This is my first blog and it will be about all my animal friends.
When I was a child we didn't have pets because my dad always said we lived to near to a busy road. When I was about 9 I started going to a local pony riding school with my sister. There I first met dogs close up and horses and ponies.
I seemed to be able to communicate with the animals somehow. The stable dogs would follow me about and I could ride any of the ponies without fear. I always thought this was perfectly normal and never thought much about it until much later in life.
I stayed around horses until I was a teenager but then other things took over my life.
It wasn't until I met my husband 26 years ago that I had any contact with animals again. When I first met my husband I went to his house and he had a dog called Tip. I immediately became great friends with Tip, then gradually over the next few years we acquired more dogs - Blue (a friend for Tip), then Snozzer (a deaf child of Tip and Blue), then Annie, Sally, Alice, Albert, Arnold, Alice, Andrew, Holly, Raymond, Angel and finally Alf (child of Raymond and Holly).
All these dogs except for Snozzer and Alf were either rescued dogs or other peoples unwanted dogs.
For each and every dog I tried to make a connection and I do this by imagining I am them and trying to think how they think - what worries them, what do they like, what needs do they have - this is all related to the dog not the human. I do not look at myself as these dogs owner but merely the person responsible for their welfare. They come before everything else, they do not have a voice of their own in this human dominated world. I am responsible for the roof over their heads, the food in their dishes, their warmth, comfort and love.
The ponies came next - Lippy and Herbie.
I had a large pay rise at work so we decided to buy a pony to pull a cart. We chose Lippy - I picked her because she was the one who most looked like she needed a good home. At this time we didn't have anywhere to keep her so she stayed at the place where we bought her from. Shortly after, my husband's mother died and we were left with some spare money and some property. With the money we bought Herbie - he was only a baby and needed mothering - a role that Lippy took on. We found somewhere near home to stable them.
That was 20 years ago and both of them are still in good health. I use the same method with the ponies as I do with the dogs. I get into their shoes and try to think like them. Lippy is very intelligent and only needs to be shown how to do something once. Herbie is not so clever and lacks self confidence so you have to be confident for him. My husband taught him how to pull a cart but he couldnt figure out how to turn round so my husband had to literally pick up his feet one after the other and show him how to do it. Lippy worked this manouevre out for herself.
After a few years the stables where we keep Herbie and Lippy came up for sale so we sold the property we had been left by my husband's mother and bought he stables. Now we had room to expand.
Our next inmate was a 9 week old English Alpine goat called Thomas. This was my first ever contact with goats so it was all learning. I thought I will be a playmate for Thomas because he was only a baby when we got him. That was great for the first 6 months or so . I would play with him in the stable yard and take him for walks up and down the lanes near the stables. Everybody stops to chat when your 'dog' has horns.
Then the terror called foot and mouth disease hit the UK. I was frightened for Thomas because DEFRA were slaughtering pet goats. Fortunately I had got Thomas just before compulsory reistration came into force so DEFRA did not know of his existance, but for 6 months I had to confine him to a stable round the back of the yard and only let him out in the padock at the back. I dared not let anybody near him incase they were carrying foot and mouth. Poor Thomas missed his walks and meeting people.
Fortunately he survived without catching that terrible disease but we had lost 6 months of growing up time with him. He did live to be about 7 years old and is now buried in the paddock at the back next to his sister Jo who was owned by some people who kept their horses with us. When they left Jo stayed but she didn't live very long because she had been a companion goat for a horse and I think she just missed the horse so much that she eventually died.
I now have 2 more Pigmy goats called Mary and Harry. They were my birthday present the year before last from my husband. I went to the farm to pick them out. They are about 2 years old now and are a lovely friendly pair of goats. I take them for walks down the lane and most of the time they wander round the stable yard getting into everything. I even take them to my friends house who lives at the end of the lane. Their favourite food is crisps, so if I want to get them into their stable all I have to do is stand in the stable and rustle a crisp bag. They very soon come running.
I also have hens - a mixed bunch that seem to keep changing. Yesterday I arrived at the stables to find a new hen there that someone must have left for me. I seem to be known around the area for adopting unwanted hens.
I don't have many hens at the moment because we have a fox problem. I have no objection to foxes - they have as much right to be here as I have, but I am not going to provide them with an easy meal.
Every year about 3 or 4 pairs of swallows come to nest in the stables and the barn. Herbies stable seems to be favourite. I am eagerley waiting the new arrivals this year. There don't seem to be as many as usual - could it be something to do with climate change?
The young swallows flew the nest last weekend. I had totake Herbie out of his stable for a couple of days so they could have flying practice.
The was a fox sunbathing on a stable roof yesterday, I definately won't be getting any more hens at the moment.
Two new ponies have arrived (not mine), they are Benny and Duchess. Benny's young owner ,Olivia , has taken a liking to Alfie one of the stable dogs and she has started taking him for long walks around the lanes near the stables. Alfie is nearly as big as Olivia but he is a gentle giant and loves playing with her.
