At Thordale we are not rug people. We rarely rug any of our ponies except for health reasons, never cosmetic. Dirt is good and a necessity in winter.
So, when we brought Raw Deal (Delia) down to the house yesterday to give her better care, we took one look and made an executive decision.
She is an old lady and just not keeping the weight on.
She has no muscle in her bottom and her backbone is starting to protrude as everything has sinks southwards.
So, this constitutes a health reason and we gave Delia one of Hammy’s original yearling rugs.
It is a good rug with a built-in full neck and will keep her snugly when she is outside in the field.
The others had not met Delia before and Esja was intrigued by the new fashion.
Today, we found that the herd were not being very welcoming so, before the foul weather kicked in, we popped back up to the field and collected Delia’s friend, Vitamin. They were very pleased to see each other and whickered happily away together. Both are sharing the same stable with plenty silage and a hard feed.
This is no weather to be out in if you are old – Gale Force 8, gusting 9 with rain.
I’m in a similar position with my cat as you are with Jack. He’s 18, a large cat, but has been steadily slowly losing weight for the last couple of years. His hindquarter muscles are wasted away. He can still leap, and he still loves his food, and digs affections, so despite other health issues, we’re hanging in there.
Love that colour! Good decision- and Vitamin’s her friend, she won’t point and laugh.
We all need a little extra care as we get older, don’t we?
I hate old and horses in the same sentence…….thank the lord she has you. We have a rather gorgeous 23 yr old Clydesdale Jamie. fortunately we live in more warmer climes, but still he feels the cold more, so he gets taken care of as he is the Santa deliverer., plus granddad to the Shetties. All I can say is sometimes we need to step in.
You have been showing all of us how to gracefully accept aging issues with our animals.
Thank you.