Sunday silence

Beauty

Just for the beauty of it as we await those days when we can plant and grow our own flowers.

Ted bought me this Hellebore plant for Valentine's day. Also known as the Christmas Rose, it blooms late and in cold weather. I plan to plant it on Merle's grave. It says it will survive up to -20 C and we rarely get that cold here, usually - 16 or 17, at least in the last 5 years.

I bought Ted these tulips the other day- Just Because. Because I like the cheerful colour, and because flowers make him happy. 

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder... sometimes it's in the eye.

Camera woes

Lately I can't get the battery on my big camera (Nikon 3100) to hold a charge for more than 6 photos, plus I can only use the zoom lens on it which restricts what I can use it for. I started looking online for a replacement camera that has a good zoom and the only affordable ones for me are the fixed lens cameras. The Nikon B500 looks like it might work for me. I tried to buy it online from London Drugs but all my info disappeared which totally freaked me out! So I may try a camera shop in a nearby city and get them to bring it in for me.

Yesterday, I only managed 3 photos before the battery cratered. Yes I know I can buy another battery but this camera is so limited it's time for a new one. 

Yesterday's photo was the lovely Jayne!

She is the sweetest mare I have ever owned. Very quiet, not a pocket pony at all. She fit into the herd so smoothly just by being respectful of the other horses. I think a large part of that is from her being in a large broodmare band for 6 years but I'm betting it is mostly just her innate personality. I am so looking forward to her foal; I hope it has that same attitude.

I got a Drifter update too! 

This was his first saddling since the fall, and she said he was like an ole broke horse. They are ready to put him in training. Another happy customer!

 

Moondance update

I haz a happy because everyone else haz a happy! 

Sharla. who is Moondance's new owner, (not to be confused with Shayla!) said that "he makes me smile!"

She sent me this photo:

Happily munching his oats  in his own stall. I asked how he adapted to being in a stall.

That is a pretty good endorsement, so now you can see why I haz a happy!

Mr. Handsome and Ms. Beautiful

The integration is going well. 

I watched them for a while; but other than the occasional yell from Beamer, they settled in quite well. At first, Jayne walked away and pretended to ignore him, while he made a quick tour of the pen to sniff piles. 

I watched for a while then left them alone and checked later in the day. 

Looking like an old married couple! My concern was that one or other of them would boss the other out of the shelter, especially with rain in the forecast, but I needn't have worried. So tonight will be the last time to separate them at night; starting tomorrow they can be together 24/7, at least until Jayne is within a couple of weeks of foaling, then she can live in the foaling pen until foaling and I can halter the foal. I will keep Jayne and Beamer separate until the foal is a month old and then try having them all together. I have no idea how Jayne is as a mama, so I don't know if she will tolerate him in the same pen as her baby, so that will be interesting. If necessary I can keep them separate until weaning. Jayne will be bred back to Beamer on her foal heat, which makes it easier for me to check her back at 1 month; then if she is caught in foal it will be ok to let her back with Beamer, as she won't tolerate studly behaviour from him.

And then there were 2

Now that I am down to 2 horses- at least until Jayne's foal makes its appearance, and since both horses are elderly with Beamer at 20 and Jayne at 19,  and also considering that both of them have arthritic knees, and not likely to get too rambunctious, I am working on them living together. 

He had better remember that mares are Da Boss!

Yesterday I had them across the fence from each other again, and since they were quietly standing together except for the fence separating them, I took Beamer and went into Jayne's Pen. 

I kept Beamer in hand to start with and led him around to explore while watching Jayne's reaction. She just stood quietly so I let Beamer loose.

As you can see in the following video, Jayne Has Rules. 

Beamer is quite loud!

Jayne spent about 7 years in a brood mare herd being pasture bred, so she is a good one to teach Beamer the Rules Of Equine Etiquette. This will be the second time he has lived with a mare- the first time was with Coyote Belle just after I sold Gussie in 2013, but that only lasted a couple of weeks as Belle got too rough with him. 

That's close enough, Buster! 

Beamer had to sniff every pooh pile, and he found the perfect spot to roll; the ground has thawed enough to make a perfect dirt bath.

Grind that dirt in! Good thing he's black!

Where did that mare go?

The look of a happy boy

Awwww.... no caption needed!

That is going to be one gorgeous foal and I can't wait for *ahem* HER arrival. 

Today I will turn them out together all day, and Beamer goes back to his own pen at night.

Gone

Moondance is en route to his new owner/home as I write. The hauler got here around 7:30, and Moondance loaded fairly well, only took a couple of minutes for him to step into a completely unfamiliar trailer (good boy, Moondance!)  This is the same outfit that hauled Drifter for us, and it's a small world- Moondance's new owner bought a mare from Drifter's owner (Heather) and she saw the ad for Moondance on Heather's page. Just another example of the connections that abound in the equine world.

The trip will be around 10  hours depending on the roads. He is supposed to get to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan this evening where he will overnight and be picked up by his new owner the next morning. Safe travels, young feller! I hope your new owner loves you!

Shayla sent me some photos of the girls in their new environment. They have a large pasture which they share with several other mares, including Rose, the sorrel mare of Shayla's that was here for a while- you may remember her. Rose and the girls remembered each other and Rose chose to hang out with them.

Rose, Gussie, Belle

They have lots of bedding and plenty of hay! I like that it's nice and flat, making it easier for Belle to get around. 

I will post about all of the gone horses as I get their updates. 

The last tango

 Moondance will soon be leaving; the hauler will pick him up either later today or tomorrow morning. I got in one last photo shoot yesterday.

It started out as a Moondance only shoot....

trying for photos that captured his personality....

and ....well... he gave me personality!

Lots of personality!

Making sure I am paying attention!

Some cuteness too....

and a whole lot of sass!

Then he got to pestering Jayne, and it became a Moondance tango!

The queen of the stink eye!

Circling like in a cowhorse competition! To the left, to the right!

I think you got him vanquished, Jayne!

💗

And then there were 3

Today was the day.

This photo was taken at Christmas when I told Shayla that Gussie was her Christmas present

I have been waiting to share that photo with you because I didn't want to let the story out too soon! Today The ladies are headed to their new home- funny thing is, it's just down the road from where we lived when I was blogging in 2008 to spring of 2009. 

It's a good thing that we had this cold snap, because Belle and Gussie got acclimatized to it - and it's colder where they are going; it won't be such a shock to their system. 

Gussie: Hey what's going on here? Why you catching mama Belle?

I apologize for the messy pen- by the time I get to the barn in the morning the pooh piles are frozen to the ground. I will have to wait for a thaw to scoop poop.

Waitaminnit why are you catching me too?

Ready for the next adventure!

Don't look so worried, Gussie, be like Belle! Ready and willing to go! Belle loaded beautifully in a trailer that had a big step up, and with a little coaxing Gussie hopped in too. They will be in their new home late this evening, and I will keep you posted with any updates!

The winter water tank

If you recall, I mentioned that Ted was going to build me an insulated water tank for the winter. 

He got it done just before this cold snap hit, and I am sure grateful to have it!

In typical Ted fashion, it took him a while to complete the job because he was being meticulous and planning carefully. 

Basically it is a white plastic 45 gallon drum (purchased from the car wash and thoroughly cleaned to remove any soap residue) laid on it's side, on a base of 2x3 lumber with insulation between the lumber, and insulated with blue board all the way around it. For the drinking hole, he utilized the plastic where he made the cut as 2 of the sides, and added 2 more plastic pieces for the other 2 sides.

They are flex-taped on the underside to prevent leakage. (Flex tape really does work! It get's a thumbs up from Ted!) The plywood top is covered with a sheet of aluminum and the edges of the hole which were folded over are siliconed to prevent any sharp spots. Then he added wooden strips along the top to hide and protect where the tin was fastened. 

Guess who had to be the first to try it out! It has no sharp spots to injure nosy horses.

It is also up off the ground so that ground frost won't affect it. 

So far, it is working well; it has less ice than the other water tubs; the opening is plenty big for mature horses to drink from ( it's 15 inches square) and I can get my sieve in there to scoop out the ice I break. 

The cost to build it came in around $60. We used as much free material as we could; to buy all the supplies new we would have to add another $250 due to the current high cost of lumber, plywood and aluminum. 

A future for Moondance.

There is no doubt about it, quality sells. 

When I listed Moondance, I expected it would be at least a couple of months before we got a serious offer on him. 

Boy was I wrong. A couple of days, not a couple of months.

We got an offer for exactly what I wanted for him, from a lady who has some pretty good horses, including a stallion who was shown by Nick Dowers. You can find her on Facebook by searching for Willis Ranch, Carnduff Saskatchewan. I can't link there as I no longer have a Facebook account. Our Diamond Lazy H facebook page is administered by Shayla now. 

I had a nice chat with his new owner. She wants a big horse as most of theirs are smaller cow bred horses, that he will cross well on to give them some size for roping and ranching. Lots of cowboys in that area that will be future customers for Moondance foals! She said she always wanted to ride a big horse of her own. 

And I got what I was hoping for- a home that will do their best to keep him a stallion and promote him. 

In the sadness of the last couple of days, this was a bright spot. 

Gotta admit, I am going to miss him.

Here is a You Tube video of Nick Dowers riding their stallion, Smarter Image. 

Merle

Yesterday was a very sad day here. 

For the last 3 weeks, Ted's little dog Merle has been having issues keeping his food down, general lethargy and  just not himself. He finally quit eating altogether and the vet said he was unable to find anything in his diagnosis- no blockage, no cancer, none of the normal treatable issues. So rather than have him waste away to nothing we made the call to give him a peaceful end. This has been very hard on Ted, that little dog loved him to bits and Ted loved him just as much. 

Wherever Ted went, Merle had to go too, or he would hear about it and that little dog could sure lay a guilt trip on Ted with his carrying on, so he pretty much went wherever Ted went, unless he was going to work or going welding. Merle really liked guys; he had several of Ted's friends that he was happy to see, and of course they would pick him up and cuddle him while they visited. All these big gruff guys cuddling a little 3.4 lb. dog. I think he didn't like wimmens because they are the ones (me!) who would give him baths and brush him when he'd much rather be hanging out in the shop with the boys.

For such a little dog, he had a huge personality and he is leaving a huge hole in both our hearts. 

Merle (aka Fuzzy)

June 15 2011 - February 9 2021

And now.... the rest of the story

A while ago I told you all to stay tuned for an update on Gussie and Belle. 

Big Red and her BFF....

Mama Belle, are moving to Alberta to live with Shayla. If you recall, I said I had to make some changes this year, such as not breeding the mares back to Beamer. So, due to the combination of the economy and our reduced income, I decided to downscale my whole breeding operation. Shayla will be taking over the reins as the main person of Diamond Lazy H Quarter Horses from her home in Alberta. Jayne will be staying here for now and will be bred back to Beamer, while the plan for Belle is to breed her to Root Beers Boots , whose progeny are excelling in the barrel pen and in reining. Gussie will become one of her main riding horses and possibly a lesson horse and may be bred to a Driftwood stallion, probably next year.

The mares are kinda staying in the family which makes me happy. Belle's foal will be for sale. I will keep everyone updated on her foal! Shayla has orders to take lots of photos!

Also, as a part of the downscaling program, the hard decision was made to put Moondance on the market. 

I will be quite picky where he goes, as I really love this colt. I really hope someone wants to take a chance at promoting him as a stallion. There are no intact sons of Beamer, and he sure is a worthy one.

My pens are going to seem empty. 😢 But age and finances dictate change, and I really feel that I am passing the torch rather than quitting.

Splish splash

Sunshine! The clouds are gone, the rain is gone, the snow is gone and the frost has disappeared out of the now saturated ground. It feels like spring, even though the groundhog didn't see his shadow yesterday- and a cold, windy, rainy blustery day it was. 

But today....

Much better! So I went to catch Moondance to take him for a walk and oh my want a muddy mess he was. I got him cleaned up as much as I could- he sure is hairy, and not shedding much yet, nor are the mares so maybe they know something we don't know as by now Belle is usually slipping lots of hair.

Yes he has a little mohawk at his withers! 

Speaking of withers, look how hip high he is! In a major growth spurt. 13.3 at the hip and just over 13 hh at the wither- at 10 months old!

Anyway... maybe that isn't a mohawk, maybe it's a shark fin for his next adventure!

 

He had a little bite of the green grass that I swear has been growing all winter:

Hey! There's a cat laying in my food!

We continued our walk and splished and splashed in the many puddles en route. A lovely walk!