spookypony
Well-Known Member
My pony and his new friend (a little mare on loan) moved into their new field a week ago. It's my first time having ponies at home, and I've a few questions on how to find out some things!
Hay has been sourced and stored, and after finding myself standing there a little confused with a brand-new wheelbarrow full of poos
, a muck-heap has also been started: yay! 
However:
1. I need to find someone to remove said muck heap at regular intervals. What's the done thing? I was thinking of simply driving up to the cattle farmer up the road, and asking if he knows anyone who would do that. Maybe he would do it himself?
2. There are several possible off-road routes to the best hacking. Bearing in mind that this is SCOTLAND and that the access laws are different, what should I do?
a) along edges of a few fields: how do I find out to whom they belong, to ask for permission (which I technically don't need)? I am told the fields concerned have been zoned/planned for housing in the future, but they are currently either fallow or planted.
b) the OS map shows a path through a derelict farm (also part of the housing-zoned area). I've found the entrance to this path, but there's a gate with a fierce "construction area---keep out" sign at the bottom. I could probably get around the edge of this gate, which I'm told local walkers do, but would prefer to find out about getting permission. There is no construction there at the moment, or likely to be for quite a while yet, and if the path is on the OS, can the development company even legally block access? Again, Scotland.
3. At the moment, the pony is still a bit unsettled, and gets rather vocal and dancey when removed from the field without his new girlfriend. I think he just needs a bit more time (he was at the old yard for 4 years), but am thinking that I should simply make sure he comes out daily for slightly increasing periods, and that I shouldn't stress about hurrying him into serious riding for a few weeks yet (he's very fit at the moment, and has lost a little condition this past week. That is, he looks more like a normal pony, and less like a swallower of Shetlands). I'd also prefer to have company when riding for the first while, just in case I do get dumped. Am I being chicken, or suffering from a rare attack of common sense?
4. Next Sunday, he's entered for his last endurance ride of the season, a 34km CTR about 1.5h drive away. Although there are arguments for withdrawing (viz. 3.), there are also arguments for returning to normality regarding competition trips as soon as possible, and I'm still undecided. I've thought of drafting a horsey friend to babysit girlfriendmare for the day, to be sure she's ok (which she has the reputation of being, but still!). Does this sound like a silly plan?
Any ideas appreciated!
Hay has been sourced and stored, and after finding myself standing there a little confused with a brand-new wheelbarrow full of poos
, a muck-heap has also been started: yay! However:1. I need to find someone to remove said muck heap at regular intervals. What's the done thing? I was thinking of simply driving up to the cattle farmer up the road, and asking if he knows anyone who would do that. Maybe he would do it himself?
2. There are several possible off-road routes to the best hacking. Bearing in mind that this is SCOTLAND and that the access laws are different, what should I do?
a) along edges of a few fields: how do I find out to whom they belong, to ask for permission (which I technically don't need)? I am told the fields concerned have been zoned/planned for housing in the future, but they are currently either fallow or planted.
b) the OS map shows a path through a derelict farm (also part of the housing-zoned area). I've found the entrance to this path, but there's a gate with a fierce "construction area---keep out" sign at the bottom. I could probably get around the edge of this gate, which I'm told local walkers do, but would prefer to find out about getting permission. There is no construction there at the moment, or likely to be for quite a while yet, and if the path is on the OS, can the development company even legally block access? Again, Scotland.
3. At the moment, the pony is still a bit unsettled, and gets rather vocal and dancey when removed from the field without his new girlfriend. I think he just needs a bit more time (he was at the old yard for 4 years), but am thinking that I should simply make sure he comes out daily for slightly increasing periods, and that I shouldn't stress about hurrying him into serious riding for a few weeks yet (he's very fit at the moment, and has lost a little condition this past week. That is, he looks more like a normal pony, and less like a swallower of Shetlands). I'd also prefer to have company when riding for the first while, just in case I do get dumped. Am I being chicken, or suffering from a rare attack of common sense?
4. Next Sunday, he's entered for his last endurance ride of the season, a 34km CTR about 1.5h drive away. Although there are arguments for withdrawing (viz. 3.), there are also arguments for returning to normality regarding competition trips as soon as possible, and I'm still undecided. I've thought of drafting a horsey friend to babysit girlfriendmare for the day, to be sure she's ok (which she has the reputation of being, but still!). Does this sound like a silly plan?
Any ideas appreciated!
