Charlie Has Visitors and Winter Arrives

Sorry I haven't posted for a while.  I have a new laptop which is taking a bit of setting up.  And the clocks have gone back so now there is less time than ever.

Winter seems to have appeared suddenly.  Last week I was poo picking in a bra with bare feet as it was so warm. Now it's 3 layers, long boots and a hat!! The big ponies have lightweight rugs on and we have moved to the Winter fields. At least there's so much old grass we won't have to fence for a while. 

I have been sneakily getting on Charlie while Jo is busy lunging Lu. And Daisy is still excitable.  Though I schooled her the other day and she settled nicely. 

Charlie had visitors the other week. His owners came to see him. Sadly they are not able to carry on with Blossems Rescue Centre but all the ponies have homes.  Charlie was enchanted to see them, and Sara was impressed at how much he has grown.  I  assured them that he has a home for life. 

In my other life as Rda instructor last week I clipped 2 ponies.... First time in 8 years.  Bit wobbly!!

Hobbit Feet!!

First clip in 8 years!

This is NOT a Weather Channel.

Although you may be forgiven if you have made that mistake. And so, to the Weather.......March has certainly come in like a lion. Its been wet, its been windy, its been really cold.....and mostly all three. 
And so on the 1st of the month, we moved the bigger ponies into the Three Acre Field.  The grass has been growing there since last August.  It also has a lovely sheltered dip.  This is usually where I strip off to a tee-shirt, only to realise how damn cold the wind is when I come back up the hill.  The little ponies have been given pretty much the whole 4-Acre Field, and are finding grass that the bigger ponies couldn't seem to find.
Charlie certainly seems to have felt a shift to Spring.  He has been very amorous with Daisy and playing gelding games with Lu, who seems up for it. The rest of the time he has been amusing himself with massive twisting corkscrew bucks.  I can only hope he doesn't try that with me on board. Or he may have to be sold to the rodeo.

Yesterday my other half appeared to fix the brakes on the tractor.  Its been a bit hairy in the hilly parts of the field with no brakes.  I was about to try some different bridles on Charlie, as he still has an issue.  Its not the bit, but the bridle going over his head. So Mark wandered up to the field with Jo and myself, holding a selection of leather. He may have been a little horrified to watch Charlie violently overreacting to having just a headpiece and browband popped over his ears. So then I wanted to put his normal bridle on, just to try and calm things down. "Hold this" I said, passing Mark the lead rope.  He kind of anchored himself, as if he was trying to stop the iceberg hitting the titanic. I was about to tell him to give Charlie a little slack, but thought what the hell. The bridle went on so smoothly I was shocked. Not a pull back or rear in sight.  Did Charlie feel the extra strength?  Or have a got a horse whisperer for a partner?

The Horse Whisperer Chatting to Daisy

Charlies Adventure and The Arctic Vortex Has Been Avoided

Yup....looks like Winter is over.  I love it when its only a week long!  It was 14c today.  T-shirt weather.  The horses are back in lightweight macs.  We are mostly out of grass now in the 4-acre so we continue to give them small feeds and lots of hay.
Charlie had an adventure on Saturday.  After putting his bridle on again, I decided to take him down to the tack room, where Jo was mixing breakfast.  He hadn't been that far yet, so I clipped the rope onto the bit rings.  Good job.
We were fine going down, a bit of spooking....at the car, the wheelie-bin.  As usual he sniffed the scary objects, and decided they weren't going to eat him. I let him try and graze, but the poor little bugger kept dropping the grass back out! To be fair its quite a chunky bit.  All the time Daisy and Lu were keeping a watchful eye out.  So all good, I started to take him back.......at which point Daisy went crazy, galloping around screaming.  That startled the boy, who spun round, and for a split second we both thought he was going to try and jump a stock fence, struggle up a tree filled bank, to pop another stock fence. Lucky I had that rope through the bit.  After that, we had a fairly prancy journey back up the track, with many stops for reassurance.  Finally back to the field....Charlie was in fact great, standing stock still to have his bridle off (although he has a real problem with it touching his ears).  Meanwhile Daisy was still galloping and bucking.  Real bronco bucks.....I didn't know she had it in her.
Today I backed it up a little, and left the bridle in the tack-room, and just did a little lunging and 'follow me' play in the school.  We also walked casually back to the field via a pole up on two tyres, which Charlie walked over without hesitation, carefully lifting each leg up.  I think he's going to be a jumper....just not sure if my dodgy lungs and dicky ticker will be up for that.

Whats that your wearing?

Just as an after thought....My dog has a blog.  
www.eastsuffolkdogwalkers.co.uk