After a long, hot and dry summer, I think most of us with equines feared a wet autumn, yet – touch wood – the weather has continued to be fine with just enough rain to keep the grass growing for a little longer.
Now that Diva has finished showing for the season, I have turned her out 24/7 with Mabel as the grass is no longer so rich. She has put on some weight, but I check her feet and digital pulses along with trotting her up every day to ensure she does not succumb to laminitis. During the summer months she was usually in for the evenings to restrict her grazing, so it is lovely to see her out all the time.
I intend to keep her and Mabel out for as long as the ground doesn’t get too wet and boggy so fingers crossed it remains relatively dry up to Christmas, which would make the winter seem a little shorter. Poo picking the field in the lovely autumn sunshine is certainly no hardship either.
Diva will not be rugged all winter as her thick coat will give protection whatever the weather throws at her. I will rug Mabel when it is wet or very cold. She is a difficult one to rug at this time of year as she soon gets too warm and begins to itch if over rugged.
So far, I have had enough grass that I haven’t had to give them any hay. Mabel gets a small feed, but Diva doesn’t need any extra. The one thing I do ensure is a block of Himalayan rock salt in the field. I buy big chunks and put it on the ground near their water trough. The rock salt stands up to being rained on pretty well so is perfect for field use.
I do have a nice stack of hay ready for when the weather turns, but let’s hope I don’t have to use it for a little while yet.
Once again I threw Arlo in at the deep end, affiliating him purely for the Arena UK second round show, and once again he pulled it out the bag. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful little horse? We haven’t really competed this year. I don’t really compete over the winter, and also my horsebox was away for repairs up until the beginning of June, so I had no transport even if I’d wanted to.
With the dry ground we don’t seem to be having much luck with shoes, as little madam managed to pull both her front shoes off within 12 hours the other day! We entered the arena with two shoes on for a schooling session and left it with one missing (took about an hour to find it). Then that afternoon, as I went to put some hoof ointment on, I looked down and had to double take, thinking I was looking at the wrong hoof. But, no, the other shoe was missing too.
After having a long wait and some lunch at the onsite café, it was time to get ready for the Joan Wolfe Overall Supreme Shetland Pony Championship. I got changed out of my usual showing outfit into black trousers and a maroon top with white spots, as you are expected to be a bit more “bling” in the evening.
We were all set to go for our next outing, and were super excited. That was until I heard the dreaded clunk of a loose shoe! I checked it over, praying it wasn’t too loose, but, nope, it was going to need a refit.