4th August, 2016 Jemima Calling!

Hi, it's Jemima here, reporting on my two weeks work experience with Sarah - seriously I haven't squished her, in fact she is doing the typing. I came because I wanted to learn techniques for calming and restraining horses undergoing veterinary treatment and I thought I would benefit from the experience of thinking like a horse.

This is what a healthy horse's stomach looks like. No signs of ulceration. This shows the squamous and non-squamous sections of the stomach, with a pool of acid at the bottom.

And a healthy pylorus section: the exit of the stomach

To start the day, today, we went to see Honey and we had the vet out to check her for gastric ulcers. Luckily there weren't any but it does mean that Sandra is still investigating the problem and she is going to start looking to see if it relates to hormonal problems or problems with Honey's ovaries.

Sarah: This is what the Verderers' Court looks like in session.

Next stop, we went to see the Verderers to get some collars for Nelly, Blue and Pie (who is very cute). We met loads of nice people who Sarah knew and talked about Grass Sickness with Sam which we learned a lot about. We put our heads round the door of the Verderers' Court which was grand but being restored so we couldn't go all the way in.

After that we went to the a feed and tack shop to collect barley rings and pony nuts which she will be using with Magic tomorrow. We met a really cool statue wearing sunglasses. Perhaps he had uveitis! We also went to the garage to pick up ginger nuts for Henrietta!

We went the scenic route back to Fritham...

Back up at the farm, Henry was sound! So everybody was really happy. We poo-picked and then we took Henrietta and Jack out for a walk in the Forest. I was in charge of Jack but we didn't get lost or bitten by a snake.

I have really enjoyed my two weeks (she told me to say that!) because I have learned lots and lots and I feel that if I have this knowledge it will really benefit me for when I become a vet. In particular I have learned about clicker and how it can be used in so many situations, pressure and release, and about breathing and thinking about the situation and then thinking how can we do this without stressing the horse further. I have learned loads of techniques for getting a horse on a trailer which will be really useful if I was called out to a horse that needed to go to a veterinary hospital in a trailer or horsebox.

"It has been a real pleasure to have Jemima working with me. She has a deep and genuine interest in horses and some real experience behind her from having her own at home and competing regularly. Rather like Zoe and Zelda, the ponies, there is no 'no' in her and she has been a real help, as well as being reliable and safe around the place. Considering that she is just 13, she's amazing." Sarah x