@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…!”

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.