Holiday Wishes From Filly

It's been a while since my mom has written about me so I thought I'd say hi to everyone. I'm sure growing up & at 18 months I stand 14.1. I've been told that's pretty tall for an arab filly. For anyone who's wondering, my poor crooked legs are STRAIGHT! I'd like to say thank you to everyone who helped me. Mom, Auntie S, Auntie L, Uncle C, my followers, Grandpa & Trimmer. If I've forgotten anyone I thank you as well. Without everyone's help I would have been destined to be a cripple with an unpleasant fate. Now I can run & play in pasture with my friend. I'm the boss you know. I had a baby sister born this year & maybe one of these days I can get my mom to post her picture with me. Her name's Spring & it's so much fun showing her all the great things about life. I even share my feed bucket with her. Well, I better go. I just wanted to wave a hoof hi to all. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season & don't forget to hang stockings in the barn so Santa will visit all your horses. Merry Christmas everyone!

Oh, and aren't I gorgeous????

RIP Mama

I've been meaning to write for the last week but just haven't been up to it. Mama was such a sweet mare & she'll be dearly missed. She came to me in deplorable condition & against all odds, she not only survived but so did her soon-to-be-born filly. With the diagnosis of malabsorbtion & pancreatitis, I always knew Mama wouldn't see beyond her teens. But the reality of her death isn't any easier knowing her life was shortened by ignorance, & therefore neglect. If Filly's friends & the casual passersby learn only one thing from this blog, I hope it's that not worming horses regularly can cause death. Yes, worms kill! The damage from a heavy worm infestation is what caused Mama's ailments. The damage to her intestinal tract prevented her from absorbing the nutrients in her feed. This in turn caused pancreatitis & liver damage. PLEASE, please, please worm your horses on a regular schedule. Better yet, monitor fecal samples to insure your worming routine is taking care of any infestation. Treating & caring for a horse who's suffered worm damage is heartbreaking. You watch them gain their strength & blossom, only to have them waste away as their body eventually fails. YES, WORMS KILL! Run free Mama, free from pain & wasting, free from the ignorance & neglect of humans. Thank you for sharing a part of your life with me. Thank you for giving me your most precious gift, Filly. Run free...

My Gorgeous Filly

I really wish I could get some good pictures of Filly, but the little darling would rather pester me than pose for a photo session. She just keeps trying to show me her double swirls & big brown eyes.

She's growing into a very lovely yearling. She's finally overcome her rough start & is continuing to thrive. She's at last caught up with her filly friend Blondi &, although 3 months younger, Filly is now the same size. Her growth & size measurements give me the estimate that she'll be about 15 hands with good bone & substance. She's going to be the perfect size for me because she's my perfect Filly.

Miracles Do Happen

As I sit here this morning, I think back on that morning one year ago when I was on foal watch in the cold dark before sunrise. I was waiting for a very health compromised mare to foal. I sat beside the stall knowing that everyone believed the mare not only wouldn't survive, but neither would the foal. It had been a long month nursing the mare along, hoping for a miracle.

Sometime before the earliest sounds of the new day began, the mare went into labor. I waited, & waited, & waited. Finally 2 little feet & a nose poked through. Then the mare stopped having contractions. She lay still, panting, but no more contractions. I waited some more. I did all those things I was taught to stimulate contractions, but nothing helped. The clock was ticking & I could feel the sick panic wanting to set in. I'd seen foals pulled before, but always with chains & multiple people. I was alone. I can remember pulling, begging, pleading, & pulling some more. I don't know how long I pulled because time really does seem to stand still. And then all of a sudden I was falling backwards with a foal half in my arms. A beautiful chestnut filly took her first breath as I pulled her clear & removed the sac from her face. A miracle had occurred.

The months that followed were tough & many times I thought I would lose my precious filly. But she proved to be a tough little girl with a very strong will. Today she grows more gorgeous as each day passes. She runs the pasture, playing with her filly friend. She greets me at the gate & follows along as I walk her pasture. she's a perfect (well almost perfect) lady with the manners many grown horses will never have. She's the little love of my life & I enjoy her every day. She brightens my world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FILLY!!!! I love you!

Grey Girl Says Good-Bye

Thursday the 4th was a sad, yet happy day. Grey Girl was going to her forever home. I had always known she wasn't staying with me & that she was going to a really good friend of mine, but that didn't make parting any easier.

I'd become quite attached to Grey Girl, aka Baby Dearest. She was born at a time when I was consumed with saving Filly & I wasn't ready for another foal to be born. Then when she was born it was obvious that she too had contracted tendons so I ended up treating TWO fillies. Thankfully GG's contraction resolved with minimal treatment. In her first few weeks I was so busy with Filly that I wasn't able to spend time with GG. As Filly progressed & I knew I wasn't going to lose her, I started to spend much needed time with GG. At first she wanted nothing to do with me, preferring to run & hide behind Mommy Dearest. I'll never forget how strong she was at just a few weeks old, dragging me around the stall when I tried to halter her for the first time. We both ended up on the ground, me sprawled on top holding her down while I managed to get the halter on. Oh was she mad, a spitfire through & through. Then came the day when I was able to scratch her butt when she wasn't looking. That must have felt pretty darned good because she started looking for me to give scratches. It wasn't long before she was following me everywhere, demanding attention even when it meant pushing through the herd to reach me. GG became the most loving filly, a real pocket-pony, the first to greet me at the gate. She's grown into a gorgeous, elegant, lovely moving filly with that "look at me" attitude.

As the day got closer to GG's leaving I had a lot of second thoughts, battling with myself to keep her. She fills such a warm spot in my heart & the light touches of her nose on mine always make me smile. Even as my friend pulled into my drive I wondered if I could really let GG go. I knew I would miss her tremendously, but I also knew my friend would love her & do right by her. Plans for the near future will have GG in the showring, prancing before the judges & I'm sure she'll bring home many ribbons. Once mature she'll travel the trails with my friend. She was such a brave filly getting into the trailer & my eyes were wet as she left my drive. I love you Grey Girl & can't wait to follow your updates. Good luck in the showring.

Later Thursday I spent quite a bit of time hugging & snuggling my face into the very furry Filly. I always knew I wasn't going to keep both fillies, & there was never any question that Filly will remain with me for life. She & I will both miss GG but I know that letting GG go with my friend was the right thing to do. Someday I on Filly & my friend on GG will ride together & reminisce about my year with the fillies.

The Yearlings Have Arrived

New Year's Day is the day when most horses are considered to turn another year older. So while Filly & her friends, Grey Girl & Blondi, are 8 months, 6 months & 11 months respectively, they are now YEARLINGS! Their older friend is my now 3 yr old, future riding horse & trail partner. Horses are so lucky, they have two birthdays of special treats every year. New Year's Day brought buckets of warm mash with carrots, & I hear a birthday party is in the planning stages for Filly's really big day in May. It's hard to believe that the ups & downs of 2009 are finally behind us. 2010 brings in a new year that I hope proves to be all fun times & adventures for the new yearlings.

A Brief Update

Thanks Phaedra96 for asking about my girls. I'm glad you've enjoyed reading about Filly, Mama, & their friends.

While it's a few years off, Filly will one day be my #1 trail horse. Dare I hope endurance horse? She's quietly bold & not much bothers her. I expect her to be a very easy horse to start under saddle once she's mature. Because she's had such a rough start in life, I plan to give her plenty of time to catch up & finish maturing before I begin to think of starting her. She requires more groceries & special care than the others right now because she's trying to grow & catch up at the same time. She's going to be a big girl as she's already the same size as Blondi, who's 3 months older with the same sized parents. I have to admit that Filly is near & dear to my heart & she can do no wrong. Well maybe when she bit me she did wrong, but I've already forgiven her.

Grey Girl will also someday be a trail horse. In the meantime she will most likely go to a few shows to strut her stuff. She's very flashy & is a gorgeous mover. She has that WOW factor that people notice. She's lively & her eyes just sparkle. She's the first to greet me when I go in the pasture & she demands attention. I still feel guilty for not giving her much attention in her first month or so, but I was so consumed with saving Filly that I was overwhelmed & not ready for another foal. GG & I make up for lost time now & she's just a little love. There are times when I can be caught blowing softly on her muzzle while she blows on me.

Mama has never picked up beyond where she was when Filly was weaned. She will always require special care & probably never gain a body condition beyond 3+. But while she'll always be an extremely hard keeper & thinner than normal, she has a gorgeous coat & a sparkle in her eye now. She's handling the winter weather a LOT better than she did our summer heat. Her health issues make it hard for her to regulate her body temperature so she has to be monitored closely. She'll always require extra TLC, but she's worth the effort.

Mommy Dearest is doing fine. She's fat, happy & running with her herd on 20 acres. Fortunately she had no health issues other than being a little under fed when she came to me.

2009 sure was a tough year for the mommas & fillies. Here's hoping 2010 is much kinder to us all.