Naughty Ponies!!!!!

[JadeCannon]

Just a short moan about my naughty ponies!!! (still love them to bits!)

I had a whole list of things to be doing today! Yard, Work, Yard, Pack up things to move yards tomorrow & finally home & out for tea at 7pm!
Well had to abandon car at my OH work and take a quad to the yard (bloody freezing 20min journey!) - Had to abandon work completely as car was then stuck!!!
Quad had no petrol and 3 flat tyres! So had to sort that out!
Then had to bring 2 naughty exmoor ponies (that should know better). I arrive at field - no ponies! They have obvoisly decided electric fencing is not a worthy fencing and have toddled off to the farm next door!!! Finally find them and of course they dont want to be caught, finally caught and I have to take them across a tiny frozen stream to a closer field so easier for me to feed / water them during this weather - one jumped stream (currently has 1/2inch of water in!) and other wouldnt go over so I was in middle being pulled in half!!
Finally got them both going in same direction, put them in closer field with lovely haylage & lukewarm water (after H&H article!) (10 kettles boiled and painstakingly delievered to field!!) - what do they do - proceed to eat snow (which the topspec advert tells me ponies most certainly will not do!!) - ARGH! They are so naughty!
Meanwhile the other 2 who are in at night had created havoc - one had pulled down all 3 haynets, trampled them around and thrown them out of stable! And the other had tipped her ENORMOUS water bucket over and flooded not only her box but the other 3 boxes down from her - obviously turned to ice so had 4 ponies ice skating around boxes!
I think I must be INSANE to even go back today - it will no doubt be havoc again!!
They are all very gorgeous and actually well behaved in most situations - but just seem to get a glint in thier eye!!! They do give me lots of snuggles so I have to let them get away with it!!

Does any one else have naughty ponies?!

[sarahp]

Well, Exmoor ponies are very well adapted to living outside in all weathers and look after themselves, and my guess would be they thought that it was more sheltered/had more accessible food for them on the farm next door so had taken themselves off there and didn't see why they had to come back! I bet they stayed to eat the haylage though. I haven't seen the Top Spec ad but I'm sure all native ponies would eat snow if thirsty, how else would they survive on a hill/fell/moor in the snow when feral and without anyone to bring them liquid water?

I can't speak for the inside ones though.

[kates]

sounds like u had a day and a half!

[JadeCannon]

Looking back on it, it was pretty funny - especially me in the middle of a stream with a stubborn Exmoor on both sides! SarahP - they have definately decided haylage is the way forward - shame they are both ment to be on diets!
Lets hope tomorrow is less eventful!

[sageandonion]

Perhaps my sense of humour has failed me, but I don't think that is naughty behaviour. I don't think electric fencing should form a perimeter fence, it is worrying and dangerous ponies can get out of their paddocks.

I would more likely be thinking there had been a bout of colic in the stable as goodness knows what they might have eaten.

So, I shall be very boring. I would be horrified if that happened to my ponies.

[JadeCannon]

Dec 18, 2010 19:07:03 GMT said:

Perhaps my sense of humour has failed me, but I don't think that is naughty behaviour. I don't think electric fencing should form a perimeter fence, it is worrying and dangerous ponies can get out of their paddocks.

I would more likely be thinking there had been a bout of colic in the stable as goodness knows what they might have eaten.

So, I shall be very boring. I would be horrified if that happened to my ponies.

↲Ok, thats fine, u be horrified but i would suggest to ask questions before jumping to presumtions. Electric fence is a boundry fence but has post and rail 3 of longer sides. The side they escaped through was on to the next door summer grazing so perfectly safe. Thank u ever so much for your concern. Both indoors ponies are regulary messy and hav shown no signs what so ever of colic, just bored ponies! But as u say my livery field is not safe, i best not turn them out! Believe it or not i have managed to look after ponies for many years and would see it as extreme bad taste to post about a subject if i believed any horse or pony's health had been at risk. Thank u again for the advise. I will remember not to bother posting stories unless i become a member of the HG clique! Hehe!x

[bumblebee]

Noone's saying you're not looking after your ponies well enough - everyone gets escapees now and again.....all we're saying is that it's something that should be taken seriously rather than just laughed about.

[sageandonion]

Very unnecessary comments JadeCannon. If you want everyone to agree and laugh at things they don't find funny then forums would be a very boring place to be. You haven't been shot down in flames, I have simply said that I personally would not regard those events as funny, that I would be looking to ensure my ponies cannot get out of their paddocks and wrecked stables for me would be a sign of something amiss not 'naughty' behaviour.

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion that all that is amusing.

[janet]

I thought Jade's article about her naughty ponies was very amusing as it was written to be that way, it made me smile imagining them over the stream, I think it was tongue in cheek , and meant to be funny,

[JadeCannon]

Thanks Janet! I was starting to wonder if my sense of humour had gone overboard all of a sudden! I dont think anything I had written was any less PC than H&H amusing articles! Naughty ponios have today decided that it was a good idea to pick up my gloves that I had placed on the fence while filling thier water - (with warm water!) and dunk them into the newly filled trough!! Argh! Was so lovely having no gloves to wear!!

[chorro]

I think you would have to laugh otherwise you would definately cry after a day like that.
I too read it the same way as Janet
My Arab eats snow even though she has a bucket of fresh tepid water, thinks she just likes snow.

[Bows 4 Shows]

Jade - I wouldn't call your ponies naughty I would describe them as cheeky. I have a section d and no matter how high voltage the electric fencing is on he will get through it/under it whichever way to escape. He is no longer turned out in the fields unless they are properly post and railed for our piece of mind more thasn anything. I am guessing you have also had lots of snow etc and having difficulty exercising the 2 kept inside? they are maybe a little bored so finding ways to keep theirselves amused. We normally find a rug or 2 has been dragged down off the rails or our old cob will decide that she will go walk about when you open the door when ours have been in a few days. Dont worry no-ones horses are perfect they are there to bring excitement and happiness to your life so enjoy them! The best pony we ever had was the naughtiest/ cheekiest you would ever come across. He escaped at every opportunity, was terrible to catch when we first got him, we found him in the kitchen one morning when he was kept at home, he always managed to untie himself at shows, he managed to live to 29 years old and only then it was the body work packing up. Have a Happy Christmas xx

[JadeCannon]

B4S - I think you are right, cheeky perhaps covers it! Cant believe yours let himself into your house! Yep the 2 indoors ones are totally bored despite carrots and apples hanging all over thier stables, they seem to enjoy the excitement of how hot and bothered they can make me in a morning! - I suppose they are just trying to help me keep warm in this weather!! haha!

[frankie1]

Well I found your adventure entertaining, my lot at the moment have decided that an hour out in the snow is plenty long enough and they start to create havoc, they are definitely indoor ponies.

[Bows 4 Shows]

Had to move our oldie back into an indoor stable last night even though she fights with both horses either side of her. It was soo cold -13 and her normal stable which is a hay shelter made into a stable so its flat for her coming in and out so doesn't aggrivate her arthritis was so frozen (all metal - fingers stuck to the gate when i closed it and water buckets froze as water was being topped up!)
Surprisingly there was no arguments although i sense it won't stay so peaceful for long!!
It is very hard for everyone at the moment. Normal routines of daily turnout has come to a halt due to ice both in the yard and across to the fields hence bored frustrated horses, endless trips of filling water containers and loading in and out of the car to get to the yard as frozen pipes in the stable yard, have changed to straw bedding as so much warmer for them although much harder work for mucking out!), breaking ice on water buckets, filling haynets in the dark, the list goes on.
Luckily i finish work today so will take a bit of pressure off. Our old boy (who we found in the kitchen) was sadly PTS in May but after all this terrible weather i am quite relieved - think he would have really struggled this Winter both weight wise and movement.
Lets hope this nasty weather buggers off soon and we can get back to normality (as far as normal goes anyway!!!)
xx

[sarahp]

Why does no-one put the muck down on top of the ice to make a non-slip surface any more as we used to? OK it has to be cleared up when the thaw comes but what's that compared to confining horses because you daren't lead them over the ice to turn them out?

[emma3870]

Dec 21, 2010 13:09:51 GMT sarahp said:

Why does no-one put the muck down on top of the ice to make a non-slip surface any more as we used to? OK it has to be cleared up when the thaw comes but what's that compared to confining horses because you daren't lead them over the ice to turn them out?

I do - i dont have concrete but even the hard standing we have freezes in front of the stables

[Bows 4 Shows]

It's not because i darent lead them on ice. We have dug out paths to get the horses out of the yard and across to tie up etc / put down rock salt etc but we have to cross a road to get to our turnout fields. Plus we have one horse who suffers with lami and have been advised by both farrier and vets to not turn her out in frost.

[sarahp]

You did say due to ice in the yard and across to the fields, no mention of crossing a road!

[Bows 4 Shows]

I think you may have read my post in the wrong way am not trying to get into an arguement here was merely stating how difficult things can be in the winter and to tell Jade that I didn't feel her ponies were being naughty as many others did. Sorry if you are offended

[sarahp]

I'm not offended, just trying to be helpful but can only comment on the information that is given, not on what is not. It could have been useful info' for other people who are struggling with iced up yards and have not come across the idea before.

[JadeCannon]

B4S - My fingers were sticking to the gates tonight - it reminded me of dumb and dumber!! haha! Mine currently sound like they have bells on thier fetlocks - they have little snow balls that jangle when they move!