Kiger Mustang mare, Ciente, with her 2009 colt by the Sorraia stallion, AltamiroIt pains me that I must so "matter-of-factly" relay the latest news from Ravenseyrie, forgoing a more suitable descriptive weaving of the always interesting happenings among the equines. But, these next couple of weeks are extremely busy, with very little time for composing a good story while sitting in front of the computer. I beg my readers' forgiveness as I now move tickety-tat onto recent events.
On Sunday morning, our Kiger Mustang mare, Ciente, delivered her second foal. Born amidst wildflowers, with a white "flower" impression on his forehead, his name is Silvestre. "Silvestre", according to my dictionary is one of the words that means "wild" and is used as an adjective for wild plants. Considering the profusion of wildflowers which surround this young lad, it seemed a very fitting name for him. It is pronounced "sill-vess-trah" or "sill-vess-tree" depending on whether your Iberian emotion runs more to Spain or Portugal respectively. I'm not sure which rolls off my tongue easier yet, but probably the latter will be officially adopted.
Pictured here at just a handful of hours old is the Sorraia partbred, Silvestre
With the "primary herd" members ( the domestics, Zeus and Mistral) solidly separated from the primitive herd, and the draft mules relegated to being "floaters" on the outer parameter, Altamiro finds himself only needing to occasionally ward off the invasion of Jerry.
Yesterday morning revealed that Altamiro's firstborn son, Animado (out of Bella) had been banished from the family band and he took no time joining up with the domestics, Zeus and Mistral. He has bite marks on his rump, and up and down the left hind leg, but they are all mainly surface scratches--a relief to us that no injury occurred during this major shift in herd dynamics.
So far, Interessado and Fada are still among the primitive family unit while Altamiro remains vigilant in his desire to keep everyone in places that seem appropriate to him.
Interessado and Fada
Altamiro, with Zorita (who is due to foal in August)That is all I can take time to write this morning, but I will leave you with more beautiful photos to enjoy.
Altamiro, looking particularly primitive (and handsome!) in this photo
We are so thankful to have another healthy foal delivered and to know that another transition has occurred rather smoothly. And, he's very gregarious...he nickered a greeting and initiated contact with me right away!
My how grown up Interessado suddenly looks next to his new full brother!
Fada, Encantara, Animado and Belina
While her human friend gives her a rump itch, Ciente gives Silvestre a back itch.
This is the last photo (taken on Sunday) I have that shows Animado with his mother, Bella...now that he has been sent away from the family band, I will likely never get another photo of the two of them together.
Sorraia Stallion, Altamiro, ever vigilant
The amazing Altamiro, enjoying another good rump itching, during a moment of repose from his variety of duties as the foundation stallion of the Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve on Manitoulin Island.
6 comments:
Isn't it interesting that this sea of flowers Silvestre was born into has left a permanent impression on his forehead. Or maybe nature prepared this sea of flowers just for him, to welcome him into this world.
I wonder what this little white star means, where it came from, in terms of genetic ancestry.
And that with the arrival of thi year's foals, the first-born is being asked to leave. I cannot imagine him having reahced sexual maturity at this stage? But Altamiro certainly takes his responsibilities very seriously and is taking no chances. I wonder if he will expell the fillies as well?
So now you have a true bachelor band, maybe with these guys hanging around the house, there will be special opportunities for human/horse interaction.
Thank you for another fascinating glimpse into your world, Lynne.
eva
congragalations! What a handsome little man. How does Animado seem to be adjusting to his new herd? It is hard not to feel sad for him suddenly ousted from his family, but that is the way of things, so i suppose it was inevitable. Thank you for sharing your new arrival with us.
Leah
Welcome beautiful Silvestre! I wish you a happy life with lots of nice equine and human friends to share it with.
I hope Animado will do well in his new bachelor group. To us it may seem a little sad that he has to leave his family, but I think Animado will settle in fast. I am looking forward to reading about the adventures of both the harem and the bachelor groups.
Annemiek
It occurred to me that perhaps there is a size limit to the number of family members a stallion can comfortably oversee. Mistral was "kicked out" when Encantara was born, and now Animado was shown the door after Silvestre's birth. Clearly Altamiro feels there is a limit to how many horses he can effectively care for.
Welcome handsome Silvestre! May you have a long, healthy, and very happy life, and may you know only kindness from the human beings who cross your path.
Where to begin Lynne. Your photos are lovely as usual, so glad the newest foal is healthy and friendly. The star on his forehead....do any others have markings? Is his "grandmother" an appaloosa? Love seeing all the shades of black to grulla. Poor Animado...maybe he will become the herd stallion of a new band? Will Altamiro ever attempt to breed his own daughters, or will natural instincts prevent that sort of inbreeding?
Eva wrote: "I wonder what this little white star means, where it came from, in terms of genetic ancestry."
I know very little about how genes express themselves in coat color and markings, however, I have read in numerous places that white markings on horses are typically from domestic influences. Somewhere I have a paper written by Darwin wherein he describes the various ancestral coat colors in equines, and if memory serves me well, they were represented in different regions of the world as white, dun, and black (maybe bay also) without white markings. White markings would have been considered a genetic mutation, which may have been later widely propagated by breeders who domesticated horses.
In Silvestre's case, the white star is something his Grandam and Grandsire both have. Both are "pure" Kiger Mustangs bred in captivity and we should remember that among all mustangs some domestic blood is present and resurfaces.
Kris wrote: "It occurred to me that perhaps there is a size limit to the number of family members a stallion can comfortably oversee. Mistral was "kicked out" when Encantara was born, and now Animado was shown the door after Silvestre's birth. Clearly Altamiro feels there is a limit to how many horses he can effectively care for."
You bring up an interesting possibility here, Kris, and I think this may be an additional consideration. However, last night, Interessado was banished as well from the family band, even though there has been no new addition. (I'll write a blog entry about it shortly.)
Leslie wrote: "The star on his forehead....do any others have markings? Is his "grandmother" an appaloosa? Love seeing all the shades of black to grulla. Poor Animado...maybe he will become the herd stallion of a new band? Will Altamiro ever attempt to breed his own daughters, or will natural instincts prevent that sort of inbreeding?"
Leslie, see my comment to Eva regarding the star on Silvestre's forehead. So far, none of the others have such a white marking. These markings occasionally appear even among the purebred Sorraias but are considered evidence of the outside blood that they too still carry and are typically not used for future breeding stock. In the case of those with mustangs of good Sorraia phenotype, there are so few of them that those with minimal white markings are accepted for breeding, but it is understood that the primitive coat color is solid dun or grulla.
It remains to be seen how the family roles will play out here at Ravenseyrie. For the time being, everyone is getting on well, there is no inbreeding and we aim to just continue to monitor how the horses themselves manage their affairs. We will no intercede until there is reason to.
Thank you Annemiek and Leah for your warm welcome to Silvestre and for taking time to comment in the Journal of Ravenseyrie.
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