Panto day :-)

There isn't a hope of hunting on Boxing Day because there are lakes where there should not be lakes and rivers where there have never been rivers before, and it is raining again and even more is forecast.  So I am focussing what energy I have on Woody, who could regress if I do not keep up his work.

As he came out of the barn this morning I thought "you're in a mood". I don't know why, just something subtle about the way he looked. He failed to step back when I went into his stable, blocking the door, and he was generally a tiny bit niggly. Normally, I would have let him have the day off, but his feet must be kept working, we are at a crucial stage right now. When I got on, the problem was obvious - cow pat splats as we started to work. Something has upset his gut.

I took a whole week to switch over to this year's haylage crop, but it seems that it has upset his gut anyway, because I have never seen him do that before.

He huffed and puffed and was reluctant to relax, so I got off him and sent him round for a few minutes by himself. He was beautifully sound and moving like the class horse that he is. He was better when I got back on, and he did some very nice walk and walk-halt-walk and I called it a day.

Something completely flabbergasting is happening to his front feet.  I never would have expected it of a nine year old horse.  When his lameness was investigated, the comment was that he had small feet for his size. When he arrived, he did. They were 6 inches wide and 5 inches long, but almost an inch of that width was very low-down and pronounced flare. That has now almost completely gone, so I was shocked to measure his feet this morning and find that they are still 6 inches wide. Only now, that is genuine width, not flare. His feet have, quite simply, got a lot bigger. He is still missing his toes, but his frogs are shedding well and his heels are dropping to their new level, and in another three months I think his feet will be 6 x 5.5 or even 6 x 6.  I really did not realise that it was possible for a fully mature horse to increase the size of its feet in that sort of time frame. I am truly shocked.

Radar and I are waiting to hear whether we will get out on New Year's Day. He needs some work first and I hope to start that on Boxing Day but the forecast is dire.

I am off to the Panto now!

Merry Christmas for tomorrow everyone.

C