Wordless Wednesday

 

On a good day

 The title is a bit misleading....

The thing about owning horses is that it isn't all unicorns and fairy dust. We always hope that everything will be uncomplicated and easy. Over the years I have had my share of having things go badly, some worse than others. But I wouldn't trade a day with any of my horses.

When I first brought Happy home, I didn't notice anything untoward with her. But as the days went by, I could see something wasn't right; she would reach back and bite at her inner thigh . I checked her out thoroughly then, and found weird growths in several places. 

She would bite at them until they bled...

I had checked under her tail for that tell-tale melanoma growth the day I bought her, as it is common in older grey horses and that is where it is usually found.  She is very hairy so I had to get hands on to find anything, and unfortunately I did find it in the worst possible place- her throatlatch.  As the lump grows, it can impede her ability to eat. 

I hauled her to my vet for confirmation, and yes it is melanoma. He also checked her foal, all is well there and he said Happy is holding her weight well. She should be able to foal out and nurse. He agreed with me that this will be her last foal. 

The next decision is the hardest. Happy is such a sweet mare, I hate that this is happening to her. I have made the decision to lay her to rest at weaning time; I won't risk her going rapidly downhill and trying to make it through another cold prairie winter. 

Let them go on a good day... 

Those barn cats

 Rub-a-dub-dub...

3 kittens in a tub!

This tub is half full of straw and they like to cuddle in it and keep warm. I have been able to pet all 3 of them as of today. 

Timbits

Timbits absolutely loves pets. He must have pets before eating and drinking and purrs loudly all the while.  He also leaves the barn and comes to greet me when he hears me leave the house to come do my barn chores. 

Matilda

This gorgeous girl is the spittin' image of her mama, Misty. She is tolerating being petted lately but not as eager as her brother. She plays mostly with her sister.....

Minou

This tabby female is the most feral of the kittens. Slow to trust humans, but has recently decided that I have earned the Minou Badge of Approval as the designated Hand That Feeds and therefore will Allow one second of petting. So far. She is a work in progress! 

I got a quote from the vet on the cost of spay/neuter for them and their mama, around $1000 if I bring all 4 in at the same time for a 20% discount. ( This is why we like horse vets over small animal vets!) The trick is going to be gathering all 4 at the same time but if I start feeding them in the big carrying kennel I might be able to pull it off. Timbits and Matilda I can likely just pick them up and put them in but Misty and Minou, not so much at this point. The kittens are 4 months old so I have 2 months to get that program working. The key will be whether or not Misty gets pregnant before then, I sure hope not!

Sunday Silence

 

Some updates

 I always love it when people to whom I have sold horses send me photos. It especially warms my heart when I see how well those horses behave around children. 

First we have Drifter, the palomino stallion that Shayla and I sold to a working ranch in northern BC.  He has gone on to be a good sire for them as well as a working ranch horse. But these photos say it all as to how good his disposition is :

This little cowgirl (4 yrs old!) has been pestering her mom to ride Drifter and got her wish last summer. 

Then there is Theo. He is 2  this year and sure is growing up to look like his daddy. 

Don't eat your blanket. Theo!

Just like Beamer and his mama Velvet, he loves attention. He will be hauled to roping events this year just to take in the sights and sounds. His owner is very happy with him, and as you can see his little daughter is too. 

There is a Beamer daughter for sale, she is the one I originally planned to keep but sold to buy an older horse to ride. That is the sorrel filly out of Jayne that I named Dally. 

She is 5 this year and still fairly green broke. I am not in a position to buy her but it sure would be nice! 

Kindness

 Winter wears on, the birds are very busy on our feeder and suet. 

Male Downy Woodpecker

Blue Jay

Female Downy Woodpecker

Blue Jay

White Breasted Nuthatch

Female Downy Woodpecker

The suet attracts all but the juncos as they prefer to forage on the ground. 

Junco

Blue Jay

We put our Christmas tree out in the snow for them to have a perch close to the food. 

Red Breasted Nuthatch

We went from cold and clear to freezing rain. The mares manes tell the story. 

Now we are back in the cold again. This weather is as indecisive as a kid in a candy store!

My word for this year is Kindness. In my thoughts, words and deeds I want to come from a place of kindness. Not to be confused with permissiveness, sometimes kindness comes under the cloak of tough love, especially when it comes to self destructive behavior in the people and animals in our lives. 

Straight from the horses mouth!

 

Winter's Beauty

 Even though we have to deal with finger numbing, ear freezing, bone chilling wind and cold, there is always something lovely to see. 

The sun rising low on the southern horizon, 8:49 am.  (Yes those are round bales in the back field)

The trees across the river aglow in the late sunrise . We often see deer over there.

Even cranky mares telling me I am too slow opening the gate to their fresh hay! 

We were down to -33 Celsius last night but a balmy -13 C now . Warmer temps coming but still sub zero. This too shall pass.....

Happy has adapted to the herd quite well. Gussie still chases her at morning feed time but they all hang out as a group during the day.  Velvet has buddied up with her.

Christmas day was sunny and cold. Velvet and Gussie were dozing alongside the big barn.

That is, until Velvet saw me coming and had to investigate. 

And headed to the shelter in case, just maybe, I would put extra hay out.... 

The mares are wintering well despite the cold. They have 24/7 hay as well as heated water. 

I did some checking on due dates, it looks like Happy is due around two weeks before Gussie. End of April to mid May should be busy for me! 

Happy Christmas

 The weather outside is frightful ... well maybe not but it is cold! There was an awful snowstorm a few days ago that piled up a lot of vehicles on the freeway, but roads here were no problem for us ole snow plow operators!

We have been below - 20 Celcius for about a week now. The barn cats are snugged up and thriving, I take them fresh water twice a day. The kittens are getting big now and lost their interest in milk, so water it is for them 

Timbits, the male kitten, is very friendly.

The grey mare has settled in with the herd fairly well. Gussie still bosses her at feeding time but overall they get along; Velvet of course buddied up with her right off the bat. Which probably made Gussie jealous!

I got ahold of the people who raised her and had her until she was 15 as I wanted to know her foaling history and what her original barn name was. 

She has 12 registered foals, and 1 more that will be registered, but from 2021 to 2024 nothing- she may have had a couple paint foals with her 2nd owners. So she is currently on at least foal #14. 

Her barn name was Appy 😑 which doesn't work for me as it is slang for Appaloosa and she sure is not an Appy! So I modified it... 

Her name is Happy!

I am happy with Happy, she is a sweet mare and hey- Happy Christmas to me! She is my Christmas gift to myself. 

I had a nice Christmas visit with my sister M, and the rest of my family is all spread out having family Christmas visits. We all live so far apart now, we will probably never have one of those large family Christmas gatherings we had back before everyone went their separate ways. A lot of precious memories there!

So to all my blog friends, may you all have a blessed Christmas, my prayers go out to those who are having health problems or are lonely this season.