Four legged friends.

Flappy ears

Rafi has flappy ears, my horse likes flappy ears! She likes to flip them inside out! I have no idea why she does this or even why Rafi lets her do it, but he does and so far the pair of them get along just fine and that is how I would like it to stay.

Hay stack

This morning I took my Mum my granddaughter and mums dog to the vets to have the made to measure American splint fitted to mums dogs front leg, the dog was so good and let them do it several times before having a short walk in it. For the next few weeks she will build up to wearing her prosthetic more and more until she is wearing it all day.
My hay arrived today too,

it smells lovely and the bales are nice and heavy, I have a small barn at my disposal and together with the 'help' of Rafi I got it stacked and away before any rain could get to it.
When I say Rafi helped, I mean he stood on every bale to inspect it for mice and rabbits sadly for him there were none, he did find a couple of very big spiders which he had as an evening snack.

Rare Breeds

Its been over 3 years since I was at the Weald and Downland Museum, except for one day when I went to say goodbye to the lovely Bayleaf Neville.
It felt quite strange walking in, it felt even stranger having to pay! I was a volunteer there for over 10 years, helping with the three shire horses and the other animals and being first aid cover for the many events they held.
This time I was a member of the public, taking my two granddaughters for a day our to their rare breeds show.
The first stop had to be the stables to say hello to Mac, the only remaining shire on the site, they now have two Percherons called Ollie and Kash to help Mac with the work load.
It was a lovely surprise to bump into another of the volunteers who I used to work with, she was also at the show socially and wandered with us for a while.
Rafi was very well behaved considering there were so many people, new animal smells and stalls selling food. He was interested in other dogs but didnt get over zealous with them and was quite steady with the livestock both the four and the two legged varieties.
Once back home however he just flopped into his bed and slept.

Meet and Greet

Its not often I get to the stables and am met at the farm gate by my horse. Clearly she had been practicing her Houdini act again.
After putting her back where she should be I drove into town bought a new battery and some more extra tall fence posts then went back to the farm to sort out my perimeter fence. Hopefully she should stay where she is supposed to be now.
Little Minx. I have staggered the taller posts untill I can get enough to

Panic stations

My horse doesn't  sleep laying down very much and when she does she is usually up and awake as soon as I get to the the gate!
Today however she was laying flat out and as still as can be right until I was in the paddock with her I called her name twice before she responded and even then she had the look of a horse which had possibly had a stroke! Her ear was flicked inside out and her face was stiff and strange. It took a few minutes for her to regain some form of normality, talk about scaring me half to death!

BYE BYE ITCH

Today a friend recommended a product called Bye Bye Itch for Mouse' sweet itch it is another herbal product so, having tried so many I am a little dubious of it actually working! That said I will try anything to ease the distress my horse goes through almost continuously with her itchy mane and tail.  Price wise its not the most expensive product we have tried but adding the postage pushed it up by 1/4 !
I am hoping it doesnt stink the feed roim out like some of the other herbal stuff we have attempted although if it works I dont really care what it smells of.
Just have to wait for it to arrive now.

Horse Power

This morning I got up early and went to the stables but instead of feeding Mouse I decided to ride her first, it was another lovely day so after tacking up we went out, Mouse has decided that one of the houses in the village is scary, there is no dog or flashing lights or people behind hedges, but every time we get to this house she refuses to pass it without a song and dance, well, maybe just a lot of cajoling once past she is fine then on the way back we have the same rigmarole again!When I got home the husband took me out for lunch as its his day off, I had salmon and he had steak pie, once back home the dog decided she would help me dig over the veg plot then when the seedlings had been planted it was out for a blast on the bike. Totally filled day off. Perfic.

The first cut.

...is the deepest!

We had the lawn cut today for the first time this year, looking back this is the latest we have had the first cut. Its been so wet, parts of the garden were literally under water.
We have been promised a mini heatwave....
Well if it happens I hope it makes the grass at the stables grow and the ground dry up a bit, we have things which we want to move from the paddocks but its so boggy we can't get a vehicle across, not even my Landrover!
In the 7 weeks we have been at the new yard we have had, Frost, snow, torrential rain and brilliant sunshine! What season are we in again?

A shocking story part two

Alas, poor Mouse!
Well to bring you up to speed, its not only Mouses fur that is thick! Apparently its her hide too, even whilst wearing the rug she still managed to go through the electric so with this in mind and the fact that a whole yard belonging to some friends came available, We decided to move Mouse as well as another friend with her horses.
The fields have proper fences now and although I still have to put an electric strip round to stop her rubbing herself silly she can't escape every day.
My friends horses are in the adjoining paddocks so she has company all the time.
We also don't have a footpath right beside us which means we no longer get people telling us we are being cruel to her. Did I mention I had to get a new bigger girth for her as she is doing so badly (not) that she has put on weight this winter!

A shocking story Part 1

Once upon a time there was a horse called Mouse, she was a lovely hairy horse who lived in a big field next to lots of other horses, their  fields were separated by electric fences.
Mouse was a very fuzzy thick coated horse of Scottish and Welsh decent! (Highland/Welsh D) so when I say thick coated I mean THICK!
Now this lovely girl also suffered with a condition called sweetitch, she suffered so badly that she was unable to go into a stable at night because she would either knock it down or cause herself bad injuries where she rubbed so severely (even with a no fill rug on for protection).
Now along one side of her field there was a footpath where people strolled, jogged and walked their dogs, some people would see Mouse out in the field in the cold winter and tell her owner off because "That horse should have a shelter! A rug! A stable!"
The other problem that Mouses owner had was the fact that Mouse was also a Houdini horse, if Mouse was wearing a rug she had no respect for the electric fence as she could no longer feel it. Under she would go or more often than not through it she would go, to have a chat with the horses in the adjoining fields, and make them scratch her itchy mane and tail!
What was her owner to do!
Mouse didn't really need the rug, but her owner was fed up with people saying she was cruel leaving Mouse out in all weather's. (Native breeds of any creature will adapt to their surroundings)
Then one day whilst looking for some new feed buckets, Mouses owner found an advert for Guardian Equestrian they make a turnout rug which still allows the electric current to be felt by the horse if it tries to go over, under or through the fence!
 Well this was a breakthrough!
So Mouses owner decided to purchase a no fill rug with a neck cover that way Mouse wouldn't get too hot in a rug she did not need, People on the footpath might not tell her off and Mouse would remain in her field.
Next Friday is pay day...
Tune in for Part 2, coming soon!

BAYLEAF NEVILLE

This post is one I knew I would have to write but never wanted to!
Today, One of the Shire horses from the museum had to cross the rainbow bridge (Sorry I can't bring myself to write it any other way!)
He was 27 years old, he worked hard all his life but had a naughty / cheeky side which I adored. This boy was a big part of museum life, he was known by generations of museum visitors who would ask where he was if we were working a different horse.
Popular hard working and handsome.
Your work is done Big Boy, sleep well. XXX

Big Boy.

THE NAMES THE SAME BUT THE CONTENT WILL BE SUBTLY DIFFERENT!

So, our lives are about to change big time and here's how...
My husband will be changing from a full time fire fighter to a full time Priest! With this change comes a multitude of other changes,
* We will be moving house!
*I may have to move my horse!
*I will be either dropping my own work hours or giving up entirely!
*My husband wants my car, I will have to get another one!
We will have to move into a house provided by the parish that we move to, these range from regular sized houses to rather large rambling places, we could be in the middle of a town or city or in the heart of the country who knows, certainly not us at the moment! This also means we will be selling our present house!
Depending on how far away we end up I may have to move my horse from where she is stabled at the moment, this will also be difficult as I love being where we are.
Because of the possibility of a very long drive to work, the fact that I will need to play a part in my husbands work, and the fact that last year saw some very shocking events, I am dropping my shifts so that  I can spend more time at home and with my family.
My husband wants my car, I was going to sell it and get another anyway so in a way this has saved me the trouble of putting mine on the market.
Even with all the above I think the biggest worry I have is how far away I will be moving from my Mum, Daughters, Granddaughter and friends( The boys are already far flung meaning we don't see as much of them as we would like) so I hope we manage to stay at least within a two hour drive of them.
So this is the story  of my life right now. My Husband finishes in the Fire Service in June this year, so all of the above will be happening before then!
My Husband has to deal with all of the above plus the bonus of a new Parish, and he can't wait,
I am confident that the Bishop and his Arch Deacon are onto it, but as we don't know anything it makes it all just a teeny bit scary.

Five go off for a ride!

This morning as it was overcast it scuppered our original plans and we had to resort to plan "B".
Sadly the fifth member of the not so famous five was unable to come with us for this little excursion, so the dog stayed behind. After tacking up the Northern Chic and Blossom took turns to ride Mouse whilst Northern bird made sure they didn't fall off and I led the Mouse!
Once we got back we gave the mouse a hose down and shampoo. Randomly the overcast day turned into a very hot and sunny one even the kids were asking to be hosed when we hosed Mouse!

Marmite sanswiches

I thought I should post a few updates as there seem to be a few things going on at the moment.
Firstly Mouses Sweet Itch is getting better really quickly! Her mane is starting to grow back her rump looks better and the sores on her tail have healed. I am slavering her in baby bum cream every morning, spraying her with Avon SSS oil, and citronella spray twice a day, giving her Global Herbs Itch powder in her feed and one slice of Marmite sandwich a day! (Oh yes!).
Secondly one of my count downs is now at 8 days, This particular countdown is for the Northern Bird and the Northern Chick coming down to stay with us. Even if we live hundreds of miles away from each other as soon as we get together its as if we saw each other yesterday! That's what friendship is!
The other countdown is at 40 this one I still can't say much about except, next Wednesday all will be revealed.
I have just laughed out loud. Lets face it, who actually reads this?  And who of those who do, really care what is happening in 40 days, and then again, doesn't the one person who does read this already know whats going to happen in 40 days!

Sweet Itch!

Mouse has sweet itch! This, for the not so horse knowledgeable is an allergy to midgie saliva, poor Mouse was rubbing her mane and tail bald! to mention nothing of her back and bottom.
I was given lots of advice from fellow horse owners at the yard where I keep her, some sounded crazy others made sense. It turns out that even the crazy sounding things make sense if you dissect

the information, for instance, "Give her Marmite sandwiches!" Well vitamin B is required to help heal and the Midgies don't like it! Marmite is high in vitamin B. So as well as Marmite in her feed, she has daily baths and has thick white cream (Sudocreme) rubbed into her mane, tail and back. After two days she has already calmed down with the itching and the sore areas are no longer looking angry. I hope things are on the up for her!
Once the itching has calmed down she can come in for the evening and night which is when the little pests are at their worse, but until then she will continue the strict hose down and cream up.
(Please note the two images have been borrowed from the internet, they are not of Mouse, hers is no where near as bad as these luckily)

Mainly Mouse!

Today I got up earlier than I usually do at the week end, I wanted to go for a ride on Mouse before it got too hot!
Having groomed her and tacked up, I went for a ride round the block at a walk and slow trot so that she didn't get too hot! On the homeward stretch I let her walk in the river (forgetting we had borrowed HI VIS leg bandages from one of the girls at the yard). Once back the bandages were remarkably dry!! I hung them up in the ownerd stable to ensure they dried off properly and so that she would find them. Then set to work giving Mouse a bath, she has been so itchy with the dust and heat, I hosed her off totally including her face, she is so good about hoses and sprays, although she will still run away in the field if I try and hose her down.
Having let her back out into her field I tidied up the yard and had a cold drink before mucking out the field. When I had finished that I noticed a bee in her water, I put my hand in to rescue it and found the water to be really warm. Ahh well I had nothing else to do, so I emptied all the water and re filled it, I know it will only get warm again but hopefully it should be a bit cooler for a while. Before leaving for the morning I sprayed her with fly repellent (for what its worth!) And left her to graze.

Un Happy Feet!

This morning I left for work at the usual time, but instead of going into the department I work in, I went instead to the clinical training rooms, where I was to have a phlebotomy course.
There were fifteen of us all from different departments in the hospital. The course was really well run, we had plenty of time to ask questions, the instructor was fun and approachable and we got the job done. (And not a flea in sight!)
We gave up our breaks in favour of finishing early and getting out into the sunshine, which meant I was able to get home and see my husband before he leaves for his night shift this evening.
Mouse was supposed to have her feet done this evening, but my farrier managed to give me the wrong date, he's coming tomorrow! Doh!

Time to Celebrate.

After last week being so awful with Losing The Big Bird, having to move Mouse, and all the trouble at work,   this week is panning out quite nicely, thank you very much!
Mouse has settled very quickly into her new field, she has two handsome stable mates in the adjoining field and water on tap! I have lost 4.5 lb in my first week proper of dieting, and to top it all off I had some fantastic news this morning, which I will share on here shortly but not today.
Let it be said I am one very happy bunny. Things are on the up!!