I arrived at the yard today to find one of my field buddies in a bit of a tiz. She had been to get her horse in and found him, together with Santana, in the far corner of the field knee deep in a pile of discarded half rotten potatoes. This wasn't the main problem though. There were several piles of dumped potatoes and earth but mixed in with this was a whole load of general rubbish, including broken pallets, wooden boxes, plastic boxes, glass bottles, cans, bricks and lumps of concrete. !!!
What the hell!?!
It seems the farmer has used our field as a dumping ground for all his old rubbish. We fenced off some of the piles with some electric tape and scoured the other piles for potential danger and came back with armfuls of lumps of wood with rusty old nails sticking out of them. Needless to say we were less than happy.
The farmer was nowhere to be found this evening so all we could do was tell his wife of our displeasure. Fortunately she agreed with us and said she would let him know, but something will have to be done. We can't leave that lot out there. What on earth was he thinking!?!
Thursday, 20 October 2011
The Rugs are On
So we went to the yard the other evening. Okay, so its starting to get a bit chilly, a hint of frost in the air in the early mornings, etc. but no matter - I have a hardy Section D, a butch cobby type who could cope with a bit of cold weather. My friend on the other side of the barn asks me, "When are you going to rug Santana then?" "Not yet" I say confidently, "It'll have to get colder than this for me to get the rug out. "
A little later on another barn friend arrives. Its dark by this time and getting really quite cold. She says, "Have you heard the weather forecast tonight? They say it's going to pour down with rain and freeze!"
I had a complete fit of conscience and out came the lightweight Weatherbeeta to keep poor Santana dry! My resolve didn't last very long did it?!
There was method in my madness though - the reason I didn't want to rug up too early was because last year I had to de-rug him in November because he started walking straight through the electric fence. Consequently he was out in minus 10 degrees c completely naked. I wanted him to grow some coat of his own in case he did the same again this year. Oh well, lets hope he has enough space in his field this year to stay put.
A little later on another barn friend arrives. Its dark by this time and getting really quite cold. She says, "Have you heard the weather forecast tonight? They say it's going to pour down with rain and freeze!"
I had a complete fit of conscience and out came the lightweight Weatherbeeta to keep poor Santana dry! My resolve didn't last very long did it?!
There was method in my madness though - the reason I didn't want to rug up too early was because last year I had to de-rug him in November because he started walking straight through the electric fence. Consequently he was out in minus 10 degrees c completely naked. I wanted him to grow some coat of his own in case he did the same again this year. Oh well, lets hope he has enough space in his field this year to stay put.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Hogged!
For some time now everyone has said I should hog Santana but, although I always knew it would suit him, I was resisting because I need those few strands of mane that he hasn't rubbed off to haul myself up into the saddle. Well, the time finally came when what was left of his mane was looking so rough it just had to come off. He was a good boy with the clippers, bearing in mind he'd never been near clippers in his life before, but the twitch had to come out eventually. The bit between his ears had to be done with scissors.
Although I say it myself, he looks stunning! Where did this handsome chap come from? I see now I should have done it ages ago! I now need to have a rummage in my 'random stuff' box to find an old stirrup leather or something to use as a neck strap. In the meantime I'm using my cliprope tied round his neck - very fetching!
On another note I have ridden around the farm on my own a few more times recently and today was a landmark day. I went for a longer ride round the farm on my own past the massive scary hosereel, past the stupid baby pheasants that wait until you almost tread on them before flapping out from under your nose shrieking like banshees, past the REALLY scary stopcock on the waterpipe, and past the loudly rustling sweetcorn. We got to the stubble field and were feeling confident enough for a little trot along the edge, we turned to the left up the hill and pushed on into canter. Oh yes, we cantered. How lovely! We got to the top of the hill and we were on top of the world! A leisurely walk back to the yard and our day is complete.
Although I say it myself, he looks stunning! Where did this handsome chap come from? I see now I should have done it ages ago! I now need to have a rummage in my 'random stuff' box to find an old stirrup leather or something to use as a neck strap. In the meantime I'm using my cliprope tied round his neck - very fetching!
On another note I have ridden around the farm on my own a few more times recently and today was a landmark day. I went for a longer ride round the farm on my own past the massive scary hosereel, past the stupid baby pheasants that wait until you almost tread on them before flapping out from under your nose shrieking like banshees, past the REALLY scary stopcock on the waterpipe, and past the loudly rustling sweetcorn. We got to the stubble field and were feeling confident enough for a little trot along the edge, we turned to the left up the hill and pushed on into canter. Oh yes, we cantered. How lovely! We got to the top of the hill and we were on top of the world! A leisurely walk back to the yard and our day is complete.
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