It’s been quite a while since I’ve done an update on the twins’ progress and I’m starting to get emails asking about them, so it must be time to get this done. Also, I have a friend who’s been very sick and could use something of a lift. She always enjoys receiving an update on the twins so this update is dedicated to Ramona. We all hope she feels much better soon.
Believe it or not, the twins are actually 10 months old. There have been some dramatic changes in their lives since the last update. First off, since it’s now the new year, they are officially yearlings. Who would have thought they’d make it this far. It really seems odd. A couple of weeks ago we finally got the repairs to the barn done so we could separate Trouble and Surprise. Unfortunately, I have more horses than stalls so Surprise needed a new roomy for me to be able to put Trouble by himself. And Trouble needed to be by himself because he was trying to breed his sister.
I’d had the twins and Vee in a double stall. We separated that back into two stalls but with only a half wall between them to start. That way I could put Surprise’s new roomy (a yearling filly named Gypcy) on the other side of the wall for introductions before I actually put them together.
When I first moved horses, my barn was in an uproar. Trouble and Surprise were both frantic about being separated And Gypcy was not happy to have moved from next to her buddy either. Surprise got over it much quicker than Trouble and Gypcy. Within a few hours she was trying to make friends with Gypcy and soon that filly decided maybe the new horse wasn’t too bad. Within a day I had them together and they are great friends.
Surprise is so happy to have a girl friend! And Gypcy finally has a girl friend too. She’s kinda been on the outside looking in at the other fillies. That third horse is always the odd one out and that was Gypcy’s place until Surprise came along. They’ve gotten really attached really fast.
Once I put Gypcy in with Surprise, I put the other two yearling fillies into the other stall with the half wall. This way all of the yearling fillies got to meet Surprise before being turned out with her.
Trouble was moved into a stall right next to the other yearling colt. So he was getting to meet his new pasture buddy too. At first he wasn’t sure how he felt about losing his sister. But he’s adjusting ok.
Last week, the twins got to go outside with their new pasture mates. It all worked out great. Trouble really enjoyed rough-housing with his new friend and Suede was just as happy to get to play with Trouble. They did really well together. Now they reach out the window of their stalls and nuzzle each other. So I think they’ve bonded.
Surprise was really excited to have a herd of girl friends! She bounced around out there looking more like a four-legged road runner than an Arabian filly. By the end of the day, the four fillies were standing together in a herd, leaning on each other and grooming away. I had expected them to stay paired up but they’re not. So that’s cool.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone to say that both Trouble and Surprise appear to be the ringleaders with their new pasture mates. Both are still spending a goodly amount of time trying to figure out how to escape so they can graze in my winter pansies.
The only one who doesn’t seem to like the new arrangement is Vee. Even though it’s been well over a month since the twins were weaned from their mother, the mare was not happy to see her babies out with other horses. She spent a good part of the day running the fence line trying to call her babies to her. Neither one even gave her a second thought.
Now that Trouble and Surprise are with other yearlings, it’s much easier to compare them to the others. While they are a little bit smaller, they are not as small as you might thing. Gypcy is actually a very big filly and was born in January last year. Surprise is at the very most only two inches shorter. Trouble compares about the same against Suede who is a big colt. Both Trouble and Surprise weigh in at a little over 400 pounds. They are well on their way to be normal sized horses.
I think that the twins have adjusted really well to the new changes and that they are happy with their new buddies. But they do still call out to each other when once catches a glimpse of the other or hears a voice. And both of them are going to need some serious training time to fix some of those cute little things they were able to get away with because there were two of them. But they will always be in your pocket horses.
On my blog I have been running segments of a detailed account of the twins birth and what it’s taken to get these two foals to where they are today. If anyone is interested in the gory details you can find the posts at http://risingrainbow.blogspot.com I’m also writing about fun things like politics, showing, breeding, abuse and whatever else I can think of. It’s been kinda fun.
Almost forgot about pictures, these are with their new buddies. Surprise is with Gypcy and as you can see they are really good girlfriends. I tried and tried to get a picture of Trouble and Suede together. This is the best I could come up with. Trouble was so interested in the mud (as you can tell by the picture) and Suede couldn’t understand why (which you can also tell by the picture). I never could get a picture of them in the same frame except this one. I guess Trouble just didn’t want to show us his pretty face.
