Percy is one month old

Percy was a whole month old on Monday. As a celebration, they all spent their first night out in the field! They have moved back to the big field where Penny and lily were in the winter. They all seem to have taken to it well and survived the night. Percy has scraped his front leg today, his off fore. So the first injury!

I am still feeding them twice a day, Percy is having his own separate feed of suregrow, though he seems keener on mum's. When he is two months old I will give him foal mix.

Due to finances, kim and I have decided to take advantage of the good weather and the good grass, and leave them living out for a couple of months. It's funny because already I notice the difference in Penny, it's like she reverts back to her wild state. She's not mad or anything, just so much more alert. They will start coming in again when the weather turns, probably by the end of September. This is also the time that Percy will be castrated (4 months). They will probably be weaned not too long after that.

I have uploaded some recent photo's of the boy, taken this week. He is very colty now, he climbs all over his mother and plays roughly with poor Ruby. She sorts him out though!

I had to get the vet out last week as I thought that Percy was suffering colic. It turned out to be a false alarm, but best to be on the safe side. The farrier came yesterday (16.07) and Percy had his feet done for the first time. He was very good actually, so that was a result.

I need to keep an eye on his swelling, I am pushing it up twice a day. Not convinced that it is doing anything though...

OUT ALL TOGETHER AT LAST

It has rained so much this morning that they had to wait untill eleven o'clock to go out. It has just thrown it down again at 1330! Blue sky now though so fingers crossed...

Chris came yesterday to look at Percy and unstitch Penny. Chris was pleased with Percy's leg, it has straightened up well and his limbs are looking much stronger. He is now allowed out with Lily and Ruby. His breathing appears to be a lot better, it is improving all the time. His swelling still causes concern however. I am to push it back up every day and eventually (so I am told) it will stay up of it's own accord! Percy is going to love me for that isn't he!

They went out with Lily and Ruby yesterday for the first time and luckily it was all rather uneventful! Lily and Penny were pleased to see each other, they had a sniff of each others foals and got down to grazing!

Ruby and Percy aren't quite brave enough to talk to each other yet, but I'm sure they will be playing within a week. This will be good news as Percy needs to learn that humans aren't for playing with. He's quite naughty in his stable, so it will be good to get him out of that.

Penny and Percy are out in the paddock at the moment, and it's just decided to throw it down! Great! They are having about 3 hours out a day at the moment until they can go out full time with Lily and Ruby.

Chris, the vet, is coming to take Penny's stitches out on Monday (from her caslick) and he will have a look at Percy too. Hopefully he will think that his bendy leg is much better. I think it is improving but it's hard to say when you see them every day.

I've uploaded some pics of them enjoying themselves in the paddock, they love going out. In a way it's a good job we've had all this rain while they have to be in, because they can't be out all day in it anyway. I am keen to get them out all day though as it is much better for them both.

I have a few hello's to say, hopefully I won't get in to trouble for missing anyone! Hello to Chloe, Isobel, Anna, Sarah, James, Harry, Rob, Matt, Dan, Aisling, Patrick, Louise and if you ever check this blog, Tom and Sam. Hope you are all happy and enjoying reading about Penny and Percy!

Right I have to go and get them in now and give Penny her dinner (two scoops Alfa oil and one and a half of mix).

I decided to call Chris, the vet out today to look at both of them. Penny has quite a heavy discharge and Percy's breathing has been concerning me. Percy's breathing sounds like a horse high blowing after exercise. I was worrid that there may be something wrong.

Chris was a star and came up to see me within an hour of me calling, which was just wonderful as it means I don't have to miss work. He had a look at Penny and said that there was nothing to worry about. If the discharge smells horrible then there is cause for concern, but as it is she is fine. She does look very well in herself.

Chris listened to Percy's lungs and heart and said that they were perfectly fine. He's probabley just got a soft paalate which is common in young foals. However Chris was concerned by the fat hanging down between Percy's legs which looks like an over sized testicle. He could not feel any intestine in there, but it is a concern that a hernia may occur. I'm to keep a close eye on it, it should improve as he grows, but if he starts to show signs of colic then this could spell trouble.

Also a small concern is Percy's off hing leg which is a tad wonky. Once again this should straighten up as he grows, but needs keeping an eye on. As such he will have to wait to meet Ruby for another week, as he is not to excessively run around and risk damaging his leg.

On the positive side, he is very lively, has a beautiful shiny coat and bright eyes. Chris said that he was a very nice foal. He also commented on what a nice mare Penny is and how good she is with her foal.

Mark is feeding them their dinner again tonight..........

Percy went out in the paddock for the first time this morning. Mark came up to the stables with me at 0630 to watch! This is an incredible break through - though must play it cool, don't want to put him off.....

Percy's bum is still a bit pooey but getting better. Penny is bleeding slightly which concerns me a bit, though she is very well in herself and eating well so she's not in distress.

I'll be turning them out at 0600 tomorrow for a couple of hours as Kim has to be at work for 0730. Come Saturday they can start going out all day.

Percy has taken to lying under his mum's haynet, which means he is well camouflaged when i go to check on him! See the photo :)

MArk fed them last night and gave Penny more water, he's doing the same tonight!!!!!!!

Penny and Percy are doing well. They are going out in the school for a few hours today. I am hoping to let them into the paddock for a few hours tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, with Saturday being the grand meet Lily and Ruby day!

Percy had to have his bum washed yesterday as he is scouring. He wasn't best please and ended up falling into his water bucket, where he got stuck in a sitting position like a dog. poor thing! So I pulled him out sharpish and he continued with his antics. We got it done eventually! I bought an exfoliating glove from boots that gets the dried bits off a treat! He now has an exfoliated bum, nicely slathered with Vaseline.

Penny is having more to eat now that she is lactating. She'll soon be back up to what she was having in March. Obviously when she goes out she will have access to really good grass so that will make her feel good. i am pleased to say that she looks fantastic and appears well and happy. She has really taken to her motherhood role.

NEWSFLASH
Mark asked me if I would like him to go up and see them tonight while I am at work!! We've had a break through! He LOVES Percy and wasn't very happy with me when I told him about the bucket incident! So he is going to feed them tonight for me and give them extra water. Wow - I never thought that this would happen.

I'm off to see them now for some more bum washing. Oh and poo picking the paddock!

Colt foal born 1950hrs 16/06/07

Penny has had her foal! A stunning bay colt, by Utopian Opposition. After nearly a fortnight of keeping a vigil at the stables, Penny had her foal in the early evening and I missed the birth!

Mark and my dad went up to the stable to fix the camera that we were using to watch Penny in her stable. Meanwhile I was at home getting the dinner ready, planning to return to the stables at about 2200 hrs. When I had fed Penny at 1800 she showed no signs whatsoever of foaling. The only notable thing that day would be that she was behaving strangely when I turned her out in the morning - she was rearing and bucking which I have not seen her do for a long while.

Anyway, I digress. There I am putting the food into the oven and setting my egg timer when Mark rings me; "Julia get up here now Penny is foaling and I'm not joking". With that, a mad panic ensues! In a moment of unusual clarity, I turned the oven off and shouted to mum and my friend Kirsty who was visiting, "Penny is foaling, quick we have to go!"

So we charged out of the house with the dog charging with us, leaving all of the lights on and the tv playing. I jumped in the car and the dog dived into the boot, poor Kirsty had a parcel shelf hit her in the back of the head as we were in Mark's car, which does not normally have the dog in! I drove like Stirling Moss (frightening my poor mum) up to the stables and did it in 4 minutes which is pretty impressive as it normally takes about double that!

On my arrival I find that Mark is in the stable with Kim (who's horse, Lily foaled last week) and Penny has given birth to a sweet looking foal with a bendy ear. Both were lying down and nickering at each other.

I checked the foal and he had quite a bit of fluid in his nose but looked really good apart from that. I sprayed his stump or 'belly button' with blue spray and checked the sex. Shortly afterwards Penny stood up, so I tied the afterbirth up so that she didn't stand on it.

As I did so, Kim relayed her story. She had been hanging around because she was due to have dinner early with friends. Kim had walked past Penny's stable and heard her get down and groan. Kim thought that this was unusual and so went to check her, only to find a pair of forelegs emerging! With this she ran to where Mark and dad were setting up the camera "Bloody hell Penny is foaling call Twig quick!"

Poor Kim was having a bit of a panic and Mark ran with her to the stable. With Kim's guidance (crash course last week with Lily) Mark pulled as Penny pushed and delivered the foal! Mark saw to the foal, breaking the sac and clearing it's mouth and making sure it was safe from Penny's back legs. And this is about where I arrived! I checked the afterbirth which looked fine and put it in a sack ready for the vet in the morning.

Poor Mark has only just come to terms recently with stroking Penny on the cheek, let alone helping her give birth! What a super star! I'm so glad that he, dad and Kim were there else we would have all missed it. I think the foal would have been ok if on it's own, but it's always best to be there.

The foal was weak on his legs and couldn't stand for a while. Therefor I drew some milk from Penny into a baby bottle with a teat and gave him a drink of that. He sucked straight away so he definitely had the right idea! He had a good 150ml of his mum's milk. As Penny was so good with him and cautious around his legs (ie not looking to stand on him), I deemed it safe to leave them for a while so that we could have our dinner.

An hour later we returned and gave the foal some more milk. With our help he got to his feet and then remained upright unaided. Slowly he made his way to Penny's udder, she was encouraging him all the way. Finally after 4 hours of existence out side of his mum's womb he drank. And after that you couldn't stop him!

As such after a while we left them. I decided to stay one last night in the caravan so that I could be sure that both mare and foal were ok. Mark stayed with me.

In the morning I found the foal drinking and trying to have a poo. The vet came at 8am (Mike not Chris) and saw to both. They were both looking well. The foals eyes and ears were good along with his heart rate. He then had a couple of injections and an enema to help him pass his meconium (first poo). Penny was re-stitched and we left them to it for a bit.

I turned Penny and the foal out in the school for a leg stretch. the foal had a little trot and canter before finding it all too exhausting and lay down. Penny took the opportunity to have a big roll.

I have decided to call the foal 'Pentopian' this is derived from Penny and Utopian. His stable name is Percy. So there we are, Percy is now with us!