It's that time of year again....
Weaning time.
Shayla delivered Scooter and Boe here on Friday for their weaning and kindergarten training.
Turned them out in the top pen with access to the old barn. Shayla hauled Sophie to her place, so it's just Velvet for them to holler at.
They were quite happy to go in and out of the barn - neither of them had been in a barn before.
The program is to give them turnout during the day, and close them in the barn at night. They get fed hay in the barn and can graze during the day with access to the barn/hay. Two or three times a day, I put them individually in one of the small stalls, halter them, touch them all over, handle their legs including picking up their feet, and start getting them to follow the feel of the lead rope. They are good boyz!
Interestingly enough, it is Boe who is the dominant one over his bigger buddy. But it is Scooter who is the curious one, ready to venture out and check things out while Boe follows.
What fun for me to have foals to work with again!
Fencing is progressing well, we have one more pasture to repair, should be able to get that done in 1 day; that will be the winter pasture, then it's winterizing the barns (missing glass panes in the windows, a couple of boards to replace to keep the birds out next year) and overhauling the automatic waterer, making sure the thermostat is working.
After that it's all household stuff, including setting up the containers for gardening next year and getting the walls painted so I can put my art/photos up, then it will feel more like home.
With the cooler nights now, the flies are finally dying down. Thank goodness! Our doors are on the sunward sides, East and West, so they tend to congregate around the doors and windows. We put up one of those fly bag traps- they work great! As well as several stickies.
I finally got the data cord for my camera, so I will do a post with some of my better photos from the summer.
5 comments:
Well those are some great looking visitors! You will be having fun now! :)
How fun it must be to work with foals again! I sort of miss that in a way.
It has been years since we did that.
Looks like fall and winter is on its way and everything is falling into place.
I feel like I need to come and see how you work with the young ones. :) even though my guy is older. I do have a question for you- will you blanket them this winter? Quaid is from Alberta so will get a good coat. But we get a lot of rain/sleet so I'm on the fence. I also think he may eat a blanket and will definitely outgrow it....
Hi TeresaA
Normally I don't blanket my horses with one exception- cold, wet and windy. Those conditions can chill a horse to the bone. In which case, they get blanketed until the weather condition changes, usually only a day or two. The only other time I blanket all winter is if I am riding the horse a lot as I don't clip my horses. The one exception is Beamer who doesn't get to move around a lot; if he starts shivering I blanket him in the coldest weather but take it off when it warms up during the day or if the cold snap is gone.
These colts will be going back to Shayla once we are satisfied with their training, and will not be blanketed unless it's necessary.
Thank you!
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