21st Century Bears Website

21st Century Bears Website
The home of artist bears.

Saturday 22 October 2011

Winter

As winter fast approaches preparations begin to get the horses ready. First I have to dig out the rugs for Jigsaw and Jake and make sure they are up to the job of being rolled in mud and scraped against trees.
Hector the old Shetland will need a new rug this year so I'm searching for a tiny rug to make sure she is nice and warm when the inevitable snow arrives. The younger Shetlands don't need rugs, they just snuggle up with the other horses and share body heat. Jigsaw and Jake will then move out of their summer field and join the Shetlands, which usually results in dominance battles, which Jigsaw wins. Next it's hay time, when the local farmer drops off a big bale of hay, which usually gets devoured in 6 days. The horses listen out for the sound of his approaching tractor and are tucking in to the hay before he has finished unloading it. I then have to dig out my waterproofs and a good head torch for the dark evenings when I can barely see my hand in front of my face. This is usually when rugs have to be adjusted and many a night I've struggled to hold a torch in my mouth whilst re-fastening loose rug straps or picking out hooves. Bonfire Night looms, when all around fireworks are exploding and I just pray that there will be no mishaps. Mornings are spent breaking ice on water buckets and scraping snow off the Shetlands.
It's such a relief when winter draws to a close and the days get longer again. Then I can relax for the next 7 months.


Caren

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