All together

So I reorganized my organizing. Is that even a thing? 

After putting Belle in with Gussie and Booncat- O how happy Gussie was!-  and giving Booncat a couple of days to figure out where he stood with mama Belle, I kept watching Drifter and I could see that he was bored and frustrated. So, knowing that Gussie isn't in heat and in fact is most likely in diestrus I decided to put him in with the rest of the horses. It's so good for him as far as having good equine social skills and learning that his role is not to dominate but to get along. 

The only thing I was cautious about is how he would react to Booncat. They hadn't been together before but know each other from being across the fence. 

Sure enough he did think that he could push the little guy around at first but he got educated pretty quickly!

While Belle and Booncat were living together, and after Sassy left and then Eli left, Booncat ended up bonding with Gussie. She takes pretty good care of the littles!

Drifter had a tear around before settling down to eat hay with the ladies.

I kept an eye on them for a while but Drifter didn't try it on with Booncat again. He's that kind of horse that only needs to be told once and he gets it and learns from it. I hope that eventually he will be the kind of stallion that will be a good babysitter for the babies. Some are good at it and some aren't.

Drifter's training is continuing, I'm taking it slow. He gets saddled at the trailer, and now I put a snaffle bridle on him (without the reins) while I longe him just to get him used to the bit. He really didn't mouth it much compared to some other horses. He is doing very well at longeing at the walk, trot and lope both directions on the line, next step will be to take his halter off and free longe him. 

Meanwhile, Booncat is getting some extra attention. He's so cute, he greets me when he sees me coming. I think he loves the extra attention and he really loves his kibble! I've been turning him into the foaling pen to eat it the last couple of days. It gives him the chance to have some space to himself and if the weather gets really bad I"ll put him in there in case the other horses push him out of their shelter. 

Eli leaves

Today was the day for Eli's departure. Mel and her husband arrived early and after doing the paperwork over a cuppa coffee, we headed to the barnyard .

I made Eli a new halter as he had nearly outgrown his. It's always nice to send them off with a new one!

His mane was all over the place!
He loaded up well, and Mel said he travelled well too.

I'll be sure to post updates on him as I get them! He will be living in a large paddock with an elderly gelding for company for the winter, with plenty of other horses across the fence from him. 

Fall colours ride

I borrowed a saddle to try out on Gussie. It was a Circle Y reiner. It did seem to fit her better than my 2 saddles but it didn't fit me.But it gives me the idea that a reiner type saddle might be where to start looking.
To try it out we went down along the dyke to look at the fall colours.

It was such a peaceful ride with the leaves tinkling as they fluttered and fell to the ground.

Some of the colours were a good match for Gussie!

Riding day 63

The young 'uns and a happy Gussie

The 2 colts are sharing a bucket of foal ration now... finally got Booncat eating it. I hung a bucket on the fence and of course he just had to see what his big bro was eating, so that solved that problem!

That style of bucket is perfect for sharing. Booncat is actually doing well with the weaning process. He hasn't lost any weight and he isn't stressed out at all. All the horses were dewormed after the last full moon and I didn't see any worms expelled so it looks like my pasture management program is working. It helps that we didn't have any bot flies this year.
Eli will be leaving within a few days so Belle will get to go back in the herd and will be there as company for Booncat when I take Gussie out to ride. I have decided to leave Drifter in his separate pen until February to avoid any risk of a late heat with Gussie. I haven't yet decided if Booncat will live with him.
I turned Belle and Gussie out in the hotwire pen the other day- happy mares to be reunited and have room to zoom!

Does my heart good to see them enjoying each other's company. Having a happy herd is so important to me. Look at all the horses I have sold because they didn't have the right attitude- Poco, Delia, Coulee, Loretta, Sparkle and some yearlings back in the day when I bought weanlings and sold them as long yearlings. Even Rosalee- she was lovely in the herd but didn't have the right attitude under saddle to suit me. The only one I sold that was a nice mare was Clancy- but she wasn't athletic enough for me. (Which is odd to say about a High Brow Cat granddaughter!)

Drifter is making progress, I can now tie him to the trailer and saddle him up. He has had a couple of moments though, I call them learning curves. I was grooming him and something startled him- maybe a cat jumping out of the tack room, I'm not sure- and he pulled back hard. I stepped behind him and hollered and made noise and he stood up. So the lesson that day was all about standing tied, and of course he didn't try it again. I think he is a little reactive because of being in with the mares and having to skeddadle when they get after him for being too pesky.
His next learning moment was when I took him into the round pen saddled up, the first time I had saddled him at the trailer and then led him to the round pen as opposed to saddling him in the pen. He dropped his head to graze and I got after him and he jumped, realized that he had a saddle on and bucked about 4 jumps until he got to the fence and then just stood there, thinking about it. After that he was good as gold and we even got his first lope saddled up. Not even a hint of a buck after that. I really think he's the kind of horse that processes things like that and learns from them.

 I am quite pleased with him! He is a sensible horse and so far deserving of being kept a stallion.

We have a local cattle sorting series and I finally decided to go. The person who brings the cattle and organizes it is the guy who has Tillie and I promised him I would go- so yesterday I loaded up Gussie and off we went.
This is a really good bunch of people- there were 24 horses and their people there, everything from ponies to Tennessee Walkers, Rocky Mountain horses and of course a plethora of Quarter horses. Everyone cheered everyone else on and it was a lot of fun.



Because I had never worked cattle with Gussie I wasn't sure how she would do. I know she was used to cows having lived right next to them at our last residence and I think she was exposed to working them with her last owner. However, she was a rock star!



We got 3 practice runs and 3 jackpot runs. There was a lunch break with potluck (I didn't know so next time I will bring something!) Yes there will be a next time, every 2 weeks . Gussie loved it and was so well behaved both standing around waiting our turn and in the sorting pen. I also got lots of compliments on the way she moves. She does carry herself well!

Love my big red mare.

Riding day 61 (rode down for the mail) and day 62

Filling holes

It's funny how things happen. One minute all is the same and the next thing you know it isn't.
On Wednesday last week I was messing with the colts in the main pen, and Tay was hanging out watching  as she usually does. Next thing I knew she made a rapid dash into the pen and went for Eli's back legs- she didn't grip but she scared him. She has been doing this business of thinking she is helping even though she knows she is NOT allowed in the horse pens. A bit of a back story, last time Shayla was here, we were looking at the colts and her little dog Goose came into the pen and Eli reflexively kicked out and nailed her- you can be sure this is because of what Tay had been doing behind my back.
So... I had enough and decided then and there that Tay needed to move on to someone who doesn't have livestock. (or cats!)
Ted has a friend in Alberta who lost a border collie to cancer during the summer, and they were heartbroke about it and  looking for a replacement but not a puppy. So he called them and they were very interested and said they would take her, providing she got along with their other border collie who just happens to be Tess's littermate , and Tess and Luke are turning 13 at the end of this month. So a dog like Tay was perfect for them. They spent the weekend here and got along great!

She is going to get all the love her li'l heart desires! And in doing so she will fill the hole in Keith's heart left by the passing of his other dog. 

But wait....

That's not all.....

The day after I decided to rehome Tay I get a knock on my door and it's the guy who owns Tillie's dad. I was happy to see him because I had just been thinking of taking her down to see him that coming weekend after I had her to the vet's for her puppy shots. I wanted to show off my beautiful smart puppy. 

He just stood there and looked at her as I brought her out. We made a little small talk, then he said.... "I want her". Well, my jaw dropped and I must have had a deer in the headlights look! Then he told me the rest of the story: her sire had been hit and killed by a car, and he was heartbroken at his loss. So of course, I told him he could have Tillie, the only pup from the bloodline; we agreed that he would pay for her shots and I'd deliver her the next day. 

I am sure going to miss this little ankle biter! But once again, she was needed to fill the hole in someone's heart, and I know she will have a good life as he needs a dog to help with his sheep and cattle. He said she has a lot of her daddy's mannerisms.

So both Tay and her daughter are part of a bigger plan than what I had for them and I think they are both where they need to be.

As for me, I have my beautiful Tess who has always had all of my heart. No holes there!

Weaning day and howtheheckdoIorganizeeverything?

Sunday was a frosty morning. The horses went on a romp when I went down to feed.



Sassy was just full of herself.... good thing she didn't know that her world was about to change.
Yup, Booncat weaning day because Sassy was headed to Alberta to her new owner.
Normally I wean during the waning of the moon, but I didn't have that choice this time as this was the only day that Sassy could be hauled. And a good thing they didn't wait another day, because Alberta got hit with another early snowstorm.

As she left, Booncat was calling and followed the fence line as the trailer pulled out, calling for his mama. But he had his buddy Eli and lovely calm Gussie to help him through the day.
He called sporadically throughout the day, but by the next day, not at all. Life goes on as normal. I do prefer the over the fence method as I did with Eli and Belle though, less mental stress on both mama and baby.

Drifter got saddled and longed , he took well to being saddled and there was no silliness to him at all. I will continue his training weather permitting, and once I get all the weaning sorted out. I still need one more pen! Not quite ready to turn Drifter in with an unbred mare (Gussie) but I would like to have a place to put Booncat separately- the li'l rascal still won't eat the foal ration so I am supplementing him with alfalfa- which the mares don't need.  Eli will be leaving in a couple of weeks.  I guess it'll all sort itself out soon! I may be able to put Booncat and Drifter together once Eli is gone, then I can put Belle and Gussie together and my 3 pens with shelters will work.

I'm trying to ride more often, yesterday I rode and was wondering how the 2 babies would do without an adult in the pen with them, but they had their hay to keep them busy and didn't seem too worried as I rode away.

Beamer has been getting turnout in the bottom hotwire pen. To do that I have to lock Drifter in the top foaling pen, even though Beamer is good I don't want to push his limit by having another stallion across the fence, even if it is a juvenile. The fenceline of this pen borders both the mare pen and the bottom paddock that adjoins the foaling pen,so you see my dilemma in turnout and weaning. I have logistics problems! But it will all sort out, especially if I can get Booncat eating the foal ration, which I can either pop him in the horse trailer or the barn for the 15 minutes it takes to eat that. Or if I can have Booncat and Drifter together and can just lock them up while Beamer is out. Either way, it will help once Eli is gone and Belle can go back in the main pen.

Riding day 60

The roans

I am so happy with Gussie. Every time I ride her I count my blessings that she is such a good minded albeit quirky mare. I always have a good ride on her. Yesterday a bay horse came trotting up to the fence as we rode by its pasture, and Gussie came to life and started strutting her stuff to show off for him, she made me laugh! When we got back I spied the little neighbour girl watching us, so I asked her if she wanted to ride... BIG smile and "Yes! I love horses!" so she got to ride by herself with me walking beside her and she got to do the steering. (Actually Gussie was just doing what I asked but Holly didn't know that).

Thumper wanted a ride too....

Gussie is getting her winter coat in, she always looks redder in the winter. Booncat is also getting darker as his winter hair comes in.

He has a funny light patch on his shoulder and his mane is still an outrageous mohawk. I hope it grows in thicker than it looks!
I was comparing him to the few baby pics I have of Beamer.

They are quite similar. They both have that low tailset and fine head and good legs.

I am pretty excited to keep this colt for a while! I love his nature, a nice combo of smart and 'tude with calm and friendly as well as athletic as all get out.

Riding day 59