Another of the many questions I asked myself before coming back to Zinder, was whether Arwen was in foal or not, and whether her January injury had healed so that I would be able to ride her again. Well, to answer the second question, she is doing better and walks/trots on her own without limping, but she has lost much of her back muscles and cannot trot with a rider. When she tried the other day, she got her pain back and much to her disappointment, we waved goodbye to Anette & Sahara and I walked her home.

Injury (resting) has never been a favourite of Arwen’s, who is the hardest working horse I know. So when I came back, I found to my dismay that she had undergone a negative personality change! Having allowed herself to be bullied by Sahara, she had lost all self confidence and faith in humans. When I approached to greet her, she backed off and showed her teeth, which she only does when something is very, very wrong.

Of course, I was quick to take matters in my own hands. The first thing I did was to offer her a peace offering - a pot of fresh grass from the veranda. At first, she wasn’t sure if she was going to meet me half way, but then she changed her mind and started enjoying her favorite food (Sahara got nothing…) and all of a sudden, we were back to being a dream team again. She now enjoys special pampered moments when I take her out and give her special access to the rest of the garden. Her favorite spot is in the midst of our “plants” right outside the veranda!

As for her belly, I have no idea, but it certainly hasn’t shrunk, despite the heat. If she is in foal though, she has only done six months so far, and horses often don’t show until a few months later. I let her meet a stallion the other day, but she definitively wasn’t interested, so that’s a good sign at least… But as you can see - having been fooled once, I am very reserved in getting my hopes up. But with her injury and all, I actually hope she’s have her own foal to tend to, because that should take her mind off racing for a while…