Arinya Morning Star

Arinya Morning Star was born about dawn on Sunday June 6. 2004.  We were so excited that she finally got here!  After all the planning then the breeding and then the pregnancy, it seemed like years before this moment.  Stormy retained the placenta for several hours and required a vet call and oxytocin, but she was fine later and filly doing great.  From the beginning, it was evident that Arinya was large and favors the Shagya side of her pedigree.

Her second day vet check was good--IgG levels high, nursing well, vitals good.  She was a strong-minded filly from the beginning but extremely friendly and willing to be handled.  Also she is very athletic, and she was ready to go when she came out of the stall!  This filly seemed to have springs for legs even from day one.  And she grew--mom has LOTS of good milk.

Along came hurricane Charley in mid-August.  The winds did not last too long, but it RAINED and this is the water around the field.  We lost a shed and a few shingles off the roof, but the horses seemed fine.  They stayed out in the field--it is recommended that unless you are sure your barn will withstand the conditions, the horses are better to be out in the field and in the clear.  Because of the wet conditions, it was impossible to mow the fields also, and the mosquitoes after all of this were horrendous.  Arinya does NOT like bugs!

Then along came hurricane Frances three weeks later.  Arinya got to celebrate her three month birthday in the immediate aftermath of the storm.  This one was long in arriving and long in leaving.  The winds and rains lasted some 36 hours.  On Sunday morning, September 5, I looked out to discover that the roof of the barn was gone.  And this rain was added to the already wet conditions.  Still, Stormy did the mom thing and watched over Arinya, and they seemed OK after all the chaos had passed.  The county got some FEMA money to spray for the mosquitoes, so they were actually less than normal after Frances and that meant a little less spraying for Arinya.

Then along came hurricane Jeanne three weeks after that.  Deja vu, and not the good kind.  Hadn't we done enough of this for one year?  Still, even tho' we residents threatened to all go over to the east coast beach and blow real hard to keep it out to see, the winds and rain came again.  For me, this was the worst storm in terms of losses.  My 17 1/2  year old cat chose the Saturday of the storm hitting to get mortally sick, and I could not get him to the vet so I stayed up with him while the storm hit and watched him die.  The winds and rain lasted for quite a while here although of less intensity than during Frances.  Arinya and mom came through fine, and the other horses seemed OK too, although we were beginning to worry about their feet.  About now, we were thinking that Arinya was the veteran hurricane Shagya!  Through all of this ,she seemed to thrive and certainly grow--she was 12 hands tall and about 400 pounds at 4 months (this out of a 14.3 mare!)  While she is "alpha" in many ways, she is a delight to work with and learns so fast.  At four months, she was going out for walks, tying, loading on a trailer, moving around a round pen at a walk when asked to, and touching a target with her nose (start of clicker training) and just great to be around.

All seemed well until Arinya had a little fever a couple of weeks after the third hurricane.  When I called the vet, he said to just watch her and monitor her temperature.  Well, it went back down within 12 hours and all seemed OK.  About a week after that, she didn't eat one evening but she was still nursing.  The next morning she had quite a fever, and I called for the vet to come out that afternoon.  Her fever kept spiking, and I was hosing her.  But not much else showed up.  I was up with her all night, then she went downhill fast the next morning.  Another vet from the practice got her that morning just in time--we still almost lost her before the IV fluids kicked in.  Arinya and mom went to the University of Florida Veterinary School that afternoon, and I have written updates on the page titled "Medical Information."  She was diagnosed with a salmonella infection.  The vets at UF explained that all horses carry some salmonella in their GI tract, but sometimes particularly in foals the immune system decreases and lets it start an infection.  The only stress Arinya has had in her short life has been the hurricanes in Florida, and we have speculated that their is a connection between her hurricane stress and immune function and possibly health problems.  At this time, it appears that she will make a full recovery.  And I will need to keep writing her story, hopefully for many years to come!

Thanksgiving day, 2004  We are giving thanks for being alive!  Arinya got to spend most of the day outside, soaking up the Florida sunshine and romping.  Her mom Stormy got to roll in the grass for the first time since the beginning of all this--aaahhhhh, that felt gooooooooood!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I guess Arinya has an "official" birthday today since she is registered half-arab, although she is only 6 1/2 months old.  And not a "weanling" yet, either, since she is still with mom who continues to produce milk.

Our "Christmas present" this year was Arinya getting to go out in the 2 acre field again and frolic some.  It's hard to photograph her running, but after the first day she spends more time grazing.  I have some good video clips of her running, and it is a blessing to me to see her really take off.  She now appears the picture of good health, and it is hard to remember her in the clinic fighting for her life (or worse yet, to remember her almost dying in this same field).  She has had a growth spurt to make up for lost time while she was sick, and this picture shows how well she is filled out.  We even had to buy a new halter, and was I ever glad to retire the old one--it was the one she wore all the time she was sick.  I also remember how winded she got on the first gallop in her paddock in November, and now she can run and run.

It's February in Florida, and Arinya has a new buddy, my Anglo Arab gelding Zim.  She is ready, well almost, to take him on except for feeding time.  Zim has definite ideas about feeding time!  She is delighted to find a buddy that will run with her.  At nine months, she shows no lasting effects from her ordeal except that you can still see the rings in her hooves from when she was so sick.

Another milestone--Arinya's first horse show!  She was beautifully behaved, and I couldn't ask for more.  It took a little help the first time to get this trot in hand, but once she got it, I found that I can't keep up when she trots out!  And as if her behavior and presence were not enough, she won her yearling filly/colt class!  A trophy the first time out! 

Mathom Farm is near Bunnell, FL, on the east coast of Florida in Flagler county

email me at saberibnaries@yahoo.com