Gilt Sparrows - a Fifty Foal Challenge
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Forum Discussion
Having gotten a nice price for Cognac, Katie inspected the horses for sale at the Center. The several stallions were no use to her, nor a couple of gray-muzzled mares, but there was one bright-eyed beauty in the group - a lovely silver dapple Welsh cob mare. She was utterly untrained, and her purchase price was about a quarter of what Katie had received for Cognac, so she went to fill out the paperwork. As it turned out, the mare couldn't be taken quite yet, but Katie was assured she'd be ready to take home in the morning. So, Katie took a taxi home to pick up Electrum, who could use a bit more road work and rode downtown to the science lab, which shared space with the Appaloosa Plains General Hospital.
Shortly before Champagne grew up, the vet had pulled a blood sample and submitted it to the lab for testing. Although the white colt lacked the stripes that might discourage tsetse flies, Katie was hoping his blood included antibodies that would be resistant to the disease they carried. To her great delight, she now learned that this was the case. Her plan had that much merit, at least: her zebra stallion could sire foals that could resist trypanosomes. The next town over had recently had four horses die, so the threat was still very real. Winter was right around the corner, and everyone was praying that the winter would kill the flies. Without vectors the parasites could not be spread, and the other horses would be safe.
Winter really was right around the corner! The next morning Katie rode a rather skittish Electrum through knee-deep snow to the Equestrian Center to pick up the new mare. (He did NOT approve of the way the snow stung his belly at each step!) The ride home was easier, as he was more interested in the mare ponying alongside than the strange white stuff. It did seem to encourage his jumping, though, as if he wanted to keep his feet out of the snow as long as possible. Competitions at the Center became more erratic as the snow often prevented competitors from traveling in. Electrum made good use of the rest . . .
. . . having long discussions with Cameo about the joys of water sprinklers. :shock: Nor was Cameo the only new arrival. Howard Jansen, one of the scientists at the lab who was also a devoted horseman, was impressed with the zebra's racing skills and with the fact that at least one of his foals had some protection from the new disease. "I just don't trust that the flies will all be wiped out, like some people think. I've got a nice mare, and I'd like to breed her to your stallion. Unfortunately, I don't have room to raise a foal, so I'll pay you to board them both and train the foal when it's born." Katie was delighted. Not only was this proof that her name (or Electrum's) was getting around, it was a steadier source of income and one could never have too many horses, right?
Coincidentally, Blue Moon was also a silver Welsh cob, but a rare blue silver rather than the classic silver dapple. Katie was immediately in love, and knew that it was going to be very difficult to part with this mare when the time came. But she could certainly enjoy her for now!
But there were other chores to be done, so she reluctantly left the new arrival and fetched Champagne from his stall. While Cameo and Electrum continued their chat,
she brushed him down, picked out his hooves - both of which he'd been accustomed to since baby-hood - and then put a saddle on him for the first time.
For the first day she just led him around to get used to the feel, but soon enough she was on his back. Champagne had his sire's good nature, so while he found this human behavior strange he didn't object too much. And the treats in her pocket soon overcame any thought of bad behavior. And with the money that was coming in from boarding the new mare (plus the stud fee) she remodeled the barn completely.
The apartment now ran most of the length of one side, with doors at either end leading to the ladders. A walled off bathroom separated a reading area from the kitchen and bed. A railing prevented accidents, while permitting her to look over the edge into all four of the stalls now down below, and a couple of wash stalls were added at one end, while the tack and trophy 'rooms' were enhanced at the other. Autumn Leaves was queen of the tack room when she was in the barn, which wasn't often. She took her job as head huntress very seriously, viciously attacking empty chip bags, old snakeskins, and the occasional autumn leaf.
Shortly before Champagne grew up, the vet had pulled a blood sample and submitted it to the lab for testing. Although the white colt lacked the stripes that might discourage tsetse flies, Katie was hoping his blood included antibodies that would be resistant to the disease they carried. To her great delight, she now learned that this was the case. Her plan had that much merit, at least: her zebra stallion could sire foals that could resist trypanosomes. The next town over had recently had four horses die, so the threat was still very real. Winter was right around the corner, and everyone was praying that the winter would kill the flies. Without vectors the parasites could not be spread, and the other horses would be safe.
Winter really was right around the corner! The next morning Katie rode a rather skittish Electrum through knee-deep snow to the Equestrian Center to pick up the new mare. (He did NOT approve of the way the snow stung his belly at each step!) The ride home was easier, as he was more interested in the mare ponying alongside than the strange white stuff. It did seem to encourage his jumping, though, as if he wanted to keep his feet out of the snow as long as possible. Competitions at the Center became more erratic as the snow often prevented competitors from traveling in. Electrum made good use of the rest . . .
. . . having long discussions with Cameo about the joys of water sprinklers. :shock: Nor was Cameo the only new arrival. Howard Jansen, one of the scientists at the lab who was also a devoted horseman, was impressed with the zebra's racing skills and with the fact that at least one of his foals had some protection from the new disease. "I just don't trust that the flies will all be wiped out, like some people think. I've got a nice mare, and I'd like to breed her to your stallion. Unfortunately, I don't have room to raise a foal, so I'll pay you to board them both and train the foal when it's born." Katie was delighted. Not only was this proof that her name (or Electrum's) was getting around, it was a steadier source of income and one could never have too many horses, right?
Coincidentally, Blue Moon was also a silver Welsh cob, but a rare blue silver rather than the classic silver dapple. Katie was immediately in love, and knew that it was going to be very difficult to part with this mare when the time came. But she could certainly enjoy her for now!
But there were other chores to be done, so she reluctantly left the new arrival and fetched Champagne from his stall. While Cameo and Electrum continued their chat,
she brushed him down, picked out his hooves - both of which he'd been accustomed to since baby-hood - and then put a saddle on him for the first time.
For the first day she just led him around to get used to the feel, but soon enough she was on his back. Champagne had his sire's good nature, so while he found this human behavior strange he didn't object too much. And the treats in her pocket soon overcame any thought of bad behavior. And with the money that was coming in from boarding the new mare (plus the stud fee) she remodeled the barn completely.
The apartment now ran most of the length of one side, with doors at either end leading to the ladders. A walled off bathroom separated a reading area from the kitchen and bed. A railing prevented accidents, while permitting her to look over the edge into all four of the stalls now down below, and a couple of wash stalls were added at one end, while the tack and trophy 'rooms' were enhanced at the other. Autumn Leaves was queen of the tack room when she was in the barn, which wasn't often. She took her job as head huntress very seriously, viciously attacking empty chip bags, old snakeskins, and the occasional autumn leaf.
