Friday, 7 August 2009
Speed rolling
Corbett rolls at ten times the speed of the other two - it is so funny! Apart from this morning, when he was grinding a ton of wet clay into his extremely abundant mane... Will try and get some video footage. Fraser has gone out this morning without his overreach boots on. The ground is so muddy the mud was collecting inside them - yuk. Farrier coming this pm so you can guarantee Fraser will pull a shoe off - tomorrow! Hoping to get him out and about this weekend for the first time in about six weeks.
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Truly, a comedian
Corbett tipped Nina's barrow over this morning when she was poo picking. So, add sense of humour to his attributes. We turned him out without a headcollar last night as he was no problem to catch yesterday evening.
Monday, 3 August 2009
The Acid Test
He has little legs…he is very amusing…he is Scottish…he is the smallest of the three…He is Corbett!
Yesterday, Nina rode Toffee for the first time in a month. Although Corbett has only been with us for a day, we decided to see how Fraser reacted. Turned out, Nina was spot on; it wasn’t Toffee he was bothered about, it was another horse in general. He has (probably) spent every day of his life in a busy, multi-horse environment, and cannot handle being on his own. Anyway, he whinnied a bit but was a different horse from previously. Corbett was just his own, mellow little self.
I cannot believe I was scared of minis! Corbett is adorable, and also known as Barrowman. No, not because he is loud and has a fondness for taking his trousers off, but because he follows Nina round when she poo picks, and inspects the barrow at regular intervals. He is so bright! And quite a comedian… Fraser was looking over the fence this morning, and Corbett was standing next to him with his head over the lower rail. I hope he’s not too bright though, like that previous Welsh monster *gulp* He is already in a routine. On Saturday evening when we brought the others in he was not too keen to be caught, but last night he knew what was going on (picking out hooves and a groom) and stood stock still to be caught. In the mornings, he stays out and helps Nina poo pick when the others come in for their breakfast. We will have to watch his grass intake though, because it is still growing and he is quite well covered. I look forward to him feeling totally settled, and hope the next few months aren’t too traumatic for him.
Did I mention his markings are amazingly symmetrical? Even the little black spot at the top of his tail is central. So, add pretty to his list of attributes! :D
And another piece of good news: Fraser's leg has finally healed, so no more bandaging! Hurrah! Until the next time...
Click photos to enlarge.
Yesterday, Nina rode Toffee for the first time in a month. Although Corbett has only been with us for a day, we decided to see how Fraser reacted. Turned out, Nina was spot on; it wasn’t Toffee he was bothered about, it was another horse in general. He has (probably) spent every day of his life in a busy, multi-horse environment, and cannot handle being on his own. Anyway, he whinnied a bit but was a different horse from previously. Corbett was just his own, mellow little self.
I cannot believe I was scared of minis! Corbett is adorable, and also known as Barrowman. No, not because he is loud and has a fondness for taking his trousers off, but because he follows Nina round when she poo picks, and inspects the barrow at regular intervals. He is so bright! And quite a comedian… Fraser was looking over the fence this morning, and Corbett was standing next to him with his head over the lower rail. I hope he’s not too bright though, like that previous Welsh monster *gulp* He is already in a routine. On Saturday evening when we brought the others in he was not too keen to be caught, but last night he knew what was going on (picking out hooves and a groom) and stood stock still to be caught. In the mornings, he stays out and helps Nina poo pick when the others come in for their breakfast. We will have to watch his grass intake though, because it is still growing and he is quite well covered. I look forward to him feeling totally settled, and hope the next few months aren’t too traumatic for him.
Did I mention his markings are amazingly symmetrical? Even the little black spot at the top of his tail is central. So, add pretty to his list of attributes! :D
And another piece of good news: Fraser's leg has finally healed, so no more bandaging! Hurrah! Until the next time...
Click photos to enlarge.
Saturday, 1 August 2009
New Arrival!
How wet can a person get? I have just had to change every garment I was wearing, so I think we can safely say my Musto is no longer waterproof. Jimi/Patterson/Corbett however has no such problems, and we watched in amusement as the torrential rain just rolled off him as if he was waxed. But I am getting ahead of myself…
The day dawned bright and clear, as they were wont to say in Jill books and the like. It wasn’t to last, and was possibly the second most positive thing to happen all day. We set off to Dunstable, to the Abacus stud to collect the miniature Shetland registered as Abacus Floyd. Jill, who owns the stud, trimmed his feet for him and helped to load him into the trailer. It was a bit of a squeeze (Ifor Williams 510; 30” pony), but we succeeded in fitting him in where he was cross-tied and given a hay net. He survived the journey, and despite producing a not-very-miniature quantity of effluent, had managed to force himself to nibble lightly on some hay. One thing we found out very quickly – he does like his grub! So we get home, and decide to pop him in the front part of the paddock and shut Toffee and Fraser in the top bit. Fraser looked suitable baffled (bless), but Toffee was absolutely disgusted and was not slow to make her feelings clear. Then both the big horses put on a spectacular display of flat-out galloping, bucking, running full pelt towards the fence and swerving at the last minute… Newcomer remained ambivalent about the whole thing. Eventually things calmed down, and we showed him how to get into the paddock with the others (under the bottom bit of electric tape dividing the field). He went trotting in, and Toffee soon set about showing him who was boss. He gave as good as he got though! First horse we’ve had here who actually answered back; he is a bold little thing and does the sweetest little squeals. Eventually things reached some sort of equilibrium and they all stood and grazed. Later on we looked out of the window, and he was nose to nose with Fraser. Too cute for words!
All the hooning around inevitably resulted in The Clumsy One cutting himself – this time, on the inside of a hock. Nina was trying to bathe it with Hibiscrub when he stamped the full weight of his shod foot down onto her toes. Poor Nina! :( He wasn’t having any wound powder puffed onto it either… *sigh* We caught Jimi/Patterson/Corbett when we brought the others in and tied him in the corner of the yard. He was understandably anxious at first, but soon relaxed and we gave him a little groom.
He seems a tough little character, yet very gentle and biddable. I am beginning to like him a lot… :D We are stuck for a name. We quite like Jimi because it is a Scottish name and he looks a lot like Jimi Hendrix. We like Corbett because of the ‘I look down on him’ class sketch featuring Ronnie Corbett (also Scottish), and we like Patterson because his registered name is Floyd and Floyd Patterson was a boxer. In time I expect he will name himself, but Patterson suits him because he pitter-patters…
Anyway, am knackered and rambling. More anon.
The day dawned bright and clear, as they were wont to say in Jill books and the like. It wasn’t to last, and was possibly the second most positive thing to happen all day. We set off to Dunstable, to the Abacus stud to collect the miniature Shetland registered as Abacus Floyd. Jill, who owns the stud, trimmed his feet for him and helped to load him into the trailer. It was a bit of a squeeze (Ifor Williams 510; 30” pony), but we succeeded in fitting him in where he was cross-tied and given a hay net. He survived the journey, and despite producing a not-very-miniature quantity of effluent, had managed to force himself to nibble lightly on some hay. One thing we found out very quickly – he does like his grub! So we get home, and decide to pop him in the front part of the paddock and shut Toffee and Fraser in the top bit. Fraser looked suitable baffled (bless), but Toffee was absolutely disgusted and was not slow to make her feelings clear. Then both the big horses put on a spectacular display of flat-out galloping, bucking, running full pelt towards the fence and swerving at the last minute… Newcomer remained ambivalent about the whole thing. Eventually things calmed down, and we showed him how to get into the paddock with the others (under the bottom bit of electric tape dividing the field). He went trotting in, and Toffee soon set about showing him who was boss. He gave as good as he got though! First horse we’ve had here who actually answered back; he is a bold little thing and does the sweetest little squeals. Eventually things reached some sort of equilibrium and they all stood and grazed. Later on we looked out of the window, and he was nose to nose with Fraser. Too cute for words!
All the hooning around inevitably resulted in The Clumsy One cutting himself – this time, on the inside of a hock. Nina was trying to bathe it with Hibiscrub when he stamped the full weight of his shod foot down onto her toes. Poor Nina! :( He wasn’t having any wound powder puffed onto it either… *sigh* We caught Jimi/Patterson/Corbett when we brought the others in and tied him in the corner of the yard. He was understandably anxious at first, but soon relaxed and we gave him a little groom.
He seems a tough little character, yet very gentle and biddable. I am beginning to like him a lot… :D We are stuck for a name. We quite like Jimi because it is a Scottish name and he looks a lot like Jimi Hendrix. We like Corbett because of the ‘I look down on him’ class sketch featuring Ronnie Corbett (also Scottish), and we like Patterson because his registered name is Floyd and Floyd Patterson was a boxer. In time I expect he will name himself, but Patterson suits him because he pitter-patters…
Anyway, am knackered and rambling. More anon.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Oh get a grip!
I blame Ben. Are you listening, Ben? :p I know we didn’t actually specify at the time, but we had hoped that the horse we got to keep Toffee company could be left alone. For a few minutes, at least. It seems this is not the case with the lovely Fraser. His leg is healing well, and the vet said it is not necessary to keep him still so much now. So, Nina thought she’d take Toffee for a walk on Saturday evening. She scrambled on bareback (saddle is away being re-flocked) and headed out of the yard towards the field. Now bearing in mind that Toffee was never actually out of Fraser’s sight, in the ten minutes she was not actually in our field with him he did two poos, whinnied constantly and broke out in sweat. His eyes were on stalks and every single vein was standing out. Obviously, we can’t have our lovely boy so stressed (it is getting worse, and a whole month in the field together will not have helped), so we looked at our options. Calmer – not sure how this would affect him, or whether it would be effective enough. Never separating – not really practical. A third horse – not enough space, money or time. So, what did we decide on…?
Eeeeeeeek!!
I have no idea if this will do the trick...watch this space. I am slightly scared of miniature Shetlands. Actually, quite scared. A horse, yet not a horse. Something the size of a dog that can kick and bite. More info to follow, including an account of Fraser's reaction to the newcomer.
Monday, 20 July 2009
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