The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Horses, ponies, donkeys & mules => Topic started by: loosey on March 21, 2011, 02:34:33 pm
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Hope came home on Saturday lunch time. She was terrified ... all of her friends had left at 6am and she had been left knee deep in cow slurry, on her own for about 4 hours. We then arrived, herded her into a trailer, drove her 2 hours and put her in a new stable ... all a lot to take in!
A couple hours ofter she had gone in
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/200212_10150216838089128_654469127_9188438_5402182_n.jpg)
Yesterday I opened up the yard for her ... it's not very big but I wanted her to get out in the sun and think walking on the paving can only be better than a deep straw bed for her feet, which currently look like this...
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/197463_10150217686969128_654469127_9198263_1544848_n.jpg)
Huge problem getting her to drink from a bucket ... she hadn't drunk for almost 48 hours. I gave her lots of soaked grass but she wouldn't touch soaked hay. I piled loads of grass into a bucket in the end and when she found the water she went mad for it! I had to keep moving my feet to get the poor thing to stop drinking too much!
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/189544_10150217685689128_654469127_9198251_880254_n.jpg)
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/199626_10150217685949128_654469127_9198253_8266277_n.jpg)
Hooray!!!
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/199402_10150217686384128_654469127_9198256_6957557_n.jpg)
Her eating has more than doubled now she know's that buckets hold water!
The closest she's been to us
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/199223_10150217685349128_654469127_9198250_5760487_n.jpg)
She likes standing up here (up a step) as it makes her a bit taller!
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/200185_10150217684439128_654469127_9198236_2065376_n.jpg)
Always hungry
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/190562_10150217683114128_654469127_9198204_5805726_n.jpg)
You can almost start seeing what all of her fluff is hiding in the picture
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/189155_10150217683404128_654469127_9198215_465613_n.jpg)
She's going to have a lovely mane and forelock!
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n317/looseyb-22/198041_10150217682529128_654469127_9198201_1104391_n.jpg)
And that's it! She is shut in her stable every night. I'd like to almost get a bit of a routine with her so that she knows she will be let out every morning and will go to bed every evening. Hoping it might help her to settle a bit quicker. She's very curious which is a good sign and will come fairly close as long as you don't move or look at her. She likes being sung too!:D
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don't worry over her feet too much ive seen much worse. do you know how to trim them. does she have company.
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Bless :)
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Hi Paul. She's never been touched by a human except when the farmer grabbed her by her neck and flung her on the floor last week when she was chipped so feet will be having to wait a few weeks!
She can see the ponies in the field through her window and through the gate in the yard but she's being quarratined at the moment ... she has a little stable mirror which she loves!! :)
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Well done on bringing her home. I 'Hope' all goes well with her, you are looking after her well. It will be lovely to see how she comes on, so keep up posted with her progress.
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She's beautiful. She's landed lucky and I'm sure she's going to have along and happy life with you. You should be proud of what you've done for her already.
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oh she is lovely, what cracking eyes, wish you all the luck in the world with her, :horse: :hshoe: :wave:
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She is gorgeous. What a lucky lucky girl she is to have found a loving home. :)
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she's lovely... all the best for her :)
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She will soon come round to some TLC, what a lovely face, lucky girl to have you. :)
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what a waste to kill off her mum. they would fit well in up here.
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you will find the way to her heart is via her stomach! I think it was a great idea for getting her to drink from a bucket by filling it with grass. She will soon settle into your very sensible in by night out by day routine. Our two Dartmoor rescues came covered in lice, they were impossible to get rid of with louse powder, coats simply too dense, so I used Coopers Spot On for the sheep instead. Not licenced for horses/ponies, but it has done the job with no ill effects and the improvement in their condition was visible so quickly. Good luck, keep us updated :)
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we had to do that with ours after one we bought was not cleared before being sold. we tryed spraying with the proper stuff but like your dartmoor they were wild and did not like it. a lot less stressfull a quick squirt near their mane.
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I am close to tears here reading about your kindness,
I know that she will learn to love you and appreciate all you are doing for her,
how lucky she is to have you, and you to have her,
would love to see some more pictures of her journey into a normal life and how
she starts to develop into a beautiful girl,
keep up the good work
hugs to you all,
Diane :wave:
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what a great story to start my busy day! thank you so much for posting it and all the fab photos - she has a lovely soft eye, so i think she'll be fine and settle really quickly
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What a little cutey, well done in rescuing her, cant wait to see pics in a few weeks when she starts to cast hair and put on condition. She looks very sweet and will soon settle in am sure.
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Thanks everyone, what lovely comments!!
I've been sitting with her for half an hour or so at a time in the yard whilst she eats in the sun and I read my book! She's still very jumpy and even jumps when I turn a page but she is getting noticeably better now.
She won't touch apples, carrots, ready grass, cool mix, alfalfa, pears or any kind of mash ... I'm hoping that will change soon, so that I can get some wormer into her. She's eating tons of hay! Last night she got through 2 big slabs of hay, a big handful of haylage (trying to introduce it very clowly in case it's too rich for her) and a bucket of grass which my other half picked for her! Grass is the way, and ... drum roll please ... she took some out of my hand yesterday!!! :love: ;D This morning she took some out of my hand when I went into her stable to let her out too! :)
She's a messy little madam now that her tummy has settled a bit and is obviously having great fun rolling about in her stable. She has found all of the best places to itch in the yard and there's hair EVERYWHERE! ... will have fun disinfecting all of that when she eventually goes out!
The onyl problem is that I can't stop calling her Faith!! ::) :D
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::) well it is a lovely name ::) not that im baised or anything ::)
You will have a fantastic summer with her watching her develop, mentally, emotionally and physically this summer, cant wait to hear about all your adventures, and see the pictures, :horse: :hshoe: :wave:
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What a wonderful thing you have done
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Well, it's day 9 now. We've had a couple of setbacks ... she managed to itch a gate off it's hinges and got into the front paddock, where our neigjhbours two ponies decided they would join her and proceeded to back her into a corner and launch a full blown attack whilst she tried to climb a stone wall :o :(
I managed to get her calmly back into her stable and she was almost a bit pleased to see me after her ordeal ... very tired indeed and even lay down with me in her stable! :-[
As of Saturday I have been able to touch her face. She got a bit bolshy for a while and tried biting with ears back but the lift of one finger and an "AH" soon stops her ... she's gaining in confidence daily and I can see her being a right madam soon enough! She has been introduced to mucking out tools, the wheelbarrow and sweeping this weekend (all by hand previously) and tried a bit of sugar beet (not too fussed).
I still need to find something she will eat so I can get her wormer into her but she's not interested in anything! ::)
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Probably best not to feel sorry for her and treat her with kid gloves - YOU know she's had a bad start and a lucky escape, she doesn't and you don't want her turning into a we madam. What's funny at six months generally isn't funny at 2 years :)
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I agree. you don't wan't a bossy horse.
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Today I've been teaching her that she comes to me for food on my terms, making her back up and stop pulling faces before she comes back for more. She will acceot my hand on her face more readily now without the face pulling so hopefully we're gettin there! ;D
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Sounds like you're making great progress!
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All sounds good :)
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she a lucky pony, 5 day panacur guard when fit enough :)