[Gift] Update on Riverside's Orchard

Riverside's Orchard
September 18th

It's been a while since I last wrote about the things happening here at our orchard. Last time I actually mentioned that not much was happening out here, but that has definitely changed since then.

The orchard has been bustling with life, and more expected to arrive soon. Last I wrote was about the makeover project I was given, I ended up calling him Peach. Sadly, I eventually parted ways with the sooty palomino stallion, I didn't have the resources to manage his allergy and he didn't fit in with our new arrivals either. Maybe I shall give the makeover a try next year, when I hopefully have learned more about horse keeping and become more accustomed to life at the orchard. 

During the summer months we have had not 1 but 5 new arrivals, more if we count the mares. I'm starting out with the stallions, as we have more mares on the way.
First we got Peach, the lovely sooty palomino with a surprisingly straight textured tail. He was so gentle-natured, when he eventually felt at home, but was very green and hadn't been taught a lot due to the distress from his allergies.

Then we got the grumpy giant, Stains, to give Peach company. He's quite a tall guy, but he's quite the charmer. He's got the most beautiful red tone and is adorned with unique stripes and white markings all over. His stained badger face, the reasoning for his barn name.
Peach and Stains didn't get along well.
No matter how we introduced them, they just kept to each their own, giving a few glances to each other, but never nearing each other. Even for dinner they would just stare at each other, if we tried to feed them close to each other. Not problematic,  but it was clear they weren't a match. Especially as it seemed to have triggered another blossom of Peach's allergy episodes.
This together contributed to the decision of rehoming Peach.

Then came… the energy bomb. Disco, as we call him. Another charming addition, adorned with even more stripes than Stains, basically a tiger in horse form. Disco is also fittingly adorned with spots looking like the reflection of a disco ball, perfect for his attitude too. It's always a party around him. He's quite a lot smaller than Stains, however he certainly makes up for it in energy. We were a bit nervous about introducing Stains & Disco, but somehow Stains seems to tolerate Disco. The first turnout Disco ran straight up to Stains, pressing all the buttons he could find. We always expected Stains to act out and warn Disco, telling him off. Alas, the maximum Stains does is give a little shake, hoof stomp and a warning bite to Disco, so he knows enough is enough. However I do have to tell on Stains, we don't tell this to Stains, but we have actually spotted the two of them snuggling up, once or twice, giving small nibbles to each other and doing other regular horse things. We still had Peach at this time, but we knew the new horse additions stressed him, so we kept him isolated most of the time.

The last current addition to the stallions have been a little yearling, Specter. We didn't want Stains getting too upset at Disco, so we found Specter to give Disco a playmate. Specter is a very spooky yearling, both in temperament and visuals. Sporting an almost fully white coat with small tints of purple, giving away to the many white markings that are hiding in his already natural white coat. He definitely sparkles in his own way besides the two striped buddies, sporting a completely unique look! He's also a little slender built, but that might resolve with his age. However, it is very visual that he will be small in stature already. As we introduced him to the two others it went pretty much as expected. Stains couldn't care less about Specter. Stains came up, looked at Specter, snorted and went back to his spot on the pasture. Disco on the other hand was immediately interested. He came running, waiting for Stains to finish his sour introduction. When Stains left, Disco invited Specter to play right away. However, Specter is easily spooked, so Disco's agile movement often ended up spooking Specter. Luckily Specter seems to be enjoying these small play spooks, so we haven't butted in yet.

Around the same time Specter arrived we said goodbye to Peach. Peach had been doing really well lately, enjoying the training sessions and honestly seemed pleased with his isolation again.
Sadly our plans for the orchard changed a lot from when we first achieved Peach. Peach had just been a gift for me to have something to spend my free time on. However I eventually grew obsessed with Loshenka's.
After Peach I'd fallen in love with the breed, especially their bare neck and long tails. 

So my partner and I agreed to look into how we can help cultivate the breed. Showcasing the best qualities of the species, broaden the target group and reach more people.
Which we've luckily already been able to do a little of. Especially Stains has been popular so far, which is very understandable. He is a handsome fella, even if he doesn't show his handsome temperament that often, hiding it behind his grumpy face grimaces. We're hoping to see some lovely offspring next foal season.
Specter and Disco haven't entered the breeding projects yet, so they get to enjoy their youth a little together. They will eventually be entered into the breeding world too, we already have some big plans for both of them. 

Sadly we have already been running into the problem of our horses being related to each other. Which has put a hold to a lot of our breeding plans, so we've stopped most of them momentarily. 

Next time I will talk about the mares we've welcomed, which should be 4 by that time, maybe more, as we are out shopping for some unique mutations we can explore with our fancy stallions.

However first I should probably get started on my books about horse keeping. I feel like there is something new to learn every single day.

But after these very fast and hectic months, the only thoughts I'm left with is that I hope and wish Peach is doing better in his new home.

Signed
Audrey