Maui Waui Festival With Unicorns

We have just spent two very tiring, but enjoyable days at Maui Waui Festival with the Shetlands, sorry I mean Unicorns. I mean, Who takes ponies to a Festival?  Errrr we do!  I have to say, its been amazing being sober for a start!!! (Last year I spent a considerable amount of time drunkenly riding a mechanical Bull!!). Alcohol and Shetlands do not mix so it was squash only this weekend.

Jo is going to be doing childrens pony parties in the future. So as we know the Festival organisers, and its only a few miles up the road, at the last minute we thought this would be a great trial. Jo spent last week emptying the supplies of various pony make up suppliers (Yes they exist). It was way too late to get a licence for the ponies to be ridden.  So we had a petting pen. We supplied the children with glitter, brushes, stencils, glitter gel and various spray/chalk in colours and had a sort of Pimp My Pony Party. Children, ponies and glitter!! A perfect mix!

I should explain..... Maui is a very family orientated Festival. We were in the Childrens Area, away from the Bands and any loud Drum n Bass. We set up Sheep Hurdles to make a round pen on a very lovely clover filled area. The ponies being on restricted grazing at home, thought they were in heaven. They love children, and love being groomed, hugged, petted and pimped. 

They wore their Unicorn Horns and were covered in glitter stencils by the children. They were braided, brushed, sprayed, kissed, hugged and generally loved by all the kids.  Jo and I were also liberally covered with glitter. The coloured hairspray was very popular, a fair few children left with their own hair coloured. Not to mention my hair, which was coloured by an enthusiastic child who also put face paint on me.  Luckily we had baby wipes available......Lots of baby wipes!!

The ponies were amazing.  We had to unload them in the farm yard, and I led them past all the campsites each day. They were absolutely unfazed by all the noise and weird sights. It was a fairly slow walk both days, with both children and adults wanting to say hello, take pictures and even sketch them. They didn't bat a single eyelid at drones, tents, impromptu drum bands, archery or someone dressed as a Phoenix!

In fact this morning, Mini loaded herself onto the lorry.....and this evening Sweet Pea refused to be caught.....in the round pen, to go home. They both jogged along the long trek to the pen this morning....in a hurry to get to there.

All in all, a very successful trial.  So, if anyone wants a pony party, (Unicorn party) please message me.  Or go to East Suffolk Ponies on Facebook and book via messaging.  We should have the licence through very soon, so they can be ridden as well.  But PLEASE.....Give us a few days to recover :-) We will be lying in a dark room for a while!!

Dead Tractors, Taps and a Word About Ragwort

Yes the tractor died!  The starter motor gave up.  While the horses are grazing on the steepest hill in Suffolk!!!!  It is next to impossible to push a wheel barrow full of poo up the hill. So for the last 2 days we have been pulling the trailer with Jo's Subaru.  Which has caused a lot of hilarity. You know when you go to a wildlife park and the chimps remove your windscreen wipers?  No need to do that. Drive round our fields and Charlie will do the job of chimps!
Being a big teenage boy, and obsessed with the tractor, when he saw a car in his field, he was in heaven!  He has licked the bonnet, examined the mirrors, rubbed his big cobby bum all over the car, and tried to remove the windscreen wipers. For the last two days "Charlie....No!" has rung out all over the field. 

Also the tap in the tack room has been broken for a while (we have been using a wrench). Having found a man to replace the tap, we asked the landlord where we turn the water off. Outside underground...Of Course. Lift the cover, what do we see......Nothing but sand and ants.  Biting Ants.  Sadly they had to go. And then we started to dig....and dig....and dig....and dig. Eventually after a major excavation we found the tap.  Seriously we were laying on the ground to reach it. It was at the depth of my arm which is about 3 foot long!!

Happily we now have a working tap thanks to Simon, and a working tractor thanks to my other half, Mark the Mechanic and Horse Whisperer.

A quick word about Ragwort. Its everywhere at the moment.  You will see it swaying around by motorways, in a great ugly yellow swathe. It used to be illegal to allow it to grow, but no-one seems to care anymore.  It is poisonous to horses and cows, and will cause liver damage over time. It tastes bitter, so horses will not eat it.....unless they are starving.  But, thats no excuse not to pull it up.  Once it is dying it is more palatable. And once it is flowering, the seeds spread.  It breeds like rabbits. I have also noticed, it grows in family clumps, and in a straight line (sad I know!). It also has to be pulled up from the root, or it will multiply.  There is an easy answer.  Ragforks can be bought in saddlers and online. They are easy to use, and get the root. Don't wait until it flowers. Learn to spot it early, carry the Ragfork, and pick it up daily while poo-picking.  If it becomes part of a daily routine, its easily managed.
Lecture over!

How deep????

Would you like me to remove this Sir?

Bonnet Wash Sir?

Early stage of the evil yellow weed.

A Big Crack in The Hoof, Family Pony and Papermill Lane Update

Lu had the farrier this week.  She was as good as gold.  Stood like a lamb while the farrier split open the crack in her foot. He then used a dremel to grind the rest back!!  We could see where the black in the laminae ended.  She is now shod on the fronts to hold the hoof together, with no sign of lameness. First time in her life she has been shod, and she didn't bat an eyelid.

All the ponies have taken good pills this week.  Chanice (who helps on Saturdays) had an outstanding lesson with Daisy on Saturday. We are getting to the point where Chanice is no longer a passenger and can control Daisy....with no nose band and a light rein.  They were able to go from trot to halt with ease. So pleased!!
Charlie who has not been worked for a while.....except for being brought in with Lu each day (its all progress), had half hour in the "school" on Sunday. I put his harness on....minus the bridle and crupper and we just had a play. First I led him through/over some obstacles, then set him free......He followed me round, weaving through the tyres, through the road closed gates, and finally over the towel where we stood a while. Family Pony??

Last but not least, I had a quick look at the Papermill Lane ponies tonight. I didn't go far, but i could see a lot of happy free grazing mares. Its not perfect, but, its a huge improvement from the poor little tethered souls I saw in the winter.  Heres hoping for even more improvements.

All cut open.

Family Pony??

A better pic of Papermill Lane