Autumn Approaches and Pink Cars

And so to the Weather. Its getting cold. A mere 8c this morning. The sloes and blackberries are in bloom, the harvest is in. Yup there's no denying it. Autumn is on its way. Summer never really happened. So let's embrace Autumn with its beautiful leaves and Halloween.

At least this year we should have enough grass to last the ponies till next year! There has to be a silver lining in all that rain!

The International Horse Agility Summer Of Sport is over. Its been fun, but the August monthly classes have been tough. Its the first time Charlie and I haven't entered the OLHA class. The Advanced class which we are now in, is just too Advanced for us. But we have managed to enter the Liberty class. Here's hoping September competitions will be a little easier! Unbelievable to think we only have 4 more competitions till the end of the year!

Next year we will be aiming for Equagility. Just need to teach him to move forward with me on him!

Toying with Lulu aswell. As Jo can't ride at the moment, Lu is bored. She's never been ridden in a headcollar before, and doesn't like standing at the Mounting Block, so lots to work on. 

The Top Barn Treasure Hunt part 2 is halfway through. Charlie and I are on track for Treasure and Miles, but having to think outside the box. There are no cattle grids round here....so for the Treasure named Grid, I have used the National Grid and Grid Work!

And as for pink cars!!!!!! I have seen a Pink Range Rover and the Octopus Energy vans are pink. But what are the chances of one passing? If anyone has a pink Car (toy or otherwise) please bring it to the Farm. I also need a walker to walk up the lane with a Shetland for company for Charlie. Shetland provided!!!! Also willing to provide Gin, and sedatives!

So good luck for the last few weeks of the Treasure Hunt and Good luck for everyone that entered the Horse Agility Summer Of Sport. 

Autumn and The Importance Of Poo Picking

 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!  

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

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).

Cat On Hot Bricks and Shetland Love-Ins

Wow its been a busy couple of weeks.  We are constantly fencing, so the horses have old grass, and we save pasture for new grass to grow.  The Indian Summer finished with 30c at the end of September, to a mere 14c for a more autumnal feel.  Goodbye flip-flops and shorts (and tan), hello hoodies and boots. Better for working the horses though.  I have set up another school and Charlie has been learning to jump on the lunge.  He has been working out where to put his feet.
Daisy has been like a cat on hot bricks.  It may be the extra sugar in the grass, or the fact her feet don't hurt, or an Easterly wind up her tail. Whatever, we have been hacking out alot, and she has taken to jogging everywhere, tossing her head, and plunging. Lu in comparison has been very good.

I have started teaching at the RDA and loved every minute of it. One of my clients from the mid nineties came in, gave me a big hug, and a photo of her sitting on my Paddy, with me beside her.  I almost cried. Another client remembered me. Theres nothing like it for a feel good factor. So if anyone reading this lives near Sutton, Woodbridge, and can spare a couple of hours Friday morning, please come along.  There is coffee, biscuits and a lot of smiles.

For another smile factor, just spend time in the field with your horses. The other day, while waiting for the water to fill up in the Shetlands field, I lay down in the sun. Straight away they both came over and started licking my knees and belly and leaning down to blow with there nostrils.  If I scratch there bellys, they try to groom me back, nibbling my hair.  Charlie wandered over in the adjoining field and flicked water all over me with his nose....The more I laughed the more he did it. He also loves a belly scratch, and lifts his head up like a giraffe.

Indian Summer and A Rain Dance

And so we have an Indian Summer......Its the middle of September and it was 29c today. All the grass is burnt, hell we are burnt! The ground is too hard to work the ponies, and the fence posts are breaking when we try to move the fencing back.  We have been doing a rain dance. Polly has bruised soles, so is out in boots.  Daisy, with her shoes on is feeling well.  The other day I thought I would take her out and lead Charlie.  mmmmmmm......
I went round the 4 acre first.....good job really.  Daisy was like a cat on hot bricks.  In the end I had to let go of Charlie, as Daisy was plunging and bucking. I just sat and laughed as it felt so good to feel her so happy.
Luckily I had been practicing the bucking.....on a mechanical bull at a Festival. Major fun if you ever get the chance. It got very competitive. 

So today we picked up 50 bales of hay.....As I stood there surveying our hoard I said, 'We won't need to hay until October'.  Jo pointed out thats only two weeks away. WHAT????  Its still the middle of summer surely?  I panicked at that point and dragged all the rugs out.  Jo power washed them while I painted them with Fabriseal.  I mean, knowing England it'll be snowing next week!

Bull 
Riding

Waterproofing rugs