The Not-So-Secret Diary of Diva the Shetland Pony - When Illness Strikes

It is important when you have horses and ponies – or indeed any type of animal under your care, that you have contingency plans for if you are ill. We all think of what we need to do if our horse or pony is ill, but do we put the same level of care into planning what happens when illness hits us?

If you have your horse on a yard, there is often someone who will be able to step in to help, but this should not be taken for granted and perhaps having the contact details to hand of someone providing cover on a freelance basis wouldn’t be a bad thing to have just in case.

Unfortunately, I recently contracted Covid and was unable to care for Diva and Mabel myself. I was lucky in that a friend on the yard stepped in and we made it easier for her by letting them stay out all day and night. The weather was dry and they were given plenty of hay. I think they probably enjoyed it more than coming in on a night now the days are getting longer.

It was horrible being too unwell to go to see them, but I knew they were being looked after properly and that was a real comfort.

Flora the dog missed out on walks but didn’t seem to mind too much when we stayed in bed later than normal or were curled up on the sofa under a fleece – perhaps because those are some of her pleasures too.

When you live on your own, illness can be very isolating and so updates about Diva and Mabel, friends messaging and having a little dog snuggled up next to you are a real comfort. Hopefully, I will soon bounce back to normal and be ready to do the same for any of my friends should they fall ill.