Our Gang 2017

Here we go again - we start the new year with all four still out thanks to the mild and relitively dry weather- they are all doing well - only Charlie has a LW on - the others are au natural - sharp frosts back this morning and freeing already - they are getting a small ammount of haylage in a morning when frozen solid - 4 mornings so far this winter - never had such a low feed bill - and no beding costs yet. Tess is on her meds its not stopped the heaving but shes keeping her weight on and seems happy enough being queen of the field. Field owner has said to let them through to the other half of the field if we need to so we may well let the girls through next weekend - theres plenty of natural forage - don't think we dare put the boys in yet = but they can stay where they are for a whlre yet., normally it would just be the girls on the hill paddock November onwards so its had 2 extra on it for a couple of months so its stood up well.

Back to work tommorrow- at least the nights are getting lighter now could do with the mornings to get lighter a little bit quicker.

Another shoot on Thursday , just waiting for dates for rest of Jan/Feb as if we do split them they will go back together on shoot days as they do better together.

well, a couple of weeks in and all four are still out 24/7 - the boys are now in the usual, boggy sparse winter field now on their own and the girls have moved into the Fresh Grazing, we split a smaller section of it off initially, however Nuts who is very careful round electric fencing has decided that as she has a rug on now ( only went on a couple of days ago due to the really bad wet weather and her arthritis) if she backs up to the one rope that is up and keep backing up and then drops her head down to complete the manoever then shes in the big field and has it all to herself - much to the disgust of Tess, we have the shoot today so I have pinned back the electric gate and let Tess into the big field to join Nuts, who despite being put back in the small area last night was waiting for me in the wrong half this morning., at the weekend I will be putting up a second rope string as the girls will move into the big area fulltime and the boys will be allowed access to the area grazed off a bit.

We had farrier at weekend, both shetlands trimmed, Charlie checked and balanced and Tess didn't need anything - all feet in good condition.

Being out means that there is no sign of Acorns mobility issues , which can only be a good thing - hes had a lightweight on for the first time a couple of days back due to the weather combination, he manages well with Wind, frost, dry and slight damp conditions unrugged but deluge and storms not so good- so I am trying to manage him better this year in a hope to avoid months of lameness for him - so far so good but dare not take my eye off the ball with him.

can't believe how mild it has been , we had snow for 1/2 a day and a few bad frosts but other than that- very strange............

well I have taken Tess's rug off this morning, poor old Girl was sweating under it when I went up this morning - so any weight she had put on she looks to have sweated off, she is now in the new grazing area and she was so pleased to have it off, we will let her have free access and keep her bucket feed up, the rug will only go back on if we think she is struggling - so currently only Charlie has a rug on, daughter is going to check him tonight, the Wuss may well find himself au natural if this unseasonal weather keeps up, wether he likes it or not!

Tess still showing signs of sweating this morning despite having no rug on, she is not herself and has distanced herself from the others, this was our worry for her this winter, she seems to do better in the colder conditions than i the mild muggy which is what we have now - we will monitor her condition over the weekend , its going to be colder overnight tonight possible frost, her rug will go on , we had the shoot on Tuesday and she started showing signs on ~Wednesday night, she may have been running around , over exerted herself and pulled something so we will give her some bute tonight and see if that helps, the sweating area was on one stifle side this morning, not as hot , it was both yesterday morning so if is injury/pain related then the bute should help her, we will giver her a good check over tomorrow , if we feel she needs the vet then we will calll him tomorrow, if the bute does the trick then will monitor her till Monday and make a decision then, we have already had a difficult discussion over what may need to happen moving forwards, if this is not an injury then it may be decision time sooner than expected, we have her 24 years and she owes us nothing but if we are to lose her it is going to be heartbreaking, but the important thing is her welfare and if the long term prognosis is bad we will do what is right for her not us as difficult as that will be.

the others are fine, although quiet, I am sure they know something is wrong.

we are optomistic for Tess, the bute appears to be working, she is much more alert and active, we have given her haylage each day and fresh water - the normal water supply is at the top of the hill and as she has not been moving then we wondered if she was not getting any in combination with the pain then she drank a whole bucket overnight when we put it in and combined with the bute has picked up brilliantly, shes onle having 1 sachet a day but it seems to be enough, she needs to still feel it a little if its an injury as she has to be out 24/7 and don't want her thinking its better and making anything worse, we can't overally restrict her as she stresses so we are where we are - which at the moment is way better than expected, shes having her rug on overnight and off during day when shes moving around.

the boys now have access to the small area during the day providing them with extra forage - but hay being fed if frost down.,Nuts is doing reallywell - neither shetlands have a rug on they don't need one.

we wil monitor Tess but if same tommorrow then No Vet.

Well, I have been ill and off work since 24th January back today - hoping to get back to the Neds this week- daughter has been doing them - all okay she tells me - the girls are in the big field and the boys have moved onto the section the girls where in with access to whats left of the winter field - Tess is holding her own came off the bute after a week and is moving around fine and Acorn being kept on the move is doing great - they are due for their feet this weekend and will be wormed at the same time. To say they have access to about 2 acres each they are looking slim, obviously all the moving around is using up the calories they are putting in. Tess is getting haylage to help keep weight on but otherwise they are managing on what they have , boys are only getting hay if hard frost which is not very often - and Nuts is not interested in anything other than her small bucket and the grass.

we are getting temperature rises this week so a few days expected above the 10 degrees so expect some grass growth but shouldn't be too much of an issue, just need to keep in mind- we have bought no hay this winter other than the 10 bales we got back in summer for Charlie, still have 4 bales left, no extra bedding bought still have 18 bales left that we bought in summer.

the growth spurt on the grass has caused a few issues but managed them so far so good - weigh taped them all at the weekend, Charlie is 15kg under normal weight, Tess is the same - Acorn is 10kg and Nutsi is 20kg over - although looking at them all you wouldn't think so, only Tess shows signs of not holding weight - she is getting Haylage daily to help keep the weight on - although she is moulting like mad now bless her, all now wormed and Acorn and Nuts had feet done - no problems, Charlie and Tess checked - didn't need doing so they will be done next time unless we feel they need doing before.

The fields are just starting to dry out a bit, plenty of mud around.

Charlie was lunged on Sunday and to say how much time off he has had he worked really well - so pleased with him, Acorn had a little in hand work mainly to take a bit of attitude off - not that it worked hes back to normal this morning and pissed off because the small hill paddock is closed off to them during the day, he will just have to get over it.

March already, fields are mud with patches of grass, but we have some dry days now , rugs are off so hopefully things will improve. The summer paddocks are greening over nicely, the wet and sun if it continues means we are going to have plenty of grass so they are going to have to be carefully managed when they get back on it - April/May earliest looking at it, have started fencing it off ready but need to repatriate some fence posts from where the boys currently are so can't finish it just yet. The stables at the yard are pristine as had no use, we still have the bedding bales stocked and still have 3 bales of hay left, we have had to buy no hay or extra bedding this winter, just the equilage for Tess to keep her weight on, saved a fortune which is quite nice.

We have Sun, the fields are drying up nicely and the grass is coming thick and fast, the boys have been locked out of the extra paddock they had and are in the winter field which has very little on it but enough fresh growth coming through to send them scatty - all four are looking well and no problems, they are moulting like mad although as yet no birds coming to get it for their nests so we have fields with patches of ginger, white , brown and black patches and Nuts as usual is rubbing on the fence wires to get hers off quicker than the others.......... looking forward to bringing them back into work (other than Tess who is now fully retired) having had such a good winter we are hopeful we will get some showing in, Emm is already asking when she can ride again, she was due to move up to Tess, so until we have Charlie going then she is going to have to stick with the Shetlands, good job she is still small and lightweight - the boys are looking forward to riding again so the Shetlands are going to busy on weekends, they will hopefully get quite a bit of inhand work/showing as well - so it will be up to me to keep them fit during the week once we start. The Summer paddocks are a lush green colour so once it dries up enough we will put Tess on to top them, she does not hold her weight so well now so we may have to supplement her even in summer we will see how she goes, our main concern is managing her COPD, the meds seem to be working so far but once the others start leaving the fields we are going to have to put her on a long term calmer to take the edge off her stressing as that is a trigger for her.

This weekend we are showing daughters dog so that will take Sunday up, Saturday we have farrier, somewhere in all this I need to clean tack!

Henry did well in his classes, a second ( condition out of 24 ), third, fourth and sixth bless him - hes a bit nervous about been handled by strangers so by the end of 8 classes he's got over that - dog showing is a lot noiser, all that yapping gave me a headache, than Pony showing but as I sat on my backside in the chair all day its not as exhausting

Very sunny and warm at the weekend, poor Tess is moulting like mad and not comfy at all, keep shedding it off but its an endless job. the others not too bad considering. Nuts has now been moved in the boys paddock as her tum was visibly expanding hourly on the ample supply of fresh grass, Tess now has 2 acres to herself , although shes not too happy about being on her own even though she can touch the others over the fence, Nuts is equally not happy at being restricted, the boys at non plus about the whole thing and too busy trying to find something to eat.

We took the opportunity to start Charlie off with the Long Reins, upto now he has been lunged but we need to get him going off in front ready for when we re break him later on - considering he has not had the long reins on before he took it all in his stride, we have had two successful sessions now - first day with the off side rein over his back and daughter at the shoulder , both reins, walk and trot, turns and figure of eights perfect by the end, Sunday o/s rein over his back, but daughter slowly moved back and was driving him on from rear with rein falling over his hind quarters, he is working from behind and moving onto the bit nicely, lovely outline, no bucking or messing around at all and he is much more relaxed than he has ever been, this winter out seems to have done him good and he is at last grown up.

daughter will work him daily, either lunge, long rein or walk out, next week end we will advance him to long rein proper - a couple of weeks and we will hopefully start the re backing process, next weekend it will be Acorn and Nuts turn as well, Acorn has been try to act uninterested in what's going on, sniffing and tipping up the grooming bucket and running off with the lunge rein at the end seemed to be his thing, Acorn does long rein nicely - infact he's much better than on the lunge but having a wilful persona means a battle if he is not in work mode, We are going to try long reining Nuts in an effort to get her going off the lead for the grandchildren this summer, she needs weight loss first so introducing more exercise will help with that.

Seen a little local fun show in June for the Shetlands and Grandchildren so all being well we will get them out and about and have some Fun with no pressure attached.
We may do a couple of higher level shows with Charlie in hand later on in the season, after his travelling issues he has only travelled on his own, so we are going to try and travel him with one of the shetlands that way I can do a couple of classes as well, also gives us the option for Emm to do some extra as well, although would have to be Saturdays as her Sunday mornings are taken up with Gym now, gets more difficult with the children as they grow up and interests expand but she has asked to do some this year so we will see, we also have Devon and Thomas to think about so they may get some on ~Sundays, but it won't be every week and we won't be chasing qualifiers , it too expensive and clicky now at high level - rather spend the time enjoying them at home and a few locals.

Well another weekend over, Charlie is now long reining confidently and driving forward, his outline is good and he is getting better balance each time we try, he is lunged first for 10 minutes on each rein and then long reined this seem to suit him,
he is in a much better place for being out all winter and is enjoying his work, Ears forward other than the usual flicking back to listen to voice. Daughter now has him standing to be tacked and untacked and he understands no movement whilst this is happening, she is leaving him in the middle of the field on his own and then going back to untack, removing the saddle and taking it away and then going back to take rest of tack off and he knows not to move until he is released to do so.
All the inhand work he has had has paid off, he even enjoys his ears being groomed and leans in for it, for what used to be an extreme head shy case is brilliant - finally full trust has dropped in and he has lost the baggage of his poor start.

He is now happily having the long reins thrown over his back and hind quarters and this is being done as part of his training ready him used to have a leg thrown over from either side, he is not bothered at all by this now.
A couple of weeks and we will look to putting body weight on and then reback.

Tess is looking great after daughters hubby gave her an hour long groom on both Sat and Sun - I have done her feathers , very smart now and looking good for a 27 yr old in not too good health.

the Shetlands are being restricted more as the grass comes in, Nuts is dropping the extra now which is good.

Here we go again, after a good winter and getting all ponies through with no issues, Acorn has managed to injure himself , looks like he has had a leg stuck in the electric fencing- evidence in that he broke 4 posts in the process, this was 7 days ago now , he is still out, although movement restricted and been on bute, which is now down to 1/2 a sachet a day and I am putting the muscle rub on once a day, hes much better but the hard rutty ground is not in his favour and slowing recovery but I do not want to put him in as I don't want an onset of him tying up which would mean a couple of months recovery minimum.

Just as he is coming right Charlie is footy this morning and one massive green poo, suspect he has found a patch of previously unavailable fresh growth, possibly overnight as the pond has dried back further, hes looking good, fine in himself so we have restricted him for today- trouble is that paddock is very hard and rutty so not helpful if he has bruised feet at all, but best we could do due to work during the day, we will check him tonight and either fence off a better area near the field shelter for him or if not happy he will go in for the night, farrier at weekend so we will know more then, hopefully he has just had an OD of fresh overnight and restricting will balance him out again, we do not want a return of the lammi - which is our main concern.

We have rain forecast over night , first in weeks, so hopefully we will get enough to soften the ground, seems strange praying for rain when we spent all winter in the wet sick of the stuff.

We are hoping for some clear spells at the weekend to get Nuts going for Emm to ride with Acorn making himself unavailable yet again, we had planned for her to start on Tess this spring but now she is fully retired that is ruled out, If we can get Charlie going then hopefully another year she can move onto him, but she needs to be less of a novice for that.

We make look to see if we can find a loan pony for the summer for all us including Emm to ride, age wouldn't be an issue as a happy safe hack for now is all we need - we have the space and means - we are going to discuss this weekend.

Well the promised rain did not make an appearance, we brought Charlie up to the yard on Saturday and he had 48 hour detox, going out again yesterday, he came in with ouchy feet and a hard crest, he has gone back out full of beans no sign of problems with his feet and a much smaller, softer crest, we put him out during the day on the bark turnout at the yard we put in for him during him lammi last year and soaked his hay - he was not impressed at all and was glad to get back out, the shetlands had eaten off his paddock, so he is out now but getting a soaked net a day to supplement his feeds. we will keep an eye on him and he will get a small amount of grass each day (strip grazing) any sign of problems and it will be back up to the yard.

The farrier let us down this weekend, so Acorn is stuggling with his feet, they gather up the mud and end up packed which puts him off balance, we got some rain towards the end of the weekend so that didn't help him!

Emm came on Saturday and we managed to get Nuts going off the lead, she is clueless bless her and has no idea what Emm is asking of her but despite her age she learns very quickly and she can turn on a sixpence when it suits, but unlike Acorn she goes with the flow and is not looking to dump her rider at every available moment in the field, as ~Feet not done we have not take her out on the road but that is in the plan once sorted.

Tess is Tess, losing her vast coat daily - still has more on her than the others combined despite losing enough coat to stuff a three piece suite.

She is starting to look a bit ribby again so have upped her bucket feed, she has access to plenty of grass, but her age is playing its part, she is due for her injections soon , so we will have her teeth checked at the same time just to make sure she is comfortable and they are not playing a part in the weight gain issues. Her breathing is managed although she does still heave slightly - we have her on a calming supplement to aid with her stress - but other than that she is happy enough in the field, so another winter over, summer to look forward to , next winter is on our minds for her but if we can continue to manage her COPD and sort her weight then we are hopeful she will see 28.

Well Farrier came last night, Acorn, Charlie and Nuts all had trim, no sign of bruising or lammi thank God! Acorn a bit stilty in movement suspect due to rebalance and still some effect of injury - but all okay this morning otherwise.

looking forwards to the weekend now, hopefully get Nuts out on the roads now, Charlie starts work again tomorrow morning, so all back on track!

what a lovely suuny weekend - we have had 2 very sucessful long reining sessions with Charlie, he is doing poles anf figutres of 8 in both walk and trot anf in full bit contact - we are confident enough to start the rebacking with him next weekend- weather permitting- youngest daughter and grandchildren came today = have them tomrrow due to teacher training day = took Nuts out with thomas on lead rein and then Emm road her back - we kept to walk as it was Nuts first time off the lead on the road (second time off lead in her life ridden) she has taken to it like a youngster - she is 23 (I thought she was 20 god knows how I lost 3 yrs)
she is very spritley and forward going - she is still very novice and hasn't a clue what she is doing half the time but is very quick to learn despite her age- she only gets used occasionaly mostly in summer so I have no worries about over doing it with her, although if today is anything to go by she may have other ideas

another long weekend and making the most of it, Saturday saw the winter field closed and mucked out and more fencing up in summer paddocks as they green up.
Charlie long reigned with tack onhe is going really well so ready for next stage,that happened today - weight on back - 2 ciecles of paddock stopping and starting - finished on agood note - ears forward and relaxed - so tommorrow will repeat and all being well daughter will back him proper = a biggy for both of them following the accident 2 years ago resulting in daughter having whiplash and concussion and told not to ride for 6 months - followed by a serious illness and treatment and then Charlie having lammi so I am really hoping for a positive day tomorrow- both in a good place now and its been a long time getting to this point - there might just be a few tears on my part if this happens - 12 months ago we were not sure it ever would.

Well everything was going well we worked him in on long reins wnet through reinforcement for weight on his back, weight in the stirrups , he was relaxed so daughter mounted - action replay of 2 years ago, this time as soon as weight on saddle the only place daughter was going was straigh tface first into the floor this time she looks only to have a badly bruised hand and bruising to face
Charlie was fine afterwards from sheer panic to zero in about 10 seconds - not sure we could have done any more prep work with him options are we send him away to some one who can perhaps sort him out or we resign ourselves to the fact that he is not a ridden pony and continue to enjoy him as an inhand pony and maybe some long reigning discipline as he is really responsive to that.- he can be such a nervous nellie that I think she will decide to remain inhand with him - one thing for certain hes not going anywhere - although with Tess now retired that means she has no riden options - a summer loan maybe an option - we will see

All in all a s*t end to an otherwise good weekend

Well Charlie is working well in hand and on the long rein, his little outburst has not affected him in any way although daughter is still nursing her hand - we have booked for a thermal scan on him next weekend to help rule out pain related, vet had a quick look at him on Friday when he came out to Tess and from his movement and quick go over nothing obvious , he cannot envisage anything skeletal, once we have the scan report we can decide next course of action, saddle fit will be checked as well, although he has no objection to saddle on and works just as well with it on or off on the long rein or lunge.
If everything is okay then we are going to look for someone who can come in and help with the backing as daughter is not too confident on trying it again for a third time, 1. shes not good at bouncing and does not want to risk her own health and her being hesitant may transfer to him 2. she does not want him to get it into his head that to buck means he can get rid of any rider and avoid

In the meantime Tess has had her jabs and a check over , hes quite pleased with her weight , she is to keep on the same meds at the moment but has suggested we get her a nose net for during the day to help, this will also prepare her for if she needs a nebulizer as her condition deteriorates, at the moment she's on minimum meds.

Nuts went for 3 mile walk out yesterday and loved it, she came back as fresh as she went out, not bad for 23.

Nuts and Acorn are on restricted , both nice and trim for shetlands, Acorns injury is much improved , hopefully another week and I can get him back out on the roads to build up.

We are going to look at a 7 yr old Dartmoor Hill pony at the weekend, just being brought back into work, been out of work due to owners illness and is still very green - hes not the one we originally contacted about that one had gone not suprising although the same age had been proffessionaly broken and a novice ride, she was rehoming both of them due to the owners illness, shes not advertised this one and is keen for us to at least look at him as she would like to say that she has managed to find them both a long term home and with him being green he is more likely to be moved around if not in an experienced home to continue his education, Daughter is quite happy to take on a project but wants naturally to try him and get a feel for him and give him a good check over - we are looking to have one that we can use as a family hack, daughter me and eventually grandchildren, hes reportedly 13-2 but doesn't look it on the photos/video but he looks to have good bone and a weight carrier so hopefully he will be what they say when we get there, if not we are not in a rush so will keep looking. We are looking for long term.

Well daughters injured hand is still not fully correct and we have cancelled the viewing for the weekend rather than waste the sellers time, when she is fit again we will contact and see him if he is still available, as he is not the one we originally asked after and is more of project then with already having a Charlie shaped project he may well not be suitable - looking more for a mother, daughter, granddaughter share - a good family pony so will not be rushed into it.

tomorrow is the day of Charlies Scans - he has improved greatly with regards to his nerves but they will be put to the test in the morning with regard to an unknown MAN waving equipment about and if the ladder comes out - mmmmmmmmmmm
he's not normally phased by ladders etc but with what he will regard as unwanted attention things may not go totally to be plan - he has been warned he is a Welsh A with not unexpected welsh characteristics he has to stand for an hour before so he is going to be bored by then, I will leave daughter to it and go up to the field to the others - one less person in the mix.

the ground is rock hard and causing problems for Acorn - praying for some rain to soften it but nothing much forecast for us yet - was expecting some light rain this morning but nothing

Nuts is fine just fed up that she cannot go in the field with more grass!

Queen Tess is coping - shes getting more opinionated the older she gets - she will go for days eating her food and then decide no thanks for a couple or demands you stand and hold her bucket! shes not looking too bad weight wise, she is getting haylage as well as grass every other day - most times she clears it others like her food she turns her nose up. If you groom any of the others then she follows and pushes until she gets one, plays holy hell if one is taken out even though she has 2 left - the list goes on - but we love her to bits and just happy we still have her.