Young 'uns

 The barn kittens are getting used to me and are eager for their morning feed. They are over 7 weeks old now and it's fun to watch them play and peek out from behind the bales. 

Mr. Smith is  very active and adventurous. 

Mr. Jones is less playful but very food oriented. He is the first one to come out for breakfast. 

Dining with mama Misty

The colts are doing well, they are now standing tied every morning while they eat their ration. I have switched to Hoffman's Developer with a bit of oats mixed in as it improved the texture of the pelleted feed. 

Leo is starting to look less scruffy and is growing. 

Tuffy is just...  well, huge!

I did have someone say she was coming to look at him but made the excuse that her car wouldn't start, so we shall see if she follows through. I had actually decided to take him off the market 10 minutes before she messaged me so I am ok with her not coming. 

Here is a little visual of the herd dynamics: 

Velvet and Tuffy, always together

By the way, Velvet is 14 hh and Tuffy isn't far behind!

Dally and Leo, in a different part of the field. 

Tuffy was bonded to Velvet long before he was weaned, and Dally seems to dote on the babies. 

It will be interesting to see how she is during foaling  and if she gets over protective of her own foal. Her mama Jayne was, for the first day, so we shall see if Dally also has that trait. 

Leo Leads

 When I call the horses up for their morning feed, lately it has been Leo who is first to respond. This photo reminds me of the Biblical verse, " and a little child shall lead them."

Then this afternoon, I called them in from the pasture and they came in with the exact same order. Leo, Dally, Velvet and Tuffy bringing up the rear.

This is a change from previous when it was Velvet who initiated the exodus. It is interesting to watch the herd dynamics change as the colts take on new roles. 

So far, I am really liking Leo. He does look small and scruffy next to Tuffy, but I am reminded of how small and scruffy Beamer looked at the same age. People thought he wouldn't amount to much... boy were they wrong. 

He is quiet and calm, but can have a bit of red-headitude if he doesn't understand what I am asking, mostly when I want him to move away from me or come to me. Apparently his personal space is more important to him at this point- but we are working on that! He is quiet in the herd and stays out of trouble. Good boy, Leo!

Dallas

 The herd dynamics begin! Last night, at feeding time, Gussie was quite aggressive with Dallas, so I opted to close her in the foaling pen again overnight.  Traditionally, Gussie has always been the enforcer, protecting her favorite buddy, who is usually the #1 mare in the herd. With Dallas, it went beyond stink eye and pinned ears and she actually chased Dallas away. I kept an eye on them, and they all hung out together at the fenceline . This morning I fed in a bigger area with widespread piles of hay; that worked quite well. 

Dallas finding her spot

Dallas was allowed to eat next to Velvet, with just a token ear pinning. And hey- is that a baby belly on Velvet? I sure hope so!

Dallas has the cutest ears!

I opened up the gate to the pasture which is about 5 acres. Gussie was bossing Dallas out of the hay pile, and Dallas spotted the open gate. 

And off she went on an exploratory tour. The other mares kept eating their hay .

Checking all the smells....

and finding the perfect spot to roll....

Then she stayed out there and went to pawing and eating. The other mares joined her after a bit and harmony ensued- nothing like having lots of space and not being crowded.

After a couple of hours, I checked on them. This pen has electric rope fencing, and I don't know if Dallas knows about electric, but apparently she is happy enough just to hang with the herd. 

All is well so far! I will probably measure Dallas tonight when I bring her in for one more night in the pen by herself. She should be close to 15 hh, but looks can be deceiving. 

Gussie arrives

 It was a beautiful sunny day to welcome Gussie back to the farm. Originally, I turned her out with the other three mares, as they all know one another and she used to hang out across the fence from Velvet and Ruby when she was here with her foal, so I thought there would be no issues. 

For a while, all was well. But when I went in the pen and visited Gussie, apparently Ruby took exception to that. She started charging Gussie- and took me by surprise- my bad-  I did get a glancing blow from a Ruby hoof as she backed up to Gussie to kick her. A  thigh bruise coming soon! I quickly haltered Gussie and put her in Belle's pen (Belle was with the other two mares).  Ruby charged the fence a few times- definitely wanting to let Gussie know that she was the boss. I stuck Belle in with Gussie for the night. 

Bff's reunited

They are quite content to be reunited. When the horse trailer was coming down the driveway, Gussie called out and oh my did Belle ever get excited! She hollered and hollered!

I think Ruby is claiming Velvet, and that she was upset when Velvet wanted to hang with Gussie. 

Once separated, Gussie was happy to have a safe spot to roll. 

Hahaha looks like she has her front end in a deep hole, but she's just laying down to roll. 

It will be interesting to see how the herd dynamics work out as I intend to have them all together again tomorrow. They have lots of room to get away from each other, and if Ruby gets too aggressive I may just separate her for a few days. But I think she will chill out once the herd balance gets sorted out. 

I'm really looking forward to riding  Gussie again! We do think she is pregnant, but she isn't due until mid August so I will have several months to ride, probably until mid June as I generally don't ride in their last 3 months gestation. 

Oh Gussie.....

Gussie is such a character. She is very good at making her opinion known. Case in point:

It isn't the first time she has stood in an empty feeder, I remember her doing that the first time I got her back.
Of course, she went right back in it....

Poor starving creature! (Not!!!)
Linda asked if Drifter is living with the mares now; yes he is and he is fitting right in.

He hangs out with Ice a lot.

At feeding time he just quietly sidles in there and chows down. All the mares tolerate him eating next to them.

They all eat in there until I get the second wheelbarrow full that I put in the shelter, then Mesa comes over and one or two of the others soon follow.
They all get along really well, except the first few minutes of feeding time when they sort out who gets the first bite of hay. It's usually Belle and Gussie but not necessarily in that order.

Girl power

Yesterday's feed time was all about the horses having fun. They were on a roll! I saw Belle levitate about 3 ft. off the ground, straight up with all 4 feet. Man o man she is feeling good! They were all pretty much airborne for a while.

Rosalee  started bagging up yesterday.....

So excited! I had a lady get ahold of me yesterday who really wants her, and is willing to fly up here (she lives on the coast) after foaling to check her out. I'm really hoping this one is the right one for her, as this lady used to show in reining and has her own beautiful proven stallion. She wants one to both breed and ride, so Rosalee fits the bill- and she has a beautiful place with good fencing.
Of course you know what that means.... yes there will be a foaling contest this year! Stay tuned for that one around mid April.
Rosalee had to show that she still has the moves, even if she is fat and pregnant.

Belle has taken up a protect mode when it comes to Gussie and Mesa, check out her attitude to Rosalee.

She did that several times, backing up to her and kicking, but always from a good distance away so as not to connect. Today is wet and we have snow/rain, so I'm leaving Rosalee in the foaling pen until the weather improves, don't need her slipping and falling.

Just for kicks and giggles, here is an old photo of me and Gussie, and the blue roan colt is her first foal, Choctaw Peppy.

The palomino filly is Sassy, I bought her as a long yearling, then got her started under saddle the next year and sold her.

Wordless Wednesday