Humps

As always, I spent a lot of time with the camels at Loisaba; I think I have seen them now from every angle!

And the guys who look after the camels are amongst my favourite people.

Kukuman, William, Me, Sharriff, Hassan and Ekomwa. 

Highlights

 

Aching for Rain

The Counties of Samburu and Laikipia in Kenya have been deprived of proper rain for several years and this has led to a crisis amongst the communities that surround the Loisaba Conservancy. A recent consensus showed that the number of cattle owned by the community had reduced from 3,000 to 600, mainly through starvation rather than sales. Wild animals, such as the Grevy's Zebra, have been supplemented with lucerne and desperate measures have been taken to ensure that any rain, any rain at all, can be retained. Moreover the population itself has really suffered, with emergency supplies being sent out from Loisaba Conservancy and other organisations. 

When my visit started, it was the beginning of what should be the rainy season, but every day the clouds would blow themselves up into the most fairytale cumulonimbus, turn dark with water droplets, but then sail across the conservancy and the communities to reach lower areas. We heard that Nairobi was awash, Nanyuki had enjoyed rain, but there was nothing for Loisaba.

One day the rain stopped short of the conservancy, and the sky was lit up by a beautiful rainbow, sending hope but no water across the hills. Everyone and everything ached for the rain.

And then it came, every evening for a short time, but consistently, until one night there was a deluge and the night after that. Everyone counted the centimetres, the grasses and shrubs sent out tentative shoots, and the animals walked away from the dams and the watering holes to eat. Real hope had arrived.

Rain macs

As part of my recovery after my shoulder surgery, I was lucky enough to go to Kenya for three weeks to stay in a beautiful house with a swimming pool. Not only was I able to go out on safari for many hours every day, I could swim in the pool, practise my Swahili, and talk to my friends. Pictures to follow.

Meanwhile, David and Nathalie were in charge of the horses, and they skilfully transitioned to them to taking their boots off and extending their grazing, from soaked hay to unsoaked hay. Jack, has been taking his Prascend easily, and the horses' feeds have been supplemented to help to thicken up their soles. And all the time it rained and rained and rained, making poo-picking, even with an electric wheelbarrow, very hard work. It also rained in Laikipia but this was the cause of celebration not despair.

All in all it has taken five months to fathom our way out of what was a very mild bout of laminitis and Theoden in particular began to look haggard and miserable towards the end. I have booked him in for some body work - along with Dave - but also made the firm decision that I will not sentence him to a life of restriction and no grass. With that in mind, we chucked the whole jolly lot into the winter field two days ago, purchased two rugs for Theoden and Dave ready for Storm Ciaron, and watched to see what the results would be. We will work out next year, next year. 

Slowly but surely

It's been a while since I posted about the horses, but they are continuing to recover from their short bout of laminitis. Amongst the daily turmoil of deciding how much food and freedom they could have, Theoden has lost some condition. Their behaviour has been exceptional, quietly accepting any restrictions placed on them and making the most of any extensions to their boring routine. I have absolutely hated it. 

We have been following the vet and hoof trimmer's advice to the letter - box rest, restricted turnout, soaked hay, vitamins and minerals, and at last we are now in a position to turn them out for about an hour on some longer grass which has been pre-grazed by Pie and Patsy. Of course I have been worried that those two would also get laminitis from the grass which is still an irridescent green. The cost of all this has been quite high too. Hopefully our last expense will be rubber matting from the paddock gate round to the barn which is an essential hiding place from the sun and insects in the summer. 

Hardly beyond the gate before heads go down

To date we have had:

Vet bill £1,000 + - and another visit in October

Shavings £250

Boots £185 (interestingly Theoden's hooves have gone up a size since going barefoot five years ago

Pads £60

Additonal fencing: £200

Additional feed and vitamins: £50

Luckily we had some things in stock, like last year's hay, some sets of boots, fencing materials and so on - and three hours a day to look after them. We have been incredibly fortunate to have Nathalie to do the morning shift and at long last I am strong enough to do everything except the poo-picking. 

In the end I have concluded that the biggest contribution to this episode was the effect of stones on what have become thin soles due to the weird grass! 

Fitting dense pads into their boots

Our 'small' top paddock now divided into Wildebeest pens where the horses will eventually go back and forth once it has been pre-grazed. Hopefully, after that we can go back to a bit of normality for the winter.

Wetter than July

For over a year, organiser, Jodie Sloane, has been putting together the venue, route, and prizes for another Pass Wide and Slow Ride to take place in Winkton and Burton. Publicity, posters, people and ponies were all organised for this morning. Turnout was affected by the weather forecast, and a myriad of other things that suddenly get in the way, but by ten o'clock there was a decent field of supporters and the ride set off. This quiet demonstration passed without incident and will have made a few more drivers aware of the need to drive slowly and with care around horse riders and other vulnerable users on the road. Add this to over 180 rides which have taken place all over the UK this weekend, it will have highlighted the issue of poor driving and failure to follow the Highway Code which states clearly that horses should be passed at no more than 10 mph (no matter what the speed limit is on the road) and at no less than two metres distance. 

Not only are their surprised, careless, and  ignorant drivers about, but there are those who disagree with horses being on the roads altogether and use their vehicles as a weapon of protest putting the lives of riders young and old, and their horses in danger. Luckily the police are starting to take it more seriously and 33 police forces supported these rides today.

According to the British Horse Society, last year across the UK:

🔹 3,552 road incidents involving horses were reported

🔹 68 horses died and 125 were injured on the roads

🔹 139 riders were injured because of road incidents

🔹 26% of riders were victims of road rage and abuse.

By the end of the ride it was throwing it down with rain with big bangs of thunder too. Some stoic riders had to ride for half an hour to get back home. Anyone who rides on the roads should think about joining one of these rides and not leaving it to a handful of people to make take a stand on their behalf.

Fingers and hooves all crossed

Blue: Marchwood Perky

Cheyenne (Korbutt-Brown) came to see and trim the horses and ponies today. She has always been impressed with David's ability to trim but we felt that it was important for her to double-check his work and this appointment couldn't have been better timed. 

Blue had a small area of seedy toe and this was cleaned out, sprayed with sole cleanse, and packed with Red Horse Hoof Stuff which can be left in for a while before rechecking. 

These Red Horse products are fantastic for hoof repairs and recovery.

Theoden was an excellent patient for Cheyenne, especially considering he has been on box rest for two weeks. 

It was good to hear Cheyenne confirm the vets thoughts about Theoden, Dave and Jack. She agreed that the degree of laminitis and the changes in the big boys' hooves were very mild but that they had very thin soles. She was very clear that David's trim had unearthed an underlying problem rather than contributing to it. "It is impossible for a trim to make a healthy horse lame," she said. 

I felt a lot more positive having received her comments and she helped us move out all of the ponies so that Theoden and Dave could have a couple of hours of turnout. This period will be extended over the next few days/nights while we monitor them carefully. Both are wearing hoof boots but we couldn't put any on Theoden's fronts as yet because his hooves have become so much bigger than when he first went barefoot. I now have a pair of size 14 Equifusion All Terrain Joggers on order from Urban Horse to arrive tomorrow. Dave, who is one size smaller than Theoden, was able to have one pair of his hand-me-downs. Our shopping list also included some 7lb and 4lb hoof pads from Equine Podiatry UK, Thunderbrooks grass nuts and Progressive Earth minerals. The credit card has taken quite a hammering!

The additional ponies I had hoped to have as lawnmowers did not turn up in the drift yesterday so we will have to wait until the end of October for them. One set have not been seen for two years!

And finally, I heard that the New Forest Hounds, clean-boot bloodhounds, would be in our area on 7th October. The meet is at Janesmoor and will be all around Fritham. A simple, polite request, and they have agreed not to lay the trail in close proximity to my fields. That will be a relief to David who will be Chief Horse Keeper then.