Filling holes

It's funny how things happen. One minute all is the same and the next thing you know it isn't.
On Wednesday last week I was messing with the colts in the main pen, and Tay was hanging out watching  as she usually does. Next thing I knew she made a rapid dash into the pen and went for Eli's back legs- she didn't grip but she scared him. She has been doing this business of thinking she is helping even though she knows she is NOT allowed in the horse pens. A bit of a back story, last time Shayla was here, we were looking at the colts and her little dog Goose came into the pen and Eli reflexively kicked out and nailed her- you can be sure this is because of what Tay had been doing behind my back.
So... I had enough and decided then and there that Tay needed to move on to someone who doesn't have livestock. (or cats!)
Ted has a friend in Alberta who lost a border collie to cancer during the summer, and they were heartbroke about it and  looking for a replacement but not a puppy. So he called them and they were very interested and said they would take her, providing she got along with their other border collie who just happens to be Tess's littermate , and Tess and Luke are turning 13 at the end of this month. So a dog like Tay was perfect for them. They spent the weekend here and got along great!

She is going to get all the love her li'l heart desires! And in doing so she will fill the hole in Keith's heart left by the passing of his other dog. 

But wait....

That's not all.....

The day after I decided to rehome Tay I get a knock on my door and it's the guy who owns Tillie's dad. I was happy to see him because I had just been thinking of taking her down to see him that coming weekend after I had her to the vet's for her puppy shots. I wanted to show off my beautiful smart puppy. 

He just stood there and looked at her as I brought her out. We made a little small talk, then he said.... "I want her". Well, my jaw dropped and I must have had a deer in the headlights look! Then he told me the rest of the story: her sire had been hit and killed by a car, and he was heartbroken at his loss. So of course, I told him he could have Tillie, the only pup from the bloodline; we agreed that he would pay for her shots and I'd deliver her the next day. 

I am sure going to miss this little ankle biter! But once again, she was needed to fill the hole in someone's heart, and I know she will have a good life as he needs a dog to help with his sheep and cattle. He said she has a lot of her daddy's mannerisms.

So both Tay and her daughter are part of a bigger plan than what I had for them and I think they are both where they need to be.

As for me, I have my beautiful Tess who has always had all of my heart. No holes there!

End of summer

Summer is winding down....

As Eli's departure date comes closer, I have to say I am really happy with him. I can now hop him in the trailer and close the door while he eats his ration, and he is very good about it. He eats a bit then looks out the window openings to check on the herd and goes back to eating. He is standing tied very well, and picks up his feet easily- I do still need to file his back feet, but need someone to hold him for me, perhaps later this week. He is easy to catch and lead. He also doesn't mind fly spray.

Booncat is also making progress. He's easy to catch and is leading fairly well. I haven't tried standing tied with him yet, but that will come. Some of his training will wait until weaning time in October. I have been loading him in the trailer and taking him into the barn, so perhaps I will use the stall in the barn for teaching him to stand tied and get him eating ration, which so far he has no interest in.  Doing his feet is in the works for later this week too, as my friend Dave will be coming over to hold colts for me. Dave is 80 now, but you'd never know it. He is an old horseman and very good with the young ones.

My riding this year has really been sporadic. Partly because my trailer needs tires, but that should be remedied by the end of the month. Gussie is enjoying the time off!
We have mosquitoes now, for the first time this year. The recent wet weather is to blame for that, I'm sure! Poor Drifter got hit the worst, the skeeters must love his colour.

Yesterday was the first time for firing up the wood stove, it was just too darn damp and cold (74 degrees) in the house for me. I do so enjoy a good fire on a dreary day!

My flower gardens are hanging in there. The roses are on their final blooms as I am letting them develop their rose hips. Everything else is still happy though especially the zinnias and blue salvia. 

Tillie is getting very independent and active (read: into everything!) She comes to the barn with me every day, but I have to carry her past the neighbour's fence as their dog has a very loud scary bark that sends her hiding. I put her in the barn while I do chores and she is so good, sits near the back of the barn and just watches.

She is mostly house broke too, as long as I pay attention to getting her outside when she first wakes up. Her favourite way to pester her mama is to hang on to her tail as mama walks by and I sure hope that does not translate into horses tails! 

She will be 6 weeks old September 20th. She is very smart and already shows that she wants to work... poor Merle.... he's the only one small enough for her to work! She does leave the cats alone which is a good thing.

Riding a good horse and Tillie stuff

One last trip to the river before the cool fall days are upon us.

Oh yes, Beamer was walking well enough to ride him and I was pretty happy to get on my boy! I love how he strides out and enjoys every ride. Shayla rode Gussie, we were both bareback in the hopes that we could get them into the deep water.
Gussie was good! Shayla did get her out in the deep water, but Beamer wouldn't stand still enough for me to get good photos as I had to zoom in . He was quite certain that he didn't need to go any more than knee deep in the water!

Silly mare!

Love how you can see Goose through Gussie's legs

I am not getting much riding time now that I have the puppy, she does take up a lot of my time. I try to get things done while she has her midday nap, as I don't have her in a place where she is contained other than her open crate which she can now climb out of. I take her outside a lot, and have to supervise her now that she is mobile. Trying to keep her from eating my plants is an ongoing battle! She is into everything!

She is eating a small handful of soaked puppy chow every day now, and is she ever growing fast. She's a smart little thing considering that she isn't quite a month old (Monday Sept. 9 she will be 1 month.)

Riding day 58

Tillie Pupdate

Tillie is about 3 weeks old now. She is quite adorable!

Her potty training is going well, I just have to catch her as soon as she wakes up and take her outside to the pee spot (as defined by Merle!) It's right next to the oak barrel with some lovely petunias, so that of course makes for a great photo op.

Sniffing them...

and tasting them too!

Her eyes are still quite blue, and I hope they stay like that, it will remind me of Reba. Tillie's daddy has blue eyes.

Her nose and lips are filling in with black, and she has little toofers now too! Although I usually start pups on mash at 3 weeks I'm going to wait another week with her as she has no competition for food and is growing quite well. As soon as her teeth start annoying her mama I'll start her on the mash.

Finally a ride!

We'll start this post off with a family photo for National Dog Day.

The pup is getting quite mobile, and as soon as she wakes up I take her outside to pee, which works quite well. Hopefully she will be easy to train to not go in the house. 

I finally got to ride again. I put one of those Equine Streamz bands on my ankle and within 24 hours I had so much relief! Not 100% but good enough to go riding today. 

Come for a little ride with me! Gussie was a little lazy going out, she has had it pretty easy this summer so I decided to challenge her a bit. We rode down to the river at a spot that has an easy crossing.

Picture me with my camera in one hand and my split reins and a willow switch in the other hand trying to urge Gussie across! We got it done with much urging, she was reluctant to cross that rocky bottom river.

On the other side is a very steep hill, with spectacular views half way up and at the top. The half way up video wasn't worth sharing, too shaky, but here is the view from the top:

I think Gussie enjoyed the view as much as I did.

Or maybe she was just drooling over the equine buffet spread out before her......

At the top of the hill there are a couple of apple trees growing wild, so I grabbed a snack for me and Gussie.

On the way back I figured she would be a little more inclined to cross the river; sure enough!

We wound our way through the cool and welcome shade of the trees on the way back.

I love this horse so much! It's always a joy to ride her and I feel so at home on her. 

Riding day 57

There's always something going on!

Even when things don't go the way I want, there is lots to keep me busy and happy.
It has been a pretty low key week for me. I did get in another ride last week with a friend, just riding the river trails, and had plans for a couple of rides this week.... but that went downhill last Thursday. I was trimming Sassy's front feet and she wasn't too happy about it. I had her just ground tied and her foot on the hoof stand in front of her filing her toe and she sunk down and pulled back at the same time, hooking her leg around mine behind my knee and sent me flying. Needless to say I am pretty sore, fortunately just a soft tissue injury to my lower back but it sure does cramp my style! Hopefully I will be able to get back to riding next week.

Eli is looking great and almost completely shed out, just a few hairs left on his lower legs. He loaded really well last time I asked so I moved on to working on standing tied. I like to give colts a reason to do things, so I put his food within reach at the hitching rail and just looped the lead rope 3 times around the rail; it gives just enough resistance so that he feels it but will slip if he spooks at something or pulls hard.

He is also getting quite accustomed to the dog and cats being underfoot- or, in the case of Thumper- under nose!

I also noticed that he has a good sprinkling of white hairs on his flanks, just like Mesa does. It must come from Beamer's mama, who was a black rabicano. Eli is also getting really good with his feet, letting me lightly run the rasp over all 4 while he was eating. So when Mel comes next time we should be able to complete his trim without much drama.
Drifter is really looking good (and my how he has grown!) I took some photos yesterday when I turned him out- just cell phone photos, times like this I really miss my Nikon.

He's going to be stunning when he's all grown up! He's a good boy and really smart too. It took only once to train him that he isn't allowed in the shelter when  I am in there either cleaning it or putting his food out. But it doesn't mean that he doesn't get up to no good! Look what he did to my stall fork which was leaning against the shelter while I put his hay out....

Dang! I hate it when that happens! I  saw somewhere that they are making a fork that can withstand being stomped and bent, I hope I can find one! Meanwhile, he just had to play with it... what the heck it's ruined anyway; let him have some fun.

And I can't go without sharing a really cute puppy video! She now has a name- Tillie. She is 2 weeks old now and finding her legs and her voice. She is quite entertaining! 

Riding day 56