Strays and snow

 Driving to town the other day we noticed that the neighbour's cattle, a mile down the road, were all gathered at the fenceline, and that their pasture was about gone. The next day, sure enough, there was a jailbreak. We ended up with cows in our yard, 3 the first day, and a couple more the next day.  

We don't mind having them come graze, but I could do without the cow pies they leave behind!

We got our first snowfall last night, so far about 3 inches.  When I checked on the mares, I could see that Gussie Was Not Impressed.  She has the most expressive nostrils and stink eye of any horse ever!

I'm sure they think I should open the barn door for them, but they do have a large shelter complete with a round bale in it for them to eat if they don't want to venture out in the pasture where there is plenty of grazing still. (Only slightly spoiled!)

Since I am feeling a lot better, I am waiting for a bit nicer weather as I want to start riding again. Nothing too demanding, just a few putts around the pasture. I hope the nice days aren't all gone! 

All the other goin' ons

 As I wind my way back to health, slowly increasing what I can do each day, I am thankful for all the well wishes I have received, and work on making my plans for the winter. Mostly, I have everything all set up to be simple when it comes to chores; all hay stored indoors and small square bales instead of the big rounds that I usually buy that require the use of the tractor to move as well as pitchforking the hay into a sled or wheelbarrow to put in the desired feeding area- this year, I can just toss the required amount out into the shelter or the barn. Also- the automatic waterer is the only one needed this winter, as I won't be using the big barn where Beamer was which needed water to be pumped from the stand pipe into my insulated tank that Ted built for me. I often had to take a heat gun to the stand pipe handle to free it up when the weather got really nasty. 

It's coming...

Having only two horses definitely makes the work load lighter, but it sure seems odd to me. 

We are ok with just us two

I did find a farrier that Velvet ok'd , a young lady just starting out with barefoot trimming. Velvet loved her. Gussie tolerated her.  So that is something I can check off my list- I don't have to attempt to trim the mares!

The mares got covered in deer tick bites, nasty lumps that have a yellow crust to them similar to rain rot. Vet said they are deer tick bites and to deworm with ivermectin and spray the mares with Virkon. Done. I did some research on those ticks- they aren't the kind that latch on and suck blood like the wood ticks. Apparently they like pasture with long cover as they are not fond of sunlight and don't we just have pasture with a lot of long grass and tall weeds. We are looking into getting a rough cut mower in to fix that, although it may have to wait until next spring. We are hoping that the recent numerous heavy frosts will have knocked off the ticks, which usually make their first appearance in September, so that gives us some time. 

We got an update on Boe via facebook-  he is doing really well and they love him. They renamed him Willy. 

If you care to check out her page, she posted videos of him trailing cattle on his 12th ride.

Also I have been getting Theo updates, he is thriving and growing. As with all the Beamer babies (like Willy) he has an exceptional mind and they have been working on getting him soft to lead- their 4 yr old daughter can lead him and it's the cutest thing- if he hits the end of the lead rope she scolds him and he softens right up to her. 

I am looking to breed Gussie next year, I have a couple of choices which I will be deciding on within a couple of weeks. I will keep you updated on that!

Gemma's Journey

 When Gemma and Shiner arrived here for halter training, they were both pretty much untouched. Of course with weaning and travelling an hour to get here, they were rather looky and flighty. I gave them a day to settle a bit and get used to their new pen- basically my foaling pen, with access to the little barn. 

I was curious to see if they would go in the barn on their own, but within minutes, they were both hanging around in there. That, of course, made things easy for me as that is where I was planning on working with them.  

Another thing I did was to park my horse trailer where they could go in and out of it on their own- which they did right away, and were often to be found in there, just chillin'.

The first session, and for a couple days following, I worked them together. First using my flag to touch their backs as they scooted past me. Then when they stopped and faced, just resting the flag on the ground. After a bit, I was able to touch them with the flag while they stood still.

The next day we moved on to introducing a rope. As they scooted past, I would toss the rope on their backs (when my aim was accurate!) and let the rope lay on them as they went around. Surprisingly they weren't too worried about that.  

I found that Shiner was way more flighty than Gemma, and since my focus was on her due to her impending trip to the Yukon with her new owner, I separated them when it was time to work them, which I was doing twice a day. Shiner soon figured out that he didn't need to go in the barn when Gemma did, and was easy to cut back while she went in. 

The first few sessions with Gemma were interesting. Well, all of them were! I learned a bunch with her. First, she absolutely would not let me on her left side. I roped her around her neck, let her go around then took the slack out of the rope. She would turn her butt to me and try to pull away, so I would have to quickly step to the side and get her to face. When I walked up to her to touch her, she would turn so that I could only approach on her right side. I pondered that for a bit, and decided not to make an issue of it at first. So the next couple days were all about getting her to accept touch and rubs on her right side. Another interesting thing about her was that when she was thinking things over she would drop her head right down to her feet. Then I could rub all her neck and between her ears. Still from the right side. I managed to get a halter on her then, but it was rather awkward trying to tie it as it ties on the left side. So next day, I turned the halter inside out and put it on and tied it from the right. Well, I decided that was an inconvenience to me, so the next session I was going to inconvenience her and get her to accept me on her left. Enough already!

Anyway, once the halter was on, I slid the neck rope off and had her learn to give to pressure with just the halter. Basically, let her go round and round, then take the slack out and hold until she stopped and faced, then slack the lead rope. Within a couple sessions she was learning to lead. I really took my time with her and when we made even a small advancement I would turn her loose and let her consider it until the next session. That incremental building worked well for her, she's a horse that needs time to think things through. 

So- the left side. Starting with the rope work, I would rub her from the right and then step around in front of her so I would be on her left- she would immediately swing her head to the left and her hip to the right to try to keep me in her right eye. I did a lot of head rubbing and neck rubbing until she relaxed and dropped her head down to the ground again.  Funny thing is, I had to take the lead rope off the halter, rub the halter on her neck and between her ears, let the nose piece drop down onto her nostrils, then take it off and get her to raise her head a bit and halter her properly. Then just stand there and rub and pet her all over on her left side, then turned her loose. A couple days of that, and getting her to lead a couple steps each time and the light was starting to come on in her baby brain. She finally figured it out that both sides were safe for me  to be there. I never did get to the point of being able to just walk up to her and catch her, still had to either use my neck rope or throw the halter lead rope over her back first. I think with a bit more time I would have had that done too. 

By the time she was ready to leave, Gemma was catchable, led well, loaded in and out of the trailer both at liberty and by being led in and out and had become a real nosy parker- she had to come and investigate whatever I was doing, would eat hay out of my hand, would pull on my jacket and be very helpful with tools when I was working on the fence. In short, well on the way to being a pocket pony!

I actually really enjoyed working with her - she gave me challenges and made me think outside the box, and it was a delight to see her go from a fearful flighty filly to a friendly and curious little miss who is someday going to go on and do great things for her owner. Who, by the way, was really pleased with her when she picked her up. 

In case you were wondering

 I didn't mean to get y'all worried with my prolonged absence here, but things just piled up in a hurry. 

I will do a separate post on Gemma's journey from being an untouchable to being a darn near pocket pony, as it will be a fairly lengthy one.

Suffice to say, I am well pleased with the progress she made. 

Meanwhile, I went from having a cold to having full blown pneumonia and needing hospitalization.

My first ambulance ride since I broke my wrist 20 years ago

 It's amazing how quickly pneumonia can take you down., I will spare you all the details, except that it will be a fairly slow recovery with weekly check ups. So no major projects for me for the next couple of months. I just got released from a 4 day stay, most of which was spent in the emergency ward; I got an actual room at 11:45 pm last night and got released today around 2:30 pm. Oh how welcome it was to breathe fresh air and feel the sun on my face!

Catching up

 I have been busy- that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

The weanlings are slowly progressing from wild eyed range colts to allowing as how I might maybe touch them. At first they were in full flight mode, however I am utilizing my small barn to contain them when I work them. It has a small divider I can stand behind if I need to get out of the way, and the set up is that they can go in a circle around it. I have hay stored in the extra stalls in there so it is effectively like a mini round pen. 

It has been a week today; I have been working with them twice a day. 

They took to the barn right away, which is good because I feed them in there. 

I started with flag work, just touching them with it and using it to direct traffic, so to speak. 

After a few days of that I progressed to tossing a rope around and over them. They actually weren't too bad about that and on the second session I was able to get the rope around the necks and get them started on giving to pressure. We are still a long way from being able to get a halter on them though. 

Getting the rope off was more difficult than getting it on though! But we got it done. 

There came a point when I wasn't making any progress so I changed things up. I am all about changing things when one method gets stale. 

Once they discovered that I was the purveryor of oats, Gemma did a complete turn around. She let me touch her more often, and started approaching me in a friendly manner.

She is still reserved and cautious but really is starting to allow me into her space. Shiner, on the other hand, has become more reactive. Can you say, double swirl? He was the first to let me rub his quarters and his back but not much past that so far. That's ok though- I am on a time schedule with Gemma as she leaves for her new home on the 13th, and Shiner can stay longer. He might actually be easier when Gemma leaves. 

I would have posted more photos and videos too, but my computer refuses to download the photos from my phone, so I have to email them to myself. The support for windows 10 is ending so that might have something to do with it. I will post more if I get things figured out! 

I leave you with a spectacular sunset

The weanlings

 Today was the day for the weanlings to arrive. They are Shiner, Jayne's red dun colt, and Gemma, the palomino filly out of Shayla's buckskin Driftwood mare. They are both sired by Rex (Major's Pistol) her junior stallion. This was his test foal crop and her turned out to sire some very nice foals. 

Gemma is heading to the Yukon in a couple of weeks, so we need to get her leading and loading.

The mares came up for a look, but soon lost interest and wandered off. The foals wandered around their pen for a bit- Shiner called out a bit, but not a peep out of Gemma. 

They both seem pretty chill in their new environment. I plan to feed them in the barn, so it was nice that they went in on their own in short order and seem to like being in there. 

Shiner sure has Jayne's beautiful eye. He may end up being here a bit longer as the focus will be more on Gemma at first as she will be picked up by her owner in 17 days. 

Let the fun begin!

Visiting the Beamer\Belle horses

 I had a bit of a getaway this past weekend. And of course, it  included  was mostly about horses. I spent a wonderful couple hours with the good folks who have , over the years, bought 6 of my horses. 

Here they are in all their beauty. 

First off- all the Beamer babies.

For all the Rio fans out there:

He is massive! I think right around 16 hh and probably 13 - 1400 lbs. He has carried his owner  through a lot of events, from 4 H  to barrels and roping and ranch work. He was a flag bearer horse in the Calgary Stampede last year. The young lady who owns him has had plenty of offers on him, but he is not going anywhere. The brand on his shoulder is their brand, some of them also carry the DLH brand. 

Then there is Kai- he is the steady Eddie of the group, the favourite uncle to the young horses who keeps them calm. He is Alana's horse and it is pretty obvious that he loves her. 

Kai is built more stocky than Rio, but he too is a big strong horse. he has won high point in gaming for Alana, and her daughter has used him as a heading horse. He's a big gentle soul. 

They sold Nitro, and I found out that he is now the mount for a 16 year old high school student who team ropes in the High School Rodeos with him, and they are a perfect match. I am trying to find out who his current owner is as I would love to watch them at work. 

Then there is Josie... what a beauty she is!

The one I should have kept... but she has been a really good horse for Kevin, this year she won 2 buckles for him at rodeos, she is a heeling horse in the team roping. Josie is 11 this year. she is not a Belle daughter, her dam was Chickory who is now raising foals for her current owner.

I would love to do a breed lease on Josie if he ever decides to retire her from roping. 

The next horse is a Beamer/Belle son. This was Belle's last Beamer baby, and he is another one I probably should have kept, he and Josie are the two Beamers that literally took my breath away. 

This is Derby. 

Derby is 3 this year and he is already a big boy like his brothers. 

He is another member of the Big Butt club! I think it's safe to say that the Beamer/Belle cross produced outstanding individuals. 

Next up is Minx.

Kevin likes the cross so much that he bought Minx, who is a daughter of the full sister to all those boys. You would know her as Sparkle from my posts on this blog, she was Belle's first foal. Minx was sired by a 16 hh grey Playgun bred stallion. She has the same quiet and trainable mind as her uncles and they really like her. She will be grey. 

This is Kai and Minx:

I think she will have a good size to her as well; Kai is 15.3 hh. Minx is only 2 and has a lot of growing to do yet. 

Then there is Pistol; he was the buckskin foal from Belle and sired by Rollin In My Dually, she was in foal with him when I bought her back from Fleetwood Farms. 

Pistol is another big soggy gelding rope horse for Kevin, and he's doing very well with him. Pistol has a bit of a different look to him than the Beamer sons.  Kevin loves him and says he will never part with him either. 

Knowing that the horses I raised are so valued by their owners, and that they have become excellent performance horses is all a person could ask for when it comes to raising horses. I have been blessed in this venture over the years. Finding a family who kept buying them and promoting them and loving them is all I could ever ask for. 

Oh, and one more thing- knowing that they are all happy, healthy horses. 

Derby💖 He got Beamer's head but Belle's ears

It was great to visit and catch up with them. I am going to try to get to one of their ropings so I can get some photos of them in action. If not this year then maybe next year!

Nature's beauty (horses included)

 The chiro lady came and adjusted both mares. Gussie had adjustments from head to tail- poll, atlas, ribs, hips and knee and other points in between! I decided to get Velvet done too, she wasn't too bad; her neck and some ribs and a mild adjustment in her hips- the lady doesn't get too intense in that area with mares who are in foal. I gave Gussie a couple of days off to get used to it and any soreness as a result. 

I have been working on the obstacle course, only 3 things set up so far as I have to scrounge for materials ; trying to do this without buying anything. 

Shayla brought home a new filly- this one is by the same sire as Drifter (remember the palomino roan stallion we had and sold) and she is a match for Gussie!

The new filly (Patsy)

Patsy has higher back stockings and a front stocking  but they sure look similar! Patsy is a weanling, it will be fun to see how she looks all grown up. She has the same quiet disposition that Drifter had. 

I went for a walk checking fences last week and it was a bit of a nature walk for me. I got some lovely shots of the lazy Medicine River that meanders along, bordering the farm. 

 We have beavers in the area but they don't build dams. 

This is a big old poplar tree that they chewed down. 

The grass in places was 6 ft. tall, it was hard slogging! There have been a lot of geese lately, and some interesting clouds. 

The next one is a sunset. 

We have had a lot of misty mornings, and at this time of year the sunrise is right at the end of our driveway. 

Last night's supermoon arose in nearly the same place, but I waited until this morning for a photo. 

Speaking of nature....

Guess who?

Yup those marauding bandits are back. The racoons couldn't get into the cat food tote by prying the lid off (see the chewed corner?) so they tipped it over and jumped on it until it broke. I was wondering how long I would get away with having it right next to my cat feeding station. Now I have it in the feed room that so far has proven to be racoon proof. 

Gussie let Thumper back on her- it has been a while since she agreed to that!