Water and sunshine

Sometimes...

You just want to sit and listen to the water flow....

and sometimes...

you just want to go charging through it!

Riding day 36

Visitors

Weather forced cancellation of Mesa's trip to Alberta to her new home, it has been postponed for a week. So while we didn't get those visitors, we did have other ones!

You may recognise these folks, they come every year to visit Beamer and his babies.

Eli was pretty good for them, I had him haltered for a while and he discovered the joy of getting all that attention; even after we took the halter off he was still quite happy to be loved on.

Mama Belle was certainly getting her fair share of love too, and she was sure pleased!

I just love this photo!

They didn't really get to see him doing his wind sprints, but I did catch this one later in the day:

The first week

Eli is a week old now.
His life so far? Lots of love, food, zoomies, and some halter lessons.

Mama Belle and daddy Beamer are always keeping an eye on him

Those long legs of his are made for zoomin'!

All that zoomin' makes a guy thirsty- Eli has learned to drink water too.

Best way to teach a colt to lead is to have him out with his mama. 

Showing off the toofers! Gotta have 'em for nipping grass!

I sent away his DNA for color and 5 panel, I should have the results middle of next week.

5 days old

Such cuteness! Eli is quite the friendly little character. Very approachable, loves to investigate things, and is doing well with his halter lessons.

I should be able to lead him in the pen tomorrow with mama haltered up too. Then they can go out and he can try eating grass!

I peeled back the hair on his star to see what shape it will end up- looks like it will be heart shaped! It will be fun to see it as he sheds his baby coat.

I'm doing the best I can with my cell phone for photos , but I think I'd better start saving up for another Nikon camera body.

Pending AQHA approval...

What is your name, little one?

Only, he isn't little! This is one tall colt!

Let the baby pics begin!

Oh how I wish I still had my Nikon camera...

I still don't have a name for him, either registered or barn name. Fire away with your ideas! I want the registered name to have Peppy in it, and the barn name to reflect his combination of strength and elegance.

New blog

The lady who is buying Mesa is starting a blog  and I thought all you folks who love Mesa might like to follow her! Here is her blog, Two Baileys Please . Stop by and say hi!

One rainy full moon night.....

Apparently mama Belle has a thing for a full moon on Good Friday.
For the second time, she gave me a beautiful colt, he was born around 4:30 am this morning on a foggy drizzly night. I heard Beamer calling and when I shone my flashlight out I could see the reflection of several pairs of eyes as all the mares lined up at the fenceline to watch, so I jumped up and checked- sure enough Belle was in labour with 2 little feet sticking out  and within 5 minutes he was drawing his first breath.
Everything went textbook! He had a good 10 minutes of just lying quietly before attempting to stand, allowing nutrients to still pass through the umbilical cord.
It took him a bit to figure out those very long legs, but Shayla and I gave him a boost and up he went and then stayed up for a long time. He was fairly quick to figure out nursing, and mama cleaned out perfectly too.

Although he was born out in the pen, we ushered him into the stall while he figured out nursing as the pen has a bit of a slope to it and was slick from the rain. But before long he ventured out and all the mares got to see him.

Mama Belle is just the best broodmare. She is quite ok with her foals being handled and she is protective of them around the other horses.

This  big boy is quite sure of himself and sturdy.

The name I had picked out I will save for a filly, so I'm still mulling over what to name him. (I was so sure it would be a filly!!!!)

Giving me the raspberry because I thought it would be a filly!

So- the winner of the foaling contest and proud new owner of a Diamond Lazy H Quarter Horses cap is my sister, M, who had a nearly perfect guess! Congratulations, sis! I'll get that in the mail to you on Tuesday.

Day number.....

361. She has to be getting close.

Meanwhile, we took a little ride and I found some pussy willows.  Gussie tried to eat them but I managed to bring them home unscathed.

Off to the barn I go to check on Belle! I sure hope I have baby news soon!

Riding day 35

A few firsts and no foal yet

Sorry no foal news yet! There are several people who can enter another guess- if you pick the same day as someone just make sure you have other things different.

Yesterday we had some fun riding; we had Matt come and ride with us again. He rode Ice, Shayla rode Rose, and I rode Gussie and this time we took Shayla's little dog  Goose with us; Ice's first trail ride with a dog. We had a great ride! Through the bush, and to the river.

Ice didn't mind the dog at all.  We headed upstream along the dyke towards the swimming hole, but since there were people with dogs there we rode a little further so as to leave them in peace.

We all enjoyed the peaceful  sound of the river. At this point we all switched horses, and were able to head down to the swimming hole to let the horses wade .

Shayla always has the biggest grin when she rides! All three of us find our own peace riding horses. So good for the soul.

Later in the day, Matt came back as we had asked him to be the first one to trot and lope on Mesa. We want Mesa to be ready for her new owner, and know how she will behave under saddle at all 3 gaits.

Mesa, of course, was a sweetheart. The saddle kept sliding forward on her, I really don't have a good colt starting saddle!

The trot and lope were accomplished, both ways. The footing is terrible in there as there are loose rocks that keep working their way up through the loam, but she handled it quite well.

After that, he rode her out of the pen (even opened the gate ) and took the long way back to the barn. Another first for Mesa, being ridden out of the pen. She was a rock star (of course!!!) 

Yes, it was a great day.

Riding day 34

Sunday Silence

Not yet....

I'm running on fumes these days, my nights are checking Belle every 2 hours and then taking another hour to fall asleep again, meanwhile listening for telltale signs of foaling. I will be so happy when this one is born and I can get some sleep! Here is today's photo:

At least I'm getting some riding in. The other day I tried out a Martin reining saddle on Gussie. 

The front half of the saddle fit her well, but then it flattened out and was too wide over her loins, and the seat was uncomfortable for me - too wide where my seatbones were, and my knees rubbed on where the latigo and the billet went through the dee rigging. I would be pretty sore if I rode for any length of time. It had a 16 inch seat and I am more comfy in a 15 inch.

Then another day Shayla and I went for a lovely bareback ride, just meandering through the bush and down to the river and back. Very relaxing!

I thought it would be fun to take a photo of the river rocks under the water with Gussie's shadow. I had to tweak it a bit but it looks ok.

You can only tell there is water in the photo if you look at the shadow! Very clear water.

Drifter is doing really well with his training, he is sensitive and smart and figures things out quickly. I get quite a kick out of watching him playing with the 2 rubber feed tubs and the jolly ball that he has for his entertainment. I think he needs more toys though! 

When I was cleaning the pens this morning he smelled the straw form Belle's stall carefully and then did this:

Several times! 

He is finally shedding that woolly mammoth fur and the darker palomino is starting to show on his face, neck and legs.

Riding day 32 & 33

Wordless Wednesday

The youngsters make progress

Foal guesses are still open to those whose guess has passed! That means Linda, Kim, Sarah, Betsy, C-ingspots, Shannon and Emily- you can enter another guess! Belle still hasn't got a full bag - close to full but not bursting full yet.

It's so rewarding working with young horses. Seeing the progress, watching as they grow in confidence and understanding and seeing how they trust you- gets you in the feels!
We had lots of that the other day.
 First was a trail ride with Gussie and Ice; Shayla says Ice is now a bona fide trail horse!
We challenged her a little bit, first with a steep but short descent from the dyke, this is loose rocky ground that gives way a bit under their feet; she handled it  like a pro!

As we ended the ride, we went through the pond. The first time Ice had to do this she was quite uncertain and needed a companion horse to give her the confidence to go through the wider expanse of water; I think the reflectivity of it threw off her depth perception too. This time she got to go first; once again, she handled it like a pro!

Next is miss Mesa. Starting off with a little ground work; we skipped the ground driving because she really didn't need it. Also skipped the safety line because Shayla was confident that Mesa was going to handle things well.
Pretty proud of this little mare! Take a look:

She was light and responsive to steering and leg! With these willing babies it's hard to remember that they are just babies and to not overwork them. Mesa may get a couple more rides but that will be it- and we keep them to about 5 minutes. Just trying to set her up for her future, not ruin her body.

Then it was Drifter's turn.

First off- I had sent away his dna to get him tested for roan- and he is indeed a palomino roan! Yay!

I can't wait until he sheds out that shaggy coat! I expect him to be light through the body as the roaning shows up and darker on the legs and head.

He is so funny. He gets all happy when he gets to go out and be worked. But even though he is exuberant he still does whatever Shayla asks of him. 

This is the something new for him: Being asked to move his hip over from above. Normally he just gives his hip when she asks for a stop-and-face-up, so this was totally new and he got it right away.

They say that with the Driftwood bloodlines you show them what to do, then leave them alone and don't pick on them, because they get it- and it sure seems to be true with both Drifter and Ice (she also has Driftwood blood).

And yes, foal watch continues. 

Riding day 31

Oh hello spring!

The last couple of days have been just gorgeous and perfect for spending lots of time with the horses!
We made friends with a fellow who moved here to work on a beef ranch, and we all went for a trail ride with him on Ice, Shayla on Rose and me on Gussie. It was the first ride for Ice in the bush, her previous trail rides were on a gravel road with not too many distractions; this was a step up. We all rode down to the river and then back along the dyke and through the bush. Ice, of course was perfect!

He didn't know what to expect when he rode Ice into the river; Gussie and Rose waded right in and Ice just kinda followed. I think he thought she would paw and splash or lay down! He also complimented Shayla on what a good job she did with Ice's training; Ice was a lot more advanced than he thought a horse with only about 20 rides would be.

After a bit he and Shayla switched horses, and she was pretty happy with how Ice handled this new experience. First ride in the water including wading through the swamp.

The next day, we worked Mesa first. Ground driving time! At first she was a bit confused that someone was walking behind her as it is very different from longeing.

I had Shayla come in and walk by her head so that Mesa would follow her; that worked very well and Mesa quickly figured things out.

She is going to be so easy to ride! She also learned to back up with reins instead of just shaking the lead rope. Very nice, Mesa!

We are supposed to be in for a rainy week, but if it isn't too bad we will continue with the ground driving and then get Shayla on her guiding with the reins; I'll have a longe line on her too but we should be able to take that off fairly quickly. 

Next ride it was ponying Drifter! He still needs to learn more manners when it comes to ponying; he tried to rear once and several times he was nippy, but it's all about being vigilant with these young'uns and not letting them complete the undesirable behaviour. Over all it was a fun ride with him! He also got to go in the river for the first time.

Rose did a very good job of keeping him in line! Drifter seemed to really enjoy this new experience.

Later that day we saddled up Gussie and Ice and went back down to the river just for fun and for Ice and Shayla to have another trail ride. 

The water looked really blue in the shade! Made Ice look blue too.

There is not a lot of snow left up in the mountains and the river still is low. It will be interesting to see if it's a drought year or if we get a lot of rain to make up for it..

Riding day 29 & 30

Not so little Drifter

As foal watch continues (344 days today) there are other things going on. Spring is springing- yay!!!- and the grass is growing, so I have the horses fenced out of one of the pens, not that it grows a lot of grass on this rocky ground but I need it to grow as much as possible and not get chewed down. I have to clean out my flower beds so the new growth can thrive, and trim my rose bushes. Spring is such an exciting time!

Shayla continues to work with Drifter almost daily, short sessions to keep him tuned. He got introduced to the tarp the other day. Remember the session we did with the horse blanket?  It paid off with this session.

We started out with me dragging the tarp and Shayla leading him following it. He was trying to eat it, silly boy.

Walking across it and standing on it- check.

 Then we draped it over his back and led him around a little.

He sure isn't a super reactive horse, doesn't get frazzled much as you can see in the next video:

Then we got in full on dress up mode for him!

He's a cool not-so-little dude!

Working them all

Foal watch continues...
Linda and Nat D  feel free to enter another guess as yours are past. Look on my sidebar for a look at the other guesses.

What a wonderful day I had yesterday!
First off, I took a ride on Beamer, just bareback down around the pond to see if there was any water in it (there is!) and to get him out of his pen for a change.

When Shayla got here she worked Drifter while I rode Beamer, then we saddled up the redheads, Gussie and Rose and went meandering through the bush and down to the river.

Pretty sure we both had big smiles going on! The river is starting to rise with the warmer temperatures and sunshine melting the snowpack. We even had a warm breeze for the first time this spring.



After that Shayla rode Ice (both Rose and Ice are back here) and had a really good ride on her, the first time she has ridden her here other than in the pen. Lots of distractions like dogs barking , equipment working, kids playing etc. but she handled it well- one little spook where she grabbed her butt and scooted forward, but got over it very quickly.
Then it was miss Mesa's turn!
Off to the round pen we went, it is the first time she has been worked under saddle for a while, and of course she was a rock star!

Since she was being so good, it was time for her to learn to carry a rider under saddle.

Preparatory step #1 went well!

as did step #2...

and step # 3

Then up and over!

Pretty happy with li'l Mesa.

Riding  day 28

Foal watch

Belle is at 339 days today.

Her udder isn't quite full yet, but her milk veins are large and she could easily fill in a matter of hours.

Tonight I start foal watch. I always start well beforehand so that she gets used to me popping in and out of the trailer and shining the flashlight at her. I have been putting her in the foaling pen in the evening and letting her out with the mares during the day, but starting tomorrow she will be staying in the foaling pen. She seems happy and relaxed in there; she knows the routine. Gussie always keeps an eye on her, hanging out at the fenceline and visiting with her bff.

I strung electric fence all along the top of Drifter's pen as Mesa has been coming up to the fence and bugging  visiting him. They both got a little zap today so hopefully she will back off. And I need Drifter to learn to respect fences. So far he has been really good but a little jolt will make him more respectful. 

His training is coming along really well, here's a little video of the end of a short session on the longe line.

Not all good days are sunny

There was a threat of rain yesterday, in fact it rained most of the night. I was a little reluctant to ride, because, well, maybe I might melt....  but I sucked it up and by golly it didn't rain. It was actually quite a nice day for riding!
We were accompanied by our friend Michelle on the 19 year old mare Kit; you may remember them from my posts at the swimming hole last summer.

Kit and Shayla;s mare Rose

 Same area as our last ride but a different road that took us past a channel of water.

This area, over a hundred years ago, was under water as it is the end of the Kootenay River and the beginning of Kootenay Lake. It is very flat land so I assume it was quite marshy and full of nutrient rich silt that the farmers were coveting as farmland. As system of dykes and channels allowed the drainage and development over the decades to what it is now- a lovely agricultural area where livestock, hay, tree nurseries, and many other crops grow.

(Photo by Shayla)

This view is looking north towards Kootenay Lake. Just before Kootenay Lake is a small lake called Duck Lake, in the summer it is terrible for mosquitoes there so this is a good time to ride there. The road we took skirts Duck Lake, but close to the lake the road is closed to all but foot traffic during the spring thaw. We figured that meant horses too as their hoofprints were rather deep in spots.

Mostly the footing was really good and smooth so it allowed us to do some long trotting. I got Gussie kicked into high gear again- man that is an incredible trot on her! I have said before that Gussie is the smoothest  quarter horse I have ridden - it's true, even at a long trot!

Most of our ride was much more sedate though. There were 2 incidents when birds startled the horses- one where ducks flew up right beside the road where there was a culvert with a pool of open water where the ducks were feeding, and along the channel where we were doing our first long trot; the channel had ice on it until we reached a spot of open water and a pair of swans were startled by us and flew up. The horses put on the brakes! Gussie didn't really spook as she was in the lead and the swans flew up behind her, but she stopped very quickly. Her version of spook is to stop with a brace on her front legs and just stand there and look.

We rode over 8 miles, and by the time we got back to the trailers we had some tired mares!

We have a couple more rides planned for this week, one (or maybe 2!) more in this area and one in the middle of town up the tower road overlooking the Creston valley.

Riding day 27