EN favorite Colleen Rutledge is busy in England preparing herself and Shiraz for Badminton. Lucky for us, she’s taking the time to write down all her adventures! Keep up with Colleen and read the latest updates on her site at colleenrutledgeeventing.com. Thank you for writing, Colleen, and thank you for reading.
From Colleen:
Thanks to Sarah for the title and for the prompting to keep writing the blog, without too many days going by.
Luke normally drinks quite well when traveling, and this trip was no exception, until after we left Amsterdam. He only chose to drink a minor amount on the lorry and I felt certain that when we go to the yard, he would drink again. Now, I knew he was thirsty because he was licking his lips and would put his nose in the trough, only to blow it back out and walk around some more. Auuuuuggggghhhhhh, for Pete’s sake just drink you stubborn horse!!!! We tried putting peppermints in, carrot pieces, any thing we could think of to get him to drink. After the second day, I latched on to the idea, that maybe he didn’t like the taste or maybe it smelt funny (it IS Luke, the king of picky). So, my next idea was to get some distilled water or something similar. We went to the store just down from the house and got him the largest bottled waters we could find. Later that day, we started with the taste tests. Directly after filling one of his buckets with the newly purchased water, he plunges his nose in and begins to drink. Oh, thank goodness. Now you can peel me off the ceiling. Since then he has pretty much returned to normal, but the little monster doesn’t wish to drink water off the ground, he must have it raised on a bucket. Oh, and now he doesn’t care that much about where the water comes from, but I do make sure that the tap has run for a bit before I fill his water, and that there is a bucket of his special water in case he turns picky. Look, it’s cheaper to buy a little water than to call a vet and get fluids run because HRH doesn’t like the taste/smell/idea of local water. Who owns who? Hmmmmmm.
The irony of this whole incident is that it has rained EVERY SINGLE DAY I’VE BEEN HERE. And not just a little. DELUGE. I’ve been riding in it almost everyday that I’ve been here. So is it rude that I chuck his butt out in the rain, so that he can rehydrate through osmosis? Just a little, seeing as it hasn’t gotten above mid 50’s since we have arrived. (Warning to those coming over, that means COLD and VERY DAMP, pack extra layers and bring me some outside heat, please!!) He loves this as he gets to go out first thing in the morning and apply his coating of thick, sticky, clay mud all over himself. Even on the back of his ears. And in the groove between his jaws. I’ve given up on his tail for the time being as I would have to wash it everyday to keep it clean (see above comment about temperatures, not going to happen). I have him bundled with blankets and even neck covers, but leave it to him, he can work some amazing magic to get the mud in places that in would never guess. Oh, the mud dreds are fantastic too! Not.
We are muddling (mudding) along, another good gallop yesterday, with some amazing views. I will have to bring the camera next time as it was absolutely spectacular. Here’s to today, the first day I haven’t gotten drenched. Looking forward to more? Please? And maybe just a couple of days in the 60’s? I beg of you!!!
–C
