Leo's New Mummy

Leo is completely convinced that Sasha is his long lost mummy. They are like two peas in a pod!

Tintin's First Christmas

This was Tintin's first Christmas in safety, following his rescue from the meat trade. If he were a cat, he would have used up several of his nine lives by now, as not only was he saved because another horse died in his place, he was sent back as he lacked a piece of paper, and we thought all was lost. Finally he made it to freedom and is safe for life.

A huge gorgeous donkey, as time has gone on, he has revealed his demons. He is terrified of a brush - no doubt been bashed with one, and even a grooming brush at first scared him to death. Even a hoof pick was an instrument of tortune.

On another occasion, he had come in at night and we had a lorry come to deliver some goods - the sound of the lorry outside scared him so much he tried to climb out of the stable - he clearly had been herded into a vehicle at night, and he was sure they had come to take him away again.

If only they could talk and tell us what has happened to them.

His love affair, with Vodka donkey, continues, they totally adore each other.

Sasha's New House

After a lot of work, she has finally managed to move to an indoor stable - needs painting but at least she is in out of the weather.

Sasha's new feet

Having arrived with the most awful feet, they are a bit better after a trim!

Sasha Gets Settled

Our little comtois mare, bought sight unseen, is settling in, so far so good.

Her little tootsies are dreadfully long and painful, waiting for farrier to attend, but she seems to have a sweet gentle nature and is enjoying being coddled a bit.

Here she is.

RIP Jenny

Little Jenny, a 40 year old donkey, joined our little gang just over two months ago.

Last week, she got cast in the stable and had to be assisted by the fire brigade. Whatever the cause, from then on she refused to eat, despite being tempted by anything possible. We gave the medication a chance to kick in, but as she was getting weaker, a decision was made that the following morning if there was no improvement, that would be the end.

She died overnight and was found the next morning, all very sad.

Goodbye Jenny, a very gentle feisty independent little donkey. We only had you a very little bit of your long life, but we miss you.

It's Springtime Blossom

Blossom, the comtois mare, arrived this week. A rather scruffy, scared, little lady who had come over from Holland, braved the snow and is now resting and settling in.

Hopefully she will be a nice hack and family horse. But she'll be given time to get her bearings before any attempt to ride her etc.

The Terrors of Tintin

Just when we thought the big lad was settled and happy a simple thing that shows how fragile he is.

Everyone had come in for dinner and were in their stables, ready for lights off and shut eye.

But we had a delivery arrive - lorry outside barn, revving up. No one batted an eye, but Tintin was completely terrified, cantering in the stable, trying to barge out the door, get over it, total panic. Very liquid poo everywhere as he was just utterly terrified. Just wanted to escape, however he could.

Clearly thought they had come for him and he was going back on the lorry to the hell hole he came frame. He was totally deranged, just desperate to get away. So so heart breaking to see our handsome, gentle, friendly lad reduced to a quivering wreck. Evidently been in a barn at night, lorry comes, herded on, probably roughly.

None of the others were remotely worried, just the big lad.

He was shaking with fright. Took a lot of cuddles and reassurance for him to calm down and realise he was safe.

Why oh why. What on earth has he seen or been through before he came to us? I can guess, I just don't want to know.

L'equipe bleu

It's the blue rug team - all sporting their latest fashion accessories

Molly cob in royal blue
Tintin the brave in tartan
Leo the lionheart in navy blue

How many can you fit in? Answers on a postcard to....

We need another field shelter, it is just getting too crowded!

Rosie On the Mend

The old trout is now allowed out a bit - she is still a bit skinny but her liver problems seem to be improving, so hopefully she is off death row.

It's Goodbye to the Girls

Little Fern, Mimi and Sabrina's summer holiday ended today and they have gone home to their charity owners for the winter - they all loaded very well, apart from Sabrina leaving mum with a lasting tatoo on her foot by stamping on it and making a wonderful hoof print on her tootsie.

Leo, their friend, is staying put, and was very brave, standing in the field waving goodbye - actually he was too busy playing with Mr Tintin to notice.

We will miss them all - they waddled into the horse box as they have done very well over the summer - Fern looks as if she is carrying twins! Talk about a grass belly....

Red Letter Day for Rosie

She has finally been allowed out on a bit of grazing for the first time in more than 2 months. We had no idea what caused her liver problems, so she has been boxed rested and kept off the pasture as it may be something she has eaten there.

She then was allowed out on the yard but with a bucket muzzle on, so she couldn't munch anything. She is being fed lots of little meals, every two hours, but today she got to graze all day, she was so happy. She is still not out of the woods health wise but at least she is getting to have a bit more of a life, as she has been really restricted and very down.

Trailer Training

Tintin is off for a dental so we had to find out if he would load - tonight was the night and the big lamb sauntered into the trailer without hesitation. So proud of him as doubt he has ever been in one, but he followed up the ramp without a worry. It was particularly impressive as he was on his way in from the field for his dinner and detoured to walk through the trailer. Very obliging donkey.

We then thought we would see if Leo fancied exploring it, and with the aid of his bucket, he walked in, ate a bit, had a panic and shot down the front ramp. So we will have to do a bit of work on that, but he was so brave to have a go, as he has never been in a trailer. Again very proud of him to be so trusting.

Holby City Horse Style

September and October have been the month for keep the vets busy and in the money.

Rosie cob first of all has been attempting to die of liver failure since July - she has been to hospital at great expense for a liver biopsy - which showed that she was a very ill girl indeed. She was so scared at the hospital - all these glossy expensive horses, all neatly turned out, and a hot sweating cob who was in a tizz and worried about it all. She was so glad to be home and running on empty that she managed to fall and split her cheek open the day she got back. Fortunately her second test results are a bit better, so while her prognosis is that dreadful word - guarded - we are hoping that she will at least recover enough to potter about.

Molly cob, already on a permanent sick note, clearly gave Rosie instructions on how to get ill and no longer able to be ridden.....

Tintin, the amazingly large donkey has had a swollen gullet and neck, so he has been tubed to see if there was any obstruction, and now is on tablets to see if it will go away. He was a very brave boy to have a stomach tube put in without being sedated.

Aimee has also decided to get in on the act by being lame - she is being poulticed twice daily.....

Naturally none of this comes cheap - no xmas presents this year.

Vodka and Aimee Shelter In Their New Rugs

The two donkey girls were shy and hid in the field shelter. It's amazing how many donkeys can fit in a small field shelter - four!

Leo a Picture in Pink

His first day wearing his rug, which is now suitably coated in mud!

Tintin Shows Off His New Wardrobe

The elegant donkey about town, Tintin has been equipped for the winter.

Here he is in a matching brown ensemble.

Tintin in Camoflage

There really are some daft pictures of donkeys which should remain private....Tintin looking very foolish and even Vodka has to join in with her silly midge fighting outfit.

Leo in Training

As part of his training, Leo has to get used to all sorts of odd things - here he is meeting a fly mask for the first time! He isn't that worried by things, it is more people.

Considering how hard it was to get a head collar on him at first, he has made huge progress. He can now wear a rug without any problems and when he managed to cut his leg, he had an iodine spray whooshed at the poor wounded paw. He is now beginning to live up to his name of Leo the Lionheart.

Leo Relaxes

After a lot of handling, Leo was allowed back out into the field. He now leads to the field and back every day, and is usually fine to catch. He still has his days of worrying about things but generally he doesn't panic much now, and even when he does, he will work out how to get over it.

This is an enormous improvement on the terrified little lad whose only response to everything was to high tail it as far away as possible.

Leo Poses as Roger Daltry

Once Leo decided that while in the past people had fully intended to kill him, there was no longer clear and imminent danger, and he began to make friends with us.

One of our first tasks was to tackle his magnificent mane which is truly spectacular.

At this point he was still not trustworthy enough to be allowed out, but he was becoming more trusting, allowing a head collar to be put on without it taking half a day, and enjoying being groomed and having his feet picked up.

Ferguson Babysits Leo

We finally have Leo in captivity and you can see what a lovely pony he has turned into. At this stage, it could still take half an hour to catch him in the stable, hard to believe but that's how it was, he would just go around in circles in a panic.

Fortunately he is the kindest pony in the world and utterly without malice and when when scared, he would never lift a hoof to hurt you. You might be squished against a wall but nothing worse than that!

As he couldn't be left in the barn alone, Ferguson donkey was often left as his warden.

The look on Ferguson's face says exactly what he thought of it all.

And Then There Was The Cowardly Lion

Leo's mum, Lexie, is a very self confident young lady, and has clearly been a riding pony, perfect for children. Quite why she ended up being sent for slaughter, with her foal, Leo, is a mystery as she has now resumed her career as a kid's pony and is completely reliable and trustworthy.

Leo arrived scared of his own shadow, he had clearly hidden behind mum who protected him aggressively and sheltered him from everything, and he was just terrified of everything.

We made the major mistake of turning him out, in a big field, with his friends, Sabrina Fern and Mimi. Two months later, we were still trying to catch him!

So operation recapture Leo began - first of all, we removed Fern and Mimi from the field, leaving him with Sabrina. Sabrina, who is happy to be caught, and led around, then was brought down to the stables, and put in a very small paddock. Fortunately, rather than be left alone, Leo followed her. We then reunited her with her friends and Leo was on his own.

Eventually we managed to get him from the paddock, onto the yard, and then finally into the barn, where he was well and truly kept in custody till we could do a lot of handling with him.

This is him in the small paddock, with a nose covered in treacle as he had discovered the joys of horselix.

Fern, Mimi and Sabrina

This is the foals shortly after arrival in the spring - Sabrina the dark one looks particularly babyish. They have all grown quite a bit and filled out and look much more mature now, at the end of the summer.

Fern Another One of the Foals

Fern is shaping into a nice little pony, she isn't going to be huge but she is a very pretty chestnut, with white spots on her chest, and is very friendly. This picture of her was taken as she was waiting for the farrier to trim her for the first time.

Mum and daughter, Sabrina and Nakosa

Sabrina, one of our equine b&b visitors is in the top picture, with the following one being her mum, Nakosa. Nakosa doesn't have a lot of time for people, as they haven't been very nice to her over the years.

She has passed some of this fighting spirit to her daughter, who is feisty, but at the same time is very reliable if she understands what you want. While it may be too late for her mum to be anything other than a field ornament, her daughter is a lovely filly and when she grows up will be an excellent prospect for rehoming as a riding horse.