Sunday Silence

Pup stuff and a rainbow

I keep hearing about everyone getting blasts of winter still, but you'd never know it here in the Creston valley. This was our first rainbow of spring, a couple of days ago.

I've been busy with the pups lately, tomorrow I deliver two of them, and today I took Pip and Roper to Bonner's to get their puppy shots and Amber to get her booster shot. They travelled well, - no kennel, just on the seat of the pickup. 

I had Amber in the house last night, trying to get her to just cuddle and chill out while I watched TV . Here's her version of lounging around:

as compared to Pearl's version:

Darn cat claimed the whole couch, and none of the dogs were inclined to argue about it!

I have been watching Tess to see how jealous she is of the pup, but so far she tolerates Amber really well.... even when Amber covers her in kisses:

All she does is give me this look:

Aaaaack! Puppy slobber!

As of April 1st, I'll only have 2 pups left, Pip and Roper and by mid April they'll be gone too. I remember I said a while ago that having the pups would prevent the February blahs, and it certainly worked. I'm ready for them to be gone though, so I can concentrate on working with Amber. But I will miss their cuteness!

Oops! Puppy down!

Miss Josie and body work

Josie turned one year old on March 19th. She is in a growth spurt, and I've put her back on grain to go with her grass hay. This year will be a fun year with her, as our focus will be on ground work and manners, and getting her used to all the things she will need to know about as an adult horse- like trailering, leading and standing square, lightness on the leadrope, sacking out, obstacles, etc.
Yesterday, Shayla worked on her feet and she is doing quite well- although she did try to nip Shayla at one point... or was it twice... bad Josie! A quick correction and she didn't try it again, though.

I think this was just after the "correction"....

I'll be good! Honest!

She also had body work done on her for the first time, and there were several places that needed adjustment; her wither, first ribs and elbows were adjusted, and it was pretty cool to hear the elbows pop into place after the ribs were done. We also did stretches with her front legs, crossing them in front of the opposite leg and she did well with that.
 Rio also got some body work, and there was something really interesting there; several times I had to square him up as Shayla checked him, and I thought his right front looked toed out a little; what was way cool was that during another adjustment the pastern popped and straightened out- so it must have been out of alignment- and then when I squared him up again, that leg looked perfectly straight. Conventional thinking would be that his feet were out of balance which we know they are not, and just that little adjustment made such a big difference.
So the point here is that horses need body work to be at their best, just as we do- even the babies like Josie can really benefit and it will help them to grow correctly and not develop compensatory physical habits.

Beamer's House

I had a really big ticket item on my honey-do list for my husband this spring, a new house for Beamer. Since the wind flattened the old shelter, (which was really decrepit and not worthy of such a handsome boy!) and I had moved him to the end of the overhang that has been housing the rest of the horses for the last 5 years, I found that he had no protection from North , West, or South winds, only East. The prevailing wind here is North and South, those are the worst, and then East. Since Ted had bought a salvage building when the mine shut down, and had a really nice stack of 2X6 lumber, plywood and really strong tin.....

he hired a young fellow  we know to help, and last week, they got it built.

Framing done and tin roof started

Determining the overlap on the last sheet

Front and back walls sheeted in

The threshold is also sheeted in with metal to keep horse feet from destroying the wood.

All done! Mounted on 4 inch pipe for skids, hooking up the truck to pull it out of the shop

A job well done, guys! (Amber was the building inspector!)

Of course, the tenant had to approve first....

Yup, the size is perfect. ....

The view is not bad!

I looooove it! Thanks Ted and Michael!

And- No. Dogs. Allowed!

Sunday Stills- Brown

Well, it's late in the day but considering I left at 7 am and got back at nearly 5 pm, it's been kinda too busy to sit at the computer.
My trip today was to Missoula Montana, to pick up my pup.  She is a lovely shade of brown, but in border collie language, it's called red.

Oh! Hai! My name is Amber!

I'm 10 weeks old.... check out how big my paws are! I'm gonna be a big girl!

Everybody gets along with me, even Merle! Reba ignores me and Tess is a little bit jealous!

But that's ok, because, after all, I am pretty stinkin' cute!

Are you tired of puppies yet?

Hope not, because this post is full of puppy pics!
There are 8 pups still here, and today it was time for them to learn about walking with a collar and string. It is about 100 ft. from the shop where I keep them at night to the outdoor dog run where they spend their days, and they are getting really heavy to carry, and if they aren't on a leash they tend to lose focus and wander all over.
So... leash time! Is there anything cuter than a puppy on a string on a lovely spring day?

Pippin, aka Pip

Roper

Cinch; he's been renamed by his new owner, his name is now Phoenix- of course I call him Nix for short.

Quinn- the last one to be sold, now will be making his home in Fernie B.C.

Try- he was the best one on the leash! What a sweet puppy he is. My friends in Montana are getting a good one.

Next Saturday, Chase, Nick and Tag go to their new owners, Quinn leaves on the 1st of April, Pippin leaves on the 14th, Roper goes in about 3 weeks, Nix in another month, and Try will leave somewhere in there too. I am gonna miss the little hooligans! But- I pick up my new pup on Sunday- excited for that!

Contest winner!

Thanks, everyone who commented on my giveaway post! 34 of you! It was interesting to see that a lot of you have been following for quite a while, which is amazing to me in this age of instant messaging, texting and Facebook.

So.....

drumroll......


I wrote all the names down and put them in a bowl.....

..held it up high so I couldn't see in it.... and drew a name.....

Kate from A Year With Horses!

Kate, here is your prize, which was made by a local business, Leather and Lace.

If you don't wear necklaces, feel free to pay it forward. This photo is much larger than the actual size. 

I will need your mailing address Kate, if you click in my profile there is a link to my email address.

Once again, thanks to all those who entered, it was fun!

Pup stuff and riding

It's getting close to the time the pups will start leaving for their new homes. The exodus starts tomorrow, this little beauty, named Gypsy by her owners, will be going tomorrow.

On the 29th, I'll be delivering Chase, and maybe Tag and Nick too. Mid April will see Carol's pup, the female who is now named Pippin, as well as Roper and Cinch, whose new owner has changed his name to Phoenix. Try will be with us for a bit too, probably mid April as well. That leaves Quinn, who is still for sale. Can't believe he is the last one to be picked! Sure you don't want a pup? Yes, you! If you are in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana or Idaho, delivery can be arranged! Actually it won't break my heart to keep him around for a while, he is a really cool pup.

Sunday I pick up my new pup, her name is Hicountry Amber. Not sure if I'll call her Amber, we'll see.

Riding weather is back, it's almost spring. The horses are picking at the new grasses that are coming up, shedding out, and pretty full of themselves. I got Rio's teeth done yesterday, they definitely needed doing. He had one retained partial cap and still has the 2 center bottom baby teeth to shed. He was pretty uneven, and was also out on the right side on the poll, so that got an adjustment. Also took advantage of the sedation to clean the beans out of his... um.. you know! 3 of them, and even with the sedation he was a little grumpy with that. Went riding today, Shayla rode Beamer and I rode Rio; I think it will take him a couple of rides to realize that his mouth is more comfortable now.

He sure is laid back, even thought he is a whole hand taller than his sire, Beamer can out walk him- in fact Rio's trot is Beamer's walk! Sure enjoyed the ride.





 Cars and cows were no problem, and we did a couple of training tricks; I had Shayla get ahead of me a ways and lope off. It went not too bad, he did speed up and get worried after a bit, but nothing major. Then I turned around and rode away from Beamer, which was no problem... until... a Very Scary little white dog and its owner were coming down the road, and the closer it got the more Rio's anxiety climbed; I think his eyes were as big as saucers! He let out a rippin' snort and right about that time he could hear Beamer loping up behind us, so he started dancing around, not sure which way to go, poor boy! Once Daddy Beamer was along side he got a little braver and allowed as how the little dog could come close and check him out- the lady walking him was very good, kept calm and kept her dog well behaved.
Rio's evasions are so easy to handle compared to some horses I've ridden. It's a good thing he is basically a laid back horse!
Meanwhile, back at the farm, Josie got to have her very first time alone with no other horses around. I put her in the stall while we rode the boys, and gave her a little grain; she is in a growth spurt and could use a little extra- she turns one year old tomorrow. She did really well, only one whinny just before we left the yard, and when we returned. It looked like she spent her time at the hay feeder, she wasn't worked up or sweated up at all- good girl Josie!

A photo from earlier in the day at turn out time.

Sunday Stills- The letter L

Long exposure Light painting with a Lighted candle

 The next photo is the kitten I rescued a while back, Penny, all healed up and healthy and getting some Love from her new owner... I mean her new personal slave and servant!

Foggy Morning Breakdown

You will have to imagine the banjo, pickin' Foggy Mountain Breakdown (or click on the link and open it in another tab) as you scroll through these photos featuring Beamer on a tear this morning!

Another pup

Some exciting news- I have been searching for a registered red and white female border collie pup for years, and thanks to Facebook, I finally found one. So some of the money from the sale of my pups will go towards miss Hicountry Amber!

I have to go to Missoula to pick her up, and at the same time I will deliver Try to his new owners who have agreed to meet me in Missoula. We will be there on Sunday the 23rd, any bloggers in that area want to meet for coffee?
The only pup left for sale is Quinn, and I may have someone for him too, waiting to hear back from a person I contacted last night. Here is a pic of him with grandma Reba- so similar in markings.