Photos of My Favorite Racing Mares of the Past

Zenyatta

Genuine Risk

Winning Colors with 1992 filly bu Mr. Prospector

Beholder

Ruffian

Personal Ensign

Bayakoa

Goldikova

Lady's Secret

Zenyatta & War Front Had a Boy!

****  The colt was born at 9:24 p.m. on April 10, 2016.  He died from the complications of meconium aspiration at 9 a.m. on April 13, 2016.   ****

Bits and Pieces

I will have reports and photos from the Chincoteague pony Spring Round-Up shortly, and plan to post a lot of photos, thanks to many friends.  I will definitely credit the photographers, if they identify themselves!
   I'm finally starting to feel as if my spring sap is being to run.  Waking up with a good humor and looking forward to getting my jobs done.  Unfortunately, I also just looked at my calendar, and the only day I do not have anything scheduled to do is April 24th.  I guess that will be my day off this month.
  Horse racing -  Nyquist and Mohaymen raced each other for the first time in yesterday's Florida Derby.  Mohaymen met his first defeat, finishing fourth, with Nyquist the winner by 3 1/4 lengths. (Mohaymen had been the betting favorite.)  ...  Jockey Calvin Borel, three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, has announced his retirement.  ....  The great race mare Zenyatta celebrated her 12th birthday on Friday.  She has a "foal watch party" going on, as she is due to deliver a new foal by War Emblem at any time.
  Today, one of the most iconic and world renowned businesses began.  The Pony Express was only in operation for 19 months, with the inaugural rider starting his journey on 3 April 1860.  The Pony Express was closed on 26 April 1861, two days after the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line.  The route ran between Saint Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.  Using the regular mail, delivery time from one place to the other took 21 days.  The Pony Express guaranteed delivery in 10 days - and charged a whopping $2.50 per letter.  It's hard to imagine those days with no radio, no television, no transcontinental railways or telegraph.  (Just think how today's children would respond to a time without cars, telephones, computers, televisions, airplanes, and instant communication!)

Horses - Thoroughbreds in Particular

In six days, the world will know whether or not there is a new Triple Crown Champion in the United States.  It would be nice.  The last Triple Crown winner was chestnut, Florida-bred Affirmed in 1978, which was 37 years ago.  In those 37 years, there have been 13 colts who won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but could not win the one-and-a-half mile Belmont Stakes in New York.  American Pharoah is the current champion-in-waiting, and I would positively love it, if he wins.  He has the Hyperion breeding that I love very much.   And Fred Hooper was a Florida breeder, who started combining the Hyperion lines - my love to you and Hoop Jr., sir.  
  It seems that there will be nine opponents facing American Pahroah in the Belmont - and he has raced against eight of them in either the Derby or the Preakness.  The lone new horse next Saturday will be The Truth Or Else, whom American Pharaoh defeated earlier in the year.  Of course, American Pharaoh is the betting favorite.  Here are the names of the other contenders: Frosted, Tale of Verve, Carpe Diem, Frammento, Materiality, Madefromlucky, Keen Ice, Mubtaahij, and The Truth Or Else.  Post positions will be drawn on Wednesday for the race on 6  June.
  The other horses, who have achieved winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but not the Belmont (since 1978) are:  1979 - Spectacular Bid, 1981 - Pleasant Colony, 1987 - Alysheba, 1989 - Sunday Silence, 1997 - Silver Charm, 1998 - Real Quiet, 1999 - Charismatic, 2002 - War Emblem, 2003 - Funny Cide, 2004 - Smarty Jones, 2008 - Big Brown, 2012 - I'll Have Another (did not compete in the Belmont), and 2014 - California Chrome.
   Speaking of California Chrome, his owners have him stabled at Royal Ascot, where he is scheduled to run in the Prince of Wales Stakes on 17 June.  Jockey Frankie Dettori took Chrome out for a spin the other day, to see if he'd like to race him.  I heaven't yet heard Frankie's decision.
    Also, Zenyatta, the Queen of Racing,  is back in foal.  She has produced two colts and a filly, Cozmic One and Ziconic, and the ill-fated Z Princess, who died from a paddock accident at the age of one.  She wasn't bred last year; but this year, she was bred back to War Front, who sired her last foal, the filly.  According to the veterinarians, she is now 40 days pregnant.  Hip, hip, hooray!
     Besides the Belmont Stakes, the Epsom Derby is being run on 6 June, in England.  Their Derby race is 12 furlongs, plus 30 feet (1.5 miles plus 30 feet) - or 30 feet further than the Belmont Stakes; and their colts carry 126 pounds.  There are 17 colts that are currently registered for the run.  Alphabetically, they are:  Best of Times, Carbon Dating, Elm Park, Epicuris, Giovanni Canaletto, Gleneagles, Golden Horn, Great Glen, Hans Holbein, Jack Hobbs, Kilimanjaro, Moheet, Prince Gagarin, Rocky Rider, Rogue Runner, Storm the Stars, and Zawraq.  At the moment, Golden Horn is the betting favorite.

Inmate? Poor House Living; Cozmic One To Race Friday

Zenyatta's first foal, Cozmic One (known to family and friends as Coz), will begin his racing career on Friday.  It's a special weight race for maidens, and Coz has drawn the number one, inside, post.  In the outside post will be a son of Blame, the only horse to defeat Zenyatta.  Hopefully Coz has matured enough to put his mind on running and will have a great racing career, like his mom.  Trainer John Shirreffs, who trained Zenyatta, believes that her son, sired by Bernardini, is ready for competition.  Victor Espinoza will be in the irons on Friday when this promising colt makes his debut at Santa Anita Park.
   I'm still working on the Busey part of my family tree.  Yesterday, I was looking for information regarding Andrew Jackson Busey; he was the fourth son of Samuel Andrew Jackson Busey and America King Busey.  Andrew was listed as a child, under his father's name in the US Federal Census. In the 1870 and 1880 Census, he was working as a farm laborer on his eldest brother's farm.  Samuel married at the age of 39, and he and his wife are listed in the 1900 Census as a farmer and his wife in Carroll County, Indiana.  In glancing further down the search return, I was amazed to see that Andrew was listed as an "Inmate" in the 1910 and 1920 Census.
  Now, when I see the word "inmate" I think of three places - a local jail, a state prison, or an asylum for the mentally deficient.  I was puzzled, then when I searched the records and found, in the 1910 Census, that both Andrew and his wife, Mary,  were listed as "Inmates" in the Carroll County Infirmary.  Andrew was aged 64, Mary aged 66.  In the 1920 US Census, Andrew was listed as a widower, and an "Inmate,"  in the Howard County Infirmary, aged 74.  Both of these Infirmaries were in the state of Indiana, and Andrew was born (and died in) Howard County.  So, what the heck was an Infirmary of the County in the state of Indiana?
   I found the answer in a master's degree thesis that was posted on-line: "In the first half of the twentieth century, the county home was a fixture in each of Indiana’s ninety-two counties. Known by a variety of names, such as poorhouse, poor farm, county farm, poor asylum, or county infirmary, the county home offered shelter to those unable to provide for themselves. Residents included the mentally and physically disabled, those with mental illnesses, unwed mothers, the aged, and orphaned children, along with whole families too poor to live independently. The county home was the original homeless shelter, foster home, mental institution, and rehabilitation facility. This institution was publicly owned and managed at the county level, and it preceded any state or federal government welfare policies. Most counties built large, stately, institutional-style brick structures to serve this purpose. Poverty, until the Great Depression, was mainly a local problem. "
  I could not find a grave site, or marker, for Andrew's wife, Mary.  I suppose she was buried in a potter's grave in Carroll County, Indiana.  Andrew got a marker - and I think that other family members contributed for  the cost.  Andrew is in the Chittick Cemetery, in Miami County, where his parents are buried.  He was the fourth born of seven children, all of whom lived and married - and I'm surprised that he was in the county poor house for over 10 years prior to his death.

Zenyatta's Daughter Dead; Magician Scratched From Turf

Oh my gosh....  I've had to deal with the death of a promising young horse before -  but they are always a complete surprise and extremely hard to grasp and deal with.  There was an accident in the weanling paddock yesterday evening at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky.  I haven't been able to hear the particulars, but "Z Princess," the third foal, and only filly of champion race mare Zenyatta had to be euthanized  on site.   Of course, Zenyatta is a young mare, and can be re-bred to War Front for another foal - but still, the loss of such a promising youngster is a blow to the soul.  I wanted to name the filly Zen Somme, and wanted to see her run, just like her dam....  These are the latest photos that I have of the gorgeous filly:

In other racing news, Magician, the defending Breeders Cup Turf champion  has been scratched from the race on Saturday.  Magician was taken out of his stall to jog today, and was found to be profoundly lame in his right fore.  He was checked by veterinarians, and the decision was made to remove him from the race.

Cozmic One and Painted Patchen

Zenyatta's first foal, the colt named Cozmic One, is in training at Belmont Park.  He'll be three years old on January 1, and, as he is a large, fast-growing colt, the owners and trainer don't want to race him until he is more athletically mature.  Here are his latest photos:

The colt that caught a lot of eyes at the Fasig-Tipton Keeneland Sale this past week was hip number 1093, a son of Thunder Gulch.  The colt was bred at Patchen Wilkes Farm in Kentucky, which is known for their white thoroughbreds.  This colt, Painted Patchen, was born with a chestnut medicine hat and freckles; however, since his predominant coat color is white, he is registered as a white thoroughbred.

Thoroughbred Horses

The Grey Gatsby defeats Australia in the Irish Champion

Black Caviar and her new Exceed and Excel filly

Zenyatta and ZPrincess

ZPrincess

Ziconic

Cozmic One on the Belmont Park training track

Zenyatta & Her Breedings

Zenyatta won 19 of 20 races under jockey Mike Smith

She was bred to Bernardini first,

and produced

Cozmic One:

Tapit was the sire of

Zenyatta's second foal, the yearling

Ziconic:

 

War Front is the sire of 

this year's foal, a filly,

born Easter morning:

The Moss Family has asked for suggestions from Zenyatta's fans about

breeding her this year.

Giant's Causeway is my first choice.

Medaglia d'Oro is my second choice. 

Just Things

A nice, quiet weekend for me...  Currently, Nedi is outside playing with the squirrels, while Lovey is lying in a patch of sunlight on the foot of the bed.  I woke up about ten minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off this morning, so I turned it off.  I drifted back to wakefulness 40 minutes later, with Lovey burbling in my ear and the sound of finches and sparrows singing outside the door.  I gave the squirrels walnuts this morning, and was very happy to see Cashew appear for breakfast.  I hadn't seen him for almost a week, and I know the service dog caught and killed two squirrels last week.  While the owner of the service dog said she'd like to work with me to get help training her dog, she hasn't "had any time" to do so.  The poor dog, meanwhile, howls inside the apartment - and this morning, has been trying to dig his way out through the window.  He's a young dog and needs plenty of exercise, love, companionship, and obedience training...  I feel sorry for both him and the owner, as she will continue to have problems with him.
  I move into Rosie's early Wednesday, and will stay there through the weekend.  Hopefully I can get the family's laptop up and running again.  And it will be nice to see this next to the last episode of Vikings on a 5-foot screen...  I just read an interview with Michael Hirst, the only writer involved with the series (indeed, he's the creator and sole writer), that next year's episodes will include one showing the sacking of Paris - that is an episode to look forward to!  But, as always, I want more; and much sooner than next year.  The first day of filming for the third season has already been set for 2 June, in Ireland.  I'm looking forward to seeing all of the major characters return.
  Zenyatta's filly, sired by War Front, arrived at Lane's End Farm at 12:03 a.m. on Easter morning.  She is a gorgeous bay, with a curling white blaze on her face.  The weather at the farm was so beautiful that Zenyatta and her foal were taken out to the paddock yesterday morning to enjoy the sun, and for the filly to try out her legs.  I still like the name I came up with - Zen Somme - for her;other folks are pressing for Eazter or Eazter Bunny, and a few for Z War Zone or No More Warz.....  I'd like commemorate all of the fallen men along the Somme back in World War I, myself....

14Z outside on Easter morning

Zenyatta's 2014 Foal Arrived!

Zenyatta's 2014 foal arrived this morning - a bay filly by War Front.  I nominate the name of Zen Somme !

Horses, Assateague Lighthouse, Chincoteague Ponies

Zenyatta with Mike Smith up.  Copyright by Barbara Livingston

Cozmic One, Zenyatta & Bernardini's colt, training in Florida

Ziconic, Zenyatta & Tapit's yearling colt

Assateague Lighthouse is having it's Grand Reopening Ceremony today 

Spring Round-up on Assateague, 11 April 2014

New Chincoteague pony foal,  11 April 2014

Zenyatta, Chincoteague Happenings, and Boulder

When the sun first arrived today, there were no clouds - now there is light, heavy clouds, and no sight of that great yellow-white orb we circle around....  I've got "Golden Oldie Rock" from the 1960s  playing, both Lovey and Nedi are napping, and I'm starting to want to eat lunch.  I've been to Safeway for some soft toilet tissue and Diet Coke; I've been to the bank and deposited a check; and I've been to the WalMart Neighborhood Market to purchase a nice ham steak, nuts for the squirrels and kitty food.  I was excited when the WalMart store opened here in Boulder - that meant I did not have to travel to Longmont or Lafayette to buy Campbell's Pork & Beans.  Can you believe that WalMart is the  only store in the state of Colorado that sells Campbell's Pork & Beans?  I stopped there Thursday a week ago, and found they had no baked beans whatsoever - I was told a 501c3 group had come in and purchased all the canned beans in the store.  So I stopped there Monday, and again today, knowing they get shipments in on Wednesday and Saturday.  Still no C's P&Bs.....  But I saved a lot and got everything else I needed, so I'm pretty happy.
  Fans of the racing mare Zenyatta are waiting for the arrival of her third foal, this one by the sire War Front.  Cozmic One, her first colt by Bernardini, is now in training and under saddle at the Mayberry training farm near Ocala, Florida.  Her second colt (by Tapit) was just named Ziconic, and is still enjoying his childhood at Lane's End Farm, where the Queen is awaiting her latest delivery.  They are certainly a handsome family - and you have a chance to vote on which stallion you'd like to see Zenyatta bred back to on her website at:  http://www.zenyatta.com/discussions#/discussion/1123/voting-for-z039s-next-boyfriend    I'd like to see her bred to Giant's Causeway, myself....
   The Spring Round-Up of the Chincoteague ponies on Assateague Island went very well last weekend.  There are some nice foals already on the ground, and it looks like the stallions have been doing their jobs well.  As you know, the Chincoteague Fire Department is made up of Volunteers; and we can always use money for equipment and training.  Please visit the CVFD  web store at  http://www.cvfc3.com/store  and see if there isn't something there that you just need to have.  .....   Today is the second, and last day of the 2014 Easter Decoy Festival on Chincoteague.  .....Next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Chincoteague Island Theatre Company presents  "Murder at the Banquet" by Robert LaVohn, with the co-producer being the Kiwanis Club of Chincoteague.  This is a "Whodunit? Murder Mystery" after a meal catered by, and held at, Mr Paul's Restaurant at 5030 Chicken City Road.  Meal includes soup, entree, and dessert.  Tickets are $25 apiece.     ....    The Chincoteague Seafood Festival will be held on Saturday, 3 May.  I don't know if any tickets are available, or not.  It's usually a sold-out event well before the day.  ....  And 10 May will see the 20th Annual International Migratory Bird Celebration at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island.  On Chincoteague Island, there will be the Chincoteague Earth Day Celebration and the Second Saturday Art Stroll - a chance to see finished art and visit with the artists.

 

Wildfires, Zenyatta, & the Eastern Shore

Things look a little better today, regarding the wildfires in Colorado - we have more containment, cooler temperatures, and a chance of rain for the next three days.  Unfortunately, the rain also means chances for lightning - otherwise, it's great news.  What is sobering is the report that 473 homes have been destroyed by the Black Forest fire, and the fire is now about 30% contained.  Pets and livestock, mostly horses, are missing - one can view and/or post missing pets and livestock on the KUSA website at  http://www.9news.com/news/photo-gallery.aspx?storyid=340858 .  One family believes they are lucky; they lost their house, but their 27 assorted animals and their barn are safe.  Their horses, cats, dogs, birds, and pigs all survived; they plan on rebuilding the house.    The Royal Gorge wildfire is reported as being 65% contained.  A new wildfire broke out yesterday, the Ward Gulch fire, close to Rifle Mountain Park, was started by lightning, and the last I heard, had expanded to over 400 acres with no containment.  Several structures were at risk, and the Park was evacuated.  There will be a live update on the status of all of the fires at 10 a.m. MDT; I'll update as needed.
   Zenyatta, Queen Z, the Spanish-walking retired racehorse has been confirmed in foal to War Front.  Her first foal, a yearling named CoZmic One, is a colt by Bernardini; this year, she produced a chestnut colt by Tapit.  It will be interesting to see what this mating to War Front will bring...
   On the Eastern Shore, a sinkhole opened up in a lane of US 13, Lankford Highway, near Keller.  It drew a lot of attention from locals on their way in to work.  ....  Two people took a 6-foot inflatable dinghy out into the Atlantic from  the northern end of Assateague Island, near Ocean City, Maryland.  They had to be rescued by the US Coast Guard, as the current quickly took them away from the shore.  The folks had no water, no food, no flares, no radio, no life vests, and no sun block with them.  Luckily, a chartered fishing boat saw them and reported them so they could be rescued. (My opinion: Idiots. Let Darwin's Law take care of them.) ....  And, finally, for the first time since the Civil War, a State Senator from the Eastern Shore, Ralph Northam, of Onancock, is running for Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia.  I'd vote for him, were I still living there.

Zenyatta's New Colt

Tapit is the colt's father...

 

Zenyatta is, of course, the mother...

 

Zenyatta and colt, born at 11:47 p.m. April 1, 2013

 

Zenyatta and her second son

 

April Fools Happenings

Yesterday was, of course, April Fools Day, and a lot of people had a great deal of fun playing with gullible minds. Scope mouth wash announced a "Sizzlin Bacon" flavor; archaeologists claimed to have found Thor's Hammer embedded in granite bedrock under the city of Stockholm, and to have found the entrance to Hell in Turkey; while here in Boulder, Xcel Energy suggested the city turn to hamsters running in wheels for power...

   And - no joking here - a 40-year-old woman from Parksley (Virginia) was arrested just after midnight Tuesday morning, not far from a new arson fire in Melfa in Accomack County; It's possible that she and an accomplice are responsible for the arson fires that have plagued the county since November. .... Also on 1 April, it was announced that Shanghai Bobby, last year's Juvenile Champion, is being pulled out of contention in the Triple Crown races. And Zenyatta, the super racing mare, turned 9 yesterday - and delivered a chestnut colt by Tapit just before midnight. The colt weighs an estimated 145 pounds and has a blaze like his dam. Mare and foal are doing fine this morning. .... Also yesterday, James Holmes, accused of killing 12 and wounding over 50 people in the Aurora cinema shooting, was informed that the prosecution will not accept a plea bargain in his trial and want the death penalty. This man offered to plead guilty, if he would be sentenced to life in prison. Right now, I agree with the prosecutors - he planned his attack and carried it out thoroughly, insanity is not a viable defense, and his life should be in jeopardy.

Wacky Wednesday

All I have to shop for today is the fresh fruit for the platter, and Sprouts has all of their berries on sale, so I'm in good shape. I'll need to make the corn pudding and brownies tonight, as well as bake my own pumpkin pie; tomorrow I'll only need to wash, dry, and arrange the fruits and berries for the platter. Kathy and Jim will pick me up and take me out to Niwot - when I get back, though, I'll need to take care of the Thore critters, then Ooch, and then Sasquatch and Tugger. So I'll get to bed a little later than usual... Then I'll be caring for them all twice a day through Sunday night... But I get to return to my own bed on Saturday night, so the kits and I will get to re-unite again. There's been no recent sighting of the black bear, so I hope it has gone back into the mountains.

  Rosie and Remy, and Mona and Boo were great this morning - at least I don't have muddy paw prints all over me like the last few days. Did my laundry yesterday - and my tummy is still not normal, but I'm coping. Luckily I grabbed new library books, so I have six new reads to keep me busy... - Which makes me wonder how long it will be before my eight books arrive from the Mystery Guild. I joined, ordered and paid for the books a few weeks ago, so I might just have to contact them and ask what happened...

  If you are on, or near Chincoteague, or are interested in the ponies on Assateague, here's the latest release from the CVFC:

"Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company:

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!! Just wanted to let you all know that given the fact that the majority of ponies are up at the North End, we have put a few in the south corral for Thanksgiving week for everyone to see. They will be checked on daily and water and hay will be provided. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!"

   And, speaking of equines, Zenyatta's half-sister, Eblouissante made her racing debut this past weekend. She had never raced before, and made her debut as a three-year-old; she is a dark bay/brown like Zenyatta, and is tall and rangy like her half-sister. Eblouissante won her first race by 4 and 1/2 lengths and was pulling away at the wire; the filly, by Bernardini, is trained by John Shirreffs. Normally, race horses are known by their sire and dam. But here's a thought: Zenyatta and Eblouissante have the same mother, but different sires. Zenyatta's soon-to-be-a-yearling colt and Eblouissante have the same sire, Bernardini. It's normal in horse racing - but would be truly weird in humans....

The Queen and Her Son; Working Goats

Zenyatta and her colt (by Bernardini) - besides the star, the colt has ermine around his left fore-foot.

A goat is "on guard" over the rest of its' flock in Brazil...

Goats are frequently used to pull carts and small loads in Europe - it's rare to find trained goats in the US, but several farms are working to change that.

Zenyatta Had A Colt!

Zenyatta, my favorite thoroughbred mare, delivered a dark bay colt weighing 130 pounds at 10:10 last night.  The colt has a a large star on his forehead, and has ermine around his hooves.  Daddy is Bernardini.  The Blood Horse states that there are photos posted of mare and foal, and a short video clip of them on Zenyatta's web site.  Her URL is :  http://www.zenyatta.com/  , but I have been unable to access the site due to heavy traffic through their server....  Otherwise, I'd have a photo of the pair posted.
   I added another ten pages to my brother-in-law's family tree last night, adding information on his mothers' side - both the Sanborns and the Procters.  And I found a photo of his great-grandparents that had been posted on-line, so I sent it to him and his siblings.
   It's nice and sunny out - the kits are running in and out the patio door.  This morning, Nedi jumped on top of Lovey and kicked the daylights out of her while in the bath tub.  She hissed and cussed a lot, and finally got out of his clutches.  (Nedi considers the tub his territory.)    We had a very nice walk yesterday, even though Remy was only up for 20 minutes.  Then I took Rosie on for a walk/jog for another 45 minutes.  I'll be taking them out about 12:30 today, so they won't be at home to bark at the furnace repairmen while they are working.
   And yesterday I saw a black fox for the fourth time in the 5-acre property at the end of Topaz and Emerald, that parallels Garnet.  In the last twelve days, I've seen it both from Garnet and from 19th Street.  I sent that news out to the neighborhood wildlife e-mail list, and was informed that a red fox has also been seen in the same area.  Hopefully, the coyotes have moved on.  I haven't seen them or had reports of them for the past 8 weeks, and with the return of the foxes to the neighborhood, it's a good indication they have moved on.
   I hope everyone has a super weekend! - And don't forget to turn your clocks forward one hour Sunday when you get up, or Saturday night before you go to bed!! (That is, do so if you live in the US, other than the states of Hawaii or Arizona.)

No Schweddy Balls at Local Stores!

Yesterday afternoon I stopped by 5 different grocery stores that carry Ben & Jerry's ice cream here in Boulder.  Not a one had any Schweddy Balls; they were carrying Red Velvet Cake and several other new flavors, but no Schweddy Balls.  I was disappointed.  But then I stopped by the Ben & Jerry's Store on the Pearl Street Mall - and had a wonderful, delicious scoop of Schweddy Balls...  I enjoyed it very much.

In reading the news on-line today, I couldn't help but laugh...  A headline reads: "Loveland Man Bitten by Rapid Bat."  I am very sorry that the man was bitten by a bat - and by a rabid bat, at that - but, the typo made it hysterically funny to me.  The man was in his yard Tuesday night, and thought he heard or sensed a big moth nearby; a little later he thought he was bitten on the neck, behind his ear, by a mosquito.  The next day, his dog was tossing a dead bat around in the yard.  He took the bat in to be tested, and found out it was rabid, and found that his "mosquito bite" exactly matched the bats' teeth.  He is now undergoing that nasty, painful series of rabies shots.

Zenyatta is doing well at Lanes End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky.  She is turned out with another maiden mare, Tasty Temptations - and her sides are beginning to show her pregnancy.  Yippee!!  ....  The Albuquerque Zoo has a new pair of twin boy snow leopard cubs; the mother is Kachina, and the boys are Kiran and Kalmala.  ....  And I fell in love with a poor little pit bull puppy in Florida this morning.  Her name is Harper and she is 11 weeks old.  She was born with swimmer puppy syndrome (or disorder) - her chest wall was flattened and had no muscle mass, so she could not hold her head up or even move - she was like a splayed frog.  Her breeder had put her in a trash bag and placed her in a dumpster.  A good Samaritan picked up the puppy and had it evaluated at a local Humane Society.  She was told the best thing to do was put the puppy to sleep.  She wanted the puppy to experience some love and caring before it died, so she took it home for the night.  She spent most of her time massaging the puppies' legs, neck and chest, and she was rewarded by the puppy holding it's head up to follow her with it's eyes.  It was the first time the puppy had done so in her short (8 week) life.  The good Samaritan then took the puppy to the UF Veterinary School in Gainesville the next day, instead of taking her to be killed.  The prognosis was not good - but Harper, the puppy, has surprised everyone.  She goes to hydrotherapy to swim and gets massaged each and every day - and she is now walking on her own, at the age of 11 weeks.  Three weeks ago she could not make any movement.  This little puppy, Harper, is a true scrapper - If I didn't have my cats and my pet-sitting business, I'd adopt her in a heartbeat!