Hairy mares, spring birds and snow, snow, snow

The mares are shedding like crazy even though there is still a lot of snow on the ground. I'm trying to feed them in a different spot every time so that they beat down the snowpack in this new pen that they are in. The days are getting warmer and soon this pasture will be bare, hopefully before Gussie's baby arrives! There are a lot of Evening Grossbeaks around right now, it's delightful to see them add a splash of colour to the drabness.

New Link as Promised

Here is the link to Prairie Ridge Performance Horses as I promised. Be sure to cruise the site and sign the guest book! There are some colourful youngsters for sale, as well as some that are ready to start training . I've got my eye on a couple of them!

Cutting video

On the Quarter Horse News link in my sidebar you can watch some amazing footage of cutting competitions- look on their sidebar where it says "now paying on brightcove"-oops, gotta go watch some more!

Annoying comments

To all of you who post in the comments section with "click here" -don't waste your time. I'm not going to open them-I'm sure that they are an effort to insert a virus or obtain information from my computer so GO AWAY! Get a real job!

All moved again!

Today I hauled the horses to their new home, a rented pasture that will serve very well until we buy a place (most likely next spring). They have nice paddocks until the grass comes in, then will have around 15 acres to roam around in- they have already sussed out the grass from last year poking through the snow! Speaking of snow, it started snowing shortly after I got them settled in. I think my guardian angel was doing a good job of looking after me because after I parked at the new pasture, the rear wheel seal let go on our truck and left a puddle of oil, thankfully it didn't happen while I was driving! So now my pretty red truck is lame and needs to go to the vet....

Back on the internet!

Hi everyone; I hope you all had a good Easter weekend; we were busy moving and I now have high speed internet; yay! Not quite finished moving- should have the horses here in a few days. Gussie is getting really big, she kinda waddles, but she did get out and gallop around a bit today when we moved her into the mare pasture. Sassy was really funny and I wish I could have taken a picture when she ran into a muddy area and slammed on the brakes, looking down at the ground with great surprise and backing out of there in a hurry! Tomorrow I will check and fix fences, then move them here before the weekend. (It's suposed to snow on Friday, ugh!)

Flowers, anyone?

I keep thinking spring is around the corner, but we keep on getting cold weather, so I thought I would cheer everyone up with a sample of what Janice over at Own A Morgan does. She makes the most wonderful baskets and planters. I plan on doing a lot of containers this year; I have a couple of oak half-barrels, and various other western type planter boxes. I love flower gardens and hope I will get to plant one this year.

Another blast of winter

Just when I thought spring was just around the corner- after all, I did see a bee 2 days ago, and the snow was mostly gone in the barnyard- we are getting another dump of snow, probably for the next 3 days. At least we don't have the problems they have in Eastern Canada, where roofs are collapsing under the weight of accumulated snow. I don't understand how anyone could look at a roof with 3 or 4 feet of snow on it and not expect it to collapse?!! Although it did get to -40 here this winter, we didn't get a lot of snow. That, however, could change; March in Alberta is known for huge snowfalls, and there are still 2 weeks to go! But I still like it better here than in B.C., where Janice over at Own A Morgan has had deep snow all winter!

Yes, folks, there is a baby under those icicles! Gussie is bagging up; about 4 weeks to go!

Can't wait........

To go trail riding in the Rocky Mountains again! This picture of some friends is from last summer at the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch historic site in Alberta. There was a group of 9 of us who went, and what spectacular scenery! This year, I'd like to go to the Kootenay plains, west of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. I'd love to hear some stories of your favorite places in the world to ride, especially people from other countries! Please feel free to tell us your story in the comments.

Ahh, those wide open spaces; even in the midst of the mountains!

This is Silver Springs Lake, in the East Kootenays of British Columbia. It was our first trail ride of the season last year; about a six hour ride. My freshly shod mare blew a shoe at the beginning of the ride, and smart me didn't have anything to hammer it back on with, so I rode her carefully, getting off and leading her on any rough ground; she made the trip without coming up sore at all, which is a testimony to how good a foot she has. It was harder on me when I had to get off and walk! Try walking up and down steep hills in cowboy boots! I'm going to buy a set of those Easyboots so that doesn't happen again.

Coming soon....

In the next week or so I will have a new link in my sidebar to Prairie Ridge Performance Horses. This big boy is Blue Shadow Jets, their herd sire. He is siring outstanding prospects for ranch work and performance; he stands 15.2 and weighs about 1300 lbs. A lot of his babies are blue or bay roans; and they sell quickly! I'll make another post when the website is up and running!

More Beamer pictures

I love my digital camera; even if the picture you take starts out looking ordinary, you can edit it til it's presentable. We had a nice sunny day today, so I went out and got myself thoroughly covered in hair as I took the shedding blade to the mares, then took Beamer's blanket off so he could soak up some rays. And of course, I couldn't resist taking a few shots of him while I was at it.

Fat and Sassy

Gussie is getting quite large now, with her due date in mid April. She looks a little lopsided most days, as she seems to be carrying more to her left side. I am going to have a name the foal contest on this blog- I already have a name or six in mind, but anyone who comes up with a good one could win an as yet undetermined prize. Watch for the contest announcement coming soon. I will post her and Beamer's pedigrees to make things easy.

Sassy just had to check out one of the barn cats who thinks he is the king of the horse pasture.

Spring is getting close now; the mares are shedding in handfuls, not much snow left, and everything is getting muddy. March is one of those months where you can get every kind of weather imaginable, so I'm not getting too excited yet. I sympathise with all the folks back east who keep getting storm after storm of heavy wet snow; it must seem as if winter will never end.

Horse/dog toy

My dogs have taken posession of the horses' Jolly Ball; they love that it has a handle on it so they can grab it better.

Wild Horses

I came across this article on Quarter Horse News about what happened to a large number of wild horses in the drought of last summer. It is a very sad story, and I can only hope that it will serve as a catalyst for change.

Coyote Belle

This is my 4 year old mare, Coyote Belle. She is an odd colour, so let me tell you a little about her. Her sire is Durable Shine, a buckskin with a lot of black; his sire was Shining Spark, a palomino. Her dam was Sundee, my mare that I considered to be a smoky black, although AQHA called her a brown. Sundee's sire was bay and her dam was palomino. Sundee would change colour about 5 times a year, and she had silver around her ears and muzzle, otherwise she looked black with a smoky tinge. Coyote Belle looks like a black with a heavy buckskin tinge, as you can see in the yellow hairs on her rump, sides, ears and muzzle. Until she was about 6 months old, her eyes were grey. AQHA calls her brown. I think she is a very dark buckskin. Like her mother, she changes colour about 5 times a year. As you can see in her photo from last summer, she sun-bleaches to a chocolate brown, but still has the yellow in her ears and muzzle. Because I believe that her dam was a dilute colour and her sire is buckskin, also a dilute colour, I am hoping to get some interesting colored babies from her. She will be bred to Beamer this year.

Barn cats

There are a few cats here who live in the barn; this is Abby the Tabby and her sidekick, Isaac. They found a safe haven in a feed tub to stay out of reach of the dogs. Sure don't look impressed, do they? They have a blanket in the tub, and seem to like to cuddle up in there. Reba spends most of her day, staring at them. I really am going to have to find some sheep for her to work soon.....