Rainbow's Diary to May 6th, 2019

Rainbow, AKA "Fossil," has gone through a bit of a mixed few days recently.

Sunday, April 28th, 2019

Along with Benney, Rainbow was reunited with Bryn after a 16-month break.

She expressed her own excitement at this event as energetically as her 31 years would allow. As soon as she saw Benney canter off to meet Bryn, she joined in the chase. Looking sound and free of any signs of arthritis, she broke into a canter across the paddock to greet her long lost friend. She did manage to get some mutual grooming time with Bryn to renew their friendship before ambling off to continue grazing in the sunshine.

Monday, April 29th, 2019

Not such a good day.

We are still trying to find out why she has had some recurring bouts of mild colic, so the vet arrived to carry out some more checks.

Rainbow was given a sedative and underwent an abdominal scan to see if there was anything suspicious happening in the stomach and intestines. Our vet pointed out a slight thickening of the stomach wall, but not enough to be unduly concerned about. Otherwise, there were no abnormalities. As a further precaution, some stomach fluids were extracted for further analysis and they have all been confirmed as being normal.

Since the most recent bout of colic, Rainbow has been fed speedy beet, as well as her Veteran Vitality and ad lib hay. Anything to keep her digestive system operating smoothly and to keep her fully hydrated.

Sunday, May 5th, 2019

When we pulled Rainbow in from the paddock, she was pleased to see us and walked along quite happily.

We gave her a bit of a rub down in her stable and then fitted her with "long reins." These act exactly like reins in the rider’s hands, but instead, allow the handler to work from behind the horse—well out of kicking range. Long reining allows the horse to work without having to carry the weight of a rider, which is one of the main reasons we decided to do this with Rainbow. The other reason is that it enabled both Rainbow and my wife, Heather, to do something together beyond the confines of the yard.

When we set off, Rainbow felt full of life in our hands, but controllable. Every so often, she would slip in a crafty halt and bend down to have a pick of some grass. The only way we could get her to lift her head and start walking forward was by flipping the long reins so they came into contact with her hind quarters, and at the same time, giving her a voice command, "Rainbow, walk on."

Following the Same Route as in February 19

About 200 yards into the forest from Ak Ak Corner is a fallen tree lying across the path. At most, it is less than a foot high. Rainbow walked over it like it was a trotting pole. This was where Heather took the reins.

Watching them was sheer joy. Rainbow looked relaxed, was beginning to froth at the mouth, and was forward going. Heather on the reins was grinning from ear to ear talking away to Rainbow. Encouraging her. Steering her. This takes a bit of practice, as being so far from where you would normally be in the saddle the handler has to anticipate corners and obstacles sooner than if they were in the saddle. Luckily, it is quite a wide path we were on and there were no sharp 100-foot drops on either side.

We reached Dead Tree Gully where we had started a small cairn of stones to mark our earlier walk out with Rainbow back in February. The three of us, led by Rainbow’s own decision, decided that was far enough for the first time out. Once turned for home, Rainbow picked up a bit of pace. Never threatening to break into trot, but just by accelerating her walking pace a bit.

The fallen tree was still there, as it will be for a long time to come until it rots away. Heather navigated Rainbow over the lowest part and we were back in the shade and shelter of the woods. Home was only five minutes away and from the gate we could see the farm less than half a mile away.

Rainbow had lulled us into a false sense of security by walking so happily. Then on the last path home she put in a very sharp stop. Dropped her head and started to pick on the rich green grass beside the path. Voice commands to "walk on" got sterner as the flipping of the reins increased in intensity. Rainbow seemed to have lost both her sense of hearing and feeling, and the only way to break the deadlock was with an extra strong Trebor mint.

Monday, May 6th, 2019

We did the same route again. Both Heather and I had learnt from the previous day and managed to keep her going without path-side grass breaks.

Just before Dead Tree Gully, Rainbow stopped. Her head went up and her ears pricked. She had heard something and was figuring out where the noise had come from. Ahead, three deer bounded over the undergrowth and then disappeared over the ridge. Still, Rainbow remained in the alert position and was now looking to her left.

We heard a few light and dull thuds. Less than 10 metres away, two small fallow deer were bounding over the undergrowth, but their movement at speed, normally silent, was given away by the dry ground they were crossing. In a flash they went over the same ridge where the first three had gone and were out of sight.

Reflections

Walking with Rainbow is always good. It is never time wasted. It allows us to enjoy the beauty of the New Forest together when Heather is currently not riding. Sometimes, we are lucky and see deer or birds of prey. Sometimes, we are not. But these moment are something we can share knowing that we are doing some good for Rainbow by taking her out for gentle exercise.

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." —Winston S. Churchill