A part of me wants to ask how quickly we got here to week 7, and another part of me is breathing finally. Week 7. Phew. Back when we first had this done, I kept wondering how the weeks would go and if getting to some level of freedom would seem like a lifetime away. At the time, it did. But slowly as the weeks passed, I found myself thinking how actually it all wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined and I felt like I had control of the situation. I think that was my problem in the beginning and the first week. I didn’t have control of whether the surgery would be a success, and then I didn’t have co ..read more

Where has the last month gone? I fell down a rabbit hole these last few days of looking at videos of Huckleberry in the days leading up to surgery and then post surgery. It's hard to now remember how petrified I was, and my worries in those weeks and days leading up to handing him over to the surgeon and putting my trust in that they would make it all okay.  People told me it would get easier, and the initial few weeks would soon become a distant memory, but I was so blinkered by what was happening and how scared I was for Huckleberry, that I couldn't see too far into the future and all ..read more

Wow, 3 weeks post Total Hip Replacement. Where did those 3 weeks go? I wanted to do a different post this week to celebrate being a third of the way there. A third of the way to getting life back to normal, long beach walks and not clinging onto Huckleberry's lead as he tries to run after a bird or cat.  Things I’ve learnt over the last 3 weeks: 1. Trust your own thoughts, process and dog. It’s easy to read other people’s experiences on Facebook and various places on the internet. You know your dog best, you know whether it will be happy not sedated, or where it will wee and poo, and ..read more

This feels unreal to be saying, but we are TWO weeks post Total Hip Replacement and it stitch removal day. I can't believe we're here already. Two weeks ago it felt like today would never come, and it felt like stitch removal day was so far into the future, that I couldn't think about it.  This last week has been a lot mentally. It felt harder than week 1 because each day that passed, Huckleberry was feeling more and more good, and wanted to do more. Which of course is great, but equally, he's tried to chase Bumble Bee's, Cats and jump up when he sees Mum or me come home from being out f ..read more

Getting the phone call that Huckleberry was awake was genuinely a great sense of relief and I felt for the first time in weeks like I could breathe, this was going to all be okay and I would have my dog back to normal in no time at all.  Following the call that he was awake, I was able to keep in touch with the night nurse team who said (and more than likely regretted) I could call at any time throughout the night. We had a little panic at 9pm when they said he was still in recovery due to him taking a while to regulate his temperature. I went into a mild (rather large) meltdown but I w ..read more

Part 1 of Huckleberry's Hip Replacement can be found here, which explains how I noticed something was wrong with his leg and how I sought veterinary help.  You'll be glad to know that Part 2 finally gets into the Hip Replacement rather than me banging on about the long drawn out process that lead up to us getting here! Once I'd gotten our D-Day date, I could feel my anxiety heighten and as the week progressed it got worse. Although I would say that this time around I felt a sense of calm as well in the sense that I had finally come to terms that Huckleberry needed this hip replacement ..read more

 Oh, I haven’t done one of these in a while!  The other day I was asked if the “perplexed Aunty” series would ever make a comeback. It ended right with having to endure a child’s play area and a fart mid play tunnel. There was no escaping that one, and it seemed a pretty apt moment to just stop. No one needs to imagine what a one year olds fart in a play tunnel smells like.  Alas, I’m back. The perplexed Aunty that’s aged 20 odd years in just 4. For someone that used to not really like kids that much, I’ve been snotted on and used as a walking tissue more time than you can say ..read more

I was chatting to an old horsey friend last week and we spent a while reminiscing about our fond memories of growing up as horsey-mad children that would spend all day at the yard and come home covered head to toe in mud and ready for bed. We spent ages chatting about our old trusty long Harry Hall rubber riding boots that weren't comfortable in the slightest unless you had socks on, and how the smell of hoof oil would follow us around wherever we went. Ceaser and I - some 20 odd years ago! We spoke about our favourite yard items from way back when, and those things we wish we had n ..read more

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we would get to ride at Hartpury for the Five Star Winter Championships! It still feels like a dream  I’m beyond excited, obviously nervous about being the best I can be, and doing well - but ultimately I just want to trot down that centreline and enjoy it all, with a smile!  Lots of prep now until the big day, and I’m hoping to get some special training down in Gloucester whilst I’m there - more on that at another time though.  Entries are all done, camping booked, and we're almost ready!  If anyone has any top tips on how to co ..read more

Wow, where has the time gone? It doesn't seem two minutes ago I was wrapping up for 2018 and pondering about the long winter break ahead.  I took Ziggy out competing a couple of weeks ago for the first time since October and I’ve had him long enough to know by now that his first time out for the season is ALWAYS spooky! However Kate is always saying the spooks make him expressive so I was adamant to ride with it. I drove to the competition freezing cold, with a headache and wondering what the heck I was doing in January going competing. I’d used a half day holiday from work for this.&nb ..read more