Monday 14 February 2011

A brief introduction

Lukey, or Ipley SkyWalker, is a rising 5 New Forest gelding by Brookshill Brumby out of Twiggs Lane Foggy.

He came to me almost 4 years ago, and it's been a steep learning curve along the way.

Luke as a foal

Over the weeks and months ahead, I'll share some of my pictures of Lukey(of which there are many!), but not yet.
Lukey has always been a little, erm, special. He's tried every which way to either injure himself, or die(idiot). Post gelding he nearly lost his life, he's had colic(through being greedy and escaping into a grass filled paddock), laminitis(brought on by him escaping into a grass filled paddock and gorging himself!).......he went through a period of losing large patches of fur when changing from winter to summer coat, or vice versa. He used to always come in from the field either covered in bites(from pissing off his field companions), injuries(from doing god knows what), or with his rug in tatters either left hanging round his neck, or discarded, buckles still done u, for me to go and retrieve.



Since his first brush with laminitis, grass has been his enemy, and balancing keeping him happy whilst restricting his grazing and keeping an eye on  his weight can be challenging. Like most ponies, Lukey thinks, first and foremost with his stomach. He gets very grumpy and agitated if his access to food is limited, so spring and summer see a return to soaking haynets and sectioning off his paddock, much to his distaste.
Now, erecting electric fencing poses a problem where Lukey is concerned, due mainly for his total disrespect for it. He will simply go round picking the posts out of the ground, having first travelled along the length of the fence testing for any weak areas in the flow. This pony is FAR too clever for his own good!.
He's also not allowed to be turned out with mares, as he finds them just a little too irresistable. Despite being gelded he still takes an unhealthy interest in them, although he has now started on vitex agnus castus(or monks pepper as it is also known) to try to put a stop to this behaviour. Only time will tell if this has a positive affect on him.

Lukeys general behaviour can be challenging, although that is partly due to my being too easy on him, and allowing undesirable behaviour to continue. A new, hard line regime is now in place to get him back on track. Allowing him to carry on as he was doing would have been dangerous, and ultimately made both he and myself miserable. This is really the main reason behind setting up this blog.
I wanted a record of his progress(ha ha), somewhere to write down my thoughts, and to be able to see just how far we've come together.

On that note, I'll leave you with one of my favourite photos of Lukey, one which I think explains his character and mischevious nature without the need for too many words.


Until next time.

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