9th March - Zano settles in

Zano’s been here a week now and he’s settled in beautifully at June’s yard. He takes everything in his stride and he really is very calm and laid back – a typical Andalusian!

Rosie

  I’m getting to know the other characters here too – there are June’s two Highland mares – Mhari, who’s a grey in her early twenties and bay Rosie, who’s 14 years old.

Rosie’s ridden by Emily, and her 8 year old brother, Henry.

Chico and Megan

 Then there’s Chico, a grey 14 year old, 14.2hh Connemara x Irish Draft – he’s a really cheeky character owned by Megan and her mum, Nicky.

Scampi and Marlee

And finally there’s Scampi, who arrived two days after Zano. He’s 14 years old too, a little grey Welsh 12.2hh pony who is really talkative – he’s always whickering away, watching everything going on. He’s owned by Marlee, who’s 8 years old and she’s very excited about owning her very first pony!




 
So, now Zano’s settled in, it’s time to think about the next step – riding! As he’s only been ridden a handful of times in the last 18 months I’m going to have to really think carefully about how to bring him back into work. One thing’s for sure – I’ll have to take it slowly!

This week the vet, Angela visited him and gave him his inoculations. He stood very calmly and the vet, Angela, advised leading him out in hand and hacking on the roads to help strengthen his tendons and build his muscles before starting to trot. Zano had only hacked for very short distances a handful of times in his last home, so I went out on my first hack with Chico and Megan, and Rosie and Emily – their ponies were going to babysit Zano, but he’s got such a super stride that after we left the yard he led from the front and loved it all! I’ll make sure he has a day off in between being led out or being hacked to make sure that he doesn’t get too achey.

Next week, the farrier is booked in – he’s only got shoes on his front hooves at the moment, but if Zano’s going to do road work to get fit he might need them on the back too – I’ll ask Jason's, the farrier, advice on that one!