Around the farm

I have been rather remiss lately with keeping the blog up to date. 

Muffin the Wiltshire ewe was pregnant after all and produced a lovely ewe lamb which we have called Emily. Muffin is a great first-time mother, and is absolutely besotted with Emily. So much so that she wouldn't come to Chris for scratches for a week or so! 

Very new 

Yum yum!

Hello!

Very cute

Hanging out in the sheep hotel 

It's hard work being this cute

Grazing with mum

Dorothy's ram lamb was sold to a guy from Rotorua who has a small flock of ewes. He picked him up a week or so ago. We had him advertised on TradeMe and had a few people ring wanting him for eating, but he was fairly pricey given his breeding so that saved him from the knife.

The spring winds have arrived late this year, but hav made up for it with a vengeance. It was blowing a gale for nearly two weeks straight, with the weekend of the 19th/20th November being particularly bad. Most of the arena surface blew down one end and out in the paddock. It was very disheartening as its down to the base level in some spots, rendering it unrideable. Apparently we aren't alone as I heard a few other arenas are a little worse for wear after the wind.

Sand where it's not supposed to be 

Banked up agains the kick boards

Sand in the race

Sand

 Lime chip base layer exposed in places

In order to combat the problem we have made the decision to put in a rubber chip and sand surface. Rubber chip is widely regarded as one of the nicest surfaces to ride on so we bit the bullet and ordered some. However Murphy has been at it again, and there is a bit of a queue so we won't get ours delivered until the new Year. In the meantime we will carry on researching the type of sand we will use in conduction with the rubber.  

Each type of sand has different properties, which inevitably results in a compromise somewhere along the way. The sand we currently have is washed concrete sand which has uniform particles and isn't overly dusty, however it is not coarse enough (blows away) and is too white and glary. The other options are one of the various types of pit sand being sold as "equestrian sand". These sands are primarily unwashed pit sand of some description with a fancy label. They tend to contain a fair amount of clay or silt which gives it a bit of structure, but means it is very very dusty when dry. The search continues...

The horses are doing well. Odie has been here for two months and is looking much better than when he first arrived. He seems to be happy here which is great and he loves getting out and about for road rides. I got him a pair of Easy Boots so that he can be barefoot but still ride on the road. He is quite flat-footed and tender on the stones and the road so this helps him cope better without the need for shoes.

Odie

Gorgeous Odie

Odie's Easy Boots 

Ready for a road ride

Off we go!

Ciara is growing like a mushroom. Chris and I measured her a month ago and she was 14.3hh as a yearling! This means her estimated height at maturity will be around 16.3hh. I will have to grow taller I think.

New paddock day - yum yum  lots of grass!

Did you bring me anything?

Handsome Mack - 4 years on 15/12/11

Ciara - 13 months

Mack and Odie 

Odie not too sure about Mack

Ciara 

Mouthful of grass 

Look at what the horses did scratching their fat bums!

Chris re-staking the driveway trees agains the wind