Part five - Summer

It was lovely, watching Merlin change into such a companionable pony over the Summer months, and we all adored his snowy white coat. Our little bachelor herd had settled down, and between Toffee and Merlin there existed something of a truce, so long as a certain distance was kept!

As the weather cooled towards late Summer, we took Merlin for plenty of walks around the lanes.



When we take Merlin out on the roads, he wears his 'Monty Roberts' Dually, which gives me a little more control than just a simple head collar, but doesn't have any impact on his mouth in the way a bridle would. I've used the Dually on all my boys and can't praise it enough as it is soooo effective, but not harsh at all and as you can see from this picture, Merlin is nice and relaxed :)

part four

Due to all the wet horrible weather we had last year, which in late February turned to frost and snow, Merlin had to have a rug. I know he's a tough Highland pony and his breed are used to rough climates, but Merlin had been brought up living in stables and cosy shelters. We had neither, at that time, so a rug it was. He was brilliant and seemed to be thrilled when I put the rug on him, as finally he was the same as the other two, in their rugs. I know it sounds like I'm humanising him, but when Toffee had his rug first on for the season, Merlin chased him and chewed the rug at every opportunity. Is it any wonder then, that Toffee was still less than enamoured with him!
I started slowly with a towel on his back and finally when I got the rug on him, it reached his knees with great gaping areas at front and back. Back to the saddlers I went, clutching his measurements on a scrap of feed sack. The smallest rug I could get was a foal slip, fortunately it was also the cheapest in the shop! This fitted pretty well, although after only a few weeks, his rump was beginning to show. By March he was wearing a proper pony rug which actually still fits him this year, although the straps have all been let out :)



By June the weather was dry and most of the time hot. Most worrying was the lack of rainfall and we were ferrying water to the field in a big container on the truck. After filling every possible container, we decided we had enough for the luxury of baths for the boys. Toffee just stood and submitted, Oliver loved the water and was bathed and scrubbed enough for all three of them and Merlin made it perfectly clear that his tail was all that was getting wet, thank you very much! Wet sponges, apparently, were monstrous and anything soapy was just downright wrong. It was a fun time for us all, even if Merlin's beautiful summer coat was a little less than pure white ~:)

Today - 26/01/08

Well, I've not done a whole lot with Merlin this week because it's either been too wet or windy, and I'm not about to play silly devils in a slippery paddock, surrounded by madly waving trees!

Today, we had a marvelous time though and Merlin played around as we cleared some old wood for a fire. He helped me strip some hawthorn berries from a pruned branch and even tasted a few. Then he chased me up the muck heap, as he wanted to see what the view was like from the top! It was full of lovely, stinking smells and he spent ages sniffing and snuffling around, and then wiped his yukky face on the truck windows. All of this was because we opened up the top paddocks and gave both ponies the free run of them.



This was what he spent most of his time doing though!!!


When he'd calmed down, I gave him his supper and he gave me the loveliest of cuddles. As he was tucking into his hay, I leant over his back and he turned his head right around and snuffled my hands. I stayed there for ages gradually increasing the weight, but he ignored me, apart from the occasional sniff on my hands, and to see what I was doing I suppose.

In all a very good day, although at first glance it may appear unremarkable, I feel like Merlin is starting to treat us very differently and is seeking out our company more and more.

Today 23/01/08

I haven't posted for a while because I've hit a stumbling block! The next part of Merlin's story involves Oliver quite a lot, and I've been missing my boy soooo much this last week that I haven't been able to write it!

The weather has still been atrocious so Merlin's education has ground to a halt, although in general his manners have improved greatly, and he's not quite so territorial in his half of the shelter. In fact he seems to positively encourage me to muck out, so long as I don't turf him out in the rain. I refused to bring him breakfast in bed yesterday, as the sun was out and I thought he should be too. Reluctantly he ventured out in search of his bucket, and then indulged in a good game of shove with Toffee. They were very amusing, but sadly for Toffee, Merlin has the edge over him in both speed and maneuverability. It's a bit like comparing a tank with a sports car!

Today - 17/01/08

Not much to report today. The weather is still foul, and when we arrived at the field, Merlin was very reluctant to leave his bed. He peeped around the corner of the shelter and waited for breakfast in bed! Which of course he got, but meant that I had to muck out around him. This was all well and good until my sixth sense kicked in and I looked around to see a set of teeth aiming to bite my rear end as I bent over the wheelbarrow. When he saw that he'd been caught out, he quickly went back to his hay. A pony pretending nonchalance is a fine thing to see indeed!

Part 3

Merlin very quickly settled in to his new home and it wasn't long before he started to show his true personality, as this photo shows. As I was fiddling with my camera, he decided to creep up on me, thinking that I couldn't see him! I love the shape of his little back foot as he creeps closer. If I'd been quick enough, the next photo would have been of his belly as he did a little cat jump up at me before tearing off around the paddock in glee.



Merlin got along very nicely with Oliver, but Toffee had his nose put sooo far out of joint. Strangely, Oliver decided to look after Merlin and even let him eat from his bucket, which was incredible as Oliver NEVER shared food. They were often to be found eating from the same hay pile and if Toffee ever got too bossy, then Merlin would run and hide behind Oliver. They soon became known as 'Oliver and his mini-me', especially when they wore matching rugs.



Merlin also has a funny habit of rolling in his bucket when he's finished eating his dinner. One particular day, I'd put a little brewers yeast in his feed and he loved it sooo much that he rolled clear across the field and landed in Oliver's hay pile. I'm not sure who was more shocked, but golly did we laugh. Here he is rolling after a good feed! Mind you,it can't be good for his digestion!!!!



And rolling in his hay in the snow!

Part two

Sorry for the poor quality of this photo, but it was taken with my phone camera on the day that Merlin arrived at Yarrow Field.

I'm going to mix in daily happenings along with recounting our early days with Merlin. After all, we've had him just over a year and if I were to write it all in order, I would be forever playing catch-up!

Merlin arrived, excited, nervous and looking very small and fragile compare to Toffee and Oliver, our big, robust New Foresters. At over 15hands, Oliver made Merlin look like a foal, but Merlin wasn't phased. He'd been kept in a paddock with a 17hands grey shire horse! I'd already decided to keep the boys in a bachelor herd as I felt it would help Merlin to be sociable and less likely to defend his paddock. Although in the first few weeks, he had a small paddock alongside Toffee and Oliver, so that they could acquaint themselves safely.



Straight away Merlin decided that adoration was very good for him, and he does love being with the children.

Today - 15/01/08

Oooh, what horrible weather. No training done today, but I did feel like I'd crossed a milestone with Merlin.
For some time now, we've been having problems teaching him about personal space. He knows exactly what his boundaries are and lets us know for sure if we cross them, but he hasn't a great deal of respect for our personal space. If he wants something, he'll charge in and occasionally push us over in his excitement. He's a very loveable little boy, but clearly doesn't know how to ask for a hug or scratch. In the past this has only been a minor issue, but since we lost Oliver in December it's escalated. Merlin's world was shattered with the loss of his best friend and father figure and he reacted in a very angry way, not allowing any of us to approach him unless we carried a headcollar. Once the headcollar was on, he set to work as normal, as he enjoys the little lessons I've been giving him. I've been trying all manner of ways to get close to him, but he just turns his head away. Toffee's depression was bad enough to deal with, but Toffee at least would let us comfort him, seeing Merlin so hurt and angry left us at a loss to know how to handle him.
Because of the lousy weather today, all I could do was sit in the field shelter and make sure that Merlin had a good rest out of the rain. I've known for a while that Toffee was keeping the field shelter to himself, but it was confirmed this morning when I arrived to find Toffee warm and fluffy and Merlin soaked and very grumpy. Whilst they ate their breakfast, I mucked out their bed and then put in two huge piles of hay. Every time I had to move close to Merlin, I gave him a scratch or rub on the head or neck, eventually he stopped avoiding me, and just gave in. Although he still maintained some distance. That was good enough for me. But when I had to leave, it became apparent that Toffee would simply drive Merlin back out into the rain and that wasn't good enough for me, so I divided the shelter in half with some white tape and posts. As I was doing this, I sensed Merlin behind me. He came closer and leant on my back. As I turned my head towards him, he lifted his head and rested his chin on my shoulder. It was such a loving and gentle moment, that it has stayed with me all day :)

This evening, both boys were in their half of the shelter and were a lot happier together.


Although Toffee did still look a bit put out!

In the beginning!

This was what our funny little boy looked like on the day we first set eyes on him. We went to the Rare Breeds farm at Cholderton to have a look at their Eriskays, because I'd been researching the breed for about a year and wanted to see if they were as good as I'd read.

I'd been saying to Andrew (my husband) for a long time that my next horse would be called Merlin, and his reply was always 'what horse?, there won't be another one'! When we saw the ponies at Cholderton, I think we were both a bit smitten by their sweet natures and then to be told that their colt may be for sale sometime, our ears pricked up (well, mine did, anyway). As we crossed the farm to look at the colt, I casually asked what his name was. The reply? Of course, Merlin! Andrew was speechless at first and then simply said 'that means nothing, don't get any ideas' Too late for that, I took it as a sign that Merlin was meant to be mine.
After a good few months of heartache as we gave up on Merlin and tried for another Eriskay, a darling called Duart, who also went on to cause heartache as we realised we couldn't afford his transport costs, we then decided to give up on our breeding plan. Andrew, by this time was starting to get as carried away by the idea as I was! With heavy hearts we put the plan aside and concentrated on getting the field fenced and fit for our other two horses Oliver and Toffee.

By September, Oliver and Toffee had settled nicely into Yarrow, and were just making the field their own when their worlds were about to be rocked by the arrival of a hormone fueled interloper. Yep, I'd had the call, did I still want to buy Merlin? Did I ever???? That was how in October 2006 RBF Cholderton Merlin came to live with us :)