Brrrrrrr......It's A Cold Cold Summer, The Treasure Hunt Madness Continues! And The Suffolk Show

 YES - I Am Going To Bang On About The Weather!!!!!   I mean WHAT is happening?? For the last month we have had not a drop of rain. Or Sunshine, or Warmth, or a change in the bloody wind!  That wind has constantly blown in from the North East.  The only variation is the speed. Somewhere between 15mph and 30mph.  It's cold.  Really cold.  Around 12c in the constantly grey skies.  I am still wearing fleece lined leggings, and vast fleece hoodies. And fluffy socks!!!! I'd Like To Complain!  I am also well aware that only half the country will understand.  I see the Weather...... I see the West is basking in summer temperatures.  

At least with the lack of rain, the eaten grass is browning off. I know that sounds odd, but with a bunch of natives ( and 2 of them metabolically challenged) the sooner the grass turns into standing hay the better. Mind you its become a mallet job to hammer in the electric fence posts in the ever expanding track system.  

And so the Top Barn Treasure Hunt madness continues!!  Some people have my complete and utter admiration. People have been travelling their horses on incredible long trips to get a picture of the Ocean. Makes me feel guilty as we are only 6 or 7 miles from the Ocean (North Sea) and yet we cannot get there!  Charlie can now be ridden 4 steps without throwing a class A wobbler.  But 7 miles may be pushing it!  And sadly no trailer.  Others have been hanging out besides motorways hoping to catch an Eddie Stobart Lorry!  Or calling 999 in order to spot a police car ( you know who you are).  And then there are the people who have camped with their horses in order to catch a sunset and sunrise.  Something I may consider if this never ending cloud lifts.  And the 200 milers...... Wow. I can only hope to do this with Charlie in the future.

Meanwhile we are plodding along in our own style. Since the road has been widened at the bottom of our drive and all the hedges removed, we have a good view of the traffic.  So Charlie and i have been walking to the end of the Drive (which is now scary to him) and up through the Hill Field, in order to lurk, phone ready in case something interesting comes by. We also have a telephone wire running across the field, but it seems to be repellent to the local birds. Although i have had a nice time watching the Kestrels, Red Kite and Buzzards hunting.  I have seen an ambulance (but not a police car) and a white lorry. The driver assured me it was an Eddie Stobart Lorry on it's way to be painted!  So the road leads to the Coast.  A mecca for Campers and cyclists.  After hanging out for ages on Tuesday, Charlie and I were on our way back, when I glanced back.....and saw not one but two campers decked out in pushbikes!  Too far away for a pic!

So with these Treasure Hunting Walk Outs and Agility Practice we have racked up a massive 12 miles (out of the 25 miles pledged).  We have this!  Talking of Agility,  Charlie managed another 1st place in the May WO Silver Liberty Course and a 2nd in our first Advanced WO class.

As promised we have been working on a new trick.  I am getting him to pass me his saddle pad.  its a work in progress....

Last week I went to The Suffolk Show. Its been a few years since I last went.  We had a great day out doing the usual......getting free samples, spending money (like £4 for a Latte) queuing for everything and annoying all the animals trying to catch a break in their stables/stalls. We also watched the Shetland Grand National. Love it!! And the Terrier baiting.  The Terrier was great, but the general publics dogs were sooo funny.  They let 3 Cockerpoos loose at once.  One chased the bait while the other 2 chased each other.  We happened on this cute (and very tired) Suffolk foal...

And a funny thing happened.  I was scratching the ears of a large friendly Suffolk gelding.  He started to groom me back, and smelt the tobacco in my top pocket. He then curled his lips to smell it better. Haha a smiler!  I tickled his top lip, and he curled it back. Next time I said "Smile". He did. By then we had an audience. So we did it again.  I patted him and said "Sorry Boy, I don't have a treat".  A nearby spectator said she had a mint. I told her Thanks, but we really shouldn't feed other peoples horses. "I thought he was your horse" she said. "No" I replied, "I've only just met him".  "But how did you teach him to smile?" she asked. 

Well that's how it goes!

Has Anyone seen an Orange Police Car/ Butterfly/ Eddie Stobart Lorry?

 So has anyone actually spotted an Eddie Stobart lorry, maybe with the letter R in its reg, driving past a Mountain? Did you then freeze time, get a quick pic with you and your horse in view?  Or maybe you have been chasing butterflies? If you know, you know.  Yep Top Barn Treasure Hunt Mania has taken over.  Oh its such fun.  

I have read posts of people getting up at Stupid O Clock and getting pics of the Sunrise.  I haven't bothered setting my alarm.....Here in 'Sunny Suffolk' its been raining. Or throwing a Storm.....or showering!  Granted it's warmed up. Now we have 15C rain. 

However, despite the Driveway still being up (we have been driving over the bank of the now destroyed Hill Field to get in), Charlie and I have found our 10 required treasures. 

We are now searching for another 10 (some tongue in cheek).......

If nothing else, I am noticing things when I'm not with Charlie......Oh yes there's an orange car!  A Phone-box, next to a post box, near a derelict building!!  Woohoo!  Oh It's too far to walk!!!! Anyone else having these moments of madness??? 

Of course we still have the 25 miles to clock up.  As I write (Week 2) we have about another....er......20 ish to go!!!!  Hopefully next week we can get out for a few short walks down the lane to find a Pond, a Tunnel (of trees) and a Thatched Roof.

In other news......with all the rain we've had (did I mention it's been raining alot?), the grass is growing like a mushroom on steroids.  So the Laminitics are still in their small-ish bare pen scoffing hay and Simple Systems and are sound and happy.  Coco seems very happy in her own track system.  Lu and Charlie have sussed out their ever growing track system and are getting plenty of exercise charging from new grass, back to their water, hay and mates. I wonder how complicated I can make it?

Charlie won both his classes last month in the International Horse Agility Club competitions, despite my poor attempts at being the new Becks in ball control. So as promised to him, I bought him a new Head collar/Bridle from Horse Leads. Check them out https://www.horseleads.co.uk/unique-designs.

In this months Agility class i needed something for Charlie to put a foot up on.  A long time ago I filled in a Tyre with sand as a Pedestal.  Obvs it's a permanent feature in the 'School' right next to the Scary Corner (basically a dumping ground for bins, wheel barrows, old road signs) which is also permanent (due to the fact that I'm too lazy to move all the flags and other crap).  This month the Pedestal is at the opposite end to the Scary Corner!!  So it was out with the tool belt (well a drill/screwdriver and a saw), to make a Pedestal from an unused jump filler.  I am certainly not a carpenter.....measure nothing, saw and hope for the best! Of course I videoed it!  And put it on YouTube!!! For some reason over 400 people have viewed it!?!?  You too can watch this incredible piece of craftsmanship......https://youtu.be/DGQ2XnwcB4U   PS. Please Subscribe to our channel.....It costs you nothing and you don't even have to watch it...but Charlie would love it if you did https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYQBYhWqo_WPVdz9MFkCtA/about

Aswell as the Treasure Hunt and The Agility Practice,  Charlie and I have been working our way through Connection Training.  I highly recommend it.  I am learning so much and following the course on Backing to the letter now.  I may have been going too fast as usual!!  So we are working on Short-reining. And I was doing Yoga at 7am this morning! All in the Course!

With all this going on I feel we are neglecting our Trick Training. Which is fun. And the basis of all I do with Charlie.  So I pledge here to dedicate more time to learning a new trick (I have so many in my head).  So next time I promise to have a new trick in the bag.  In the meantime, with the Coronation here in Britain of King Charles 3rd, I had a little fun Coranating (a new word....What actually is the real term?) My Prince Charlie!  https://youtube.com/shorts/ulpAqMkjY8Q?feature=share

See you all chasing Butterflies.......

Top Barn Weather Curse Strikes Again, Treasure Hunting and Field Disaster!

 Well we are on the verge of the Top Barn Treasure Hunt.  It starts tomorrow. The last few days have been Springlike.  Actual Sunshine!  And Warmth! I removed several layers to reveal lily white skin. But the Top Barn Weather Curse is about to strike.  Yes its clouded over. Ready to rain tomorrow....On Day One of The Treasure Hunt ( and a Bank Holiday obvs).  Have you seen the weather chart for the 2nd week of May?  Solid rain here in Deepest Darkest Suffolk!!!  Top Barn challenges have become a signal to the Gods to send the worst weather. Last year in the middle of filming a Stressage Test, I was attacked by giant hailstones!

So on to the Treasure Hunt itself.  There are several items I cannot find here in DDS.  Like Mountains!  Or Eddie Stobart Lorries.  Luckily we only have to find 10 of the 50 options.  I've picked off several I can find on the Farm.  Which is great. Most especially because in the coming week, there are Roadworks actually on the driveway to The Farm.  Yup a whacking great ditch will be trapping us in.  As I don't live there, it will be effectively shutting us out too! But more on that later!

So no doubt everyone signed up to The Treasure Hunt, will have spent the last few weeks checking things out.  And possibly following Orange cars (or was that just me?).  I for one have no idea what an Edwardian Building looks like.....I may be knocking on doors to ask people when their house was built. Errr...Anyone know what year that would be?  Cobbled streets in DDS?  More chance of a Mountain. The other day a Police Car came to The Farm (more on that later). What are the chances of them coming back?   So for the general public....If you see a maniac with a horse taking pics of your Orange Car, or chasing you down if your registration plate contains the letter R, especially if you are parked in front of a dry stone wall, on a cobbled street, with a Mountain/Ford/River behind you, please do not be alarmed.  PS Apparently photo-shopped pics are not allowed. 

And so let me tell you of our field disaster.  We have 3 fields.  The 4 Acre which we use in the Winter, The 3 Acre which is our Summer Field and The Hill Field which we use in Spring and Autumn.  We had only recently moved to The Hill Field with the 3 Big Ponies, leaving the Shitlands behind in various weirdly shaped pens snaking around the Farm.  We set up a Track System in the Hill Field and added bits daily.  All was good.......Until the Roadworks began.  We knew about the Roadworks.  We knew they were taking out some trees and the corner of our lane. We had it all set up, so we were not in the way.  Then the contractors moved in........And All Hell Broke Loose.  They managed to remove our outer fence at the same time as removing the trees.  

With nothing between the ponies and the main road we had to move them quick sharp.  So it was off to The 3 Acre.  With all the rain we had in March, the grass has grown quickly. Too quickly for Daisy, who overnight showed signs of Laminitus.  Mini the Shitland, has been muzzled for a while, as she is getting 'footy' on weeds!  So it seemed logical to put Mini and Daisy together on a very small bare part of the 3 Acre, and quickly build the start of a track system next to them for Charlie and Lu. And what to do with Coco, the other Shitland?  Coco was rescued by a friend and came to us starved.  She was initially dx with Cushings.  But we had our doubts. She was put on Prascend and got worse.  She would not eat a thing.  After a session with Jade Monahan, who released her TMJ, she began to eat again.  We stopped the Prascend and Coco has had a new lease of life.  But she does need her grass to maintain her weight.  Logically she could go out with Lu and Charlie on the new grass.  But illogically Lu hates her. Charlie will do whatever Lu says and between them they quickly become bullies, so its a no go for little Coco.  So a third track system has been started in the 3 Acre just for Coco, who is close to her friends, but in her own safe space.

As we are on sandy soil and Daisy has had two sand colics recently, Jo and I began to worry she would be pulling up the tiny bits of grass growing in her pen and therefore consuming sand again.  So both her and Mini are now having massive amounts of Simple Systems unmolassed Beet Pulp and Chaff (designed to be grazed on over a long time) and hay.  Of course Lu and Charlie have FOMO, so we are having to give them a handful of hay each.

With our driveway about to be dug up, Jo and I have had to find places to park nearby. Jo has secured a space at the bottom of the Driveway. I have found a place over the road. Its a short walk to cross the road, but then I have to climb the bank and fight my way over a fence and through a jungle of brambles and hemlock. I attacked all the offending foliage with some hedge cutters the other day and hopefully will have a clear path tomorrow. Better for my lungs than the long walk up the drive. Jo, on the other hand cannot climb the bank with her dodgy hips, so the Long Walk is better for her.

With all this tree carnage going on, somebody complained.  Of course they did!  So the Police turned up. Apparently its illegal to cut down trees in Spring. Most of the trees have been strangled by Ivy and are dead anyway. And its nowt to do with us.  This is all part of a road safety scheme, so they went on their way.....even though I begged them to stay a few days so I could get a pic for the Treasure Hunt!!

In other news,  I have started mounting Charlie and asking him to walk 3 steps towards a target. Hardly groundbreaking news.......But I have finally learned to slow down to his pace, and the ratio for him freaking out and throwing me to the four winds has decreased significantly. We will continue at this slow pace.......

The Top Barn Treasure Hunt, Track Systems, And When Is Spring Starting?

 So with the Top Barn Winter Challenge over, across the land, Top Barners were thinking of duvet days and box sets. BUT NO!  Rhi has come up with a Treasure Hunt for May and June. Brilliant. I love Treasure Hunts. We quickly joined up, and got the list of 50 Treasures.  We only have to find 10 out of the 50, though there is a bonus prize draw for anyone finding all 50.  We also have to pledge a certain amount of miles ranging from 25 to 200. Charlie and I have only pledged 25.....after all, with my lungs I can't exactly go on a hike. We all know how bad i am at doing mileage!!!  However over 2 months it's only.....er.....about....12.5 miles a month, which is......er.......less than 5 miles a week.  Can you hear my brain whirring??  However I am hoping we don't have to do it all on foot.  Charlie is most laid back about me mounting now. We even managed a sideways step the other day.  You never know.....some of our miles may be ridden!!

Of course we have no chance of finding all 50 treasures.  This is Suffolk. In the Back-of-Beyond.  Looking at the list now, I can confirm we will not be finding a Mountain, or a Dry Stone Wall, or a Steep Hill, an Eddie Stobart Lorry, a cobbled street or a tunnel!  The Ocean is a good 6 miles from the Farm, and I'm doubtful if The North Sea qualifies!!  However there is something for everyone to find, and I have already taken note of a few things not too far away.  I have realised how rare Orange cars are.  I followed an Orange Ford Focus the other day and got really excited!!

Meanwhile, Charlie and I are working on our Agility.  March was a tough course. A Dinger!  Lots of opportunities for Dings, aswell as trying to film in almost constant winds. Scores were lower than normal, but we got a 1st for Walk Only Silver Liberty and 2nd for Walk Only OLHA Medium Level.  The April course is fun, but it still has THE HOOP in it.  The nemesis of Hairy Footed Cob owners.  Cobs just DO NOT see hoops as obstacles.  Half blind ones even less so. Hoop?  What Hoop? Even if by some miracle they clear it with their plate size feet, the thick feathers inevitably catch it.

So with the move to pastures green I have been constructing a track system. Track systems can be made even in smallish fields.  We are currently in about 3 acres. On a small Hill. A Suffolk Hill.  So the track runs down to the bottom of the hill and back up again.  To get water the horses have to come down the hill and back up again.  This means they are moving more than they would if we just strip grazed our way down the field.  In the wild, horses do not have the same problems as our domestic horses. Because they are moving.  Horses are designed to move and browse for forage.  MILES a day!  I keep thinking of putting a tracker on Charlie to see just how far he moves in a day.  I can't make it too complicated as Daisy The Highland is known for getting lost!!!  But it does make them think as well.

https://youtu.be/bbVVXIPAqfk

So the main question is When Is Spring Starting??  Its still sooooo cold.  Apart from the odd day when it has warmed up in the Sun.  I think its the Sun. A yellow thing in the sky? Being on the East Coast we are used to the cold breeze off the sea, but I Am Bored of being cold now. So if anyone knows when I can put my shorts back on, please let me know!

The Challenge Is Over, Will Someone Please Turn Up The Heat! And Goodbye Prudence.

 So the Top Barn 12 Week Challenge 2023 is officially over!  Charlie and I completed the Silver Premium, which equates to 5 hours training every week (except the Holiday Week).  I'm not gonna lie......Its been hard doing this all on the ground, even with The Agility Practice to keep us busy. One of the things I wanted to do was get Charlie used to my noisy clippers.  And clip his great furry feet.  One of the things I have learnt was that he is now not scared of the clippers, but of any form of leg tidying.....or even touching!!!  Its all my fault.  Last year I was using sheep shears to clip his legs. With a very pointy end.  He spooked at something and the pointy end stuck in the bulb of his heel!  No big deal really. Lots of blood but no infection or anything, due to me administering lots of stinging iodine.  But it seems he hasn't forgotten this incident.  Which is odd, because today (after only 2 days off) he has completely forgotten how to cross a tarpaulin with me on his blind side!

The other thing I wanted to work on was building some chest muscle.  This we have achieved with a lot of polework and reverse round pen stuff. This is all with a view to finally riding himself. With this in mind I have been tacking him up a lot and mounting, sitting there and dismounting.  We are both bored with this now!

As we went into March the False Spring vanished and the Snow came.  It didn't amount to much, but it's been bloody cold this month. And wet (which is good), and windy (which is definitely not good). As I write the temperature is dipping to zero again. The Daffodils are out, but The Blackthorn Blossom is still very much out. And so The Blackthorn Winter continues!  Please someone turn up the heat.

Poor Daisy had colic again last week.  Its not looking good in the long term. Yes we are on sandy soil and sand colic is common when the grass is short. The ponies pull up the short grass and ingest the sand with the roots. But twice in a month is not that great.  Daisy is 23 now, and never had colic before this year. In my experience at her age this will happen more frequently now. So we have put them on the Spring Grazing a little early.  It could do with a bit longer to grow, but needs must. Meanwhile Charlie has lost his brain cell in the grass somewhere. Not only has he forgot his Agility Course (and we only have 3 days left to get it right), he managed to rear up with the Farrier tonight, while the Farrier was holding a hind leg up! 

And now its time to get the tissues out. On March 7th, Prudence the dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Prudence was Jo's dog and came everywhere with her, so was at the Yard every day. She was such a character.  Sweet and loving, and funny.  She pulled such funny faces.  She had me wrapped around her dew claw, and conned half my food out of me each day.  She was great friends with my old dog Scrumpy, and patiently put up with my new pup hanging off her wattle. 

Without her the Yard felt very odd and empty. Freya (my dog) is banned from the place due to being big and scary and a committed horse herder. Jo had never been dogless before and asked me how long it took to get used to it.  My honest answer?  Forever, or until you get another dog. Luckily a Bulldog needed a new home, so Jo has a new companion and we have a new yard dog.  Dolly the Bulldog who is about 4 years old and was used for breeding. She is adorable and is healing our broken hearts. 

Run Free Sweet Prudence, and give your old mukker Scrumpy a kiss from me x

Top Barn Challenge Is Nearly Done, A False Spring and The Lurgy

 Wow the Top Barn 2023 Winter Challenge is nearly done!!  How many people are still with us?  We are just beginning Week 10. Charlie and I still have our Rollover Week and our Holiday Week in hand.  We have banked 2 hours and 40 minutes. This means we can do a Rollover Week of 2 hours and 20 minutes.  I'm thinking that may be this week.  Then it will leave 5 hours next week, meaning we will finish a week early. We have managed a Rhi's Random each week (including a couple of Ridden, even though Charlie is not Ridden). Unbelievable to think when this ends we will already be 3 months into the 'New Year'. 

The Weather has been pretty kind.  Top Barn Challenges normally herald the beginning of Storms, Torrential Rain, or Beasts From the East bringing 6 foot snow drifts. As it is February has had a False Spring. NO rain (not good for grass growth) and some lovely days of sunshine and double figure temperatures.  I even rode out with no coat and my sleeves rolled up.  Sadly the temperatures have dropped severely and we are expecting snow by the morning.

That ride out........ Meg rode Lulu, I rode Daisy and ponied Charlie off her.  Daisy being the unflappable nanny pony and all. We went down a bridleway that goes through a campsite.  The Campsite is lovely with lots of fishing lakes.  The owner is the opposite to lovely and hates the fact the Bridleway runs through his land. He was soon monitoring us on his Quad Bike. No drama.  We passed through his land and went to look at the Ford which was pretty empty.  From that point its a very long way back via roads, or a turn around.  We turned around.  Nearly back through the campsite when a swan stood up and flapped its wings.  Daisy the Unflappable, had a malfunction and took off, Charlie having no choice but to come along.  Its hard to pull up 2 Cobs at once!  The Swan kept flapping. By now I had Daisy to a steady plunge/buck and Charlie had chilled out.  Lulu in the meantime, slightly ahead hadn't noticed a thing.

For most of the last month I have had some sort of Lurgy. Snotty, coughing, and absolutely exhausted.  Not Covid. I tested twice (due to looking after my elderly Mother).  The cough is still loud and clear, but today for the first time in weeks I have felt energetic.  I even hoovered the gaps between my floorboards.  Heres hoping thats the end of that!!!!

So I couldn't do a Blog without mentioning Horse Agility.  Charlie and I submitted our February classes mid Feb, so had a long wait for the results.  I am pleased to say we scored a 99/100 for WO Silver Liberty earning us a 1st Place, and 96/100 in the WO OLHA Medium Level which got us 2nd place. 

We have also been following Connection Training, which has shown us both how to relax and chill out, instead of rushing from one behaviour to another.  I have jumped up on him a few times, without moving (Obs I had to move, but he didn't) and he has been very calm about it.  Onwards and Upwards to riding!!

See y'all on The Other Side.

WHOA! We're Halfway There....Whoa...! Pool Noodles and Daisy's Colic.

Yes We are Halfway there.  Halfway through the 2023 Top Barn Winter Challenge. Doing the Silver Challenge has been a little tough, but it IS meant to be a challenge. We haven't had much rain, but its been pretty cold. Plenty of mornings breaking ice off the water butts and persuading the tap to thaw. My dodgy lungs and dicky ticker don't like frosty air.  It literally hurts to breathe. And I run out of power around 2pm.  In a ideal world, I'd go home to sleep!  But who has an ideal world.  My Mum is 85, so I have to run her about, shopping, hairdressers, chippy lunches. And I have a little business to attend to, and there is the never-ending household chores. I often fall asleep after tea. Or sometimes during it!  The house is incredibly cold downstairs.......11.6 - 14c generally. A lovely temperature outside, but not so good for watching TV.  So I generally retire upstairs around 8pm (and its getting earlier). Upstairs is warmer (due to no carpets and the hot water pipes making it feel like underfloor heating). The bed is warm and comfy, TV lulls me to sleep (I never see the end of anything).  I have been sending my OH weekly pictures so he doesn't forget what I look like!!!

But Charlie and I are thoroughly enjoying the Challenge.  As well as working on our Agility stuff, we have been working on Clipper Training ( I WILL get those hairy legs clipped), Picking out feet (Its a NO from Charlie), Being tied up (Another Big No), and Tacking up (Scary Horse eating equipment) and Mounting (Where has Mum Gone? Oh No. Panic!!! Everyone Run Away).  We have also been doing Rhi's Very Difficult Randoms.  A couple of the GW Randoms are based on long-lining.  Charlie has spent over half his life being terrified of not being able to see me.  I put this down his partial blindness and a hideous foal-hood. And so we have had to build up very slowly to this long reining stuff. Certainly a challenge Rhi!!! 

I certainly wouldn't be able to do Silver hours if it wasn't for my Yard Partner in Crime,  Jo Moore. We share the grazing and the work. Jo has 4 ponies.  The delightful Daisy, who I ride (a 23 year old Rescue Highland), Lulu (The Diva Blonde Haflinger), who I also sometimes ride, when friends ride Daisy (and I can't bribe them to ride Lu) and 2 Shitlands (say no more).  Charlie lives with Lu and Daisy. The Shitlands live together because they are Shitlands! Jo has been emptying The Shit Trailer.....Oh! Its not a Shit Trailer at all. In fact it's rather good, but full of Shit after we have done the daily poo-picking. And filling it with Hay for the next day, so I can get on with working Charlie. So huge Thanks Jo!

Anyway back to Agility. And more precisely Pool Noodles!!!  This month in my Agility classes I need 6 Pool Noodles. I only have 4. Have you seen how much they cost????? In this cold cold Winter, I can't afford to buy any more. But. Bingo!  I remembered i had 2 blow up Pool Noodles. Sorted! After a couple of days one went a bit floppy.  So I went to blow it up.  Charlie, ever helpful, decided to hold it for me! Sadly his bite is not far off the power of my dog (one of them highly dangerous Belgian Malinois) and the little sod has now punctured it....in several places.  I spent a good half hour the other day, patching it up with tape, blowing it up, only to watch it deflate again! (Reminded me of an ex haha) Eventually I taped it to another noodle to hold it up.  This meant contact breaks the tape and the noodle hits the deck. So in came the Noodle Scrambling Walk (think trying to avoid light beams while stealing some precious diamond from some precious museum) so Charlie had the full 6 Noodles to push through.  Although I'm not entirely sure Charlie has the Full 6 Noodles!  

So last Saturday was horrible! Daisy was laying down when we arrived. Not odd. She likes a snooze. Rob, Meg and Nancy arrived to help. I told them to go say Hello to Daisy.  She loves a cuddle while laying down.  However, she didn't get up when we put the hay out.  She loves food more than anything.  Instead she lay flat out. There had been a fair bit of sun and the ponies had been picking grass so there was a chance Daisy had laminitus. Meg picked her feet out and Daisy remained prone. My Colic Radar was going off at this point so I checked her out. Her feet were cool and no radial pulse so I ruled out Lami.  However her breathing was fast (19 breathes per minute) and her nostrils pinched.  By now Colic Radar screaming like a siren. Jo brought her a mash loaded with Buscopan and Bute. But she wouldn't touch it. Definitely Colic. 

Jo called the Vet, who was only 15 minutes away.  In that time Daisy did the full text book colic symptoms, up and down, rolling, sweating, panting.  She was breathing so fast I thought her heart would give up. We had a fantastic Vet. The first problem was getting rid of her polar-bear coat so the Vet could find a vein.  Daisy doesn't do clippers. The Vet only had dog trimmers. Daisy was quite a handful so we didn't think my Full Size noisy clippers an option. Scissors worked and the Vet was able to inject Buscopan and a pain killer. Daisy produced a couple of balls of normal looking poo. It looked like it might be gassy colic rather than a blockage.  But the fantastic Vet did a rectal to be sure. Dodging the kicks, she decided some of the intestine felt dislodged and she would like to tube her to be sure.  We quickly decided she needed to be sedated.  Daisy decided she did not want another injection, and suddenly felt well enough to rear up and plunge about.  Highlands are quite hard to hold when they decide to go somewhere at speed. Out came the Twitch. Only option.  Eventually twitched, The Vet got the sedative in and we were finally able to Tube Daisy. For those who have never had a horse tubed.......Its basically a long tube, shoved up their nose, which they swallow (the danger lies in the fact that the Windpipe is right next to the Stomach Pipe).  Daisy tried very hard to cough it up, but eventually swallowed it. Again for those that are lucky enough to never have had their horse tubed.....Once the tube is in the stomach, its held up in the air and a bucket of warm water with Epsom salts and liquid paraffin is slowly poured in, thus flushing the stomach out.

Huge Thanks to Rob, Meg and Nancy for completing the day-to-day chores while Jo, the Vet and I wrestled with a very distressed Daisy.

Having worked on large yards and owning a worm damaged colicky mare in the past I have seen and assisted in this procedure many times. But its still not a nice experience. My old mare sometimes needed tubing twice, and eventually died of colic as did my Paddy Pony.  And so I was worried.  Daisy was put in with the Shitlands, where the anorexic Coco is out on 3 Acres of reasonable grass, while the over-weight Mini is penned at night.  Coco immediately went into protective mode. Squealing and charging. Daisy just went to sleep. Having spent some time sitting with her, I eventually went home.  2 hours later, I went back. Daisy still laying down.  So I waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually she got up and started munching on Hawthorn bushes so I went home. 

Next  morning I was so relieved to find Daisy grazing!!  I was also relieved to find droppings caked in and threaded through with sand. So it was a sand blockage after all, which at least explained things. We are on sandy soil and sand colic is a thing. We use Psyllium to clear out sand, but we usually use it when it rains and its easy for the ponies to pull the grass out from the roots.  But we have learned to keep a closer eye on Daisy now! And we are very grateful to The Vet for tubing her, otherwise she would have been back.  We have also decided to use the Psyllium monthly.

So what idiot designed horse guts?  Had they cut all the intestines to length already?  Then they found out it was too long. But, It was obviously Friday afternoon.  Solution?  Oh yeah, lets fold it round here, no-one will ever notice. Oh and in the hurry to get to the Pub, they forgot to add a back flow valve. So the horse has to live with a spare piece of folded gut, and no way of throwing up anything bad. So anything that goes in.....It has to navigate it's way around a maze with a useless fold and push its way out of the back door! 

Meanwhile the owner of said horse is wondering if anyone would like to buy a kidney to pay the Vet bill. Or an I-Joy Vibrating Fun Machine? Or Rugs? Leg Wraps? Feed Buckets? Anything? We have Bits galore! Various bits of leather!! The odd Shitland? Ah no. They are not for sale!! I have 2 books for sale on Kindle. They might not be any good, but they are cheap!! Or how about subscribing to Charlie's Youtube Channel?  Charliethetrickpony.  It doesn't cost anything to subscibe.  And back to that Kidney......Good Working Order. Only one owner.

So, Jo and I will be busy in the future, but keep it up Top Barners.  You can do this!  See you on the Other Side.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYQBYhWqo_WPVdz9MFkCtA/about

https://amzn.to/3YI7XvC

https://amzn.to/3XgSvFC