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THE MONTHLY MUSTER
October Newsletter

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Hello, and welcome back to the blog! It has been another couple of months since I last wrote and I am very much out of the habit. In addition to that, every time I open up a new post page I find my mind being uncharacteristically silent as I stare into the snowy white existence of the page; no ideas available, just a feeling that I don’t have anything important to say. And perhaps I don’t. Perhaps I’m the only one who reads this.

Regardless, this is my attempt to just write. For me. For you. For pure enjoyment and creativity.

And with that, welcome to the new Monthly Muster; a monthly newsletter about my life, my horse, my goals and recommendations.

Personal Updates

On the personal front, things are going to be changing again, but hopefully for the better. I have been offered a new primary school teaching job which commences in January 2024- the start of the new school year here in Australia. I am looking forward to it, but I’m also apprehensive about the prospect of the change.

We will also be moving house! We have been so lucky to be granted the opportunity to take on a 5 acre property just a 7 minute drive from my new job which is very exciting. This has been a dream of mine for, well, forever. I have been imagining looking out of the window in the morning with my cup of tea, watching my horses grazing in the field before pulling on some muddy cowboy boots and heading outside into the crisp morning air to see to the menagerie. It would be a dream come true.

It’s looking like we won’t be able to move until the end of February so there will be a period of time where I have to commute but I’m sure it will all be worth it when we can get moved in and find our groove with country living.

Training Updates

Over the recent school holidays, Harry and I did some ridden work and he was coming on very well. He was getting much sharper to the aids and was really beginning to understand the different aids, including some lateral movements. However, when I returned to my ever-crazy job, the riding and training reduced. Then he had his eye issue (see below) and so I have not worked him due to him being at the equine hospital.

Other Updates

Since I bought Harry, he has had a bit of a runny eye. His old owner brushed it off as a bit of conjunctivitis and so I spent time cleaning it and it improved. However, around a week and a half ago, Harry’s eye was swollen, even more runny, red and half closed. The vet said his pupil was also very small and the sunlight was affecting it. He gave me some ointment to take the itch out and recommended that we organised an appointment with the eye specialist at the Equine Hospital. I followed the advice and on 19/10/23 Harry went in for his appointment. I was so nervous for it because the last horse we had who went in for similar issues was diagnosed with Uveitis and ended up having to be put to sleep for bilateral blindness and severe pain. I worried for Harry’s fate. What if he had to be put down? What if he was going to go blind?

As it turns out, Harry has cancer on his third eyelid but this is not actually the cause of the inflammation and watery eye, it’s a separate issue that isn’t causing any problems at the moment. The specialist said Harry had to be admitted into the hospital. From the Thursday (19/10/23) to the Sunday (22/10/23), Harry was on medication which seemed to be helping. I visited him on that Sunday and he looked so much better. Unfortunately, my hopes were short-lived. On Monday, he relapsed. The vet switched to a different treatment and he has been getting treatment every 2 hours, even through the night. The eye specialist is thinking it is a fungal infection. Fungal infections can take months to go away completely, and on top of that, he also has to have his cancer removed. It’s going to be a long haul to get through this.

At the time of writing this, Harry is still in the Equine Hospital. He has another week at least left of treatments before I can potentially bring him home again and continue the treatments, dropping them from 2 hourly to 4 times a day. I have no idea how I am going to do this yet, but I am looking forward to him coming home.

Goals for November

My goals for November are very much up in the air. I’d have liked to have gotten back into a riding routine, but with Harry’s eye the way it is, I’m not sure how much I will actually be able to do.

I guess my main goal is to find a way to get through the last weeks of the school term while giving Harry his treatments.

Happy Horsing!