Turning Round

 Both ponies have been insatiably hungry lately. For Bridget, that’s pretty normal. She’s ridiculous and needs to be rationed at all times. 

Angrily eating shrubberies because I starve her, obviously.

For Sophie, it’s not normal at all. I often leave her a bale of hay in a net in her shelter and she just picks at what she wants. Over the course of being in at night for a week or so, it gradually disappears. Don’t get me wrong, some weeks it goes faster than others, but generally speaking she consumes about what you’d want and expect her to overnight. Such a nice treat when your other pony is a Bridget!

Nom nom nom

Then, a few weeks ago, she pulled a Bridget and ate the bale of hay in 48 hours. I chalked it up to the weather being super awful and her maybe being a little damp and cool and not leaving her shelter. Then it happened again. And again...and still, it’s happening. 3 days or so and her hay net is empty.  She’s eating all day if the food is there and with no real weight gain. Cue me grumbling about hay prices and Bridget teaching Sophie bad things.

Sophie eating shrubberies because Bridget told her to (probably)

I did the normal horse person checklist. Deworming needed? Teeth up to date? Is the hay less nutritious? The grazing not as good? There were enough maybes (I’m using up the last of my hay from a year ago, the pasture isn’t as good as it was and the weather’s been cooler so she’s been VERY playful and energetic) that I decided to just keep an eye on it.

Then yesterday, I thought I’d double check her saddle fit. I’ve been looking for a new to us saddle and wanted to check her against the County chart. Check this out:

The thicker green line is yesterday’s, the other exactly 2 months ago. It’s unreal to me how much she’s filled out in her top line. Since spring, we’ve gone from a medium narrow fit to a wide in most saddles.

 Holy crap, is she ever filling out! If you recall, she grew nearly 3 inches in height as well this past spring/summer, which seems crazy to me. She’s 4, not 2! I upped her vitamin/minerals a bit earlier this spring when it became apparent she wasn’t done growing. I think I’ll leave them at the higher rate for now and keep giving her all the hay she wants - apparently she’s using it!!

“I come in for dinner now?”

 Sophie’s also within the realm of fitting Bridget’s saddle. I’d actually use it with her half pad if it wasn’t too long on her. I remeasured them both because that seemed so crazy weird, but as my husband helpfully pointed out, Bridget seems wide because she is -she’s built like  a tank. She’s also forever a bit overweight and is built like a corgi, so she looks even wider than she is (somewhere between a wide/extra wide tree in most British saddles) 

Sophie has the same round pony barrel, but (aside from her cute ears) that’s the only pony thing about her - her legs are proportionate and she’s average sized in front and behind. She keeps herself pretty fit and defaults  to an appropriate weight for her build. So, I guess that’s why she seems like she’s tall and narrow compared to B. 

I identify with Bridget strongly because every time I lend out an item of clothing, I’m surprised it’s the right size my average height and weight friends...I guess those extra few inches in height make a difference in people too, lol. 

Anyway, I’m so, so glad I didn’t buy Sophie a “real” saddle yet. Not only would she have outgrown it in 2 short months, but it seems I might need that money for extra hay :D