I turned Bug out in a field with my old Junior horse, Womby, and others while I deliberated what to do. After another close examination we decided to try one more treatment followed by 12 months in the field and see if a slightly different approach might give the leg more support and get rid of the stubborn inflammation. I have to try everything possible because Bug hates holidays and feels dreadfully left out, this dreary past year has even led him to start weaving in the stable. He has not actually been lame but the leg seems to get a little inflamed again every time I increase his work load. The treated leg didn't look too pretty to begin with but it is improving well and meanwhile I turn him out every morning. Luckily to begin with he was too sore to bounce about, but now I sometimes have to dope him a little. Soon he can go out full time, but meanwhile he hates being locked indoors!
The yard has grown lots in size leading to very long hours and late suppers. Thank goodness things are warming up, not long ago I calculated doing up and undoing up to 25 rug straps per horse per day! Stabled horses get human bed duvets under a stable rug making life much easier, but as many go out at night they require several turn out rugs with dozens of straps! To Kiwi, Bug, Sunshine and Isabella's Beam I added Pennyz (Sally Bullen's springy grey mare I rode to Novice level last year) and Scar (another Novice delightful ex racehorse I share with my trainer) that I collected from Hampshire in early March. I soon got to work getting them ready for the new event season.
The yard also had some other visitors. Milo came to stay for a fortnight of boot camp whilst his owner, Hattie, was on holiday. I enjoyed riding him, he started the first day making me hang on for dear life as he broncked several feet into the air, by day three of Cotswold hills and me bossing him around he lost all inclination to buck, and even started to lose a few centimetres off his huge pregnant belly! Another very entertaining friend brought his gigantic horse, Dollar, for livery. Nick has had Isabella and I in stitches ever since. He knows every single possible bit of gossip one could want to know about the area, out hacking he has an entertaining titbit to impart about any house I point at! Three bridleways through the successful Daylesford Estate's stud provides plenty of snooping and drooling at immaculate paddocks of youngsters and fancy arenas worthy of an international dressage venue! One more delightful livery addition was my friend Kirsty, with her beautiful shiny new four year old show jumping mare. Cassie had just arrived from France and seemed so dumbstruck at the huge grassy paddocks she just stood in the middle unsure what to do! Kirsty is admirably dedicated having to ride at dawn to be smartly changed in time for work, but she kindly sometimes helps me at weekends.
The 2010 eventing season has had a stuttering start, many events got rained off, and when the weather finally improved I managed to miss an event with concussion... (more later). Isabella was the first to compete, in an Open Novice at Tweseldown, she was placed and, despite an unnecessary pole down, came home smiley after a great cross country run. Unfortunately she has since been singularly unlucky as Beam first wasted a few weeks fighting off a lung infection (possibly due to rather pathetically choking on a handful of feed nuts!) and has now lost a couple more weeks getting over a mystery lameness! I feel so sorry for Isa, such a waste of her one season in the UK... we think persuading Daddy to go horse shopping would be a good solution!
My first event this season was at Munstead with Scar and Pennyz, after the one I was meant to go to was cancelled. I was lucky Munstead squeezed me in last minute, especially as the following week got rained off too! It can be a bit of a nightmare at this end of the season because you start entering higher classes for your third event for example, but if all the previous runs get cancelled the horses are then not confident enough to step up a level.
The day started under somewhat stressful circumstances! Two naughty ponies that were due to compete, Kiwi and Sunshine, had been turned out overnight as usual in a huge field. At 6am Isabella went to get them in before going off eventing with Pennyz and Scar, but after much walking up and down in the mist she realised they weren't there! Furthermore, one of the gates that provides access to one of the two footpaths that cross through the field was open with hoofprints through it! Clearly some walkers had failed to shut the gate and the horses had decided to go walkabout. What still defeats me is how can a 15 acre grassy field not be sufficient sleeping space for two small Thoroughbreds? We immediately whizzed round the yard, down the long drive and peered into all the nearby fields, but we really had to set off for Munstead so I started ringing everyone to round up the troops and leave them to it... Chris came to ride his horse and rode round all the 1500 acres of Fern Farm, Kirsty rode and drove round another large acreage, Tom, my boyfriend went to help and Hayley, my landlord's groom, rang round local friends.
Two hours later I had reached Munstead and everyone was drawing blanks, you'd think that if the field was really not good enough they would set off round the farm's green fields? Eventually Tom rang the police... they had had three sitings 
reported overnight in three different villages! It turns out they had crossed the main road (I shiver to think of it) and taken themselves for a hack out of Adlestrop and over to Kingham before being found in Daylesford by the estate manager at 3am who kindly put them in a field! I entirely blame Kiwi... I can just picture him dragging Sunshine off, and Sunshine tagging along behind him, probably suggesting they should go back home and not get into trouble! Luckily Kirsty and Tom went over to Daylesford and rode them home again! I cannot believe they went so far, were they looking for the pub or something? It was Friday night... Naughty, naughty ponies and wretched walkers!!
Despite this our first run went brilliantly with a double clear for Scar and nearly for Pennyz too (she just got a bit stuck in the mud taking off in the show jumping and had one down really taking her by surprise), both dressage tests were really good too so it was a very pleasing day, shame we had to be HC in the BE100 as they both have points.
Howick the following week got rained off, the week after that I had to miss Larkhill with concussion... I went hacking with friends one morning, Suzie and Lucinda had come to help a couple of times whilst Isabella abandoned me for ten days (she supposedly went back to Italy to pass her HGV test, but it turns out she also visited a boy... much teasing from my housemates ensued!). 
We were cantering through a field when Scar spooked at some fallen branches, I corrected him and he came back immediately, but I guess it was so swift he lost his back feet on the skiddy grass whilst responding, slipped badly and went splat in a flash. It happened so fast I didn't even realise we were falling and hit my head! I was knocked out for three minutes with my eyes open, the girls must have thought I was dead! I then lay another 20 minutes extremely confused before I eventually remembered where I was and shakily stood up.
By this stage the ambulance had arrived thanks to my friends' sensible actions, I reckoned I was going to be ok but was persuaded to go and get checked. I knew I was concussed and needed to be checked over, but 45 minutes bumping in a closed environment the whole way to Cheltenham General Hospital was unhelpful, giving me a thumping headache! I snoozed a bit on a hospital trolley until a doctor came and made me follow his fingers with my eyes before releasing me. I escaped to sit on a bench in the fresh air to aid recovery, I wasn't entirely sure 45 minutes bumping my head around had been worth the two wiggling fingers and lack of fresh air. I also found out later that after the ambulance had taken me away a helicopter air ambulance arrived, which although far more exciting was a waste of resources. It seems that communication between the emergency services is not very good.
The girls came to collect me and we then had to work out how I was going to sort eight horses with no Isabella! Luckily Nick and other friends came to the rescue, some horses had a couple of days off and I managed to stop myself riding and 
driving for three days. I needed to recover quickly as mini Pony Club camp was coming to stay that week, three ponies and children! I was worried about being able to drive them about and look after them, but luckily they were actually a huge blessing as Izzy, Zoe and Georgina were outstandingly helpful and with each of them riding one of my horses (admittedly with a bit of calmer to be safe!) and mucking out a couple of stables each, everything got done extremely efficiently! They did very well with their ponies too and we went cross country and show jumping schooling as well as practising more fun jumping without hands at the yard. My headache steadily improved - I tried to avoid bouncy ponies, running, bending down, sweeping and muck heap stacking!
The following week I urgently had to find another event to squash in as a long gap without runs would have been an unsatisfactory way of arriving at the horses’ first Novice of the season. Luckily Bickenhall took pity on me and squeezed in three entries, Pennyz and Scar in BE100 and Sunshine in his first event, a BE90! Sadly they all had to be HC, but I had the best day one can wish for eventing, three double clears all with good dressage! Most of them would have won had they not been HC! Sunshine particularly excelled himself, he was extremely brave, albeit with a gobsmacked face, and even got both canter transitions right in the dressage, that never happens at home! Luckily I had Isabella helping, she is extremely efficient and delightful company - I am so lucky!
On the home front the dresser has been trimmed and now fits perfectly in the conservatory, the radiators have been fixed, light fittings have been swapped and added, bathroom units have been 
built and the bathroom is finally no longer lilac. However I am honestly giving up on ever finding a glazer to get rid of the hateful frosted bathroom window, no less than three have now completely vanished on me! I thought we were in an economic crisis? I have three delightful and helpful housemates, two Toms (confusing) and Isabella, luckily we mostly have different timetables and boys have less stuff anyway. I am so much happier, I hated getting stranded in Hampshire. Here in Gloucestershire not only do I get the company of great housemates, but many dear friends drop in to say hi or help, I almost need some evenings alone to get more things done! I get home so late and tired it is very hard to get paperwork and emails done, especially with a broken computer. I hope I can afford to pay for a little yard help soon! At least the spring grass and drier fields mean there is more turnout.