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.

TCJp37 Spring Cleaning

SPRING CLEANING:
...getting tidy and organised after winter is a good idea.  You can donate all your unused and unwanted equipment to Redwings Horse Sanctuary, and clean up at the same time.

This is the time of year for cleaning:

Last weekend I cleared out both their stables and jet washed them with Jeyes. 

How did I get rid of the boys from the yard in order to achieve this performance?  Normally I just grab a grooming brush, have a determined look on my face, and that suffices...but they were busy eating a new tasty bale of haylage so I was going to need a stronger tool that sunny hot morning....the hose!

...ah, that sweet smell of medicated horse shampoo for sensitive skin wafting in the air, and the boys all shiny too...

Our annual visitors the swallows, who nest in each of the stables every year made a swift appearance.  The male comes first, and I saw him sitting on the top rail of the yard, just checking everything was as it should be before sending for the 'wife' and starting another family...twice!  I decided this was a good time to jetwash, before the swallows' missus arrives and the repair or rebuild of the nests get underway. 

This is the sort of image you can capture if, like us, you have cameras covering every inch of your property. This is an incredible shot, and you'd have to wait patiently and silently for hours to get it with a regular camera.

I have to make sure there's always a wet/muddy bit of ground near the yard, not hard when you have horses, so they have material for any repair, the blackbirds need soft ground too, so it's always worth making a wet patch if you can.

I get very grubby working the jetwash, all bits of old web and hay in my hair, but the end result is worth it.  I left them to dry all afternoon and overnight and put 5 bales of bedding down for the boys to sleep on.  Because when it gets hot, Tom & Henry spend a lot of time in their stables, eating haylage and sleeping.

You may notice above, I have draped the power lead across the hooks attached to the fronts of their stables to keep it out of the wet - safety first.

But the stables weren't the only things to get the spring clean as I mentioned...

I bathed the boys too!  It was 25degrees here, and my rule is: if I can wear flip-flops, it's hot enough for a bath...for the boys

They needed it too, all that dust and mud and old hair from winter, afterwards they smell so nice and clean too and so very shiny.  They still have lots of coat left to lose, but I gave them a helping hand.

I have a theory about grub: I call it 'Shelley's First Theory of Grub Tansferance' (or SFTGT), my theory is that like energy, grub is neither lost nor created, merely transferred from one thing to another.  Namely from Tom and Henry onto me!  So it was then afterwards, I began my own spring clean, I had to get the eau-de-jeyes smell off my hair from the jet wash, and I was covered in little bay hairs too!

...and of course they went straight out and rolled, but they must have been more comfortable, there was lots of grunting and head rubbing onto each others bodies.  They lean right into each other, it's great to watch - actually I'm lucky my boys get on so well.  They are matched of course in breed and are nearly the same size, but their personalities 'fit' together, they are different, but they are very good mates.

love those boys.....

TCJp36 Unidentified Lumps

WEIRD LUMPS: don't freak-out!

Our first reaction to strange lumps on our horses even ourselves is fear.  The unknown.  The 'what-ifs'.  But of course horses don't preoccupy themselves with the 'what-ifs'.  They live in the moment - not keen on that phrase - but that's what it is. ...am I going to get eaten?...run!  That sort of thing.

It's important when weird things happen, you try to stay calm, not least for your horse who most likely doesn't have a clue what all the flapping about is for.

This is what happened this week:

Monday night: This time it was Tom:

Thank goodness it's light when we get home now.  As I approached the yard the boys were hanging about on the ramp as usual.  I made their dinners, and, hoof-pick in-hand went over to Tom (strangely, it's not just the horses that have routine, I always pick Henry's feet out first...except tonight for a strange reason). 

It was then I noticed a strange and  rather alarmingly large lump under Tom's belly! About 6cm forward of his sheath opening, central to his mid-line.

the culprit

I wont tell you the crazy things that ran through my mind.  I gave it a good looking at, prodded it gently, then less gently.  Then put it in the palm of my hand and squeezed it to see if there were any clues as to what it might be. Then did what any self-respecting keeper of horses does...ran in-doors and yelled at John to come quick, my tone saying NOW NOW NOW!!!!  Which he did, but not before grabbing his camera!! Because a photographer doesn't miss any opportunity for a blogtastic shot.  So there I am, trying to stay calm, trying to remember to breathe.  Got my phone now so I could speak to my vet, all the while John calmly wanders around Tom inspecting the lump.  Tom just munching his dinner, unaware of all the fuss he has created.

John repeated the same things I did above, except he is a little rougher than me, which is why I will never let him take my splinters out, I always save them until I'm visiting Lesa in Tiptree!

My instincts said call the vet and ask for advice, I didn't think it was necessary to call her out.

You can see here just under Tom's belly, the lump I consulted Louisa about.

My vet Louisa @ House&Jackson, is brilliant.  She called me straight back, she is very familiar with Tom & Henry, and where possible I always ask for her to come out as she is also excellent with hysterical owners too!!  She asked me what it felt like, were there signs of fly bites around the area, where was it and how big. It is firm and spongy to feel, about the size of an egg, but flatter in shape.  With tiny little pin-prick bites all over it - she was right.

Phew!! perfectly normal reaction to bites!!  The lump may get bigger before it goes away (I have never seen anything like this before).  Louisa suggested I clean the area with  weak antiseptic or salt-water.  And just to be certain I gave the surrounding area a quick spray of repellent.  (it was only a few weeks ago I was sharing my in-snow experience of mud fever, and how to deal with that, and now I'm talking about fly repellent!!).  Tom is very sensitive, he has a very fine coat, and anything that bites him, he has a visible reaction to...thank-you John for reminding me xx.

So the lesson is, call your vet and ask for advice if you're worried about anything, your instincts will tell you when they actually need to come out.

Min & Lemmy

Louisa told me it may get bigger and move forward before it disappears completely.  I am to keep an eye on him too, of course, just to make sure he remains normal in himself...just in case.

The cats were 'helping', and Min launched herself from the haybar onto Tom's rear as he was eating, scattering Henry into a jitter across the yard,  but Tom remained calm, he bucked Min off gently, and just carried on eating his dinner. Min knows now not to jump on a horse....or so we hope!

I will keep this 'lump' situation updated.  I hope it's helpful to someone, John took the photos, so you can clearly compare Tom's lump with any you might find on your horse.  I shall be topping-up with fly repellent now too.

Tuesday morning: lump unchanged, Tom seems himself.  They have had a good nights sleep too there's evidence of lying down all over their coats on one side.

I will clean it again tonight and apply a little more repellent around, not on, the area.

Tuesday evening: lump has changed shape, slightly flatter, but remains the same size.  Tom appears normal.  I have cleaned it again gently rubbing all-over with a clean flannel sprayed with an antiseptic solution.  I then sprayed around his tummy, sheath area and tail with some repellent.  All done for the night.

Wednesday morning: lump size and shape unchanged, but now there is a tiny bite-mark clearly evident.  It has a small amount of solidified amber-looking discharge at it's centre similar to that of other bites Tom has had. Again, I have cleaned it, then left it alone.

Thursday morning:  The lump has reduced in size.  I have cleaned it, and once again left it alone.  Tom doesn't seem to mind all the extra attention, I think he's just happy he isn't Henry, because getting rid of all those crusty mudfever scabs must be boring and leave Henry sore, sorry Hens xxxxx.

Thursday evening:  Tom's lump has significantly reduced in size...phew!

Friday morning: and the lump has almost gone exactly as Louisa predicted, picture above.

Friday late afternoon: the lump is just a bump now, hardly noticeable at all...but we notice everything on our horses don't we?  I'm letting them out tomorrow to grass so I can harrow the long-awaited winter paddock, I'll take some pictures of Tom in the morning to add here....plus there may be some pictures of the Spring Harrow too.

Saturday morning: smaller again as you can see - very happy about  that!  Think we can sleep at night again now xx

Horse Sense

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.

John Wayne Quotes:

Horse Sense

TCJp34 Wierd Noticings

UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENON:
...you will have some similar stories about your horse i'm sure?

The observations I will document below are of my 2 horses out of an approximate 12million UK equines.  This does not mean that other horses don't exhibit these traits, it just means that perhaps they haven't been noticed yet!!

So, in a completely unscientific 5 year study of Tom & Henry, here are a few 'weird' noticings.

When the boys are out at grass, they appear to manage their own pasture.  They don't gorge themselves continuously as you perhaps expect, to eat until there's no grass left. Instead they opt for hours of what seems like planned grazing, in certain selected patches, alongside wandering into the yard and eating haylage.  Some days they spend in their paddock entirely, other days they seem to spend all day in the yard eating haylage.  It as if they are giving their grazing time to rest, and grow.  They are managing their grazing.

....who'd have thought?

Then there was the day the boys did this above, when I was waiting for the vet to arrive to give them their boosters.  they were quite calm, Henry went in first and had a lie-down, then Tom tip-toed around the back of Henry and lay down himself.  they napped like this for about 20 minutes. Time enough for me to get my camera.

...peculiar?

Then, there is the inquisitiveness.  I have already told you how the boys are very nosey, how they love to know whats going on...

...but this doesn't explain why, when John has his drill out doing things around the yard, Henry gets his nose right in there to see the job close-up. Often actually getting in the way!  Why does he do this?  Is he expecting a treat?  or does he just want to know whats going on in his environment?  When John was doing these buckets, Henry put his head inside the frames whilst John was drilling.

....bit strange?

Horses, will we ever know what they're thinking?

...probably not, but we'll have a lot of fun trying.

Tom, he has such a nice bum. John says this comment is random....but no review about a gorgeous arse is random to me!!!!