Grumpy-mare

Beautiful perfect boy for his first ride back after 4months off and surgery on his foot. Canter wasn’t in the plan but he popped into the most beautiful canter we figured we might as well take it. He don’t put a foot wrong, we had completely expected some fresh, excited behaviour but he was soft and relaxed the entire ride. He’s just the best boy.

11 weeks post surgery and Bobby finally got to go on his first outing today. He was such a good boy, it’s probably been more like 4 months since he’s actually been out and apart from being very on he was exceptionally well behaved. Considering how long he’s been on stall rest I’m really happy with his condition, now hopefully we can start building up muscle again. He was very much sound which is SO lovely to see

My baby

When I realised I’d actually purchased a baby and he was coming home, I realised I needed a companion for him. The intention was always for Bobby to have a paddock mate but Bobby’s still on stall rest with supervised turnout - he’s also very large and very intense and playful so putting him with a little baby right now feels not quite right. I have several options but for some reason Dusty kept coming to mind. Dusty has stepped into this role in a way I never imagined. She’s firm with him but always fair. When Memphis is worried he looks to Dusty. Dusty has absolutely thrived, we separated her from her usual paddock mate, Dime, because dime hates geldings and I wasn’t willing to test that on a baby lol. Dusty has been so calm and confident, so sure of herself in ways I’ve not seen from her ever. She has come SUCH a long way from the terrified mare I got years ago. I always had Fly as my backup if Dusty didn’t enjoy this role but from day one Dusty has truly flourished and I really feel like giving her this kind of responsibility has been exactly what she’s needed at this point in her journey. I gave Dusty to my sister a couple years ago because it was so clear they had a connection and that Dusty needed to be one persons horse but watching Dusty be the perfect mare to my baby feels like such a full circle moment. I’m so proud of her. I’m so proud of how far she’s come and how much she’s thriving now. She has truly been the most perfect companion to Memphis and I am so grateful to her. Seeing her so happy and confident means more than I can ever put into words. She’s come such a long way from the pony I picked up who would tremble all over if a person or horse came within eyeshot of her.

Bobby’s also been teaching his baby about cuddling with humans

Bobby has a very strict cuddle before mucking out policy. absolutely non negotiable

Bobby’s still completely in love with his baby

After 7 weeks in the stable, Bobby is finally allowed to start having some paddock time again which he was VERY pleased with

Bobby and his baby

Baby Memphis arrived this morning and has already settled in like he’s always been here. He’s the world’s most chill baby. Dusty has taken on the duty of new mother, Bobby is absolutely desperate to go out and play with his new brother and I’m really hoping if we get some more dry weather we’ll able to let Bobby out with him soon

I bought a baby

Bob says hey

What a privilege to still have my best friend after 17 years together. Even more so to have her absolutely thriving at 27. I hope we get more years together but no matter how much longer have I’m so grateful these years of her life have been so good

He’s been a very good boy so far will stall rest, his giant carrot has been a wonderful addition

Bobby’s new best friend

Such a relief to have him back home and recovering

He’s currently pretty sound despite being barefoot (he’s been shod for a long time so is understandably a little bit foot sore). The specialist feels pretty optimistic that removing the keratoma and checking the old fracture is clean will mean after recovery he can come back to normal work. Most likely he’ll be shod with pads but he should be back to normal eventually. Anyway I found his X-rays interesting to look at so thought I’d share them. I’m very interested how this process will happen. Thankfully it’s a standing surgery so aside from that they’re removing part of his hoof which is major, it’s a relatively “minor” surgery. He’s having surgery tomorrow and we’ll most likely be picking him up on Friday. I hate thinking of him in a strange place wondering where his family is but everyone there is just so lovely and he’s surrounded by other horses. I’m just hoping everything goes smoothly. Fortunately Bobby copes very well with extended stall rest so the next couple of months will be focused on making sure recovery goes as well as it can. Oh man horses are hard sometimes. I just want my boy happy and pain free