Gunnar halters, trailers, leads, picks up feet, crossties with some fidgeting, did pretty good at first hoof trim, didn't even flinch at vaccination time, only looked perplexed after a very easy paste deworming done at liberty in the corral. He is currently eating pasture grass and timothy hay. He has been cinched (bareback pad) several times with no display of concern whatsoever. He has had ropes all over him, frolics with our dog, LOVES PEOPLE and greets us vocally every time he sees us. He likes to please, although - being a colt - he does have quite a mischevious streak.

Gunnar had his first round of vaccinations on October 20th. He was imprint trained at birth. He has been handled almost daily his entire life. He is very curious about the world around him. While not spooky, he is sufficiently sensitive that I can send him around the corral and change his direction just using body language. He is respectful of people. He has been exposed to (and is unimpressed by) motorcycles, power tools, blankets, tarps, plastic bags. He seems to have grown out of playing with his toys. He will take offered treats politely from hand. He usually leads well with just a hand under the jaw. I have been teaching him to lie down, but this trick is far from perfected. He leaps over obstacles at liberty and over sticks on the ground just for fun. He is very atheletic.

GUNNAR'S STORY:

Gunnar was born at 5:00 AM on May 26, 2006. We'd been watching the black-and-white wireless camera from the mobile home for about three days, 23.5 hours of every day. I was swapping off mare-watching shifts with my friend Cat and also with a real cat, Coco.

Prior to acquiring the camera and someone to help me watch, I'd slept in Sonja's stall, the stall next door, and also made hourly forays out to check on momma. Hers was thankfully a textbook pregnancy with all the proper signals, signs and behaviors. She started producing milk right on schedule, paced her stall, swished her tail and looked at her flanks just before breaking water at the appropriately awful hour of the morning.

At 4:50 AM I'd been napping on the floor in front of the TV in the mobile home for probably close to three hours, with Cat sitting up watching the screen when Sonja's water burst and Cat roused me. Cat had, of course, just removed her contact lenses a few minutes earlier. We ran around gathering our clothes, jackets, foaling books, Scot and buckets of hot water. I made it out to Sonja's stall just in time to see the inner white caul begin to show. I entered the stall and closed the gate behind me. Sonja came up to me and touched me with her nose as if to say, "Glad you could make it!" and then lay down at my feet. I gave her a few encouraging words before proceeding to the business end of the mare. Out came Gunnar's wee front feet!

I made some minor adjustments to Gunnar's presentation, jiggled his legs a time or two when the contractions stopped at an inopportune moment and within five minutes he was out in the world. I removed his birth caul, cleared his nostrils and mouth, rubbed him dry. I did some imprinting exercises by handling various parts of him at great length. I did this in the hopes of making some permanent memories of those sensations and the irresistability of the will of humans. I prevented him from rising during this time. I believe this post-birth imprinting went on for roughly twenty minutes before I finally allowed him to work on standing and nursing. Within a half hour after birth, he was standing. Here he is trying to figure out this nursing business.

"Where do you keep the milk around this place?"

Yum! Victory!

Toddling around...

Momma and son eating some restorative chow.

Little butt, big butt:

A star and a snip, just like mum.

Also tired, just like mum.

Sonja has been a fantastic mother. She and I were good buddies prior to the birth. She allowed me to assist with her foal. After everyone went away for a shower and a nap, Sonja's maternal instincts kicked in. When we came back, greatly refreshed, several hours later, Sonja tried to keep her huge body insinuated between the visitors and her baby. After a little dilligent convincing on our part (including the unfair use of carrot bribes), she has decided that we're maybe okay. She will still sometimes try to herd the baby away from us when we come to visit but this happens less often now and it certainly never worked with me. I just hug her baby and she can't get between us!.

When Luna saw the baby, she wanted it! No, she demanded it! Luna is a maiden and I didn't think she'd be more than perhaps an indulgent Auntie to the foal. No way! I thought it might be nice for Luna to look across the stall gate at the foal. I brought her into the nursery yard to see in the stall. There immediately ensued a great deal of calling and excitement from Luna, hollering from me, furious squealing from Sonja... when the furor died down I had been able to beat Luna out of the nursery yard with a pitchfork handle, but only barely. Luna galloped up and down the outer fenceline, calling and calling to the baby. The baby stood trembling in the corner of the stall and Sonja stood tense and angry broadside in front of her foal - trapping him in the corner. Guess that was a stupid thing for me to have done! I just didn't expect such a reaction from Luna.

Since then, Luna has come to understand that the baby is Sonja's and Sonja has come to understand that Luna is unable to steal her baby from across the fence. Luna still nickers when she sees the baby and Sonja has taken to walking the baby up and down the fenceline, showing him off for his audience.

I will of course be taking a ton of photos, but I can't promise I'll get them up in any kind of timely manner. Busy busy busy...

June 2nd, 2006: Sonja is past the silly keep-the-baby-from-the-people nonsense. Finally got the babysafe fencing up in the smallest front pasture and let Sonja and son out to enjoy the grass for a bit. Sonja's been off grass and on hay for close to four weeks now so it wouldn't do to just put her back on all the grass she can eat. Instead, I have to limit her to a little at a time, until her system reacclimates. Here are the photos I took during today's grazing.

I'm the Boss of Everything! Raaaaar!

Make way for the boss!

(He isn't actually as close as he appears... I had zoomed in when he pulled this stunt. Wish I could have caught it all!)

Hi! I'm adorable!

Nibbling mom's hair:

Assorted headshots:

Trying out some more of this "grazing" thing mom's so keen on:

Gunnar wants to grow up big like ma so he is trying to learn to eat his veggies. Scot points out that the perspective and the super-tall front fence make Sonja look like a pony! For the record, Sonja is about 16 hands, although her posture has improved postpartum.

All tuckered out:

Is this adorable or what?

July 31st, 2006. I have just finished editing this page to reflect the fact that "Diddow Bubbie" now has a proper name: Gunnar! On July 26th he turned two months old. I took these photos today: He has turned bay!!!

Still a Momma's boy. Still curious about everything and likes people a great deal.

His bright bay coat has given way to darker hair underneath in some places. I'm just dying to see what color he finally settles on.

Since Luna has decided she doesn't need a foal after all, the three of them may now be pastured together. This usually doesn't end up happening, however, as Luna and Gunnar both have special fencing needs. Gunnar needs idiot-proof fencing and Luna musn't have access to anything she can itch on, such as trees or unprotected fence boards. As such, there is currently only one pasture that can accomodate both of their needs, and it's grazed down pretty good. The grass is in its midsummer stunt and won't be greening up again till we start getting some rain. That could be anywhere from a week to a month. We'll see. In the meantime there is good treeless grazing for Luna and well-fenced grazing for Gunnar and Sonja, but for the time being, only this one scorched pasture is available for "Herd Time".

Here Luna and Gunnar enjoy the mutual benefits of "Herd Time" while Sonja, (off-camera) finally gets some peace.

August 25th, 2006. Social Nap Hour:

Sonja instructs Gunnar in the fine art of Finding the Tastiest Stuff:

The next five photos were taken from behind the living room window, thus the milky look on some of the photos. Looking at something in the distance:

I'm caught! Nothing gets past this kid...

Sonja doesn't believe in stalls, so Gunnar has followed suit. Luna likes to stand out of the rain, but the other two just get soaked. Those are his toys in the foreground

Sonja and Gunnar:

Gunnar naps with his nose resting on the ground:

October 17th, 2006. Weaning time! Sonja gets to go into the lush pasture adjacent to the barn and adjoining the eaten-down pasture. Auntie Luna and Gunnar stay in the eaten-down pasture and continue to eat hay. Sonja really needs to get some weight on, so I'm getting Gunnar off her sooner rather than later.

October 29th, 2006. Weaning is going well. Sonja had a couple of uncomfortable first days with a tight udder, but things are going better now. She has put on some weight already, just with better grass and not having Gunnar nursing the nutrients off her. Gunnar and Luna get along famously. Luna really does have a soft spot for the kid and allows him to eat off her hay pile and out of her grain pan (things that would earn Sonja a kick into next week). Finally did an orchestrated "photo shoot" to get some current photos of Gunnar. He has begun growing in his black winter woolies and is almost done shedding his summer bay (just like his mom).

November 3rd, 2006. Well, I should just get this over with. I had always planned on putting Gunnar up for sale right after he was born, with the hopes of having him ready to go to a new home at weaning. I just never was able to actually get started on it because he's so darn cute! And now I've grown so fond! The longer I wait the harder it will be, so.... *sniffle* he is now officially FOR SALE.

December 2nd, 2006. Today I handed Gunnar over to his new owner, Julie Jacobs. I cried like a girl!

One last photo with the kid (he has gotten so big!):

Leading Gunner into Julie's trailer. He's such an obedient and trusting boy. It made me twice as weepy to have him be such a good boy as I was loading him up to send him to his new home, even though we were in a parking lot away from home, getting into a strange trailer. He did just as I asked.

Good luck, Gunnar! Congratulations, Julie! Have a great time together!