Whoop Whoop!! Autumn is here at last. Ok so it came it a bit quick. In one week we were sweating in 28c, and freezing in 9c gale force winds. It was a bit of a shock. But with the cold weather, came rain. Sweet Rain. Lots of rain! In fact Non-stop rain!! But we needed it. Our grass had burnt off in the dry spell. We had dust and sand. But then Boom! It rained....and rained....and rained. We have maybe had enough rain now (for a few days anyway), Thank You. Personally I love Autumn. The rain comes (alright enough now), the grass greens, the temperatures drop (to a very British 14c which is probably our favorite temperature) and the flies die!!! That's very important! Less Flies! Our Native Cobs love the Autumn too. They are too fat and hairy to thrive in the heat. They are loving the cooler weather. No more sweating while merely standing still. They revel in the rain and mud. What self respecting Native Cob doesn't like being covered in mud?
As the grass has come through like its Spring, our fatties are still spending most of their time on the Hill Field, which they grazed to a Golf Green. But we are giving them loads of Hay. And 2 hours out of the fresh new grass. They are all feeling very well!! Only little Coco is getting a feed. And Grass. And Hay. Being somewhat thin still she also has a rug occasionally when its really wet and windy.
No-one is working much. Except Charlie who is busy making videos for You Tube. And getting used to me swinging a leg over. My Dicky Ticker is protesting to too much walking at the moment.....So I figured it would definitely be to my advantage to be able to ride himself. The new Poles Vid should be available on YouTube shortly. So if anyone wants a ride (Mad Daisy), or a project (Lily, who would like to learn to drive, be hacked out or even just have a groom) please contact us. These ponies need the work, and Jo and i only have 2 pairs of hands etc etc. And the buggers keep making their own entertainment. Invading the Tack Room, Locking Us In The Tack Room, and Upending all the Feed (Mini!!).
And so to POO. Yep the main occupation of Horse Owners is POO. The other day I saw a post on FB about POO. I can't remember whose post it was. But basically it gave facts about how much poo a horse does in a year. The post went on to say how important it was to Poo Pick paddocks daily. The post mentioned Worms (well done. If Poo isn't picked up daily, worms will spread over the grass, be eaten by the horse and re-infest them), and Grass Management (poo if left will sour the grass). Then they said they liked their paddocks to look pretty.......HMMMM
Pretty paddocks are NOT important to the horses welfare!! And the post missed the number one importance of daily poo picking. The Horses Health!!!! Anyone poo picking should be able to tell which poo belongs to which horse. You should know how many poos is normal for each horse, and the texture of a normal poo. That is the first way to tell if each horse is OK and healthy. Anything abnormal can show up early in the poo. So please get intimate with your horses poo!