The Top Barn Treasure Hunt, Track Systems, And When Is Spring Starting?

 So with the Top Barn Winter Challenge over, across the land, Top Barners were thinking of duvet days and box sets. BUT NO!  Rhi has come up with a Treasure Hunt for May and June. Brilliant. I love Treasure Hunts. We quickly joined up, and got the list of 50 Treasures.  We only have to find 10 out of the 50, though there is a bonus prize draw for anyone finding all 50.  We also have to pledge a certain amount of miles ranging from 25 to 200. Charlie and I have only pledged 25.....after all, with my lungs I can't exactly go on a hike. We all know how bad i am at doing mileage!!!  However over 2 months it's only.....er.....about....12.5 miles a month, which is......er.......less than 5 miles a week.  Can you hear my brain whirring??  However I am hoping we don't have to do it all on foot.  Charlie is most laid back about me mounting now. We even managed a sideways step the other day.  You never know.....some of our miles may be ridden!!

Of course we have no chance of finding all 50 treasures.  This is Suffolk. In the Back-of-Beyond.  Looking at the list now, I can confirm we will not be finding a Mountain, or a Dry Stone Wall, or a Steep Hill, an Eddie Stobart Lorry, a cobbled street or a tunnel!  The Ocean is a good 6 miles from the Farm, and I'm doubtful if The North Sea qualifies!!  However there is something for everyone to find, and I have already taken note of a few things not too far away.  I have realised how rare Orange cars are.  I followed an Orange Ford Focus the other day and got really excited!!

Meanwhile, Charlie and I are working on our Agility.  March was a tough course. A Dinger!  Lots of opportunities for Dings, aswell as trying to film in almost constant winds. Scores were lower than normal, but we got a 1st for Walk Only Silver Liberty and 2nd for Walk Only OLHA Medium Level.  The April course is fun, but it still has THE HOOP in it.  The nemesis of Hairy Footed Cob owners.  Cobs just DO NOT see hoops as obstacles.  Half blind ones even less so. Hoop?  What Hoop? Even if by some miracle they clear it with their plate size feet, the thick feathers inevitably catch it.

So with the move to pastures green I have been constructing a track system. Track systems can be made even in smallish fields.  We are currently in about 3 acres. On a small Hill. A Suffolk Hill.  So the track runs down to the bottom of the hill and back up again.  To get water the horses have to come down the hill and back up again.  This means they are moving more than they would if we just strip grazed our way down the field.  In the wild, horses do not have the same problems as our domestic horses. Because they are moving.  Horses are designed to move and browse for forage.  MILES a day!  I keep thinking of putting a tracker on Charlie to see just how far he moves in a day.  I can't make it too complicated as Daisy The Highland is known for getting lost!!!  But it does make them think as well.

https://youtu.be/bbVVXIPAqfk

So the main question is When Is Spring Starting??  Its still sooooo cold.  Apart from the odd day when it has warmed up in the Sun.  I think its the Sun. A yellow thing in the sky? Being on the East Coast we are used to the cold breeze off the sea, but I Am Bored of being cold now. So if anyone knows when I can put my shorts back on, please let me know!

Spring May Actually Have Sprung = Laid Back Ponies

So Yes!! Here it is.....I give you Spring ( I think).  At last the cold May has turned into sunny May.  The grass is positively springing!!  Time to move the ponies onto The Hill Field (always the Spring Grazing). Not as simple as it sounds!  We have Daisy, who has Ems (which means she is prone to Laminitis), Dora (a fat Welsh Sec A), Mini (A Shetland! Say no more), and Lil, who has no grass problems, but cannot be turned out with Charlie as they are in lurve! So these four have to stay together, which means the pre-grass munchers are Lu and Charlie. They have no problems with eating nice spring grass, but WILL get fat!!

So over the last week we moved the Munchers first, to eat off the best grass. These have been followed by the other four.  So its back to strip grazing for all! This is the best course to follow with Cobs.  They Will Eat Everything In Sight. So as well as moving back the fences every day, we also have to make sure they are all working. 

To this end we have been making full use of the round pen, running Daisy round daily.  Dora has gone on a Sleepover, which is turning into a working holiday, which she SO needs. Lu, Charlie and Lil have been worked regularly. Mini the Shetland is surprisingly self-regulating with the grass gorge, so gets away with just working at the weekends.

But the upside of this??  Fat happy laid back ponies!! Because they are not hungry they are happy!  This makes working them easier because they are so chilled. Last week I took Charlie out in hand with Jo and Lu. Chilled as! On the way back, I got on him and rode him up the drive. Still chilled.  On Saturday Grace rode Lily in the school...Yup you guessed it...Chilled!  This week I have worked with Charlie on his Tricks....Well chilled!  

In contrast last weekend we all went to a horse car boot sale at an Equine Centre. I will name no names, but this yard should have fat happy laid back cobs. To do their jobs properly they need to be chilled and happy. Granted they are fat... but not in a good way.  They are all stabled 24/7 so are not exercising. So they lose muscle. And they are stiff. And living a life that's far removed from their natural lives. As they are not exercising or living in herds, or shivering a bit in the cold, they have become fat.  So they are all on diets!!!! Which makes them grumpy!  Its not hard to keep a horse happy...... All they need is to live as naturally as possible, in a herd, naked, and living off forage. And it makes a lot less work!!  I personally did not go look at these horses in their prisons, as I have already made my views clear.....but one of our friends did...and she came away in tears!

Please Horse Owners.... Let your Horses Live Naturally.....They will become the easiest, most laid back horses! 

Charlie Learning To Be a Trick Pony