Sallygardens Smallholding

Learning How to Harness Train a Horse

Although we had already decided which horse breed we wanted to bring to Sallygardens we also needed to do something about the fact that we are total  and utter horse novices. It became apparent that a horse trained up to do the pulling ('driving' in horsey terms) of carriages/loads of wood/etc.  is an expensive animal. We began to look at buying a younger horse that could be trained a couple of years later but training costs are high and the animal has to go to stay where it's being trained for a few weeks, maybe even a couple of months at €120 per week. I just didn't like the idea of sending my horse away (and I didn't even have a horse!). I started to wonder what it is that people actually do to train a horse, it all seemed so mysterious and secretive, something that a layperson couldn't possibly ever contemplate doing themselves for fear of death.  We were warned off this idea by a lot of people.

Then I happened across something that has changed our entire approach. I got in touch with the ispca in Longford to see if they might have a horse suitable to foster that would meet our needs. Through that connection I was introduced to Vanessa Bee. She runs a variety of courses, one of which taught participants how to train their horses to drive. I was sure I'd need to be a highly qualified and experienced horse trainer to attend, but I was assured that novices were more than welcome. What's more I didn't even need to own a horse to do the course, for those of us without an equine, we were paired up with an experienced horse handler and an  ispca rescue horses.

I have to say I was very scared at first but after we'd gone over the basics of how to build a trusting relationship with a horse based on respect and confidence, it all began to make sense. The key to those things seems to lie in learning how to politely 'ask' a horse to do something and crucially, how to recognise a 'try' and give immediate reward.

The course I attended first was two days of Pony Power during which we learnt how to introduce a horse to a harness, rig it up to something to pull and get the horse to move forward and drag the object. There were three horses and out of those one was successfully pulling heavy logs out of a wood, another was happy to drag a tyre around a field (a similar sensation to harrowing) and the third happily wore the harness and long reined nicely from the ground.

Tilly being long reined, she has previous driving experience

But before we familiarised the horses with any new equipment we first had fun tying it out on eachother.  We actually learnt an awful lot about how it felt to be a horse, actually it can be quite confusing deciphering all those 'asks' via the long reins! We also trialed a few quick release ideas incase a horse became scared and we needed to drop the load without delay.

This is Maria of Gaia's Horse blog with Pepsi and Crystal watching with anticipation

This horse Pepsi had never previously had a harness on before. She excelled and really loved the work. You can see how proud she is of herself. Once Vanessa had long reined her for a while and she was sure Pepsi was happy with everything she did her first job ... pulling a log out of the woods, and she did it like a pro.

This horse is only 14.2 hands high, which is the threshold from pony to horse, so she is a small horse. However you can see she is strong, her leg bones are chunky, her chest is broad and muscly, her rump is large and rounded and her back is short in length. These are the attributes, along with a gentle temperament, to look for in a working horse.

The course changed my attitude to horse training. I'm sure that with a little more help we'll be able to train our own horse. Apart from my own revelations with regard to horse training it also became apparent that the ispca rescue horses were undergoing a very valuable form of rehabilitation. They were being transformed from horses that sought kind hearted folk to offer them a place to live quietly in a field, to being very useful farm animals that can be utilised for work ... but of course the folk who foster them still need to be kindhearted. I'll be revisiting the ispca in Longford soon and telling you more about each of the horses there that are seeking a home.

Launch of 'Keeping Chickens, A Beginners Guide' eBooklet

I'm proud to announce the addition of another ebooklet, 'Keeping Chickens, A Beginners Guide', to our collection. It covers everything from where to source poultry, which breed to buy to suit your needs, DIY or bought housing options, feeding and breeding. The ebooklet includes a section on plant fodder suitable to grow in and around your chicken run which is an approach that will save you money in terms of buying in food and also help do your bit for the environment by cutting down on the volume of feed you import to your home.

Keeping chickens can be incredibly rewarding and fun, but it's also a good way to take another step towards increasing your resilience to the changes in our economic communities. Producing food locally means you are less tied into the necessity to fork out yet more cash at the multinational supermarket. Anything, however small, that brings food production to your doorstep is a step in the right direction on many levels ; food higher in nutritional value, less food miles, local food for local people, a product with which you can barter in return for other food or services and perhaps surplus that you can sell to friends and neighbours. Children also benefit from learning about where food comes from and of course the responsibilities for animal welfare that go with taking care of any animal. Collecting your own fresh eggs in the morning is such a huge thrill, it never ceases to bring delight to our family!

Chickens aren't just for the rural setting, many people in urban homes are keeping a couple chickens in their garden for eggs. It's perfectly feasible and a wonderful addition.

Our ebooklet contains all the information you'll need to get up and running, it costs €8 via email or €12 via snail mail. We are also launching a new course of the same title here at Sallygardens so if you prefer to come along and learn all you need to know around the kitchen table please call to book a place (071 9632212). Courses run every weekend and cost €45 per person, places are limited to four per course, so book well in advance. You'll be cracking your very own home laid eggs into the frying pan before you know it!

Working Horse at Sallygardens

A few months ago we started researching the idea of getting a working horse to join us on our smallholding. We've pretty much been researching this idea full time since then. I've gone from not knowing anything about horses, other than what they look like, to having at least enough knowledge to consider what horse might suit our needs. We  considered various breeds such as the French Percheron, UK shire horses or Clydesdales and the Belgian Ardenne.

Finally we set our hearts on a native traditional heavy Irish Gypsy Cob. They are ideal because they've been bred to suit our wet climate and do well outside the year round.

This is a yearling colt 'Shruna's Boy', not fully grown, from www.gypsyirishcob.com
 

They are also economical feeders and generally  have a very gentle nature. The traits have been selectively bred into the gypsy horses by the Travellers for generations because this animal was just the thing they needed on the road... something that could survive outdoors and didn't need expensive stabling, something that could feed economically on the roadside grass, a horse strong enough to pull a family and it's caravan, and last but not least, an animal kind enough to be easily handled by the children of the family. It's all of these qualities combined that have made the Irish cob a horse that is bred extensively in Ireland and one which people from all walks of life seek out. When I was a child in Dublin these were the horses seen being ridden by inner city children, used to pull cart loads of vegetables into Moore's Street or coal to the housing estates. They were often left to graze the central reservations of the city roads and I'll never forget the excitement of waking up one morning to see a lost horse standing in our own front garden. Indeed their legendary gentle nature means that people from as far as the UK and US are now eagerly importing these gentle giants.

The horse itself is magnificent to look at, especially when the feather (lower leg hair) and mane is long and they are running or jumping with hair billowing out behind them in the wind. Yep, we got it bad! I apologise if this blog takes a bit of a 'horsey' turn for a while, I promise to try and balance things out with various vegetables and other smallholding animals!

And some very exciting news ... if all goes according to plan our very own Gypsy Cob is due to arrive here at the weekend. Stay posted for news.

Ripening Tomatoes

The polytunnel has well and truly finished it's summer flush. It's with a little regret that I mark the end of summer and the beginning of autumn by snipping off the remaining tomatoes from the plant. I bring them inside and hang them up in the south facing kitchen window, still on their vine. I think of summer time whenever I glance at them. The family just graze on them, picking them off as they ripen up. Delicious.

One way to encourage the green toms to ripen is to hang bananas amongst them, the blacker the better! A gas emitted by the banana speeds up the ripening process.  Another way to use up and green toms is to make a green tomatoe chutney or, as a recent visitor told me, fry them in butter.

Changing Seasons

It's all been very busy here lately and I'll fill you in on the reasons. First of all the last of our hard working wwoofers has left and we won't be having any more until the spring. With Christmas approaching Dan is now in the workshop making Hobby Horses for customers. He features in the November issue of Ireland's Homes, Interiors & Living Magazine and already has orders coming in through that. I've just been working on an Etsy Shop for him too but his order books are bound to be full quite soon.

We are also kept busy with running courses here at Sallygardens and because the subjects are varied we never get bored! Pig rearing for the table, goat keeping, keeping chickens, growing your own vegetables and a general smallholding visit are all becoming more and more popular, but with the way the economy is going I'm not at all surprised. With less cash in peoples pockets and rising prices the interest in providing for yourself, even on a garden scale, is getting more appealing by the minute. Luckily there's not too much to do on the gardening front here at the moment other than eat whats there, and there's still a lot. Dan planted about a hundred over wintering onions in the polytunnel a couple of weeks ago and we will also plant garlic before the end of this month.

Life is finding a new balance at Sallygardens because I've taken up a full time course which means I'm out of the house 'at shcool' five mornings a week. Our youngest started school too this September so Dan has the place to himself until after lunchtime. He says he gets loads more done without me around nagging him!!! The course I'm doing is Traditional Irish Music, I'm learning to play the fiddle as well as studying folklore, music theory and history ... and I LOVE it.

Reaping the Harvest

As autumn takes over many of the vegetables have reached the end of their productive season such as the tomatoes, French climbing and dwarf beans. Other crops are still bearing fruit, the last of the cucumbers are still in the tunnel, some runner beans are waiting to be picked as is a good crop of carrots that will last another few months.  Outdoors the pumpkins are at their best. As winter approaches Kale comes into it's own, the cabbages are being used and the leeks stay in the ground until needed.

The garlic and onions have already been saved are hanging in the kitchen.We haven't got a full years supply of these but as each season passes we add another vegetable bed so eventually there will be enough produce to tide us over for a full year, but one step at a time!