“Quit Coaching the Ponies!”

Arrow pointing to location of ponies on the hill, taken from the stallion pen with Asi’s butt for context!

Shortly after the ponies and I moved to Scotty Springs Ranch last year, ranch co-owner Bruce Murdock starting telling me he couldn’t wait to see the ponies high on the hill.  It was in part because he hoped to see them perched regally on high and see them running with manes and tails flowing.  But it was also in part because he knew I brought them in each morning for vitamin buckets and inspection and training.  He hoped they would be as far away as possible to make me hike!  Well, it took a year but he got his wish!

The first hike way up the hill was an adventure.  As I started the second one the next day, though, I texted him saying “quit coaching the ponies!”  His accurate but annoying retort was, “the Fell Ponies of Cumbria.”  I responded with, “the fell of Scotty Springs!”

My young dog Ace looking at Calista emreging from under the pine tree.

We had three inches of snow overnight, and when I emerged from my house that morning, I looked up the hill and saw four black specs two-thirds of the way up.  I called out to them, saying they ought to come down and meet me at the barn.  I could tell they heard me because they had their heads up and faced in my direction, but I didn’t see any of them moving.  After I fed my stallion, I looked up the hill, and they were still on their same perch, looking in my direction.  One then moved slightly off and down, so I was hopeful they were headed in my direction, so I headed to the barn to prepare buckets.

Arrow points to where ponies were waiting for me above the barn as I came off the hill.

After the buckets were ready, I saw the other three ponies close to the barn, so I brought them in.  Then I looked up the hill again and realized that bringing the ponies in off the hill had just gotten more complicated.  Fog had covered the upper reaches of the hill, and I could no longer see the four ponies up there.  And because I could no longer see them, I also didn’t know exactly what route to take to get to them because making that journey was so new to me.  I wasn’t looking forward to the trek this time either because I was in winter-mud boots that were not my first choice for hiking on a rocky snow-covered hillside.  But I set off with my dogs for another climb of the mountain.

When we got up into the fog, stories told by people like Tom Lloyd in Cumbria of treks on the fells through fog easily came to mind.  When I got to where I thought the ponies were, there were no tracks at all in the snow, so I knew I was in the wrong place.  I decided I needed to go higher, so I began climbing again veering west.  Thank goodness something made me turn around because I saw a pony come into view through the fog across the hill to the east of me.  It was Drybarrows Calista who so often is the one that notifies me of the herd’s location.  I thanked her loudly and saw Willowtrail Mountain Honey descending farther away.  I turned around and started following them down.

The barn emerges from the fog and Calista comes to greet me. Her head is turned in order to discourage Ace the dog from trying to herd her.

As I got almost all the way down, the barn emerged from the fog and I could see my four hill climbers between me and there.  Calista, in her generous way, came to me to say hello as I got closer (her head is turned oddly in the picture; she was discouraging my young dog Ace from trying to herd her).  I haltered the lead mare and the others followed us to the barn in high spirits.  I was happy to have made it down in one piece and thankful I hadn’t needed to lead a pony down while picking my way down the slope.  I trust in time I’ll come to know the hill better so I’ll be better able to climb to the ponies wherever they are and do so more efficiently.  This time I will admit that the adventure into the fog was a fun way to start the day.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

Champion Horse Judge and Champion Friend

Linda Murdock with her beloved granddaughter Jackson and Willowtrail Mountain Honey

You can bet that as soon as I learned that my friend Linda Murdock had been a champion horse judge in her younger years, I began quizzing her every chance I got.  I would have her judge selected line-ups of my Fell Ponies or have her explain a particular aspect of conformation.  She helped me take pictures and make measurements for saddle fit.  She helped me deliver Willowtrail Henry to his owner in Ohio and then visit three Fell Pony owners on the way home.  When I moved to Scotty Springs Ranch, she took her horses out of the horse pasture so that my ponies would have it all to themselves.

I met Linda and Bruce when I bought an Australian Shepherd puppy from them.  Before long we were talking on the phone about breeding dogs and then cattle, which they had been doing for decades, and eventually about Fell Ponies.  When my husband died, they immediately offered a place for me to land with my ponies and all the logistics to get us from there to here.  For the past eighteen months they have been my closest friends and companions.

Tragedy struck a week ago.  Linda was taken from us in an accident here on the ranch.  There is a huge gaping hole where she once was the answerer of questions, the giver of advice, the solver of problems, the volunteer for errand runs or road trips, the shoulder on which to share bad news or happy circumstances.  There are dogs and cats and horses and cattle that miss her attention and try to coach those of us who remain to do better. 

I gave her granddaughter Jackson a ride on a pony for the first time without Linda.  Jackson was thrilled, and the rest of us remembered how much joy Linda showed when her pink princess became a cowboy.  Linda, all of us were made better by your presence in our lives.  You are greatly missed.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

The family encourages remembrances to your favorite animal rescue.

I’d Like to Know Who Led that Adventure!

My house, which is at the same elevation as the barn and foaling shed, is just below the top of the tallest tree left of center.. The ponies are below that stand of trees (the dark spots).

Late in the afternoon I watched the ponies heading up the hill.  The day before was the first time I had found them more than fifty feet above the barn, and then it was only three of them.  The hill has about 400 feet of elevation change, with the lower reaches gradually rising, and the upper reaches being quite steep.  For their first year here, which they’ve just completed, the ponies have stayed in the lower reaches.  Now though, they are running out of forage and it is cool enough that they can venture farther from water for longer periods, which I expect are what inspired the climb. 

Right before starting late afternoon chores, I saw a line of dark spots about two-thirds of the way up the hill moving left to right across the steepest part of the hillside (I wish I’d taken a picture!).  On closer look I saw that it was definitely six of the ponies.  I tried to get a bearing on where they were since when I began my climb to visit them, I would be under them and unable to see their location.

As it turned out, I missed them and hiked all the way to the top then northeast along the ridge until I could see them below me.  Two of the ponies were bedded down resting, a choice I definitely understood after making a similar climb!  What I really wanted to know, though, is who had led them on their adventure.  That pony would make a great trail pony!  The first pony to greet me when I descended to the herd was Drybarrows Calista, my fell-born girl, and she seemed bright-eyed compared to the rest of the herd.  She’s low down in the herd hierarchy, so it’s hard for me to imagine she was the leader.  Maybe in time I’ll be shown the answer!

Between the top and the ponies, I was rewarded for my efforts with discovering a very large elk antler (often called a ‘shed’).  When I got to the ponies, I was also rewarded when the sun burst through the clouds on the western horizon and cast pink light on the hill tops.  The camera I had with me doesn’t like low light, hence the fuzzy image of Calista and the shed and the pink light.  What a fun outing!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

The Pink Princess Cowboy and the Pony

When I told my friend Bruce that I’d had a dream about his granddaughter riding my Fell Pony mare Rose, he said he’d had the same dream. So when I found out Jackson was due to visit soon, I made sure Rose was ready for her precious cargo. Jackson is just two and a half years old, so riding means sitting on a pony that I lead with Grandma Linda spotting her (or sometimes Mom or Dad).

When Linda and Jackson showed up the first day, I realized I hadn’t prepared Rose for the tutu. The pink poofy skirt is apparently a favorite of Jackson’s. Fortunately, Linda was able to convince Jackson to take it off before riding, and while Rose would likely have been fine with it, I was glad we didn’t have to find out. The pink theme remained, though, with Jackson sporting pink bib overalls, pink boots, and a pink tinged helmet. (Please note that we know the helmet isn’t perfectly fit; we will get it right eventually.) Smiles on Jackson’s and Linda’s faces made my day!

The next day Linda and Jackson arrived with a pink-trimmed saddle and saddle blanket that Linda had bought. We put it on Rose and found out it fit her, and I was surprised how good pink and black go together! Jackson was stylish with her dark glasses, and I soon learned that when I asked her to smile for the camera, she stuck out her tongue, so my pictures of her smiling are more impromptu. Jackson had apparently been saying over and over again after her ride the day before, “I’m riding a horse!” and she treated me to that refrain several times on our next ride. By day four, I got her to say, to my delight, “I’m riding a pony!”

So far, Rose has been a champ, as I expected her to be. Even after having her hooves trimmed and then on our windiest ride she has been perfectly behaved. Jackson’s dad warned me that I had started something, and I replied that it was a thrill for me to share my ponies. And I told Linda these rides are a little thing I can do to help Jackson be bonded to this ranch and ensure its future.

After I realized the pink theme was a fixture and I knew I didn’t have a pink halter or lead rope, I at least made sure I chose colors that wouldn’t clash. I fully expect that someday, if Jackson’s interest continues, that my black ponies will sport pink more completely than Rose has so far!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories about ponies bringing joy to life can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Fell Ponies and Hot Weather

I appreciated my inquirer’s concern when they asked about how Fell Ponies do in hot climates.  Southern California was of particular interest to them.  I shared what I knew about Fell Ponies there and in other places with hot summers.  And then our first summer began here in South Dakota.  I now have more first-hand experience than I did when my inquirer asked their questions.

I have never seen my ponies sweat like they have during this summer that has been five to fifteen degrees warmer than our warmest days in Colorado.  Nonetheless, the ponies seemed to get by just fine.  I did what I could to keep them comfortable. 

• I made sure they had access to drinking water, which here is in automatic waterers so it’s reasonably fresh and clean so they are inclined to drink it.  And we cleaned the waterers just to make sure.

• I made sure they had access to loose trace mineral salt.  I learned a long time ago that salt blocks aren’t necessarily ideal for equines because their tongues aren’t as rough as those of cattle so they may not be able to get what they need out of blocks. 

• I made sure they had places to stand where they could catch breezes.  I know some Fell Pony owners rely on fans to accomplish this when their landscape doesn’t allow for it.

• I made sure they had access to shade.  As one friend so aptly put it, “Our ponies are black!”  At least most Fell Ponies are black, and in hot summer sun, their coats get very, very warm.  This was an advantage during our long winters in Colorado, but it is a challenge during longer hot summers here.  Shade is in sheds, under trees, or behind hills at either end of the day.

It is this last one that I need to make improvements upon next summer.  My stallion Asi told me by his behavior that his shed isn’t to his liking in the heat.  He was rarely in it or around it to use its shade.  So I plan to build him a wall-less shelter next spring for shade and put it where he likes to stand, which likely has good breezes as well as good views of his mares.

I have been told that this summer has been 15% hotter and 30% drier than normal for here.  I am sure our second summer will teach me even more about keeping my ponies comfortable in hot weather, even if it’s closer to average.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories about Fell Ponies and weather can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here.

High Heat to Snow Flakes

The ponies and I are experiencing a bit of physiological shock.  In 48 hours, we went from a high in the 90s (33 degrees Celsius) to a high in the mid-30s (3 degrees Celsius).  In addition to the change in temperature, clear skies turned to rain which turned to snow, and lots of wind blew.  Many of us were left shivering. 

When we lived in Colorado, it wasn’t uncommon to have these sorts of swift weather changes in the spring and fall.  A few things are different for us here in South Dakota, though.  For instance, in Colorado, at 9,000 feet in elevation in the Rocky Mountains, we rarely saw temperatures as high as we have had here.  Nor for as many days in a row; this summer we’ve seen more hot days than we were accustomed to, with one of the hottest at 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius) just the day before. 

Another thing that I recognize that I took for granted in Colorado is how protected we were from wind.  Here we get hit by wind both from the west and the east, and while we’re protected compared to most places in South Dakota, we still experience more wind here than we did in Gould.  My late husband chose to build his home where he did because it was protected.  I heard today that the first pony shed he ever built that stood well for 17 years in Gould, and that I gave to a friend when I moved, was blown over onto its roof where it is now located about 20 miles north of where we lived.  In a testament to Don’s carpentry prowess, the shed was not damaged despite being rolled.  And his judgment about our home’s location and wind was confirmed.

As the weather dried out, the ponies quit shivering but stayed opinionated.  The ones that were confined got extra hay at extra feeding times.  The weather is supposed to warm up, with no more snow in the forecast at the moment.  I am grateful that the ponies are tough, and I appreciate that they require me to toughen up, too!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

A Pony Excellent Adventure

Nearing the end of the day, I was in the mood for an adventure.  I had scouted the location a few days before, and the stars all seemed correctly aligned for the adventure to turn out well.  I went to get my Fell Pony mare Madie and her daughter Aimee.  It was time for Aimee to cross water for the first time.

When we lived in Colorado, the ponies crossed water regularly because the Michigan River ran through their summer pasture.  Here, we have wonderful hills but no live water, so I had to create the opportunity to cross water, hence the adventure.  I couldn’t have been more thrilled with my two homebred girls.

The first step was to load the girls in the horse trailer.  Again, back in Colorado, taking rides in trailers was a regular part of life because summer pasture was four miles from home, so all my ponies get excited when I have the trailer hitched, thinking that there will be abundant green grass at the other end of the ride.  But here, there is no reason to trailer the ponies because the hill pasture is right outside our door.  Aimee and Madie, then, hadn’t been in a trailer in three months, and back then Aimee was just a month old, so it was still a novel experience for her.  Nonetheless, our adventure got off to a good start when Aimee followed her mom right into the trailer.

The trip to the river took 25 minutes, and was quite varied, from highway speed to corduroyed gravel to rough two-track. When we got to the river, I put on my rubber boots and unloaded the girls, neither of whom had ever been to the Cheyenne River before.  I opted to lead rather than ride Madie across the river to be as sure of success as I could be.  I hadn’t ever ridden Madie across a river before, though she’d crossed it on her own, and this one was new to me, too, so I felt leading her was the best strategy.  This lesson was for Aimee, after all, not Madie!

When I had scouted the river a few days before, I had decided on a particular crossing point that was wide and shallow (about seven inches at its deepest.)  Madie followed me through the coarse grass on the bank and down into the river and across without hesitating.  Aimee hesitated for a moment at the bank and then followed her mom.  Success!  I had a foal once who would not follow his mom across the river until several days of opportunities had passed, so I was ecstatic that Aimee was as confident with this adventure on the first try as she has been with everything else.

We went back and forth a few times before the failing light of the day dictated an end to our adventure.  The girls loaded up without hesitation, another success, and we returned home without incident.  I will repeat the water-crossing experience for Aimee when the stars align again.  The access road is not passable if it is wet, and the river is low right now because the region it drains hasn’t had much rain in the past month.  The river can easily become swollen and too high for safe crossing if a rainstorm hits northeastern Wyoming or southwestern South Dakota.  For now, though, I will savor the excellent adventure I shared with Madie and Aimee and my canine companions.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can read more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Jackson's Present

Jackson, Linda, and Asi

My neighbor Linda stopped me on the road and said, “We were coming to look for you.  Jackson got you a present.”  Jackson, Linda’s 2-year-old granddaughter, was sitting in the passenger seat of Linda’s Jeep.  Linda asked Jackson to hand something to her, and then Linda handed it to me.  “Asi!” she said.

Linda and Jackson had been to the farm supply store.  While there, Jackson had surprised Linda by saying “Asi!”  Asi is my Fell Pony stallion whom Jackson sees whenever she comes to the ranch to visit.  On the store shelf was a small figurine of a black stallion with flowing mane and tail.  Actually, there were three of them, and Jackson had to have all three.  One for her room here at the ranch, one for her room at home, and one for me.

I was, of course, incredibly touched.  And terribly impressed.  That Jackson at her young age would see a resemblance between Asi and the figurine – well, kids are amazing!  And then that she would want to have three figurines of Asi and give one to me – well, kids are amazing!  Linda and I often chuckle together about Jackson’s preference for pink and purple clothes and toys, but more often than not, there’s a horse theme to them.  As Jackson’s mom told me once, “Linda may get her veterinarian granddaughter yet!”

This story got even better two days later.  Jackson had returned home with her parents for her first day at preschool.  Linda couldn’t wait to show me the picture on her phone that she received.  Pointing, she said, “Aimee!”  Jackson was holding a small black stuffed pony that she had named after my young Fell Pony filly.  Jackson and Aimee have known each other since a few days after Aimee was born, and Jackson asks to visit Aimee every time she comes to the ranch.  They seem to have a mutual admiration society.  Only now I understand how deep Jackson’s admiration of Aimee is.  First day of school?  Really? Amazing!

I am keeping the figurine that Jackson gave me at the barn.  Each day when I do my chores I take it out of my feed shed and put it where it can watch over the pony proceedings.  While it might look more like a Friesian than a Fell Pony stallion to some, to me it will always be Asi, thanks to Jackson!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Calista's Comet

I am outside after sundown every night at present,

Tending to my stallion’s wound.

When I came in at dark, a message from a friend

Was the first I’d heard that there’s a comet to see.

I went out again right then to have a look.

It was in vain, though, for I didn’t know enough.

The next day I got guidance in hopes of success,

And I vowed to give viewing another try.

The day was long and after the sun was down,

My resolve about viewing began to waiver.

Going to bed seemed much more attractive.

But then when I went to fetch the mares in,

Calista helped to recharge my resolve again.

She was standing on a knoll all by herself,

Looking to the northwest as if she could see

The comet hidden still by the light of the day

But worthy of her attention in spite of that.

The pictures I’d seen set my expectation

That the comet would be close to the horizon.

I decided then that I would drive to a high place,

Armed with the guidance to find what I sought.

The guidance was to use the Big Dipper’s stars

As an arrow towards where to gaze.

When I arrived up high only two stars were visible

And I wasn’t sure to which Dipper they belonged.

A third one soon appeared but I still couldn’t tell

If the guidance would lead to success.

Minutes ticked by and darkness seemed slow to come,

And my resolve began to waiver once more.

To pass a few moments I pondered my stallion’s wound

And how its dark edges are growing in on pink flesh,

Just as, at the horizon, the darkness of night was closing in

On what lightness was left from the day.

Then I looked up again and there the Big Dipper was

And I lined up the stars of its cup’s base.

Following them, angling down towards the horizon,

I was greatly rewarded to see what I’d come to see.

The comet faintly shone through the day’s end.

My tired eyes made its faint light flicker.

Its tail appeared to move about like a cat’s,

Back and forth, up and down, short and long.

Then as darkness grew, the comet became still

And larger and somehow worthier of awe.

It also stood higher in the sky than I’d expected,

So I returned home to see where it would be.

My house is in a protected hollow.

The protective hills mean my horizon is high.

I was rewarded again, though, as I found my guides,

For the comet was perched just above the hill .

I’m thankful to Calista for helping me view

Comet Neowise in person not just in pictures.

Without her stance on that knoll on the hill,

I might not have seen this comet at all.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

A Pearl Puzzle Piece

I try to start my evening chores an hour and a half before dark.  Right now my evening chores involve bringing in four ponies (two sets of two), putting out two ponies, and cold hosing my stallion’s wound.  When the four ponies who’ve been out all day are in close at day’s end, then I get done earlier.  But during this hot weather we’re experiencing (perhaps normal but hot for us previously-mountain-living folks!), they’ve been laying low midday then go out to actively graze as it cools, so they’re rarely handy for me to bring in.

Gorgeous sunsets are one of the benefits of playing the catch-me game with my puzzle Pearl, barely visible in the midground.

One of the pairs I bring in are my two three year old Fell Pony mares Drybarrows Calista and PrairieJewel Pearl.  When Calista sees me, she comes to me to be haltered and taken in.  Calista is the dominant of the two, so in normal herd dynamics, Pearl would follow us in even without being haltered.  That’s obviously my preference, too, to save me walking all the way back out from the barn to get her.  Pearl, though, has shown she is not herd bound and rarely follows Calista in. Haltering her at the same time as Calista doesn’t work very well either because Pearl moves away from the dominant mare as I approach with her.

Pearl has been a puzzle since she joined my herd (click here to read more).  And her behavior in the evening has only increased my puzzlement.  Not only will she not follow Calista in, but she has preferred to play the catch-me game instead of coming to me to be haltered.  She will move off when I approach, sometimes at a walk, often faster, sometimes towards the barn and sometimes farther away.  One evening when I had to walk a half mile to halter her, reaching her as dusk was headed to dark, I decided a new strategy was in order.

The next night when I approached she and Calista, I gave Calista a treat when she approached, as I normally do to thank her for her cooperation.  But I didn’t halter Calista.  I knew that Calista would follow Pearl and I in; I just needed Pearl’s willingness to be caught.  I then approached Pearl with my hand outstretched and shoulders down and eyes cast down, all the while shooing Calista away.  Pearl let me walk up to her and halter her, and I gave her a treat, the first she’d had from me.  I also gave her several kind words and scratches in her favorite places as I usually do.  The treat, though, caught her attention.  We went to the barn with Calista following, and we ended the day on a good note.

The next night and then the next, I was able to approach Pearl, halter her and bring her in rather than have her run off, with me trudging through falling light after her.  She’s also been asking about getting a treat at other times.  So far I haven’t given her one; I want her to clearly understand the circumstances in which she gets that reward.  And I want to clearly understand what it is about our new routine that is motivating her better behavior.  I feel like I have a new piece of the puzzle that is Pearl, and there are a lot more to be discovered.  I look forward to finding the next one!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one about life with Fell Ponies can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

My Puzzle Pearl

I was absorbed in my own thoughts in the pasture when I felt a light touch on my sleeve.  I turned to find my three-year-old Fell Pony mare Pearl beside me.  As I stroked her and scratched her in her favorite places, she pricked her ears forward and stood still and relaxed, seeming to truly enjoy our time together.  This exchange was a thrill for me because Pearl has been a bit of a puzzle, a good kind of puzzle, but a puzzle nonetheless.

The last thing her breeder told me about Pearl when I decided to bring her home was that she lays her ears back but she hasn’t ever done anything mean.  I was somewhat surprised to hear this because I hadn’t seen the behavior when I’d been with her in her herd there.  But after bringing her home, I quickly became familiar with that expression on Pearl’s face, and her breeder was right; she wasn’t doing it out of meanness.  In time I came to understand it as an expression of unconfidence.  Then a friend said that that sort of expression of unconfidence is relatively common in equines yet often misunderstood.  I completely understand why.

While it was easy to think that Pearl’s laying her ears back was a communication of aggression, my instincts told me otherwise. 
Nonetheless, I watched her turn her butt to the other mares and kick at them, but with a fence in between.  Then I found out that when she was turned in with the other mares, it was the other way around – Pearl was getting the kicking rather than giving it.  She put up a tough girl look that really wasn’t representative of her nature.  She has shown me that treating her as though she’s being aggressive isn’t a way to make progress.

I figured that in time as Pearl got to know me and my ways of communicating with her, she would come around, and I was right.  Now I’m able to ask a little more of her in our ground work, and with that has come an increased understanding of what I expect.  And also with that has come the small uptick in her confidence that is expressed by her approaching me for attention and putting her ears forward when she’s with me.

We still have much work ahead of us to get her confidence even close to that of my other mares.  For instance, one evening when I really needed Pearl to come to me to be haltered, she instead ran off, costing me a sleepless night and veterinary bills when another pony ran after her and had a close encounter with a fence that I wish they hadn’t had.  I have dug down deep to not blame Pearl, and it really helped when she touched my sleeve as a reminder that she’s trying.  And my other mares are a daily reminder that in time Pearl and I will get to the type of relationship that I want and need with my ponies.  In the meantime I will enjoy solving the puzzle of Pearl.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

Madie Made It Easy

I am very thankful to my Fell Pony mare Willowtrail Spring Maiden for how easy on me she made her daughter Aimee’s birth.  For instance, Madie let her milk down less than 24 hours before foaling, and when I tested it, the pH indicated that she would give birth within 24 hours.  With her first foal, Madie defied the pH test and took ten days before foaling, which translated to lots of sleep deprivation.  Not this time.  The test results made an accurate prediction!

In the morning I put Madie out with the herd, but I checked her at 2pm. Unlike previous days when she’d seen me on the hill and walked away, this time she came to me. She had looked physically uncomfortable in the morning, and she did at this point in the afternoon, too, confirming my earlier sense that she was in labor. I haltered her and brought her in for the rest of the day.

When I checked Madie at dusk, I was even more convinced that she would foal that night because she was starting to drip milk (not just wax.)  I also checked the weather forecast, and a storm was due to move in, which has been a fairly consistent theme when my mares choose to foal.  Normally I would check a mare several times during the night to make sure that foaling went okay.  The first time she foaled, though, Madie made it clear she did not want us present, so this time I told her I would be out halfway through the night.  When I checked her at 2am, Aimee was on the ground but still wet, the placenta was still warm but had been expelled, and there were snowflakes in the air – all as it was meant to be!

After foaling, my job is to watch for milestones in the foal and mare.  In the foal I watch for urinating, defecating, nursing, and napping.  Aimee was cooperative in all but defecating.  It was so dark, though, that I wondered if I had missed Aimee passing her meconium.  When I mused aloud about this while standing next to Madie, she touched my arm with her nose then lowered her head to point to a dark spot on the ground.  I pulled out a flashlight, and sure enough, there was a pile of meconium.  As you would expect, I was struck by how Madie had understood my question and answered it!

In my mare herd, Madie is low pony on the dominance chart, so I don’t spend as much time with her as I do with the more dominant ponies.  Having her in the foaling shed at night has given me a chance to get to know her again.  She definitely reminds me of her mother Restar Mountain Shelley III who also made so many things easy on me.  What a blessing life is with these ponies!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories about how amazing life with these ponies is can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Feeding Weanlings

When I first learned about Fell Ponies, I thought, rightly, that their hardiness and easy-keeping qualities would make them a good fit for the Rocky Mountain environment I called home. Indeed they endured winters of three or four feet of snow without difficulty, often to be found during a storm with several inches of snow accumulated on their backs. When I began keeping weanlings through the winter, though, I learned quickly that many of them needed different care than older ponies.

On my first trip to the homeland of the Fell Pony in Cumbria, England, one of the hill breeders I visited had three weanlings in a large, well-lit shed. Later I observed that other hill breeders similarly keep their weanlings indoors or in sheds all winter where they can be fed and protected from the weather. This practice explained why the youngstock that I have imported from England are all much more physically mature than the ponies I raise at home at the same age. Over my two decades of breeding these ponies, I’ve observed that weanlings through to yearlings put all their extra calories into growing, so that they have to be monitored closely in extreme winter weather conditions to ensure they stay in good condition.

In the winter weather of my Colorado home, my Fell Pony weanlings put on quite a fluffy coat. Some of them developed an almost fleece like layer that was as much as two inches think. I quickly learned that it is critical, when monitoring weanlings in cold climates, to work my fingers deep under their coats to the skin to assess body condition. Feeling the ribs doesn’t necessarily mean a pony is too thin; in the Henneke Body Condition Score, moderate or acceptable condition is “Ribs cannot be visually distinguished but can be easily felt.” (1) There’s no way you can visually distinguish ribs under that typical weanling fleece coat, so in addition to palpating the ribs, I have found that palpating the withers is helpful in assessing condition. If I find a hollowness behind the withers then I know that a weanling’s condition needs to be improved. Sometimes I can also get good information by stroking the neck, though that typically gives the best information when done frequently so that changes can be noted. (Click here for more information on assessing body condition.)

What I have found that pony weanlings need more than their older relations in tough winter conditions is digestible energy with low non-structural carbohydrates. Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are the sugars and starches in feed that cause glycemic reactions in equines which can lead to digestive upsets, colic and founder, among other diseases. Hay causes a very low glycemic reaction; oats, corn and barley create large swings. NSC values, then, are a measure of the possible glycemic reaction. Typical sweet feeds have an NSC content of 67%, while low-NSC products typically range from 9 to 20 percent. Low NSC feeds are designed to give extra high-quality calories without triggering a glycemic response.

I’ve now moved from my Colorado location and its very snowy winters to South Dakota. We still have real winter with prolonged cold and some snow, but my ponies are eating less hay and more pasture. How I need to care for my weanlings, though, seems similar so far. They do best out with the herd as much as practical, but then need that extra help from regular supplementation of digestible energy. Just like in Colorado, anything extra that they get is put into growth, with just enough flesh to stay warm. So they get very used to me prodding under their heavy coats to see how much flesh they have covering their bones to make sure I’m giving them enough. And they get used to eating their feed with me holding the bucket so they don’t spill those precious calories!

1. https://thehorse.com/164978/body-condition-scoring-horses-step-by-step/

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

Welcome Willowtrail Aimee!

Willowtrail Aimee

From the moment we met, we’ve liked each other.  I first laid eyes on Willowtrail Aimee about an hour after she was born, about 2am.  I hung out until 3:30 when the clothes I’d rapidly put on weren’t enough for the snowflakes spitting from the sky.  I went inside to change then came back out, and when she heard my voice, she nickered at me!

As the day-old photo shows, she has been my shadow whenever I let her.  That fact and our affection suggested her name.  I was a student of the French language when I was younger (fluent in high school but don’t test me now!).  One of the first verbs we learned was ‘to like’ or aimer (pronounced somewhere between ay-may and ee-mee.  Aimee is usually translated as ‘beloved.’  One of the other verbs we learned early was ‘to help’ or aider (pronounced somewhere between ay-day and Eddie).  Since the filly and I liked each other and she was such a helper with all my foaling stall chores, the name Aimee (pronounced like Amy) seemed to fit!

I look forward to getting to know Aimee better as her life unfolds.  I will enjoy watching her grow up in an environment more like the Cumbrian fells than I’ve ever been able to provide my foals before.  Aimee is out of Willowtrail Spring Maiden (a fabulous mom) and by Kinniside Asi.  Aimee is Asi’s third offspring and second daughter.  Aimee is Madie’s second daughter.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

To read stories about the other Fell Ponies at Willowtrail Farm in my various books, click here.

Ross Did Me Proud!

We arrived in Laramie, Wyoming an hour before the arranged meeting time.  The early arrival was by design; I wanted yearling Fell Pony Willowtrail Ross to have time to eat before undertaking the second half of his journey to his new home.  He appreciatively dove into the hay in the trailer, and I walked my dogs and ate my lunch.

My friend Mike who lived nearby surprised me by coming to visit us, and one of his objectives was to take a picture of the transfer of Ross between trailers.  Then after Ross’s new owner arrived, she expressed thinly veiled concern about Ross loading into her trailer.  Figuratively, the pressure was on.  I admit to wondering how it would go once I saw the other trailer.  The step up was bigger than anything I’d yet asked Ross to do, more than 15”.  Nonetheless, I knew I could get him loaded eventually, so I said nothing and we completed the business portion of the transfer and prepared the other trailer to house Ross for the next several hours.

I had mistakenly left behind Ross’s halter and lead rope, so I used one I had in my trailer and was pleased when he didn’t indicate any concern about the unfamiliar tack in already unfamiliar surroundings.  Then Ross and I unloaded out of my trailer, and Mike snapped the picture here.  Ross’s owner’s trailer was parked right next to mine, so I led him the few feet between and stepped up into the other trailer and ahead into the stall.  I heard Ross follow me without any hesitation at all, and I was one proud pony trainer!  We all laughed though because it happened so fast that Mike wasn’t able to get the picture he’d come to take!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

Out of the Draw

Between the barn where I do most of my work with my ponies and the hill, there is a draw.  In the picture, the trees between Calista and me and the barn are in the draw.  The ponies are of course quite adept at following their favorite paths down off the hill into the draw and back up the other side, usually at a decent rate of speed.  I, on the other hand when traversing the draw, take a very thoughtful approach, seeking out the least elevation change possible to accomplish my goals.  Except when I am with a pony.

Most often it is my lead Fell Pony mare Bowthorne Matty who assists me with navigating the draw. Most of the time I’m navigating the draw when I’m bringing the mares in, and I use Matty’s influence on the rest of the herd to draw them along with us.  If I ride Matty, then we stop at the top of the draw on the hill side, and I dismount; there are numerous low-hanging branches that I’m not interested in encountering on her back.  Going down into the draw she is always very respectful, staying back so as to not step on my heels.  Going up the other side, though, she comes alongside me, and I willingly get her help to get out of the draw. 

The help I get is a handful of mane.  I grab on and where normally Matty would outpace me going up the hill, I am able to keep up because she pulls me along (as long as I keep my feet going!)  We have done it often enough now that she knows we stop at the top of the draw where I say thank you and release my handful of mane.   I am starting to realize how this quiet, undemanding mare has given me a partnership I didn’t know we had.  What a blessing this life with ponies is.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Being Available When They Offer

I am fortunate to have created a life in which I can be available when my Fell Ponies offer something interesting.  One morning when I went out to bring the mares in, I realized the benefits of having this life.  Two of the four mares were sunbathing, and the other two were grazing nearby.  When the mares saw me, the lead and second mare, who had been napping but got up, started walking toward me to greet me.  When I got to the lead mare, who I planned to ride in, she was next to the mare still lying down. 

I greeted the lead mare then dropped the rope hackamore and knelt down to greet the recumbent pony.  She remained where she was as I scratched her withers, and I felt privileged as I always do when my ponies allow me to touch them when they’re lying down.  I pulled out my camera and succeeded in snapping the picture here.  Then I got up to return to the job at hand, bringing the mares into the barn. 

When I got up, I suddenly realized what the lead mare was offering me.  The other two ponies had begun to make their way to the barn, but the lead mare had stayed right there with me, as if looking forward to our ride in as much as I was.  I picked up the hackamore, tied it on her, and jumped on her back.  Two gifts from my ponies - the lead mare remaining and the recumbent pony allowing a photograph - made me appreciate again being available when my ponies offer.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories like this one about my life with Fell Ponies can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

An Assumption Fortunately Affirmed

I got a ride in, but it wasn’t the one I’d intended.  The weather had slightly improved, so I was looking forward to reuniting with my Fell Pony mare Willowtrail Wild Rose. The mares didn’t come in, though, and I needed them in so I could tease and be able to plan my breeding season.  So instead of a ride on Rose, my priority was finding the mares out on the hill and bringing them in.

While the weather was improved, as in slightly warmer, the wind had started to pick up again.  The day before had been really unpleasant, with ice crystals driven so hard that they hurt my face when they impacted.  I realized as I went looking for the mares that they were showing sense by being holed up somewhere out of the wind.  And that made me realize the assumption I had made when I moved here, an assumption fortunately affirmed.

We all were in Colorado together for many years, so the places that we spent time were well known to all of us and therefore the ponies knew how to get out of the weather when they needed to.  When I moved, I assumed the ponies would figure out the same thing here, that they would move to get out of wind or heavy snow or sun.  Behind that assumption, though, was another assumption, that they would explore their new place and remember where the best places to go were when they needed them.

I did what I could to help them learn our new place after we arrived, walking them entirely around their hill pasture and showing them where their sheds with minerals were and where water is.  What I didn’t do, I now realized, was take them to likely protected spots when the weather turned.  I had assumed they would return to those spots on their own.  Fortunately for me, (or I would have felt really guilty!), they did seek out those protected spots, like they had on this morning, on their own.  I couldn’t really blame them for not being at the barn when I was ready to start chores because they would have had to stand out in the wind awaiting my arrival.

As I rode the head mare Bowthorne Matty towards the barn with the rest of the herd following, I pondered whether all equines would have figured out where to seek shelter from weather after moving to a new place like we had.  Then I remember a gelding I had once who stood out in a hail storm, trying to tuck his legs under his body and hunching against the maelstrom, instead of seeking shelter in his shed.  I went out into the storm and led him to his shelter, where he stayed and seemed sheepishly thankful.  That memory made me even more thankful for my Fell Ponies whose natural instincts are endlessly fascinating to watch and learn from.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can find more stories like this one about my life with my Fell Ponies in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

The Gentleman and the Devil

The gentleman Ross gets his photo taken standing tied later in the day that he was a devil!

Willowtrail Ross, my 9 month old Fell Pony gelding, utilized a hole in the pasture fence three times before I found it.  He was after the lawn in front of my house, considering it more appealing than the hill where the pony herd roams.  The lawn was definitely lusher and exotic compared to the native grasses on the hill.  And definitely not something I wanted him consuming a lot of!

The first two times he was out were during the late afternoon, and I walked up to him with a halter, put it on him, and returned him to the hill.  Not so the third time.  I woke up and looked out the window to see him grazing as fast as he could, with the rest of the herd looking longingly over the fence at him.  I threw on some clothes and headed out, grabbing a halter and lead rope out of one of my horse trailers that was parked nearby.  I walked towards Ross as I had previous times, and I saw him take a step away when I got within twenty feet.  Hmmm.  I thought, this is different.  Sure enough, he wouldn’t let me come any closer than twenty feet.

I’d had enough of that game before very long, so I swung the lead rope any time he put his head down to graze.  He soon recognized the pattern and let me come closer. I was able to give him a good scratch but before I could put the halter on, he moved off.  I realized the halter I had picked up was different than the one he usually wears – an adjustable web-type with a loose snap ring that jingled when I moved – so I went to get a halter more familiar to him.  This time I was able to get close enough to give him a good scratch and get the halter on his nose, but he reared into the air before I could get it fully on him.   Hmmm, indeed!

I knew what the problem was.  I’d experienced it once before with one of his older sisters.  Too much rich feed.  With his sister, it was just a few days before her new owner was due to come pick her up, and I couldn’t get a halter on her.  I was panicky until I figured out the problem.  Within two days of reducing the rich portion of her feed, she was back to her normal compliant self.  I was reminded of what happened once when I fed some neighbor children brownies with raspberry jam topping.  They went from being polite and mild-mannered to ill-behaved and needing to move-move-move!  The same thing happens to ponies.  I did eventually get Ross reunited with the herd, by haltering his mom and using her influence on him to get him through a gate back onto the hill. 

A few hours later, when I had the herd in for their feed buckets and daily handling, Ross approached me in the paddock to say hello, back to being his normal gentlemanly self.  It almost felt like he was apologizing.  When it came time to halter him, I approached with lots of question marks in my head, but I tried to keep my concerns well-muffled.  He let me halter him as usual.

Later, when I thought back on Ross in his devil mode, I thought I might have been more successful with him if there hadn’t been so many unusual circumstances.  He had been separated from the herd (just by a wire fence but separated, nonetheless), I was trying to halter him while the rest of the herd was loose (usually I halter him last after everyone else is standing tied), I was wearing loose-fitting clothing that was unfamiliar to him, and I tried to use that unfamiliar halter.  The best strategy for keeping Ross in his gentleman mode, though, is to not let him get in the candy shop.  I found his hole in the fence later that day and repaired it!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

More stories from my life with Fell Ponies can be found in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.

Another Worry 'Stone'!

Drybarrows Calista, one of the ponies from whom my most recent worry ‘stone’ may have come from.

Over the past few years, I have collected quite a number.  It hasn’t been entirely intentional because most of them I’ve just happened upon in the paddocks while I’m feeding.  They all are on my desk where I can pick them up and handle them when my stress level rises or when I’m on the phone and need something to occupy my hands.  They are not conventional worry stones.  They are pony teeth.

All but one are temporary teeth shed naturally by my Fell Pony youngstock, usually when they are three years old.  The exception is the largest one, a permanent tooth that my smallest, Mya the Wonder Pony, lost when she was 28.  Most of these teeth are caps from Kinniside Asi, my now four year old stallion.  I found them last year and the year before while feeding in his paddock.  Apparently the ground conditions allowed them to stand out so I could see them.  Or perhaps I was meant to find them to assemble this collection of worry ‘stones!’  One cap is from Willowtrail Mountain Honey when she was three. 

I have two three year olds in my herd at the moment:  Drybarrows Calista and PrairieJewel Pearl.  The milk tooth I just found is from one of them.   I am happy to add it to my collection!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can find more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here. or on the book cover.