Moving Day

Today was the day we moved Kachina to Tony and Donna's, and introduced her to Fancy, who would be her "herd" for the next couple of years.

My grandfather drove out to the stables this morning to load her up, then came and picked me up from my house at nine o'clock and, together, we headed to Donna's, where we met up with P. As expected, Kachina loaded and rode in the trailer like a dream; she really is perfect.

Once we were there, Donna came down to help us unload Kachina, then we took her to meet Fancy. I didn't hear it, but Donna told me later that Fancy nickered to Kachina when she saw her coming. Although Kachina was a little wide-eyed at first, she took everything in stride and soon made herself at home. Fancy seemed to take well to Kachina, and it only took a short grunt from her to establish their two-horse hierarchy -- Fancy is definitely lead mare!

We let the horses get to know each other while we unloaded the four bales of oat hay I brought with me onto the old wooden bridge beside the horse paddock. After a little grunting and maneuvering, we stacked the bales on top of Donna's stack of Timothy bales, and went to check on Fancy and Kachina.

By that time, Kachina had learned to drink out of the automatic waterer, and feed from Donna's specialized feeder. This ingenious feeder is set up at a slant, with a grate in front. It's designed so that when you put a bale in, the hay slides down the slope and sticks out in sprigs through the grate, allowing the horses to mimic grazing by pulling a few sprigs through the opening at a time. Donna was a little concerned that Fancy, who had almost starved to death at one point in her life, would be possessive of the food and keep Kachina out of the shelter. But in no time the two were feeding side-by-side, sticking to their own separate feeders.

Donna called me later to tell me that Kachina and Fancy were doing fine, and that she'd caught them grooming each other. "I think Fancy thinks she's got her baby back," she told me. I hope their relationship lasts as Kachina grows older.

Donna's house is truly amazing. It's set atop a hill, right in the middle of the redwoods; just being there gives you a sense of awe. Sometimes you can hear deer walking around higher up on the mountain, and you can see mockingbirds and cardinals flit past. One small tree in particular was covered in the most amazing gathering of ladybugs. They were literally everywhere.

Tomorrow I'll go visit Kachina after work. If I'm lucky, I'll get the chance to take her for her first walk through Redwood Park.


I just realized that I referred to Kachina's halter as her "collar" in an earlier post. Er..dogs, horses, all the same right?