This blog is migrating and getting a name change

In process of migrating to WordPress as there are more options available. It will also be renamed, as silly me wanting to have a play with words hadn't realised (having German as mother tongue) the rather welting meaning of 'Withering' ... to me it was a play on 'Withers' ... a part of the horse ...

Well, one can but laugh at oneself.

The new title is 'Rekindling the Fire'. There is a little play of words in there but only as much as it is related to parts of the main character's name.

You'll find us here ... but I haven't had time to update with recent events.

http://rekindlingthefire.co.uk/

See you there, be patient.  Thank you.

Smally Furry Observations

And so little 'Bella' seems to get used to the new routines. She travels extremely well in the car, is totally calm and remains in one spot, mostly seated.

As I am typing this I am enjoying being indoors on my day(s) off. Haven't been able to do that peacefully and undisturbed in years. Sometimes I wonder how people can live with others ... 

Anyway, I am paying some forest sounds ... meditative sounds which immediately clear my thoughts with regards to typing, making my output very focused rather than all over the place.

It's a bit like playing darts after 2 pints ... that balance of drink and concentration worked best for me, stopping all the thoughts, ideas etc in my head leaving it calm and focused, to the point, hence improving my aiming ability. :)

'Bella' too seems to benefit from the music, she lies next to me on the sofa very relaxed, every now and then flinching her eyes depending on the sound my fingers make on the keyboard.  Every now and then she raises her head staring at the wall in a almost meditative stare.

How we ('Bella' and I) spend the evenings and days off when it rains, in between walks ...

This brings me back to my question: are animals (the non-human animals) spiritual? Do they meditate? I always had a feeling that 'Luke' (mentioned in this blog in the beginning years) was a very spiritual horse. He seemed to be mostly far away, often standing under the same tree, staring seemingly into nothing. 'Lillian' ('Luke' was her horse)
.

In any case, music/sound influenced or not, here a very chilled out 'Bella' ... 

we did get lost earlier on our walk and it turned out quite a bit longer than expected ...

'Bella' is an extremely observant and sensitive dog. More so than any other I have met / had. When walking, it is like walking a feather. She reacts to the slightest pull on the lead. The extendable lead she has got seems almost too powerful, I might go and see if I find one more light weight. She keeps getting confused at times, thinking I am pulling her on the lead when I don't. 'Bella' is very much one for closeness. If I am in the kitchen, she is there too. If I am on the sofa, she is right next to me. My guess is that she probably feels a little insecure, having to be in HER home with a more or less strange person. We had only met a couple of times before some time back in summer.

Today is the first day where she is more boisterous and uses her chew 'thing' (looks like a lump of bone but it isn't.) 'Bella' also is beginning to train me ... you know, the thing dogs do to whomever is 'their' human. She has figured that if she paws me long enough while I am typing, I will without a doubt stop as her keyboard input doesn't return the wanted results. Or she sits on the ottoman, like the sphinx, watching me intently.

 ... 'I will stare at you until you get up and come for a walk, human' ... 

In the morning first thing she comes with me to see to 'Mr F' . It's dark at 6am so I take her for a quick walk around grass verges near the yard so she can do her most important business. I then sort out 'Mr F', mucking out, feeding etc so he is set for the day. Meanwhile 'Bella' waits patiently in the car which I have parked so that she can see what goes on out there. After 'Mr F' is all set and turned out it is more or less daylight and I take 'Bella' for a long-ish walk. She then patiently waits in the car, parked so that she can see me and the horses. Once all done I drop her off back home and go to work. Although it's all perfectly timed: the festive days fall on weekdays so there is hardly any work on for a week. Again a first in years .... I feel so spoilt!

Reading the same book

Seems like 'Mr F' are back on the same page or at least back reading in the same book.

As I drive up to 'Farm hill' the next morning, I can see him grazing in the field with the others. In fact they are all quite evenly spread out in the field. On previous days he was hiding in the shelter. Mind you, on his first few days of being turned out it was hot  for April and already there were plenty of flies. 'Mr F' doesn't do flies ... at all.

He also could have a bit of a grass overdose although it's not a lush field. The downside of him currently not showing much interest in his food (he never did during the first week of full turnout) means I cannot feed him any help for his digestive system. I may have to resort to the syringe but am trying not to. It's going to be a cold week ahead. Let's see if that changes things.

Today 'Mr F' is certainly more upbeat about things.

I go get his feed in the hope he might at last eat it. It's not much, just a bit of a mash with his TB (Thunderbrook) base-mix. He comes willingly out of the field. I simply open the gate without even putting on his head-collar. It is highly unlikely for him  to go anywhere other than his food bucket. At last he eats it.

Once the morning routine is completed, all three go and lie down. 'Rookie' already flat out, 'Zac' joins at a bit of a distance. 'Zac' now very clearly 'above' 'Rookie' in terms of pecking order. 'Mr F' hovers around where I am for a while then goes and joins the others, picking a space very near 'Zac' to lie down.

I go and put the food bucket and other bits away (tackroom is on first level). As I come back after 15 minutes, 'Mr F' too is flat out on his side, sleeping. Not a care in the world.

'Zac' meanwhile looks grumpy a lot. I find that he is right now very desperately trying to find some kind of connection with something. He follows 'Mr F' a lot and stays near him. But he also watches me VERY closely and hovers around us at all times and studies everything we do. And I am only too aware of this. Very early on I realised that they learn something from us, desired or not, each time we are with them. 

I  need to leave for work.

As I return in the mid/late afternoon I again am pleased to see all three grazing the field at the very top.

There is no point in calling for 'Mr f' to come down. Why should he when he is having a simply wonderful time up there? 

I slowly walk up the field, examining the various heaps of poo on the way up, making note for tomorrow's poo picking exercise. Some poo is quite runny and right now it's hard to tell which who's horse's business it is. 

'Mr F' willingly lets me put on his head collar (no more running off) and follows me down the hill, 'Zac' close behind us, 'Rookie' galloping behind us with the odd stop for grass but never overtaking.

We spend some time out on the verge along the drive. Of course he now is not any longer desperate for grass and just picks some of the herbs that he hasn't got in the field. As we get halfway down the drive he begins to show more interest in his surroundings.  And as we approach the end of it, at the crossing onto a country lane, he wants to continue. He always does really. He also steps out much better now that his interest is up. OK. He may have some level of discomfort somewhere in his body / hinds but he wants to go and explore. He is BORED.

It's time to get a new pair of hoof boots, regardless of the size of my wallet. There was a pair of 2nd hand ones on eBay, exactly the size we needed. They shall be ours by the end of the day. The old set is too big now, but they are useful for turning out with a poultice. 

As we wander back, he looks at me quite often as we stand still. The expression in his eye becomes warm again, the muscles around the eyes are soft and wrinkly again rather than wide open or tense. His lower lip is floppy. It appears that he is satisfied that I got the message. In fact he can read me better than any other living being.

As we return I see 'Jake' is already in for the night so I take this as an opportune moment to begin with our solo stable training. 'Mr f' knows 'Jake', they spent the past weeks in the barn together, with 'Zac' in the middle.

'Mr f', seeing 'Jake' willingly follows into the stable. He looks intently at the middle stable where 'Zac' used to be, now empty.

He fidgets around a bit as I leave to make some tea and to get some feed and grooming mits.

I know he likes being in a stable, but he wants it done his way, with his mates next to him. Well I am afraid he cannot have that. His mates are not my horses. His mates are now going to be out till Autumn.

So 'Mr f' has to learn to be in the stable without mates. There are other horses around. Most are still coming in at night even now. Most others also are on restricted grazing. I groom 'Mr f' and every now and then leave the stable for a bit, chatting to other horse owners there. One has purchase a filly and it arrived today. 

A new voice to get used to (yet already loud), joining the others in their chorus of 'Where are you' - 'I'm here!'. 'Zac' is still shouting for 'Mr F' who now becomes fairly agitated upon not being with the others.

But he doesn't fidget about all that much. We do all our physio exercises including the carrot stretches. He is certainly more sore on one side. It all began with the first day turnout. He must have overdone it a little. I am glad they have a big shelter which also protects them from the wind to some extent (Yorkshire boarding).

 Although it being no longer hot like the past week, they all now spend time outside. It's going to be a very cold week ahead especially at night and I am aiming to be able to bring 'Mr f' in every now and then especially if there is a lot of rain.

We spend some 40 minutes in the stable, 'Jake' at the far side. 'Mr F' is becoming more relaxed and looks almost sleepy. This is a good moment to get him out. He has learnt he can be there without his mate and just one other horse. He also realises again that the stable even though also outside basically,  is yet still more comfortable than the field shelter. 

I didn't want to spoil the pleasant time we spent together. There was the possibility of  'Jake's owner coming and taking 'Jake' out work. 'Mr F' wouldn't cope well with that. As I have seen him fall inside the stable when he fractures his hip, it's just not something I want to happen again. I am wanting to keep him as calm as it's safe for him. I don't mind him circling for a little while or calling for the others but trying to beach himself on the partition as he had nearly done so is a no-no.

Communication breakdown - "All work and no play makes 'Mr F' a dull (and sore) boy"

For the past couple of days, 'Mr F' has been grumpy and somewhat dull. He clearly also was rather sore. At first I thought it might be his hooves, I have taken him out on short walks on the tarmac drive a fair amount. The barefoot trimmer had pointed out to me that there had been some abrasion to his hooves because of it. This was particularly encouraged by coming out of a wet field right before the walk without hoof boots. The hoof is still wet and therefore softer and more susceptible to abrasion.

I am in progress of getting a fresh set of hoof boots for 'Mr F'. We always used to go out with hoof boots. 

2 days ago 'Mr F' suddenly started playing his 'catch-me-if-you-can' game as soon as he sees me enter the field with the head-collar. He doesn't just run off, oh no.  He makes sure that the other horses come with him too by trying to group them up and herding them away from me because he doesn't want to 'escape' on his own. This in turn confuses the other horses, in this case the youngsters. They look at me puzzled and worried and clearly realise that it is my appearance that triggers this reaction from 'Mr F' yet they don't understand why he suddenly sees me as a 'disturbance'. I am always aware that whatever I do in the field affects all horses present. I am fond of them all and treat them as I would like mine to be treated if handled by another person. I am always trying to make things as clear and simple as possible so that they understand.

Seeing that 'Mr F' isn't having any of it and stomps around getting more frustrated I drop the head-collar with attached lead-rope. I do not want to confuse the youngsters any further, they wanted to come and say hello but 'Mr F' didn't let them as he wanted to herd them away from me. There have been a few occasions in the past where he displayed this behaviour and it is always a clear message aimed at me: "You are not fetching me because you are not listening to what I am telling you."

I have clearly overstretched it again. Too many repeat exercises making him not only sore (bearing in mind that the exercises are addressing muscles he hasn't been using properly) but also bored. Coming out with me was no longer fun for him and he was also not feeling comfortable with his body. That was his message and I had better listen!

Having dropped the head collar and lead rope I sit on the ground in the field and let things be. 'Mr F' comes to me eyeing me up and then walks off. The youngsters too come to say hello and are calm again. After a little while I get up and fetch 'Mr F's feed. He shows little interest in it but that is not unusual. It's a new field with plenty of grass (compared with their winter field the had just left a few days ago) and other food was no longer interesting.  This will change after a week when the grass becomes 'boring' and the best blades have been eaten.

The following day 'Mr F' lets me put on the head collar but I can't move him anywhere. We've been here before. (see here - catch me if you can!) I have learnt my lesson, it's best to leave him alone for a day or two.

The next morning 'Mr F' looks like standing death. I have seen that before too. He showed hardly any interest in his feed (I only made up a very small portion to test). Very clearly, he is bored and in discomfort. After months of being in at night from approx. 4pm till 7am (average 15 hours indoors) he is now out 24/7. That is an extra 15 hours of moving, even if it is just grazing. But it's on a slope. And on top of that he has had physio, I did the exercises and overdid them certainly by doing them every day. It is impossible to tell just how the fractured him has healed up but it clearly was still easily aggravated. Not going to put him on bute again, last time he went very dull and it didn't make a difference in his mobility. In fact he was too dull to be bothered to move.

I have to prove to 'Mr f' that I am listening to his message. If I get him to come down to the bottom level (we are on the third level) were the main yard is we can go for a stroll along the drive. He enjoys going out.

He let me put on his head collar this time and quite happily followed me out of the field. But he refused to go downhill. No chance to make 550kg of meat move by just pulling. Shouting at the horse is no use, especially not 'Mr F'. He cannot stand loud angry voices, he goes into distant mode and you might as well talk to a wall. To him, any kind of emotion is unpredictable behaviour and he doesn't see that as secure. That much I have learnt over the years.

At this moment 'Jackie' came to feed her boys ('Rookie' and 'Zac'). When they had finished I asked her if she could give 'Mr f's bottom a few smacks as soon as I ask him to move and he doesn't. I didn't have a wip or I would have used that for encouragement. Although I don't like doing it but sometimes, and its quite rare, I have to revert to this method of phases. I knew he wouldn't kick out, he is not that kind of horse. 

It took several smacks before he finally gave in and decided that it might be more pleasant for us all if he would get moving.

I wanted to get him to come with me to go and eat some grass along the drive, like we used to. I wanted him to understand that my appearance doesn't always mean work. Which of course it had over the past 3-4 days, especially when in discomfort. That's enough to 'Mr F' fed up even more so as he has now a nice field together with his young mates.

Eventually 'Mr F'  followed me willingly albeit with a concerned expression. I stayed out with him until he was in a better frame of mind.

There is no point doing anything with the horse if it isn't in a good frame of mind. It just won't work.

We walk along the drive for a while but 'Mr f' does a fair bit of neighing and replying to 'Zac's calls. 'Zac' doesn't like it at all when 'Mr F' leaves. It is rare that 'Mr f' calls out for any horses, very rare. It's always a sign that he isn't content / secure / comfortable. He either doesn't trust me right now (seeing me loose my temper, he cannot cope with that, and why should he) or he is in a fair amount of discomfort. Most likely both. We stay out long enough for 'Mr f' to settle down before we slowly make our way back. He is in no hurry to go back really. But more surprisingly:  he is not at all  keen to go back into his field, as I assumed he would be.

'What do you want?'  I wonder .... 

'Rookie' being gelded

Quick note:

'Rookie' was gelded today.  To help him recover calmly, 'Mr F' and 'Zac' were in the stabels next to him at daytime and in late afternoon 'Jake' will come in and take over while 'Mr f' and 'Zac' can go out.

'Mr F' still sore, too sore to do pole work. He will be getting used to moving around quite a bit more now they are turned out 24/7 in a bigger field than what they had for winter. And there is probably a fair bit of running around going on too.

Back to 24/7 Turnout - Back to field studies at last - a sore 'Mr F'

I have been waiting for the this time of the year; the days are longer again and the temperatures fairly pleasant already. Welcomed are the days of sitting in the field with the boys and observing, I enjoy doing this most. The boys have had time to get used to me over the winter months while I was hanging out in 'Mr F's stable doing whatever maintenance needed doing. The youngsters, especially 'Zac', watched us with great interest. The weather wasn't inviting to hang about with them in their field in winter, nor was the location 'private as it could be seen from the yard. Their new field however is at the very top of the hillside, beautiful far-reaching views and away from the 'hustle and bustle' in the yard. It will be months ahead of blissful field studies, including my insect photography.

The boys are going to be on full turnout from now on.  Their field also has a large field shelter. I know that 'Mr F' very much appreciates being able to go in and out of some form of shelter to get away from rain / heat / cold / flies / wind. 

We took the boys up to their new field in the early morning. The youngsters hadn't been up there before but 'Mr F' spent all of summer and beginning of autumn up there with 'Polly'. 

As usual, I was a fair bit apprehensive, hoping that they wouldn't charge about too much as I was still concerned about 'Mr F' injuring himself again. The youngsters did run around a little and 'Mr F' joined for a while but then the call off the grass is stronger than their urge to rid of energy. They have had access to grass every day during turnout so it won't be all that much of a shock to the system. 

The shelter of course has to be explored and is immediately accepted by all three ...

All three accepting the field shelter straight away, 'Mr F' already making use of the shadow ...

... which goes to proof that I was right when I said that it was 'Polly' that stopped 'Mr F' from accessing the field shelter in the other field last year. (see this post) She wouldn't go near it most days, especially when it was windy.   'Mr F' however went straight inside but as soon as she spooked and dashed off, he followed her in frustration because  he didn't want to be alone and he also was running short on patience for her being so flighty. 'Mr F' likes calm, peaceful field mates and doesn't settle well with the dizzyhead-types such as 'Rose' (the other TB ex-racer that arrived with him all those years back).  

Much of the calmness in the shelter is thanks to 'Zac', who takes most things in his stride. 'Rookie' is a little less sure but seeing that the other 'big' guys are in there, he deems it reasonably safe.

Having a field shelter and knowing that they will make use of it makes thinking about rugs simple. He does have a summer rug which I put on if temperatures are below 10 degrees at night IF there is also strong winds and rain. Dry nights are fine. .

'Zac' and in the background 'Mr F' with his summer rug as described above

Later in the afternoon I return from work and take 'Mr F' out for some body work. He is NOT happy about coming out. 'Zac' isn't happy either and does a lot of neighing and running around as he sees 'Mr F' leave the field. Meanwhile 'Jake' who had been used to the boys' company when they had come in at about 3-4pm  was neighing too as he sees me walk past with 'Mr F'.  The air was filled with their calls. I recognise them all by the sound of their neigh and it's a bit like a telegraph message starting with 'Zac', going to the girls and finally reaching 'Jake' in the stable all of which are replied to by 'Mr F'.

We do some work in the indoors school and despite not being pleased at all, 'Mr F' does what I ask him to do. 

I however notice that he seems rather sore and I can see in his eyes and facial expression that he is not comfortable at all. 

My guess is that 

a) They have been running around quite a bit in that new field after I had left for work. 'Mr F' most likely joined it for parts of it. It'll settle.
b) I have overdone the exercises prescribed by the physio. Not listening to the horse again, being too keen ... one day I will learn ... 

Well, the new 24//7 turnout will give his body plenty to do over the next week or two. The gentle slope will make him move up and downhill which will all be good exercise. Carrot and limb stretches will suffice for a bit until his is a little more comfortable.

'Anne' the ACPAT Vetenary Physio - Start of body work programme

'Anne' came today to assess 'Mr F's body fitness. She is an ACPAT registered Veterinary Physiotherapist and was mentioned to me by 'Jackie' who attended a speech held by her in the local Vet's practise. (mentioned in previous post). 'Anne' requested to have the Vet's consent prior to starting a physio programme. 'Suzie' (our vet) very helpfully supplied 'Anne' with all information about 'Mr F's condition / injury.

As I mentioned in the previous post; I would have preferred Neil to come and treat 'Mr F' but he is just too far away to fit in a single trip in a hurry.

However, I was very pleasantly surprised by 'Anne', she is a calm and caring lady and she listens to what the horse has to say while she treats it. I also appreciated her ability of explaining things in an easy to understand manner.

First off 'Anne' had to get an idea of 'Mr F' mobility. We went into the indoor school and after some warming up circle walking, we did some pole work in large circles.

I have never worked with a physio before so I was keen on learning which exercises will be good for us and how I can help 'Mr F' to tune his muscles in the needed places. 

What I aim to achieve with the physio treatment is to help 'Mr F' getting his body into shape so that he carries himself better. Which in turn should offer him more comfort as he grows older.

'Anne' was impressed by 'Mr F's ability to do the pole work without hitting them. 'Mr F' and I have done pole work for some months but not very often.

She said that if I was wanting to ride him again, we would have to very much work on his back muscles. He's always had a rather strong sway back, more so of course after the injury and following months of recovery in which he did very little exercise.

I have been given instructions for carrot stretches, limb exercises and pole work. 'Anne' said walking uphill would also be good for 'Mr F' (just what I thought in the previous year when he and 'Polly' went into the top fields).

Next appointment is arranged in a few weeks, giving me enough time to begin doing my part of 'Mr F's body rebuilding programme. And this time I have enough information to more or less know what I am doing (or supposed to do).