In between racing to finish work for exhibition, I managed to squeeze in this commissioned piece of work for a friend. It is intended as a business postcard ( although the original is A4 in size) for Suzi Crockford, of Dartmoor Drums. Suzi creates extraordinarily beautiful handmade drums - I'm hankering after one myself after seeing and hearing them ;)
There is a ray of hope on the Bethan front. As you can see, she has rubbed bare patches on her face and her front legs, but the good news is that she appears to be free of lumps and bumps where the fly rug covers. I have added the Global Herbs 'Fly free' supplement to her feed to see whether this is effective, and yesterday morning my bottle of Avon 'Skin so Soft' arrived! Thankyou to those who recommended this - I am waiting to see whether this really does work as a fly repellent. I read the ingredients when it arrived, and my heart sank when I read Benzyl Benzoate is one of them, but it would appear it is only in trace amounts, and I patch tested it on myself before applying it to her 12 hours later. It didn't bring on an allergic reaction in me, so hopefully we will be ok with it. Of course, the other option is this :
The full face mask to provide a barrier from the biting midges. I gave in and purchased one yesterday, but I have real concerns about these. If a horse's main means of communication is through facial expression, how does it feel for them to have their face and ears completely masked? Does it hinder her natural communication? Or worse, put her at a disadvantage with 'the herd' because she can't interact naturally? So, I have tried it as a stop gap, because I don't want open sores on her face, but I am hoping we can find a DEET free fly repellent that really works, and remove the need to cover her face.
Though all of this sounds like bad news, actually, in a general sense, I am really pleased with her health. She is looking better over all, her coat is soft now, her skin feels loose , no longer stretched tight over her, she has lost some of the wrinkling around her eyes that always indicates stress or discomfort to me, and generally seems to be more relaxed.
So, we'll just keep plodding on!
So, we'll just keep plodding on!
