The Molter

It is hot everywhere and the smallest tasks take my breath away, but today I thought I could play around with this little fellow in the stall and start teaching him some manners... what fun! he is very sharp and engaged. A few times he felt uncomfortable with my actions but quickly came back to me and I could almost see the wheels turning in his brain. This is always a fun time:working with the young ones, learning to read them better and leave them in a thinking frame of mind. Beneath his molting brown baby coat he is looking like a fine steel gray.

All for the newborn

Here he is! No name yet, but a fine colt born on April 22. He came out ready! It was a quick and (looked to be) easy birth for Silver Bell and when he felt his front legs free he struck and scrambled and struck some more with those front legs. Of course at this point he was entwined with his dams legs, who was trying to get some peace at last, and I trying to calm myself that this is nature and this is all part of it while my imagination is picturing thrashing and tangled and broken limbs. I swear the stress gets to me! When the mare finally did arise, she did so gracefully and carefully and her newborn was off on his search for milk. Whenever he approached her head she would let out a shrill squeal and he would change course and keep hunting. It did not take him long to find the spot and latch on. She has been a great dam and he is bold and confident.

Foal Watch

I am officially on foal watch as of 2 nights ago. When I placed her into her newly bedded stall, she promptly laid down, her belly extending toward the sky. The foal inside moved and moved, causing undulating waves on her belly. Tail flicking and nickering I though for sure it would be that night. But alas, whenever you are sure, it never happens! I have had this mare 2 years but she is still new to me, and I to her. This year she has mellowed (when she arrived, her nickname was "Jaws" ). She has begun looking to me this year and her nickering to her unborn is a good sign of her future motherhood.I am very excite about her foal. It will be the first one from my stallion.

Engaged

I've been called a straight shooter by people enough times to recognize it as a significant aspect of my character~but it tends to have poor results working with horses!.
I've been contemplating the horse/human relationship for many years (see my book To Dance with Horses) and of course, struggling to become a better horseman (woman). But the work of getting the "feel" in the horse world tends to result in a passivity when applied to humans and can border on the patronizing and manipulative. So I believe we need to engage human to human and start with the questions. When was the last time your friend asked you, "When...?" or "What...?" or "How..." or "Why....?" Curiosity of the thoughts of our friends reaps many rewards.

Taking the time

This is Hondo. He was a rescue baby with much too much emotional baggage for a little baby, but he pierced my heart. I have spent years with him, gaining his trust. Then made the mistake of sending him off for 30 days and for the last year I have being undoing the harm that those 30 days did. This last week I rode him 3 times. Not long, and not more than a few steps, but today the quality of his steps was soft and flowing. My head has been in the clouds all afternoon, reliving what he was finally able to give to me: his trust.

Night and Light

Walking straight in to the big dipper with the milky way over my head-so aptly named, a childs' fantasy land:wholesome, ephemeral. My black horse free around the barn, I sense but cannot see him. His ears more acute than mine as he follows my lead. I lose him when I enter the barn but when I come back out with hay he reappears from another direction a large shape moving closer, his foot falls getting more distinct to my ears. Fall daylight casts amber colors across the land. The wild weeds brighten the earth. We have a dry land right now in Kentucky, but the rains will come as we move into winter.

FIRSTS

First horse sold. First horse shown. First PLACE! Congratulations to Brandi and Dual Dee aka Pepolena Playboy! These two are going all the way!