WARNING - Autumn is Coming!

Yes..... Autumn is coming.  Our field bordering trees are full of Sloes and Blackberries.  Its cool enough at night to tolerate a duvet. For the last few days I have been wearing jeans (one soaking in shorts is enough thank you....took hours to warm up). 
There are Arabs up on the opposite hill. The eldest is wearing a rug. As is Polly, who has dropped some weight, so is having a feed a day. When the Arabs move to their Winter grazing, it will truly be a sign that Autumn is apon us. The swallows will be leaving soon.  Don't get me wrong.... I love Autumn. I love the colours of the leaves, and the cooler dewy mornings. The lack of flies!! It's a great time to ride....Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect. Yes I love Autumn.....I'm just not so keen on Winter!!!

We have been moving fencing around a lot this week....eeking out the last grass on The Hill Field, and leaving some to rest in the hope that a September flush will happen.  The Shetlands...Sorry Unicorn Superstars are grazing the verges like the little lawnmowers they are. Still, our winter grazing is looking good, and the Barn is full of hay.

Now is the time to stock that Hay Barn, and make sure the rugs are cleaned and proofed.  Its also the time to check for bot eggs on the ponies.  They show up as small yellowish flecks on dark coloured legs.  They are also on your greys...you just can't see them. Bot combs are available.....If you have no life, or you can wait till they have been licked off and then worm!

Now a quick mention for Bracken.  If you live on Heath-land/Moors etc you probably have bracken in your field. We normally fence around it, but as it was spreading, we sprayed it in the summer.  Now its a nice brown colour we have been pulling it up. ALERT....It gives nasty paper cuts....Wear Gloves. 
Now having kept horses on Heath-land most of my life without problems I thought, a) some moorland ponies can eat it without a problem, and b) it isn't poisonous when dead!  So I did some research.

Turns out Bracken is poisonous dead or alive.  In fact its more palatable dead. Most horses don't eat it when there is other grazing available (as with ragwort), BUT some horses develop a taste for it. As proved yesterday by Polly! We let her out into the main paddock to eat her breakfast.  Despite lots of grass, once she had finished her meal, she started to eat the dead bracken we had pulled and put into a wheel-barrow!!!

Meanwhile Lu and Charlie have been mugging the trailer for the empty feed bucket......Sadly no feeds for them (due to their rather round bellies).