A NEW MOB FOR MISS BB
As the volunteer manager of the New England Brumby Sanctuary near Armidale, New South Wales, it is my job to maintain the 1400-acre property and oversee the care, handling and education of the Brumbies that reside here.
We have a small breeding mob of mares for our three resident stallions, all chosen for their outstanding heritage qualities to preserve the genetics and bloodlines of the renowned Guy Fawkes coloured horses (all were captured in the Guy Fawkes River National Park). There is Macarthur, our solid buckskin lad, strong with plenty of bone; Frankie (named after Frank Sinatra), a perlino with eyes as blue as the sky; and finally Solomon, our oldest and most cherished boy, already aged in his late twenties when he arrived around four years ago.
The mares are mostly coloured. Sapphire is a palomino with beautiful soft eyes and a pretty blaze. Sandstone is another palomino with a penchant for rolling in the mud wherever she can find the dirtiest patch. Both mares have beautiful coloured fillies to Macarthur. There is also Mrs Brown—she’s a plain bay mare but makes up for this in attitude. She has a handsome buckskin colt to our Frankie and is very proud of her son, Master James Brown. And then there is Symphony—she is a prime example of the Sara River buckskins and has a caring motherly nature toward her sweet-faced colt from dear old Solomon.
Until recently there was another mare included in this mob. A very pretty fourteen-year-old, light-coloured paint palomino, named Miss BB after the famous film star Brigitte Bardot because of her stunning blonde good looks. Due to contracting toxic foal founder, Miss BB lost her last foal and is unable to have any more. It also meant that she had to be removed from her family mob and get used to human intervention, being treated by a vet and having her hooves trimmed regularly. This took a while but, being a Brumby, Miss BB accepted these intrusions into her life extremely well. In fact, she recovered quicker than we ever thought she would. She has still very much kept her ‘Brumbiness’ in that she seems to only trust those who are close to her. If anybody who doesn’t know her goes up to her, she will usually run bucking across the paddock while looking back over her shoulder as if poking her tongue out at them.
After Miss BB had recovered, we decided she would be placed with my domestic group of horses. Giant stands 17.2hh but leaves the role of paddock boss to Kevin, a big brown teddy bear with a desire to rip all the rugs off the backs of his mates; they’re both Thoroughbred geldings. Then there is Tribbie, a huge bay Warmblood mare who thinks it’s her right to follow me wherever I go and oversee any work that I do around the property. Her greatest delight is trying to enter the house through the kitchen door whenever opportunity permits. Last, but by no means least, is old Ziggy, a sweet 25-year-old Quarter Horse with a flashy chestnut coat and blonde mane and tail. Ziggy is the designated teacher for young Brumbies and is also very handy at teaching humans as well. This group, including Miss BB, live in and around the area close to the house because they are more inclined than any of the other Brumbies to get up to mischief.
Recently I arrived home from a trip into town to find that the laneway gate separating the domestic mob from the broodmares had been opened. I looked at the big double gates, which normally are secured by two little horseshoe catches over the top latch, and realised they had most probably been opened by one of the inquisitive foals. It seemed one of them had put their head and neck between the two gates and unhooked the latch.
The first thought that came into my head was, ‘Oh no! All my domestics will be out with the broodmares and foals!’ But not so. I perused the house paddock and found my four domestic horses happily grazing—but where was Miss BB? I searched the paddocks close to the house but there was no sign of the blonde beauty. In no time it was dusk and I couldn’t even see where the broodmares were, so I decided to leave Miss BB out with them overnight and look for her early in the morning.
The next day I headed off down the lane that separates our paddocks to see if I could find Miss BB. At the end of the lane I looked over into the paddock where the broodmares usually are in the morning. Sure enough, there was Miss BB, standing on the outskirts of the broodmares and their foals. She had a forlorn look on her face and every time she went to walk towards the mob one of the mares would race out and chase her away. I felt so sorry for her; she had been lead mare of this mob and now they were ferociously rejecting her.
I walked towards the open paddock gate and called her. The look on her face when she saw me was priceless. Her ears pricked, her eyes brightened, she let out a nicker of hello and started towards me. She came up to me and snuffled me gently, her warm morning breath tickling the side of my neck as she nuzzled my face. Miss BB was just so happy to see a friendly face! I asked her if she wanted to come back with me to the house paddock and then I started to walk back up the lane. She stood, undecided, looking over at the mob of mares. I could see that she was so desperate to be part of the group again. Then she turned and looked at me and started to walk towards me. I waited for her to come up next to me then gently put my hand on her neck and said, ‘Come on sweetie, your new mob is waiting for you.’
Once we reached the gate to the house paddock, I opened it and she quietly walked through. When she was safely in the paddock all the domestics came over. Ziggy was the first. He gently touched his nose to Miss BB then stepped back so that Giant and Kevin could check her over. They both sniffed and nuzzled her, checking that she was none the worse for wear. Then big Tribbie came over to Miss BB, put her long neck and head over the top of Miss BB’s wither and gently pulled her into her chest. She snuggled her like a long-lost teddy bear. After a couple of minutes, Tribbie gently brought her head over Miss BB’s withers and walked away, with Miss BB following like a little lost lamb. All the ‘boys’ decided to troop along behind them over to the sunniest spot in the paddock where they all lay down together and dozed in the warm sun.
Miss BB is much happier now; I think she knows where she belongs and is loved.
Hoofnote: There is now a chain and clip as well as the latch on the gate so no naughty foals can open it and cause any more heartache.
Image 38: Miss BB in her new role as a nanny to help raise the youngsters.
Image 39: Spring is celebrated with a new foal in the Tantagara area of Kosciuszko National Park.