...turnout...

...restricted turn-out can be tricky...

But, as I keep reminding Tom, he's lucky to be alive, I'm sure he doesn't really mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Saturday am:  I folded back the 'gate' end of the corral to allow two large horses room to pass.  Tom was tentative at first and Henry huffed and puffed a bit, but once they got the idea, they were out together and happier.

 

 

The day is calm and sunny one minute, cold and grey the next.  Tom has his customised fly sheet on and they are wandering about together after some mutual grooming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If your own horse gets wounded badly, take heart, because it's easy to picture worse case scenarios, but horses are surprisingly stoic, and whilst your own insides feel like they're about to boil over, your horse will likely remain calm like Tom did, and he's a big boy, so I'm very thankful for that.

 

My advice:

• apple juice, to encourage him to eat all his dinners including the powders,
• flexible electric fencing to allow restricted turn out,
• cheap flysheet to protect the wound (assuming it's on his body),
• apples and carrots to keep him occupied,
• a great husband for support (and to make the tea - tea is VERY important to the process),
• Hibiscrub, in case the area needs a quick clean,
• a first aid cabinet in your feed room, stuffed to the gills with everything you need.  Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have any!  I now have more first aid stuff than a small saddlery!
• Haybars, John customised these for outdoor use and they fit on a straight edge in my yard, with hooks on the back to be movable, this means their points of feeding can be flexible too,
• lots of hay, since your horse likely will be stuck in without access to growing forage,
• web-cams, I know this might sound expensive, but so is your horse?  I can watch every inch of my land from anywhere in the world on 'PonyCam', (of course it helps that John is and IT geek-genius), which means when I go back to work on Monday morning, I'll know exactly what's going on at home.

 

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by a trauma on your own horse, but look at what a difference a few days have made to Tom, Monday am early, nasty tear in his side, the following Saturday am, turned out with Henry in the Pony Paddock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom seems fine, he's not as stiff walking as the beginning of the week and his wound, apart from a bulge over torn muscle underneath and bright blue stitches, looks encouragingly good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom & Henry have missed sharing drinking time, mutual grooming and generally wandering about together, fingers crossed, deep breath, it's all going well.

 

Here they enjoy a drink, it can't be beer, Tom's on anti-biotics! And Henry chews Toms mane, to say hello.

...healing...warning: bloody wound picture...

...it's incredible to believe, but I've seen it with my own eyes...
warning, below is a bloody gaping hole picture: but it ends in good news...

What was once a gaping hole in my horse has now healed over to the point where he can be allowed out into a restricted amount of land to graze with his friend.

...from this...and this.....with the drain still in...


 
 






 ...to this...







.....healed over and protected from the flies by the rug.  Tom has now slept on this side and rolled on it too.  The stitches have not shifted and the heal has not been compromised.





Tom and Henry have been more or less separated since Monday, but tomorrow the corral gets taken down and they can graze together again. 

...the before and after....and after that too...

...bathtime at WW...
This morning, as the boys were munching haylage in attempt to regulate their grass intake i jumped at the opportunity...well the sun was hot and I just couldn't resist.

Tom & Henry had come out of winter looking incredible but grubby.   

Their coats coming out thick and fast and crying out for a great hose-down. 

Happily John was available as official blog-photographer, and these are only a tip of the iceberg of photos he took. 

 





Enjoy, the cats did, though I'm pretty certain they were just happy it wasn't them at the wet end of the hose!

So here are the before shots:

...the after shots....

...and the what happened after that shots.....

TCJp29 Snow part1

SNOW DAY
...a horse owner will take great pleasure in a snow-day, not being able to get to work is an opportunity to play with the horses, even better if they're at home and you don't have to travel far to your yard.

5th February am:

We were out with our neighbours for dinner last night , it was little black dress and tux night, 8 of us in Gt Totham.  It started to snow as we were eating as predicted, and it was so beautiful watching it flurrying past the window of the old building we were having dinner in, and of course we were warm and happy drinking a nice red Lee had selected to match our meals. John knew he would have to carry me to the minibus because I was wearing my Isabel Marant boots that cost me a months wages....but they're so worth it...and I wasn't about to get them snowy was I?!

Our minibus cab driver drove us very carefully home in the new thick covering, and dropped us all home one couple after another down our lane.  and when I woke this morning there was a thick blanket of white covering everything...including Tom & Henry.

I resisted the temptation to shut them in last night.  Opting instead for medium weight turnout rugs and lots of hay.

They were so happy when I got to the yard too, I was happy they didn't have to spend the night indoors.  I had given the yard an extra layer of salt&grit yesterday when it was clear, so my yard isn't slippery.  Which is just as well because when I went out to check on them at 12.30 last night, they were galloping about in and out of the yard!!!...I can't watch!

But I did put boots on them both...just in case.

Tom & Henry enjoying the weather, neck covers on.  They eat the snow, and roll in it too!  See that speck of snow by Tom's head?  that was where Henry's feet made contact whilst playing!  Henry has dug a hole in the snow where he knows is a large frozen puddle beneath, the field drinkers were frozen, so he's melting the puddle, I could hear him slurping the water...those trakehners...they are very clever in the snow.

Edie:  she has never seen snow before....

she'd have made an excellent showjumper if she'd been

a horse, I'm sure you's agree?

Our other 3 cats were tucked up asleep on the

spare room bed in the warm...cats aren't silly.

Lemmy, he's an old hat at snow,

but he hasn't grown out of jumping

about in it!!

Look how gorgeous we are, plus, with our rugs on you can't measure us to check if our diets are working...mine certainly isn't after last night.....I just can't resist a good cheese board can you? xxx

A sequence of events:

I loved being right up close to Tom & Henry whilst they were playing, but you have to be careful, they move very fast!  ..and I was right underneath Tom when he reared to a stop, but was so busy saving my own arse I didn't get a picture...you'll just have to imagine it.

Look at me, mane blowing in the wind!

I had to be quick to get out of their way!  They move very fast in the snow, as if it weren't there at all.

Their rugs are lightweight and don't hinder the play at all.

I put boots on them this morning to protect their legs, because I knew they'd be leaping about.

Butter wouldn't melt.....

...but hopefully the snow will (but not yet) xx
Tom & Henry look like they're about to sing a duet in this one!

The scene as I came back in after feeding the boys: biscuit tin serenity (with the 'squeekies' galloping about - they've never seen snow before so the youngsters are going mental in it (we call them 'squeakies' because they are too young to have a proper miaow yet, instead - they squeak)).

I wonder if the trains will be running tomorrow....hhmmmmm, hope not!! xx