13th October, 2016 The Regular Commute

Henrietta seems to have registered the fact that getting into the trailer brings a double reward of food and going into the inclosure. She was very eager to go in this morning. We had a very enjoyable walk exploring some of the depths of the woodland and contemplating the fact that in years gone past, Henry VIII would have ordered the timber cleared in order to build his ships.

Just time for a fond farewell on the platform before it was time for the off again.

Living into the countryside isn't without it's troubles with street-fighting always around the corner.

We don't often get carol singers, charity collections or MORI pollsters down our track but today I was asked to complete a diary of my radio listening habits by the man who turns out to be the father of the sculptor of the fantastic War Horse Memorial in Romsey. Her work can be found at Amy Goodman

13th October, 2016 Ngahere

A well deserved day off taking my friends Virginia and Bill around the Forest. They are over, or should that be under, from New Zealand, and it felt like a reunion even though we have never met before. Virginia has been reading this blog for a number of years...and it turns out that Bill is a law lecturer and knows some of the lecturers that I had at Manchester University over 30 years ago.

We visited Boldre church which is very light and inviting...

...and Hatchet pond where the donkeys are always pleased to see you.

Lunch at Buckler's Hard with some history thrown in...Henry VIII launched his ships from here and the New Forest inclosures were the source of all the timber.

A red deer stag en route...

...and we bumped into Robert Maton marking pony tails, who despite probably not wanting to be a tourist attraction was quite pleased when I distracted a pony in his trailer that was intent on kicking another one.

Finally Tracey spotted my ponies in the distance above Howen Bottom and so with my best yell I called them across and rewarded them with David's secret stash of cereal bars.

11th October, 2016 The Girl on The Train

With so many animals out on the Forest who might whisk Henrietta way, and her being inclined to go walkabout on her way back to the field, we needed to find out if she was prepared to be The Girl on The Train.

She loaded easily enough and was fine with the gates closed but not all that impressed to be on the move.

She may have enjoyed her walk around the inclosure but Tracey and I spent most of our time speculating as to whether she would get back on the trailer to come back again.

Tracey reminded me that she hasn't actually been out for a walk with Henrietta yet despite the fact that we have been out quite a lot...

With Jack waving goodbye at the train station it was a relief when she loaded almost immediately. She is so light that my car can easily pull her and the trailer the short distance from the fields across the open forest to the inclosure.

The good news is that despite his various symptoms, Mars does not have gastric ulcers. In fact his stomach was perfect. Nenad made some very interesting comments about diagnostics, comparing it to opening a book and picking out the relevant chapters. He said he no longer predicts the outcome of gastroscopies based on the list of symptoms because sometimes fat horses, living out full time will have them whereas thinner horses, kept in full time might not. Having said that, with the list that Flo gave him he felt that a gastroscopy was fully justified. We now have permission to  "crack on" with Mars' training although cracking is not something we intend to do. With his teeth checked for recent changes, and the physio coming out again next week, we can quietly get on with working him.

He loaded very nicely to come home aided by the fact that the lorry ramp could be supported on The Barn's loading ramp which dramatically reduces the incline into the lorry. The angle of the ramp has a lot to do with the reluctance of some horses to load.

10th October, 2016 Arizona Desert

This morning it was off to see the camels again. I am in heaven when I am with them. They are both so affectionate and just a camel shaped parcel of emotions. I rode ex-polo pony, Arizona, who was so quiet that I could carry my big camera whilst on board.

I always like to earn my keep so helped out by feeding the pigs, poo-picking the camels, mucking out a bit, and levelling the school. I also helped Charlotte to find a way to catch her lovely Thoroughbred, Whizz, who sometimes says that the grass is far nicer than coming in for the morning.

Mars has an urgent appointment at the vets to see if he has gastric ulcers. I was asked to be there to help load him. As he arrived in a trailer and we don't know whether he has ever travelled in a horsebox, I had some doubts as to whether he would load straight away so fortunately took my panels with me.

When he wouldn't go in we moved to a grassy area and put the panels up rather than miss his arrival slot at the vets. Better that than someone try to be helpful with more forceful methods of loading.

9th October, 2016 The Gold Standard

With Théoden 99% sound due to the steroid injection in his coffin joint, which suffused into the surrounding area, I was torn about going ahead with his MRI. What with the travelling and the potential cost to either me or the insurance company (who wouldn't commit to paying for it), I wondered if it was worth it or necessary. Since ultimately I can afford it (this counts as one of those 'rainy days') and because I wanted to know if there was a definite cause for his lameness, I decided to go ahead. Moreover, Martin Peaty, the lameness specialist vet at The Barn described the MRI scan as the Gold Standard for diagnostics and so it has proved.

Put simply, the MRI scan showed that Théoden has 'bruising' to his navicular bone.

The next step for Théoden is to have "an infusion of a bisphosphonate such as Tildren®, and the efficacy of this treatment may be enhanced by the administration of one third of the dose by intravenous regional perfusion to the right fore distal limb." which will be followed by a period of six months' field rest. Only then will I make a decision as to how best to support him whilst being ridden.

I was particularly impressed that Donnington Grove vets had emailed this report to me even before I picked Théoden up yesterday evening and that Martin rang me at 6 p.n. on a Saturday to discuss it.

8th October, 2016 Life on Mars

Sometimes Mars takes us by surprise by being frightened of something unexpected, such as this new numnah that we were trying out today. I used good old touch and move away (advance and retreat) to show him that it was nothing to be afraid of, making sure I went on both sides of his body, before placing it on his back.

What should really surprise us is just how calm he is about things like traffic (a huge tractor behind a hedge), wild ponies, and the donkeys all of which we came across when we long reined him out for the first time. He seems to enjoy being out and about.

Back at his own fields we worked on his napping behaviour under saddle. You can see from the second picture that when he is asked to go forward with even the lightest pressure off the leg, he registers an objection (swish of the tail) and has been known to buck even in walk. We are working using the hand rather than the feet, taking the rein to the rider's thigh to ask him to move his feet.

I first worked with Bliss eighteen months ago and with only one session she has continued to load at home and away ever since. However two recent incidents seem to have taken her back to square one and made her even more adamant that she is not going to load. Horses have to learn from just one event in order to survive and she was clearly frightened of loading - not only did she rear rather dramatically but she passed a lot of loose droppings.

To undermine this pattern we put the panels in place and she was soon walking in and out of the trailer and starting to relax a lot more. This time we have booked another session so that we can continue to make progress and so that I can teach her new loaners what they need to do.

Throughout the session we were watched by this sweet little hinny (donkey Mum, pony Dad), Petal.

7th October, 2016 The Newbury Thing*

Up before dawn and home after dark taking Théoden up to Newbury to Donnington Grove Vets for an MRI scan to see if we can get to the bottom of his current lameness. Fortunately the steroids have certainly taken the edge off his pain.

I have spent most of the day distracting myself from what the problem might be and whether it is a temporary acute problem or a long term or even terminal problem. Owners are not allowed to stay with the horses and although the staff were delightful to talk to I was concerned when I saw armfuls of Chifney bits hanging from every hook. I was told that Chifneys had to be used for 'insurance reasons' and whilst I understand that no-one wants to play with a fractious racehorse, I didn't want one used on Théoden. Fortunately I was able to get him dispensation no doubt helped by the fact that he followed me down the ramp like a lamb.

Needing something reasonable to wear for a meal out with friends next week, David and I spent the morning shopping in Newbury town centre which was incredibly quiet, then met Kelly (Marks) for lunch, before going on a very long walk from Woodspeen around Selsmoor Common. Apparently there are Exmoor ponies grazing the common but we didn't see them.

The outcome at any rate is that Théoden has the start of degeneration in his navicular bone and I will be giving some careful thought about how best to treat him. I have no doubt that I will be given strong advise from the vet and from advocates of barefoot but he will be starting with a substantial period of rest in any event.  He hasn't had a hard working life, having only been started at the age of eight and now only fifteen.

*The title refers to my belief that the second line of Papa's Got a Brand New Bag referred to 'The Newbury Thing'. Now, I've looked it up and it is actually 'The New Breed Thing' but I think I like my version better.