It was a goodbye to the RAF and Army cadets yesterday who will be leaving the farm early this morning in order to avoid a clash of 100 parents at the school gate as another load of students come back from a skiing trip. I wonder which lot will be the most tired. Ours have walked miles and miles, learning how to orient themselves in open countryside. They received their silver or bronze awards yesterday evening and tucked into fish and chips as a treat!
Inevitably the constant footfall to and in the main tent caused the already wet field to get very muddy, but it's good to see teenagers who are not afraid of a bit of dirt, and always great to have a helping hand with the horses when they have an hour or two free. Yesterday I gave Rachel the honour of letting the horses into the first summer field (which will no doubt get wrecked because it is so wet).
Theoden took a little while to realise that the others were not waiting for hay alongside him, although we will still be giving them some every day in the new field.
Theoden still doesn't look right despite being fed ad-lib hay all winter and a considerable amount of feed. I am still not convinced that he had laminitis last summer and wish I hadn't put him on a laminitis regime at the time. This horse has thrived on grass all his life and never had a problem before. Let's hope he picks up over this summer.
