Horse Talk

Back in early June, when I last updated on Heather horse's progress, I think I was hoping for more rain! The ground was like concrete. Completely the opposite now. Barely a day goes by without rain of some sort. Heavy, sometimes thundery downpours seem to have become the norm for the afternoons. So now the ground is soaked, huge puddles everywhere and almost as much mud as in the Winter! Whilst the temperature is pleasant enough and the long hours of daylight are useful, I can't help have a nagging feeling that we're in for another disappointing Summer.
Heather happy in the "neutral zone" of the "graveyard" field looking forward to her tea!

The school horses and ponies, including Heather of course, are now in what is in effect the Summer paddock...known as the "graveyard" as it adjoins St Martins churchyard. This is a lovely field, with shelter in the form of trees and hedges, good drainage and there was good grass! With up to twenty hungry horses at a go, the grass can't grow quick enough! If I'm not riding, I bring her into a small sectioned off safe zone by the gate to feed and fuss her. She's always accompanied by Ouzo, and jealously watched by the others.
Looking impressive and ready to go out and about on a lovely sunny day

Until recently I've been making my own fly spray, to help keep her more comfortable. When the weather was drier there seemed to be far more flies. I'm using a recipe I found on-line somewhere and adjusted to suit. Main active ingredient being Citronella oil. I was buying the oil from Boots for about £3-50 for 100ml. For some reason or other, they've stopped selling it...something to do with it being an unlicensed product. My "fly spray" mix, including black tea and cider vinegar was applied using a household bottle spray...same one lasted all last Summer. I found an article in a horse magazine saying that kerosene heavily diluted in water is a good fly deterrent..so I thought I'd try substituting the oil for kerosene. Seemed to work quite well, only trouble being the seals in the squirty bottle dissolved and the bottle started to disintegrate. I also have to make sure no one smokes around her!! Anyway the rain has made it all seem pointless. No sooner have I sprayed her than a shower comes and washes it all off.
Trotting across the "canter field" which has recently become too boggy to walk in!

We've been out and about too. Last week when she needed her feet trimming and shoes, I realised I've been riding her for six weeks. In all this time she as only stumbled on her injured leg twice. Admittedly there have been days when I wasn't at all sure if she was sound, but we've carried on and things have been fine. It's hard to tell because she's never been right in the first place and on bad ground, with a slippery layer of mud it's even harder to tell. Well the long and short of it is she's putting on weight with the good grass and needs exercise! To her credit, she's done everything I've asked, though she's become more spooky and shies more than she used to. This really adds to the enjoyment of riding her, laughing at what makes her scared and giving her the confidence to push on. She is brave, things do worry her, but she will always go in the end. On more than one occasion we've been chased by loose dogs. Now I've never been keen on dogs and for once, it's probably me who is more afraid. Whenever a dog chases, I stop Heather. She stands like a statue, despite leaping, barking dogs. The owners never seem to get the idea into their heads, that Heather isn't in the slightest bothered..but one day she might just kick one of these silly pooches.This only goes to strengthen my theory that she's an old hunting horse. The other day one woman was so engrossed in her mobile phone conversation, that she hadn't realised her dog had been hassling us for quite a while. I lost patience and turned Heather to face the dog. We advanced and soon turned tails.ha! Poor dog ran very fast away from us, only stopping well past its yabbering owner, still unaware!
On the way home from Banky Meadow.

One thing that has not changed is her head shaking. I have previously written on here about her condition. When worked for five minutes or so in trot, she begins to snort, soon followed by anything from thrashing her head, snatching at the reins, putting her nose to the ground sometimes accompanied by a whole body twitch as though she's wired to the mains! I've had some success riding her in a full or half nose net. Though best of all last year we took part in a trail by Liverpool University Vet School, on behalf of a supplement manufacturer. The magic powder which worked so well in alleviating her symptoms is now on the market. Made by NAF and called Shake Relief, it sells at £38 per Kilo, which would last less than a month. Not cheap. I have bought some and she's been given it for a week now, with little effect. However it took three weeks in her trail last year for the powder to work. I'm hoping to be able to manage her on a smaller dose once it has become established, in conjunction with the net.
There's always something...this time it was a stick...but it could have been a snake..it could!

Being round horses can be hard work in itself. There seems a timeless continuity that levels out other things in life. Even after a hard days work at the airport and other pressures, I still find myself lingering at the yard, it seems right.