We are continuing to work with Bonnie Blue on taming the monster in the orchard.  Robin or I will take her out by calling her out of her stall and walking to the orchard.  She immediately starts to graze and our job is to horse sit.  We usually take something to read  with us.  This week I invented a new game with her.  After she settled  in and started to graze away from me, I try to sneak back to the house.  I was walking back slowly and she start after me by heading around the right  side of one of the pecan trees so I moved to the left of the tree to hide and she stopped and came around the left of the tree. Playing hide and seek with a 800 pound (and gaining) horse is a little bizarre but it made me giggle. Now I don't think I will try to play tag with her.  

She is continuing to gain weight and her coat is now the color of a new copper penny.  Some people would pay good money to have that hair color. 

She continues to hold the right fore leg up when she doesn't want to do something, like come out of her stall.

Drama Mama in spades. This week Robin and I went to a class and didn't get home until after 8 PM.  Guess who was in the mean scary orchard.  You got it.  So as my friend Cheyenne Johnson used to say, "Something  wrong with this picture."

I have found a trainer in Hattiesburg, Ms Vernell Falgout. When I spoke with her she said that she would come out and see Bonnie Blue.  I'll be calling her this week and setting up an appointment.  Maybe she can understand this Drama Mama.  

September 7, 2013
Dr. Rogers came today for Bonnie's checkup.  We have been concerned about her right foreleg,  We are having difficulty getting her out of her stall and into the orchard.  She will raise that leg up and paw like a dog trying to shake hand. Needless to say we have imagined all sorts of aliments.  When Dr. Rogers saw her he said," Impressive."  I said "Impressive good or bad?" He just shook his head and repeated ,"Impressive." He also noted that she is putting weight on that leg so there is not extreme pain involved.  He is thinking that tendons or ligaments might be involved.  To this he recommended  a steroids but not before he determined if she was pregnant.  Alas, Bonnie Blue  is  not pregnant which is a good thing because of her condition when we found her.

I have a friend who is an animal whisper who is coming tomorrow night. The first time he met Bonnie she held that leg up to him.  I didn't put it together until last week in the middle of the night, I woke up and thought that is why she held her leg up to him.  She had not done that to any of us before.

We are still getting her use to the orchard and as long as we are with her she is fine but the minute we leave she is out of there and back to the stall.  Must be a bad monster out there. We are making progress she has stayed behind in the orchard for an additional 10 minutes.

She had her first out of state visitor yesterday.  My friend, Karen Shea, called and said that she was traveling south and said, "I've got to see that horse!" Now Robin and I are known as Bonnie Blue's people.  That OK with me.

Update on Bonnie Blue

Yesterday I was chastised by my niece Susie Sanders at a family birthday party. When Susie takes that tone-- "RITA"  I know something is coming down.  It seems she had posted my blog to her friends and I let her down by not continuing to  post  I would like to say it was writer block or intellectual hiatus, but I hate to lie.
I just chicken out.
So now with the push from Susie and the technical help from my daughter, Santha. Besides my other daughter, Dorian. is the official photographer for the Bonnie Blue Blog. I'm in.

Dr Rogers the vet came the day after we got Bonnie and tested her for Coggins disease, vacated her and floated her teeth.  Floating horses teeth is a procedure to file down any spurs that may have developed in her teeth. He said for the condition we found her in she was in good shape and was a pure blooded Arabian  He said the abuse probably came about from putting her in an overcrowded pasture with other aggressive horses.  Hence the broken ribs ( the knots on her side are  the result of the ribs healing.)

We had been told that Bonnie Blue was 2 years old and Robin knowing that horses can live 30 to 50 years was wondering who was going to hold the horse when they scatter our ashes at Breezy Point.  After looking at her teeth, Dr. Rogers proclaimed Bonnie Blue to be about 9 years old. At this point my husband gave a sigh of relief which was short lived because the next thing Dr. Rogers said was, "I'll come back this winter and give her a pregnancy test." Robin gasp "Pregnancy test?" to which Dr Rogers said, "You don't know where this horse has been."

Two weeks later the Coggins test came back negative so if we are so inclined we can have another horse.  Two is always better than one. RIGHT!

We have a acre and a half pecan orchard  next to the paddock.  You would think that this bucolic setting would be ideal for a grazing chestnut Arabian. Well Robin, Tevi, (a friend) and yours truly started fixing the fence around the orchard. That is not an easy job-but she is my horse.  After fence work we put an electric wire in.  The first week we had the best looking pasture ornament in the area.  Unfortunately  Bonnie must have  rubbed up against the fence and gotten zapped. Now  she will not stay in the orchard with out a protector ( that being Robin or me). I would  lead her to the orchard and when I got to the gate unhooked the lead to open the gate.  Before I got the gate open she was back in her stall looking at me.

At this time we are going out to the orchard and having our coffee and just hanging around until Bonnie Blue has had pasture time

At this point Bonnie Blue has gains about 90 pounds and still need to gain another 110. Oh, what a problem to have.

Thank you Susie, Santha and Dorian for your support in this project

Bonnie Blue 5 weeks after adoption.
By using the online estimator, she has gained 90 lbs in five weeks.

Bonnie Blue 1 Month after adoption.

Bonnie Blue 3 weeks after arrival at Breezy Point Farm