Sunday 27 July 2008

Visiting Red

It is suddenly very hot here in Wales. Of course this sudden heat wave, and the fact that it’s the weekend, means that the generator has decided to break down. All the automatic stable water feeders and the yard taps are fed from the well which is pumped by the generator. Hence there is no water in the stables or on the yard until it can be fixed on Monday. It is hard work having to lug water around in this heat. We never have hot weather for long enough to get used to it.

Dee is fine in her stable, despite the heat. It always amazes me how adaptable horses can be. “Last week I was in the field all the time, now I'm in the stable … but Nor’dzin is coming by everyday and I’m being fed, so that's okay!

We’re enjoying visiting Red every day as well, and he is enjoying hanging out with us. It is good to just visit him – stroking him and giving him some carrot and apple. As he’ll be back to our responsibility fully in three weeks time, it is good to have the opportunity to reawaken our relationship with him. Our latest thoughts are about finding a way to keep him. He is so much the perfect horse for ’ö-Dzin that it feels foolish to let him go. We’ve so enjoyed riding out together, that it would be a great shame to lose that pleasure. So we’re going to give it a couple of months and see how we get along.

Only two or three days now until the results of Dee’s swab come back – fingers crossed.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi - I enjoy reading your blog although I don't think I've posted before. I was at a talk this weekend on strangles and took some notes to pass along to you.

The vet who was presenting said that every horse at the born should have it's temperature taken twice a day and if the temp goes over 101.5 then the horse is likely infected and should be isolated immediately. It can take a number of days after the temperature rises for the horse to start exhibiting signs of infection.

The other thing she mentioned was that a horse should have 3 negative tests in a row, each 5-7 days apart, before it is considered clean.

If you'd like the notes from the talk I can scan them and email to you.

I guess the silver lining in all this is that at least the disease is relatively benign.

Best of luck!

Lasell Jaretzki Bartlett said...

I hope all goes well with Dee's swab results. I'm curious how to pronounce your and your husband's names! "Red" and "Dee" I think I can figure out. *g*

My most successful way to manage in the heat is to get my clothes wet. And then get them wet again. If I have a cotton neckerchief, I will keep that wet and around my neck. In addition, pouring cold water over the sleeves of my (always long sleeved) shirt and my pant legs does wonders to cool me off and give me a feeling of refreshment on an otherwise hot, humid, heavy day.

Nor’dzin said...

Thank you Coymackerel for thinking of me. That is most kind. I would be happy to receive your notes,
I am confident that our veterinary practice knows what it is doing, and indeed the infected horse is required to produce three negative swabs before being allowed out of quarantine.
It is not expected that Dee has strangles, but that she has been in contact with it. We are all hopeful that her swab will come back negative today. If so, she will then be allowed to be turned out on her own again, but will be swabbed again at least once to be certain she is clear.

Nor’dzin said...

Thanks LJB. In usual Welsh style, the heatwave has passed to be replaced with drizzly rain. Wet clothes sounds like a great idea.
Nor'dzin is simple to pronounce, just 'Nor' and 'dzin;. 'ö-Dzin is pronounced 'Er' and 'dzin'. The 'dzin' bit means 'holding. 'Nor' is a contraction of 'norbu' meaning jewel - so I am a jewel holder. ''ö' is a contration of 'ö-Sel meaning clear light - so he is the holder of clear light.
The idea is that we attempt to aspire to the meaning of our names!

Lasell Jaretzki Bartlett said...

Thank you for helping me with pronunciation and sharing the meanings of your names, too. I'm glad to read that your worries about Dee's quarantine are coming to an end.