Waiting Game

I was looking back over the past year's blogs and realise a couple of things.


I am not a prolific blogger, unlike some I could mention. In fact I post very infrequently.

An awful lot of time has passed since we first tried to get Ruby in foal.

Ruby is still in rude health. She is even happier now than before as she has a smart new blue and maroon rug to replace the brown one that she has torn to bits. I've never known a horse who was quite so heavy on rugs. She is also being brought in at night (it's a long long story and involves re-arranging the accommodation to make sure Ruby and Jack don't pick up any bad habits). She also loves the extra attention she is now getting.

Annie's a bit concerned that the foal might be a bit small but she's still got another two and a bit months to go. I'd be more concerned if it was big. Apparently the sire throws big foals and she's not small herself. She's still in great condition, her coat's nice and shiny. She's started to lose a bit of her neck but I would have thought that was to be expected. I just think she wouldn't look so well if there were anything to worry about.

It's just the waiting that's starting to get to me. Gawd only knows what Ruby's thinking. She has a short attention-span at the best of times!

And a bit of news on Zorya - she had a blood test but it didn't turn up anything. Annie had been worried that she might have Cushings. She has got an exceptionally fluffy coat for a thoroughbred, but she's had the all clear. She's having lots of TLC and very little (or no) work and lots of fuss and carrots. She'll be really fed up when she gets back home! And she's still to meet her usurper, Jack!

The Big Game

Today's the day of the local Derby - Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints at Franklyn's Gardens. May the best team win, although we probably won't.

Ti.......Gers

What's been occurring?

Well, the most important thing is Ruby is blooming! You can really tell she's in foal and not just f-a-t (shhhh. we don't use the f. word)

Zorya's staying with friends putting on a bit of condition. Not that she's been unwell exactly, just not as bright and perky, but she's picking up well with lots of tlc. I go over after work one day each week to bring her in, rug her up and give her her tea. She actually seems to be getting a bit friendly. I think she enjoys being an only horse. But the woman who is looking after her has a bit of trouble if she leaves her in the field a bit longer than Zorya thinks she should (rearing, galloping off in the dark, kicking etc). Fortunately she's a very experienced horsewoman and isn't phased by Zorya's strops!

And the newbie, Jack, has arrived. On loan for the time being. He's a big lad, bigger even than Ruby, but lighter weight. Bless him, he's rising 10, going on 5! If he had a thumb, he'd suck it. Life's just one big scary adventure but, day by day, he's getting better. The first two times he didn't want to go in the trailer but now he walks in (and, more importantly, stays in) like a little lamb! And the first time he didn't want to walk out. It's got a front ramp and he seemed to think it was safer to be in than out, but he backed into the rear bar and shot out forward! Silly boy. Now he walks in and out no sweat (fingers crossed). He doesn't like having his bridle on (bribery seems to be working its magic here) or his ears touched (more problematic). But Em's managed to clip him. And very smart he looks too. He's much more bouncy now than when she tried him out and he absolutely loves jumping. They're even managing to go over the fences together now. Given that they have done very little due to a nasty fall 10 days after she got him, and not being able to ride during the week cos it's dark when she gets home from school, I hope it's not too soon to say they are getting on very well together.

Photos show Jack on his first outing to a friend's school. The top one is after his work-out, the bottom one, before. He behaved extremely well, given that there were mares and foals in the next field and two of Em's friends were squealing and setting off their mobile phones at every available opportunity!

A bit of a catch-up

So what's been occurring since that day in the summer when we decided that Ruby was no longer in foal?

Well, part of the deal with the stallion is that if your mare isn't in foal, you have to provide a veterinary certificate and then you don't have to pay the bill.  Unfortunately the day the scan was to take place at the stud I was on holiday and Annie was at work so I had to take her over to our vet.

Let's just say emotions were running pretty high.  I'd done a reccy the previous evening to make sure I knew where to park as the vets is right in the middle of a local market town.  

Now Ruby's a big girl.  Over 17 hands and up to weight.  I was expecting them to have a scanning crate like the stud does (a wooden crate with a door either end slightly bigger than the horse - the door at the back being low enough for the vet to carry out a scan without the likelihood of being shot into the middle of next week by a stroppy mare).  But no, there was just a small (and I mean small) loose box, slightly longer than the horse!

The vet did an internal first and, after a bit of a misunderstanding, confirmed that she was still in foal.  Then he did a scan.  Unfortunately it was too big to fit on the screen all in one go but we could identify the umbilical cord and I thought I saw a pair of knees but it could have been anything really!  And yes, there were tears.  I knew I would weep, whether it was good news or bad.  

We've still got a long way to go.  She's not due til April.  Let's just keep everything crossed til then.

Not so good news

Here's the Doob looking exceptionally smart for the Tack and Turnout yesterday. The girls were taking part in a relay race with four team members going round a variety of obstacles - rustic fences, a gate, a pen and a 'baton' changeover- racing against another team on a mirror-image course. Although they got knocked out in the first round they all acquitted themselves well.

The not so good news is that, when we got to the event Ruby appeared to be in season. The question is whether to wait til her next scheduled scan in September to see whether she's still in foal or get her tested now.

The only up-side is that she usually gives no indication that she's in season at all and it might just be her hormones. She did seem a bit 'off', not her usual chirpy self, but I thought that was because she didn't like being plaited up. Let's keep everything crossed that she was just having an off day!

Anyone for dressage?

A couple of weeks ago we went down to Addington Manor Equestrian Centre in Buckinghamshire for some unaffiliated dressage. Unfortunately the video camera batteries were flat, which was a shame because Smem always thinks it looks much more laboured than it actually does! It would do her the world of good to be able to actually see what the judge does.

Zorya's got lovely paces and with a bit more practice and some lessons I'm sure they could become really accomplished.

I think a dressage saddle might help as Smem tends to ride quite short. Not quite as short as one of her friends who wants to become a jockey. The pics from holiday of Luti riding Ruby with ultra-short stirrups are hilarious. Talk about tom-tit on a rice pudding!

(for those of you unfamiliar with the expression it means something very little sitting on something very large!)

A change is as good as a rest

Ruby had a holiday in Scotland last week. Maybe not the best thing to do in the early stages of pregnancy, but apparently both she and Zorya really enjoyed themselves. On the way home they dropped her off at the stud ready for her scan on Monday.

She's still pregnant! Hurrah! Now she won't need a further scan til September.

I hope she'll still be able to take it easy and put her hooves up now and then. I have a sneaky feeling someone has decided to take her to camp! She can be grumpy enough at the best of times. Goodness knows what she'd going to be like when she's constantly hormonal.

Do horses get cravings?

(this picture shows Ruby's love of water. She just can't get enough of the stuff, she'll even dig for it!)