Day 42 ~ The Last Day!!!

Today was my last day at Hartpury College. At first, I attempted to wake up at 3:30 AM and surprise the dairy farmers by showing up at 4:00 to help milk, but that plan never came into action :). So I woke up at 6:30 to be up at the dairy barns at 7:30 in order to observe the veterinarian check over 50 cows and heifers for pregnancies and other ailments. One cow had a huge abscess on her side and we lanced it (see gory pictures below, beware not for faint of heart!) I also got to travel to Butter's End farm where Hartpury keeps all of the heifers - that was cool, and I got to ride my first cow! When we returned to the farm, we had a traditional English breakfast of toast and tea before I went "to the dark side" (back to main campus) to check in for my flight and print off my boarding pass. I also confirmed my departure time with my driver (5:30 AM tomorrow). Then, I met Mike (from South Africa) for lunch! He made us hamburgers and mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, he is the last one to leave and won't be going until Friday so he'll have a few days alone, but he's going into the royal marines and so I think he'll be fine.
After lunch, I headed down to the therapy center for my last afternoon. I observed some amazing farrier work by one of the farriers for the British Olympic team (they have 3), and then I helped Tilly run Tom on the highspeed treadmill, took TPR's on the 4 horses they currently have in the barn (Nero, Tom, Jerry, and the new guy Africa), and then met up with Kathryn for last minute evaluations and goodbyes. I returned to my room for a shower before walking up the the dairy farmer's house to share dinner with him and his family. We had a great meal of salmon cakes, potatoes, salad, and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream! YUM!
I have had such a wonderful time here at Hartpury, and I am so thankful and appreciative of everything they have done for me and of all of you, my readers, for being to encouraging! The first 2-3 weeks were rather rocky, but then I found out that I could survive on my own, and I was doing OK. I will always remember this trip and I think that it has provided me with more confidence in myself and my skills. Thank-you everyone!!!

The Therapy Team!

Kathryn and Me

Tina, Kristin, Mike

The ladies all lined up for their preg checks

Ultra-sound!

The giant abscess

Lancing the abscess!!!

The after effects!

Riding Toffee 2

My dairy family, thank-you for everything!!!