling wire rather than the white tape. It carries the current better. Now we very carefully remove the posts, and wind up the wire onto one of those things you roll hosepipe onto. (Top Tip Alert)
So HOW does the wire create such special knots, which are in no knot book i've ever seen, within 5 minutes of it reaching the ground? So after a long time had passed, and a good practise of old English, we finally had a strip of grass fenced off in the 4 acre. Time to move the ponies.
Charlie in one hand, Daisy in the other. And yes it was Daisy who barged through the gate and tried to drag us off to pastures new. Her manners are sometimes rather lacking. Or indeed missing, presumed dead. Anyway, they are now as happy as the proverbial pigs. And the grass must contain a love potion. Charlie in particular is overly affectionate right now. Maybe its due to all of them now being in the 4 acre, albeit in different corners. Poor boy, the only male with 6 mares!!
In the meantime, B is going for the muddiest pony award......
Well this week has rolled by in a haze of rain....... Lovely. Backed up by a cold wind. We have upgraded all the rugs to medium weight. Even Charlie.
He is back to being caught up and taken for a walk every day. Though Jo and I are doing it as a two-man (woman) team. Its time to get tough. I have been thinking of him as a baby and doing it all gently gently. But actually he is a very coltish, bolshy, chunky 3 year old BOY, and needs firm handling.
Next week we will move fields and they will all be in the 4acre. I am going to fence off a very small schooling area, and hopefully work them all in hand as much as poss. Its hard going in the constant rain, wind and mud for some reason!! Could be that part of us that says we want to get home and snuggle in front of the fire with cheese on toast, watching Netflix!!!!
Anyway, here's our xmas selfie.....Hats photo-shopped!!
After being so good for the farrier, Charlie has taken a naughty pill. It was forecast for rain and wind last night, so yesterday we rugged back up. At least Daisy and Lulu were rugged. Charlie wouldn't have any of it. In fact he wouldn't let Jo or I near him. We tried sending him away, but its a bit hard in 2 acres!!!!! A couple of times I got a rope round his neck, but he's a chunky boy, and I just couldn't hang on.
So Jo took the girls away.....much to their delight they were turned loose in the 3 acre field, which has been resting since the summer, and is full of lush grass.
Needless to say, any mothering tendencies went out of the window, and they firmly ignored Charlie's rather hysterical neighs. Someone answered down the road somewhere, but no-one he knew.
I rather thought that without his mummies, he would come to me. Not a chance!! He had gone feral. So I left him to literally sweat it out, while we poo picked the minis.
I don't like using food as bribery, but my main objective at that point was just contact, so I took a bucket of nuts and apples out to him.. At least he came over and ate, and then followed me every time I walked off. As he was, at this point foamed up in a lather, rugging was out of the question anyway. So the mares came back, and we left. I spent the whole night fretting, as it did indeed rain and blow a hoolie. I felt so bad I got him a bag of carrots.
Much to my relief, this morning, the sun was shining, and he was happily having a love in with Daisy, who inexplicably seems to be in season again.
Without much hope, I took his rug and a pocketful of carrots out to the field, to be greeted by happy, curious Charlie, who munched on carrots and calmly stood to be rugged.
Either I have a schizophrenic pony or something had upset him.
The farm had had a large trailer delivered to the next field earlier yesterday morning, and had had a lot of problems which had resulted in the road being closed for quite a while. My only theory is that it reminded him of being removed from his mum with several other colts. Maybe he associates very large trailers with being caught and bad stuff????
I'm just relieved to have the Charlie I know and love back today.
Well after all that rain and wind, would you believe the sun has got his hat on and the temperature is around 12c. So we have stripped the ponies naked. Except Princess Polly, who has been down graded to a lightweight. It is so mild and warm you can almost hear the grass growing! We were kind of debating the de-rugging, but then we saw the blackberry bushes were flowering!!!! In December???? Someone once told me, if you need a coat, then so does your pony. Well I am sweating in a tee-shirt, so I guess that's true.
Today was the Farriers visit. We got the biggies in first. I brought Charlie and Daisy in tandem.....He's very chilled when I have another horse in hand. And he was as good as gold having his feet trimmed. The farrier was very pleased with him. And so was I. I even let him have some of my coffee!
So then I went to get Polly and B. Hmmmmmm. B just would not be caught. I sent Polly down to the barn on her own.. She is so good she obliged. Then I ditched the headcollar and hid the rope. Still couldn't get near the little sod. And she meant it too. Ears back, lashing out. I tried a flower pot full of grass....Nope. Plan b. Let shetlands out into the full 4 acres, hoping she would come over once separated from Sweet Pea. Nope. Okay, steady stalking, looking away, muttering whoa girl, good girl ( I actually meant come here you little witch). At one point I was able to stroke her neck, and got a handful of mane. Which nearly got ripped out when she legged it.
When Jo appeared, as a new opponent, she managed to get a rope round her neck...And the little sod still tried to spin and kick Jo!
Needless to say, she pushed her luck with the farrier, trying to cow kick him. Sadly for B, he hasn't been doing that job for about 30 years, without learning something, and after a quick lesson in whose boss, she stood, without protest.
She has probably had some bad stuff happen to her, I mean how many welsh sec a's are unrideable??? They are normally the greatest kids ponies. But whatever has happened has left a really mean streak in her. Another one to fix!
