Play is such an incredibly important part of development for most animals – kittens and puppies pounce on toys and each other to learn how to hunt, ‘horseplay’ is proverbial, and lambs are delightful when they ‘circus’ around a field together as a pack.
Two may not be much of a pack, but Ross and Gregor helped me muck out this morning. At first they just trotted on my heels, learning the way to the muck heap, having fun ‘walking the plank’ that keeps the wheelbarrow from bogging down in the gateway when it’s muddy, and testing the mounting block out. Wild sheep are amazingly agile – and although domestic breeds are somewhat hampered by heavy fleeces, lambs are fearless little daredevils who love climbing, leaping, bucking, prancing and dashing madly! As they got used to where I was going and what I was doing, the lambs enjoyed exploring in the henhouse, chased the ducks into the barn and explored there, ran races around the little circuit from the yard into the lower horse barn, out through the feed room and round to the yard gate to start again!
From my point of view, it’s also good to see them playing because it means they’re happy, feeling full of vim and confidence, healthy and developing their muscles and co-ordination normally.
Abe and I went out for another long walk this morning – his third in four days, he met me at the gate at 6 and shoved his nose into his head collar so eagerly I wasn’t ready and he ended up swinging it nonchalantly over one ear! His hooves are beautifully worn down by the roadwork, so I’ll ask my hoof trimmer to fit him for boots – I don’t want to over-do it and make his hooves sore! It was fascinating to walk next to him with my hand on his back, though – I could feel those back muscles flexing and shifting at every step. Exactly what I want him to do – build up his muscles and be ready to carry me on his back again! He’s getting more confident in strange surroundings, too – less pausing and staring all around to update his mental map and less pausing to poke me with his nose, checking I’m still there and all’s well, and more time sniffing puddles, other horses’ droppings, stealing mouthfuls of grass and striding along enjoying the views!
Nibbles and Hobnob, the ducklings, are out in the barn in a run – they’re feathering up very well and I want to start getting them used to cooler temperatures than my lounge! They’ll be dry and out of draughts, but they won’t get the extra warmth from the stove and central heating.
I’ve also cleared and set up the rest of the front room for Jamie and Emily, which means the puppy pen that was keeping them in their corner is now in the lounge as a day-pen for the lambs. They’re both in it just now, snoozing after all that hard exercise…
Cairnorchies Chronicles 