Mud and Rain....Merry Xmas!!!!

Well the last month has done nothing but rain...and Rain!!!  We actually have MUD in the fields!!  And we are on top of the only hill in Suffolk and on sand. Ok its only a little mud, I know other people have a lot worse...So I will shut up.
BUT I am fed up with the constant rain!!!  

A couple of weeks ago the Farrier came out to shoe Daisy.  He agreed with the Back-Man that it was OK for me to start riding her gently. And its done nothing but chuck it down since.  Ok I could ride in the rain......but I'm old, they are leisure ponies....And I Hate Getting Wet!!!  I did enough of that in my working life!!  Still there is no hurry.

So we have been on the back burn a little.  Jo has got us a new tipping trailer as the old one was in definite need of retirement!!  So this Winter we have a hard core mini tractor and an all-weather trailer.  The wood-burner is working well and I have a 4WD truck.  Guaranteed not to snow for the next 5 years!!

Lets hope the weather is kinder in January as we start our Top Barn 2020 Challenge.  

And so Happy Xmas.  See you Next Year. x

Horsemanship Summit - Part Two

And so yesterday I spent several more hours watching videos....Just so I can pass the knowledge on to you lot!!  Oh The things I have to do 😊.

Again I scribbled notes.  And now I will try and make sense of them in a quickish summary!!

First up - The Importance of Touch and massaging your horse. This may sound a little Kookie.  But we all use a back person, without question. And if you only have 10 minutes spare after poo-picking, use it to touch your horse!  It will strengthen your bond if you just spend time with your horse without demanding anything of it. Run your hands all over it.  This will teach you what lumps and bumps are normal for your horse. Then if there is a problem you will spot it.  Watch his eyes.  If he blinks excessively at a certain point this may be a hint of trouble. Try a little massage. If you are unsure of this, then just figure out where his 'Sweet Spot' is and give him a scratch.  Most horses enjoy having their withers scratched, but all have different favorite spots. Experiment. If the horse starts pulling faces, lifts his head, mouths or goes parrot-mouthed you have found that spot.  And they will love you for it! Charlie loves having his chest scratched. Dora likes her chin rubbed. Daisy loves a forehead rub, while Lu loves having her ears gently pulled. Lily loves a good scratch behind her ears....and Mini? She just loves being scratched all over.  She loves having her bum scratched with a poo-picking rake. Equally she loves her chest and belly being scratched. I frequently sit down in front of her and do just that. In return she grooms my hair and back. Another day she will want a good forehead rub. She lets you know what she wants!!

There are a few different Bodywork Techniques and they all have their merits. Many years ago when I ran the RDA we were lucky enough to have Linda Tellington-Jones come out to do a demo of her T-Touch technique. She used the RDA ponies and boy were they in for a treat. I have forgotten so much but one thing that I have used many times since was a technique that may or may not have been called Clouded Leopard.  It involves small circles along the neck, just below the mane on the Bladder Meridian Line.  It certainly relaxes the horse!!

So check out Tellington Touch on YouTube.

Another Bodywork Technique that I found fascinating from the Summit was learning about the Bladder Meridian Line.  This is a line that runs from just above the eye, over the poll, down the neck just below the mane, along the groove just below the spine, through the line on the quarters, and down the hind leg, following the grooves between tendons, right down to the coronet band. There are many videos on YouTube. Also check out the Masterson Technique which uses meridian lines and various simple exercises to release tension in your horse and help your bond. 

I then watched a couple of videos on tack fitting with increasing horror!!! 

First up.... saddle fit. I have used many different saddles on many different horses over the years, and think I am a reasonable judge of saddle fit.  But please please use a properly trained saddle fitter. The saddle is an important piece of equipment, and a saddle that is ok, is not perfect.  The saddle also has to fit the rider.  And must NOT place the rider or any pressure behind the 18th vertebrae as this is where the ribs end.

There was a story from an old Cowboy about "Local Tying Up". Long and short, we have all heard of Tying Up (Azoturia), or as it used to be called 'Monday Morning Sickness'. Happened when the horse was worked hard all week, had a day of rest in its stable on Sunday and come Monday Morning its muscles had seized up. Anyways this cowboy had ridden a young mare hard all day, rounding up the cattle, in a saddle that was an Ok fit, but not perfect.  When they got home the large muscle on her back had swelled and seized up.  She had "Local Tying Up". If she hadn't have had to work so hard she would have been ok. However, if her Saddle had been a perfect fit she would have been able to do that work without injury!!

When I had Paddy I finally saved up enough for a decent 2nd hand saddle. I had a saddle fitter out who had a brilliant reputation and had being doing the job for years and years.  He turned up with a van full of saddles, and proceeded to try them on Paddy.  We ended up with 8 possibles. I then had to lunge him. 4 were discarded. I then had to ride in the remaining 4. For a long time. Over an hour and a half! Walk, trot, canter, jump etc. 2 more were discarded.  The saddle fitter was happy. My choice. Then my field mate arrived. Having ascertained that Marie also rode and jumped Paddy sometimes he made her get up and ride over the jumps. He pronounced that only one saddle was good for us both.  It was £50 more than I had......But it was also the one I wanted. A 16in Ideal Working Hunter Saddle. Perfect for a wide, short-coupled Fell Pony with upright shoulders that I liked to jump.  The Saddle Fitter let me off the £50 so that we had the right saddle!!  If you have anything less of a service.....Don't bother!

And now onto Bits. For a long time now I have not used Snaffle Bits with a Nutcracker action, only french links or 'peanut' bits, but having watched this video on bitting I am now questioning the use of bits at all. We have already moved Dora and Mini onto simple Bitless Rope Bridles. And they have both responded really well.  But they are usually on lead-reins. Dare we go Bitless ? I think after watching this we will!!! 

The video showed a simple demo of a cloth rolled up as a tongue, with two fingers the bars.  Then a simple plain old harmless snaffle was laid on the 'tongue'. Oops. just from the weight of the bit the tongue was squashed flat.

Next up a ported straight bar. Ok maybe if your horse has an exceptionally narrow tongue. But they don't. The tongue was squished.  So you hurt your horses tongue just on a loose rein. Then you pull on the mouth.  The bars of the mouth get pinched, the nutcracker action of the good old plain mild snaffle,  then comes up and hits the roof of the mouth.  The horse opens its mouth, tries to put its tongue over the bit, sets it necks...anything to relieve that pressure. So what do you do?  You say the horse is strong. Its naughty. You need stronger brakes. You fit a Flash nose-band or Grakle. That stops it being able to relieve the pain. With no relief the horse may set its neck even more, it will start to panic. It runs off. Adrenalin takes over. The Horse just wants to get away from the pain, and bolts, or bucks.....or both. So what do you do next?  Get a stronger, nastier more painful bit.  How about a Pelham? Or anything with long shanks? Yeah lets put pressure on the Poll too. Force its head down. Or we could chose a thin bit, one with tongue plates, one that hurts the mouth more. 

I am ashamed to say I have used Dutch Gags (Poll Pressure), Pelhams, Rollers (I naively thought the horse couldn't pull coz it couldn't get a grip on the bit, more likely the gaps between the rollers were nipping its tongue), and even a Running Gag (Cheltenham Gag) years ago on my very strong mare.  The thing is, I owned her for 12 years. I knew the more you held her back, the stronger she would get. If anyone else rode her I would advise them to ride on the Buckle. If she got faster I would say "Don't pull, just relax". Why the hell did I not see the connection and ride her in a headcollar????????  My only excuse is  thats how it was then. We didn't know any better.

 But we did....If only we had looked back a hundred years or so. Apparently in the old days, when horses worked for a living, there were Bitsmiths. Skilled men who traveled the country fitting and making custom bits according to each horses mouth and tongue.  When the Horse was sold, the Bit went with him. I can't help feeling since horses have become animals for leisure only we have lost all skill as horse-keepers.  For thousands of years, man used horses for work and transport. One horse had to work all day, and last for many years. It had to pull all goods. It was a taxi. It carried the whole family, it hauled logs, carried other animals (killed for food). It went to War. It delivered Milk, Coal and the post. It pulled the plough and brought in the harvest. It pulled canal boats, and went down mines. And there were no vets, ex-rays, hard feed, rugs. Ordinary people were extraordinary Horsemen, just because they lived and worked with horses all day every day. The horses had long working lives, because they worked! They were muscled up, unafraid, didn't eat sugar and were treated with herbs when they were sick. Sorry I digress. Thats only my opinion...Not the opinion of The Horsemanship Summit.

And so back to the Summit. Bitless Bridles.  As I am interested in going Bitless, I gobbled this up...And had to change a long held belief that Hackamores are severe. English Hackamores have a long shank....so I always assumed this meant they were severe.  But they are milder than any bit.  Yes they put pressure on the poll, jaw and nose.....but not the tongue or bars of the mouth. As Daisy seems to hate a bit, as soon as she is declared fit to ride, I am going to try her in a Hackamore.  And I am now saving up for a leather Sidepull which is the mildest.  Dr Cook Bridles put pressure on the opposing cheek, so not all horses like them. And plain old rope Bosals came in last, purely because a thin piece of rope is more severe than something thicker...although putting a bit of sheepskin over the nose-piece negates that. 

That said, it is important to fit Bitless Bridles correctly.  The noseband MUST sit on the bony part of the horse nose.  If its too low it will sit on the cartilage...and cause pain!

I have to say Daisy has concerned me for a while. She came to us in a bobbly bit and a Grakle. She pulled, she was on the forehand, and would lunge into canter. I have never been a fan of Nosebands, so before long had removed it. I had realised she pulled against the bit, so ride her on the Buckle, pushing from behind. Over the years she has become a lot more balanced and 'under herself'. She stopped bucking (mostly) and tripped a lot less. Sometimes she tanks off. I normally just let her go.....Once she is in front of Lu, she stops. Only once has she outright took off in a gallop with me. We were out alone and I steered her into some trees, which stopped her. She did rear a bit, and canter on the spot, but soon calmed down.  Occasionally she has these moments out on a hack, but I know her so well, I just sit quietly and laugh.  But one day I tried to see her from a strange riders point of view. I figured she may scare them.  So I got her a Dutch Gag with a French Link.  Mild I thought, but with a bit of stopping power if needed.  And yet when ridden by other people who don't trust her enough to leave the reins loose, she still opens her mouth against the bit. Despite the bars of her mouth being hard (through years of pulling), this bit obviously puts too much pressure on her tongue. I will be trying her in a Hackamore!

And thats it for tonight!!

Here is a picture that, in Hindsight I am not very proud of.  It was taken in the early nineties and i am riding Skittles in a Riding Club Horse class, where we had to use a 'plain old snaffle'.  She is pulling, and I am hauling back. Look at her mouth! 😦

Listening To The Horse - Horsemanship Summit

Wow. Brain Spin!!!  I saw a post online the other day inviting people to The Horsemanship Summit.  Two days of videos worth over £1000 for free. They started streaming online today.  Trouble is, you only have 24 hours to watch the vids!!!!  It has some amazing horse trainers on it though, including Mark Raschid, Steve Halfpenny, Ellie Ross, Pat Parelli etc etc.  All trainers that ring a bell with me.  I have just binge watched about 3 hours.....hence the brain spin.  I have sat here nodding and agreeing with stuff.....But they put it so much better than I can. I also scribbled notes.  So here is a summary of what I have seen so far!!!!!

For starters I watched Steve Halfpenny (Lightness Training), experience a few days in Spain learning classical training.  It turns out it is sooo different in many ways.  Did you know they only ever ride one-handed?? Did you know Dressage just means Training? And that training was for war-horses?  Makes Dressage sound less boring huh??  Basically that one hand is used to fix the horses head....not for stopping or steering. It remains still, while the other hand is free to wield a sword or lance.  The steering and stopping is done entirely through shifts in the body-weight. If that hand that is holding the reins moves, the horses get tense.  So learn to ride your horse one-handed, using just your body for control.

Next up was a lovely Irish girl called Elaine Heney, who shows us how to calm an excitable pony.  The pony in question just wanted to go.  Instead of slowing it, or making it stand, she showed how we can use the horses energy, let it go, but control the direction by doing mini serpentines. I have used this sort of thing for a while.  Our Daisy particularly has a mouth of iron, and pulling against her will have no effect, except to make her pull back.  With Daisy I have always relaxed the reins, but put her on small circles.  It is very effective!

I next watched an hour long video on collection.. It all makes sense.  A collected horse puts its weight onto its hind quarters, engages its back muscles, lifts its back and steps under itself. This makes the horse more flexible, light and strong. We have all ridden horses that are on the forehand.  They lean against your hands and drag their back end along behind them.  This does not do the horse any good and will lessen its useful working life.  There was a lot of useful input from a lot of trainers and riders in this video.  Here are the key points.

1: Less is More....This refers to equipment and over-riding.  To become collected the horse needs freedom of movement.  If the Rider is tense for example the horse will be working against this tenseness, and become tense aswell. The rider needs to relax and allow the horse forward.  A lot of riders start by pulling their horses head in.  This does NOT work.  The neck may be bent, but the horse will be hollow and dragging its back end. Allow the horse forward.

Do Not use the reins for control, they are merely there as a form of communication.  Learn to control direction and speed with the seat and legs.

2/ Equipment.... Anything that shuts the horses mouth or applies too much fixed pressure is not helpful.  A flash for instance....So the horse constantly opens its mouth, tries to get its tongue over the bit?  Its showing pain or discomfort.  A Flash or grakle that holds the mouth shut is just treating the symptom, not the cause. Gadgets can also be confusing.  We all know about pressure and release right?  You want to halt, you apply pressure on the reins, the horse feels discomfort in its mouth and stops, you release the pressure as a reward. What if you are using very tight side-reins while lunging??  The horse constantly feels pressure on its mouth, so stops.  The side-reins are still applying pressure!!! How is that teaching the Horse anything??? The Horse is very sensitive. If it shows signs of discomfort, use less tack, Not More!

3/ Learn the Gaits.Yes that may sound simple.  But you need to be aware of the footfalls of each gait.  Learn the sequence and feel it.  You cannot influence a foot that is weight-bearing.  For example you are trotting.  The feet move in pairs diagonally. You need to be rising and sitting on the right diagonal to be in balance with your horse, otherwise when you ask for canter, you won't know which hind is ready to strike off into canter.

4/ The Horse Is an Athlete....So treat is as such.  Horses are designed to move.  In the Wild they move as they graze.  They cover at least 20 miles a day. This way they stay fit, agile and muscled up. Ready for action, should a predator appear. In our modern world the horse has become a leisure pet!  We almost treat them as humans.  Yes we may love them.  That love translates into treating them as pets....and it does them no good.  We tuck them up at night into an enclosed space, alone, heaped in rugs to keep them warm.  We ride them for an hour a day, thinking thats more than enough. It goes against all their wild instincts. Horses in the Wild move all the time. Graze, move, graze. For about 18 - 20 hours a day! Moving, 20 hours a day!!! This is what keeps them fit.  And Sane.  So if you can't give your horse 24/7 turnout, then at least work it every day, for several hours.  Otherwise the horse will have a shortened life and injury because its muscles are weak. Or it will become shut down and depressed. It will give up hope and meekly do as its told, while waiting to die. Some people like this, they think they have a well trained horse.  Really? If you truly love horses, its because you love their wild spirit, so let them be horses and meet them halfway as partners!

Finally I watched a video from Ellie Ross about Positive Reinforcement.  This is something I have been doing for a year and a half with Charlie, and more recently with Lil, Dora and Mini. Having tried several methods with Charlie, I found that Positive Reinforcement works well with him. I use a Clicker to signal a right response, so you may have heard of this method as Clicker Training. Works with Dogs, Dolphins and even Chickens!! Many animal trainers use this method. I have even seen a documentary about someone that Clicker trained a Polar Bear!! So I watched this video with interest and lots of nodding in agreement.  Even though I didn't learn anything as such, I noted down a lot of key points as again the Trainer can explain far better than I can!

1/ The difference between Negative Reinforcement and Positive Reinforcement.  We all know Negative Reinforcement.  You want the horse to move forward. You apply pressure with your legs.  The horse moves forward, you take the pressure off. Positive Reinforcement.. No pressure.  The horse does the right thing, ie moves forward. It gets a reward. It doesn't move forward. No reward.

2/ Food Manners.  This can be taught quickly. First associate a sound with a treat. As I said, I use a Clicker as its consistent. Click, treat. Click, Treat. Once the horse associates the Click with the treat, you can start on food manners. If the horse mugs, nips, jostles you for a treat stand firm.  As soon as it looks away, click and treat. It doesn't take long. That way you will never be mugged for treats!

3/ Scary Objects.  Take for example a puddle. Your horse may refuse to go through a puddle. So you push, kick, stop it leaving the 'scene of danger'.  You may be able to force the horse through the puddle, but it will forever associate the puddle with a bad experience.  What if you try a different way??

Let the horse turn away from the puddle. But bring it round again. Use baby steps.  If the horse looks at the puddle, reward it.  Stay calm, relaxed and do not use force. If it moves one foot forward, or drops its head, reward it. Continue in this manner and the horse will come to realize that the puddle is a good place to be.  It has no pressure to stay there, its free to leave, but if it stays it will get a reward. Now your Horse likes puddles!

Clicker Training can bring huge rewards in your relationship with your horse. Test it out.  Go to the paddock. Does your horse ignore you? Or move off? Or does it come to you, excited to be learning something new?

So thats a quick summary of today's Horsemanship Summary.  I will forward on as much as possible tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is today's photos of Clicker Training the Three Amigos.

As you can see, they haven't quite got the tricks yet, BUT loose in a 2 Acre Paddock with plenty of grass, all three of them are there with me, eager to figure out what they must do to get a sliver of carrot. And they are also figuring out that mugging me doesn't work.

Winter Grazing, Feral Charlie, and Top Barn 2020

First Published 7/11/19

Wow Where has this year gone??  It seems 5 minutes ago since we were barefoot and in shorts.  Now its Waterproof trousers and Winter woolies!! I have looked at the Wood Burner in the Tack Room at least twice recently with the thought of lighting it.

In a matter of weeks, the Ponies have devoured the 'Bowling Green' aka The Future Campsite side of the 4 Acre and have moved onto the rough side. The permanent Winter Grazing. Knee high in standing hay and weeds, which I like to call 'Herbage'.  The Biggies (Charlie, Lu and Daisy) have already bared it enough to stop playing "Spot The Poop".

They had their first Winter hay today. The Mini Herd still have a way to go, despite eating for England. They are all a little fat. Not a bad place to be this time of year.  They all have enough Winter coat and fat to get them through the cold season.  Living in this natural fashion, they will thrive in the Winter months without feeling cold or hungry. Not sure the maids will do do well!!

While Charlie was out on the Hill Field with Lu, he became a little feral again.
Having spent the Summer learning tricks, having me get on him, ride up the drive etc, its now time to work in the Round Pen again. Being part of a trick group, I set out to make a video about static targets (cones), and how the Pony will stand by the cone while he is groomed and tacked up. Charlie had other ideas. See YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVqsTnk2Q-w

So its seems we are back a few steps. Again!  Hey Ho...Watch this space.

The Top Barn Challenge is back!! Charlie and i had a blast last (this) year. The Idea is to accept the challenge to work with your Horse for a certain amount of hours each week in deepest darkest Winter for 12 weeks.  This is designed to motivate during the Dark months. It starts in January 2020. There are Mini Challenges to complete.  There are prizes....but the real prize is self challenge. This year I have entered with both Charlie and Lily (what was I thinking). My personal challenge is to be riding both of them by March.  Jo has entered with Lulu.
Again....Watch this space!!

We also have a challenge this Winter to set up BET. Blossoms Equine Therapy. We aim to provide Equine Therapy for children with Autism and other Learning Difficulties.  While not ready yet, we already have Ellen and Byron, who are helping us. They are both teenagers with High Functioning Autism and we are very grateful for their input.

Byron learning to Long Rein with Daisy

Independent Ponies and Self Tangling Fence Wire

First Published 15 Oct 2019


Despite 10ft of rain this month (this is ever since I told a friend ooop North that we were the driest County in Britain), we have at last finished the Summer Grazing. Lu and Charlie are particularly precious about curling their lips back too far to graze, so tend to leave lots of perfectly good grass behind. In Lu's case she starts to uproot fence posts.  She just wants to protect her perfectly white teeth, that go with her perfect blonde elite Haflinger model girl image. To compliment her Scarlett O'Hara self image, Charlie has become her Rhett Butler, and refuses to eat anything shorter than his mustache. So bending to their every wish we chucked them into the Hill Field.  Full of brand new green growth.
They immediately became fully independent!!  As long as the maids pick up the poo and refill the water, they have NO interest in human contact....and don't care how the Herd is fairing without them!!

Meanwhile we moved the Little Uns in with Daisy to finish off the leftovers.They were thrilled to have lots of space and grass.

But this was never going to last very long.  Daisy's pen has become flooded so she has spent the last couple of days out full time with the Minis and we have been feeding hay.  Time to set up the Winter Grazing in the 4 Acre. The Landlord said we could use the 'Bowling Green' first. This is one half of the 4 Acre, set aside for a future Campsite.

So yesterday I went out into the Wilderness with the tractor, lots of fence posts and a bundle of Self Tangling Wire.  You know the stuff? Looks like perfectly sane fence wire.  If you leave it on the ground, and carefully wind it up, it may behave.  However, we had hand wound it (despite knowing better).  We had also carefully wound up earlier string onto a Hose-reel. Ha! That would be good to use right?

So I put the posts in, and set off with the Hose-reel. Stop. Start. Tangle. Swear. I was getting there......And then, out of no-where I had 2 loose ends  WTF??
Pick one. It was 2in long.  Picked the other. Also 2in long!  No End in sight!!!
So it seems that the fence wire that will tangle itself into knots on its own, can also undo knots while neatly wound up!

Eventually i ran out of the properly wound up string that had made me slightly insane. So I moved on to using this...

Despite the spaghetti look, with a lot of shaking out, it kind of untangled, and I managed to build a three strand (necessary with a Shetland) fence from one end of the field to the other. Today Jo split the field in two, ready for the Outlaw Duo in the Hill Field to rejoin Civilization.  Meanwhile Daisy (who had figured it out), took her little Herd on a mad gallop about. Nothing lame about that one!

Surprisingly they moved fields without any drama and happily settled into munching.  Hopefully the weather is cool enough now, for Daisy to live full time with the Herd on old stalky grass.

Daisy's First Work, Pony Tricks and A Successful Partnership

First Published 6 Oct 2019


So with all the Yuck out of Daisy's hoof, we are now cleaning daily with Hydrogen Peroxide, then plugging the hole with cotton wool covered in good old fashioned Stockholm Tar.  At last we have a sound Daisy.  When turned out with Lu and Charlie, she is galloping up the field bucking with joy. On Friday we started her long journey to fitness, with a 10 minute pole session. Good job the 'poles' are plastic down pipes!! 

We have new friends joining us at the Weekends now. An old friend of mine (Shes NOT old. I have just known her a long time) has been coming up with her teenage daughter, who has very high functioning Autism. Way more intelligent than all of us put together, she has a very special relationship with the ponies already. She has been riding Lu who is NOT a riding school pony, but who has been calm and relaxed under her rider.  And as for Charlie...Wow!  Anyone who has followed the Blog will know he is very precious about his mustache. This lovely teenager has been able to stroke his muzzle and tache without a murmur!

The great thing about Autism is the Black and Whiteness of it all. Logic. A control over the intelligent part of the brain, without interference from the primeval illogical emotional side, that hinders us mere mortals. The ability to 'Be in the Moment'. Horses get this. They live in the moment. There lives are clear cut. They do not ponder the past, or worry about the future. They don't judge their human on what they look like, or stress about the fact that they should be at a certain level in dressage or whatever. The great thing about Autism is seeing it as it is, without the filter of social politeness. Thats why they get animals...and animals get them!

In between Vets, Doctors and some rather astonishing Autumn rain (haha), I have managed to do a little Trick Training with the Three Amigos (Dora, Lil and Mini).  Lil is very interested, Dora curious and Mini?  Well she is Mini!! She knows what I want and when ignored will trundle over, touch the target etc, get the treat and bugger off again.  Or sneak up when my attention is on another pony, and try to steal a treat from my bag! Check out the latest video on You Tube 
https://youtu.be/AmQqEMY1i6E

Daisy in Work

Excitement Over Foot Pus, And a New Dora

First Published 28 Sept 2019

You would not believe how excited people have been over Foot Pus. Yes Foot Pus!!  Pus from Daisy's foot to be precise. The Farrier came out on Wednesday. You may be thinking that the Farrier actually lives in our Barn, but I swear, he does actually see other horses in between ours! He proceeded to pare back Daisy's hoof. We all thought it would take more than one session. But No. He found the hole!!! 
Although not too far from the surface, it goes in a long way, and has a curve in it. As he cut back the sole, we all leaned in, and shouted with joy as a lot of foul smelling pus poured out. You would have thought we had found gold! Daisy gave a sigh of relief as if to say "At last you stupid humans".
Now we can see the problem, we have spent the last few days flushing the hole with Hydrogen Peroxide and poulticing.  Daisy was instantly sound.
As soon as the Yuck stops coming out we can plug the hole with cotton wool soaked in Stockholm Tar and we will be good. In the meantime, her front feet are good....but she looks like a scarecrow from lack of muscle. Once she is fixed we can begin lots of pole-work and long-reining to build her top line up so I can ride.

Meanwhile someone has stolen Dora and replaced her with an identical pony that is all too willing to work! It must have been her teeth!  The last 2 weekends she has been on walk-outs with Nancy, without napping,spooking or biting. She has been an angel!!!  Just goes to show... If the pony is misbehaving check out its not in pain!