Notes from Maine - 2021/12/05

Last Thursday, there was a strange emotion running through the barn. It was a warm rainy day so the horses had to spend the day inside, away from the mud. The horses were quiet and eating very slowly all day—they were distracted by something. It almost felt like they were planning a surprise party and neither one of them wanted to be the one who spilled the beans.

When I went out right after dinner, the horses seemed normal. Maybe they were a bit pensive, but still acting pretty much the way one would expect. Quietly eating hay, they hardly seemed to notice me. The next time I went out, there was a brand new baby horse trying to figure out this new world she was seeing for the first time. I called my friend and we spent the next three hours making sure that everything was happening the way it’s supposed to. I’m sure it all would have taken care of itself, as it has for all of recorded history, but it’s not a bad idea to make sure. 

The next day, the vet came out and pronounced that mother and filly were both looking good.

All of this was pretty sad news for the father (Earl). 

He was infinitely curious about the situation in the stall next to his, but he was not even allowed to look. His baby momma took out two restraining orders on him (her teeth and her back feet). When he tried to put his nose through the bars, he got yelled at pretty good.

But, that was Friday. 

Today is Sunday.

Today, when I put Earl out in the pasture, Maybelle was more than a little ticked off at his absence. She kept calling to him, making him run back to the barn so she could see him. I believe that if I turned them out together now, they might be a pretty close-knit family by the end of the day. I also believe that I would be looking at another little baby horse a year from now. Horses can run a pretty tight schedule, churning out new babies every year if they have the opportunity. As cute as the baby is, I’m not interesting in repeating this experience again in twelve months.

It really is amazing that they jump up to their feet less than an hour after they’re born. The little filly was running around outside yesterday, seeing how far away she could get from her mom before she was called back. Maybelle is a wonderful mother, taking perfect care of her precious baby. It’s not hard to imagine that horses have the same emotional capacity that we do. They certainly seem to exhibit love and grief. After his brother died, Earl was a wreck for months. If I took him out, when I brought him back to his pasture he would run back to the barn, yelling and calling. I would find him peering into his brother’s stall, head low, looking disappointed that his brother hadn’t returned. 

The baby is beautiful and perfect. I’m thrilled that I get to watch her grow up, although the winter is going to be tricky. When Earl came here, he was so small that I could almost lift him. Now, he’s six feet tall at his withers (he’s a Shire horse). Maybelle is smaller, so maybe the baby will end up somewhere in the middle. 

Below, I’ll post a picture of mom & dad (last fall) and the new filly from yesterday.