Rain, hay and horses

It's raining - yeah!  

It's cooler than normal, or so it seems - we've had the weirdest weather this year.  But it's raining!!!!!  

We need the rain, so I'm glad for that.  Not for the mud though.  We have that adobe thick, stick-to-you, type mud that turns into hardscape, unwalkable, cracked yuck the minute it dries.  It would be fantastic if I wanted to build a mud house, but otherwise . . . pass!  Fortunately the ground is absorbing the rain nicely and the mud isn't getting deep.

Hay

Fortunately, our hay order was delivered and stored during a break in the weather yesterday, so it didn't get soaked.  Hay price was lower  (another yeah) down to $13.50 a bale alfalfa.  So hoping the price will drop more once we than can start harvesting.  I know we'll never see the other side of $10 again, but wouldn't that be sweet!                                                          

Cameras

We worked for an hour on the cameras t0 watch the mares at night and I can't get the dang cameras to work outside.  How do you forget something in a year?  They'll work in the house, but move to the deck and nope!  I think I have an antenna somewhere - maybe that's the problem.  I'll have to go through the box again . . .  Being sleep deprived, is not making me a happy camper right now.

Horses

Otherwise the horses are doing well.  Everyone looks good with only a few tubby, non-pregnant ones.  I can't keep Ray trimmed down, he has the old style build like his Dad (Houdini) and always is round.  Add to that an enormous love to eat and he's a chunky monkey.

Funny Sonnet, finally has someone to bully - she was chasing poor Savvy around.  Savvy is so docile and sweet, to be chased by Sonnet (who's glad not to be the lowest horse in the pecking order anymore!), was borderline comical.  I always think Savvy is getting pushed off her hay, but her figure tells another story - I can't get her trimmed down either.

Looking at Java today, I'm wondering if she might beat Chiclet to the punch with the next foal.  Calypso is bagged too, so ???   I'd love 2 busy days of lots of mares foaling and be done with it - if they're all born alive and healthy that is.  This is sleep deprivation speaking right now!!!

Well I best go be productive.  Maybe track down the antenna that might be the missing link with the cameras.  argh

No more babies yet

Feeding this a.m. noticed we're down to a few bales of alfalfa (lots of grass hay), so called Higbys to get a delivery.  Scott said tomorrow.  Yes!!

Went down to feed the boys and noticed they'd knocked over both water buckets and they're 'drinking spot was a lovely 5" deep mud hole.  The brats.  So waded into the well over ankle deep mud to move the hose and reset up buckets.  Now they won't play with horse toys but give them something they need such as a water bucket they're all over it!

Opening the gate to get in Demon, Miramax and Bonus Bucks raced to meet me.  The gate to get to the house and closer to mares.  Poor boys - they have another year to wait.

It rained today, so hoped it would encourage one of the hold outs to foal, but so far no dice!  

We were gone for a few hours for important stuff (hair cut/color and family visit), so came home to wonderful rainy wet hills - yeah!  Doing a mental raindance for = rain, dryout, rain, dryout for another month or so!

Had to grab Miss April that had somehow in the hour between my son getting home and my arrival managed to pull the velcro off her blanket (likely Sarah did that), and flip the blanket under her belly to drag through the wet mud.  She's such a goof.  Tiny, cute and goofy fun!

Long day, I'm tired and much today before Easter weekend.

Over the weekend

As I was still recovering from this cold/flu - nothing exceptional happened here.  The pregnant mares are still faking the 2 a.m. foaling and not!  So, I'm sleep deprived with still only one foal on the ground!

I did work on our website quite a bit - WescoFarms.com - but its so darn bloated at this point its going to be work to trim it down!!!  But I will, I just need to keep plowing through it!

On other notes :

- Kathi Donnell will be coming by on a trip down south sometime the next week or so.  That will be fun to have her for a visit.  We haven't seen her since last Fall.

- Easter we're having company all weekend (so probably a foal will be born to keep things fun!), so cleanup this week (I'm in the midst of painting rooms too - so this should be interesting.)

-  I've heard from a few different people that are expecting foals so I'm waiting for foal photos! As some are mares that I bred, it will be doubly exciting!  So, keeping fingers crossed for healthy and live!

-  Pam Brown sent a photo of her little stallion that won Reserve GC Junior Stallion at the recent NorCal Show - what a cutie he is!  All 25" of him.  Gratz Pam.

- I actually started looking at the online sales.  It's not quite as dismal as I'd believed, but definitely not OMG great either!!  I'm working on our sales list and thinking about ads . . .

- Looked through all my outstanding paperwork - ugh!  That is the only word for it.  Last year I really let things go  . . . this year is clean up and get back on track!!!!  I'm feeling poorer already when I look at all the DNA/PQ tests, Permanent registration and four outstanding transfers still.  It's so much easier to swallow paperwork costs in bite size chunks!

Other than that it looks like rain tonight or tomorrow.  I hope so, as I still want the hills to stay green for a few more months and hate the dreaded word 'drought'.  

Anyway, if it rains that should bring on foaling and the moon is getting full too -  both good signs - lol!!!

Just another Saturday . . .

Still sick. No new babies. Gorgeous weather.  Horses are all fine.  The rain is going around us again!

So today as I still feel like crap and other than visiting Sarah and April for a bit, I worked on our website.  It's been literally decaying away the past year as I've been unsure what I wanted to do with it or how to change improve it.  

Well, as I'm still on the fence as to what do to with it, and I've been working on learning better html and css to incorporate that, but that's a whole 'nother story!!!

As, I've had a fondness for adding green for some reason  - the color of Spring or I don't know what - but I've been adding it in!  I'll probably hate it and think it's garish in a couple of months but at least it looks different!!

I've updated some pages, but so much needs to be completely reworked and much needs to just be deleted.  I've decided horses that I no longer own and/or are not directly in my horses pedigrees - well lots of those pages are going to go.

I've also been working on a better table to display pedigrees as I know most people (or so it seems) aren't interested in a full pedigree, just the first few generations.  Heck, if it's not DNA/PQ tested anyone there is no guarantee what is listed is correct anyway!!!

Sick again

It's April.  The weather is beautiful (a touch windy but sunny and warm) and I'M SICK!!!  As I'm sipping TheraFlu right now hoping to feel a tad bit better - I'm wondering what I got and where!

As to the horses.  Everything is status quo.  No new babies.  Little April is doing well and Sarah is being a fantastic mother.  We did blanket her last night as the temperature dropped to just a tad too cool for my tastes and a new foal.  

I had planned to take a few new photos today, but the thought of going outside and the bright sunlight - naaa!  So my son fed the horses and checked them all.

TheraFlu is done, I'm going to bed!

Fun of farming living . . .

The past few weekends my DH, Frank, and the kids had loads of fun (pun there!) as they rerocked some of our low spots and walk-ways.  

We realize we're going to strip-mine a whole hill to get rock everywhere we want it, but it was a start!  (We have a mile long driveway that the county does NOT maintain, and the potholes were getting dangerous!)

We just rerocked the private section of our road (had it professionally done and it looked fantastic for a week before a huge storm washed mud across it!) but living with hills and heavy rain - ugh!  So low spots are mostly filled and part of the driveway redone.

The utility trailer (backend of a truck - I've wanted one of these for years!!!) has been so useful for the many dump runs, Home Depot visits and now loads of gravel!  I was lucky to get an 8' one so plywood lays flat - something I would not have thought of but the contractor guy (DH) did - Craigs List ftw!!!!

Farrier Visit

I love it when the horses are cooperative and we can get through trimming day easily!  Ringo, all the retired mares and pregnant ones are now done.  

Sarah (with her embarassingly long feet did not get trimmed as she took one look at Tomas and was having nothing to do with him near her new baby!  So, she'll have to wait to the next trim date in two weeks.

We scheduled trimming days out through the end of May - and it will take that long to get caught up after missing two appointments earlier this year.

I wormed them all, and Anna (lucky girl!) had the joy of bag washing.  

The mares are not very interested in having anyone near their privates until the warm water works its magic and gets rid of all the built up crud - then they'll practically spread their legs for it - lol!

Only a few of the mares have bags (Chiclet, Calypso and Java), the rest are almost no-existant.  So, I'm wondering if they'll be going in May instead of mid-April.

Everyone is shedding so badly its flying hair everywhere.  I'm ambitious this year to get everyone bathed, cleaned up and photo'd before June.  It sounds good in theory, but life seems to get in the way of plans - lol!!!

It's suppose to rain this weekend - so Calypso will probably foal.  

April 1st fun

As can be expected, Ringo found another way into the mare pasture.  He's like a raptor from Jurassic Park, always testing fences!  He found a loose place - boom! - he's in with the mares!  At least I always know where the fences need to be repaired!

He had them all herded into a tight group along with most of the geldings, except Dash.  Apparently Dash was his 'threat', although Dash has been gelded for 2+ years!

Fortunately he's very calm about being recaptured and went directly to his hay for breakfast.  Such a fun morning!  He did this between 7 and 9:30 as at 7 he was still locked up!  The brat.  I'm toying with putting a mare in with him so he won't feel the need to jump fences, but I really don't want to breed this year.  Geldings don't work as he knows the difference - lol!

Other than that, Sarah and April are keeping all the attention of the mares on them.  Grandma, Tina, has been standing guard on the other side of the fence admiring her new grand-daughter. The rest of the preggers are watching the new baby closely too.  Mom and baby seem to be doing well.  Sarah seems a bit uncomfortable, but is eating and drinking well, so I'll watch her and give her a bit more banamine if she doesn't seem better this afternoon.

Tomorrow the farrier will be here, so if any foals are born tonight, I'm praying for quick/easy delivery of a healthy foal!  I'm only going to have him do that pregnant mares, retired ones and Ringo so 12 tomorrow.  I know I'm going to be dead on my feet by the time he's done!

First foal photo

Proud mom, Sarah, (Wesco Farms Tricked Me Tina) with her 12 hour old daughter, April.

First foal!

So, while I was typing the blog about marestare, blah blah blah . . . Miss Sarah (Wesco Farms Tricked Me Tina) decided maiden-shmaiden she was having her baby on her due date so there!

I went out at 2:30 a.m. and found Sarah with her new daughter (a lovely buckskin pinto filly) standing there like an old pro!  She was out in the pasture with two of her friends fast asleep and the rest of the pregnant mares grazing in the distance.  Her mother, Tina, and the other retirees were munching hay in the adjacent pasture.  My appearance alerted all of them and the baby's first whinny brought them all running to inspect the new baby!  Thank goodness Deva wasn't there (she's uber mom and will show any new mother how it's all done from cleaning to nursing!), as Sarah was a bit distressed to have all her herd-mates oggling her new baby!

I love the first foal every year.  All my horses - mares, geldings, young and old - will line the fence to watch the new addition.  The proud mother usually by day two or three is parading their prize around showing off!  

Back to the foaling . . .

I grabbed baby and and led Sarah to a private (no neighbors) run and she immediately settled down.  (She is such a good mare!)   Her baby is very alert and talkative - Sarah doesn't answer yet as I'm not sure she's figured out what this little stranger is!  The foal had passed it's meconium as a large portion of it was on her mother's face and passed even more after we gave her some colostrum.

To be on the safe side we milked Sarah (I love Udderly EZ Mare!) and gave 48 cc of colostrum (she gave us close to 80 cc of thick, sticky, glorious colostrum, so the rest is in the fridge!) and 1/2 tube of Foal Response to the baby.  

We haven't seen the foal nurse yet, so this is purely precautionary.  Sarah didn't resist much to the milking, one almost kick, then she relaxed and let my daughter milk her while I held her lead rope and talked to her.  I was glad to see she was so cooperative, as some new mom's are not always so thrilled with anyone poking around back there - whether it be a sore bag or being ticklish.

I gave Sarah  .5 cc of banamine and a full dose of Ivermectin and we left her happily munching  her hay.

Now for a name!

Sarah's registered name is Tricked Me Tina as her mother, Tina, delivered Sarah on our hills a few weeks early in the early evening - a rarity for us - as most of our foals are born between 11-2 at night or 4-6 in the morning.

Sire is Las Doradas Bonus Bucks (black and white, blue eye'd pinto), so two pinto parents . . . homozyous maybe?  That would be great, but healthy and alive is what we wanted, so I'm pleased!!!!

Barn name might be April.  Registered name Wesco Farms ?  

One down, eight to go - hopefully they'll all be this perfect!!!!