Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day 17

Little Love is in love.  Today when I arrived at the barn, Col and her were in the pasture.  They were standing really close to each other and sort of investigating each other's bodies gently with their muzzles.  I have never seen anything like that before between two horses and the moment seemed so private that I sort of felt like I was spying on them.  I silently stood back and watched how every now and then Little Love would reposition herself so that her bottom was right in front of Col's nose.  He had no objections to that.  He may be a gelding, but there seems to be a distant memory of something that guides his actions.  He would sniff and nuzzle at her behind, and then rest his head against her backside.  He also groomed Little Love on the neck and withers, and she seemed to be in heaven.  Unfortunately Col himself is wrapped in a massive blanket so Little Love could not return the favor.   Hopefully some day it will be possible. 

Getting the horses in from the field was pretty straight forward.  When before we had to put on halters and walk them together across the yard (because that's where the two smaller paddocks are), now we just open the gate and they walk into the barn on their own.  When Lilo came in, she was literally covered in Col's saliva, as he also likes to lick pretty much everything.  There was a new kind of peace in her, it's hard to explain, but she seemed so grounded.  She even tolerated brushing in a completely different manner.  There have been so many changes to her life in the past few weeks, but I think giving her a horse-friend must be the best one so far, at least in her opinion!

4 comments:

  1. Oh, this is magical to read. Contentment = peace. I am hooked on this story of Little Love and you. I've been wondering, do you how she got her name?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Muddy K, Little Love is an Oldenburg mare, meaning she was bred specifically with her heritage in mind. Her father, Liberty Life, is a famous sire in the jumping circles (and I think her grandfather Lord Liberty even more so). Usually in Germany (where she was born) I believe they name the foals with the same letter as the sire is named, thus the L L beginning for the name. I love her name!
    PS. Lilo's old owner told me that she thinks they bred her when she was really young, 4-5 yrs old, in attempts to "calm her down". I have researched this high and low, as I would like to know where her baby is now, but have found nothing - as of yet. There is no mention of this in her papers. I still have some ideas of where to search... I just have to find someone to help me with my German :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is just wonderful, K. I can't express what a beautiful process this is to read, I am running to my computer every morning to see what's next! A horse is always a horse, no matter how hard us humans try to squeeze it out of them. It's so lovely how Little Love is gently gliding back into her own body and spirit, taking you with her along for the journey. Oh my, what a wonderful thing you have done for this gentle mare!
    Shelby

    ReplyDelete
  4. Shelby, just seeing those tow horses together is amazing. All I want to do is watch them! I'm starting to think that one day that might be the only thing I do with horses; observe and learn. I'll have to buy a pair of binoculars and a huge property where they can roam free while I watch from my porch :-)

    ReplyDelete