We got another mini blast of winter. Of course I turned it into a photo op!
The afternoon sun is sure making for good photo ops! Even with just my cell phone.
I thought I would do a progress post on the mares. Velvet is certainly growing!
That was an early morning photo, here is the afternoon sun lighting her up- and look at that mane!
Speaking of Beamer, I got the results back from the lab test on his lump. Apparently it is benign, they couldn't positively identify it as a sarcoid or carcinoma. So when I talked to the vet, he said to monitor it, and if it comes back we will deal with it then; he couldn't see spending money on a treatment that may or may not have been needed. Now that's my kind of vet!
Thank you everyone for your concern for him!
Once again, the barn cat numbers are diminished.
Smokey disappeared a couple of days ago. He was always the first in line at feeding time (very demanding, he was!) so when he wasn't there one morning , I knew something was amiss. Haven't seen him since, and he was an adventure cat so I assume he went into coyote territory and met his fate. So we are down to Smudge, Misty and Bandit.
Speaking of Bandit.....
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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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.
Beamer had his vet appointment yesterday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
