Warm Weather and War Wounds!

Unless you have left the country you might have noticed the weather is more than a little warm.  Not that I am complaining, if I did that it would probably rain non-stop for a year!! I do love the sunshine but I am not so much a fan of working in it, would much rather be reading a book by a pool somewhere.  The horses seem to be adapting fairly well to the heat, and are coming during the hottest hours of the day to enjoy some cooler time in the stable.  Skip has adapted well to be in his tiny paddock which has turned into a dust bath with his grazing and the lack of rain.  It doesn’t really seem to bother him as he is happy munching on his hay whilst he kicks back for his rest and recovery, allowing his tendon to heal.

The vet came out to us last week and I was delighted to find that he has now come sound.  Therefore we have started some in hand walking for 15minutes twice a day to help build his strength again.  In another week we will be able to do start doing some walking hacks which will continue for a month before another vets visit and then hopefully a return to increased work.  I have to say I am missing schooling no end and I love riding in the warm weather so I will be pleased to get back on board.  Of course I am happy that Skip is making progress as he should be and my fingers and toes are continually crossed to ensure that it continues.  

However the bad luck doesn’t quite seem to be over yet.  With the onset of the heat wave we decided to leave the horses out overnight which worked fine to start with… Then after a few days, each morning I went up to see Skip, only to find a series of nasty cuts- a new one appearing each day!  I just couldn’t work out how they were happening.  I mean he is only in a 10metre paddock on his own!  After a nasty cut on Sunday night I decided I had to try and do something to figure the mystery injuries out.  So during the boiling hot Monday afternoon I watered the ground and put up some fencing to stop any equine neighbours getting to him to bite him, then I collected all the stones from the ground in case he was sleeping uncomfortably on the ground.  Well I am not sure which option worked, but I am happy to report that since I have done this we have no further injuries (though I am still touching wood as I never know what tomorrow will bring).  He has another 5 weeks of paddock rest so I am hoping that’s the last of the drama.

As the heat continues I am looking forward to getting back in the saddle but not so much looking forward to getting the jodhpurs and long riding boots back on in the 30 degree heat.  I have a feeling my 6am starts might be getting even earlier.  How are you and your horses coping in the heat wave?  Are you still managing to ride?  Please feel free to share your top tips and summery tales and I hope to be able to share mine with you during the upcoming weeks xx