@Yorkshire Coop
Hi Kim
Side saddle lesson is not till next Tues, but will update you, hopefully with a positive result as I am committed to going back up for a second lesson with everyone else next month. My best mate is here from Australia so just the wo of us are going on Tue. She and I rode out yesterday on Rebel and MeMe and unfortunately we had another eventful ride! All was going really nicely until we cut through a narrow path in the woods where we have ridden many times. Out of the blue and without warning, Rebel lashed out and smacked MeMe full force in the upper foreleg. I dread to think what it would have been like if he had been shod behind (thankfully he is barefoot), but there was
a lot of blood as it was and I had to take my tabard off and tie it around to stem the flow! Thankfully, once she got over the shock and initial pain and I got the worst of the blood flow stopped, she was OK but obviously I had to lead her home and Rebel is in disgrace! Really disappointed in him as I'm pretty sure it was deliberate. Got some funny looks from passers by wearing my blood soaked tabard on the way back leading my horse, as it looked like we had been in a major car crash!
Of course MeMe has a thing about water, fluids, sprays or anything that smells "funny" so I had to resort to a lot of bribery to get her wound cleaned up when we got home. It was weeping a lot last night so I applied a wet dressing and bandage over night and I'm a lot happier with it this morning. Thankfully she is getting better about having it cleaned and treated provided there is a steady flow of nuggets to reward her when she is being good! I'm a bit concerned about the flies being so bad at the moment but hoping that if I keep it scrubbed clean twice a day and Protection Plus salve on it, it will be OK. Keeping a bandage on it is challenging when she is not stabled and I think the exercise is better for the healing process than standing around on box rest.
It's a shame you didn't manage to get out on Harry, especially when you have access to stubble fields.... I'm rather jealous as access to any fields here is rare. Our canter/gallop options are usually limited to the railway lines when the ground is soft enough and no one about or wide grass verges which is always a risk with my horses which are terrors for diving sideways or bucking at the earliest available opportunity and therefore a bit of a risk with an adjacent road.
We are trying to get Ian's horses fit for hunting season now (they are fat as pigs), so doing a lot more driving with them at the moment to build up stamina and try to burn some fat off before we ride them. I worry about my lot putting on weight and then I see Ian's 3 and go back and look at mine and they look positively skinny by comparison!
Egg production is dropping off noticeably now. 3 out of 5 pekins are again
and others are starting to moult. Interestingly Tasha has not gone broody this year at all. I do wonder if she is clever enough to know that without a rooster, there is no point trying to hatch eggs.
Anyway, that is all my news. Hope you have a good weekend and manage to get out on Harry and have fun.
Best wishes
Barbara
He does look better but I'm always wanting more on him. I guess it maybe due to the fact his field pal Bran looks like he's about to give birth!! Him looking like that makes Harry look skinny so a similar situation to yours with comparing. If I can get a bit more meat on him before winter I will be happy. I like to have a good start with winter because if he gets a bit cold the weight just drops off. 
