back on the farm

i sitting at home again now writing this. Finally home after a very long and jet lagged bus trip this morning. Good news all is well on the farm. Grey is no longer limping, bay boys is fat and happy looking. All the rest of the animals seem to have survived my absence in good health as well.

it was with a fear bit of nerves that i made my way to see the grey girls paddock, Thinking that i was going to find a very sick wild horse hobbling on 3 legs. The last report i had while in Thailand, was that she was limping and that swelling had made its way up her leg until it was past her hock. Relief. It appeared she had only had a minor foot abscess. usually caused by the wet weather causing weak spots in the hoof that then become infected, and are hard to clean and treat. Good news this abscess had burst through the top of the hoof. Draining away all the puss and infection, relieving the pressure causing the limping. not only was the swelling gone, but she wasn't even limping. There was a hole showing where the abscess had burst through. But other than that, she was fit and healthy.

The bay boy, what a difference good nutrition and ample food can make. He has gained so much weight in the ten days Ive been gone. Not only that he is full of energy and his balls have dropped too. For the first time ever i saw some action from the kaimanawas. He was prancing and playing in the paddock as i drove up. Looking so full of himself. This is the first time ive seen him do much more than walk around. When i remember the horse that stepped off the cattle truck, SO fragile in appearance, it almost looked like the wind would blow him over. i cant believe hes the same horse. He is also, i notice, starting to 'mark his territory ' so to speak. which for stallions means creating a massive pile of poo in one spot. interesting developments

both wild horses, were easy to catch again, even with the 10 days of no handling. The boy seemed to be very happy to come to his stable for the night. The grey actually took less time than usual to be caught. For once she seemed to actually be enjoying human interaction, rahther than just tolerating. Lowering her head and relaxing as i gave her a quick brush. Even my mother was allowed to come close and give her a scratch, the first person apart from me to do so. Being in a paddock alone for a while i think she was just enjoying any company offered.

Also According to my mother the wild horse adoption people payed a visit while i was overseas. They do this to make sure the horses never fall into abused or neglected situations.this has been the case with some of the mustered horses in the past. Through either human negligence, cruelty or lack of understanding and not realising the immensity of the task of taking on wild horses. sounds like i passed the test and my horses were OK as they haven't taken them off me, so i must be doing something right.