St. John's Fayre

Last Saturday we attended the Fayre, all feeling a bit weary from the haymaking the day before.

Another swelteringly hot day, and as well as our fund-raising stall we took part in the procession. This year there was a medieval theme so we decided to dress Frodo up as well as ourselves. I made him a red and green costume; sorry we haven't any pictures yet because I didn't take any! Others have though, so I will post them on the Blog when I get them.

The picture shows the now-empty street at the end of the day just prior to us packing up. Our stall is in the foreground; we had Margaret's gazebo and umbrella for shade. The old traction engine steams quietly outside The Angel and that's Philip and Kip (who raised money with her Penny a Pat dog tabard) just crossing the road.

Earlier in the day the street and square were heaving with people out enjoying all the fun of the fair. Frodo was so good with all the musicians, dancers, noise, strange costumes and especially with the crowds of people, many of whom wanted to stroke him.

We did well with book and marmalade sales and the Tombola; thanks to our gallant ladies who manned the stall all day.



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Haymaking !

Along with thousands of other folk all over the country we were helping with the haymaking last week, in perfect June weather. With the lack of rain this year it was not expected to be a big crop, but the quality is superb - it's so green and sweet. Ted had been out turning it twice a day and it dried very quickly.


In the picture Stella is guiding Pete back into the big barn at Jenny's prior to us unloading on to the stack. It's such hot work but we had plenty of help, what with 5 of Jenny and Ted's good neighbours and 8 of us p4p lot, and with lots of cold drinks.

The total was over 600 bales, but they are each lifted several times so it's no wonder we were all a bit tired after that lot. Ted and Jenny work so hard to help us and the p4p ponies not only with all this hay (which they donate) but also by fostering for us. Currently they have Silver and Jaffa Cake over there, and both ponies watched all the hay goings-on with keen interest, hoping a little would blow in their direction!

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Little Ginger

Here's Ginger, having her feet trimmed. This old pony certainly doesn't act her age; she's quite feisty with the other ponies and is the most vocal pony we've ever met. She positively roars at the boys over the fence if she is in the field next to them, squeaks at Mousey to move her out of the way and all rolling and bodily functions are accompanied by much grunting.

As you can see she is a bit ribby, but because we are very wary of laminitis she has a high-fibre, low sugar, low calorie diet with lots of short chop chaff that she manages to eat quite well now after 2 visits from our brilliant equine dentist Bill Lomas.

Ginger needs a home where her management is clearly understood. She still has much to offer, being safe on the roads, and it would be lovely to find her a good home not too far away, with a little jockey to ride her out on the lead.

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Mousey's triumph

This morning I took this lovely series of pictures. I feel quite emotional to see Mousey so accepting of this attention after being such a terrified pony last October. She is ready to go home, but will probably stay until July. She is very lucky to be owned by, and will return to, SWEP (South West Equine Protection) and they will continue to work with her and provide her with a safe home for life.

In the pictures she is HEADCOLLARED ! ... and TIED !... safely, because she understands how to yield to pressure. As you can see in the first picture, she stands relaxed, with loose rope and calm eye, whilst Paul brushes a foreleg.

In the second picture Mousey shifts her weight to allow Paul to pick out a hoof.

The third picture shows how Mousey enjoys having her tail brushed! She looks really good now.

Fourth picture - Mousey is fine with back feet too!

The final picture shows Mousey so relaxed while Paul brushes out her mane, just by her damaged ears.

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