Trails 'n' Tails

25/04/2024

As the sunshine is starting to make an appearance in between those April showers, you may see more horse riders on the roads.
We want to take this opportunity to give you some advice on driving around horses in a safe way.

If you see a horse on the road please:

• Slow down to a maximum of 10 mph
• Be patient, do not sound your horn or rev your engine
• Pass wide and slow - at least two meters
• Drive slowly away
• If a rider or carriage driver is signalling to turn, wait patiently for them to complete their manoeuvre before continuing your journey
• Only pass a rider or carriage if it is safe to do so

You can find more information about Horse Safe, which is part of Operation Close Pass, by visiting the Dorset Road Safe website : Horse Safe - https://orlo.uk/X8rtp

02/04/2024

Haven’t posted for a while! Here are a few recent ones! 🍃💚

22/05/2023

*** Credible Sighting of Moon ***

Date: Monday 15 May
Time: 3-3.15pm
Location: A3016 Upper Hale Road traffic lights, junction with A325 Farnborough Road, then towards the Six Bells Roundabout Farnham Surrey.

Dark blue hatchback or small estate style car.

A member of the public has been in touch with us at Miller’s Ark stating that they saw a small ginger coloured donkey in the boot area of a dark blue car. A hatch back, small estate style vehicle. There was a boy, possible 10-14 years old sitting in the back of the car, behind the drivers seat leaning back over to the boot area stroking and talking to the donkey.

Likely route from Miller’s Ark.
A30 onto the A287 past Odiham, then continuing on the A287 Farnham Road, Odiham Road. At the top of Folly Hill Farnham continuing on the A3016 Upper Hale Road, through Upper Hale down to the traffic lights with the A325. Then onwards towards The Six Bells Roundabout.

A plea for anyone who may have been driving in the area at this relevant time and date, businesses and residents to check any dashcam footage, CCTV or doorbell footage which may extend out onto the road that they may have.

The police were called regarding this credible sighting.

Crime number - 44230191581 (Hampshire Police)
Ring 101 with any information

16/05/2023

29/03/2023

Had the pleasure of meeting and working with him in my past life as a makeup artist and he was the most lovely human. Plus absolutely loved his show for the love of dogs and the awareness he raised for Battersea and rescue dogs ❤️

Battersea joins the nation in mourning the loss of Paul O’Grady - an entertainment legend and much-loved Ambassador to our charity. We’d like to extend our deepest sympathies to Paul’s family and friends. To millions Paul O’Grady is the popular TV and radio presenter and comedian who lit up their screens with his razor-sharp humour and perpetual generosity and warmth. Battersea will forever remember Paul as a devoted animal lover with the biggest heart, who fell in love with every dog he met at our centres. Paul will always be associated with Battersea, and we are truly saddened to have lost such a true friend and huge part of our charity.

27/03/2023

23/02/2023

SAFE has been struggling financially for some time now. We have cut back on the more expensive feed and dropped back on supplements where we can. Sought the most economical bedding and already have a great discount with our vet and hay supplier, which we are very grateful for.

We are actively rehoming our healthy horses, three have gone to lovely new homes in the last few weeks and we are hoping that our two foals will be finding homes very soon as well.

The horses we rescue usually require high veterinary treatment, some costing thousands of £‘s. We always try to save every horse that comes into our care, unless our vet advises there is little hope or suffering. We currently have three pregnant mares, two being imminent, along with many other horses all requiring funds.

We are now in debt and have to come to our supporters to beg for financial help, otherwise it leaves the future of the horses in our care very uncertain.

Our volunteers are trying to raise money to help but it won’t be nearly enough. If you could please help by donating what you can or raising money from friends and family to help us, selling items you no longer need or holding a curry evening or coffee morning, cake bake sale or organising a dress down day at work, or asking your Company if they could help us via sponsorship, it could just make all the difference to us to continue saving horses’ lives and to those in our care.

You can donate by just clicking the Donate button here in Facebook or via our bank account:

Account Name: SAFE
Account Number: 86299484
Sort Code: 51-81-22

Or PayPal: [email protected] (remember to select Friends and Family otherwise a fee is deducted).

We can assure you we are working hard to find a way to bring in more funds, but that will take time. We really need help now and will be so thankful if you can help us please. Also if you can share this post and ask for help for us, that would be so very much appreciated too.
Thank you 💖

07/01/2023

Happy new year! Some highlights from 2022✨ A few days late, I highly underestimated how many videos I had! Looking forward to another year of probably the best job in the world! 🥰🐾

24/12/2022

Merry Christmas from me, Bentley, Kiko and all our gorgeous four legged friends 🐾🎄

28/09/2022

Haven’t posted in a while, so here are some from the past few months ☺️

15/07/2022

02/07/2022

Secrets of a Dog Walker

1. It's a lifestyle, not just a job. If you're in it for the money you've made a big mistake because a) you're never going to be rich, end of story; and b) you won't survive your first winter if that's your only motivation. We see these people come and go from time to time.

2. We talk to each other more than you might think. About the best walking boots, what clothing we are wearing for today's weather, our financial struggles, the traffic, dodgy men in the woods, fallen trees, etc. It's a lonely job but we have each other's backs from a distance.

3. We don't physically have eyes in the backs of our heads but we know so well the sound of every jingle of every ID tag, and every dog's individual footfall on the ground behind us, we may as well have.

4. We can't physically see round corners either, but we know so well each leading dog's body language in reaction to an oncoming person and/or dog that we may as well be able to.

5. We hear "Are they all yours?!" and "Wow you've got your hands full" at least twice a day, but we always smile and say "They keep me on my toes". Every. Single. Time.

6. It actually breaks our heart when a dog moves out of our area, and we thoroughly investigate our replacement for our own peace of mind, even if the client hasn't asked us to.

7. If you peel back a few layers of clothing (depending on the season) you will find bruises, scratches and scrapes covering the whole of our bodies. Don't bother asking where they came from, we have no idea.

8. If you see a dog walker looking vaguely presentable on a weekday, you should send help, something is not right.

9. We love our clients' dogs as we do our own and will sometimes lie awake at night worrying about their injuries, illnesses, and behaviour problems. We can't help it after spending so much time with them. It hurts us when clients don't appreciate this.

10. Despite the financial uncertainty, the harsh winters, the blood, sweat and tears, it really is the best job in the world 🥰

(Original poster unknown)

I would also like to add:

The biggest compliment we get is when we see our dogs out with their owners somewhere and they go crazy happy to see us and the owners say “they never usually react this happily to see people!”, this happens a lot and always brightens my day 🥰

Also how we laugh when people moan about going outside for some reason because of the ‘weather’ and we laugh because we are out in the elements all day everyday 🤣

Re no: 2, we are super lucky have a great support network of local walkers, borders, etc around here which is truly lovely, I think we are all sharing this one today! 🐾

28/06/2022

❤️

I woke up. It's 4 am.

My best buddy Chopper the Biker Dog laying across my bed with his head laying across my lap.

Chopper has passed on in his sleep. Pain free. On his terms. In my arms. 😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

R. I. P. Buddy. I love you. I'll miss you. I don't know what I'm going to do without you.

You are free now. I am lost 🙏🙏🙏

------- Your best buddy and dad, Mark

13/06/2022

13/05/2022

Balu often stands in front of his guardian and leans his body against her legs.

Balu's guardian tells me that she thinks that he intends "to limit her movements".

Why does she think that?

The idea that our dogs aim at "limiting our movements" when they lean against us or stand close to us comes from the assumption that
dogs are trying to rise in a hierarchy they form with us.

The restriction of our freedom of movement is seen as a sign that the dog sees himself as "the alpha".

The advice from trainers who work on the concept of rank reduction is that you should then send the dog away, put him in a down away from you and have him stay there, or send him behind you.

There is a basic flaw in this idea!

Dogs do NOT form a hierarchy with us humans.
This has been scientifically disproved.

Even the man who once proposed this thesis,
David L. Mech, today vehemently advocates NOT accepting it anymore!

So dogs don't restrict our freedom of movement to show us who's boss.

What is more likely to happen here is that Balu wants to show his guardian that he loves her, that she is his favorite person and that he knows that they both belong together.

We humans hug and hold hands when we want to show that we like each other and that we belong together.

Dogs show this by lying in close contact with each other
Parts of their bodies touch.

There is a canine science term for this in German: "Kontaktliegen", which translates "contact lying".

I don't know if this term exists in English. I have never heard it.

It's such a pity that completely outdated and, above all, wrong concepts that have long since been scientifically disproved are still being handed down and haunting us.

As a result, Balu's little declaration of love to his guardian is "poisoned".

Oxytocin, the cuddling and bonding hormone, is released in both Balu and his guardian when he presses his body against mum's legs.

How can we free ourselves from these "poisoned assumptions"?

A helpful method is The Work by Byron Katie.

Ask yourself the following four questions:

▪️ Is my assumption true?
▪️ Can I know with absolute certainty that it's true?
▪️ How do I feel when I have this thought?
▪️ How would I feel without this thought?
..and then just let go of this poisoned assumption and enjoy life with your dog! ☺️