Adding in Rosalee

The last couple of days I have been leaving Rosalee in with Belle and Pistol, while I stick Mesa and Coulee in the foaling pen for a few hours a day.
Here is a pictorial progression on how it went:

One little stink eye....

Two little stink eyes and a foot stomp....

Protocol established and the greeting was allowed. At least, as far as Belle was concerned- Pistol had to check out his boundaries too.

The introductory nip...

The horseplay....

and they all settled in happily together. I'm pretty sure Belle is happy to have a baby sitter, but she sure is protective of this foal- I'm pretty sure that comes from having had her last 2 foals in a large mare herd, having learned to defend herself and her foals from nosy mares.

Everybody loves Rosalee!

Pistol's first turnout and Mesa update

Yesterday it was time. Time to let Pistol and Belle out into the mare pen for a while so the li'l rascal could stretch those long legs of his. I put the other three in the bottom pen so they could have turnout without being pestered- and because I don't trust Coulee and Belle to not get aggressive to each other.

At first he wanted to hang out with the other horses, but when mama moved too far away he lit out after her.

This boy can run and stop and turn! Check out the sliding stops and rollbacks in this video:



After his fun, he stuck by mama. Love the matched stride in this photo; Belle and her mini-me.

 One of my friends chastised me for not taking Mesa pics- I have been but not posting them because she is shedding and looks really messy right now.  But she is still  my pretty girl!

Another month or so and most of that baby hair will be shed out... just in time to grow winter hair!

She is friendly, curious, easy to catch, can pick up all her feet without the halter on, and of course, helpful as all get out!

Pistol at 3 weeks old

Pistol is 3 weeks old today. He is getting really tall and is showing a lot of character. Very fiesty!

And also a silly boy 😏



Notice the flying lead changes?

He is well balanced....

athletic....

and has the cutest little muzzle but don't be fooled by the innocent look!

 This is his "looking for trouble " look:


























And sometimes he's just plain cute!

Being prepared.

The hot days of summer roll inexorably on, with no end in sight for this hot dry weather. We could use some of the rain they are getting in the east; there is a constant threat of fire, with new ones popping up regularly. Fortunately, the local fire crews are on top of it and there is no major threat in this densely wooded, tinder dry area ... yet.
With that in mind, I have been thinking about what my evacuation plan would be. I have a 2 horse trailer, 3 mares, 2 foals and a stallion. I think the mares would be ok as they are on a dry lot - in an all out emergency they could stay right there but I would need to move Beamer as he has huge trees across the fence from him on the neighbour's property.
We live almost at the end of a dead end road, so there is only one way to drive out. However, we do have a pond on the property and a water pump and fire hose, so we could soak areas as needed, and could always lead the horses down to the river or stand them in the pond. This is why I halter break my foals as soon as possible; you never know when you will need them to follow in a scary situation and not blindly run around in a panic.

I have been working with Pistol every day; some days he is better than others. He is pretty sure that he is the master of all he surveys!
I still have to run him and mama into the stall to catch him, but I can walk right up to him there and slip the halter on. He is getting a dose of Peptobismal every day as he has foal scours, and he actually looks forward to it- he loves it! He is pretty good about getting his bum washed too, I can just drop the lead rope (in the stall) and wash and rinse him off.
The following video is this morning after his pepto and washing. He got another leading lesson and I added backing up to it.



He is quite a character. Everything goes in the mouth- reminds me of Rio that way.



Meanwhile, I have been loving up on Mesa, she seems so tiny compared to Pistol. I measured and there is a 1 inch difference in their legs; she will probably be around 14.2 hh and he will be over 15 hands- will have to wait a few months for their leg bones to slow down their growth before I can get a truer measure. Mesa is really bonded to Rosalee; when I put Rosalee in a grass paddock up by our house, once Mesa noticed that she couldn't see aunt Rosie any more she started hollering- and Rosalee got very upset, galloped up and down the paddock and looked like she was about to jump the electric fence to get back to her little darlin'. So.... I caved and put the silly yellow mare back in with Mesa and Coulee. I think weaning time will be fairly easy, Coulee is leaving on the last weekend of August, so I will start separating them around mid August.

I love how dark she is shedding out. She is going to be pretty flashy when her true colour comes in.

New name and riding Rosalee

Since Shayla pretty much bought Belle's foal in utero, I  have been working with her on the colt's registered name, and it is going to be CD Shiny Pistolena. His new barn name is Pistol, and it sure seems to suit him. He is coming along pretty well.
He is at the poopy bum stage, so today he got introduced to Peptobismal and bum washings- he did quite well. Then on to his leading lesson.



He is still quite the diva- or is that divo for boys?- when he is loose. King of all he surveys!

Yesterday, NG got her riding lesson on Rosalee- I rode first to make sure she was in the right frame of mind to pack a child around, and yes she was; feeling quite lazy in fact.

The poor kids legs must have been tired after riding, she had to keep bumping to keep the life up in Rosalee! We worked more on keeping her motivated, and not letting her turn towards me and quit. Then I led her over to the pond, while my daughter, who is visiting, threw sticks for the dogs.

 I let her ride solo for part of the way back.

She did well, so once we got back up by the hitching rail I decided to longe her at the trot, so she could work on her seat, and then let her ride solo over to her house to show her dad and little sister. Big smiles!
 Day 27

Lessons

The riding lessons with Beamer and NG are going well, I did video some of it but I won't post without permission from her parents. What I do find in watching the videos is that I talk way too fast. But- I do get my point across, and she gets what I'm talking about so I guess it's all good. 😉

Saddle and helmet! We worked a lot on trotting. She has a pretty good seat, and is getting better with her hands every ride.

Oh how I love this horse.....  

Meanwhile, back at the barn, Rascal is , well, being a rascal!

Belle just ignores all his antics. This is her sixth son so it's all old hat  to her! I remember Nitro doing this a lot. 

His halter training is coming along well, I can probably take them out to graze today- if I can find a spot that isn't all burned off by the scorching heat we have had for the last month.  We got a few minutes of rain this morning and it's cloudy, so it shouldn't be too hot today. 

Since that went well, we progressed :

After I was done I worked on his halter to make the nose piece smaller, he has such a tiny muzzle!
Day 26

The results and a winner (or 2)

I got the dna tests back, and it is confirmed that Rascal is a buckskin, no dun factor. That makes him a son of Rollin in My Dually, and I think I am going to call 2 winners anyway. Cdncowgirl got the date and was almost bang on with the time, and Sahara got the colour and sex and was the closest in time of those who guessed buckskin colt. Ladies, please email me your mailing address, diamondlazyh641@hotmail.com

Training and teaching

First off, this colt now has a barn name.

Rascal.

For Lytha:

I started his halter training yesterday, as I need to be able to lead him and his mama out of the pen for some hand grazing. I had to put Belle and him into the stall to confine him so I could get the halter on, and I tied Belle so she would stand still while I worked with getting the colt to face me or at least let me approach him from the side.... but no, he wanted to turn his butt to me and kick. So he got spanked with the halter and lead rope which I had in my hand- just a quick twack across his butt in the same manner a mare would bite him if he did that to her. He tried one more time, with the same reaction from me, and then he decided that it was better not to try to kick me. I haltered him, and then spent about 5 minutes rubbing him all over his body, not forcing myself on him but working with where he would accept rubbing and if he was ticklish I'd retreat and then rub again a little further until he tolerated it everywhere. The only spot he was worried about was on the spot where he felt me twack him, but it only took a few seconds to get him over that. Petting was much preferrable!

After that, I led Belle and Rascal out of the pen. Well, I led Belle out of the pen and Rascal followed. Then I took the slack out of the rope, and stood there. He pulled, I stood, not pulling on him, just holding my position while he flopped around like a fish on a line. He ended up throwing himself about 6 times before he figured out that it wasn't working to pull against me. Every time he stopped and faced me, he got his face petted and a  "good boy". We stood there while he thought about it, on a loose lead, and then I slowly took up the slack again and asked for a step forward and to the side. He gave me a tiny step. And got a big reward of petting and praise. Three times, then we called it a day.

This morning, Belle saw me coming in to the pen with the foal halter, and headed straight for the stall. (Smart mama!) I caught Rascal, petted him all over again, picked up all 4 feet, and opened the gate and let mama out. He followed, and I went with him. When mama stopped, and he did too, I asked gently for one step... and he did! In fact, he didn't fight me at all. Smart Rascal!

"I got this"

He got lots of praise today! I was able to get some video.

He really is a rascal though. So full of himself! Like a typical colt he has to try to impress the other horses, and he is pretty rough with his mama. But she is just smitten with him!

I sure wouldn't want to try to halter train this one at weaning time.  I had Coulee and Mesa out hand grazing yesterday, and Mesa leads like an old broke horse. 😍 Love her!

NG was helping me with chores yesterday, so she got to have a lesson on Beamer. I asked if she wanted a saddle or bareback and she chose bareback, which makes me happy because it helps to teach them balance and helps them to be able to feel the movement of the horse better.

We went to the round pen, and I had her do reaches upward and outward first with one arm and then with both and I longed Beamer at a walk. I had my mecarte bridle on him, and then I taught her how to handle the reins while I directed Beamer with the get-down shank. She caught on quickly, so I let her go on her own.

She did really well. I got to thinking, and I have three 10 yr old girls to teach riding to this summer..... Beamer will get a workout! Rosalee too, but she isn't quite ready to turn loose with children yet.

 I did ride Beamer a bit too, so that I could demonstrate some of the rein handling points and how little it takes to get a response from Beamer. I think teaching children is more important to me than my own riding. I just wish I had a couple of tried and true kids horses so we could all go trail riding or at least go to an arena and teach them some of the games. But this is a good start for them, and it will be up to their parents if they wish their children to progress in the sport. I feel that's it's my job to introduce them to riding with a focus on safety, harmony, and partnership.

 Day 25

A couple of happy things

Saturday morning, I couldn't stand watching the colt walk on his tiptoe any more so I googled oils for tight tendons and found a blend I could make. 10 drops peppermint, 5 drops marjoram, 6 drops rosemary, 5 drops Aroma Seiz, and 2 drops lemongrass in 2 to 3 ounces of coconut oil. (I use Young Living oils) So I mixed it up, and applied it to his leg from knee to hoof, twice that day. 

This is a before photo:

You can see how he was knuckled over on that right front.

The next morning, I was not sure what I would see, I was hoping for at least some slight improvement. This is what I saw:

Happy dance! I oiled him up again before I let them out of the stall. He was pretty zoomy once that foot worked properly!

The horse chiro was out that morning to work on Belle, he spent about a half hour or more on her and he also did a little work on the colt, in his left stifle where he had been compensating for the tightness in his right front. 

 Now the little guy is just full of himself! He sure is leggy. I am haltering him every day just to get him used to it, he is pretty strong already and I don't want to wait any longer to get him leading. Once he does I'll hand graze him with Belle, who really wants to get out of that foaling pen.

One hind sock, a star and a snip on his nose.

The gal came out to try out Coulee on Saturday, and it went really well. She longed her first and then rode- Coulee hasn't been ridden since last November- and she got to see what Coulee does when she doesn't think she has to work, so I got to see how good a horsewoman she was as she worked Coulee through that. Then she got on, and Coulee tried again, so I had her step off and work her through it on the ground and then when she got back on Coulee was good.

The lady is a good hand, she worked her quietly but was no nonsense, she did everything right and she has good hands and a quiet way about her. I was impressed with her, and she decided to buy Coulee. Once I get a down payment later this week I will consider it a done deal. She will get to take her home around the end of August.
I'm not at all worried about weaning Mesa a little bit early, she is eating good and spends more time with Rosalee than with her mama, and once Coulee is gone I'll turn Belle and her foal in with them.

Day 24 This morning I worked with both foals, with the assistance of NG ; they got haltered and brushed and Mesa got her front feet picked up and cleaned.
Then NG got to have a bareback ride on Rosalee, her first time getting on a horse bareback. She's a good kid, listens well and isn't too timid. She came in boots today 😃.

Beating the heat

Still searching for a barn name for this colt, so fire away your suggestions! I'm getting to know him- he does have a bit of attitude, nowhere near as sweet as Mesa.

I had to halter him today so I could put an essential oil mix on his tight tendons on his right front. If he is still tippy toed by Monday I will see the vet about an Oxytet shot for him I think it is still effective at 3 days old. I did give him an E/selenium shot yesterday and will follow up with another one in 9 more days.

See how that right front he is stepping on his toe? It's because the tendons at the back of his leg are contracted from being cramped up in the womb; that was a lot of leg to fit in there!

There was another reason I haltered him today- heat stress.

See how his nostrils are all flared? It is pretty hot out for a newborn- another reason why I like to have colts in April or May here. It's easier to keep them warm than to cool them off.
So into the stall he went with mama, and I laid a wet towel on him.

I don't hose him or mama off because Belle freaks at the hose spray and I don't need this guy learning that. He seemed to like the wet towel treatment, it must have felt pretty good.

I only left it on long enough to cool him off. Then I put it on Belle- she wasn't overly impressed!

He was quite relaxed after the wet towel treatment, and you can see the difference in his nostrils and how he is breathing. That isn't sweat on him, it's just from the towel.

He has this nursing thing figured out from all angles now!

My horse chiro guy is coming tomorrow morning to work on Belle now that she has foaled out- I'm sure she will benefit especially after having such a big droopy belly for so long.

She was checking out a strange noise from the neighbour's pasture; mama in protect mode!

Welcome little one

 Belle foaled a buckskin colt at 3:45 this morning. A quick and easy birth, although the colt has tight tendons that makes him tippy toed on the front. I'll keep them confined and see if the tendons relax over the next day or so.
I am not declaring a winner yet, as it's close between Sahara (again!) and Cdncowgirl.  What I am going to do is send away for a dun factor test on him, as it is possible that he is a dunskin. His stripes and leg barring seem to be there but it's hard to tell just yet.

And he seems to have a shoulder patch too.

See the dark shading where his neck meets the body?
So since I am not 100% certain it isn't just counter shading, I am going to get him tested right away for dun factor.

Love his silvery ears!

Day 23 Coulee and a rope

It's confirmed that someone will be here on Saturday to look at Coulee. Not sure what she intends to use her for, but she is a feedlot rider, so Coulee may have to do some pen work or rope work. I have no doubt she will be good at pushing cows around and sorting them out of the pen- she is rather bossy!- but wasn't sure how she would do with a rope. Turns out she was pretty good.

She didn't mind me whirling the rope around her head and tossing it out front, and as you can see in the video was not bad at dragging it too.

Sure hope this gal likes her, Coulee really needs a job.

Day 22 Coulee and Rosalee

Hey everybody, update your Belle's foal poll guess! Only 3 of you still in the running!

Coulee was much better today, got a little ramped up when I asked for a lope but overall settled much quicker and I got some nice circles at the lope.

This picture makes me laugh, she looks like a fat floating balloon!

 In fact she was so good that I put the neighbour girl (NG) up on her and led her around, even did a few circles around me.

After we put her away, I brought out Rosalee and did the same program with her, and I put NG up on her for a longer ride. Rosalee was so relaxed. NG wanted to trot, so I showed her how to ask the mare to speed up by clicking to her and bumping with her legs, and to stop bumping when she trotted.

By the time we were done it was already too hot (8:30AM) so that was enough for one day.

I have confirmed Rosalee in foal, it has been 31 days since the last day she was bred and there is no sign of her coming in to heat. Due date is May 12, 2018!

Day 21- Coulee

I have someone expressing interest in Coulee, and hopefully will be coming this weekend to see her; so it was time to put Coulee back to work, I did ground work with her today, and I must say she wasn't overly impressed to be yanked out of the pasture and put to work.

Coulee was bad at first, didn't want to do anything I asked, just backed up with hard eyes. Finally get her circling and she wanted to hump up and quit and back up. So she got told- literally. I find that talking to her in a no nonsense voice helps her to smarten up.Getting after her with the flag or rope just makes her shut down. But once I got her thinking forward, she was good. She is better to the right than the left. I worked her at a working trot both directions for around 20 minutes, then did some changes of direction with hind end yields and sweeping her front end across, then back on the longe at a walk to finish up good.

Meanwhile Mesa was calling to her, but gave up after about 10 minutes. She had Rosalee for company.
 I did all this on the flat spot near the mare pen so baby would only be about 20 ft. away. I'll be doing this every morning while it's still cool out. It is supposed to get even hotter over the next week- up to 38 C- that's about 100.4 F. Way too hot to be working horses, so early mornings it is.

If all works well I will be have time to ride Rosalee too, I want to do the tires and maze in the saddle.

The neighbour's little girl wants to learn about horses so I showed her some stuff this morning and she got to lead Belle up to her grass pen. I promised her a ride on Beamer in a couple of days.

Poor Belle! She has to be very close, so anyone whose guess is outdated, please update it in the comments!