While we continue to wait for Ciente to decide she is ready to deliver her foal, and because I have yet to complete writing the story of how Kevin and I came to establish our Sorraia Mustang Preserve, I am taking a little time to day to share a quick entry showing you a bit more of the primitive beauty embodied by the Sorraia and Sorraia Mustang horses of Ravenseyrie.This morning, I was watching little Fada as she walked several lengths away from the protection of her herd with the intention of getting closer to where our dog, Ganja, was rooting around in the long grass. I wondered just how close she would bring herself to Ganja and decided to take a little movie of things on my camera. In the end, Fada wisely stayed away from actually engaging Ganja in a game of chase and there were none of her typical gravity defying leaps and bounds (too bad, they are great fun to see!)...but what I did notice as I watched things quietly transpire was just how much Fada reminded me of some of the images of ancient horses depicted in some of the cave paintings. I was very moved by this peaceful little bit of moving footage and thought I would share it her in the Journal of Ravenseyrie.
It remains to be seen how much of the Sorraia phenotype is expressed in Fada as she matures. As mentioned before, Fada's dam, Belina is not an accurate example of Sorraia type, though she does possess some Sorraia characteristics. Belina was the result of the crossing of a registered Spanish Mustang stallion (Chato's Shadow SMR#153) with an Appaloosa mustang pony (BLM Dreamer) who came from one of the wild horse herd management ranges in the state of Washington. (I'll discuss a bit more about how Belina came to be with us when I finish up the other journal entry relaying our beginnings.) Even if Fada proves not to have enough distinctly Sorraia characteristics, even now she has such a primordial look to her coupled with a sweetness of spirit that we will have no trouble finding the perfect home for her when it comes time for her to leave Ravenseyrie. (Jennifer, I haven't forgotten your question regarding our plans for Altamiro's offspring, and will make an entry in the journal on that matter soon.)
Last week, during one of my evening walks to check on Ciente's condition, a Whitetail Deer was coming across the field and captured the attention of the herd. And, of course, I had to take a few photos and a movie clip. Within this movie clip you will hear and see a pause as I click to take a still photo...not something I'm going to make a habit of doing because it is so disruptive--but I wanted to see if it would work, as it is one of the features touted by the camera manufacturer.
As in the images of Fada...this movie clip captures an amazing primitive feeling--and whenever I watch it, as I zoom in on the group of grullas, I get a lump in my throat because I find these horses so incredibly beautiful, especially in the rugged setting here at Ravenseyrie.
I hope readers of this blog are able to view the movie clips. I apologize for how rudimentary they are...I still have so much to learn about this camera and all its handy features. I also hope to be able to learn to do some editing once I have the data uploaded to my computer...but for now, you must suffer through segments that are sometimes rough or sometimes rather boring--I think is worth it.
