Maud was out on loan during October, with the Clark Family in Inverkip. They required a pony for their grand daughter to help improve her riding abilities during the half term holidays.
Maud had a brilliant time, being ridden through wonderful estate lands by the beech, and having Ted, a large Irish hunter for company. The Clark's reported back that she was brilliant and that the whole family had fallen in love with her - that is the best news for me, she did the job she was asked to and did it well.
I actually popped down to visit Maud one morning at 8am to ride out with Ted. Although it rained, both Maud and I had a brilliant time, and we introduced Maud to the seaside. She was cool and curious to begin with but then she had a bit of a fright as the waves started to hit the shore - a ship had gone past a while before and this was the remainder of it's wash - she scooted up the beech as if the devil was after her. Once she had calmed down, I turned her away from the sea and we rode off through the woods for home.
I collected Maud two weeks ago, she managed to loose a shoe the night before and was very lame. It turned out that she had two abscesses in her front off fore hoof! How did she manage that? Anyway, a couple of visits from the blacksmith, a week of wet and dry poultices and soaking the hoof in Epsom salts, she is sound, shod and ready to roll once more.
Other than Maud. The dogs have recovered from kennel cough which they caught whilst I was in Oban at the MOD. Old chook seems to be surviving this wet and windy weather and I still haven't got her a companion yet. Coriander has been rugged for about a month, and Ruth & Bazil constantly look miserable in this incessant rain, but they are fine.
