Flies and Fences

It's been warm here lately and the horse flies were driving the horses crazy so I brought Beamer in to the barn to get away from them. He loves his little house, as I call it. He could see his girls, cool out, and get away from the bugs. Happy horse! The fencing is going great.The planks are almost all up now, and tomorrow the guys are hanging gates. I'll try to get a good picture of the finished project; it's real pretty!

Loved this picture of Beamer's eye; he's so photogenic!

Horse of a Different Colour

Coyote Belle is now in her summer colour. This is the colour that I call black buckskin, you can see the yellow tinge on her sides. For comparison, the picture below, taken a May 15, is her "chocolate" phase.

Come fall, she turns a charcoal colour. I'd like to send her DNA to a research lab someday to find out what this colour really is. I don't think it is just brown; I've seen a lot of brown horses and they don't change as much as this. Belle's mama was the same colour, and I've identified 5 colour changes through the year. When she starts shedding in the spring, all her guard hair are yellow. Anyone out there have a horse of this colour?

I'm So Blue

Peppy's blue roan colour is really coming along! His face is shedding out nicely black too,

and he wanted to make sure we could all see clearly just how black!

Not just blue, but itchy too! As for our fencing project, we have progress; Beamer's pen is about done except for the gate and installing a new waterer, and we plan on getting as much done as possible this weekend (except Sunday!)

Posts are in; next?

The weekend project went really well; the guys got all the posts pounded, some of them in really tricky spots. Next we get to put up the boards.

This will be Beamer's corral; he will have a shelter at the top right corner, hopefully before the snow comes! Beamer is the only horse I know who likes small, confined spaces. When I went camping with him last year, I kept him in my stock trailer overnight and he was quite content. I've seen him squeeze in between a tree and a building, with a fence making the area about 8ft. by 4 ft., and happily while away an afternoon there. I hope he doesn't mind a large shelter- plans are to make it 16 ft. by 12 ft. We will close 10 ft. in on the front of it, that way if I need to confine Beamer, I can put a 12 ft. panel across to make a stall for him.
My girls and Peppy were soaking up the sunshine on Saturday morning. Colourful bunch, aren't they? Blue roan, red roan, palomino and Coyote Belle- I call her a black buckskin. Peppy's blue roan colour is really showing now, I'll get some more pics of him soon. I went out today, but it was wet and they were all muddy.

Pounding Posts and Water Collies

The guys were just a-hummin' along, pounding in the corral posts-including this nice stout gate post. Then things kind of went south ,

when they had to go through the low ground.

The post pounder was buried , the hitch and boom dragging in the mud. They tried winching it out with the little tractor, but it wasn't heavy enough,so it was my pretty red truck to the rescue. After that, things went well again,

but of course , the girls had to supervise.

Meanwhile, to cool off the dogs, and keep them out of the way, we went over to the pond and I threw sticks in for them to retreive. They love this game, and it is a good way to clean Tess up after she rolls in the cow poop!

I have to hold Tess back to give Reba a chance to get the stick- Tess just bounds into the water, and tries to grab it from her if I don't!

We played with the basketball too. This picture shows really well how Tess works Reba and not the ball. She does this no matter what we play with; instead of watching what I throw, she watches Reba and works her. Can't wait to get her back on sheep, but probably won't happen til next year.

I took the opportunity to hop on Gussie bareback and halter, for a little putt around the pasture.

Friday evening horse photos

How to scratch an itch- the flexible horse way;

and the creative horse way. The 'skeeters were biting, and Gussie was using this shrub to scrape them off her belly.

Meanwhile, Coyote Belle spotted me with the camera and

thought she'd show off her teeth for everyone! (Yes, the horse dentist is coming, probably in September as I don't want to sedate pregnant mares until after the first three months).

Peppy used to be able to walk under his mama's belly. Their tails in this photo make me laugh; they look like they're in a strong wind, but it's those pesky bugs again.

This peaceful pond that the horses drink from is home to some Mallard ducks, and probably a few thousand mosquitoes too. My dogs love to swim in it.

Happy horses.

And we'll finish with Sassy, since we started with her. She turned 1 year old on June 15.

Weekend work

Today we are picking up lumber to build new corrals for the horses. Friday, we rent a post pounder, and Saturday, we are putting in the posts and starting to put up the boards. It will be a busy weekend, and we are going to have some beautiful horse pens to show for it. Yesterday, the farrier came and trimmed them all. I had to work with Sassy a bit before he got there as she thought that she could take her feet away from me and argue about it. I just put her in the round pen and got her mind on being cooperative, by reviewing simple things that she does well, and then asking her to give me her feet again. She figured it out quickly, and was very good for the farrier.

Peppy was 2 months old yesterday. He quietly stood tied with his mama while we waited for the farrier, and is easy to catch and halter, leads well, picks up his feet, and in general is a good natured little guy.

I took this picture of his sleepy eye; look at those long lashes!

Look how tall he is getting! His mama stands 15.2 hands, and I think he will be a good size when he is done growing. The star on his forehead is almost heart shaped now.

Odd Colours

A couple of days ago I arrived at the farm only to find Beamer covered in mud from nostrils to tailfeathers! (Is this what you call a claybank dun?!!LOL) I had to hose him off, as I am giving him a course of penicillin for the cut on his pastern, which had swollen up above the ankle. I had nowhere clean for an injection site! The penicillin worked, as the swelling is gone now.

Meanwhile, Peppy is getting odd coloured too; you can really see the blue roan coming out in him now, lots on his rump and everywhere that he has a nick and new hair growing in. His dorsal stripe is roaning out, too. Pretty soon he's going to have that moth-eaten look as his baby colour rubs off and the blue roan comes to the surface. He's going to look strange!

A Poem for Sunday

The Touch of the Masters Hand

‘Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin
But held it up with a smile:
“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar”; then, “Two!” “Only two?
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?
Three dollars once, three dollars, twice;
Going for three” – But no,
From the room, far back, a grey haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand, and who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone,” said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not understand
What changed its worth.” Swift came the reply:
‘The touch of a master’s hand.”


And many a man with life out of tune
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A “mess of potage,” a glass of wine;
A game- and he travels on.
He is “going” once, and “going” twice,
He’s “going” and almost “gone.”
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.

Myra Brooks Welch

Molly the Pony Update And Video

Fran Jurga has posted a video on Molly the Three Legged Pony; check it out here

The Battle Within

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all. One is Evil- it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute, and then asked his grandfather: "which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

A Gift

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend horsemanship clinics given by Walt Vermadahl. Those of you who follow rodeo will remember the Tryan's AQHA heading horse of the year"Walt". They bought him from Walt Vermadahl, hence the nickname. Walt lived in Montana at the time; he now lives in northern California- and he came every May to Canada and put on a colt starting and horsemanship clinic. I learned so much from him, and from another gentleman that he used to bring with him- Al Grandchamp, a master rawhide braider and Walt's mentor. I believe Al is 100 years old this year.When he was 93, he made me this bosal hackamore, which I use on all the colts I start.

Sassy has a little muzzle, so I need to make a couple of wraps with the mecate to make it fit better. I use it at this stage of training just for longeing and turning from the ground. When it's time to get on her, I will use it for her first rides.

I am thankful to Walt and Al for all that I learned from them. Taking those clinics dramatically improved my understanding of horses and riding, and gave me building blocks to keep on improving, and the desire to keep on learning.

New Pasture for Beamer

We moved the mares to the next pasture a few days ago, and today Beamer got to take over their old pasture. Now he's across the fence from his mares, and he's very happy.We strung electric fence on both sides of the barbwire fence; it's about 10 ft. away on each side, so they can socialize without getting in a wreck. We are using solar fencers, and as you can see, a high-visibility white fence tape. Beamer has great respect for it, as do the mares. I think it's a must have for horsemen-the cost is easily offset by reduced vet bills and ease of management for your pastures.



Even though Beamer was showing off for the girls,



they soon ignored him,


so off he went to explore and graze contentedly. (If you look carefully, you will see Reba's little white face just behind him; she thinks it's her job to supervise Beamer's every move!)

Rainy Day Entertainment

What do rural Albertans do on a rainy Sunday? Why, they stand out in the rain from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. , for the priveledge of bidding on old combines (this one sold for $25) and other assorted junk -er, I mean treasures! such as this 1947 John Deere tractor:

which sold for $3700. I was really proud of my husband, he only spent $23, on some tools and old gramaphone parts. It really did pour rain all day, so I stayed nice and dry in the truck and watched everyone else slop around in the mud, keeping the rain off themselves by such inventive means as tarps, garbage bags, cardboard, and even a fancy Mexican sombrero! Auctions are a big part of our summers, and it is kind of sad to see that the old farms are disappearing because the younger generation isn't continuing on the family farm. Guess it is getting too hard to make a living at it. Someday the farms will all be government run and leased out to production crews- hey, wait, isn't that what the socialist countries do??

Back !

Back from the rainy coast and it was time to move the mares to the next pasture.While it was beautiful at Abbotsford with all the lush greenery and the beautiful flowering Rhododendrons there is nothing like coming home- and watching contented horses mosying through the trees, heading for that just-right patch of grass. Beamer managed to find some wire to cut his foot on, nothing too serious but enough to delay our riding plans for a month, so I guess I get to spend lots of time working with Sassy, and maybe getting Gussie under saddle again. I'll ride her around the pasture with baby at her side, just to get her in riding shape again. I will wean Peppy at the end of August, and hope to get Gussie out on some rides this fall. She is bred back to Beamer, so I need to get some rides on her this year just to advance her training.

In Good Paws

I am going to the coast for a few days, to attend the Confirmation of my neice, so I leave my blog under the watchful eyes of my little Reba. Back Saturday!

Schooling Sassy, Continued

Today's lesson started with a review of the tarp work, and I longed her over the tarp,and draped it on her again( I think she'll do well in a costume class!)



Then we worked with the rope, asking her to move out with it draped over various areas of her body, as well as dragging it behind her. This is a nice quiet filly, she does not get really excited about things; if something bothers her at first, she thinks it out instead of coming unglued. I really like her! I'll be away most of this week, so we'll see how quickly she picks up where we're leaving off when I work with her next weekend.

Schooling Sassy

Sassy got introduced to the tarp in her first lesson in ground work yesterday. After longeing her a little, with the tarp laying on the ground in the middle of the circle, I started dragging it behind me as I led her, then started rubbing it on her, till I could put it on her back. Looks really concerned, doesn't she?

This didn't bother her much either.

The tarp session ended when she easily walked over the tarp a few times, then I got her to stand quietly on it; as you can see, she figured it was a good chance to graze a little! I worked her a little after that with flipping a rope onto her back and around her belly, before ending the session. A good first day of school!

Peppy Makes Progress

Peppy is in kindergarten training. He is very willing to learn, and as you can see does quite well at standing tied. I like to do these lessons when they are really young; (he's 6 weeks old today).I find that working with youngsters is easier on them and easier on me. So I halter them in their first week, and gently teach them to lead, usually following mom so that it is natural for them. Then we progress to leading away from mom and then to standing tied. He did all this with very little fuss. I also handle their legs from day one.

I try to get them to pick up their foot instead of me pulling it up; and I want them to hold their foot up for a moment rather than me holding it up for them. Babies seem to be better with their back feet than the front.

Peppy was obliging with his fronts after a few minutes of evasion. I try to handle him (thanks, Wendy for your help in that department!) on a daily basis, and it pays off. He is easy to catch and halter, and I think he figures he's quite a star!

Spring Thunderstorms

This is a pot o' gold, Alberta style. Actually, it was a double rainbow, but I thought it was cool how you can see the rainbow touch ground in front of the oil well. We had a little thunderstorm roll through,and were lucky enough to see this beauty on the way back from the horses. My border collies were afraid of the thunder; they're hiding in their dog house. Reba finds the darkest corner she can to hide in, I know she hears the thunder well before I can- she starts looking scared and hunting a hidey-hole.