A Good Day Bed and A Marauding Shetland

Posted 5/7/19

Oh, and BTW......Daisy has started her homeopathic treatment and is off the Bute. She is out in a dirt pen about 16ft x 12ft with 2 soaked haynets, and comes into the Round Pen daily, for breakfast, and a mooch about picking the Hedgerow, as she needs a little greenery in her diet. She is looking sleek and fit!!!
And at the moment she is sound.  The Farrier is due Monday, so we await his verdict.  It would be great if I could start gently riding again, if only I knew 'Horse' for "Please don't jog everywhere".

So last Sunday, Mini turned into a marauding Viking type Shetland.  She has been so well behaved since she lost Sweet-Pea (her partner-in-crime), that we have been slack and only put up 2 strands of electric wire.
So on Sunday, Daisy was in the Round Pen.  Nancy decided to ride Dora, so I thought I would have a wander down the lane with them, and bring Charlie.
That left Mini and Lily in one paddock, and Lu in the other.  Its all the same field, just sectioned into paddocks.

Lu was a little vocal about Charlie leaving, but they all had new grass to munch as we had just moved the fences back.  So we set off.  Once Nancy was up, I casually wandered over to the mounting block with Charlie.  I had a bridle on him, but no saddle. He stopped, i hopped up-ish. He backed and span, leaving me hanging in mid-air (again). I landed on my feet, but wrenched my thigh in the process!!

Later I was telling my partner (Mark The Mechanic and Part-time Horse Whisperer) about this. "Did you tell him what you were going to do?", he asked.
Errrr....No. He has a theory. When I get on from the ground, Charlie knows what to expect, as I haul myself up.  When I get on from the mounting block, I just sort of appear on his back. By Jove I think he's right!! Mark asked me why I needed a mounting block. To save his back obvs!  "Your not exactly heavy (a compliment!!!), and you get up easily, so I don't see the problem", he commented.  But I can't jump up bareback from the ground. I'm too old!  I haven't been that agile for years and years!!!
"Why the hell would you want to ride a half blind, half broken pony bareback" he shot back.   Errrrrrr...coz its too hot for a saddle???

So I set off on foot.  Good job as it turned out.  As we rounded the corner we saw that Mini had ducked under the Electric Fence (it was on), and was merrily cavorting in grass taller than her.  Dora was good, Charlie like a cat on hot bricks.   When we got back we realized with some surprise that Mini had ducked another fence, and got in with Lu, who appeared to be trying to catch her.  Mini then ducked back out and galloped up the hill beside us, causing Dora to spook, and Charlie to puff up and prance.  I'm going to have to ask the Vets to write to him direct, and explain he IS NOT A STALLION.

Meanwhile Mini was having a ball. You know when dogs bounce through tall grass? Well that was Mini. I swear she was wagging her tail!!  So we have been forced to put in a third strand of wire.  Thats pissed on her strawberries! Never, ever trust a Shetland!!!

And so its been getting hotter and hotter.  Having cleaned the stables out on Wednesday, washing them out with Jeyes Fluid, and letting them dry, we decided to bring Charlie and Lu in during the hottest part of the day. Now you all know I hate stabling horses, but Charlie and Lu are at the bottom of the Hill Field and its very muggy down there.  

So we bedded down the day beds. Now people have different ideas about day beds.  BUT, its still the same stable.  Doesn't matter if its day or night. Remember horses only sleep in short bursts. They may well have a daytime snooze, or a longer sleep flat out during the day. 
We have rubber matting, but that doesn't mean no bedding!  Urine on rubber matting will become slippery, so the horse is unlikely to lay down and get the rest he needs.  Easily solved by a nice thick straw bed!  So please, if you bring your horse in at night, or just for an hour during the day, give him a nice thick bed. 

Lu and Charlie were more than happy to chill out in the barn today, cool and shady from the unrelenting sun. They had thick beds, hay and water. But they were ready to go out again by 4pm.

At first we hung up haynets.....but look at the angle Charlie is standing while eating.  Wouldn't take long to pull a neck or back muscle.

So we shook the hay out on the floor.....Much better for the pony!

ODD Mares! And Lazy Tricks!!!

So we are slowly moving the fences out.. For the Fat Grass Munchers at least.
Daisy and the little uns have had less grass, but haynets every night to keep their bellies working.  Daisy has also been doing 10 minutes in the Round Pen every morning, before having her EMS-busting Breakfast. 

Last week the farrier came, sucked his cheeks in and pronounced them all too fat!!! We had actually noted their lardiness. This is nature at work. In the wild, horses lose weight in the Winter, gain in the Spring, lose a bit in Summer when the grass dries, gain in the Autumn Flush....And Yup the cycle continues! However these are not in the wild, despite living as close to nature as possible, we simply haven't got 20 odd miles of land for them to cover daily. Nor have we got the time to ride that far every day.....Anyone wanna come and help exercise??? Also Charlie and Lil are just starting their ridden careers, and are not being hacked out yet.  Dora is just a tad too small for me to hack without feeling guilty....And Mini??? Mmmm I could straddle her and my feet would still touch the ground!!

And so I tried out a theory last Saturday with Daisy and Lil.....Double lunging!! Both together in the round pen, me in the middle with the lunge whip.  Would they follow each other? Or would it end in chaos?  It Worked!!  Yup I have invented Lunging For The Lazy (or time pressed owners).  There is NO finesse to this....but it works as an exercise for....er exercise!

I also took Charlie out for a walk with Jo on Lu.  I planned to ride him back up the drive again.  But... All he was interested in was eating.  He got cross when I stopped him and he started nudging me. By the time we got to the end of the drive we were both a bit cross.  But I got on. He backed up, I squeezed and clicked, he reared, and backed again. He was bubbling up, so I got off. As there was a roar of motorbikes coming along the road, I didn't want to lose him.  When Charlie gets cross, he starts to build it up into a tantrum.  When we reached the 4-Acre Jo and Lu turned off to school and I continued to the Round Pen. By this time Charlie was in full Teenage Boy mode, prancing, neighing, pulling, trying to push me into the hedge.  As I was untacking him, he took off, racing round the Round Pen, with his reins getting ever closer to his ears.  I eventually managed to untack him so he could have a full blown temper tantrum!  Lu meanwhile, in earshot, was apparently on her toes, but obedient.
These outbursts are rare these days!

So for our next Lazy Trick.....Haynets out to the field. They are heavy.  The Hill field is a fair walk......Mmmmm....Would the horses carry them out for us?  We knotted 2 nets together, slung em on and set off.  Surprisingly Charlie and Lu were more than happy to carry them!

Yesterday we tried the double lunge with Charlie and Lu, who were brilliant, and carrying the Haynets with Daisy.  All Good.  I might start a Site for Lazy Owners 😂.

And so to ODD Mares!!  Lil is a tart!  She flirts with Charlie, teasing and squirting!!  But also flirts with Lulu!  This has happened before, but this week more so!  We have to walk past Lil, while bringing Lu and Charlie out. Instead of aiming at Charlie, she is aiming at Lu.  And the Ultimate Ice Queen is responding by squirting back. And Charlie is ignoring it.  But while in the field together, Lu has NEVER squirt-flirted with Charlie!!  Lu is the Alpha Mare. Does this mean she has more testosterone?  Can Lil sense that? Can Charlie sense that?  Does anyone know the answer?  I will be doing some research into Alpha Mares and their testosterone levels. But... Anyone care to chip in?