Hoof trouble

Apologies for the lack of newsy, crafty post this weekend, but there was a bit of drama with Zanny, so I was traumatised. Actually, she has a hoof abscess, which is not a horse health emergency, but they are incredibly painful. Imagine the pain of an infection under your toe or fingernail. I arrived at her paddock and she was lying down not moving. She was taking the weight off her poor hoof. 

I soaked Zanny's hoof in hot water and epsom salts, then Emily had a good look and tried to find the potential exit point. No luck, but she took her shoe off and applied a poultice, cleverly using a disposable nappy taped on. The hoof was covered with a special boot. Today I took the poultice off and soaked it again. The Zanny decided she was fine and strode purposefully up the paddock, so hopefully the abscess busted out somewhere while the poultice was on. 

Tara has also had not one, but two abscesses. The first one has resolved after treatment, and you can see the wee hole where it drained from. The second came up today, and when I looked for it I found a very sore spot on her heel area which looks evil. It may have started draining but Tara was insistent that it was too sore to fiddle with. Poor wee lady. 

I'm wondering why both girls have had abscesses, but I think there is no more sinister explanation than the damp conditions we have had lately. The girls have a lot of firm ground in their huge paddock, but when it rains for days there is a lot of mud around the gate end of the paddock, plus there is a very swampy area at the far end. 

I love doing horsey first aid. It is fascinating. Of course Zanny is a very co-operative and grateful patient. Tara less so, but still pretty good. It would be quite a dangerous business with some horses. 

This Mother's Day has also been rather exciting because, after rather a long wait, I am a mother again. 

Rather unexpectedly we brought home another furry son today. We thought we'd just get to visit, but he was so pleased to see us that we decided not to muck around.  His name is Fergus (we think- we're still deciding). Mr Mouse is very curious and the wee man is super relaxed and very purry and cuddly, so the cat introductions have gone really smoothly. Fergus is an extremely special Birman kitten. He is my Bucket List Birman. I've wanted one since I first saw one as a child.

 I am delighted that Fergus is such an affectionate, happy little fellow. I'm rather surprised at his loud voice! Not up there with the yowl of a Siamese or Oriental, but very expressive and purposeful. I'm sure there will be lots more to discover as we get to know him well. 

Oh and best loves to my darling Mummy who is simply the best!!!