A Guest Blog by Jan Daley

We’re now in August 2023. It has been a dreadful year. 6 weeks of decently warm dry sunny weather in April/May since Oct last year. It’s a nightmare. I’ve even had to rug Rebel until he’s dried off, as the cold wind blowing off the lough has him shaking quite violently – more than just shivering – and given his arthritic hocks’ slow recovery, I’m being fussy with him. He seems grateful, and certainly isn’t walking away when I offer his rug which is a pretty good indication that he wants/needs it.

I’ve had Rebel out about 6 times since starting our Drive500 challenge again in June. I’m continuing his massage and stretches where possible, when it’s dry enough for me to sit on the yard with him, so not as often as I’d like, or he needs.

That, combined with a challenge as to whether or not I’m fit to work from the benefits office, and a deterioration in my lung function – to be complex-tested later this month – has caused my mood to dip significantly.

I don’t have the energy or enthusiasm to navigate our potential Wild Atlantic Way route in hopeful preparation for an attempt to drive it with Rebel next year, which is also annoying and depressing me. 

I’ve also had increasing issues trying to get my farrier to trim. I understand it’s not economically viable for him to waste his time travelling to trim a single Shetland pony, but even taking the pony to him has become too much of a trial. The “emergency” farrier I’ve used is really nice, an older man who is reducing his customer base as he gets past retirement age, and my gut feeling has been that he trims Rebel’s frogs too severely. He also pares away the bars on the pony’s soles.

To this end I have engaged online with a UK farrier recommended to me by a friend who lives in the Scottish Highlands, as he taught her to barefoot trim her ponies. As I’m in Northern Ireland, and he has no colleagues here available to help me out, we have agreed to do Zoom sessions, at what I consider to be a very worthwhile investment price of £50 per session.

Today as requested, I sent photos of (scrubbed!) hooves and posture. It’s exactly 4 weeks on from Rebel’s last trim. Rebel’s frog has not recovered from the last trim, so he needs at least another 2 weeks before we look at them again. Ditto his bars. What I thought was an issue with “thin soles” – and I have not been corrected by any of the farriers I’ve used to date – may instead actually be chronic inflammation causing footiness; Rebel has never coped with more than 10 mins roadwork without his boots. 

The farrier quizzed me about Rebel’s diet as his belly is pretty rotund despite the work he usually gets – not even the various vets have asked about nutrition!!! He says the current abundance of nettles available is good; his balancer and speedibeet soup is ok; browsing our weed (wildflowers and herbs!) infested garden is good, as there’s very little grass; but his hay should be soaked. This will cause Rebel issues as he won’t eat wet hay. As he’s unlikely to starve to death (!!!) we might have to vastly reduce the amount he is offered and perhaps spread it around the paddock in little handfuls. I’m not sure how I will physically cope with doing that, but needs must … And he has recommended I contact Ron Fields Nutrition, and try Rebel on their liver detox product, Remount. I have already emailed the company and am awaiting their advice.

All this new information is certainly giving me food for thought, and I’m overjoyed with finally finding someone with a holistic approach, and who will take time to listen to my fears, and will help me educate myself for my pony’s benefit.

Rule 42: every day’s a school day!