He is here!

 Leo was delivered this morning! I had the foal pen all prepped for him, and put Tuffy in with him at first. 

They got along ok at first, but Leo was a bit much for Tuffy: he was pacing non stop and calling out. Disturbed Tuffy's peace! So I put Tuffy back with the mares until Leo eventually calmed down. 

Pacing... that square on his shoulder is where the breeders freeze branded him

Calling...

Pacing....

I put hay for the mares close to the foal pen and locked them out of the pasture so they would be close to the boys.  This afternoon, Tuffy went back in with Leo and they got along much better since Leo calmed down. 

Leo is not halter broke yet so that will be where I will start with him. One day at a time, with day one being to see if I can touch him. 

Ah that's the spot! 

Butt scratches are always a good place to start.

He let me move up his back and eventually around his head and poll.

Good boy, Leo!

They got along much better. 

There is quite a size difference! 

Tuffy is 5 weeks older than Leo. They are both growing in their winter fur. They will have access to the barn, foal ration twice a day and and all the hay they can eat. Leo hasn't quite figured out the foal ration but he will. 

Dally is quite attentive to him, she seems to love foals so I hope when she has her own she will be a good mama.

Here is hoping they have a good night!

Winter pasture

 My handy niece and her partner came out last weekend to help out us old folks get our winter pasture set up. We had to remove the bottom strand of hot tape that had gotten beat up with all the storms and replace it with new tape. All 700 ft. of it. There was a lot of swamp grass grown up over 6 ft. tall along one section that we had to stomp down and drive over to flatten; the weed whacker was not powerful enough to remove it all. We got it done! The horses were happy to get turned out on that 15 acres, as their grazing pens were getting a bit low. Velvet has been on the 15 before, so she led the way through the 4 ft. gate and the others followed. Room to run, you would think, but eating was more important! They did do a bit of zooming the first day and they still have access to their auto waterer and shelter, so when the bugs get to be too much, or if a rain storm comes along, they lope on back to the shelter. 

Tuffy did lose a bit of weight at weaning but it is coming back. 

Took the Nikon out today and tried for some decent photos. 

Normally I would edit a bit, but my old computer is having a moment and won't let me so these are straight out of the camera. 

Velvet, who was first out, went off to the far end, (can you see her?) while Tuffy and Dally stayed closer to the entrance. 

Those weeds are Canada Thistle and stinging nettle, both of which horses will eat in moderation. We have plans to spray this field next spring. 

Dally wandered off to see what Velvet was eating, and Tuffy stayed munching on his patch. 

He was keeping an eye on them, but when they went out of sight, he galloped up to the corner, whinnying and they came a-running at his call.... good mares!

This will be their winter pasture, at least until the snow starts covering the hotwire tape which is about 2 ft. off the ground for the bottom strand. 

Once the Leo colt gets here in a few days, he will be penned up with Tuffy so they can buddy up and be friends before I turn them out together to pasture with the mares. Can't wait!

Wild weather

 The start of summer has been a bit tumultuous around here. Starting with a Monsoon season then turning into multiple warnings for severe thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes.  None of which hit here! 

A tornado did touch down at Rocky Mountain House, which is a 45 minute drive west of us. The clouds that day were quite ominous from our vantage point. 

All is well that ends well though!  The system moved off to the north east of us. What we did get was very strong north wind about an hour later, I thought for sure we would lose some trees, in fact I could hear a tall old spruce tree cracking as I was watching out of our only north facing window in the bathroom. Thought for sure that old giant was going to come down, but it stood strong. 

Now we have rain and smoke.... always something!  But at least it has cooled off. 

We have a lot of cliff swallows that have congregated here- they are very welcome because ever since they arrived, the mosquito population has been decimated- yay! 

This is just a very few of them, the rest were reeling around the sky snacking on bugs. 

My flower gardens are thriving, this is my Jacmani clematis which last year had only a handful of flowers. 

The veggie garden is yielding carrots and peas now  and the potato plants are flowering. That is actually all I planted this year, I still have enough green beans in the freezer from last year. I did plant a tomato that I picked up for 3 bucks, it may or may not have fruit before frost time. 

Tuffy is growing and thriving too! 

Thumper intrigues him. 

Today was vet day, Happy came up open, no foal, so come mid August she will go live with Shayla and I will wean Tuffy early. Vet said wait and see until after weaning on how his hernia is, we hope it will close on its own. 

Meanwhile, the little herd gets to enjoy summer. I will wait until end of August to start working with Dally. 

A Day In The Life Of Tuffy

 The mornings are peaceful, every morning they are laying down, sometimes with one standing guard but not today. 

Then it is chow time....

The pastures are amazing right now with all the rain we continue to have. 

While the mares get fed, Tuffy gets haltered for his daily lesson. Progress report: leads well, lets me pick up his feet and place them on the ground myself, and is learning to go past me on the lead line (precursor to many things like lunging, trailer loading, obstacles etc.) When I hold a bit of pressure on the lead rope, he thinks about it for a moment then steps forward, precursor to standing tied. 

Then back out on the pasture to find the tallest grass so he doesn't have to bend those long legs so much. 

Walking is fine, but....

zooming is more fun!

It is always better to see if one can get in trouble.... (those ears tell the tale!)

Trouble found! 

Of course, if I am in the pasture it means obligatory rump skritches!

 

Poor Velvet, she  puts up with a lot of pestering from him but she is a very good nanny and never reprimands him. 

She just walks away and hopes he finds another distraction. 

One can scratch oneself...

Or get a little help from a friend. 

He hunts me down, knowing that I will give him lots of attention. 

I love this colt,  he has the best personality and is so very easy to work with. At 5 weeks old today, I am so pleased with his progress and he sure is easy to look at! 

Walk with me, Tuffy

 I think it is about 10 days into our short halter lessons. Over that span Tuffy did really well, building on each lesson without resistance; I think only twice he walked away from me when I went to catch him, but it was only a few steps. For the last week I have been able to walk up to him and halter him right away. He is a very smart and willing colt. There were a couple of days where I helped him understand to move his hip over by touching his hip while I brought his head around but by the third time he understood. Then we progressed to asking for 1 step forward, reverting to a sidweays step as needed. The next day I asked him to follow me forward, and he did, a bit hesitant at first. And then today.....

Success!  Next will be catching and leading him when he's out in the foaling pen and not in the confines of the barn. 

We have heavy rains right now so that may be a couple of days away yet, but I am sure happy with his progress, and his willingness. 

Here are some photos from before the rain hit

The trouble with being an only foal is he doesn't have anyone to pester except the mares! And Thumper, who was no fun at all and just walked away. 

 

It is possible that my working with him replaces not having another foal to play with and learn horse stuff. 

Tuffy spends a lot of time away from his mama; she can be way down in the bottom pasture, and he will be up by the barn with his babysitter Velvet, and Happy seems quite content with that arrangement. 

She is very patient with him and enjoys his company, with minimal reprimanding due to his antics. What a wonderful mare she is. 

Wordless Wednesday