A Fiery Ember

After all of the fires that have plagued California over the past few months, you might not remember the two we had here in October that killed at least 30 horses. I wrote about them here and here. Out of the Cottonwood fire, a stallion named The Boss and a mare named Rias were both saved. The Boss was severely burned, but is still alive. Rias, also badly burned, turned out to be in foal by The Boss.

A few weeks ago, against what seemed like staggering odds, Rias delivered a very healthy and very spunky filly. Meet Ember.

With the creme gene directing things, Ember turned out to be a smoky black.

The local media was so excited to hear about such a cutie-pie being born after such a disheartening tragedy that as soon as they caught wind of the birth, they swooped in to tell her story. Watch one of the news videos here.

Over the weekend, Cecile invited me to come visit Ember. Holy moly is she ever a pistol. As I entered the stall where she was napping, I walked around her very carefully so as not to startle her. I shouldn't have worried. The second she realized she had company, she leaped up and jammed her face into my leg, chewing on my clothes and boots. Within no time, she was whirling and launching her little hooves at anything she could connect with.

Bold and brave!

She kicked at everyone and everything in her vicinity. She chased off Cecile's dogs and then gave momma a whack just to demonstrate that she could. Even though we were there for more than an hour, she barely suckled. She'd dive in a for a quick sip and then charge around shoving her way into everyone's space.

Cecile was holding Ember so someone else could meet her. If you look closely, you can see momma's healing skin.

She is definitely a spitfire. Ember suits her well!