A hint of spring is in the air ... for the first time in months the rugs have come off. The boys did much sniffing of each other when we turned them out as usual. All the weeks before they could not really examine one another without the rugs being in the way.
They mainly sniffed each others bellies but also the rear ends. I always forget to to take photographs of these moments. Never mind. In summer when they are in the field at the top again I will have time to sit in the grass and observe them like I did when 'Polly' and 'Mr F' where turned out together last year.
There isn't a great deal of grass in their field so we do help them out with haylage if they want it. After I had finished with mucking out 'Mr F's stable I go and tidy up their field. I scrape together all the loose haylage and pick up those pits that have been trodden on repeatedly and take them to the muck heap. We want to keep the fields clean. Leaving piles of unused haylage will just make a mess when harrowing.
'Mr F' sees me and meanders down to check out what I do while the youngsters are quibbling in the background. Usually it's 'Rookie' who is pestering 'Zac'.
It's not quite as mild as yesterday but at least it will be dry. I was waiting for a day or two where I can let 'Mr F'out without rug. He takes great satisfaction of rolling in the mud and that is exactly what I want him to do so I can get more of his winter coat out when grooming later.
I watch them for a little while and then drive off to a spot I had discovered some weeks ago where I park the car and sit to finally catch up with writing for this blog and other things. Apart from the odd walkers that also park there cars there, its a undisturbed spot, totally quiet and peaceful with a pleasant views over the hills. And I have full 4G coverage so I can do my work online. The hours fly by and soon its time to return to 'Hill Farm'. The barefoot trimmer lady is due this afternoon and I do really want to see what she makes of the improvement of his left hind hoof.
As I return the boys are still all contently grazing and I make myself a cup of tea first. 'Jackie' is also here, looking after her sheep, it is lambing season. Although this year they are all somewhat slow and delayed. Only half of the sheep have given birth within the past two weeks. Some days ago I helped 'Jackie' removing a dead lamp from a sheep's womb. Luckily it wasn't decaying so the entire dead body could be pulled out without leaving anything behind. Today she had a sheep giving birth to triplets (she had one with 4 lamps last week!) one of which was thought to be dead at first sight. Then 'Jackie' realised it was alive still but extremely week. The mother had already rejected it. 'Jackie' had in the past managed to rescue quite a few of these tiny and weak creatures with success. This one however did not make it and died this afternoon.
It was time to go and fetch 'Mr F'. No doubt he would be filthy! As soon as he saw me enter the field he came to say hello. And indeed ... he was caked in mud which had luckily dried by now. I couldn't present him to the barefoot trimmer lady in this state.
I was pleased to see that 'Mr F' wasn't having expressions of discomfort or pain on his face while walking downhill on the muddy ground. In fact he did it quite smoothly. He certainly seems to be feeling much better compared to the previous months.
It was time for some more solo stable time. He followed willingly all the way to his stable without demanding to go for a walk to get some grass. I guess he remembered that anywhere I took him, not much grass was growing yet. Today he was very calm (for his standards) once just the two of us where in his stable. While he was feeling out of sorts he was much more worried about having stable companions. I am glad I bought some rubber grooming gloves ('hands on') which allow to follow the body's contours. 'Mr F' creates a little less fuss when I use these compared to the old rubber curry comb. It took me well over 40 minutes getting off all the mud and loose hair. Mind you I can do that for hours, it's very relaxing, despite of 'Mr F' making great fuss about it. He remained mostly calm for over an hour. Then I went to give 'Jackie' a hand getting her youngsters in. 'Rookie' has the naughty habit of biting 'Zac's rear when 'Zac' is being led, making him unruly and wanting to escape.
'Mr F' suddenly realised I wasn't in the stable with him and threw a hissy fit. Well, he is fiery and if things don't suit him he will make it known immediately, with great drama. Which can appear daunting to those that don't know his character. But he also calms down just as quickly if the situation is rectified or a compromise has been reached. In fact he is quite happy to have a good, hearty 'discussion' and then accept an in-between solution. I have noticed many times that if I back down, which I did for quite a while, especially at the very start many years ago because I didn't know how to handle any horse, let alone one like 'Mr F'. He is almost disappointed or expresses disapproval if I back down and really seeks an equal partner in a human, if he has to have human interaction. Over the years, our scales are more or less balanced.
The barefoot trimmer lady was delayed by quite a bit, she did text me to let me know. Just a well as it took me some more time to clean his legs and hooves.
She was very pleased with the improvements in that left hind leg and she said it was a huge change for the better, compared to her last visit. I am glad I made the effort of keeping his hoof wrapped and protected in a hoof boot for those 3 weeks in February. The hoof has become stable again, there is no longer any movement but there are still some clefts and I have to keep an eye on those, especially once they are on 24/7 turn out.
While I was waiting for the barefoot trimmer lady, I watched the last remaining 'wild' chicken climb on top of the chicken hut. It refuses to go in, and I can't blame it as the cockerel doesn't very much like it and chases it around during day time. I do think she would like to go in though ... lets hope she stays high up somehwere over night. The other 3 of this wild group have been had by the fox in that freezing cold and snowy week.
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