Herd after a day of grass! (and the elusive Charlie..)

H

henryhorn

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 October 2003
Messages
10,500
Location
Devon UK
www.narramorehorses.blogspot.com
link to my blog because I am too thick to post on here..
They were mostly asleep this morning and were all happy to have fresh grass and some sun for a change.
Still another smaller herd which William joins every morning to take pics of but will add them later.
Bear in mind they live at 1000 above sea level on just haylage and mineral blocks but have lots of shelter and are fed under cover. I have deloused once but will need to do it again soon, it's an ongoing problem with this many horses and so many places for the lice to hide.
Some need rugs either due to age or related problems, others thrive with none.
The rugs are pretty wrecked by this time of the year and they will all come off within a couple of weeks.
Enjoy the pics, I did taking them when I wasn't harrassed from behind by a certain gang of youngsters!
www.narramorehorses.blogspot.com
 
Lovely photos and horses. Soltice is especially gorgeous! It's nice to see such relaxed and chilled out horses.
I'm very envious of your grass and blue sky - we've just got acres of mud and clouds.
 
PMSL at Charlie
grin.gif
Did you manage to catch him yet?
 
Lovely pics HH. They look like a very contented bunch, and look to have wintered really well.

Desparate for our horses to move off their winter grazing now, as are they. Hopefully they'll get moved in the next week or so.......
 
Wonderfull picture and caption, the morning after the night before! They all look very content. I am totally envious of your way of life although I'm sure it's very hard work!
 
Beautiful pics HH, some stunning scenery and I love the horses flat out asleep.
smile.gif

Look at the size of naughty shetties belly!!!! He definately has a look about him that says "come near me and your dead"
shocked.gif
 
I'm glad to see your greys are muckier than mine! It all looks so beautiful there though, I wish I had somewhere as nice as your place to retire Maiden to!
 
You would find it isn't how it appears believe me! Honestly it isn't. You can see from the pics some of our fields are muddy, and I couldn't move those horses yet because the fence has fallen down and will need major work before they can go in there, it's a sort of on going Forth Bridge, we keep doing new fences and gates but it never seems to get any less!
Yesterday a JCB cut through all the water supply pipes to the farm and this morning I walked miles to access the tank, see how empty it was then slither down the Deer park slippy slopes to turn on the supply non stop for 24 hours. I staggered back up the hill, (believe me it's steep) then rolled over the high fence to get out of there, stopping for breath every now and then. I'll haver to repeat that tomorrow.
I disturbed a fox who glared at me then wandered off in search of rabbits.
It's the silly things that get me donw, like we have a flock of over 80 jackdaws in the stable blcok who wait until I leave every night then get in via crevices, they mess up the beds, crap on the rugs etc, and we have tried to get them out every way you can think of. latest plan is to wait until the horses go out for the summer, and let off fireworks at roosting time every night for a while..
Anyone like jackdaw pie?
grin.gif

I was cross earlier this week because it rained for 48 hours near enough, and I knew full well it would be taking weight off my carefully maintained horses after the winter. They refuse to go inside once there is grass, but knowing they were sheltering under the hedges getting cold and wet is depressing. Soon the problem will change to keeping them slimmer, so no it's not a perfect existance honest!
 
I love the grey with its hind leg outstretched- galaxy??
And the 'needs a pillow' pic made me go awwww out loud!
Bless they all look really happy
smile.gif
 
Hey - Thanks for Saturday it was greatly appreciated although it was a bit of a nightmare driving back in all that rain !!!!!!! It has given me some good ideas about what I want now tho.
 
Lovely pics!
Are you certain that Raff tears his rugs on a tree? I only ask because I THOUGHT that's what was happening with my neighbour's pony's rug, until I saw mine with a mouthful of rug lining and a guilty expression (they share a field). Now I know who is ripping the rugs ha ha!

eta all the rips were in the exact same place as the ones in your pic
 
The retired ones are very much a mixed bunch.
Most have problems re arthritic conditions, so we have navicular, kissing spine, sessamoiditis, joint problems like tendons and all without exception improve on this undulating hard ground, which makes you wonder about the box rest advice always given.
A lot have the L insurance freezemark, others are just much loved horses who's owners couldn't bear to part with them.
There is an arab endurance horse who's owner lives in India, he broke down with the worst tendon injury I have ever seen, he's sound these days!
There is a lovely coloured mare who gets a slipped ligament, she is sound 99% of the time
There is a coloured cob who is slightly lame due to navicular .
two with kissing spines, oth of whom always seem sound.
A spotty 6 year old who is sound and rideable but just "here".
Several ex riding school horses, and two geldings belonging to a famous Chick -lit author.
One owner lives in Australia.
Two of the youngsters were bought by people who's own retired ones died here of old age, they are here growing until 4 then will go off to their owners for a ridden life.
The majority of the retired others are just plain old much loved family types, their owners visit a couple of times a year and I email pics so they know I haven't taken their money and put their animals in a tin..
grin.gif

We don't have contracts or anything legal, it all works on a trust basis, they trust me to do my best for their animals , and I trust them to pay me!
Yes I know that's not the way to do it but I'm old enough to recognise honesty in most people and they tend to become friends who we welcome to visit more than customers.. (very handy as they live all over the place and I can guarantee a bed is offered if I travel)
In a way having no contract is more pressure, because you feel honour bound to make sure they are ok. The hardest thing is keeping on top of hoof trims, as they can be clever if they see the farrier wandering round the herd and take off to many acres away until he's gone again.
We mix the young horses in with them as it socialises them and teaches them to behave, but come summer the working ones move to one of the smaller herds, we have two or three of them nearer the yard for easy access.
What I get great pleasure from is silly things like when some arrive they are nasty to handle, may bite or kick; within three months they do neither, and I swear it's because the rest tell them it's not acceptable to behave like that. One old devil will now lick my face, yet he double barrelled his owner in the stomach causing a miscarriage, which is why he ended up here..
Playing on here is not helping me catch the dreaded Charlie, so I'm off to tempt him again, though zero chance for a couple of days I reckon, though if he gets much rounder he won't we able to run so fast...
wink.gif
 
Really lovely post. You can see how contented the horses are in their herd. And what a naughty boy Charlie is. Good luck catching him. Don't forget you need TLC too.
grin.gif
grin.gif
 
The one who double-barreled lucky he didn't end up in a tin of dogfood!

With regards to the retirees would you say there is more 'loyalty' (loose term) shown to leisure horses than to competition animals? Or would it be the nature of the breakdown that determines whether it is put to sleep or not?
 
Two replies in one, the Ellehorse rug is great apart from the damned zip, a few teeth have come off and that makes it even harder to stay up, but I would still buy another.
I would say the horses are all riding club level types, nothing Grade A but I have had a couple of lower level Sj horses retire here, then pts when they got too old.
Some horses don't really thrive, warmbloods especially, if they have thick rugs and can learn to eat virtually all day they cope fine after a while, but they tend to lose weight the first winter.
If I could choose an ideal type it would be the piebald cob, he is so placid, stays fat and healthy and is no trouble!
The owners tend not to have megabucks so really do without to leave them here, most have normal paying jobs and must struggle at times.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top