Travieso feeling good, stretching his legs a bit, loving life. One could never tell that just a few months ago he came so close to death. His scar is merely a cosmetic imperfection on his neck. Now barely visible under his coat.
He is a marvelous horse.
Madeira cuddling with Travieso. That only happens at certain time of the "month." Poor Travieso is all confused??? He cannot figure out why sometimes she is so loving and other times she kicks at him with flattened ears.
It's a female thing. He will get it in a few years.
Travieso was very interested in the baby though. He came galloping over when I brought the little one out.
And then, of course Madeira came slowly and calculatively, and chased him away from HER charge. She has adopted the role of a foster mother.
A good roll in the slobby mud does a body good!
Always remember to roll on both sides!
Look at my beautiful lady. She looks like she was molded out of clay.
A very relaxed and content Madeira with her little "mini-me" shadowing behind her.
Steal back to work. What a tough life. He is not lame anymore, but still weaning off the medication, on a special diet and now all he needs is a bit more exercise.
Steal's front hooves. If you look closely you can see the horizontal groove almost exactly in the middle of his hooves. From the coronet to the groove is the growth of his new hoof. Note the dramatic change in the degree of the hoof angle. This is the product of barefootedness and Good trimming after being in badly shod shoes, that stretched out his toes for so long. Laminitis is not caused by bad shoeing, but it definitely aids the illness. If the toes are too long and stretched out there will be separations of the lamina from the hoof wall. Then all you need is some endotoxins in the blood stream and BOOM... worst case scenario.
Baby was shy to come close when I was ON Madeira.
But she is a big girl now and it was time she came along on a "big horse" walk out on the trail.
Madeira was such a good helper.
There was so much to see on the trail.
Baby enjoyed it very much. She felt like an important big horse.
And of course we had a little snack on the way. Madeira really changes color in the winter, and it's not just the darker winter coat, she becomes a greyish mud brown.
Visiting Cruiser and Fire on the way back.
Raul cozying up the stall for my mud pony.
Now all I have to do is brush the dried up mud cakes off my lady's beautiful fur.
But she comes to hang out and say hello to us and her baby all the time.
The dusk at the ranch is my favourite time. When all is quiet, most everyone else has gone home. The horses are peacefully munching their evening hay, birds asleep on the branches, and I just stand there lulled by the relaxing sound of the ocean in the background, taking in the last of the sun.
Check out the bottle of wine we had at aunt Kaija's holiday dinner. (I just had to take a picture of it.) It's "Madeira." So sweet, rich and red, almost liquor like strong. Madeira.
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