Are we done yet?

 There isn't much happening here in the last week except a return to a blast of winter.

At least at this time of year the snow doesn't last.  But really, enough already!!! We didn't get a lot, but north of us got over a foot of snow. 

Flowers please, no more icicles!

I decided it was more fun to watch Road To The Horse than do my taxes. It sure has me wanting to work with young horses again! Nobody picked the horse I liked (#6) but the one Tik Maynard has was my second choice and he is doing great. 

Speaking of working with young horses....

It's starting to look like there might be a foal in there after all! 265 days today, if that is indeed a baby belly. 

Sunday Silence

 

Fitting in

 There were three landmark things I was looking for before full time turnout in the herd for Dallas.

First was her being comfortable in the herd where she can totally relax and not be on guard constantly. 

Check.

Next was being able to have Velvet as her buddy as Gussie is so food dominant and bosses Dallas at feeding time. 

Check. 

Third and most important was seeing her drink from the waterer. To facilitate that I had Ted undo the rusted bolt that held one of the gates shut, and with the gate tied open there was a place to drink that allowed an escape route if one of the other horses came up behind her. 

Also check. 

That only took 3 days. Today, Dallas is quite relaxed, even went to the waterer where it is closed in a corner (on the opposite side of where she is drinking in the photo) so I know she is quite at home and has the herd dynamics all figured out. 

Good girl, Dallas. 

The only thing I have to work on with her is catching. I can catch her if she is in the smaller pen by herself, but out in the herd, not so much. She is wary; lets me stand next to her but doesn't care to be touched unless I am quite polite and wait for her to acknowledge me. It will take time. After all, I'm not a horse. 

Dallas

 The herd dynamics begin! Last night, at feeding time, Gussie was quite aggressive with Dallas, so I opted to close her in the foaling pen again overnight.  Traditionally, Gussie has always been the enforcer, protecting her favorite buddy, who is usually the #1 mare in the herd. With Dallas, it went beyond stink eye and pinned ears and she actually chased Dallas away. I kept an eye on them, and they all hung out together at the fenceline . This morning I fed in a bigger area with widespread piles of hay; that worked quite well. 

Dallas finding her spot

Dallas was allowed to eat next to Velvet, with just a token ear pinning. And hey- is that a baby belly on Velvet? I sure hope so!

Dallas has the cutest ears!

I opened up the gate to the pasture which is about 5 acres. Gussie was bossing Dallas out of the hay pile, and Dallas spotted the open gate. 

And off she went on an exploratory tour. The other mares kept eating their hay .

Checking all the smells....

and finding the perfect spot to roll....

Then she stayed out there and went to pawing and eating. The other mares joined her after a bit and harmony ensued- nothing like having lots of space and not being crowded.

After a couple of hours, I checked on them. This pen has electric rope fencing, and I don't know if Dallas knows about electric, but apparently she is happy enough just to hang with the herd. 

All is well so far! I will probably measure Dallas tonight when I bring her in for one more night in the pen by herself. She should be close to 15 hh, but looks can be deceiving. 

The buckskin

 The new horse is a buckskin mare, who is a half sister to Drifter- same sire. I will be partners with Shayla on her, sharing the foals. Her name is Dallas and she is 10 years old as of April 1st. I picked her up today- she loaded well and hauled well.

She is quiet, so far, a bit shy with people, but not spooky, just reserved. 

She is well balanced, all black feet even with the white on her back feet as she has ermine spots all along the coronet band. 

She squealed once with Velvet, and that was it, no drama. 

I love that black nose! 

For those interested in pedigrees here is her link on Allbreed. 

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/hunters+yellow+rose

We look forward to seeing what she produces for us! 

Who can it be?

 Stay tuned.... 

The ladies

 The warm weather made me want to bring Gussie out for a good grooming. I am not quite ready for riding yet- the mind is willing but the body says not yet- but getting her out of the pasture and away from Velvet seemed like a good thing to do.  It also gave me a chance to work on her being patient. She  tends to paw when she gets bored from standing tied. 

Here we have the many faces of Gussie..

The crooked nostril look of disapproval...

The do I have to stand tied look...

Resigned... (and my version of a selfie)

Just chillin' in the sun...

and, Are we done yet???

Then there is Velvet, who does not seem to be getting any bigger. I compared these 2 photos, the second one is from December. So who knows, it is still a maybe. 

The other lady here is the barn cat, Misty. Yesterday it was pretty obvious she is in heat. 

Ollie, Tom and Harley, all lined up

She has the boys lined up seeking her favours. Today there is a lot of yowling going on, so I think its a safe bet that mid May I will have to see where the kittens will be.

Ollie is the front runner  for baby daddy

If all three are successful  it could be a colorful litter!

The melt is on!

 As the snow melts, the horses have been spending more time out in the winter pasture pawing, there are more and more bare patches showing up. 

I decided to turn them out in the round pen, which has a grass base, for a couple of hours a day so that their activity in there would speed up the snow melt ( it does.)

The soft snow must have been inviting a good roll. This next photo of Velvet cracks me up... that face!

I sent them around the pen a few times too, not too much in case they slipped. 

The old mare strides out with purpose. Her normal walking gait is more of a stride, no lazy walking or trotting for her!

And she can still do a roll back at speed!

Gussie only puts out as much effort as she needs to. The only time she has a head of steam is if she is in the bottom pasture and I call them up for their ration! She is very food motivated. 

Nice stop and turn, Gussie!

Nice to see them moving out instead of just strolling in their pasture. They sure wintered well!