Whoa Its been so busy!! As I may have mentioned, Daisy has been slightly lame. Only in trot, and only on one leg, but as she has EMS we feared the dreaded Laminitis had struck again. So she has been in a small bare pen with soaked hay. After 2 weeks we began wondering if she had a abscess. So we had the Vet out for X-rays. Sadly we were right the first time and her Pedal bones have rotated slightly. This is so unfair. We are very careful with her grass time and she is not over-weight. However when Jo rescued her she was seriously obese and had had Laminitis several times. This had caused the EMS (which is similar to Type 2 Diabetes in humans). This means she is prone to Laminitis as she can't metabolise any sugar efficiently. We have had a very wet Spring and the grass has gone mad. Even though our grazing is old and established and very coarse and diverse with 'weeds', flowers, thistles, clover, dandelions and nettles, it has proven too much for Daisy. This is a huge problem all over Britain for people with Native Ponies. In the wild all our Natives would walk at least 20 miles a day, browsing on heathland or hills. No matter what we do with our paddocks, the grass is too lush at this time of year. No-one in this country has miles of grazing. And once the pony is lame, exercise is a out of the question.
So after the x-rays, we had the Farrier out again. Daisy had shoes put on back to front, then a temporary pad which was filled with...er filler! This will support the Pedal bone. She is still in her small dirt pen, with soaked hay, and seems happy enough. The rest of the herd ajoin her pen. We decided against stabling her, as she hates it, and gets stressed, box walks, destroys her bedding and is prone to ulcers.
While the Vet was with us, Charlie had a blood test to check his Testosterone levels. The Vet had a rummage which he enjoyed and could feel something, which may be scar tissue......or maybe something left. I am still waiting for the results. It makes no difference to me. But its just curiosity. Is He just a late cut boy with attitude or a rig? My old pony Paddy, had stem left, and while he sometimes acted like a Stallion, it caused him no harm.
Although this is Not a Weather channel, I am British, so am therefore compelled to state that this June has been a washout. Its rained, rained and then some. However (as I am British), I am not complaining. I DO NOT want a repeat of last years prolonged tropical heat. But.....And there is always a But with us Brits (we like to complain about the weather), it has made working the babies slightly less attractive!! But as everyone is a bit fat, we have utilised the double lunging trick to the max. Charlie and Lu are pretty good at it now.
Two days ago I got an Australian Stock Saddle for Charlie. Blame it on Karl Greenwood. If you don't know who he is, look him up on You Tube. He has a Horse Stunt yard, and also does stuff on Riding Confidence. Not only does he make sense, he is also very funny. So I was watching one of his videos, when he mentioned Aussie Stock Saddles. And how its almost impossible to fall out of one. BINGO. What a good idea for hacking the babies out!! So I trawled the selling pages.....and now I have one. Not only does it fit Charlie, it also fits Lu, so I will be riding her in it first.
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?
