Half term pony fun for the kids

February half term is fast approaching and I've put together a summary of what your children can enjoy here -
They can ride, groom and pamper a pony - we've got red ribbons and hearts for a valentine's themed week!!
Depending on the activity we might do an orchard walk, see if the snowdrops are out yet and find any acorns that the squirrels have left! We may even see if the fairies are playing!
They may do a quizz about the ponies or if they're really lucky go in the paddock and stroke all 4 ponies!
Older children can attempt leading one of the ponies around our obstacle course - a bit of a challenge!!!

As you can see the ponies are fairly hairy at the moment - sporting full winter coats! Lots of brushing required!!!

Here's why we think you should bring your kids;

• Visits here provide a very personal and unique experience.
• Our setting is idyllic, rural and rustic. We are not a large riding establishment simply a horsey family – your visit provides exclusive access to our private garden/orchard which include a variety of established fruit and other trees and bushes.
• Our ponies are adorable, tiny, child friendly, patient, cuddly, gentle, well-mannered, healthy and happy.
• We don’t just ‘go through the motions’- we interact with our visitors to ensure they feel special and make the experience really enjoyable for them – our testimonial give a flavour of the attention we pay to the children
• We also unobtrusively adapt each session to the needs/confidence level of the visitors, taking care to build confidence where needed or challenge more confident children so everyone goes away having had a great time
• Parents also enjoy the relaxed atmoshphere as well as the chit chat about ponies in general and our personal pony tales.
• We’ve got heaps of experience of working with ponies and children and plenty of knowledge, experience and tales from riding, training, driving, competing, breeding and generally caring for horses and ponies over many years.
• We also enjoy giving children such immense pleasure from spending time with the ponies.

But don't just take our word for it-this is what our customers say-

• "I cant thank you enough for such a fabulous day. You, your daughter and your ponies were all fantastic. Thanks a million for making it so special."
• "I just wanted to thank you again for Francesca's wonderful experience last Sunday. She hasn't stopped talking about Poppy and her "horse riding teacher" since. The whole session was perfect for her and she now has lots of envious little friends whose Mummies are gutted you're not closer to us.
• Thank you again, it was truly wonderful and both Rich and I thought great value for money. Hopefully we'll be able to come and see you again next year when we're back at Fishpool."
• "You're one in of a kind"
• "Just wanted to thank you for a lovely party you made the birthday girl feel really special and although Olivia is extremely shy she chattted about the pony tricks being the highlight. She will always have a memorable time to cherish and I have no hestitation in recommending Cheshire Ponies."

To book either ring on book online.

See you next week!

Amanda

01829 741919

amanda@cheshireponyparties.co.uk

Pony care in winter 3

Well this weather is really most weird-this time last year we were taking my daughter to her birthday party at water world nr Stoke and it was so snowy we weren't sure we'd make it. Even our dog had to wear a coat (see pic left!) This year, apparently, November has been the warmest in 350 years. So how's this affecting the ponies?

By now the grass has usually stopped growing and so the quantity and nutritional value both drop. The ponies get fed up as there's not much grass and what there is isn't very tasty!! Normally by this time they're having hay in the field to supplement the grass AND they're in at night to try and keep them off the grass to make it last a little longer!

So far, the ponies have had hay on 2 days-that was only because it was pretty chilly and they were looking a bit bored. By giving them hay they have something different to focus on, and it stops them finding other things to do, like trying to push through the now bare hedges trying to find something succulent to eat! (Oh the mind games!) Equines stomachs are designed to process food 24 hours a day which means they need to be at least picking all day and all night-really difficult in the summer when I'd really like to stop them eating at night and lock them in the stable with NO hay BUT I've found Demi really struggles with that regime-so they HAVE to have a little something!

As it's been much warmer than usual (apart from a couple of days and nights), I've been happy for the ponies to stay out ie not be stabled at night-it's more natural for them, far cheaper for me as no bedding or hay to provide AND it's far less time consuming!! A win win situation!

Now I'm a believer in leaving them as natural as possible, given the very unnatural environment we keep our equines in in the modern world. The native Shetland and Welsh Mountain ponies I have are built to withstand tough weather conditions. However nobody told Poppy or Demi that and they do actually shiver when they get chilly!! They can usually cope with cold air but they really suffer if it's raining heavily and there's a wind-it just pushes the rain through their coat and onto their skin-THAT's when they start shivering.

So far this year none of the ponies have had rugs on. In nature there would be some shelter-small wood, overhanging hedge etc, however, again in the modern world we have our hedges neat and most horses are kept on neat handkerchief patches of grass with few trees for protection. Ideally I'd like the ponies to have some shelter to hide in if necessary. Both the fields we use do have good hedges, however when the weather does turn I'll move them to a different field where they can go in to the stables if they want to.

Jinny and Maisie have a double coat-they have shorter hairs plus really long hairs that keep them super toasty-I had to drag Jinny into her stable last year when it was -17' outside-she wasn't bothered at all-neither of them wear rugs-I do keep checking to make sure they're not shivering under all that hair but they're quite happy outside!

We've also managed to keep the horses out 24/7 so far-they feel the cold far more than the ponies as they're not built to withstand harsh weather, however they've all had rugs on for about 4 weeks AND they've had hay in the field day and night to keep them busy and full! They'll come in at night now to preserve what's left of the grass to try and make it last as long as possible!

Oh, and my old lady, Katie, who's a real foodie started leaving her hay towards the end of the winter-it's pretty dry, not very tasty by then and I guess not really very palatable, especially if you're an old lady! This winter I'm going to try her on a bit of haylage-just as hay it's dried grass, but not left to dry out as much before being baled so it's more juicy and I think holds more nutrients-hopefully she'll eat it and the extra nutrients will help to keep the weight on her (a particular problem with older horses).

Oh and my big girl, Kandi who's in foal has to be fed to keep the weight on and let the foal grow but NOT let her get too fat-if you over-fuel the foal it can cause real problems with their joints when they've popped out-so she's the only one getting 'hard' feed ie feed in a bucket-I've just started giving her a specially formulated mix for broodmares as I thought she was losing a bit of condition.

Ahh-so how do you tell if they need more food?

Well I'll leave that to another post!

Anyone got any questions?

If you'd like to know more about caring for ponies-perhaps your a new owner (horse OR pony) or you'd like a refresher please take a look at my 'keeping ponies happy and healthy' course which also covers safety of children around ponies!

http://www.cheshireponyparties.co.uk/ponybusinesstrainingcourses.php#pony care

Child care in the summer hols with our NEW pony days

Looking for a different activity your child can do in the summer holidays?
Drop them off here for 3 or 4 hours of pony fun - we provide a snack and can provide lunch too!
We've got 2 sessions each week during the school holidays-simply check out the events diary and book in online.
The pony days activities vary but include riding, quizz, obstacle course (yes with ponies!), scavenger hunt, orchard walk, pony care sessions, grooming, pampering ponies etc. We have restricted numbers for these sessions and at least 2 adults in attendance throughout.
Our obstacle course was a big hit with the children who came at half term! Have you had a go yet?
Book in online here 3 hour session, 4 hour session


or give me a call for further information 01829 741919

Cheshire Miniature Pony Centre Open Day fully booked

So we've added Thurs 2nd June 10.00am til 12.00!
Come and be introduced to our miniature ponies, groom and ride one and have lots of pony fun with our pony colouring pictures and pony quiz (parents keep your ears open!)
Our ponies are a child's dream as they're tiny (between 29" and 44" to their shoulder) and are very gentle, as well as having lots of hair and mane for younger children to touch and feel.
The activities take place in our breathtaking orchard at the bottom of the garden and each child is treated individually and either encouraged or challenged accordingly.
A fabulous pony themed kids activity to occupy the children during the holidays!