Random photo's today

Took the camera out to "try" to take photos with the results most are of nostrils, noses, horses chewing or butts! A few not headed directly for delete follow.

View from one of the pastures.  It would make a wonderful backdrop to the posed photos if we ever get those taken.  Las Doradas Calypso Queen (left) and her daughter Wesco Farms Jamaica Me Crazy (right).  Two of the under 28" Minis here.

West Coast Buena Callita, 22 years young.  We retired her, but she's still cycling and in good body condition so .... maybe a date with WCR Top Cop this year. If she's guarantee a filly I'd happily breed her!  She's always been fairly heavy producing colts, though.  I only have Baybee here, who is expecting in the next few weeks.

 

Wesco Farms ET's Secret Affair aka Keiga (top).  His blue roan is showing through his rubbed spots. Two months old and thinks he owns the world. Bruiser's roan isn't showing yet but he's not into using everything including humans as scratching posts. I'm leaning towards Bruiser's registered name Wesco Farms Twist of Fate, as if Ringo wasn't a jumper he wouldn't be here!

Wesco Farms April Sunshine BB (Bonus Bucks x Sarah) and Wesco Farms While You Were Sleeping FF aka Surprise (Frenchie x Twila).  Both are yearlings with close to 7" height difference. April is under 27" while Surpise is taller than her dam Twila and I'm going to hold my breathe she stays under 34".  Surprise's color? Silver buckskin?  We're still not sure. April will be off to Colorado in June.  We're going to miss her. One of those if the deal falls through - it would be a win - ROFL!

The Ten Must Have's in your Foaling Kit

Foaling Kits are important to have prepped and ready.  You can't cover everything, but most normal and many problem deliveries can be handled if you're prepared.

I'm sure everyone has their own personal set up and favorite 'must have' items.  We've tried different containers, stuff over the year and for the past few have used two plastic tubs - clear with lids - one the most used items, the other the dry items - blankets, rags, towel.  There are more things we keep on hand for foaling, and between January-February we take stock, clean or reorder as needed.

I have a dystocia chart that I review annually (also the books Blessed Are the Broodmares/Blessed Are the Foals).  I've delivered over 150 foals (I'm going to actually count one day!), but a refresher always helps!  It's good to know what you're feeling inside to match that mental image of a foals structure.

Other very important prefoaling must do - make sure your trailer is ready to go should you have to transport quickly.  If you can, have it hooked up just in case or at least ready!

   

Main foaling kit  - 

1. Nolvason and a bottle/bucket to prepare a dilution (for dipping the cord and/or sterilizing hands, etc.) I use an old style film case or shot glass size jar for dipping and a bucket for everything else.
   
2. Petroleum Jelly (vaseline is a name brand) for lubing.  I buy these at the Dollar stores and use one tub per incident (no mixing or contaminating that way)
   
3. Clean towels, rags and a large sheet (dry off the foal, clean up mare, self) The sheet I like to put under the mare for clean delivery)
   
4. Clean pair of scissors (sterilize with the nolvason)
   
5. Miner's headlamp (you wear on your head for hands free light)
   
6. Phone with the vets telephone number preprogrammed  (not in the kit but ready)
   
7. Extra pair of hands (friend, child, spouse) Okay hard to pack but oh so helpful!
   
8. Garbage Bag for placenta
   
9. Halter & lead for the mare
10. Rubber gloves (Honestly I rarely use these, nolvason clean hands/short nails works)

**This is our bare bones most used items.  We do have other items should we need them (colostrum, syringes, bottles, other blankets, chains/ropes, all kinds of useful items that can be grabbed/used in a pinch


Post Foaling Kit -

1. Banamine (dose mare after foaling) with fresh syringe
   
2. Ivermectin (dose mare after foaling) with fresh syringe
   
3. Foal Blanket (a couple different sizes)
   
4. Child size enema (dump out the contents and filled with warm water and a drop of soap)
   
5. Udderly EZ (the easiest way to milk a mare) with clean bottles and 60cc syringe
   
6. Foal Response (dose the foal)
7. Child's nasal aspirator (in case nose's need to be cleared)
8. Digital thermometer (I buy new every year)
9. Camera for that first baby photo (check the battery/card so its ready)
   

This year, I've been keeping the post foaling things in two gallon-size ziplock bags as its the stuff we need after the foal is out.  

So, what's your 'Must Have' items?

** Foaling Chart (not dystocia only)
** Foaling Chart (same as above, also available a mare & stallion reproductive chart)

Low Cost Gelding Clinic - FYI

Caught this on Craigslist.  I'm not sure if they are/aren't accepting Minis but putting this out for anyone that may need to have a horse gelded or knows others that do.

----

Low Cost Gelding Clinic - $75 (Auburn)

---

Date: 2010-04-22, 2:05PM PDT
Reply to: sale-djuwv-1704887149@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

BACK IN THE SADDLE PROJECT has teamed up with local equine veterinarians to help limit the number of unwanted horses in our area, by offering a low cost gelding clinic.Our clinic is designed to help horse owners who due to the economy are without funds to castrate their stallions. With horse rescue and abandonment on the rise, we believe that proper population control is one of the missing links to containing the unwanted horse epidemic. Through our program, we hope to limit the number of stallions breeding and educate stallion owners on reponsible breeding practices.

WHEN: Saturday May 15th
WHERE:Auburn CA
TIME:7:30 drop off 4:30 pick up

If you are interested in our clinic please fill out a gelding clinic form at http://www.backinthesaddleproject.com/geldingform.html. If you are interested in helping to sponsor a horse or would like to talk with BITS about becoming a partner in our campaign please email Jamie at jamie@backinthesaddleproject.com. Do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help!

Miscellaneous Monday

Horse-aholics Anonymous

I AM a horse-aholic. I would like to welcome all of you to this month's online meeting of Horse-Aholics Anonymous.You may be sitting there thinking that you are OK, and don't really need any help. It is not easy to realize that you are ahorse-aholic, and even harder to bring yourself to an HA meeting for help. HA is here to assist you. I have some questions to ask to try to determine if you can be helped.


1. Can you say 'sheath' in public without blushing?
2. Do you know exactly what 'snaffle' means? (No,it is not a drink!)
. Do you drive a truck with some type of towing package and/or dual rear wheel when everyone else you know drives a real car?
4. Do you have more than one type of trailer because you own horses?
5. Do you spend your holidays going to shows, sales, clinics, and seminars when everyone else goes on cruises?
6. Do you discuss things at the dinner table that would make a doctor leave in disgust?
7. Do you consider formal wear clean jeans and freshly scraped boots?
8. Does the inside of your home look like your interior decorator is 'State Line Tack'?
9. Do you often have barn boots on porch facing the barn??
10. Is your mail made up primarily of breed magazines and horse catalogs?
11. Do your shirt pockets often contain bits of feed, hay, and empty syringe covers?
12. Do you worry about paying your monthly feedbill before you think of paying your electric bill?
13. When you meet a person, do you ask how many horses they have, and pity them if the answer is none?
14. Do you remember the name of a great-great-greatgrandsire when you can't remember your own Great grandfather's name?
15. Is your primary dream in life to breed the perfect foal?
16. Do you find non-horse people boring?
17. Is 99% of your e-mail about horses?
18. Do you have a collection of bits even larger than your collection of horses?
19. Does you halter collection include more than four foal halters, all the same size?
20. Do you know more than five people this list fits exactly?
If you answered YES to three of these questions, you are in pretty good shape. You will lead a long, dull life, and never call your mother and tell her "I'm in the hospital, but everything is fine! The horse is ok."


If you answered YES to 10, you are in serious trouble. Give in gracefully, and become a member of Horse-Aholics Anonymous, now!!! You will qualify eventually anyway.


If you answered YES to 15 or more, you are incurable. My advice to those who, like me, are incurable is as follows..... Sit back, smile, read your email, and know that your life will always be filled with good friends and better horses, and it will never be boring.            (author unknown)

The Red Bag Delivery

The Red Bag Delivery

by Pat Elder of Rosa Roca Training Stables

The big day has finally arrived.

Your pregnant mare, the one you've been watching now for two long, nearly sleepless, weeks, is in labor. Unused adrenaline is making your knees tremble as you peer over the top of the stall door, watching her as she circles and paws the bedding nervously. Any minute, you'll see the foal you've been planning on for the past eleven months. Her water breaks --- it won't be long now.


You've read all the books, you've picked your veterinarian's brain. You even brought that video that showed several foals being born. You're ready. You know what to do. Your foaling kit is at your feet, your phone in your hand in case the vet is needed. You take a deep breath to calm your jangling nerves.


Your mare goes down and starts to push, lying flat out on her side. What is taking so long? Shouldn't the water bag have appeared by now? Your heart starts to pound a bit faster. Then, you see a bag appearing. But it's not the whitish membrane you've been expecting. Instead, it's blood red and bumpy.


It's a red bag delivery!


You've read about these, but do you know what to do? Frantically, you dial up the vet, praying that he is not out on another emergency. Meanwhile, the mare is still pushing . . .


Red bag deliveries, or premature placental separations, are frightening, even after you've seen several. The foal is in immediate threat of suffocation. Unless someone is standing by, ready and knowledgeable enough to assist, its young life will end in the next few minutes.


The mare herself is in no particular danger, unless the foal is improperly positioned. Usually, the foal, placenta and all, will be delivered normally. The foal, trapped within the thick sack that it is unable to break, will perish. But if you know how to assist, its life can usually be saved.


The most important thing to remember in a red bag delivery is that there is not a minute to spare. The placenta, which has been supplying the foal with oxygen throughout its gestation, is no longer doing so. The foal will soon start trying to breathe, but it will inhale only fluids, not air. It must be delivered quickly if it is to have a chance at survival.

(Aim for the 'star' its the easiest part to get through, 

this is an intact placenta from a preemie abortion)

One of the most difficult things about a red bag delivery is breaking open the placenta. It is tough and slippery, and almost impossible to tear with your bare hands. A knife would do it, but could be dangerous to mare or foal should it slip, or should it be dropped in the bedding when you have your hands full of foal. I have found that one of the best tools for cutting the placenta is inexpensive and safe. I use a "craft stick" (also known as a tongue depressor) cut off on one end at a sharp angle. You can buy bags of these at any craft store or craft department. A heavy pair of scissors will cut them. You want a sharp point. Stick 
several of these in your foaling kit. As soon as you see the red bag, even before it begins to emerge, use one to slice the bag open. Immediately reach into the mare and feel for the water bag. Cut it open, too. Then, drop the stick and reach in for the foal.


Do you feel two hooves and a nose? If so, grasp the front feet and pull in time with the mare's contractions. You must get the foal out quickly if you're going to save it, but don't injure your mare in the process. Once you get the front feet out a few inches, stagger them so that one is ahead of the other and continue to pull. Remember to always pull the foal down towards the mare's hocks, not straight out. Do not wait for the mare to push the foal out by herself. Remember that the foal is not getting oxygen!


As soon as you have gotten the body delivered, and the foal's chest is no longer constricted by the birth canal, make sure it starts to breathe. You will likely hear gurgling sounds from the fluid it has inhaled. Gently squeeze some of the moisture out by holding the bridge of the nose between thumb and forefinger and sliding your hand down towards its nostrils. If you have a towel handy, this will help as well. Stimulate the baby by vigorously rubbing it and by scratching the ticklish spot in the middle of its back. It should begin to try to raise its head. If the foal is still not breathing well, or still gurgling, now is a good time to call the vet. If you have someone with you, have him or her do it so you can continue to assist the foal. You may have to pick it up by its back feet and let some of the fluid drain from its lungs.


Don't give up! I've seen some foals that looked nearly dead survive. Keep stimulating the foal until its breathing improves and it starts trying to get up. Then, pull it around to the mare so that she can stimulate it herself. But keep a close eye on it until your vet arrives.


A friend's miniature mare recently had her second red bag delivery in two years. Fortunately, we were present both times and saved the foals. I consulted our equine vet shortly after the last one. One cause of red bag deliveries, he told me, was thought to be a premature opening of the cervix. This allows bacteria to invade the uterus and the placenta becomes infected. He said that in the case of a mare who has red bagged more than once, he would recommend starting her on oral antibiotics, such as SMZ or Metronidazole, one month before due date. He said that in some cases, he will go in vaginally and infuse an antibiotic as well. Hopefully, if the infection can be stopped, the premature separation of the placenta can be avoided. I recommend you consult your own veterinarian and follow his advice.


Red bag deliveries are, fortunately, not common. But they can and do happen. By preparing yourself --- and your foaling kit --- you can keep them from being a disaster.


ADDENDUM, July, 2002: The miniature mare mentioned in the above article was put on oral Metronidazole one month prior to her expected due date. I am pleased to announce that she foaled normally this year. However, two of my miniature mares, neither with a history of foaling problems, red bagged. Fortunately, I was present at both births and was able to successfully deliver their foals.

Reprinted with permission from the author
. (This article was published in the Miniature Horse World magazine early in 2002.)
Red Bag photo courtesy of Laura Kidder, Cloud9Walkers.com   

OTHER RESOURCES: 


HorseChannel.com - Red Bag Delivery


Foaling Books on Amazon:
  

AMHA dates reminder

IMPORTANT DATES & DEADLINES
April 21 - Deadline to submit ad for Championship Premium Book
April 26 - Deadline to reserve ad space for the June/July Miniature Horse World which is the last issue before the Western Championship Show! 
May 1 - Studbook Online subscription changes to $45/year
May 21 - Deadline to submit ad for World Premium Book
June 1 - Deadline to nominate your gelding in the Ultimate Gelding Program
June 10 - 13 - Board of Director's Meeting - Irving, Texas
July 23 - Deadline to apply for 2010 Youth/Amateur Scholarship

2010 AMHA Championship Show Dates & Locations

Visit us online to learn more & see the judges for each show!

July 22-25, 2010

Western Championship Show

Reno, Nevada

August 5-8, 2010

Central Championship Show

Valley Center, Kansas

August 12-15, 2010

Eastern Championship Show

Springfield, Ohio

September 24 - October 2, 2010*2010 AMHA World Show Ft Worth, Texas 
* Please note:  Classes will begin on Friday, September 24
The list of judges can be found online.

Scurry Races

I received this as from the Northwest Miniature Horse yahoo group and thought some would find it interesting.

Looks great and lots of fun Amy!

Posted by: amylacy1 at gmail.com

Mon Apr 19, 2010 7:45 am (PDT) 

 

Ally and I attended the Scurry Races at Heron Landing Farm in Fall City yesterday. It was amazing fun!

Pam is thinking of making it a monthly event and part of a series. If you are afraid it will ruin your driving horses' trot, don't be! Just look at how Ally stretches into a beautiful walk right after her run. The galloping and turning has done nothing but improve her.

Her balance is exceptional!

There is one pattern called the Weaves, where you weave around cones. Ally has learned to change leads each time, she skips like she is dancing! I really hope that the NW drivers will support this new activity. Come and play next month! We are also having the EI Driving Trial and Pleasure Pace at Pam's farm on June 5, with lessons from Drew Callahan on June 4 and 6. It is a superb place to drive, wonderful footing, very safe. I hope plenty of people put these events on their calendar.

Here is a video of Ally and I in our last run of the day, the Jackpot!

To learn more about Pam's farm: http://www.horse-medicine.org/home.html
To learn more about the EI event:
http://www.equestriansinstitute.org/wroot09/einews/calendar/calendar.html

Amy Lacy
Finch Meadow Farm
Performance Miniatures
Monroe, WA

Miscellaneous Monday

GLOSSARY OF HORSE TERMS

• Auction - A popular social gathering where you can change a horse from a financial liability into a liquid asset.
• Azorturia (Monday Morning Disease) - a condition brought on by showing horses all weekend. Symptoms include the feeling of dread at having to get out of bed on Mondays and go to work or school.
• Barn Sour - An affliction common to horse people in northern climates during the winter months. Trudging through deep snow, pushing wheelbarrows through snow and beating out frozen water buckets tend to bring on this condition rapidly.
• Big Name Trainer - Cult Leader: Horse owners follow them blindly, will gladly sell their homes, spend their children's college funds and their IRA's to support them- as they have a direct link to "The Most High Ones" (Judges).
• Bog Spavin - The feeling of panic when riding through marshy area. Also used to refer to horses who throw a fit at having to go through water puddles.
• Colic - The gastrointestinal result of eating at the food stands at horse shows.
• Colt - What your mare always gives you when you want a filly.
• Contracted foot - The involuntary/instant reflex of curling one's toes up - right before a horse steps on your foot.
• Corn - small callus growths formed from the continual wearing of cowboy boots.
• Endurance ride - The end result when your horse spooks and runs away with you in the woods.
• Equitation - The ability to keep a smile on your face and proper posture while your horse tries to crowhop, shy and buck his way around a show ring.
• Feed - Expensive substance utilized in the manufacture of large quantities of manure.
• Fences - Decorative perimeter structures built to give a horse something to chew on, scratch against and jump over (see inbreeding).
• Flies - The excuse of choice a horse uses so he can kick you, buck you off or knock you over - he cannot be punished.
• Founder - The discovery of your loose mare some miles from your farm, usually in a flower bed or cornfield. Used like: "Hey, honey, I found'er."
• Gallop - The customary gait a horse chooses when returning to the barn.
• Gates - Wooden or metal structures built to amuse horses.
• Green Broke - The color of the face of the person who has just gotten the training bill from the Big Name Trainer...
• Grooming - The fine art of brushing the dirt from one's horse and applying it to your own body.
• Hay - A green itchy material that collects between layers of clothing, especially in unmentionable places.
• Heaves - The act of unloading a truckful of hay.
• Hobbles - Describes the walking gait of a horse owner after his/her foot has been stepped on by his/her horse.
• Hock - The financial condition that a horse owner goes into.
• Inbreeding - The breeding results of broken/inadequate pasture fencing.
• Jumping - The characteristic movement that an equine makes when given a vaccine or has his hooves trimmed.
• Lameness - The condition of most riders after the first few rides each year; can be a chronic condition in weekend riders.
• Longeing - A training method a horse uses on its owner with the purpose of making the owner spin in circles-rendering the owner dizzy and light-headed so that they get sick and pass out, so the horse can go back to grazing.
• Manure spreader - Horse traders
• Mustang - The type of horse your husband would gladly trade your favorite one for...preferably in a red convertible and V-8.
• Overreaching - A descriptive term used to explain the condition your credit cards are in by the end of show season.
• Pinto - A colorful (usually green) coat pattern found on a freshly washed and sparkling clean horse that was left unattended in his stall for ten minutes.
• Proud Flesh - The external reproductive organs flaunted by a stallion (and some geldings) when a horse of any gender is present. Often displayed in halter classes.
• Quarter Cracks - The comments that most Arabian owners make about the people who own Quarter Horses.
• Quittor - A term trainers have commonly used to refer to their clients who come to their senses and pull horses out of their barns.
• Race - What your heart does when you see the vet bill.
• Reins - Break-away leather device used to tie horses with.
• Sacking out - A condition caused by Sleeping Sickness (see below). The state of deep sleep a mare owner will be in at the time a mare actually goes into labor and foals.
• Saddle - An expensive leather contraption manufactured to give the rider a false sense of security. Comes in many styles, all feature built-in ejector seats.
• Saddle Sore - The way the rider's bottom feels the morning after the weekend at the horse show.
• Sleeping Sickness - A disease peculiar to mare owners while waiting for their mares to foal. Caused by nights of lost sleep, symptoms include irritability, red baggy eyes and a zombie-like waking state. Can last several weeks.
• Splint - An apparatus that can be applied to various body parts of a rider due to the parting of the ways of a horse and his passenger.
• Stall - What your truck does on the way to a horse show, fifty miles from the closest town.
• Twisted Gut - The feeling deep inside that most riders get before their classes at a show.
• Versatility - an owner's ability to shovel manure, fix fences and chase down a loose horse in one afternoon.
• Weaving - The movement a horse trailer makes while going down the road with a rambunctious horse in it.
• Whip Marks - The tell-tale raised welts on the face of a rider-caused by the trail rider directly in front of you letting a low hanging branch go. (Also caused by a wet or dry horse-tail across the face while cleaning hooves)
• Windpuffs - Stallion owners. Also applied to used car salesmen.
• Withers - The reason you'll seldom see a man riding bareback.
• Yearling - the age at which all horses completely forget the things you taught them previously.
• Youngstock - A general term used for all equines old enough to bite, kick or run you over, but not yet old enough to dump you on the ground.
• Zoo - The typical atmosphere around most horse farms.

Foal Response™

I've been using Foal Response™ for a four years now.  My feeling is it is a great boost for a very small cost on getting foals going.  I like to see foals up and active very quickly, plus I like the added boost this gives with the probiotics.

 We've had zero foal heat diahrrea since we've started using it - a bonus just in that - but that could also be attributed to de-worming mares the first 12 hours.  I'm a believer in that as well.

We purchase 5-6 tubes with our annual dewormer, vaccine, syringe, eye ointment order and use it all! It's ideal for older weanlings should they get an upset/colicy stomach too.  

You can purchase it through Jeffers, Valley Vet and a number of other online equine supply companies.  It runs around $12-13 a tube.  It is recommended to give the full tube, but we give half to one third depending on the size of the foal.

Below is the info sheet on Foal Response™.



Foal Response™
Premium Quality Bovine Colostrum with Essential Nutrients for Foals
• Formulated to provide newborns, older foals and weanlings with the optimum immediate care
nutrition they need
• Contains KPx™ Technology colostrum, rich in antibodies to stimulate immune response.
• Also contains probiotics and other essential nutrients
Colostrum: Nature's First Food Colostrum is the first milk produced by mammalian mothers at or around the time of birth. For most mammalian species, colostrum is well recognized as nature's "first food." Colostrum is more than milk though; it is one way in which the mother passes her immune system "knowledge" on to her newborn. Rich in antibodies, immune proteins produced by the mother's immune system, colostrum gives the baby the ability to recognize and fight the hosts of immune challenges it will face in the upcoming days, weeks, months and years ahead.
In some species, failure to receive colostrum as a newborn can even result in death. That's how important colostrum is to mammals.

Taking Colostrum to the Next Level: KPx Technology Vita Flex Nutrition uses only KPx Technology bovine colostrum in Foal Response. KPx colostrum is produced in the United States by a team of scientists and dairy farmers working side-by-side to create what may be the finest commercial colostrum produced. KPx cattle are given optimized diets and living environments, and the harvest period for each cow is strictly regulated. In FDA and USDA certified facilities, state-of-the-art filtration technologies are applied, down to the molecular level, to mine this optimized colostrum for its most bioactive properties. KPx may be the finest colostrum produced, and we're proud to say that we use it in Foal Response.
Bovine Colostrum for Horses? Yes! Many of the antibodies found in bovine colostrum are not species-specific.
This means that your horses can see beneficial results from supplementation with Foal Response. Studies have shown that bovine colostrum can successfully replace colostrum for other mammalian species. Although bovine colostrum cannot replace equine-specific antibodies to certain pathogens, it appears to stimulate overall immune competence to a level equal to that of babies that are fed mother's colostrum. Equines can greatly benefit from the KPx colostrum found in Foal Response.

Foal Response: More Than Just Colostrum! Newborn foals require much more than colostrum for optimal health and protection. Foal Response has been formulated to provide newborns with the optimum Immediate Care Nutrition that they need. Colostrum has been long-studied for its positive effects on the intestinal tracts of newborns, but colostrum is only one piece to the "puzzle." Probiotics have long been recognized as an important factor in gut health, and Foal Response provides the live microbials (probiotics) that may be missing in your foal's gut at the time of birth.

The KPx colostrum and probiotics found in Foal Response, along with other essential nutrients, make Foal Response an ideal supplement for newborns, older foals or weanlings.

For Breeding Farms and Backyard Breeders Alike Its combination of colostrum, direct-fed microbials and other essential nutrients can be of great benefit to every newborn. Every foal, whether born on a breeding farm or in your backyard barn, faces virtually the same set of immune and intestinal challenges. Whether breeding for sale or personal use, it is important to start your foal with the foundations for a long, healthy and fruitful life. Foal Response is formulated to address and meet these unique needs of the newborn, and will make an ideal addition to every supplement cabinet.
Recommended Feeding Warm to body temperature. Feed entire tube immediately following birth. Feed more Foal Response as needed or directed by veterinarian. DO NOT FEED TO CATTLE OR OTHER RUMINANTS.
KPx™ is a trademark of Apperon, Inc.
© 2005 Vita Flex Nutrition

Horse Humor (or Miscellaneous Monday)

You have two small bags packed and your horse has a trunk of clothes and half a pickup load of equipment.

You run a comb through your hair once in a weekend and call it good and then spend 2 hours a day - banding your horse's mane, combing out his tail, sanding his feet and applying hoof polish to show in a dirt arena.
- Your horse smells better than you.
- Your horse dresses better than you.
- Your horse eats better than you.
- Your horse gets more sleep than you.

People know your horse's name, his parents' names, his show record, etc. but all they know about you is "Aren't you the person who owns (insert your horse's name)?"

You spend hundreds of dollars on shavings, stall rent, entry fees, etc. and then can't decide whether you should buy a large or small lemonade for yourself.

You can sprain your ankle, break 3 fingernails, get a mild concussion, sprain your back, have someone back into your truck, get food poisoning, heatstroke, sunburn, lose your dog, lose your kid, and still call it a successful weekend because your horse won his class!

Clean up and uncovering stuff

Spent most of the day cleaning up old files on the PC.  Good thing to do on a really wet day.  I'm so glad the pregnant mares are holding out on foaling. Hate slogging through mud.  Bruiser was really put out this morning with the rain and refused to go out.  Just screamed at his dam, for being crazy enough to wander around in the rain to eat!

While I've been cleaning up the harddrive (getting ready to reformat this PC), I did uncover some gems that I've had stored away for years!  It's amazing what I keep... everything from feeding, to breeding to equine humor, etc.  Some of the old e-newsletter I sent out a few years back.

So, I've been redoing, updating some and will posting them on the blog.  I am crediting authors if known, and will definitely note those I haven't a clue who wrote them - so if anyone reads something that they can tell me the source I'd be thrilled to now that!  I'm also going to start listing just a few of the photos I've had stored for years - I think it's 500+ photos of Minis collected over the years.


Last night had the Kiega and Bruiser in the backyard.  They're so adorable together.  Fiesty little pair and take after Ringo - constantly dropped, checking out the mares!  Kiega is the friendlier of the two, but Bruiser will learn. 

Still watching Baybee and Chiclet.  I know Baybee is going to be hard to judge when she's due as we don't have a cover date, and she's a maiden.  Remy I seesaw - pregnant, fat, pregnant, fat.  So we're treating her as pregnant.
 
I did notice Libbe looks rounder than I she should be, but at this point I think everyone's secretly pregnant. 

Everyone is suspect to me!

The most PG looking horse here though is Ray, our gelding.  He's the old style mini and overweight as it is.  He loves his hay and doesn't miss feeding time ever.  He's one of the few that I've ever forced on a diet as he can get so chunky, so quickly.

Update...

I've been down sick with the flu or cold or whatever is going around Northern California.  Knocked me out for a few weeks, now I'm just dodging bronchitis or pneumonia.  So, updates are late and time with the horses has been minimal.  Yea for teenagers.

 GENERAL STUFF

Tomas was out, so the boys all were trimmed.  Glad that is out of the way, but we didn't get photos taken as planned.  The guys are still down here near the house (may summer here as they can't jump out!), so we'll get photo's taken.  My outstanding paperwork is really bugging me so - good, bad or indifferent the photos are being taken and submitted!

I know I mentioned the website will be moving to a new host in the next month, so it will be down for about a week.  I will be posting updates here and the sales list can be emailed to anyone in need during that time.

 

THE RINGO BOYS

Two down, couple more to go....

Ringo's boys are growing up (very few photos taken of #2 as I was down with the flu) but here is Kiega and little brother (the name Bruiser keeps roaming through my head) out in the field.

Carbon copy or what?  Matched blue roan driving team - rofl!!!   Actually they look more alike than in person, give Bruiser a few weeks to catch up to Kiega and they'll be hard to tell apart!

Now that he's a few weeks old LeeLee has stopped hovering and he's off with Kiega playing most of the day.

 

 
GETTING CLOSE
Baybee is on deck and with no cover date, we're watching her progress daily.  Not much of a bag but the foal is definitely getting into position.  Maiden mare, hope she won't be a hysterical one.

She's been in with ET since Kiega was little and watched Bruiser from birth so hopefully something has been absorped!  Baybee (Wesco Farms LM Buena Babyee Blues) is Callita's only daughter she had for me, lots of boys but very few daughters, so Baybee is definitely on my short list!

Although, I still kick myself for not calling Baybee - Got Milk.  Love her blue eyes and she has her sire's (Grosshill's Littlemans Anticipation) generous mane.

So, April will be mare watch and paperwork fun!  I know I have some outstanding phone calls to return, and need to get on that now that I have a voice again!