Animals and me
I have always liked animals, being brought up on a farm helped. Dad was a farm worker and I have vivid memories of catching lambs with a leg crook and being dragged all over the pen because I wasn't big enough to actually get hold of the animal.
As you can see from the photo, I started young, aged about two and a half. We had a donkey first, but I don't really remember him. My first pony was a liver chestnut mare. Absolutely bomb-proof, but prone to laminitis in the summer. I took her to Pony Club when I was only about seven. I was always in the bottom ride with the "fat pony".
We had various cats Sophie the Siamese had a very distinctive voice, Phoebe an old fluffy cat and Katie, black and white - she came as Sebastian. The people we had her from obviously failed in the identification process!
There was Dad's sheepdog, he lived in the shed outside. His hip used to come out of joint occasionally and he would limp for a bit. He was a good dog with the sheep, but not to be trifled with when he had his food or a bone.
Mum's first dog a Cairn Terrier, he used to chase vehicles down the drive and it wasn't long before one got him. Then there was a Yorkshire Terrier. She had several litters of puppies and we kept 2 from the last litter. They were very small and nicknamed "The Dots".
My next pony was a 13.2 bay gelding. He was fine except he was terrified of lorries and tractors. Not the best when living on a farm. I had a few hairy moments with him, he would swing round and take off at a gallop, if I met a lorry. Just as well it was so long ago and not now. A traffic shy pony in today's traffic would be a complete nightmare.
After we moved, I had a colt who turned out to be a rig, so Donovan was acquired. He was skewbald, brilliant with hounds, but had a tendancy to go backwards if he didn't want to do something.
Kate
Finally a horse
Finally I migrated to a horse. She was 6 yrs old when I got her, Irish, probably some Shire in her but a lovely temperament. She apparently came over from Ireland as a hunter. I Pony Clubbed, hunted, did sponsored rides and just hacked for pleasure. She sadly got sidebones but enjoyed some retirement.
Lady and me
Sheep and dogs
I have kept ponies and sheep, see Lucy's page, I wanted a dog for the sheep so Lady came first, back with me from Wales. She had a run in with the Land Rover and ended up bob-tailed. It never affected her, but she was a bit keen with the sheep.
She adapted to life in Lincolnshire and her favourite game was to take a ball to the top of the stairs and throw it down. It was then a toss up whether she rushed down and caught it or waited for you to throw it back up again for her to catch.
Pip helping in the garden
Another Collie
After her came Pip who was very keen with the sheep which were getting on a bit and tended to rush straight into the pen so she could not chase them round! She did love to help me digging in the garden. Her favourite occupation was chasing a rubber ring. We lost several up in the trees due to my over enthusiastic throwing.
Goats
I was given Afrose as a birthday present. She used to travel to and from home with me in the front of my Land Rover. I think some of the service station attendants were a little surprised when she stood up on the seat, when I went to get diesel!
Spot, Stella and Tom, all Anglo Nubian crosses were also variously gifted to me. They all had their individual characters. Spot was huge, I planned to get a little cart for him to pull, but never actually managed to. Tom came to me when I left a job with goats, his sister Jerry went into the milking herd, but Tom, being male wasn't required! He was a lovely chestnut colour and very friendly. Stella was an orphan as her mother took a dislike to her, so she was hand reared.