Photo by Renee Sigel©

They celebrated with a skiing trip, stopping at a restaurant on the way.  A horse magazine was in the waiting area, and on its cover was a magnificent Gypsy colt.

"In that minute, I fell in love with the Gypsy breed," explains Renee.  "The colt's beauty took my breath away; the hair on its mane and tail looked like fine, long, beautiful feathers.   After seeing the magazine, I was so enthralled that I could not eat lunch.  Life seemed to come to a stop until I could touch, feel, and love a Gypsy horse.

A month later, I was the happy owner of two Gypsy horses.  When I went to purchase them, a filly, Lucy, wouldn't take her eyes off me.  When I walked around the pen, every time I looked at her, she was staring at me.

Apparently, Lucy felt the same way about me as I did about her. This breed of horse is cuddly looking, exceptionally giving, forgiving, and loving.

Years later, we have several more Gypsies. Our mare Glory Upon Glory is an Irish lassie flown into the USA from Ireland.  In New York the agricultural department unloads all the arriving livestock from overseas and washes and disinfects their feet to prevent the spread of hoof-and-mouth disease.  From New York, Glory was flown to Kentucky and then trucked to Oregon, still nursing a filly.

Glory was bred through artificial insemination. Semen from a stallion in Tennessee was purchased and arrived in a box via Fed Ex.  The veterinarian was the middle man in the colt's conception.

The colt, Segway, was born 37 days before his expected delivery date.  The premature birth was a serious threat to the survival of the colt.

Renee said, "The first two hours, I watched Glory and Segway in the pasture.  I had never seen a mare lie down before, but Glory did.  Little Segway did not like her lying down and ran around his mother nudging her. 
 
Finally, he literally crawled into her lap.  He snuggled his muzzle into her cheek and kissed her, and she leaned her head on his head.  Then, he put his head on her chest. She lay her head over his neck and head, and he put his neck all the way down onto her lap, and she lay her head on his body.  It was precious, and luckily I had my camera! The mother and son lay quietly like this for 15 minutes until he fell fast asleep."

Photo by Renee Sigel©

Renee was right, Gypsy horses are special and she proved that carrying a camera and snapping photographs can inspire people around the world.

TIPS

My daughter, Paramedic Ariel, and I had to hand feed Sydney for the first week. 

In three weeks, Sydney has gone from 4 pounds to 6' 10 ounces.

Saving Sydney

 

My neighbor, Jeanna, and I discovered a starving black cat, Sydney. I am blogging Sydney's progress and her journey to survive.

Sydney's Newspaper Story 

http://www.angelscribe.com/saving-sydney.html

 

View daily blogs of pet care tips and photos of Sydney's progress.  

http://savingsydney.blog.com

 

Pet Communicator Dr. Agnes Thomas talked to Sydney. 

Read their communication:

http://www.angelscribe.com/tnt_petpsychic-sydney.html

____________