I finally got my pair of greys. Like is often the way, timing was not ideal, but I guess the key is to take advantage of opportunities when they become available. I wasn’t completely back in action after knee surgery, but this just meant Mickey and Curly could have time to settle in, without needing to commence work straight away.
When I picked them up, Rob met me at Keith. On arrival, I realised that I had forgotten to bring halters. It had also been a number of years since these guys had been on a horse float, usually they travel by truck. It didn’t matter however, as the loaded beautifully, we shut the doors, then took their halters off. They still travelled like the seasoned professionals that they are, although while stationery at the ferry crossing, Curly got a bit fidgety.
Gave them a week or so to settle in, then decided to take them for a drive around the block. I used collars and leather harness, as that is what they were usually worked in, and other than being a bit more forward than I am used to, they were brilliant. For the first few drives, I made sure I had someone with me, just as a safety.
About 3 weeks after their arrival, Mickey got a slight cut on his front leg. Nothing major, so I put some spray on it, and thought it would be ok. Mickey had other plans. His whole leg swelled up like a balloon. On what was probably the windiest day this year, I loaded him into the float, and took him to Horsemed. A true gentleman, and incredibly behaved throughout the whole process, his cut was cleaned, and he was treated for cellulitis. He didn’t love the oral antibiotics I was insisting that he needed, and I wonder if it made him go off his food slightly, as the next evening he colicked.
Called the vet out, and he was drenched and given pain relief. While there were some poos by morning, I wasn’t convinced there were enough, so we went back up to Echunga, where he was drenched again, then decided to leave him there, as it was an obstruction colic, that needed further treatment. By all reports, he was a model patient. His obstruction cleared with further drenching, so he came home the following day.
Not long after, it was Curly’s turn to lay down and look uncomfortable. Vet came out, drenched and gave pain relief. 8 hours later, pain relief wore off and clearly she was not ok. Off we went to Echunga for another overnight stay. While her blockage dissipated, Curly refused to eat. She was clinically fine, but not at all interested in food. We made the decision to treat them both for ulcers, and sand, assuming that the move may have caused them stress and that may have been the catalyst. After a few days she found her appetite again.
By now, the end of June, our gypsy wagon holiday was approaching. We made the bold decision to take Mickey and Curly- even though we hadn’t had much chance to get to know them. This turned out to be the best decision, as they were awesome. 90 kms in 6 days was a great chance to get to know them better.
We learned a lot about their likes and dislikes, about their quirks, and about how fast they like to travel. It was a great opportunity to teach them we travel much slower than they are used to, and to learn their personalities on the overnight stops. When we got to Milang, it was sunny, and 12 degrees felt warm. As Katrina had a French exchange student with her, and other members traveling with us who had never had the opportunity to swim horses before, we decided to have a paddle in the lake. It was so cold, but so much fun. Mickey specifically enjoyed the water, and splashed and played.
About an hour after our swim session, while we were preparing for tea, we notice Mickey start showing colic symptoms. It was like he was frozen. He laid down, was disinterested in feed and just looked generally uncomfortable. After discussions with his vet, we administered some flunixon for pain relief. By 3 am, (we we got up to capture the other horses who had escaped) there were sufficient number of poos, and he was happily eating. I’ve since learned that some horses do have that reaction after swimming- so it will be interesting to see if it happens again when we swim when the weather is warmer.
On the last 2 days of our gypsy wagon trek, we made some adjustments to the collars to see if we could make them fit better. Unfortunately, while untacking at home, we learned that we’d made them too tight, and both horses had been pinched by the pole strap, to the point that it left big rub marks.
This meant they needed a month or so off, for their shoulders to recover, which at the time seemed disastrous, however ultimately, turns out I was going to need some time off too, but that story is in the next episode.