Green Green Grass and a Mini Heatwave

 Hi Guys,

Only 2 weeks late on my promised update!  I know all 5 of you have been waiting with baited breath to find out if I finally snapped a picture of the celebrity I had been stalking for the Top Barn Treasure Hunt.......The answer was NO.  Although I saw him the very next day after the Treasure Hunt ended!!! Waving from his car as we passed in the lane. So i made a celebrity pic up.  I give you Pamela Anderson (complete with rolled up socks in the chest area) 😉😉

So as we all know, June continued as May, with more rain. Daily rain. And a cold North wind, keeping us all wrapped up in fleeces.  But the temperatures were just high enough for the grass to grow like mad, along with the ponies hooves. My playpen has never had so much grass on it, distracting Charlie during Liberty Agility. And so Daisy did what Daisy does best and went lame on me. I had the wonderful Jade Monahan out to give her a full Masterson Body work, and the poor Farrier had his work cut out trimming back all those overgrown feet. But, despite the Track looking fairly bare, There is still too much Green Green Grass!  The enemy of Native Ponies, so I have to conclude Daisy has mild laminitus.

https://www.facebook.com/jademonahan.esmt   Your horse will thank you.

Daisy and I are entered for our first online Trek competition with the Alternative Equine Club but we have until the end of August, so no panics yet!  Charlie and I had fun completing the Liberty Agility competition despite the snack breaks. We had a paddling pool in the course this month.  Trying to keep the water in on a slope was a 'thing' though. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/6JUO3n4Wvxo?si=M8QxSKXXVsa1lSIO

And so as you all know I have Dodgy Lungs and a Dicky Ticker (blah blah boring) which involves a fair few check ups at Papworth Hospital, which is 80 miles inland from me.  This provides a springboard for a night away somewhere.  This time I chose The North York Moors and coast, staying at a Youth Hostel for the night. On my way back to the A1 I was able to call in on fellow Top Barner Pip Mead, and meet her wonderful Dales ponies Archie and Spartan.  Thank you Pip for your hospitality.  I have to confess, I fell in love with Spartan 😍.

And just 2 weeks later I got called back to Papworth for an overnight stay and had a load of tests done to see if i'm suitable for a new drug trial. It was a bit like taking an exam, when you dont know the answers.  And like an exam, I now have to wait for the results!  And would you believe it?  Thats when the Mini Heatwave begun.  Over 30c outside, people coming in moaning that it was too hot (!) and I was in 2 blankets in the air conditioned prison box (I mean hospital room). I have had a couple of days out in the heat though so its all good.

Lots to look forward to next month as The International Horse Agility Club starts its Summer of Sport. Its not too late to join if you want a fun filled summer with your horse.  https://www.thehorseagilityclub.com/join-the-club/

Keep smiling, catch up soon x

Hot Hard Summer, Goodbye Dora and Maligation

 Its been sooooo long......I have been officially Maligatored!!!! Yup that is the official term for owning a Belgian Malinois pup!!  They are not called Maligators for nothing.  They are officially the most trying, nippy, attention seeking pups ever. They rarely sleep!  They constantly want to be with you, they demand your full attention at all times. They have huge amounts of energy and want to be entertained at all times. They have a Tasmanian Devil Mode, which switches on at Midnight, where they demand you play with them for 2 hours. If you don't they try to rip you to pieces.  If you tell them off.....they rip you to pieces!  If you try to sleep.....they rip you to pieces! Even the most dedicated Mali owners will tell you....they are horrible puppies!! Thankfully Freya is now 5 months old and we are starting to understand each other.  There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are nearly up to 4 hours sleep a night 😊. I am able to walk about without the leather arm guards now....mostly.

The herding instinct still has to be dealt with.....She cannot be let loose with the ponies yet. She just wants to herd them, they just want to kill her....and she has no fear. To avoid tears, I have had to abandon any training of Charlie, and just content myself with cuddles, while Freya is in her cage in the truck (just enough time to poo pick). 

Still it doesn't matter. Charlie doesn't mind and we get a once a week slot when we can have proper time together.  It is not exactly working time right now. The summer has been Hot...And Dry!!  The ground is baked hard and we are looking like Burnt Grass Ranch again.  The temperatures have been in the Thirties regularly and we are Brits.  We cannot cope with anything above 20c and we need rain!!

So Dora went off to her new home. She hasn't gone far, and now belongs to a little girl and her siblings, where she can hopefully fulfill her potential.  I got on really well with Dora, so thought I would miss her heaps.....but I kinda don't.  She used to try and 'help' me move the fences back.  I don't miss that. We also thought Lily would miss her, as they were always entwined around each other. But Lil has shown no signs of missing her........She is more than happy with her Shetland Herd.  So Good Luck Dora....We do love you.....but ....

The "replacement" i.e Coco is quite a lot cuter!!! She is no trouble at all. She has just fitted in sooo well. Her poos are so small, I can't help think of Coco Pops when I pick them up. Today she had a massage from Jade Monahan which she thoroughly enjoyed.

https://www.facebook.com/jademonahan.esmt

Scorchio......To Hose or Not????

First posted 24 July 19

Yup after having a fairly mild Summer, after a fairly mild Winter, we were hoping there would be no extreme temperatures this year!  But today the temperature hit 31c. Dare I say it?  ITS TOO HOT!  If I was off to lay on a beach somewhere 30c would be good, nay, expected.  But I,m not. I,m out bloody working in it!

Lesson learned last year....Stand under hose every 15 minutes. And wear very little clothing.  BHS peeps look away now. We are full on flip-flops and shorts, and in my case a bikini top, which means Jo has to watch my belly fat wobble away as I poo-pick. But at least its tanned belly fat! One good thing is that we are still in the Hill Field, which is....on a hill. Yes, the only hill in Suffolk, but at least we have a breeze. Daisy and the little ponies have a decent shade from the trees. But Lu and Charlie don't as their tree-line is so sheltered its like a sauna.  But at least they can get to the top of the hill for some air. Never the less, for the past few days we have brought them into the Barn during the hottest part of the day.

And so on to the Hosing Debate!  Every year when it gets hot, horsey people debate hosing their horses.  I don't understand what there is to debate.
But there is an old fashioned myth that hosing a hot horse, will cause it to get hotter!  I had even been told that a wet horse in sunlight will burn!!!!

Of course none of this is scientific....or even logical!!!  The other myth is that the water must be scraped off. Again Not Logical!  The only time we use scrapers is if we have bathed (the ponies) in Spring and its a bit cold. 

So think about it.  Its a hot day (like today). You jump into a pool or under a hose to cool off. For a while you feel cooler. Then the sun dries you off. And thats bare skin. Can you feel that water boiling up? Do you burn? Of course not. In the wild, horses get hot, cold, wet, muddy.  They survive. 

In Horse-racing, Polo and Endurance, horses get hosed down and walked around, then hosed some more!  Buckets of icy water are liberally poured over the horse. Ok that water may feel warm after a few minutes. Thats because the heat is passing from the horse to the water, and is doing its job cooling the horse.  The longer the water stays on the horse the cooler it stays.

Ours are not worked in this heat. They are not competition horses, so theres no need.  But they still love a good hose down.  As soon as we start filling the water bins with the hose, they will appear and ask for a shower. Particularly Lu, Charlie and Lil.  Sometimes it takes ages to fill the bins....They just won't go away.

Today I decided to bring Lu and Charlie into the round pen before turning them out for a good hose down. Even in the Barn, Charlie was starting to sweat,as was I.  We all had a thorough soaking.  I always put my finger over the hose end so the water comes out in a spray, like rain.  Dripping wet I went to get my phone for a video, and the Clicker and some treats because Charlie is still wary of coming too close. Up until last Summer, if I picked up the hose near him, he would rear up and leg it. Since last Summers heatwave he has realized its nice, but still stood at a distance.

Within minutes of clicker training, he was standing next to me and the hose while we both got drenched.  Cue Big Wet Hug. Sadly my phone had fell off its perch and switched itself off, having died of heatstroke.  The only video is this...

It Finally Rained And The Search

So it finally rained in August!!  June and July were completely dry. Not a drop of wet stuff. Our grass became standing hay.  The ground was like concrete. The temperatures hit 32c . We almost became used to it. Almost..... We finally said those words "Its Too Hot" which we vowed not to utter in the extremes of the worst winter we have seen for 10 years. Truth is we don't do extremes in England.  A baking hot summer has been as trying as a freezing snowy winter.

So we haven't ridden. We have spent the heatwave working in the heat to keep the horses cool, fly free and fed (we have even had to feed hay!!) Its amazing how extreme heat saps you, as does extreme cold. The Ponies look amazing and have coped as well as they did in the snow. They were getting used to being hosed down. Lu even stood under a sprinkler.  And Charlie positively loves fly spray now, coming over to get it (and trying to eat it).

But at last we had blissful rain.....Oh how we loved getting soaked. Another short heatwave followed the rain, but the last week or so we have had a few cooler rainy days. The ground is softer, and greening up.  Theres hope yet.

Over the last couple of days we have moved the ponies to the Winter Grazing. Yes its very early, but we are hoping for September revival!!  We still have four acres of standing hay (which is getting greener).  Piggy has gone home as Mini seems to be recovered from the shock of losing her best friend and Piggy is prone to laminitus.  We loved having him.  Mega thanks to Sarah who owns him. 

So the search is on for another mothers dream on loan.  We decided against another Shetland, as Mini is actually doing a sterling job with the little kids.  Who knew??? After 15 years of being sweet on the ground, but unrideable she has finally grown up. With her buddy Sweet Pea she has always been L'Enfant Terrible.  But now she seems to accept she has to take up responsibility and its time to grow up, buy a semi, and play squash with Gerald on a Friday Night!

So we have decided to find another Polly instead.  Polly is actually enjoying her teaching and is full of life, but she is 26/7 so may want to share the burden. To this end we drove to Kings Lynn yesterday to look at a Dartmoor Hill Pony. Very sweet pony but only 6 and sadly already ruined by a child!!  Yes shocking, but this 12/13 year old girl was so rough with her, the pony was totally freaked out by having her bridle on. And wasn't good with the farrier, and didn't travel. And they had had her since a yearling. With the right handling this pony would have been perfect, but unfortunately the child had wreaked her.  The mum was lovely and kept telling her child to be gentle.  Too nice.  If it had been my child, it would have been banned from riding until it quietened down. Sorry Mum if you are reading this.....But you know your child is a brat.......Sort her out. Hopefully this sweet pony will find a home with children that love her.

Although we are set up to sort out problem ponies, in fact I relish it, what we are actually looking for ourselves is a mothers dream.  Good with children is essential, quiet, been there done it.  We have to have a mare because of Charlie. Must live out 24/7 although in my experience ponies thrive out 24/7 as its natural. We need a 12.2hh to 13hh for the older kids, preferably stocky so I can ride it out. The pony will have a 5 star home, in a natural herd, but in return must be willing to teach youngsters and put up with petting, grooming and glittering.

Thanks please share .

Ps.... I would love another Fell Pony although it would have to be a smaller one.

Fell pony (my Paddy)

Polly.. A Mothers Dream

Dung Beetles and Destruction

The heatwave continues,as does the chaotic month Jo and I seem to be having.
We managed to coincide last saturday.  We also had Chanice Who Helps On Saturdays with us...which was a good thing.  The horses (Lulu) had taken down all the electric fence posts which separated them, and had eaten all the remaining grass/standing hay. Everyone looked fat, full and slightly sheepish.
We started to put the dividing line back up.....but decided they all seemed to be ok together, so just set about picking up all the posts and winding up the self tangling electric wire.  We were just about to leave, when Charlie started to follow Polly, with an interest in mounting her.  This got faster and faster.  Lulu decided to join in. At first we thought she was putting a stop to the chase, but watched with horror as she joined in and they managed to corner Polly against the fence.  As Jo and myself ran after them shouting, Chanice opened the gate to let Polly out. Poor Polly.  She had a bite on her neck (Charlie) and a nasty sliced cut on her foot. We have put her in the next field in wither height grass, where she can gloat over the fence.  The cut looked worse than it was and after a day slathered in Dermobian and a bandage, she is fine.  The shetlands are sticking together like glue and Charlie has had a few double barreled kicks in the chest from Sweet Pea. We were disgusted by his and Lu's double act though and have decided when we move to the next field we will separate them for a bit, as we don't want separation issues when we take one out without the other.

Meanwhile I have been a bit slow poo-picking due to my strange fascination with Dung Beetles. They are amazing.  If you roll them over accidentally, they roll back the right way up.  They roll their eggs up in perfectly round balls of dung and pop them down perfectly round holes under the pile.  Then have lots of tiny babies.  When i come across them, which is all the time at the moment, I try my best to pick up the poo around them. Everyone should look out for them.