Meet the animals who’ve been disrupting my writing this
month.
The gorgeous horse at the top there is Lexi, my 15’2 mare. She’s beautiful and sweet, and was bought for my daughter to ride in XC
competitions – that’s cross-country to non-horsey types.
Unfortunately, soon after we bought her, despite a full 5-stage
vetting before purchase, it became clear Lexi was suffering from tightness on
one side, making it hard for her to bend and stretch. Pretty crucial if you
want to soar across jumps.
Normally when a horse finds it uncomfortable to be ridden,
they kick up a fuss as they’re being saddled. Some bite, some buck, some run away.
Lexi is such a patient mare she never did any of those things so it took a
while to spot. When she tossed her head around and swished her tail, we put it down
to youth and exuberance.
Thankfully, we had her checked out by a fully qualified
equine physiotherapist. She spotted the problem right away; Lexi was stiff
through her neck and back, probably as a result of being broken in too young
and having a badly-fitting saddle before we bought her.
She’s now had ultrasound and massage (yes, there is such a
job as horse-masseuse!) and is much more limber.
But my animal woes were not over. Meet Freddy.
He’s a young swallow we found flapping around pitifully on
the roadside during a family holiday in the Lake District. Freddy had damaged one of
his wings, and was unable to fly. So back he came to the holiday cottage with
us.
I was supposed to be using this break to put the finishing
touches to the third book in my Daughter of Kali series. Needless to say,
taking care of Freddy took precedence. (I should add, I have no idea if Freddy
is an appropriate name. It could be Frederica for all I know, but the kids
named it and it stuck.)
We spent two days trying to tempt Freddy with seeds and
grains before discovering what he really likes is insects. The livelier the
better. Wriggly mealworms and skittery crickets go down a treat. You haven’t
lived till you’ve hand-fed creepy-crawlies to a hungry bird.
Freddy put on weight, his wing seemed to get stronger, and
by the end of the holiday he was managing short flutters across the room. He’s
now with a lovely foster family being prepared for his return to the wild.
And so finally, I can turn my attention to the third book.
It’s very nearly finished, it just needs some final tweaking and polishing.
If only I can get a few days to myself without an injured
animal to deal with…
Daughter of Kali: Infernal Destiny will be published
later this year. Books 1 and 2 available on Amazon now.
