Top Barn Challenge Week 3, And Daisy!

So its Week 3 in the Top Barn Challenge, and we are still going strong.  Well Jo is. I still have the Cold from Hell!  I know its dragging on!!  Mark The Mechanic and Part-Time Horse Whisperer has turned Doctor this week and has diagnosed me with a cracked rib from coughing.  After I had finished laughing (which was quickly coz it hurt so damn much), I actually agree with him.  I have properly broken ribs in the past, and its all the same....Can't breathe without it hurting, can't move, change down gears, steer the truck, cough, sneeze or laugh without stabbing pains. Mark reckons my ribs are weak due to the Radiotherapy and Pneumonia (he hasn't mentioned menopause!!!), and he has a point. Still a little cracked rib and never ending mucus in my lungs and nose is not going to stop me!!

So Week 3 saw Jo and Lulu disappearing out for hacks alone without a care in the World.  While I had a falling out with Charlie. After a nice walk out on Monday, by Wednesday he wouldn't be caught.  I chased him down for half an hour.....But gasping for breath and a top speed of snails pace per hour in a 2 acre field meant I had as much chance of catching him as a 2CV racing a Formula One car. I gave up, sat down in the cold wet mud 10ft away from him, and told him how upset I was that he couldn't give me half an hour of his precious time.  I told him that I loved him and was very hurt when he treated me like the enemy. I explained to him, that by the grace of The Gods (actually the wonderful Sara Higgins ), he could have easily ended up in a Tesco Ready Meal (other supermarkets are available). I told him how much I go without to ensure he wants for nothing. Oh yes! I got it all out!!  He waggled his ears to and fro, and came over and nudged me.  Whereupon I staggered up, said "No its too late", and marched over the to willing Lily.

So the next day I wanted to make amends.  I wondered if he was hating the boring stuff like lunging. I know he loves his Trick Training. For the last year or so he has met me at the gate, stuffing his nose into the headcollar, eager to see what we would learn next.  So I went out to catch him.  He said No again. So I took Lu in and went back for Daisy.  Charlie did NOT want to be left out, so came in with Daisy, sharing the one headcollar and rope.  We ran through some tricks and all was good.

Friday was a big day!!!!  Meg answered my plea to ride Daisy!!  We decided to go down to Marsh Farm and back.  Jo and Lu lead the way (by about half a mile) and Meg bravely gave Daisy her first hack in about 10 months. I followed, panting on foot with a very brave Charlie.  We encountered Sheep and Swans which scared him, but he remained attached to me at all times.

Meanwhile Lily has been a star.  We have spent the week Long-reining, working through obstacles, Liberty work and hanging out at the Mounting Block. She has tried hard with everything and is very keen to learn.

Today the Farrier came. He pared back Daisy's feet and nearly cried.  Underneath the new growth, her soles have stabilized  and pushed those protruding Pedal Bones back. He was amazed.  So thank you Vince Buckman for getting our little Highland sound again.  Daisy has now got her front shoes on normally!!! We are all soooo Happy!

We were overjoyed today to see Vivienne Sadler and Sharon Bleese, who has had a fight with Cancer. Sorry I had to disappear quickly, but the Tractor spat out its dummy (steering rack) in the Biggies paddock, and Mark The Mechanic and Part Time Horse Whisperer turned up to work his magic.  Please come back soon xx

Feet And Fences, Rda Open Day and Tricks

First published 3 Sept, 2019

Wow.....Summer has just flown by.  Our trees are groaning with Sloes, Elderberries, and the odd Plum! The Ponies are fast losing their Summer coats. The nights are showing a slight chill, and after a scorching August Bank Holiday (my phone showed 30c at 11am), the days have dropped to the low 20s. Bliss!
The flies have been driving Charlie insane so hopefully they will die soon. I have washed my Winter Jacket, and am already eyeing up wood for the Tack Room wood burner. I LOVE AUTUMN.

Although working on a Semi Track System in the 3 Acre, because of the massive summer growth, we have loads of grass, so we are also having to Semi Strip graze, moving the fences back a little each day....which I swear takes longer than putting hay out in the Winter. This year though we are not moving the fences along behind us, so the Buggers still have a walk to get water (and we don't have to join a million pieces of hose together)

On Monday the Farrier came.  Trims all round.  And Lulu's vertical crack has finally grown out so she is barefoot again.  The Farrier is pleased with Daisy, who is now spending a couple of hours out with Charlie and Lu each day, before returning to her Pen for her soaked hay.  Despite the fact her Pen is just dust, Charlie and Lu are obsessed with getting into it.  While the Farrier was trimming the Minis, Lu broke all the fences, so Jo was kept busy repairing it all, while I ran ponies and coffee for the Farrier.  Daisy is so sound now, she has had her padding removed, although her shoes are still on back-to-front to take pressure off her toes.  We are getting there!

On Sunday, Viv and I went to an Open Day at Woodbridge RDA. It was a great day out with displays and dog agility, bric-a-brac and food.  We had a lovely time catching up with old friends.  I was absolutely enchanted to bump into Amy, who I taught from about the age of 10 until 15.  She was my Star Rider in my Tuesday Evening Childrens Club, when I ran the Rda at Sutton. She used to ride my own pony Paddy and they had a special relationship.....even though he could be a bit sharp and wasn't exactly RDA material!!  I was delighted to find Amy is now a fully grown up grown up!  Now 25, she is a Teacher. 

Jo has had an exciting idea for the yard. At the moment its just an idea. A whisper....Lets face it...We are too old to keep taking on rescues and sorting them out. We are too old for starting youngsters.  We have enough ponies!!
But with this new idea in mind, I have decided to expand my Trick Training to the whole yard!! Charlie is doing really well with it.  For a pony with the attention span of a gnat, he is really interested in learning tricks, and can concentrate for a good 20 minutes.  So today, after a great session with him, we went all in with Lily, Dora and Mini.  It was chaos, but i think I will work them separately for a while until they get it.

There is a video on the East Suffolk Ponies facebook page, and tomorrow I will edit it for You Tube. I am planning a whole series of videos for You Tube, charting their progress (or Not).  Watch this space.

Amy aged 14 with Paddy

New Shoes For Daisy, Vets, Rain, Blood Tests and Aussie Stock Saddles (Blame Karl Greenwood)

Whoa Its been so busy!! As I may have mentioned, Daisy has been slightly lame. Only in trot, and only on one leg, but as she has EMS we feared the dreaded Laminitis had struck again.  So she has been in a small bare pen with soaked hay. After 2 weeks we began wondering if she had a abscess.  So we had the Vet out for X-rays.  Sadly we were right the first time and her Pedal bones have rotated slightly. This is so unfair. We are very careful with her grass time and she is not over-weight.  However when Jo rescued her she was seriously obese and had had Laminitis several times.  This had caused the EMS (which is similar to Type 2 Diabetes in humans).  This means she is prone to Laminitis as she can't metabolise any sugar efficiently.  We have had a very wet Spring and the grass has gone mad. Even though our grazing is old and established and very coarse and diverse with 'weeds', flowers, thistles, clover, dandelions and nettles, it has proven too much for Daisy. This is a huge problem all over Britain for people with Native Ponies.  In the wild all our Natives would walk at least 20 miles a day, browsing on heathland or hills.  No matter what we do with our paddocks, the grass is too lush at this time of year. No-one in this country has miles of grazing.  And once the pony is lame, exercise is a out of the question. 

So after the x-rays, we had the Farrier out again.  Daisy had shoes put on back to front, then a temporary pad which was filled with...er filler! This will support the Pedal bone.  She is still in her small dirt pen, with soaked hay, and seems happy enough.  The rest of the herd ajoin her pen. We decided against stabling her, as she hates it, and gets stressed, box walks, destroys her bedding and is prone to ulcers. 

While the Vet was with us, Charlie had a blood test to check his Testosterone levels. The Vet had a rummage which he enjoyed and could feel something, which may be scar tissue......or maybe something left.  I am still waiting for the results.  It makes no difference to me. But its just curiosity. Is He just a late cut boy with attitude or a rig?  My old pony Paddy, had stem left, and while he sometimes acted like a Stallion, it caused him no harm. 

Although this is Not a Weather channel, I am British, so am therefore compelled to state that this June has been a washout. Its rained, rained and then some.  However (as I am British), I am not complaining. I DO NOT want a repeat of last years prolonged tropical heat. But.....And there is always a But with us Brits (we like to complain about the weather), it has made working the babies slightly less attractive!!  But as everyone is a bit fat, we have utilised the double lunging trick to the max.  Charlie and Lu are pretty good at it now. 

Two days ago I got an Australian Stock Saddle for Charlie.  Blame it on Karl  Greenwood. If you don't know who he is, look him up on You Tube. He has a Horse Stunt yard, and also does stuff on Riding Confidence. Not only does he make sense, he is also very funny.  So I was watching one of his videos, when he mentioned Aussie Stock Saddles. And how its almost impossible to fall out of one.  BINGO.  What a good idea for hacking the babies out!! So I trawled the selling pages.....and now I have one. Not only does it fit Charlie, it also fits Lu, so I will be riding her in it first.

ODD Mares! And Lazy Tricks!!!

So we are slowly moving the fences out.. For the Fat Grass Munchers at least.
Daisy and the little uns have had less grass, but haynets every night to keep their bellies working.  Daisy has also been doing 10 minutes in the Round Pen every morning, before having her EMS-busting Breakfast. 

Last week the farrier came, sucked his cheeks in and pronounced them all too fat!!! We had actually noted their lardiness. This is nature at work. In the wild, horses lose weight in the Winter, gain in the Spring, lose a bit in Summer when the grass dries, gain in the Autumn Flush....And Yup the cycle continues! However these are not in the wild, despite living as close to nature as possible, we simply haven't got 20 odd miles of land for them to cover daily. Nor have we got the time to ride that far every day.....Anyone wanna come and help exercise??? Also Charlie and Lil are just starting their ridden careers, and are not being hacked out yet.  Dora is just a tad too small for me to hack without feeling guilty....And Mini??? Mmmm I could straddle her and my feet would still touch the ground!!

And so I tried out a theory last Saturday with Daisy and Lil.....Double lunging!! Both together in the round pen, me in the middle with the lunge whip.  Would they follow each other? Or would it end in chaos?  It Worked!!  Yup I have invented Lunging For The Lazy (or time pressed owners).  There is NO finesse to this....but it works as an exercise for....er exercise!

I also took Charlie out for a walk with Jo on Lu.  I planned to ride him back up the drive again.  But... All he was interested in was eating.  He got cross when I stopped him and he started nudging me. By the time we got to the end of the drive we were both a bit cross.  But I got on. He backed up, I squeezed and clicked, he reared, and backed again. He was bubbling up, so I got off. As there was a roar of motorbikes coming along the road, I didn't want to lose him.  When Charlie gets cross, he starts to build it up into a tantrum.  When we reached the 4-Acre Jo and Lu turned off to school and I continued to the Round Pen. By this time Charlie was in full Teenage Boy mode, prancing, neighing, pulling, trying to push me into the hedge.  As I was untacking him, he took off, racing round the Round Pen, with his reins getting ever closer to his ears.  I eventually managed to untack him so he could have a full blown temper tantrum!  Lu meanwhile, in earshot, was apparently on her toes, but obedient.
These outbursts are rare these days!

So for our next Lazy Trick.....Haynets out to the field. They are heavy.  The Hill field is a fair walk......Mmmmm....Would the horses carry them out for us?  We knotted 2 nets together, slung em on and set off.  Surprisingly Charlie and Lu were more than happy to carry them!

Yesterday we tried the double lunge with Charlie and Lu, who were brilliant, and carrying the Haynets with Daisy.  All Good.  I might start a Site for Lazy Owners 😂.

And so to ODD Mares!!  Lil is a tart!  She flirts with Charlie, teasing and squirting!!  But also flirts with Lulu!  This has happened before, but this week more so!  We have to walk past Lil, while bringing Lu and Charlie out. Instead of aiming at Charlie, she is aiming at Lu.  And the Ultimate Ice Queen is responding by squirting back. And Charlie is ignoring it.  But while in the field together, Lu has NEVER squirt-flirted with Charlie!!  Lu is the Alpha Mare. Does this mean she has more testosterone?  Can Lil sense that? Can Charlie sense that?  Does anyone know the answer?  I will be doing some research into Alpha Mares and their testosterone levels. But... Anyone care to chip in?

Pony Party, Hole In Hoof and Exciting News

First up we had an End Of Holidays Pony Party on 28th August.  It was a little quieter, and a lot cooler than the last one!!!  Same sort of format as before.....Minus the cooling off under the sprinkler!  A friend of mine (Shona) turned up unexpectedly, with her son Ben, unaware of what she was walking into. Ben was more than happy to join in.
After grooming and tacking up, everyone went out for a hack, followed by a lesson.  Then it was Poo Picking time, and tractor driving. Its amazing how quick this daily job is using child labour ha ha.  After lunch we had Gymkhana games, followed by Sparkle Up a Pony.

Next day we took Polly a feed with half a Bute in, as she had been very enthusiastic during the Games.  She didn't seem as if she needed it, as she cavorted around the Paddock bucking.  Dora meanwhile looked as if she had measles.......

Meanwhile Lu looked unlevel.  Being a tough old bird, it could have been anything.  After a good foot scrub we found a hole in her foot, so called the Farrier.  After a poke around he found the hole was quite deep.  We had been poulticing it for several days until there was no gunk.  On the Farriers advice we have plugged the hole with cotton wool soaked in Stockholm Tar (which was fairly hard to find being quite an old fashioned remedy). Lu is such a good pony, she was quite happy to stand in a bucket of Iodine water. Top Tip......If your Horse is lame call the Farrier first!

Charlie is nearly ready to be ridden again.  I have been working on getting him to stand at the mounting block without moving since January, using Clicker Training. In the last two weeks I have been leaning over him and getting a leg over (Phnarff Phnaff). Today Sammi (who he is very taken with) leant over him, followed by Eli (who couldn't resist), who sat on him. No drama at all. We are nearly there.

WHW have approved our application for LIv/Lil so we are picking her up on Friday.  Very exciting!!! Watch this space for her arrival.

The Saga of Sweet Pea Continues

And so. On Tuesday the Vet and the Farrier were meant to coincide at 2pm. I arrived at around 11.30am to find the Farrier had already arrived and Jo, caught on the hop had to leg it to catch in Daisy, Polly and Lu, as the Farrier wanted to get the shod ponies out of the way.  Turns out it was a good thing, or we may have been there till midnight. 

Although Charlie had Dora in the next field he was apoplectic at being without 'his' mares. He raced around in the mud and rain, got hot and rolled....and was absolutely caked in wet mud when I went to get him. Luckily he had enough time waiting in a stable to dry off a bit, and I rubbed him down with handfuls of straw and apologised profusely to the Farrier for his wet muddy feathers! I know a lot of people struggle in the Winter with Mud Fever in Hairy Cobs, and clip their feathers off.  Believe me though, it is better to leave them on. They are natural protection against any bacteria.  Constant washing of clipped legs causes the skin to weaken and the pores to open, which allows bacteria in. Scruffy as wet muddy feathers look, if you part the hair you will find nice clean, healthy skin underneath....so please leave them be.  Lecture over.

Eventually the Vet arrived and started the ex-ray procedure with Sweet Pea. She was not too keen on standing on the blocks, and apparently at one point reared right up. She is very good at rearing vertically! I had buggered off to do the hay and water. When I came back the verdict was in. No arthritis at all and the feet were perfectly aligned with the Pedal Bone.  And so.....back to soft tissue damage in the Fetlock.   Mmmmm....thats what I suspected in the first place.

Box rest was advised.  So after a long tiring day with the light fading we bedded down the biggest stable and popped both Shetlands away for the night.  Sweet Pea would have had a nervous breakdown without Mini. They are surgically attached.  Initially they seemed thrilled to be having a night out of the persistent rain, at a 5 star Shetland Hotel.  I guess the mini-bar ran out too early......

The next day, we were met with very grumpy Shetlands. Sweet Pea refused her breakfast with pain-killers in. The only answer was to set up a very small pen outside again. It could be a long job!

Shaved Shetland leg after nerve blocks. As you can see she is not putting her foot flat on the floor.

Sweet Pea temporarily enjoying the 5star Shetland Hotel.

Happier in an outdoor pen.

Fireworks, Farriers, English Rain and Eye Problems?

BLOODY FIREWORKS!!!!!!  Not only have I spent 3 nights cuddling my terrified Jack Russell, but we had idiots firing rockets over the horses field on Saturday night. New people have moved into a Barn about half a mile away. There never bothered to inform us they were having a firework party. Neither did they think to let them off over the 30 acres or so of sugar beet crops behind their house! No they let them off towards the ponies. We know this because, a) a neighbour phoned to tell us, b) the field was completely cut up with galloping hooves and Sweet Pea is lame, and c) the wrappers off the rockets were all over the field...they can only have landed there when the rocket exploded. Bloody Morons!!!!

And having got a thorough soaking of good English rain on Saturday morning I had hoped it would be too wet for rockets!

Any we had the farrier on Wednesday.  Charlie seemed to remember he had to hold his foot up without pawing so that was all good.  However the day before, the lunging was not so good. He is fine going clockwise, but gets really uptight going the other way. I stopped at a good point and took him for a walk in hand down the lane. I have noticed that he leads better from the off-side, on the near side he crowds me.  I am starting to wonder if he has dodgy sight in his near-side eye. Maybe that would explain the refusal to stand at the mounting block and the flying lessons he has given me when I get on?

Any thoughts would be very very gratefully received. 

Feed Balls, Join Up and a Sonic Boom!

Its all been a bit 'basic care' just lately.  I am starting a drug trial for the dicky ticker and dodgy lungs so am up and down to Papworth.....the rest just has to be fitted in.
But last weekend, Jo and I managed to get to tack carboot, where Jo bought a couple of feed balls.  Great fun. We tried Lu and Charlie first.  They picked it up straight away, and it was funny watching their techniques. Charlie took to pawing at the ball, and kicking it.....typical boy.  Lu tried to pick it up with her teeth.  The Shetlands just got violent.

On Wednesday we had a strange occurrence over Suffolk.  Two jet fighters were sent to escort a commercial flight to Stanstead. The sonic boom was heard all over Suffolk.  The talk of many small towns! It must have disturbed our sleeping ponies.  Lu ripped a shoe off.... It was twisted beyond belief and can only have been pulled off violently by sudden movement and being trod on by another foot. The farrier (Vince Buckman) came out the same day and said it was the 3rd customer that day with the same twisted shoe. I guess we should bill the RAF

Today we had Chanice Who Helps On Saturdays.  As it was windy (yet another tail end of an american hurricane) I decided to get Chanice and Daisy to join-up.  Now there has been a bit of talk on Face-Ache about Join-Up being out-dated and stressful to the horse.  Well its certainly not as stressful as the old methods used to break horses.  Back in the day (for centuries) the horse was tied to a stake without water for 24 hours.  The next step was to tie up one hind leg to the horses belly and bring it to the ground. With the poor horse tired and frightened it would accept the tack.  Someone would then mount, while the horse was roped from all directions, and hang on if it dared buck. If the horse was a wild one, it would be beaten into submission. 

Then along came Monty Roberts.  He studied Mustangs in the wild and learned the language of the horse. In the wild there is an alpha mare.  If a youngster gets out of line she will send it out of the herd with aggressive body language until the youngster submits (lowering of head, licking, chewing).  The mare will then turn her back, allowing the youngster back into the safety of the herd, and he will follow her as leader.  Horses have a strict herd hierarchy. The Alpha Horse (always a Mare) is the one that moves the other horses feet. 

Monty Roberts tried this out in training horses.  It worked.  It always works. It is the way horses think. The whole premise of riding horses is pressure and release.  Simply asking a horse to walk on? You apply pressure with your legs until the horse walks on, then you sit quietly. Monty Roberts has changed the way people 'break, start, gentle' horses. At the end of the day (and the beginning) we need our horses to respect us. For that to happen, they have to accept we are the Alpha. We have the brains, they have the brawn. The horse has to trust us to think things through, and follow without question.  After all, their instinct is to flee from danger.  We are the ones who can risk assess any danger. They have to accept we know what we are doing. Nuff said.

New Shoes For Daisy and A New Experience For Charlie

First the weather report......And the heat goes on.  It was 32c the day before yesterday and Jo and I were muttering about mad dogs and Englishmen, as we shoveled shit during the hottest part of the day.  We have moved Lulu and Charlie onto the 3 Acre with Polly and Daisy, as the grass is all burnt, albeit still quite tall. We have separated them though, Charlie has moved in with Daisy and Lu with Polly. It seems to be working. 
Today the Farrier came to sort out Daisy's feet. I brought Charlie in as company, and to give him a good groom, and plait his mane, hoping it will make him a bit cooler. Following the ex rays the Farrier cut away a fair bit of Daisy's toes, to expose the rotten bits.  He then put front shoes on her to give her something to stand on, and make it possible for us to work her......The last thing we need right now is Laminitus. 
I was in the stable with Charlie putting the longest, thickest plaits ever in his mane in the hope it will make him feel a bit cooler, when he suddenly spun away. I realised the Farrier had started his forge, and there was a good chance Charlie had never heard that before. When Daisy's hot shoes were put to her feet, Charlie grew to about 15hh and had eyes out on stalks.  He must have thought she was on fire! All good education, as he will certainly need shoes at some point in his life.
But best of all when we turned them out Daisy galloped away bucking.  Her feet must feel soo much better already.

cut away toes

An Excellent Day And Mice in Feathers

Today we had the farrier.  They all came in....The Shetlands shared a stable and at one point were both rolling in the straw at the same time....How Cute! Good job they didn't get their legs tangled!  Daisy had the other stable, Lu and Charlie tied up outside, and Polly free-range.  Once Charlie was done we moved him up a bit so i could wash his feathers in Maseleb shampoo.  It kills everything...ticks, lice, mites, fleas......His feathers are so thick, he could have a whole flock of birds nesting in them. But he has been scratching his legs a lot, and I don't want to take the feathers off as they are fab. When the farrier asked what I was using, I told him, a very expensive (£24 a bottle) shampoo which killed mice! Of course I mean to say lice and mites.....but you never know, there may be mice in there along with the flock of birds.  
He was an angel.  I then cut a bridle path, just so the headcollar has a place to sit.  I was also able to trim his beard, thin his feathers, thin his forelock and thoroughly brush out his mane and tail......He was almost nodding off.
Until we moved Lu to the other side of the farriers van so Polly could be done. Lu had a moment of thinking she had been shut out, and barged between the van and barn.......Not really enough space for a thoroughbred, let alone a Haflinger. That woke everyone up.
Daisy, who has been a bit lame, has laminitis again.  As she only seemed a little lame on one leg, we thought she had a slight sprain.....but on the concrete she was clearly doing the laminitis stance. 'She hasn't lost weight' the farrier exclaimed, to which Jo and I replied in stereo......'Oh yes she has'.  It could have turned into a panto at that point.  He suggested we leave her in to stress and box walk the weight off.  We don't want to put her in that situation, so she is out with the shetlands now.  She should be getting the prescribed diet of 9lbs of fresh air and a bucket of water.
Once they were all done, we went in for a coffee. The farrier said he wouldn't need to do Charlie next time unless I did a lot of road-work. I laughed and told him how long it had taken me to get a head-collar on.  I then said I felt a bit pressured by my peers who had 4 year olds that they were hunting and driving. He reassured me that going slowly and building up his trust was the right way forward with his back ground and said, and I quote "There's not a bad bone in that ponies body. Once you have his full trust he will do anything you ask".
Hell YEAH!

Poor Daisy Has Laminitis

This week has been all about Daisy.  Poor girl has got Laminitis out of no-where. Well obviously the grass has been growing, but not so's you'd notice.  Her feet have been growing too and she was ready for the farrier a week ago. Seeing she was a bit footy on Tuesday, we brought her in, with lots of steamed hay and feeds of chaff and bran and bute. We turned her out Wednesday, as she isn't keen on being in, and was walking much better with boots on. Thursday she was laying flat out in the sun.  Actually they all were, but bringing her in for the farrier, it was clear she was in pain.  He pursed his lips and sort of whistled....like mechanics do just before they tell you your car is worth little more than scrap. He says we need to keep her on the hat-rack side.  Can't ever see Daisy looking like a hat-rack, she's more like a large passenger liner. They are all strip grazed, out 24/7, have basic meadow hay and very little hard feed. We only feed natural chopped chaff and bran, mainly to get supplements in. And thats not very often. He even told us to stable her on shavings instead of the 3 year old barley straw.  Luckily Jane (who has the 5* Shetland Hotel) had shavings and even delivered them to us.

This is Daisy, awaiting shavings delivery, in a classic text book laminitic stance. Notice the weight all on the back end, front legs pushed forward to relieve pressure on the toes. Luckily we had some padded boots/shoes for her, The type they use for endurance. and rubber mats in the stable. 
This morning she was so much brighter, we let her out in a grazing muzzle for a couple of hours, free-range as the grass is older and longer, and therefore not as packed with sugar.  She wandered off up to see the others at a pleasing speed.  Jo has ordered her a bigger, sheepskin padded muzzle for when her feet are better.  Although the one she has is large, it rubs long term.

And Stretchhhhhhh

Blowing Up A Hoolie, and The Farrier

Well its certainly mild again.....and guess what 40mph winds.  How I hate the wind! It makes normal stuff, like putting hay out a real battle.  Top Tip alert.....If you feed hay in the field, you need one of these big metal things. They stop it blowing away.  They don't stop the person unloading it from getting covered in it though.

A Big Metal Thing Yesterday

Today we had the farrier.  Up we went to get the big ponies.  Charlie decided to be a dick.  So we took Lulu and Daisy down to the barn, and I went back for him with a small feed.  In between galloping about screaming hysterically, he snatched mouthfuls.  I tried explaining to him that we both wanted the same thing, but I needed him to have his headcollar on. It didn't take long for the penny to drop.  I thought we may fall out on the way down to the barn, as he wanted to go faster than my lungs will allow me. But a few sudden halts and a growl from me seemed to sort it.  He did think about going up, but didn't so we are starting to understand that I am the boss!
He was good as gold for the farrier, had a good brush, including that thick tail and those thick feathers.  He has a touch of thrush, so i scrubbed his feet with salt water and sprayed some hibiscrub and disinfectant on each foot. He didn't object to that at all.
To make room for Polly, I took Lu and Charlie out to the field and left Daisy in the stable.  The two I'd just turned out ran up and down yelling for her, while she deafened us in the barn yelling back.  I've never seen a horse open its mouth so wide to neigh! 

   









                           
                 

Blackberries in December? And the Farrier

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!