Today Shyanne rules the roost. She is the top mare in the barn and makes sure everyone knows it. She does this by moving them away with her head, ears laid back with every intention of biting if they don't move. And they willingly move. Big Red Sky is the only challenger she has to deal with. I ride Shyanne only a short distance around the farm boundaries, but mostly she is for my granddaughters, now. She is a very stubborn horse, but gentle and tolerates even the most inexperienced rider to a degree. She likes to be in the barn a lot, so I basically put the nine-year-olds on her, lead her out in the pen and let her take them back to the barn. They think they are riding because she will respond to their pulls on the reins on her way back to the barn. Elise, now 12, rides her but gets exasperated because Elise learned on Sage and Shyanne does not respond as well. Elise can, however, made Shyanne do some things the twins can't. Shyanne frequently stops for carrots, pulls her head around as far as she can get it and waits for a bite! She doesn't bend well, but she tries and the look in her eyes says it all. I swear she also has a smile on her face.
When my nephew, Jamie, comes out, Shyanne is really good for him. He hops on bareback and even takes his daughter Sabelle with him. She is only 3 and Shyanne has no problem with however many people want to get on at the same time. I've had all 3 granddaughters on her at one time and she is quite content with them as long as she gets carrots.
Shyanne does not like my brother-in-law, Jim. Shyanne loves people and prefers their company to other horses, but when Jim comes around she is really not nice to him. She lays her ears back and tries to shoo him away like she does other horses. I didn't believe this at first, but when my husband broke his ankle, Jim came out periodically to help me with chores. It took a while for me to actually see what she was doing, because every time I came around she was good as gold. Funny - I have never seen her behave that way with another human, but she sure makes it clear he'd better get out of her way.
Shyanne is 19 this year. The last few years have been hard for her. She grieved terribly when her mother, Sage, died. (That story is for another blog.) She has had to endure drought a few years ago, excessive rain the year after that with mosquitoes unbearable. And this winter that began in October and is still here in April. The Chicago area broke all kinds of records for snow and cold. As a matter of fact, this is the 2nd worst winter ever recorded for snowfall and cold. Shyanne has seen and survived a lot in the way of ridiculous weather.
Hay has been at a premium. We grow our own, but going back to the drought year, the had was terrible that year and really only one cutting. The year before had been wet and we couldn't get into the field to have it baled until almost July, with second cutting in November. That was 4 years ago. Then drought brought dusty hay with little nutrition. The price of hay went sky high and we were lucky to get enough for the year. Last year we got hay, our own, but first cutting was very rough. Second cutting yielded about 1/2 of what we thought it would, and 3rd cutting very little, but really good quality. We had rain last year, too much at the wrong times, and mosquitoes and very little horse riding time. I never got to use my trailer once. I have no idea what to expect this year. With the 90 inches of snow we've had I'm hoping the moisture is enough to produce good hay. We will fertilize again and hope the snow didn't smother too much. Some of our yard has been wind damaged, but I haven't seen that in the hay field.
I'm hoping Shyanne will be around for awhile, but if the navicular disease in her feet worsens, I won't let her suffer. Right now, bute helps (that's a pain killer for horses), but does not remove all pain. And dosing her every day ads the risk of ulcers. She seems to be doing OK for now. And my granddaughters do enjoy her.
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