the Diva of all things Wild

I'm not sure what got into her, but Tika was romping with wild abandon, and the camera simply cannot deny her!

Hoping the doc can get me some additional pain pills for the ribs today. I'd been doing just fine until a big, enthusiastic hug came my way last week. I felt something pop...and it's been slow going ever since. But if I can get a little relief, I'm going to start on the Diva's mane. The fairies have simply gone too far with their knotting!

The Senior

The ribs kept me from taking too many, and the light was strong in the middle of the day. But the few we got turned out well, I think. Will do some more later today...and maybe even get her with a horse!

The Diva

Painting by Linda Martin

Among those attending the fair earlier this month was Tika. Never has my diva been subjected to such stress, and she made it known early on that this was simply too much for her, despite having a 24x24' paddock located alongside the others outdoors.

So by the end of her second day (and the first day of the fair), I was thinking we'd be making a midnight run home with her. I led her to the horse barn that evening and put her inside a stall, fully expecting her ears to be pinned in anger and for her to begin an attempt to tear down the walls.

Tika, however, is full of surprises, and she spent the following two days completely content, all snuggled up in a cozy little cave, happy with the fact that there was not a horse on either side of her.

The peace, however, did not last long. Within a couple of days, Tika was beginning to get anxious, and the banging on the wall began.

Fairgoers. Some are more intelligent than others. Children can read signs that say "I bite", where as adults take it as a challenge. One woman in particular stood and ran her hands up and down Tika's stall front. When asked to please stand back, she replied that she was an animal behaviorist and that she studied animal behavior. All I can say is she must have failed her class if she could not tell my lovely girl was stressed, cranky, and wanted her dead.

Despite her stress, Tika remained the easiest horse for me to handle with my broken ribs. I took her for walks in the morning before the general public showed up, and she'd follow me willingly through the isles, out along the back of the barn without worrying much about the tractors and other farm equipment, past 4-Hers and their wheelbarrows as they mucked stalls. Her ears were up and she took in all the sights and sounds, reaching out to touch me now and then for reassurance that all was good. Never did she push or pull, and always was she polite.

Wadatika was more than happy to return home. A full week was simply too much for this girl to handle. When I walk out among the horses, Tika follows closely behind me. Stressful situations do tend to increase bonding, but it simply wasn't worth it for this red headed diva.