All is OK here - lil Sonora is growing like a weed.

 2 weeks ago we took a yearling in - the filly was seized from the farm where she was kept nailed in to the pig box - 3X6 ft for about 6 months, since weaned. So you can imagine the condition of her legs... When filly arrived she was too weak to stand more than just few minutes, now she is doing much better, out in pastures with Guido and Giva, and they both are taking good care about her. 

Here she is with Guido on her first walk after arrival

 Now she sleeps less, but mostly stands in this position - trying to strech

We do hope that with all the time in pastures and supplements she will recover completely, but it is very hard to say how and when, and even IF. But there is always a hope. 

BTW, she is born on June 14, so today is her first birthday :) 

So we are back on number 7 again, and in next few days maybe another rescue will be here ... The world is gone crazy. 

Hey Anna,

Nice to hear that all is well !! Senora is a cutie, and your new resident is a beauty. I'm no expert by any means, and it's hard to tell from the pics, but if you could roll her toes back, you will give her some relief. She's got some growth issues in her feet I'm sure. When they are confined the feet do not grow and flex the way they way nature intended. Remember all that walking ? It will be just what the doctor ordered for her. She will do very well with you now, free to move at your place. We have a pony here that has some foot issues and would founder at the drop of a hat. Her feet were so bad that she would spend her days standing for only fifteen minutes and then laying down. She would only move enough to drink and eat. I have reworked her feet over the last three years and now my son is going to try to take her to the local show in July and try some speed events with her. She has totally different hooves now compared to what they were. Her frogs would not slough off and the inside of her foot was a mess. She was on outdoor rest for a long time and she still has issues, but we've come a long way baby !! It takes about a year for the whole hoof to reform it's self and then some more time to change the way it performs. She is young so it shouldn't take as long for her. I think your girl has issues due to being confined and she will return to normal in time with the new found freedom she has. Kudos to you again !!! I must also add that she looks an awful lot like two others you have there :]  Take Care

Jayne-Admin,

Just wanted to tell you... I love your Annapolis !!

 They are both absolutely beautiful. I can't believe some people can do stupid things like leaving an animal in such a small area for so long. It was probably not even malicious, just ignoranant. You are so lucky to live on enough land to have many horses. What did you  name the new filly. If she's only a yearling, she is going to be one big girl. 

New yearling is already registered - according to her passport, her name is Saphire (sire Saimon, dam Samara, purebreed Latvian). We call her Saphy. I do not know her foal scores yet (here gov representatives evaluates foal when passport is issued,  by law it is happening when foal is 4-6 mo old), but people promised to check out on database). If she will grow up healthy, she might get registered for national breeding program at 3 yo (her pedigree is perfect for that) if her confirmation scores will be high enough. At least seems that one important thing for our breed she already has - nice, calm human oriented character.

Today farrier did her hoofs. She was surprisingly calm and behaved very well for the first farrier appointment. Overall the hoofs are in good condition (of course, they were completely overgrown, farrier took off about 2 " on the front and they will need more to be cut, but frog looks strong and healthy), so all in all good news today. 

She might look big, but no, she is only about 14 - 14.1 h. Actually she is a bit too small for her age according to breed/parents but she might reach the expected height when she will feel better - we have good pastures, she is getting all prescribed supplements and mash, so let's hope for the best.

Today is her birthday and she got a lot of extra treats - carrots and dried rye bread (it is our favorite horse treat - we have brown bread withs seeds, walnuts, dried fruits and especially they like hand made carrot rye bread). 

 Wow,Sonora is going to be a big big girl, look at those joints!  But she is a stunner and so is your yearling.  Bless you for giving her such a safe and happy home, I am sure she will be forever grateful.  Hooray for updates!

 If you remember Guido, who was heading down the road to the slaughter in March... to be just a dog food ... Look at him today at his second day of training

I'm so happy that it is hard to describe in words...  OK, it is just 80 cm, nothing exciting but on second day even that is incredible archievement! At least for a 200$ dog food :)

I'm sure, in few weeks he will have something really to show us as these 80 cm is not his limitations - look at the space

Just beautiful !!! It's a really great feeling when all your efforts turn out like that. How's Sonora and the rest of the crew? Take Care

Wow Anna, he looks wonderful!  He's turning out to be a fantastic horse.

Anna, I have so enjoyed reading your progress - it's amazing how far you've come in such a short time! Your horses are all gorgeous, and they look happy, healthy, and well-loved. And, wow, if he were closer, I would adopt Guido in a heartbeat!

 Guido working hard to get ready for his first showjumping event. It is very hot here so riding goes on early mornings and late nights. During the day horses are in.

Hi Anna,

Good to hear he's doing well. The heat here had been very bad too, but it's cooled off and given us a little break the last couple of days. Thank Goodness as it was taking it's toll on us too. It wouldn't have been so bad if the humidity hadn't been so high. Hope everything else is going well for you too. Take Care...

 How's saphire doing/?

Sapphire is doing what she is supposed to do - eating, walking and growing :) But if seriously, she is sweet and good girl, she tries realy hard to please.

She cames when you call, follows, when you go, lifts legs for cleaning, steps back when asked, all little things like that.

Running is still a problem - lil Sonora is running much more and faster. And we can still see some problems with her back legs, especially back right. Maybe it will improve, maybe not but at least she will be OK in general.

So far this is the best picture of Sapphire running

Learning walking on lead

(I do not know is it good idea to let one child teach another, I never had a yearling, but seems that both foals really love playing with my niece, Sonora, so I let her do the job - it is funny to watch Shella looking after all three babies - Sonora ask foals to do things, and you can see that Shella tells foals do so and be good girls :)

Both Sonoras together - it is called grooming (who grooms who?)

Sonora is teaching foal not to bite, gentle but firm, and it is working as well.

and with a lot of fun and love grooming is favorite thing for the foal now

Between kisses and cuddles there is a bit of job as well. Peter rides Shella, and both babies follow

Thus they learn the voice commands without being forced. We are just trying to introduce them to all sorts of different things like jumps (lil Sonora loves jumping, Saphire had not had tried, but walks through the poles on the ground nicely, maybe one day she will feel strong enough to try jumping), plastic bags flopping on fencing, cars, tractors and all sorts of new things.Soon we shall start halter training with Sonora too.

Both girls together

Peter training Sapphire on voice commands only, without a lead

Peter already took Shella inside the house (Shella loves it) and both babies just folloved - lazy walk around the dining table, looking around, dogs, cats, chairs, radio playing... Few treats and then back outside. Calm and easy. Basically the idea is to get them used to the wooden bridge that we curently have at our entrance - the hollow sounds will make further trailer training easier (at least I hope so) - Shella is very calm and loads without any problems, and I want her pass that knowledge to babies.

 SonoraII 1 mo old

I do not know how it will work, but I really hope that it will make both girls easier to train in future. I do not want deal with wild 3 yo - we are too old for that + lack of experience, so until then we must do what can be done to make our life easier. 

This is me :)  with Sapphire - time for kisses and cuddles, foals do not mind bad hair days :D