We did not go down to the horses today. The weather was foul and both of us were ready for a break from the intensity that has been the last two weeks. Alexios is 12 days old now, and is doing just fine. Knowing that a winter storm was moving in, we went down after I got off work last night to try to make things more comfortable for mother and child.
We spread a square bale of hay out in the shelter so that Alexios would have somewhere dry to lie down, and Anastacia could eat hay while still under cover. Since Alexios goes with her everywhere, this would allow him to stay out of the precipitation.
Of course, this new hay was immediately more palatable than the round bale sitting just outside the shelter. Alexios is trying to be just like him momma so he started to eat hay also. The problem is, he has no teeth so he pretty much can just mouth the hay and then work hard to spit it back out.
It was a gorgeous sunny evening and he got to feeling a bit rambunctious. Here he can be seen trying out the "kicking with both rear legs" technique.
It didn't work out too well so he then had to show us his prowess on all four hooves.
Anastacia got her daily rations, and Alexios had to push in and check things out. He may have gotten a piece or two in his mouth as he was making some strong chomping motions for some time after this shot was taken.
He then moseyed over to the mineral/salt block, something he's seen momma do a number of times. He licks at it a bit but doesn't really need the supplement as mom is giving him everything he needs. And yes, Deb had already called the vet make sure that there was nothing in there that could hurt a youngster.
Next Anastacia got herself a drink of fresh water, and Alexios went through all the motions but mostly just swished his mouth around. He is getting all his hydration from nursing and doesn't yet need to drink water.
Once she was satisfied it was back to the shelter to munch on more hay.
Really, he wants to be just like momma when he grows up. She will teach him everything he needs to know about survival, and whatever gaps are left, instinct will take care of them.
We did check in with the folks who own the pasture today (possibly more than once - I think Deb used multiple forms of communication) and the report was that they were in the shelter and Alexios was contentedly nursing. It is now snowing down there so I'm not sure whether we'll make it down tomorrow either, but our momma and baby should do just fine. They have shelter, plenty of food, and Anastacia's warm milk will make sure that our little guy doesn't get too cold.
This does mean however, that y'all may need to go a day without an Alexios fix. I know, the thought is killing me as well.
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