Growing Pains!

I am worn out and fuzzy eyed from lack of sleep. For some reason the barn owner decided that MY barn was the ideal place to wean the baby horses. She moved me, Trooper, Pebbles, Shorty, Frosty and Dill down to the south end of the barn and put the babies in the first 6 stalls nearest the office. All of the mares have been moved down to barn four. At first we thought they were just shifting us around to pull up mats and strip stalls, but during the afternoon the broodmares were brought in two at a time, lead into stalls with their babies and then quickly led out, leaving the two foals in the stall. The racket was unbelievable. Who knew that such small creatures could make so much noise, and for such a long period of time? By the end of the day there were twelve foals all crying their heads off and banging around the stalls. The noise level was unreal!

Poor Shorty spent the day with his head tucked in the corner, flinching and swishing his tail. By the time my human arrived I was fairly on edge myself. She must have seen that I was a wreck because she merely haltered me and then took me for a stroll away from the barns. It was nice to get out in the open and away from the noise. When we returned to the barn it was feeding time and the babies had quieted down somewhat. My human stayed with me while I ate and brushed me down. She is so well trained and considerate, truly a credit to her upbringing.

Shorty finally came out of his corner long enough to eat, but he still had a rather glassy look in his eyes. Trooper was his usually grumpy, but silent self. He has not been speaking to Shorty or me since the winged human incident and refuses to admit what a pompous oaf he is.

After feeding time my human left for the evening and the barn lights were turned down. Things remained fairly quiet for a while and then the first foal started his hollering again. This set all of them off and soon it was like they were being stuck with sharp sticks, their yells were so loud. The cat beast crept along the rafters until he was over the first foals' stall. He sat and watched them for a few moments and then hissed rather nastily and left the barn. As much as I despise the beast I do envy his freedom. Why is it that horses, obviously the smartest beings on the planet, must be contained, while other lesser beasts run free? It must be because our sheer intelligence would overwhelm the lesser creatures and give us unfair advantage. I can’t ponder the implications tonight; my ears ring with foal whinnies. More Later: