foals – The Hermits' Rest

Today was quite a slog, but not without its highlights. I have not been sleeping well for a few days, so 6am came quite early. Sigh, as hard as I try not to turn other people’s issues around and blame myself, it sometimes happens, especially when I’ve messed something up. Hence, little sleep.

But it was worth getting up early to make it to an 8am horse lesson with sleepy Apache. He was feeling a bit better today, plus he had some excellent entertainment in the form of two curious foals who shared the training arena with us. Those babies have lost all their shyness and found Apache fascinating.

He did a great job playing the patient but grumpy uncle role. The filly just marched right up to him and said HI. She only left when he snorted at her. The colt, who has been less brazen in the past really wanted to be Apache’s buddy.

Both foals did that cute mouth snapping they do to show they mean no harm, but the little guy did try to taste Apache’s mouth and substantial hindquarters.

Tarrin road Apache a bit to work on his turning and the little guy followed them like he wanted to do some work, too.

His mom, who’s trying to recover from a rough patch, kept telling him to stop, but it really didn’t work. That’s okay, it was great practice for Apache (and me) to focus with lots of cute distractions.

All that circling and baby stuff wore me out. Gotta pee.

We made it home in time for me to shower before work started. That’s good, because things did not let up for the rest of the day. Finally, at 7:30pm I was able to leave my desk. Whew. It’s a good thing I’m so peppy for an old gal. I wasn’t even phased to walk into the chicken coop in time to see a turkey egg going down a rat snake’s throat.

Tomorrow I hope to have a book report for you!

Get ready to say “aww” and squeal a lot. You may recall (if you’ve been reading a while) that Sara has been working with a beautiful Andalusian mare named Sully, who was carrying a foal fathered by some famous deceased stallion. Sully belongs to our friend Trixie, and Sara agreed to take her to lessons during the gestation period.

We’ve all enjoyed having her around and have been eagerly awaiting the birth. She went back to Trixie’s recently to give birth, since Trixie is a lot more experienced with foaling.

We got word yesterday that Sully did a great job and produced a little filly (girl horse). While she got photos, of course Sara wanted to see her. And because she’s a good friend and knew I’d pout if she didn’t, she asked me to come along for the meet and greet. That way I could take pictures while she basked in the new life.

Do you have questions? I bet you do!

What does the name mean? It’s from Pali, and means to burn, or to Buddhists, to meditate. It’s a significant word for Sara, and lo and behold little Jhaya has a flame on her forehead (if you use your imagination, anyway).

Why is there light hair around her eyes? That’s a sign that this very dark girl will grow up gray like her mom. Drew probably looked similar as a baby. Horse hair colors are fascinating.

What the heck is going on with that gray beard? We don’t know! But isn’t it cute? She also has a light spot on one nostril. You can’t lose her in a crowd! From the side it looks like a Billy goat beard.

Enough questions. It was fun watching Sara marveling at the little girl that she’ll spend the next many years with. And it was great to see Trixie working with the new baby. She’s so good at it. Here are some photos of when we first met Jhaya in their stall.

Eventually Trixie and Sara got the mother and baby to go out in the little paddock outside their stall. Fresh air and soft grass were just what the mom and one-day-old baby needed. After a bit of nursing and exploring, the filly just had to move!

Before we knew it she was breaking into canters and going in circles. We may have missed her first steps, but we got to see her first run! Wow! It’s just amazing how horses can move so soon after birth, but it comes in handy for prey animals. We all just beamed at her like no horse had ever done that before.

If you’ve never run before, you will get worn out. Jhaya just plopped on the grass, got comfy, and had a little snooze. All the humans around her didn’t bother her at all, since Sully is a good mom already and would take care of her. Sleeping babies always make you say, “aww.”

While we were charmed by the new life and proud of the new mom, we did have to go home. But she’ll come here next week! Horses grow so fast. I’m glad I got to see Jhaya when she was brand new.

This visit, along with this morning’s installation of satellite internet, helped me deal with how out of sorts I’ve been feeling. I’m sure glad there are distractions like baby horses!