Our Gang 2018

20180407_094713.jpg April already. March was a washout .today it's due to rain again but managed to get Charlie and Gem out for a walk in hand. Daughter took the opportunity to put Gem in the water hopefully stop her silliness with puddles when out and about. All part of Educating her. ...Charlie showed her what's what he has no issue with it.Tomorrow the boys have farrier. WE are still on winter paddocksuntil land dries up more
 
Mudmonster waiting for farrier okay apart from a small blood pocket nothing to worry about suspect it is from a thorn on soften soles due to weather being as it is. Charlie was trimmed ok other than an old access so exposed. Neither have displayed any lamenss he is quite happy with them
 

Attachments

  • 20180408_134913(0).jpg
    20180408_134913(0).jpg
    522.2 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
bl**dy weather , wet and cold yesterday, today cold and low cloud and damp, Mud is my enemy at the moment ( like nearly everyone else so not on my own). Gem has added time on her Asbo, another fence gate handle broken and another pole, not sure the electric fence is working properly on the girls side either that or she is totally immune to any zap now, suspect the former as Nuts will go under the rope and normally she is so respectful of a live wire. We are going to look to move the boys down at the weekend whatever the weather and move Tess and Gem into what is currently the boys field, will put Nuts in with the boys. I know the fence line on the boys section has a damn strong Zap on it so she is going to get a reminder quite soon even if I have to purposely make sure she touches it.

initially will leave a paddock in between both fields to deter leaning on fences until she has got the idea and a bit more respect for it. otherwise will double line the top section and make her get double strength Zap. She is so food orientated so hopefully once feed is reduced it will help.

In all other respects she is so good, daughter goes into winter field to catch her, she only has to call her name and shes there in lightening speed head down waiting for the head collar to go on, so no catching issues which is a god send, she just craves attention and loves going out - can't wait to get her back into work and out there.

Tess is looking very dishevelled thanks to the weather, conditions and now in moult, hopefully at weekend will start shedding her out, before she gets too itchy and starts destroying fences itching - have enough with Gem the destroyer without her joining in.
 
well the end of April, all off winter grazing now, Charlie back in work yesterday, Gem back in work a couple of weeks now, photos taken before the work started - shedding has been ongoing a couple of weeks, wormed and farrier due next weekend
 
Farrier been, Acorn was a little off for a few days, hard ground:rolleyes: after all that mud he was obviously used to it being soft going. All still shedding, Charlie has rubbed his face so has his face mask on, not impressed but with the use of megatek and the mask coming back nicely. He is back in work and starting to look more like Charlie rather than a random feral!

Tess is looking okay, on the slim side but not unexpected for her age, she has had her annual check and jabs and vet is really pleased with her. Nuts has more hair left on her than the rest of them , she keeps getting a go with the shedding tool but still loads remaining. Gem is back in work, 5 times a week at the moment, riding and lunge work and last week end she had her first ridden canter work introduced, she is such a quick and eager pupil and has taken to it beautifully, we have set up the dressage markers in the schooling area in the field and her education is on in earnest.

they will all get a break this weekend for 2 weeks as daughter goes on holiday, so I have am and pm to do, quite enjoying it again now we have the better weather.

Field management/grass restriction is now underway, the girls will get access to the schooling field whilst daughter is away to eat that down whilst its not been used, the boys have an an area growing up which they have been on already so will get access to that on a night and restriction during day.

They have all been wormed so another job off the list, all the Rugs and the haystore at the field need sorting so that's a job for over next couple of weeks.

Its wet today but we have had glorious weather for a couple of weeks and temps due to rise again tomorrow........summer on its way :)
 
almost week 1 of daughters Jamaica holiday over, they have all behaved themselves in her absence , long may it continue, the girls have eaten the schooling paddock down to a manageable level, they are off it today as Rain is due so will go back on it tomorrow.

I have been busy as extra grass means extra poo! I have managed to get the shed at the field tidied and the Rugs bagged ready to go for cleaning, this weekend I hope to get the shelter in the field cleared, hoping to get an area dug out and bark laid to stop some of the mud spots next winter.

going to be nice again after today weather wise so Photo opportunity for May Photos, rather than leave it whilst last day of the month again.
 
Weather is wonderful and taking advantage of it, only thing is the grass is not growing - good for 4 of them , not so good for Tess, she is holding her weight but really could do to be on a bit more grass, we hopefully will get a bit of rain this week which will help. never happy are we.

Farrier on Saturday, boys and Nuts had trims, girls didn't need it, no problems to report.

Charlie is back in schooling work which he needs both mentally and physically, Gem is back in work, had a productive day yesterday, introduced trotting poles into her schooling and she took to it like a pro - it also helps in encouraging her to lift her front feet, she gets a little lazy when she has nothing much to think about, we will keep them on the floor this week and then lift then start lifting them with the Cups to introduce variation, she was treated to a small hack round the village after her Schooling session to both cool down and giver her mind something else to think about, she is doing really well in traffic now and is much more confident in her surroundings, living up to her name.

I am busy with the shedding blade on the shetlands , Nuts still has a fluffy back end and Acorn is just fluffy all over bless him but its not unusual for them still to have some coat at this time.
 
What a horrible few days, loosing Nuts has created a few issues with Tess, the stress has set her COPD off and she has lost some weight, daughter rang today to say she was a little brighter this morning, we are opening the winter field up for her to go in during the day , unfortunately this means Gem is with her (glued to her side and being bossy) and not worked whilst we settle her so weight is going on and she is bolshy with it. We will try working her in the field tomorrow/Sunday and see if Tess is okay with it. In the meantime we are now searching for a little companion for her full time, got a couple of possibilities lined up to see over next couple of weeks but they need to be able to live out 24/7, not worried about age too much or colour , must be a Mare and we are going for another Shetland and no known health issues or history of lammi , have to hope for honest sellers/loaners - we were extremely lucky with Nuts can only hope we are again.
still missing her like crazy its been like a bad dream, keep expecting to go up and see her pop up out of hiding - times a healer.

Not heard from the Crem yet so not sure if it will be next weekend when we bring her home now.

The boys seem unaffected - as long as they can eat then the world is all okay with them.
 
Nuts is home and we are hoping to find a place for her in her favourite paddock as soon as the Ground his hard enough to dig,. RIP Nuts you will never be forgotten.
much Mystie  1.jpg

yesterday we collect our new addition (big boots to fill) not much history but believed to have had at least 2 foals I will be able to get more off SPSPB grassroots hopefully, she came from the breeder to the Sales last year and we bought her from the Lady who got her, she is not very confident and a little scared and due to this we have left the head collar and now working on building up her confidence starting with gaining her trust so she realises being caught is not a bad thing, so far so good, this is exactly the behaviour we had when we originally acquired Nuts and Charlie so been there before - time, patience and sympathetic handling. The girls are intrigued with her, the boys are not near yet as I need the girls to get used to her first as her main job will be companion for Tess, but young and wick enough to give Gem a run for her money if she starts her playing that young lady due to not being able to take out is putting weight on, so sooner she gets into fat club and full work again the better. Myst will not go in the mix until after the farrier in 2 weeks and we need to get her wormed and injection program in place.

looking forwards to having some fun with this little lady. She is approx. 38" but we will measure her later in the week when we weigh her for worming for now some down time to settle after her journey, she loaded straight into the trailer and travelled well and walked really well up the lane to the field, she was trimmed last week and feet look good.
 
Very, very hot, like the rest of you I know. ground is like concrete and not up to too much hard schooling work at the moment , is now an endless job of poo picking and filling up water and the horse flies are now out , seem to like me!
Myst has settled in well, she is coming over now but still reluctant to be caught on first direct approach- nerves bless not nasty, fortunately the head collar is on so once you have her she stands like a dream, but a definite improvement on that front already, she has started following us around and you can see her wanting to take that step for contact, we will get there with her. She has an irritated eye , puffy and weepy so have put the face mask on her , bathed it with cold tea this morning, looks like allergy/sun.- they were baling the hay in the girls winter field yesterday so that won't have helped ,Josh used to suffer with this and face mask used to sort out - no biggy. She seems to have taken a shine to daughter so that helps in her training, daughter can catch within minutes , takes me a little longer.
The rest are okay, just fed up with flies and heat, aren't we all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mystiquemalaika
Have bathed eye again last night and this morning, much better now and she is getting friendlier by the day, she walked up to daughter last night to be caught, still a little unsure of me but only takes a few seconds for me to get her now. She was let through to the strip next to the boys last night , all seems to have gone well. Charlie is preoccupied with the Spanish Gelding that is in the field next door , he takes every opportunity to back up and kick out at him if he comes near the fence
there is hardly any grass now in the summer paddocks, the girls are in the winter paddock during the day, we need rain, no grass growing at all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mystiquemalaika
Havoc wreaked last night thanks is part from Gem being in season and the gelding next door paying more interest that needed , end result was Myst decided she wanted to join in and jumped 2 lots of 3ft fencing to get in the action.
She cleared them with ease little madam. anyway back in where she should be and was still there this morning, daughter said no worse for wear and she went upto daughter twice nudged her and allowed herself to be caught with no bother, her eye is nearly clear now and she is coming out of her shell, trust is building so we are on the right track, this is all in 4 days considering we bought understanding that she was difficult to catch , she just needed attention bless her and to feel safe, which she is , she is going to be a little cracker, we may well try breaking her to ride, if she can jump like that then she can have a second job attached to her companion duties, its a waste at 9 to not use the potential, but we will take it slowly that could be next year we would not rush her. Charlies eyes are puffy this morning think due to the sun and dust, so his fly mask will go on in the morning after a good bathe with Cold Tea.

Tess, Gem and Acorn are fine

going to do 5 day panacur worming starting tomorrow for all of them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mystiquemalaika
Well we have no grass at all on the summer paddocks now, Tess is going into the winter field during the day, Gem is only getting a few days in there as she has put on excess weight so slimmers paddock for her most of the week on her own and with TEss on a night, Tess can get to all ponies over fence during the day so she is coping so far, Farrier this weekend then we will look to putting Myst in with her, but due to the amount of grass in the winter field which Tess needs to maintain weight due to her condition and age we will have to bring her out half a day otherwise she will put too much weight on, just wish it would bloody well rain at some point to kick start the grass. We are down to our last 2 bales of hay and this is needed to feed Charlie as he needs to pop a bit of weight on, they all get a maintenance feed morning and night so its not like they have nothing, a bit of hay thrown into the Shetlands - Acorn and Myst are together at moment- every other day to maintain their weight.

Weighed them all at the weekend with a view to starting their 5 day worming course.

Tess 375 kg - good maintenance weight
Gem 415kg - over weight - now in slimming world and upping the exercise, loss of Nuts has meant disruption to her normal routine and this is the result.
Acorn 151kg - spot on
Charlie - 230kg under ideal weight of 250kg so managing this
Myst 175kg - would like her around 165-170kg so not too bad at all

WE go by weigh tape and eye for weight recording so not necessarily what it would be on the weighbridge but enough for us feel no health compromised. we try to maintain all year round not letting them get fat in summer and work it off in winter we have too much Winter grass for that to work for us, although the boys winter paddock is slowly been eaten off by Tess not that shes complaining, badly need the rain to kick start the summer paddocks and freshen the winter field.

Hay had all been cut now off the winter field.

Myst's eye is much better now, cleaning it down to every other day, she has decided like most Shetlands that she will be caught if something in it for her, currently a sugar free polo mint does the trick, little madam. but she will come up now and see if you have anything, allows herself to be caught and then gets her treat. another couple of days and she will find she doesn't always get one, hopefully the thought she might will be enough, don't like using treats but in her case a means to an end.
The Head collar is off and she just has her fly mask on to protect her eyes. we are now teaching her that having the head collar on and off is not a big deal and she is getting the hang of it, the fly mask does allow us to hold her whilst this process takes place, she no longer runs in the other direction when you approach her with the head collar and lead rein slung over shoulder, we have only had her a week so the short bursts of attention and training are coming along a treat. Once she will be caught and allow the head collar on with no fuss she can go in the bigger paddock with Tess.

We have found she is not too keen on dogs, which is a bit of bummer as daughter and her fathers dog do come down, good enclosed safe exercise and allows them freedom off the lead, she gave Fraser a nip yesterday, ears flat back chase , broodmare protective mode , Nuts was the same when we first got her but eventually she came good and tolerated him so we are taking it slowly and safely to try and achieve the same with Myst. Evidently she is not good with her feet done, so we are picking them up daily, getting there, farrier will be pleased we never get him an easy one, but is he is very good fair but firm and has never not been able to win them round.

These are all little quirks we were mostly made aware of by seller, she was very honest about them, we have sorted them before and quite enjoy seeing them come right, we have found with both of the Shetland ex broodmares we have had they appear to be thrown out , do the business, come in maybe a couple of times a year so get very little one to one so really have never had the handling , I know a lot of breeders who make great store by daily handling and conditioning to situations and applaud them for it, as those stand a better chance of getting good forever homes or can make Child's ponies.. Nuts did after working with her and I am hopeful Myst will, early days, fortunately Myst is a lot younger and hasn't been passed around too much. They can miss out , very often overlooked and certainly misunderstood, they are not nasty just insecure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mystiquemalaika
All okay, little Myst is coming on in leaps and bounds, last night I went to give Acorn a scratch and she came over not to miss out so it was a double scratching session for them both, think she has decided she like it with us........
 
  • Like
Reactions: mystiquemalaika
newrider.com