Filly update

O.K. here’s the scoop. So far, so good, but this is really a lot of work. I never imagined how much time a newborn foal could take.

My wife, parents and I spent all day Saturday partitioning a section of one of our paddocks to accommodate our newborn. Then we went around and around baby-proofing it. We also put her dam into the paddock to see if we could get them to bond. No such luck. Although Rosie, (the dam) would tolerate her, she would not allow the filly to nurse. I left them together all day, but again, no bonding seemed to occur.

I returned Rosie to the connecting pasture Sunday and am continuing to monitor them to see if there is any progress. So far, nothing. This concerns me as I know that this filly’s social development will be hindered without contact and exposure to her dam.

My daughters are having great fun. They are beginning to listen to me and are starting to understand how to act and handle yourself around horses. Before now, it has gone in one ear and out the other.

My wife is becoming very attached to this baby and has expressed her concern about her chances. My thoughts are that the longer she goes without taxing her immune system, the better her chances for survival. I am currently updating my opinion of her survival to 70-30%.

Any helpful thoughts or ideas would be welcome.

My daughters have “powers”

A couple of weeks ago, at the end of a family outing, my wife told me that she needed to stop by the grocery store.  It was decided that since we had two, tired little girls (Madison-age 6 and Peyton-soon to be 4) that I would wait in the car while my wife picked up the needed essentials.

After Melissa had been gone a few minutes, Madison said to me, “Daddy, I see colors in the air.”  A little alarmed that my oldest daughter might be experiencing vision problems, yet trying to remain calm, I asked, “what do you mean – you see colors in the air?”   Madison responded, “When I close my eyes real tight and look at the sun and then away from the sun, I can see colors.”  While she was telling me this, she was also demonstrating what she meant and naturally I had to try it myself to see what was going on.  She was right, I did see colors.  I commented to Madison, “baby I think everybody can see colors when they do what you just did.”  With a crestfallen look on her face, she said, “Oh, I thought I had special powers.” 

Not knowing what to say, I just changed the subject and moved on.  In retrospect, I wish that I’d had the wisdom to tell her of all the “powers” that daughters really have:

• the power to see life through the eyes of a child -to remember the fantasy and fun of our imaginations.
• the power to express ourselves without the fears of ridicule and humiliation.
• the power to demonstrate true and unconditonal love.

Yes, my daughters really do have “special powers” and I love them very much for it.