Morgana will be one month old this weekend. I've been bad about taking pictures, but I got a few tonight. She was having a frolic & I ran out with the camera. Unfortunately, she moves so fast, it's hard to get a decent shot.
Morgana's new, super wee halter arrived today. Very nicely made. Lovely soft leather. I would highly recommend this halter for anyone with a small foal.
Anyway, since it arrived, I had to go try it on her. I'm not a believer in leaving halters on horses all the time, so we just practiced putting it on & taking it off & putting it on again...
After playing with Morgana, I took Myf down to the arena for a longe. She's horribly one-sided, but I did manage to get her going 'round in a circle both directions. This is her first time on the real line.
A few shots of Morgana & Annie with me. Please focus on the cute ponies; I look terrible.
Morgana is getting over the horror of having been caught & held for the vet & is learning that I give good scritches. I am learning to dodge her attempts at reciprocating, or redirect them to her mother. At least Annie knows that it's okay to reciprocate with me by wriggling her muzzle on my arm (or palm, which I will hold out for her), but not okay to use teeth. Morgana, though currently toothless, has not yet grasped this distinction.
The foal halter I ordered from Just for Ponies has shipped. Want to bet it arrives either just before I have to go back to work or just after I've gone back to work? Here's hoping it fits. They say it's the smallest one they carry. The pink suckling halter I had from when I tried breeding Bunny is waaay too big for her right now, though it will probably fit just fine as a weanling halter for her. (The blue weanling halter she'll probably be able to wear as a yearling...)
She had one good frolic this afternoon where she was careening around the paddock in a circle around Annie. Sadly, I was mucking stalls at the time and had neither still nor video camera on hand to document it.
Mostly I've been taking video of Morgana the last few days, which I'd like to post at least some of, if I can get the camcorder talking to the computer to convert the video to a file I can upload. Do have a few pics, though. Some are even action shots.
Neck's not quite long enough yet...
Yesterday, she figured out how to get her nose down to the ground so she can lip at the grass. She's also realising that she doesn't have to stick right next to mom, & that running around is quite a lot of fun. She seems to find it particularly entertaining to run up into the stall & back out again. She did wipe out on the slope at one point yesterday, but it only curbed her enthusiasm briefly.
My vet came out to do her check-up on Annie and Morgana this afternoon/early evening & said that she couldn't even tell that Annie had foaled this morning! No bruising or anything. Morgana's teeth haven't erupted yet since she was born so early, but she's very healthy so no harm done. I bet Annie's relieved not to be carrying all that extra bulk anymore. (My mother thought she looked smug about it all.) She's a good mom & helped us with Morgana during her exam -- Annie stood and licked her while I held her for the vet to keep her calm. Morgana got a little pissy towards the end, but that was the longest she'd had to stand still ever, so one can't really blame her.
May I present Trevethan Lady Morgana, a.k.a. "Ana":
Annie had a little surprise for me when I went out to the barn this morning: a nice little filly foal on the ground. Nevermind that she was a good 2 weeks earlier than even her supposedly usual 2 weeks early, or that, while bagging up nicely, she hadn't shown any sign that foaling was immanent. ::sigh:: Mares. What can you do?
I now have to call my boss and see if it's okay to push my scheduled PTO up a week (or at least part of it). And then the vet to get her out to look at mom and baby before she goes on vacation. I will post pictures later.
