A success story

 After last week I though a happy post would be in order. Some of you may recall me posting about one of my sisters who raises Rough Collies- she has been campaigning her male, Levi, and his daughter, Gemma this year, with great results. 

Levi, who is 2 years old, won 2 Best of Winners classes- he has matured into a lovely dog. Side note- that isn't my sister showing him, due to some health reasons she opted to hire professional handlers for the shows. 

Then Gemma, who is just 12 months old, has earned her Canadian Championship!

 So her registered name is now Ch. High Country Catch Your Breath. The Ch before the name denotes her status as a national champion. 

Congratulations, Sis, on your dedication to making these dogs the best they can be!

I have watched some of the shows, and the competition is tough! It's a lot of work preparing them for shows, not just daily but all the grooming right before the class. 

Well done!

Sunday Silence

Mission Accomplished

 Well for Theo's one month day yesterday, we led without the rump rope. It may or may not help that he knows I have a handful of grain!

This evening, we went one step further. Catching without being closed in the barn, taking full advantage of Velvet being busy eating her ration, I haltered Theo and we went for a good but very short session. 

Once I get him used to being led outside, I should be able to catch him out there too. I may have to halter Velvet though and give her a small bit of grain to distract her while I catch Theo out in the pen. I really want to get this done before I turn them out on the 15 acres, as I need to be able to catch any of the horses in case of problems such as wildlife knocking fences down, inclement weather incoming, or even injury. 

Cute little video of him eating a bit of grain

I'm pretty happy with his progress even if it is a little bit behind my regular program. 

Leading

 I'm pretty happy with Theo's willingness to learn. He is still his own boss outside but in the barn, he's a pretty cool little dude- and that's my nickname for him at the moment, Little Dude. 

I also love that the mares come when called, hopefully this will rub off on Theo and as time goes by he too will come when called after he's weaned. 

Tonight's session was improving his leading. So far, he has only given me one step at a time so it was time to ask for a little bit more. He has gotten used to having the rope flipped over him and around his legs, without wanting to move off; so now it was time to use the rope to ask him to move forward when I use it with pressure. You might think that he would be confused, with me wanting him to stand still and accept the rope, and then wanting him to move off the pressure, but this smart little fellow had no trouble figuring it out. I place the rope around his rump leaving plenty of rope to lead with from the halter (I use a 12 ft. lead). First I ask from the halter and if he hesitates I add a little pull on the rump rope. It only took a couple of times for him to get the picture and lead nicely. 

As you can see, that rump rope is draped down over his hocks and ankles at times, but he was fine with that. I think tomorrow I should be able to lead him without it and only add it if needed. He is easy to catch now in the barn, but I still can't halter him out in the open, but that will come. Today is only his 9th day of lessons. Also, I use a smaller diameter rope for working with foals and it is tied onto the halter so there are no big metal clips banging his face. I'm also asking him for his feet every time I handle him, and I can hold them for a little longer every day. 

Good boy Theo!

Fun with Theo

 Theo is getting to be fun to play work with. I started doing more work with sacking out with the rope. I like to be able to flip the rope around all parts of his body without him getting bothered by it. Last night's session was so cute!

Keeping up with cute.....

Those eyes!

Check out the toofers! This also shows the white on his lower lip and chin. 

He's doing so well that today I decided to go back to having him in hand once a day, so this morning before turnout I only handled him unhaltered; picking up his feet and rubbing him all over. 

He is really muscling up and looking pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!

He's not really that rump high, that's a slope he's on

This colt has wheels too; when I turned them out this morning, he took off full tilt, navigating his way at full speed through gates and alleyways and rough ground, while Velvet got left behind and had to hustle her old butt to catch up to her wayward son! He's a character. 

He also likes to pester Gussie, both out in the pasture and if he sees her at the gate- he has to march over there and check her out. 

It's a good thing when the stifle is the widest part of the rump!

If Gussie is in foal, she now has 3 months to go before her due date. She is starting to look heavier in the belly (not wider) and has dropped a bit of weight despite having grass, hay and grain. Which makes sense, as this is the time when the nutritional demands of the foal increase. I'm calling her in foal, especially as she hasn't come into heat yet and both the other mares have had full blown heats. The pen they have access to now is kitty corner to Beamer; he can be only 3 ft. away from them nose to nose and so far she is just ignoring him. 

Theo makes progress

 The evening session with Theo on day 4:

He was fairly easy to catch, and at first quite cooperative. 

I did find in that session that he prefers me to be on his left side. When I tried working on his right it triggered his flight reflex. So I worked on just being on his right side without asking too much of him before ending the session. 

Yesterday- day 5-  he was much easier to catch . I haven't had to get Ted's help the last few days. 

I started with his right side. 

Mostly good, he did have a few moments where he wanted to leave- but he's now figuring out when he gets to the end of the rope to turn and face up instead of rearing and struggling. 

I am trying to be as light as possible with him; only taking the slack out of the rope and then opening my hand quickly when he gives. This will translate to working on softness when he is worked in the bridle. He's comfortable with having his feet picked up, a little longer each time, and this morning when I caught him, it was beside his mama and from the right side. 

I'm pretty happy with his progress so far. He's a big strong colt, so I will continue to work him in the little barn until he shows that I can walk up to him catch him, lead him either side, and give his hip either side. Then I can work on catching him in the bigger pen. 

Working with Theo

I finally got organized to start Theo's halter training. Previously, at about a week old, I had just put a halter on him after Ted helped catch him by holding him around the neck and tail- just let him wear it and then took it off after a few minutes. Surprisingly, he doesn't mind the feel of the halter going on; some colts get worried when they feel it going over their nose. 

So here's how the lessons went. Today was day 4. 

Day 1:. We had to corner him to catch him, then halter him and see how he handled that. He was Not Impressed. I do this in the barn, which has a center support that he and Velvet can circle around, and circle they did. I had Ted halter and hold Velvet while Theo figured things out. His idea was to hit the end of the lead rope and go up. I was not adding any pressure, just holding the rope and he would take off and hit the end of it. Once he realized that it wasn't going to make the halter go away, he stood and pouted. Once standing still and putting up with being petted and rubbed, I turned him loose. 

Day 2: Still had to corner him to catch; this time we had Velvet haltered first. He still tried to outrun the halter. I started asking for a little give, and although he didn't really understand what I wanted I rewarded the slightest movement. Then worked a little on the rope around the hip to get him to move his hind end over. Once he did that just a little bit, we ended the session. 

Lots to think about

Day 3: Two sessions, one in the morning and one in the evening. I wanted to catch him without Ted being there. He zoomed away a lot, but I got him in his favourite corner and caught him.. However, Velvet (morning session) was pacing, wanting out, so I had Ted come and hold her. Theo did try leaving again but rather half hearted as he now knows that it doesn't work. He gave me some nice hip-arounds before we ended the session. In the evening, he was still not wanting to be caught so I started throwing the lead rope over his back  It was interesting that it only took a few throws and he stood to be caught. He kind of wrapped himself up in the rope a bit and then stood still. Once again, I had to get Ted to hold Velvet. But we got some nice gives, especially following the rope around the hip. 

A nice little give

That hip though! 

Day 4: Our morning session went really well. Theo tried to evade catching by going around to Velvet's off side, I threw the lead rope over her onto his back, and then he moved to his "spot" and stood while I caught him. I asked for a give forward, and he gave me a couple of nice forward moves, so I called it and will see how he does this evening. 

Notice I'm not pulling on him, just holding the lead rope with minimal tension. The moment he steps forward, he gives himself slack.

When I went to take the halter off he got a little bit flighty but overall- Good boy, Theo! 

Theo photoshoot

 Theo turns 3 weeks old tomorrow morning, and I always like to do a 3 wk. photo shoot. The weather sure cooperated, although Theo sez he can do without all the flies that come with warm weather- they are driving him buggy! (Pun intended.) He throws himself down in mama's shadow, rolls and then tries to sleep, but Velvet isn't cooperating, she just continues to walk and graze, much to his annoyance! 

Theo is muscling up beautifully. 

Straight legs and a pretty head.

Just enough white to make him stand out

Growing into his body, doesn't have to bend his knees to graze now

Beautiful carriage and a nice long stride

I have decided to put Theo up for sale. He needs to go be a rope horse or a breakaway horse like his brothers and that's not something I can do anymore. Sadly- I would have loved to use him as a heel horse if I was 20 years younger. A good part of raising horses is getting them to people who will take them to their full potential, like the folks who bought most of Coyote Belle's sons. 

Stormy day

 We knew there was a storm coming in a few days, and we wanted to get all the pens cleaned before it hit so that we weren't running the tractor and skid steer in mud and muck. 

Big girl toys

We got them all done just in time. The storm came with high winds and light but driving rain. I wanted to keep Velvet and Theo in the barn but that really doesn't work with Velvet. Typically I have Belle and Gussie separate at night, and have mama and Theo in their own pen with barn access and feed their hay in there. So today, I put them out in a new grazing pen with Gussie. This is the pen we built last year with 3 strands of electric rope. Sure enough, Theo had to investigate.

 

That should be enough to keep him respectful of the fence. It sure was windy! Gusts of up to 45 mph. 

They had to have their silly romp before settling down to the serious business of grazing. 

Theo is quite the friendly little lad, letting me pet him and stroke his legs, put my fingers in his mouth (toofers!) etc. Next week I will be working on haltering him. He even will cautiously eat out of my hand. His mama is quite active, so he's getting lots of exercise following her around. He is muscling up nicely. 

Shayla is still waiting for Jayne to foal, it could be anytime now. Maybe tonight? I will get photos asap. This will be Jayne's last foal so we are hoping for a filly of course. 

The boys

 Got my big girl camera out and took some photos at turnout time. First up is daddy, Mr. Handsome himself. 

Staring at his mares before he wanders off to graze

He is showing his age now but he is still the handsomest. 

Theo decided to perform for me this morning, much to my delight! 

I even got a few of him rolling. Nothin' like a good back scratch first thing in the morning!

Then get up and show off your power take-off!

Theo is eating grass now as well as his mama's grain, and he's drinking water. 

He has little toofers now

Theo and Velvet are about ready for full time turnout now, once I get my pasture management all done. The next step is to get Theo to figure out what electric fence is all about. 

Out and about

 A few days ago, Theo and Velvet got their turnout with Gussie in the winter pen. Velvet has been asking to get out for a few days, and Theo was getting fairly independent in the foaling pen without mama getting too stressed, so it was time. I have been taking things a bit slower than usual with him; eg. halter training and leading, both of which I haven't really done yet. Partly because I need someone to halter Velvet while I work with him as she gets all agitated and herds him away or just gets between us. And partly because my good left arm isn't working very well for catching and holding him. Ted did help a couple of times and we petted him all over, picked up his feet, and even slipped the halter on him but didn't try to put any pressure on it, just let him wear it while we petted him. Once caught, he stands well with just an arm under his neck as we touch him. Until Velvet intervenes that is!

I didn't have my camera with me at their first turnout, but they all went ripping out into the field at full tilt- that little colt can flat out fly! Gussie was hot on their heels, excited to finally be together with them. Velvet quickly put her in her place. I kept Belle separate the first day, as she can't move fast enough to get away if needed. 

Learning about hills and uneven ground

Trying to graze

Mama relocating him (or is he leading her? )

Getting exercise to build those muscles!

He is really starting to fill out and look like something and not even 2 weeks old. He is so light on his feet, seems like he floats across the ground. I have sent away his DNA for registration and disease panel testing. 

We got a spring snowstorm the last day of April and into today, May 1. I call it the winter-I-wonder-when- it is spring, storm. Enough already! It is turning into rain, so I guess that's a blessing as this province is already in wildfire season. Look like May is fixing to be wet and I hope the farmers can get all their field work done before we hit our true rainy season in June. 

Saturday's outing and more Theo cuteness

 Theo is into everything. Including his mama's senior ration. 

Ummm Theo, there's more in the pan than on the ground!

Once he figured out how to bend his legs to get his nose down closer he happily nibbled up some ration.  And then he discovered that he only had to bend one leg. 

We went to the Horse Expo yesterday, and I managed to find a new jacket that is hip length and western, as well as a wild rag that is bigger than the ones I have so will be easier to tie the buckaroo knot in.  

Not my photo, borrowed from Pintarest

It's a little dressier than the square knot. Next on my list is finding a nice scarf slide. 

We also watched one session of the Colt Starting challenge, we saw Glen Stewart working with a grey mare. Too busy watching for photos. It was pretty much like all the other colt starting competitions. I don't think I would send him a colt to start, he's too into the Parelli stuff but it was interesting . 

Some Gussie stuff

 With all the attention focused on Theo lately, I figured I'd better give Gussie some blog time. 

The horse dentist came out and did her teeth, she definitely needed doing. I like that he doesn't sedate or restrict the horse from moving, and only uses power tools if he has to remove something that would take too long to hand rasp. 

She was very good for him. It did take her a day or so to get used to her new mouth. 

Since my last ride was a while ago, I do have an excuse other than foal watch. Not so much an excuse as a reason- I am having a major issue with a torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder- and me being left handed, it really limits my ability to do anything that requires any extension of my arm, especially lifting the saddle onto a 15.2  plus hand high mare. That last ride I managed to get her saddled but then it all got worse. I was beginning to get healed up so I figured I would try again. Which may or may not have been a brilliant idea! 

I led her through Velvet's pen to see how Velvet would react to having another mare in the vicinity of her foal. She did herd Theo away, but I think in a few days I will be able to turn them out together, as Theo is getting more independent and Velvet isn't getting too excited about him being away from her. 

Then saddling her, Gussie stepped away from me a couple of times but I did manage to get her standing still and got her saddled. (Ouch.)

In the round pen, I checked to see if she was with me or thinking about her herd- and got some beautiful connection. I love it when you can ask them to step forward with a merest suggestion and then get the foot to stop in mid action and ask them to reverse direction- and they do! Yay Gussie! 

My purpose for this ride was to check fence- I always like to ride with purpose- on the 15 acres that we fenced off one side with electric tape. It was down again and I wanted to see how much repair would be needed. 

We may have to replace the whole bottom strand, it has several week spots. 

It's such a joy to ride a solid free moving horse! The rest of the fenceline was all intact so we headed back.

 This pasture has a lot of old grass that is laid over, we should harrow it if we can find someone with a big set of harrows. We will fix that fence next week and then I want to turn Beamer out on it for a few hours a day- he will love exploring it! 

The jury is out on whether or not Gussie is in foal, remember we did breed her to Beamer after she foaled last summer, but I am starting to think she's open, 

It is really hard to tell with her though until she's about 2 months away from foaling- and she hasn't come into heat yet this year. She would be due mid to late August. 

Speaking of foals.... can't go away without a cute Theo photo!

That white chin!

Wordless Wednesday

 

2 days old

 Theo is thriving and quite entertaining. I can see his pen from my dining room window, and it's fun to watch him ripping around, loping circles around his mama, and then sleeping soundly to recharge for the next bout.

This way...

and that way...

He has nice straight legs, no weird swirls, and is definitely black, not roan. 

We fixed up the barn by removing a gate that divided it into 2 stalls that could trap him, and they are using it well, which is nice because it is still stupid windy, gusts up to 30 mph (50 km). I can feed them in there and not have the hay blow over to the neighbours!

Theo drinks a bit of water when his mama does. 

Like most foals, he has a very curious nature. It's fun to watch him explore the world. He will have to stay in this pen until we get the other pens cleaned, which will be happening later this week. So I get to have my morning entertainment with my morning coffee as I watch him zooming in and out of the barn and all around the pen. Velvet has stopped being obsessed with his every movement; she will stand and watch without following now. She also has taken to pinning her ears at Gussie and not worrying about where Gussie is, which is good because now Gussie goes out to the pasture to graze instead of hanging out at the fence. 

Those red tufts in his ears though!

Named

 You know I don't like a day to go by without naming my foals. With most of them, I already have a name picked out- and if this would have been a filly, that would have been the case. However, something told me to wait until the birth to choose the name for this foal. 

So, in my search for a name, I looked up who the saint of the day was. I like to incorporate my faith into all that I do, so that seemed the right thing to do. Well- the saint of the day was St. Theodore, in fact there were two St. Theodores whose memory was commemorated on that day- one was a hermit who wore a hair shirt.... need I look any further? The second deciding factor is that Ted's full name is Theodore, and as a tribute to all that he does for me and my horses, I asked him if he minded that I name this colt after him- I think he was pleased. So Theo is the name I chose. Theo Peppy will be his registered name, as all Beamer's foals have either Peppy or Midnight in their names. 

Theo is having fun exploring his pen- and himself apparently- and leading his mama on a merry chase. I watched yesterday as he loped around the pen, and Velvet trotted after him, clearly worried about his independence! 

What's the cat looking at? 

Theo had to live through a very cold windy day in his first 24 hours. I can't put Velvet in the barn and close her in- she has to be able to see at least her friend Gussie. So we are doing a little modification on the barn to make it safe and will leave the door wide open so that mama and baby can come and go as they please, as we are supposed to get wet weather today and tomorrow.

Although, yes I was hoping for a blue roan filly, I am very pleased with this little guy! He's going to be fun!

The special one

 Did anyone see the halo around the moon early Thursday morning? I saw it on my foal checks at midnight, and again at 4 am. It was rather spectacular. I thought to myself that it was a good sign for a special day. Of course, no foal Thursday! 

But- early Saturday morning, we welcomed this beauty into the world. 

Black....

Colt (of course!)

Velvet was quite restless and I thought she wasn't going to foal until I left so at around 2 am I packed up and headed back to the house. I woke at 5 am and there he was- so I think she foaled within a half hour of me leaving, as he was standing, dry, nursing and pooping. 

He has diagonal socks, a teeny star, a snip on his nose and white on his chin. 

Right hind

Left front

And for the derpy photo of the day....

Those whiskers!

He looks so much like Beamer! Even the way he holds his ears is like daddy. 

His mama loves him

Velvet is protective of him but not aggressive. She lets us touch him for exactly x amount of time then herds him away. 

So cute!

The blog contest winner is my sister, M who picked just about everything perfectly. Thank you to everyone who played along, it made the waiting so much easier. 

Spring is springing

 The robins came back on eclipse day, and there are many birds gracing us with their tweets and twitters and song and honks and quacks. The snow only remains in the deeply shaded areas, and the grass is greening on the lawn. The farmers have uncovered the beehives and we are getting buzzed by hungry and thirsty honey bees. We could use some dandelions for them, but they haven't shown their little yellow faces yet. It is still below freezing by a degree or 3 at night. 

The only thing missing, Velvet, is a foal!

Release the hostage, please. 

I have been on foal watch the last few days. She had some wax, and then it went away yesterday. Maybe not true wax then? Her fluid is very sticky, but her udder could be fuller- however, given her age etc. she may not get right full until baby is on it's way. 

The coyotes serenade anywhere from 1 am to 3 am as they make their rounds. So far, they are not coming close enough to be worrisome. 

As far as foaling guesses go, Linda, Frank and M are eligible to try again!