Thirteen For Breakfast!

Oh my!

What a change in just an afternoon!

Because I took extra time with Zorita yesterday morning, I didn't have enough of it left to ride my bike to work. Instead I had Kevin drop me off since he had errands in the village to take care of. Of course this meant that come quitting time, Kev had to come back down the bluff to fetch me. While we were bumping around in the Jeep heading back up to Ravenseyrie, Kevin relayed the events which had transpired while I was at work.

Now I must tell you, Kevin is not the type of fella to embellish a story with fanciful conjecture--which makes his tale all the more compelling and believable.

After lunch, Kevin took the pups and went down to the lake shore to visit with Zorita and bring her some apples.

(Speaking of apples...I must insert a photo here of the amazing apple tree in our yard. When the old house burned, this tree was virtually killed, but like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, there were shoots off the base of the charred trunk that had such a desire to survive they formed themselves into a new tree totally enveloping the burned trunk. No one seems to be able to tell us what kind of apple tree this is--but it is becoming rather renown for its splendid fruit--best for baking, which that Kevin sells at the Gore Bay Farmer's Market.)

Ravenseyrie Apples, beloved by equines and humans alike

Back to our story...

Kevin and the pups took the Short Road to the beach, and then worked their way through the forest edge over to the neighbor's property. Zorita met him halfway. After enjoying her apple treats and letting Kevin pull a few burrs from her forelock, Zorita followed Kevin back through the woods to the Short Road.

Taking their time, just enjoying the day together, Kevin walked slowly back up the bluff while Zorita paused here and there to graze upon the vegetation growing along the rocky road. With the pups sniffing out informative smells in and out of the woods on either side of the road, the group of walkers entered into the region of the bluff we have named, "The Grotto". The Grotto is an unusual clearing, almost like a meadow in a brief level area of the terraced section of the climb up the bluff. This place is a hub of sorts--it is the point where to the east you can take a trail to the neighbor's road leading down to their camp, you can go straight and use the Short Road to one section of our beach, or you can curve westward and follow the road that leads to the section of beach where our bunkie/boathouse is. The Grotto has immense rocks ("glacial erratics" they are termed by geologists) and lots of meadow grasses to graze. There is something especially spiritual in this area. Kevin took up a repose on one of these large glacial erratics and had a chat with Zorita while she was grazing this meadow.

Kevin relayed to Zorita how happy we are to have her living with us here at Ravenseyrie, and how relieved we are that she is finding comfortable, isolated places to gain an understanding of her surroundings. He also told her that eventually it would be best for her to join the herd and that we hoped it would be soon because we worried about her living down here all alone.

After some time had passed, Kevin felt it was time to finish the hike up the bluff and get some farm work accomplished. He said good-bye to Zorita and turned with the pups to walk up the next hill. Zorita came too. Once again they resumed a slow ascent, with Zorita casually grazing along the way. When they came to the final hill which would deposit them up on the table land, Kevin relays that Zorita's demeanor and posture completely altered. Gone was the casual amble--instead she strode by him with great intent. Her bearing was determined, confident and full of purpose. Kevin sped up his step to keep up with her. When they got to the top, with the prairie grasslands spread out before them, Kevin could see the herd grazing just the other side of his market garden field. Zorita saw them too.

What do you think happened next?

Kevin says without hesitation, Zorita trotted off, later breaking into a strong canter on a trajectory taking her directly to the herd which was rather spread out, grazing. Zorita ran right into this space and stopped just behind where Zeus and Mistral were grazing and she stood there, waiting.

A few moments went by before suddenly Mistral seemed to realize this wasn't one of the other grullas--this was the newcomer! He wheeled around and began to haze her and within seconds, he was joined by Zeus and Altamiro. The four of them raced to the "Turn-around Woods" off to the west. The rest of the herd watched from their various former grazing spots. Kevin could see Zorita, Zeus, Altamiro and Mistral running in and out of the woods. Eventually the excitement got the better of the rest of the herd and they too joined in the stampede.

Before the mad gallopers could come back his way, Kevin was able to get the pups on the other side of the fence and out of harm's way. The herd stayed running off to the west. Kevin pulled his watch out of his pocket and with some surprise realized it was time to come get me...so he put the dogs in the house and left the scene.

"You left!" I hollered at him, on our ride home..."you should have stayed and watched to see what was going to happen out there!" "But I had to come get you..." he said. "I would have understood, I would have waited," I replied. "No, I knew you'd want to be here yourself".

Okay...so we rush the rest of the way home. I change into my farm clothes and we tramp off to the west where we can see a few herd members grazing.

And when we came on the scene...Zorita was grazing by Altamiro, in tight, like a lover.

Ciente, enjoying the protection and affection of Altamiro

But the herd is settled only moments at a time, enjoying brief periods of calm and wary grazing, until they are pressed into movement again. It is that dastardly Mistral! Oh, you cannot help but admire the old codger, in between feeling a bit peeved at his relentless hazing! However, Altamiro has made a deeper connection this time with Zorita, it seems...and he is indefatigable in his role as protector of the newcomer.

The herd made its way in this manner--quiet grazing interspersed with hazing gallops and mini-battles until they were up near the fencing by the yard. I had witnessed deft posturings by Altamiro, incredibly regal in appearnce, haute école maneuvers galore and a canter on the spot--which I wanted to see repeated so I could capture it on the camera, but unfortunately (largely due to the mules bumping me constantly!) I only got one battle scene recorded...and not in the more pleasing open spaces, instead by a pile of old siding left by the former owners of the property.

These types of scenes were played out all evening, and likely throughout the night hours as well.

In the morning, I had thirteen horses for breakfast!

Mistral was still keeping Altamiro and Zorita on the go, but everyone managed to settle for brief snatches at the pans containing whole oats, diatomaceous earth and dried molasses.

Zorita and Altamiro share a pan of oats (left) during the early misty morning at Ravenseyrie

The light was very dim, and there was much moisture hanging in the air, making it very difficult for a novice photographer to capture the true beauty of this special breakfast, but you can, even so, get the feel of the primitive Sorraia phenotype these horses possess.

And soon, the sun began to bathe the morning with gorgeous color:Zorita and Altamiro at the break of dawn

A little footage of Altamiro and Zorita milling about, and Animado giving himself a good rump itch on the fence:

Later, after coffee, the pups and I headed out for our routine hike and T'ai Chi practice, something we hadn't been able to do since Zorita's arrival. On our way back we came upon the herd. I paused to take photos, and Zorita decided to come up for a little chat, bringing her handsome beau with her.

And the last scene I observed in the distance before heading off to work this morning was this:
Phew! It was an usual integration, and Mistral is still going to harass Zorita for awhile yet...but she is now part of the herd, which she did on her own terms. And I'd better write on my calendar that she's been bred with a foal possible next August! Aren't we all breathing easier now?

Zorita's Integration

Sovina's Zorita, Saturday Morning at Ravenseyrie

When I left for work yesterday morning, the herd was clustered around the gate area, with Zorita still on the yard side, nearly nose to nose with Altamiro. Everyone was dozing. Zorita picked up her head and looked at me. I told her that when I returned from work, Kevin and I would let her out with the others if she was really ready. Her response was to flip her head, shift her hips and resume a dozing pose on the opposite weight bearing leg.

I thought about Zorita, and the rest of the herd all the while I worked. Integration time is always stressful and the worry of injury has a way of making my stomach twist most unpleasantly. Bonnie had told me many times that Zorita was a definite "alpha" mare and fairly well capable of taking care of herself--in fact Bonnie rather worried about Zorita being too rough on the others! But, none of this eased my concern much.

As I rode my bike home, once I got to where Ravenseyrie's land begins, I scanned the fields but could not see the herd grazing anywhere out in the open. When I opened the gate and let myself into the yard, I couldn't see any sign of Zorita either. I wondered if she had managed to join the herd without my being on hand to view it all. But, as I pedaled up the drive I could see she was standing inside the shed, enjoying the shade it afforded. She saw me and came over. I got off my bike and stroked her neck. She went over to the gate to the fields and waited. I told her for sure it was time, but first I wanted to get into my farm clothes.

Shortly, Kevin and I walked together and opened up the gate for Zorita. She hesitated, just a moment, then walked on through. Zorita sniffed and snorted while walking by a stack of wood, then soon picked up an easy trot and headed to the west, opposite of where Kevin said he'd last seen the herd. Kevin felt certain Zorita knew which direction the herd had gone but she obviously decided to not go to where they were.

Where was she going? She picked up a light canter, pausing slightly when passing the electric fence that protects Kevin's market garden, and soon disappeared to the far southwest of the property. A few minutes later, she came back into view, skirting the edge of the west poplar woods and then charted her course to the north, entered the area we call the Scanty Field and angled to the northwest. We watched her until she was out of sight...

Was Zorita taking the opportunity to investigate the boundaries of her vast new habitat?

We waited, expecting her to come back into view. She did not. Was she following the trails along the bluff's edge and heading towards the east? If so, we would not be able to see her. Had she decided to follow one of the steep trails leading down the bluff? It is times like these when one realizes how impossible it is to keep track of horses who decide to go into hiding!

She never did come back into view, even as the herd eventually came back from grazing in the east sector and slowly made their way up to the house, hoping for Kevin to pass out some apples. Did they notice that Zorita was no longer in the yard? If they did, they didn't show it...nor did they seem to smell that she had passed through the gate and gone to the west. The herd enjoyed Kevin's apples and went back out to graze.

We scanned the area with binoculars...we saw no sign of Zorita anywhere in view. Was she watching from the shelter of the forest? Or was she still off exploring her new world on her own?

The sun set, darkness settled in and still no sign of Zorita. She simply vanished! Amazing choice on her part! This highly domesticated mare took no time in reverting to a bit of wild behavior. What a worrisome, humbling feeling this gave us. A warm evening was unfolding, no threat of storms..."one simply has to trust nature", we told ourselves--even though just a few days ago Zorita seemed to us to be so vulnerable, so slight and unprepared for the rugged world of Ravenseyrie.

At dawn, the herd was waiting for me to set out their breakfast oats. I thought I saw an equine form on the other side of Kevin's market garden. It got a bit lighter as daylight progressed and I could see the equine form was really a patch of tall wildflowers. No Zorita. We scanned the area with our binoculars...nothing.

She's a phantom horse now, we jested...nervously.

We had breakfast.

After coffee, the pups and I went for our typical morning hike. I went to the area we last saw Zorita heading. I hoped to see her--but I didn't expect to...my goodness, she could be just about anywhere!

Along the way the pups and I went through the seasonal pond in the middle of the marshy area and then headed north. There! Along the northwest fence line!

Zorita! She was grazing by the fence--the neighbor's cows were on the other side--clearly Zorita was comforted by their presence. She sees us, picks up her head, puts her neck up in the clouds, gets as good a look as she can. I think the dogs might cause her to flee...I call out to her, "Hello Zorita...its just us, no worries." She drops back to grazing.

I do not go up to her, instead I walk in an arc around her and step slightly into the cedar woods and turn to take some photos. She is stunning, and seems so completely changed from just a little over a month ago when Bonnie sent this photo of one of the pony club gals posing with Zorita and her 2008 colt:
I tell her she is gorgeous and I am happy to see her. But I do not go up to here even then...I turn and begin walking north. She catches up to me. It is then I allow myself to stroke her, pull a burr from her forelock and itch her shoulders.

I resume walking. Zorita does too. Once I get to the bluff's edge, I sit on a rock and observe Zorita as she grazes. The pups root around the area and Zorita watches them while she grazes. After she moved off a bit, she got a little nervous and came trotting by me. I had the camera at the ready and took a bit of video footage:

Zorita soon settled back into grazing and the pups and I went back to walking along the bluff's edge. Zorita thought she'd like to join us and I filmed a little bit of it--which was tricky when we entered the cedar forest. The bluff falls steeply away on the left and the branches are low, requiring ducking under many times. You'll note how each time I stop, so does Zorita. This is an example of what Carolyn Resnick calls, Companion Walking, and it was delightful to do this with Zorita.

Once we got through this part of the forest and entered the clearing beyond, we could see the herd grazing just beyond a slight copse of Poplar trees. I thought maybe Zorita would maybe want to go back in hiding, so I altered my course. Companion walking ended then, to my surprise, as Zorita trotted out to the herd with determination. She stopped briefly, all poised and quivering with anticipation--and my stomach tightened as the herd took note of her. "Here we go!", I thought. Within minutes, the herd was in motion and the hazing began in earnest. Gulp!

Feeble human legs cannot keep up with galloping horses, so there is no point in trying. I took several segments of moving footage, then sat on a rock, listening to the thundering of hooves and the crashing of branches as the herd took their mad gallop into the forest. Back and forth, in and out, around and about until handfuls of the herd opted out of the game and stood not too far off from me to catch their breath. Soon, it was just Altamiro and Zorita, dashing by me:

Then the rest of the herd joined in again and all thirteen equines were quickly out of sight, once again weaving crazily through the forest at the edge of the bluff. It wasn't long before the only ones left playing the game were once again Altamiro and Zorita--and this time they went way off to the northwest sector and didn't return. Every so often I could hear a squeal. I wanted to go out there and see what was happening. But I knew I had to get back to the house or I'd be late for work.

I had to leave the scene...once again, trusting in the good of nature. And here I am at the studio, unable to work on art...instead am putting this journal entry together and watching the slow moving clock, anticipating the strike of four, when I can close up and go back up the bluff to see how the integration is going. Three bells! Only one more hour!