That in between stage

 Tuffy is really shedding his foal coat now. He is very growthy too being 12. 3 hh at the hip and just under 12.2 at the wither.

He is still a good boy and is learning to come when he is called. His feet are a work in progress, I need Ted to hold him while I work with them as he tends to walk away, or if it is his fronts he will kneel when I pick up the foot. That could be a good thing when he gets to be 16hh!

That red tail though! 

It will eventually shed all the red out but it's pretty cute for now. 

We are near the tail end of summer here; the geese are starting to flock up, waiting for harvest time so they can glean the grain fields. 

My heart goes out to all the folks who are affected by the fires west of us in B. C. where fire is still raging in the Okanagan as well as down in Washington State in and around Spokane. So far our area is good, we get a lot of thunderstorms that are keeping things wetter than usual here. 

Good boy Tuffy! 

A new to me variety of poppy, I love it! Growing amid the cosmos and snapdragons. 

My raspberries are producing great this year, and Ted built a cage for them to keep the deer out- they had already snacked on the new canes.

We will line the bottom half with chicken wire to keep nosy deer noses out!

I made some raspberry jam; sugar free, sweetened with honey. We have a honey farm not far from us and I stocked up on honey for the winter. My veggie garden is doing great too- I am getting enough peas to last the winter, and the carrots and potatoes will soon be ready. I think I will freeze the carrots, I don't have any luck storing them. 

Walk with me, Tuffy

 I think it is about 10 days into our short halter lessons. Over that span Tuffy did really well, building on each lesson without resistance; I think only twice he walked away from me when I went to catch him, but it was only a few steps. For the last week I have been able to walk up to him and halter him right away. He is a very smart and willing colt. There were a couple of days where I helped him understand to move his hip over by touching his hip while I brought his head around but by the third time he understood. Then we progressed to asking for 1 step forward, reverting to a sidweays step as needed. The next day I asked him to follow me forward, and he did, a bit hesitant at first. And then today.....

Success!  Next will be catching and leading him when he's out in the foaling pen and not in the confines of the barn. 

We have heavy rains right now so that may be a couple of days away yet, but I am sure happy with his progress, and his willingness. 

Here are some photos from before the rain hit

The trouble with being an only foal is he doesn't have anyone to pester except the mares! And Thumper, who was no fun at all and just walked away. 

 

It is possible that my working with him replaces not having another foal to play with and learn horse stuff. 

Tuffy spends a lot of time away from his mama; she can be way down in the bottom pasture, and he will be up by the barn with his babysitter Velvet, and Happy seems quite content with that arrangement. 

She is very patient with him and enjoys his company, with minimal reprimanding due to his antics. What a wonderful mare she is. 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Enough already

 April came in white. Started snowing/raining last night, and this system is supposed to last all day. Enough above freezing to make it snow but warm enough that it's melting on the vehicles but not on the frozen ground.

My footsteps on the walk way this morning, to and from the barn. It was bare yesterday.

My garden containers, a long way from being able to plant. 

The mares have settled into their new routine. Their hay bale is on the other side of that shelter; they only go in there to eat but don't hang out in there. They are currently standing out in the weather in their favourite spot in the winter pasture. 

Happy also has free roaming in and out of the barn, I put most of her hay in there and one flake on the lee side of the barn- and that is where she prefers to be, probably because she can see the other horses from there. 

She too is currently hanging out in the weather, unconcerned with getting wet. All the mares are still sporting their winter coats, guess they knew something we didn't. 

I found this beauty in Walmart and couldn't resist adding a splash of color to this greyness that is hanging in there.

Marching on

 March has been rather lion-y all month. We just had another blast of snow and cold (-17C this morning) and I sure hope it will be winter's last hurrah and spring will get sprung!

This morning's chilly sunrise

The last weekend I had family over, and my sister from the coast picked up the last kitten from the litter, Minou. I had her in the house for a month socialising her, getting her to the vet for spay and vacs. 

It was a wonderful weekend with more family visiting on Saturday. Sunday we drove my sister and Minou to the Calgary airport. 

At least the weather cooperated that weekend. The river went out just before she got here. 

The geese are winging their way back too. 

Happy is getting pretty big now, her 320 safe date is about April 11th. I had the farrier over yesterday to trim Gussie, and Happy just hung out with us. She really is a sweet mare. 

I have a name for her foal, which will fit if it is a colt. We will be doing a foaling contest again as soon as she is a bit closer to foaling. 

I am so looking forward to April and an end to the cold and snow! So I am enjoying vicariously all the spring photos you all are posting, especially the flowers. I am itching to go to the greenhouse to get some more daylilies and some annuals for my potted flowers. 

Sunday Scenes

 It is a sunny Sunday.... O how needed is the sunshine!

We are in a warming trend, finally. But this morning it was -24 C. I looked out the window and saw one of the cats that was a kitten when we moved here. You may remember Smokey, and his sidekick Bandit ( who disappeared). Smokey is 4 yrs old now and is quite big now. 

I felt so sorry for him, his whiskers were all frosted up. 

The other male cats here beat him up and run him off so he is quite wary. I put some food out for him.

Meanwhile in the warmth and comfort of the house.....

Miss Minou was all snuggled upon her couch pillow. Barn cat no more! She leaves for her new home next weekend. 

It was so nice out this afternoon, I went out to spend some time with the mares. 

Happy is doing well, her foal is very active and I love watching it bumping around in there.  I sure like that mare. If she does well this year and her melanoma doesn't get any larger, I will send her to Shayla after weaning  where she can live out her days and as long as she is healthy will be bred to Shayla's stallion for 1 more foal. I think she deserves as much of a chance we can give her. Such a sweet mare. 

As I walked back up the hill, my shadow walked with me. 

Weird camera angle, the barn is not tilted!

Velvet loves to walk beside me wherever I go. She always has to inspect everything I do too. She is not pushy with me, politely lets me go first through the gate or around the corners- stops when I stop, walks when I walk . It is very endearing! Interestingly enough, she is the boss mare. One flick of the ear or toss of the head and Gussie gives way; but on the other hand she is the one who always welcomes the new mares in the herd and often eats out of the same pile with them, and Gussie never does. 

That patch of bare skin on Velvet is from a bout of ringworm earlier this winter. It has been many years since I have had to deal with that. Our vet sold me a spray that worked really well. Fortunately it didn't spread to the other horses.

Linda did a wonderful post on getting back to our childhood joy with horses. Lets all go and rekindle that happiness that just being with horses gives us! I try to live that joy every day when I go out to do chores in this interminable winter we are having, and am so looking forward to spring and being able to do more things with them. 

March Madness

 Mid Month March Madness

Aka 10 inches of fresh snow. Let the pictures tell the story....

We knew this storm was coming, so made sure we were prepared for it. 

The day before we bought 2 more round bales and set them up in the shelter; one for now and one partitioned off for later on. 

It is really nice hay; first year timothy and orchard grass, nice soft hay for those old mares. However, they are quite sure it should have some alfalfa in it like the small squares I was feeding. 

I make a few piles in the snow  and of course Gussie thinks the pile Happy was eating must be the tastiest one!

Hopefully this will be the last big dump of snow as spring begins in a week.  We do still have a few flurries predicted for next weekend (of course) . I am so over winter!

The mares

 What to do on the only warm weekend in the next two weeks? Well... spend time with the mares of course! 

It warmed up enough that I was able to rake their feed area, then I walked down to the winter pasture to see if they are pawing yet- they aren't- and they obligingly followed me so naturally I took a few photos. 

Happy's baby belly is at wide load stage. 

She really is the sweetest mare I have had in a long time. 

She is very smart and keeps herself out of trouble in the herd. 

She always places herself so that Velvet is between her and Gussie. 

Velvet is the herd watchdog. This morning she had her eye on a moose across the river; while Gussie and Happy were up in the feed pen she was down in the winter pasture standing guard. 

Disregard the broken fence board please! Spring project. 

Velvet is losing her topline and the muscling along her ribs. Sadly, at 26 years old her time grows short. I will see how she fares this summer and won't let her get to the decrepit state that will make another winter too tough. But I hope she bounces back with the good summer pasture we have here.  I really enjoy her company as she always walks beside me when I am in their pens. 

She is still in charge of the mare herd here, no matter who I bring in. 

And then there is Gussie. 

She expects to be treated like the diva she is. One must acknowledge her presence but on her terms  

She tends to stand back and watch to see if there is any benefit in engaging, such as getting brushed, or scratches or food. 

Does anyone else have a horse with a nose swirl?

And if so, she makes sure that I know to give her the attention she desires!

And then she ignores me. 

All three of them just make my day!