Baby Ice was given her very own “nanny” (Nubian goat) when she lost her mom at 17 days of age. Formal name, “Crimson Romance”, loved that goat more than anything. Ice and her goat played for hours and slept together, both curled up around the other one on a soft bed of sawdust.
Just a little history about these two inseparable friends. First of all, Ice, was a scrapper and drank formula from a bucket with no problems. A concern is prolonging milk supplement of an orphan foal sometimes results in a horse with poor social skills. So, she was weaned just like any other foal at about 4 months of age. She was very fortunate to have survived, as the prognosis of survival of an orphan foal is poor. And, of course, when there is human intervention in the foal’s formative months, there is an increase of chances of behavioral issues. Ice’s “nanny” was a blessing and several teaching moments. She was constantly consoling the little foal, never letting her suffer from loneliness. Fortunately, for Ice, her “nanny” was a breed that is very affectionate. They are normally quiet and only make a noise if they have reason to. Unlike other breeds, they tend to not look for trouble.
Ice was easy to break to ride and a delight to work with. Sometimes she would forget about her space (it is important to reinforce ground rules with orphans as there is no mom to teach them).
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