I was outside today – for the first dry day in at least a week – grooming Annie. I want to interact with her as much as possible, just in case she is pregnant… and in case we need to move her soon.
As I was grooming her, I felt eyes on me. Before I even turned around I knew…
It was Remi.
I had let the Mustang Gang out to trim the lawn and Remi was standing there – just outside Annie’s fence – staring.
Uh oh.
I didn’t want a fight between these two uber mares, so I slipped between the fence rails and walked up to Remi.
Me: “What’s up?”
Remi (practically crying): “I want to be loved-on and groomed like you are grooming her.”
I swear, she looked at me and pleaded so clearly.
In that instant, I knew I had to take care of Remi’s fragile emotions.
So, I moved the grooming bucket over to where Remi was standing and I went to work.
All of this happened without my camera. So, I went back to the house to get it… Do you see what is different in this photo?
Whose backside is THAT?! It isn’t Mama Tess. It isn’t the ponies or Norma… who is that?!
It is a VERY contented Remi!
THE REMI EYE – standing rock solid.
Remi has that white around her eye that can be very intimidating. When she is upset, you can see it.
I was seeing it.
So, I sweet talked her as I rubbed her all over (ugh the dust after a weeks of rain and mud!) and did my best to work out all the caked dirt. I fixed her mane and little forelock tuft. We worked on the itchy spots together and I stroked her face. The big, tough lead Mustang mare was all melted by the end. And, she never moved. Not a step, not an inch, not a muscle.
She was EXACTLY where she wanted to be. She was not signaling me that it was over. In fact, she was signaling to me that she never wanted it to end.
So, when it became time to start the dinner feed and I moved off to the barn, she followed me.
OK.
The Spa Day will continue then…
I gave her a bowl of fresh alfalfa cubes to keep her out of my way as I fed.
OHMYGOSH, I swear her eyes rolled back inside of her horseyhead. She was in HEAVEN! Drooling all over the place as she worked on the fresh cubes. Yum! (Yes, she has had her teeth done recently… this was just regular yummy drool.)
Yum-Mee! She loves alfalfa cubes and these were fresh out of a brand new bag!
THE OTHER MUSTANGS PUT THEMSELVES AWAY…
As the other mustangs put themselves away in anticipation of dinner, Remi didn’t budge from the barn aisle. I asked her if she wanted dinner and if she did, she would have to go OUT with her buddies – and she declined. Remi wanted to stay in the barn.
OK. Why not? The Shetlands and Norma were back out so the barn was vacant… but it was muddy and messy from all the storms. Still, staying in the barn felt new and special to Remi.
So, I thought about how I could let her stay there overnight as I finished my chores.
Remi never left the barn. She just waited there.
Here you can see that the entrance to the barn is very muddy. The hay room door is right there… but I made a pile of the excess hay anyway and she was delighted! Below her is a bowl of alfalfa cubes, in front of her is tasty hay morsels from the hay room and behind her is an open gate! Mare Bliss!
HAY AND AN OPEN DOOR
I have hay arriving tomorrow, so one of my chores was to clean out the excess hay in the hay barn. I figured Remi could munch on this all night. Much easier than hefting it all into wheelbarrows and pushing it to all of the horses to dole out portions.
So, I made a big pile in front of the hay room door.
As I did this, Remi looked very wide eyed.
“All for me?!”
Me: Sure!
Unfortunately, the area outside the hay barn door was very muddy. So, some of the stray hay got muddy. But, there was still a lot of good stuff in that pile and she will have fun going through it all – looking for favorite bites.
When I was done creating a nice haypile, I made sure Remi knew where to find the water.
Check.
I also showed her that I was going to leave the gate open so she could roam about all night (I trust her, she is a good girl).
Remi could not believe her Queen status! She was practically giddy – for her – and she literally put her head against the center of my chest.
Remi: “Little Human, you finally got it right!”
Wow. I love when they do that!
This was taken just before she put her head in my chest. I love that!
THE PROBLEM…
The problem… I know how Remi is and tomorrow will be awful because she will not want to ever go back into her (huge) pasture.
Tonight, I am creating a monster. I know, I’ve done it before with her… it is difficult to push the Diva horse back into the bottle.
But I don’t care. The girl needed it. Remi will be very, very happy. And, for me right now, that is golden.
This was Remi as I left her. Ears forward, no whites in her eyes, leg cocked and joy in her heart. She deserved it.
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