Tag: horses

Categories
webcams

Rye Harbour seabirds update the general survival of the chicks…

Rye Harbour seabirds update – the general survival of the chicks has been good, but the main Black-headed Gull on the webcam has lost a couple of chicks, but that means more for the survivor. The Gull feeds by regurgitating food (insects, worms or fish… and sometimes chips!) whereas the Terns bring in a single whole fish and it’s first come first served, so there is often much begging, even before the parent Tern lands. The Tern chicks have white bellies, but the Gull chicks are shades of brown all over. Barry, Rye Harbour.

Rye Harbour is making the News on the BBC website in Sussex. Congratulation to them all for all the hard work. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6227956.stm

Letting Breeze run with the rest of the Horses today didn’t work. We left the Electric fenced off area, open so that she would find her own way out, hopefully in a calm way. At first it was, we initially believed that what had worked last year was going to happen this time. She had a little buck and calmly walked towards Woody who was laying down, When Woody got up Breeze decided that she was going to show who was the boss. Woody started to walk towards the other horses, that had congregated at the field gate, to get out of the way of Breeze. Breeze didn’t want her near them and put herself between Woody and the other Horses. As she got near Misty, she kicked her, luckily it on just caught her lightly, and no damage was done. By this time Woody had walked away to the far end of the field and laid down. Breeze went partly towards her and then galloped back to the gate area at full speed, having to dig her hind legs into the ground to stop herself from hitting the gate. Bliss was the nearest to her when she stopped and was lunged at and bitten on her side.

Breeze had to be got out of the field before she hurt one of the other Horses. That was not as easy as it sounds. Breeze had no intention of being caught, it was decided to let Arnie , Lady and Willow out as if it was feeding time. Breeze fell for that and followed them in. I really cant make it out why she is acting as she is. It is her herd, but there is not any threat to her. It could be that she see Woody as a threat because she is so close to Lady. We will see what happens when Woody is not in the field. Breeze is now back behind the Electric fence off area, and will have to stay there until the hay has been made and Woody, Bliss and Willow can be in a field on their own.

At feeding time Woody was at the far end of the field laying down. Normally she would be at the gate waiting to come in, or if she was laying down, calling her would get her up and to the gate. Tonight I had to go a fetch her, when I got up to her she was flat out, it needed a great effort for her to get up. When it was time to put the Horses back in the field, she was again flat out in the stable and had not eaten her feed. We have given her pain killers and she will be stabled overnight.

I have been checking for the Rats. Touch wood I have not seen ay feeding on the ground tonight. I had not watched the Bird feeders so I am unsure if any are feeding on them. I have seen the Voles darting about. I dont really want to kill them so I may move the cage with the poison in tomorrow,

The SWT webcams are down tonight. I know that they would not want the web cams to be off and I would think that it the cause is something out of their control.

Categories
webcams

The Diary will be short tonight as we only decided…

The Diary will be short tonight as we only decided that the Horses were going to be stabled overnight at 8.30pm. By the time we have bedded the stables up, hayed and watered the Horses, fed the Badgers, it will be time to sit and watch the telly for half an hour.

I would rather have the Horses out in the Summer, but with the heavy showers for the past few days, the Horses need a rest from it. Woody will only get more ill than she is if she is kept out with continuous rain. Breeze being an Arab and fine coated, chills very quickly, this morning she came in shivering, and after Bliss’s full Brother dying when he was being looked after in Ireland and getting hypothermia, I don’t want Willow out in continuous rain. Willow as all the Foals, find the most comfortable place in the stable when kept in overnight, in the corner on the hay. As I am writing I am looking at her covered in hay, fast asleep.

I don’t know where the time has gone, mid summers day already, and we have not made the hay yet. It needs to be made soon, I like making it when the seed is still on the grass, It is alright at the moment, but if the seed ripens and there is heavy rain most of it gets lost for the hay. Glastonbury looks as if it is going to be a washout again. I don’t know how people continue going year after year, knowing that most years they are going to be squelching around in mud. Some years back I needed to make regular trips to London. On one occasion I had the misfortune to catch a train, that at Reading filled with people going to the festival. When I say it was overcrowded that would be an under statement, with so many people on the train they were having to sit and stand in the centre isle, so tightly squashed in that they were unable to move. If you have experienced the London underground in the rush hour, it was worse than that, if that is possible. To make matters worse the train company had put on an old train without air conditioning. It was the worse train journey that I had ever experienced. The only thing that did make it at all bearable was a young girl sitting on a table, playing a guitar and singing. What a relief when the train stopped at some obscure station and they all departed, in the middle of no where, that the train passes through without anyone noticing.

Yes Ladies, I did see that horrible thing on the feeder, I sure you don’t mind that I didn’t post your entries on the forum. I have been watching the feeding area that they use most, near where I have the cage with the poison in. There seems to be a lot less Rats feeding, although there does not seem a lot of the poison is being eaten. If I remember I will take the feeders down that they were on tonight, it may make them go to the cage for supper. I cringe very time I go to fill the feeders, put the Badger feed out or check for dead ones. Its horrible.

Categories
webcams

Some of you may have seen that we tried to…

Some of you may have seen that we tried to introduce our two riding Horses with Lady and her Foal. So that it did not become to over bearing for the Foal, we would introduce Breeze first, half an hour later we would try Arnie. It did not work, Breeze being Breeze decided she would show who was in charge, which she is, although she is the smallest of our Horses, being 14.2hh. As soon as she went in the field she started to round Lady and the Foal up, of course Lady did not want Breeze to be to near the Foal and started to run away. The trouble with Breeze is that she wont give up, and immediately it became a chase. When Breeze got to near, Lady gave the sign that she was going to kick out, to stop Breeze. Most Horses would keep their distance, not Breeze, She turned her back to Lady and threw out a couple of threatening kicks towards Lady that could have well hit the Foal. Although immediately we could see that we had to catch Breeze, they were running to hard and fast for us to be able to catch her. The Foal would not have the stamina to run for to long, it could then become very ugly between Lady and Breeze, putting the Foal in a very dangerous position.

Fortunately we got in a position to be able to get in between Lady and Breeze and managed to get a head collar on Lady. Breeze is not silly she knew that we may take Lady out of the field and she made her way to the gate. We had left a Head collar on Breeze, just in case of problems and we were able to get a lead rope on her. Back to her stable she went.

It would have been good for all of the Horses to be out together. As it is Lady and the Foal with Woody are out in the day, Breeze and Arnie of a night. We need to get the two yearlings Bliss and Misty in the field. We know that there will be a chase about with Breeze, but the yearling will be bossed about because of their age, and of course will be faster and more agile to be able to get away from Breeze. We will have to fence part of the field off and put Breeze into the area, so that she will be able to get use to the Foal. We did that last year, but had hoped this year Breeze would have been better. When Breeze gets use to the idea of the Foals she is very good with them and becomes their second mum.

I was hoping to have had a new Swallow camera going today. I found a new nest, one with two eggs. I attached the wires to the camera that were there from two years back but it did not work. The camera is an Internet camera that can pan, tilt and zoom, ideal for the area. I think that the cable must be broken, I do not have any more of the cable left. I will try to put a fixed camera up tomorrow, so at least we can see something until I can get some more of the cable.

The second Scottish Widlife Trust camera could be on tomorrow.

No Karen, we have not managed to round up any more of the sheep. I think that they will be on their way to market very soon. Sheep are just to much work.

Juliet, Woody is eighteen, not over old for a broodmare. Many go on well into their twenty’s. Age was nothing to do with her still born Foal. What ever illness she had/has was the cause.

Yes Elsie, had the first full nights sleep last night, first for nearly a couple of months.
Woody has again been very well today, I must admit I am surprised.

Val, you haven’t been reading the Diary. I did tell you a lot about the two Horses. Their names are Breeze and Arnie. Breeze is a 14.2hh Palomino with Flaxen tail and mane, she is mostly Arab, and a real Barbie Doll Horse. Pretty as a picture but scatty. Arnie is the Dark Bay 17.3hh Dutch Warm blood, gentle giant.

Categories
webcams

I saw the Badger cub for the first time last…

I saw the Badger cub for the first time last night. It does look as if the Sow has only got one cub, more than likely she had two and one has died. I could be wrong and that there is another one who has not come out of the sett as yet. I hope so as they do play well together. Last night the cub did look lost, not knowing what to do next. It could also be that there is another Sow in the sett with cubs, and that the cubs are not yet mature enough to show themselves. The coulds are probably wishful thinking, all though the doubling of the sett last year was also surprising.

Last year two sows of the sett had cubs, one having twins and the other triplets, that is unusual, normally only one sow of the sett breeds each year. Last year the sett doubled in size. Up to about two weeks ago all ten were still about.

Since I took a rattly bunch of keys in my pocket to stop the Badgers becoming to humanised, by rattling the keys when I fed them, they have not been waiting so close to me at feeding times. It hasn’t frightened them, but it has made them wary, which was my objective. One Badger does come out as I am leaving the field. It pops its head out of the sett when it hears me and gingerly edges it self to the edge of the field, very rarely coming any closer.

The Swallows have got on well with their nest building, they have been at it all day, it still doesn’t look that good or safe. The Blackbirds chicks are in out of their nest all day long, they would not be able to do that if the nest was not in the fruit tray.

We have a contractor spraying to get rid of the dots and nettles in the hay fields. The weeds tend to spoil the hay, and the horses are not keen on hay when there is weeds in it. We always leave a lot of weeds around the farm for the wildlife, especially the nettles, where the butterflies often lay their eggs.

We are going to let Breeze and Arnie out into their summer gazing field tomorrow morning between 9 and 9.30 am. I am sure that they will do as I said they would in yesterdays diary. Both cameras Denbury Farm 1 and 2 overlook the field and I will show the horses on both cameras for half an hour or so.

Categories
webcams

I managed to get the Swallows camera up this afternoon…

I managed to get the Swallows camera up this afternoon. I will put it on now and then instead of the Blackbird camera. Not to much as the Swallows are still building their nest. Well I hope they are, the eggs will soon fall out of that sorry affair, unless they make a better job of it. I will check the nest when they start laying their eggs and let you know how many eggs they lay, that will make it more interesting.

I had a problem with the main Badger camera last night. I really don’t know why, but for for some reason I was not able to control the camera. I switched the electricity off for fifteen minute or so, on turning it back on it seemed to be working as it should. Unfortunately camera one and the valley camera are on the same electricity supply and they went off at the same time. Last nights problem with the main Badger camera could be the start of the camera breaking down completely, and it may need changing. This camera is on a high telegraph pole. As I don’t like heights I have got to find someone to change it over for me. If I knew of any one I would change it now, rather than let it breakdown completely, and then having to find someone to do the job, especially as the Badger cubs a coming out. This camera also looks over the field where the Horses are now, and in their main field that we are turning them out on, on the 1st of May.

Yes, on the 1st of May we turn the Horses out on to their main field for the summer. Because of the lack of rain there is about half the amount of grass as in recent year. The Sheep have not helped, having some of them still grazing the field, but it would not be fair to leave the Horses any longer in the paddock that they are now in. They must be cursing me in their language with all that tasty spring grass, not a few metres away. It will also save us a lot of work.

It is a bit like a rodeo when they are first turned out onto the new grass. Breeze goes absolutely loopy, racing around the field bucking and kicking her legs out. Arnie does not go quite so mad, but he still enjoys himself. I wont let Lady and Woody out at the same time, they will want to join in with the fun. Lady in her condition and Woody being unwell may just cause more problems. I am going to turn Bliss and Misty out with the other Horses a few days later. I think that I will have to let them out on their own for a few hours, as Breeze will make them go even more mad if she is with them.

I will let you know tomorrow what time I am going to let them out, as long as the main Badger Camera is working alright you will be able to see a little of the action.

Categories
webcams

I decided that I would leave Lady Woody and another…

I decided that I would leave Lady, Woody and another two Broodmares in Ireland to have their foals. I wanted Lady to be mated with Desert Style again, who was at stud in Ireland. Because of the relationship with Captain Hurricane it was a financial decision. I would also find suitable Stallions for Woody and the other two mares. On the 1st of March Lady produced a Colt Foal. The Colt foal was what I wanted. A Colt Foal would be nearly double the value of a Filly Foal. On the 21st of March Woody also had a Colt Foal by Indian Lodge. Our Branston, who winds Lady up.

Lady was never my favorite Horse whilst she was at Denbury, before I owned her. She had the vice that you sometimes see, of Weaving, swaying her head from side to side. It is not a problem with Broodmares, but would have been if she did it when in training in her racing career, where she would have picked the vice up from. She would Crib Bite, which is another undesirable vice. When she had another Foal, I had to help the foal being born. She would not let it feed, to make sure that the foal got the colostrum I had to milk Lady and feed the foal from a bottle. The next day she was good with the foal, although later she would very often bite the foal when it tried to feed from her. She was also very spiteful and unfriendly with other Horses, violently kicking out on them for very little reason. So my experiences with Lady were not good.

Some weeks later I had a phone call from the person who was looking after my Horses in Ireland. Lady’s foal was missing. The gate to the field where they were kept had been found open, all the Horses had got out, when they were all found and caught, Lady’s foal was missing. The foal would be able to stay alive for a short while, but the weather was not good. For the time of year it was cold and wet. Foals should be stabled in that weather. Hypothermia in a foal of that age, is very possible.

The Foal could not be found. It was very unlikely that it had been stolen and after a week it was likely that it had died. I was given to believe that Lady had not been to upset at the loss, with what I had experienced with her, with the other foal I could quite believed it. Weeks later the remains of a foal was found in a wood, DNA tests showed it to be Lady’s missing foal.

After being mated Lady and Woody with Branston and another foal returned to the UK. The other two Broodmares I sold in Ireland. Straight away it was obvious there had been a change in Lady. She mixed in the fields with our riding horses, allowing Woody and Breeze to boss her. She still Weaved a little but no longer Cribbed. In fact she was a very nice friendly Horse. A real pleasure to have around.

Lady foaled last year, giving birth to Bliss a three quarter sister to the dead foal. Woody also had a Filly named Misty. Lady as you may have seen was a brilliant mother. I cant believe that she would not have pined for her lost Foal, for she never allowed Bliss out of her sight.

Bliss and Misty are now yearlings, both are very well bred, with excellent confirmation. I have soon to make up my mind if I am going to sell them. I purchased the Race Horses with the intention of starting an on line Horse Racing and Breeding Partnership. I was let down by a Horse Racing Television Channel to advertise my new venture. www.ownaleg.com. It is now a free advertising site. I am tempted to start it again with Bliss and Misty.

Categories
webcams

I first met Lady and Woody when they belonged to…

I first met Lady and Woody when they belonged to one of our tenants who occupied one of our cottages on the farm. When he came to live on the farm he introduced himself as a Bloodstock Agent. He was not, he had a much less savory occupation, the income from that occupation allowed him to purchase a number of Horses including Lady and Woody.

Buy luck, and I promise you not by judgement, he purchased Lady, who real name is Sprite and Woody(Woodland Garden) from Bloodstock Auctions. A previous owner of Lady (Sprite) was Lord Carnarvon the son of the Lord Carnarvon, who with Howard Carter discovered the Tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh King Tutankhamun. She is a top quality mare. Woody is also a quality mare, one of her earlier foals sold for in access of

Categories
webcams

By luck not so lucky for a last year Portland…

By luck, not so lucky for a last year Portland Ewe lamb, there are now ten Sheep in the field that I an now putting them in. A few day ago I saw her caught up with a piece of electric fencing wire, tangled around her back foot and a fence post. I was on the quad at the time. As I drove towards her she got up and started to run away breaking, the wire. There was still a very long length attached to her, so I gave chase on the quad. That really is not a good idea. Quads used foolishly are very dangerous, and my chasing the Ewe was foolish. They are so easy to turn over, with the machine finishing on top of you. I purchased the quad new. On the first day of having it, a girl who had her horse stabled on the farm, was using the quad and trailer, after mucking her horse out, she went around a turn to quick, and the quad finished up on top of her. She was lucky, escaping with a couple of scratches, as did my new quad bike. A couple of Christmases back Ozzy Osborne was seriously hurt on one. So you have got to be very careful on them.

When I was chasing the Ewe, I was trying to cut her off from going into the wood, by swinging the quad from side to side, it started to tip as I swung it into the camber of the hill. If I had not cut my speed it would have completely gone over. After slowing down I could not catch her from going into the wood. The quad tyre did go over the trailing wire and broke a fair piece off, but there was still a lot trailing behind her. The next day I saw, what I thought was the remainder of the wire laying in the field. I didn’t bother to check the Ewe to make sure that it had dropped off her.

Yesterday after catching and moving the Texel Ewes and Lambs I heard a Ewe calling out, believing that it was one of the Texel’s that we had left behind, and that she was calling for the Ewes we had moved, I did not bother to much about it. This afternoon I could still hear a Ewe calling from the wood. It was to continuous not to investigate. I soon came across the calling Ewe, it was the last years Portland Ewe Lamb, who had the wire on its foot, caught up on a low tree branch. She had obviously been there for a day or two, going by her messy rear end. After cutting her free and cleaning her up, she was given a drive on the quad, to join the nine sheep that have been move to their new pasture. Only fourteen left to catch.

The Grand National, it would not be my favorite Horse Race. It is not the four and a half miles they run, neither the thirty large jumps they have to negotiate. Horses regularly did both and more when hunting was allowed. National Hunt Racing was born out of Fox and Deer hunting. What I don’t like is the injuries and fatalities that are caused because of it being a race. Being a race the Horses are pushed on hard to win. To hard for most of them, as the low percentage of those Horse that finish the race shows. Today just thirteen of forty starters finished the race, and this was a good year.

Categories
webcams

Woody has not stopped having very unwell periods since I…

Woody has not stopped having very unwell periods, since I last told you about her. It comes on so quickly, without any warning. A couple of days back, when we turned her out in the paddock, she seemed to be the best she had been for a long time. With out exaggeration, she came out of her stable, like a race horse coming out of the starting stalls. I was so shocked and unprepared, she initially was taking me to the paddock. In the afternoon she was flat out as if dying. It has been going on for so long now, that it can only be bad pains in the belly, or if you like colic, probably caused by the foal moving, or laying in an uncomfortable spot.

The trouble with colic, is that you can never be sure what type of colic is it. There are many causes for such pain, ranging from the mild and inconsequential to life threatening or fatal. One of the problems with equine colic is that it can be very difficult in the early stages to distinguish the mild from the potentially fatal. This is why we were concerned for Woody, we had to take the pains seriously right from the start.

I sure it would bore you if I went through the different types of colic, but we should presume that Woody , although in a lot of pain is experiencing a mild Spasmodic colic. Probably the most serious colic is Displacement colic, or Twisted Gut, without going into it, that is basically what it is. In most cases immediate surgery is required if the animal is to survive. Quite often even with surgery the animal will die.

Woody is about a month away from foaling. She does not look as large as she normally does, and I am a little concerned as to what the condition of the foal will be at birth, or indeed if Woody will be able to manage a foal. Once Lady’s foal has had a good first feed of the colostrum, I am hoping that there may be an amount, that I may be able to take for Woody’s foal, if it needs it. Chances are that I am over worrying, and all will go as it should do.

I was asked on the forum what Races Horses are the Horses we breed. They are all bred for the flat. I would worry for any Jump Horse, if I bred them. I don’t like to see a Horse run for great distances, with a lot of very high jumps.

Categories
webcams

With the weather as it is nice and warm in…

With the weather as it is, nice and warm in the day, and freezing of a night, we have to take the horses rugs off in the day, and put them back on of a nightime. with the older Horses there is not a problem. The younger Horses are not use to it, they want to get involved or start to move about as you are doing the rugs.

Over the winter months, Lady’s and Woody’s foals, from last year, have been in a large gated area in one of the barns. It is a good size area, that unfortunatley allows them to much space when you have to do the rugs, so it takes for ever.

We aways put the youngsters in the same place every year. Being young they should be together in the first year, especially if they have grown up with each other from foals. It is company for each other, and hopefully helps them later in life to socialise with other horses. Some Horses can be very aggressive with other Horses, especially when there is food about. They will kick violently, believing that their feed will be taken. We have never had that problem. When youngster’s are put together, they share their feed, growing up knowing that other horses are not a threat to them when feeding. They can also be extremely dangerous to people.

Some years back I had two Lipizzaner Carriage Horses, Kane and Able, stabled in London. On the first day of receiving them, I gave them their nightly feed. As they were eating a friend came enquiring of my new Horses. We went into Kane’s stable to have a look over him. One silly mistake, and one that I will never make again, for as I went to the back of him, he let two barrels go, so high that the shod hoofs grazed my nose and cheek. I just managed to get out of the stable before he let another one go, he really wanted to get me. If the kick had hit me full on, I would not be hear to tell the story.

Back to the foals. Seeing them with their rugs off you appreciate how much they grow over a year. They are a good size, and look as if they will make a good 16hh. There confirmation, which is important with Race Horses, is extremely good.

Bliss is still very kind and gentle, laid back and always happy to see you. She has the same sort of temprement as her mother Lady. Woodys foal on the other hand, is another Woody with her temprement. She is kind, but very wary, and just as Woody threatens Lady, she threatens Bliss.