Alxios gets a babysitter

Today was a very difficult day for the young one. Deb decided to give Anastacia a little break and let her out to graze in the larger pasture for about an hour. It was an opportunity to spend some time with Alexios without momma feeling like she had to intervene. Anastacia was perfectly happy to head out since she felt comfortable with Deb being in the pen with her son. Alexios, however, was none too pleased by this turn of events.

Initially he tried to raise the alarm. He whinnied to the other horses, and raced around as if a great danger was upon him.

Anastacia took a good look around, didn't see anything that was an issue, and went back to grazing.

When Alexios realized his mother was not going to come to his aid, he turned to Poesia, our wise old lead mare. He tried to tell her that there was a terrible problem that needed fixing. She also took a good look around and decided that all was well.

Poor Alexios. None of his herd was listening to his cries of distress.

Perhaps he could convince his daddy, Favorito, that something needed to be done about this travesty.

Nope, even he did not offer assistance.

It was at this point he realized that he was not entirely alone in the pen but his companion was human, not equine.

Hmm, maybe he could slip out this way.

The little guy realized he was truly stuck.

He decided he had no choice but to try to dig his way out.

Anastacia never strayed far from the pen, and when it was time to come back in, she did so willingly. Alexios was immensely relieved.

He ate his fill and then practically collapsed onto the ground, and fell into a deep sleep.

This was an excellent experience for him, and once more showed Anastacia's fine mothering skills. At one point while they were separated some neighbors came walking up the long drive. It was a father and his two children, and they'd wanted to see the horses. As soon as Anastacia realized there were intruders in her world, she raced back toward the pen, and ran around to the far back corner. She signaled to Alexios that he should come and stand right beside her on the other side of the panel. She watched carefully as Deb talked to the neighbors, and Alexios stayed right with her the entire time. Once the new people had gone, she relaxed, put her head down to graze once more, and wandered slowly away.

The time alone in the pen gave Deb a chance to console Alexios. She petted him, and scratched him whenever he calmed down enough to allow her. By the end of the session, he was starting to follow her around even though it was obvious she was a very poor substitute for his mother. Also, Deb brought the halter, a lead rope and a grooming brush into the pen. She walked around letting them clink together and make noise. When Alexios showed interest, she allowed him to sniff these items.

These experiences always need to end on a positive note and not last so long that they stress Alexios. Once he had started pawing at the gate it was a sign that it was time to bring this training experience to a close. Deb waited for him to calm down and allow one more good back scratch and then she brought Anastacia back into the pen with a little feed.