Well lets start with the Weather report shall we??? So it rained. Yes we needed the rain. NO problem with rain. What I do have a problem with is the prolonged cold! It's the middle of May and the temperature has hovered around 8c to 10c. With that never ending damn North Easterly Wind!! Come On!!!! I resolutely wore crocs for a week.....before conceding defeat and going back to boots before I got frostbite of the toes!!!! Here's hoping June will bring the warmth. At least the grass is finally growing!
So eagle-eyed Blog readers (and Facebook/You Tube Followers) may have noticed I have ditched the East Suffolk Ponies name, and changed it all to Charlie The Trick Pony. East Suffolk Ponies was an off-shoot of East Suffolk Dog Walkers, from the days when I was a Dog Walker. The days when I could actually walk several dogs a day. The East Suffolk Ponies off shoot was basically for my free-lance grooming. As my dodgy lungs have become dodgier, all that has ceased, and I realized that the Blog/You Tube and the Facebook page is predominantly about Charlie. As he now knows a few tricks.....I sort of feel it's Ok to call him a Trick Pony😂. Being shite at Social Media I thought it would be really hard to change all the formats. But actually it has gone smoothly. Unless of course, everything has disappeared and I am just babbling on to myself. Please let me know!
And now the really serious subject. Feathers. Not bird feathers, but those thick profusions that surround cold blooded horses legs. Although if you have a heavily feathered Gypsy Cob (like Charlie), you may well find a family of birds nesting happily within all that fur.
Feathers were invented on Horses that live in cold climates....to keep their feet warm. They also provide protection from the wet and the mud, and from cuts and abrasions from rocky ground. Most of the Native Horses from Northern Europe have a smattering of feathers in Winter. Think Fells, Dales, Shetlands, Highlands, Icelandic, Fresians etc etc....The list goes on. Most of these feathers are soft and silky, quite thin and easy to keep. And it makes sense to keep these feathers long in Winter as their natural protection. I have always believed in keeping a horse as natural as possible, including the kit it came with! Its there for a good reason.
And then we come to Gypsy Cobs!!! Made up from a mixture of Native English Breeds, they have profuse feathers. Very pretty when they are combed out daily, oiled and when the owner has time to spend 6 hours a day ferreting about checking for mites, cuts etc. I love Charlies feathers (even if they are so thick they produce their own dreadlocks and have a micro climate of their own). I never thought I would cut them off. We have managed very well over the last 5 years, with a little thinning in Summer and a whole heap of conditioner.
However........This year (blame it on the Weird Weather) he has become very itchy. The usual ton of Mite Powder has not worked. Being in the Hill Field he has access to the Telephone Wires to scratch on. Whilst he loves this activity, he has managed to scratch a couple of raw patches on his back legs (as well as disturbing the Internet Connection of an entire town).
So in order to treat the sores, I have had to cut off those feathers! When I say cut, I mean hack! I didn't know weather to start with Garden Sheers, a Strimmer or a Chainsaw!! I opted for scissors. The first pair, got some feather off one hind leg. The second pair sort of thinned the other hind leg. I sprayed his legs with iodine, and returned to the Tack Room with 2 pairs of blunt scissors and blisters on 2 fingers. I bought some new heavy duty scissors and continued my quest. More fur off, more bloody fingers! Time taken....2.5 hours!!! Then I was offered some Sheep Shearing Hand Clippers. Today I clipped his front legs quite quickly, and there were NO bloody fingers! (Thank You Sharon). Its messy....and I will probably spend all week faffing about with scissors and trimmers to get a neat finish......BUT....I got to those sore bits.
