All change again at Rockley this week, with Nicky now settled in and best pals with Dillon, Lenny going home (comparison photos of him should be up here over the weekend) and big (BIG - 17.2hh!) new boy Taz arriving.
New arrivals of course are always exciting - after discussing a horse via email and photos and reading their veterinary reports, as well as speaking to their owners and vets, its always a big moment finally meeting the horse and there is always a sense of anticipation as he or she emerges from the lorry.
Although horses always come here under veterinary referral, with their vet's consent, its often the case that the owner has been the one who has first found out about our rehab and they have taken the initial steps towards finding out more and discussing with me and their vet whether rehab here would be suitable.
Taz however is one of a (currently) select group of horses who has a vet who is not only aware of the rehab programme at Rockley but has actually been here and ridden one of my own horses as well as being intimately acquainted with an ex-rehab horse :-)
I first met Polly Dick when her friend's horse, Paul, was a rehab horse here in 2009 and
I also posted about her last year. I was thrilled when - as a vet now in practice in Lincolnshire - she recommended that Taz should come here not as a last resort but as a "first resort".
As you can see, Taz is also blessed with an excellent farrier who is extremely interested in learning more about barefoot and an incredibly dedicated owner - all in all, he has life sewn up :-) More on him soon but meanwhile here is his initial footage.
Taz from
Nic Barker on
Vimeo.
PS: YAY!! Our tractors have both been resurrected by Nigel Kingdon, tractor healer extraordinaire, and due once again to the good offices of Edward who brought his own (fully functioning) tractor round to tow my poor little Massey Ferguson out of the hay field when nothing else could... Combustion engines are beyond me - think I'll stick to repairing horses.... :-)
Goodness, he's a big, handsome boy! And his landing looks pretty good actually - a smidge toe first (or flat) in front, so I'm curious about what's up with him?
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad the Tractor Healing was successful! Nothing quite like being without the heavy equipment when you really need it...
From little acorns mighty oaks do grow - there is hope for the future of veterinary science yet ;)
ReplyDeleteTo me I must admit it looks as if the currently wore landings are RF and RH - both are toe first and the RH is sliding as well. LF is intermittently flat/toe first - I'm hoping all 3 will improve pretty quickly :-)
ReplyDeleteReally glad Polly has recommended Rockley as a first resort, very pleased!
ReplyDeleteAlso Nic, thanks for your post on Forageplus, having the grass & haylage analysed and changing Paul's mineral balance has worked wonders. Would definately recommend this to anyone who leaves Rockley and experiences blips when back on their own patch :-)