Charlie Backed (Again), What Show?, Bloody PH, Papermill Progress And A Book!

I know, its been a long time since the last update!!!!  Going back....the Suffolk Show. Hmmmmm.. At 6am we arrived at the yard. Everything was ready. Jo put the coffee on, I went to get Lu in.  She was lying down.  She got up, limped a bit.  Oh No!  I told myself and the pony that she was just a bit stiff, had a dead leg etc etc...The excuses you make to yourself when you can't accept the truth.
By the time we were coming down the hill, it was obvious! Lulu who has never been sick or lame in nine years.....was lame on the day of the Suffolk Show! I walked her about in hand, desperately hoping she would come sound. No. Lunged her....still lame.  Not hopping, but definitely not sound. We turned her loose while we had a coffee.....I kept going out and checking, but no cigar. Disappointing? Hell yeah.  We consoled ourselves with lunch at Gracies in Leiston (well worth a visit by the way).  Lu is still oddly unsound.  Its very intermittent. 
She was sound the day after the show, then not.  We took her to the vet. I ran up the concrete as fast as, I could hear from the rhythmic hoof sound that she was fine. But even now she is slightly noddy in trot.  Its a mystery for sure.

And Charlie?? Well what a boy!! My brave friend Sarah has been helping me. With me at his head, she has sat on him, and even ridden him round the work area several times.  He has worked out where his feet go and even seemed really proud of himself.  Our next mission was for Sarah to lead him, while I rode.

And that's when my bloody lungs/heart got in the way. PH is a progressive condition, but as I have been stable for 6 years, I had pretty much forgotten I had it except for the tablets three times a day. I kind of knew I was a bit worse, but put it down to a chest infection (in the winter), the wind, the heat....You know, the excuses you make to yourself when you can't accept the truth!!  A trip to Papworth last week shocked me despite the self denial. After two days of tests the docs said my heart had enlarged and was in danger of failing. Basically PH has caught up with me. They wanted me to have a Hickman Line in (drugs infused directly into the heart 24/7 via a pump worn at the waist and an intravenous line into the heart.  Not being ready for that I said I'd think about it and legged it. They have since phoned with alternatives - one being a drug trial, and the other a new drug, but in the meantime, No backing or riding dangerous horses!!! It's given me a lot to think about.......I now have a harness thanks to Hollesley Rda and a cart, so can begin teaching him to drive.  As I can't expect Sarah to continue riding him, I am trying to get him to Boot Camp.....Summer at a local riding school.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to slow down, I have written The Ridgeway Romp. A tale of 2 idiots (me and my mate Tess), riding The Ridgeway in ballgowns on my slightly quirky ponies in 2007.  It is mostly the Blog Tess wrote at the time, with some infill from myself.  It is now published on Amazon......Please check it out...

Finally the Papermill ponies have been fenced in, and all bar a few who are having veterinary treatment, are off tether.....This has been a long hard road for the girls that started the group, and they now have Asbos for harassment!!!!! But it just goes to show what can be achieved via social media!