Critters

 I had a nice visit with Shayla the other day- and I got to see her new baby dwarf goat!

He's pretty darn cute!

And tiny! 4 days old in this photo. 

The cold snap sent me into hibernation, didn't do much except watch the Fort Worth rodeo on the Cowboy Channel and watch all the deer in the yard. They come right up to the house and clean up the spilled bird seed and check for sidewalk salt. 

They are into the hay now too, I had to cover the back side of the bales in the stack . The couldn't get into the bales I feed from so they headed over to the stack yard. Brats. 

The coyotes are pretty vocal lately. We have spotted them several times in the same area, just across the river from the mare's pasture.

We figure they have a den down there.

Velvet's (assumed) baby belly

I decided not to blanket Beamer for this cold snap- which only lasted 2 days- and he did very well. All haired up and not shivering. Yay, he has finally climatized to these Alberta winters again!

At least we have pretty skies in the morning and January is almost over. 

But that means... the dreaded February Blahs are coming!

The ride and the invaders

 The little ride I took on Ruby was just a short get-to-know-ya ride. First to check the saddle fit, and second to see how she would be after not having been ridden for 3 months. 

Over the winter she has gotten friendlier; she seems to be a fairly calm and uncomplicated mare. 

Saddling went a lot better this time; she didn't try to take me out with her hip like the last 2 times- mostly because I got after her last time I saddled her. Also, I was able to saddle her from the usual side without her dancing around. So, progress there. 

I had a bridle I wanted to try on her- this is the bridle I used when Ted and I got married on horseback 26 years ago; I had given it to a niece who was riding at the time, and she kindly gave it back to me now that she isn't riding. 

Yes, Ruby, it looks good on you!

I took precautions, wearing my helmet and having Ted there just in case Ruby had any objections. 

At the mounting block, she took a while to stand still, we did some round and round and  and lots of placing her, letting her stand, then moving her out again, until she got the idea that standing where I wanted her was a good idea. 

The weather has been very mild lately, enough so that the snow has softened and it wasn't too icy in the area I wanted to ride- basically, a nice flat area where Ted had plowed the snow up into a nice large pile at one end.... more on that later...

Ruby was good! She sure has a nice ground covering walk, her steering, stopping and back up were all in order.  That was pretty much all I wanted to know with that ride- now it will be all about getting to the indoor arena and really seeing what she's all about. They have obstacle play days there and that will give me good training opportunities and get her connected to me before trail riding season. I also want to do some roping training with her. It should be a good horse year for me!

So- about that large pile of snow...

Whaaaat? There's grass pushed up in that snow I had to check out!

We have a herd of deer who have moved back onto the farm. There are three bucks in that photo. 

Nice long tines for such a young buck, he has 3 tines each side. 

He came down from the snow pile...

and headed for Velvet's hay bale. Along with a couple of does. 

Busted!

I keep my panels around the bales, and a tarp over them which helps to keep them from totally destroying the bales- I have 3 bales set out in my feeding areas. 

From there they jumped over the fence towards the river, but as soon as I went back in the house they snuck back into the yard and headed out to the pasture where the rest of the herd was. There are up to a dozen deer here at any given time. In the middle of the night they come right to the house to lick the ice salt on the sidewalk, or check for grassy nibbles where the snow has melted next to the house. 

I foresee that gardening here is going to be a challenge. 

Sunday Silence

 

On raising/owning horses

 This is something I have been pondering lately.

Owning horses consumes so much of our lives. Time, money, personal relationships, activities- all is centered around these creatures. These beautiful, exasperating, amazing, soul-satisfying, often heart -wrenching beings who have shared our lives throughout time.

Historically, they have been war horses; from Atilla the Hun to the chariots of Egypt, to Bucephalus (Alexander the Great) to Reckless they have been instrumental in the stories of the rise and fall of nations. They have been used  as means of transportation longer than there have been trains, planes and automobiles. (I know, I'm preaching to the choir here) But in the greater scheme of things, when so many things have become passé why not the horse? 

The only answer I can find is that they touch our soul. They were made for us by God, and that is enough for me. I'm sure that my husband /family think that I spend too much of my life centered around my passion for horses, as it affects them also. But when the time comes when I can no longer have horses, it won't change who I am and what I want to do. I will still be that person who will say, Oh look-horses! when I pass by a field with them. I want to be like my old mentor. Al Grandchamp who climbed aboard a nice mare at the age of 93 and spent 5 hours in the saddle assisting at a clinic put on by a man he mentored- my other mentor, Walt Vermedahl. 

Me, Al and Walt many years ago

One of the things that I consider most important is helping youngsters to spend time with horses, help them to learn how to be around horses and to get them learning to ride. I have been blessed with  horses who were great with kids, including my beloved Beamer. Knowledge is no good if we keep it to ourselves, so I truly appreciate all those who teach and mentor young people in the art of horsemanship- and not just youth but older folks who strive to fulfil that need to learn more about horses. 

As far as raising horses go- one might think that there are an awful lot of horses out there so why raise more? I am pretty selective in my breeding practices, not putting many horses on the ground but the ones I do are good ones. Sure, anyone can go rescue a horse from a sale or a kill pen, but the folks who buy from breeders are looking for something specific. I hope that my horses, and the horses raised by responsible breeders can fill that need. (This is not a rant about all those unwanted and culled horses, so let's keep it civil, folks.) 

Midnight Moondance, one of my favourites. Dang I should have kept him!

I have been blessed throughout the years with many good horses- last time I counted was a few years ago at over 50 horses in my life- probably over 60 now- and I sure hope I will be able to keep it up for a good long time to come!

Wanted....

 The hand that feeds. 

This is what awaits me in the early morning at chore time. The mares come up to the top of their pen when they see the lights go on in the house, and they wait for me to come out. 

Then this morning there was a little blob en route to Beamer's barn....

That would be Smokey, waiting for me, he scampered ahead to the barn and went to his feed area.

That face! Who can resist! 

He's much less wary now, he let me get within a couple feet of him. 

Bandit was in her usual spot waiting at the gate.... I definitely felt wanted this morning!

All these ladies wanted was for me to finish chores so they could get back to nibbling hay. 

It's all good

 Yesterday's frosty morning persisted with a foggy day, in fact at evening chore time the sun looked like the moon!

However, it's hard to have winter blahs when you wake up to this:

And even if the temperature is -19C at morning chore time, it's still a good time when you are greeted with a little cat who waits at the gate for you- she  looks under the gate and looks for my feet....

and I call, Little Bandit! then she looks up and waits for me to rattle the gate chain before she moves away. 

Even little Smokey is getting less wild, he will wait in the feed area without moving a couple of feet away from me as I bustle about getting their kibble and fresh water. I guess the hand that feeds is not so scary after all! 

I visited the arena today, and was duly impressed with the set up. The people there are friendly, the arena and barn area are well set up and the whole atmosphere is low key and I instantly felt right at home there - and to top it off they have a coffee room with arena viewing! The arena has a round pen built into one end, and the remainder is plenty big enough. 

I signed their waiver and can't wait to get our truck on the road and get hauling!

TheresaA- I did ask a bit about their Andalusians. They almost got out of breeding their own but took on an old stallion they call Carlos that the previous owner was getting rid of all his horses due to his advanced age and was going to ship Carlos. He is a grey, I don't know any more about the bloodlines of their mares but will find out more as time goes on. They said he was "Mexican " trained... which apparently is not a good thing. 

Now I just have to be patient... 

Frosty

 This is a rather boring time of the month; all the Christmas/New Year hubub is over and one waits for the changing of the seasons with longing for those first signs of spring- alas, so far away yet!

So we dream and make plans ... I had my farrier out to trim the horses and asked him about indoor arenas locally. I mean, who would know better what's out there! He told me about 2 in the area, the local ag society one that I already knew about @280 to join and limit of 6 hours per week, renewable at the end of August. Nope, not going to use an indoor enough to make it worth the money. Then there is a private one, not too far away, with a $20 drop in fee- much better. They do a lot of cowboy challenge lessons, clinics and playdays there as well as practice days on the obstacles, so that might be a lot of fun. And- TheresaA- they raise Andalusians! I am heading up there on Thursday for a visit to scope it out. Should it be what I'm looking for, I can start hauling Ruby there as soon as we get our truck on the road- it needs a bit of work to be able to pass the inter-provincial inspection we need to do on it to get it insured in this province. 

Meanwhile, enjoy the day for what it is- namely, very frosty! We had a big hoar frost this morning at chore time. Photo op! 😀

First thing to catch my eye, the horseshoes on the top of the round pen gate.

Beamer is blanketless at this time, it warmed up enough to have him go nekkid, but he hung out in the barn last night so didn't get all frosted up. 

Little Bandit was waiting for me at the gate to her feeding area- she's darn near at that kitty underfoot stage, but not quite. 

The girls were only minimally frosted up- mostly in the mane for Ruby.

She does have a nice long mane, yay! 

Velvet had very little frost and was more concerned with munching than posing for photos. 

As soon as they are done with their current bale, I plan to separate the mares to adjoining pens, as it's time to start supplementing Velvet with her senior feed, so that she doesn't drop any weight as her foal grows. And it will be good to have Ruby separate so that Velvet gets used to it when I start hauling or riding off property. She will have to be content with just seeing Beamer. 

A few more frosty delights that caught my eye....

Short chains awaiting their use as gate closures

The former harness shop, now used as a garage/storage space

All those beautiful spruce trees that align the driveway

Sunshine and horses

 What can be better than that?

I had a great day yesterday helping Shayla out on the farm. First thing was discovering newborn piglets! The pot bellied pigs had a new litter, 5 little ones. So cute! (Is it called a litter with pigs? Enquiring minds want to know. )

Then we had a great photo shoot session with Shayla's young stallion, whose barn name is now Rex - and it suits him. He has learned some manners and was quite well behaved and easy to do the photo shoot. Very obliging young fellow as we  repositioned him many times for that perfect shot. 

He sure is a handsome fellow! I love those ears, just like Beamer's. 

Then we turned him loose in the hope of a couple of action shots....

and he didn't disappoint! He discovered the dirt pile too...

After that we turned Boe out to play, along with his little pony buddy, Bean. 

Taking photos at mid day in the bright sun with the brilliance of the snow made it a bit challenging to get a good light reading while panning for action, hence Boe looking darker than he actually is. Those two were really moving!

The day was topped off by the full moon, it must have been a supermoon as it was just huge. Ted came to pick me up just as the moon topped the trees. 

What a great day! I thoroughly enjoyed having a full day of doing farm stuff and horse stuff. Pigs, dogs, cats, horses, and oh yes- goats! Let's not forget them! Here is Tucker, the dwarf goat who is so darn cute I had to get his photo too. 

Happy new year!

 We ended 22 by spending a a quiet day, going to evening Mass followed by a very good potluck supper.

The last 2 weeks of the month sure included a lot of deaths. My saddle maker friend, Brian Ironmonger (I have had 2 of his saddles: the Wade I sold and the other one that I ride most often that I got the fiberglass tree repaired on) - he passed away Christmas Eve just before midnight; then Ian Tyson, the Canadian singer songwriter, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI  as well as two other people that we know. 

My key word for 2022 was mercy, and we did indeed receive mercy throughout the year, in our move and all the help we got from friends and family. We were blessed in many ways throughout the year. 

Jan 1 is my blogoversary; I have completed 15 years of blogging and am about to start year 16. I love being able to look back over the years so easily; not something you can do on other forms of social media. I sure do appreciate all you folks who have stuck with me over those years. 

This is Smoky, but it is also me checking to see if 2023 is going to be sane and safe....

We started off this year with Ted going to visit his dad while I went to see Shayla and Blake . I got to visit all the horses and help out a bit. Of course I just happened to have my good camera with me... 😁

Mama Belle is showing her age, she has arthritis in a knee now. Still one of my favourite horses. 

Jayne turns 21 this year and is doing really well. 

Gussie and her foal Evy hang out with a Percheron mare and her foal. I gave Shayla a hand holding Evy as Shayla trimmed her feet - Evy was very good!

She is going to look fantastic when she sheds out to her blue roan colour!

This is Rose, Shayla's half Arabian mare that some of you may remember from when she lived with my herd a few years ago. She has become a very good lesson horse for Shayla. 

My key word for this year is Faith. We can't see what the year will bring but we have to have faith that we will weather whatever storms, both literal and figurative, that life will throw at us in '23. 

May God bless you all and keep you safe.