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Johno and ‘The Blind Chick’

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25.01.2022 Message from Johno Well hope everybody has had a lovely couple of days the last two days we have had thunderstorms and a little bit of rain but not enough to flood the arena which is so good But this means because of the rain I have not had to work and I have been having a lovely time in my paddock but I do have some exciting news I started my new medication this morning and I will keep you updated on how I am travelling... Also before the rain the blind chick has been having a lovely time with her wonderful husband Matthew she has been spending quite a bit of time of an afternoon in the header stripping Bali It was a very slow job as the crop because of the rain had lodged this means a lot of it was nearly lying on the ground so Matthew had to travel very slowly with the header to get the crop stripped And then today the blind chick took her very good friend Jackie Cantrall out for lunch for her birthday they went to the sushi train in town apparently this is one of their favourite places to go then they went to a lovely wine bar and had a couple of champagnes for Jackie‘s birthday sounds like the blind chick had a lovely afternoon Well hopefully everybody is safe and well hope you all have a wonderful weekend I probably won’t be doing too much until Monday while the blind chick assesses how my medication is going but we will keep you in the loop definitely so have a spectacular weekend keep safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno

24.01.2022 Message from Johno Good morning from the McQuarrie River a bit of a bleak all day today overcast and windy but definitely not cold I think we are going to get rain on Sunday Because it is windy and overcast the blind chickie babe won’t be riding today but is doing some ground work with me which will be good I enjoy the time we spent together... Really love this quote below about choices I should remember it and not choose to be a fruit loop what do you think XX Quote of the day: Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely. Roy T. Bennett, So many amazing choices hope you have a wonderful day and you are safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno

24.01.2022 Message from Johno Well good afternoon all this is a massive thank you to all of our wonderful Facebook friends for their outpouring of love and support for my post yesterday letting you know I had the degenerative neurological condition equine shivers If love alone could cure this hideous condition I would’ve been cured yesterday so grateful for all the support and love... I am just putting it out there to our Facebook friends do you know anybody who has a horse with Equine shivers or do you have a horse that has a Quine shivers how did you treated would love people to share their knowledge I know the blind chick would appreciate just feedback So very grateful to the amazing Dr Sara from Hunter Equine some of my blood tests have come back selenium level is good we are waiting to see what the vitaminE level is as well as a lot of other tests they were running Dr Sara even took some of my tail hair so they could do D and A tests Also really looking forward to hearing what the vets have to say when Dr Sarah talks to the other veterinarians in England and America about my Equine shivers So needless to say at the moment I’m not being worked but not for the reason you think I have thrown a shoe But hopefully this will be rectified by the end of the week We are hoping with my post that we can number one get some information on the degenerative neurological condition equine shivers and share information let people know about it so many people have no idea what it is Without the correct diagnosis you could think it was string Holtze or maybe a locking patella So would appreciate any input waiting for my herbs to arrive so we can see how they go with my anxiety one step at a time seems to be the way to go just addressing one thing at a time and see if we can make a difference Hope everybody is having a lovely day spectacular day here today beautiful spring weather mind you the flies are very annoying and sticky but I have my fly vale on fly spray lovely mesh rug but they’re still annoying have a spectacular day loads of love and hugs Johno

23.01.2022 Message from Johno Oh my heavens what a wild and woolly afternoon we had yesterday we had very big wins we had lots of rain and we had hail and a lot of thunder and lightning it was really quite a frightening afternoon With all the hail coming down it was horrible it was hitting me in the head the blind chick had put my good rain sheet on so that protected my body and I stood under the tree and put my head down and bum to the hail... I was really concerned for Matthews wheat and Bali he has in not sure if it damaged it and knocked the seed out but the hailstones were large enough to sting when they hit you Blind chickie babe has been out to check the dressage arena well it’s been blown away so looks like her and Gwen have a job this morning also a fair bit of water in the round yard blind chickie babe was putting in a channel but did not have much luck draining the round yard like she did the Dressage Rena might have to get Gwen‘s eyes on the job Absolutely a spectacular day here today I think they have forecast another little shower but the sun is shining and I can hear the grass growing Looking forward to going out and doing some light work with the blind chick and Gwen possibly not in the round yard maybe in the dressage arena just in hand Hope everyone has a lovely day loads of love and hugs Johno

23.01.2022 message from Johno Wow what a spectacular morning and what a sleepless night I was a bit of a fruit loop last night those trotters kept coming and going and I kept running around and being a fruit loop so this morning when the blind chickie babe came down to feed me and to take up my top rug I was a tad sweaty So the blind chickie babe gave me my breakfast a carrot took the top rug off felt the bottom rug saturated with sweat and I don’t think she was overly impressed mind ...Continue reading

23.01.2022 Message from Johno Well wow bring on the spring weather another spectacular day don’t you just love this time of the year Well the blind chick had me ready when Gwen arrived today she was in a little bit of a time restriction as the blind chickie babe is off to have her haircut... So keeping in mind my fruit loop moments from yesterday I am endeavouring to do better today So Gwen leads me out to the dressage arena and into the round yard I am quite settled and happy and then those trotters move well I need to do a bit of a fruit loop Winnie and think I need to probably Prance when I could be walking I’m sure this isn’t very pleasant for the blind chick as she has no idea what I am doing and why I’m being a fool she get some feedback from Gwen what the trotters are doing but I’m sure it’s not good for the blind chick must be scary So you will all be proud of me today I only had one and a half fruit loop moment today I had another little worrisome moment when I saw one of the trotters moving away but then quickly came back to being a very good boy and working very hard blind chickie babe was quite proud of me even mentioned to Gwen how much of an improvement on yesterday my work ethic was If the trotters weren’t there you know there would be not an issue it’s just because they are and I want to know what they’re doing in other words I’m a busybody One of our wonderful friends Norma from Canada suggested getting me a donkey as a mate so I bonded with the donkey and was not worried about the trotters definitely food for thought not sure what I think about getting a donkey though But a mate would make a difference but it is another mouth to feed and another hassle for the blind chick two separate horses when feeding etc But I am sure with time I will improve with worrying about the trotters I have not been home awful week yet so maybe in another week I should be heaps better But I’m not making any guarantees Well back in my paddock enjoying this beautiful sunshine the guys across the river are busy cutting a paddock of oats I think it is smells lovely Hope everybody is safe and well have a spectacular day loads of love and hugs Johno

23.01.2022 Message from the blind chick Well it is turned out to be a pretty spectacular day I went down and caught my beautiful Johno gave him a brush did quite a bit of ground work with him keeping his attention on me and I really didn’t know whether I would ride or not It is really hard to explain to people about confidence and how it can be so debilitating it can make you or break you... That itty-bitty shitty committee that can get in your head and undermine you and make you think you can’t do things some days it works may being positive and having all these goals that I’m going to ride and then when the time comes it is easy to make an excuse not to do it today there were no excuses Johno was just perfect and I knew it was the time to get back on As I put my foot in the Sterup I had no butterflies I was not afraid I wasn’t thinking bad thoughts and then as I used my seat into the saddle and breezed out it was like being home it was where I was meant to be Now I’m not saying everything is hunky-dory and it will all be perfect again tomorrow because it may not be but we took the first step today on our one step at a time coming back the smile has not moved off my face I am so very grateful for my beautiful Johno and his patience To my lovely friend Gwen who comes and helps me each day with a Johno as my eyes her patience is so greatly appreciated there is no pressure there is no expectation she is there Sollee for a Johno and I but she is very supportive and encouraging very grateful to have Gwen‘s help But the biggest thank you goes to my beautiful Johno 18.3 hands of majestic horse with two beautiful brown eyes that in my eyes he had my back today he felt beautiful so very very grateful So everybody don’t stop believing you’re dreaming if you want it bad enough one step at a time we can do it a Johno and I still have a long way to go it’s a big journey lots to do but having fun doing it So hope everybody has had a lovely day I am still smiling like a busted watermelon I think and so proud of my beautiful Johno for having my back sending everybody loads of love and hugs and big smiles take care the blind chick

23.01.2022 Message from Johno Well a wonderful soggy good morning to all it is raining here in Dubbo and it is rather pleasant we have had a couple of showers go through last night heavy ones not sure how much rain was in the rain gauge Well thought I should give you an update of my 30 seconds of being a star and my news interview with channel 9... Well make up was easy fly spray a good brush and of course my bling bridal And it was so cool Matthew was able to get time off work and come home and be part of the team as he is the one that brought me for the blind chick So the team arrived there are two beautiful young ladies Journalist Amy Clements and Bre McCullagh was the lovely lady behind the camera Oh my heavens there are lots of bloopers to go on the floor in the channel 9 cutting studio There was lots of laughter and it was just so much fun I think the funniest part was when beautiful Amy was trying to do the closing of the story and she was holding me and I kept trying to pull the buttons off her double-breasted jacket she just could not stop laughing she get to 3 words into the sentence and giggle and giggle, all in raptures So all in all being a movie star was pretty cool my 30 seconds of being a famous pony was lots of fun We will possibly do an update tomorrow we have been speaking with the beautiful Dr Sarah from Hunter Equine she has had updates from England and America so I will share these with you tomorrow Needless to say it is raining and I have the day off woo hoo hope everyone is safe and well have a spectacular day loads of love and hugs Johno

21.01.2022 Message from Johno Well I hope that everyone is well and has had a lovely day. Not sure if you will remember me saying that it is such a privilege to be sharing... our journey with our beautiful Facebook friends and with all the ups and the downs and the fact that it’s not all beer and skittles! We have had a very interesting couple of days. Yesterday (Thursday) the blind chicks good friend Jenelle Waters, and Gwen Ryan who helps the blind chick each day, we all went on a road trip to Scone to the amazing facilities at the Hunter Equine Centre. Our wonderful friend Robyn Buddle organised for us to visit the beautiful Dr. Sarah Gough (veterinarian) there at the Hunter Equine Centre. Since Matthew brought me for the blind chick, things really haven’t been quite right. I have had major problems backing up and with this has also come my anxiety which has all gotten worse over the past one year and seven months. I have previously been to 2 other lovely Vets Dr Jo and our wonderful Vet here in Dubbo Dr. Don Crosby and they both diagnosed me with the same condition so we thought we would go down to the Hunter Equine Centre and see what the wonderful Dr. Sarah had to say about my condition. Keeping in mind I was diagnosed well over a year ago but the degeneration has been rather significant and so has been my anxiety and hypersensitivity. The wonderful Dr. Sarah and her lovely veterinary assistant put me through all these different exercises like backing me up, walking me in small circles etc. Some things were really difficult. Walking in a small circle was very difficult and I really have no control over my hind legs which is a bit scary and when I try to back up, I have really weird spasm movements with my hind legs. Dr. Sarah diagnosed me with a degenerative neurological condition called Equine shivers - and degenerate it has. This is not affected when the blind chick walks with me, trots with me and canters but my ability to back up is very hard because my brain does not connect very well with my hind legs, and I struggle. If my brain can be still and if I can not worry so much, then I can back a little - maybe one step at a time with one leg but this is really frustrating because I don’t know what my hind legs are doing and this was very apparent. When Dr. Sarah put me onto small circles, the blind chick noticed how there was no rhythm or regularity to my step and it was pointed out to her that my legs were moving randomly behind. So after getting the same diagnosis again we spoke with Dr. Sarah about my anxiety and my hypersensitivity and what we can do. There is going to be a massive team effort, with the wonderful Dr. Sarah who is going to be consulting with Vets in England and America that specialise in the field of Equine Shivers. They will be speaking to different vets about my neurological condition of Equine Shivers, my hypersensitivity and my anxiety as well as all the things that trigger my anxiety like the day the blind chick came off me. I’ve never done that in my life and for some reason I reacted to something and it was a big reaction and the blind chick came off and there have been numerous other trigger factors when she is lunging me or when I am in the paddock so we need to find a way to settle my brain and that’s why we are working in close contact with the lovely Mickie Magan, Equine herbalist. This is quite an amazing team and I am so grateful that they are all looking out for my health and my well-being. On the home front we have a wonderful local vet Dr. Don Crosby looking after me here in Dubbo. Don came out the other day and did a diagnosis and checked out my symptoms and the blind chick is working very closely with Dr. Don and Dr. Sarah with regards to how we move forward from here. So hence this is why the blind chick has not been spending a lot of time in the saddle and has been spending time lunging me as we don’t want me to have a fruit loop moment when the blind chick is on me. So while we are organising my brain and my anxiety to be less reactive, the blind chick will continue to lunge me and do ground work. I would say that she will be back on again very soon, but it is one step at a time and the blind chick possibly should’ve been the one doing this post but she cries every time she talks about it but she is very lucky that she has the wonderful support of her lovely husband Matthew, and her beautiful mother-in-law who is always there for her with a cuddle and support for the blind chick. I know she appreciates it so much! So we really had to share what was happening in my life at the moment because this is a part of our journey, and it’s a part of our learning opportunity to educate people about Equine Shivers, getting vet checks and helping other people and vets to know what Equine shivers is. I will keep you in the loop with what is happening with me and the Blind chick and how I am coping mentally as well as how we intend to move forward with our amazing team. So a few very big thank you’s to our beautiful friend Robyn Buddle for doing so much research and for organising with the lovely Dr. Bridget at the Hunter Equine Centre. To the amazing Dr. Sarah Gough for her patience and for putting up with the blind chicks tears - I think it is exasperation of not knowing where to go or what to do. Dr. Sarah is positive about contacting the experts who do the research on this condition to find out if there are any novel treatments being investigated. Keep in mind that it is a degenerative condition and it is neurological so it is not curable but they will try their best to positively manage it. To our amazing veterinarian Don Crosby at Dubbo, his patience with the blind chick is amazing and his guidance is so much appreciated. So grateful to have such an amazing vet right at our doorstep. To the wonderful Mickie Magan, Horse herbalist thank you and it is so cool to be working on one thing at a time and that’s what we need to do with everything - to address things one at a time and work on improving them. Also a massive thank you to Tanya Hind who is our wonderful Craniosacral Therapist who works her magic, thank you! To the blind chicks amazing friend Jenelle Waters she was there the day I got picked up and she drove me home and we always have a great relationship and I know she looks out for that blind chick all the time. Blind chickie babe is very lucky to have such a lovely friend. To our beautiful friend Gwen Ryan who is here daily supporting me and picking up the pieces when the wheels fall off the cart and for supporting the blind chick. Thanks Gwen you rock! You are one hell of a lovely lady! And thank you to the blind chick for loving me and caring enough to want to make a difference. We are on this journey for one reason or another but we are meant to be together and it is so lovely to have the blind chick in my corner, trying to sort stuff out for me so I can have a good quality of life and not always be so anxious and worried. I know my blind chick loves me very much! So I’m sure this is not what people were expecting. I do apologise and I just would like to keep sharing our journey of moving forward. I know the blind chick believes in miracles and making dreams come true so we are gonna make this happen together with our amazing team A massive thank you to our beautiful Facebook friends for always being there for us over the past nineteen months. We so appreciate your love and support and belief in us. So keep us in your prayers. We believe in magic and miracles and making things happen. Okay, they can’t fix the Equine shivers but we can manage it. Sorry for the long post but I think it’s definitely worth a read and please share. I think it is really important for people to know about Equine shivers and I will put a little post down the bottom that will describe the difference between shivers and Stringhalt. PS: So at the moment, we’re just sorting some stuff out. I don’t think it will ever be possible as I cannot back up correctly so maybe doing a dressage test competitively will be out as well but time will tell but here is a description of shivers which I think is very interesting XX Equine Shivers is a chronic neuromuscular condition which is believed to be a defect in the region of the brain called the cerebellum. The cerebellum controls muscular activity. With Shivers, the hindlimb is brought up and to the side in a spasmodic state. Stringhalt it is brought up high and then almost stamps down suddenly, quite forcibly and noisily. Sometimes the hind is brought up so high it hits the horse underneath his tummy and can also even reach forward towards the forelimb. It’s also present at trot sometimes where Shivers is not. With Shivers, stepping backwards is often affected and in more severe cases, moving forwards can also be affected. The tail can also elevate. You can find out more information about Equine Shivers on this web link. https://cvm.msu.edu//valberg-labora/information-on-shivers So I hope everybody is safe and well and I hope you’ve had a lovely day. Loads of love and hugs Johno Photo of the lovely Dr Sara the blind chickie babe and my good self

21.01.2022 Message from Johno What a spectacular spring day a little overcast 16 and we have had 20 mils of beautiful rain Matthew has bailed his loosen and just before the rain had it all in the shed perfect timing for this beautiful rain the loosen is coming away beautifully... Well I have had a lovely pleasant surprise today just a little after lunch Matthew and the blind chick came down and Matthew caught me and took me for a lovely walk around the inside of the dressage arena and then took me outside and I had a lovely graze on all of the grass it was so cool hanging with Matt and the blind chick It was really cool and a little bit funny the blind chick was videoing us having a relaxing time together Matt and I she had to show Matt what she had video to make sure she had us in the picture her phone kept telling her what to do Well I must say I am feeling pretty chilled and happy with myself today hope everyone else is having a lovely day and you are all safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno

19.01.2022 Message from Johno Well another spectacular morning here on the McQuarrie River totally awesome weather my heavens doesn’t spring rock Well everyone will be very pleased with me today the blind chick had me ready when Gwen came this morning and we went up to the round yard did some lunging and guess what I didn’t have a fruit loop moment I did did do a couple of Winnies but no fruit loop moment so definitely putting my best foot forward this morning... Did some lovely lunging at the walk and the trot couple of changes of direction transitions went very nicely distracted a couple of times by my mates the trotters but doing my best to concentrate on the blind chick Now I did notice she had her riding helmet with her again today and the bridal and top boots on so I thought she might of had a ride It was quite windy though and she doesn’t generally ride when it’s very windy But guess what the blind chick is back on board okay we only walked and did a little bit of trot both Raynes and we were in the round yard but one step at a time no race no hurry but she did it and I don’t think the smile moved off her face she was very proud of herself Mind you I was very proud of her confidence is one of those very beautiful things which is hard to keep track of so she did okay for a blind chick very proud of my blind chick She tried her very hardest to get the video camera to work on the phone but did not know how to do it so I will get her to post another video of us going for a ride together because she so wanted to take you all for a ride this morning so we will endeavour to get our technology sorted for tomorrow so she can do a proper update of us riding together and taking you for a ride Also forgot to mention since I have been home at least two times Matthew has been down and put my night rug on which is rather lovely he brings me down a carrot and I just stand patiently while he puts my rug on I think he likes being part of what is happening and seeing he brought me for the blind chick it’s so nice he is part of the team Mind you he does like staring up the blind chick he keeps asking her house his horse is going ha ha Well I have had a lovely bath clean rug on and I am now back in my paddock grazing and enjoying this beautiful sunshine hope everyone is safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno and a very happy blind chick Turn your volume up the blind chick is describing to you what it is like for her to ride and how she is orientated by the sun XX

18.01.2022 Message from Johno Well the sun is out hip hip hurray and we have had some beautiful rain about 24 mils I think everything is very soggy though But guess what while it was pouring down rain on Saturday the blind chick was out doing channels in the dressage arena and the dressage arena is not in flood how about that the blind chick is very excited still a little soggy underfoot but that is okay better than a lake...Continue reading

18.01.2022 Message from Johno Well good morning all a little bit of a chilly morning here in the southern highlands quite overcast and a wee breeze which feels like it might be coming off Snow I caught up briefly with the blind chick this morning her and Tanya were taking the horse float in to have the tyres looked at and get ready for our big trip tomorrow... A little bit of a sad day today today is my last training session with the amazing José until the next time we are able to come down for more lessons As per usual had an amazing training session what a gifted and beautiful rider José is so very patient and kind okay he does not put up with any crap but he is so full of encouragement and I think he likes riding me I try my very hardest for him It was a little sad this morning the blind chick is not feeling so flash having something like what they called vertigo I think I heard them say and she is also nauseous so she is back at the cottage in bed hopefully feeling much better tomorrow I think this is probably caused by a change in her medication in any case something is not quite right Tanya is also very busy treating horses today has quite a lineup to do so that will keep her busy I am booked in with the wonderful Tanya on Saturday for a treatment can’t wait should do me the world of good after my long trip home on Friday I think one of the first things the blind chick has lined up for me on Saturday is possibly if the weather is lovely are beautiful big bath and she’s gonna clip my main off it has started re-growing but is very itchy and I am scratching it out and she doesn’t like the feel of the bits and pieces main so she will just hold my main I have a pretty lovely neck and this shows it off beautifully when my main is taken off The blind chick will have to get a list of all the wonderful things fade does do spoil me as well geewhiz am I gonna miss that beautiful smile of a morning a carrot and a hug and my breakfast But must say so very grateful to have had the opportunity to be down here training with the amazing José I have learnt so much and so very grateful that I have been treated like one of the family so loved So my next post will be when I get home I think probably a seven hour trip home tomorrow hopefully we will have a lovely day for travelling Hope everybody is safe and well don’t forget if you’re lonely or need to chat drop us a line or give us a ring always here for a chat loads of love and hugs Johno Also today is a pretty special day it is our you okay day So to all of our very beautiful friends on Facebook to each and everyone are you Are you okay

18.01.2022 Message from Johno Wow what a spectacular day we had some lovely rain we got eight mils and I can hear the grass growing but today is amazing 24 the sun is shining a light breeze it’s beautiful And guess what we had an amazing day in the dressage arena today blind chickie babe still not riding we are just lunging and working through the process of me getting used to my new medication but the work was super... Starting off with a 10 minute relaxing walk in the dressage arena and Gwen mentioned to the blind chick that my over track was about 16 maybe 18 inches I was swinging through the back and I was sure using my hindquarters I was so relaxed it felt so good then we went into a quiet trot We did lots of amazing transitions from the trot to the walk walk back to the trot Kanter back to the trot and it was done with so it is and I was so listening to the blind chick the transitions were sharp sometimes I was a little slow coming back from the trot to the walk but it got better as time went on On the lounge the blind chick wound me into a smaller circle probably a 10 meter circle in the cantor and I did a few circles and then she wound me out then wound me back in again and then ask for a trot transition wow we did some pretty cool stuff today and I was so engaged and coming through from behind what a great session in the dressage arena Also did a couple of walk to canters now they were very cool and Very uphill haven’t quite mastered on the lounge Cantar back to walk just need to sit a little more in my Cantar and slow the Cantar and slow the Cantar and sit and slow the Cantar and walk but we will get there Well as you can see had a prettyawesome time in the dressage arena today with the blind chick so grateful for this medication totally changing our lives Well hope everybody is having a spectacular day hope you are all safe and well have a wonderful weekend loads of love and hugs Johno

17.01.2022 Message from Johno Wow the weather is warming up and the flies are getting worse blind chickie babe put fly spray on me twice today but they are still annoying the hell out of me I have a fly vale on I have a mesh rug I think I need to be in an air-conditioned room maybe well maybe not that would be pretty boring Well we had a pretty spectacular day in the dressage arena today we just went for a 15 minute walk 25 minutes on each side and okay they weren’t circles they were gr...Continue reading

15.01.2022 Message from Johno Wow what a lovely day in comparison to yesterday it was horrible it was windy sleeting and freezing today is sunny at least and the blind chickie babe has taken my top rug off it is really quite pleasant Well as I mentioned to yesterday the dressage arena was blown all over the place a little bit like fiddle sticks so this morning Matthew and the blind chickie babe put the dressage arena up again and guess what the blind chicks drainage system has worked a ...treat no water in the arena woo hoo mother Magoo this is awesome We’ll see what the weather brings tomorrow but maybe get some riding in tomorrow which would be lovely Well I have just noticed a whole heap of people leaving the blind chicks place well I saw them go into so the blind chick had 10 people for lunch she cooked chicken and sweetcorn soup and one of my beautiful friends is a vegetarian so she cooked her mushroom soup and she also did Turkish bread with cheese on it and put it under the gorilla It is really lovely having family around Matthews brother and family are visiting from Sydney and my beautiful friend Jackie and her beautiful daughter Charlie so lovely to catch up with everybody So hope everybody is having a wonderful day hope you are all safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno Quote of the day: Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature. Steve Maraboli, Have a spectacular day loads of love Johno Oh forgot to mention the blind chick and Matthew had help putting the dressage arena up apparently thunder pause the pussycat supervised

14.01.2022 Message from Johno Well a very foggy good morning from the McQuarrie River this morning it wasn’t gorillas in the mist it was Johno in the mist But I must say it did clear to an absolutely perfect spring day and wow was it a busy day... Well I suppose with the fog the blind chick didn’t have to worry about looking for me because she can’t see so she didn’t even know it was foggy so she came down at fed me about 7 am Went back in and had breakfast and then next thing I see her heading off towards the dressage arena with a shovel holy cow what is she going to do with the shovel Well I did get to inspect her work when we went out to the round yard for me to be worked because the dressage arena was in flood there was a lot of water gone she had been busy digging a trench and when her lovely friend Gwen came she help finish it off and could tell where the highpoints were in the trench to drain the dressage arena wow the girls did a great job So after having a quick look at their handiwork I had a great session training in the round yard lunging it was awesome not one fruit loop moment full attention on the blind chick all the time it was great some lovely transitions big flowing trot and lots of stretching After my work in the round yard I went and inspected the arena not bad needs a little bit more channelling done maybe in the arena to get rid of the rest of the water but a job well done I was then taken back in given a lovely big brush clean rug put on and a lovely big biscuit of hay and the rest of the day was mine to enjoy Then the blind chickie babe and Gwen were off to town to do a little bit of shopping and Gwen was going to drop the blind chick at her friend Janelles at Waterville Park for lunch Apparently the girls had a super lunch mind you I’ve never heard of them not having a super lunch So the blind chickie babe got home a little later hence the post didn’t get put up yesterday so this is Thursday is post today Friday is going to be a pretty appalling weather gale force wins etc so having the day off And then on Saturday woo hoo my wonderful friend Tanya who does the craniosacral work is coming to give me a treatment and she is also going to use the music again which was so cool it was called frequency healing music I just loved it So wishing everybody a lovely day loads of love and hugs keep safe and well Johno and the blind chickie babe

13.01.2022 Message from the blind chick to Johno Because of you Johno - dedicated to Johno... Because of you Johno You give me vision when I am blind Because of you Johno I have independence and unconditional love Because of you Johno I have two beautiful brown eyes that see for me Because of you Johno I have a heart full of goals and dreams that are being fulfilled Because of you Johno I have unconditional love and love unconditionally Because of you Johno I live in his eyes and I am not judged for who I am what I am or what I do or what I say he’s just happy with who I am Because of you Johno I am never alone and I always have a heart full of love Because of you Johno when I ride you I have wings and you don’t care that I am blind you have my back you keep me safe Because of you Johno are you awake every morning and can’t wait to be greeted at the gate by your beautiful soft muzzle saying hello with a cuddle and a carrot of course Because of you Johno You have brought so much joy to my life we have big goals we have big dreams we have each other I am so grateful for the day that you came into my life I’m so grateful for my husband Matthew buying you for me I am one very very lucky girl Because of you Johno You make my dreams come true I love you to the moon and back you make me smile from deep inside you fill every day with joy I am so grateful so humble to the horse that you are and for our friendship and unconditional love we are so lucky These words are for you Johno. I can’t thank you enough for being just the beautiful horse that you are Your mate, the blind chick You are my forever Horse I am here for you through the good and the bad and I will endeavour to give you the best quality of life that I can It’s all pretty simple you know, thank you for just being you Johno.

13.01.2022 Message from Johno Good morning from a drizzly McQuarrie River a few more showers overnight and I can hear the grass growing The dressage arena is also flooded down means I probably won’t get worked yippee...Continue reading

12.01.2022 Tonight we bring you the heartwarming story of one Dubbo local and the horse who's given her hope... and a fresh pair of eyes #9News | Weeknights from 5.30pm

12.01.2022 Message from Johno Wow what a spectacular day the sun is shining the grass is growing and the blind chick is down at the stables doing some ground work with me I have had a few days off because of the yucky weather and dressage arena being in floods so the blind chickie babe is going to lunge me today... Had an awesome session in the round yard mind you I kept falling out of the Cantar just being lazy and probably because I could make the blind chick work a little harder today Did some awesome work at the trot lovely big long strides swinging through the back neck down back swinging and my powerful hindquarters working very hard Also my wonderful friends Jackie and Charlie came out to watch me work they are from Sydney and a friends of Johno and the blind chick Jackie has been a friend of Sue Ellen‘s for a very long time Also Jacqui just finished reading my book yesterday and she said she enjoyed it which is so cool I think the blind chick sister-in-law Mel is also going to read it So I will put a few pictures up one of me working very hard in the round yard with the blind chick one of Jackie and I and the blind chick with my book and the other one of beautiful Charlie and the blind chick and I So hoping everybody has a lovely day spectacular here loads of love and hugs keep smiling Johno A big thank you to our beautiful friend Jackie for the lovely photos

12.01.2022 Message from Johno Well good morning all a bit of a soggy all morning here on the McQuarrie River we have had some lovely showers not sure how much rain in the rain gauge Needless to say I have the day off woo hoo so I will spend my day I think grazing chatting to my mate next door but the main aim is to do as little as possible... Also thought I would share a pretty cool picture with you the blind chicks wonderful mother in law LEE when Matt bought me for the blind chick found this photo and I think there are words attached of me when I was a tiny wee little baby and I think I might of even been for sale but I thought you might like to see a baby picture I think they are few and far between Well so far my new medication is going really well it is only temporary at the moment costing a fortune but hopefully Dr Sara will have my new medication we are going to trial for a couple of months in the mail early next week will be interesting to see how it goes will let you know but I think it is one of those things that I will be on for life but them‘s the breaks and if that’s what we’ve gotta do for me to have a good quality of life and the blind chick to be safe this is what we will do So hope everybody has a wonderful day hope you are all safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno

12.01.2022 Message from Johno Well are freezing good morning from the McQuarrie River it is a top of seven at the moment and the wind chill factor would have to be zero it is freezing Oh have to give a report on the dressage arena well much less water in there now but no Dressage Arena big wind last night blew it everywhere so it is like fiddle sticks Matthew said he would help the blind chick put it up again later today maybe they might leave it for a couple of days while this wind is ...so gusty Well the blind chick was most excited yesterday she had some family call and visit her beautiful auntie Nancy and her sister Jennifer and cousins Pete and Pammy Matthew even came home from work and brought some delicious cakes JEN andPammy came down to visit me and for a big pat and cuddle while the blind chickie babe took auntie Nancy for a look around the garden it was really interesting they don’t call her Sue Ellen they call herSuey Apparently all her family call her that I thought it was a bit cute While the girls are out visiting me and auntie Nantz and the blind chickie babe in the garden Pete and Matt organised afternoon tea it was so lovely to catch up with everybody the blind chick was so excited Auntie Nancy and Jennifer are the blind chicks fathers sisters so they are very special in her heart They also took some books home JEN was going to send some to the blind chicks auntie Del in New Zealand so that was really cool and there was lots of laughter about me writing Johno and the blind chick they all love the post which is awesome Well blind chickie babe is inside making a big pot of soup for a cold winters day and Matthew is out training with the rule fire service so he will be home later this afternoon And I am trying to find somewhere out of the wind this is terrible what happened to our beautiful spring weather but apparently it is going to be 30 on Friday So everybody I hope you are all safe and well please keep warm on this chilly Saturday morning sending you loads of love and hugs Johno Quote of the day: To dream of success is to set a goal of where you want to be; to wake up, take action, and achieve it is what true success is all about. Idowu Koyenikan So dare to dream let’s make those dreams come true

12.01.2022 Message from Johno Well a spectacular morning here on the McQuarrie River just a little bit cooler than yesterday 39 here yesterday wow what a stinker I think we are going to be 31 today Had a great day training yesterday with the blind chick and we trained in the dressage arena again just on the lounge I had a couple of little moments yesterday just not quite paying attention but all was good... And today wow much more pleasant weather for working today mind you we are working at 8 am in the morning so it is quite nice today we just did a 40 minute work at the walk and it was really quite nice I had one major fruit loop moment my friends were coming over from the paddock next door and I could see them so I forgot what I was doing with my lunging had my moment or two winning and being a bit of a Duffer and then settled back down again after the blind chick got my attention Today is my fourth day on my new medication I think these type things take time to work so we will be patient and see how things are going in 3 to 4 weeks blind chick still not confident she could ride me without me having one of my moments so let’s see how the medication goes Things were busy here on the farm early this morning Matthew was up very early raking the loosen hey I would say he will be bailing in a few days which will be really good great weather to be making hey Sorry the posts aren’t full of really interesting stuff at the moment hopefully if this medication works well blind chickie babe can be back in the saddle and we can start doing some training of some description but at the moment monitoring medication and as per usual one day at a time Hope everyone is safe and well have a spectacular day lots of love and hugs Johno

11.01.2022 Message from the blind chick Wow firstly I would like to thank everybody for their encouragement and for being so pleased for me being back in the saddle I think this confidence thing is something that is not talked about enough I think so many people suffer from it and feel as if there is no way out...Continue reading

11.01.2022 Message from Johno Well what a spectacular day on the McQuarrie River I think it is going to be 34 so going to get a bit hot but such a beautiful morning Had a lovely early breakfast carrot bit of a hug and my medication then I was just chilling in my paddock wondering what the blind chick had installed for me today... Well an hour or two later I was not disappointed it was something different here comes the blind chick with her white cane and a massive big green ball what is she going to do with that ball Well the first thing she does is come and sit with me and have a chat we had a bit of a cuddle bit more of a chat and then she started kicking the ball around and then she push it to me what the hell did she want me to do with this ball and she was standing there nodding her head push your Johno push your Johno had no idea what she was talking about and then I shoved the ball with my nose off the blind chick was aesthetic good boy Johno good boy Johno apparently I had done what she wanted me to do yay Then I’m known to the blind chick we were being watched Matthew was on the Veranda watching us play ball and he yelled out something about playing football and the blind chick called out to him to come down and play ball with us and he did well we had a lovely time the blind chick missed the ball a lot and got hit by the ball a lot and I gave the bully or not and and there was lots of cheering and carrying on I got lots of pats and cuddles it was so much fun Matthew even was bouncing the ball off me and I took no notice again I think this is one of these desensitisation things but this was a fun one We even tried to get Kelly to come down and play with us she was standing at the door laughing I think she thought we were all daft but it was good fun So having a pretty Crewse afternoon my wonderful Farrier Troy is coming at 3 pm to reissue me and the blind chick is ready with her idea of walking me between Troy picking up my feet and putting it down so I keep moving so I don’t seize up because of my shivers hopefully this might make the procedure kinder on me and easier on Troy Well hope everybody is having an awesome day I have had the best morning playing with Matt and the blind chick who would’ve thought we would’ve been kicking a ball around have a spectacular day keep safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno and the blind chick Apparently some of the photos are what are called live and if you put your finger on them they show a tiny wee video and also a massive thank you to the blind chicks beautiful mother-in-law Lee for going through and picking out some nice photos for us

11.01.2022 Message from Johno Saturday again oh my this week has just flown by. I guess this is what happens when things in your daily life get busier and busier. I can hear some chatter going on up near the house it’s the blind Chickie and Tanya deep in conversation as they make their way down to me Mmmm they are going over my health status at the moment and the Blind Chickie is letting Tanya know what I have been doing since the last session. Just to remind you I had a very very... bad headache last time she was here and she had to work off body as it was just to hard for me to have hands on with the way my nervous system was sparking and pulsing through my body. Today I don’t feel so anxious about any touching but if I do get upset about something I know that Tanya will sense this and just let our energies blend and help me gently through things. You see I have a lot of things going on within my nervous system that makes some things hard, but these craniosacral sessions really help to diffuse my underlying issues. Well today’s session was really difficult at times and Tanya was letting the Blind Chickie know exactly what was going on and that she could feel the frustration that I was holding within the tissues of my body At one point it all just released and oh it just felt so amazing. There was a bit of a struggle when Tanya was trying to rebalance my facial nerves that run either side of my face under my eyes and horizontally to my nasal bones. With a little bit of time and patience they did balance and my eyes even rolled a few times which according to Tanya is a very good thing. A really strange thing happened during my session that I haven’t done prior- I got a very itchy hind end which took a lot of rubbing on the wall of the stable before it subsided. This really shows how much things are connected within the body, especially the nervous system. I also did a lot of moving about today with my back legs stretching awkwardly quite a lot during this session as well I must tell you I sure am lucky that I have someone here in Dubbo that can help me with all of this cranial work to help me stay as coordinated as possible. Till my next post. Love to all. Johnno See more

11.01.2022 Message from Johno Well it was quite the drive home took a little longer than planned but we arrived home safely which is really good We left the wonderful Fay and José‘s place this morning at about 8.30 popped in to a service station and Tanya checked the tyres for pressure but the guys had done that the day before when we went to the tire place in Marulan which is just wonderful so very efficient...Continue reading

10.01.2022 Message from Johno Okay where can we move to where it is spring all year-round this weather is spectacular beautiful sunny morning the birds are chirping the grass is growing doesn’t get much better than this Blind chickie babe comes down about 7 am to feed me with a carrot and a smile take my top rug off because it is still a little chilly of a night...Continue reading

09.01.2022 Message from Johno Well another beautiful day of spring and you know what I can hear the grass grow also the weeds Okay super duper amazing news I have settled down no more fruit loop moments when the trotters leave I have been home now 12 days and I have also eaten all my breakfast and dinner for the last four days so feeling quite pleased with myself... Okay I was coming home but when I left I didn’t have these three young trotters next door running backwards and forwards and distracting me and all I wanted to do was go play with them well now I watch them go frolic in the paddock and go away the other side and it doesn’t bother me So needless to say there is one very happy blind chickie babe who is quite impressed with me Okay it didn’t happen overnight but it did happen I am settled back in very relaxed and very happy to be back home and not being distracted by the trotters Blind chickie babe just did some work with me in the paddock today she was going out lunching with the girls But again I was totally concentrating on the blind chick not concerned where the trotters were or what was going on anywhere else it’s so good to be home I suppose there is a message in this no different than the blind chicks knee healing give it the time it takes you can’t hurry these things I needed to settle down and get back into the groove of things and the blind chick needed to give her need time to heal which is rather wonderful now she has no pain and knee is totally mended So have a wonderful day hope everyone is safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno Quote of the day: Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. Mary Anne Radmacher Have a great day everyone PS check out the dressage arena I can go swimming tomorrow All the blind chick might like to drop in a lion and catch a fish

09.01.2022 Message from Johno Well good morning all spectacular day here on the McQuarrie River just been relaxing with my trotter mates next door Well I have to share with you what happened yesterday the blind chickie babe and Gwen took me out to the dressage arena and we did some awesome work on my heavens I was doing the most amazing transitions trot to walk on command and then trotting on doing lovely small Cantar circles and the blind chick would ask me to come around and slow the ...Cantar and slow the Cantar and slow the Cantar and trot on the transitions were lovely the blind chick was chuffed and wow the medication is working so well Just a little about my medication what I am been given at the moment is a fill-in my medication to come from Dr Sara has not yet arrived so will let you know when I start this and we can see how we are travelling The blind chick is still assessing how I am going because she would like to start riding me but not going to put herself in any situation where she cannot cope just needs to know the medication is working and I’m not about to have a stressful moment I’m sure as you have observed my stressful moments can be brought on by anything it could be a bird taking off in the paddock or just something triggered in my brain and I have a little relapse of anxiety and tension and stress and can be a little bit silly but with the medication so far it is working really well I also think the medication I am on at the moment is costing the blind chick and arm and a leg so really not sustainable so she is looking forward to the medication coming from Dr Sara Well looking forward to another lovely day doing some work in the dressage arena nice not to be in the round yard and this is a trust thing as I am not having as bigger anxiety attacks the blind chick is confident working me in the dressage arena on the lounge which is great gives me so much more space to work So hopefully we will have another wonderful day training hope everybody is having a great day sending you all loads of love and hugs Johno I am going to put up a photo today of me near my water trough I’m surprise no one has asked about all of the white containers in my water trough there is an explanation and you will never guess what it is well if you probably will have a great day Johno

08.01.2022 Message from Johno Well wow holy cow where has spring gone it is freezing here in the southern highlands I think it may snow Well very excited today the blind chick and Tanya are coming down and should be here very soon... The Ford Ranger arrived about one-ish but only one person and guess what it wasn’t the blind chick driving thank heavens It was the wonderful Tanya where is the blind chick what is happening Apparently the blind chick is not feeling so good she is having a bit of vertigo and quite dizzy and nauseous so she has spent the afternoon back at the cottage where they stay when they come down to visit José and Fay and I Hoping the blind chick is feeling much better tomorrow they are taking my horse float to get the tyres checked before our big trip home on Friday so it will be all hands on deck nice and early as Tanya has more horses to treat tomorrow with her craniosacral work Tanya was also treating our amazing José this afternoon hope he enjoys the treatment as much as the blind chick and I Well let’s hope for a nicer day tomorrow and that the blind chick is feeling much better Well hope everybody has had a lovely day I am rugged up for a very cold evening keep safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno

08.01.2022 Message from Johno What a funny old day it’s overcast I think we might have a storm brewing the flies are very sticky and the wind is just starting to pick up but a very pleasant day for working And work we did we were going to do some work in the round yard but it was still a bit soggy on that southern side where Gwen and the blind chick had put some channels to drain the water so maybe next week mind you they are forecasting more rain... So we did some pretty handy work in the dressage arena a lovely big 15 minute warmup in the walk started off just tracking up by the end of my session I would’ve had a beautiful big over track and was relaxing and swinging through the back we did some lovely trot and Kanter work and after the Cantar well my truck was much better and again more of a tracking up thing happening instead of me being a bit lazy and not using my hindquarters I had a couple of moments while we were lunging a big white cockatoo flew out of the crop I thought that was worth maybe half a fruit loop moment and then I all of the sudden thought of my buddies in the paddock well I thought that was probably worth nearly having a fruit loop moment so I had a couple of moments of not quite paying attention to the blind chick but I very quickly came back to her and we did some lovely work I know she was very proud of me today So So hope everybody is safe and well and wishing you all a wonderful day lots of love and hugs Johno

08.01.2022 Message from Johno Well morning all funny old day today a little overcast but still very warm and pleasant I am still suffering from a couple of fruit loop moments worrying about the next door neighbours but I think I’m getting better Well the blind chick and Matthew were away early this morning Matthew had Fire Brigade things to do later in the day so they were up and gone to get the shopping done and they came home with lots of lovely plants so the blind chickie babe have s...pent the morning in the garden I must say the garden does look rather lovely to lots of beautiful flowers and lots of beautiful little wrens in the bushes sounds amazing early of a morning I would also like to thank all of our wonderful Facebook friends for following us and being part of our journey I would also like to ask you is there anything you would like to know about our journey that I am not sharing or forgetting to pass on to you I really don’t want you to get bored with my stories so I need to be let sharing with you the things you would like to know about so please let me know what you would like to know about Johno and the blind chick We had one of our lovely Facebook friends Donna ask if she could have a photo of my eye Donna thought I had lovely soft eyes so I will share a couple of photos that I have already I might have to get someone professional to take a photo of my eye close-up Hope everybody is having a lovely day and you are all safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno and the blind chick chick

07.01.2022 Message from Johno and the blind chick Dare to dream C "It doesn't matter what you did or where you were...it matters where you are and what you're doing. Get out there! Sing the song in your heart and NEVER let anyone shut you up!!"... Dreams do come true Thank you to my amazing two Beautiful brown eyes that comes in the guise of an amazing horse called a Johno who is 18.3 hands high 800 kg of absolutely amazing spectacular horse You came into my life we had these amazing dreams of what we would achieve together the last 19 months have not been the easiest I don’t think finding out very shortly after my wonderful Matthew bought you that you had shivers and this is a degenerative neurological condition this was heartbreaking and still I think coming to grips with this We had these amazing dreams of competition and maybe one day riding at grand prix I will keep these dreams in my heart and we will keep working towards them we may not do this at a competition we might just end up doing it in the dressage arena at home but we will hang onto these dreams and working on making them come true We are dealing with quite a lot with the shivers along with what it is doing to your movement and how it is affecting you neurologically and with your anxiety we will find a way to manage this and give you the best quality of life possible because we believe in dreams magic and making them come true There are some very special angels out there who reach out through the universe to help make our life easier and we have been lucky enough to be touched by one of these beautiful angels and I believe with the help of these angels we may make our dreams come true one-day this may take time it may take effort it may take blood sweat and tears but we never give up This angel came in the form of a phone call which has given us hope and so we are going down this track with this beautiful lady and her belief that we may be able to manage your shivers and who knows remembering we believe in magic and miracles maybe fix it maybe find a cure how cool would that be So we thank you beautiful angel for your phone call and reaching out to help us so far there has been lots of magical moments in the last few days and we believe they are going to continue Beautiful Linda from the bottom of our heart we both thank you forgiving us hope for keeping our dreams alive so very very grateful So everybody out there keep believing keep dreaming keep making those dreams come true and thank you to all of the beautiful people who believe in the blind chick and I and keep us moving forward we are so grateful to have you in our lives have a spectacular weekend loads of love and hugs Johno and the blind chick

07.01.2022 Message from Johno Well I must say I feel as if I have a bit of a hangover yesterday evening late I ended up with about of colic Well without a doubt this is a really painful thing to go through your tummy hurts you want to pour the ground you want to roll it is really not such a good situation with in and I feel pretty crappy...Continue reading

07.01.2022 Message from Johno Well had a nice early brekkie cut the carrots my herbal tonic prepared by the beautiful Mickie magan and I was ready for a relaxing day Well apparently not so relaxing blind chickie babe I noticed was up cleaning my bridal and has been down and done some ground work with me and she informs me that we are doing an interview with the beautiful Amy from Channel 9 News... Apparently she would like to talk about my book Johno and the blind chick which is a bit exciting But I have never done a TV appearance wow have to get my hair done my nails make up well maybe just put some fly spray on and the blind chick will give me a brush that sounds about it So looking forward to my new experience of being on TV wonder what questions I’ll ask the blind chick Amy follows me on Facebook which is really cool so she knows all about my Equine shivers and is interested in our journey with that as well so should be good Also I suppose you want to know how I’m going with my next book had a lot going on lately not done a lot with it so I better get myself into gear and keep writing Okay well hope everyone is having a lovely day I will let you know what it is like being a TV star for three minutes loads of love and hugs Johno I think I will get the blind chick to put my bling bridal on I should look pretty sexy I will also have to watch out that pretty cat doesn’t steal the show

07.01.2022 Message from Johno Well a very overcast good morning from the McQuarrie River had a few light showers overnight getting to a top of 34 today but very steamy and muggy I apologise for not many posts lately as things aren’t changing much still trialling my medication working some days and not others partially working Sundays not others so I think time is the secret we need it time to build up in my system fingers crossed... But I did have a highlight over the weekend the wonderful Tanya hind my craniosacral therapist came and gave me a treatment well wow it was totally amazing and I felt absolutely wonderful after my treatment and I was able to get rid of my headache well Tanya got rid of my headache it felt so much better and Tanya said you could see by the look in my eyes that I was just so much more at ease thank you so much beautiful lady The blind chickie babe has been spending quite a bit of time with Matthew in the header stripping the wheat So yesterday they were busy stripping the wheat and a few light scuds came through which meant there was two vehicles to bring back from down the paddock how was this going to happen Matthew jokingly said the blind chick you drive the Ranger home and I’ll take the tractor well I think he may have regretted that thought So the blind chick got in the Ranger rang Matthew and put her phone on loudspeaker Matthew was behind the blind chick in the tractor and he guided her home it would’ve been probably half a kilometre drive I think the blind chick was as nervous as hell and I think Matthew may have been as scared of Hell but everything went perfectly Matthew said a little right now a little more write a little left and wallah they were back home I think the blind chick was very relieved to get back in the passenger seat but it was good fun I think she would’ve enjoyed it So goes to prove there is more than one way to skin a cat that is not a good saying but there is more than one way to achieve a job who do thought the blind chick would’ve been able to drive the Ute home Have been on my medication now 11 days this has been a very interesting experiment we have possibly another month to go blind chick is dialoguing all my reactions when I have them how I have them etc for Dr Sara our wonderful veterinarian at Hunter Equine scone So as I had my treatment with the wonderful Tanya yesterday I will be having today off just to let the treatment keep doing it’s good stuff Just saw the blind chickie babe out on the Veranda she has been out feeding the beautiful kookaburras they come and eat meat out of her hand and off the Veranda they are very beautiful birds Hope everybody has a wonderful day keep safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno and his blind chick

06.01.2022 Message from Johno Good morning all a spectacular morning here this morning it is going to be 20 and a beautiful day The blind chickie babe came down to catch me and get me ready for some work I noticed she had the lunging gear with her so I thought nothing more about it... So by the time Gwen got here the blind chick had me all settled up and ready to go and my workboots on and my lunging gear We went out to the round yard and did some awesome work some lovely transitions from the Cantar back to the trot some very big bold canters and lovely big swinging trot Now it was very remiss of me I did not notice anything else and next thing I noticed the blind chick has her helmet on and I also did not notice she had her top boots on next thing you know I am walking the blind chick out of the round yard up to the mounting block next thing we are in the arena walking around Woo hoo this is so cool blind chickie babe is back on board we are walking and trotting doing changes of rain it feels wonderful and guess what the smile did not move off the blind chicks face in fact I think she still smiling She didn’t ride me for20 or 30 minutes she just did 15 minutes of quality work I had already worked in the round yard so it was all good the big success all round and the blind chick is so happy and so am I blind chickie babe is back on board one step at a time So never give up on those dreams beautiful people just one step at a time we can make them come true loads of love and hugs from Johno and a super duper happy blind chick Quote of the day: You never know what's around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you've climbed a mountain. Tom Hiddleston

04.01.2022 Message from Johno Well it is a little bit of a soggy old day here on the McQuarrie River but the rain has been beautiful we had 14 mils this morning and still showering on and off Well I put it out there to our wonderful friends on Facebook what you would like to know about and one of the lovely friend Sky asked how the blind chick catches me and prepares me for the days work so I thought I would share this with you today...Continue reading

03.01.2022 Message from Johno Well what a spectacular day over the past two days we have had 28.5 mils of rain and I can hear the grass growing The blind chickie babe was terribly worried last night they forecast gale force weather warnings with hail. She was so worried for me but thank heavens we just got some lovely rain and no catastrophic weather conditions and definitely no hail that would’ve been terrible... Needless to say the dressage arena is in flood once again and I didn’t work today as the blind chickie babe went with Matthew to look at some farm machinery in a lovely little town about an hour and a half from here called Dunedoo. After they had been out and looked at the machinery they went back to Dunedoo and had lunch and Matthew took a photo of the silos they have been painted by a local artist Peter Mortimore and it is of the famous racehorse Winks her jockey Huey Bowman and Trainer Chris Waller Thought you might of been interested in a little bit of local knowledge well nearly local Also thought I might put in a picture of the blind chicks garden it is looking spectacular I get to wake up to the beautiful garden on the southern side of my paddock every day and on the northern side of my paddock is the beautiful Macquarie River with amazing birdlife I can watch the Swans and the pelicans floating by and hear the cockatoos and kookaburras early in the morning heralding in the the new day So hence I have spent a pretty stressfree day hanging with my mates the trotters and relaxing in the grass and having a lie down doesn’t get any better than that Hope everybody is having a spectacular day keep safe and well loads of love and hugs Johno Also Matt took a sneaky shot of the blind chick feeding me a jelly snake oh Yum oh they are delicious

03.01.2022 Message from Johno Oh my heavens such a beautiful spring day here at home. The blind chickie has taken all of my rugs off and I can feel the sunshine on my back. The blind chickie whispers in my ear that my wonderful craniosacral therapist Tanya is coming to visit today after my long trip home yesterday. Mmmm that sounds great will be able to stretch out all of those little niggles from standing all day in the float which for me at 18.3 hh is not the best for the body ...Continue reading

02.01.2022 Message from Johno Well wow holy cow it’s hot here I think it is 38 and then he’s gonna get over 40 on the weekend so blind chickie babe putting out sprinklers for the birds this morning I think she needs to put one in my paddock I saw her setting it up so maybe tomorrow I will have a sprinkler to stand under but at the moment no breeze Well very excited I have my new shoes on and amazing Farrier Troy was out yesterday with his lovely apprentice Henry and the job was done and... dusted quite quickly and we had a few little tricks up our sleeve which made the shoeing much easier Having the day off today always have the day off after I have my new shoes put on gives me time to work them in ha ha. But truly unless you were working very very early it is really too hot for man and beast to be out playing in a dressage arena You know what it is even so hot the cockatoos aren’t squawking in fact the birds are very quiet they must be finding somewhere lovely and cool to sit and hopefully with a bit of a breeze All going well I will have some exciting things to share with you next week re-the blind chick in my training but this all depends on what the weather is doing if we are getting these massive 40 and above it will be put off till a later date but something to really look forward to and I can’t wait to share it Still having my medication bit of an update not sure if anything is really happening into my third week on the medication not making a great difference I don’t think but we will keep up the trial blind chickie babe is talking to Dr Sara today and I will update you on any changes Hope everyone is safe and well have a lovely day lots of love and hugs Johno and the blind chicky Babe

01.01.2022 Message from Johno Firstly a massive thank you to everybody for the lovely messages when I was not so well with my dose of colic To be very honest I would not wish this on my worst enemy it was very painful and quite distressing for all concerned... I also think it was possibly a little harder for the blind chick as she could not see what was happening and could hear that I was in such terrible pain and was so distressed somehow being totally blind can be pretty scary I think On a much more positive note I am feeling really good today no tummy ache and we have had a lovely day well morning in the dressage arena doing some more desensitisation oh my heavens the blind chick and this bag on a stick it’s on my ears it’s up my nose it’s between my legs but I don’t mind I suppose this is why it’s called desensitisation but mind you at the same time she had something on her mobile phone that played through the stereo with firecrackers Reading cars planes taking off guess what I took no notice I’m a star I have also thrown a shoe thank heavens my wonderful Farrier Troy is coming possibly tomorrow But this desensitisation thing the blind chick is doing it to hopefully decrease my anxiety okay Dr Sara has pointed out to the blind chick my anxiety is not caused by man it is clinical so this might take a bit of doing and it may not work but she is sure giving it a fair go the first day she came out of the TAC shed with the bag on the end of the stick I nearly had a couple of kittens scared the heck out of me then she started waving it around like holy cow Batman just hold the bag still but only taken two days and I am now taking absolutely no notice and the noise was just a noise and then she played cool music that I think the blind chick and I could dance to it was really lovely In fact I must say I enjoy when the blind chick rides me to music hopefully when we get my anxiety attacks under control the blind chick will be back riding to music that would be really nice and I can get her to video and you can listen to the music and us riding that would be lovely in fact it would be very cool Okay well had a great training session with the desensitisation covered in fly spray my fire fly vale is on and a lovely light mesh rug and I am vegging in my paddock have had a couple of run around this morning just a little bit of an anxiety attack but I think they might be getting less well maybe not but we believe in miracles here and magic So hope everybody is having a wonderful day You will see what I mean about the bag it is everywhere it is everywhere but I don’t care sending everybody lots of love and hugs have a spectacular day Johno Also forgot to mention the motorbike went past a couple of times a couple of trucks and trailers came in and I took no notice I just kept eating and listening to the music so maybe this desensitisation stuff might be working bring it on

01.01.2022 Message from Johno Well a much more lower key day today no film crews just the blind chick and I and we had a visit from my wonderful Farrier Troy I thought I would share with you what it is like to be shod with me having the condition equine shivers...Continue reading