Well Penny has managed to lose the foot putty. I brought her in today and hosed off her foot so I could see. the putty has gone, however her foot looks good. I trotted her up the lane and she seemed to be sound. Penny was very stressed about coming in, now that she has been back out with her best mate Lily. I have decided to leave her foot and monitor it. She is much happier out and seems sound, so hopefully it will stay like that. It would be nice if the weather dried up a bit though...

I checked Penny's foot this morning and the foot putty has set nice and hard. It hadn't moved so I have taken the chance and turned her out. She was very pleased to get back to her friends, there was a lot of nickering and sniffing going on. She didn't go particularly mad either, considering she has been in for over a week. She had a huge roll, a squeal and a buck and then that was it. She must be feeling pregnant, as is her field companion who is also sporting a baby bulge. Fingers crossed her foot stays ok now - it would be nice if the weather dried up for a bit also!

The vet has been to see Penny today and says that her foot has cleared up nicely. He has said that she can go back out with a poultice boot on, but with the mud the way it is I am not optimistic that it will stay on. As such we are trying some foot putty. I have put some in today and am going to see if it survives while she is in the stable and if it does, then I will turn her out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Penny has had her second EHV jab, next one is due at the beginning of April. She is also due her flu jab in May, when I will also give her a tetanus. She should be up to date then with her jabs ready for her foal.

The vet said that her condition is spot on. She does not want to gain any more weight , which with poor nutrition in the grass at this time of year, is unlikely. Whilst she has been in she has been having approx 450g of Suregrow and half a bucket of chaff per feed, twice a day. She has been having as much hay as she can eat. I will stick with this feeding (minus the hay) while she is out as she has access to grass 24/7.

Good news - Penny's foot is finally looking better. She was resting her other leg this morning when I went to see her, which means that she is weight bearing more on her bad foot. The swelling in her leg has also gone down considerably which is great. I hope to have the vet come on Monday to give her the second EHV, so I will cheekily ask him to have a peep at her leg while he is there. I am optimistic that she will go out out then. It will be a bit of a relief, I've been up there at 4am on several mornings, doing her after night duty and before earlies! Phew!

We have had quite a bit of snow and the ground is all frozen, which is quite good, hopefully it will discourage her from running around too much when I turn her out and give the foot chance to recover minus the mud!

Penny's foot is not looking a whole lot better. There is plenty of rubbish coming out of it which is a good sign, but the swelling in her leg is still there. I will have a look at it tomorrow morning and may then have to think about calling the vet.

Wayne Upton, Penny's farrier, has come out and had a look at her foot again. He has dug away some more of the foot and hopefully that will help her. She seemed more comfortable when he did this, as straight away she bore more weight on it, resting her other hind. On his advice I am going to tub her foot tonight and poultice it for three more days.

Her leg is still swollen but Wayne believes that this is probably due to the build up of lymphatic fluid in her leg - caused by her not bearing weight fully on that leg. Hopefully this is the case and as she becomes more comfortable then she will bear more weight on it. If there is no improvement by Friday then I will have to call the vet out.

I have been advised that the addition of some garlic to her feed may well help her immune system while she is feeling a bit down, so I have purchased some and will duly give her a couple of handfulls in her feed.

Penny has a foot abscess

Well unfortunately poor Penny is in at the moment as she has a foot abscess. I noticed her looking like she was favouring a leg and the next day she had a filled fetlock, with a strong pulse. I suspected a 'poisoned foot' as this is very common with brood mares, this being because they are out in the mud all the time and it's a perfect breeding environment for bugs! So she is resting up at the mo with a foot poultice on. Hoping she will be better within the next couple of days.

I have spoken to the feed helpline at Dodson & Horrell today, they were very helpful and happy to give advice. Based on what they have said I think that I will keep Penny on the Suregrow unless she looks to be losing weight. I am very pleased with her condition at the moment, she looks very well. She has a lovely shiny coat (under the mud!) and bright eyes, she is very alert and taking interest in her surroundings. So showing all the signs of being well and happy!

I have increased her intake to 600g per feed with a handful of chaff. She will be on this for a couple of weeks before I increase it again. If the grass is not good quality then I will increase her chaff ration. Her feed will need to be split in to two feeds in mid February as the foal will start to take up more room and restrict her stomach. The best thing to do is feed little and often. Unfortunately I don't have the circumstances where I can give her five feeds a day, so it will have to be split between two or three. The following table shows a feed guide I have planned, though it is all subject to change and does not include the chaff ration.

Jan 01 – Jan 14	500g
Jan 15 – Jan 28	600g
Jan 29 – Feb 12	700g
Feb 13 – Feb 27 (split into min 2 feeds a day)	425g	425g
Feb 27 – Mar 13	500g	500g
March	500g	500g
April	500g	500g
May	420g	420g	420g
June (immediately after foaling)	500g	500g	500g
July	500g	500g	500g
August	500g	500g	500g
September	600g	600g

From September on Penny and her foal will need to be fed separately. Penny will require much less feed and the foal will require more. Obviously this will all be dependant on how the foal grows etc. so I will have to play that by ear. I hope that the foal will be sharing or at least eating some of Penny's feed by this stage. Penny shares with her field companions so I am optimistic that she will be good with her foal.

Also had a reminder from the Vet this morning that Penny's second EHV is due 5th Feb, so must get that booked up. Penny was showing signs of lameness in her off hind last night. I have had a good look at her this morning and can't see anything obvious. She didn't look lame this morning so hopefully there is nothing to worry about. I will keep a close eye on it.

Penny is now having approximately 500g of Suregrow a day (since 27/12), mixed with a handful of chaff (she's not short of forage but it will slow her eating it as she is a gobbler). She is still in very good condition and does not appear to have lost any weight. She is carrying a bit too much condition, so I have a delicate balance between feeding for the foal and her. This is why she is on Suregrow as it gives her all the nutrients without the calories. I will start to creep up the feed though as I want to be feeding her 1kg of it by the time we get to March - the foal does most of it's growing in the last three months.

I am tempted to introduce Mare and Youngstock Mix or Stud Diet by the time she comes to foal, as I think she will need more energy when she is lactating than what is provided by Suregrow. Though I can add oats to the feed. I think another call to the Dodson & Horrell helpline is in order!