Moving Home, Top Barn 2021, And Cushings

 First up...Sorry I have been absent for a whole month!! I have been moving house. Simple enough right?  Not this house.  We have basically moved from our pokey 1 bed flat to a 2 Bed House.  The House had been trashed!!  It is Social Housing and while the Group fitted us a nice new kitchen and left us a decent painting kit, the rest is up to us!  As the entire place was painted in Pink, Blue, Lime Green, Orange and Red, my Partner had to spend a week painting.  There is no deep clean now, so I spent the week armed with bleach, gagging as I scrubbed throw up residue from behind the toilet and cleaned the general muck out (anyone for used ear wax covered Q Tips???).  We finally moved in.  We have no carpets, no internet, no TV Ariel!  We have spent the last two weeks organizing everything, changing gas and electric supplies (including a nail biting 2 days of being on emergency credit with no means of topping up), visits from BT engineers to fix the broken Telephone cable and a plumber to sort the bath.  And then there is the Garden!!  At first glance it seemed OK, once I had cleared up all the broken glass.  And then we realized.....The 4ft Fencing was no match for the Maligator. So we are now replacing that with 6ft panel fencing.  And new posts as the old ones were all rotten!  Its all slowly getting there!

In the meantime, my escape is doing the Horses. Although I have had The Maligator in tow more than I would like (but between trying to murder the Plumber, Electrician, Fence Guys, Gas and BT Engineer, and "helping" Mark, coming with me is the lesser of two evils). All this means is I have had no time to do anything with Charlie, except a hug and a kiss while poo picking.

All this is about to change!!! The Top Barn 2021 Challenge is almost upon us!!! The anticipation is almost unbearable.  As a group, we are all revved up and ready to start.  Top Barn have opened the FB Page. The challenges are up for perusal and people are declaring their intentions!! Jo and I signed up immediately and have spread the word.  I have a couple of friends signed up (Amanda and Noche) and we have forced Meg to sign up with Daisy.  Dear old Daisy has to be about 20 now.  She gets ridden a few times a year, when the Moon aligns with Mars, and Jo and I are not rushing off somewhere, its sunny, and we are down to one dog!!! Meg has ridden even less this year, what with work, child etc.  So we are now starting the partnership off with a few lessons, to build them both up. I'm not sure if Meg or Daisy is more horrified with the school work. I promise I won't do anything dangerous with you both!!!!!  My personal Challenge with Charlie is to be hacking out with Jo and Meg!!

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And so to Coco.  Coco joined our herd in the Summer. Having been rescued very underweight, she came to us. She has had lovely grass, grass blocks, feeds, new hay.......to no avail. She is still underweight.  Having tried Ulcerguard and several weight gain feeds, Jo had bloods done, and Coco has Cushings.  She has no obvious signs of the disease (no shaggy coat, laminitus or bulges above the eyes) but she does have the lesser signs, no Top-Line, Lethargy and lack of appetite. She is now on Prascend (Cushing Drug) and is rugged. Ponies with Cushings cannot regulate their temperature.  So while everyone else is naked, the Shetland Pony is rugged! Hopefully with the right feed and management we can reverse this horrible condition.  Daisy who had EMS which is the precursor to Cushings is now showing no signs of it, so their is hope for Coco.

Stay tuned for Top Barn and Coco updates.

Autumn and The Importance Of Poo Picking

 Whoop Whoop!! Autumn is here at last.  Ok so it came it a bit quick.  In one week we were sweating in 28c, and freezing in 9c gale force winds.  It was a bit of a shock.  But with the cold weather, came rain. Sweet Rain. Lots of rain!  In fact Non-stop rain!! But we needed it.  Our grass had burnt off in the dry spell. We had dust and sand.  But then Boom!  It rained....and rained....and rained.  We have maybe had enough rain now (for a few days anyway), Thank You.  Personally I love Autumn.  The rain comes (alright enough now), the grass greens, the temperatures drop (to a very British 14c which is probably our favorite temperature) and the flies die!!! That's very important!  Less Flies!  Our Native Cobs love the Autumn too.  They are too fat and hairy to thrive in the heat.  They are loving the cooler weather. No more sweating while merely standing still. They revel in the rain and mud. What self respecting Native Cob doesn't like being covered in mud? 

As the grass has come through like its Spring, our fatties are still spending most of their time on the Hill Field, which they grazed to a Golf Green. But we are giving them loads of Hay. And 2 hours out of the fresh new grass. They are all feeling very well!!  Only little Coco is getting a feed. And Grass. And Hay. Being somewhat thin still she also has a rug occasionally when its really wet and windy. 

No-one is working much. Except Charlie who is busy making videos for You Tube.  And getting used to me swinging a leg over. My Dicky Ticker is protesting to too much walking at the moment.....So I figured it would definitely be to my advantage to be able to ride himself.  The new Poles Vid should be available on YouTube shortly.  So if anyone wants a ride (Mad Daisy), or a project (Lily, who would like to learn to drive, be hacked out or even just have a groom) please contact us.  These ponies need the work, and Jo and i only have 2 pairs of hands etc etc. And the buggers keep making their own entertainment. Invading the Tack Room, Locking Us In The Tack Room, and Upending all the Feed (Mini!!).

And so to POO.  Yep the main occupation of Horse Owners is POO. The other day I saw a post on FB about POO.  I can't remember whose post it was. But basically it gave facts about how much poo a horse does in a year. The post went on to say how important it was to Poo Pick paddocks daily.  The post mentioned Worms (well done. If Poo isn't picked up daily, worms will spread over the grass, be eaten by the horse and re-infest them), and Grass Management (poo if left will sour the grass). Then they said they liked their paddocks to look pretty.......HMMMM

Pretty paddocks are NOT important to the horses welfare!! And the post missed the number one importance of daily poo picking. The Horses Health!!!!  Anyone poo picking should be able to tell which poo belongs to which horse. You should know how many poos is normal for each horse, and the texture of a normal poo. That is the first way to tell if each horse is OK and healthy.  Anything abnormal can show up early in the poo.  So please get intimate with your horses poo!  

East Suffolk Ponies - The Mounting Block Draw

Still NO RAIN, Dog Attack and The Dance Video

 So just a quick catch up, as I promised myself I wouldn't leave it so long. 

We still have NO RAIN. NO SEPTEMBER FLUSH!  Its looking a lot like Burnt Grass Ranch again.  We are down to dust and sand very quickly with no re-growth.  So it's Hay all the way!  And some Grass Bricks from Feedmark.  A big brick, takes an hour to soak down, and everyone gets a little Timothy Grass each day. They are all enjoying it. We are hoping it will help little Coco put on a little weight. As a Shetland she is still on the lean side, and we want some fat on her before Winter.  At the moment, Winter is looking a long way off (its still hot! And Dry!), but i have a feeling it will come hard and sudden.  I mean, it's 2020, The Year Of Doom and Gloom so why wouldn't it be a long hard Winter???

Sand, Sand everywhere!!!!

So on Tuesday I had Charlie in the school to work on our dance moves. Freya was nearby in the truck. Caged in.  Charlie and I are having fun. Then I notice the Maligator has squeezed through the tiniest gap into the front of the truck. Before I could blink, she had dived through the window and was underneath Charlie.  I had to let him go, as he was scared.  Luckily Jo arrived at this point, and after a while (felt like hours) we had caught Freya, and Jo whisked her off to the tack-room.  

Thankfully Charlie was as calm as the Bull in the Money Calmm Ad, and we had a good session, working on The Tristan Tucker method of drawing the horse towards you....and the scary mounting block. Freya twisted her ankle (dog fetlock), or got a paw trod on. Not sure which, as there is no heat or swelling, but is definitely lame so has been on House Rest ever since, with a lead walk daily. NOT a happy Maligator!!!! This has given me time to work with Charlie on our dance routine.  I wanted a slick routine, with guitars and music to finish the 25 Things video series, but we are a way off that.  So I have put together the "how to" version instead and it's now live on YouTube.  Watch out for the finished slick version later!!

 https://youtu.be/L22ljwEaVZM

East Suffolk Ponies - 25 Things to do With Your Horse on The Ground - #2...

Autumn Grass? More Massages, More Maligation, Feral Charlie and Horses of Old.

 Wow we are nearly into Autumn (Yes Please).  We moved the Ponies onto the Autumn Grazing (The Hill Field) as it had some regrowth.  We hoped for the usual September growth spurt....but it hasn't happened. Its still HOT with little or no rain. So the herd ate the grass....and we have been feeding hay for a week! The Biggies have all lost weight. They needed to, but its unexpected in September. As they all live out, naked, through the Winter, we need them to go into the into the cold months a little fat. So Hay it is. Happy Hay Man !!!

Yesterday Lu and Charlie had a massage from Jade Monahan.  Lu as usual communicated very clearly what hurt!  She even bared her teeth. Lu is never subtle and very easy to understand.  Anyone that wants to learn how to listen to what a horse has to say, should come and spend a week with Lu. She might as well write it down!!  Lu had a few sore places and let Jade know!  Fortunately Jade doesn't need a week to get to know a horse.  She instantly reads the horse and responds accordingly.

Charlie was a bit of a dick.  After 5 minutes his attention started to wander. What can I eat? What is that on the floor? Is it edible? Can I go get some grass now? Can I untie the halter rope? Shall I bite Daisy over the stable door? It seems Charlie is very healthy in the muscle department, so nothing was tight.  He has got an over developed muscle on his near-side shoulder, but Jade figured out it was because of his dodgy off-side eye.  If something is happening on his off-side, he turns his head right round to that side so he can see with his good eye. As Jade massaged this muscle, he relaxed and gave several yawns.  Then he got a bit bored again....until Jade got to his quarters.  He like that. He liked it so much he dropped (willy out!). 

Daisy, who was just in the Barn so she wouldn't be alone in the field, really wanted a massage as well. She wickered to Jade when she saw her.  Sadly (or happily) for Daisy, Jade fixed her last time.  She has been moving so freely in the field.  I had Shaneece (Who helps on Saturdays) ride her today in the "school" and I couldn't believe how she was going!!  She looked like a dressage horse!!!

As I am working on a dance routine with Charlie (for the last in the 25 Things To Do With Your Horse On The Ground series on Youtube) and also have The Maligator with me, I have taken to pulling up in the Hill Field, first thing in the morning and doing 5 mins dance practice with him, while the Maligator yaps in the truck.  Charlie has been doing well. The Maligator then gets five mins out of the truck on the lead, as I try and get her to sit calmly and just watch the horses.

But last Sunday, I had a whole puppy free morning.  Work done, I got Charlie in with his mares as Lu was being ridden. Charlie was a complete arse to lead, not wanting to leave his mares heading for the Barn, while we continued to the Round Pen. I quietly drank coffee, while he careered round, bucking and squealing. Eventually I got his attention. For a nano-second.  Lu appeared, to be mounted, Daisy was bashing the stable door in the background. Charlie lost the plot, and raced through the wire fencing, pulling up several fence posts! I could put this down to jealousy of the time I am spending with The Maligator, but Charlie is not a deep thinker!!!  But he does go feral quickly. While he is happy to spend 5 minutes in his field dancing with me, if he is not properly worked away from the others, we lose our bond, and he quickly becomes herd-bound.

 

So yesterday i was reading a post from Karl Greenwood (horse trainer, people trainer).  He was talking about our relationship with horses throughout time. How they have empowered us. They gave us speed and strength we don't have. They were our transport (our taxis, trains and lorries), our Farm Machinery (ploughing, harvesting) and our war horses. Without the horse, we would have evolved much slower. Nowadays horses are mainly just for sport and leisure. But they haven't changed. They are still brave, bold and obedient. If we let them!  The Horse hasn't changed, but we have. We don't give them enough credit, or trust. We treat them as big wimpy pets instead of hard working brave companions. We may go to the Barn/Stables and decide not to ride because its Wet/Windy/Hot/ or its Bin Day, or the road is busy, or there are sheep in a field a mile away. Maybe there is a combine in the next field, or a rook scarer, or its Pheasant season. We have somehow come to believe our horses are brain-dead wimps!! 

Its time to give our horses the credit they deserve and trust them.  After all Ned who pulled the milk float in 1878, went out every day, whatever the weather.  War horses rode into gunfire and flames. They faced shield walls, while their friends pulled heavy loads of post/coal/firewood over the hills. Meanwhile small ponies went down mines, heavy horses ploughed fields, and carriage horses transported people around busy cities.

When Tess and I did our 120 mile ride for charity (The Ridgeway Romp), we had to ride each day, whatever the weather.  Even through the worst storm Oxfordshire had seen for 50 years.  We went through towns, over motorways, up ravines. We had no clue as to what was coming next. But we had trust in our ponies. And we didn't die!!

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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.

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