April Newsletter
Two years ago today it was snowing! Kate and I moved Gem to the top of the Blackdowns and even though Kate had warned me – it came as a bit of a shock. That of course, is history and one of the best things I ever did with her. Gem never did get that trim for the Spring Show, but she is happy and content with her donkeys – life is good.
I was concerned this newsletter would be a little sparse so I asked the committee for help and ideas – what a creative (and in some cases stir crazy) bunch they are.
BRC Head Office have sent me and update, it is exactly the same as the last one I forwarded to you, except an additional paragraph concerning flu vaccinations. Personally, I thought it was the venues that had the final say, but I have copied it to the bottom of this email so you can judge for yourselves.
BRC also seem to think everything will be back to normal by 30th June. I don’t know if they have a crystal ball or direct access to Boris, but taking that into account; we are planning our first event after “lockdown” to be our Summer Camp which is the first weekend of August. That is open to change so watch this space.
Keep in touch with me; let me know what you are doing. I will send out another newsletter at the beginning of May so things may be clearer by then. Enjoy your ponies and the summer weather, one of our members, Sarah, has been trawling YouTube for different ways to plait manes. You can practise leg and tail bandaging and there is always tack cleaning!
1 - From Sylvia - As riding club members you should have all had a copy of Rider 3/20.
Have you read the article 'Nosebands' how tight is too tight?
It's really a thought provoking read. I think most of us know the two finger rule, but do we all check on the front nasal plane, not the side or back?
The results of a study of 750 horses that were tested with a taper gauge are I found astonishing and worrying.
44% that’s nearly half had a noseband so tight the gauge could not be inserted under
7% had point 5 finger space
23% had 1 finger space
19% had 1 point 5 finger space
ONLY 7% had the noseband fitted correctly
I checked Thomas noseband and I was at fault. I could only get 1 and a bit fingers under on the hole I usually use.
It's easy to just flick through these magazines but maybe this is something we should all check.
Sylvia also did a fantastic and informative Horse Agility demonstration which is on our Facebook page.
2. From Emma
On our Facebook page I will be running a fortnightly photography competition. There will be a different theme each time. I have got a fabulous judge; Amy from Indy Equine Photography. There will be a small prize for the winner and the runner up. That will be posted to them. Also we are looking for a new profile star; all the details are on Facebook.
Hope you're all keeping safe and your ponies are enjoying this well-deserved sunshine. I work for NHS in Musgrove so I will still be working. So seeing my ponies at the end of each shift keeps me going.
3. From Jill
Hobby Horse Dressage - even better - Strictly hobby horse dressage.
You can make up your own test and size of arena on your own back lawn; you just have to have someone to film it. Keeps you fit and endangers no one. If you don't have a Hobby Horse, a broom will do the job just as well.
Send entries to Jill!
4. From Kate
I have always wanted to have a donkey & when I moved to the Blackdown Hills I was lucky enough to be able to fulfil that dream. But not only did I want to own a donkey I wanted to breed a donkey - just the one - as having bred a foal from my first pony it was the most amazing thing & I wanted to do that again, my problem being that I now owned a TB mare who was too old to breed from & even if she wasn't there was no way, five years down the line from then, was I going to be getting on some young TB again!
So where to get a donkey from? You can't get a donkey from the sanctuary if you want to breed from it & back when I was looking, believe it or not there weren't many donkeys to be found. Anyway I found a breeder in Hampshire & I found myself a lovely 2 year old jenny called Tiger Lilly. Now she is neither a tiger nor a lilly so to be in keeping with my motor racing theme & also the flower theme I called her Lotus.
My next problem was to find a jack. Obviously there was no hurry as Lotus was only 2 & I didn't want her to foal until she was 4 but do you think I could find a jack at stud? I did find one jack but he was one of those large French 'Poitou' donkeys & Lotus is only a standard, standing at approx 10hh. So I ended up buying a rather splendid coloured boy by the name of Jack Daniel - his owner must have been a keen whisky drinker! Daniel was 21 years young & had sired many off spring so knew what he was there to do.
Now unlike horses, the gestation period of a donkey varies widely from 11 months to 141/2 months, so now begins the waiting game. Fortunately for both me & Lotus we didn't have to wait too long & a little after 11 months, early in the morning, outside my bedroom window, Lotus delivered the most beautiful jenny foal, which I called Cosworth.
Now I don't do much with my donkeys but I do waste an awful lot of time with them. They have such lovely natures & all they want is to be fussed. They do require quite a bit of looking after as their coats are not waterproof so they need good shelter & rugs. They need some hard standing as their feet are not good on wet ground. And they need very little in the way of feed or grazing as they are prone to laminitis. But the rewards you will get for having a donkey I can't put into words. My donkeys now also provide an invaluable service to Gem (Trish's horse) who is deaf by keeping her company so she feels safe.
5. From Sara – her fantastic quiz!
Q. What should I do if my horse is due a vaccination in the next few months and will any lapse of vaccinations affect me entering BRC events later in the year?
A. During this unprecedented time it is really important to follow the advice given by your vet. In respect of future BRC qualifiers and Championships, please rest assured that we will be understanding of any issues with regard to six monthly boosters not being given and 12 month boosters that may have been given later than they should have been due to vets
cancelling routine appointments at this time. We will issue a further clarity as the situation develops.