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.