Newsletter 70 Spring 2015

Newsletter No 70 Fforest Uchaf Farm. Maindy Road, (Maendy) Penycoedcae, Pontypridd.

R.C.T, Wales. UK. CF37 1PS Tel; 01443 480327 info@pitponies.co.uk www.pitponies.co.uk www.sponsorapony.co.uk Open to visitors; May/Oct=Sunday 11am – 4pm. Weekdays 10am – 2pm. Closed Saturdays Nov/April= by appointment, www.visitpitponies.co.uk Adults £4:00 OAP/Children £2:00 or £10:00 per car. Groups/Schools/Clubs by appointment. Special needs visitors please telephone to discuss your needs.

NB All visitors it is always advisable to telephone 01443 480327 or 07798584735 before you visit.

PROVIDING TENDER LOVING CARE TO NEEDY HORSES & PONIES

Puzzle Bonnies foal is two in May.

He is growing well and has his breakfast with his buddy Arnie every morning. To be sure he grows properly the extra goodness is provided to ensure good bones etc. He has become very friendly. We were very worried that he would have difficulties as his mum suffered badly whilst pregnant with her previous owners. Arnie is still very skittish from his previous experiences so the extra time and fuss is good for him.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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The trouble with being small like {Megan} and sharing your stable with bigger ponies [Jessie & Fearless] is you get smothered in the bits that drop off the hay net or hayrack and come out looking very cute.

We are looking for a really old caravan or unusual shed that the volunteers can renovate as a project and maybe a future tea room. We would not be put off by an old wreck but not plastic.

The midges and flies are about already and we have to fit Spice up with her bug rugs. Wonder how many she will wreck this year.

Trees don’t live forever it seems.

Some of the Farms Sycamore trees have died. We thought they had some disease but recently we have been digging out the roots and found the rotten core of the trunks went all the way down so perhaps they had just come to the end of their life. The huge roots & trunk have gone onto the beetle heaps so we hope they enjoy them. Sycamore seeds are very poisonous to the Horses so we will plant less dangerous trees to replace them. Oak tree acorns are also poisonous and clearing them all up before the ponies get to them is always a challenge and hard back-breaking work. Last year we had no problem as after a while and many weeks watching we realised the wild ducks, Jays, Crows etc. that we encourage were all eating them.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Spike looking fairly clean

Horses like small boys love to be dirty the muddier the better. Spike has been out, found a nice horse size mud patch and rolled. He is disgusting but happily having his tea. Spikes stable gives him 24/7 access to outside because of his stressy behaviour. He is actually a very sweet pony, just do not change his environment as it causes him so much stress. He often stands out at night under the stars by our bedroom window very content.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Geraldine is only recently on to the Sponsorship scheme.

“Geraldine”

One of seven little ponies dumped in a Cemetery in Wales. She had a damaged eye on arrival. Treating the eye was very traumatic for her but essential to save the eye. She was wild off the Mountainside and not used to human contact. She is very pretty and of show quality. However the obvious damage to her eye will always hold her back in the showing circle. She has now been well handled and has learned to trust a little and is now much more comfortable around people”. She was named “Geraldine” after one of

our supporters who sadly died and left a legacy to the ponies.

Ruth a good regular supporter from down under (Australia) has sent in a suggestion of organising a High Tea and inviting friends around to raise money for the ponies. You could even try the Teisennau Criwsion or (Bake stone Cakes) recipe on page 8 for you high tea treat for your friends.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Wedding season is upon us again. If you have a wedding to go to and are lost for a gift idea we have some beautiful hand decorated genuine Horse-shoes in the gift shop. They have been cleaned and treated to prevent rust. This picture does not do them justice. These traditional tokens of good luck are available with a background colour of Red, Blue, White, Black and hand decorated with traditional flowers etc. They are very unusual and a truly beautiful gift suitable for passing exams, driving test etc.

We need at least 4 weeks’ notice for anything different. They are just £10 including

Post & Packing

Marki who was born at the centre died this winter after a short illness. The vets were not sure of the problem that caused his liver & kidneys to fail and we didn’t want him to suffer. He was 25 years old and had had a marvellous life and taught us how a horse that has never been abused or mistreated would behave. He was a gentle giant at 16+ hands high and many visitors will remember his gentleness with even the tiniest of children when he would let them smooth his soft nose and muzzle.

Star is quite elderly now but still as sprightly as ever and can still be unpredictable. She looks a bit moth eaten at this time of the year as her coat is coming out in patches. Moulting for those of you who do not have a wet nose and furry coat is a very itchy business. All the fences, gates, trees, farm machinery etc. is useful as scratching posts for itchy Horses & Ponies. In this picture star has found a convenient hawthorn bush to scratch her latest itch on.

BBC TV’s Countryfile have been in touch about telling their TV audience about the last few Welsh Pit Ponies. It might happen! It might not. The media is a fickle thing to deal with. We are telling you now as we have no way of quickly letting you know so keep your eyes on the TV listings later this year.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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In the winter when it has been wet for several days the Ponies are confined to the yard to protect the grazing fields. We put out large licks for their entertainment. The lick contains essential vitamins & minerals are suspended in a 15kg solid molasses cake. We put them out two at once so there is no squabbling. The Ponies love them and get smothered in the sweet sticky stuff. There is a pecking order but it is so sweet that everyone gets a turn. In the picture above three of the ponies are sharing the horse lick. With Megan left waiting her turn.

Sometimes we also spread reduced carrots as a treat for them. Sometimes there are so many bags reduced in the supermarket we have a trolley full. The checkout girls don’t seem to have much of a sense of humour when we invite them to a “carrot party”. Thank you for funding such winter delights. They have a really good anti-boredom & entertainment value.

When it is a bit dryer they have a run the full length of the farm for a good charge about and buck and kick. It is great to watch them high kicking bucking and then settling down for some serious rolling in the mud. They come back absolutely plastered but happy. If it stays dry there are some areas of the farm we can open up for them to get a little Dr Green. There isn’t much sweetness it winter grass but it is good for them and they certainly think so as they have to be called in for bed and some don’t come till the last second. Of course a bigger farm would help.

The old Pit Ponies especially Beauty love Hot Cross buns and whenever we see reduced ones in the supermarket we get them for her and the others. We break them up but have to bury them in the feed or the chickens run off with them.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Britain’s mine-safety rules have just changed, when nearly a thousand pages of regulations are to being rewritten. Critics predict the new rules will “save mine owners money but cost someone a life”. Chris Kitchen, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, said the NUM’s concerns had been ignored. He claimed the consultation process had not been “meaningful” but driven by ministerial demands to cut red tape. Union safety experts warn that a combination of less vigilant safety practice, a lighter regulatory touch and reduced trade union involvement in safety will result in more fatalities and serious injuries. They warn that a revival in small-scale mining projects could test the new regulations. “I don’t think it was the right way to go about health and safety,” Mr Kitchen said. “Most of the regulations stemmed from disasters we’ve had.” He said the union did not object to getting rid of outmoded regulations such as those referring to pit ponies, as they are never likely to be used again”. If you all remember no-body believed it was happening last time.

The changes follow a report from Professor Ragnar Löfstedt of King’s College, London in 2011, who reviewed the existing health and safety legislation.

The new critical safety codes include exempting mines from the previously compulsory Mine Rescue Service in the event of workers being trapped underground. Under the new Mines Regulations 2014, which come into force in April, mine operators will now only require “adequate rescue cover”.

Unions and legal experts warn that if mine owners rely on local rescue arrangements it might be too late to determine whether the cover is “adequate”.

Bob pictured here at Carn Cornel in 1994.

There are also concerns that there are important changes to mine safety inspections. Under the new rules, reports alerting the watchdog Mines Inspectorate to potentially deadly situations will now only be passed on if “at least two of the investigating team decides there is imminent danger”. Inspectors fear they could be forced to go through “whistleblowing” procedures, with career-ending consequences. Other concerns include mine managers no longer requiring qualifications. In future, operators need only be “satisfied with their competency”. There are also fears that the role of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is responsible for policing workplace safety, is being minimized or removed entirely.

However, not all experts are critical. Mark Godden, a mine and quarry manager with more than 30 years’ experience, who works at Albion Stone in Dorset, welcomed the changes. The “principal changes involve less prescription”, he said, with a greater emphasis on local risk assessments rather than a “one-size-fits-all approach”. He said that under the new regulations, legal responsibility for safety will be transferred from the mine manager to the mine operator, which he said was “long overdue”.

For many activities, the need to obtain permissions from and provide notifications to the HSE will be removed. Mr Godden said they represent a “quantum leap forward” for all involved in mining.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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Donations have recently been received in memory of; Mr Frank Wallace, Rosemary Olivia Morgan, Mr Eric Lambeth, oO-0-Oo And to celebrate the Birth of Milly Lee

A little teatime taste of wales.

Teisennau Criwsion or (Bakestone Cakes)

Ingredients = 8oz Flour, ½ oz Baking Powder, Pinch of salt, 2oz Butter, Single cream.

Method = Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together into a bowl, then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add sufficient cream to form a stiff paste. Roll out fairly thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut into small rounds. Lightly grease your bake-stone (hot griddle or heavy frying pad will do) until golden brown on both sides. Split in half and serve with lashings of butter and hot tea.

Mwynhewch y pryd! (Enjoy your meal)

ASDA supermarket and possibly others like to do good and look good locally.

One of our supporters Mrs Yeo was in her store and spotted their community programme. She applied for the Centre to be supported. ASDA have a system that they give customers a green token at the checkout and they can choose which of three competing good causes to vote for in the foyer.

The ponies won and a cheque for £200 is on its way. Keep a lookout in your supermarket for what they are doing and nominate the Ponies please.

Thank you all you good boys & girls out there who are saving your used postage stamps for the ponies. It is going well. However we have noticed on or two of you are trimming too much of the backing paper off making them worthless. It needs ¼ inch or 5mm of paper all around them. We have some large (A4) envelopes that can be hung on the end of your desk thereby telling everyone in your busy office what you are doing with your used stamps and maybe encouraging them to do something good with theirs. Just let us know if you would like one.

News, Views and thanks of how you help us help them.

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