My Beautiful Boys

SUNDAY 29TH APRIL

Despite the water companies declaring a near country wide drought the only things it has done in Birmingham over the last 2 weeks is rain! Chico and I have stood in the field soaking up as much precipitation as possible on many occasions.
We watch other owners and their horses traipse past us from the field into their dry stables, some days I feel like a broken down car on the side of the motorway watching the passing traffic while Chico happily munches away.

Hours spent on the field I have noticed so much wildlife living around our stables. So far I has seen rabbits, green finches, green woodpecker, mallards, buzzards, skylarks, wagtails and dueling male Robins. The rain seems not to bother these little creatures and they seem not to be bothered by me as I stand quietly by Chico's side watching them go about their business.

Today though was the first day I didnt manage to get Chico out into the field. The rain and wind howled so violently this morning I figured it would be best for Chico just to stay in side today. I was busy too, drove an hour down to the Malvern Showground with my dog for a Championship dog show. Despite being crammed into a leaking noisy tent me and my dog (a Large Munsterlander called Loki) managed a 1st place in our class.

On the way home we dropped in to the stables to tuck Chico into bed with supper and a full hay bar, then home to flake out on the sofa (both me and the dog). Don't know what I would find to do without my two boys to full my day with. Well done to my boy Loki, seen here at the stables, one of his favourite places.

4 Weeks On

It has now been 4 weeks since surgery and Chico makes even more progress. He is still coping brilliantly with box rest and has had no colic symptoms at all, remaining bright and alert throughout. His incision site is almost completely healed now and hair is growing nicely around the site.
The swelling is still about the same as last week but vet advised it would take a while for the excess fluid swelling to be reabsorbed. I continue to appreciate every day of his good health and look forward to getting him back out in the field with his buddies.

Healing nicely

Chico's incision site continues to heal extremely well. The small amount of swelling is starting to go down and as the hair on his tummy is growing back through the wound itself is getting less visible. We havent had any infection, seeping or bleeding from the site and I am hopeful things will stay this way.
Healing nicely.


Spring has brought unusual weather and with it horses suffering with colic, but what spring has also brought is a change of coat!
With a new shedding rake in my pocket today was the day for some serious hair removal!

Three Weeks On

WEDNESDAY 18TH APRIL

I cant believe if has been 3 weeks since it all kicked off and Chico was rushed into surgery to correct a badly adhered gut.

Chico has been home for 2 weeks now and remains relatively easy to handle grazing out in hand. We have had just one attack of spirit at the weekend when I lead him onto a different field than we have been using and attracted the attention of his field mates over the fence. A fit of bucking and farting and some very fancy dressage style trot (the kind of trot has has height but no forward motion!) ensued and he was dragged back to his stable in disgrace!

What they dont tell you about colic surgery is that surviving the surgery and the first few days isnt where the worry ends. Every little thing that happens makes you worry. Did he eat too much? Will he be warm enough and if not will he colic? He looks tired, is he just tired or is he poorly? Every stride of trot or every enthusiastic buck on the lead rope and you get images of internal organs bursting at the stitches, wounds opening up, everything is out to get you.

But at the end of the day you just have to take everything as it comes. When I turn up at the stables and am serenaded with whinnies and neighs from a happy patient I breath a sigh of relief, but i will feel exactly the same the next day.

I dont know if there will be a day when I finally stop worrying or if this is something that is always going to sit at the back of my mind, every cough, every runny poop, any sign of malaise and I will worry.

However, I am constantly reminded of how lucky I have been and how it could have so easily been a different blog I am writing.

After last weeks gassy colic scares for other horses at the yard this week saw a altogether more sobering occurrence.
The horse is neighbouring stable, a very talented grey warmblood owner by a young teenage girl, suddenly went off his food on Thursday night also displaying signs of colic. Vet attended and gave pain relief and horse settled so was left over night to recuperate. The following day, however, another episode of colic hit and the grey was rushed off to the same clinic that saved Chico's life. To cut a long story short, unable to eat without colicing the vets were forced to operate to investigate and a large mass was found in his stomach. The grey, who could easily have been any one of the horses on the yard, or any horse adored and much loved in any corner of the world, had a big problem. Vets advised the distraught owner that what they had found was so rare they were uncertain of how his future would pan out.

The sense of loss you all get when any one looses a horse isnt easy to describe to non horse owners. They really become a part of you, they wind their spirit into your heart and their courage into your mind, they make you a better person and when they die part of you dies too.

So to know Chico is still with me, fighting his affliction and never giving in gives me courage for his future, but life is fragile so I will enjoy every second Chico shares with me.

Standing in the pouring rain to graze him in hand is now a privilege and never a chore as is wrapping him up to keep him warm.

Two weeks on

WEDNESDAY 11TH APRIL

Firstly - the black mare from last night was okay, turned out to be just gas and she was back to normal this morning.

Today marks two weeks post colic emergency and what Chico and I have experienced in the last fortnight it hard to take in sometimes.
I could have so easily lost my boy that day but the recovery he has made has astonished even the vets which makes it difficult to realise how serious it all was.

Our vet Sarah came out today to remove Chico's stitches and check how he is doing. Despite all that's gone on Chico still seemed at ease with her and demanded a love once she'd finished. The stitches came out cleanly and all looked as it should.

He continues to be on up to an hour of in hand grazing and surprisingly is still easy to handle and responsive to voice command, how long this calm will continue i dont know but am thankful for it.
He has put some weight back on and looks less gaunt but has gone into a full moult and getting him to stand while I groom it all out is a bit tricky, in his mind I am there to take him out for grass, not groom him!

Touch wood so far he is being a real survivor.

Bringing it all home to me

TUESDAY 10TH APRIL

Another two days passed with little issue. Chico's incision wound is looking good, no signs of infection or extra swelling so all looks promising.

Chico is full of beans and I get the most enthusiastic welcome when I appear on the scene, sheer delight is an understatement, and the excitement persists until I make myself scarce.
Have only had one moment of explosion during our in hand grazing, but i do feel somewhat responsible. As he grazed quietly I spotted a crusty bit behind his elbow when his sarcoids were being treated. I decided to just whip it off quick, big mistake! This crusty bit must have been attached to the skin and my swift removal turned on Chico's 'buck button'. Cue two laps of bucking and leaping around me before I had to be the stern mommy and end his fun, at least he had some exercise.

Had to laugh in the afternoon, I had been talking to a fellow livery across the yard from Chico's stable but Chico was kicking at the door to get my attention. I ducked down behind a wall so he couldnt see me and carried on chatting to my friend. After a few minutes our yard manager shouted over to my friend 'Tell Sarah that Chico knows exactly where she's hiding!' I couldnt help but laugh, naugthy pony!

Although I had a moment of reflection this afternoon. Turned up at the yard and one of the other horses, a very trustworthy black mare, was colicing. The vet came and prognosis was either simple trapped gas or possibly a twisted gut, a couple of hours would tell for sure. What made me appreciate what Chico and I have gone through was the look on the poor owners face as she explained to the vet that if it came to surgery that she couldnt afford it. Her mare wasnt insured so the instant decision I made with Chico, the decision that I didnt even give a second thought to, the vets should do WHATEVER it took, wouldnt be an easy decision for the mares owner. When I left the yard the mare seemed to be doing better so hopefully it was just trapped gas and no operation needed but it did bring it all home a bit for me. Chico was one lucky lucky horse.

No visitors allowed!

SUNDAY 8th April

Easter Sunday was for us a normal Sunday. Being a household of fairly scientific atheists Easter Sunday meant nothing more than a day without any shops open.

I was up at the yard in the morning as is usual now and a Chico was more than happy to go for his in hand grazing. I just had to stand like a spare part with a constant 'crunch munch' sound in my ear. Take a bite, chew, take a bite chew, take a bite, chew...I have no idea when Chico actually swallowed what he was eating but boy he was going at it like something possessed.

Chicos wound is healing well, no signs of infection or swelling and the stitches are still in place. It was clear by the layer of bedding on his rug that Chico had enjoyed a roll in the stable last night, I'm not sure I think it is a good idea but where else does he have to roll.

My mother accompanied me to they yard in the afternoon to see Chico, having not seen him for some time. Chico was happy enough to let her graze him in hand but we were surprised to find he wasnt too keen on having someone else in the stable. I figure he is so used to just having me, his mum, in with him that any body else with me must be a vet (that being the only time someone else is with me). The faces he was giving my mother were a picture, he was one grumpy lad. My mother ended up being cast out of the stable to sit on the wall and wait for me, once she had gone Chico became all soppy with me again wanting cuddles and loves. He is a very silly boy, evidently no visitors are allowed!

I have managed an hour and a quarter in hand grazing both days over the weekend and with unlimited hay and breakfast and tea Chico isnt quite as skinny looking as he was the day I got him home. He is on the mend and I am looking forward to the vets visit next Wednesday to see what she thinks.

Good Friday

FRIDAY 6TH APRIL

It was Good Friday, and it had been a good Friday. Chico was chirpy as ever and full of beans.

I managed an hour and a half in hand grazing split over the morning and afternoon which Chico thoroughly enjoyed.

Not a lot of other news from Friday, lets hope the rest of his recovery goes just as smoothly.

Helping, head butting and hand grazing

THURSDAY 5TH APRIL

My normal routine back to normal, I couldnt be happier.
Trundled up to the yard in the morning and was met by a fresh faced eager your horse stood in Chico's stable. Chico was well and truly back. I invited myself into his stable and immediately became the focus of his full attention. A fact that I do normally enjoy but not when trying in vain to quickly skip out as Chico plays the 'must stand in every spot that mum is trying to muck out' game. I think at one point he was threatened with being returned to the vets clinic!

After the not so quick skip out it was time for a mouthful of breakfast for the boy. I popped half a scoop of feed into his bucket before adding 1 sachet of painkiller, 1 sachet of antibiotics and 2 little scoops of pro-biotic pellets. His bucket looked like it contained more medicine than it did feed, but after mixing in a bit of water I offered it to Chico who saw no problem with scoffing it as if he'd never eaten before.

While he munched I had a quick check on his wound site. Looking good i'd say.


With breakfast (and meds) licked clean from the bowl I figured then was a good time for some in hand grazing. Now being the big softie I am I had purchased a new headcollar for Chico, complete with fluffy nose band and head piece, after all I dont want my boy getting a sore face with all the in hand grazing we will be doing.

Upon opening the stable door Chico went like a racehorse out of the start gate, but made it all of a meter before reaching his first grass victim. I am sure Chico thinks that there is to be a grass shortage as I have never seen a horse cram so much grass in its mouth continually for 15 minutes. Not wanting to overload his gut it was time to get back in the stable, a fact that Chico wasnt so keen on. A small tantrum later and he finally went back in.

This repeated itself again in the afternoon but this time the lucky monkey had 30 minutes grazing but this resulted in an even bigger tantrum about going back in. However 'mum' always gets her way so it wasnt long before Chico was enjoying his final dinner in the stable before bed.

Just before leaving him for the night I stood in his stable enjoying having him home. Chico however sees my presence as an excuse to do something or go somewhere so my simply standing quietly just doesnt wash with him and he must interact with me at all costs. As I gazed over the stable door across the yard my back suddenly met with a blunt force that is Chico's big empty noggin. A comic moment as I splatted against the stable door was followed by an afternoon of not being able to do this.....*ouch*......

Chico's first full day at home, under my care, had gone perfectly (other than the not so helpful mucking out, the head butting, and I didnt even go into the bit where he trod on my shoe and nearly pushed me over!). It's so nice to have him home.

Home at last

WEDNESDAY 4TH APRIL

The morning broke with howling wind, driving rain and even a spatter of snow! Long gone were the beaming sunny days but the weather couldnt damper my spirit as I lay under the covers, cat in situ upon my chest, because this day Chico was coming home.

I would have to wait until my dad finished work before we could set off to retrieve my boy. After a few hours sorting paperwork, getting irate at pestering cats and freezing without central heating I finally set off to the yard.

At the vets Chico again put up some resistance to loading onto the trailer, a fact which myself and the two girls helping me didnt appreciate in the freezing weather. Finally on board, with goody bag in hand (containing all manner of lotions and potions), we set off home.

Chico's face upon unloading at HIS yard was a picture. He practically dragged me down the yard towards his stable. You would have thought he hadnt eaten in a week such was the voracity he went at his haynet! Our yard manager came to welcome him home and got a nudge in the ear for trouble, Chico's cheeky ways were as sharp as ever.

The vet had removed his tummy bandage, telling me that as he was so active the bandage kept rolling up and as he was doing so well they just took it off. I had to keep a close eye on the wound, which looked tiny compared to the horrendous image i had in my mind, to ensure it was clean and infection free.

Removing his cotton sheet gave me a giggle. Chico was now sporting a very fetching bald patch on his side. A not so neatly shaved patch (where they had scanned him before surgery) was no pride of place, no in hand showing for us this year!!

6 weeks of strict box rest are to follow. Grazing out in hand each day but other than that Chico was in for a very boring 6 weeks. I felt sorry for him, being such an exuberant boy with a love in playing with his horsey friends such a term of 'solitary' was going to be hard for him. I promised him I would walk him around the yard everyday to say hello to his friends in their stables.


I had to keep a watch for signs of discomfort and of course colic symptoms but Chico was in such good spirit I was optimistic of a trouble free recovery, but only time will tell....

Here he is, back safe in his stable, he had clearly lost some weight but with all the stress of the last week he wasnt to only one to lose a few pounds. He was so boisterous in the stable, clear photos were not easy!

He's coming home!

TUESDAY 3RD APRIL

News just in.....Chico can come home on Wednesday.

After a busy morning walking the dogs, shopping for dog food and re-organising my aviary I had sat down with my laptop to enjoy an episode of one of my shows on line.

Few minutes from the end my phone went and the vet was on the other end. Chico could come home! The vet couldnt say enough about how amazingly Chico had done from day one. She told me enthusiastically how of all the colic surgeries she had even been involved with that Chico had shown the smallest amount of edema around the wound than she had ever seen. It seems that Chico is some sort of super-pony, as he astounded the vets last year with his superb reaction to having his sarcoids treated with aggressive chemo cream, so looks like he is continuing this healing ways.

When I collect him i will be given a care guide for him and he is likely to need to be on box rest for at least 3 months. In hand grazing everyday if what I have to look forward to this year, lets just hope we dont have months of rain, I dont fancy getting drowned!

It will be up to the yard in the morning to get his stable ready for him, put down some extra bedding, fill his water and make sure he has plenty of yummy hay.
Then once my dad and the towbar finish work it'll be off up to Lichfield to collect my boy.
Lets just hope he wants to get back on the trailer.......

Bandage change

MONDAY 2ND APRIL

It was 10:30am and I surfaced from dreaming about horses to another sunny morning. I had planned to visit Chico again so got myself ready and popped into the garden to feed the chickens. Unfortunately for me during the short 10 minutes I was outside the vet had decided to phone me, and of course my phone was in the house! Vet had left a voicemail, she explained that Chico was still coping fantastically and that he had had his tummy bandage changed that morning.' I contemplated phoning her back but decided I had no real concerns so would just wait until she phoned again.

Heading over to Lichfield was going well until someone pulled up besides me at the lights and pointed out my rear tyre was almost completely flat *sigh*. One interesting fact I found out today that there is only one petrol station on the journey between Sutton Coldfield and Lichfied and that the solitary petrol station that was on route had an air pump that didnt work! Needless to say I limped slowly to the vet clinic and figured I could fill up the tyre on the way home (which I did)

Chico was pleased to see me again but he seemed a bit quieter than the last few visits. I guessed that the vets had probably given him some sedative to change the dressing so I wasnt concerned.
He looked well and his coat on his neck and chest was shining like a piece of silk. His back end still looked a bit bedraggled and he had managed to rub his tail into a lovely big pom-pom shape, he was definitely going to be coming home minus a lot of tail!
He was keen to use me as a rubbing post again and soon put me to work as his personal hay holder, it was my job to pull the hay from the haynet and hold it for him to munch, lazy monkey.
Whilst I was there another horse arrived and the head vet was putting it through its paces. Chico, and another little pony in a stable opposite, found the antics of this new arrival fascinating and every time it was led across the yard both let out whinnies and neighs of fascination. I guess it can get boring being in the stable 24/7 so they relish any little bit of excitement they can get.



I had noticed a lot of concern about the horse in the stable at the end of the row. There was a cone with hazard tape cordoning off the stable door with several pairs of wellies and cover-alls on the floor. A big sign read 'STAFF ONLY' and I witnessed bowls and buckets being washed out with boiling water. All I could see in the stable was a drip line hanging from the ceiling spiraling its way down to below the door line. I didnt know what was going on but I felt sorry for whatever poor soul was in that stable.

I left Chico munching on his haynet and made my way back home. It is still very strange not having him just up the road at his 'home'.

The sun shines again

SUNDAY 1ST APRIL

April fools day was here again as was the glorious sunshine.
After a lovely evening at a friends wedding reception I found myself enjoying the unusual lie in that came with not having a horse to turn out in the morning.
I lay snuggled in my duvet, quiet and relaxed when I heard the distinctive ping of my mobile phone.
Slithering my arm out of the warmth I reached for my phone. Two texts sat waiting for me.
The first, from a 'horsey' friend, said she had had to go up to the vet clinic and while there had stopped to say hello to Chico. It was nice to know he had seen a familiar face.
The second message was from my vet, it simply read 'Chico continues to make excellent progress, very bright this am. Full update tomorrow.'
With a broad smile I sent a short reply and tucked myself back into my duvet.

I wouldnt be visiting Chico that day. Seeing how excited he got on my previous two visits I felt it best to only visit every other day so as not to get him too over exuberant everyday, he was supposed to be resting after all.

I was glad to know he was doing well and I too felt happier. The numbness of the past few days had gone but I knew i wasnt totally at ease yet, the constant niggling pains in my abdomen reminded me that my body was still in a state of alertness. I was hopeful my system would calm down once Chico was home, but for that I would have to wait and see.

Without a visit to my boy the highlight of my day was a brilliant April Fools gag from Ikea. No doubt plenty of people around the country will be heading of to their local Ikea to swap in their faulty allen key!