Saturday 18 January 2020

Overdue Update!

So it has certainly been a while since I last posted but a lot has changed since my last post in May. The big news is I have had a baby boy called Charlie! He arrived a month early and has been a shining star in our lives ever since he arrived! I found out I was expecting on the 16th February 2019. I never really knew if I would be a mum, it was just something I was never 100% would happen for me but I thank God everyday for the safe arrival of my little man. One thing both Helen and I always knew however is that if we ever did have children the horses where going nowhere! It was one of the factors of us buying the land as we knew if we did have children it would be far easier to manage looking after the horses on our land on our own terms rather than being on a livery yard.
My pregnancy was not an easy one. I was really ill with morning sickness, had severe heartburn and my bump was absolutely HUGE as I was suffering with polyhydramnios-this is when you carry too much amniotic fluid. Below is a picture of my bump the day my waters broke and I went into labour-as you can see I was HUGE!!!!!

I tried to stay as active as I could with regards to the horses during my pregnancy but I had to stop poo picking once my bump became too big as I just couldn't manage to push the wheel barrow any more. I was very careful when I was handling the horses and I stopped riding the minute I found out I was expecting. It is a personal choice, some people continue to ride perfectly safely throughout their pregnancy but the older Star gets the naughtier she is becoming so I just did not want to risk it. I quickly grew out of my jodhpurs and found it impossible to find maternity jodhpurs so I ended up wearing maternity leggings to the field. Another thing that changed during my pregnancy was how the horses acted towards me. Fella became much more gentle around me and would often sweetly sniff my bump. Star on the other hand didn't want to know me and she became impossible for me to catch! Star had never been bad to catch before this. Other people such as Helen and my partner Neil could catch her with no issue. My vet said it was jealousy. She could smell my pregnancy hormones and was jealous of the baby! Since I have given birth she has become much easier to catch, however at times she reverts back to refusing to be caught. It seems it is a bad habit she has held onto!
The spring and summer months were spent battling laminitis. After Barbara was diagnosed both Fella and Star went down with it. The vet said he had never known so many cases in one year. To combat it we penned the herd into a grazing paddock and had grazing muzzles on them all. It was hard work but it did the trick as they all recovered. Once the Autumn came we released the ponies out of the pen back into the main field, still with their grazing muzzles on to start with. Below is a picture of Star and Fella muzzled in the main field in late September.
Once we were able to remove the muzzles the horses were able to survive on just grazing until December. Even with just grazing the vet still said they were too fat when he came to do Fella's vaccination. We started putting out hay towards Christmas time as the field was starting to look a tad bare. We also started scattering carrots around the field for the horses to forage. We have been very mindful of the fact laminitis will now always be a real threat for our herd so we have been very conscious of their winter diet, hence why we have not given any hard feed this year. Star and Barbara have stayed out without rugs and Fella has only worn one as another way to help them shiver some of those unwanted pounds away! Winter is the time horses are supposed to shed any weight gained over the spring and summer. Hopefully ours will continue to do so nicely until the spring grass makes an appearance. Below is a picture of Barbara post recovery from her laminitis episode. 
At the start of the autumn the herd of horses in the field to our left returned and the herd of cows in the field to the right vacated to spend the winter in the cow shed on their farm. Our herd are always delighted when the herd next door returns as they love to chat and groom over the fence. Below is a picture of Star having some bonding time with one of next door's ponies plus a recent picture of the herd grazing in the main field. 
                                  
Since Charlie has arrived I have had to be much more organised when it comes to the ponies. Helen and I have to strategically plan out who will go and tend to them when depending on her's and Neil's work schedules as if it is my turn to do them on a week day I have to go up before he goes to work and after he returns so he can be at home to look after Charlie. In time when he gets older he will be able to come with me, but right now he is way too small and fragile to be up at the field with his Mummy in the bleak mid winter! I haven't yet got back on Star, but I am definitely going to start riding her again in the next few weeks, weather permitting. I have really missed riding, it has been over a year since I last rode so I will make sure to take it very easy not just for me, but for Star also. Below is a recent picture of the little madam herself!

This month marked the one year anniversary since we lost Betty so I can't end this blog entry without acknowledging our beautiful little lady whom I know is at peace in horse heaven. Below is a picture of her and Barbara when we first got them. It is such a shame we lost her as she would have made a fantastic children's pony for Charlie as she was scared of nothing! Barbara on the other hand is scared of her own shadow and it is a military operation to catch the little madam!











No comments:

Post a Comment

Surviving Lockdown!

In my last blog entry I had talked about getting back on Star in the weeks that followed. Unfortunately that didn't happen due to the lo...