Home turf

We got back from Kenya just two days ago and I have a mountain of photographs to go through. In Hook and in Fritham, the horses, ponies, donkeys and mule have been cared for by Sue and Nathalie and the team of Lookers for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

The horses have all been fine and fed, but the poor carers have been chipping through 4" of ice on the troughs, and bringing in water to refill them. I think my days of going away in the winter are numbered, lest I kill all my friends. 

We called in on the ponies in the dark and wet on our way back from Heathrow. They're all looking really well and have plenty of shelter. 

Bonus Post

 

Tom, the Reserves Manager, was beating the bounds yesterday and clearly taking pictures for the ponies' next album cover. I'm not sure what is going to be called yet. 

Jack Frost

 

It's very easy for people to instil doubts into your head about the way your horses and ponies are being kept. "I hope you have got rugs on them," or "They must be tucked up in bed at this time of year?" To be honest some people would rug a polar bear but it did make me take a good look at my set today. Are they keeping enough weight on? Do they look cold? 

Nelly looks very comfortable and we have to remember that their teeth and their hooves don't feel the cold like ours (feet that is). Their coats fluff up to create an extra layer of warmth just like we wear layers in the winter. 

They have the option of moving about all of the time and there is plenty of shelter on the Reserve in this case, and the barn in the case of the horses and the long-ears.

They all look picture-postcard beautiful against the frosty scenery. 

The short grass is sheltered too and still providing some nutrition while the long grasses and shrubs provide fibre. 

Pie is the colour of slush but still cleaner than usual. 

Together they form an autumnal group in a wintery background. 

Over at Fritham the long legs and long ears have been kept amused by an orienteering competition which was taking place in one of the nearby car parks. 

This is the last time I will see the Hook ponies before I come back from holiday. Thank goodness for The Grazing Team and all of the Lookers who will be keeping an eye on them while I am away. One last day seeing the horses and donkeys tomorrow and then Sue takes over. 

Heading in the Right Direction

Ruth is continuing to make small but significant progress with Prince and sometimes in unexpected directions. Lately, whenever the other horse and ponies have been taken out of his field, staff at the school where he lives, have let him out onto the trackway which leads up to the yard so that he doesn't have to be alone. On this particular day, he followed them all the way up to the covered yard where the farrier was attending to some ponies and had four dogs loose and running around.

Despite these noisy activities, Prince was happy to stand close by, munching on the hay and minding his own business. 

Best of all, when it came time for him to go back, he followed another pony, and Ruth with her clickered treats, all the way back to the field some distance away and only hesitated a little to go through the gateway. I'm wondering if he can be persuaded with a hard feed to enter one of the pen-like stables which are under cover with the door left open at first until he gains confidence and then see where Ruth can go from there. 

 

New Wellies

Agent M found the ponies yesterday and they are all looking suitably round. During heavy frosts they have access to more food than most field kept horses as they can browse at a higher level. 

Good Ponies

Yesterday two of the cattle at the reserve got out by the tennis court and managed to trash the square in the middle of the cricket pitch. Having seen the loving care and attention that is paid to the sports field, I can imagine that the green keeper was seeing red. Thank goodness the ponies hadn't joined in. 

This sports field is one of over 500 King George V playing fields across the country set aside in memory of King George V and protected forever with Fields in Trust.The playing fields at Hook are home to both cricket and football. If you want to find your nearest one, look up: King George V playing fields

Haven't got the Foggiest

 

The lookers had struggled to find my ponies for various reasons last week - the fog being one of them! Fortunately, it was much brighter today so David, Agent M, and I had a very good morning bringing the ponies in and trimming Jack and Blue's hooves. 

It was as if the ponies knew we were coming, and they were not far from the top gate.

Those that know Jack will know that it is not only a minor miracle for him to have his hooves trimmed but now to do it completely loose. The haylage helped and the fact that David can cope with the weight of a pony leaning forward to reach it. 

He tends not to use a hoof stand for the semi-feral ponies, instead balancing their back hooves just a few inches off the ground so that they don't feel so worried about it. 

The cattle at the reserve were all safe and well...

And we teamed up with Agent M at the end of the day to pick up the last (I think I say that every time) of the vintage rubbish and put it where it can be collected. 

Walkies

Back to being a non-horsey human for the day. Lovely walk with my friend Marie, and her gorgeous dog, Rose. 

No-one is irreplaceable

By the time we got back from tracking Snippet and her son yesterday, we had two more lined up for attention. 

These two were very happy tidying up.