Not long now

It seems like it has been an age since I was last on board Chico, enjoying our adventures out hacking and pottering about in the arena.
In fact it has only been four and a half months, but what a wait. I am off on holiday next week but when I get back it will be all systems go and I will be hoping back on board and getting back to normal.

To make it easy for those looking after him while I am away Chico is now on overnight turnout. He spends 6-7 hours during the day chilling in his stable, sleeping mostly with the occasional snack out his haybar. Then come early evening he goes out into his field to spend the nights out. It has been beneficial in the blistering heat of the last few days, keeping him away from the horrid biting flies and relentless sun.

I worried about having him out overnight as his grazing hours were greatly increased and I feared from his gut but so far he has been absolutely fine and I am relaxed now that I can go on holiday and (hopefully) he will be incident free.

I took my camera to the yard with me whilst the sun was out and Chico put on a good show for me, showing off how well he feels.

Long may his good health continue.

Long time.....but...

...all is fabulous!!

Chico has gone from strength to strength over the past month. His summer coat is fully through (although we are yet to actually has a summer to match) and his shaved patches from the operation have melted back in with his beautiful dappled chestnut and white attire.
His incision scar has disappeared under his fuzzy tummy hair but the pesky flies still know where to look so he is being smothered daily in antibiotic fly gel, much to Chicos gratitude.

Chico is now back in his normal field in his normal routine. Out he goes around 10am, with a spring in his step and about two extra hands on his height, a full day grazing and then I drag him back in at 5pm. He has adjusted well to being back out grazing and there has been no notable issues or colic re-appearance.

We are 4 months post operation now and we have one 4 more weeks until aboard I will climb to restart our adventures on horseback.

Watch this space!

No news is good news!

Firstly I apologies for the lenghty delay between this post and my last. I can only blame a very very hectic life and a memory like a sieve when it comes to remembering updates.

Not only have I had to deal with the dreaded OFSTED at work (academy passed with GOOD, thanks for asking) but this weekend the livery yard is playing host to a 3 day charity event.

Today was the showjumping day, and on a dry but cloudy day we had a nice turnout for what can only be described as an enjoyable and friendly local show. I was manning the all day clear round, which sadly wasnt very popular, but the lack of competitors for that allowed me to indulge my passion for photography. Taking over 300 photos today, that I have made available for free to all who attended, made me feel better that I wasnt able to compete with Chico this time.
Below is my favourite photo from today, I think it just sums up the relaxed atmosphere of the day.

Now for news of Chico. Well as the title says 'no news is good news'. Chico continues to increase weekly in the amount of time he is able to stay out grazing. His cheeky demeanor ensure I am always well aware of his excitement to go out each day. His strength of spirit to fight his horrendous ordeal remains steadfast and I feel optimistic that he will make a complete recovery.

An early night is needed now as tomorrow we have another full show day, in-hand, ridden and novelty classes are sure to keep me constantly busy and entertained. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that the forecast rain takes pity on our humble cause and quietly passes up by.

'There's some Arab in him...'

This week has flown by.

Chico is now having an hour a day turnout in a small paddock (not the track area in my last video as I decided that wasnt enough grass for him) and I forgot the joys of mucking out a stable without a horse in it! Not having to sweep around legs, duck and dive to avoid Chico's head and being able to leave the stable door open, flooding the stable with light, has made me appreciate the art of mucking out again.

Chico has been a sensible character and grazed quietly and without incident for 6 out of the 7 days. Sunday morning was the day he chose to finally blow the cobwebs off and have a good blast. Cue 5 minutes of full pace, fast and furious, cantering, galloping and bucking with sheer delight. I just stood watching, not in horror, not concerned, just enjoying seeing my boy, who was so close to leaving me, enjoying life and expressing his natural horse behaviour.

As a stood observing his fancy trotting, tail vertical in the air, bouncing from foot to foot a fellow livery owner appeared beside me. She had been watching him to and her comment simply consisted of...

'There's some Arab in him...'

And yes, I think there probably is.
I am in the process of tracing details about his sire and one possible outcome is that he was a part bred Arab and after the display Chico gave yesterday I wouldn't at all be surprised if that was so.

Chico's wound site is perfectly healed now and as the hair grows longer it is virtually impossible to see now. His shaved patches are blending back in with his newly grow in summer coat and he is starting to look his usual self again.

I cant wait for the good weather and my summer holidays now (very glad I only work term time only!)

And freedom comes quietly

Today was the day for freedom. 

Yesterday I set up a small area of 'the track' that the vet suggested ready for Chico to start his limited turnout this week. The official day to start is Wednesday, when he will be allowed a full hour out without the constraint of me on the end of the leadrope.

However I decided that I wanted to introduce him slowly, so today after 20 minutes in hand I lead him to the track. 

To begin with i dont think he realised he was loose, he milled about quietly picking at weeds and grass, a little on edge but nothing more than normal spooky Chico.

We managed 20 minutes before the howling winds got him on his toes and I decided to bring him back in.

Didnt go too badly at all!

Getting hairy

SATURDAY 12TH MAY

A gloriously sunny, if not a little windy, Saturday was had today.
Chico was in fine spirits, bright in the eye and eager for his in hand grazing.

He is rapidly moulting out his winter coat and half an hours grooming session resulted in a small mountain of hair  in the wheelbarrow and a fair amount stuck on my fleece jumper.

The incision site is still healing well, the hair is growing back and soon the scar will be enveloped and no longer visible. Come this time next year I doubt there will be much evidence left of his near fatal episode.

Looking good don't you think?

6 Weeks On

THURSDAY 10th MAY

Yesterday was vet day. After a horrific day at work with OFSTED in, everyone running around like headless chickens and feeling like I needed 3 clones of myself to get things done, I made it to the yard in time for my vet to visit.

Sarah, the fantastic vet who has dealt with Chico throughout, greeted us happily and was eager to see how her 'little man' was doing. A quick examination of his incision site gave good news, the external wound has fully healed and the underlying muscles was knitted together in all but one small spot that wasnt far behind the rest.
The vet explained how the sheer weight of a horses abdominal contents is the worst factor for recovery following colic surgery, it puts so much downwards pressure that it is imperative to ensure the muscles are fully healed and capable of withholding the enormous bulk. After discussing the pros and cons of putting a horse through colic surgery and a further discussion about the status of Chico's sarcoids (that we had just finished treating before he had his emergency op) we then decided to have a scout around the yard.

What we were looking for was somewhere suitable for Chico to spend his first turnout. There were a few conditions; condition 1 was that it had to be small enough so Chico couldnt get up any speed, condition 2 was it had to be secure and finally condition 3 was that it had to have at least some grass! After considering several locations and chatting with the yard manager we eventually decided upon sectioning off a small part of what we call 'the track'.
The track is a surfaced route that leads down the side of the stables land, post and rail fencing of the paddocks to one side and grassed bank to the other, to the muck heap at the end. Chico will have approximately only the first 20 meters roped off so he has room to roll and trot but wont be able to canter.
The concern with cantering and galloping is the extra extension through the horses body in these gaits that could potentially stretch the healing muscles and tissue and cause a set back.
The section Chico will have only has a small amount of grass but a large patch of weeds and plants. Not all the plants are suitable to stay so over the next week (before he can go out at week 7) I will be getting my hands dirty sorting it all out for my boy. Tonight already saw the start of it as I pulled out some stalk like plants before accidentally grasping a bramble stem and puncturing my finger, loves required tomorrow.

Once the area is ready Chico will be on a strict routine. Week 1 of turnout will be for 1 hour only, week 2 for 2 hours and so on. After 4 weeks of this limited space turnout he will be allowed to graduate to his normally paddock, but I will cover that in more detail closer to the time. It is a relief that I now have a plan for the next few months, all of which I have typed up into a spreadsheet, so I can look forward to the next step in Chico's recovery.