Bringing Kai home

Oh yes I did.

I can rationalize it, really I can!

Beamer has a little arthritis in his left knee, so he is only ok for light riding now. Josie is only a yearling. Soooo.... when I heard Kai was available, I had to go see him. For those of you who don't know, Kai is Midnight Coyote, full brother to Rio, Nitro, and Janice's mare Jazz (aka Sparkle) if you look on the labels list on my sidebar, you will find all their stories. Since I lost Stella last year, I didn't have a Belle/Beamer baby of my own (Rio belongs to Shayla). 

Good rationalizing, huh! 

The price was right, the timing was right, and I am one of those breeders who likes to be responsible for the horses I have caused to be brought into the world. 

So I bought him, and brought him home tonight. He is 4 years old, has had some groundwork done and been sat on but not much more , so he is a prefect project for me.

Here are photos of the meet'n'greet.

Beamer come a-runnin'. Thought perhaps it was a mare comin' to visit.... I had to tell him to "put it away!!!"

The meeting of the boys. The alleyway between Beamer's stall and Rio's stall is about 4 ft. wide, just enough so that they can touch noses but not pester each other. They both got to say hi to Kai.

Josie had to wait her turn. 

This is the same pen that Kai was in when he was here as a 2 yr old for a month, so he headed straight for the feed bunk, chock full of grass hay. Kai is a lot smaller than Rio, I'll measure him tomorrow but he's somewhere between 14.2 and 14.3. Just my size!

Of course he was carefully watched by the peanut gallery, willing him to come closer.....

so that they could both bite him! With the formalities over, and pecking order momentarily established, the left him in peace- but kept an eye on him.

Kai checked the boundaries of his stall....

and headed back to the feeder. 

I'm pretty sure he knows where he is, and recognized Beamer and Rio. There was no squealing or carrying on, and it's all quiet out there when I checked a few minutes ago. As you can see, Kai needs a little TLC , but it won't take long for him to blossom. Little does he know, his world is about to change even more; once he is settled in , feet done and dewormed, he gets to learn all about working for a living, school is in!

He still gives the best horse kisses, just like he did since he was a baby, and he got along well with the horses he has been living with the last 3 1/2 years. I think I'll have fun training him, and I hope to hit some trails with him by mid summer. 

Welcome home, Kai!

April 24th, 2010, when Kai was only minutes old.

Stay tuned.....

Remember this guy?

Flowers 'n' horses 'n' cows

My beautiful bouquet for Mother's Day from my darling daughter

Not a lot of horse activity here lately, we had to work an auction this weekend,( I got a set of leather covered oxbow stirrups for $15) and the horses kind of got ignored, so today, I decided it was time to work with Josie a bit and check out her feet, they were due for a touch up.

I took her to the hitching rail and groomed her, then did some basic leading work, stopping and standing square, lead and back in one smooth move; then on to moving the hip and shoulder. I did the basic exercise we learned in the Jim Anderson Clinic with Rio last month, then it was time to work on her feet.
Now, last time I did her feet she was awesome, I did it in her stall with her ground tied. This time, I managed to get the left front done, before Josie decided that she was. done. with . standing. when there was perfectly good tasty green grass at her feet that she.must.have. Now- I don't tie her solid to the hitching rail. I drape the rope over two times so it has a little resistance but will slip slow enough that I can get out of the way and then grab the rope.
Well, the pout was on; every time she set back and had a hissy fit, I made her work. Hip over, shoulder over, stop, back, go around me etc. Then I'd bring her back to the rail, throw the rope over, and go to pick up her foot to work on it. Rinse and repeat..... at least 10 times...... There comes a point with yearlings, that they stop benefiting from this kind of discipline; they sull up and stop learning. We were close to that point, so I changed it up a little, for the sake of getting the foot trimmed and to bring her back to a better place mentally. I ground tied her, and we got it done, with her snitching mouthfuls of that juicy grass whenever she could.

Silly filly, it only took a few minutes, instead of a half hour of resistance. Betcha she remembers the lesson tomorrow though, when I finish up her trim. I foresee lots of time at the hitching rail in her near future!
A note here about feet- don't neglect your babies and yearlings; every time we trim Josie, she has bar smear that needs to be removed. One foot had bar laid over to the lateral side, and one had bar spreading up towards the apex of the frog.

What more fitting way to end Mother's day than to have some of the mama cows move in today.

The horses don't mind them at all- Josie might get a little snorty because she doesn't have as much time around cows as the boys do, but Beamer and Rio like cows.

Cowz! There be Cowz!

Beamer and Rio, in their respective corners, surveying the sunset on a beautiful Sunday.

Horseplay

You know how brothers and sisters are always at each other, picking on each other even though they stick up for each other? Well apparently horses are no different. Josie and Rio really go at it some days! Here is a glimpse into their sibling rivalry.

Gotcha!

Gotcha back!!

I'll bite yer butt!

C'mere ya little pipsqueak!

Now who's gotcha!

Brudders are bratz!

Hey Rio- where ya goin?

 Ya can't catch me! nanner nanner na na!

Wanna bet!

Amber

Amber will be 4 months old on Friday. She is an interesting pup, quite different temperament than what I am used to. She is a lot more independent than Tess or Reba and their pups  and not as willing to please as they are- in fact, she is totally focused on working.

It's interesting when we play ball: if I have Amber out by herself and throw the ball, she totally ignores it. But if Tess is playing, Amber will work Tess (or Reba).

Most of the pups I've been around will come when I call them by the time they are 4 months old; not miss Amber! She only comes if it suits her agenda. I often have to send Tess out so she will focus on Tess, who of course comes when I call.

She is an interesting dog. Definitely bred to work, so lessons are in her future, and I do hope I get the opportunity to move cows with her.

Sunday Silence

Sunday Stills

A fun challenge- Ed posted a photo, and we are to modify it to our heart's content. Here ya go- edited in Picmonkey with radiance, boost and space to make it look like a night shot.

Wordless Wednesday

Rio's turn in the spotlight

Ever since he was a baby, Rio has always been more interested in showing off his pretty moves than  in the rambunctious play most colts indulge in. Remember this? He was 7 months old, and this was his idea of action.

When ownership of this property changed in October of last year, the configuration of our horse pens changed, as the former landlord took all the panels that formed the dry lot that my horses had free access to.

The only good thing about this is that these panels can no longer hurt my horses.... remembering Stella.....
What this means is that I have had to keep my horses in stalls- large ones, 20 X 20 at least, Beamer's is 20 X 40 and then give them daily turnout. In the winter they had more turnout, but with the onset of spring grass, I have had to severely limit the time they spent on grass. This has resulted in a lot of pent up energy, which has had an interesting effect on Rio- he finally learned how to gallop flat out! Before, he would just lope around, but miss Josie has no reservations - she does the full tilt boogie. Rio had to motor to keep up to her (can't let a girl out run him, ya know!) and he has discovered the delight of just getting out and hitting his full stride. (Nitro knew this from day one!)

This bodes well for his future career as Shayla's barrel horse! He's got some moves too....

Tryin' to kick butt.....

Josie entertains

No riding lately, but with an awesome weather forecast I should get some horseback time over the next few days. Meanwhile, Josie would like to entertain you.
When it's time to bring them in off pasture, they always perform for a few minutes first- I don't mind, because the running is good for them, and when they have had their fun they are easy to catch.
Rio puts up with Josie biting him on the butt when she instigates the play time, but yesterday, it was his turn to instigate.

 Well, that set her off!

The spots are raindrops, there was a quick little shower going on.

Better not let her watch  the Calgary Stampede!

One buck, and she was done.....

Back to some flat out fun!

Lazy Sunday

I'm the only one awake this afternoon; Ted and his little dog Merle are cuddled up on the couch. Reba and Tess have taken posession of the loveseat and the bed, and even the energizer bunny, aka Amber, is out of it....

Strollin' to the river

(Vaguely hummed to the tune of Proud Mary...)
Saddled my boy on this fine day,

Working all week and just waitin'

 for a chance to go strollin'

strollin'

Strolling to the river....

Spring stuff

Haven't been up to much lately, trying to get the yard cleaned up for spring, which has definitely sprung here- can't mow the lawn because it's too wet so I've been thinking of setting up electric fence and turning the horses out on it. :)
Amber has been taking up a lot of my time. I'm trying to house break her, even if "house" just means the dog room and the deck, so I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out her potty schedule. Who knew puppies had to pee and poo so often!

Looks like her eyes will be green

Tess is really good with her, she does discipline her when Amber gets too rambunctious but also plays with her, whereas Reba avoids her. She is a very busy dog with a strong work instinct, and I do have lessons lined up for her when she is old enough. Getting her to relax is tough! 

This is a rare sight! 

I trimmed Josie's feet the other day, she was so good, just stood quietly ground tied while I knelt on the ground beside her to trim her, and considering that I took over an hour, she did awesome. I only had to reposition her a couple of times on her last foot, the right hind. 

She is such a lovely filly....

I am totally smitten with her!

Spring deworming is all done, I still have to trim Beamer, and it's time to start doing some trail riding. Shayla is considering leasing Rio out to someone who needs a horse to ride while she is in California- I don't think I will be able to ride him as much as he needs, so if anyone is interested, let us know.