...a lesson learned...

...health&safety...

You may think your horses' environment is perfectly safe? Well, so did I until Tom's 'unfortunate incident'.  From the first May bank holiday to the next, here's what happened...
 

We'd do anything to protect them.

Since then we have investigated every single inch of their environment for any possible hazards (again), and whilst we can't protect them every second...they are horses after all, and will get into a pickle with or without human intervention...we can customise our equipment with safety in mind.

So here is a clever little device for closing gates that replaces the unmovable/unbreakable metal closures that, and trust me when I say this, can cause injury.

So you've got a job to do in the land, first you need to gather equipment, then you'll need to enlist help:

Here Lemmy, Coco and Min are casting a disapproving eye over any proceedings that spoil naptime.

 

...and provide a forum for Tom & Henry to watch from a safe distance, with available forage and refreshment too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John has of course invented a clever use of available equipment, you can buy on-line, and here's what he did, (and it's all perfectly safe, there's no protruding metalware).

Simple to replace the metal catches are now not used anywhere, all gates are safe.  The rope winds around the posts when not in use, it's easy, and the boys can't get caught up in it.

These carabiners are Black Diamond 'hotwire'.

 

...the simplest solutions are often the best, (Occam's Razor).

...stay safe x


and here are just some wonderful photos of T&H x

TCJpart46 Special Feline Edition:

THE CREW:
...not every creature with 4 legs has hooves at WW, cats are a perfect accompaniment to a stable yard, they keep the critters at bay and are very entertaining...

You have already met the cats, furily intermingled amongst the horse blogs, slinking their way through Tom & Henry's legs and always being about when stuff happens.  Now it's time to share some recent shots of each of the players, with a short bio and list of characteristics.

We have 3 cats: so lets see the so-called 'mog shots'

LEMMY:

Lemmy named of course after the famous Lemmy of Motorhead, loves Countryfile, Springwatch and anything on Animal Planet, and typical of a boy, loves control of the remote, and the snugly blanket!

His friends call him 'vintage' because his fur has a smoke grey tint near his skin, and it's black at the tips, giving him an unusual colouring.

Rescued off the streets as a kitten, far too young to be separated from his Mum, spent a week at the vets, looked after by Sam, and re homed with us....

Lemmy also likes puffa jackets and anything soft he can sleep in/on/under....you know cats!

John and Lemmy enjoy shopping on-line and  playing Halo Reach on the x-box.

Lemmy jumps on the table when you're distracted by food and when you're not looking will lick all the butter of your bread...he prefers lightly salted!!

He will stand on his back legs with his paws around your neck or on your shoulders and but you in the nose with his nose...we call it the 'nose-but'

COCO:

Coco 'the stealth' Rand.  Black as the soot in our chimney.  She's big, but you'll never see or hear her coming.  She sleeps in a comfy cat bed on the fridge in the feed-room, making certain no little critters try to sneak a nibble of Tom & Henry's dinner.

Left on the streets of Leigh on Sea as a kitten of 5 weeks old, rescued by MediVet in Southend and re homed by our vet's assistant Sam in Danbury with us.

As Coco's full name suggests she's a ninja, you can never spot her and real tangible evidence of her existence is rare.  Photos are few, in fact, no-one but John and I have ever seen her...but here are a few shots.



...a rare sighting, the mini beast of WW, a glimpse and then she's gone.

She's fast, and can catch a sparrow in mid flight.

MIN:

Min likes the daredevil life of tree climbing, bath edge perching and the ultimate in feline adrenaline fulled activity, running between Tom & Henry's legs in the yard, even when they're walking...very tricky timing-related problems easily tackled by this speed-demon.

Min named after my Grandma, ('Min' was her nickname). Min was born in Burnham, and came to us via the wireless Internet mast installation man...from Burnham.

As you can imagine therefore she already embraces the country lifestyle!



Min is a lunatic!

She will launch herself from the windowledge in our bedroom onto us lying in bed to wake us up, a cat moving at terminal velocity will do that - have you ever seen a kitten moving at 130MPH?

She slept in John's hood when she was small enough, and now she's not...sleeps on his shoulder like a wrap, compare the photos below: one as a kitten, and one now (she's not 1year old yet).

She jumps on our heads in the morning to get us up, I feed them before I go out to do the horses every morning, but at the weekends I have a lie-in.  Min still wants me up at 5.15am, and 7.30am is just not good enough!

It really doesn't get cuter than that xxx

WW cats:

favourite places to sleep: on us and anything we're reading, looking at, concentrating on, typing on.....on top of the wardrobe, in the wardrobe and boxes particularly if they contain tissue paper

favourite food: mice, tuna in brine and Felix fish menus...yogurt lid lickers include Lemmy and chewers of cardboard club members include Min

favourite music:  they all like 80's stuff particularly Soft Cell, Depeche Mode and Yazoo (well, who doesn't?), some Nickleback, Korn and Green Day too

favourite TV stars: Bill Oddie, Spike Milligan and John Craven (they just love him in Countryfile)

favourite colours: anything light, they love jumping on John the most when he's wearing a light shirt in the mornings when they have muddy paws, thus forcing him to change...they can't do it to me I've  only worn black since 1982 (hence the music taste)...well black, and some shades of dark grey if I'm feeling wild!

favourite book: A Street Cat Called Bob, a recent read, this is a very moving story about friendship, the cats loved it...and anything written by Assimov, they love science fiction

hero's: anyone who works at the RSPCA or Redwings Horse Sanctuary, Sam the cat rescuer/rehomer and James Bowen.

Have tissues at the ready.

TCJp38 Harrowing

A HARROWING MORNING?....not really xx

I had planned to ride this morning, but the weather threatened to rain as I was grooming the boys, so I wanted to make sure I'd finished all the work on the land before any downfall, it has to be done in a timely fashion harrowing, the conditions have to be perfect, so like a farmer would do, drop everything to get it done.  Spots of rain threatened to spoil the mornings fun  -  I actually would welcome some rain once the job is done.

Lemmy and Min. When you have a job,
it's a good idea to employ some help.

As the title of today's blog suggests I have finally harrowed the winter paddock.  You can see in the photo how dry and poached the ground is, it's difficult to walk on without fear of twisting an ankle.  So, of course, I want to make it better as soon as I can, the boys will be happier I'm sure.  Here they are 'marching' over to the Wishbone field, as I have opened it for the first time after winter, and the grass is quite lush. They can't wait to get there.

Tom, he has such a great neck.

I emptied my year-long cooked compost into the paddock first, leaving only a couple of  forks full of newly added grass clippings to rot further. John skillfully drove the trailer laden with worms and compost into the field so I could add it into the boggy bits - the dips that hold water. 

I have attempted to fill the dips in, I'll let you know if it works next spring. I'm not a big fan of still, stale water lying on the land - in my head, this is like inviting mosquitoes and midges to breed near my horses.  Tom & Henry don't suffer from sweet itch, but I wont take any chances...not with those 2.

I then spread paddock seed onto the bare patches.  I have a spreader which I can pull behind my lawn tractor, but the vibration of the mowers' engine separates the herb from the grass seed and doesn't spread it mixed - so I prefer to spread it by hand.  I can do a much better job than any automated device.  Just a practised flick of the wrist. You can also see from the photo the feint hint of green all-over the surface of the ground, this is the tiny grasslings poking their way to the light, likely from last years re-seed.  The seed stays viable for 5 years so John tells me, which is why after a total coverage a few years ago I only do the bare patches now.  Although, when you get your eye in, you can see the tufts of green, even in the most unlikely of places - I'm talking about the high-traffic routes.  Where the boys trail their way across the once muddy ground - travelling the same route every time.  We suspect this is to preserve the grass, once again they manage their own pasture, all year round.

Tom & Henry finally out in the Wishbone field, where there's grass.

You can clearly see from the photo above the dark patches on the land:  this is where I have attempted to fill in the dents in the field.  I harrowed the new soil into the surface of the land.  Still full of little pink worms, I had a trail of sparrows and a couple of robins following me, looking for a meal perhaps for their babies?

...from this hard and poached field...

...to this smooth and tilled surface, ready for the grass to grow, and easier to walk on, and roll on too.

Jumping into the Landy, driving it in low-box so I can go very very slowly, I harrowed the poached and dry paddock to within an inch of it's life.  I go twice around each way, so it breaks up all the large solid lumps of mud and works all the dried manure from winter into the surface of the land.  These paddocks have had years of not being looked after very well until we bought the property.  And although we have worked very hard catching up, we still have a long way to go. The land needs new soil added, from my compost heap, I can add 6 trailer loads to the surface every year.  Which will help.

I am now hoping it will rain of course, which it's threatening to do.

All harrowed, and last night: 3 April, it rained all night, so that'll help the grass grow, and already little tufts of grass where I have harrowed are sprouting.

TCJp35 Spring

SPRING: A NEW BEGINNING:
...when all the countryside comes alive after winter.

Spring is a time for new growth.  And being outside in the sunshine with our animals is a favourite time for us.

After our lovely Edie was killed in the lane Monday night, we all needed to spend time together as a new configuration of our family.  healing has begun, but we all do miss her terribly.

Some photos of this morning: Lemmy & Min.

...and the grass is growing

                                                                          anyone guess who these horses are???

Having horses and cats in your life is so rewarding.

Min lurking in the 'verge' with

Lemmy.