Darn it!

[Jessey]

Jess is a tiny bit pottery, not her normal unsoundness, just a tiny bit on turns which I know is grass related. 30 minutes a day for 4 days on the new field (in addition to being on the old field overnight) has tipped her over the edge she’s eaten through another muzzle, so I had ordered another but the old one wasn’t as restrictive as it could be.

I’m hoping it’s just a perfect storm and a few days off grass will reset her, but I’ve just opened my last 4ft round bale of hay and there’s no more to be had from my current supplier until the new cut comes.

My plan to get her out on the new field at night with Monkey isn’t going to happen even with a new muzzle. So I think I’m going to have to stop trying to recover the last bit of the new field and create a starvation paddock for her, or just go back to keeping her on the track all summer.

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

they are a nightmare, Fleur and Suze are on a bare paddock, scorched earth, with straw and a haynet twice a day. I measured them at the weekend. No great loss so far.

 

[chunky monkey]

Dam and blast.
Id just keep her on the old field for now. Let Niko have the new stuff.
Or have hour a day on the new and track the rest of the time. That way the middle can rest for a while.

 

[Huggy]

I can't get near Hogan with a muzzle. I've ordered posts and tape to strip graze the field, probably like us, you've got the grass suddenly being crazy rich. I can't cope with going up 3 times a day to move him.

 

[Jessey]

Or have hour a day on the new and track the rest of the time. That way the middle can rest for a while.

That would be the ideal, but I don’t have enough hay for more than 2 weeks like that but the middle desperately needs rest and spraying. So I’ve stuck Niko on a balder bit of the new field and just left Jess on the track for now.
I think I’ll stick Hank out with Niko (gradually) when his new muzzle arrives (due in the next couple of days), and put Dan with Jess, then when she’s feeling better put those 2 muzzled with Hank when I ride and see how we go from there.

 

[Jessey]

I can't get near Hogan with a muzzle. I've ordered posts and tape to strip graze the field, probably like us, you've got the grass suddenly being crazy rich. I can't cope with going up 3 times a day to move him.

It’s taken me 19 years to get Jess to accept one, and so far it’s only 1 type she will tolerate, I tried a shires one on before ordering another dinky and she was mad as a hatter, freaked and refused to eat or move an inch.

 

[Trewsers]

It’s taken me 19 years to get Jess to accept one, and so far it’s only 1 type she will tolerate, I tried a shires one on before ordering another dinky and she was mad as a hatter, freaked and refused to eat or move an inch.

Storm wouldn't tolerate a muzzle back in the day either. It isn't needed now, but oh, how I tried! In the end mr trews and me decided it was stressing her too much - much more than bringing her onto the yard or school instead with soaked hay would. She did get grazing - just not as much. Glad you've found one that Jess can cope with though. It is so difficult at times.

 

[Jessey]

Hanks muzzle arrived this afternoon, so I popped it on and took him next door for 10 minutes when I went to fetch Niko back for the night. Jess looked perfectly fine when she screamed and whizzed around over Hank leaving!

Spending time in the bald bit tonight while Hank grazed, there’s really not much on most of it, and I suspect Monkey will have the couple of long patches dealt with in a couple of days, so hopefully Jess and Dan can go out there in not too long

 

[newforest]

I think the grass growth is weird this year. It's grown but not grown if that makes sense.
She's strip grazed but tends to walk away after a few mouthfuls.

Eta my lack of proof reading.

 

[Jessey]

It has been weird. It wasn’t growing as it was so dry, then it went all guns a blazing and grew about 1/3 more than normal (according to data from companies that monitor things like that) and is now like some crazy atomic fuelled grass we had rain the night before last so no doubt it’s having another flush again now.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

I wish we could get some rain

 

[Jessey]

I wish we could get some rain

It took me by surprise! I didn’t think we’d get any more now for a good while.

 

[Bodshi]

We desperately need rain! Hope Jess is ok. Good job you don't have our neighbour watching your paddocks, she'd probably report you. She more or less told me Raf was thin the other day - he really isn't, I'm on high alert watching for signs of trouble. She also told me how sorry she felt for my horses in winter when they were on their trashed bare paddock (with hay) while the summer paddocks recovered. Sorry, no help to you but I felt the need to vent because I'm annoyed with myself for allowing her to make me feel guilty

 

[Jessey]

We desperately need rain! Hope Jess is ok. Good job you don't have our neighbour watching your paddocks, she'd probably report you. She more or less told me Raf was thin the other day - he really isn't, I'm on high alert watching for signs of trouble. She also told me how sorry she felt for my horses in winter when they were on their trashed bare paddock (with hay) while the summer paddocks recovered. Sorry, no help to you but I felt the need to vent because I'm annoyed with myself for allowing her to make me feel guilty

Haha let her try! Definitely don’t feel guilty!

Jess seems fine, I think I caught it in the nick of time, hopefully she can go back out a bit next week

 

[Huggy]

We desperately need rain! Hope Jess is ok. Good job you don't have our neighbour watching your paddocks, she'd probably report you. She more or less told me Raf was thin the other day - he really isn't, I'm on high alert watching for signs of trouble. She also told me how sorry she felt for my horses in winter when they were on their trashed bare paddock (with hay) while the summer paddocks recovered. Sorry, no help to you but I felt the need to vent because I'm annoyed with myself for allowing her to make me feel guilty

We've got one of those - she patrols the lane and checks everyone's fields and horses. Nosy mare!

 

[newforest]

We've got one of those - she patrols the lane and checks everyone's fields and horses. Nosy mare!

So have we and I invited her in and had a long chat about horses.
She hasn't bothered me since.
Let's face it, I think we all know I can chat.
She wanted d to know about other people and I said I only have eyes for mine and went back on topic

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

the dry conditions really affect Buddy's feet which are chipped to bits despite daily applications of hoof dressing. Farrier coming today so hope he can at least get the worst trimmed and levelled.

 

[newforest]

the dry conditions really affect Buddy's feet which are chipped to bits despite daily applications of hoof dressing. Farrier coming today so hope he can at least get the worst trimmed and levelled.

Mine were the same but farrier said her hooves are really good and not much actually needed to come off.
I am changing her from eight weeks to six as she's had the abscess.

I don't put anything on the outside. I would look to feed from the inside out. The hooves are the last thing to get any nutrients.

 

[newforest]

It has been weird. It wasn’t growing as it was so dry, then it went all guns a blazing and grew about 1/3 more than normal (according to data from companies that monitor things like that) and is now like some crazy atomic fuelled grass we had rain the night before last so no doubt it’s having another flush again now.

I actually think my grass has stopped growing.
I can guage it because I took her off the front strip, not much has come back and what has isn't rich looking.

The ground is off this year as vet said she's dealt with a lot of abscesses, this could just be my area. But in all the years of having the cob this is her first.

 

[Jessey]

It’s just been unusual here to be wet through April, we’re normally bone dry by then so the grass doesn’t grow so much. It’s pretty much back to normal now, which is pretty amazing given how wet it was a month ago.