2 Christmas Book Day Recommendations for Horse Lovers

 

Magdalen Nabb's The Enchanted Horse really is an enchanting story. A quick read originally published as a children's book in 1992, it was a children's choice book for the Smarties Book prize. 

"The horse...look at the poor horse. It's being crushed. It's lonely and frightened and being crushed under all those things."

When Irina sees the wooden horse in the junk shop window, all she wants is to take it home with her. For Irina is sad and lonely and she knows that the little horse is too. But Irina doesn't know that the dusty little horse with the tattered mane is really an enchanted horse and that it will change her life forever.

The Independent said about this book, "You need look no further for the perfect storybook for an early reader."

It's a magical read and I have to say that it thoroughly enchanted me, an adult reader, and I'm happy to recommend it for any age. As it begins on a snowy Christmas Eve it also makes the perfect festive season read.

The Enchanted Horse by Magdalen Nabb

ISBN-13 9780 00 674721 5

ISBN-10 000 674721 3 

Lauren St John said of Rumer Godden's The Dark Horse that it was "One of the greatest horse books ever written. A warm, moving and highly original classic." And I have to agree, if you've never read it order a copy now, you will not be disappointed.

"All horses can walk - some badly, some well, but to a few is given the gift of movement feline in its grace, a slouching, flowing continuous movement that is a joy to watch. Dark Invader strode in glorious rhythm, his great shoulders rolling, muscles rippling along his flanks under the satin skin."

Dark Invader is a beautifully bred racehorse, but after a disappointing first season he is sold in disgrace and shipped from England to Calcutta. With love and gentle handling 'Darkie' wins the hearts of the people and becomes the firm favourite for India's most famous race, the Viceroy Cup.

But three days before the race. Dark Invader disappears. Can he be found before it is too late?

First published in 1981 Rumer Godden said in an Author's Note:

"This story is taken from an event that happened in Calcutta some fifty years ago and has become a legend in Calcutta's racing circles. It has been published several times in different versions with a variety of characters, but always as an anecdote among other anecdotes. It is documented in the official  history of The Royal Calcutta Turf Club, but I have called the Sisters concerned The Sisters of Poverty, because the real Order in the story prefers to remain hidden."  

It is a fabulous read and I can't for the life of me think why it hasn't yet been made into a blockbusting, feel good racing film.

 

The Dark Horse by Rumer Godden

ISBN 978-84408-852-2

 

A little more kindness

 

Hello & welcome December!

A little more

kindness

A little less

hurry

A little more

laughter

A little less

worry

Can all go go towards making a happy, less stressful festive season don't you think?

Fireworks Forewarned is Forearmed

 

We're fast approaching that time of year that almost all animal owners dread, the time of year when fireworks go off. 

In the UK November 5th, Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night was the traditional time for fireworks, once a year. Most of us knew if our neighbours were going to light a few fireworks or when and where an organized display was taking place. We could make arrangements to keep our animals safe.

Over the years all that has changed, there will be countless nights, and days, between now and around mid January when fireworks will be going off in many of our neighbourhoods. without warning. Not to mention the number of random parties throughout the year, birthdays etc, when people use fireworks. These days many users of fireworks don't think to warn their neighbour to eg keep the cat in.

"Firework season" makes life a misery for many, it isn't just the animals that are frightened there are also numerous people who are scared of those loud bangs.

For years now the UK Government has been petitioned to bring in legislation to restrict the sale of fireworks. The Firework Campaign UK has been active since 2013, their website is the place to access information, petitions to sign and how to report nuisance fireworks.

According to Google AI the following UK organizations are also advocating for stricter firework legislation:

Dogs Trust, Blue Cross, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Cats Protection, The Kennel Club, BVA, Redwings Horse Sanctuary, Help for Heroes, PTSD UK, Children's Burns Trust, Association for Firework Legislation Reform.

And that isn't a complete list.

The BHS put together this checklist for horse owners over a decade ago, it contains lots of good advice starting with the first point about finding out what's going on, after all forewarned is forearmed:

Look at local press and local shops’ notice boards and listen to the radio to find out where the displays will be in your area.

• Wherever possible, tell neighbours and local firework display organisers that there are horses nearby, so they can ensure fireworks are set off in the opposite direction and well away from them.
  
• Decide whether to stable your horse or leave it in the field. It is sensible to keep your horse in its familiar environment, in its normal routine, with any companions to make it feel secure. If it is usually stabled, keep it stabled. If it is normally out in the field, keep it there as long as it is safe, secure and not close to the firework display area.
  
• If stabled, check thoroughly for anything that could cause potential injury such as protruding nails and string.
  
• If your horse is to stay in the field, check that fencing is not broken and that there are no foreign objects lying around.
  
• Ensure that you, or someone experienced, stays with your horse if you know that fireworks are being set off.
  
• If it is absolutely necessary for you to leave your horse in the care of another person during a firework display, then be sure to leave clear instructions and contact details for both you and your vet should any problems arise.
  
• If you know your animal will be stressed, talk to your vet about sedation, or perhaps consider moving your horse for the night.
  
• Playing music on a radio positioned outside the stable can often mask sudden noise, distract attention and be soothing.
  
• Try to remain calm yourself and keep positive, as horses will sense unease in a person and this may make things worse if the horse is startled.
  
• It may seem common sense but be aware of your own safety; a startled horse can be dangerous.
• Whatever you do – don’t risk riding when you think fireworks might be set off.
  
• Check if there will be a bonfire near your yard. If there is, make sure you have an emergency fire procedure in place. If you have any doubts, talk to your local fire safety officer.
  
• Make sure that you have adequate third party liability insurance. If your horse is frightened and escapes, causing an accident, then you could be held liable for compensation.

Farrier Day

 

Yesterday was a farrier day with all three equines getting a trim.

Our farrier had already been on the yard earlier in the day to do another horse, he was greatly amused to be welcomed by Eggsy, Madeline and Pippin who were obviously expecting him to trim their feet. 

We've been fortunate to have the same farrier for a very long time, in fact the ponies have never had anyone else trim them.
Looking back it seems an odd occurrence that our now farrier was recommended to us by the people who would eventually go on a few years later to abandon Eggsy.

At the time we were desperately seeking a good, patient, reliable farrier as our own was on maternity leave and the locum she'd appointed had failed to turn up twice!

This was especially problematic as we'd recently acquired Tipper, an ex racehorse, whose feet were in a horrible state plus he was terrified of having his hooves done. So much so that the vet had recommended Sedalin, to calm him, to be taken an hour before the farrier arrived. As you can imagine we were extremely annoyed at having a no show farrier when we'd sedated a horse.

And when I say Tipper's hooves were in a horrible state I mean terrible, the above photograph shows them after the 1 remaining shoe had been removed and he'd had his first trim with us. Poor horse.

That was all a very long time ago, with regular visits from our farrier we don't see hooves like that anymore.

So we're all happy now, plus the farrier brings polos, hence Eggsy, Madeline and Pippin waiting eagerly at the gate to greet him.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Graham and Edith for sponsoring Eggsy's hoof trims, it's very much appreciated. 

We'd also like to say thank you to Eggsy's 7 followers on this blog, it was really quite exciting to log on and see that not only had people read our post but some had also followed. 

Thank you.

You can find more about Eggsy in The Eggsy Pony Diaries on

 https://ko-fi.com/eggsyponyandfriends

  

Remember me Eggsy Pony?

 

It has been a long time hasn't it?

We appear to have taken an extended sabbatical from this blog, but now we're here to make amends with regular blog posts for your perusal. 

What's prompted this action?

Well it's pretty much to do with Twitter / "X" again. 

Recently we've had difficulty posting, several of our followers have also had the same problems. Sometimes it won't let us comment, sometimes it won't let us post having apparently reached our "daily limit" when we haven't actually posted in 24 hours. And the other day we couldn't even get onto to "X" because apparently:

"Some privacy related extensions may cause issues on x.com. Please disable them and try again"

That was on the rather ancient mobile we use, currently we are able to post via the also rather ancient laptop. 

Once again we were back to trying to figure out how to offer a honest connection with everyone who is interested in Eggsy Pony. Returning to good old fashioned blogging, using a free well established service like Blogger, seemed to be a good option, it certainly worked well when we first rescued Eggsy.

Blogger does offer a "Follow" option, a button that you can click so you can add Eggsy Pony and Friends blog to your reading list and stay updated with new posts. Just need to figure out how to add it.

And another advantage is that we don't have to contend with the social media algorithms or the endless advertisements! 

We're not abandoning Eggsy's social media, you'll still be able to find his posts on:

Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/eggsyponyandfriends where Eggsy writes The Eggsy Pony Diaries several times a week there isn't a paywall on his account, it's entirely free to read, though of course he is always very grateful for a coffee. 

"X" formerly known as Twitter: https://x.com/eggsypony

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eggsypony

Bluesky: @eggsypony.bsky.social 

Eggsy also continues to send the occasional newsletter via Substack  https://eggsypony.substack.com

So that's about it for the first blog post in a very long time, not exactly horsey this time but we will be back with some horsey stuff very soon.

Eggsy's 2023 so far

Hard to believe that it's mid-April already, that the first quarter of 2023 has been and gone and that despite good intentions this blog has been neglected since January.

We left you in January with the news that we were starting a newsletter on Substack for Eggsy Pony and Friends. Four newsletters so far if you haven't seen them yet here are the links:

January New Year New Newsletter  

February Your Valentine card from Eggsy Pony 

March Happy St Patrick's Day from Eggsy Pony 

April Your Easter card from Eggsy Pony 

We'd love it if you'd subscribe, as we keep on saying we won't spam you and we're not trying to sell anything, it's just a way of staying in touch with friends.

Talking of selling, in January Eggsy opened a little shop to try and raise some funds toward Eggsy's feed, like just about everything else these days the price keeps on going up! 

The shop is on his Ko-fi page, there are some books in it and we've started adding a few other bits and pieces too. All proceeds go directly to toward Eggsy's keep, Ko-fi don't take a penny.

Yard cat

We had a very sad time in February with the demise of our old friend Gingee the cat who came home with us when we were forced to leave Muddy Bottom. We're so grateful for the year that Gingee had as a house cat, there's a piece about him here:

Sad day - The Eggsy Pony Diaries 

House cat

We do try to keep everyone up to date on Ko-fi, it's a very easy platform to use with the added advantage that if readers want to they can buy Eggsy a coffee! (Coffee money goes straight toward his keep).

In March Madeline celebrated her 21st birthday, of course there's a Eggsy Pony Diary entry about it on his Ko-fi page.

And now we're into April busy planning and plotting a future update, all will be revealed shortly, watch this space....... 

Where do we go from here Eggsy Pony's Twitter Conundrum

Twitter feels really precarious at the moment, but we don't need to tell you that, you already know and many of Eggsy's followers are making plans to leave or have already left. 

Where do we go from here ? 

What are we going to do to keep in touch with our Twitter friends ?  

How will people know that we're here? 

We've spent years getting to know one another, building a community of people who have much in common, kindness and a love of animals. Together we've helped saved lives, offered shoulders to cry on, virtual hugs and cheered each other on, but, now it feels as if our engagements are at the mercy of a CEO who controls who and what we see on our Twitter timeline, whether or not our Tweets are seen. 

It's not just Twitter, Eggsy Pony is on Instagram too, but, we rarely get to see what those we follow are up to, we don't do FB but have heard it's the same there.

What about all the sites people are suggesting we join? Should we be joining Mastodon, Tik-tok, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Clubhouse, Counter Social ...... the list is endless.

Eggsy Pony is already on Instagram and Ko-fi, we have this blog, but, Twitter has always been the main place we "socialise" with those of you who are interested in him. If Twitter goes down or just becomes downright unusable how can we keep in touch?

We've been trying to work out how to offer a good honest connection with everyone that makes wise use of time, how we can let you know what Eggsy Pony and Friends are doing, what's been happening, tell you about the interesting things we see, our hopes and dreams. Somewhere we can talk directly to you.

So today we wrote a newsletter you'll find it here on Substack. We'd love it if you'd take a few minutes to have a read and if you like it, if you'd like to keep in touch, if you can cope with another newsletter in your inbox, we'd love it if you'd subscribe.

We promise we won't spam you, it won't be one of those advertorial or marketing letters. We hope it will feel like a letter from a friend, one that arrives by post, in a stamped envelope, written in real ink with a proper pen. Only of course Eggsy's letter will be digital and arrive in your in box. If you want you'll even be able to reply because the service we're using allows you to like and / or comment on the newsletters. An added bonus for us is that it's free to use, unless one chooses otherwise which we don't plan on doing.

Here's the link to the newsletter we do hope you'll take a look and subscribe so we can keep in touch. Thank you. 

https://eggsypony.substack.com/p/new-year-new-newsletter