Friday 23rd Nov '07
Well today the sun was shining, abeit it's very very cold. I went out to see Sol and Storm and again they were up the end of the field looking for Holly the herd leader. They at least came to me when I entered the field which is a good sign. I haltered up Sol and played some friendly game with him and then ask him to come with me up the big hill in their field.
I am hoping this will let Sol know that the field is big and he has nothing to worry about. If I show him about like a lead mare would then maybe he'll stop standing at the fence waiting for Holly. SO, off we go, up the hill. He is very aware of me and is great to lead. He doesn't panic or worry about leaving Stormy. Stormy decides to stay at the bottom of the hill and Sol just comes with me which is great. At the top of the hill we have a rest and a good look about. Stormy is still at the bottom! When we go over the top and can no longer see Stormy I worry that Sol will panic but he doesn't. We slowly go over the top and start down the other side...now Sol starts to move a little faster so I stop and listen....then I hear it...Stormy cantering up the hill and over the bluff to where we are. He's a funny boy but Sol calms down immediately Storm is there and I can now continue bringing Sol down the hill.
At the bottom of the hill Storm starts to graze and I take Sol's halter off for him to follow Storm again. It is the first time I've seen Sol grazing so I sit on a large stone and watch the two of them together for about 15 mins. Then I slowly get up and leave them to it. They stay grazing and this is just what I wanted them to do. They seem quite together now and much calmer.
This evening when Mark and I go to feed the boys they are up the side of the hill and it was great to see them somewhere different in the field, maybe now they'll explore a bit more rather than waiting at the fence?
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Thursday 22nd Nov '07
Today Mark and I played with the boys as the farrier was coming to take Sol's shoes off, so we decided to play with him and Stormy whilst waiting. Both the boys were good and very up for playing which was nice. Sol was constantly looking to see where Stormy was so they must be friends now! lol. We also took their rugs off and gave them both a good groom, they were both muddy where the rugs don't go...what is it about grey horses and mud! ;-)
After breakfast I went out and put electric fencing up where there is barbed wire on the big fence as when the horses have rugs on the only thing the barbed wire does is tear and ruin their rugs. Whilst doing this Sol and Storm both followed me about being inquisitive. Stormy managed to take the big plastic bag off the posts in one swoop and he was having fun playing with the plastic bag.
I also got them both to follow me a bit into the foresty bit of their field. Sol looked a little worried about it but Stormy showed him the ropes (see piccie above!)
Solly also keeps going to the end of the field and waiting!!! we think he's looking maybe for Holly as both he and Storm know she's the herd leader and maybe they're both wanting her for leadership now? She'll be back after the weekend hopefully and I will monitor her behaviour with the two boys and see how Stormy behaves to Sol when she comes back too.
Sunday 18th Nov '07
Decided this morning that what may work for Solly would be to have just one horse to deal with to start with. So, Mark took the mares, Holly, Tara and Fortune, down into another field we use occasionally and then put Solly in with our Shire gelding Stormy. They sniffed, small squeal, Stormy raised a leg and then they followed eachother about. I got Stormy to follow me to the small stream so that Solly knew where the water was and then left them to it. They seem peaceful. Will leave them just together for this week and then think about maybe putting Holly in with them but may decide to keep the girls and boys seperate...see how it goes!
Saturday 17th Nov '07
Well Holly and Solly got on okay in the garden, a few squeals and hindfoot kicks but nothing serious and no contact made. Solly was very much wanting to nuzzle Holly but she plays hard to get. In the afternoon we walked them back to the main field where the other horses are (3 others) and put Solly in with them. Holly was a bit offish and Stormy our young gelding seemed to be quite determined to look after 'his mares' to the point that Solly wandered off and looked at them all from afar.
We decided that we didn't want to leave him in the field overnight as it was a long night and there was a bit of tension. So, we loaded him up with our quiet mare Tara and brought them both back to the garden for his 2nd night here.
They are bonding well, eating close and being peaceful which is nice for Solly. Tomorrow we will put them both back into the main field and I and Mark will take turns to watch their behaviour. We will take him and Tara back out again for the night if they don't settle enough for me not to worry about Solly.
Not having our horses at the door makes us a little more sceptical about leaving them alone if things aren't going well. Soon we will be moving to a cottage where the grazing is at the door, with 4 seperate fields which will be much easier to manage.
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Friday 16th Nov '07
(Hope this isnt' what Solly thinks of his new home!)
Well Solly is now back here in Perthshire with us. He loaded well and travelled for the 4 1/2 hours home like a complete STAR. We're so proud of him. He sweated up a little so we put a rug on him when he got here, let him settle, gave him dinner and he's in our large garden where we can keep an eye on him for the night.Tomorrow Holly our herd lead mare will come down to the garden and the two can meet and hopefully bond.I will endeavour to get some pictures of the big date for them both and put them on here.So glad he's home now, he's more handsome than ever and we're bonding well. He's a very personable horse and is a joy to be around.
