Interessado

Mistral and Fada exchange pleasantries, while Ciente keeps a watchful eye with her colt at her side in this photo taken on Tuesday evening.

I tried to put this entry into the Journal of Ravenseyrie yesterday, but internet connections and blogger traffic were unable to accommodate me. The electronic ether is full of zip this morning, however, and my photos and video clip loaded with amazing speed.

Yesterday morning when I went out to visit with the horses and mules, I once again was hopeful inspiration for a suitable name to bestow upon the new colt would present itself. I was disappointed that I could not get in close and have a one-on-one interaction with the little fella--but the rest of the herd had an agenda, which was similar to mine--they desired to have interactions with the new colt as well. This created a rather unsettled environment and kept the herd in near perpetual motion between brief grazing sessions and various efforts to sneak in for a closer appraisal of Ciente's contribution to the expanded herd.

Mistral was especially persistent in his intent to gain access to the foal and made many attempts to impress upon the colt his status as Supreme Emperor God of the Land of Ravenseyrie. Mistral's preferred method of might is harsh and relentless hazing, so I was very much relieved to observe that each time the twenty-nine year old Arabian ruler would make a rush for the colt, Altamiro would intercede by placing his young stallion body between them, while Ciente wisely shepherded her two day old foal to more neutral territory. I was equally pleased to note that Mistral never once challenged Altamiro's guardianship and the potently tense atmosphere quickly evaporated each time these interceptions took place.

Despite this unrest, I managed to take several photos and a few minutes of moving pictures, before I realized I'd better hike back to the house, lest I make myself late for work. I was confident that in the evening I'd have a better opportunity to learn the name of the colt.

Upon uploading the photos and videos to my computer, something quickly became apparent, exposing the inspiration for a name that had missed my awareness earlier. In virtually every photo I took, the colt was either keenly looking directly at me, or his attention was fixated on some other figure. It became quite obvious that this colt was hugely "interested" in everything around him, and already was quick to leave mother's side to investigate. This, I had noted in Tuesday's video as well--it is what Kris termed "adventuresome" in her comments to that journal entry.

Left to right: Altamiro, Interessado and Ciente

With my Portuguese/English dictionary in hand, I began looking up the Portuguese words for: "observant", "astute", "aware", "awake", "alert" and the like...but it wasn't until I saw the word for "interested" that a flush of affirmation pervaded my being. "Interessado"..."interested", yes! this adjective suits him well as a name!

Closer up; Altamiro, Interessado and Ciente

Pronounced : in-tere'sadu

Because these horses have the blood of their primitive Iberian ancestors flowing in their veins, and as an homage to Dr. Ruy d'Andrade's foresight to save the Sorraia horse from extinction, it gives me great pleasure to discover Portuguese names that capture the essence of Altamiro's foals.

Animado, with Bella. He rarely nurses these days, but did so yesterday morning, during all the scuffles among the herd due to Interessado's presence among them. Perhaps Animado required some "comfort food"?

You might have read here about Animado's birth: http://www.myhorse.ca/Articles/2008-04-15.htm
Animado's name means "lively" and from the minute he emerged from Bella's womb, Altamiro's firstborn was amazingly vibrant and active.


And here you may have read how Fada obtained her name:
http://www.myhorse.ca/Articles/2008-06-08.htm
Fada's name means "sprite" or "fairy" or "wise woman", and describes the ethereal quality of this youngster amazingly well.

Front to back: Fada, Animado, Bella, Altamiro, Ciente (hidden) and the inquisitive Interessado

Now, we add to our family, Interessado , the long-awaited offspring of Altamiro and Ciente, who is so wonderfully "interested" in his new world.

Interessado fixes his attention on Maeb, while giving us a nice view of his shapeliness.

Our video clip today, while initially meant to capture Mistral in the act of trying to enter the safe space created by Ciente and Altamiro during a grazing session up at the bluff's edge, wound up becoming an up-close visit with that little woodland sprite, Fada. And, while the camera was still recording, we get a view of Belina (Fada's mother) taking the opportunity to craftily (and rudely) bite Interessado on the rump. What curious and seemingly nasty ways these horses have of welcoming a new being into their world.

I couldn't resist putting in this photo taken Tuesday evening, with Kevin and Animado playing. Animado loves to toss and pick up the fly whisk...in this photo he has just dropped it after Kevin had been trying to take it from him.

Thankful Hearts

Our hearts are spilling over with thankfulness that the third foal born at our Ravenseyrie Sorraia Mustang Preserve arrived in excellent form.

What appreciation and relief to have each of our three young mares relinquish their maiden status with no difficulties or complications. Bella, Belina and Ciente have taken on the mantle of motherhood with an exquisite, intuitive grace that has enhanced the already heady beauty of Ravenseyrie.

A poetic scene at the edge of the forest

And, of course...the interior hub which this magical micro-universe revolves around is the magnificant Altamiro. Soon I will get back to the topic of "how it all began" and relay how we came to acquire this handsome Sorraia stallion.

Three year old Sorraia stallion, Altamiro

Until then, I offer up more photos to enjoy.

Altamiro grazes by his newest son, and the lovely Kiger Mustang mare, Ciente

Two more images of the interesting striped lay pattern of the new foal's hair-coat

Last evening, Ciente's offering of manure held great fascination for many of the other herd members, and Ganja too! Look how big Animado is, standing next to Bella, while Altamiro demonstrates the "flehmen response" to make the most of Ciente's perfumed poo.

At breakfast this morning, Ciente and her colt (we're still waiting for him to inspire the right name) kept themselves far off in the north field, so I brought her a special pan of oats & dried molasses. Just as she was finishing up, the morning "rush" of the rest of the herd came upon us. There is a lot going on in this little video--a worthwhile study of equine behavioral relations and body language.

Kris posted some questions in the comment segment of yesterday's entry:
"What an adventuresome fellow the little newbie is! Has Ciente let you interact with him? Has Altamiro been as protective and helpful a father as he was with the first two?"

Yes, Kris, Ciente has been very accommodating of my being so interested in her colt. This colt is a mix of shyness and curiosity, with curiosity winning out--largely because Ciente is so relaxed in my presence. Unlike Belina, who wouldn't tolerate anyone near her except Altamiro during the first several days of Fada's life.

When I first noticed Ciente and Altamiro alone in the west fields, in the pre-dawn light yesterday, the rest of the herd was quite a distance off, barely perceptible, grazing among the Ossier Dogwood shrubs. It seemed that the herd and myself noticed Ciente and Altamiro simultaneously, because the horses and mules just then ran up to investigate, which is when I could see the foal moving about while his Ciente and Altamiro tried to shield him from the rush of equines.

Altamiro had the herd fended off in short order and I set about putting out breakfast, which brought all of them up closer to the house. Ciente and the foal stayed to the west, but Altamiro figured he'd better not miss breakfast and soon joined us by the house. While the others were eating, I went out to greet the newcomer, he was still wet but all cleaned up and nursing with vigor. Ciente still had the umbilical cord hanging out behind. It took another fifteen minutes or so before she passed the afterbirth. It would appear that we arrived on the scene shortly after baby found his legs and began nursing. While I didn't see it, I'd have to conclude that because Altamiro had been right there at the time, he most likely assisted with the birth of this foal as he did with Animado, and probably also with Fada.

After his breakfast, Altamiro rushed back out to be with Ciente and the new foal, but later went off to the forest where the rest of the herd had gone to escape the flies. It took Ciente and the colt about and hour and a half to traverse the grassland and get to the north woods (with me encouraging them along) where they spent the day on the peripheral of the herd, with frequent visits from Altamiro.

While I (reluctantly) went off to work, Kevin kept an eye on things and said Ciente and the colt stayed pretty close to the herd, even mingling at times (Fada touched noses with the newbie), but she moved off with him when things got too tight while Altamiro would intervene on her behalf and chastise the others for getting to pushy.

I love my career with the art studio and gallery...but sometimes I would rather just stay on the farm and mingle with the horses all day long--they are an endless source of learning and pleasure.

Ciente's Foal Arrives!

I am still finding it difficult to put in quality time on the computer to keep the blog up as I'd like, but I had to provide a quick entry here to show you that Ciente's foal has arrived.

Ciente, our young Kiger Mustang mare gave birth to the third foal by our purebred Sorraia stallion, Altamiro. This colt was delivered early this morning, and both mother and baby are doing well.

More details (and a name) will come soon...for now, enjoy the photos!

Much of the striping you see is the way the hair is laying, in sort of rippling lines. Most likely the majority of these stripes will no longer be so apparent in a few days.

Ciente is learning the feel of a foal nursing. Her expression appears soft and yet there is a sense of discomfort which she stoically internalizes. She's already an amazing mom.

And a little moving footage to see how well an hours old foal moves around his new world: