Paula’s blog – it happens in threes, right?

Anyone wonder why the universe is against them sometimes? Since Autumn’s last outing, I gave her a few days off to relax before the prep for the next agricultural show. On bringing her in one morning I noticed she was a bit slower than usual, and just put it down to tiredness as I couldn’t see any outward signs or issues. That evening she was even more sore and it turned out she had a bite on her withers from a certain big dummy that I had missed due to her rolling and being covered in mud! I gave her some bute and kept an eye on her and she began to improve over a few days. “Yay,” I thought, “back to the next show’s prep!”

Nope, the following morning I was greeted by a hugely swollen leg from her fetlock to above her knee – argh! Luckily, it was a sting as it went back to normal within 24 hours (despite me panicking in those 24 hours and going even greyer). “Brill,” I thought, “a few days off just to make sure everything’s okay.” And then we started lunge work, which was going great, until the morning I brought her in and heard that horrid clunking sound – she had a loose shoe less than a week before the show! Luckily, a begging message to my farrier (who had just been out the week before to sort a loose shoe on Bob) and he’s coming out two days before the show for a refit – phew! What a hero! It all happens in threes right, so that should be our lot?! I’ve risked it and sent the pre-entry through, so fingers crossed we get to the show at the weekend and the fun ride the following day (busy horsey weekend – bliss!).

It's my birthday this week so we planned a few days out. One place we visited was Bolsover Castle and they have a bit of history with horses and dressage, and even have an indoor riding arena. Sadly, we were a day late for the demos though – boooo! They do have an olden type of saddle for you to sit in, and let’s just say I appreciated mine a lot more after sitting in it – ouch, lol!

We had a bit of news in our local area recently about another horse contracting strangles. One close by had caught it about a month before but recovered, and now another had contracted it. The horse owner is keeping the horse isolated and the yard is locked down (and the horse hadn’t been out anywhere anyway), alongside raising awareness among the local horse riders in the area, which we are all hugely grateful for, as we all need to work together when this sort of thing occurs to keep everyone safe. There is such a stigma sometimes of people fearing to admit their horses have got a disease, but by being more open it helps to reduce the spread and keep more horses safe, so no one should feel they can’t say anything due to people’s reactions. I know we are all thankful to know about this, so we can take our own precautions to keep our neddies safe whilst this pony recovers. I’ve been to a few talks by vets and the BHS about strangles and biosecurity, and I definitely recommend attending one if there are any near you as they are really informative and helpful. They also normally have leaflets or booklets for you to take away that you can share with others on your yard, which I used to do before we moved. The more knowledge we all have, hopefully the more we can reduce the spread and risks.