Winter Has Arrived - To Rug Or Not To Rug, And Its Nearly Time For The Top Barn Challenge

 So Winter has definitely arrived. A lot of the country has already had snow.  Here in the far East of England the snow has kept away (although some is threatened for tonight).  But its been frosty to say the least. Minus temperatures at night and only just above freezing during the day.  The ice has stayed on the ground with more ice added each night.  Taps and fingers have frozen.  And of course, the tractor sprung a major leak at the Weekend and suddenly spewed forth a lot of coloured liquid. Right in the gateway.  I feared it may have been the radiator. Jo and I quickly moved the Hay by hand before we had a riot on our hands, while trying to figure out how to move the stricken tractor.  Luckily for us Rob, Meg and Nancy arrived to help. Rob had a taste of the liquid on the floor and decided it was not anti-freeze. We looked under the bonnet and found a tube off. After some discussion we decided it was a pipe taking diesel to the Filter and so wasn't terminal.  Rob had another glug, but we were not 100% sure, however all the other important fluid levels were still full, so we risked firing it up and moving it out of the way.  Thank you Rob, Meg and Nancy for poo-picking with your car.  Our mechanically minded Horse Landlord confirmed it was just a diesel leak, so its all good!

And so to the main question......To Rug or Not To Rug.  I am a great believer in Not Rugging. Obviously if your horse is elderly, clipped or struggles to keep weight on, then go ahead, rug away. However...... If you have a fit, unclipped healthy horse, it does not need a rug. It takes away a huge amount of stress for you and your horse if you leave him as nature intended. Don't forget, horses survived the Ice Age!

So while as humans we are all freezing and wearing as many layers as we can move in, our horses are not feeling the cold. Apparently a human is comfortable between 25c and 30c.  That means we do not use energy to keep warm at those temperatures.  Although most of us in England would agree we are more than happy around 18c, and 30c is a tad hot!  Its called a Thermoneutral Zone.

Horses have a much larger Thermoneutral Zone. They are comfortable between 0c and 25c.  Horses also have an internal 'fire' which is stoked up by the fermentation of fibre in the hindgut (Ie....Hay Hay Hay).  If the Horse has his natural coat, it is waterproof and provides as much heat to the skin as a 400g rug. Horse hair also stands up when its cold, creating an insulating pocket of air next to the skin.  A rug will press this hair down and eliminate the natural coats ability to retain heat. When checking how warm your horse is, forget the ears.  Horses are designed to leave the extremities cold to direct the heat to the organs. Feel under the armpits!  Also if your horse is covered in snow which is not melting, you can be sure he is well insulated.  If you over rug your horse, not only will he be uncomfortable, he will also be prone to EMS and Laminitus. 

Our ponies are all natives, unclipped, unrugged and live out 24/7.  This is the most natural life we can give them.  They do not have hard feed. They do however have plenty of hay. They are all happy, warm and do not have 'problems' that many pampered horses have.  Yes they will drop weight this winter (hopefully), but that is natural, ensuring that when the spring grass comes around, they will not suffer Laminitus etc.  This includes Daisy (who had EMS) and Coco who the vet diagnosed with Cushings, but who is doing fine this Winter.  And we can sleep at night, knowing they are all fine, no matter what the weather throws at them.  

In the 2nd pic you can see Charlies hairs standing up doing their job.

Anyway enough lecturing! So last months Agility Comps were a little hard. Having moved up a level, Charlie and I had a lot to learn.  There were a few poles to step over, and back up over.  Being a hard nut (partially blind) Coblet, he has the tendency to plough through stuff! Poles? What Poles? Oh Yeah, I'll just kick em out of the way!  We also had a lot of wind, which kept blowing my course over. So I was hugely surprised that we got another 1st in the On-Line Medium Level Comp and 3rd in the Liberty.  We are currently working on The December Xmas Courses. They are fun and involve dressing up which we love. I would like soft ground though for Charlies enthusiastic jump!  There is a lot of running in our level!! I couldn't beat a snail for a seat on a bus with my Dodgy Lungs and Dicky Ticker, so next year we will be swerving sideways and joining the Walk Only Leagues. My November Rosettes arrived today.  I showed them to Charlie, but he was busy eating!

And so its nearly time for the Big Event!  No Not Christmas! Its just a day like any other.  Get up early and see to the horses!  No, I'm talking about The Top Barn 2023 Winter Challenge.  I have already printed off the worksheets and put them in Charlies File.  I know a lot of people have got the diaries.  Others will have computer based spreadsheets. Being old I prefer to write stuff down with a pen!

I have declared Bronze, but will aim for Silver.  Charlie and I have a lot of stuff to work on.  As well as The Agility Stuff, we have also been building up Charlies chest muscles. He is definitely looking more muscular, so its time to try and ride him again! 

Good Luck everyone taking part in the Challenge. 

The Importance Of Plenty Of Feed! And a Natural Lifestyle.

Let me clarify that title....I DO NOT mean hard feed. In my humble opinion horses only need hard feed if they are being worked hard.  Hard meaning hunting, eventing, racing, pulling a coal wagon!! Or if they are elderly and struggle to keep the weight on.  Otherwise grass and enough hay works a treat for most leisure horses.  We use mineral blocks, which they all have a lick of when they need.  Our two EMS girls have a handful of chaff with Turmeric, Oil, Garlic, Chasteberry and a few other goodies, just to treat their condition.  I also like to give a small feed after they have been worked, as a reward. Sometimes its just a handful of carrots, or Chaff, Vitamins and Carrots!!  Mostly carrots!!

We also believe 100% in the horses living out in herds 24/7. This is their natural environment. Horses are prey animals, and in the wild they live in large herds for safety, with an Alpha Mare, who makes the decisions and a Stallion for protection. At the first sign of trouble they leg it. In this environment, they are able to act out on their natural instincts, and they are able to form their own hierarchy and feel calm and relaxed. It also helps the oldies if they are able to move around and not get stiff.

And so 3 weeks down the line Molly is a changed horse. She has totally relaxed with her little herd. They have 3 acres to run around in and seem to be finding enough grass to keep them happy. A minor miracle after that Summer, when all the grass burnt off. We thought it would never recover! On top of that we give them more than enough hay.  More than enough means there is hay left in the morning. With the knowledge the hay is not going to run out, Molly has totally relaxed and is happy to share the Hay Feeder with the others.  We also put out a few nets, low down in the trees and a little on the ground so everyone can find a peaceful space to munch in. 

On Sunday Ellie came up with most of her children and some others to boot.  Molly was extremely interested in what was going on and un-phased with the twins (who are not quite 2 years old) hugging her legs.  Lil was happy to be sat on, while Mini took exception to a twin lying on her back kicking his little wellington booted feet on her backside, and started to buck. Luckily she is well behaved when actually tacked up. Guess she feels apart from that her time is her own.  Mini has very strong opinions on what she is expected to do!

Meanwhile over at Holiday Heaven, the other 3 have taken the meaning roughed off to the extreme. Covered in mud they now actually look like pigs in shit! They really wouldn't care if they never saw us again....apart from moving the fence back so they can continue to stuff their faces!

Huge thanks to Clare, Ty, Shaneece, and Meg for helping out xx

The Beast From the East Has a Little Cousin!

And this Winter never ends!!  The snow went, the sun came out....And Then....The Beast from the East sent its little cousin.  Thankfully no snow this time,  BUT, the 50mph Easterly winds have been bitter. Face numbing!!

At least we can use the tractor, but its still hard work, working against the Wind.  I am fed up with the amount of layers I am wearing.  And worn down by the bloody wind. Not helped by Facebook reminding me of last year....and the year before, by showing pictures of us riding in tee-shirts!!  If the summer isn't really hot I Am Going To Complain!!

Princess Polly, who is let out every day to have a feed and graze, has discovered that we don't mind if she goes into the hay barn, so now heads that way every day. The others have lost a little weight, but went into winter as fat as pigs so its all natural. 

Jo has entered Lu for the Suffolk Show again, so we really need to get her working again. Hopefully this year she can stay sound.  If only Spring would appear soon...But according to the forecast The Beast is sending some long lost Aunt over to give us a white Easter.  

Watch this space to see if we survive the longest Winter ever!!

Officially fed up with Winter

Polly in the Hay Barn

Charlie at the 'All You Can Eat Buffet'

Enough Snow Now Thank You

The novelty has definitely worn off. With more snowfall and a cracking East wind straight off the sea, things have taken a downhill turn.  No more pretty pictures or snow angels.  The last couple of days have been hell!!
Battling through snow drifts in Jo's 4WD, (My pretty car is useless atm), we have got through to the yard. Obviously we have had no choice and would have walked if necessary.

Of course the hose-pipes and taps froze.  And the drifts were too big to get the tractor through.  Yesterday was the worst.  You know its cold when your hairy cob has icicles on his beard and snowballs on his mustache!  Thankfully Rob (Nancys Dad) came up with 60 litres of bottled water. Rob lugged water, while I struggled with several wheelbarrows of hay through the drifts against the wind.

Jo meanwhile, ingenious as ever, managed to rig up water from the tack room with a shower attachment. Its amazing how long it all takes in the snow!!  After 3 hours, they all had water, hay and feeds.....and 2 very knackered mummies.

Today was actually better. Or are we adapting?? No actually the temperature rose to -1c.  The wind had blown some of the snow away and where we had walked had flattened to a compact ice rink.  Charlie had lost his icicles and snowballs.  Over night someone (LU probably) had destroyed the fence and Lu and Daisy were in with Polly and Dora, and had finished their hay. Charlie had stayed put and was calling somewhat pitifully even though Dora was attached to his tail. Feeding them soon restored them painlessly to the right fields....and as I reassembled the fence, I told them that they had to wait for the hay as I was somewhat busy.

Once again I left Jo wrestling with getting water to all, and I decided the tractor may get through with the hay.  It didn't get up the hill without both of us pushing, but I discovered going flat out worked.....and was rather fun. 

Only 2.5 hours today!!! We must be getting good.  I have no idea how people cope in countries where it snows for months on end!!  I have officially seen enough snow now thank you.

Life Without The Tractor and Hay

And now for the weather!!!! Funny how us Brits like to talk about the weather. I guess as we have a temperate climate, we tend to talk about any unusual weather conditions.  Even though its normal to have cold weather in December.....we tend to forget!  Anyway it suddenly got COLD (for us). We even had a few flakes of SNOW!!!!!  On Thursday I had leggings under my jeans and a hat!  We even rugged Charlie, Dora and Lulu. The forecast was 0c, 25mph north winds and rain/snow.  OOOh.  Bit of a shock after a mild November.

Naturally the Tractor broke down!!  Why wouldn't it? BTW its not really a tractor, but a ride on lawn mower....But it does the job of a tractor. Daily it pulls our little muck trailer, and helps us deliver hay. It stopped working on Thursday....My mums 80th Birthday. The day I had to leave on time, as I had booked us Spa treatments and lunch at a posh hotel/golf club. So we used Jos' Subaru....Not a 4WD, but an AWD with a tow-bar. 

Friday came, Tractor still would not start....Weather, Sleet, Cold. I was at RDA. The sun came out so I poo-picked with a wheel-barrow....well 4 wheel-barrows, then set about fixing up a paddock on the Winter grazing (Nearer to tack room and full of grass). Spent at least an hour untangling self tangling fence wire as the sun set and the temperature plummeted. Lost the will to live (and all feeling in my lips and fingers).

Saturday...still no tractor.  Once again I was at the RDA, filling in teaching.  By the time we had finished there I was cold and hungry. Jo had texted me saying horses had Hay and Water, Lu and Charlie had broken into the Minis' field and raped and assaulted Dora. I went straight home thinking 'Tomorrow is another day'.

Sunday saw us full of Scarlett O'Haras' grit and determination.  With Megs help we cleared the backlog of poo with the help of the Subaru. Moved the ponies to the Winter paddock and picked up all the fence posts from the 3-Acre.

Monday....I begged Mark The Mechanic to come and fix the Tractor. Which he did.  Meanwhile we untangled and reeled up all the self-tangling fence wire. Today was all calm.  Tractor working, ponies all on Winter grazing, temperatures back up to 8c, rugs off....Woohoo!!!

At the moment we don't have to give Hay.  Maybe only for this week, as we have lots of old grass and the horses are happy and full. BUT....this will not last. There is no goodness in the grass. Once the temperature drops below 5c it will not grow. Once there has been a frost, the goodness is gone from the grass. We are lucky that our ponies have gone into Winter fat. It won't hurt them to drop a bit of weight.  BUT if the grazing is poor, or the horses are old, or at the right weight, Hay MUST be given.  For a start the horse trickle feeds all the time. They need something decent in their guts at all times.  It keeps them warm, and it keeps the guts moving.  Without Hay a horse will get grumpy, drop weight and possibly get colic. Once an elderly pasture kept horse starts to drop weight in Winter, its a very fast slippery slope. Next thing you know, you will take a rug off and see ribs.  

This time of year it is vital to a) Feed plenty of Hay....There should be some left over, and b) Remove rugs daily for a visual check, and weigh tape once a week.

Happy Winter!! x

Warm ponies with lots of Hay.

The container stops it blowing around in the wind.

A Nice Sunset.

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).

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

I've Got A Cold.....Moan, Moan, Moan!

Ok I hate it when people bang on about having a head-cold, and how ill they are.  Having PAH, (dodgy lungs and a dicky ticker), I find people going on about colds a little, shall we say, trivial.  But I have been really ill with this damn cold!! It's been a real effort to go and hay and poo-pick the ponies.  So they have had no work at all. Jo has been ill too.  In fact on Wednesday we both felt so rough, and it was raining.  We did the hay and water, checked they were all warm and dry, and most importantly, alive, and left the poo.  Luckily the sun was out Thursday, and for my part I had had about 12 hours sleep.

We have been so 'not with it', that the hay had nearly run out, and the guys couldn't deliver until last night.  Luckily we have a friend over the road that has a 5* yard for her shetlands. I mean, these guys are looked after like the most expensive race-horses.  So we bought some bales of last years £6 per bale hay, that they won't eat.  Wow!  It was so green and soft.....The absolute Ritz of hay. Our lot have attacked it like they were starving.  Today they have had to go back to the normal stuff......which is actually excellent hay, and costs £30 for a big round bale, perfectly good enough for natives.  Bet they are on the phone to the RSPCA right now!

Blowing Up A Hoolie, and The Farrier

Well its certainly mild again.....and guess what 40mph winds.  How I hate the wind! It makes normal stuff, like putting hay out a real battle.  Top Tip alert.....If you feed hay in the field, you need one of these big metal things. They stop it blowing away.  They don't stop the person unloading it from getting covered in it though.

A Big Metal Thing Yesterday

Today we had the farrier.  Up we went to get the big ponies.  Charlie decided to be a dick.  So we took Lulu and Daisy down to the barn, and I went back for him with a small feed.  In between galloping about screaming hysterically, he snatched mouthfuls.  I tried explaining to him that we both wanted the same thing, but I needed him to have his headcollar on. It didn't take long for the penny to drop.  I thought we may fall out on the way down to the barn, as he wanted to go faster than my lungs will allow me. But a few sudden halts and a growl from me seemed to sort it.  He did think about going up, but didn't so we are starting to understand that I am the boss!
He was good as gold for the farrier, had a good brush, including that thick tail and those thick feathers.  He has a touch of thrush, so i scrubbed his feet with salt water and sprayed some hibiscrub and disinfectant on each foot. He didn't object to that at all.
To make room for Polly, I took Lu and Charlie out to the field and left Daisy in the stable.  The two I'd just turned out ran up and down yelling for her, while she deafened us in the barn yelling back.  I've never seen a horse open its mouth so wide to neigh! 

   









                           
                 

Batten down the hatches

Holy hell.  Saturday was one of those days when I wondered whatever had possessed me to take up horses again.
40mph winds accompanied by rain.  Oh, did I mention the temperature, at its best, was about 3 degrees c.

Poo picking was actual torture in those conditions, and putting out hay nearly impossible.  I managed to swallow everything that didn't go in my eyes! Luckily we have feeders in the fields, so once we had wrestled it in, it did at least stay put.  
Then it was upgrading rugs, and fighting the tornado to secure neck covers on the actual ponies necks.  Charlie is still only in a lightweight rug, as he has never worn them before, and has a very thick coat of his own.  Besides which, his flight mode was fully on alert, and there was a lot of snorting and spooking from him. If I had attempted a rug change, I suspect there would have been a naked black and white pony seen charging around all over the County.

We then spent way too long uncoupling all the water pipes and packing the taps with straw. I was almost grateful when it actually snowed at 10pm that night.
Of course they all survived and its warming up again (well up to 6c)

much more peaceful today