For regular visitors to Strathbeg, you may feel ‘something’ is missing next time you are scanning the reserve from the visitor centre. Your feeling would be correct, for the time being there will no Konik ponies on the pools in front of the centre. It looks a bit bare without them, but don’t worry, they will be back soon.
The four ponies who are usually there have been temporarily moved onto the Mosstown Marsh, which is the marshland beyond the tower as you look from the centre. We have moved them as one, namely Kieran, has become rather portly during summertime, so much so that is has become a health issue. The vegetation they were grazing was actually quite plentiful and nutritious and so we have moved him and his small herd to an area where he has to work a bit harder to get a full tummy. Hopefully this will help him become a much trimmer and healthier chap!
For those of you who have become fond of Kieran you will, on most days, still be able to see him in the marsh if you have a scan with the telescope.
We have been working quite hard with the ponies this week, their annual health check was due. This involves the vet and our hoof trimmers looking over all the ponies to check for
We had a good general bill of health, a couple needed a foot (hoof) trim and one of the ponies on the Mosstown Marsh has a slight eye issue, this is healing but we will monitor it.
The other task of the day was to microchip our 2013 foals. (We are legally required to ensure all our ponies are micro-chipped and also have a “passport”.) This all sounds quite straightforward for a normal domestic horse, but our horses are not halter trained. They are here to graze our wetlands so we don’t spend time ‘taming’ them so that a halter can be put on. This means when veterinary work needs to be undertaken it involves herding them into handling pen - and for some treatment they have to be sedated. It is just like managing any other livestock ie cows or sheep (but we all admit the ponies are much nicer than working with cows or sheep).
The day all went very well and the ponies behaved themselves; they all went where they were supposed to go. The foals weren’t keen on being micro chipped but it is just like having an injection so the stress involved is negligible.
We are delighted to formally announce a grand total of four foals were born this spring/summer. Kieran and Nadja produced the first at the end of April, who we aptly called “April” The other three, fathered by Pete, appeared in July and have been named Andy (short for Andy Murray), as he was born the day after the famous Wimbledon victory; Amy and Amber. You will have great views of three from the Tower Pool Hide as they are grazing the area in front of the hide although April, for the next few weeks, is harder to see as she is on the Mosstown Marsh with Kieran and Nadja.
The ponies are a great addition to the reserve, but for those of you that don’t know they are not here because they are “cute” (although they are indeed very sweet!). They are here to keep our Wetlands in tip top condition and reduce the amount of mechanical cutting we have to do. They are doing a wonderful job as the photos show.