True Horse StoriesMy precious prize Friesian mare is finally, at the grand old age of 8, pregnant! For a breeder of Friesian horses, you may think I am exaggerating somewhat. Not so. Bee has been broody for three years now, it has become an obsession. Living in a stud has not helped. Every spring a fresh batch of gorgeous foals arrive, their mothers proudly strutting their offspring past the stallions…unbearable for Bee, for whom there was no such happy arrival.Not for lack of trying. Every March, April and May she has a serious go with one of the stud stallions (Elois is her favourite)…but to no avail. Last year an orphan filly came to the stud to be sold. Her stable was next to Belle’s. Belle fell deeply in love at first sight. How deeply we hadn’t quite realised. We had to move the filly due to new arrivals, to another stable, out of Belle’s sight. That night we were woken in the early morning hours by an enormous rumpus: Belle objected, strongly objected, and had decided to kick her stable door to pieces on an attempt to get to her goddaughter. I had never seen anything like it. The wood was in shatters, the iron bars bent at decidedly odd angles. Cost a fortune to repair! We certainly got the message. We moved the foal right back. Suffice to say we are all very glad that she is FINALLY going to have one of her own, bless her!It still took four attempts. Most of us had given up after she came in season late in May, though she and Elois did have some serious fun at the time. Several weeks later, I wasn’t even sure if it was worth getting the vet out to do an ultrasound to see if she is pregnant or not. He had to come for the other mares, so I asked him, in passing to have a look at Bee. He did his stuff, but found no evidence of a pregnancy. I looked into Bee’s soulful eyes and thought my heart would break. At the last minute, as he was removing him equipment he exclaimed…and there it was! One small, minuscule bag of foal. Belle knew, from the way we all jumped up and down and hugged each other furiously. Belle, who always stands so patiently for her examination, became quite agitated. I turned her out, and as she passed, our eyes met again. I could swear I saw a twinkle. Belle is expecting her own! It has been several months now, all is going extremely well. Bee is blossoming, pregnancy suits her. Beau is bursting with pride; he is convinced it is his. He is arrogant and over-protective and generally impossible. Lady Bee tries to be pretty laid back, but has some dark, moody days…hormones, I suspect. I wondered if you too had a very special horse, with whom you have a very close relationship. A photo and a short story about an especially moving or funny incident, would take my mind off worrying about Belle. And it would reassure me that I’m not imagining things. Sometimes, I think that Bee reads my mind…sometimes I even think that I can get a glimpse into hers. Ever had that feeling? She always knows what mood I’m in (yes, I know she reads my body language) but this does not explain her knowing intuitively what I need…either a hug or a kick up the back-side!
So send me your stories and pictures, they will be published here, on the website. Ever experienced a truly magical horse moment/ horse miracle ?Some horse experiences are just so unique and memorable that we just HAVE to share them...and who else but another horse lover would really understand? (most "normal people" would think we are imagining things!) Share your story here...and marvel at other people's stories. This facility is only available to members of the REITER Book Club.
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