The First Morning has Come…
..and the first night has gone, thank god. I have to admit that I was very close to going back to the house to my very comfy bed this morning. It is now 9am and I feel a lot better but around 7.30am I was wondering what the hell I was doing. I was feeling a bit weird after having an hour or two of very light snoozing, it was dull and misty and the grass was really wet. I cheated and had another snooze in a clump of rushes even though Hazel and Pollyanne were still eating, but when I woke up about 20 minutes later Hazel was asleep a bit further up the field and so I joined them up there. I fell asleep again but woke up to the sounds of Hazel muttering in her sleep. She was uttering a low “Hmph hmph” as she dreamed but of course the moment I moved and tried to get the video camera she sat right up.
Being out in a field with two horses at night time was quite interesting because the minute they stopped moving and eating grass they effectively disappeared. Even though there was a moon out Hazel was well able to disappear into the night. Pollyanne however stood out for up to 75 metres away. This field that we are in now is about 2.5 acres and at the top of it we have a little section that we have added on and put gravel down into. This is very well sheltered and is close up to the house. It was interesting that they didn’t go near this area all day yesterday but they spent most of the dark part of the night in here. This was fine with me as it was a bit more comforting than being out in the open countryside with all the weird noises that go along with it. At least on the gravel area I could hear anyone who moved and so I could lie down happily enough, safe in the knowledge that I wouldn’t be stepped on.
When the sun came up Pollyanne left the gravel area first and then Hazel reluctantly followed. It is interesting that although Pollyanne is a lot smaller than Hazel and is always the first to move out of her way, it was Hazel who followed Pollyanne in and out of the “snooze zone”. I’ve noticed this before that Hazel will follow Pollyanne around, but she will also push her around. Also, I found that Hazel followed me at times if I went off in another direction. She is quite a pushy horse but I got the distinct impression last night that she really wanted me to stand close beside her while she snoozed.
So at the moment I am full of enthusiasm again, but I have a feeling tomorrow morning will be even harder. I thought it would be the nights that were the worst, but I think it will be the dawns that rattle me. So I need lots of lots of encouragement to keep going. It makes such a difference when I get words of support and people have begun donating to project. I am fundraising for four animal rescues, all of whom have equines and all of whom really do need support. Please do contribute anything at all to this project. You can visit the paypal link in the right hand column and donate a euro or a dollar or whatever you can spare. It will make a difference to the lives of horses and it will make a difference to me as I sit here wet, uncomfortable and tired over the next three days. Thanks so much for your support so far.
