Haltering

So you know I'm going to have a lot of posts on the new foal, right?  Today was his first lesson with the halter, I like to halter them right away- gently- because he will need to learn to lead so that he and mama can go out on pasture in a couple of weeks. That is, if the weather smartens up! Today we are having ugly rain storms followed by a few teaser minutes of sunshine, then right back to downpours. Good thing the horses all have shelters.
Baby is all snugged up in his hay when he's not busy slurping milk.

He's pretty funny, he sticks his tongue out a lot.  He took to the halter quite well; he actually likes to be handled.

He got a short lesson, not stressful, and I thought he did very well.

A few more days and he'll be leading! He is a little sweetheart. Now for a name......

Baby's first day

So far unnamed, our little guy had a pretty good first day. Everything worked out the way it should, both mama and baby are healthy, and Belle has tuned the other mares across the fence- My Baby!

I made a little video just for my sister Michele, and now I'm off to bed. 3 AM was a very long time ago!

Hello world!

Born at exactly 3 AM, Belle tried to sneak this one by me but no way! She had an easy and quick delivery, and we have a healthy boy. That means the winner of the contest is Allhorsestuff- Kacy, email me your info so I can send your prize!

He's that lovely silvery smokey black with grey eyes and an almost heart shaped star, 

two stockings on his hind legs and a small sock on the right front. Lots of chrome; this is one fancy colt. Good bone too. And a little bit of 'tude:

He's really big too- he comes up to my belly button, which makes him over 10 hands already; no wonder Belle was so huge and groaned when she lay down! Most colts can walk under their mama the first day or so- not this boy.

Sunday Stills

To photograph all 4 points of the compass, Ed says, and I had some nice weather so you could actually see in all 4 directions.

North

East (Check out Gussie's Mohawk! It's growing out.)

South

West

That's my tour folks, hope you enjoyed the ride.

Fixing the Leak, Spring Cleaning, and an Unwelcome Visitor

Just a quick note to SeeMurphy: Smokey black filly on the 11th is taken- you have to be more specific as to time- late afternoon is taken.




My plans to ride Gussie and Beamer today got sidetracked- instead, our water system got worked on. We needed a pressure reducing valve put in where the water lines come in from the main; this is a gravity feed system and we are almost at the end of the line so we have waaaaay too much pressure- enough to blow fittings apart on the underground lines. First thing they found was that the water box was under a couple of feet of ground water, so the sump pump was dropped down to clear the water away to expose the lines so that the valve could be installed. Then Ted figured this would be as good a time as any to repair the line that broke during the winter- remember my post about waking up to a lake in the mare's pen?  And all my grumbling about having to run 200 ft. of hose through my bathroom window so I could water the horses?
Well, they dug down and found the leak;

That's the ground water you can see coming out of the bucket- ground water here is barely 3 ft below the surface. I think they dug down about 7 feet, had to dig below and beside the broken pipe so the mud would slough away from the pipe. Anyway, its fixed now, and the best part- I can use my stand pipe again with a 50 ft. hose and watering is way easier! Yay!
You can see the offending little pipe that caused me so much grief in this photo:

Check it out- no rocks in the ground here, that's all old river bottom silt and clay.
Earlier in the day, I decided it was time to give the Canine Hilton a spring cleaning, so they got fresh bark mulch in the run, and the inside is all swept out, blankets shaken out, ready for their Highnesses tonight.
Last night Sammi was barking pretty fiercely, so I got up to see what was up. I could see Url running up and down the fence in his and Beamer's pen, and then I saw a grey shadow running; my first thought was coyote! But I got a better look when he moved under the yard light and I could hear dog tags rattling as he ran. Looked like a cross between a Husky and a Wolf; tall, lean and grey.When I yelled at him to "get outta here!" he circled me, I got big and fierce and challenged him- he'd run a little way and stop and circle me again- I tell you it gave me the creeps. Most dogs would have left. I was wishing I was packing, let me tell you. I looked for a weapon, but I wasn't close to anything so I grabbed my stock whip and started cracking it on the ground- that startled him. After a few more cracks and me yelling like a crazy  mad woman, he finally left.
I won't tolerate dogs running my animals, so tonight if he comes back, I'll be ready for him.

Now that's more like it!

Woke up to a clear sky and a heavy frost; I'll take the frost if I can get the sunshine!

After work today it was such a lovely day that I spent the afternoon with my mares; brushed them all, then rode Gussie. I figured I'd try working Url to give Gussie some practice on cattle- bad idea!

He came running up to us, bouncing around- which made Gussie go on full alert- and then after a few times mirroring him and taking him along the fence lines, he got all up-headed and started surveying the fence line as if he was looking for its weakest point. He is accustomed to Beamer bossing him, but without a rider, and he is used to being chased out the gate to go back in his pen; he was a little confused when the gate was closed. So much for that idea- I don't want him to learn things that'll make him a pain in the butt to handle.
After that we went on down the road, just enjoying the sunshine and the scenery. Worked on collection with my legs on the way out and on the way back, we just relaxed and enjoyed the day.

I'm really enjoying riding Gussie. We have a few things to work on- apparently she thinks she doesn't have to open gates anymore, and she wants to move off right away when I mount, basically these are patience problems; she just needs to be reminded as she didn't have issues with these things two years ago.

The Prize

I finally got a photo of the prize for the foaling contest; it's a horse pin from our local tack store, Coles Country Store. You could wear it on a jacket, or a scarf or a sweater. Just a nice little bit of bling to brighten up someones day.

For those of you whose guess has already passed, as usual you are free to guess again. There's lots of space left for times, sex and color; and if there's anyone who doesn't have an entry yet, hop on over to my sidebar and put your entry in by clicking on the link.

Wordless Wednesday

Bearded Ladies

While Coyote Belle is about all slicked off, these two characters are sporting some mighty long beards. The winner of the longest beard?

Gussie!

These two are really slow with the shedding out, but the hair is coming off. Gussie turns a lovely silver in summer, and Chickory looks like a cross between copper and gold when she is all summer-slick. We just need some hot days now! Please? Pretty please?

More Velvet

Just got an email from Jessie to share with you, seems Velvet is in her element in her new home.

"Ok, so since I don't have a blog yet I'll keep sending you a few photos of our adventures until I do.

 

She was very "helpful" this weekend while we took down the old greenhouse in her new pasture...she wanted to help me get the hose out of the shed to fill her water, was trying to pass Garrett his tools that were laying on the ground (she had his hammer and cordless drill in her mouth, lol), and decided that the garden was a nice place to have a snack.  You can see her looking over her shoulder at me when I told her that wasn't a place for horses :)"

So there you are, I'm sure happy its all working out and that Velvet is in such a good home. Jessie says they will have a companion horse for her soon. 

Bits'n'pieces

Here's a few bits and pieces from the other day.

Sunny Sunday soaring spirits

It's great how a little bit of sunshine can lift your spirits. After a few days of soaking in the rain and checking to see if the horses were growing webbed feet just to be able to walk across their pen- which has another lake in the middle of it!- this morning we got a break. There it was, peeping through the early morning mist and lowering clouds-

For the most part, the day was sunny and beautiful. After church I spent some time out in the pasture with the mares, who were just being lazy and soaking up the sun. 

They all got a good brushing, pestering me for their turn- but not Belle, who was just standing around, weighed down by that big belly.

Yep, still waiting! She hasn't started leaking milk yet, so she has a few more days to go. 

I took some photos for another bits'n'pieces collage, which I'll get to in a day or two- but here's a teaser:

Sunday Stills

Ed says, show your camera! So-  I hope you can read backwards, because I only have one camera and had to use a mirror to get a photo of it.

Just a little pocket sized Sony Cybershot 12.1 megapixels- that needs its lens cleaned so that I can use the zoom; I don't want to take it apart and wreck it and be without a camera- horrors!

By the way, thanks for the Joby Gorillapod Ed! It comes in handy.
I like the size of this camera, it's 3 3/4 inches by 2 1/4 inches, fits my pocket, or I can wear it on my belt when I'm riding. But I sure would like a bigger camera for some more serious photography. I'll have to check all the entries to get some ideas!

Dancin' with the dogs

What do you do when it has rained for two days, the mud has returned, the mares are grumpy and don't want to even poke their noses out of their shelter, Beamer and Url are hiding in their shelter, and the rain turns to snow? Well, there is no dampening the spirits of Border Collies, as anyone who owns them knows. So with their pleading eyes following my every move, we went out to play ball in the snow. ( The snow turned to rain after about 4 hours.)

Sammi was giving me some really cool vertical leaps, so this photo session is mostly about her.

Tess is the boss when it comes to catching the ball; Sammi might tag it but she knows better than to take the ball, she leaves it for Tess.

Yes, those are big snowflakes coming down.

Sammi is very competitive, and she's smart. She's doing well in her training, although she still has that puppy-short attention span when it comes to "stay". She will get distracted if someone drives in the yard and forgets that she was told "stay" and off she goes to investigate. She has a really funny little habit; if I scold her for something, she will lie down and pretend to scratch her ear with her hind foot- not actually scratching though; and gives you that "who-me?" look. I usually bust out laughing. Here is a little video of the dog "herd dynamics" ; you can see why I want her to go to a working home.

11 months

Coyote Belle is now 11 months from the first day she was bred last year.  Check out how low her belly is hanging:

There's just no more room in there! She hasn't started to let down milk yet, but her bag is full and tight. If you haven't put your guess in for the foaling contest yet, head on over to my sidebar and click on the link to enter. Photo of the prize will be up on Tuesday!

Velvet's new home

Jessie emailed me some photos of Velvet at her new home, apparently she wasn't afraid of the sheep or the llama (good Velvet!) but she did chase the sheep around. (My collies would be jealous!)

I think Jessie and Velvet are going to make a pretty good team, and I sure hope they do a blog - she'd have some instant followers! Of course, sheep and Australian Shepherds would be a great part of it too, so Jessie- we're putting the pressure on here- we hope you do a blog!

We measured her just before she left our place; she stands 1/8 inch under 15 hands.

She looks right at home!

Wordless Wednesday

He does stand still...

sometimes, but not often when I have the camera out- he really does like to ham it up. Sarah commented, "Does Beamer ever have all four feet on the ground?" See, Sarah?

He's pretty dirty in this photo, I can't wait for it to be warm enough to give him a bath and have him all glossy black again.
 I took this one the other day- does two feet on the ground count?

Beamer

My plans for a ride were waylaid by rain, but the sky cleared later in the day. I brought the mares in from their pasture and put Beamer out there so he'd have some room to run for a change. Of course, he had to sniff all the mare pooh first- very important job for a stallion!

I didn't get a photo good enough to replace my header photo, but he did dance around a little for me.

Can I run and sniff at the same time?

Lookin' pretty buff, B-Boy!

When I turned him out this morning with Url, he made a point of chasing Url away from the hay pile.

Now that he knows he can move a cow, I really want to do working cowhorse with him. That would be just too much fun!

Tonight I start my foal watch. She's not too close yet, but I want her accustomed to me puttering around out there in the middle of the night. I also spent some time on AQHA's website researching foal names, now I just have to wait and see what I get, to see what name suits. If you haven't entered my contest yet, head on over to my sidebar and put in a guess.There's plenty of combinations left available!

Sunday Stills

It's all about blue today- that's an easy one around here.

Velvet licking the salt block

Reba has beautiful true blue eyes

Pearl does too!

I think my favorite blue thing this week is the navy blue vintage style western jacket I bought at the thrift store for $3.

Last but not least, from my archives, Peppys Blue Velvet, in all her blue roan beauty.