...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.