Three down and one to go - feet that is

Decided that I would have to get rid of the girl's blouse and do something about Isla's feet.  For those that don't know, I had a run in with a little virus which attacked the balance mechanism in my left ear (also has affected my hearing).  Consequently bending over and dealing with pony feet has been fraught with some difficulty.  So long as all stays steady there is not a problem but if I have to move suddenly - to follow a wayward hoof for example, then things can all go to hell in a handbasket very quickly.

Isla is a tit with her feet because she did not get the right handling when young (partially because of me and above mentioned).  However being the old fashioned horse person that I am (no warm fuzzy stuff from me) I had taken the time to rope her and done it properly.

So today I used a legstrap to make it possible to actually trim her feet.  If she wanted to snatch her foot, she still couldn't get it down and then create an argument.   Just to show she really is a well adjusted soul, she stood in the paddock with halter and lead on, surrounded by three other very nosey and smoochy ponies, on three legs without a whimper.  I just ran out of puff to finish the off hind.   Tomorrow is another day.... and I only fell over once.  Isla very carefully (on three legs) stepped away from me.  That pony is a gem.  The number of times she has had to avoid standing on me when I have gone arse over tip is pretty impressive (and she does not panic).   Bridgie now, has managed to collect me two out of two :(

Not a very tidy job, but at least it is done and I do not have to wince and feel guilty about not being able to pay a professional to do the job.

Liz has been steadily working her way through the rest of the troops but her bump is severely getting in the way now.  I sure would not have let her try and work her magic on Isla as she has to sit on a bucket to do the job.   All of the others have been really great with the 'sit on bucket method', even the little yearling.   This is tantamount to the excellent handling Liz has given them from the start.

Now I am off home to try and get the kinks out of my back....

Electric fencing gives one Power & the visitors from Hell (not mine)

Labour Weekend.  Three days to get lots of work done on the 'ranch'.   Important things like get the electric fences working and hooked up to the mains unit before the whole place is totally destructed by ponies giving themselves full body massages on the paling fence around the house garden.   And getting the water reticulation set up for pigs.

Wot 'appens?  Townie friends decide that it is such nice weather it would be really, really good to go and visit their friends who live not far from them, in the country.  Unannounced of course, and having in tow grotty, little tantrum throwing, idjits.

I escaped (thems what know me will understand totally and thems wot don't, it doesn't really matter).   Poor LIz, how she didn't bang some heads I really do not know.

I escaped to the back paddocks, and the fencing is going 'enough', if somewhat jerry rigged at this stage, but now I will go out and finish what didn't get done yesterday.   It is a 'while' since I did any fencing on a regular basis - the skills have not gone, but I certainly have slowed down rather.   Not having any fencing tools other than a chain link strainer didn't help though.   Had to make use with what I could locate in the garage.   However I am the 'queen' of make do and substitution.

The pig water is also 'sort of working', but also jerry rigged. (Liz did that) And better than what was going before, so that is a little progress.

Busked at the market on Sat.   Made a whole twelve bucks, still that let me indulge myself with a packet of toffee pops (they were on special at the NW).

The Windmills of Your Mind

Things have been very quiet on the pony front since the 'pony instruments of gastronomic torture' have been sorted (aka as grazing muzzles).

Now 'we' are just waiting until some more arrive in store so that the rest of the troops can be fitted out.

Yesterday I investigated 'the' windmill demolen to check out the internal access.

On Dec 5 the local Christmas Fest is in the Main Street in Foxton and I have been asked to play some carols on the harp, from up on the landing on the windmill.

The staircase inside is very, very steep, not that many degrees off  the vertical so there is no way that the harp can go up that way.   To get the wheat up into the mill area and the flour down there are  trapdoors in all of the floor levels, with a pulley system.   This would seem the only way in which to get the harp up.   I am just a tad wary of that....

It will probably be raining anyway, which will stop the whole idea dead.   In the meantime I am busy learning and practising carols....

The great Escape

at 10.30pm around Liz's garden.

Of course no one was going to co-operate and be caught.

Cannot blame the fat ladies, they are content with their muzzled consumption.

This escape was the  field of the adolescents - looking for trouble -   Sadly I suspect that the perpetrator will have been Isla, doing her usual full body massage on the post and palings fence.  Funny how gates come off the hinges when faced with such treatment.

So the escape was more likely to be serendipitous than planned.  The little boys went AWOL a little further than the girls.   Liz said that the neighbouring horses all shat themselves because of the mini monsters hoofing about.

Sanity prevails - or is food the ideal bribe?

Arrived to be met by three very enthusiastic mares, all of whom volunteered their heads for the application of grazing muzzles.   Yes, even Bridgie!!!!

A fast sprint up the paddock (as fast as I can sprint that is) being followed by thundering of hooves.

Three very happy mares relocated into the lovely long grass - mmmm.

All that is needed now is more muzzles for the rest of the troops.   Sure beats thrashing the paddocks by over grazing, in an effort to reduce calorific intake.   

Maybe a solution to the 'human obesity epidemic'?  Lots of people walking around looking like Hannibal Lecter (yeah right).  The feeding muzzle being the 21st century equivalent of the medieval chastity belt?   More bonking, less eating??

Talk to the muzzle!!!

Like hell, says Bridget....

Katie and Sue a 'happily' sporting grazing muzzles.   After all wear one of those and you get out into the paddock with all the long grass.

Bridgie showed her disdain in no uncertain terms.  It took me the time that it takes for the washing machine to do its thing, to catch the witch.

We both had quite a bit of exercise in the process.  B's effort being much more energetic than mine. Tart!!

 She is moving very well, best I have seen her move for quite a while in fact ;)   Need to get the gear out, I can see that

Now in pursuit of further instruments of pony torture for the rest of the pony population here.

I think Liz is going to pass by the Saddlery warehouse in the near future.

Talk to the Hand - or in this case the curry comb

Yesterday I made the comment that I was not sure whether Bridgie was hanging close by while I was poo picking because she wanted skitches or food.

There is now incontravertible proof that it is the skitches which is the attraction. Yesterday I went out poo picking without brushes in hand. Ponies (all of the fat ladies and Sparrow) rocked up for a smooch.

Very quickly, once it was noted that I was not dispensing coat massages they all pissed off and ignored me for the rest of the afternoon.

Nice to know when you are wanted. The world runs on ulterior motives.

Bloody cold here today. Still snow on the tops of the Tararuas.

Well people will not read, if I don't update... so says liz

Which is all very true

But it is hard to update when not much has been happening.   I mean who really wants to know about the minutiae of other people's lives?   Don't we have enough of that in our own?  It isn't like I have been doing anything exciting, out of the ordinary, dangerous or....?

Purely Ho hum, that be me these days.

Work has been very off again - but tomorrow it will be on again (not sure for how many days though).  Not much work means not much $$s which means not much happening.

Tie that to not having my own internet connection and I am doing things hard :(

My last assignment was a real dog (as in I wrote a real dog).  I will be happy if I actually pass that one.   I wrote the damn thing and then went to Massey and did an internet search for references which supported my thesis.   Mmm, definitely NOT the way to do the job.  But the whole thing was due over the time I was busily packing, carting stuff and unpacking.   Didn't organise that too well.  Slight logistics problem, wouldn't earn any brownie points for project management there.

Ponies are well.   Bridget is supremely grumpy (grumpy is 'normal', supremely grumpy is not) because she is of the opinion that her diet is insufficient to meet her expectations.  Isla is in with the other Kohatu youngstock, harassing them into playing with her.   They have much better social skills than she has.  I just wish they would give her a set of heels more often.  At least Bridgie hasn't got the demon filly  to worry her now.   B has been really nasty to the other grumpy mares in the jenny craig accommodation, so she cannot use Isla as her grump excuse any more.   She is really funny when I am poo picking - B that is - just about superglues herself to me.   No idea whether it is because I supplying routine grooming to alleviate the itches caused by moulting or because she is convinced that being smarmy will weaken my resolve to reduce her waistline and that I will let her through on the grass.

Have done some busking at the Foxton market - as a result I have now been booked for a gig on the Foxton Christmas parade day.   The idea is to put me (and the harp) up on the decking on the windmill so the lovely music will waft across the 'whatever'.  Will all be totally weather dependent, that.

Also made it into the PN Folk Club on Friday night.   Met up with some old cronies.  There was a, new to me, woman there, who also plays the harp.   It is a little 27 low tension nylon strung one.  She let me have a play on it.   It was really quite difficult as I was over stressing the fingering, it needed a much lighter touch that I could even think about having with the high tension, gut strung, instrument that I am used to playing.

See told you that my life was boring.   But I have updated the blog. ;)