Gumboots and Jeans

House update

2009-04-29T12:08:00.005+12:00

The gibb-stopper has nearly finished in the hall and two of the bedrooms. Yay!! Which means we can start painting soon. Then we'll move into one of those rooms and the master bedroom will be gibb-stopped.

My partner and I are having a bit of an argument about what to do with the windowsills in the bedrooms. He wants to sand them like we've done in the lounge. But the fact that we haven't even finished those off yet makes me highly doubtful that we'll ever finish 3 more big windows. So I'm going for the paint option. This will also be better in terms of protecting the wood from the damp. The windows in the bedrooms do tend to get a bit wet in winter.

We're also looking at getting a nice new wardrobe fitted but my goodness, they're expensive. For a few shelves and a couple of poles it doesn't really seem like good value. But we have to way up the convenience of someone else doing everything against the time it would take us to make the same thing. And time is one thing we don't have enough of.

Window furnishings are another important thing we're looking at with winter nearly here. We got a quote at the proper blind shop that came to nearly $6000 to do the whole house!!! Of course we did choose the second most expensive blinds they have. It was the only one we could agree on LOL.

I want just some nice plain roman blinds, I've seen some that I really like that are white with wood poles. They look classy, but not too fussy and best of all we can get them cheap at the local Warehouse store. The only problem would be getting the right sizes.

The lounge has not progressed any. We still have no lights, the rest of the sanding still needs to be done and window coverings need to be chosen.

Things are happening way too slowly but we only have ourselves to blame. I'm busy with studying, working and riding and this is my partners busy season so he has been working up to 80 hour a week. He's taking some time off soon and I will be giving Fox a month off so hopefully we'll be able to finish a few things!!

Upcoming Competitions

2009-04-28T15:36:00.002+12:00

I am doing the next day of the Winter Dressage Series, still doing the two walk/trot test but I have also entered a canter test. I'm pretty nervous about it but like people keep telling me, it's all fun. Good thing is one of the walk/trot tests is the one I got eliminated on last time so really keen to have another crack at it.

I'm also doing combined training at a One Day Event the weekend after the dressage. That means I'm doing the dressage and the showjumping. I wanted to do the cross country too but back protectors are compulsory and with all the vets bills lately, I can't justify getting one right now. It will give me a good experience though. I'll know how it all works for the next time.

Fox is really pleased to be back jumping, I think he's really missed it.

Vets

2009-04-23T16:32:00.002+12:00

We have been to the vets 4 times this month!!
First was for Jack and Kitty Slut's vaccinations, next was Jack getting another staph infection and then Sam broke a tooth. He's at the vet's now getting a dental. The whole tooth needs to be pulled because he exposed the root pulp.

I haven't paid for the surgery today but we will have probably spent around $500 at the vets this month. I'm totally in the wrong industry!!

I guess that's the price you pay when you have animals.

Jack will be the most expensive animal I have ever owned. Because of the likely hood that he will have lifelong skin problems we can expect regular trips to the vet for him. We've probably spent close to $2000 on all his medical stuff and that's just in the first year!!

But it's worth it isn't it :)

Results!!!

2009-04-06T12:02:00.006+12:00

Fox and I had such a good day. Results wise, things were a bit mixed but the weather was fantastic and the other competitors were really friendly so a good all round atmosphere.

Results - First test: Fourth!!! I got my ribbon!!

Second test: Eliminated :(

Fox caught me by surprise and ducked out the gap. I was a bit upset at first but got over it pretty quickly. Based on scores I would have come fourth on that one too.

My whole family came and watched which was really cool.

But the biggest surprise of the day was getting Best Presented Horse and Rider!! We didn't even know they were doing that. I have to give full credit to my friend who insisted we plait and helped me do Fox's plaits.

I'm also going to have to start using Fox's show name as all the other horses had long pretty ones but I don't really like it. It's L'Fox Affaire which just doesn't seem to suit him.

I'm going to try and do the whole series which is four days over winter. There is also a winter show jumping series that I'm thinking about doing.

Here's some pics

Fox and I

My dad, neice and Fox

Warming up

Test

Nearly Ready for my Dressage

2009-04-03T11:47:00.004+13:00

Well, I've learnt my tests the best I can, organised the truck and the float so I'm good to go for Sunday. Wish me luck!!
I'm only really doing it for the experience but part of me really wants one of those ribbons.

Fox and I have had a bit of a struggle over the last week, he's had to have the bit back in his mouth and he hates it. It is getting a bit better now, but he has a tendency to be really heavy on his forehand with a bit and he also leans on my hands something wicked. We're trying to reach a happy median in terms of contact. A touch too much and Fox tosses his head round, too little and he falls to pieces. Tricky, tricky.

Horses and fitness

2009-03-30T11:41:00.002+13:00

I'm probably in the best shape I've ever been. I attribute most of it to horse riding and a bit to walking the dogs everyday.

Some people just don't seem to understand that horse riding is work. I went for a hack with my partner who was walking the dogs. I did a few jumps and had a bit of a gallop. Afterwards both Fox and I were puffing a bit. Ryan asked me to do some more and I said no, we're both tired. 'What do you mean you're tired? You've just been sitting up there." I tried to explain what a physical activity riding is especially jumping and going fast. Did he get it? No, he still maintained that all I was doing was sitting up there.

Not so!! Anyone who rides can attest to the fact that you use a whole lot of your muscles when riding, right from your core to your arms, legs and butt.

When you have professionals as friends

2009-03-21T08:49:00.002+13:00

This is a bit of an on-going problem at the moment. It's happening in a few aspects of my life. Firstly, with the renovations. My partner has builder friends, Gibb stopper/plasterer friends and plumber friends and one of my workmates partners is an electrician.

This is incredibly handy, especially when you are on a budget. The problem is, they are doing you a favour, so you can't demand that they be here this day and do this many hours. Things are progressing at snails pace. All the gibbing in the bedrooms and hallways has been done but the gibb-stopping is taking forever!! A bit is done here, a bit done there. I totally appreciate that they are helping us out but at the same time it is frustrating.

The same is happening with my riding. My instructor is also my good friend. She refuses payment apart from when I manage to take her out for lunch. So I can't organise weekly lessons and I feel rude asking her for one so I don't have them unless it is her idea. I know she would also be offended if I asked for lessons from someone else.

There is a dressage day coming up that I am going to try and train for, hopefully I can get my head round one of those tests. I'll just be doing a walk/trot test as our canter still sucks when we are in the arena.
Have been practicing our xcountry jumping. The owner of the orchard has them set up all round the orchard so it's good fun going round them all.
They are also having some show jumping fun evenings at the local showgrounds so I'm going to try and get along to a few of those as well.

The best feeling ever!!

2009-03-11T14:44:00.001+13:00

I haven’t ridden bareback for quite some time now. Last time I tried, as soon as Fox broke into a trot, I got all tight and thumped around. Not nice for Fox or for me as he has a very bony back.

Yesterday I had to move him from a paddock about 5 minutes away back to where he normally is. I decided I may as well hop on and ride back. It started off great so I asked for a trot. And what do you know, I could sit his trot perfectly, not even hanging onto the mane.

The last bit up to his paddock is a bit of a rise so I asked for canter and wow!!! What an amazing feeling. Perfectly comfortable and perfectly in tune.

I have to credit my instructor for my improvement, the few lessons I have managed to get have made such a huge difference.

Horses and affection

2009-03-10T16:36:00.003+13:00

Fox has always been an aloof kind of horse. Not really caring what happens as long as I bring his food.

But the last couple of days, he has been showing, dare I say it, some kind of want to be around me apart from when I carry a bucket. It has been over a year since I bought him so I'm really pleased he has started to warm to me LOL.

When I leave the field, he will come over and say goodbye, he will also stand still when I scratch his big butt. And the other day when I was playing with the dogs in the bottom field, he walked the fence line and neighed till I came over and said hello.

With dogs, it's easy to tell they have affection for you, horses not so much.

Now the only problem is figuring out if he is doing this because he thinks he's the leader or if he finally sees me as an authority figure in his life.

The farrier said he's been getting better and better with his feet which is great news, he's still a little PITA but better. I'm now on the hunt for a good equine dentist who will hopefully cope with Fox's little quirks.

We're also going back to putting his bridle on like a halter as he has been acting up the last few times. So two steps forward and one step back.

He's definitely a hard horse to work with and the amount I have had to learn to cope with him has been huge but I believe it will be an asset in the future. I believe he is lucky to have me as his owner, someone else may not have been so forgiving of his foibles. Even my instructor said, she couldn't deal with him on a regular basis, she would have gotten cross and they would have had a falling out. Sometimes I think it would be really nice just to ride a push-button pony but I couldn't get rid of him now.

Bitless

2009-03-06T14:10:00.001+13:00

As well as Fox being barefoot, I also ride for the majority of the time in a bitless bridle. When I start competing I'm going to need to have a plain snaffle so I use one for lessons also. Every other time I use the bitless. It's fantastic.

Fox used to hate being bridled. He was head shy and would fight every step of the way. As he got to know and trust me he got better and better but I could still see his displeasure. When riding he would do everything possible to evade the bit. He would open his mouth and jig his head.

My first ride in the bitless I had my normal bridle on top so I had two sets of reins. I was really surprised at the amount of control I had. I didn't need the bit at all.
The next ride I used only the bitless and it was quite amazing to feel the change. No more fussing and tossing of the head, his head carriage seemed lower and overall he felt more relaxed.

My first thought at the change was 'it must be his teeth'. When the dentist checked them he said they needed a quick file but that was it, nothing major. Fox just enjoyed not having a hunk of metal in his mouth.

At first, I was quite nervous about the whole thing. I was taught from a young age that my bit was my control. Most horsey people will know that that is an illusion. I mean when a horse wants to go, he goes, no matter that you have a bit in his mouth. It was so ingrained in me, this thought that all my control was through the bit that it took a long time to trust the bridle.

But when I did, it was amazing. It has made me much more aware of how I'm actually riding. What my hands are doing, what my body is doing, what my legs are doing. How I can get that control without a piece of metal in my horses mouth.

A lot of Fox's resistance when riding is also going and he is learning to go into the nice long and low shape. No collection yet, but we at least have a start.

Yay!!!

2009-03-03T12:16:00.003+13:00

I've found a float!!!
I'm so pleased, I now can get out and about with Fox. I can start training again!
Fox on the other hand is not pleased. He does not like going on floats. Not because he is frightened, he just likes being a PITA.
On the weekend, we managed to get him on in an hour. Went on a nice hack, did some jumping over a narrow tree trunk that was scary but fun once I'd done it a few times.
On the way back only it only took 15 mins to load him.
We're going to aim to go somewhere once a week, get him used to getting on and off.

Jack Part 4

2009-02-24T11:04:00.000+13:00

Today I am starting Jack on a course of oral steroids.
Lately his skin seems to be getting worse and I think his yeast infection is back too. Hopefully the booster of steroids will knock back the allergy and help a bit with the yeast infection. If it doesn’t, I will request another course of Nizoral to sort it out.
I will also start him on his eardrops again. His ears are starting to get that smell again.
It makes me so frustrated. If he had been cared for properly in the beginning I have no doubt that things wouldn’t be this bad. His compromised immune system just can’t handle all the crap that’s being thrown at it.
He will have lifelong problems and even though the vet made us aware of that, it still pisses me off.

Inspiration

2009-02-18T16:20:00.004+13:00

Some inspiration for you today. When ever I feel that what I'm doing just doesn't feel like enough I remind myself of these things.

"I am only one, but still I am one;

I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;

And just because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

- Helen Keller

The Starfish, Author unknown

One day a man was taking a sunrise walk along the beach. In the distance he caught sight of a young woman who seemed to be dancing along the waves.

As he got closer he saw that the young woman was actually not dancing, but picking up starfish from the sand and tossing them gently back into the ocean.

"What are you doing?" the man asked."The sun is coming up and the tide is going out;

"If I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But young woman, there are miles and miles of beach with starfish all along it -- you can't possibly make a difference."

The young woman bent down, picked up another starfish, and placed it lovingly back into the ocean, past the breaking waves."It made a difference for that one," she replied.

Smurf

2009-02-18T15:38:00.004+13:00

One of the hardest things I’ve had to do over the last few years, is to let go of a horse I knew was meant to be mine.

Now, normally my type is big, forward moving and preferably ginger: see Fox. This little guy is a 15.2, dapple grey stationbred and a stubborn little PITA. But I loved him.

He was originally bought for the riding school but failed miserably. When he doesn’t want to do something he plants. So he was moved to the trekking string. Several guides rode him but moved on to other things before I started work there. Then another girl took a fancy to him. That's when I really noticed him. He had a wicked personality so I started riding him after she left for uni.

Smurf was hard work. I didn’t take him out on treks, I just worked him and worked him. I went through the places he froze over and over till he was perfect. I even got him jumping 80cm in the arena. When one of the other guides saw me cantering him in the arena, she was shocked. She had never seen anyone go that fast on him.

I started taking him on treks. He still had freezing moments but they were solved by jumping off and leading him for a bit. Slowly he was getting better and better.

I took him on our first competitive trail ride. We did the training course and had a blast. His eyes were soft the whole way and he felt awesome. We even had a gallop. Best of all, we won our division. This horse was made for endurance. He wasn’t even particularly fit.

Then the summer came and because of his improvements, he started to be used as a client horse. It broke my heart. He felt like mine and he treated me like his human. He was the only horse that I’ve ever felt genuine affection from.

I couldn’t go through losing him over and over so I started looking for my own horse who would be mine forever. I love my big ginger but Smurf still hasn’t left my mind. We could have gone far.

Life goes on

2009-02-09T16:17:00.002+13:00

We have moved, well my work office has moved. Before, I used to be able to look out the window and watch the people and traffic go by which was always handy when it was quiet, which it is, a lot. Now I get to look at a brick wall. Yay. Luckily I’ll drop down to two days a week when I’m studying so it won’t be too bad.

I start studying on the 23rd. It’s going to be pretty intense till I get my head round things. When things settle down I’m hoping I will be able to get more riding in as my hours will be flexible. I’ll have to be strict on myself though. I guess I will have to see what my work load is like. It’s lots of reading and essay writing and I’m a fast reader and I’m ok at essay writing so it should be ok.

Fox has been a shit. Bucking whenever I ask for canter and doing his spins. Yesterday he did a spin and somehow I managed to get my hand caught in the reins or against his neck and really hurt it. I was sitting up there thinking "Oh shit, I'm going to pass out." Since I didn't want to fall 17 hands to the ground I had to jump off and stand with my head between my knees for a while. I must have looked like an idiot.
Actually there have been some good things, he's getting lighter on the bit. The other day I just spent half an hour at a solid trot, half halting whenever he started pulling and by the end of it he felt fantastic. Still not doing too much circle work as working on a straight still seems to be easier for him. I know the key to circles getting better is to do lots of circles but we both get frustrated so for now its lots of straight lines.

We’re also renovating again. We are starting on the hall and bedrooms now. (Never mind that we haven’t actually finished the lounge.) I’ve ripped up all the carpet and scraped off all the foam. We have to still get the skirting and scotias off then the gibb goes up.

If only there were more hours in the day!!

Drama

2009-01-29T13:40:00.006+13:00

Did some schooling last night.
Our circles still aren't particularly circle like but at a walk and trot we're getting the nice banana shape most of the time.

Our halts are coming along and as long as I concentrate we get a mostly square halt. If I don't concentrate, it all falls to pieces.

We've been doing lots of canter work in straight lines in the orchard as Fox still finds circles quite hard. I had another go at canter circles last night. On his left rein he is getting ok. We get the lead right most of the time and there isn't too much falling in.

On the right rein however, it's all over the place. He is totally on his forehand. He does teeny tiny circles and I can't bring him out. Even when I try to ride more of a square it just doesn't happen. It's getting easier to get the right lead but I have to be very strong with the aid. So I tried using the whole arena and that seemed to work a little better. On the straights he was ok still charging but felt a bit more balanced. But for the life of me, I couldn't get him to stay on the curve. We ended up doing really tight awkward turns instead. And then when he got a bit tired he started trying to change leads and got all disconnected. We did one last ok canter down a side to finish and I went into his warm down. Big circles with little circles at each corner.

I had just finished un-tacking him and my phone rang. It was my workmate who lives above where the lady who owns my grazing has her horse.
She was all in a panic, Dan, the horse, was charging around like crazy and wouldn't stop. So I quickly put Fox away and raced over there. Dan had got all tangled in his cover. One strap was wrapped tight around his hind leg. The cover was tight across the top if his hock and rubbing it completely raw as he charged around. There was no skin left. He was mad with fear and pain and was just running from one end of his paddock to the other. I grabbed my halter and raced into the field calling out Dan, Dan. He was totally in another place. He took no notice of me calling or waiving my arms in his face.

I managed to close a gate in the field to block his path. He crashed into the fence and turned and charged the other way again. I wasn't quick enough to get the other gate closed as it was tied to the fence so he did one more pass before I got him shut in the smaller area. By this time another lady had arrived. I managed to get Dan calm enough to put a lead rope around his neck and had him still. My workmates partner cut the cover off his legs and the other lady put his halter on and unbuckled the front fo the cover.

Dan was quivering and blowing and dripping with sweat. We started drying him off with a towel and Dan's owners best friend arrived who Dan knows. She took him away to hose his legs and calm him down.

Dan is miserable but ok. Most of his wounds were superficial but the big one is a bit nasty and will probably take a long time to heal as the area is so big.

I was shaking after the adrenaline rush left me. I have never experienced anything like that before.

Rollkur

2009-01-28T10:57:00.003+13:00

I just found this article on http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/

As a person who is just starting to get interested in dressage, I have always thought the rollkur was cruel no matter who endorses it. So this article totally confirms my thinking. Whether people who use it will take any notice of a study like this is another matter.

Researchers explore neck hyperflexion in horses

January 28, 2009

In the book Tug of War author Gerd Heuschmann says that hyperflexion places enormous tension on the upper neck muscles and ligament system, and the back.

A study of the Rollkur technique used in dressage horse training has been carried out in Canada.
In Rollkur, the horse's neck is hyper flexed so that the nose is very close to, if not touching, the chest. The front of the head is behind the vertical (angled in) instead of being vertical or slightly forward of vertical as in normal poll flexion.

Dr Ute von Borstel and others working at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada conducted a series of tests to investigate whether the technique adversely affects the horse's welfare.
The FEI's draft description of Rollkur states that: "Hyperflexion of the neck is a technique of working/training to provide a degree of longitudinal flexion of the mid-region of the neck. Hyperflexion cannot be self-maintained by the horse for an extended period of time."

With the help of two equestrian centres - one in Ontario, the other in Ohio - the researchers devised a preference test, to see if horses would choose or avoid Rollkur if they had the choice.
Equine Science Update e-news reports that each horse was ridden into the trunk of a Y-shaped maze and allowed to choose which arm of the maze to take to enter an exercise area. After leaving the maze the horses would be ridden in 20 metre circles in either the Rollkur or normal poll flexion posture, depending on which arm of the maze they had chosen.

Previous training had taught the horses that leaving through the left arm would result in being ridden in the Rollkur posture. Leaving through the right arm resulted in being worked in a normal outline.

A rider would ride the horse into the maze, but allow the horse to choose the exit - and by implication the style of riding that would follow.

Fourteen of the 15 horses in the study chose the normal poll flexion.

Another part of the study involved horses being exposed to a "fear test" whilst being ridden either Rollkur or normally. Each horse suddenly encountered a fear-inducing stimulus: a fan blowing air with plastic strips attached to it; and an umbrella that was opened and closed as the horse approached.

The researchers found that horses tended to have higher heart rates and to react more to the fear-inducing stimulus, when ridden in Rollkur rather than in normal poll flexion.

The researcher concluded: "Horses show higher levels of discomfort when ridden in a coercively obtained Rollkur posture compared to regular poll flexion, and that they will avoid being ridden in Rollkur if given the choice."

Update 2

2009-01-26T13:13:00.002+13:00

Small victory, the offending part of the add was removed by Trademe.

Good news, the horse has been sold.

Bad news, looks like she got the price she was after for him. I was going to offer just over what she would have got from the dog meat man. So now she has learnt that putting something like that on an add will get her a nice profit.

Makes me really mad that someone would do something like that.

Just realised, more good news, I'll be able to put all that extra money towards a float yay!!!

Update

2009-01-23T09:50:00.004+13:00

Someone else has been suckered into this woman's manipulations. They are looking at him today. It's a bit of a relief knowing I'm not his only option. I will call tonight and find out whether they took him or not.

I also reported the add to Trademe. It's not an ok way to sell an animal whether it is true or not.

I've managed to secure an extra 5 hours a week at my partners work helping the office woman filing and e-mailing etc. That will help pay for the horses upkeep and the rest I will put to saving for a float. And if the other person takes him then I can put it all towards a float.

I didn't ride last night. I gave Fox a super good grooming and just hung out. It was great and just what I needed after a stressful day.

What to do

2009-01-22T10:44:00.006+13:00

This person nearly deserves to be on FHOTD.

Yesterday my friend told me about a horse on Trademe that will go for dog meat if it's not sold. Apparently the owner has got herself knocked up and needs him gone.

Now I can’t stop thinking about the horse and spent all last night having dreams about him.

First, how do you know the threat is real?

Second, if I was to get him, aren’t I enabling her and making her think emotional blackmail is a good way of selling a horse.

He’s only 7 and is quite cute. He’s a Standardbred and most of the SB’s I’ve worked with have really nice temperaments. I haven't been to see him yet but I've made contact with the owner. I know if I go and look at him I will take him no matter what.

I didn’t plan on having a second horse though but I could afford to have one. (Bye bye saving for a float though)

He’s OTT and is only just being broke to saddle but I’ve got someone who could help me with backing him.

Sometimes I really hate being so passionate about animals. I know plenty of horses go for dog meat here but I could make it different for this one.

So am I nuts to even consider this?

Barefoot update

2009-01-21T11:15:00.007+13:00

The farrier came yesterday.
He laughed at how round Fox is looking. Despite being 3/4 TB he keeps his weight really well.
His feet are doing well. After the trim I could see how the white line seperation is getting less. The nail holes are all gone now and they are starting to look tighter.
On his back feet that have been barefoot coming up 10 months now there is a distinct seperation in the hoof where the new hoof capsule is growing down. Below the line, the hoof has heaps of lines running down and is ridged. Above the seperation, it is smooth, with no lines. I can't wait till it has completely grown out.
On the fronts I can see the start of the new hoof capsule but I can't see any difference at this early stage.

Had an interesting ride last night. Pukekoes are a PITA. They wait till you are nearly on top of them before flying off rather noisely. Fox thought that was great and tried some of his spins. Then he ran over some newly planted bushes. No harm done but there are some nice big hoof marks.

Terry Pratchett

2009-01-20T10:27:00.002+13:00

Terry Pratchett is my favourite author. I just found out that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's. Parts of his brain will start to shrivel and die.
Apparently this has been common knowledge for a little while but obviously I've been living under a rock.
This ruined my day.

Frustration

2009-01-16T09:47:00.002+13:00

I've been feeling really frustrated about the whole float issue. It's made me quite despondent and I had my first ride in a few days last night.

I totally understand why people don't want to hire their float to someone they don't know given all the risks involved but I wish someone would give me a chance. I have one person to follow up with today, she didn't get back to me so I assume the answer is no but I'll give it another go. My add was also in the Sell Buy Swap yesterday and no bites yet.
I'm entering the show jumping next weekend which gives me just over a week to either find a float or find a ride. Or if it comes to it, I can probably ride there the day before. Will be interesting as I will have to go on some main roads, but I guess it comes down to how much I want to go.

On a different note, the ride last night was short but interesting. Fox was going really well, we were just in the orchard doing some fitness work. Then he saw a scary dog. After that, everything was scary. Birds, sprinklers, sticks on the ground and even clumps of cut grass!! It was so frustrating. He was so tense and I kept expecting him to do his spin and run. Stupid horse.

Hoping for a good ride tonight.

And all my fingers and toes are crossed for me to find a float.

Jack Part 3

2009-01-14T11:10:00.004+13:00

I have been putting off this last installment. The details have run into one long blur of weekly vet visits, lots of short walks and plenty of good food. I really wish I had kept a diary of Jack's progress so I could tell his story more eloquently.

He reached a nice 22kgs and his hair was starting to get thicker and thicker. His ear and eye problems completely disappeared. Then the progress seemed to stop. His skin was just not recovering and he was still really itchy.
Another trip to the vet, this time we saw a different one and he mentioned the possibility of allergies. It wasn't something we had even considered. We were given a months worth of steroids. Now normally I'm not a big fan of oral steroids but the difference was amazing. Within a week, Jack had stopped scratching and his was starting to look a normal colour.

So it was definitely an allergy, but an allergy to what. The most obvious was food. We had to cut out all beef or lamb protein. This meant special (expensive) biscuits and cooking rice, veges and pork or chicken. We slowly took him off the steroids to see if his skin improved. It didn't. The next step was a referral to a small animal skin specialist for an intradermal skin test.

This test was expensive but it was the only way to figure out what he was allergic to.
It was a fascinating test to watch, there was a huge case filled with various allergens that were then injected under the skin. I think there were a total or 47. Most of them didn't react but the dust mites, storage mites (similar to dust mites) and yeast did. An allergy to dust mites is pretty common but the yeast was less so. So whenever Jack got a yeast infection it was double the problem for his body as he was allergic to it as well.

We were able to take him off the special diet and concentrate on controlling the other allergies. First off, he was on an anti-yeast medication to help control that and oral steroids. I didn't want a dog on steroids for the rest of his life so I spoke to the specialist about other options. Fortunately there was a brand new product out. A steroid spray that breaks down so none actually makes it into the animals system. It was much more expensive than the oral steroids but without any of the side effects it was worth it. He also gave me a human product to help with his yeast infection.
So on alternating days, these are applied to his armpits and tummy. He has learned to roll over as soon as I get the stuff out now. They control all his problems nicely. He will probably have to have this treatment for the rest of his life but that's a small price to pay.

Jack is now pretty much a normal dog. He still occasionally moves like an old man, like he's not sure that his body will do what he's asking of it. But he is still improving, the other day he was leaping and bounding over the rocks at the river which he had never done before.

We are very lucky to have such a wonderful dog in our lives.

Panic

2009-01-11T10:06:00.002+13:00

Ok, so right now I'm having a bit of a panic. Do I feel ready to compete - no, do I feel confidant - no, do I even have a float to get Fox and I to the event - no.
I have never entered a competition ever. Not once in my life. So that's pretty scary too.

I have never jumped a whole show jumping course. The aim was to get to the showgrounds so I could practice that. No float to get me there.
I have never jumped a whole cross country course. The aim was to go to Rough Island so I could practice that. No float to get there.

So I have been asking everyone I know if they know anyone that may have one. I've been calling random people which I absolutely loathe doing. I have one more person to try tonight and then I'm stuck. I have put an add in a local sell buy swap which comes out on Thursday too.

I've also made myself a training plan which has made me feel a bit better. But all this is useless if I can't actually get to the event!!

A Giant Red Doofus

2009-01-05T16:11:00.004+13:00

After our lesson yesterday, which was a very good one I might add, I decided to take Fox for a splash in the little stream by the flatwork paddock to cool him down. I've never taken him into it before but I didn't anticipate any problems. Now normally he loves having a good old splash around.

I urged him down to the edge of the water and he just stood there quivering. I urged him again and he readied himself to jump it!! I don't know whether it was because he was amping from the ride before or was just plain thick. I super gently asked him on again but no he was preparing to jump again.

So I did probably not the brightest thing and took of my boots and socks and tried to lead him through.

The gallumping idiot jumped the damn stream!!

Luckily no harm done to either of us.

Here I am stuck on the wrong side of the stream with a horse who won't walk through it. I attempted a few more times to lead him into it but no, not happening.

My friend/instructor is having a quiet giggle to herself. I get her to throw me my boots. I'm going to have to jump the bugger back across.

And now it's scary and he doesn't want to jump back across either. After some persuasion Fox does an almighty lurch across. My maybe not friend anymore/instructor is now pissing herself laughing at us and said "Oh my god he looked just like a cow."

My conclusion: I have a giant red doofus.

Training Update

2009-01-05T15:38:00.006+13:00

Training is coming along slowly. Fox is loving the extra jumping we're doing. I'm feeling pretty confident about show jumping as long as the height isn't too big. I've found my limit for now which is around the 90cm - 1m mark. Any higher and it's a no go. The problem is, if I'm nervous about a jump, I will tense up in anticipation and Fox will refuse. Every time. I just sit totally wrong and there's no way he will go over.

Same with cross country if a jump looks intimidating. But it is getting easier. Especially banks which used to freak me out.

We've been doing some bounces to make him pick himself up more, and for such a big horse, he tidied up really quickly. He tends to rush any jumps he thinks are too small so we're working on control too.

Dressage is ok. Our halt walk trot transitions are getting heaps better and Fox is getting more and more responsive now I'm asking him in the right way. He still falls in slightly on his right rein but has vastly improved compared with a month ago. His canter is still a problem. We are working hard on a nice controlled transition but he tends to rush into it. And again the falling in.
One thing we do have is about 80% of the time we are on the right leg. Massive improvement on a few months ago when it was a 50/50 chance either way mostly due to my incorrect aids.

Both of us are improving in leaps and bounds and there is no doubt that Fox has made me have to become a better rider which I am very grateful for.

Conquering a Mountain

2009-01-01T13:40:00.006+13:00

A few days after Christmas we decided to climb the highest mountain in the local area Mt Arthur. It's close on 2000 metres tall. It took us 3 and a half hours to climb up, 2 and a half to get down. The last hour or so going up was really rocky and you pretty much needed to be a mountain goat. There was much swearing and cursing on my part but one we reached the summit it was a pretty amazing feeling.

The view from near Mt Arthur Hut

Juat above the tree line

The path ahead

The destination

The terrain near the top

Dom my little brother on leave from the army using his skills to fill his water bottle with melting snow

Ryan my partner cooling his feet

Nearly there

Ryan and I at the top!!

Where we came

Here's some of the flora and fauna we encountered

Alpine daisies

Mating grasshoppers they come in grey, green and faun to match the terrain they live on

Alpine flowers I don't know what these ones are

Mountain buttercups and spear grass

A tiny green spider

A green grasshopper

Pictures

2008-12-22T22:21:00.006+13:00

I haven't posted anything for a while but here's some photos of some of the walks I've been on with the dogs

Jack

Jack and Sam running their hearts out

Jack making a friend

Sammy pissed cause I'm not throwing his pinecone

Fun in the water

Sammy flat out

Must get the stick!!

Fun

Diving

Big shakes

Splash

Where's that stick mum

Bit of a picture overload but I hope you enjoy.

Bad News

2008-12-18T15:48:00.002+13:00

On removing the glue that stuck the carpet down, we have discovered a big concrete pad where a fireplace used to go. It is right in the middle of the floor and the cost to remove the top to lay wood over it is astronomical. So back to carpet it is.
It's disappointing but also a bit of a relief, now we don't have to find a buyer for the excess carpet.
We will still have wood in the dining room though.
Everything seems to be happening last minute, the gibstopper should be done today, the electrician is coming on Saturday, the carpet is going in on Saturday or Sunday and we have to paint it all by Christmas day.
Wish us luck!!!

In Training

2008-12-16T16:32:00.005+13:00

I am entering my very first events at the end of January. I have showjumping one weekend then a one day event the next. So I'm training very hard and deciding what level to do.
Fox and I jumped our first 1m jump yesterday, though it looked much bigger!! What an awesome feeling!!
So I have to find the balance of jumps that I'm comfortable doing but they can't be so low that Fox just takes them out if he's feeling a bit lazy.
We're working really well together, Fox is getting more and more balanced and my riding is getting better and better. He still has a tendency to rush but now I know how to half halt it's much easier to keep him focused.
And the best thing, he loves, loves, loves to jump.
I'm nearly set for gear, I'm getting a nice pair of long boots for Christmas and R persuaded me to buy gloves, a nice velvet helmet and a jacket. Just need a body protector for my cross country some boots for Fox and a dressage whip.

I'm so excited about it all but even thinking about riding in front of lots of people is making me really nervous!

Immune to Poo

2008-12-12T16:09:00.001+13:00

Yesterday I discovered that I am immune to horse poo.

I muck out with heavy duty rubber gloves rather than a shovel. I find it's faster and you can pick up all the little bits.

On picking up a green mushy one (you all know the ones I'm talking about) I felt my hand get wet. I looked down and I have a hole in my glove. I go 'Oh well' and carry right on. About five seconds later I go 'hang on, I have s#!@ all over my hand, shouldn't I be worried?' Well no, I found I wasn't. So I finished mucking out, washed my hand, went home and didn't think too much of it until I told my partner and he told me how absolutely disgusting that was.

Hopefully a common phenomena with horse people otherwise I'm just odd.

Role Model

2008-12-11T16:02:00.004+13:00

So in my family, I am the known for having my butt crack showing. And yes I know how disgusting and vulgar that is. I don't know why it happens, all my clothes are the right size, I make sure I pull my pants up when I sit down etc. I don't know, it just happens.

Then I got this in my inbox.

'When I grow up I wanna be just like my Auntie Jess'

How cute is that?

Bit embarrassing too but never mind.

Just A Horse

2008-12-09T13:30:00.003+13:00

I love this poem and haven't been able to find it untill some one kindly posted it on FHOTD. I thought I would share it again.

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a horse" or, "that's a lot of money for "just a horse".

They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a horse".

Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a horse".

Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a horse", but I did not feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a horse" and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a horse" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too think it's "just a horse" then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend", "just a sunrise" or "just a promise".

"Just a horse" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust and pure unbridled joy.

"Just a horse" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of "just a horse" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.

So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a horse" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a horse" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a horse" but a thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a woman".

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a horse" just smile, because they "just" don't understand.

Author unknown

Celebrations

2008-12-09T11:44:00.002+13:00

Yesterady I recieved my official letter from the University I applied for saying all my papers have been confirmed!!! Yay!!!
I will be doing a Batchelor of Arts with a major in Psychology. I hope in the end to be a clinical psychologist.
The best thing is I've managed to put some animal related papers in there too which I'm quite excited about doing.
I will be doing it all extramurually which in all honesty, will be a bit of a challenge. But hopefully I'll find it all interesting so motivation won't be too difficult.

Major Happenings

2008-12-03T16:36:00.002+13:00

The house is currently under attack by scrapers, strippers and paintbrushes in an attempt to have everything done before Christmas. We have SO much to do but R is confident that it will all be done.

The first thing to go was the old carpet in the lounge. On pulling it up we discovered that the floor boards are rimu and at one time have been polished. This led to the decision to have a wooden floor so now we have to strip all the carpet glue off. What a nightmare that is. There can’t be any residue when the man comes to sand it as it will just clog up his sander.

And on top of that, the carpet we thought wasn’t going to get here for a while is on its way. We are going to be left with a lounge worth of carpet that we can’t use. Hopefully we will be able to sell it on. The carpet company is kindly going to help us with that too.

The wallpaper in the kitchen/dining room and lounge needs to be stripped. It is halfway there at the moment. The gibstopper is coming on Saturday to fix the places where we have taken off shelves etc and to skim coat the walls.

All the paint on the windowsills needs to be stripped off. Then we need to put the new down lights in throughout the house, paint the walls and ceilings including the bedrooms, sand and oil all the windowsills, paint all the bedroom doors and all the bedroom closet doors, have the carpet in the bedrooms and hall laid, sand the dining and lounge floors, oil them and that should be it. Hopefully.

All in 21 days. Whilst both of us work full time and take care of all the animals. Hmmm.
Can you tell both of us are procrastinators?

We have both our families coming round for lunch on Christmas day so it really needs to be done by then.

We have R’s little brother who has just finished his builders apprenticeship and a few of his friends helping at the moment. And my little brother will be on leave from the army on the 15 so we will rope him in too.

Looks like Fox isn’t going to get much work over the next three weeks.

Barefoot Horse

2008-12-02T16:17:00.003+13:00

I discovered the concept of barefoot horses nearly two years ago. I didn’t have a horse at that stage but the idea intrigued me. I did a little bit of research and it seemed like a fantastic and entirely sensible thing to do.

When I got Fox on trial however, his shoes had just been pulled. I’m not sure what kind of trim if any had been done on them. Over the course of the next week they proceeded to crack and split and generally looked so awful I decided to put shoes back on. His hooves looked fantastic, as a fresh shod hoof generally does, so I decided barefoot could wait. He also has four white hooves and everyone was telling me that’s why they cracked in the first place.

The next time Fox was shod, he was a pain in the butt. He was going through some kind of hypersensitivity thing that the vet didn’t know the cause of. He was ok with his fronts being done but terrible with his back feet. Trimming was fine but tapping was definitely not. I wasn’t there so this is all conjecture but apparently it got to the point where he was dangerous. So no shoes on his back feet.

After a while the soles started looking healthier and when the nail holes had grown out they were nice and hard with no more splits and cracks. As an added bonus, it was also half the price.

I kept him with just fronts until about a month and a half ago. I bit the bullet and had the farrier pull the fronts too. He was fantastic and even gave me a file and instructions on how to keep them tidy.
He came back four weeks later to give them another trim and said they were looking really good and that I was doing a great job with the filing.

The nail holes are slowly growing out and his soles and frogs are looking better already.
Riding on the road and on small grit is fine. The only place he gets a bit sore is a small patch of sharp gravel I have to ride on to get to the arena.

I give them a quick file over about twice a week now. I love doing it, I feel like I’ve got heaps more control over how I want his feet to be. I also pay may more attention to horses feet in general and I’ve learnt huge amounts. Now I would really like to do a proper course so I can actually start doing proper trims.

Update: Appetite for destruction

2008-12-01T09:51:00.001+13:00

More things to add to the list

1x another hole in the new couch
1x notebook of R's

Mud Monster

2008-11-30T09:15:00.004+13:00

We took the dogs for their daily walk to the beach. The tide had just gone out and left a huge patch of sticky smelly mud.

R had been throwing pinecones for Sam and one happened to land in the mud. When Sam chases a pinecone, he does it with everything he has. He went sliding face first through the mud, grabs the pine cone and comes back to us pleased as punch looking like this:

This mud is super sticky and super smelly so even after taking Sam for a swim he still managed to stink the car out.

First ride back

2008-11-27T11:00:00.002+13:00

I had my first ride on Fox yesterday after hurting my back. I’ve been cleared for gentle walks but Fox had other ideas. It’s my fault as I’ve been slack and haven’t even lunged him.

It was a nice evening and the orchard was full of nice smells. He was pretty pleased to get out and was a total fidget bum when I was tacking him up.
He was a bit prancy and snorty and frightened of everything. I just tried to keep my seat and hands soft which I soon discovered was easier said than done. Fox had his head up in the air and his ears pricked right forward. I could feel every muscle quivering and his big heart boom-boom, boom-boom between my legs.

‘Keep off his face, keep off his face’ became my mantra as I tried to sit nice and deep and relaxed.

At one point we came to an abrupt halt. Something really scary was in that bush and we were not going past it. I could hear his breath rushing out his nostrils. I waited and let him relax a bit before I asked him on again.
And no, forward is still too scary, back would be much better. So back we went and when he thought he was done we went back some more and then very nicely forward. And then there was the scary bush again. Fox has the amazing ability to spin 180 degrees in the blink of an eye. He’s got me off a few times with this manoeuvre and figured now would be a good time to give it another go, but let’s make it a bit more interesting and try and bolt off.

But no such luck this time buddy, I’m feeling good and secure and there is no way in hell you’re taking off. A one-rein stop bought us back to face the right direction and we had a nice walk on. I decided not to push it so we went right, into the rows of apple trees. We walked up and down those rows until he was nice and settled. Then we walked perfectly past the scary spot.

A challenging ride but a good result so I’m pretty pleased.

Wet Weather

2008-11-25T15:43:00.005+13:00

We’ve had some horrible weather over the last few days. No washing has been done and the garage has flooded.

My new mum syndrome is out in full force. I’m pretty good with everything now apart from when it rains and I don’t know what to do about covers.
Luckily the weather yesterday made it pretty easy for me to decide on the heavier cover. Even I had a layer of wool under my rain jacket. And it’s supposed to be coming up to summer!!!

I took the boys out with me when I went to feed Fox and they had a ball playing in the long wet grass. And trying to eat the horse poo!

Fox snug as a bug in his rug

The boys looking stoked (notice Jack's wet rat look)

Update: Appetite for destruction

2008-11-24T10:53:00.003+13:00

The weekend has seen an influx of destruction, so a few more things to add to the list.

1x good Egyptian cotton sheet
1x soccer ball
1x dog lead
1x row of lettuces

The tale of the cat in the cupboard

2008-11-24T10:51:00.002+13:00

Hopefully next year we will be getting a new kitchen. As everyone knows it’s probably the most expensive part of the house to redo and for us it’ll be one of the hardest because of all the decisions that will need to be made.

In the meantime, we have decided to just give it a quick lick of paint to modernise and tidy it up. At the moment, it is cream with bright salmon red cupboard doors with pale blue trim.
We’ve decided on black as the new colour for the cupboards which will hopefully make it look slick and neat and the rest will be white. It’s a pretty strong colour but we both like the look of black and white kitchens we have seen in magazines. Fingers crossed it works out.

I spent yesterday taking all the doors off and unscrewing all the hinges and handles and giving the doors a good clean. The hinges and handles are copper coloured, so they should come up nicely with a good scrub with wire wool.

In the middle of unscrewing I heard a little ‘miaow’. I thought it was just our cat at the door but R said ‘there’s a cat in the cupboard’. I thought he was just being stupid, I mean, how could a cat have got into our kitchen cupboard. But sure enough, I had a look and there was a large ginger and white cat hiding in the corner and peering out at me. I managed to coax it out with some treats. As soon as it was out, it bolted.
We still have no idea how it got in there but it sure was one brave cat. It would have had to run the gauntlet of our cat and then the two killer dogs. Jack especially, LOVES to chase cats.

And so, the brave foolish cat was rescued from the depths of the cupboard and went on to live happily ever after and soon we’ll have some before and after photos of the kitchen to show.

Fishies

2008-11-21T11:25:00.002+13:00

In my last post I mentioned the destruction of the pond. It took forever to empty it all out and save all the creatures in there.
We had about 15 big fish, heaps of water snails and about a million baby fish that I had to sieve out when I was emptying the water. R laughed at me for doing that but there was no way I was just going to tip them out.

But I have sad news, I cooked all the big fish. I cried. They are now buried in the garden.
They were being kept in buckets and weren’t doing so well, not enough oxygen, so we put in some of those oxygen shells for fish tanks. Still no good so I got one of those big plastic rubbish bins and set them up in there with weed, rocks and oxygen shells. They looked like they were doing OK. Swimming round, eating and doing normal fishy stuff.
I got home from work and they were all dead. The bin was blue and the water had just reached too high a temperature.

We still have snails and heaps of baby fish but it’ll take a while for them to get as big as the ones that died. They are so small that pretty much all you can see is two black dots that are the eyes and a black stripe that I assume is the spine and a bit of tail. Very cute though.

Farewell fishies.

Appetite for Destruction

2008-11-20T21:20:00.004+13:00

These boys are mischief on legs. Our wonderful monsters have racked up a pretty big tally of things they have destroyed.

The total:

1x carpet sample

1x hole in new couch

1x pillow

2x beanbags

1x blanket

1x Jack's cuddle blanket

1x Playstation 3 cable

2x hole in 1 feather duvet

1x hole in second feather duvet

1x pond, they decided it would make a good paddling pool and proceeded to completely destroy the lining. We needed to empty the whole thing.

The worst part is trying to tell a dog whose covered in feathers that he's been bad. You know you have to, but all you want to do is laugh. Then they give you that guilty suck up look and try and slink back into your good books.

Hopefully I won't have to update this list but I will keep you informed.

Jack Part 2

2008-11-19T11:34:00.007+13:00

Haven't posted for a while, have been laid up with a sprained ligament in my back. Probably done while horse riding. I've been working on my tan and catching up with some reading which has been great.

So without further ado here is Jack Part 2

Jack on the night we got him.

The next day R took Jack to the vet.

He weighed in at 15 kilos and should be around 22. The weeping out his eyes and ears was his body breaking down from malnutrition. He had a severe skin infection along with a yeast infection and severe secondary infections. We were told he may not fully recover.

The vet started Jack on oral antibiotics, eardrops and also gave him a shot. With instructions on how to feed him and an appointment for a week later we were ready to start his rehab.

That night Jack was introduced to the other dogs. They mostly just ignored him which was fine by him. He was just happy to be inside out of the cold.
He got to spend a few hours in the lounge that evening and promptly claimed the humans bean bags for his own. After him lying on them, they were too stinky for people to like sitting on them so he got to keep them.
He had to spend the night in the bathroom again and after a taste of the good life, he wasn’t happy about it and cried all night.
The next night he got to sleep in the lounge. He was stoked.

We were unsure whether he was house trained or not. Because his bowls were still getting used to food again, he had a few accidents. He looked ever so guilty afterwards and did his best to make it to the door every time so we figured this was a good sign.

We started taking him for little walks around the block and over to the park. Despite his condition he had boundless energy and just wanted to run and run and run. Fair enough after over a month of being chained up, but we didn’t want him to push himself too hard so we tried to keep things easy.

He was also surprisingly obedient. Sit, stay and come were all within his repertoire especially when there was food involved.

He discovered pats and cuddles. If you scratch his belly, he closes his eyes and totally blisses out.

He was one happy dog.

Fox

2008-11-14T13:32:00.003+13:00

Fox is my dream horse. I saw his add and had to have him. He is a 13yo 17hh Tb x Hanoverian by Spoken in Jest. It took nearly a year of watching his adds and hoping he wouldn’t be sold for my circumstances to come right.

He has had a bit of a rough life so has a few issues which I think is why he didn’t sell for so long.
The woman I bought him from got him as a dangerous horse and completely retrained him.
Apparently his first owner was a small timid woman who he just walked all over. He used to be sedated for everything , even riding and hit around the head to try and control him. He learned to charge people and use his head as a weapon. As a result of all the sedation, Fox hates vets and needles.

He still gets a bit of a look in his eye when lunging occasionally and the head comes into play in situations he finds particularly stressful like when the vet comes or I’m trying to put eye drops in. So it’s all about slow and steady and keeping him as calm as possible.
He needs firm boundaries but do anything to try and force him to comply like twitching, he will not have a bar of it.
He is a challenging horse to have but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We are currently having lessons with a fantastic instructor. Fox is very willing and starting to work well, and my riding has improved hugely. Still a long way to go though. My aim is to start doing some low level ODEs next year.

I have been riding most of my life but he is the first horse I have actually owned. I admit to having new mum syndrome as Fugly posted about on the VLC blog but I am slowly overcoming it.

And now I can’t imagine my life without a horse. He is my reminder to stop and smell the roses as it were. If I’m a little stressed, I just go and spend half an hour with him, even if it is just picking up poo, and afterwards I feel totally refreshed.

I can't wait for my ride tonight, with summer on it's way the evenings are long and perfect for riding.

Sam

2008-11-13T13:28:00.005+13:00

After the other dogs moved out Jack started to get a bit lonely. The call was made that a trip to the SPCA needed to be done. R wasn’t able to come so I went on a scouting mission.

All the dogs greeted me with wagging tails and happy greetings. They all wanted to come home with me and I wanted to take them all. Now the hard decision to pick just one. Sammy and another one caught my attention immediately so photos were taken and pats were given.

On returning home, R looked over the photos and decided that he wasn’t sure, he liked them both, (typical)!

So another trip was made to further evaluate their suitability. After having a good play with them and getting myself covered in Sam’s muddy paw prints, I decided he was the one for us. R Okayed a trial and I made the arrangements to bring Sammy home.

On the drive home he snuck into the front of the car and rested his head on my arm. That was me won over completely, there was going to be no taking him back now.

Sam is a huntaway cross with something like a staffie or pit bull. He will be coming up a year. He looks like he was bred to be a pig dog but is the goofiest, friendliest guy you’ll ever meet. He will lick you to death if you let him and his aim is uncannily good. Nine times out of ten he will get you on the mouth. His tail is like a whip - beware for any fragile items left at tail height.

Right from when he and Jack first met, they got on like they had known each other forever. They now take great pleasure in causing chaos and destruction together.

Will post a picture tonight.

Jack Part 1

2008-11-12T12:26:00.015+13:00

We first saw Jack in the neighbours backyard. He was chained to a tree. The chain was a reasonable length but he wasn't happy about it and making a huge fuss. R and I went to have a look at him, he was just so cute.

The next day he had vanished. We speculated on where he had gone for the first couple of weeks and eventually stopped thinking about him.

About a month later, he appeared again. He was tied to a make shift little house on a chain maybe a metre and a half in length. He looked awful. Even though he is a hairy dog, you could see he was underweight. He was never let off the chain and the only time he moved was to go to the toilet and to move into the sun and back. He was given water and occasionally food.

We could see him from our kitchen window so everyday we watched his misery. The SPCA could not seize him as technically he was getting shelter, food and water. The animal protection laws in this country are shocking!! They make me so angry!!

Every day I got home from work and looked out the window to make sure he was still there. I was terrified he was going to disappear. Six days after he appeared I couldn't take it any more, he was starving and miserable and I had to do something.

So I went over there. It's a pretty rough house and the people were very intimidating. My heart was thundering away. I put on my best smile and tried to be polite when all I wanted to do was scream at them.

"Hi" I said, "I know this is going to sound a bit random, but do you still want your dog?"

"Nah" was the response, "we were about to get rid off him. Do you want him?"

He took me round the back and even though it was starting to get dark, I could see what a bad state he was in. He was skin and bone, what hair he had left was matted and dread locked, his legs, chest and belly were completely bald, he was scabby and scaly, his eyes and ears were weeping yellow gunk and he stunk. He stunk really bad.

Apparently they had tied him up by the front door where we couldn't see, for him to be a guard dog. Eventually he smelled too bad so they had to move him away from the house.

One of the little kids came out to give him a good bye pat and said "Dad, he's really skinny!" The guy said "No he's not, he's supposed to be like that."

I was shaking with anger, trying to hold my tongue.

I had bought a lead but he handed me the chain and said, "you may need it."

I took him into the bathroom and R and I washed him as best we could. He hated every minute but didn't show any sign of aggression. This, we would learn, was Jack, tolerant to a fault.

After he was as clean as we could make him we made him a little sloppy meal that he wolfed down and set him up a bed. He sniffed and circled for quite some time before settling himself in and closing his eyes with a contented sigh.

That one little noise was enough to make the following weeks worthwhile.