Talana is home!

            My beautiful girl has been here since Friday, and I've been having so much fun spending time with her that I haven't even posted pictures yet! She arrived Friday evening about an hour before dark. She was sore from the long trip and stumbled coming off the trailer, but no harm done. For the first couple of minutes, she just stared at the ground with an expression of relief, as though she was saying, "Thank goodness this ground isn't moving! It is so much easier to stand on!" And then the fellow who had taken her off the trailer handed me her lead rope, and I rubbed her neck. She gave a big sigh, and I led her over to her new field which is also my backyard.
            Talana took one look at that nice long grass that I've been growing just for her, and grabbed the biggest bite she could. After a couple of minutes of watching her, I thought she wouldn't notice if I walked back to the shippers to talk to them - but she noticed! She hollered for me the moment I was out of sight. My partner was watching her for me, and he says that she didn't move, just picked up her head and called for me. And then went back to grazing exactly where she had left off.

            We made molasses cookies for the shippers. They were surprised and delighted. I figured they deserved something special for bringing Talana to me.

             This was the night she arrived. I've gotten used to bigger horses. I almost forgot what it's like to be able to put my arm over her back! She had a little scrape on her right hind leg, probably acquired during the trip. So I cleaned it off and put a bit of Swat there to keep the bugs off overnight until I could get a better look at it in the morning. That's why I'm holding a pink-smudged paper towel.
            The next morning the area around the scrape was a little puffy, but there weren't any flies bothering her. I cleaned it off better and saw that it really is just a little scrape. I put some Neosporin on it, and the puffiness was gone in a couple hours. Now it's healing up nicely and I'm sure it will be all better soon. Here is what she looked like from my window that morning:

            She has her tent so she can get out of the rain or sun if she likes. At first she was a bit skeptical of it. It does make creaking and flapping noises in the wind. She wasn't really afraid; she just seemed to think that it was a better idea to stand next to it rather than under it.
             Talana had clearly had her mane brushed out before she came northward. It wasn't a big tangle as it usually gets when I am not there to tidy it up. Her mane has more white hairs than I remember. She was very dusty with the red Virginia clay that makes it so difficult to garden at my parents' house. Her white socks were sort of chestnut colored, and anywhere I touched her my hand was coated with iron-rich dust. So I curried her and brushed her and curried her and brushed her. And I got out the coconut oil and massaged it all through her mane and tail and combed them out. She was so very happy with the attention, she just drowsed in the sun and sighed and yawned. Then I got a rag and a big bucket of water and gave her a bath. She didn't even try to step away from the water. It must have felt so good to have someone scrub all the dirt off of her. I used the dog's shampoo, which is oatmeal and coconut based. It worked really well, and her coat is softer now than it has ever been in my memory. Now when I brush her, loose hair comes off and no dust. Her socks are actually white again.
            I walked her down to the meadow after her bath. I want her to see where she will be living. She won't be in the backyard all the time; when she eats the grass down enough I will move her fence and make it bigger. She's here because I want to keep an eye on her until she's settled in. She was excited about the meadow. The river was a big deal for her to see. There was a sail boat coming in, and she stood and watched it for a long time. I'm not sure she's seen that much water before. The grass down there has now been Talana Approved. In fact, she seems to prefer it to the stuff in the back yard, which appears to be a finer-leaved species of some sort.
            It rained on us when we were coming back up the hill, so she got wet on top. She didn't seem to mind at all.

            And then when it got a little darker, I took a picture of her with the sunset.

            I was so happy on Saturday. I got to spend the entire day fussing over Talana, and she seemed to enjoy it very much. Every time I walked away from her, she followed me to the gate and neighed when I left her behind.
            Sunday morning was even better. I woke up knowing she was here, and safe, and that her first full day had gone well. Sunday morning Talana was moving more smoothly, and I think the soreness from her journey had retreated by that point. I brushed her and cleaned out her hooves.
            I have been reading about hoof care, and learning a lot. What I've been reading makes me wonder if her feet need a bit of attention. She's moving fine - particularly for an old girl with arthritis in her rear legs - but I think her toes might be a bit long and I notice that the groove between her soles and hoof walls seems deeper than maybe it should be. I scraped a bunch of grit out of there on each hoof. But, I don't really know if or how much this is out of the ordinary. So I will ask the farrier to tell me all about Talana's hooves when she comes to look at/trim them.
              I do know that the noticeable growth rings I see on the outsides of her hooves are a sign that things aren't ideal. Based on what I know about what she's been fed and what I've been reading about growing healthy hooves, I am pretty darn certain she needs a supplement with copper and zinc in it added to her grain. So I have ordered one and we'll see if that makes a difference. While her fur is soft and somewhat shiny, she's not glossy the way I would expect if she's getting all her vitamins and minerals. Her mane and tail are also dull, and although I keep putting coconut oil in them, it just gets absorbed right in in a couple hours and then they aren't shiny anymore. After I put the oil in Fable's mane and tail a couple of times, they stayed shiny.
            The other thing I've learned from reading is that excess iron inhibits the absorption of copper and zinc. Remember that iron-rich dirt I mentioned? That's what the grass she's been eating all her life grows in. So maybe that is the root of the things I'm noticing.
            But, aside from thoughts about nutrition and hoof care - Sunday was lovely! After I tidied her up, I put her halter on and attached one lead rope to each side of it to make reins. It turns out that the lead ropes are much too long to be practical and bump her all the way down at her pasterns when she walks. But she was a good sport about it. I hopped up bareback to see if either of us can remember what to do.
            Well, I think she remembers better than me! Or maybe her muscles are just in better shape. She was very responsive to my cues, and she worked to keep me balanced. Thank goodness, because I think if she hadn't been trying so hard I'd have toppled right off in the first couple of minutes before my body adjusted and relaxed. But once I was able to relax a little, I felt more secure and we were able to walk around the yard for a few minutes. I realized after a bit that I wasn't using the reins very much because she was responding to my seat and legs. This made me very happy, because I have never felt like I was doing the right thing with my legs before. Talana responded so well, I just kept laughing because it worked! She turned both directions for me, she walked on, halted and backed as well. Each time I asked her to do something, she seemed surprised when I praised her for responding. She became very soft and willing when she discovered that I was so happy with her. We even walked under and around the tent a few times. And then I got off and brushed her and told her what a wonderful girl she is. And then I took some pictures of her.

            I have so much to say about all the things we've been doing that I didn't even notice it's bed time. I had better go to sleep, or I'll be too tired after work to play with Talana tomorrow, and we can't have that! Hopefully this big long update with many pictures will keep my readers busy until the next installment.