She is gorgeous! Her name will be Chasing Down Daydreams // Sanya
With LeviLikesCleaning
[
☆] Introduction Post on Fanclub: Help your new friend make a post introducing themselves to the community!
[ ☆] Walkthrough of the Rules: Take the time to go through all the Westrossa Mustang rules with your newbie and be sure they understand how they work.
[
☆ ] Introduction to Westrossa Adopts: Help your newbie get acquainted with the way Westrossa comps work, and maybe even help them enter their first one!
[ ☆] Walkthrough of Policy Regarding Breeding/Slot Permissions and Customs: Be sure your newbie understands how breeding, slot trading, slot permissions, and acquiring customs works!
[ ☆ ]Help Create a Stable: Help your newbie figure how stables work, and how to start their own for documenting their mustangs and breeding slots!
[☆] Rescue Horse Rehabilitation: Work together with your newbie to write or a story or produce a piece of art(or both!) about how you cared for and rehabilitated your mare and her foal. (Below)
Rehabilitation:In an old abandoned pasture a beautiful mare and her child nibbled at the grass, enjoying themselves. The mother has been there for a few years, unkempt, long hooves and dirty coat, and hair.
The foal was sticking close to their mother, looking at little frightened of the other horses. The mare kept looking up from her grazing the as if to make sure her offspring was still nearby, occasionally warning off other horses from getting to close with quick nip or snort.
One day, humans came to the pasture. They sat just far enough from the horses so that they wouldn't feel uncomfortable. Once the horses became accustomed to the humans watching for afar, a couple of people decided slowly and carefully approach horses. They carried honey oats in their hands, and tried offering them to the horses.
The mare seemed very receptive to these offerings, but if anyone spoke too loudly she would spook and run off, her foal following at her heels. The foal would be the first to come back though, looking for more treats while their mother hung back warily.
After a while the mare was fine with the humans touching her and her foal. The humans were surprised at how fast the horse accepted them, and planned to try to tame her soon.
Soon she was moved into a stable building where the humans worked on getting her used to the hustle and bustle of life at the stable. Soon they hoped to try getting a halter on her, and maybe giving her a more thorough veterinary examination.
The mare was progressing very quickly, after a week they were able to put a halter on her, and do a full vet check up. She was healthy and just needed her horse shoes.
When the blacksmith came a week after she was used to her halter the mare seemed finicky about her hooves being touched. Her foal was curious of the new human, but the foals mother didn't fully trust him yet and tried to keep him away from her foal. Eventually we had to seperate the two so that the blacksmith could get near her.
While her shoes were getting nailed on, a special human calmed her by stroking her and whispering to her warmly. At one point, the mare was comfortable with the blacksmith, and let him continue his job quickly and thoroughly.
Everyone else was glad that the mare seemed so amiable and when the job was done she was reunited with her foal and the two received a special treat then they were out out to pasture. The next step would be riding the mare, but getting good her used used to the saddle would be a slow process requiring a lot of patience, so for now the mare and foal were allowed to simply relax and enjoy some bonding time with the other horses at the stable and their human friends.
Optional Tasks For Mares:What was the first day with her like?On the first day Sanya was a bit skittish, seeming very nervous of her new surroundings. She balked at the slightest sound, a bin scraping across the stable floor, a plastic bag blowing in the wind. We thought she was a very anxious mare, but soon discovered that in quiet times this mare is very quiet, and well behaved. She loves sugar and we may have bribed her with it a few times. On her first day she mostly hung out in the pasture. She seemed okay with us hanging around by her, as long as we didn't get too, too close. She even came over to the fence at one point, seeming curious.
When it got to late afternoon we heard rumor of an oncoming storm, so we decided to try to move her into the stable. Getting her out of the pasture was a bit of a hassle. She kept running off on us, almost as if she was teasing us. Truth be told, it seemed much more like teasing than fear. After some time we just stood quietly by the gate with apples, and eventually her curiosity and desire for treats won out and she approached us. While she ate we slipped a rope around her neck, just tight enough to stay on without scraping against her skin and spooking her. Then we proceeded to lead her into the barn, using treats the whole way. We had already warned the stable workers to be as quiet as possible so that there was little risk of spooking her.
(260 words)
How did she react when introduced to a stall for the first time?Sanya may be from wild origins, but she is a little princess. She took one look at her stall and tossed her head as if to say, "you expect me to enter into that place?" She then attempted to turn around and go in the opposite direction. We had to coax her to stay by speaking very softly and getting her interested in her surroundings and the other horses. We tried to get her through the stall door when she seemed relaxed, but she went in halfway, then froze. So, we let her back out and waited a half hour before trying again, only to get the same result. It was starting to get windy and the rain was coming down. We were scared that if we left her outside and it started to thunder she might bolt and get hurt.
Finally one of us came up with an idea. We went to one of the much larger stalls, usually used for horses that were pregnant, in quarantine, or has issues with small spaces. We had a mare in there at the time who was sort of a guest. She was a wild mare that came up to the stable and let us pet her and even stayed overnight sometimes. This was one of those times and it was a perfect coincidence. We attempted leading Sanya into the larger stall and it seemed that the other horse being there, and the larger size, were all she needed to be coaxed into it (That, and a carrot).
She stayed there overnight, and the noise from the storm seemed to bother her less since she had company.
The next morning we tried introducing her to
her stall again, and she walked in with her head held high as if that had been her intention all along.
(304 words)How did she react when her foal was born and/or weaned?When Sanya's foal was born she acted very protective. She wouldn't let anyone near the foal at first and it took use five days to get her to step aside and let us see the baby. She still hovered a lot, as most mares are prone to do, and if the foal showed the slightest sign of fear or distress she would butt in-between us and the foal as if telling us visiting hours were over. We were very patient with her, because she seemed especially protective of her baby. Maybe she had lost a foal before this one. Sometimes losing a foal seemed to make a mare more protective of her next. Whether this was the case with Sanya or not we may never know. She was close with her foal right up until her weaning day, and even after that.
When it came closer to weaning time we put Sanya, two other mares, Sanya's foal, and the other mares in a pasture together on the north side of the stable. We let them get used to each other and the new pasture for a few days.
Eventually we came around to take the mares away from the foals to the south side of the stable where they couldn't see or hear each other.
When we tried to take Sanya away for the first time Sanya tried to escape, rearing and whinnying. But with the help of some volunteers who were at the stable we led Sanya into an adjoining pasture and shut the gate so that the foal couldn't follow and Sanya couldn't go back. Sanya panicked and began to whinny shrilly, pacing in place. We led her further, and further away. Sanya was frantic and not even her favorite treat could calm her.
She and the other mares were put in the pasture on the south side of the stable. For a few days all three of them were frantic and agitated, but eventually they began to calm down. The foals were also upset, but having each other for company seemed to help ease their distress.
When Sanya's foal was older and far past the nursing stage we put them back together and the reunion was joyful for both of them. Sanya definitely knew he baby and the foal definitely knew her mother.
(386 words)
How did you work to form a bond with her?Sanya was easier than many of our mustangs. She was sweet tempered, gentle, and mostly welcomed our attempts at forging a relationship with her. We discovered her penchant for treats and used them (In moderation) to help her learn that our visits to the pasture were a positive thing, something to be looked forward to. We took turns going down and simply sitting or standing there by the fence, letting her come to us in her time and on her terms. When she was definitely comfortable with us we would go sit in the pasture with her and she got used to our presence and even enjoyed teasing us with playful nose bumps or by trying to entice us to chase her.
We were also respectful of her need to keep her foal to herself at times. Instead of pushing her we let her decide when we were able to see her baby.
Because of her fear of loud noises we tried to keep the noise down for the first couple weeks she was with us. But, we knew she would have to learn to cope eventually and life couldn't' stop because of her. So, we worked on familiarizing her with different noises, slowly and carefully. She had her own way of telling us when she'd had enough and we were careful not to push her or cross any boundaries.
We discovered that she doesn't like to be alone, so we tried to make sure she had as much company, both human and equine, as she needed. We tried to speak to her as often as possible, almost treating her like a human baby. She seemed to enjoy the sound of our voices, as long as we spoke softly.
(289 words)How was halter training her? (how long did it take/how hard was it, etc)At first Sanya was hesitant about her halter, and of course and didn't like the feel of it, but we left it in her stall, hanging on the wall, and on the fence when she was out in the pasture and after about a week the sight and smell of it were as familiar to her as those of her own stall and favorite pasture.
Then we tried to put it on. At first she literally lifted her head away from us haughtily and pranced off. Then, after we had coaxed her back, she seemed almost curious of it. She let us put it on and we waited for her reaction. First she began to run laps around the pasture, tossing her head, then she slowed down and began to graze as if nothing had happened.
We took it off and decided to try again two days later. We went through very much the same thing.
Then we tried four days later, and three more.
After sixteen days we tried for the fifth time, and this time she didn't run laps, or toss her head wildly, she just trotted off on her merry way, seeming to not care.
We were surprised, but then, she surprised us quite a bit.
She actually grew to love her halter, like a small girls loves dressing up in her favorite costume. She would see we had it and trot over to us, holding out her head.
Oddly enough, she just likes the one halter though. We tried a different halter, a slightly different make and a different color, and she was having none of it, reacting the same way she had the first time we put a halter on her. So we made sure we have backups of halters that are the exact same as the one she has!
(305 words) Personality:
Sanya is a sweet, patient mare. She is compassionate toward other horses, sensitive to others feelings. She is very protective of those she loves and her loyalty, once given, knows no bounds. Sanya is a romantic at heart, but her dreams of travel, true love, and a happy home have never been fulfilled and Sanya has just about given up hope. She loves her foals, but it breaks her heart that she had been seperated from all of them. She definitely has a mother's patience. She is soft-spoken and a good listener. She has a curious, spunky side that seldom shows anymore, but can be brought out if she is around someone she is close to. Her experiences have made her serious and realistic, but some special horses, like her foals, can make her laugh and have fun.
Sanya tends to be a mediator and peacekeeper among her friends and her foals.
Though gentle and patient, that doesn't stop her from being strict with her foals. She is always trying to keep them safe, even the older ones. She is a very focused mother, allowing very little to distract her from her foals.
She does all she can to make her foals happy and is always there to listen to them or help the, sort their problems if they need her.
As far as romance, she hasn't been involved with anyone really. Jackie was her leader and she had to follow him, not that there were stallions lined up to give her options.
She dreamt of a hero, but was so busy raising her foals she eventually gave up on love. She is still young, but almost afraid to look for real love for fear it won't be everything she has dreamed about. But, for some reason she can't let herself let go of the old dreams.
Overall she is just a very sweet, loving, motherly, compassionate girl who still has dreams but up till now has had no chance to try to make them come true.
(337 words)How did she react to being placed in a new herd?:
Sanya
Optional Tasks For Foals:Tell me about their first experience out in the pasture
Tell me about their first time playing with their siblings
Tell me about their first time interacting with a human
Tell me about their first bath/grooming
How was halter training them? (how long did it take/how hard was it, etc)
