Poor Fergus!

Following shearing last weekend, the boys have had a lazy week in pleasant weather, without their thick fleeces.  It was time to change their sleeping quarters again by opening up a field shelter and closing the one they have been using.  This photo of Fergus (left) and Fyta in the sandpit was taken just before an unpleasant incident.

Robbie opened up the field shelter and the boys went in, rolling in the dust which they always love to do.  Fergus is in the middle with his back to the camera and in the next few seconds he became entangled in the two pieces of twine holding a small bale of hay which was in the shelter and which he's decided to eat.  He immediately panicked and Robbie managed to hold him and got one piece of twine untangled.  Fergus ran from the shelter with the twine wrapped around a couple of his legs but Robbie caught him fairly quickly in the paddock but not before poor Fergus had sprained his left leg in trying to escape.

This is Fergus holding up his left leg which was clearly sore although thankfully the skin was not broken and he had not been cut by the natural twine.  We called the Vet out as Fergus was clearly distressed and appeared to be in pain.  The Vet checked him over and confirmed that no dislocation or broken bones had occurred but gave him an injection to reduce the inflammation around the 'knee' area.

Fergus was clearly upset by what had occurred and was limping badly but managed to eat his feed with a bit of encouragement.

Faro (left) and Fyta have also been affected by Fergus's condition, staying for long periods of each day quite close to him.  We've kept them in a closed paddock so that Fergus can always see his pals close-by when he is lying down.

This incident happened on Friday and two days later Fergus is still limping badly but moving around more now.  There is obvious discomfort for him but he lies down for long periods which should help the healing process.  He is eating regularly and going to the toilet so we just hope that he recovers soon.  We never use hay nets in case of entanglement and this unfortunate accident has demonstrated how quickly an innocent situation can suddenly turn dangerous for animals.

And finally.............at the end of a worrying couple of days, the sun has brought out the flowers on the Cardiocrinum Giganteum - the Himalayan Giant Lily which now stands nine feet tall.  We hope that Fergus will continue to improve over the coming days - poor boy.