Mission accomplished.

 

Done and done. They were not at all worried about the trailer door being shut. 

Now to refine all the basics that they have on them before they head back home. 

Lets get loaded

 The boyz have been getting their morning hay in the trailer last 2 days. They were just eating what they could eat without actually going in. So a couple days of that and it was time for me to step up the game. 

Boe was getting a little pushy with Scooter, so I stepped out of the trailer and blocked Boe from leaving. I pressured him up every time he tried to leave and backed off every time he looked at the opening of the trailer or took a step towards it. 

Before long....

He jumped right in! Good boy Boe!

Then I led Scooter to the trailer, took his halter off and did the same thing with him. Blocking his exit and backing off when he thought about jumping in. And that's exactly what he did, probably encouraged by the fact that Boe was eating allll the hay!

Attaboy Scooter! Once they were in and happily munching away, I left. I checked on them a few times, and they were in and out of the trailer on their own throughout the day. 

In fact, they just hung out in there for the most part. Just chillin'!

I think I like this program better than my previous program. Easier for me, and they self load and unload with no stress. 

Tomorrow once they have been in there for a bit, I will close the trailer door for short sessions. They still need more work on letting me hold their feet, and need to lead a little better but over all in 2 weeks of them being here I am happy with their progress. 

Jupiter! and bandits

 Did anyone get to see Jupiter? I managed to get a quick shot this morning just before 7 am . Not the best as I didn't have time to set up the tripod, but there she is an all her gas giant brightness along with 2 of her moons. 

After chores I was blessed to see this lovely sunrise- what a great morning!

Unedited photo

I had the game cam set up the last couple of days to see who is eating the cat food again. 

This is the feral mama cat who is supposed to be eating the food....

and these are the bandits who are helping themselves! So I'm back to only putting the food out in the daytime. 

I got the horse trailer moved into position today for trailer training. Leading them up to it was pretty much all we accomplished, so I turned them loose and let them graze the grass in the entrance as well as help themselves to the hay I placed in there, which they nibbled but didn't go in for the stuff at the back. 

Nope nuh uh not going in there. 

That's close enough!

It's ok that they didn't load, there's lots of time. This isn't my normal program; usually I feed them grain for a week or so then introduce them to eating grain at the entrance to the trailer, then further in etc. but with these two we aren't feeding grain so hay it is. Their daytime hay will be in there, so they will get used to it eventually. It's a little tougher with 2 foals instead of dealing with them one at a time. So it's easier to just allow them to self load. 

Beautiful autumn days

 We sure have had some beautiful fall days to start off the season. The sun shines in my office window first thing, it rises right at the end of our driveway. 

Morning chores are done to the sound of geese v-winging it overhead, honking as they head from one farmer's field to the next, gleaning grain that the combines have left behind as they (the geese, not the combines!😏) prepare for their long flight south. I will try for some photos of them over the next few days. I heard the owl hooting in the trees across the river this morning too. I do love my mornings! Beamer has been frisky on these frosty mornings too, up to his usual antics. Too dim of light for my cell phone camera at 7 am, will have to pack the Nikon. 

The boyz are doing well, this week is all about getting them foot broke so we can trim those li'l hooves asap. Also tomorrow I will put the horse trailer in position to start the loading training. 

They aren't too worried about small spaces so I think the trailer loading will go well. 

Little buddies

Somebody got his daddy's penchant for yawning! I haven't seen Scooter do this so it has to be the Beamer genetics in Boe showing up!

We were working on the fence in the south west pasture so I walked over to see the river. We are bordered on 3 sides by the Medicine River, north, west and south , almost like we are a peninsula. The bank is about 20 ft. high here. The river curves from the west to the south, and the current is flowing north here. Where my hammock overlooks the river, it's the north side and the river is flowing west! This little river meanders through the farmlands as it pleases. 

I have a little update for you on my former dog Thea, remember her? She is the one I sold back to the breeder as she was in need of more work than I could give her. 

Thea has excelled in working cattle, I'm so glad she found her niche, as they usually show their collies on sheep. Her littermate Mia is also a working cattle dog on an Alberta ranch. 

Progress

 Last post I mentioned that the next step was to be able to catch the colts out in the pen- that afternoon, it happened! Boe let me catch him out there; Scooter still had to be in the barn. The next day both of them let me catch them out in the pen, several times, so that is pretty good progress in one week! From barely handled to ok catch me, pick up my feet, lead me, etc. - I'm happy with that. 

Shayla came over and we had a good session with the Boyz. She got to see and assess their personalities, which is always fun. 

They really are good boys.😊 They led around, separate and together, feet got picked up; they got more work on following the lead rope when we put it around their butt on the side away from us and ask them to turn away and then come to us. 

We also dewormed them, good thing too judging by the evidence of worms in their poop this morning!

Today they got their first intro to standing tied, which of course is fake tying them and stepping away from them. They both stood and didn't try to leave or follow me. 

I took the opportunity to brush them both too.

They are doing so well, it's time to start trailer loading training! This is actually going quicker than I thought it would. 

We did a leg measure too- 16 hh for Scooter and 15.2 for Boe when they are all grown up.

Equinox

 The first day of Autumn is a beautiful day here! It was nice of the neighbours to grace us with their presence....

The baby boyz are doing well and progressing nicely in their training. They are quite catchable loose in the barn, but not yet outside the barn in their pen. They both pick their feet up nicely and are comfortable with being touched all over their bodies including their bellies. The leading is coming along, some days are better than others. Their little personalities are starting to show through, but that is for a later post once they have gotten more solid in their training. 

They have graduated as of today to not being closed in the barn at night; they are comfortable in their surroundings; even the wind billowing the tarps on the hay pile near them didn't bother them, and they have pretty much quit hollering like little lost souls when they see Beamer or Velvet; just a quick hello whinny. 

Speaking of Velvet, she hasn't come back in heat so I am sending up a prayer that she is carrying a Beamer baby. That being so, I have decided not to ride her, as that baby is far more important than me having a riding horse. At 22 years old, this may be her last, or nearly her last foal, and with Beamer being 21 he may not have many breeding years left. Also, his arthritis is progressing in his front legs as he now has 2 knobby knees. He is still a happy horse though!

The next step for the boyz will be leading them outside the barn, once they are a little better inside the barn. And as soon as I can walk up to them and catch them outside, then it will be such things as trailer loading and standing tied. Lots of fun yet to come!

Scenes from the summer

 As promised, here are some of the photos I took with my Nikon, so happy to get the cord for downloading!

Sunset; I didn't realize how the power towers would show up until I downloaded this photo.

The little gray kitten I call Smokey

The August *nearly* full moon

The Blue Jay with a piece of kibble in his beak

And, as promised, more shots of the Show Jumping at Spruce Meadows. 

Now that I can download them I will be sure to pack that camera around more often.

Look who is here!

 It's that time of year again....

Weaning time. 

Shayla delivered Scooter and Boe here on Friday for their weaning and kindergarten training.

Turned them out in the top pen with access to the old barn. Shayla hauled Sophie to her place, so it's just Velvet for them to holler at.

They were quite happy to go in and out of the barn - neither of them had been in a barn before. 

The program is to give them turnout during the day, and close them in the barn at night. They get fed hay in the barn and can graze during the day with access to the barn/hay. Two or three times a day, I put them individually in one of the small stalls, halter them, touch them all over, handle their legs including picking up their feet, and start getting them to follow the feel of the lead rope. They are good boyz!

Yes, we are good boyz!

Interestingly enough, it is Boe who is the dominant one over his bigger buddy. But it is Scooter who is the curious one, ready to venture out and check things out while Boe follows.

What fun for me to have foals to work with again! 

Fencing is progressing well, we have one more pasture to repair, should be able to get that done in 1 day; that will be the winter pasture, then it's winterizing the barns (missing glass panes in the windows, a couple of boards to replace to keep the birds out next year) and overhauling the automatic waterer, making sure the thermostat is working.

After that it's all household stuff, including setting up the containers for gardening next year and getting the walls painted so I can put my art/photos up, then it will feel more like home. 

With the cooler nights now, the flies are finally dying down. Thank goodness! Our doors are on the sunward sides, East and West, so they tend to congregate around the doors and windows. We put up one of those fly bag traps- they work great! As well as several stickies. 

I finally got the data cord for my camera, so I will do a post with some of my better photos from the summer. 

The Nations Cup

 It was a beautiful sunny day at Spruce Meadows for the Nation's Cup challenge. I should have known better than to travel on a full moon though- my 2 hour trip ended up being 3 hours due to a major emergency shut down on the freeway that runs through Calgary- I never did find out why. I got to Calgary within an hour and a half- and it took me just as long to go the remainder of the trip which should have taken 20 minutes or so. Uggh! 

None of my friends were able to come for various reasons so it was just me.

Anyway! Spruce Meadows is such an amazing venue. Flowers imported from Holland were everywhere, especially on the jump course but also throughout the grounds. I spotted some eye candy for Ted...

but this was more my style of transportation....

There were happy people everywhere, I don't think I heard anyone complaining. The best part for me was it didn't cost to park or to get in! Although as a non paying customer, the seating was on the grass below the grandstands, which was fine with me as it gets you closer to the action. I did have my Nikon camera, but those photos will have to wait as the data cord I ordered won't get here for another week or so. However, I did manage a few with my cell phone, thanks to being up close. 

The first jump in a triple combination, Mario DeLaurier from Canada. The second jump was an oxer, then I got the third one:

There was one jump that a few of the horses gave the hairy eyeball to, it was quite high and odd looking. 

It looks like cement but it's styrofoam

The format was 8 national teams, 4 horse/riders for each team, 3 riders from the top 6 teams coming back for rounds 2 and 3. Same course for each round. That's a lot of high jumps and a lot of ground to cover, as you will see in the following video- in an alotted 72 seconds. Amy Millar, anchor rider for Canada in the irons.

I tried to get a video of the anchor rider for team USA, MacLean Ward, but after the first jump his horse threw a shoe so he pulled up. 

Team Sweden ended up winners. 

It's getting shorter

 The to do list, that is- as well as the days.

The mares are moved to their next pen, the biggest one so far. They seem to get along well now. Sophie is the boss and Velvet is respectful of her- I really like Velvet, she's the kind of horse I want in my herd. 

We redid fences for Beamer. On one side of "his" barn we fenced across so he has his own grass pen, then we tore out all the existing fence in front of the barn and removed the bathtub that was supposed to be a water trough- it will be repurposed as part of my future raised bed garden- and utilizing material that came with the farm, we doubled the size of his pen. Big heavy 14 ft. panels of 2 inch pipe, and posts that came with the place. It sure was nice to have that big tractor for placing the panels!

Dilapidated fence gone, photo bomb by Foose.

New bigger pen, the green area is the new part and although it doesn't look it, it's 20 ft. wide. Beamer is quite content in his pen, no more pacing and stressing about the mares. I think he is quite cured of wanting to live with them! As long as he knows they are nearby he's happy. He sure lost a lot of weight though with that episode. It's always tough to put weight back on an older horse, but he's slowly gaining it back. 

I finally figured out a place for my hammock- it's been a couple of years since I have had a place for it. It fits perfectly in the gazebo that overlooks the river. 

Can't complain about the view! I watched the young eagle flying around as I was laying in the hammock, it's a bald eagle. We have plenty of birds here; Foose was stalking something he could see at the edge of the lawn at the base of a spruce tree, and to our surprise he flushed a great horned owl. It flew up into a tree- sure glad he didn't go after Foose. 

This morning, we had hot air balloons floating by. The air must have been too cold for them, because 2 of them were rapidly losing altitude, we thought they would land in our pasture but they made it just past. 

 

Their descent was pretty slow, so I think they were all okay. Not something we expected to see at 8 am on a Sunday morning! Must be part of the Labor Day weekend celebrations somewhere. The mares were quite interested, not too spooked, but they did lope around their pen and stare.

Next weekend should be fun, I'm meeting up with some old friends and going to Spruce Meadows on Saturday; we will get to see the Nations Cup. It has been many years since I have been there!