Champa champa ...

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Created on Sunday, 19 April 2015 06:50

Born in Tissamaharama during a warm November, Champa was a mere 10 days old when, on New Years’ Eve her Sindhi mother Saroj experienced the worst colic that we, at the Premadasa Riding School had ever handled. The foal had not been handled in any way until that day, and had to watch helpless whilst we attempted to save her dam.

The next evening Saroj was nearing the end of her tether and would not even attempt to stand up. The filly (Champa) adamantly refused to drink from the bottle and was now becoming dehydrated as well. It was a no win situation, when the mare had given up. Desperate to save at least one life, we decided to try a drastic course of action … to introduce Champa to Chandrika – a volatile gray mare that had a history of attacking any foal that was not hers, and over protective of her own.

She had just been separated from her six month colt and was still milking, and had been brought into that stable for a few days before shifting to a more permanent stable.

It was the most amazing thing … Saroj was incapacitated on the ground when Chandrika was brought to the stable area. We had two grooms holding Chandrika, in case she decided to attack the filly and another holding Champa to guide her to the mare.

I remember it like yesterday, Chandrika took a long good look at Saroj and then moved her leg to the side, to allow Champa to nurse. She didn’t even try to nip, kick or bite. She just relaxed and allowed Champa to nurse. The change in Saroj’s behavior was shocking to anyone that had seen written her off…

She began struggling and then lunged to her feet and called to her filly, obviously offended that she was nursing with another mare!

From that moment on, she fought more than any horse I know to stay alive. It was not an easy road for her, she got severe laminitis as a result of her colic and had numerous complications. She was transferred to Colombo but however sick she was, she never let any other mare feed her foal.

Eventually Champa trusted people enough to take the bottle, and she was possibly the first extremely adventurous foal we had – that didn’t know how to stay inside a closed stable, or respect the boundaries of any horse or person!

All the stable horses were tolerant of her since they knew her mother was unable to teach her any manners, even Tipu Sultan (resident stallion) who constantly put up with her undignified visits into his stable and attempts to finish his feed!

Saroj passed away six months after that disastrous colic and Champa was walking unrestrained, adopted by the entire stable of horses … when she finally remet Chandrika.

There was a massive uproar in the stable at 3am the day when Chandrika was shipped back into stable. I remember running a quick check through the stable, wondering why the horses were so quiet… so still now a human was walking amidst them. I was so happy to see Chandrika, after such a long time … but she was stubbornly standing in a corner of her stable, refusing to come forward – when I realized that she was preventing someone from running away! Champa was blocked by Chandrika’s massive body (innocently having walked into the stable to greet the newcomer!). Chandrika was violent to anyone that would come near her or her forcibly adopted daughter!!

Whereas Champa had an incompacitated mother for the first six months of her life, her next six months were governed by an adopted mother that was hell bent on ensuring no human or horse got near her new foal!!

It was a hilarious turnabout of Champa finally being taught some manners!

Champa grew up to be one of the most loved horses in our stable, taking after her father Enjoy. She was the first mount of so many children and unflappable when things were loud and rough and loved nothing better than to show everyone how stubborn she could get when she wanted! A favorite with differently abled children, Champa finally succumbed to kumri – a nervous system disorder which was diagnosed too late to treat.