Whoo hoo - got up and the sun was shining!! 10 minutes later - dull, gray and probably to going to rain again, rained thru the night. Our dugout is overflowing, we have water where we haven't had any in over 10 years. Horses are grumpy, me too. Tired of being wet, tired of wearing rubber boots, tired of mud. I need SUN!!!!!!! Checked the forecast and they say it will clear tonite and chance of FROST on June 1st. Nice Wed and more rain on Thursday.
Wow, it's Sunday already - how did that happen? Must of been having too much fun enjoying the inch+ of rain followed by 4 inches of snow. So let's backtrack a bit.
By 1 pm Sunday, snow has stopped and is actually melting - there is hope!! Put the mares and foals out in the small pasture. Walter decides he likes Juliet better than his own mom and tucks in beside her and her foal. Dancer goes ballistic she can't see him, he's not answering her either. Thought crap, I am going to get killed sorting this out when he looks over at his mom - gives a little nicker and returns to her. Whew. So they are out enjoying some grass and fresh air and mud. I'm cleaning broodmare stalls.
Tuesday the 25th, I put Dancer down in the small pasture with Mini, they promptly disagreed and had a kicking match so Dancer got locked in a pen for timeout for bad behaviour. Went to town - came home and voila, Dancer has just foaled - a black tobiano colt who bounces up almost immediately. We left them outside till suppertime when Dave & Stacey figured that seeing their foal was a good excuse for a bike ride and came to inspect him.
Thursday, I put Dancer & Walter out for the day - kept my eye on them and he was acting kinda like a dummie foal, checked her bag and full to overflowing. Hmm, better bring them in & get him functioning a little better. He did nurse once but still acting dumb. So we milked the mare who was very co-operative, force fed him followed by a dessert of kaopectate. When I went to feed at supper, both mom and colt were talking to me. He had nursed on his own, bag looked normal - whoohoo, that was quick and easy. So I went in the stall to check his tail and bum to see if they were try and he expressed his displeasure by kicking at me. Even checked over his shoulder to get the angle right. Been practicing that ever since.
Friday -- things went south in terms of weather - rain as predicted, so Mini & Charleston along with Juliet & Rachel are back in the barn. Carol Rose & Rebecca along with Chickie have a huge dry shelter, rest of the mares disappeared into the bush out in the big pasture. The two now geldings have a shelter and we all hunker down.
Saturday - Bruce leaves for Mt very early. Cindy Kremer and I being typical horse people go visiting in the rain/snow to Sandy Kirtzingers place so Cindy can see Jose up close and personal. Her mares she leased out were bred to him. We also toured the whole herd inside and out with Sandy being our Tour Director.Then headed to Camrose with the truck heater on HIGH. Coming home we were greeted with snow, thick, heavy snow. Doing chores was more fun than one person needs to have. I fed Chickie and Carol Rose in their shelter so they and Rebecca could stay dry.
Whoo hoo -- got up this morning and discovered Carol Rose, our arthritic, 22 yr old mare had indeed foaled with no warning outside as planned. She is simply too stiff to do it in a stall and thankfully the weather cooperated and was decent. She has a lovely black tobiano filly with tiny, tipped in ears, no blue eyes though. Mom had cleaned by 6.30 am, filly was dry, had nursed, had a poop and was happily following her mom. What a great start to a day.
Yesterday was delousing day for the two geldings -- wore a mask, gloves and promptly took it all off as soon as I was finished. Did them at 9 am and by 11 am - dead lice (they look like tiny rice grains) were sitting on top of their hair coat. YUCK!! The stuff obviously works really well. So today we'll start grooming them, they get dewormed again this week, feet done, deloused again in two weeks and should be ready for their new owners in a couple of weeks.
Also got my little deck on the feed room finished - needs to be painted and doors cut down and put back on the shed. Looks pretty spiffy if I do say so myself.
Next project is the big water fountain!!
Stacey's big tobiano mare has big gobs of wax this morning so hopefully she will foal in the next 24 hrs. She's in the barn under the camera. Could be a homozygous foal which would be super.
Well, Sunday, May 23rd and it is still cold and rainy -- we have enough now for a bit, need some sun and warm weather to put it to use. Horses are grumpy and we have real, boot sucking mud.
Yesterday Cindy Kremer loaded up her lovely roan mare Phyllis, and we added Bellarosa and Penelope to the trailer and headed off to Sharon Tegarts place for their date with Harry, the roan Gypsy Vanner owned by Linda Bonham. He is very cute, 13.2, tons of hair, super quiet and user friendly. Tracey Read came over for a quick visit so had a good time. Even harassed Hap for a little bit. Then we headed off to the other side of the hwy for a dog coursing event stopping at a yard sale enroute where I got a few treasures. Man the wind was blowing, people were chilly, but their dogs were tucked away in covered pens when not running. Cindys wolfhound, Libby that she courses with is pregnant so stayed home while Cindy visited with friends, and we watched a few races. These dogs love their jobs in life. Stopped for great ribs in Red Deer on the way home - Overall a great road trip.
At noon between vet visits we went to the Firehall Diner in South Cooking Lake. Door was locked so we went thru the convenience store attached to it. The server working there explained that they can't open till exactly noon so that is why the door is locked. Hmm, 12.05 per their clock. We are the first customers - order two grilled cheese and soup because we only have a short time. Place fills up fairly quickly. Takes 15 minutes for the server to get people their drinks - one at a time.
At 12.20 I ask nicely about our sandwiches only to be told there is only one cook who hasn't even got the damn bread out of the bag yet. I explain we are in a hurry as we have a vet appt. and have a two week old filly in the trailer.
At 12.40 I hear order up - assume it has to be ours -- wait while this girl tries to figure out an order to ring up and wait and wait and wait. Finally I lose it - say in a loud voice - give me the damn sandwiches in my hand because it will take her 10 minutes to put them in a box and shove the soup ---- mass panic between the cook and server ensue. Get the sandwiches partially wrapped in tin foil and they are fucking COLD!! So I throw them on the counter in the kitchen and leave. Gal in the convenience store asks what is happening - I explain, she goes into the diner where the server has her hands on the till trying to figure out how to refund money to the people who came in behind us who were also tired of waiting and demands they give us our money back ----- cook says how could the sandwiches be cold when they came right off the grill -- yep, they did and sat for 5 minutes while the brain dead server was trying to add up an order.
I left - told the store gal to get my money from the diner and I would come back later -- so after 45 minutes we had no lunch and no money, but a full dose of frustration. Guy in the store had also given up waiting for a sandwich too the day before.
Brief updates: Our client Sea Air told Bruce to be at the airport early so he could be first in line when the horses came off the plane. And yep, he was first in line, but his horses were the last to unload. LOL!! So much for the early bird get the worm thought. The leveler though was although the other trailers were loaded ahead of Bruce, they don't let anyone leave until all the horses are loaded.
And the two colts went to the vets today, loaded like pros - but they have been around the province lots - were gelded, wolf teeth removed and were alert and ready to come home when we got back there. Bad news - the little suckers have LICE. I've never had a horse with lice in my life. Once had one mare with moose ticks - figured she found him handsome and got up close and personal with Mr Moose way back in the bush at the end of the property because none of the other horses had any. So they have to be dusted twice to kill them. Lovely, they have wooly hair like mammoths and you have to rub this stuff in really well. Label says if you inhale and stop breathing -- call 911. Now if you are home alone doing this - how the hell are you supposed to call 911. DUH!!
Mini and The Vampire (who now reverts back to Charleston as he had his face washed again) are home c/w drugs and spray. Gash is looking good and will hopefully heal quickly.
Today was a very sad day for me. I had to retire the last stainless steel pot from the set I bought when I ran away from home at 16 to keep a girlfriend company. A mere 63 yrs ago - got them on weekly payments from a door to door salesman. I had the whole set up till about 4 yrs ago when the dutch oven developed a hole in the bottom. I even called General Steel Wares who made them about 6 blocks from where I lived - sadly they longer make pots and pans. Thinking I should have a burying ceremony for the last remaining pot.
The good news today was we got some rain last night and some more this afternoon and more is on the way -- we will have hay and pasture this summer.
Last fall I sold two weanling colts to a young fellow wanting to be a trainer. Last night, they were delivered back to me by his last employer where he left them over a month ago. I hear thru the grapevine they were wintered out on pasture with no feed. They look like shit. Big pot bellies, so obviously wormy, big headed looking meaning lack of proper food, have hair like a wooly mammoth and just look unloved. Dennis is out of our superior pleasure mare who was third at the world show and Mark out of our Regal Remark TB mare and sired by quite a good sire. So not throwaways by any means. They ate every piece of feed in their pen last night. So took before px this morning, dewormed them. Going to feed them a coat supplement, calf manna, rolled oats and barley to get them looking healthy and happy again. Gelding happens later this week. Then we'll find them good homes. Anyone interested in a cute performance bred tobiano or gray overo gelding let me know.
Gotta love selling horses. I list Bellarosa and Penelope for sale. Get an email saying yes, we are interested in buying them, can you breed her back -- no problem I said. Next email says we will send a check - now my first clue should have the lack of a last name but fairly trusting person. Two+ weeks pass - no check. So I email the buyers --- "Oh, we'll just deposit it to your bank account" - Hmm, would like to know your name first. Got that done -- wait for the deposit which of course never happens. Biting my tongue and restraining myself from telling them how I really feel - I email them - "said no deposit, no check so obviously you have changed your mind about the purchase, and thanks for your initial interest in Belle and her filly. -- They fell off the face of the earth apparently.
Soooo -- turn lemons into lemonade, I am going to take advantage of an offer to breed her to a Gypsy Vanner - a fancy blue roan boy that a friend owns. That should be one very cool foal.
Double header for the boys. When I put the mares out yesterday (May 13) both had lots of wax so I kept an eye on them thru the day and put them back in around 6.30 pm. Came in the house around 7 - started supper, talking to Bruce on the phone, decide to turn the camera on and discover Mini is already down and foaling. By the time I get there, he has arrived. Tall, very good bay tobiano colt named Charleston. Mom cleans right away - he eats, needs a bit of help pooping and good. Mom is even laid back for her. Supper turned to charcoal.
Turn the camera onto Beverly and head off to bed around mid nite. Around 4 am -- I look and there is a baby in her stall. Tall, black tovero colt with two blue eyes, greets me at the stall door to say hi. Mom has cleaned, he is dry, has eaten, pooped and ready to go. Pictures to follow
