Polish Arabian Mares, Part IV

I took some new pics of the girls this weekend!

I'm putting up three photos of each horse: the first from when they arrived, the second from the previous update, the third from this weekend.

They have all put on a TON of weight, and as they have become more energetic and move around a lot more, they are all increasing in muscle mass as well.  They were all just dewormed again, as they are all still battling a heavy load of several different parasites (meaning that we have to use several different dewormers over time to get rid of the different types).

We just gave them access to more acreage on the property, so they are enjoying having new places to explore.

They are all going to have their teeth floated very soon.  We are just waiting for a couple to gain more weight so they are strong enough to be safely sedated.

Edit to add- We leave their halters on as a method of identification for our volunteers, as they all look very similar to each other.  It's just like introducing non-horsey family members to your own herd: if you have a herd of three bay Thoroughbreds of similar size, your family isn't going to know which horse is which without some distinct method to tell them apart (like "Rocky has a scar on his left knee" or "Joey's star looks like Florida"). 

Being able to quickly identify which horse you have is of utmost importance.  For example, they are all getting to the point where some will get a reduced grain ration.  One of them is prone to choke, so misidentifying her and improperly feeding her can lead to an emergency visit from the vet.  

Quick identification is also crucial to the day-to-day hands-on examination of the girls' progress.  It isn't much help to anyone when you have someone say, "One of the bay mares has a funny bump on her leg," which may be dismissed as normal for one horse, but if they really mean a different horse, it may lead to missing a potentially serious injury.


When you see the horses every day, you can tell them apart, but as individual volunteers see the horses maybe once a week, every hint helps.  You might not be able to tell Nosey Rosey, Mel, or Ayah apart, but I sure can.  Stormy and Nadirah are easy, because they look so different from everyone else.  The bays are more difficult to tell apart, and you would have to see them pretty often to be able to tell them apart, especially when the day comes I get through Marley's tail!

Enjoy!


Amore:

 Johara:

 Nadirah (previously referred to as "Rose Grey"):

Nosey Rosey:

Praline:

Ayah (previously #61, our thinnest mare):

 Wildfire:

Stormy:

 Marley (renamed from Asharra because of her severely matted tail that is taking a long time to tease out):

Mel:

~Amanda