An Update on the Arabian Twin Foals Happy Birthday Trouble and Surprise

The beginning of the twins saga begins hereReflections on Foaling Season 2006

There has been so much going on, every time I think I'm going to get a chance to write an update on the progress of the twins Arabian foals something else happens. But I think it's been bumped about as many times as it can be because I'm beginning to get both emails requests and now requests through the comments on my blog.

Normally I try and send an email once a month with the status and progress of the twins but even that has fallen behind with life's little lessons along the way taking priority. Hopefully tonight I will get both of these updates taken care of and get out of my current dog house.

The big news is the Arabian twins are now officially one year old. They had their birthday last month and yes, they did have a party. The weather and life's usual bumps interfered with the party being on their actual birthday but like all kids they didn't really care as long as there was a party!

Some of you will remember at Christmas the folks on the twins' email list got to see the little monsters in their Santa hats. Both of them did really well with the hats and put up no complaints about wearing them. Trouble did try to eat his but he certainly wasn't afraid of it. Must have been the fake red and white fur that they liked. Who knows! But the twins were great about those hats.

So imagine my chagrin when they didn't greet the birthday party hats with the same degree of enthusiasm. Actually, enthusiasm was the farthest thing from either of their minds. Both Trouble and Surprise thought Mom had really lost it. Bolting was the first line of defense against the gaily colored party hats. When that didn't work, striking and kicking were the order of the day. For those who haven't guessed, Trouble is the striker and Surprise is the kicker.

Rachel and I both laughed so hard we almost cried as we went through the desensitization process it took to even get close to the two horses with their hats. We did finally manage to get the hats on their heads taking pictures of them wearing the darn things but they refused to tolerate them for the video. (OK so the twins are right, Mom has lost it!) But to my dismay the camera man, Dave, didn't take a single picture of the antics as we tried to put the hats on in the first place. I was very disappointed because I'm pretty sure that's where the best shots were.

So we got a couple of shots of both Trouble and Surprise wearing the hats I had so carefully shopped for. It's not easy, you now to find party hats big enough for horses, even little horses. I'm not sure the length of time they tolerated them was worth the effort I put into finding them. You will have to be the judge of that.

Once we had the party hats on, we tried to give them their birthday cake. Yes, Mom did this part right, they had a cake.
We let them smell it and then put it on the ground for them to eat. We turned the two horses lose so they could enjoy their cake.

After a couple of bites Trouble decided it was more fun to jump on Surprise than to eat the cake. Besides he knew chasing her around the paddock she couldn't eat the cake either so it would be there waiting when the colt's sport was done.

Surprise was not happy about her brother's interest in jumping on her and biting her withers. The filly headed straight for behind me and while I have gained a few pounds this winter I'm not big enough to hide that filly. So when that didn't work, she was headed for the gate. The filly kicked the colt a number of times but Trouble, like most boys thought that meant Surprise wanted to play. He just didn't get the picture that his sister was not interested in rough and tumble boy play.

Surprise tried to undo the latch on the gate and almost got it accomplished before her brother came charging at her and took a flying leap landing on her pushing the filly past the gate. There wasn't much we could do but catch them both up before someone got hurt.

As we took them back over to their cake, it was obvious Surprise was most happy to have her dimwit brother under control. The poor filly gave off a deep sigh and rubbed a thank you with her face against my hand.

Trouble had worked up quite an appetite and was now ready for that cake, although he preferred to be hand feed than to have it sitting on the ground.

I have portions of this ordeal on video and had hoped to get it uploaded to U-tube but am having problems with my computer and my skills. So for now there video is still on my camera. Will post a link when we get the upload worked out.

And just for the record, Happy First Birthday Trouble and Surprise! Special raspberries to all those who said you'd never make it. You not only made it but you did it with style!




The recipe for the cake was compliments of Our First Horse The cake consisted of 2 cups of crimped oats, 4 shredded carrots and 1/4 cup of molasses. The mixture was but into a cake pan for form and them turned out onto a plate and refrigerated until firm. Before it was served, apple wheels were added as garnish.

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