Posts Tagged ‘Cayenne’
Spring Arrives
Today is the first day of spring on the calendar, so that means only a few weeks, or maybe a month, more of days when we might experience significant snow events. Yesterdays’ little excitement is already melting fast. I did need to plow the driveway when I got home from work, but it was relatively easy and the remnants left behind on the pavement melted quickly, leaving the driveway mostly clean after minimal effort.
Unfortunately, I was doing some cleanup with a shovel and leaned into it, sliding the snow to the edge, when a disc in my back went kablooey. It’s impressive how quickly a person can go from standing upright, to flat on their back on the mucky wet ground. It’s also interesting how blissful it can seem to be laying down with no pain, regardless the fact it was on the wet pavement. I was feeling content to lay there for the rest of the night, but Cyndie happened along and inspired me to make my way back to my feet again with the enticement of Chinese takeout she brought home for dinner.
Today is not a day for whining, it’s spring! I’ll celebrate with a shot of Cayenne posing in the bright March sunshine. Green things won’t be far behind.
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Building Bonds
With the paddocks recently freshened up —can’t refer to them as clean, since the horses have already followed up Saturday’s major effort with a hefty new distribution of piles— we invited Cyndie’s niece and nephews to come inside the fence to brush the horses. It was a good chance to allow the 1000 pound animals to bond with the kids and receive the nurturing care being offered.
Hunter, in the foreground of the image at left, and Cayenne, far in the distance, were wonderfully cooperative. Legacy, hidden from view, was less so. He wasn’t on his best behavior.
I’m told that horses don’t hold a grudge, but I saw how frustrated he was with us Saturday when we locked the horses out of the paddock while we worked to clean it. I wouldn’t blame him if he was still miffed. While I was scraping manure with the New Holland, he was at the gate, huffing and snorting, scratching away at the ground with his hoof, and shaking his head to and fro. He definitely wanted back in. Cyndie said that when I was putting away the tractor and she opened the gate to let them back in, they didn’t rush in with glee, but casually sauntered in as if it was no big deal. I returned from the garage to report that we had worked an hour-and-a-half past their usual afternoon feeding time. Maybe that was what Legacy had gotten all worked up about. It was past the appointed hour for dinner and we were showing no signs of doing anything about it.
Yesterday’s temperatures had plummeted down to a solid freeze again, so when I stepped out in the morning to get a picture of the new manure pile we had created in the paddock, I was able to walk on top of the crust of snow without breaking through. I decided to hike out and up the hill into the big field, where the snow cover has receded enough to reveal areas of exposed ground. I was curious as to whether this would attract the horses or not. They have barely stepped in the big field ever since the last big snow accumulation. It had gotten too deep to make it worth the effort for them. I expect the horses would feel an increased vulnerability in deep snow.
There was one little trail the horses had trampled into the field, and that single route was what they now confined themselves to on the few occasions they did wander out. While I was taking some pictures from up on that hill, with the sun behind me, Hunter ventured up that trail, stopping where the path began to arc away to his right. Wondering if he was interested in coming further, I approached him with an invitation to join me.
Tentatively, he stepped onto the crusty snow beyond the packed path. Hunter isn’t light enough to stay on top like me, but he found it was no longer too deep, and carefully proceeded in my direction. In the distance, Legacy was keeping a keen eye on the scene.
While Hunter wandered around on the hill with me, checking the spots where the snow had melted away, Legacy and the other horses moved out to just beyond the paddock, but no further. I think they didn’t want to deal with the crunchy terrain, yet they were obviously interested in what Hunter was up to.
He was with me, and we were alone —make that, alone with Delilah— up on the hill. It was pretty special. Unfortunately, since I wasn’t grazing, my interest quickly waned, and I was soon ready to head back down. It didn’t feel right to just walk away and leave Hunter alone, so I tried to let him know my intention to go, slowly stepping down toward the paddock. In seconds, Hunter was following. In fact, he started to increase his gate and I needed to hustle along to avoid getting run over. I wasn’t sure if his rush was to make it easier for him to navigate the crusty snow, or if he was just that eager to get back with the herd, but his sudden haste took nothing away from the sweet experience we had shared in his choosing to join me up there.
It seems as though Hunter and I are building a special bond of our own.
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Alone Again
It has happened enough that you’d think I would be used to it by now, but it’s different for me since we added horses. Cyndie is traveling out of town for work for a few days and I am alone again to tend to the animals. As if being responsible for the horses wasn’t enough, one of our cats, Mozyr, is showing new signs of some kind of illness. Before Cyndie left yesterday, she cleaned up some of his messes and then we went down and pulled the blankets off the horses. It is going to be above zero around here for a while!
It took some coaxing, but Legacy eventually allowed me to aggressively scratch his neck and shoulders after we removed his blanket. Cyndie warmed him up to the idea when she began massaging his aura about a foot away from his body. Shortly after letting me into his space to scratch him, he took an obvious step in and turned to provide me better access. A definite invitation.
I wandered back down to see the horses after they had eaten their evening feed, to take some pictures of them without blankets on. The girls were hanging out by the hay and the boys were both uphill from them.
Cayenne & Dezirea
Legacy
Hunter
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At bedtime, when I came out of the bathroom after brushing my teeth, I spotted Mozyr using the litter box we brought upstairs for him. That’s progress! After that, he wandered into the bathroom for a drink of water from the dish we keep there. Next, he took a few bites from the dry food, and then the canned food that I had put out at dinner time. These are all good signs. The night before, he appeared to have shut down completely, and then yesterday morning he seemed worse, and was messing himself and lying in it.
We probably would have rushed to the vet if Cyndie wasn’t headed out of town. I suppose I talked her out of it when I pointed out that we won’t spend money on treatments if there is something drastically wrong with him, so we may as well wait a day to see if he can shake it on his own. He is under close observation by me, and so far, things seem to be headed in the right direction.
Since I am alone, I’m hoping that’s the only direction things go for the next few days.
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Happy Faces
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Here are two happy faces that just dowsed their thirst after we cleaned their water station on Sunday. Our animals can be a lot of work, but gosh darn, they’re worth it.
Say hello to Cayenne and Legacy.
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Lovely Lips
It looks like Legacy has tried to apply some red lipstick, but it is just the result of what we have come to call our “horse-sicles.” Cyndie found a recipe that involves cutting up fruit, carrots, and celery and putting it in sugar-water that has some food coloring added, and then freezing it.
The first time we set some out, they gobbled them up overnight, and we didn’t have much chance to witness them enjoying the treats, so we have been saving the last two for a time when we could hang around and watch. Legacy was the only one inside the paddocks when we showed up, and the three chestnuts were happy where they were at in the big field, so he got first shot at the fruity-sweet popsicles all by himself.
We pulled up chairs and spent a little time lounging in the bright winter daylight of the cloudy afternoon, amid sprinkles of light falling snowflakes, and watched Legs savor the sweetness.
Earlier in the day, we had taken all 4 horses out at the same time for a walk through our woods. It is the first time since the horses arrived here that we have had enough experienced horse handlers available to do this. It was a challenge to walk in the snow, but the horses all behaved well and nobody got spooked, which is a testament to the handlers all remaining calm and projecting a confidence that communicated everything was safe and under control.
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I was the least experienced one of the bunch, and after leading Legacy out, Cyndie switched me off to get some pictures of everyone, and Jose took over the lead with Legs, Cyndie was with Hunter, Marco Sr. had Cayenne, and Dunia walked with Dezirea. After a switch, I ended up with Hunter and was able to experience the cooperative communication of being in charge of such a large animal who could easily toss me aside and do what he pleases.
After heading toward the labyrinth and then doing a loop through the woods, we strolled past Delilah’s kennel and she quietly and (mostly) calmly stood at her door watching the parade pass by. We then headed back down the hill and returned to the big field where we removed their harnesses after the gate was latched. Three of the four then proceeded to lay down and roll in the snow for a little bath.
We enjoyed a spectacular winter day with the horses, continuing to fulfill visions we had when news first arrived that the Morales family could come from Guatemala to visit us here over the holidays. We are feeling truly and richly blessed!
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Just This
I am short time to write for today. Why am I short time? I have returned to putting in hours at the day-job. I have been unsuccessful in finding something closer to home, so I have returned to what I know and do best. Unfortunately it is an hour’s drive away from home. Fortunately, my return has been warmly and gratefully received.
In place of any words of wisdom, or descriptions of my follies, I will share another image from the batch I took at dusk just the other day. Here is Cayenne…
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Animals Update
I feel like the horses have been getting short shrift of air time here lately, probably due to the severe winter weather we’ve been enduring of late. Most days it is all business down at the barn, getting hay and feed distributed before my exposed flesh starts getting burned by the cold air. Pulling out the camera in the cold and dark just doesn’t seem to happen. Of course, the fact that the flash quit working on my favorite pocket camera might have a little to do with that.
I did recently snap this shot at dusk, prior to entering the barn to feed them. That is Cayenne in front of Legacy, and if you look close, you can see Hunter peeking out from the edge of the overhang of the barn. Legacy has played hard-to-get when we attempt to adjust his blanket and I’m beginning to think that he thinks it looks cool that way. He reminds me of a teenager who wears his ball cap sideways or lets his pants hang low.
They seem to be doing well despite the harsh conditions. It is such a treat to watch them when they are prancing and dancing around in the snow. We haven’t been picking up after them in the paddocks as diligently as we used to, and now the snow is covering a lot of their piles of manure, so I have resigned myself to it being a muddy, wet manure mess out there when spring finally rolls around.
Meanwhile, I have been having a lot more interaction with Delilah during the time I’ve been home during the week. Since it was so cold, I let her stay indoors with me, and since the cats just sleep on the bed all day, I put up a gate to the bedroom and then give Delilah freedom to move around the house.
We have developed a game of chase in the house where I run after her in laps around the spiral staircase. Last night, she even initiated the game and invited me to chase her around past the kitchen counter, in front of the fireplace, back to the kitchen, around and around again. I run as fast as I can, pushing her to work hard, but I run out of breath well before she tires of the game.
I tried to get her to wear boots that Cyndie bought for her feet, and she was very nice to let me get all 4 of them on her before we went out on the coldest day. After I got her ready, I still had to get my boots and coat on, and she stood totally still while I got ready. I think she was freaked out about trying to walk in them. When I was ready, it took some coaxing to get her to move, and then she clop, clop, clopped her way to the door.
Outside, she instantly appeared to be trying to run out of them, and it didn’t take her long to succeed. I thought it was nice of her to try, but I am guessing they won’t get much use beyond that first attempt.
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Perfect Image
This could very well be the last picture of the year from here with no snow on the ground. After the current bout of mixed snow and rain we are experiencing concludes, the temperatures are predicted to head into the deep freeze again, so maybe the ground-cover will hang around till the next measurable snow fall occurs.
Yesterday, I received this photo taken Sunday by Nick Shatek while Hays relations were visiting for a delayed Thanksgiving gathering. It captures the spirit of horse/human interaction that we want to see here, especially with kids. This is my niece Tricia’s daughter, Brooke, connecting with Cayenne in a most beautiful way.
We can report that the horse “popsicles” we made were a big hit. Cyndie served up two of them after the evening feeding on Sunday, and when she came back to the house the next morning after feeding them, she reported that they had completely gobbled up both, leaving no trace of any remains. Since nobody stayed around to see any of the action, we don’t have any idea who ate them, or how fast they did it. For that reason, we have decided to wait on serving the next two, until a time when we can hang around to observe the process.
I’m looking forward to the chance to get some photos of that event!
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Featuring Cayenne
To my admittedly untrained eyes, of the four horses, Dezirea appears as the least sure about the new environment, but Cayenne has been the more difficult one for me to connect with thus far. We have interacted a few times, but more often than not, when I come around, there is something more interesting to her in another direction. Maybe she is playing hard to get. More likely, her behavior is directed by the interactions with Hunter and Dezirea, as they continue to work out the pecking order in their new location.
Each horse is definitely special in their own unique way, but Cayenne strikes me as having something exceptional simmering within her that has yet to fully blossom. She is a daughter of Dezirea, but has already outgrown her mother.
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Several times, I have spotted the herd split into two, and thus far it has always been as two mare/gelding pairs. However, they haven’t always been in the same pair. I was told that Cayenne and Hunter grew up together, so they certainly are familiar with each other, but I think it is nice that they aren’t an inseparable pair. She seems equally comfortable meandering with Legacy to graze.
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I caught this funny shot of Cayenne picking her head up high over a gate when Cyndie’s parents came out to meet them for the first time. It shows that Cayenne is not so vain as to avoid allowing herself to get caught looking silly on occasion.
Hmm. She reminds me a bit of myself in that way. No wonder I sense something exceptional in her!
Relative Something 