Much of this year has been rather rough for Emma. She was so heavily pregnant that she often seemed to have trouble waddling around let alone playing. Forget about dancing. Before Ramsey's birth, Emma was spending 8-10 hours a day laying down, sleeping hard. She was very bothered by the heat.
When Ramsey was born, Emma did a wonderful job and she is being a fantastic mother, but the birth was hard on her and took a lot out of her. However, it's been three weeks now since our little monster showed up and Emma is not just looking good, she is starting to feel good. She is no longer troubled by the heat and has taken to sunbathing while the rest of us hide in the shade and whine about the incessant heat. She is very, very happy to not be pregnant any more.
I am very happy with how Emma looks right now, I think she is in ideal condition at the moment and I am working hard
to keep her that way....
(Feeding an underage, pregnant donkey has been an
interesting challenge. I am not sure if anybody is interested in the
details, but let me know if you are. I would be happy to share some of
what I have learned.)
Most importantly, Emma feels good. She is feeling so good that she has started to join Ramsey on some of his gallops....
These were taken on the day my pond was re-dug. Every day since then, Emma has joined Ramsey in at least one of his many-times-a-day gallops. This evening, I was on the tractor mowing the field (so Ramsey will have more room to play) and I had to stop and watch them for a while. Ramsey runs, as fast as he can go, in big sweeping circles. He weaves in and around any obstacle he can find, making patterns and loops. Emma stays 20 feet behind him and follows his every move, occasionally adding a twisting kick or a tossed head, but faithfully following his every weave and dodge. They reminded me of the barn swallows who were also swooping and diving around the tractor, chasing the bugs stirred up by the mower and flying for the joy of it.
Ramsey is always great fun to watch while he plays and even more fun to play with, but it was such a joy to see Emma finally running, playing and feeling good once again. My Dancing Donkey is getting ready to start dancing again.
