JenHunt
Well-Known Member
Hello strangers, long time mo speak
I cant even remember the last time we did a hunting diary?! Lets have a bit of a re-cap then
So last season was an odd one ended up with only 8 days. We were late getting started as silly Tom got his leg stuck in some wire in August, and skinned the front of a hock, he had a week of drugs, some box rest and then because he is a tit and box walks, door kicks and is a general stress head he got turned out as he kept opening it all up anyway
Then mum couldnt take me out to get fit because stress-head Tom (aka stinky) would go bananas and make himself sore and open up the wound again.
Just as that all healed over and he came sound, my front foot started to hurt, and it took so long to come right that mum had to admit defeat and speak to the vetman. He came and paid me compliments (said I had good legs, gave me a clean bill of health generally and said that I didnt look my age) and he poked my foot and pulled my legs and said some things along the lines of with a movement like that (he reckoned I stamp, and mum agreed!! How rude.) some arthritic changes are inevitable but not to worry about them as theyre not causing issue at the moment and that Im better off fit, happy and worked even if I need some drugs to keep me 100% comfortable, than left in a field for that comment alone the man is worth his weight in gold! He declared it was a bruise, gave mum some drugs to give me and told us to get on with it. But as Id heard him tell mum this, I knew to look for drugs and I refused to eat anything in a bucket until mum filled it with molasses Whoooppeeee!!! Bucket Deep, Sugar high!
I dont know if it was the drugs or the sugar but I felt a Lot better. A few days later and mum and I were back getting ready for hunting.
Then, just as we were getting fit, Tom pulled another sickie, and came in from the field on 3 legs. Shoeman came, took the shoe off & said it was an abscess but couldnt find it. Mum, and grandma & granddad and the black hound spent ages letting Tom stand on 3 legs, and poking about in his foot, and making him stand with it in a bucket of water. He said that was quite nice, and he didnt want to go out as his foot hurt so much. They then kept wrapping it in pink bandage. About a week later there was the worst smell imaginable (believe me, living next door to Stinky I know all about bad smells!) coming from next door, and the humans said that it had burst, but they couldnt work out where from or when it would stop. Next time the shoe man came he dug about it the holes in Toms feet and there were 4 separate holes where the abscess had burst, including one between the bulbs of his heels. Shoeman is still finding evidence of the abscess a year later btw
So, we then got going, but Stinky wasnt going to be fit enough, so mum and I went and had a few days on our own. None of them were spectacular but its always good to be out isnt it! Then aunty Jayne (a very good friend of mums) started riding Tom more regularly to help mum get him fit as mums OH (who took me jumping hedges with no saddle 2 years ago) was doing a lot of training for some IronMan event (that doesnt sound like much fun I mean, who wants to be covered in Iron? Or turned into Iron or whatever it is they do . ) And aunty Jayne didnt have a horse to ride. Tom is a bit (a lot!) on the big side for her, but hes pretty kind and they got on well so it was fine except when I challenged him to race up our favourite field.
Right at the end of last season the local hunt (not the one mum and I had been out with) met at our house. In my field! This happens about once every 2 years, and mum always tries to make sure we can get out even for a short while, but her OH couldnt not work, so aunty Jayne said shed take Tom, even though she had never been hunting before (mum said everyone has to start somewhere), and though shed never jumped anything (mum said there wouldnt be anything to jump and even if there was we could go round them) and she thought Tom would be too strong (mum said if he was wed turn away and come home. I bit him and threatened to beat him up if he ruined my day hunting). The day dawned and Tom was very excited and was sweaty before mum even put his saddle on. Aunty Jayne was really really nervous. Mum was worried that Jayne would get scared or wouldnt enjoy it. I was worried that Tom would ruin my day.
As it turned out mum lied. A lot. Tom was strong to start with, but she told aunty Jayne to let him trot on as we were only going up a hill on the road with everyone else. Then about ten minutes in there were several jumps (little trees about 2ft6 across the path) with no way round, and mum told aunty Jayne to just hold the neck strap and let Tom pop them (he aimed for the big bit and flew them). Mum was so busy watching them that I put in a bunny hop, a sideways leap and then took off 2 stride early. Then realised as I landed that Id left mum behind. Ooops. No harm done though, her ample padding meant that she bounced, and she climbed back on from one of the trees that wed jumped. The other horses and their riders all helped mum to look after Aunty Jayne and Tom, making sure that he couldnt naff off without me, and that he wasnt scaring her.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful really.
Mum and Aunty Jayne were discussing when to head home, and agreed that another half hour or so would be fine. Mum didnt want Jayne or Tom to get too tired, and didnt want us to have too long a hack home. We then turned down a track, and Tom ended up quite a bit ahead of me. Mum and I came round a corner to find that Tom had just stopped, in the middle of the track and didnt want to go further even though there was a jump ahead. Jayne said hed just stopped. Mum said that hed just realised he was too tired! So we turned for home there and then, and it was a very slow hack home as Tom was too tired to walk properly. The adrenaline had all gone and it was about half 1 when we got home. Aunty Jayne said shed loved it and that mum was right about it all. She couldnt wait to go again.
The summer came and Tom and I were allowed our usual 4 week field break, but it seemed to go on for a while longer. Turns out that mum had been signed up to cycle round London in August so spent all summer on a bicycle, including a week in cornwall with Aunty Jayne, and a week in Mallorca with the OH, and a weekend in Yorkshire with the OH and Aunty Jayne. Still, we got to laze about in the sun and eat lots, so it was fine.
In May time, Aunty Jayne and her daughter S got a new pony. A little cowpony called King. Nice sort, 15.2hh, 9yo, Irish (only the best for them!), not done a great deal, but S wanted to bring a horse on and had no preference for competing or hunting or anything, so he fit the bill. Nice chap, bit standoffish and doesnt do manhugs. Tom hates him though, hes convinced that King and I are BFFs just cos we went cross country schooling once. Tom was so upset when I got back that hed lain down in the field and given up (or so he says, I reckon hed fallen asleep).
Then in September, Aunty Jayne got a horse for her to ride. I havent seen him, but mum says Ive met him before. We apparently did a nanny and novice hunter trial a few years ago with his previous owner. Mum set him and Jayne up, and she loves him already. Hes a Cleveland Bay x TB, brown pony, about 16hh, very quiet and sensible (sounds right boring if you ask me!), but mum doesnt think hes been hunting before.
So that brings us up to last weekend.
to be continued...
Just as that all healed over and he came sound, my front foot started to hurt, and it took so long to come right that mum had to admit defeat and speak to the vetman. He came and paid me compliments (said I had good legs, gave me a clean bill of health generally and said that I didnt look my age) and he poked my foot and pulled my legs and said some things along the lines of with a movement like that (he reckoned I stamp, and mum agreed!! How rude.) some arthritic changes are inevitable but not to worry about them as theyre not causing issue at the moment and that Im better off fit, happy and worked even if I need some drugs to keep me 100% comfortable, than left in a field for that comment alone the man is worth his weight in gold! He declared it was a bruise, gave mum some drugs to give me and told us to get on with it. But as Id heard him tell mum this, I knew to look for drugs and I refused to eat anything in a bucket until mum filled it with molasses Whoooppeeee!!! Bucket Deep, Sugar high!
I dont know if it was the drugs or the sugar but I felt a Lot better. A few days later and mum and I were back getting ready for hunting.Then, just as we were getting fit, Tom pulled another sickie, and came in from the field on 3 legs. Shoeman came, took the shoe off & said it was an abscess but couldnt find it. Mum, and grandma & granddad and the black hound spent ages letting Tom stand on 3 legs, and poking about in his foot, and making him stand with it in a bucket of water. He said that was quite nice, and he didnt want to go out as his foot hurt so much. They then kept wrapping it in pink bandage. About a week later there was the worst smell imaginable (believe me, living next door to Stinky I know all about bad smells!) coming from next door, and the humans said that it had burst, but they couldnt work out where from or when it would stop. Next time the shoe man came he dug about it the holes in Toms feet and there were 4 separate holes where the abscess had burst, including one between the bulbs of his heels. Shoeman is still finding evidence of the abscess a year later btw
So, we then got going, but Stinky wasnt going to be fit enough, so mum and I went and had a few days on our own. None of them were spectacular but its always good to be out isnt it! Then aunty Jayne (a very good friend of mums) started riding Tom more regularly to help mum get him fit as mums OH (who took me jumping hedges with no saddle 2 years ago) was doing a lot of training for some IronMan event (that doesnt sound like much fun I mean, who wants to be covered in Iron? Or turned into Iron or whatever it is they do . ) And aunty Jayne didnt have a horse to ride. Tom is a bit (a lot!) on the big side for her, but hes pretty kind and they got on well so it was fine except when I challenged him to race up our favourite field.
Right at the end of last season the local hunt (not the one mum and I had been out with) met at our house. In my field! This happens about once every 2 years, and mum always tries to make sure we can get out even for a short while, but her OH couldnt not work, so aunty Jayne said shed take Tom, even though she had never been hunting before (mum said everyone has to start somewhere), and though shed never jumped anything (mum said there wouldnt be anything to jump and even if there was we could go round them) and she thought Tom would be too strong (mum said if he was wed turn away and come home. I bit him and threatened to beat him up if he ruined my day hunting). The day dawned and Tom was very excited and was sweaty before mum even put his saddle on. Aunty Jayne was really really nervous. Mum was worried that Jayne would get scared or wouldnt enjoy it. I was worried that Tom would ruin my day.
As it turned out mum lied. A lot. Tom was strong to start with, but she told aunty Jayne to let him trot on as we were only going up a hill on the road with everyone else. Then about ten minutes in there were several jumps (little trees about 2ft6 across the path) with no way round, and mum told aunty Jayne to just hold the neck strap and let Tom pop them (he aimed for the big bit and flew them). Mum was so busy watching them that I put in a bunny hop, a sideways leap and then took off 2 stride early. Then realised as I landed that Id left mum behind. Ooops. No harm done though, her ample padding meant that she bounced, and she climbed back on from one of the trees that wed jumped. The other horses and their riders all helped mum to look after Aunty Jayne and Tom, making sure that he couldnt naff off without me, and that he wasnt scaring her.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful really.
Mum and Aunty Jayne were discussing when to head home, and agreed that another half hour or so would be fine. Mum didnt want Jayne or Tom to get too tired, and didnt want us to have too long a hack home. We then turned down a track, and Tom ended up quite a bit ahead of me. Mum and I came round a corner to find that Tom had just stopped, in the middle of the track and didnt want to go further even though there was a jump ahead. Jayne said hed just stopped. Mum said that hed just realised he was too tired! So we turned for home there and then, and it was a very slow hack home as Tom was too tired to walk properly. The adrenaline had all gone and it was about half 1 when we got home. Aunty Jayne said shed loved it and that mum was right about it all. She couldnt wait to go again.
The summer came and Tom and I were allowed our usual 4 week field break, but it seemed to go on for a while longer. Turns out that mum had been signed up to cycle round London in August so spent all summer on a bicycle, including a week in cornwall with Aunty Jayne, and a week in Mallorca with the OH, and a weekend in Yorkshire with the OH and Aunty Jayne. Still, we got to laze about in the sun and eat lots, so it was fine.
In May time, Aunty Jayne and her daughter S got a new pony. A little cowpony called King. Nice sort, 15.2hh, 9yo, Irish (only the best for them!), not done a great deal, but S wanted to bring a horse on and had no preference for competing or hunting or anything, so he fit the bill. Nice chap, bit standoffish and doesnt do manhugs. Tom hates him though, hes convinced that King and I are BFFs just cos we went cross country schooling once. Tom was so upset when I got back that hed lain down in the field and given up (or so he says, I reckon hed fallen asleep).
Then in September, Aunty Jayne got a horse for her to ride. I havent seen him, but mum says Ive met him before. We apparently did a nanny and novice hunter trial a few years ago with his previous owner. Mum set him and Jayne up, and she loves him already. Hes a Cleveland Bay x TB, brown pony, about 16hh, very quiet and sensible (sounds right boring if you ask me!), but mum doesnt think hes been hunting before.
So that brings us up to last weekend.
to be continued...
