AlTRPD

The current TRPD Flash & Grab sale has to end shortly. Profits to date from this have provided 'Going for the Dogs' Travelling collars to the following rescues and regular dog transporters: ZeptheDep Rottie Rescue; Rochdale Dog Rescue; Southern Lurcher Rescue; Northern GSD Welfare; Greyhound Gap; North East Springer Spaniel Rescue; The Oldies Club; HOPE Rescue; Fife Rottweiller Rescue; Bullies In Need; Bull Terrier Welfare; Wiccaweys; Just Jackie (Regular Voluntary Transporter); Goingtothedogs (Regular Voluntary Transporter); East Galway Animal Rescue; Cottage Rescue, Ireland; and Valgrays Collie Rescue. On behalf of all of those, thank you to everyone who has supported this, and if anyone wishes to grab a last minute bargain and help another rescue or regullar dog transporter to receive some of these collars, please visit: http://petcraftproject.proboards24.com/ind...7371&page=1 Thanks.

If anyone is concerned about showing off their varicose veins, it can be done anonymously by sneding me a PM via the forum or I can put you in touch directly with Andrew, if you would prefer, and we can still arrange a prize for your favourite rescue.

Our local Co-Op reduces lots of items to 10p each at about 8.30pm, including the fresh baked breads that haven't sold that day and masses of veg and salad stuff. I got brocolli, a pack of French beans, a pre-washed bag of salad leaves, a box of huge peaches, a big bunch of bananas, a tub of coleslaw, two quiches and a french stick loaf last night all for 90p! Oh, and a bag of sausage rolls which the dogs lover as a treat for another 10p! The friut isn't even fully ripe yet! Ate the brocolli for lunch and will have salad for evening meal later, beans tomorrow and have been picking at the bananas already too, Bread made salad rolls for me and visitors last night with some fresh boiled eggs from the chickens. The other day I had some lovely white cod pieces, fresh packs of prawns, cherry tomatoes and goodness knows what else, again for 10p per item.

You could also help yourself too in the process. A friend is researching into these problems and is looking for volunteers to test the benefits of Inclined Bed Therapy and the improvements people using this report having as a result. Ideally he needs about 50 volunteers, and TRPD Pet Craft Project will offer a parcel of goods to the rescue nominated by participants of a challenge to help with this research. More details can be found at: The Varicose Veins Challenge Participants will need to post before and after photos of their varicose veins and/or oedema affected legs, but if I'm willing to have a go and reveal to the world what I usually try and hide beneath long trousers, and for Tailends, I am sure others affected can pluck up the courage to do so, too! Afterall, what have we to lose except perhaps a troublesome problem, and whilst helping a rescue at the same time?

I've worked both with a few abused children via a therapy writing project, and with offenders ranging in age from youngsters of about 18 in a YOI to men in their 50s in a prison that housed sex offenders and lifers/murderers. I have also been a victim of, what I would call 'minor' childhood abuse compared to many others. (And yes, I had to have thorough police check and Home Office clearance before doing that work even as a volunteer.) There's not much nowadays that can shock me. However, one thing that has cropped up time and time again when working with people of all ages who have been abused as children and who are trying to get into recovery, is the effect that their close family members behaviour towards them, or the way those close relations react or respond to whatever happens, can have an ever greater effect than the actual acts of abuse. This is something that I can personally relate to, as well. Informing on a realtive's inappropriate behaviour towards me when I was a child, really opened up a Pandora's box of escalating proportitions. If members here would like to know more, feel free to ask and I don't mind posting deatils here, or if anything of a possibly personal intimate nature you can PM me via the TRPD board, as my box is nearly always full on here.

Thanks, Ange & Cycas. All being well I'll be home on Tuesday or Wednesday, but may need a day or two longer to recuperate before able to get back online and a bit more before able to use the sewing machine. :lol: When the forum is back, and I can do a bit, there are still loads of things here to be cleared in the F & G sale etc. WAW supporters may wish to help spread the word about the June sales being towards helping that rescue? We still have some 'Going for the Dogs' Travelling collars available too, if there are any rescues (or individual volunteers) not yet nominated or that do a lot of transporting and that could use some. When I last checked, no rescue had requested the pack of 6 sighthound ones and there's also a spare pack of 6 normal, medium sized collars spare, too, but I've not been able to add details of those due to the forum being offline.

The latest news is that they hope to have power reinstalled and the servers back online at some point during the afternoon, but this will be US time, so it could be tonight before the forum is available again. Once again, I am sorry for any inconvenience.

I'm just trying to let as many people as possible know that the TRPD Pet Craft Project forum is currently offline and why, to avoid any speculation. It seems that the Proboards host servers may have been affected by a fire in their building. Although the servers themselves have not been damaged, it is not know at this stage how long it will be before these are back online. Moves are being made to transfer to a different host server, and there are progress updates being posted at this link: Server Update Information. Although I will be going into hospital later today, I feel sure that the TRPD admin team will look into ways to reschedule the Sunday Quiz on behalf of rescues, in the event that cannot be held at its regular time. Also to announce the winner of the free, end of the month draw winner as soon as that is possible, together with other relevant start/end of month activities. The rescue to benefit with a donation of goods as a result of sales during June will be Warrington Animal Rescue. I can only apologise for the present situation, which should be resolved soon, and trust that everyone will understand.

Is that all? I get over 500 emails, but as most are for men, I'd be quite happy to pass them on to you, Rick! But seriously, how about having a specal thread where members can post info for you that you may need to know about, but that isn't necessarily personal? I.e Such as who will be taking over from me when I retire as a TRPD Pet Craft Project board admin (or peg out in harness before working out my notice) - which has yet to be discovered. Be warned, Rick, any hints of retirement on your part, and the members will likely demand impossible periods of notice, as they have with me... Ain't it nice to be popular?

There are some incredible bargains going in the sale! Loads of bids that won't even cover the postage costs! Even some of the new, luxury range of decorative, comfort web harnesses and lead sets for only a pound or two! Quality dog coats with as little as a bid of £2; training leads and fancy collar at just £1!

By all means, Kittycat.

Only two people have entered this competition so far, and the first Auction Club sale is already underway. Lots of fab items up for grabs there. Competition Link Auction Link

If anyone is trying to access the TRPD forum and can't, please don't worry, Proboards are upgrading it and it should be available again shortly. Sorry for any inconvenience. Thanks.

Goodness, I will never manage to catch up on everyone's news! Sounds as if lots has been happening lately, though. I don't have much news, other than that Bronnie seems to fancy a career on stage! Because I struggle with clearing fly-tipper's rubbish that is tossed over the field wall so much, I agreed that a young lad could use a little patch of the field to put up a pigeon cote, and in exchange for clearing and keeping on top of the litter. No sooner did he have the base for the wooden cote/shed down, than Bronnie decided to explore it. She has no hesitation over jumping onto this strange wooden platform and seems to love the hollow sound of her feet on it, that she'd rather play on it than come in for her bucket feed! Apparently, her antics on the boards had people coming out of their houses wondering what was going on with all the banging and clattering. Merlyn's not wintered quite as well as he usually does, although isn't by any means in poor condition. I think it's down to them being on hay instead of haylage. The last thing I wanted was for Bronnie to stuff herself with haylage, the way she can eat! Both are really starting to lose their winter coats now and the local crows can often be seen on their backs plucking hair for their nests. (Except, of course, when I remember to take the camera with me.) The people at the neighbouring yard have had a foal born to their big piebald TB x cob mare. A colt that looks as if he will also be piebald. Far too much white for my personal taste, but he's a strong little chap and very friendly.

Arh, bless them, Jacky! Years ago I had a little old coloured cob gelding who was great with foals and youngsters. So marvellous that I used to pop him into the next box when weaning foals. Mucking out one day, I wasn't worried when a little filly went into the cob's box with him, but then heard a rather 'slurping' sound, looked over the partition and saw the cob just standing there with a sort of euphoric, dopey expression on his face, and the filly trying her best to suckle from his sheath! It sounds as if Kane and Fred have a similar sort of relationship as Merlyn and Bronnie. That right down to sharing a food bowl. My old stallion was the same with foals, but then, they were his offspring. Perhaps it is something inherited in a gelding's genes, because I've rarely known a mare to do that with a foal or youngster that isn't her own.

That's what I thought! The chap has phoned me since. £650 now! Told him she really wasn't what I was looking for! He said she wasn't as badly behaved as she looked and he'd rather see me have her than take her to the sales where she'd probably go for meat! Talk about emotional blackmail, eh? Your leg looks horrendous! My mother gets similar reactions to plasters and has a heck of a time if she gets any allergic reactions. She has cellulitis now, and anti-biotics also upset her system.

I really feel for you, Clare, and hope things work out well at the new place. That Chestnut cob mare is nearer 14.3hh than 15.1hh (a little smaller than Merlyn) and a bit of a sherbert lemon character to handle - that is if one is able to catch her in the first place! I have no desire to risk being kicked or bitten. It's one thing having Bronnie nip me affectionately when trying to reciprocate with a bit of mutual grooming (which I hope she will grow out of in due course) but the chestnut mare is a whole different ball game and she means business at both ends. I'm not nimble enough on my pins now to cope with managing or addressing those vices. Also I learned that the mare was turned out to recover after an accident in which she fell on the road and hasn't been ridden at all since. She doesn't look 100% sound to me and has big knee and scar tissue on both knees. Apparently, she bred one foal three years ago, then has failed to stand for the stallion to cover her since. She had to be driven into a building for me to see her, and I gather now she's in, the owner is thinking of shipping her off to a sale. At first he asked £1,000 for her, then dropped to £800 and finally £750 to try and tempt me, but has had second thoughts about a loan home! Back to the drawing board.

That is exactly what I was going to suggest along with a similar exercise where you quit the stirrups, take your legs alternately away from the saddle outwards and backwards, lengthen it as if stretching it heel first towards the ground, then close the leg back against the saddle without tensing it and allow it to slide forward into the correct position. I find this helps me to loosen and lengthen my thigh muscles, and, in my case, to try and reduce the amount of my 'flab' that lies between me and the horse! It helps me to maintain a natural and more secure seat when Merlyn decides to do one of his 180 degree spins or sudden sideways leaps at imaginary monsters! Jacky, the first of those three would be wasted on me and has more potential than I could do justice to now. The second is the wrong sex and too fine, as well as taller than I would find ideal, and the third simply not up to my weight. (Possibly a little too old, as well, at 24 years.) I heard tonight of a 14 yo cob mare that may be available for loan or sale, but she's not been ridden for three or four years and I don't know why not. Will see if I can find out more about her, but someone who knows horses has told me that she is around 15.1hh and well able to carry my weight. She apparently looks like a Suffolk Punch. I guess that means she's a chestnut. (Not my favourite colour but if she'll do my job...)

Er... she is quite similar to the 4 yo bay mare I was offered recently for £1,300 but that I turned down because she was in foal and to a big coloured cob stallion. Think perhaps, if I had more land and suitable for a foaling mare, I should have snapped the chap's hand off! He same chap has a really nice black, Welsh Sec D mare that I would love if either she was a little bigger or I was around 4 stones lighter. She'll be 6 years old now, but really wasted on me and for what I want a horse for. He was looking for around £1,600 for her last year. Masses of potential in the right hands and a super natured horse. Very well bred, too and beautifully put together. (Derwen/Nebo bloodlines.) The sort of mare that, twenty or thirty years ago, I would have really enjoyed bringing on and doing things with.

A few rescues are aware of what I'm looking for, although some insist on stables being available and I only have a field shelter. Also, I think some are a bit suspicious when one says one is only interested in a mare. They seem to think that's because of wanting to breed, which I definitely don't. It is simply that Merlyn is great with mares and fillies, but behaves like a totally immature shitebag around other geldings! He's very protective around the mares and fillies, but has been know to boot or bite geldings if he takes a dislike to them, and even play fights can cause damage. Also, I don't want to risk scraps at feeding times and when I might find myself in the firing line. ;) I was offered a 15 years old Clydsdale cross gelding on loan a few weeks ago but, apart from being the wrong sex, he was also well over 16hh, so I would have been struggling a bit mounting, dismounting and ducking under low branches. He also had allergies and had to live out, and a huge white face with a tendency to get sunburned around his eyes and muzzle. The latter I could have coped with, though. I think also that, in turning down rescue owned horses that are offered, even for very genuine reasons, the rescues possibly block-off and don't offer one anything else. I can't really say that I blame them. Another possibility is that, in admitting that I have disabilities when contacting rescues, that may give them a false impression. Yes, I do have to take things steady, but can still be a reasonably competent rider hacking out, and it's not as if I am looking for anything unrealistic for my situation and circumstances. I can still manage that old rogue, Merlyn when he has his moments, even if I don't particularly enjoy doing so! When I was simply looking for a female companion pony for old Merlyn, I would have thought it would have been much easier to fill the brief, as age wasn't a criteria at all, just its sex and a reasonable level of health/soundness that was manageable. If rideable but either my grandson on a leading rein, or myself or a friend, that would have been a bonus but not essential. Again, all I was offered were geldings or the odd entire colt/stallion! Now, I think it will be a case of having to buy the right mare when I find her or retiring from the saddle. The sad thing is, that probably the very mare that would best suit me - a nice natured, weight-carrying old plodder of about 15hh, and who won't be expected to do anymore than amble around quietly a few times a week and for less than an hour each time, and end her days with me naturally - is probably the very type that end up being bought up by the knacker.

Just got back from seeing my pair, and having to borrow hay as the farmer can't deliver mine until tomorrow. Vandals had got into the neighbour's yard overnight and let some of the horses out, including an old p-t-p TB gelding, a yearling colt and an accident prone TB mare whose stable door was smashed in. That mare had ended up in the field with Merlyn & Bronnie, and had blood running all down her one foreleg and a cut above her eye. Merlyn knows that mare of old, so wasn't over excited at her company, but Bronnie had clearly been having a blast around and got a bit sweaty. She had either rolled in the mud or fallen and was plastered, and still quite hyped up. The mare's now back in her box and the neighbours have repaired the door, but are now going to contact the police. It's not the first time someone's let their horses out. I'll be glad when their two yearling colts have been gelded, in case it happens again and it's either of those that get in with Bronnie! The one is a tiny little grey Welsh section A, the other a Section D chestnut. There would also be the worry of Merlyn doing them some damage, as he's such a big lad and very protective of his little pal. I have been looking for a weight-carrying cob mare on loan for me to plod around on, but so far those I have been told about seem to have been measured with a fisherman's measure! Either that or those who have seen Merlyn and said "Oh, she's easily as big as your dun horse," must have been looking at him from a distance or when he's knee deep in mud! The biggest of them wouldn't have been even 14hh! Either that or, as in the case of a nice, old fashioned bay cob mare, who was for sale and would have done me nicely, been in foal, which I really don't want. I may yet consider her if she is still for sale after she's foaled and it has been weaned, as long as the owner doesn't get tempted to put her back in foal again. He seems to be waiting to see what she throws first.

After last weekend's episode with Merlyn's colic and having the vet out to him for the first time, other than for routine things, I wondered what this weekend might bring. :lol: Well, on Saturday I learned something of Bronnie's past when the woman who bred her called at the neighbour's yard - and it seems she isn't out of a section C mare at all! Apparently, the woman bought Bronnie's dam from a dealer who intended selling her for meat, and despite her being in foal. She named the mare Holly, as it was near to Christmas when she had her. It seems that Holly is a little dark bay pony mare of only about 11.2hh and that she has a blaze similar to Bronnie's, also that she had been running out on an old coal tip with a 13.2hh coloured cob stallion. When Bronnie was born, she was originally named Flicka. She was sold, along with several others, when the lady lost a large proportion of her grazing and was left with no choice but to cut down on the number of ponies she had. She was really pleased to learn that Bronnie had ended up with me. I'm not sure if Bronnie recognised her, but she certainly came to the gate and said hello. The woman is hoping to keep in touch and says she'll be interested to see how Bronnie develops. Apparently she has an older, full sibling, a coloured pony that shot up as a two years old to make over 13hh, and was also quite cobby like their sire. The woman said she would sort out some photos to show me.

It's a Leap Year, so why not leap into action and show off something of your favourite pastime to help a rescue nominated by you if you are a winner? See this link for full details: Free Entry Art and Crafts Competition to win Prizes for Rescues.

It's a little while since I updated here. I think last time Merlyn was behaving himself so much I was becomming quite concerned about him. He is still quite mellow - content even! However, as nothing along the lines of illness or injury has materialised, I am starting to put it down to the changes in his relationship with Bronnie. They have become extremely close now. Bronnie is totally devoted to her big fat pal, and he is allowing her to walk all over him! She is even allowed to share his manger and hard feed! To try and prevent that, the solution seems to be to place their individual mangers right next to each other, but on either side of the plank partition between the two sections in the field shelter. A few days ago when I went to feed them in the afternoon, they were standing grooming each other outside the feed shed door. Wish I'd had a camera! The following day there was no sign of either of them near the buildings - something so unusual at that time of day, that I began to think they'd escaped again! However, as soon as I called, they came cantering up from the river/spring area, then treated me to a little play-fighting exhibition! Bronnie was rearing up at Merlyn and nipping his neck. Thankfully, M kept his great, shod hoofs planted in the mud and just let her get on with her youthful nonsense. He is extremely tolerant where little fillies and mares are concerned, thank goodness, doing nothing worse than pulling a few faces at them if they become too exhuberant for him, but he seems far too indulgent where Bronnie is concerned, allowing her to get away with things that she really needs disciplining over. She is becoming increasingly confident, cheeky and very bossy! She has changed so much since her arrival, but at long last she seems to be altering her shape a bit, and looking less like a dumpy-legged tub! Indeed, when cavorting around the other day, she almost looked elegant! She moves surprisingly well, even in all the mud we have at present. I can hardly wait to see what emerges from under all the hair and as she reaches two years of age.

We don't have any patterns for fleecy T shirts - short or long sleeved - at the moment, sorry. (If I ever get the chance, I may try and design some.) However, Cindy, if it helps you decide, my old Scampi wears his fleece often in the rain and when I go to see to the chickens. That's about 25 - 30 minutes, and he is dry under the fleece coat. A quick shake to get the rain droplets off, and hung up in the kitchen where it's warm, and his coat is dry in time for his next walk.