Sunday again

 Here it is, Sunday again! Tuesday the farrier came and trimmed all the horses. With the advice of the vet, I buted Velvet and Belle, as they have issues holding their feet up, and it went well. Ruby, of course was a rock star for him as was Beamer. They should be good until January now. 

Of course I was a rock star!

I am the handsomest and bestest!

Thursday I visited Shayla and got to play with the foals in halter letting them learn to follow a feel without putting too much pressure on them. They were very good!

This is Fire (WV Jets On Fire) who is Jayne's colt and is a stallion prospect for Shayla. 

Taking the slack out of the leadrope

Aha- learning to follow the feel

and moving the feet to come around. Good boy, Fire!

The other foal I played with was Jolene- same sire as Fire and out of a palomino granddaughter of Sun Frost. She was so laid back, I think she would rather have snoozed in the sunshine, but she was very obliging. 

Taking the slack out...

Thinking about it....

and coming around and forward. Good girl, Jolene!

These are really nice minded foals. It's sad that their sire passed away, but at least Shayla has his bloodlines as part of the foundation of the herd she is working on building. 

Meanwhile, down on the farm... 

The mares are great deer spotters and we always know when something is crossing the pasture. We have had several hunters, and some does have been harvested. We have also seen 2 more big bucks but we aren't letting the hunters know about them!

They are also very good at spotting me when it gets close to chore time; they can see me through the big dining room window and stand at their fence waiting... and waiting...

Yes, Velvet, I'm coming!

Ruby Roo, my lovely!

Sunny Sunday

Early Sunday morning, there were 3 buck mule deer in our yard. 2 smaller ones and the big one that I spotted last year. I figured his days were numbered, judging by the pick up trucks who passed by and slammed on their brakes when they spotted him. We have certain hunters who are allowed on our property, within limits I set to protect my horses. 

One hunter who spotted him drove onto the hayfield, where he was allowed, but he didn't take the buck as he would be shooting directly towards my horses. So I worked with that hunter and gave him access to my pasture after I locked up my horses. 

I figured since this buck was not going to make it through the day, at least I would assist this ethical and polite hunter to harvest him. And they did, it was a guy and his wife, and she was the one who had the tag and did the shooting .

I guess now all the young bucks will have to step up to the plate and generate the next batch of fawns, like this young buck who was hanging out with Beamer later in the day. 

It was such a lovely day that I spent some time just hanging out with the mares. Well actually, Ruby, at first. She was feeling quite peaceful and walked over to hang out with me, after she inspected Thumper. 

Yes, all the snow is pretty much gone. 

I spent a lovely half hour just having a peaceful visit with her. There is a Facebook page called the Red Mare, a lady in Scotland who has a red TB mare and writes about their interactions. She wrote about what she calls A Place of Peace and that is exactly what Ruby and I shared. She would touch me with her nose if I moved away, or would follow me. We watched all that was going on in the pasture and in the sky and in the barnyard. 

All was well in our world. That is, until Velvet decided she had better see why Ruby was hanging out at the barn. Because, you see, there might, I say just might be, food involved!

After all, she is eating for two now!  However, sorry Velvet, no extra food happening. Once Velvet came up, my connection with Ruby fizzled away, but it was lovely while it lasted. 

It was a great day to soak up some sunshine!

And there it was, gone.

 Beamer had his vet appointment yesterday.  

He was a very good boy as we waited for his time slot. 

The vet sedated him and had a good look, then got out the scalpel and removed the lump. He was of the opinion that it may be a sarcoid, and sent it away to the lab for analysis. It also could just be a benign tumor,. He cut it open after he removed it and it was just solid clean flesh. No weird stuff, so I'm hoping it was just a benign tumor. If it tests as a sarcoid he will have to go in once a week for 3 weeks for a shot to kill the papilloma virus that causes sarcoids (and warts).

Loading him back in the trailer was an ordeal! Have you ever tried to load a semi dopey horse? He was ok to walk and balance himself, but was pretty sure the trailer was Not Where He Should Be. But 4 of us cajoled stuffed him in there and off we went. 

Today I wanted to see his owwy- well he had other ideas. (I'm sure it was still sore. ) 

Ummm Beamer, I want to see your bottom lip not your top lip!

I barely managed to get him to hold still long enough to get this fuzzy photo- I circled the spot where the big lump was. 

It will take a while to heal so I have him on soft hay and no grain for a few days. He isn't too happy about the no grain part, but I don't want it to irritate the incision and hinder healing. 

Today we headed in to town to see some of the action at the Canadian Finals Rodeo (namely, the trade show! ) and it was also pretty cool to see some of the rodeo horses we see on TV warming up in one of the arenas. Those team roping horses are large and solid!  We didn't get there early enough to watch the ranch horse competition and didn't want to stay to see the sale. 

I did buy a couple of things- a new set of Streamz Bands for mama Belle:

Now Beamer can have his bands back, which I borrowed for Belle. We also decided to get Streamz wrist bands for ourselves as we both have arthritis in our hands. 

They are all rubber so can stay on 24/7 even when showering etc. I sure hope they help, especially Ted who has very painful hands. 

Deer hunting season is in full swing here, so far at least 4 have been harvested. At least the hunters are coming to ask permission and are courteous. So far, anyway. 

More projects done and what the heck is that

 At the close of the day yesterday we were blessed with a spectacular sunset. 

2 more of the winter projects were done yesterday; we borrowed the landlady's Bobcat and now we have clean corrals. I moved Beamer to the round pen while his pen was cleaned. 

Definitely the right machine for the job!

He has gained back the weight the lost during breeding season- thanks to a beet pulp/oats mix. I like to add oats to the soaked beet pulp as it forces them to chew and not just gulp it down. 

We also got the straw in and now the mares have a deep bedded shelter to lay down in. 

So far, Belle is the only one who lays in the straw, the other 2 mares couldn't care less. 

Now to the "What the heck is that" part...

The other day I noticed that Beamer's bottom lip was hanging down, so I took a closer look. 

I wasn't prepared for what I found. 

Yes, it is some kind of tumor. We have a vet appointment for Friday. They need to determine what type of tumor it is to see how to proceed. I have several concerns about that, especially if it is indicative of tumors anywhere else in his body. I will keep you updated. 

So far it doesn't seem to be bothering him; he has a good appetite and is in good spirits. I'm hoping for a simple removal and be done with it. 

Hibernating

 I won't show you the 7 inches of snow we got, or the -17 C temperatures... the horses are fine, the barn  cats rarely leave the barn, and Ted and I only go out if we have to. I actually don't mind the weather, at least it isn't windy and I'd rather have snow than rain at this time of year. Thumper and Foose are moved into the garage for the winter- had to laugh at Foose when I checked to see if he wanted out. He went to the door, put one foot out and looked with disgust at the snow. Went back in, turned around and went to the door again as if to say, was that real? Lemme check.... he did that 3 times, too funny. 

Thumper is also not thrilled and prefers to be a cupboard cat for now. 

The day before it snowed, I grabbed a photo of the last flower in the garden- the dianthus. 

It survived several hard frosts, so I am sure it will be back next spring. 

The roofing crew got our roof done 2 days before the snow- that was cutting it fine! Nice new tin roof laid over the old asphalt shingles. They did a great job. No more leaks!

I have a Mesa update, she has a really good home now and I found a nice photo of her and her owner on Facebook.

Doesn't she look the spittin' image of Beamer? Same height too. They are quite happy with her. Love it when my horses go to good homes. 

I was almost ready

 Over the last week I have been prepping for that white stuff that's in the forecast. I opened up the top pen so the mares could use the little barn as a wind break (they have a shelter down in the bottom pen) and of course, since that's the first place I go in the morning, to feed the barn cats, they have to supervise. 

We want sum too pleeze

Belle got a blanket, as she doesn't move around enough to stay warm once the snow hits. She is doing well. I put Beamer's Streamz Bands on her and they seem to help her move a little better. She will get her own set soon. 

Beamer waiting for me to roll back the tarp and get him his hay

Then this morning, -viola- hello winter! We have about 4 inches in the forecast. That photo was this morning, it will look a lot different tomorrow morning. 

The mares spent most of the day on pasture, they didn't go in their shelter at all but did use the little barn as a windbreak. I thought they would, but apparently they didn't need to be right out of the weather. Such hardy creatures. The cats barely set foot out of the barn, and even a magpie was sheltering in Beamer's barn. 

Velvet and Ruby came down to see if they could mooch a bite of Belle's grain, and I felt a bit sorry for them so I threw them a bit of hay to entice them to hang out in the shelter for a while. 

Snug as a bug in her rug! That's one of the Streamz Bands on her back leg, the other one is on her diagonal front with the bad knee.

And then of course, Beamer was eager for his feed too!

Can't you wait for me to open the gate, silly boy?

I say almost ready, because we still have to pick up a big round bale of straw for bedding in the mare's shelter. It will help create a place for Belle to lay down and I'm sure the other mares will utilize the shelter more if it's bedded. 

We have a couple other projects on the go- replacing a gate post for a 16 ft gate, and corral cleaning. All of which will have to wait until this storm is over- better days on the way!

Yeah I'm still here!

 I know it's been over a week- my bad- but I wasn't up to posting. 

First of all I have a big sad because my favourite kitten, little Badger, disappeared on the 9th. 

This was the last photo I took of her, the day before she disappeared. I had made great progress with her; she even let me pick her up and move her around on the feed table. Also, the other cats could see that she wasn't afraid, and that led to me being able to pet every one of them - at feeding time only, so far.  I miss her little cuteness! Pretty sure she was victim to an owl or coyote as she disappeared at night. 

Thumper sez: You still have me an' I eat coyotes and owls for breakfast!

Yes Thumper and you are very good at guarding the  hay piles from marauding rodents. But please stick close to home!

I got the seasonal flu Thursday night, I'm on the mend now but I had no energy for about 4 days. It really brightened  my day when Ted brought these home:

Yup, a dozen red roses for his mizzer'ble wife! What a sweetheart. 

All that being said, I have a few things to look forward to. Ted built me a shaping block for my bosal so it has been tied on to that for a week now, and with nice weather for the next few days I'm going to see how Ruby does in it. Ruby and I have a nice "friendship" going- it's food based for her but if that's the way to her heart I'm not complaining! She offers her itchy spots to me, and generally seems happy to hang out instead of just immediately leaving once her handful of grain is done. 

Got my fall deworming done too. Had to laugh at Velvet, she has such strong opinions. Once I squirted the ivermectin in her mouth, she was like. "I'm leaving. I hate you!" Hahaha poor girl. 

Then there's Misty, she is my next cat project. She was the most aloof of the kittens. But thanks to canned cat food, she's allowing as how I might not be such a monster after all. The biggest problem is that the grey cat, Smokey, is a bit of a bully at feeding time; he doesn't allow Smudge and Misty to come up until he has had his first dibs. Hisses and swats at them.  But I have gotten to touch  all the cats, even Smokey and Misty. Bandit is letting me pet him and even pick him up by the belly to move him over.  I will eventually get a system figured out that works for taming Misty. 

Just hoping that she doesn't get pregnant first! Hoping to get her spayed next year.

Also coming up in 2 weeks is the Canadian Finals Rodeo, just a half hour from us. There is a Ranch Horse Competition and sale there on Nov. 4th that I plan to attend. Back in 2000 I put on one of the first Ranch Horse Competition and Sale events in central Alberta- did that for 3 years until we moved more north.  I wanted a format to showcase horses' abilities in a competition before selling them so that the buyers could actually see what they were buying; as compared to just running them through a sale ring and talking a big talk about them. The horses were vet checked prior to the sale. Monies raised went to the prizes and all profits went to a charity.  It was a lot of fun! Nowadays this is a common format for selling horses (out here in the western ranch country). 

The catalogue on the right, of course, features the photo I use for my blog background, that is Coyote Belle's mama, Sundee. The other two are my artwork, with the middle one being a drawing of Beamer's half sister, Montana, who was Velvet's mama. The one on the left was done entirely out of my imagination and depicts the history of the foothills of Alberta- oilfields and ranching. 

So even though it was a bit of a downer week, it's all good now! 

Dogs 'n' horses

 It was rather a busy week! My sister was in town for another dog show, this time she got to show a pup she raised in the baby puppy class. I spent a day with her at the show- the conformation class in a dog show is very similar to a halter class for horses. The dogs are groomed to the nines, and shown in hand, just like horses and the other similarity is that  the presentation is all about what the judge sees. Is it groomed just so, is it up to breed standards, is it well behaved and professionally presented. 

Her pup, Gemma, did well for her very first show! She also showed her male dog, Levi, the sire of the pup. 

Such a handsome dog! I don't know the full show results yet, they were showing today too. 

I went to a horse sale yesterday, not to buy but to get a reading on what the market is like for Driftwood bred horses. A Canadian breeder was retiring and having a dispersal sale. The main buyer was the ranch he originally bought his horse from in Nevada; says a lot about the program when the breeders buy back their own stock at the expense of travelling up to Canada and dealing with all that international paperwork. There were a couple of weanlings there that I was drooling over.... this is the same bloodline as our Drifter horse we sold a few years ago who has gone on to be a good ranch horse and sire. 

Ted snuck out and got a buyer number for bidding, but we really didn't want to buy. We did one bid, just to get the ball rolling on a filly I liked but I wouldn't let him bid again. (Such restraint on my part!!!!)

It seems the market has dropped off a bit, especially for weanlings. We have sold them off the farm for more money than any of the colts and fillies sold for there, but in fairness most of the buyers were looking at the 3 stallions and the better mares and riding horses. 

Mama Belle in the morning light

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here;  happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers. I know I have a lot to be thankful for; I feel I have been truly blessed this year. 

Darn deer!

 The waning full moon was setting at chore time yesterday. Love the pastel pink. 

The other day, deer got into my flower bed- little rotters stripped the bottom leaves of the sunflowers and chomped all the leaves and flowers and rosebuds of my yellow rose- and chomped all the foliage of the raspberry plant. So when I saw them the next day in the yard, brazen as can be....

I went out and hollered at them to chase them off. 

Ruby wasn't sure what the problem was, as she's used to deer in her pasture.

But when I went all gangster on them, she figured it was best to high tail it outa there!

Our pasture is holding out well, despite all the heavy frost. Now that the majority of the bugs are gone it's time to do my fall deworming program for the horses. Hopefully it will catch any bots they may have, it's probably been long enough for them to mature enough to pass from the wormer. 

Ted is building a shaping block for my bosal; I want to try it on Ruby as I think that's all she will need . If you don't know what I'm talking about, check online for how to shape a bosal. They have to fit properly to work properly, and mine is too wide without being shaped. It will be fun to see how she does in it. 

My sister with the Rough Collies is coming up for another dog show next weekend, so that will be fun. She is bringing her puppy for it's first show- a lovely blue merle named Gemma. I also have a horse sale to attend on next Saturday- not to buy, but to see how the market is. It's a dispersal sale for a Driftwood breeder- these are the horses that are popular for ranch, roping, and barrel racing. Should be a fun weekend!