When sadness hits, I find a lot of comfort in the animals, and the routines in caring for them, scritching behind fuzzy little ears, listening to contented munching. And with spring finally emerging here in this part of Yankee land, lawn veggies are surfacing so I can treat the buns to healthy tasty snacks they love. Seeing them scarf down the greens so greedily just feels good. And can you look at these faces without smiling? That's dad there on the right, the baby on the left, 4 weeks old.
Then I went to the barn to see the mare. A few days after I moved CC to the new barn, one of the other horses, Jesse, turned up sick. His primary symptom was lethargy, and then his temp started climbing, topped out over 104. Vet diagnosed tick fever, put him on antibiotics, and he quickly recovered. When I got to the barn yesterday afternoon, I found CC totally stretched out on the ground. In the mud actually. Looking dead. I had to watch her belly for signs of breathing before I knew she was alive. Once I knew that, I got a chuckle out of her mud bath/beauty sleep. But it continued. She only got up because I urged her to, and she smelled the apple the barn owner, Sandra, was eating. She moseyed over and scored the apple core but only half ate it. Then she dropped back down into mud and rocks to sleep some more. Hmmmmm.... I checked on her again a bit later and she'd moved to a new spot of mud, near the other horses, but still stretched out, head down in the mud. I decided to halter her and see if she had any spunk on the longe line. She stayed on the ground while I haltered her. This is the same mare who's been playing catch me if you can every time I try to bring her in from the pasture?? Both Sandra and I started getting concerned that perhaps CC was in early stage of tick fever. We took her temperature and it was normal. I longed her. She was quiet and cooperative, even stayed on lead both front and back. That is distinctly not normal for this mare. We decided a call to the vet was in order. I got a recording so left a non-emergency message for a call back, which finally came several hours later. During that time, I kept an eye on the mare. Very quiet all afternoon. When the vet called, she said she'd seen two more cases of tick fever in the last three days, so we were right to be concerned and keep an eye on CC. But last night, CC came back to her usual brat self and the report I got this morning is the mare is out there racing around the pasture enjoying herself. I guess she just had a lazy ass day yesterday. So here's the video of her beauty sleep and mud bath. Sorry, the first of it is pretty shaky, but it does settle down. One of these days, I'll figure out how to keep it steadier.
I had a post mostly ready to tell you all about my wonderful trip to North Carolina and Virginia, about friendship and fiber and winning raffles and flirting with tornadoes. But then the unthinkable and unexpected happened. The couple I visited in Virginia just last week went for a hike on Saturday, and he sat down then died. I am so very grateful I went on that trip because I got to know him that much better and he was well worth knowing, in spite of our political differences. So many people loved him and he deserved it. From my perspective - really good friends with the woman in that relationship - he was one of The Good Ones. He deserved her and she deserved him and they both deserved more time together.
I've never been happy with the Kimberwick jointed bit CC's last trainer suggested. The curb chain seemed too strong so I never fastened it close enough to have any effect. After watching the video of a teenager riding CC, I knew the Kimberwick had to go. All that head and mouth action is not misbehavior, it's an attempt to avoid excessive pressure from the bit. CC has a very small muzzle and I suspect the nutcracker action of the jointed bit hits her palate so I was looking for a hollow mouth thin French Link which is a much milder bit, but I couldn't find one small enough locally and I don't want to wait for an order. CC needs a size 4 1/2 bit. Much easier to find a 4 3/4 to 5. Even a lot of the catalogs don't carry 4 1/2. So I stumbled on a Mylar level 1 comfort snaffle in the right size, more expensive than I am comfortable paying, but the mare's comfort is more important than my wallet's. And at least she doesn't need a $225 bit. Yikes.
Back at the barn, I intended to try the new bit on her and just do some flexion exercises from the ground to introduce her to the bit. Well. Miss Bratgirl out in the pasture sniffed me over, did not detect carrot, spied the bridle and decided catch me if you can was the game of the day. That's the thanks I get for finding her a home with a nice pasture. So I decided to change the rules of that little game. She wanted to run from me, she could just jolly well run to my tune, not hers, so I turned it into a free longeing session until she was huffin' n puffin' and ready to stand still while I put the halter and lead rope on her. It took 30 minutes. But she didn't get away with her nonsense, I did get the bit on her, and we did the flexion exercises. I'm sure we'll be engaging in this pattern a few more times but eventually, she'll figure out that it's easier to just get the work over with rather than engage in all that extra stuff first. And until then, the exercise won't hurt me, either.
This spinning wheel is sitting in a shop in southwestern Virginia. If anyone along my travel route is interested, I can transport it tomorrow (if the threat of tornadoes dims). All I know about the wheel: it's listed as an antique, built sometime in the 1800s, came from Scotland, has had some repairs and not all parts are original. One bobbin that has two chips in it. Here are more photos for you. The price tag is $725.00.
A couple days ago, one of the horses at the new barn got sick, so of course we were all concerned. Fortunately, the vet dx tick fever which is easy to treat and non-contagious, though any of the horses can pick up a tick if the ticks are in the area. But while waiting for dx, I noticed CC behaving oddly in the pasture. Across the distance, I couldn't really see what she was doing, but someone else figured it out.
She'd found a tiny tree of the right height and flexibility to scratch an area that only gets touched when I'm bathing her. So there she was, straddling that tiny little tree and scratching what itched. I only caught the last bit of it (and badly at that) but it makes me chuckle.
Later, once we were certain the other horse would recover without problems, we decided to put someone new on CC to find out if there was a match for a girl in need of a horse and a horse that really should be shown. CC does not accept new riders easily, tests them as much as she can get away with. And she hadn't been ridden since December, so challenge all around. But really, not too bad, given the buckin' bronco tantrums she's thrown at other folks.
Bit of a brat, she is, but here at the new barn, everybody loves her. And CC loves that. She'll come around with the riding.
... well. Not roses. At least not when you are a horse moving into a new herd. Yes, that means CC is - once again - at a new barn. I moved her last Friday. This barn is new for all the horses there. Under the previous owner, this place was shut down by the state. The new owners have been rebuilding almost from the ground up. It's looking promising so far. Anyway, most of the horses moved in on Friday and Saturday. We walked them individually around to check out the new digs, then on Saturday, those that were already used to grazing free choice got the pastures. CC was not yet ready for that since the only grazing she's had is when I took her out on a lead rope. So no more than 15 - 20 minutes at a time. Horse guts, like bunny guts, are a bit sensitive so on Saturday, CC only got to meet the other horses at the end of a lead rope. She had a few comments about that but mostly accepted things. And it was enough for me to get a sense of which horses she might be compatible with. Sunday morning I put her in the pasture with Jesse, a chestnut Quarter Horse gelding, and Buddy, a dark bay Anglo Arab/Hanoverian cross (I think). Prince, a draft horse cross gelding, and Moon, a Paint mare, were hanging around in the adjacent pasture. This is what happened in the first 7 1/2 minutes.
I'm pleased with how well it went. And quite entertained by my sassy instigator. Yes, that was her doing all that squealing. Since then, CC has apparently adopted Buddy as her BFF. And all the horses go out in one pasture now. CC is loving the freedom to be a horse instead of a stall potato. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this barn is one we can stay at for a very long time.
The little baby is two weeks old today and starting to look like a rabbit. S/he is also outgrowing the basket nest, both size and curiousity wise. At two weeks, baby bunnies start exploring and learning how to use those springy things they have for legs. There is the real possibility the baby could jump right out of this basket. But the increased mobility goes right along with more coat and more ability to snuggle into the nest in the hutch if s/he gets cold overnight. So starting today, baby and mom are together again full time. It makes them both very happy. Me, too. And it gives the baby the opportunity to start exploring solid foods, too. Between 2 and 3 weeks, bunny babies start nibbling bits of hay, then they start popping into the food bowl and sampling the grain pellets. I hung the water bottle lower today so the baby can reach it and start testing that out. After the baby learns to use the bottle, I'll hang another one at a better level for the mom. There is only one problem with this stage of bunny development: it goes by too fast.
On the day of the tragedy, the little self blue baby stayed in the nest, survived and is doing well. A bit lonely because it's too cold to risk leaving the baby in the hutch nest by itself. Mother rabbits do not stay with their babies. Does natural way to defend the nest is by keeping it well hidden and only feeding the babies once or twice a day. They keep watch from a distance. If a predator gets too close to the nest, Mama doe in natural circumstances would then bolt from her own covering and race away from the nest, hoping to engage the predator, luring it away from the nest, and hopefully then eluding the predator herself. Babies stay warm by staying snuggled with each other tucked under the wool the doe pulls from her body to line the nest. It works beautifully as long as they tuck themselves back in after feeding, which they generally do. In this case, I'm guessing the temperature changes this week played a role in the loss of the 5 other babies. During the day, they had uncovered themselves to stay comfortable. The last check I made that night, they were all safely snuggled under the wool. I'm guessing after they nursed last thing at night, temps dropped quickly and they started squiggling around to regroup in the nest. But their eyes weren't open yet and they wandered away instead of toward each other.
So now it's just the one. I don't know if Mama Doe blames me or is just angry that I keep taking the survivor away, but she's gotten very angry, and bit me once. When I bring the baby to her, there is a big reunion, with lots of nuzzling and even tender noises. And nursing starts within a minute. I tried to get a video of that because it's very sweet but Mama clearly wants me to walk away while she tends the baby. I respected her wishes.
The baby is 12 days old now, ears are up and eyes opened last night. With yet another winter storm here this morning, I tucked the baby into my bathrobe this morning to warm up after this morning's visit with Mama. Early indications are the baby is a girl, which is what I would like. But it's still very early so I could find out otherwise later. No naming until I know for sure. When the baby is not with Mama, it's tucked in a small basket full of hay and lined with angora. Now that eyes are open, that arrangement won't work for long because they start getting adventurous and the baby could decide to hop out of the basket. Along with eyes opening and ears standing up, there is more wool on the baby, too. And the daytime temps are supposed to warm up tomorrow, so the baby will start spending more time in the hutch with mom during the day, but nights will still be in the house for perhaps another week.
