The Troublesome Twosome!!

A year ago today we brought Betty and Barbara home. As I mentioned in a an earlier post we adopted them from an RSPCA rescue centre. We decided to adopt rather than private purchase as we really wanted to give something a second chance whilst donating to a charity at the same time. Our initial plan was to adopt one Shetland as a companion for Star and Fella when one of them was absent from the field. Both of them have a bit of an unhealthy attachment issue in that if either leaves the field for a ride alone, the other gets more than a tad upset. When I say more than a tad upset, I mean has a full on meltdown!!!! We initially had our eye on a standard black Shetland pony called Olly who was lovely. We did not end up adopting Olly as the purchase of the field did not complete on time so he ended up going to a lovely home down south instead. This also gave us time to rethink our decision of getting one companion as if both Star and Fella were out of the field then the one companion would be left alone, hence we decided to adopt two companions.
If I am honest I don't think Miniature Shetlands were Helen's first choice of companion pony but bless her like a trooper she went along with the search! Once the field had completed we went along to the rescue centre to have a look at some potential companions. If I am honest being only 5'1 myself I had always had a soft spot for Shetland ponies. I just loved how small and naughty they were!!! At the centre we had a choice of B and B or a mother and daughter pair. It was a really hard choice as both sets of ponies were absolutely gorgeous and so damn cute!!!! We took our friend Alex with us to help us decide and she made a really good point that as the other two were so confident in comparison to B and B they would probably find homes quicker. This really helped use to decide on choosing B  and B. We also chose them because of their backstory as well as the stories from the centre staff about the girls-one of them being that fact they were escaping each night into the boys field next door then putting themselves back into their field on a morning once they saw the staff arriving for work. We should have known then we were going to have trouble with keeping these two confined to a paddock!!!!

Above are pictures of the girls the day we went to view them.
Before we were allowed to adopt the girls an adoption worker had to come and check out the field, check the condition of Star and Fella, plus we were both interviewed and tested on our equine knowledge. We then had a 6 month check up visit followed by a later final visit when they were officially signed over to us.

Above is a picture of the girls the day we brought them home. As you can imagine they didn't end up staying in their assigned paddock for long! A couple of days after they arrived I remember getting a phone call from Helen at work to inform me Barbara had escaped and she had been trying to catch her for over an hour!!! The prospect of catching an 8h miniature pony in a 3 and a 1/2 acre is a little bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This became a repeated scenario over the coming weeks that became worse once Betty learned how to escape too!!!! It seemed an electric fence was no match for two miniature Shetlands! In the end we gave up and put them in the same paddock with Star and Fella to make our herd of four as shown in the picture below.

B and B originally came to us as Misty and Tilly. The staff at the shelter had named them as they came nameless from the place they had been rescued from. Those names just did not feel right so Helen let me go ahead and rename them!!! She really is a trooper!!! Barbara and Betty I feel just fit the girls so much more adequately. 

B and B have certainly brightened up our lives and have provided extra company for Star and Fella. We are never short of stories to tell about their misbehaving and antics. Most recently we had the vet booked to give them their injections. We had already spent over an hour trying to catch Barbara to no avail, even the vet joined in when he arrived. So picture the scenario myself, Helen and Nick our vet- an ex army major I might add running around with a lunge line trying to catch an 8h pudding on legs!!! After a rope burn and an 'a over t' fall for one of us we respectfully retired and rescheduled the appointment with Nick. Sure enough the moment Nick's car drove away the little madam came over onto the yard!!!!!

It has been a slow process gaining the girls trust after the abuse they have had from their previous owner. Betty is certainly the more outgoing of the two, you literally can't get rid of her now, she is like a shadow! We are hopeful she will become a great little lead rein pony for our friends' and families children and eventually our own to ride. Barbara is taking longer to fully tame however. Although catching her is getting easier we still have a way to go with her. We would love to eventually get the girls out into the community to perhaps do some 'pets as therapy' work with them. 

Our greatest achievement to date with them was taking them to an in hand show over the summer. Betty embraced it but Barbara was less enthused!!!

Overall it has been a great year with B and B and we are very grateful to the RSPCA for rescuing them and allowing us to adopt them. The work that they do with all animals is outstanding and long may it continue as without them who knows what would have happened to our two little devils!!!!