Hoofbeats

September passed quietly on the Preserve. No hurricanes threatened, a great relief for all.

We had a lot of rain which slowed work way down so the stallion area remains on temporary hold. The whole Preserve is dotted with water holes both tiny and large. Everything is lush and sparkling. For the first time since the double hurricanes two years ago, the forest is filled with birdsong and we saw the return of a fowl hawk. An area in the southern part of the preserve which appeared to have been hit by a tornado during hurricane Floyd is showing vigorous new pine growth.

The logs around the corral were all replaced with new wood with the bark removed. This project left a big pile of pine chips for the path to the Book shop. Now that the corral is complete the men are focusing on a major clean up of the fence line (about 5 miles) so the line will be easy to keep clear for winter fires. When the line is complete they will go back to working on the stallion area. When that area is complete we will have between 7 and 8 miles of line to keep clear. We are hoping to get some local help in clearing the logging roads that cross the Preserve to serve as more fire breaks.

Acamar's tail plate has dropped to its normal position and her tail also is back in place. Marked changes in both areas led us to believe in late July that she was close to giving birth, but nothing happened and so we assume reabsorption. A big disappointment, but, we have good news: our vet, Dr. Michele Mautino has been cleared to come to Abaco for the long overdue health checks. We are tentatively set for the first week in November for her initial visit. At long last we will start the work that will tell us why the mares don't seem to be able to maintain pregnancy.

With a slowing down (we hope) of hurricane season and with Dr, Mautino's long awaited arrival, there will be a lot of activity to look forward to in the coming months.

Our latest local fund raising effort:: Go Grow! We're starting small, so far have three local home farmers.


		September 2007 Report
	September passed quietly on the Preserve. No hurricanes threatened, a great relief for all. We had a lot of rain which slowed work way down so the stallion area remains on temporary hold. The whole Preserve is dotted with water holes both tiny and large. Everything is lush and sparkling. For the first time since the double hurricanes two years ago, the forest is filled with birdsong and we saw the return of a fowl hawk. An area in the southern part of the preserve which appeared to have been hit by a tornado during hurricane Floyd is showing vigorous new pine growth. The logs around the corral were all replaced with new wood with the bark removed. This project left a big pile of pine chips for the path to the Book shop. Now that the corral is complete the men are focusing on a major clean up of the fence line (about 5 miles) so the line will be easy to keep clear for winter fires. When the line is complete they will go back to working on the stallion area. When that area is complete we will have between 7 and 8 miles of line to keep clear. We are hoping to get some local help in clearing the logging roads that cross the Preserve to serve as more fire breaks. Acamar's tail plate has dropped to its normal position and her tail also is back in place. Marked changes in both areas led us to believe in late July that she was close to giving birth, but nothing happened and so we assume reabsorption. A big disappointment, but, we have good news: our vet, Dr. Michele Mautino has been cleared to come to Abaco for the long overdue health checks. We are tentatively set for the first week in November for her initial visit. At long last we will start the work that will tell us why the mares don't seem to be able to maintain pregnancy. With a slowing down (we hope) of hurricane season and with Dr, Mautino's long awaited arrival, there will be a lot of activity to look forward to in the coming months. Our latest local fund raising effort:: Go Grow! We're starting small, so far have three local home farmers.