It was a good idea...

 Until it wasn't. More on that in a moment, first a few moonshots. I had just gone to bed around moonrise, and mostly it was obscured by clouds. I lay watching it out the window, when there was a parting in the clouds and I jumped out of bed and grabbed my phone to shoot through the window- the cloud cover was changing rapidly so no chance of going outside for a really clear photo. 

The next morning, we had the full moon in the west (my cell camera changed the background from deep blue to this dark hue)

 

At the same time, the sun was rising in the east. It has moved southwards  where it came up behind the spruce trees, in the mist.

Rather a lovely morning!

Back to the horses....

 I had the colts turned out with the mares, which went really well. 

They followed Velvet out to pasture and spent the day grazing. I decided to bring the colts in at night for safety, and to fill their bellies with hay: it will be another week until I can get a round bale for them all to eat to supplement the fall pasture. Good idea, huh?

Imagine my surprise when I step outside and see this next morning:

Umm, Tuffy, why are you not in your pen, actually not in a pen at all but out in the yard?  I looked, all the gates were closed as they should be. I got his halter from the barn and saw this:

Hmmm. Very not good!

I caught Tuffy( my halter training paid off!) and brought him in. He was scuffed up and swollen below the hocks on both back legs, but no major damage to him. 

He was feeling quite sorry for himself! 

I figured the best thing for him would be to get out and move so both colts got sent back with the mares on pasture. ( Meanwhile Leo was all calm and sweet)

I did bute Tuffy in the evening as I thought he wouldn't be moving around much at night and he is much better this morning.

I am not sure what spooked him enough to go over through the fence when the other horses seemed fine. My guess is the cow moose that has been seen locally may have made a trip through the barnyard. A big black critter in the poor light of dawn would probably do it .Also I guess I won't be marketing Tuffy to the hunter/jumper crowd! 

The colts are with the mares full time now, if nothing else they will protect them and/or lead them to safety. 

True colors and updates

 Tuffy is starting to show his true color

Around the eyes is the first place to show grey. 

He has his mama's pretty face too

His muzzle is greying too. It will be fun to see his changes over time. 

He continues to be adorable and fun. 

He prefers to get in the trailer without his mama, she takes up a lot of room. 

Tuffy, however, is huge! He is now over 48 inches at the hip- over 12 hh now. 

 Now for the update....

Anyone recognize this mare?

That is Midnight Mesa, with her first foal! The sire is a very well bred reiner, and that little colt looks the part. 

Mesa sure looks like Beamer now that she has matured. One of the reasons I sold her was that she looked too small for me, but she sure has chunked up and I wouldn't hesitate to ride her. 

I came up with names for the colt I am buying, his barn name will be Leo ( of course) and his registered name will be DLH Jetaway Leo.  They haven't handled him much yet, so he will likely be a blank slate for me in September. We are pulling hair for his DNA test including color, but I am pretty sure he will be sorrel and not palomino. If you look around his eyes, that dark red is starting to show his true color. 

I do love me a bright sorrel horse!

Dally update

 Today was Dally's ultrasound to see if she is in foal. 

That look in her eye... just like Beamer

And yes that is a confirmed pregnancy ! Now, I have no idea how to interpret an ultrasound but I sure would like to learn.

I got another photo of the Leo colt sent to me

He sure is put together nice. I am still struggling to find a registered name for him. I will be going to see him by the end of the month, so hopefully one of the names I am mulling over will stand out for me when I see him next. 

So....I did a thing....

 With the help of my husband, who always supports my crazy horse dreams.

You will recall that last year, I bred Gussie to a palomino stallion who carried a lot of Leo blood (my favorite) and although she checked in foal, she didn't carry  it long. 

I had the option of buying a stud colt by that stallion instead of breeding back to him. The lady who had the stallion had a mare in foal to the Leo stud, and since she threw a colt and not the filly she wanted, she offered him to me. 

Ted and I went to see him today, and since I couldn't fault the colt, we are buying him.

Photos taken today at a week old. Good bone, straight legs and a cute head. 

His dam is a granddaughter of the great Easy Jet. 

The next photos were when he was just a day old. 

Such unique markings! We aren't sure yet if he will be palomino, so are sending in for a dna color test to be sure. 

He will be great company for Tuffy once we bring him home in September!

Zoomies

 One of the fun things about a new foal is watching them figure out their legs and their instinct to run. And with all the speed in the genetics of this foal, he was only hours old before he figured out how to lope. He was born tippy toe like Pistol was, so I mixed up my tendon salve and put it on him twice at 2 days old and that fixed the problem. 

Standing on his tippy toes day 1

Today

He has a lot of speed and sometimes it is more than he can handle!

He wiped out twice, no harm done, all part of learning. 

A good slurp and recharged for the next round!

Today he and mama got turned into a bigger pen so she can have some grass along with her hay. Tuffy still has some unfolding to do on his left front so I want to keep them out of the big pasture until he is a bit stronger. I bring them in at night in the foaling pen though to be safe. 

Happy is doing well, she is a very good mama and makes sure he can navigate going in and out of the barn and through the 4 ft. gate. 

First time in the barn yesterday

She looks a bit thin, but is adding weight every day. I am picking up a special ration for her tomorrow for lactating mares who are hard keepers. 

His registration papers and disease panel test, along with the roan test will be sent off in a few days, I will wait until it is done before telling what his registered name will be- don't want it stolen as happened with Belle's first foal. I was going to test for grey, but that is redundant as you can see the grey circle around his eyes already, a sure sign that he will be grey. 

Wishes

 Sometimes you get what you pray for. I prayed for a healthy foal and a safe delivery for Happy and topped it off with daytime foaling. 

Wishes do come true!

Without further ado here we go:

2 feet and a nose, all good

Around 10 minutes of laying there while taking in the new environment

I did have to help pull, this is a big baby! 41 inches at the hip.

Getting all the mama loves

Standing fairly quickly

So handsome!

It is a chestnut colt, probably roan and born at 5:15 today, May 7th. 

His barn name is Tuffy. 

The winner of the foaling contest is Frank, who guessed red colt May 8, that was the closest guess. 

Here we go again

 February just won't let go....

What do you think Gussie? Had enough yet?

Done with February, bring on March!

The mares, although they have plenty of shelter, choose to stand on the lee side of the barn during storms. 

Photo taken from the comfort of my dining room window

They are still well insulated though and seem to be handling this weather like good ole northern horses. Velvet is starting to show her age though with her topline dropping and not quite as much padding as she usually has. The old girl  (age 26) is still perfectly sound though. Gotta love that old time foundation breeding. 

Happy is starting to shed but still has dense fur. I haven't been brushing her, as I want her to keep as much of her coat as possible to keep her warm.

Those spots on her are not dirt, it is her bay roan coat showing through. 

I am so looking forward to her foal. The sire has Seattle Slew in his pedigree 4 generations back, through his son Louisiana Slew. That thoroughbred blood in there intrigues me!  

Buck moon

 The full moon was rather spectacular this morning. 

I managed one photo with my Nikon camera, then the battery died, I was hoping for one with more trees  but this will do!

Things are pretty quiet at the moment, but next week will be very busy, family over for the weekend and a big Thanksgiving dinner on Monday, then on Tuesday and Wednesday we finally get the new windows in. We will finally have windows that we can open! 

We are in what I have always called Indian Summer- cool nights, frosty mornings and sunny days. The farmers are nearly done with harvest, just a few canola fields left to go, and cattle to move off the depleted pastures and into the winter feedlots. 

The mares are getting pretty good winter hair coming in, and I think Gussie is starting to show her pregnancy. 

She is also starting to show her age especially around her face. I also think she is starting to get arthritis in her right knee, just a little bump at present.  I probably won't ride her much any more, but I would like to get a couple of short rides in this fall before she gets too pregnant. Then once the foal is big enough, to use her for teaching it to pony. Other than that, she is pretty much retired. I'm sure she will be ok with that! I have a lot of great memories from all the trails we rode and the fun we had over the last 22 years. I owe her a good retirement. 

The two old girls will have each other until that foal comes along!  I may or may not pick up another foal to keep it company, we shall see.