Don't you just love it when the horses practise their emergency drills as soon as you turn them into a new field? They'd tell you it has got to be done!
The feather duster was out again this morning to help with a colt that did not want to be touched. This was a bit of an emergency appointment because his headcollar was becoming too tight and at risk of digging into his face. He was so friendly by the end of the session that he was turned out without one, knowing that he will allow himself to be caught again.
"It was so interesting to watch you working with X & so pleased he responded so quickly. I can't thank you enough." Colt's ownerAt 2.20 p.m. today, I came across this lady feeding carrots to the ponies alongside the road, the B3078, at the Godshill Cricket Pitch. When I pipped my horn at her to say "Don't do that!" and parked my car to go and talk to her, she got into her car and drove off out of the other entrance. She then parked on a drive opposite and emptied a full bag of carrots next to the gateway before driving off. The B3078 is one of the most dangerous roads for animal deaths and casualties on the Forest and this sort of behaviour, driven by a misguided love for the animals, is just the sort of thing that encourages them to hang about at the roadside or cross it. I hope she gets prosecuted by the Verderers for sheer stupidity. The carrots were good enough for Sunday Lunch and if she had waited to see the consequences of her actions she could have had some horsemeat with it.
And somebody has been playing with my new cross-country jumps and doing it all in slow-motion too.
