Neighlands

21/06/2024

Because one end of the bag was open Abi came up with an ingenious plan to get it to the paddock while I drove.
Safety First n all that.

19/06/2024

Just a heads up.
I have 1 gelding space available now and then nothing till end of September at the very earliest
😊.

19/06/2024

So nice to see green again.
Its not thick and lush just yet but its coming.

13/06/2024

Hiya - I have just sent out an important email to my clients.
If you could please check your inboxes or junk mail i'd be grateful :)
Thank you .

07/06/2024

We have a gelding vacancy in our new herd of 3 late teen boys.
All 3 boys are friendly and respectful with each other.
Included in our weekly price is:
All hard feed.
All farrier trims
All hay
All worming
All rugging
You can visit when you like between 9 and 4
Would suit a nice gentleman who likes to.play occasionally but not too much.
$160pw currently.
Contracts in place and direct to business bank account 4 weekly in advance.
Any questions fire away.
Any administration of meds is included you provide.
Only extras are vet and dental bills and any medd required.

03/06/2024

Line dancing is so tiring.
But on the other than this is how I know my herd is a happy herd.
Snoozing off their breakfast.
Good boys.

02/06/2024

This morning Abi and I made use of this method to get an old lady out of bed.
I think she probably lay down early morning when the rain stopped but due to wet and cold ground she got herself in a bit of a pickle and spent too long on the ground.
I gave her some bute and her breakfast in a bucket so she could pick at it while we waited for the bute to kick in.
Then we tipped her over using this method and up she got.
She was wobbly and cold so a new rug and a bit of walking around and 30 mins later she was tucking into second breakfast and no longer wobbly.
Unfortunately during my initial attempts to get her up the lead rope snapped while I was on full lean angle and I went flying and have hurt my lower back sp if you see me hobbling you know why.
Anyway old girl had since had lunch and seems none the worse for her ordeal.
So please do remember this method, I tried many things this morning before i went for this as i'm not a fan of rolling them when they are in their 30's however there was no struggle and it achieved the result of getting her upright once more.

01/06/2024

The boys line dancing class was a bit lively this arvo!

31/05/2024

Checking the fence line out the back today with my puppers :)

29/05/2024

Senior horses - and perception.
One thing that I constantly face is 'well the horse is old now so bla bla bla'
Er no, lets have some facts and also lets have some education of those making decisions for our 'senior' horses.
Horses are living longer, this is a fact and due to advances in knowledge, dental care, management and the use of drugs that often are there to benefit younger horses but then get used on older ones with success.
But why is that when you have issues with a senior horse often professionals see them as too old to benefit from intervention ?
I know things are different for me as my end of the scale is extreme but so many folk are now keeping their horses way into their 20's with little to no outward signs that the horse is say 25 when it could easily pass for for 15 physically.
But when push comes to shove, oh its 25 let it go.
Why ?
I have had to advocate considerably strongly for some of our horses in the past, some went on for another 10 years post initial issue without any further problems.
Yes some 25 yr olds are old but some are not. Some have had a hard life and it shows but some have very few miles on the clock or have been brought on slowly and not had a particularly hard life.
18 is not old - 16 is not old - 25 is not old.
I certainly don't think that putting a 30 yr old through colic surgery is an option but I refuse to accept that a horse is past it at 18 and should be treated differently to a horse that is 6 for no obvious reason.
There are factors to consider for sure but on the whole please please look at the individual and the life it has and not the number thats printed on the side of the neck or shoulder before condemning the animal as 'old' and thus basing decisions on age and not quality of remaining life.

29/05/2024

Delivery to Bakers Hill on Mondays currently :)

21/05/2024

I have a vacancy in our geriatric ladies paddock.
Suitable for a lady aged over 25 years in a small herd on 25 acre paddock right outside my home.
Fully inclusive of 3 soft feeds per day (or more if required to bring up to weight)
Feeds. Farrier trims. Rugging. Worming and all daily care.
Only extras are vet and dental bills and any meds/vaccs.
Current ladies are all 30 plus.
$160 per week on contract.

16/05/2024

Consider end of life options for your horse please.
It is going to happen at some point, as much as we would like, they do not live forever.
For us it is all part of what we do here, we are not just an agistment centre, we specialise in aged horses and accept the challenges this may bring and the crossing from life to death that happens.
Regardless of a horses age, they can be gone in an instant, when we least expect it, with no previous concerns or in many cases they can be stoic and just keep plodding on.
Much depends on the horse as to how much they ‘plod’ on, horses can and do get very depressed for many reasons, be it pain or underlying sickness that we may or may not be aware of or simple loneliness from being alone or in the wrong herd, being bullied by another horse, not quick enough on their feet to move out of the way – You can add quality of life by observing this, taking note. If its pain or sickness then a check up by a Vet is in order, if its environment then you can change this.
But at some point nothing you do can make their quality of life improve and decisions need to be made.
It’s a decision none of us wishes to think about I agree, it’s a process I go through every single week in regards to the horses that are my own – however as a responsible owner its something you must do – Their wellbeing is in our hands and therefore the quality of that life and death is ours and ours alone and must be faced.
I can assure you that facing this hard truth now, with a well thought out plan, is infinitely better than hiding away from it – for the horse and for you. The feelings of guilt that come with grief are compounded when something happens that is out of our control and we always think what if, maybe, perhaps, if I had done this etc etc. If you have thought it through, have a plan to work to, follow that plan then you don’t have the extra reproach that comes with all the emotions you are going to feel when that time actually does come.
Elderly horses do not have the same instincts or needs that a younger horse has, they like consistency, hate change, don’t like too much to be different, like the quieter things in life, they don’t cope with too much going on, they don’t need as much mental stimulation, they like to sit in their swing chair on the patio and doze, watch the world go by, couldn’t care about politics, or who did a fancy show in the paddock over yonder. They will very occasionally have a bit of a knees up and a glass of sherry but they also know they will suffer for it for a couple of days. Sometimes they don’t hear as well, or see as well, the legs don’t work as well as they did and it takes them longer to get out of bed in the morning and sometimes they get a bit stuck doing it – but it doesn’t mean they are not enjoying their life.
They have their companions, their feed suited to their needs, their coats to keep them warm in bad weather and they know they can sleep more if they feel like it.
When they don’t enjoy these simple things any more – they show it, they always do – and that’s where we come in, their owners, the last kindness we can offer them when all other avenues have been explored its time for us to do this one last act of compassion.
Let me explain the process, often fear comes out of not knowing what is going to happen.
The vet arrives and administers a sedative, just like any sedation, be it xrays, drenching, clipping. The vet then administers a large dose of anaesthetic, the horse becomes unconscious very quickly and collapses to the ground, sometimes quite slowly – please remember at this point its no different than if the horse was to be having surgery – the brain is switched off, asleep. In the next minute or 2 the horse ceases to breath, the heart slows and then the heart stops. For the horse any awareness or consciousness of what is happening went before his legs stopped keeping him upright.
So imagine this, you are there, you have copious amounts of carrots and apples and fave treats, you are gently rubbing his head, telling him how good he is, how special he is. You are his fave person, he has known you a long time, familiar and you are giving him all the lovely yummy treats…….. and then he goes to sleep….. !
It takes courage, huge amounts of courage but it is something you will come to understand was the very best you could do.
We don’t always have this opportunity, during emergencies for instance, and during these times let me assure you that the above is exactly what we do, they may not feel like having yummy treats but they are held, cuddled, rubbed, soothed, surrounded by people they know with pain relief on board and in the company of their buddies and we do our best to save our tears for after they have gone, but we are not always successful there either.
But even in this emergency situation a plan of action on the telephone with the owner will help with the inevitable grief and assist with healing.
Think about what happens after – do you want them cremated, have the ashes home to plant a tree with or scatter at their favourite place ? If so then I urge you to do a payment plan with Lawnswood or have a credit card specifically with a 2k limit. Nothing worse than having to try and find the money right there and then on top of a possible vet bill. Then its in your plan and one less thing to worry about. Do you want to keep some tail for bracelet or necklace.
Please give it some thought, think it through, as hard as it is- have the courage for their sake and for yours. Its awful I know but it is the right thing to do.

14/05/2024

Looking for bulk feed deliveries ?
Yes they deliver up here.
Great service and highly recommend :)

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551993913355

BULK STOCKFEED DELIVERY SPECIALISTS

06/05/2024

Foggy morning

05/05/2024

Little blue bit in the sky today was very bright against the clouds.

04/05/2024

The dinner ladies had a change of scenery today.

02/05/2024

More teatimes

02/05/2024

Teatime.

02/05/2024

02/05/2024

Joy at being able to finally get on the paddocks and start work cleaning up and seeding.

22/04/2024

Noddy snoozing off his.sedation after today's dental.
Good boy.

18/04/2024

Billy. Whisper. Trevor. Noddy. Duke. Lovers

16/04/2024

Stunning at 37 yrs - Beautiful POPPY😍
Lovely photo taken by Mandy this morning.

16/04/2024

Retired boys Winston. Charlie. Duke. Lofty. Whisper.

14/04/2024

Ben D Ben K and George

14/04/2024

Opal 20. Annie and her ad leg 24. Summer 30. Cosi 33. Lady 32. Opals nostril cos she be a cuddle bunny.

14/04/2024

Parnzi. Baz. Bob. Zip. Magic. Walter. Spirit. Pablo

13/04/2024

Educational, gruesome, wow, but bittersweet post about wound care and what can be achieved.
I have posted the original injury in comments, it is not for the feint hearted.
The end result after 6 months was a 10c piece left to heal but regrettably Elle left us in a totally unrelated manner a couple of months after i'd finished her rehab.
This first photo is 4 months post initial injury which occurred after a mad hooning session where she slipped and while sliding on her side she kicked out and smashed her leg on a fence post.
What I wish to post about is what can be achieved and whilst many would have put her down there and then it was decided by owner and myself to give this a go as she was surprisingly not lame!
Halfway through the process we did have to open it all back up again to remove dead bone off the front of the cannon bone, we did expect this so no surprise there.
There was a lot of debriding of the granulation tissue to keep it below the skin line so it could heal, if you dont take the tissue back the skin cannot grow over to cover the wound.
I am posting this to show what can be done and sometimes all is not lost :)
She was the best girl throughout this process and we really do miss having her around

12/04/2024

With the current drought, hay pricing and inevitable hay shortage id just like to assure all horse owners that we can and indeed I do manage without hay at all if need be.
I have several herds here who do not have hay at all and we haven't even had grass since last sept either.
But it cam be done. Its time heavy and the way hay prices are rising it may well end up cheaper than hay rolls!!
So don't despair, it's not the worst thing that can happen 😊