The past few weeks have been stressful to say the least, all horse related naturally. Cherry, who has been away and is *hopefully* in foal, had some dramas at the stud where she injured herself in the paddock and had to be locked up. During this time she was stressing about been injured as well as wanting to be back with the stallion and due to this she has lost a tremendous amount of weight even though she had access to hay. Her first scan came around and the vet couldnt see anything, so he scanned again in 4 days time and still nothing. As she was about to come back in season they reserved her and I decided that it was best for her (and hopefully her foal) to come home where there was less stress. She has been home since Tuesday and was severely depressed and weak, so weak getting into the float (trailer) was an effort, even eating was an effort. There was no light in her eyes or soul and I found it as depressing as what she was. With the help of insights from Helena I set about trying to unload the guilt I felt about sending her away and her being in this condition, as well as mend the relationship between her and I. I awoke on Thursday and had a strong urge to take her and Ruby to the beach for a swim, knowing the salt water would do her wounds good. I didnt think she was strong enough yet but my gut feeling said go, and we did. Im so glad I listened, her whole aura changed and she became more like the horse she was. I spoke to her telling her I was sorry and explained all my reasons to her, she hugged me and we went swimming. She was so happy to play in the water and in the waves that she even had a roll right there in the surf! After our swim she showed Ruby how lovely sand was to roll in and they both got down and had a scratch (Ruby to the point we couldnt convince her to leave!). After our trip to the beach Cherry continued to pick up and on Friday I thought I would put Ruby in with her (I had her separated from Belle and Ruby at first), well turns out they both had other plans and when I arrived to feed up Cherry was in where Ruby was meant to be and Ruby was in where Cherry was meant to be. I took this as a sign that Cherry was ready to be with Belle and Ruby together...Belle was NOT impressed that this arrangement (was actually NOT impressed period, to the point she wouldnt let me near her) was permanent and proceeded to show Cherry who was The Queen while Ruby stood behind me and asked for scratches (no prizes for guessing who the smart one is). As much as I wanted to protect Cherry from Belles fury I didnt intervene and let them sort it out themselves. Today (Saturday), Belle still rules with an iron fist but she was at least happy enough to let me give her a hug and explain that there was no competition between her and Cherry, they were even. Although the love between Belle and Cherry is still tedious the difference in Cherry after even just one day was amazing. She was more energetic and herself, happily chasing poor Ruby (who is copping it from both sides now) from the feed buckets to lick them clean. Being apart of the herd often provides far more healing than what I could ever give my horses, and they are better for it. Cherry is calmer, more relaxed and slowly gaining her strength, Belle is enjoying being the Queen but may be dethroned once Cherrys at full strength and she herself has also grown with Rubys help and friendship. Ruby has being Belles help and guidance and while she is just a paddock ornament she has her place in the herd as the vacuum, punching bag and a helpful, cheery ball of sunshine who is always happy to lend an ear regardless of how grumpy Belle is. Ruby ties everyone together, and Im hoping if all goes well Ruby will be the foals play friend (since Belle and Cherry are boring!). Will not know if Cherry is possibly in foal until February 13th for her second 17 day scan, the vet wasnt confident due to fluid she had in her uterus. As much as both of use want this, if it happens it happens, if not theres always next season :) Sorry for the essay but I felt it was important to share
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 09:11:56 +0000
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