Independent Ponies and Self Tangling Fence Wire

First Published 15 Oct 2019


Despite 10ft of rain this month (this is ever since I told a friend ooop North that we were the driest County in Britain), we have at last finished the Summer Grazing. Lu and Charlie are particularly precious about curling their lips back too far to graze, so tend to leave lots of perfectly good grass behind. In Lu's case she starts to uproot fence posts.  She just wants to protect her perfectly white teeth, that go with her perfect blonde elite Haflinger model girl image. To compliment her Scarlett O'Hara self image, Charlie has become her Rhett Butler, and refuses to eat anything shorter than his mustache. So bending to their every wish we chucked them into the Hill Field.  Full of brand new green growth.
They immediately became fully independent!!  As long as the maids pick up the poo and refill the water, they have NO interest in human contact....and don't care how the Herd is fairing without them!!

Meanwhile we moved the Little Uns in with Daisy to finish off the leftovers.They were thrilled to have lots of space and grass.

But this was never going to last very long.  Daisy's pen has become flooded so she has spent the last couple of days out full time with the Minis and we have been feeding hay.  Time to set up the Winter Grazing in the 4 Acre. The Landlord said we could use the 'Bowling Green' first. This is one half of the 4 Acre, set aside for a future Campsite.

So yesterday I went out into the Wilderness with the tractor, lots of fence posts and a bundle of Self Tangling Wire.  You know the stuff? Looks like perfectly sane fence wire.  If you leave it on the ground, and carefully wind it up, it may behave.  However, we had hand wound it (despite knowing better).  We had also carefully wound up earlier string onto a Hose-reel. Ha! That would be good to use right?

So I put the posts in, and set off with the Hose-reel. Stop. Start. Tangle. Swear. I was getting there......And then, out of no-where I had 2 loose ends  WTF??
Pick one. It was 2in long.  Picked the other. Also 2in long!  No End in sight!!!
So it seems that the fence wire that will tangle itself into knots on its own, can also undo knots while neatly wound up!

Eventually i ran out of the properly wound up string that had made me slightly insane. So I moved on to using this...

Despite the spaghetti look, with a lot of shaking out, it kind of untangled, and I managed to build a three strand (necessary with a Shetland) fence from one end of the field to the other. Today Jo split the field in two, ready for the Outlaw Duo in the Hill Field to rejoin Civilization.  Meanwhile Daisy (who had figured it out), took her little Herd on a mad gallop about. Nothing lame about that one!

Surprisingly they moved fields without any drama and happily settled into munching.  Hopefully the weather is cool enough now, for Daisy to live full time with the Herd on old stalky grass.

Our Suffolk Show

Ok for non British readers, briefly the Suffolk Show is our County Show.  This is the BIG ONE.  People (professional show people) come from all over to County Shows throughout the summer months.  In my previous life I travelled to several County Shows....Yes in different counties of England.  For non professionals the local County Show is a chance to compete against the best.

The Suffolk Show is our local County Show.  Held in Ipswich over two days, it is a big event for local Farmers, Riders and the general public for a jolly good day out.  Last year, Lu was lame on the morning of the show.  This year I threatened to kick her and throw a big sulky wobble if she wasn't sound. (Mostly because it means getting up at 5.30am.....And I DON'T do mornings) Of course Lu is a tough old bird, and has only been lame the once in her life, and for good reason.......Sorry Trawl through posts from last year. So obvs she was sound this year.  Despite living out 24/7 she also managed to keep clean from her bath.

Despite the Lorry being off the road, we borrowed a trailer (Thanks Eli O'Conner), I managed to get up at 5.25am and we set off almost on time.  We arrived at the showground on time, met up with Meg, who was doing the running bits for Jo, and were in the collecting ring 10 minutes before the class!!

Lulu was outstanding!!  For a pony that can spook at a tyre, or wheelie bin, when ridden, she didn't bat an eyelid at anything. She hasn't been to a show for years, but behaved like a pro.  There were mini diggers nearby which upset half the class, but Lu remained calm.  The changeover between Jo and Meg for the running bits was seamless.  The class is an odd one....European Breeds.  Lu was up against large Warmbloods, and an exceptional Thoroughbred type, which I thought was a Selle Francais.  It wasn't, but the breed was obscure, so I can't remember what it was. There were no Fresians, Icelandics, Fjords or other Haflingers, which was a shame, as there is a great deal of difference between 'native type' and 'thoroughbred type' European breeds.  The judge actually asked Jo what breed Lu was.  I thought Haflingers are so distinctive that anyone would recognise them!

Still they came Third.  And more importantly Lu was an absolute star.  On the way back to the Trailer, we got ourselves burgers/bacon butties, and sat and ate them.  We then left Lu tied up to the trailer with a haynet, while we looked round the Equine Village and the dog stands. When we got back, after oohing and arghring at tiny children showing calves,  we found ourselves stuck. 

The lane out of the showground was full of magnificent Shires pulling Trade Carts.....And they were being Judged where they stood.....Pretty much behind our trailer.  Meanwhile we had some Hunt beside us and opposite us, hounds baying, horses excited, trying to get ready for the Hound Parade.  We all waited patiently until the draft horses moved on. We then waited for the hounds to be released.....What a sight.  Although I hate hunting, and have only ever been drag-hunting myself, I still love the sight of hounds streaming out together.  An emotive subject, one which I will not preach about here.

All in all we had a great day.  We were way too tired to do anything more than give the others more grass and water when we got back....we paid for that today with double poo-picking.  BUT it was worth it. Well done Jo, Meg and Lulu.