Lulu...What A Super Pony!

We had a lovely email this week from Lulu's owner with an update on how she's getting on...you can read the email below...what a super pony, and what a super fan club Lulu has.  Happy riding girls...and give Lulu a stroke from us!

"Lulu is very happy with her new Saturday job! Attached is a photo taken last weekend in the pouring rain!  With Grace age 4 riding - she rides very well indeed! and Ellie who is 11 but tiny and very scared of horses but trusts Lulu to look after her.

As the weather was so bad and the kids insisted on going out, Lulu and Grace's pony were chucked in the horse box and taken just up the road to the forestry, where they had never been before, Grace's pony was too lively for her to ride, so one of the bigger children rode her, and needless to say dear Lulu just mooched along quite happily. They had some nice trots, now they want her to canter and jump a few logs!"

And then today..."Lulu spent Saturday and Sunday down the road, the kids come and fetch her and return her later, they take it in turns to ride her in head collar and bareback the 15 min walk down the lane! Yesterday they were laughing, trotting her bareback and holding onto a big chunk of mane. Even Daisy loves her to bits and likes her turn to ride and she is just two years old. Lulu seems to know they are little and has been on her best behaviour".

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Tufty's Wonderful Results

I've added some before and after photos below of Tufty, so you can see how she's been progressing since she arrived.

Tufty's worm results are back...and very impressive too.  If you've been following the blog, you might remember that when she first arrived, we tested her for worms.  She had a worm count of 4,400 eggs per gram (that's a gram of manure), which is an extremely high reading...1,200 epg would normally be considered as a high count, so 4,400 was more than off the scale!  Both Tufty and Topsy had a 2 week course of Verm-X, which is a wormer made from herbs (rather than chemicals), and after waiting about a month after worming, we have retested...

...and Tufty's results came back as 100epg, which is a healthy low reading.  Verm-X have been very supportive of people4ponies, and kindly give us a discount on all our wormer...thank you very much to everyone, particularly Ellie at Verm-X, for all their help.   http://www.verm-x.com/

Before: Tufty when she first arrived with us at the beginning of September

Now: Tufty, free from her worm burden, and enjoying new winter grass in the big field.

Now: Tufty enjoying her feed with lovely herbs and carrots...delicious!

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Exciting News From LUSH...

Earlier in the year, People4ponies was lucky enough to be awarded a grant from LUSH to help us with our charity and campaigning work.  You may have a LUSH shop on your local high street - they make fresh, hand-made cosmetics that are not tested on animals.

We have just heard that People4ponies is going to be featured in the next edition of the "LUSH Times"-  their magazine that will be distributed across their national stores...and as well as this, people4ponies is going to be featured on their new Charity Pot Hand and Body Lotion product lids...which will be in their UK shops the week before Christmas! You can see the current LUSH charity pot products on the following link: https://www.lush.co.uk/product/84/Charity-Pot

Thank you to everyone at LUSH for all their help and support!

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So Far So Good...

Munch has had another good day today.  He was nice and cosy in the stable last night with his rug on.  I checked on him once in the middle of the night, and he was absolutely fine.  All the ponies have been concerned about Munch over the last few days, and sometimes all of them have gathered outside the stable door to keep an eye on him.

Today, he's had a good day out in the yard with his friends, even managing to enjoy some sunshine.  He's staying stabled at night to make sure he stays warm and dry, but we feel he's OK again...so no more night-time observations, and I'm back home again, looking forward to a full night's sleep!

Whilst I've been busy with Munch, p4p volunteers Ann and Margaret braved the weather and floods to hold a fundraising stall in Witheridge, at the car boot sale.  They raised £26 for the ponies, which is better than they had expected, as many people who hoped to go to the sale couldn't get there.

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Munch Is Feeling Better!

I have to say it was quite a worrying evening yesterday, seeing Munch not looking well again...but Jenny's brilliant efforts with the warm rugs and towels worked wonders.  He dried up really nicely, and I think the warmth helped his tummy to feel better too...a bit like having a hot water bottle!  I just can't emphasise how appalling the weather has been.  Jenny and I were out at 11pm last night and the rain was flowing straight off the fields, and running like a river through the yard.  We left Munch all tucked up with a new warm rug and towel, and he was happily devouring his hay.  He even needed an extra helping of hay in his hay-net to get him through the night.

At 2am it had stopped raining but the wind was horrendous.  Munch was resting in the stable but somehow his rugs were off and damp on the floor.  We'd left some rugs and towels drying on the radiators, and thankfully some had dried enough to put on Munch as he was a bit chilly.  At 4.30am all his rugs had stayed in place, and he was warmer again and he'd been having a good amount to eat. 

This morning (at a more reasonable time!) I let him out of the stable for a wander, but as soon as he was out, it was raining again...so poor Munch had to go back in again to make sure he stayed warm and dry. 

He's remained very cheery and perky all day with a good apetite and is much more alert and back to his normal self....thank goodness...what a worrying few days it's been!

Thank you everyone for all your get well wishes and comments for Munch!

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Munch's Recovery

We hope that Munch is in the recovery phase now.  He was looking very perky at 4.30am this morning, munching quite happily on his hay net.  And when it was time for breakfast, he was very cheery coming out of the stable and competing with the other ponies for the first hay nets.

Catherine came to help today.  We kept an eye on Munch, and he still has periods when he doesn't feel quite right.  No lying down or rolling etc., but he still isn't back to being 100% again.  We took him for a little walk, but he wasn't as keen as yesterday.

This evening Munch seemed very quiet again and was standing at the back of the stable.  We were concerned that he seemed colder than he should be.  It's been such terrible weather, and he just wasn't drying off...so Jenny's been warming towels in the rayburn for him and we've been putting them under his rug.  He's drying up quite nicely now and looking perkier again.  So I'll continue with the night-time observations tonight, and we'll see how he is tomorrow...

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Munch's Still Poorly...

Poor Munch had to have the vet again today...

Last night I was up checking on him every couple of hours.  He was quiet, but still passing manure, and occasionally going for a drink, or a bite to eat.  No rolling or lying down, which was promising...but this morning it was apparent that although he was better than he was yesterday, he still wasn't better.  He'd look completely OK one minute, striding across the yard and eating enthusiastically from a hay net, and then after a while he'd go and lay down in the barn feeling poorly.  Then he'd be up and eating again, and after a while back laying down again.  There was no rolling, or kicking, or biting of the stomach, but he obviously still had colicky symptoms.

Another lovely vet, Elaine, came to visit Munch and she assessed him.  His stomach was still making lots of gurgling sounds (which is good) and his temperature was normal, but his heart rate was elevated and he was obviously in some pain and discomfort.  The good thing is that he's not presenting signs of the most serious types of colic (impaction or twisted gut).  Elaine gave Munch some drugs directly into his vein, and he was very brave for the needle going in.  Once the drugs were in, he perked up fairly quickly.

We took him for a good walk this afternoon to help, and this evening he's been back to moving all the ponies around, trying to eat from everyone's hay nets and generally looking very interested in food.  The drugs will still be working at the moment, so it's another night of observations to see how Munch gets on...

Thank you very much to Graham for coming to help with all the pony chores and Munch today!

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Poorly Munchkin

Poor Munchkin has been feeling very poorly today...he wasn't right this morning, much quieter than usual.  This morning he laid down in the yard on the concrete for a while, which is very unusual, but he got up again and so we kept an eye on him whilst we did the morning chores.  All the haynets were out and usually he'd be munching away, eating everyone else's ration as well as his own...but today he just stood by the net with his eyes half shut.  It just wasn't Munch's normal behaviour.  Whilst we were discussing next steps and whether to call the vet, he started kicking his belly...so that was it confirmed...Munch had colic. 

We called the vet and they said they would be at the yard within an hour.  Munch was presenting mild symptoms of colic, no rolling as such, but he would lie down for a while and then get back up again.  He had passed manure twice during the morning, and his stomach was gurgling away, which are good signs, but colic is a painful, and sometimes fatal condition, and has to be taken seriously.  As the hour progressed, he laid down flat out in the barn with one back leg in the air (not a nice sight!), trying to feel more comfortable and showing us that his tummy hurts.  A lovely vet, Neil, came to the rescue, braving the appalling weather and floods to get out to us.  He assessed Munch and was very quiet and understanding with him.  We just can't work out a cause for the colic.   The vet was happy with Munch's daily routine and management.  Neil was able to confirm (by listening to Munch's tummy) that his gut is still working and he also checked Munch's manure, which all looked normal.  Munch had to be brave to have a needle inserted into his neck to administer some pain relief and anti-inflammatory.  Munch wasn't best pleased about that, but did feel a bit better once the drugs were in.  Volunteer Mel was great and helped with Munch all morning.

Now we're just observing Munch...he's in the stable and we're checking him every hour to make sure he's still ok.  His tummy's still sore but he's not colicking (touch wood)...so lots of positive, "get better" thoughts for Munch please!

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Settling In

 

Topsy and Tufty have been settling in this week and as you can see, the whole herd is going out together.  On Tuesday, we integrated them all carefully.  Tufty definitely likes to tell the boys what she thinks, but overall it was a very amicable process, and all the ponies get on with each other. 

 

This week, we welcomed new volunteer Mel...and a big thank you to Ross who came for a surprise visit on Friday morning and left a special donation for the ponies. 

 

Thank you also to Jenny for donating a bag of carrots - a delicious extra for the ponies at feed time!

 



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Tufty and Topsy Arrive

Topsy meeting "the boys" - her welcoming committee

Most of this week has been geared towards preparing for today, when Topsy and Tufty have been due to arrive at our main base.  Jane was very kind, and loaned us her lorry a few days early, so that Paul could do lorry practice with Topsy and Tufty to prepare them for their move.

Paul decided it would be safer for the ponies to travel separately, so there would be plenty of room in the lorry for them.  The girls travelled well -  Topsy arrived first and was quite calm on arrival, taking in her new surroundings.  I'd kept Frodo in (instead of putting him out in the field) this morning, in case his services were required.  I wasn't sure if Topsy would be unsettled having just arrived without Tufty, and Frodo is very good at settling new ponies.  If Topsy did look worried, my intention was to employ Frodo as a non-confrontational, settling companion until Tufty arrived.  As it turned out, Topsy was very calm, so we just let her settle into her new surroundings and enjoy her hay net, with the boys looking on from the yard beyond.

Topsy and Tufty reunited in the yard

About 40 minutes later, Paul arrived back with the lorry with Tufty on-board.  Both ponies had been OK about being separated from each other, but were definitely happy to be reunited again.  They've spent the day settling in, with much attention from the other ponies, particularly from Munchkin.

Both ponies have started on their herbal supplements.  The next step will be to integrate all the ponies, so we'll have to see how they all get on with each other...

(P.S...thank you to Ted too, for donating his Sunday afternoon to ensuring there were extra facilities in the yard for the new ponies!)

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