Last Saturday, we took out Arwen and her four week old filly Isolde for a morning walk.
Isolde was thrilled to be out, so thrilled that Anette and I (and Arwen!) had to keep a close watch at her, so she didn’t venture too far…
After the first five minutes into exploring territory, Isolde decided it was best to stay close to her mom!
It was an exciting experience, getting to meet oxcarts
…and people!
Isolde takes in the world outside while mother Arwen chews on the grass that the goats of the city won’t eat…
The whole aim of the adventure was to have Arwen meet with a stallion and check up on her cycle.
Pablo the teaser Stallion was very interested in Arwen…
… but Arwen was only interested in Isolde,
… who in turn was more interested in Arwen’s milk!
Arwen did show signs of heat during the brief moments that she nuzzled with the stallion, but there is no way she will accept any male next to her beloved Isolde!
In any case, there’s no hurry (just good to know when the cycle is, should an appropriate male come to town). Arwen is loving her new role as a mother and Anette and I are loving our role as human caretakers of cutie Isolde!
6 users commented in " Taking Arwen and Isolde for a morning walk "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackEsther,
The filly is looking great! I like that you take them for a walk away from their home. It is such good exposure. Who is taking the pictures?
Lori
Arwen is sucha good mama - It will be interesting to see how having Isolde changes her. When Silk raised Siete, she grew so much wiser and calmer and made a much stronger connection with me - Maybe because she knew that I admired her so much for how she treated her baby. Looks like you are really enjoying Isolde’s time as a little horse - it goes by so fast. It’s great that you’re exposing her to as much as you can while she’s little so she’ll be less frightened and steadier by the time someone is ready to ride her.
Lovely pictures of mother and daughter, and seeing Arwen’s maternal instincts. She’s a natural!
What is the name of the plant with very large leaves that grow from a tall stalk? It looks sort of like a houseplant I once had called a “fiddle leaf fig.” It froze to death when I left it outside too late in November.
Isolde looks healthy and Arwen looks like she is relaxed as a mother even out of the safety of the yard.
Did you visit the stallion because you are planning on breeding her again? What are your plans with Isolde? Racehorse or riding hore?
@Lori: Thanks! The amazing photographer is none other than my house mate Anette! She says there’s no point in her updating her blog anymore since I do it for both of us
@Victoria: Arwen is a great mother, immensely patient but fierce as a lion should anything come between her and her little one. As for our relationship, I would say that she bonded extremely well with us during her pregnancy and would not leave us for a moment. Now that she has Isolde, she is not as social as she was, but she is as friendly as always with us. We have her full trust when it comes to Isolde, as long as we don’t take her out of her sight…
@Pat: The Hausa people call it tumfafia. Although I know of West African plants that have been brought to other sides of the world, I doubt your fiddle leat fig tree and this would one could have been the same. Its fruit is filled with what looks like cotton, and is not eaten.
@Amanda: Isolde is feeding so well, and although she is just four weeks old on the pictures above (she is five weeks old today), she looks like a 5 month old filly in the bush. We visited the stallion to get back on track on Arwen’s cycles. We’re open to breeding again but it’s not a must. For that to happen, she needs to be on heat when the right stallion is in town, and he on the other hand needs to be a renowned champion, have a nice character and have a neutral colour (not white or grey) with no funny markings in his face…
Our plans for Isolde very open. Sahara and Arwen are both (race horses at the track and riding horses in the bush) but it’s never been a must. When I first introduced Arwen to the race track in 2005, the criteria was that she would love it herself and that no one laid a hand on her in making her perform more. She responded wonderfully and has given 150% every since. As for Isolde’s future, it’s up to her to decide but for us to inspire. During the coming year, she’ll be joining us for regular runs in the bush, running next to her mother (who loves to speed in the bush as much as on the race track) and just enjoy life. As the daughter of two renowned race horses, people are already taking about her, and the comment I hear the most is the following: “Too bad she’s not a male, but if she can run like her mother, then…!”
Love the pics…the girls have such beautiful coats…they just shine.
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