More projects done and what the heck is that

 At the close of the day yesterday we were blessed with a spectacular sunset. 

2 more of the winter projects were done yesterday; we borrowed the landlady's Bobcat and now we have clean corrals. I moved Beamer to the round pen while his pen was cleaned. 

Definitely the right machine for the job!

He has gained back the weight the lost during breeding season- thanks to a beet pulp/oats mix. I like to add oats to the soaked beet pulp as it forces them to chew and not just gulp it down. 

We also got the straw in and now the mares have a deep bedded shelter to lay down in. 

So far, Belle is the only one who lays in the straw, the other 2 mares couldn't care less. 

Now to the "What the heck is that" part...

The other day I noticed that Beamer's bottom lip was hanging down, so I took a closer look. 

I wasn't prepared for what I found. 

Yes, it is some kind of tumor. We have a vet appointment for Friday. They need to determine what type of tumor it is to see how to proceed. I have several concerns about that, especially if it is indicative of tumors anywhere else in his body. I will keep you updated. 

So far it doesn't seem to be bothering him; he has a good appetite and is in good spirits. I'm hoping for a simple removal and be done with it. 

Hibernating

 I won't show you the 7 inches of snow we got, or the -17 C temperatures... the horses are fine, the barn  cats rarely leave the barn, and Ted and I only go out if we have to. I actually don't mind the weather, at least it isn't windy and I'd rather have snow than rain at this time of year. Thumper and Foose are moved into the garage for the winter- had to laugh at Foose when I checked to see if he wanted out. He went to the door, put one foot out and looked with disgust at the snow. Went back in, turned around and went to the door again as if to say, was that real? Lemme check.... he did that 3 times, too funny. 

Thumper is also not thrilled and prefers to be a cupboard cat for now. 

The day before it snowed, I grabbed a photo of the last flower in the garden- the dianthus. 

It survived several hard frosts, so I am sure it will be back next spring. 

The roofing crew got our roof done 2 days before the snow- that was cutting it fine! Nice new tin roof laid over the old asphalt shingles. They did a great job. No more leaks!

I have a Mesa update, she has a really good home now and I found a nice photo of her and her owner on Facebook.

Doesn't she look the spittin' image of Beamer? Same height too. They are quite happy with her. Love it when my horses go to good homes. 

I was almost ready

 Over the last week I have been prepping for that white stuff that's in the forecast. I opened up the top pen so the mares could use the little barn as a wind break (they have a shelter down in the bottom pen) and of course, since that's the first place I go in the morning, to feed the barn cats, they have to supervise. 

We want sum too pleeze

Belle got a blanket, as she doesn't move around enough to stay warm once the snow hits. She is doing well. I put Beamer's Streamz Bands on her and they seem to help her move a little better. She will get her own set soon. 

Beamer waiting for me to roll back the tarp and get him his hay

Then this morning, -viola- hello winter! We have about 4 inches in the forecast. That photo was this morning, it will look a lot different tomorrow morning. 

The mares spent most of the day on pasture, they didn't go in their shelter at all but did use the little barn as a windbreak. I thought they would, but apparently they didn't need to be right out of the weather. Such hardy creatures. The cats barely set foot out of the barn, and even a magpie was sheltering in Beamer's barn. 

Velvet and Ruby came down to see if they could mooch a bite of Belle's grain, and I felt a bit sorry for them so I threw them a bit of hay to entice them to hang out in the shelter for a while. 

Snug as a bug in her rug! That's one of the Streamz Bands on her back leg, the other one is on her diagonal front with the bad knee.

And then of course, Beamer was eager for his feed too!

Can't you wait for me to open the gate, silly boy?

I say almost ready, because we still have to pick up a big round bale of straw for bedding in the mare's shelter. It will help create a place for Belle to lay down and I'm sure the other mares will utilize the shelter more if it's bedded. 

We have a couple other projects on the go- replacing a gate post for a 16 ft gate, and corral cleaning. All of which will have to wait until this storm is over- better days on the way!

Yeah I'm still here!

 I know it's been over a week- my bad- but I wasn't up to posting. 

First of all I have a big sad because my favourite kitten, little Badger, disappeared on the 9th. 

This was the last photo I took of her, the day before she disappeared. I had made great progress with her; she even let me pick her up and move her around on the feed table. Also, the other cats could see that she wasn't afraid, and that led to me being able to pet every one of them - at feeding time only, so far.  I miss her little cuteness! Pretty sure she was victim to an owl or coyote as she disappeared at night. 

Thumper sez: You still have me an' I eat coyotes and owls for breakfast!

Yes Thumper and you are very good at guarding the  hay piles from marauding rodents. But please stick close to home!

I got the seasonal flu Thursday night, I'm on the mend now but I had no energy for about 4 days. It really brightened  my day when Ted brought these home:

Yup, a dozen red roses for his mizzer'ble wife! What a sweetheart. 

All that being said, I have a few things to look forward to. Ted built me a shaping block for my bosal so it has been tied on to that for a week now, and with nice weather for the next few days I'm going to see how Ruby does in it. Ruby and I have a nice "friendship" going- it's food based for her but if that's the way to her heart I'm not complaining! She offers her itchy spots to me, and generally seems happy to hang out instead of just immediately leaving once her handful of grain is done. 

Got my fall deworming done too. Had to laugh at Velvet, she has such strong opinions. Once I squirted the ivermectin in her mouth, she was like. "I'm leaving. I hate you!" Hahaha poor girl. 

Then there's Misty, she is my next cat project. She was the most aloof of the kittens. But thanks to canned cat food, she's allowing as how I might not be such a monster after all. The biggest problem is that the grey cat, Smokey, is a bit of a bully at feeding time; he doesn't allow Smudge and Misty to come up until he has had his first dibs. Hisses and swats at them.  But I have gotten to touch  all the cats, even Smokey and Misty. Bandit is letting me pet him and even pick him up by the belly to move him over.  I will eventually get a system figured out that works for taming Misty. 

Just hoping that she doesn't get pregnant first! Hoping to get her spayed next year.

Also coming up in 2 weeks is the Canadian Finals Rodeo, just a half hour from us. There is a Ranch Horse Competition and sale there on Nov. 4th that I plan to attend. Back in 2000 I put on one of the first Ranch Horse Competition and Sale events in central Alberta- did that for 3 years until we moved more north.  I wanted a format to showcase horses' abilities in a competition before selling them so that the buyers could actually see what they were buying; as compared to just running them through a sale ring and talking a big talk about them. The horses were vet checked prior to the sale. Monies raised went to the prizes and all profits went to a charity.  It was a lot of fun! Nowadays this is a common format for selling horses (out here in the western ranch country). 

The catalogue on the right, of course, features the photo I use for my blog background, that is Coyote Belle's mama, Sundee. The other two are my artwork, with the middle one being a drawing of Beamer's half sister, Montana, who was Velvet's mama. The one on the left was done entirely out of my imagination and depicts the history of the foothills of Alberta- oilfields and ranching. 

So even though it was a bit of a downer week, it's all good now! 

Dogs 'n' horses

 It was rather a busy week! My sister was in town for another dog show, this time she got to show a pup she raised in the baby puppy class. I spent a day with her at the show- the conformation class in a dog show is very similar to a halter class for horses. The dogs are groomed to the nines, and shown in hand, just like horses and the other similarity is that  the presentation is all about what the judge sees. Is it groomed just so, is it up to breed standards, is it well behaved and professionally presented. 

Her pup, Gemma, did well for her very first show! She also showed her male dog, Levi, the sire of the pup. 

Such a handsome dog! I don't know the full show results yet, they were showing today too. 

I went to a horse sale yesterday, not to buy but to get a reading on what the market is like for Driftwood bred horses. A Canadian breeder was retiring and having a dispersal sale. The main buyer was the ranch he originally bought his horse from in Nevada; says a lot about the program when the breeders buy back their own stock at the expense of travelling up to Canada and dealing with all that international paperwork. There were a couple of weanlings there that I was drooling over.... this is the same bloodline as our Drifter horse we sold a few years ago who has gone on to be a good ranch horse and sire. 

Ted snuck out and got a buyer number for bidding, but we really didn't want to buy. We did one bid, just to get the ball rolling on a filly I liked but I wouldn't let him bid again. (Such restraint on my part!!!!)

It seems the market has dropped off a bit, especially for weanlings. We have sold them off the farm for more money than any of the colts and fillies sold for there, but in fairness most of the buyers were looking at the 3 stallions and the better mares and riding horses. 

Mama Belle in the morning light

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here;  happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers. I know I have a lot to be thankful for; I feel I have been truly blessed this year. 

Darn deer!

 The waning full moon was setting at chore time yesterday. Love the pastel pink. 

The other day, deer got into my flower bed- little rotters stripped the bottom leaves of the sunflowers and chomped all the leaves and flowers and rosebuds of my yellow rose- and chomped all the foliage of the raspberry plant. So when I saw them the next day in the yard, brazen as can be....

I went out and hollered at them to chase them off. 

Ruby wasn't sure what the problem was, as she's used to deer in her pasture.

But when I went all gangster on them, she figured it was best to high tail it outa there!

Our pasture is holding out well, despite all the heavy frost. Now that the majority of the bugs are gone it's time to do my fall deworming program for the horses. Hopefully it will catch any bots they may have, it's probably been long enough for them to mature enough to pass from the wormer. 

Ted is building a shaping block for my bosal; I want to try it on Ruby as I think that's all she will need . If you don't know what I'm talking about, check online for how to shape a bosal. They have to fit properly to work properly, and mine is too wide without being shaped. It will be fun to see how she does in it. 

My sister with the Rough Collies is coming up for another dog show next weekend, so that will be fun. She is bringing her puppy for it's first show- a lovely blue merle named Gemma. I also have a horse sale to attend on next Saturday- not to buy, but to see how the market is. It's a dispersal sale for a Driftwood breeder- these are the horses that are popular for ranch, roping, and barrel racing. Should be a fun weekend!