True colors and updates

 Tuffy is starting to show his true color

Around the eyes is the first place to show grey. 

He has his mama's pretty face too

His muzzle is greying too. It will be fun to see his changes over time. 

He continues to be adorable and fun. 

He prefers to get in the trailer without his mama, she takes up a lot of room. 

Tuffy, however, is huge! He is now over 48 inches at the hip- over 12 hh now. 

 Now for the update....

Anyone recognize this mare?

That is Midnight Mesa, with her first foal! The sire is a very well bred reiner, and that little colt looks the part. 

Mesa sure looks like Beamer now that she has matured. One of the reasons I sold her was that she looked too small for me, but she sure has chunked up and I wouldn't hesitate to ride her. 

I came up with names for the colt I am buying, his barn name will be Leo ( of course) and his registered name will be DLH Jetaway Leo.  They haven't handled him much yet, so he will likely be a blank slate for me in September. We are pulling hair for his DNA test including color, but I am pretty sure he will be sorrel and not palomino. If you look around his eyes, that dark red is starting to show his true color. 

I do love me a bright sorrel horse!

Is it really done?

 Well, after a week of the arctic vortex stifling us, we are back in more seasonal weather. It warmed up by 30 Celcius degrees to -12C!

 I took advantage of the cold frosting on the windows to capture a few shots of what I call, frost flowers. 

To me, those ones look like they are dancing. What else is there to do at minus stupid weather!

I await the coming of spring when I can grow real flowers!

The mares shed their snow blankets as of last night- I guess they figured the -25C was pretty balmy.

 Compared to the last photo of Velvet, this is all that is left. Ruby too has normal looking hair, not all frost covered and making her look like a roan. 

For the discerning eye- yes she does have a capped hock, I almost didn't buy her when I saw that; she had a scrape on that leg that told me she had kicked something and probably got the leg stuck somehow. However, it is a blemish and not a lameness. 

No Ruby. I don't have any treats and you are still too frosty for kisses!

I found this photo of Mesa on the FB page of the lady who owns her now (she calls her Mindy) ; looks like she also handled the cold snap well. Not hurting for feed that's for sure!

We are getting snow, the kind that is like a drizzle if it was rain. We do have more in the forecast, but at least it's warmer! I'll take it! Actually, southern Alberta has been in a terrible drought and with heavy snow predicted for them, it will be most welcome, I'm sure. The last week of the month, we will be in plus temps, so I bet a lot of it will melt. 

Hibernating

 I won't show you the 7 inches of snow we got, or the -17 C temperatures... the horses are fine, the barn  cats rarely leave the barn, and Ted and I only go out if we have to. I actually don't mind the weather, at least it isn't windy and I'd rather have snow than rain at this time of year. Thumper and Foose are moved into the garage for the winter- had to laugh at Foose when I checked to see if he wanted out. He went to the door, put one foot out and looked with disgust at the snow. Went back in, turned around and went to the door again as if to say, was that real? Lemme check.... he did that 3 times, too funny. 

Thumper is also not thrilled and prefers to be a cupboard cat for now. 

The day before it snowed, I grabbed a photo of the last flower in the garden- the dianthus. 

It survived several hard frosts, so I am sure it will be back next spring. 

The roofing crew got our roof done 2 days before the snow- that was cutting it fine! Nice new tin roof laid over the old asphalt shingles. They did a great job. No more leaks!

I have a Mesa update, she has a really good home now and I found a nice photo of her and her owner on Facebook.

Doesn't she look the spittin' image of Beamer? Same height too. They are quite happy with her. Love it when my horses go to good homes. 

Updates

 Got a couple of updates for you on the Diamond Lazy H horses. 

Remember Midnight Mesa? She has been resold to a young family and is doing great! Not the greatest photos but all I can get. She apparently instantly loved her new people. Mom rides her sorting cattle and daughter is doing leadline gymkhana on her.

Just another Beamer kid teaching a young 'un!

Mesa's original buyer wanted to do cutting and Mesa didn't like it. But apparently she likes sorting. 

Then there is a Derby update:

The lady who bought him as a stallion prospect decided to put him up for sale as she just wasn't clicking with him. And I'm happy to say, that he will be joining his brothers! Yup, he was sold to the young lady who owns and rides Rio, and will be living with Rio, Kai, Josie and Pistol. I am so happy that the Perrott family likes the DLH horses enough to have bought 6 of them over the years! I don't have any current photos of him, hopefully I will be able to go to Alberta this summer and get photos of him with his siblings. 

I decided that Jayne can be turned out with Sophie during the day, and back in her pen at night. That way they are both likely to get more exercise. Sure enough, Sophie took it upon herself to herd Jayne around right away!

Early morning/low light cell phone photo- sorry!

I included that photo because it shows that s'picious bump on Sophie! I actually hope she isn't in foal!

Had to throw in at least one decent photo....

or two, for my Jayne update. 

Jayne will not only be going to live with Shayla, she will be owned by her too! I decided to gift her to Shayla, partly because it is such a great home for her to live out her days (she will be 20 this year), and partly to help Shayla get another mare with great bloodlines in her herd as she establishes herself as a breeder. And I know Shayla loves her! Such a sweet mare. 

Updates on Mesa and the pup

For those who are interested in following Mesa's story, here is Shannon's latest blog post.

And ... ummmm.... I am guilty of not checking properly when I looked at the puppy, apparently "he" is a "she" and no she does not have gender confusion! The owner of her daddy stopped by yesterday and I showed him the puppy. Apparently his daughter can't take her so..... I may just keep her! ***Big silly grin*** My husband rolled his eyes when I said that....  but really, Tess will be 13 in 2 months, Tay is not a good dog to take when I trail ride as she constantly harasses the horses so this pup could be my next riding companion. (See how I justified that). And I have been wanting another female pup for years now. I consider this a gift from God who always knows best.

Mesa moves on

Today is the day....

I got her all spiffed up....

for her new owner, who picked her up today.

You can follow Mesa's adventures on Shannon's blog if you wish.  And no, I didn't put the halter on her.....

New blog

The lady who is buying Mesa is starting a blog  and I thought all you folks who love Mesa might like to follow her! Here is her blog, Two Baileys Please . Stop by and say hi!

The youngsters make progress

Foal guesses are still open to those whose guess has passed! That means Linda, Kim, Sarah, Betsy, C-ingspots, Shannon and Emily- you can enter another guess! Belle still hasn't got a full bag - close to full but not bursting full yet.

It's so rewarding working with young horses. Seeing the progress, watching as they grow in confidence and understanding and seeing how they trust you- gets you in the feels!
We had lots of that the other day.
 First was a trail ride with Gussie and Ice; Shayla says Ice is now a bona fide trail horse!
We challenged her a little bit, first with a steep but short descent from the dyke, this is loose rocky ground that gives way a bit under their feet; she handled it  like a pro!

As we ended the ride, we went through the pond. The first time Ice had to do this she was quite uncertain and needed a companion horse to give her the confidence to go through the wider expanse of water; I think the reflectivity of it threw off her depth perception too. This time she got to go first; once again, she handled it like a pro!

Next is miss Mesa. Starting off with a little ground work; we skipped the ground driving because she really didn't need it. Also skipped the safety line because Shayla was confident that Mesa was going to handle things well.
Pretty proud of this little mare! Take a look:

She was light and responsive to steering and leg! With these willing babies it's hard to remember that they are just babies and to not overwork them. Mesa may get a couple more rides but that will be it- and we keep them to about 5 minutes. Just trying to set her up for her future, not ruin her body.

Then it was Drifter's turn.

First off- I had sent away his dna to get him tested for roan- and he is indeed a palomino roan! Yay!

I can't wait until he sheds out that shaggy coat! I expect him to be light through the body as the roaning shows up and darker on the legs and head.

He is so funny. He gets all happy when he gets to go out and be worked. But even though he is exuberant he still does whatever Shayla asks of him. 

This is the something new for him: Being asked to move his hip over from above. Normally he just gives his hip when she asks for a stop-and-face-up, so this was totally new and he got it right away.

They say that with the Driftwood bloodlines you show them what to do, then leave them alone and don't pick on them, because they get it- and it sure seems to be true with both Drifter and Ice (she also has Driftwood blood).

And yes, foal watch continues. 

Riding day 31

Working them all

Foal watch continues...
Linda and Nat D  feel free to enter another guess as yours are past. Look on my sidebar for a look at the other guesses.

What a wonderful day I had yesterday!
First off, I took a ride on Beamer, just bareback down around the pond to see if there was any water in it (there is!) and to get him out of his pen for a change.

When Shayla got here she worked Drifter while I rode Beamer, then we saddled up the redheads, Gussie and Rose and went meandering through the bush and down to the river.

Pretty sure we both had big smiles going on! The river is starting to rise with the warmer temperatures and sunshine melting the snowpack. We even had a warm breeze for the first time this spring.



After that Shayla rode Ice (both Rose and Ice are back here) and had a really good ride on her, the first time she has ridden her here other than in the pen. Lots of distractions like dogs barking , equipment working, kids playing etc. but she handled it well- one little spook where she grabbed her butt and scooted forward, but got over it very quickly.
Then it was miss Mesa's turn!
Off to the round pen we went, it is the first time she has been worked under saddle for a while, and of course she was a rock star!

Since she was being so good, it was time for her to learn to carry a rider under saddle.

Preparatory step #1 went well!

as did step #2...

and step # 3

Then up and over!

Pretty happy with li'l Mesa.

Riding  day 28

Working colts and riding

ENTER THE FOALING CONTEST BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK

The melt is on and mud season has arrived. Mornings are best for getting things done, while the ground is still frozen (got my corrals cleaned ) and afternoons are perfect for working colts and riding.
Went with Shayla to the big indoor arena and watched her ride Rose and Ice- Rose loved being back in the arena and it was nice to see her showing how broke she is; this is a horse Shayla has done all the training on, nice horse. Then Ice- what a good li'l 3 year old! Took everything in stride, never been in a big arena or be ridden with other horses working at the same time. She did really well. No silliness at all!
Drifter is getting worked every day and is coming along nicely. He does still test at times but it's getting pretty half-hearted. We try something new with him every time he is worked; in this case it was sacking him out with a stable sheet and asking him to move out while carrying it.

He is so much like Ice (same bloodlines). Doesn't get bothered much about new things; just checks them out and accepts them. His biggest reactions come from being surprised by the dogs running unexpectedly into his sightline.
Mesa got worked with the stable sheet too, she is quicker and more feely than Drifter. No problems wearing it and moving out with it, so she got a little extra work, dragging it off over her head as she may someday have to deal with that if she gets blanketed. It took a few tries to get her to stop her feet and stand while Shayla dragged it slowly off. This was where we stopped:

Yesterday we saddled up Beamer and Gussie, what a beautiful day for a ride! Beamer of  course was very happy to get out and Shayla was pretty happy to ride him!
My photos turned out crappy, I have a setting on my camera app on my phone that says Pro and I had it on there- works for everything but bright sunlight apparently!  So we'll go with Shayla's photos.



The snow is not very deep but it's heavy and wet as it melts so it was a bit of a workout for Beamer. But he sure wasn't complaining!



Gussie earned herself a little extra work on the way back; she started her little jig when I only wanted her to walk so she got to two track side to side as we went down the road, and one nice long back up session where I got to practice moving her hip over as she backed to keep her correct on a straight line. She walked after that!
When we got back and unsaddled, Thumper got to spend some time aboard his favourite horse.

He didn't want to get down so I left him up there as I turned Gussie back into her pen.

Belle update- she is finally starting to make bag! Slowly, but it is happening!

Riding day 22

Mesa

Well it's a done deal.
Although she will be living here until June 1st., Mesa is sold.



This young lady drove 5 hours to come and see her, and I am so glad it was a nice day for travelling- although she said it was -30 C when she left home, it was about - 8 C here when she arrived.
Shayla worked Mesa on the long line to show off her training, and Mesa, as usual, was a good girl.
Then... I asked her if she would like to hop on Beamer, as he is the same size that Mesa will finish out to. Just to prove that small is mighty!

Beamer, of course, was a perfect gentleman and I really think she didn't want to get off him! He is the best ambassador for his babies.

I have to thank Shayla for all the work she put on Mesa over the last couple of years, she has such a good program for ground work for the babies, correct and consistent and builds a good foundation on them. Thanks Shayla!

Mesa is destined to go into training for reining as she grows up, which is exactly what I thought she is best suited for. And we will get to keep in touch with her, as this young lady is the one who came with the family who bought Belle's 4 sons and Josie, and rode Kai to finish up his training for his owner. So she is very familiar with the Beamer babies, and I'm so happy that's what she chose for herself.

Riding again

A couple more riding days- ponied Mesa - she was such a good girl!



She strides right out, no funny business. Gussie didn't like it when Mesa had to go right behind her on a narrow spot, but overall it was a really good ride.

Shayla saddled up Sassy, who hasn't  been ridden since October, and is due to foal in 4 months; she did great too!



The next day we took Rose and Gussie out for a ride, nothing too remarkable but we did get to do some long trotting in the snow, accompanied by the ever faithful and energetic Goose.

Although we don't have a lot of variety of places to go, as you can tell by my photos, we do have a lot of fun just getting out and enjoying the peaceful scenery. 

The other day all the horses were alerting to something in the bush, and as we rode through we spotted moose tracks. 

We took Drifter into the barn the other day, just playing around with him, and let him have a visit with Beamer, much to Beamer's delight. I should have videoed it, they had quite a conversation, and Drifter was enjoying it as much as Beamer. 

He's so cute! And such a good boy. 

Today is the day that Mesa will receive a visit from the young lady who is interested in her for a reining prospect. Stay tuned!

Riding day 12 & 13

River ride

As I contemplate the 6 inches of fluffy white stiff on the ground and continuing to fall, I know that my plans to haul Mesa and Ice to the little local indoor arena today are derailed.  Once this system is over and the roads are cleaned up, we can get back to business.
We did work with Mesa yesterday, she is longing quite well now and has decided the plastic bag is just another nuisance we ask her to put up with, although she does keep a careful eye on it. She got her first feel of being reined around too, first at a standstill and then with me walking beside her and directing her left, right and back as she walked out. Took a bit for her to figure out to go forward with my arms draped over the saddle but with a little help from Shayla on the lead rope, she got it. She did well for her first session.
The day before was beautiful and sunny, albeit cold, so we went for a ride down on the dyke, with Shayla ponying her 3 yr. old, Ice.

You can see that we finally have Ice on the river.... no pun intended!

It was cold enough for me to break out my felt hat!
Gussie was being really good, it was a fun ride.  Crunchy snow, bright sunshine, a friend to ride with and a good horse to ride... life is good!

Riding day 10

Deal with it

This has been a "weather" week; I'm under the weather, and it's darn cold and windy! But even though I wasn't feeling so good we still got some stuff done. Mesa got some sacking out with a plastic bag.... I thought it would be no problem given that she was sacked out lots last fall, but apparently this year, plastic bags are Horse Enemy #1....



She tried to leave when we brought it close to her. So that merited about a good 20 minutes of just working on that until she would accept it touching her and being able to rub her all over with it on the end of the stick.
The next day, she was much better with it.

The folks coming to see her had a weather delay too, so Feb. 18 they will try again.

We did squeeze in a ride, even though it was pretty cold- not as cold as elsewhere I hear, but the coldest part of this winter for us. 

Goose getting a lift

Gussie was not exactly on her best behaviour, she wanted to be all bracy and prancy so we were using this spot to trot circles and create some work for all that energy- Shayla even loped on her mare Rose. Pretty good footing in this type of snow if you can avoid the places that have underlying frozen puddles.

An indoor arena is looking pretty desirable! Hoping to haul at least once this week, maybe Tuesday.

Riding day 9