May 2025 Pony Express
- emmam345
- May 24
- 7 min read
No. 202 - May 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kitty, the ‘auteur’ - with Fee, the ‘Boss’ Hello Friends! I’m Kitty. I am one of the smaller, daintier, ponies at Broadlands… the one who is always keen to get things done! I walk quickly, respond to minimum input - and anyone riding me is in for a good time. I thought I would let everyone know what we ponies do once we are off duty and are back in our fields. Although we are all reasonably friendly to each other, we do have special friends, and we have divided ourselves into separate herds in separate fields, so we have our pals around us. My herd is Fee, (the boss), Harry, Mia and me. Then, there is Creagy, William, Toby, Teddy with Holly, who is their boss. And lastly, there is the mini herd of Bracken and Kingsley, who live in their own little world. What do we do when we are off duty? Well, each herd has a boss who takes care of her members of our Horse Nation. She is the “alpha mare”. In my herd, that is Fee - the gentle giant grey mare - and I help, as her second in command, to make things happen. Being a boss mare is a difficult job: she is responsible for everyone’s safety, she lets us know our place in the herd. This means we all know who is the first (and the last) to get the best hay, the best grass, who gets the first treats - or tries out the carrot-tinis at Happy Hour. She makes sure someone is on watch when we sleep and that everyone behaves with respect towards each other. Yes, we can race around, be a bit silly, play games, but nothing nasty… we all have to get along. In the wild, say the New Forest, the herd will get their exercise walking about 15 miles a day. We have a long track around the edge of our field to walk along. The wild alpha mare leads her wild tribe to their special places, to the best grass or where interesting herbs and weeds are available to nibble, the sandy places to roll. She knows the best ponds or streams for a good drink and the comfiest places to sleep, while someone is watching out in case of any danger. Ok I hear you say, that’s a big important job! So, how do you choose who goes in which herd and then who will be boss? The alpha mare usually lets everyone know she is boss, and anyone who wants to disagree must challenge her. The rest of the herd has to agree by submitting to the boss. It’s a hard job, so if someone really wants to do it, then our herd lets her get on with it. So, I hope this helps you understand how our hierarchy works in “The Horse Nation” at Broadlands. Love, Kitty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
OUR NEWS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mending Fences This week Broadlands hosted a visit from Alton Resurrection Furniture and Alton Lions Club. Both have made significant contributions towards the cost of replacing the old fencing in our paddocks. A big Thank You from everyone at Broadlands to both charities for their support. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Well done, Ed!Ed Otteridge finished the London Marathon in 4 hours and 35 minutes. He raised funds for Broadlands and is close to his £2,000 target. Please donate to his JustGiving page if you can. We’re extremely grateful to Ed for taking on this challenge. If you feel you could do something similar, please contact Paige at office@broadlandsgrouprda.org.uk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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