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!

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!

Here we go again

 February just won't let go....

What do you think Gussie? Had enough yet?

Done with February, bring on March!

The mares, although they have plenty of shelter, choose to stand on the lee side of the barn during storms. 

Photo taken from the comfort of my dining room window

They are still well insulated though and seem to be handling this weather like good ole northern horses. Velvet is starting to show her age though with her topline dropping and not quite as much padding as she usually has. The old girl  (age 26) is still perfectly sound though. Gotta love that old time foundation breeding. 

Happy is starting to shed but still has dense fur. I haven't been brushing her, as I want her to keep as much of her coat as possible to keep her warm.

Those spots on her are not dirt, it is her bay roan coat showing through. 

I am so looking forward to her foal. The sire has Seattle Slew in his pedigree 4 generations back, through his son Louisiana Slew. That thoroughbred blood in there intrigues me!  

Winter's Beauty

 Even though we have to deal with finger numbing, ear freezing, bone chilling wind and cold, there is always something lovely to see. 

The sun rising low on the southern horizon, 8:49 am.  (Yes those are round bales in the back field)

The trees across the river aglow in the late sunrise . We often see deer over there.

Even cranky mares telling me I am too slow opening the gate to their fresh hay! 

We were down to -33 Celsius last night but a balmy -13 C now . Warmer temps coming but still sub zero. This too shall pass.....

Happy has adapted to the herd quite well. Gussie still chases her at morning feed time but they all hang out as a group during the day.  Velvet has buddied up with her.

Christmas day was sunny and cold. Velvet and Gussie were dozing alongside the big barn.

That is, until Velvet saw me coming and had to investigate. 

And headed to the shelter in case, just maybe, I would put extra hay out.... 

The mares are wintering well despite the cold. They have 24/7 hay as well as heated water. 

I did some checking on due dates, it looks like Happy is due around two weeks before Gussie. End of April to mid May should be busy for me! 

Well..... I did a thing....

 What's better than 2  old roan mares in the pasture? Well, 3 of course! 

I saw an ad for a mare that has the same sire as Gussie, so I checked her out. The price was right, her ad info was good, so I called and went to see her. She was less than a half hour away. 

She is 20 years old, was born a bay roan and has gone grey (her dam is grey, her sire a red roan) and she is confirmed in foal to an up and coming running bred stallion. She is a big mare like her sister Gussie, good bone, and black feet that need a trim ( imagine that...) She was standing quietly tied, and has a perfect swirl and a kind soft eye. 

So I did the sensible thing and bought her!

She will fit right in my little herd . 

Who dat?

First greeting

Velvet earned a squeal from the new mare

You can clearly see in the above photo just how big this mare is; she is a touch bigger than Gussie. 

One more visit with Gussie, and making sure she knows where the water tank is

Nice big soft eye and a bit of a dished face

Surveying her new abode

It may look sunny and nice but it was -28 C this morning. I waited until it came up to -18C to haul her the relatively short distance home. 

She is a nice calm easy to get along with mare. 

She hauled well, (yay) leads well, and so far, no drama. (Double yay). I will give her a few days separated from the other girls before letting them mingle. Still waiting on a report from AQHA on how many foals she has had; the folks I bought her from only had her for about a year so didn't know much of her history. Apparently she was broke in her younger years and used for roping. 

Also, they said she didn't have a name when they got her so they just called her after the dude they bought her from. So I will be pondering an appropriate name for her. 

The stallion she is bred to

Wordless Wednesday

Colder days are here

 Winter is closing in on us, inexorable juggernaut that it is. Every morning as I head to the barn for chores, the wind has an icy bite to it. The mares stand with their tails to the wind, hopeful eyes checking to see if they get to share the barn with the kittens ( they don't) as I prepare their ration. 

Timbits surveying the guardians at the door

 

Their coats are thick, the summertime dapples still showing on ole Velvet. 

The farrier was here yesterday, and they were both good for him. I asked him to not put Velvet's leg between his knees when he trimmed, as I am sure that was what was upsetting her - being so short,  the angle was just too much for her at her age, and so he just propped her foot on his knee to trim and she was much happier with that arrangement. 

I am the queen

I haven't ridden since last winter, not counting my work with Rally. For over a year I have had health issues that have impeded my mobility, hoping to get it all sorted out soon as I really would like to get a few rides on Gussie before she foals. Weather permitting of course!

The barn kittens are ready to go, but no takers yet for them. 

From top to bottom:

Timber (Timbits)

Minou

Matilda

They are starting to wait at their food dishes for me instead of scattering when I come in the barn. Minou is still fearful, she freaked out when I picked her up and it took her 3 days to figure out that I wasn't trying to kill her and is starting to come around again; the other two are quite content to be petted and played with.

 Thumper has old cat privileges, he now gets to spend 90 % of his time sleeping on the loveseat, and in the heated garage at night.

 He takes up a lot of room!