ODD Mares! And Lazy Tricks!!!

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?

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

Learning The Lines and Rearing Ponies!!

You know how sometimes you can go through life, and learn a skill, but still miss something out?  Oddly Jo and I both skipped lunging, with two reins!  We have both had youngsters, broke ponies and I even worked on a driving yard. 

Having both worked at Livery/Eventing/Showing Yards, most of our lunging has been for exercise or to build up topline. My driving long lining consisted of wandering for miles, two inches behind a horse with driving reins...err...driving it forward.  

So after Bridgets visit, my mission has been to master lunging with two reins. I have to say, I'm pretty cack-handed with lunge lines and am just as likely to wrap myself in them, as to control the horse!!

So on Tuesday Viv came to visit.  Having told her all about the new mission she kindly offered to come back the following day and give us lessons. First we tried with Lil, who went well with Viv, but was a little confused with Jo and I. Then we tried Charlie, who was pretty good and very laid back with the reins around his hocks!!  Viv suggested we practise with a smaller, older pony. Cue Dora. Dora can be a bit of a brat.  She especially objects to being lunged as it means working!!  To our surprise, she went really well for Viv.  She even stayed calm for Jo and I.  Bad luck Dora.....You are our practise pony!!!

And more about Dora!  This post should have simply been called Dora (a brat).  Dora didn't want to work today.....Okay so its been blowing a Northern Hoolie, bringing Sleet and Hail (Yes it is May).  I had just arrived this morning, to be greeted with Jo holding a sullen looking Dora....She had refused to go down the drive, even with Mini. Jo asked me to go for a walk out, with her, Dora, Poppy (one of the Saturday Kids),  a schooling whip and various dogs.  We went down the drive....Dora had one eye on the whip I carried (or maybe it was my coffee which i also carried).  Down the drive, along the lane....only minimal protests from Dora. Poppy fed her a polo, then we did it again.  Again Dora complied, although she was on her toes.  Poppy couldn't ride her back because she didn't have a hat.  Neither did I.....But I am an adult. So I hopped on her. I always feel a bit guilty riding Dora, as she is only 11.2hh and I am 5ft 5in. Its like sitting on a narrow pole. Despite the fact my feet are waaay below her belly I am only 9 stone and she is a very sturdy welsh (before you start throwing rotten tomatoes at me).  If I thought for one minute she was struggling, I wouldn't do it. However, she is more than happy to jog and prance while carrying me.

She had started to relax, thinking we were going home, and she was done.  BUT she had one more lesson!!  As we got to the school, I tried to turn in. Dora Was Not Having It.  We somehow got past the gate to the school (she is a strong little bugger).  I went to turn her back....And she reared, plunged and bucked!!!  No problem leaving the ground with all four feet then, despite the great burden she carried. She very nearly had me off!!!!  Sitting in (just) a childs saddle, with no stirrups, I had to do some weird body swerve to stay on.  Funny though.  Dora and I may be having a hack alone later this week....Though I think I better have a bigger saddle and maybe stirrups. 

PS... I love Dora!!!

Easter Party And You Are Never Too Old to Learn

Finally the weather perked up and we had our Easter Party.  (More eggs were boiled!)  Sadly some children had already gone back to school, but it may have actually been calmer with less girls!!

Eli brought over her elderly but amazing Twix, and a new loan pony called Abby, who is a tall and very stunning Welsh Sec B.  I have to confess, she looked way too tall and leggy to me, for a Sec B, but she has a passport and we measured her.  She was just under 13.2hh.  We also measured Lily the other day, who came up at 12.3hh. As Daisy and Lu who are both only 14.2hh seem quite big to me, I can only conclude that I am shrinking with age!! 

So we had a great day. The girls had a short hack, followed by a lesson. Then they learnt to lunge, rugging, and points of the pony before lunch.

After lunch we had 'Field Maintenance,  Ok.... Poo Picking!  It has to done blah blah.  Its all part of owning a pony. The girls seemed happy!!!

Better than being indoors on The Play Station huh?  When I was a child (after I had finished my breakfast of road gravel, and polished the road with my tongue) I was taught to always look after my animals first! No matter how wet, cold, tired I was, make sure the dogs/cats/ponies/goldfish were seen to first!

After all that hard work we had gymkhana games. Always a laugh. Its the one thing that makes me sad about being an (aging) adult....No more Gymkhana games. And Bills, Wrinkles, and a stiff non bouncy body.....But mostly not being able to do Gymkhana.
The eggs got battered, everyone had fun. Gymkana has a purpose!  The kids are so busy trying to win, they forget fear, or to hold on with their hands etc. Its a great way of installing confidence.

And so to more serious stuff.. Charlie.  If you have been following, you will know Charlie has been special.  My normal attitude with horses throughout my life has been Gung-Ho to say the least. Get on, hope for the best, don't fall off.  Its half wild? Never mild, just ride it. take it to the shops, jump it, hunt it.....Its nervous?  What the hell, take it on a 120mile ride.  Two young just cut geldings? Pony them around the village on a mare. It bucks, rears, bolts? Sit it out and laugh. But with my dodgy lungs etc, and Charlies history (ie being taken off his mother and on his way to become a Tesco meal), not to mention his half sighted eye and riggy tendencies i have tried to slow up. 

Having tried to back Charlie as a 3 year old, and learning that flying lessons hurt at my age with my dodgy lungs and dicky ticker, i backed off. I have spent the last 3 years gaining his trust.  I have now sat on him, and rode him briefly in the School.  But, despite our good relationship, the basic building blocks are missing.....and this time round, I need a pony that will die for me. I need and want a two way relationship.

And so, I called in Bridget Colston for help.  Bridget books horses for Monty Roberts, and is fully trained in Intelligent Horsemanship.  We can all read the books and watch videos. But as I have said before, Horsemanship can't be taught, it is in you... or not. I watched a Monty Roberts demo in my twenties, and have studied horse language ever since. I think i have a pretty good handle on how horses think and can read most horses.  But, with your own you can sometimes get lost. Not read all the signs.  

And so I got Bridget in to help with the missing bits..... Yes Charlie will lunge, and long rein....but only if I get after him.  If he doesn't want to do something, he will get bolshy.  Is he just being naughty?  Or is he scared?  I am too close to see the answer. Bridget heard him immediately. Yes he is worried. She slowed things right down.  Today I feel humbled.  You are never too old to learn! And so, with a few more tools, Charlie and I will start again, and get it right before we move on.  

New Tractor, Cold Winds, Cow Hysterics and Riding The Babies

I have a huge grin on my face as I am writing this.....because this week I have finally ridden Charlie (without being thrown into the next County!), but more on that later (Sorry Spoiler Alert).

So Jo bought a new tractor.  Not a lawn mower...but a real Mini Tractor, a John Deere if you are a tractor fanatic.  We are thrilled with it. It starts each morning...and has way more pulling power. I spent two days hankering to plough a field with it...until it rained.

We were planning a pony party on Monday just gone, but the weather scuppered our plans.  There was actual snow on Saturday!!  Having already hard boiled and painted the eggs for the egg and spoon race, it seemed a shame to waste them.  So little Nancy who came up for a ride and Shaneece Who Helps on Saturdays (and had came to help with the Party) had a lesson from me, and learnt the art of egg and spoon racing. 

Lulu may have been more interested in bullying Dora








And so to COWS!! Last week we went out with Shaneece on Daisy, Nancy on Dora and Mini in hand, for yet another 'Meet and Cow Greet'.  As we approached they cavorted over.  Suspecting Dora may spook, I asked Rob (Nancy's Dad) to be ready to catch the child.  As predicted, Dora span, throwing Nancy safely into her Dads' arms.  Couldn't have done it better if we had practised!! Mini, who has probably never seen cows before, freaked out, Daisy nonchalantly sniffed and nipped them, before grazing quietly while the little ponies sorted themselves out.  It took a while, but eventually both the little 'uns dared to get close enough for a sniff and the drama was over.  Trouble is the cows run over.
I was dreading Charlies encounter with them!  Jo and I decided not only did we have to train the ponies to become bored with the cows, we also had to ignore the cows so they became bored with the ponies.  The next day they were gone!!

Daisy... Not Bovvered

Dora.....Drama Queen

Mini..... WTF?











So onto the babies (Charlie and Lil).  Grin factor Alert.  Jo and I had hatched a plan.  While Charlie has allowed me (and a couple of kids) to sit on him, he has got stuck, and not moved forward, preferring to back up, which is the beginning of his default setting to rear. Charlie cannot be forced to do anything...that just causes a fight.  So we decided as he loves his food, Jo would stand a little way in front of him with carrots, so it was his decision to move forwards, instead off up and down and exploding.  It worked!!  
Yesterday, we just went half way round the 'School'.  All his decision.  Today we walked all the way round!!  I even suggested with a bit of leg pressure and a vocal command that he might like to walk on . He feels solid and sure of his balance,  and calm!

Lil has had a few kids sitting on her, and Ellie rode her a circuit on Saturday.  Much younger, but a sensible girl.  Today I rode her a few circuits, with Jo in front of her.  We did a few bending poles with open steering, and some stop starts.  Although Lil is smaller and narrower than Charlie, and still feels a bit like a fawn finding its feet, she was very relaxed and seems to be happy to work.
No photos, but we have a short video (possibly).  So proud of these Gypsy Cob Babies.

https://youtu.be/VPD7Grt7c1w

Top Barn Challenge Complete, Lilys First Ride, Baby Cows and A Dead Tractor!

Oh yes its all been happening!!  So first up, Charlie and i have completed the Top Barn 12 Week Challenge.  For those of you that don't know, this was a Facebook Group that I somehow got invited to.  The idea is a 12 week Challenge, with Mini Challenges.  There were different levels. I picked Bronze with Charlie, which was a commitment to do 3 hours a week. Doesn't sound much...but doing groundwork only, is quite a bit.  There was a list of Mini Challenges in several different groups, ie, Hacking, Dressage, Jumping, Groundwork, Trec etc. This is by far the best horsey group on FB i have ever joined!!  Everyone was sooo supportive.  There was no "I'm better than you".  

The group consisted of about 1000 people from all over the world. We had old and young, experienced, novice, nervous....everyone had a personal challenge. The idea of starting in January is genius.  Winter months are when we tend to say, "Its too dark, cold, wet", etc.  This Challenge pushed us to work in the dark, the snow and the wind.  People found ingenious ways to work with their horses, despite the weather.  Everyone pushed themselves to face their fears. We urged each other on.  The prize is a weeks holiday at Top Barn, but the real prize is facing fears, and having a better relationship with your horse.

I have videoed each session with Charlie.....The good and the bad!!  He has acquired quite a fan club.  He has also calmed down a lot, and has become interested in working with me. My goal for the 12 weeks was to be riding him.  This hasn't quite happened, as around week 10, he had a spring hormonal breakdown, and became very stalliony, so I had to step back a bit....But I have sat on him a few times. He has worked hard, so is now having a week off.  After that I will try and ride him away, although its going to feel weird not videoing our every move.  Roll on next year!!!

In the last 3 months, we have discovered one thing.....Charlie CAN JUMP!

Meanwhile in the background, Jo and I have been working Lily.  Having done a few walk outs, lunging, Bonder, and long-reining. We have also stuck various small children on her bareback for a sit.  Then Shona got on with a saddle..

So at the weekend, we put Grace up, and Jo led them round the "school". What a good girl!!  It was like she had been ridden before.  Although younger than Charlie, Lil has been at World Horse Welfare for a couple of years, and also a girl! So is actually more advanced!  

Yesterday Shanice (who helps on Saturdays) came up for her first ride since her fall.  I wouldn't normally leave it that long, but the poor girl was too hurt to get straight back on, and has been busy since.  So it was a nice sunny day. Daisy has been hacked out several times since, and not put a foot wrong.  Jo rode Lu and I led Lily, promising Shanice that I would be by her side.  Shanice was understandably a little nervous, but I told her to just relax, and tell Daisy all about college, which she did.  We had a lovely walk down the lane.  Everyone was calm.  I was almost tempted to ride Lil back, but only had kids stirrups and no hat, so didn't.  Good Call!!

The field that runs along the lane, has acquired 4 baby male cows with big horns.  Jo and i went out with Charlie and Lu on foot last week to meet them, but they wouldn't come over.  Yesterday they were by the gate on the way back.  Much snorting from Lu and Lily.  Daisy had a good look, and decided they were less than interesting.  We set off down the lane.  The cows followed at a gallop.  Lily was absolutely terrified, spinning and rearing, eyes out on stalks.  My priority, as well as hanging on to Lil, was to hold Daisys headcollar, just in case.  Meanwhile Lu was doing a sideways piaff! Very impressive! I offered Shanice the chance to dismount, but she said her and Daisy were fine, which they were.  Kudos to Shanice for holding her nerve!  Looks like we will be back and forwards down that lane till all the horses are ok about the cows!

And so the tractor is dead!!  Its only a ride on lawn mower really.  Designed to cut an acre or two, on Sundays, in the summer.  Ours has pulled a heavy muck trailer daily, every day for years.  We have struggled with starting it this Winter.  It had a new battery and starter motor.  But still it objected in the morning.  Finally the other day it went clatter clatter, and stopped.  Jo and I thought the fan had broken....Its happened a few times.  So Mark the Mechanic was summoned to replace the fan,  which he did.  It still wouldn't start.  He replaced the plug, cleaned the carb, and ascertained that there was fuel and spark.  He didn't think it had any compression, but not being a lawn mower expert, gave up.  We sent it to the local Farm/Tractor/Mower place.  I had a bad feeling that it was the rings that had made the clattering noise.  I used to have a dodgy motorbike, that broke its piston rings 5 times, and it sounded the same. But what do I know?  I'm just a girl (well a female...hardly a girl these day).  Turns out I was right.  So the Tractor is dead. 

Wild Wind and Weird Worms!

Yep, and first to the weather report, which is not news as its already happened!!!  Its been Wild and Windy.  First we had Storm Freya, now its Storm Gareth.....although if there was a gap between them I missed it! It was so strong yesterday it moved the tractor!!  

Bad Hair Day for Charlie!









And now onto the more interesting subject.....Weird Worms!  So on Sunday Jo found some worms in Daisys droppings.  We don't have worms. We poo pick daily, and the only time we have ever had worms is when Molly first arrived. I wasn't there, so Jo saved 3 for me to look at (like you do haha).  My first thought was Earth Worms......Except they weren't red. And all 3 were a bit different.

With all our years experience Jo and I have seen most horse worms....but not these! Ask Google. The nearest image comparison was Round Worms....except they are normally only found in youngsters, and at 19 Daisy is hardly young!!

In the interest of science, we collected some Earth Worms from the muck heap. I wondered if Earth Worms went white when they died. So I popped them into a jar of water....mostly to stop them wriggling away, but also to see if they drowned and therefore lost their colour.  You know if you chop a worm in half you just end up with 2 worms?  Well they can also live in water! They must be a form of zombie!

So we put them with the dead worms from Daisys droppings and quickly photographed them, before they started eating them. Just in case you are slightly interested, we them released them into the wild, totally un-harmed! 

Still baffled we phoned the Vets, who asked us to email the pics through.  Result? A bunch of equally baffled vets! The older Vets asked the younger Vets, who may still have some memory of Uni and an encyclopedic memory of Worms. No-one knew what they were, and we all came to the conclusion that they were indeed some Mutant Albino strain of Earth Worm! As it was raining, they had moved up into the droppings, but as at this point they were mutant zombie worms, they did not scuttle back down a hole the minute the droppings were moved.  Why only Daisys Droppings?  Answers on a postcard please!  I think its because she has EMS, and therefore more insulin in her droppings, but the Vet suggested it was just because they were bigger, therefore warmer. 
Luckily for you dear Reader, I have already deleted the pics from my phone!!!

Remember I entered an On-Line Horse Show last month?  I didn't realise they existed, but the Top Barn Challenge has enlightened me.  So I entered a pic of Charlie in The Muckiest Pony class.  To my delight he came 2nd out of about 20 entries, and I am absurdly proud of his first rosette!!!

Sadly the Top Barn 12 Week Challenge is coming to an end.  We are now on Week 10.  Its been a brilliantly inspiring group, with the most encouraging group of horsey people I have ever come across.  People have faced their fears head on, and worked in some appalling weather, to get their hours in. No one on the group will ever say again, "Its too cold, wet, dark, muddy, windy, snowy" etc.  So in the spirit of the Challenge, I ignored Storm Gareth with his 50mph winds and worked Charlie with a hoop yesterday (well ok....its a piece of hose-pipe taped up).  We had a blast!!  Storm? Pffff!!

This may or may not be a link to the video!!!!
https://youtu.be/OfJDvlz2aN0