So, I had this great idea to demonstrate the anatomy of the horse using a zebra skeleton that we had seen out on the plain - no need, Debbie and Jo are both Art Graduates and used dead bodies to understand the structure of the creatures they paint and the syces all butcher their own meat. Having gone out riding at 6 this morning (I didn't know there were two in one day) David and I were allowed to take the truck out on our own and went on safari for three hours. We visited the dead zebra for a quick anatomy lesson and, as if that wasn't exciting enough, ..... sorry need to go and look at a leopard....where was I, if that wasn't exciting enough, we also went to see the hippo and a very pretty lizard, two klipspringers (can now build an ark) and tonight there were two kudu in the garden - one standing under the parasol by the swimming pool and the other pruning the trees. This was our second antelope incident of the day as Tommy, Jo's pet one-horned Thompson's gazelle had thought it was hilarious to chase the long reins while we were working with Lightning, one of the Ethiopian ponies.
Lightning has made massive progress since we first met him - he has a sore back at present, caused partly by oxpeckers stabbing him in the back (!) and possibly from past treatment. We taught him clicker training so that he could do stretches every day and now Cheka is using the feather duster and clicker treats to fetch him in from the plain where he grazes during the day. Previously he was very reticent about being caught at all.
The leopard is just below the lodge tonight.
