Basil & Tommy

My boys have been fascinating over the last months since we lost Chesney.  I didn't really expect much change, after all Basil has always been the 'top' horse and Tommy the one at the bottom of the hierarchy.  However, there have been changes to their behaviour!

Basil is still 'the boss' and Tommy moves out of his way, however, they are good friends.  Both are independent much of the time, grazing at other ends of the field but they will stand close together for nap time or if they are sheltering from the wind or rain.  They sniff at each other through the bars between their stables and I really like that they can see each other through these whenever they are in.

Basil has taken over some of Chesney's habits.  Chesney was always the first to spot me arrive in my car and come straight over.  Often he would be waiting up by the gate whilst the other 2 just carried on grazing until the last minute.  Now it is Basil who is the first to notice me and come over and he is often up by the gate waiting for me to arrive -how strange is that? 

When Tommy used to have his 'bombing' about the field sessions Basil usually joined in and Chesney mostly stood and watched them - I always imagined him thinking 'what are they doing - what a waste of energy'.  Now, when Tommy has his 'bombing' about the field sessions Basil usually stands and watches with the same expression on his face that says ' what are you doing - what a waste of energy' !!!!  He does sometimes still join in though.

Luckily Tommy is perfectly fine on his own and happily carries on grazing when I get Basil in for a ride.  Although, he sometimes comes up for a polo when I put Basil back out afterwards.  Basil now sometimes comes up to the gate when I go to catch him for our rides, I don't always have to go down the field to catch him - I hope it is because he looks forward to it. 

Basil will happily stay on the yard for a while in the morning finishing his breakfast when I have already put Tommy out and he is happy to stand and be brushed on his own while Tommy is off at the other end of the field.

Tommy has always been quite an independent pony but it is great that they get on well.  They have their play sessions sometimes but are not too silly but Tommy is still daft.

They make me laugh.

Have you seen my April vlog  'Hello April' on my You Tube channel?  
Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!   

Jo

Photo Time !!

What an amazing Easter weekend, sun, sun and more sun.  The boys have been spending time under their tree and I found Basil's fly rug (Tommy is still so hairy that I didn't put his on).  I have had to separate them so that Tommy has less grass, sadly he is getting a bit round!

 

Have you seen my lastest vlog  'Hello April' on my You Tube channel?   Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.



You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!   

Jo

5 Things To Do This Spring

This is it then, Spring is here!  More daylight, more sunshine and more time to do things - I am always so glad when April arrives.  As those of you who follow me on You Tube will know Spring is also when I have a really big tidy and clean and sort out of the stables and other areas.  It is also the time for some serious field maintenance!  So here are 5 things that I will be doing this Spring.

Managing my grazing - with just Basil and Tommy now I have found that I have had more than enough grass this winter without having to give them much hay in the field.  However, this is very likely to be a problem over the Spring and Summer as I will have TOO much grass for them.  Each year I divide the field up and restrict grazing but this year it will be even more important.  I have to be very careful that Tommy does not get over weight (he is a good doer) and guard against Laminitis.

• Once the field is dry enough, but not too dry I can chain harrow.  Getting the timing right on this is tricky because the soil has a high clay content which means it is VERY wet in the winter and then gets very dry in the summer.  I find there is a very small window (of 2-3 days) which is the optimum time to harrow.  The furrows take much longer to dry out but the ridges are rock hard really quickly.

 

 

• Once the field is harrowed I divide it up so that I can restrict the horses grazing but also so that I can work on the resting half.  The first step is spot treating the annual weeds; docks, thistles. nettles and buttercups.  This is a never ending battle but I just try to prevent them taking over, I will never get rid of them all.  I have a hand held sprayer that I walk around the field with, trying to walk in lines so I don't miss any.

• Check the fencing, although I check the fence regularly the Spring is a good time to get posts and rails fixed.  The clay soil causes problems with these too as the ground gets so wet during the winter that posts rot quite quickly and have to be replaced every 5 years or so.  I don't have many rails around the field as I have Horserail which is perfect for a crib biter/wind sucker like Basil.

• Poo picking, some people are very good and do this throughout the winter, I am not one of those people.  As the worms are dormant during this time I use this as an excuse not to attempt to push a wheel barrow through heavy clay each week.  However, as the soil warms up they get active so now is the time to start that regular job again.

• Worm testing, to go along with the poo picking egg counts start again and I test for Tapeworm in April too. 

 

 
Obviously, there are lots of other things to do in the Spring, like going for longer sunnier rides, spending time brushing all the loose hair from your horse, washing tails, trimming manes ... the list goes on :)

Luckily I get a lovely warm feeling as I do each and every one of these Spring Things To Do.

I have just uploaded a new vlog  'Hello April' on my You Tube channel?   Horse Life and Love
Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!   

Jo

What happened in March?

Basil had his shoes back on 7th March but the weather did not decide to cooperate as I had hoped.  I had a week off when I had planned to get some good riding in but the road was still closed and it was really windy and wet.  Improvements towards the end of the month and I think we are ready for a great year :)

This is how March looked:

1st - good lunging session today

2nd - lunged, good again :)

5th - lunged, Basil had a couple of silly moments but on the whole was good today

7th - shoes back on

Really wet & windy for 2 weeks so not much happened.... this was during my week off work too :(

17th March - lunged and total idiot, Basil galloped about as I expected after 2 weeks off.  He did settle for 5 minutes of sense on each rein eventually though.

19th - lunged and PERFECT today

20th - arena, I decided it was safe to get on again today.   Stayed in walk and trot as I am still having a bit of trouble with my back.  We did lots of walk circles and serpentines and leg yield and a couple of trot circles.  Good, although Basil fancied a canter really!

22nd - another lunging session, very good.

23rd- hack out, we went down the road to where it is closed to see how they were getting on.  Bit of practise with scary road works signs too .... walked with one short trot but Basil jogged all the way back.

24th - arena with walk and trot circles, walk serpentines and leg yield again.

26th - lunged and very silly today.

27th - hacked to road works again today, very keen and a bit jumpy. Short trot, jogged part of the way home today.

29th - lunged and he was mostly good, a whizz around half way through but he stayed on the circle

30th - hack again, just as far as the road works.  Beautiful day and a lovely ride, stopped for some grass.  Mostly walk with a short trot again.

31st - arena for a good session today.  Nice trot serpentine at first but once changed rein to do the same Basil decided it was time to canter so the trot was too fast and unbalanced.  Decided to risk a canter today, good left canter, correct lead.  Still a bit fast but not bad, right canter was a bit more wayward but still so much better since I changed his bit.  Lovely walk leg yield today.

Basil has been losing lots of hair throughout March, but Tommy has really only started seriously more recently - he has a lot to lose.  I think he is going to be on a diet soon too.

Have a look at my latest vlog 'One March Day' on my You Tube channel, Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.


You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!   

Jo