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 lockdown. Helen and I followed BHS advice and chose not to ride during lockdown in order to help protect the NHS. If one of us fell off and needed an ambulance then it would have meant us using an ambulance and taking up a hospital bed that may have been needed by a COVID 19 patient. Helen and I both have friends and family who work on the front line in the NHS  so it was pretty important to us to do our bit in protecting the NHS as much as we could. That said the choice to ride or not during lockdown was a completely personal choice and there are some owners who would have had no choice but to ride given the impact it would have had on their horses and ponies if they had not. Some horses and ponies need the stimulation and physical exercise of being ridden. Plus I am sure those who chose to ride will have done so as safely as possible. Now the lockdown has been eased a little the BHS advice has changed their advice accordingly, meaning we are now ok to ride. With this in mind if the lockdown continues to ease and infection rates fall we will look to start riding again very soon. I have recently started lunging Star again to try to ease her back into some very light exercise. The first time she was very excited and wouldn't stop!. Below are some pictures of her being lunged for the first time in a very long time!



During the lockdown Helen and I have been taking it in turns to do the ponies-using an every other day system-she does them one day and I do them the next. This has worked well given we are now BOTH mothers!!! Helen gave birth to a gorgeous healthy baby boy shortly before lockdown called Kian!

Since Spring hit during lockdown we have re-introduced the starvation paddock and all three are wearing grazing muzzles-we use them on a alternative basis. Sometimes they might be in the starvation paddock without muzzles on and sometimes they may be in the main field with muzzles on. This system gives them a break from wearing the muzzles to prevent any sores occurring from rubbing as a result of over wearing. It also means they aren't penned in all the time either, as to start with Star and Fella were enjoying just jumping out of the paddock and Barbara was just steamrollering her way through the middle of the fence! Once we added two fence energisers this thankfully stopped! We have started our laminitis prevention early this year to hopefully avoid any of them going down with it. Below are some pictures of the ponies in their starvation paddock and modelling their muzzles!

   

During lockdown we had some very unwelcome visitors in the form of rats!!! Thankfully with the help of Rentokil we have managed to get rid of them. This has meant us having a big clear out of out of the stable we use as our feed and storage room. Some things have had to be binned due to damage from the rats and everything has had to be thoroughly washed and disinfected, including the stable itself. It does mean we now have a lovely, organised and clean storage space as shown in the picture below.

A big downside to the lockdown up at the field has been the amount of people that have illegally fly-tipped their rubbish along the road the field is located on. To date I have had to report six separate cases of fly-tipping on the lay-by opposite our field. Pretty poor behaviour from people. Not only has it meant at times we haven't been able to park up in the lay-by when we go and check on the ponies, but when it has been windy bits of rubbish have been ending up in our field. Not only does flying debris spook the horses, it could also cause them injury. Thankfully the refuse sites are open again here now so hopefully there won't be any more. Below is a picture of the worst load I had to report.

During lockdown we welcomed a new neighbour next door in the form of the gorgeous little foal pictured below with it's mother. 

Our ponies have loved having the herd next door back. They certainly have not been adhering to social distancing with the neighbours that is for sure! Star has fallen in love with one of them much to Fella's disgust, and Barbara has acquired herself her very own crew!!! I will leave you with the pictures below. Hopefully by the time I post the next blog entry Helen and I will have begun getting Star and Fella back into work! 

    

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!

Barbara's Battle of the Bulge!

It's been a while since my last post and in that time we have passed through spring with a few weight worries! Mid April saw Barbara struck down with the early signs of laminitis. We first noticed she was slightly lame in the field so we caught her and gave her the once over. The signs of laminitis were not really visible-she wasn't standing like a laminitic pony would, nor could we find any pulses. We couldn't however see any other obvious signs of lameness either such as an abscess, so we thought it best to call the vet out. Looking back as exemplified in the picture below Barbara had become rather too portly.

As she lives out and hadn't been getting a feed we had not been too worried, but I think with the mix of mild weather and rain the grass has grown a little more quickly than we anticipated and the weight had crept on her rapidly. Once the vet came she was able to diagnose Barbara with the early signs of laminitis. She agreed her symptoms were not overtly visible and the pulses she managed to find were very faint. She explained there had been a really high number of early cases this year due to the weather. We were advised to keep Barabara on box rest for seven days and she was prescribed Bute twice a day to start with, then dropping to once a day. The vet would ring in a few days to check her progress. Luckily the treatment plan worked and Barbara lost weight and improved rapidly. One problem we faced however having her in on box rest was due to her small size she was unable to see over the stable door. We wanted her to be able to see out so she could see Star and Fella and have some fresh air and stimulation so we came up the novel idea of creating a 'pony peephole' if you will. Helen and I set to work upon cutting out a letterbox shaped peephole in her stable door, ensuring it was at her eye level so she could see out. When I say 'we', Helen did the cutting, I merely held the door in place whilst she cut! Our carpentry plan worked a treat as you can see in the picture below. 

Once she was sound again and ready to be turned back out into the field with Star and Fella the vet advised we use a grazing muzzle to ensure we were able to continue with her weight loss and management programme. The grazing muzzle is a great idea as it limits the horse or pony's grass intake, meaning it's a great piece of kit to help assist with and maintain weight loss. For Barbara this means she she is able to live out with Star and Fella and we can manage her weight to ensure she does not get struck down with laminitis again. It wasn't plain sailing with the grazing muzzle to start with however...........Barbara is a very clever little pony, so she soon figured out how to eat with it on. This was great as shown in the picture below. 

What was not so great however, was that she soon learnt how to get it off! We had initially turned her back out into the main field with Star and Fella, but within a few days she had managed to get the muzzle off. Once we caught her we decided to take a different approach, so we created a separate grazing paddock for her using electric fence, as we thought that way if she got the muzzle off again it would be easier for us to catch her to put it back on. This was very wishful thinking on our part as not only did she get the muzzle off,  but she also escaped from the grazing paddock, despite it being electrified with not just one but TWO energizers. Below is photographic evidence of the 'before' and 'after'. This was the third time she escaped..........

Barbara remained at large on this occasion as a wanted field fugitive for a couple of days before we were able to recapture her. She was then put on box rest for a day or so as we were worried about the amount of grass she had been able to consume whilst at large. We then turned her back out into the main field with her muzzle on as we felt after three escapes from the smaller paddock, it just wasn't working! Luckily for us we think Barbara was clever enough to work out that if she kept her grazing muzzle on then she was able to stay in the main field with Star and Fella. To date she is keeping her muzzle on and the weight loss programme is working with her losing over 10 cm at our last weigh tape measuring. The vet and farrier are both happy with her progress as are we, so long may it continue!

Life After Betty

Since we lost Betty the herd has slowly gotten used to her passing. It has been nearly a month since she left us and I can say we are missing her greatly. Although she was a very small pony she had a BIG personality that is definitely missed. We are taking comfort in the fact however she is at peace now and we have her grave to visit in the field whenever we want some time to sit and remember her.
The dynamics of the herd have changed slightly in that Barbara is definitely becoming more confident. She did tend to hide behind Betty a lot, so now she is unable to do that she has had to find her own place in the herd. Just after Betty's death she was alone a lot, she wasn't really ever standing with Star and Fella, but as the days and weeks have passed she has become very much part of the new herd of three; as exemplified in the picture below.

Feeding time is clearly the ponies favourite time, especially Barbara's. As it is winter and there is very little grass left in the field now the ponies get carrots in the morning and a tea consisting of fast fibre, apple chaff and carrots at night, as well as hay. Due to Fella's breed he gets lots of carrots and a huge tea as we have to work to keep weight on him. In contrast we have the opposite problem with Barbara and Star, so they get a couple of carrots and a very small tea each. The morning feeding time ritual goes as follows; Fella gets his carrots first, then Star and then Barbara. They eat their own piles and go back to grazing. Below is a picture of a typical morning feeding time.

At teatime the feeding order is the same as Fella is head of the herd, then Star and then Barbara. Barbara usually finishes first and then stands in wait to try to get to Fella's bucket once he has finished. Star finishes next and goes straight over to her her hay net and starts munching away. Fella then finishes and makes his way over to the feed room where he gets a horse treat called a 'Stud Muffin'. They are a small molasses based treat that look a little bit like a small Christmas pudding. They are his favourite and help to keep his weight up. Whilst he is getting his treat Barbara will make her way over to his near empty feed bucket to see what left overs she can help herself to until I come along and ruin her feasting by collecting the buckets in to be washed; much to her annoyance! Below is a picture of an average teatime feeding. 

I have also tried my hand at doing a bit of filming recently so below is my first ever YouTube video of the horses feeding at teatime in the snow! Watch this space for more videos as Mother bought me a head cam for Christmas!!!!

                                  

As you will see from the video we have had some wintry weather hit recently. Thankfully it didn't last long, but we were fully prepared for it thanks to our forward planning with the bulk hay delivery we took in September. We haven't actually had much snow so far this winter. I do hope I haven't just tempted fate by saying that! As you will see from the video and the pictures the herd have recovered from losing Betty and Barbara who was our biggest concern has coped well. Betty's memory will most certainly live on with us and our herd. I will leave you with a wonderfully wintry snap of our steeds. 

R.I.P Little Lady xxx

It has been a heartbreaking week up at the farm this week as we very sadly lost Betty. On Tuesday I had gone up to the farm as normal after work to check on the horses and give them their tea. I arrived at the farm at about 5pm, it was dark, cold and windy. I opened the gate and walked round to the feed room to find Star, Fella and Barbara waiting for their tea. I instantly knew something was wrong as there was no sign of Betty. Normally Betty was the first at the feed room and she always stayed close to the herd so I knew it was a bad sign she wasn't with the other three. I searched the field in the dark shouting  her name until I finally found her lying down. I went straight over to her and tried to get her up. She couldn't, her back leg was clearly injured as she couldn't put any weight on it. I quickly rang my vet Nick who straight away asked the obvious question if I thought it was colic. My response was no as she wasn't showing any signs of colic, I knew it was her leg. He said he would contact the on call vet, Nick's practice partner Dave who would give me a call ASAP once he was on his way. As it was cold and windy I went to get one of Fella's rugs and wrapped it round her. I then sat with her stroking her face and talking to her. I think she was in shock to be honest as she was quite calm. I rang my partner Neil who said he would come straight up. I then contacted Helen who unfortunately was away with her partner. As Helen is Betty's other mum I felt it imperative to keep her abreast of what was going on. My friend Kate happened to call so I told her what was going on so she offered to come straight up too. Dave the vet rang pretty soon after and asked for directions, he advised me he would be with us in about 25 minutes. It wasn't long before Neil and Kate arrived. Kate stayed with myself comforting Betty and Neil went to keep watch for Dave. I was very glad to have both of them with me and will be forever grateful to both of them.

Once Dave arrived he did an initial assessment of Betty, he took her temperature and checked her heart beat but they were both close to normal. Like Nick he also initially thought it might have been colic but he quickly ruled it out, so he asked us to try and get Betty up. I said we could try but I didn't think we could as I thought her right hind leg was injured. Straight away as soon as we tried, he agreed it was her back leg causing the problem. Upon closer inspection he informed us unfortunately Betty's leg was broken and there was nothing he could do. He said it was the type of break you would see on a race horse who has fallen whilst galloping on the track. It was a clean break at the joint. With a break of this type I was fully aware there was nothing Dave could have done other than put her to sleep. Whilst he went to his car to get his kit we all kissed, hugged and talked to Betty. I also rang Helen to give her the sad news, she was understandably incredibly upset but agreed it was the only option and the kindest thing to do for Betty. I felt awful delivering that news to her when she was supposed to be on a romantic break away with her husband. Dave was lovely with Betty and us. He showed great compassion and empathy. I held Betty as she went to sleep, kissed her and said goodnight to her. She went very peacefully. Dave told us he felt it had just been a freak accident. There were no signs of kick marks or anything of that nature so he thinks she must have been galloping around and she has just fallen awkwardly, unfortunately breaking her leg in the process. He did not think she had been there very long as the swelling wasn't very noticeable yet which indicated it had only recently happened. This made me feel better as at least she hadn't been there for very long. Whilst all this was going on Barbara was very distressed, I think she could sense something was wrong with her sister. Dave advised us to leave Betty's body where it was for the night so the rest of the herd could say goodbye and come to terms with her passing. The next day Neil witnessed Fella biting at Betty's leg to try to get her to stand up. On the Wednesday when we arrived to move the body Fella was licking her face and Barbara was pawing at her try to get her to stand up. This is a natural reaction of horses when one of their herd falls, but it was heartbreaking to watch. Since Betty's passing the rest of the herd have been very somber and subdued so I think they know she has passed. 

After a conversation with Helen we decided we would bury Betty in our field, then she would always be with us and the rest of the herd. In England horses and ponies can be buried if they were pets. The next day Neil took a half day from work and started to dig her grave and I asked some of my friends Michael, Adam and Cory to come and help us move her body down to our field and next to where Neil was digging her grave. Myself and Helen will be forever grateful to those lads for helping us move her with dignity. On Thursday Neil finished digging her grave-for which we will be eternally grateful to him for, so we decided we would bury her today, which was Saturday morning. Myself, Helen, Neil and Helen's husband Kev arrived at the field this morning to lay our little lady to rest. We carefully lowered her into her grave along with a carrot and some horse treats as she loved her food. Helen and I then both said a few words as we threw the first handfuls of earth over her. Neil and Kev then did the rest until she was fully covered and her grave was complete. They made a lovely job of her grave and we are both very thankful to them both. Helen and I made a cross out of some wood and buried a tree in remembrance of her and to mark the spot of her grave. We then said our goodbyes and laid some white roses for her. It is nice to know Betty will always be with us and the rest of the herd in our field and that we have a place we can visit and remember her. 

Helen rang the RSPCA shelter to let them know what had happened. They were lovely and said they were happy we had been able to give her such a lovely life while she was with us. I am very grateful for Helen contacting the shelter as I think I would have found this too upsetting. Betty was an absolute legend and in the short time we had her, which was a year and four months she brought such joy to our lives. She was the type of pony that didn't let anything phase her. She was more than happy to help herself to Fella's tea on a regular basis, which I don't think he was ever very pleased about! She was always first at the feed room at tea time, she loved her food! She was a master escape artist, she could get through any type of fencing. She would happily stand of her own accord, untied and get a groom, she loved to be fussed over. She took the starring role in my work Nativity and she got 1st and 2nd in her first ever show with us. She loved to go out for hand walks, any type of traffic would pass us and she would barely raise her head. She would have made a fantastic children's pony as she was bombproof. Below are some pictures of Betty showing happy memories during her time with us. 

 
 

On Thursday we received a lovely card from my vet Nick offering his condolences. I thought this was a really nice touch and just exemplifies why I have been with his practice for over ten years. We also received a lovely card each from our friend Vic. As well as the cards, Helen and I also received a lovely bouquet of flowers each from our friends Alex, Cory, Leanne, Michael, Adam and Lauren. What a lovely group of friends we have to make such a thoughtful gesture.

Below is the last picture taken of Betty a couple of days before we lost her.

Rest in Peace Little Lady.

RSPCA Felledge Betty Boop 2012-2019

My Shining Star

I have owned Star for over ten years now and there hasn't been a day that has gone by that I haven't felt incredibly lucky to have her. A lot has happened in my life over those ten years including losing several of my family members and going through a really difficult breakup, but Star has been by my side every step of the way getting me through. It's ten years this year since I lost my big brother Hugh, pictured below:
                                     
I was absolutely devastated when Hugh died as it came as a complete shock. I can still remember getting the phone call from my older sister Kathy to tell me he had died. I slid down the wall into a heap on the floor, dropped the phone and stayed there crying for what felt like hours. Hugh was a soldier in the British Army. He served in Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq, but he suffered terribly from PTSD that was never treated. From the outside you would never know he was struggling as he was always the life and soul of the party. Sadly Hugh felt he could no longer live in this world and on the 19th August 2009 he took his own life. I think a piece of me died the day he did as I honestly have never gotten over it and I never will. The days, weeks and months that followed his death are a bit of blur to be honest, but what I do remember is the one thing that would get me out of bed was Star. Helen and I were on a livery yard at the time with our other friend Kate on part livery-this meant full livery Monday-Friday then DIY Saturday and Sunday. It was a brilliant yard to be on at the time, it was run by a lovely family, had a great bunch of liveries and the facilities were excellent-it even had an arena with a full set of show jumps. It was a really good thing at that time that Star was on part livery as even if I wanted to hide under the duvet on a Saturday and Sunday I couldn't as Star needed to be looked after. Seeing to Star gave me a reason to get up and a purpose. It kept my mind occupied, gave me time with my friends who were up at the yard seeing to their horses, it was fresh air and it was great exercise. I genuinely believe having Star at that time was a real blessing as she really did help me work through my grief, and she has done in times since. There is a lot of research to suggest that contact with an animal is therapeutic. Plus the good thing about Star is I can talk to her and she doesn't answer back!
The last twelve months have been pretty hard as my Dad's battle with dementia came to an end in July 2018. Below is a picture of Dad in happier times on his birthday.

Yet again Star is one of the main things that has kept me going through the grief. Watching Dad battle such an awful disease over a number of years has been absolutely heartbreaking. There have been times when I have just gone to the field hugged Star and cried into her neck and she has just stood there and let me. Sometimes the back of my jumper or my pony tail would even get a little groom off her! The bond I have with Star is unbreakable. I would go as far to say I would take a bullet for that pony. There have been so many times when I have been worried or upset about something and she has helped me through. She is always there to cheer me up with that cheeky face, that sassy attitude and those ears pricked forward. She's my baby girl and I couldn't imagine life without her. In those times when life is dark with grief she has always been my 'Shining Star'.

Nativity Ned

It has been a busy few months since my last post, as unfortunately that always seems to be the way on the run up to Christmas! This year at work I decided to write a localised Nativity for my Drama Club students to perform as part of a festive evening for parents at school. One evening whilst writing the script I had an idea! I though it would be a great shout to have Betty play the role of the donkey! After checking with Helen first to see if she would be able to transport Betty to school I sought permission to have Betty as part of the Nativity. It was a bit of a risk given we would have no time prior to the day of the performance to rehearse with Betty but I just knew she would be great. As predicted Helen rocked up to school with Betty on the afternoon of the performance and true to form she was absolutely no bother during rehearsals. The only initial problem we faced was the flooring at school was too slippy for Betty to walk on. We soon rectified this by making her a pathway of mats for her to walk on. To pass the risk assessment it was agreed I would perform with Betty rather than risk any incidents occurring with the students. I purchased myself a lovely little Shepherds outfit so I could take to the stage with Betty. As you can see from the picture below we really looked the part!!

The students absolutely loved the fact Betty was appearing with them in their performance. In between rehearsals and the actual performance Helen was an absolute legend standing outside in the orchard with Betty so she could get some quiet time to graze and prepare herself for her starring role!! Poor Helen was stood outside in the cold for several hours and both myself and the students were very grateful to her for her help, as without Helen it would not have been possible for Betty to appear in our Nativity. When it came to Betty's big moment she was an absolute superstar as I knew she would be. We had over a hundred people in the audience, stage lights plus all the cast in costume and she did not bat an eyelid! She walked up and down the front of the school hall following 'Mary and Joseph' looking for a place to stay with absolute focus on the carrots I was holding in my hand! I knew she would be brilliant but I was so proud of her!!! At the end of the evening we had a collection for the RSPCA equine shelter-Felledge that we re homed Betty and Barbara from. I had picked some collection tins up from there the day before the performance. Members of the cast stood with the tins whilst the audience left. Everyone was incredibly generous and Felledge were over the moon when I returned the tins feeling rather full of donations.  Once Betty's performance was over Helen and I packed her back onto the trailer and Helen got on her way back to the field. Unfortunately once Helen was back at the field she was unable to get the trailer back in through the usual entrance as it was just too muddy. It took a number of hours for us to get it back in via a different entrance which I felt really bad about as Helen had given up her day off to help us out so it wasn't an ideal end to the day :(
Apart from the trailer drama however the rest of the day had gone to plan. Given how well Betty did I really think she would be great for other things such as 'pets as therapy'. It is definitely something we will look into for the future as she really isn't phased by anything!
After all the excitement of Betty's starring role the festive period has been quite quiet up at the field. The ponies have enjoyed a couple of weeks down in the bottom field. Helen used this as a distraction tactic whilst she was loading Betty for the Nativity that worked incredibly well. It meant the rest of the herd weren't trying to follow her as she exited the trailer out of the field. Their festive feasting however came to an end on Boxing Day when we closed the gate to the bottom field. Star had started to resemble a semi detached house on legs and the miniatures had begun to look like a pair of flats on legs so it was definitely time to limit their grazing again. Plus we want to save whats left for when the harsh winter kicks in, which according to recent weather reports could be fairly soon. Helen and I split the daily duties over Christmas with her mostly doing the mornings as she was coming home from night shift and myself taking the afternoon checks. On Christmas Day the neds each got an equine Christmas pudding and some parsnips. Fella was over the moon with his parsnips as they are his favourite vegetable and I got the impression Star couldn't get enough of her Christmas pudding. Pictured below is the herd wishing everyone a very horsey Happy Christmas!!