Maxie (being the little fat piglet that he is) can't spend days and days hours and hours eating rich green grass. Sadly he suffers from a disease called Laminitis which mainly affects small robust native ponies like the Welsh Mountains whose bodies have evolved over thousands of years to survive on very little at all. Scavenging off steep heather covered hillsides, foraging for a meal under two feet of snow and surviving off the poorest quality of food imaginable................ . (And jumpers!)
Put these little things on rich green grass especially during Spring when the sugars are at their very highest and their bodies just cannot cope. Unfortunately it is the second biggest killers of horses and ponies in the world (that and colic) and needs to be taken very seriously. He will have it forever and he just needs to be managed in a different way to if he didn't have it. Annoying, but such is life!
The basic rule is no grass!!!! Or very very limited.
So we have built him a long narrow run under the trees in a paddock with poorish quality native grasses. He has sun, shade, shelter from the wind and rain and has Clips on one side and a paddock full of brood mares to watch on the other.
He can pick up a good gallop in it if he wishes and can see the big fella and nuzzle him over the fence at any time.
This weekend we put the finishing touches to the fence (with help)
And interference.............
Double trouble!
A broken pulled apart hat.................(wasn't me says the big boy!)
And sucked and trodden jumpers and coats..........
Yay!!!
So hopefully given the circumstances we have made him as happy as he can be.
We think he is worth it!
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