Shuffle

 Today I did some shuffling. This morning Gussie got snarky with Happy and as she jumped out of the way she skidded on some ice so today became moving day for her. She now has access to the foaling pen which includes barn access, as well as the adjacent pen which has access to the automatic waterer. 

She was quite willing to go in the barn and check it out. 

Awful photo, sorry!

Gussie and Velvet have full access to the shelter and the winter pasture and the other side of the waterer. They also have a brand new  round bale to eat. However, they are Not Happy that Happy has their favorite pen!

Happy is quite unconcerned with their drama.

 

Wide load! 

She is starting to bag up and baby is still quite active so she is on track to be 4 to 5 weeks away from foaling. 

She seems to be quite content to not have to deal with getting chased out of the hay. 

Velvet is the most emotional about being separated from Happy. I reckon she will just have to get over it. 

Marching on

 March has been rather lion-y all month. We just had another blast of snow and cold (-17C this morning) and I sure hope it will be winter's last hurrah and spring will get sprung!

This morning's chilly sunrise

The last weekend I had family over, and my sister from the coast picked up the last kitten from the litter, Minou. I had her in the house for a month socialising her, getting her to the vet for spay and vacs. 

It was a wonderful weekend with more family visiting on Saturday. Sunday we drove my sister and Minou to the Calgary airport. 

At least the weather cooperated that weekend. The river went out just before she got here. 

The geese are winging their way back too. 

Happy is getting pretty big now, her 320 safe date is about April 11th. I had the farrier over yesterday to trim Gussie, and Happy just hung out with us. She really is a sweet mare. 

I have a name for her foal, which will fit if it is a colt. We will be doing a foaling contest again as soon as she is a bit closer to foaling. 

I am so looking forward to April and an end to the cold and snow! So I am enjoying vicariously all the spring photos you all are posting, especially the flowers. I am itching to go to the greenhouse to get some more daylilies and some annuals for my potted flowers. 

The Eyes Have It

 Well St. Patrick's day brought the big change in weather! From -24 C two days ago to +15 C today- yay let the melt down begin! 

Here is what we have to melt yet:

I spent sunshine time raking muck again and just hangin' with the mares. They were soaking up the warmth all relaxed in their shelter, that is, once Gussie gave Velvet the stink eye for daring to move a little closer to me. 

 Those snarky nostrils! Velvet just ignored her. 

I took the chance to do one of my favourite shoots, the equine eye. 

Such long lashes, Gussie! 

If anyone has any hints for uploading videos 

directly from an android phone to blogger please let me know. They seem to go, but once I hit publish, it says not available. I really don't want to have to use You Tube if I can avoid it. They publish fine on facebook but not on blogger. I want to put videos of Happy's very active baby  on here!

Sunday Scenes

 It is a sunny Sunday.... O how needed is the sunshine!

We are in a warming trend, finally. But this morning it was -24 C. I looked out the window and saw one of the cats that was a kitten when we moved here. You may remember Smokey, and his sidekick Bandit ( who disappeared). Smokey is 4 yrs old now and is quite big now. 

I felt so sorry for him, his whiskers were all frosted up. 

The other male cats here beat him up and run him off so he is quite wary. I put some food out for him.

Meanwhile in the warmth and comfort of the house.....

Miss Minou was all snuggled upon her couch pillow. Barn cat no more! She leaves for her new home next weekend. 

It was so nice out this afternoon, I went out to spend some time with the mares. 

Happy is doing well, her foal is very active and I love watching it bumping around in there.  I sure like that mare. If she does well this year and her melanoma doesn't get any larger, I will send her to Shayla after weaning  where she can live out her days and as long as she is healthy will be bred to Shayla's stallion for 1 more foal. I think she deserves as much of a chance we can give her. Such a sweet mare. 

As I walked back up the hill, my shadow walked with me. 

Weird camera angle, the barn is not tilted!

Velvet loves to walk beside me wherever I go. She always has to inspect everything I do too. She is not pushy with me, politely lets me go first through the gate or around the corners- stops when I stop, walks when I walk . It is very endearing! Interestingly enough, she is the boss mare. One flick of the ear or toss of the head and Gussie gives way; but on the other hand she is the one who always welcomes the new mares in the herd and often eats out of the same pile with them, and Gussie never does. 

That patch of bare skin on Velvet is from a bout of ringworm earlier this winter. It has been many years since I have had to deal with that. Our vet sold me a spray that worked really well. Fortunately it didn't spread to the other horses.

Linda did a wonderful post on getting back to our childhood joy with horses. Lets all go and rekindle that happiness that just being with horses gives us! I try to live that joy every day when I go out to do chores in this interminable winter we are having, and am so looking forward to spring and being able to do more things with them. 

March Madness

 Mid Month March Madness

Aka 10 inches of fresh snow. Let the pictures tell the story....

We knew this storm was coming, so made sure we were prepared for it. 

The day before we bought 2 more round bales and set them up in the shelter; one for now and one partitioned off for later on. 

It is really nice hay; first year timothy and orchard grass, nice soft hay for those old mares. However, they are quite sure it should have some alfalfa in it like the small squares I was feeding. 

I make a few piles in the snow  and of course Gussie thinks the pile Happy was eating must be the tastiest one!

Hopefully this will be the last big dump of snow as spring begins in a week.  We do still have a few flurries predicted for next weekend (of course) . I am so over winter!

The mares

 What to do on the only warm weekend in the next two weeks? Well... spend time with the mares of course! 

It warmed up enough that I was able to rake their feed area, then I walked down to the winter pasture to see if they are pawing yet- they aren't- and they obligingly followed me so naturally I took a few photos. 

Happy's baby belly is at wide load stage. 

She really is the sweetest mare I have had in a long time. 

She is very smart and keeps herself out of trouble in the herd. 

She always places herself so that Velvet is between her and Gussie. 

Velvet is the herd watchdog. This morning she had her eye on a moose across the river; while Gussie and Happy were up in the feed pen she was down in the winter pasture standing guard. 

Disregard the broken fence board please! Spring project. 

Velvet is losing her topline and the muscling along her ribs. Sadly, at 26 years old her time grows short. I will see how she fares this summer and won't let her get to the decrepit state that will make another winter too tough. But I hope she bounces back with the good summer pasture we have here.  I really enjoy her company as she always walks beside me when I am in their pens. 

She is still in charge of the mare herd here, no matter who I bring in. 

And then there is Gussie. 

She expects to be treated like the diva she is. One must acknowledge her presence but on her terms  

She tends to stand back and watch to see if there is any benefit in engaging, such as getting brushed, or scratches or food. 

Does anyone else have a horse with a nose swirl?

And if so, she makes sure that I know to give her the attention she desires!

And then she ignores me. 

All three of them just make my day! 

Signs of spring

 As you can see by these photos.... 

Winter still has us in its chilly grip. However, the mares are shedding and the days are getting longer. So there are some signs of spring such as:

Misty the mama cat has come into heat... again...

She is currently holding court to the 4 male cats, poor thing. She is on our left in the photo, then in the line up are Boris, Harley and Tom, with Ollie on the ground. I haven't yet been able to catch her to get her to the vet, so looks like there will be one more litter. I won't spay when she is pregnant, but I will still work on getting her used to feeding in the kennel so I can eventually catch her.