Equines
Pony weights
Wednesday 24 November, 2010
I "weighed" Smokey and Bugsy today in preparation for worming. My chum, Judy, from whom I bought Bugsy, gave me a formula that is generally more accurate than a weigh tape. You measure the length of the pony from point of shoulder to point of buttock; then measure the girth just behind the elbow, both in cm; multiply girth x girth x length and divide by 11877 to give bodyweight in kg.
Smokey was 546kg and Bugsy 208kg, same as he was when he came here - not bad for the end of summer.
What are these ponies living on?
Thursday 18 November, 2010
I was wondering today what our ponies are living on.
The track is bare; the field is pretty short and they have two hours on the grass each morning and evening; they all get a small feed twice a day when they come off the grass and 3kg of hay between them at night, in the hay boxes.
Smokey and Bugsy aren't rugged, although Sheba is - at 23 she deserves a bit of comfort. None of them are losing condition. Natives must really live on fresh air,although none of them are doing any work.
Grass sickness
Monday 8 November, 2010
When the vet was here on Friday, he slipped into the conversation that Barry is the world eipcentre for equine grass sickness. Hmm, don't rememebr seeing THAT in the Home Report. The story is that horses stationed at Barry Buddon army camp brought it back from the Crimean War. Hey ho.
The vet did go on to say that young horses were more at risk and that feeding long fibre ie hay all year is thought to help prevent it. We feed hay all year because there is so little grass on the track, so fingers crossed that we'll be OK.
Hacking out
Sunday 31 October, 2010
I took Smokey out for a hack today. So what? Well, I lost my nerve riding a while back. Since we moved here, I've started to think about it more and more, without feeling scared. So today, Smokey and I went out with Rbecca and Sheba.
The flags were down, so we went down on to Barry Buddon. We were out for an hour, just walking, but it was a start. Smokey was great, really great. I hope this is a new stage in our relationship.
Paddock Paradise 6
Monday 11 October, 2010
My chum, Claire, sent me a few photographs of Sheepfold on the day we turned out the ponies. It highlighted how much the field has changed. The track is now very bare. However, it's not cutting up too badly yet.
Paddock Paradise from asmallholder on Vimeo.
Smokey the magnificent!
Thursday 16 September, 2010
Smokey and I had an interesting experience with some dogs today. I took him out on longreins along the cycle track, as I did on Tuesday. Now on Tuesday, I met a nice lady who's a dog walker. She explained that she had a Great Dane that wasn't very good with horses and that she used the cycle track regularly. I said if I saw her van, I'd go the other way. I could hear the dog barking in the van as we were talking.
When we set off today, the van was at the end of the track. I could hear the dog barking so I thought I'd just go the way I'd gone before. A few hundred yards along the track, there's a couple of bends. As we went round the second one, we met the Great Dane coming the other way. It was black and the insides of its eyes were red - just as well I wasn't letting my imagination run wild, as it looked like demon dog.
Working pony demo
Wednesday 15 September, 2010
Steve Reid was in today to discuss arrangements for the working pony demo on 25th September. We still have some places left, if anyone else wants to come along.
Smokey and Bugsy are going to be the demo ponies. I took Smokey out yesterday on long reins. He was just great. He was keen, but was listening and his transitions were very good. He also stood well at the level crossing, where we waited for two trains to pass. Bugsy is a novice but he's a smart wee pony, curious and likes people, so I think he'll enjoy learning something new.
Trains
Sunday 29 August, 2010
Rebecca and I took Bugsy and Smokey for a walk yesterday. The flags were up so we couldn't go on to the camp, so we went along the cycle track that runs parallel to the railway. I have to admit, I was on tenterhooks in case a train came - I wasn't sure how Smokey would react and the track is fairly narrow in places, with barbed fence on one side.
We hadn't gone awfully far, when I suggested we turn for home telling Rebecca that I'd rather we saw our first train from the road. "Better hurry", she said, "there's one coming".
Bugsy's first outing
Tuesday 24 August, 2010
Bugsy and I went for a stroll today. It's the first time I've had him out and about - it was an absolute treat. He is such a sweetheart.
We went down Station Road, over the level crossing and on to the cycle path towards the golf course. Two trains went past - he paid no heed; three bikes, no heed; he greeted a couple of dog walkers, exchanged sniffs with the dogs and got a scratch from one of the people, then we went home.
He's interested in everything - especially if he gets to investigate, so I'm quite happy to give him time to do that. Mustn't forget he's only got little legs, though, and doesn't walk as fast as Smokey.
New arrivals 2
Wednesday 18 August, 2010
Our second new arrival yesterday was Sheba, our neighbour's 23 year old Fell mare. We planned to put Sheba in the centre of the track, with the boys on the outside so that they could get used to each other but we decided to just go for it, following a risk assessment i.e. none of them are shod and they all like eating!
After about ten minutes of squealing, bouncing and cantering around, they settled down to much the rose foliags and hips. Bugsy likes Sheba a lot; Smokey is a bit more reserved - I think he sees his short spell as top horse ending.
