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!!

https://www.facebook.com/jademonahan.esmt

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.

https://www.facebook.com/jademonahan.esmt

A New Addition, A Pony For Sale and A Massage

So first off let me introduce you to our new addition.  Coco the Miniature Shetland.  

Coco was rescued a year ago by some friends.  She had been starved!  A year on she is looking sooo much better, but was living with big horses and had a Shetlands habit of escaping.  We have always felt Mini would love to have a friend her own size (since losing Sweet Pea) so she has come to stay. Mini is thrilled and they have bonded already.  To facilitate this, we have kept them together, away from the others, in various pens, all over the yard, where they are acting as lawn mowers!! 

That leaves us with 7 ponies again.. And so Dora is now for sale.  We love Dora and she is a character, but she is wasted here.  
If anyone is interested.....Dora is an 11.2hh Welsh Sec A mare.   She is about 12/13 years old (haven't checked passport!!) and a fully registered and passported Sec A.  Again I do not have her papers in front of me, but she comes from a very respected stud in North Wales.  She has cracking paces, and a huge jump.  She is good to box, clip, trim etc and is good with the Farrier.  She has clearly been shown in the past, as is fine when being bathed, having her mane pulled and plaited etc. 
We used her for children's lessons (which we no longer do) and she was fine as a lead rein pony (although does not like being held on a tight lead), and brilliant with older kids who can ride.  She can be nappy, so not really first ridden, but would definitely excel as a Pony Club Pony with a confident rider. She is up to a little weight......I have ridden her with no protest, and I am nearly 9 stone with clothes on!!  I would ride her more often as she is great fun, but my long legs nearly reach the ground!
Dora currently lives out all year round, is barefoot and not rugged. She lives on fresh air and gets fat just looking at grass, but has never had laminitus.   In fact she has never needed the Vet for anything other than her jabs. (Frantically touching wood). 
We have also used her for pony parties, and she loves being fussed over and painted, and makes a great unicorn.  She is bright and has learned a few tricks, such as saying please for a polo and smiling. Dora would love to be owned by a little girl, who would love her, fuss her and do exciting things with her. Price is negotiable as Jo would rather she went to the right home.

Today Daisy had a massage from Jade Monahan, an Equine Massage Therapist. Daisy has always been crooked, and strung out.  I spent a whole summer schooling her to round up a little and push from behind, instead of dragging herself along from the front.  Although her way of going became better, she was never going to be a dressage pony!!  But she has always enjoyed hacking, so that's what we do. Daisy has had a hard time with her EMS as well, and has been lame more than she has been sound.  But with Jo's extensive knowledge of EMS, and the excellent foot care from Vince Buckman, plus our track system, we have managed to keep Daisy sound this Summer.  So we felt she deserved a massage.
Jade immediately noticed her uneven muscle build up, and the weird lumps in her neck. She thinks Daisy may have had a accident in the past which wrenched her neck.  That tallies with soooo many things about Daisy.  A few years ago we were having lessons off a guy, who thought Daisy may have been pulled over at the mounting block.  Daisy has always been nervous when mounted at the Block, and takes off immediately your foot is in the stirrup. She also plunges into canter, will not jump, and prefers to wander along with her head down.  For a long time now i have ridden her on a loose rein.  Any pressure on her mouth results in her tensing and pulling against the bit. So everything Jade discovered makes sense.
Jade worked with Daisy for a long time, in a quiet, calm manner, and heard Daisy when she said "Ouch".  Daisy was enchanted with her new friend, and totally relaxed.  Her bottom lip drooped, her eyes closed and when Jade released the tension she was holding in her muscles, she yawned profusely. 
Jade has just started her business in Equine Massage.  I thoroughly recommend her and we will be using her again.
Jade has a Facebook Page.....Jade Monahan Equine Massage Therapist, and her phone number is 07464 948381.

East Suffolk Ponies - 25 Things To Do With Your Horse On The Ground - #2...