Brat

Hey Rio!

Pick on somebody your own size!!!!

Who, meeee?

Fun time

Tess has a date today with Moss, the same dog who sired her first litter. From that litter, all the follow up reports I have are from happy owners, including Jenn who owns Abby, and has competed with her in rally obedience and agility. Abby has won many ribbons and has the distinction of getting perfect scores in obedience. I've been trying for two years for this litter, and this is the first time Tess has come into heat since last December. This will be her second and final litter.

I have been playing around with my camera, it'a a little bulky for packing around but yesterday on my way to work the morning light was so beautiful that I had to take it when I went to work. I think this photo will be a future submission in the local calendar contest.

These big boys were hanging out on the fenceline, looking like they needed a portrait:

Shooting with a telephoto is new to me, the depth of field is interesting, like how the bull at the back isn't in focus. I might play around with some of the settings to see how many different ways I can take the same photo.

I also discovered that in my Windows photo manager photo editing that I could do this- all these years of using it and I had never found this! What fun!
It's in the Rotate and Flip button, I clicked on the "by degree" aid and this is what it does.

Anyway, I'll be packing the camera with me today as I head up to Kimberley area with Shayla; she will be working on Janice's horse again, and I'll be dropping Tess off with her mate. Some lovely scenery up there, and it promises to be another sunny day.

Wordless Wednesday

It's all good.

It's raining, it's pouring.....

The north wind is blowing....

But it doesn't bother me much even though it's a muddy soppy mess, because I have my wood stove going.... and....

I still have pansies blooming....

everything is still green; even some of the trees that aren't naked have green leaves....
and it is past mid November.....

and the ponies have a dry place to hang out.  Yup. It's all good. But the wind could quit anytime! There is a week or so of sunshine in the forecast, so hopefully the lawn won't squish anymore when I walk over it.

Paired up

Coyote Belle has settled in well at her new place, she's back with her buddy Chickory and out with the main herd at Fleetwood Farm in Alberta.
Gussie's new owner was pretty excited- his first words were "I'm in love!" so all's well there.

I'll get updates from time to time and will post them here.

It's trying to be winter here, and now that the leaves are gone from the maple trees I hung out the bird feeders- they are doing their job, it only took the little birds a day to find them

 Looks like I can start filling them to the top, I only filled them halfway until the birds found them so the seed didn't get all soggy.

Josie and Rio always did kind of hang out together, even when Stella was around,and now that they are the only two in the pen, they do a lot of things in unison.

Power take off.....

Play.... Josie has to get pretty high to reach his head! Good thing she has those Beamer moves!

Racing....

and having a cool down drink after all that exercise.

MmmMmm good!

 I guess I still has a happy! How can I not with these two to entertain me..... not to mention Mr. Handsome.

Who, me?????

Yes you, ya big ham. 

Got a question for you horse health folks- how do I get rid of ear crud? You can see it in Beamer's right ear, he really hates it when I try to pull the chunks off. I can try essential oils on the outside of the ear but is there anything safe I can put inside to loosen it up?

Moving on

At dawn this morning, the lady who was hauling for me pulled in; we loaded up the girls and off they went. It was pretty tough for me, and I must admit to some leaky eye stuff; but I contacted the new owner of each of them and they were both really happy with their purchases.

So now, there are 3. Rio, little Josie, and Beamer.

I rode Rio yesterday, and we had a little issue with a ditch, apparently his Lordship thought he shouldn't walk through it- we're talking a really wide gentle ditch that is an extension of our lawn, for cryin' out loud! His version of resistance is pretty funny, it's like slow motion compared to some of the snappier horses I've ridden. A fade to the left, around a tree where a branch snapped on my helmet and made him scoot forward- again in slow motion, or so it seemed- and then instead of making an issue of it, we went  a different route. When we returned, I dismounted and led him through the ditch a few times; next time I ride, we'll try it again. If he stays true to form, he'll waltz right through it.  That has been the pattern with him; he'll take exception to something, and then it's no problem the very next time.

Josie looks little compared to Rio, but she has actually grown quite a bit in the last couple of months.

I know this photo is a bad angle, it makes her neck look really short, but I love it because  the action with the dog going the opposite direction.

Like every weanling I've ever had, her new winter coat is really thick and fuzzy.

I've been having fun with my new camera, but I don't dare pack it on Rio- I will on Beamer next time I ride though. Having a telephoto has really made me happy- I can shoot the moon now! Just waiting for the full moon and the dark to see if I can get as good a moon shot as Ed does. This'll have to do for now:

Also, I can finally zoom in on the resident barn owl- next thing is to get a good photo of her in flight.

Tomorrow Shayla and I are heading up to see Janice. Shayla will be doing some body work on Jazz (Rio's full sister).

One door closes....

....and another one opens. If you recall, I said that Gussie had been sold to the young lady riding her in the photo I posted... well she backed out of the deal (after we shook hands on it, guess that means nothing to the younger generation).

So I advertised Gussie on Northern Horse .com and within 24 hours I had someone who wants to buy her. I won't go into details, but it looks like a good fit- in fact I told him that I'd hold the money for a month and he could return her if he doesn't get along with her.Not only that- it's in Turner Valley Alberta, my old stompin' grounds. So I can visit her when we travel up that way.

It will be a less demanding lifestyle for the big red girl, mostly trail rides and hunting trips. Speaking of big... I measured her with the weight tape, she is around 1350 lbs. and that's not fat.
I found someone on Facebook who was looking to fill her trailer on a trip through here to Alberta, so both mares are leaving tomorrow morning.

It's tough selling horses. Especially when you've had them for so long, and they trust you. I feel like a traitor! But circumstances get in the way of dreams, and I think I am doing the best I can for them.

Bluesbuster

Sometimes things just fall apart- which is why I didn't say much about the prospective place we had to move to.We checked it out thoroughly today, and there are many issues that the landlord is not prepared to fix, or let us fix and take it off the rent. Which is really unfortunate because that means we have to stay here until at least spring. A place that has mold issues, a leaky roof in at least 4 places, walls that are disintegrating, and windows that don't keep out the dust that rolls in off the gravel road. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle trying to find a good place to live in this area, and I'm about ready to throw in the towel and head back to Alberta.
Good thing that I have lots of therapy standing out in the horse pens.

Well, maybe not standing!

He does gladden my heart!

He cheers me up....

and chases my blues away!

Playing with the new camea

I finally got my new camera, a Nikon D3100, and I got a telephoto lens to go with it. Now to figure it all out! It'll take me a few days, I think.  Of course, I had plenty of subjects to practice on!

 *Ahem * did you notice it's green here? Not white? *

Then it was off to the pasture.... where Josie was happy to do some streaking for me after a few days of rain and being cooped up.

She really got fuzzy!  She is turning into my little buddy. Every time I go out to the pen she whinnies to me- in a very raspy, unfeminine voice, I might add. and she is nice to handle. She was even pretty good for her first trim with Shayla a little while ago. 

And then there's Rio... he had just taken a drink of water, and if you all remember this little idiosyncrasy he has of sticking his tongue out during and after drinking, you can see that he is sticking his tongue out in this photo.

 Beamer was way too muddy to take photos of, maybe I'll clean him up for a photo shoot this weekend. I put the telephoto lens on and zoomed in on the town in the distance, with the grain elevators catching the late afternoon light.

One thing I learned was to make sure I use the viewfinder for the burst shots, not the monitor, so that I can follow what I'm shooting. There's lots of bells'n'whistles for me to learn.

Wonderful Wednesday

A couple of good things have been happening around here that have put a smile on my face.
Like the fact that it snowed, and then melted.....

The low lying fog looks like cotton wool...

Snow's all gone!

I advertised Gussie on Facebook, because I just couldn't find an affordable way to get her over to Saskatchewan, and today I sold her- she will be staying in BC and going to a darn good home where she will be patterned on the barrels, and do some roping and ranch riding. I am happy that she is going where she will be able to reach her potential, because she is a talented big red girl. The neat thing is that the young lady who bought her prefers geldings... but really liked Gussie when she came and tried her out. 

Gussie and her new owner

She will be coming to pick Gussie up before the end of the month.

We also have more good news: we have found another place to live, so we'll be moving soon. Details later!

Horsies crocs

For those who might be searching for the Horsies Crocs, here is the only place I have found them for sale online: http://buckscountysaddlery.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=99000996

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

Blah yucky wet weather has stymied my plans for riding, but I'm hoping to get my butt in the saddle tomorrow.
Before it started raining, I got some fun photos of Beamer having a dust bath- carefully supervised by Tess.

Oh yeah, feels good! Now to shake the dust off.....

Those of you who always look at a horse's feet first will notice the arched hairlines on his front feet. It's something I have been working on with little success, so today when Shayla trimmed him, she put a good rim notch on, and he got a white lightning soak too. We'll have those feet improved soon! His feet have already improved a lot since I got him on the ABC Hoofprint trim, but it's still a work in progress.
I still haven't hauled Belle to Alberta, the weather is plumb nasty for travelling. We get rain, everywhere else gets snow and the roads are not ideal for pulling a horse trailer. So I'll just have to wait until we get a good week, or a good meltdown.
Anyway, I'll leave you with this parting shot..... it might be winter for some, but it's still fall here!