More Pics from November 24th

BOY'S DAY OUT

Today, all the men in the family joined me out at Shiloh. This was Ed's and Nolan's first trip out, and Nolan brought along his best mate, Will.

We arrived just before noon on another beautiful, unseasonably warm day. The guys were all impressed with the magnificent Frisian, Tanis; Dani and Grace ran around petting everything from the pot-bellied pigs, to the goats, donkeys and dogs; Dani rode a tractor; and Ed kept an eye on everyone while I visited with Wishes.

I found my sweet girl lying on the ground, sunbathing and half asleep. I dared to hope she'd let me approach her without jumping to her feet and shying away. Much to my delight, she never moved a muscle as I crept in quietly, knelt next to her and started rubbing her all over. She almost fell completely to sleep in my lap at one point. I just sat and stroked her warm coat, speaking to her quietly for about 20 minutes. Then the ranch crew had to come and administer some antibiotics to "Blue Moon" in the stall next to us (he had a nasty puncture wound on his right, front leg), and the wrangling that was taking place so close to us upset my little girl and she finally jumped to her feet and took flight. It was such a wonderful day, though. Happiness all around.

A Great Day

Wishes finally let me pet her today!!! I'm so happy. I hung out all morning, in and around the foals' paddock. Fortune, who is very used to people, was letting me pet her all morning. She even followed me around wherever I went. Her buddy, Showbiz, also followed me around and eventually let me pet him and rub him. That was the first time he ever let me touch him, so I was feeling very encouraged. Eventually, Wishes joined our little group. It took me some time to get close enough, but eventually I was able to take hold of her lead rope. She resisted at first, but today I was in a much better position to hold on to her and move with her. Once I put my hand on her neck, she realized that I wasn't going to eat her, and stopped trying to get away. She stood still and let me pet her all up and down her neck, stroke her back, rub her rump, and even reach over the top of her and "drape" myself over her back to touch and pet the other side. We did this for about 5 minutes, and I wanted to end on a good note, so I left while she was still calm and happy!! Hurray!!!!!!!! I just wish I had pictures.

My First Big Mistake

Yesterday, my little filly, Wishes, was weaned from her mother, and placed into a large stall/paddock along with about 5 other foals. She was put into a halter with a short lead rope dangling from her throat about 18 inches. I was not present for this event, but read about it on Shiloh's web page (see http://www.shilohlasvegas.com/ under "news").

Feeling anxious about the condition of my little horse, I rushed out there today with two babies in tow (my daughter, Grace, and Baby Cason, for whom I nanny). I was able to spend a few minutes in the small paddock area with Wishes, and even got her to eat from my hand. Jill drove by and stopped to tell me that Wishes did very well yesterday, was easy to catch, and gave the guys very little trouble. She added, "As a matter-of-fact, you can just grab her lead rope and handle her." Going against my better judgment to take things slowly, the temptation to grab ahold of her overwhelmed me, and I decided to try it. I quickly got another handful of hay, and held it out for her to eat, this time reaching through the pipe corral. Dizzy and Fortune also came over for a nibble, and once she was distracted, I grabbed ahold of Wishes's lead. She immediately flew backward and nearly dislocated my shoulder, as I slammed against the pipes. So, not only did I take us right back to square one, I've given her the idea she can just pull me around anytime she wants. Damn my impatience! Oh well, back to the beginning we go...hopefully a little wiser this time.

A Family Outing

Today, Betsy, Dave and Phillip accompanied Dani, Grace and me to Shiloh. Betsy visited with her favorite horse, Creek. Dani and Grace got to ride Seven. And I spent a little time hanging out with my girl, Wishes.

Baby Steps

This morning when I arrived at Shiloh, I was sad to see a mare had died in the night, and was lying out in the paddock adjacent to Wishes's paddock. The staff at Shiloh did not know what caused the sudden death, and were quite taken by surprise as this young mare had just had her hooves trimmed last week and seemed to be healthy and happy. Poor thing. I am comforted by the knowledge that she was loved and cared for during the last months of her life.

On a happier note, I made some progress with Wishes today. She ate hay from my hand on about 5 different occasions, and even walked away from the pile of hay she was eating to come get the hay from my hand. And one point she gave my hat a quick, appreciative nibble, and then gently turned and walked away. She still won't let me place my hand anywhere on her, though. I spent 2 hours crouching down low and very near her, trying to get as close as possible. When she'd looked up to investigate me, I'd back off to reinforce her behavior with the reward of my departure. She's getting more and more confident with my presence. Jill tells me that she'll be moving Wishes to a stall within a week, and then she and I will get much better acquainted.

Adoption Pending

It's been 26 years since I owned my last horse. Finally, at age 42, my wish to become a horse owner has come to fruition. On November 10, 2007, I began the procedure to adopt a 6 month old filly from the Shiloh Horse Rescue in Sandy Valley, Nevada. Appropriately, the little filly was already named "Wishes"! I think I'll keep it.