May 2006 marked something of a milestone for Hope Pastures as our first animal went out on permanent loan. The atmosphere was filled with mixed emotions at the trailer came to take April away as it is never easy to part with an animal especially one as sweet as April, but we all knew she was going to a good home where she would be continued to be loved. We also knew that if she wasn't happy she could come home again, but after following April to her new home and seeing her with her new companion, Molly, a little black mare, sadness turned to happiness as we saw both happy together eating grass.

Watching the 'children.'    April with Molly in her new home

March 2006
April is still getting along very well and has the run of a large paddock which has very little grass. She is accompanied with Jasper and the occasional visit from Thelwell. We are having to take special care with her weight as the spring grass will soon begin to grow and April is already quite overweight.
She is still a favourite for the visitors to groom & stands there perfectly whilst her mane is brushed.

January 06
April has had a good Christmas and has been very well behaved apart from her problem chasing after the boy ponies!
We are still awaiting the results of her blood test after 6 months which is  very frustrating. We really need to know why she is so interested in the boys  as we can then hopefully treat her, then the boys will stop fighting and we can put most of the herd back together. We will let you know when the results eventually come back.
April has also had slight Laminitis again so we are keeping a good eye on her grass intake and keeping it under control.

October 05
April is still having trouble containing herself when the male ponies are around, meaning that Mr. Pickwick and Jasper are still falling out over her and so have to be kept separate.
We did get some results back from the laboratory that took April's blood sample and they were very confused with the results, as they have never before seen such a mixture of hormones. They have offered to do a third test for free as soon as possible, but our vets suspect a tumour on April's ovaries which would be untreatable with conventional medicines. If this is the case, we would have to look into herbal therapies and other methods of treating her to help her anyway we can.
Apart from this setback she is very happy and had even started a bit of ridden work again with a very light and gentle jockey, Kaya, who uses a bitless bridle on April which we think is much kinder than using a metal bit in her mouth. She seems to enjoy this attention and we hope it will eventually help her to lose weight as she is rather round after all the grass this summer.

August 05
April has been behaving very strangely for some time now by being very flirtatious towards the male horses & ponies. Our vets think that she could have some kind of problems with her ovaries and so have taken a blood sample from her. We are awaiting the outcome of this so that we can begin treatment.
She has caused some conflict between Jasper and Pickwick as Picky has become very protective toward her and is behaving quite badly toward Jasper.
Apart from this and being a little overweight she is very healthy and happy and we are pleased to say that she is back out grazing with her friends after her bout of Laminitis earlier this summer. We are closely monitoring her grass intake to ensure she does not get ill again but we do find this difficult as she only has to look at grass to put on weight!
To find out more about Laminitis please visit : www.laminitisclinic.org
 

July 05
April has come down with Laminitis this year for the first time. We are all very upset to see April poorly as she is usually a very healthy pony who has not been ill for years.
The vet came out to see April after we noticed she was walking very slowly and seemed quiet. The vet felt heat and a pulse in April's hooves so has put her on box rest and given her anti-inflammatories and painkillers.
Laminitis is a terrible illness which is unfortunately quite common. It can be very painful for the animal and has to be treated very strictly and with urgency. The main cause of it is very rich sugars in grass which affect the tissue which connects the inside of the ponies hoof to the hard outside of the hoof.  If this deteriorates the bone in the middle of the hoof can detach and eventually come through the bottom of the hoof. As you can imagine this is terribly painful for the pony and so they must be taken away from grass and put on a nice deep bed to support their feet.
April seems quite settled at the moment and is being stabled next to Beauty who also suffers from Laminitis.
The vet is visiting once a week to check on April and we are hoping she will soon be able to go out in one of our grassless paddocks with the other ponies. She has been so well behaved whilst having her hooves bandaged that the vet is very impressed with her patient and calm nature.

April 05
April has been enjoying a lot of extra attention lately, as the warmer weather has meant that she is being groomed by children on a weekend.
April is one of our most trustworthy ponies when it comes to children helping, and goes very relaxed and sleepy when she's having a really thorough groom to bring her winter coat out.
A lot of people who sponsor April and then come to visit her for the first time come to ask us which pony she is in the paddock. We have four black Shetland ponies so if you do not know them they can be hard to distinguish between. One good way we describe April to people is the pony with the droopy bottom lip! She has a very distinguished face with big kind eyes and a floppy lip which hangs further down the more relaxed she is!

April had her teeth rasped not long ago and she is recovering well.
She really doesn't enjoy the horse dentist so we have her
sedated to keep her stress levels down.

Happy April with a mouthful of grass

April (on left) with Molly

Molly and April (on right)