Frosty Mornings
The last few mornings in Auckland have been absolutely freezing. Pea soup fog, ice on the roads and frosty bottomed horses- whatever happened to the subtropical paradise that I was promised when I first moved to New Zealand! I have even had to smash ice that has formed on top of the weanlings’ water container. Which reminds me- I really need to take a tennis ball along tonight so I can pop it into the water tub. The constant bobbing around of the ball stops ice forming on the surface so I won’t have to worry about the youngsters not having proper access to their water.
Learning their Manners
The weanlings have been doing very well- they are both looking good and the little bit of in-hand work I have been doing has been progressing nicely. Of course, we do have the odd hiccup which is only to be expected with young horses. For example, last night Katie rushed at Jazz with her ears back while I was putting Jazz back in the field after her dinner (I had put Katie back in the paddock first). This is fine when it’s just the two of them, on their own, but is completely unacceptable when I’m at the end of the rope of a very large Irish Sport Horse baby! So, as Katie was coming around to nip Jazz on the neck, I took the end of the lead rope and gave her a smack on the bottom. The rush/nip attack was promptly diffused and Katie bucked and cantered her away across to the other side of the paddock. Presumably to complain about me to the older horses on the other side of the fence... I have rarely needed to reprimand or raise my voice at youngsters in the past but there are some things that just must be nipped in the bud straightaway (if you’ll excuse the pun!)
I also find it interesting that even though Katie is so much smaller than Jazz, she is the bossier one out of the pair of them. It seems that horses, unlike us humans, are not actually that aware of differences in size!
The Joys of Poo Picking
Even though the weanlings aren’t of riding age, it doesn’t mean that they are keeping me any less busy. This weekend, I will be worming them and I have also contacted the farrier to come and give their feet a trim. On top of that, I will be cleaning up the paddock.
The poo picking topic is an interesting one actually as I have spoken to a number of people who don’t clear their fields during winter...I have decided to ignore them and have settled on a routine of totally cleaning the space the weanlings are in once a week (unfortunately, I can’t do any more as it’s too dark when I arrive there after work- I can barely see the ground, let alone anything that’s actually on the floor!) My reasoning is: 1) Weanlings are more susceptible to worms and surely clearing the muck from the paddock will help protect them that little bit more 2) It’s a complete myth that horses don’t get worms in winter... 3) The droppings have to be cleared at some point, whether it is on a gradual week-by-week basis or in one big go!
If I could, I would also have a hay rack so that I didn’t have to feed them their hay on the ground. They waste much more food eating this way and are also at a higher risk of ingesting worm eggs. Ah well- it’s another thing on my exceedingly long list of horsey things to buy!
Keeping Warm!
Since I got back into owning horses, I have fallen back into my old unfashionable ways. Before the fillies arrived, I told myself: ‘This time, I will be the cool horsey chick that rocks up to the livery yard every day, dressed in unfathomably clean and well fitted European equestrian clothes. I will look elegant, smart and sophisticated. Like Zara Philips seems to look all the time.’
Sadly, this was not meant to be.... Due to my efforts to keep frostbite at bay, combined with the fact that I go to the horses straight after work, I look like something in-between a corporate lady/tramp/Last of the Summer Wine extra. Last night, for example, I was wearing a green tweed style high waist pencil skirt, a disgustingly dirty used-to-be-white-but-now-kind-of-skewbald looking skiing jacket, mud encrusted Dublin River Boots and some holey (as in, they’re falling apart- not devoutly religious) Magic Gloves. To make matters worse, I ripped the entire back of my pencil skirt clambering over a fence last night....I should really get my boyfriend to take a few shots of me in my winter horsey outfit. Showing you those shots would be profoundly embarrassing but I also know that they would provide a lot of laughter and entertainment (which we can all do with during the winter months!)
Anyway, whatever you are doing this evening and weekend, keep warm and make sure your ponies are comfy too (whether that is through an extra rug or a slice of additional hay). Enjoy the beautiful frosty mornings if you’re out riding. I will write another update soon!