The NagTivity Play, And a Happy New Tier!

 Hope you all had a Happy Xmas, and Wishing you a Happy New Tier. I mean Year! Yes as we rush headlong into 2021, we here in Suffolk are in virtual Lockdown again, having been placed in Tier 4 on Boxing Day. For anyone reading this outside of Britain, here is a brief explanation!?!  To combat the plague our government has put us into a Tier system, depending on how bad the plague is locally. At the moment Tier 4 is the worst place to live!!! Essentially it means pubs, restaurants, non essential shops, gyms, cinemas etc are shut. We must not mix with other households indoors. We must not travel out of Tier 4 into other Tiers. We must not stay away from home.  However this does not seem to apply to the 10,000 Londoners who have flocked to The East Coast to spend Xmas in their Holiday Homes! We are sharpening our Pitchforks and preparing flaming torches!!!!!

Somewhat lacking Xmas spirit, I only decided at the last minute to recreate The Nativity Play with our ponies. None of them are trick trained, except Charlie, and he is only beginning his journey into the world of tricks.  What could possibly go wrong?? I had a title....The NAGtivity play. And the cast.....Charlie as Joseph, Daisy as the Virgin Mare-ry (although as she is the only one to have had foals, is the least Virgin like), Lulu in her golden magnificence as The Angel (and the Bar Keeper), the 3 Minis as The Wise Ponies (Mini also had a part as the Town Cryer), and of course The Maligator as a lone Dutch Shepherd. Ok so she is a Mali, but had Dutch Shepherd blood.  Prudence the Bull-Dog desperately wanted a part, so I made her the Director and The Elf and Safety Officer.

Now to film the scenes with a bunch of ponies not trained to perform certain actions (like standing where they are put, holding things, ringing bells etc). I started with Lulu as she at least ground ties. However I was unsure is she would like being dressed up, especially the Angel wings attached to her ears!!! But she was a superstar!

Charlie and Daisy were a challenge!!  Although they live together, they have a strange relationship. They nag each other like an old married couple, but in their field they have Lulu to sort out any squabbles.  Without Lu as a referee, I just kept filming and got some good bits!!  Daisy decided she must be a film star, and acted like a Diva, with more dressing room Riders than Christina Aguilera!

The mini herd were as good as.....almost!! Mini was a star, ringing the Bell briefly as The Town Cryer.  Unfortunately she thought she had done her bit, and as a Wise Pony, ate her gift of Burrs.  Lily has never been dressed up before, and was a little wary of her clothing.....and her gift of Frankies Mints! Coco happily accepted the Costume and was happy to hold (and eat) her gift of Golden Hay. The main problem was stopping them wandering off!!

Both dogs played their parts well, and with the use of a voice changer and a LOT of editing THE NAGTIVITY was made........

https://youtu.be/OvTbrPbw1Yk

And so as we free fall into 2021, we are ready for the snow and The Top Barn Challenge. Happy New Year. x

Top Barn Challenge Week 3, And Daisy!

So its Week 3 in the Top Barn Challenge, and we are still going strong.  Well Jo is. I still have the Cold from Hell!  I know its dragging on!!  Mark The Mechanic and Part-Time Horse Whisperer has turned Doctor this week and has diagnosed me with a cracked rib from coughing.  After I had finished laughing (which was quickly coz it hurt so damn much), I actually agree with him.  I have properly broken ribs in the past, and its all the same....Can't breathe without it hurting, can't move, change down gears, steer the truck, cough, sneeze or laugh without stabbing pains. Mark reckons my ribs are weak due to the Radiotherapy and Pneumonia (he hasn't mentioned menopause!!!), and he has a point. Still a little cracked rib and never ending mucus in my lungs and nose is not going to stop me!!

So Week 3 saw Jo and Lulu disappearing out for hacks alone without a care in the World.  While I had a falling out with Charlie. After a nice walk out on Monday, by Wednesday he wouldn't be caught.  I chased him down for half an hour.....But gasping for breath and a top speed of snails pace per hour in a 2 acre field meant I had as much chance of catching him as a 2CV racing a Formula One car. I gave up, sat down in the cold wet mud 10ft away from him, and told him how upset I was that he couldn't give me half an hour of his precious time.  I told him that I loved him and was very hurt when he treated me like the enemy. I explained to him, that by the grace of The Gods (actually the wonderful Sara Higgins ), he could have easily ended up in a Tesco Ready Meal (other supermarkets are available). I told him how much I go without to ensure he wants for nothing. Oh yes! I got it all out!!  He waggled his ears to and fro, and came over and nudged me.  Whereupon I staggered up, said "No its too late", and marched over the to willing Lily.

So the next day I wanted to make amends.  I wondered if he was hating the boring stuff like lunging. I know he loves his Trick Training. For the last year or so he has met me at the gate, stuffing his nose into the headcollar, eager to see what we would learn next.  So I went out to catch him.  He said No again. So I took Lu in and went back for Daisy.  Charlie did NOT want to be left out, so came in with Daisy, sharing the one headcollar and rope.  We ran through some tricks and all was good.

Friday was a big day!!!!  Meg answered my plea to ride Daisy!!  We decided to go down to Marsh Farm and back.  Jo and Lu lead the way (by about half a mile) and Meg bravely gave Daisy her first hack in about 10 months. I followed, panting on foot with a very brave Charlie.  We encountered Sheep and Swans which scared him, but he remained attached to me at all times.

Meanwhile Lily has been a star.  We have spent the week Long-reining, working through obstacles, Liberty work and hanging out at the Mounting Block. She has tried hard with everything and is very keen to learn.

Today the Farrier came. He pared back Daisy's feet and nearly cried.  Underneath the new growth, her soles have stabilized  and pushed those protruding Pedal Bones back. He was amazed.  So thank you Vince Buckman for getting our little Highland sound again.  Daisy has now got her front shoes on normally!!! We are all soooo Happy!

We were overjoyed today to see Vivienne Sadler and Sharon Bleese, who has had a fight with Cancer. Sorry I had to disappear quickly, but the Tractor spat out its dummy (steering rack) in the Biggies paddock, and Mark The Mechanic and Part Time Horse Whisperer turned up to work his magic.  Please come back soon xx

Feet And Fences, Rda Open Day and Tricks

First published 3 Sept, 2019

Wow.....Summer has just flown by.  Our trees are groaning with Sloes, Elderberries, and the odd Plum! The Ponies are fast losing their Summer coats. The nights are showing a slight chill, and after a scorching August Bank Holiday (my phone showed 30c at 11am), the days have dropped to the low 20s. Bliss!
The flies have been driving Charlie insane so hopefully they will die soon. I have washed my Winter Jacket, and am already eyeing up wood for the Tack Room wood burner. I LOVE AUTUMN.

Although working on a Semi Track System in the 3 Acre, because of the massive summer growth, we have loads of grass, so we are also having to Semi Strip graze, moving the fences back a little each day....which I swear takes longer than putting hay out in the Winter. This year though we are not moving the fences along behind us, so the Buggers still have a walk to get water (and we don't have to join a million pieces of hose together)

On Monday the Farrier came.  Trims all round.  And Lulu's vertical crack has finally grown out so she is barefoot again.  The Farrier is pleased with Daisy, who is now spending a couple of hours out with Charlie and Lu each day, before returning to her Pen for her soaked hay.  Despite the fact her Pen is just dust, Charlie and Lu are obsessed with getting into it.  While the Farrier was trimming the Minis, Lu broke all the fences, so Jo was kept busy repairing it all, while I ran ponies and coffee for the Farrier.  Daisy is so sound now, she has had her padding removed, although her shoes are still on back-to-front to take pressure off her toes.  We are getting there!

On Sunday, Viv and I went to an Open Day at Woodbridge RDA. It was a great day out with displays and dog agility, bric-a-brac and food.  We had a lovely time catching up with old friends.  I was absolutely enchanted to bump into Amy, who I taught from about the age of 10 until 15.  She was my Star Rider in my Tuesday Evening Childrens Club, when I ran the Rda at Sutton. She used to ride my own pony Paddy and they had a special relationship.....even though he could be a bit sharp and wasn't exactly RDA material!!  I was delighted to find Amy is now a fully grown up grown up!  Now 25, she is a Teacher. 

Jo has had an exciting idea for the yard. At the moment its just an idea. A whisper....Lets face it...We are too old to keep taking on rescues and sorting them out. We are too old for starting youngsters.  We have enough ponies!!
But with this new idea in mind, I have decided to expand my Trick Training to the whole yard!! Charlie is doing really well with it.  For a pony with the attention span of a gnat, he is really interested in learning tricks, and can concentrate for a good 20 minutes.  So today, after a great session with him, we went all in with Lily, Dora and Mini.  It was chaos, but i think I will work them separately for a while until they get it.

There is a video on the East Suffolk Ponies facebook page, and tomorrow I will edit it for You Tube. I am planning a whole series of videos for You Tube, charting their progress (or Not).  Watch this space.

Amy aged 14 with Paddy

Spring May Actually Have Sprung = Laid Back Ponies

So Yes!! Here it is.....I give you Spring ( I think).  At last the cold May has turned into sunny May.  The grass is positively springing!!  Time to move the ponies onto The Hill Field (always the Spring Grazing). Not as simple as it sounds!  We have Daisy, who has Ems (which means she is prone to Laminitis), Dora (a fat Welsh Sec A), Mini (A Shetland! Say no more), and Lil, who has no grass problems, but cannot be turned out with Charlie as they are in lurve! So these four have to stay together, which means the pre-grass munchers are Lu and Charlie. They have no problems with eating nice spring grass, but WILL get fat!!

So over the last week we moved the Munchers first, to eat off the best grass. These have been followed by the other four.  So its back to strip grazing for all! This is the best course to follow with Cobs.  They Will Eat Everything In Sight. So as well as moving back the fences every day, we also have to make sure they are all working. 

To this end we have been making full use of the round pen, running Daisy round daily.  Dora has gone on a Sleepover, which is turning into a working holiday, which she SO needs. Lu, Charlie and Lil have been worked regularly. Mini the Shetland is surprisingly self-regulating with the grass gorge, so gets away with just working at the weekends.

But the upside of this??  Fat happy laid back ponies!! Because they are not hungry they are happy!  This makes working them easier because they are so chilled. Last week I took Charlie out in hand with Jo and Lu. Chilled as! On the way back, I got on him and rode him up the drive. Still chilled.  On Saturday Grace rode Lily in the school...Yup you guessed it...Chilled!  This week I have worked with Charlie on his Tricks....Well chilled!  

In contrast last weekend we all went to a horse car boot sale at an Equine Centre. I will name no names, but this yard should have fat happy laid back cobs. To do their jobs properly they need to be chilled and happy. Granted they are fat... but not in a good way.  They are all stabled 24/7 so are not exercising. So they lose muscle. And they are stiff. And living a life that's far removed from their natural lives. As they are not exercising or living in herds, or shivering a bit in the cold, they have become fat.  So they are all on diets!!!! Which makes them grumpy!  Its not hard to keep a horse happy...... All they need is to live as naturally as possible, in a herd, naked, and living off forage. And it makes a lot less work!!  I personally did not go look at these horses in their prisons, as I have already made my views clear.....but one of our friends did...and she came away in tears!

Please Horse Owners.... Let your Horses Live Naturally.....They will become the easiest, most laid back horses! 

Charlie Learning To Be a Trick Pony