New Bloggy Stuff That’s Getting Done

I am going to be making some small changes to my blog and how I run it, and I just wanted to keep you all informed as to what’s going on. So first of all I will be replying in the comments on the relevant post, so to read my reply to you please go to the post you commented on and look for my reply. Next I will be adding all my new followers to my sidebar so that every one that views my blog can hopefully see a bit of yours to. Then I also need to get around to adding a proper header to my blog. That is just about all, I might do some other stuff but I haven’t got anything planned.

The Storms Aftermath

Well it wasn’t going to last was it, not really, sadly a clean horse is only a short lasted sight, and now they are all muddy, here’s Madeline at least she hasn’t got it all in her mane.

Oh and here is Niko looking surprisingly clean.

And then you look at his other side, not so clean he normally rolls on both sides and rubs his face in the mud, so I was quite surprised to see he had only rolled on just the one side, still I am not complaining less work for me.

Pip did a good job keeping him self dirt free, he has a little bit of mud on him but nothing that will take long to get off.

Then we have Murphy, not as muddy as I thought he’d be. You can probably see his feet need a trim we are going to try and have him done at the same time as Tipper, but he has never had his feet done that we know of, so it should be interesting.

Tipper’s nice shiny coat covered in mud and dust, oh well so all in all I have a lot of grooming to do, and I didn’t get any done today, so I will have a whole load of grooming to do tomorrow before I can ride.

Thanks for all your nice comments on my last post.

Sherri, I do love to see them looking shiny, and yes it was the blog you linked me to before, and I have been following it ever since thank you for giving me the link in the first place it has proven to be a very nice blog, I did also see the boots they are very nice makes me want to get some for Murphy, for when I take him out on the roads with me.

Abby, no it isn’t anything to do with your eyesight, you are seeing him clearly, he is the most furry pony EVER! I just can’t seem to make him lose his winter coat every one else’s has nearly all gone Murphy has a bit, but I can’t get Pip’s winter coat out if you have any tips on how to I would be happy to hear them. I much prefer equines in summer coat and I have never seen Pip in his, so I really want to get it out, but he just won’t lose it. Oh and as for Tipper we have had a chat over the phone with the farrier and they are sending someone to try and do Tipper, they know what he’s like and if he gets too stressed they say it’s best just to let the shoe fall off by itself.

Debi, yes I do spend quite some time grooming, but I do like to groom, it’s nice to stand back and see them all clean. Who is the one that gives you trouble with their feet, all your horse seem like such well behaved chaps. I hope the rain helps your grass, our grass has shot up over night with the rain, but it doesn’t last with us having so many equines in such a little paddock.

Mary, I do like Shetlands very sweet, my childhood pet was a big black Labrador he was a nice chap, I didn’t grow up with horses I haven’t even been into them for that long it’s been about two years now since I got into horses. Yes we may have to trim them for the winter, but if I can keep them clean with out doing so I would be much happier.

Ted and Bunny, yes some days I wish they didn’t roll in the mud and the dust, then I could just do all the other stuff like pull their manes and stuff like that. I think I need to sort out Niko’s tail it is so bushy at the top and is starting to look a bit silly.

Kritter Keeper, I don’t think I have seen your ponies before, I hope they were better about having a bath than Murphy I have to lead him around after he has had one to stop him rolling in the dirt.

Sunny Days

We have had two very hot days in a row now, here are some photos of the horses and ponies, here is Murphy having a drink, nice fresh water, he already had water in the paddock, but I guess he prefers a fresh drink.

And here is Niko enjoying the last few bits of haylage with Tipper, he is a little on the thin side but gets fatter every day now with a big feed and the nice new haylage, he is looking nice and shiny too, I just wish it was easier to keep them shiny and clean.

Here is Pip relaxing in the sun, he loves to lie down and soak up the sunshine.

And of course have a cuddle I love lying with the horses and ponies, only on a sunny day, they can be just like dogs. I remember when I was a lot younger we had two huge wolfhounds, well I was small so they looked huge, it was nice lying with them. I did so love those dogs, but anyway enough reminiscing, on with the post.

So here is Madeline falling asleep with food in her mouth, she’s not as shiny as the others because when I took this photo I hadn’t finished grooming her, I did in the end get her looking as shiny as the others, but our camera doesn’t take very good photos in lowlight so I don’t have one of her clean.

Here is Tipper, he is now starting to get over his problem with picking his feet up, the other day I was able to pick up his feet with no help, but now his shoe has come off.

Here’s his shoe, he came over to see us and when I was making a fuss of him I noticed that it had come off, so I went off to hunt for it, as you can see I did find it in the end. We have called the farrier but haven’t been able get a reply yet so we will just have to wait, on the bright side his foot is looking a lot better and the mark is growing out quite well.

And one more of Murphy to let you see his shine, I think he looks the best but he is getting to the point of being fat now so we are going to have to do something about that. All these sunny photos are from yesterday, and today it is pouring down and there is lightning and thunder, still I guess that’s British weather, I will probably be doing a post about today but I wanted to use these sunny photos.

Thank you all so much for the comments on my last post, I am sorry about taking a while to comment on your blogs, but I hadn’t had enough time to blog the last few days.

Mary, Pip is very cute, his furry, also known as feathered, legs are nice but I’ve got to say I don’t look forward to trying to keep them clean in the winter with all that mud, maybe we will have to get him paddock boots.

Sherri, yes he has lovely clean teeth, but he has still got two baby teeth, I am not completely sure but I think that they should have come out by now, so we are just waiting to see if they come out or if we are going to have to get the equine dentist to take them out, they don’t cause him any discomfort so all is well for now.

Abby, yep it is so much better to be able to put them in a stable with no problems, Pip is coming along nicely he is very sweet about most stuff and boxing him was the only real problem so it is nice that he has got used to it now.

Kritter Keeper, they are quite nice, but we have a problem - the doors have dropped and are proving hard to open, this hasn’t happened to all the boxes luckily, so Pip can still enjoy the comfort of a box.

Ted and Bunny, thanks for commenting, and yes Pip sure is a sweetie. Glad to hear that your horse Bruce is now happy to be out.

Tammy, thank you for stopping by, hope you enjoy my blog.

Colt in a Box

I did a post about getting Pip used to being in a box quite some time ago, so now I am going to do a follow up post to show how he’s getting on.

He is very good about going in his box now, no time is wasted he will walk straight in with no problem now, as you can see he is having a nice feed we started giving him a feed in the stable, it has helped a lot.

He still isn’t quite right, he’ll go in to have his feed no problem but isn’t too happy about have to stay after his feed but he is getting used to it now, and boxing him is no longer a problem, we have no intentions of keeping him boxed for any real amount of time but it’s nice to have a well behaved pony.

And here is a photo of him checking out all the neat stuff that comes with a box, like soft and comfy bed, still think he would like the paddock more, he is back out with all the others now enjoying the new haylage.

In other goings on Tipper was great about having his feet picked up today, he almost picked up the first one straightaway, bit less cooperative with the second one, but we got it done pretty quick compared to before, so I am happy him.

Thanks for the comments on my last post.

Sherri, I think you are right, animals are good at telling if something is not quite right for them, especially Murphy I think he likes his job as haylage critic.

Abby, yes we may have to put the ponies in a different piece of the paddock to stop them getting too fat, but for now they are ok so they can munch in peace. And yes the cloud was full of rain, lots and lots of rain, but the weather has been pretty good today.

Mary, hello it’s always nice to see new followers, hope you enjoy reading my blog. Thanks glad you like the photo of the cloud.

Debi, thanks for the tip, they are already having a small feed a day but if they don’t show any improvement we will have to increase their hard feed. Our paddock is anything but laminitis green but we will have to watch the ponies on the haylage Murphy is a very good doer.

Autumn Mist, no there is no wining with a mix of equines, I think we are going to have to start taking Niko to have his food in the stable because he is useless at getting anything to eat when the others are around, oh well.

Murphy's Seal of Approval

We have been having some weight problems recently, as the paddock is way too small for three thoroughbreds and two ponies we don’t have much grass, so obviously we are having to supplement their diet. We are doing this with haylage, but not too long ago the haylage got rained on, now I don’t know but it seemed to take a lot of the goodness out of the haylage and the equines were losing weight, NOT ACCEPTABLE!

So today our trusty supplier has delivered a wonderful new bale of haylage, so fresh, so green, so yummy, or was it?

So here is a close up of the delightful haylage, now that does look good right, but first of all our number one haylage critic had to test it.

And here he is, does it get the seal of approval? Is it the best of the best? I handed Murphy a piece over the fence, but was it good enough?

Well yes of course it was, so it was time to start dishing it out to the expectant equines, it has gone down very well they all love it so I am happy. Murphy can sometimes be a bit odd about haylage and doesn’t like some of it, but not this stuff he has been pigging out with all the others.

So I am hoping to see an improvement in weight, but I can see Murphy getting very fat very quickly, so I will have to watch him, but it won’t hurt any of them to put a bit more on, and with this new yummy haylage I am sure they will be doing just that.

Thank you all very much for your comments on my last post.

Sherri, no it’s not easy seeing them in a mess, but it was good of you to give your chickens some of your back yard, I hope we can get another paddock sorted out before winter that way we won’t have such a mud problem.

Juliette, I wouldn’t worry about them, if they are bad for your horses they won’t eat them, I hear that thistles are even used in some equine care products so I don’t think you have anything to worry about, you could just cut a small amount down and if they eat them go ahead and prepare them some more, I am sure they’ll enjoy something different.

allhorsestuff, its always nice to see horses trying out stuff just so long as it’s good for them, I was just wondering does your mare eat them uncut? Or do you cut some up for her?

Abby, yes I think we will have to discus it all with the farrier and see if he can get it done, he seems like a very patient farrier so it should be ok. Tipper was pretty good about having his front feet picked up today so that was quite encouraging, I hope he is the same tomorrow. Yep they do love them some prickly treats. I would really like to have a grey or maybe white horse one day, but just by looking after Pip I know how much trouble it would be keeping one clean, so you have my sympathies and good luck with keeping Spotty clean.