Things never seem to run smoothly!

It's been a tough couple of weeks here, in many ways. The hardest part has been to do with Tishy. I kind of feel that it is my fault, that I tempted fate by proudly posting here 'Look at out lovely new pony!' Tishy has not been well, she had a nasty bout of colic about 10 days ago. I am pleased to say she is fine now, but there was a very worrying night, with several visits from the vet, and several sleepless nights following as I worried about her. We couldn't pinpoint the reason, and we suspect that she had had a very minor bout of colic a couple of weeks previously to this. Because of this, and the fact that she had never had colic before, I think it is likely that there is something here, either in her environment, or in her routine, that may have caused it, and so, with a lot of soul searching, we decided that she was better off back with her owner. Thankfully, she has an owner who adores her, and simply wants her pony to be safe and well, and though I have grown extremely fond of her in the last six weeks, I really think this is the best decision for her. Middle daughter is, understandably, struggling to see the wisdom of this decision, particularly as Tishy is well again now. So , we'll have to see how things go. I will be more cautious about tempting fate by feeling smug about life from now on. In an effort to cheer her up, I let her have a ride around the block on Red.

I've also spent a couple of days helping sort the textiles recycling at Proper Job, which gave me a chance to earmark some clothes from the scrap bin that will work nicely with my current project! The creamy coloured fabric above is a beautiful linen with a pale indigo thread running through it. As trousers, they are worn through, but there is plenty of good fabric left for patchwork.

Race the Wind continues apace, and still I am happy, stitching, stitching away.

Marlene and Morticia

How on earth did I end up with two ponies called that? Actually, I wouldn't have it any other way - I think they are brilliant in their outlandishness. You can't beat standing at the top of the field and calling these two! and Morticia is a perfect name for middle daughter's pony - her heroine is Wednesday Addams. Add to that my eldest daughter's pony, Matthew, and there we have a perfect collection.

Finally our snow has gone, and the sun even made a brief appearance today. We managed to get the ponies out for the first time this year. Just a walk around the block today - Tishy has newly had her shoes removed, and Marlene, little teddy bear that she is currently, hasn't been ridden since about September time. Both were pleased to be out and about , and Magpie was overjoyed to be out running with the ponies again.

I have started work on the second textile piece, Race -The -Wind. Not very happy with it at the moment, it feels very harsh and 'clunky'. What I really want to do is start building up gossamer thin layers over the basic image, but I have nothing suitable in my boxes of fabric. I'm going to have to go and rummage in other peoples stashes before I can go any further. ( By other people, I actually mean my sister, who has an enviable fabric stash - a whole barn full. I just have to grovel a bit to persuade her to let me help myself)

Pony Update - One in, one out

Things have been a little topsy turvy here with the ponies recently. We have had a new pony here for the last six weeks, to see whether she suited us, and after a rather bad start, things turned around, and she has proved herself to be a little poppet,so we've made the decision that we would like her to stay! This is Tishy, 12.3hh, about 17, with a very happy middle daughter on board.

This has, however, meant that some tough decisions have had to be made. You may remember that I bought this little filly last summer ( see here
with the plan to initially use her as a broodmare, ( she is actually booked into stud with Diptford Star Attraction this spring) to breed a Working Hunter type pony, and then to break her in to have as a jumping pony when the girls were a bit older. She has a fantastic jumping pedigree - she is by Timber - in - the Mist, a Connemara stallion, and her dam is a daughter of Rosewall Mister Softee, a champion JA pony. Hazel, who currently stands at about 13.1hh, has so much potential. She arrived very anxious and bargy, but has settled right down. She is kind and gentle to handle, desperately eager to please, and particularly quick to learn. She also jumps like a stag, and this is where things become tricky!
I rent a little bit of land away from the farm which is where I intended to run Hazel, along with my other youngster, Piper. Unfortunately, this turned out not to be a great plan because Hazel, good in every other way, panics if left on her own and jumps straight out to join us. My fencing is sheep netting or stone walls, and I'm not in a position to re -fence rented land! Obviously, this means that I can't begin to work on breaking Piper in, which is what I planned to start doing. So, I have had to bring both girls back to the farm with the riding ponies, where I can safely leave Hazel when I work with Piper. BUT, the arrival of Tishy puts too much pressure on the land at the farm, and my new year promise to the family was to simplify our lives as much as possible. The upshot of this is that, reluctantly, I have agreed to put Hazel up for sale. I say reluctant, because I genuinely like this little mare. She is an anxious sort, but is incredibly trusting of people. She can't bear to be left on her own, but is just as happy with a person for companion as another pony. She will stand like a rock in the stable to have her mane pulled, her feet picked out - any amount of fussing over. She leads out at walk and trot from both sides. She will follow me anywhere I ask her to, even through the river at full flood. She really does like to work and use her brain. I think, in kind and calm hands, she will make a top competitive showjumping pony.

So, there we are. One comes in, one must go out. Sad as it makes me, I do see that it is more important to have the right pony NOW for the children, when they are starting out, than to be saving them a good one for the future!