You Scratch My Back.....

Poor little Faith came in dripping with sweat tonight. The flies are just awful at the moment. She must have been honing about the field trying to get away from them. I have ordered her a fly mask, but whether she will let me within ten miles of her with it is another question!

So obviously a groom was out of the question. Nor could I let her out on the yard, as the flies were dreadful there too, and the stables are the only place where the neds get any relief from them.

So I just spent half an hour scratching all her itchy spots. It is amazing how well a horse can communicate clearly where the itchiest places were, and she expertly positioned me at just the right places to give her the best scratches.

Apart from the pleasure of being able to give Faith some relief from her itchiness, I was also able to handle her tail a good deal as well. She was itchy all over the top of her rump, so I scratched there, and was able to ‘nibble’ with my fingers all the way down her dock, and lift her tail away from her legs, running my fingers through it a bit before letting it fall back. I managed to do this several times before she cottoned on to what I was doing and side stepped away.