Good grief!

Pah! No sooner had I tasted the sweet delights of fresh air and green grass than I felt my bad leg hurting again.  After all those weeks of recovery, my foolish five minutes of galloping round the round-pen must've set it back again.  Again pah!  Now I'm back inside, in a field shelter kind of a place but with gates all along the front to stop me and Mum getting out.  I know it's what my leg needs to make it better but jeepers creepers it's hard.  Stuck in here when outside the sun's shining and I could be wandering about all over that field, exploring the place.  I think some other horses have been in here because I can smell them.

Brrrr!  There was more than one nip in the air last night.  It was so cold I could see smoke coming out of my nostrils.  Mum and me have spotted some horses in another field.  They keep hanging their heads over the gate and staring at us - and we stare back. It's almost as though they really want to come into this field and see us and say hello. 

Now when I go outside I have to be on the end of a rope,just in case I go beserk again and mess up my bad leg.  I can do short bits of bouncing and dancing but I have to keep a lid on it or Lisa tells me off.   It's funny though because she actually seems to be laughing at the same time as trying to be strict.

Out!

Hallelujah!  I'm out of jail. My bad leg was so-o-o-o much better this week, I was allowed out into a thing called a round-pen at the Vets.  I was incredibly well behaved at first but then me and Mum heard some other horses go past and we freaked.  Talk about speed!  We galloped round and round like there was no tomorrow.  When Lisa heard us, she came running over but it was too late: I'd hurt my leg again in all the excitement. 

The next day, Harry came to the Vets in a land rover and trailer.  Mum went up a ramp and actually inside the trailer.  I did too - after a bit of a discussion.  Next thing I knew, we were moving along a road and next after that we'd stopped and were let out into a field full of grass.  At last!  I thought this day would never come.  And what a place! Mountains, trees, a stream, grass.  Lots of grass.  I could get used to this.

Doing time

I've been in prison now for nearly two months and it's been driving me crazy.  I would tell you about my operation but I'm afraid my recollection is all a bit of a blur.  All I know is: my sessamoid bone's been mended with wire,my joint's been squirted full of the best fluids money can buy and everything that could possibly have been done has actually been done.  I've spent most of my life now in rehab. 

Lisa gave me a bucket to play with, tied to a piece of rope.  Steph bought me a football, which does provide some entertainment.  Mum and me go out into the yard every so often and get led around on the end of ropes.  This is all very well but I want to run free.  I'm desparate.  The only positive I can take from this whole sorry saga is that it's given lots of humans lots of time to get used to being around me.

Snap!

Just the other day I was thinking how great life really was.  I was out in the big field, lush grass, sunshine on my back, flying and jumping around (as you do), when suddenly...OUCH!  Something snapped and it was actually inside my own leg.  It hurt and I don't mean just a little.  It started getting all swollen and I could hardly even tread on it like I'm supposed to.  Lisa came to my field and next thing I knew I was in an ambulance.  My Mum came along too because she was a bit worried about me.  The ambulance took us to another farm but it had a special sign outside saying Dyffryn Tywi Equine Clinic.   I had heard rumours about this place: it's called "the vets".  Lisa was there again, and lots of other people too, all looking busy doing stuff.

As if I hadn't had enough drama already, I then had to go into a room with lights and machines, have my bad leg shaved, have needles stuck in me and then have special pictures taken of me.  It turns out I've gone and fractured one of my sessamoid bones, cracked it right in two.  Yesterday I didn't even know I had any of these; now I'm an expert in them. 

The one I've broken is on my left hind leg, just behind my fetlock.  Luckily, I have two sesamoid bones behind each fetlock and I've only snapped one of them.  Lisa was glad that it's only one, although she's been extremely worried about me.  It turns out that she is "the vet" and she works at this hospital.  I'm going to have to stay here for ages while I mend so I think I'll be seeing her every day.

I must admit I've been very impressed so far by this hospital and all its staff.  The patient care is exemplary. I've been getting a lot of personal attention and I don't mean just medical.  It's almost as if they enjoy just spending a bit of time with me.

A little of that human touch

I reckon people are going to be a big part of my life so I've spent a bit of time letting them get used to me.  I know it sounds touchy-feely but it has some serious advantages when you're feeling a bit itchy-scratchy.  Lisa was out playing the other day and I got her to keep scratching me on the neck, right on an itchy patch.  It's important to change your position a bit during scratching sessions - arch the neck or bend it round a few degrees - so people know they're hitting the spot. 

Discovery

My life so far has mostly been about discovery.  I keep finding new stuff, like grazing for instance.  This is fairly fundamental I know.  In fact, I'm a bit embarrassed it took me so long to get into it.  Top tip for other foals who might me reading this: spread 'em! Get those front pins really well spaced and the grass just comes up much closer to your face.

I'm also into nuzzling, either with my Mum or anyone else who's willing.















Other than that, I'm keeping up with the bouncing, running and acrobatics but sometimes I just stand by my Mum and chill out, not really thinking too hard about anything.

Outside

Not long at all after I was born I went ouside for the first time.  It was so good I couldn't stop bouncing.  The green stuff I was bonging about on was actually edible as well.  My Mum got her head down and ate loads of it.  I just ran and jumped and spun round.  Outside is cool. Grass is cool.  Grass is great.  Life is great.    I just can't fault it right now. 

Lisa came round again and brought her friend Mandy who looked at me very closely and said she liked me. A lot.  And that's just on first appearances; she didn't really have enough time to get to know me. 

Plastic shoes

23rd July 2010.

I hadn't seen her for a few days but then Lisa - the one who showed me the milk - came back so I went up to her and made her feel welcome in my stable.  Everyone's welcome as far as I'm concerned.  Later on she made me a cool pair of plastic shoes to go on my hind feet while I just took the opportunity for a doze. She did a tidy job, fair play, especially as she seemed to be chatting with Jenny the whole time at about 500 words per minute.  The shoes stopped me flopping down on my fetlocks, which, to be honest, I wasn't planning on carrying on doing for much longer anyway.  Still, it kept Lisa happy.

Legs

20th July 2010.

I started to get the hang of this standing up business pretty quickly, though I say so myself.  If you keep your feet wide apart, the whole thing is more stable.  It wasn't easy though, and I was quite happy when Harry picked me up and I could stop thinking about it for a while.  As you can see from these pictures, I'm chestnut with four white socks and a healthy splash of white all over my nose.  I may well have fallen into a giant tin of Dulux emulsion without even realising.  But it will make me easier to find in the dark.

Gravity

20th July 2010. 

I tried to get up off the ground but my legs were too wobbly and a strange force kept dragging me back down.  My Mum kept checking up on me and giving me a lick now and again.  People tried to help me too, which was nice.  There was Jenny and Dave and then Harry and Lisa.  The one called Lisa was smiling and laughing a lot (with me, not at me).  I'd go so far as to say she was even a bit emotional.  She helped me with my attempts at standing up on my incredibly long legs, and then showed me where I could find a lovely drink of milk.  I could taste the goodness.

A foal is born (in Ceredigion)

At around 10pm on Tuesday 20th July 2010, in a stable, on a farm, in the valley of the Aeron, near the village of Llwyn-y-groes, near Tregaron, in Ceredigion, in West Wales....I was born.  I'll be honest with you now: it was a bit of a shock; things were different.  I was nearly blinded by the light and nobody thought to offer me sunglasses.