So lucky!

There is nothing in the world as precious as babies, no matter the species...baby humans, puppies, kittens, chickens, horses. There just isn't anything as wonderful, and they are (usually) worth all of the effort. Today, when I was out taking care of Bailey, I stopped by the barn with the baby colt (who I have been in love with since I met him on his fifth day of life) and the malnourished mamma. We all stop by to feed her and I froze with my pitchfork halfway over the fence when I got there. The mare came right to me, happy with the simple offer of hay. But the little painted colt was bobbing and weaving at a little critter on the fence...a little grey and white kitten! They were playing together! It was so funny to watch them play together. The kitten would arch his back and hop and roll in the dust while the colt would gleefully dance around the paddock, or the kitten would stand on the rail and the colt would dodge little kitty claws thrown at his tender nose. I would have killed for a camera.

Eventually the kitten came over for a rub, and I found out his name is Max. It turns out the kitten entertains the little painted colt every day, even if the colt is napping on the ground, the kitten will come and bat at his ears. This works out pretty good for the mare, as horses love to play, and the babies even more so. After I inspected each of his little hooves (he thinks that is a fun game), I went back to my own barn and my own horse. Every once in a while Bailey works really hard at affection, and my heart just about crumples with her effort. She stands right next to me and places her big mustang head about an inch from my chest and expanding belly and waits for a rub. It always ends with my arms around her neck after I have almost rubbed all of the hair off of her face (a very tough place for a former wild, claustrophobic mustang to stand still in)...she is a very intuitive girl and she understands emotion and body language and I can't wait to share the little one with her once the cold melts away this spring! Hopefully we get a little cowboy or girl (what will we do if we get a kid who is allergic to animals???)!