Categories
webcams

It is getting nearer to the time when the Fillies…

It is getting nearer to the time when the Fillies, Bliss and Misty are due to go to Bloodstock Sales in Doncaster. We are still not sure if we are going to send them, so much so that we are now breaking them in to ride, as well as preparing them for the Auction. It is normally the person who purchases the yearlings that gets them broken.

There is a lot work to do, and you need a lot of patience when you break a Horse. I don’t mind the work but I haven’t got the patience, so I leave it to others. Any Horses that we have, that needs to be broken we always do ourselves. Of course Bliss and Misty being born at Denbury know and trust us, so any thing that we do to them, they will trust us doing. They have no reason to believe otherwise.

I thought that Bliss would be easier to break than Misty, but it looks as if it is going to be the other way around. When we are working with Misty and you go out of sight of Bliss she will keep calling for Misty. She will get out of that, within a day or two. The first thing that you need to do when breaking a Horse is to bit them, a Horse without a bit it is like a car with out a steering wheel or brakes. The bit is the control system. Some people have problems getting a bit into a Horses mouth. We do it within seconds. To get them use to the control that a bit gives, you walk by the side as if on a lead, putting very slight pressure on the left or right side of the bit, when you turn in that direction. You must be very careful not to put to much pressure on the bit otherwise you could make the Horse hard mouthed, needing for you to have to pull hard to get the Horse to turn or stop. You then progresses onto long reining. That is walking behind the Horse with long leads attached to the bit, tapping it backside to push the Horse forward. We will be long reining tomorrow. Having the Fillies broken will allow us to send them away to be trained when we want, if we decide not to sell them. I will let you know how we get on with the breaking.

Elaine, the Badger were scared by to conventional sprung rat traps that the Badgers when looking for their food accidentally tripped. I am sure some of you must have seen the large amount of rats that were feeding on the crumbs left by the Badgers after feeding on the puppy and cam two last night. I hadn’t watched that camera for a little while and had not noticed how many rats were there. I went out this morning and purchased a number of traps and an electric Zapper that electrocute the rats when they enter the box that was zooming in on. I was try to avoid using poison. After watching tonight I have little alternative. All the traps have been tripped without catching any thing and the rats are being very cautious of the Zapper. I counted thirty on view, at one time last night. There must be many more that I did not see. I really do have a problem that I have got to sort out. Secondary poising is always a possibility but poisoning seems the only sure way that I will get rid of the rats.

By the way, have any of you other than Marie managed to watch the www.tattersalls.com sale that is currently on. It is on tomorrow and Friday from 11.am until about 7.pm

Categories
webcams

I have always had a knack of putting my foot…

I have always had a knack of putting my foot in it at the wrong time. I suppose you would say that I would not be the most diplomatic person you would know. I managed to do it again Sunday last week, to a very nice couple who came for a weeks holiday. The Gentleman came for fishing, the lady for a break and a little Horse riding. Although I am do not particularly like fishing, it is a fact that we need to offer different activities to our Holiday Guests. We are fortunate to be able to offer fishing on our lake, as well as all the other pursuits that people can do, if and when they choose when they come to holiday at Denbury.

I always make it a point to go to the lake on the first day that anyone is fishing, to let them know the better spots to fish and what has been fished from the lake recently. There is only few rules that we have for those who Fish our lake. Always use landing nets, inexperienced Children should always be accompanied and no keep nets. I always try to explain my reasons. Inevitably sometimes they are questioned, and unfortunately in conversation I do let people know that fishing is not my favorite sport, although I really do not have any problems with other people fishing, it is a very popular sport, and most people who have fished our lakes are Wildlife enthusiasts, who let us know what Wildlife that they have seen whilst fishing. Ninety nine percent have come for the Wildlife as well as the fishing. Sometimes the conversation leads on to hunting and game shooting, of which you know well that I am against. I always let people know that I believe them to be cruel sports. And it came up in conversation with this Gentleman. Unfortunately he was a retired Gamekeeper, who looked after Game Shooting.

After reading the forum, I made it a point to get a closer look at the Badger, that a few of you have commented about on the puppy webcam. On zooming in on it, I could see that it has a nasty wound on its jowl and all under its neck. How it was caused we will never know. It could be by fighting, shooting, being caught up on wire or snare or an accident. For sure there was one youngster that was full of itself and was pushing its luck, the way it is keeping to its self, it could well be a fight in the group. If the wound doesnt get infected the Badger will probably live. If the wound does get infected it will die. A good sign is that it is eating, as long as it does, the more chance that it will live.

The Stag that I caught briefly on camera just after 6.30pm looked a different one from the one last week. I thought that he was a year or so older.

The Barn Owl Trust got the new camera working today. In the day it will be in colour, when I viewed it earlier today it is very good, so much so that on full screen it is as good as normal size, and you can see the Barn Owls in their true colour. Tonight on IR mode, it is a little to bright. It will be very easy to put right.

Categories
webcams

I am sorry but I am unable to do a…

I am sorry but I am unable to do a Diary tonight.
There will be an entry tomorrow.

Categories
webcams

Sorry but I am unable to do the Diary again…

Sorry, but I am unable to do the Diary again tonight. Hopefully I will be able to do an entry tomorrow.

As from tomorrow the Badgers will be fed between 6.45 to 7.15pm

Categories
webcams

Sorry that there was a lot of disruption in the…

Sorry that there was a lot of disruption in the broadcasting today. I don’t know what caused it as I was unable to contact our Bandwidth suppliers who distribute the images. It could be general maintenance or a temporary intermittent fault.

I am also unable to do a Diary tonight.

Categories
webcams

The Tawney Owl that has been perching on the pole…

The Tawney Owl that has been perching on the pole down the valley, was hunting in the Badger field last night. It was hunting vermin and voles that we are encouraging when we feed the Badgers. It does give me a bit of a problem with the amount of rats that are in the area. I need to try to poison the rats or at least get the numbers down. But if an Owl catches a poisoned rat, the poison that the rat has eaten will kill the Owl. We have tried different ways to trap the rats rather that poison them, but we haven’t managed to catch one as of yet. It doesn’t look as if the Badgers are leaving any of the feed that I put down, but I suppose the rats must be getting something, or they would not stay. The other problem that we have is that the Badger Sett is very close to the Farm House, so the rats are as well.

Bliss and Misty are getting better being led every day, and their coats are starting to look good with the daily grooming that they are getting. The trouble is that this extra contact with the two Fillies, starts to make you think twice about selling them at all. I even started to make enquiries in to the training fees today. It is an expensive hobby, the price that I was quoted ranged from

Categories
webcams

We have been trying to sell Smugs one of our…

We have been trying to sell Smugs one of our Horses for over a couple of months. He is a really good Colt, laid back and very kind. He is a good price, in fact less that what it cost for the Sire covering fee. There have been a few people looking at him. Every one who has looked at him likes him. There is nothing to dislike. He is a popular size and an attractive horse. But that’s Horses, some sell to the first person who sees them, other just hang about.

A couple of years back we decided to sell a few of our pet smaller Ponies, Jazz, Bracken and Velvet, they were to small for any one on the farm to ride, and they would have made good riding Ponies for children. It was about this time of year that we put them up for sale. They had spent the Summer in the field where the Badger camera is. At one time it would have been partly an Orchard, there are still a couple of cooking apple trees in the field. Jazz was not really broken, but a women who liked him insisted on trying to ride him. She didn’t stay on Jazz to long, he bucked her off and ran up the drive. But she was not a time waster, for although finishing up on her backside after riding him, she did buy Jazz.

Bracken and Velvet were different, they were well broken, very calm and had never done any thing wrong in all the time that they were at Denbury. Bracken had been here for five years, she was a 13.2hh tubby Skewbald. That is a brown and white horse. Velvet had been here for about four years. She was a 12.2hh sleek dark bay, like Arnie and Misty. Coats that colour always shine, Velvet suited her well. We had so many enquiries on Bracken and Velvet, that in the end we got fed up with all the phone calls.

The first family that came to view Bracken and Velvet, came with their Daughter who the Pony was wanted for, she was about seven years old. We fetched the Ponies from the field back to the stables, to prepare and groom them so that they looked good before the people came to view them. We didn’t try to ride them as we knew that they would be faultless.

Bracken was saddled first to show to the family. She was walked into the yard to where the sand school is. Once through the gate the saddle girth strap was tightened and she was mounted, to be ridden to the sand school, to show the family how she rode before their Daughter got on the Horse. Instead of riding to the sand school Bracken started to twist around and generally play up. We couldn’t believe how she was acting, she was quickly dismounted and taken back to the stables. We made our apologise to the family, assuring them that this was a one off and that Velvet would be completely different. Velvet was saddled and taken the same way, girthed and mounted, as Bracken to show the family again before their Daughter rode her. This time it was even worse than Bracken, Velvet started to buck and race around, dumping her rider unceremoniously to the ground, she was acting like a Horse at a Western Rodeo. She was finally caught and walked back to the stables. As we passed the family, the little girl was hiding behind her Mother, clinging on to her Mothers hand, weeping, telling her Mother I haven’t got to ride her, have I?

We made our apologises to the family trying to assure them that this was the first time that the Ponies had ever acted like this, and it really was. We just could not understand why these wonderful Ponies had turned into lunatics. We didn’t expect the family to believe what we was telling them. They must have thought that we were dodgy Horse dealers.

We weren’t best pleased of how Bracken and Velvet had acted. Instead of the little treats that we would normally give them, they were taken straight back to their field. Taking through the gate we suddenly realised what had made them act as they did. Lying on the ground was a treeful of apple windfalls that many had been partly eaten. the Ponies had belly aches, tightening the saddle girths and mounting them had made their bellies hurt worse.

Categories
webcams

For the past two days we have been walking the…

For the past two days we have been walking the Fillies around the farm, trying to get them prepared for the Auction later in the month. It is going to be difficult getting them prepared in time. If they are not, they will not make as much money as maybe they should. It is not only having them walking on a lead rope that is important, they need to have their muscles toned and their coats glistening. The only way to get them in that condition, is to work them out by walking and light trotting. Getting the Fillies coats looking tip top is to daily groom their coat, this will also help tone their muscles. There has been an Auction in Ireland for the past three days, that was shown on a webcam, but I only realised late this afternoon, with only a few lots, out of over 600 left to go. By the time I had let you know on the forum the sale would have been finished. At this Auction one yearling Colt made 2.4 million Euro. The next yearling sale on webcam is on the 9th of October for 3 days. With other sales to follow a few days later. See what you think. www.tattersalls.com

The squirrel feeder on webcam one has been knocked over. It happened on Sunday night. As it is on a wooden fence post, that was sunk into the ground to at least two and a half feet, I was a bit surprised to have found it laying on the ground when I went to refill the feeders. All the peanuts had been eaten. Looking at where the feeders are there were Badger foot prints. I think that probably a Badger knocked the post over whilst trying to get to the peanuts, Again the amount that the post was sunk into the ground, the Badger must have been very determined to get the peanuts.

Yes Karen, the Sheep were out of their fenced area this morning. Somehow the heavy gates that make up part of the fencing, were down. How they got knocked over I cant imagine, as the are heavy and were tied to keep them in place. The Sheep had not strayed far and we quickly got them back behind the fence once we had got it upright.

There have been a number of power cuts at the Lock of the Lowe’s over the past couple of days, it has stopped the webcams. Power cuts cause the computers to stop. When the power is on after the cut, the computer needs to be restarted from the site before the webcam can be got going. When I logged on this morning after the webcams had been restarted, there were a pair of Grebe on the Lock.

A number of you have commented about the rain that you have seen at Denbury over the past few days. The valley camera does tend to make even light drizzle look like heavy rain, although we have had a bit of that as well. The weather forecasts for our area at Denbury would have only been forty percent correct over the past couple of days.

Categories
webcams

Sorry but there will not be a Diary tonight as…

Sorry but there will not be a Diary tonight, as I have only just finished a meeting with one of the organisations that I told you about in the Summer that may join us and install webcams at one of their sites. I am still unable to let you know who the organisation is. All I can say is that they are extremely large and you will be surprised when I tell you.

Initially I am sending them a camera to install for a private viewing, if they like what they see and they get approval from the powers to be in the organisation we could well be broadcasting for them soon.

Categories
webcams

Just before I went to bed last night I checked…

Just before I went to bed last night I checked the valley webcam, I saw the Stag that was in the valley, in the afternoon laying down at the far end of the field. There were two Hinds with him, not one that he had with him a few hours earlier, in the afternoon. The second one was probably in the wood out of sight. Although he wasn’t very old, he was a good Stag, so he may well have more Hinds in his Harem. I will leave the valley webcam on most of tonight, in case the Deer come back.

This is the first year that we have not seen any large herds of Red Deer at Denbury. We regularly saw herds of up to fifteen in the valley, and in the far end field. It is more likely that I have not seen them, rather than them not being here. When I had Cattle I wasn’t best pleased to see large herds of Deer here. I needed the grass they ate for the Cattle, The herds Of Deer would eat as much grass as my Cows, and they would always be there in the Spring when the grass was growing for the silage we made. I didn’t have webcams when I had the Cows, but you could tell that a large herd of Deer had been here, by the grass that had been eaten and the flattened grass where they had been laying down in the field.

We finally started to get Bliss and Misty the Fillies ready for Auction, that they are entered in to at the end of the month. We have left it late. We have just over three weeks to get them ready, and there is so much work that needs to be done with them. Before today we have only ever had head collars on them twice. On both occasions they didn’t like them and pulled away, thinking that the head collars would not follow. Today we put the head collars back on to them to get them walking as we lead them. Quite important really, as they will need to be lead around the auction ring on head collars. Both Fillies were no better or worse than we thought that they would be. They started pulling away from us, as we thought they would. This time they are a lot bigger. When we first put head collars on them they were a lot smaller and we could manage to pull them back. The size they are now, we would have stood no chance of holding on to them. If they had decided to have it away, we could only have watched them go. Fortunately they are very laid back and kind Fillies, so the pulling that they did was half hearted to try to see if they could get away with it.

We soon had them walking with us, not necessarily by our sides, but it was a start. Misty was in front and a lot better than Bliss, which was a bit of a surprise. Initially they danced about on one spot rather than walking, but a little touch on their back ends from one of our Lads, got them walking forward. We kept this first session short, about fifteen to twenty minutes and by the end they were taking to it better. Within a couple of days they should be walking properly on the head collars. I will let you know how they progress.

As from tomorrow I will be feeding the Badgers from 7 to 7.30pm. The nights really are drawing in quick