Autumn update

Just a little update as I realise I haven't posted for a while.

Autumn colours

Sof is still doing well. In keeping with the seasons, Sof has changed her coat to a rich Autumnal gold. It is very fetching, however it is also very fluffy and she has been getting rather sweaty on her rides - particularly when she has to keep up with Lucky the X-racer.

I am now in a dilema over whether to clip or not, and what clip to get. Emma, her second mum, is clean to clip and rug as she is worried about sof getting a chill. Part of me wants to leave her fluffy and unrugged so I know she can control her temperature in the field, she was very happy last year naked. But now she is in full work I do not think we will get away with this. So what clip to get? Really I should get a trace and pop her in a medium weight with no neck. But this is going to be a bugger when it rains as I will not be able to get her dry enough to turn out when I ride in the mornings. Selfishly I want to go the full Monty and do a hunter (this also a much easier clip to do). I also have more heavy weight rugs suitable for hunter clips as this was the clip I always gave Mr T. She will also not get to grow back her mane (she managed to rub it out within two days of getting her fly rug off). People keep telling me she will get cold. I think this is nonsense. She is a hardy haflinger and I have lots of rugs to keep her warm. I am far more worried that she will be too hot. I hunter clip might make her uncontrollable to ride though.

Wet and muddy Sof making pre-work riding difficult

In other news she broke her old macs by over-reaching. I have taken them to a cobbler for repair. He was most bemused by the concept of horse trainers but seemed confident he could fix the buckle. I managed to sell the floating boots - for far less than I bought them for (grumble). I was so please that I had reduced my boot collection that I celebrated by buying some new ones! DOH! These are replacements for her worn out back renegades so a fair investment in my book. Now I just need to sell her vipers and her red clasics, but I am reluctant to sell as I am a sentimental fool.

'Sorry mum'

Just to confirm my reasoning (not that I need much convincing when it comes to boot buying) Sof got an abscess on her rear hoof the following week. I got a panicked call from Emma when she came in hopping lame on the rear foot. She was hot sore and squishy around the coronet band so I was fairly confident it was about to blow. We stabled her overnight and she came out angry but sound in the morning with puss out of her coronet. My trimmer has since looked at her foot and cannot find a puncture. Looks like a small bit of white line disease, stress from the shoot, and fresh grass culminated in the abscess. Poor old Sof. Still she is on the mend now.

We have had one short trial in the hackamore and she seemed happy enough with it in the school. I just now need to be brave and take her out in a hack in it.