Maui Waui Festival With Unicorns

We have just spent two very tiring, but enjoyable days at Maui Waui Festival with the Shetlands, sorry I mean Unicorns. I mean, Who takes ponies to a Festival?  Errrr we do!  I have to say, its been amazing being sober for a start!!! (Last year I spent a considerable amount of time drunkenly riding a mechanical Bull!!). Alcohol and Shetlands do not mix so it was squash only this weekend.

Jo is going to be doing childrens pony parties in the future. So as we know the Festival organisers, and its only a few miles up the road, at the last minute we thought this would be a great trial. Jo spent last week emptying the supplies of various pony make up suppliers (Yes they exist). It was way too late to get a licence for the ponies to be ridden.  So we had a petting pen. We supplied the children with glitter, brushes, stencils, glitter gel and various spray/chalk in colours and had a sort of Pimp My Pony Party. Children, ponies and glitter!! A perfect mix!

I should explain..... Maui is a very family orientated Festival. We were in the Childrens Area, away from the Bands and any loud Drum n Bass. We set up Sheep Hurdles to make a round pen on a very lovely clover filled area. The ponies being on restricted grazing at home, thought they were in heaven. They love children, and love being groomed, hugged, petted and pimped. 

They wore their Unicorn Horns and were covered in glitter stencils by the children. They were braided, brushed, sprayed, kissed, hugged and generally loved by all the kids.  Jo and I were also liberally covered with glitter. The coloured hairspray was very popular, a fair few children left with their own hair coloured. Not to mention my hair, which was coloured by an enthusiastic child who also put face paint on me.  Luckily we had baby wipes available......Lots of baby wipes!!

The ponies were amazing.  We had to unload them in the farm yard, and I led them past all the campsites each day. They were absolutely unfazed by all the noise and weird sights. It was a fairly slow walk both days, with both children and adults wanting to say hello, take pictures and even sketch them. They didn't bat a single eyelid at drones, tents, impromptu drum bands, archery or someone dressed as a Phoenix!

In fact this morning, Mini loaded herself onto the lorry.....and this evening Sweet Pea refused to be caught.....in the round pen, to go home. They both jogged along the long trek to the pen this morning....in a hurry to get to there.

All in all, a very successful trial.  So, if anyone wants a pony party, (Unicorn party) please message me.  Or go to East Suffolk Ponies on Facebook and book via messaging.  We should have the licence through very soon, so they can be ridden as well.  But PLEASE.....Give us a few days to recover :-) We will be lying in a dark room for a while!!

Dead Tractors, Taps and a Word About Ragwort

Yes the tractor died!  The starter motor gave up.  While the horses are grazing on the steepest hill in Suffolk!!!!  It is next to impossible to push a wheel barrow full of poo up the hill. So for the last 2 days we have been pulling the trailer with Jo's Subaru.  Which has caused a lot of hilarity. You know when you go to a wildlife park and the chimps remove your windscreen wipers?  No need to do that. Drive round our fields and Charlie will do the job of chimps!
Being a big teenage boy, and obsessed with the tractor, when he saw a car in his field, he was in heaven!  He has licked the bonnet, examined the mirrors, rubbed his big cobby bum all over the car, and tried to remove the windscreen wipers. For the last two days "Charlie....No!" has rung out all over the field. 

Also the tap in the tack room has been broken for a while (we have been using a wrench). Having found a man to replace the tap, we asked the landlord where we turn the water off. Outside underground...Of Course. Lift the cover, what do we see......Nothing but sand and ants.  Biting Ants.  Sadly they had to go. And then we started to dig....and dig....and dig....and dig. Eventually after a major excavation we found the tap.  Seriously we were laying on the ground to reach it. It was at the depth of my arm which is about 3 foot long!!

Happily we now have a working tap thanks to Simon, and a working tractor thanks to my other half, Mark the Mechanic and Horse Whisperer.

A quick word about Ragwort. Its everywhere at the moment.  You will see it swaying around by motorways, in a great ugly yellow swathe. It used to be illegal to allow it to grow, but no-one seems to care anymore.  It is poisonous to horses and cows, and will cause liver damage over time. It tastes bitter, so horses will not eat it.....unless they are starving.  But, thats no excuse not to pull it up.  Once it is dying it is more palatable. And once it is flowering, the seeds spread.  It breeds like rabbits. I have also noticed, it grows in family clumps, and in a straight line (sad I know!). It also has to be pulled up from the root, or it will multiply.  There is an easy answer.  Ragforks can be bought in saddlers and online. They are easy to use, and get the root. Don't wait until it flowers. Learn to spot it early, carry the Ragfork, and pick it up daily while poo-picking.  If it becomes part of a daily routine, its easily managed.
Lecture over!

How deep????

Would you like me to remove this Sir?

Bonnet Wash Sir?

Early stage of the evil yellow weed.

A Big Crack in The Hoof, Family Pony and Papermill Lane Update

Lu had the farrier this week.  She was as good as gold.  Stood like a lamb while the farrier split open the crack in her foot. He then used a dremel to grind the rest back!!  We could see where the black in the laminae ended.  She is now shod on the fronts to hold the hoof together, with no sign of lameness. First time in her life she has been shod, and she didn't bat an eyelid.

All the ponies have taken good pills this week.  Chanice (who helps on Saturdays) had an outstanding lesson with Daisy on Saturday. We are getting to the point where Chanice is no longer a passenger and can control Daisy....with no nose band and a light rein.  They were able to go from trot to halt with ease. So pleased!!
Charlie who has not been worked for a while.....except for being brought in with Lu each day (its all progress), had half hour in the "school" on Sunday. I put his harness on....minus the bridle and crupper and we just had a play. First I led him through/over some obstacles, then set him free......He followed me round, weaving through the tyres, through the road closed gates, and finally over the towel where we stood a while. Family Pony??

Last but not least, I had a quick look at the Papermill Lane ponies tonight. I didn't go far, but i could see a lot of happy free grazing mares. Its not perfect, but, its a huge improvement from the poor little tethered souls I saw in the winter.  Heres hoping for even more improvements.

All cut open.

Family Pony??

A better pic of Papermill Lane

X-Rays and Unicorns

So remember Lu was lame on the day of The Suffolk Show?  Well its been intermittent.  When we took her to the vet she was sound.  So last week she was definitely lame so Jo called the vet out.  After quite a lot of trotting up and down and lunging it finally showed up!  It seems her adrenaline masks the pain....Tough ole gal!  A nerve block proved it was in the foot somewhere so the vet returned for x-rays.
Lu was as good as gold, standing on the blocks.  Charlie was stabled to keep her company, and for his own experience.  The X-ray was really interesting. Lu has a crack in one hoof, and some bug had gone up the crack and was nibbling away at her pedal bone. Not an easy one to diagnose without x-rays!!! 
Anyway she is on iodine (in her feed) and the farrier will be out next week to open up the crack.

It was also the worst day of Sweet Pea's life.  She needed a passport (simple enough), oh and a micro-chip.  Not so good, but the vet managed to get it in before she reared. While Jo and the vet were filling in the paperwork, I decided to lunge her which she hates.  Next up was a grazing muzzle.  As usual after her gigantic rears, as soon as I got my phone out to take pics, she allowed Jo to put the muzzle on!  Typical.....Never work with animals!

Anyway...the reason for the passport?  The minis are going to do unicorn parties for children. Apparently its all 'in' at the moment.  There are actually websites to buy unicorn accessories for your pony! Strap on horns (P'naff P'naff), glittery hoof oil, mane extensions, glitter spray!  Yes there are some dodgy sites if you google unicorns!!!!  As with a lot of horsey equipment there are many double entendres!

Back To Basics and RDA Party

So, after the botched gate mounting I was delighted that Charlie wasn't so traumatised that he wouldn't let Sarah ride him last week.  In fact he was a good boy, and I led him round the 'arena' several times with Sarah on board. After about 10 laps in each direction, I could tell by his eyes that he was bored and wondering what to do next....so we did a bit of mounting and dismounting and ended on a good note.

Since the I have decided to go back to basics for a while and try and establish the standing still bit.  Having been brilliant at just standing....by the block, on a towel etc, for a few days I was surprised at how far back to basics we had to go yesterday!

Sweet Pea was off out with little Nancy, Lu was having a good groom with Jo. But Charlie just didn't want to be caught! I just wanted to re-plait his mane and apply sunblock and fly spray to make him more comfortable, as it is still sooo hot!  So....Waaay back to basics!!! I had to keep sending him away, despite the fact I really didn't want him galloping in that heat.  Eventually he dropped his head and moved towards me.  I sat down and waited until he came right over. He was pretty sweaty at that point, but I had a point to make. With a youngster you just cannot let them get their own way.

Having tied him to the gate (only on baler twine, not the bungee), with Lu on the other side, Jo and I went off to get my grooming kit and a cold drink. When we came back I was fully expecting Charlie to have broken the baler twine. However I was pleased to see him just standing quietly tied where I left him. Lu however had removed her head-collar and was a little way off, with an innocent expression on her face... "Mummy, my head-collar just fell off, but I waited here for you".

So last week was the end of term for the RDA.  Expecting to move to the new premises over the summer holidays we had a "Goodbye Sutton" party. It was a great day, and we presented a book of pictures to Shirley Green, who started the whole thing 30 years ago. Rather preemptive though, as due to planning updates we are not now moving till November-ish.

On my 'last' hack on Friday, I videoed the ride for prosperity. By the time I have edited it, we will probably have moved!!

Don't Try This At Home!!!!

Ok, so being on an enforced go slow, on Sunday I fitted the harness on Charlie, and went for a very short long rein.  He wasn't too keen about the crupper.....but they never are.
However yesterday I got bored lunging (him too), so started stopping him at the mounting block and leaning over.  I should point out I had the western saddle on for a bit of weight. Now Charlie always backs up at the mounting block, so to position his head by mine. Any tips for this gratefully received.....as I have now tried everything to get him to stand in place while I get up on the block.

And so....I had this blonde idea.....Please look away now if are in any way sensible, related to me or worried about my health (mental or otherwise).
I took Charlie and the mounting block to the gate.  I put the lunge line round the bars of the gate, holding the loose end. There was a hedge behind him, a gate to his offside, the block to his nearside. I put a leg over, lunge line in one hand, phone in other (like you do, when you have already stated out loud that "This could end in disaster", and thinking of this blog).
Charlie backed into the hedge, leapt forward and this being a high backed western saddle, my right leg got caught on the cantle. By now the mounting block pinged out from under my left leg, leaving me hanging. I could have let go and landed on my back, but I didn't fancy that, so I lunged forward, pulling on the horn to pull myself up......onto a panicking pony. A quick shuffle and I dismounted, somewhere under his neck, and dropping the line. It would have all been fine, except while legging it away from the mad woman, Charlie kicked back, catching my ankle.  Result swollen ankle and big bruise.

However.....I did accidentally press the video record button on my phone! And I did have long tough boots on. (Although maybe if I wasn't wearing the boots my leg wouldn't have got stuck!). 

So the moral of this story is; Don't mount your young pony whilst he is tied to a gate. It never was a good idea!

Charlie Backed (Again), What Show?, Bloody PH, Papermill Progress And A Book!

I know, its been a long time since the last update!!!!  Going back....the Suffolk Show. Hmmmmm.. At 6am we arrived at the yard. Everything was ready. Jo put the coffee on, I went to get Lu in.  She was lying down.  She got up, limped a bit.  Oh No!  I told myself and the pony that she was just a bit stiff, had a dead leg etc etc...The excuses you make to yourself when you can't accept the truth.
By the time we were coming down the hill, it was obvious! Lulu who has never been sick or lame in nine years.....was lame on the day of the Suffolk Show! I walked her about in hand, desperately hoping she would come sound. No. Lunged her....still lame.  Not hopping, but definitely not sound. We turned her loose while we had a coffee.....I kept going out and checking, but no cigar. Disappointing? Hell yeah.  We consoled ourselves with lunch at Gracies in Leiston (well worth a visit by the way).  Lu is still oddly unsound.  Its very intermittent. 
She was sound the day after the show, then not.  We took her to the vet. I ran up the concrete as fast as, I could hear from the rhythmic hoof sound that she was fine. But even now she is slightly noddy in trot.  Its a mystery for sure.

And Charlie?? Well what a boy!! My brave friend Sarah has been helping me. With me at his head, she has sat on him, and even ridden him round the work area several times.  He has worked out where his feet go and even seemed really proud of himself.  Our next mission was for Sarah to lead him, while I rode.

And that's when my bloody lungs/heart got in the way. PH is a progressive condition, but as I have been stable for 6 years, I had pretty much forgotten I had it except for the tablets three times a day. I kind of knew I was a bit worse, but put it down to a chest infection (in the winter), the wind, the heat....You know, the excuses you make to yourself when you can't accept the truth!!  A trip to Papworth last week shocked me despite the self denial. After two days of tests the docs said my heart had enlarged and was in danger of failing. Basically PH has caught up with me. They wanted me to have a Hickman Line in (drugs infused directly into the heart 24/7 via a pump worn at the waist and an intravenous line into the heart.  Not being ready for that I said I'd think about it and legged it. They have since phoned with alternatives - one being a drug trial, and the other a new drug, but in the meantime, No backing or riding dangerous horses!!! It's given me a lot to think about.......I now have a harness thanks to Hollesley Rda and a cart, so can begin teaching him to drive.  As I can't expect Sarah to continue riding him, I am trying to get him to Boot Camp.....Summer at a local riding school.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to slow down, I have written The Ridgeway Romp. A tale of 2 idiots (me and my mate Tess), riding The Ridgeway in ballgowns on my slightly quirky ponies in 2007.  It is mostly the Blog Tess wrote at the time, with some infill from myself.  It is now published on Amazon......Please check it out...

Finally the Papermill ponies have been fenced in, and all bar a few who are having veterinary treatment, are off tether.....This has been a long hard road for the girls that started the group, and they now have Asbos for harassment!!!!! But it just goes to show what can be achieved via social media!