Almost Christmas

I am finally getting back to the blog! Life has been hectic and although I still get out to the barn 3-4 days a week to ride Harley, I don't get much time to blog. Harley is doing great. He has such a fun and playful personality. He acts like such a kid. 

Harley is putting on weight and getting stronger every day. He will be five years old in January, but is still really just a kid (especially in his mind). He loves the girls. One day Grace was playing in the dirt just outside the arena where Harley was turned out. Harley kept running by the fence and kicking up his heels trying to get her attention. He wanted her to play with him so bad.  Sometimes the girls will run on the track outside the arena and Harley will gallop along beside them and then race them to the finish. He loves it!

Even though he loves to play, Harley is a serious worker when being ridden and picks up everything so quickly. He is learning to collect himself (have a slow, controlled trot and lope) and takes leg cues very well. He will stop on voice command and backs up like a dream. I have started taking some riding lessons from my friend Brooke. I don't want Harley to get too far ahead of me!

Audrey is riding Harley as well and gaining confidence. He is definitely more careful with her on his back. He is going to make her a great 4-H horse!

Enjoying the day

AHHH!

Silly Boy

If he ever figures out how fast he is......

Friday is doing great with her pregnancy! She looks as big as she did last year, but the ultrasound only showed one baby. She is in a paddock with another pregnant mare and they stand around a lot eating and getting fatter. I miss not riding her, but she is way to big at this point. Her due date is May 8th which seems miles away.

More on Harley

Harley is turning out to be a great horse. He is pretty quiet and has a great base of training under him. He likes the girls and is interested in everything around him. 

The vet came out the other day to check on Friday and examine Harley. Horses need to have their teeth looked at occasionally. Because they graze, their teeth grow fairly continuously. In the wild, their teeth stay worn and even  (more rocks in the diet, I guess). In situations like Harley's, where his fed hay and grain, they get sharp edges on their teeth that can make it hard to chew. Harley was kind of struggling to chew up his grain, so I had the veterinarian check him. Sure enough, he had sharp edges on several teeth. The vet gave him some sedation and then filed his teeth down. Hopefully, this will help him gain weight.

He said he thought Harley was a great horse and just needed a bit more weight. We have the feeding thing figured out, so that won't be too hard. Now it will just take time.

Audrey on Harley      photo by Grace!

Friday is doing great! Her pregnancy is progressing without problem. She looks good and the vet said she can be off ReguMate now. Yipee! She is still moody and is a bully to Harley, but otherwise great!

Photo by Grace

We Got a Harley!!

We have Audrey's new horse Harley now. He is a 4 year old registered Quarter Horse gelding and he has a great temperament. His registered name is Streakin Harley. He is descended from some great racing stallions and mares. He is almost the same color as Friday, but a little lighter. He is well broke and works off leg commands. He is a little skinny at the moment, but we will remedy that soon.

Flies!

There is not much activity at the barn when the flies are thick and the temperatures are in the 90's. The horses don't feel like working and neither do we!

We do have some newsworthy items to report. Audrey took Smoky to one of the 4-H practice sessions and was able to ride with some of her fellow 4-H club members. Both Audrey and Smoky did very well. It was a hot day and the heat definitely tired both rider and horse out. 

Working on Western Equitation with Smoky

Which way are we going?

Audrey and Smoky

Despite having Smoky's hocks injected, he still is very stiff in his hind legs. The farrier (horseshoer) could not get shoes on him without causing a lot of pain. We have taken him on several short trail rides and ridden him in the arena, but it is getting to the point where he is not comfortable being ridden. We have made the decision (in collaboration with his owner John), to put him out to pasture. He will be going to a pasture in Morgan, Utah to spend of the rest of his days in a herd of older horses. We will miss him! We hope to visit him this fall in his new pasture. Audrey will be getting a new horse this fall or next spring. She is ready to start doing a bit more in 4-H.


Friday is doing very well with her pregnancy and her manners. She has been on several trail rides and is reining and stopping well. As her abdomen gets bigger she seems less interested in running off. She loves being fed treats and pampered. Pregnancy definitely agrees with her. She is much more content and relaxed as the pregnancy moves forward.

Is that a baby bump??

 

Going for a ride

Fly masks

Good News

Saw the baby and the heartbeat yesterday. Vet says one very healthy, strong baby in there. Go Friday!

Moments of Zen

Nothing is quite so relaxing to me as being astride a horse. It feels like home. The horse becomes an extension of my physical body and I feel in harmony. All horses are a little bit different, but I have felt a bond with every horse I have been on, even those who eventually bucked me off!

Learning to turn

Friday is a great horse to ride. She glides. Her gaits are so smooth and she is full of strength and power that she doesn't feel a need to show until it is required. She does not neck rein well yet, but is learning leg pressure and picks up on new things very fast. She listens carefully and tries to understand what I am saying. Her ears move back and forth as she concentrates on the lesson. When I ride her, time stands still. 

She still takes a great interest in other mares with foals. She will stare at them for long periods of time. I wonder what she is thinking. I can't help but think she wishes she had a foal this year. We are hoping that all goes well with this pregnancy. 

Smooth Moves

Smoky seems to be much more comfortable after the injections into his hocks. He is moving a bit better and is more playful. In these photos he is wearing a fly mask. His eyes get very irritated from the flies and the mask offers protection. This reminds me of a funny story. When I first introduced the girls to horses, Grace thought that the fly mask meant that the horse was blind. She had a lesson on a horse wearing a fly mask one day. Hours later, she told me that she would like to ride again but "next time I want to ride a horse that can see".

Smoky with his fly mask on

Smoky in the paddock he shares with Friday

OMG!

So much has been happening at the barn!


It is breeding season and so there are horses coming and going and lots of news. We bred Friday to Dusty's Best Effort. He is such a great stud! He has a great personality and is handsome as well.

Dusty's Best Effort, Quarter Horse Stallion and Baby Daddy

Dusty stopping for a pose

We had Friday checked by ultrasound on June 17th and she is pregnant (with one baby)! We are trying to contain our excitement until her next check on July 6th. On that date, the vet will confirm pregnancy and should be able to detect a heartbeat. Keep your fingers crossed!

Friday waiting for her exam

Our boy Smoky has been having a rough time. He loves to roll, and for the last month or so has been having some trouble getting up. During his struggles to rise he has cut up his legs pretty bad. I had the vet check him and he has very stiff hocks. The vet thinks that giving him injections in his hocks will improve his mobility. We are going to go for it. We want to keep the old man as comfortable and mobile as possible.

The girls are having fun at the barn. Lots of puppies and foals to play with!

Breeding Season at the Barn

Lots of activity at the barn these days. Mares to be bred, babies to be cared for, and stallions really, really interested in all that is going on!


Friday isn't pregnant yet, but she is going to be bred this week to Dusty's Best Effort. The vet checked her yesterday with palpation and ultrasound and she has several follicles ready to go. This means she will ovulate in the next few days. It also means we need to keep watching out for twins, so we can reduce the pregnancy to only one. We just can't go through the twin thing again! The vet says that sometimes when mares lose a baby it is so stressful that it is hard to get them pregnant again. We will give her a drug called ReguMate five days after her breeding until her next check which is sixteen days after her last breeding. If she doesn't get pregnant this summer, we will just ride her and enjoy her and see how it goes next year.


She looks fit and is prancing around these days. She has a huge paddock to herself and she is enjoying running around and kicking up her heels!



On the way to see the vet at the breeding shed.




Prancing. She still has the heart of a racehorse.




Waiting for the vet



We have had Smoky out although he is a bit stiff with the colder weather. He is so cute with the girls.



This quote always reminds me of Smoky...

Buffalo Bill's horse Soldier Boy speaking of a young adopted girl that lives at the post where the 7th Calvary are stationed.

"If I could have her it would be another matter, for I know all about children, and they adore me. Buffalo Bill will tell you so himself."

                                              Mark Twain, "A Horse's Tale"

Moving On

Well, after Wyatt died, I had a lot of trouble getting back to writing on the blog. We are slowly recovering from all of the trauma. It was very sad to loose all the foals, but at the end of the day, we have our mare Friday and Smoky, both of whom are doing fantastic.

Smoky has recovered from all of his cold weather stiffness and we are all enjoying riding him this spring. He lost a bit of weight during the winter, despite having supplemental grain, but otherwise appears unchanged. He continues to be his same old dignified and stubborn self, never too afraid to let you know how he thinks things should go. He is 29 years old this year.

Taking Smoky on a trail ride.

Friday is doing fantastic and the vet told us she was good to be bred back this spring. I hope to breed her to the same stud. Dusty's Best Effort is not only handsome, but has a wonderful temperament. I have been riding Friday and working out some of her previous career (horseracing) quirks. She is doing beautifully under saddle and is so eager to please and understand. I love working with her.

Wyatt

We only had to go out the barn one time today. Wyatt is nursing whenever he is awake now and his watery diarrhea is going away (I am convinced that I will never rid myself of that smell). With the help of several folks at the barn, we took Friday and Wyatt out to a large paddock for some exercise and fresh air. Wyatt was ready to go. He even tried to run a little bit!



Walking in the sunshine




Loving mom




Got Milk??




Sunbath



Audrey taking Smoky for some exercise.

Sad, Then Happy

Our poor girl. I received a call about 11pm the other night that Friday had stillborn twins. Mares are not made to have twins and so it did not go well for them. We are just so thankful that we did not lose Friday as well, as this can happen quite easily. We had our tears and we all moved on. I went out to look at the twins. One was very small, too small in fact, and was not mature enough to breathe on her own. The other had a premature separation of the placenta (placenta abruptio) and was also born dead.

Friday looked good physically, but was sad and the barn manager said she was very upset when they took the bodies away. She was eating and quiet when we saw her. I called the vet to let them know what was going on and to get her postpartum check scheduled. I asked if they had heard of any orphan foals. They said that they knew of someone that had an orphan foal they had been feeding since he was born (six days ago).

About an hour later I got a call from the owner of the orphaned foal. He is a local Quarter Horse breeder who had a mare die when the colt was born. The foal was born breech (backwards) and had a lot of trouble. They were not having a lot of success trying to feed him. We knew it was a longshot, but we agreed to meet at the barn and see if Friday would take the foal.

Audrey, Grace, and I went to the barn to get Friday ready. I washed her udder and gave her a nice grooming and treats. I took a towel and got the scent of one of her dead foals on it. When the orphan foal arrived, it was quite an event. There were our barn people and their barn people. Lots of activity.

I held Friday in the corner of her stall so I could intervene if she showed any hostility to the new foal. She heard them bringing in the foal and she went crazy. They put the towel over the foal and carried him in. She nickered and whined and wanted to get right to him. I think she thought that we had finally brought one of her babies back to her. She licked him and kissed him. I was able to let her have her head since she was not acting threatening. The groom that brought in the foal helped him to start nursing and Friday let the orphan colt nurse! A big step.

The colt (boy foal) was weak and stressed, but we decided it was going well and he would stay with Friday. She kissed him and loved on him and became very protective. Our biggest hurdle was that was being bottle fed and did not know how to nurse. I talked to the colt's owner. He was still pretty heartbroken about his mare and the fact that he might lose this colt too. The orphan colt comes from a long line of talented racehorses and his arrival was much anticipated.

Grandma Judy and Dee came and got Audrey and Grace to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa. To make sure that things went well I stayed with Friday and the orphan colt (we call him Wyatt). At first, we had to stand him up and drag him over to Friday and try and get him to nurse. When he stands up he looks Bambi on ice. Friday was so patient and such a trooper. She never gave up. By 10pm we I had him starting to nurse a bit on his own. I went home for a couple hours of sleep and Brooke, one of the trainers, got up at 1:30 am to help him nurse again. I came in again at 05:00 am. Wyatt was already looking stronger. I helped him stand and pushed him toward Friday and he nursed. Yipee!

By 10:00 am he was standing on his own and nursing. In between nursing he was sleeping. The storm was raging on and he started to shiver, so I put a blanket on him. He had a good day after that. Friday is a fantastic mom, and kisses and licks Wyatt constantly (see video). He is a fighter and we are hoping he will do well. Looks good so far.

Wyatt with his blanket on.

Thanks to everyone for your heartfelt condolensces. It has been a difficult time for us. I am exhausted and hoping to get some good sleep tonight. We will check on Friday and Wyatt in the morning and see how things are going.

Wax!!!!!

Friday has finally developed wax on her teats (white dots at openings). This means her milk is "foal ready". This also usually means a baby in 24-48 hours (see photo). Don't worry, Friday is very comfortable with her body and is free and open with her udder, so is okay with me posting the photo.

Note the big milk veins. Foals need a lot of milk!!

She is definitely looking good, in fact better than she has in a week. She is affectionate and came right up to us when we climbed into the paddock. The baby has moved to the birth canal so she is not sticking out as much as she was before (note rear view shot). The barn manager is checking her at midnight and 4am, so we hope he catches her in early labor. The girls are sooooo excited. We want to see our new baby!

Health Mom!

Not sticking out so much.

No Baby Yet

We took a video while at the barn the other day. We spend a lot of time spoiling Friday. Maybe that is why she hasn't had the baby. She is a wise old broodmare and figures the baby will get all of the attention once she gives birth. Not a bad strategy, except she looks real miserable at the moment. Walking and eating are both pretty hard for her at the moment.

Still Waiting

No baby yet. Who knew she get any fatter? Grace sings her a fat song which she seems to enjoy.

She is healthy, other than a bit of swelling on her back legs. She has decided that it is truly possible to stand in one place for up to 12 hours and never move. Our vet decided this was not ideal and now I must walk her a couple of times per day to help reduce the swelling in her legs and to improve her overall circulation. She is not impressed. To alleviate the boredom of this task, I put her on the "hot walker". She pleaded (by neighing and trying to make eye contact) with every trainer, horseman, or family member who walked by. Everyone stopped,  laughed, and marveled at her huge size. She was not amused. I haven't put her back on the hotwalker.

We have her stall ready to go with clean straw, her pink bucket, and plenty of hay. Today she has decided she doesn't want any more hay. She only wants hand-fed treats or grain. We may be getting close......

Closer!!

We are checking on Friday pretty regularly now (at least once a day). Today she was definitely more tired (still willing to eat treats though). She is relaxing on the back end, her milk bag is bigger, and she is so big she can hardly walk. She just sort of waddles from one area of the paddock to the other.

I braided her tail yesterday, but won't wrap it until she is in active labor. This helps keep her tail hairs cleaner and away from sensitive tissue. She goes into her stall every night and is out all day.

Friday enjoying a snack.

The girls are getting so excited. I am too. I have been madly cleaning the house, sort of a nesting behavior I think.

Gettin Close



 It is really getting close. Friday is due on March 21st and is showing some signs of the impending delivery. She has started enlarging her udder ("bagging up" as it is called in horseman's circles). The baby has dropped and Friday is getting a little lazier. Don't get me wrong, she is still viciously kicking at other horses that get too near, but she definitely stands in one place, and for the most part, dozes.







Is that food you are getting?

 

She is also shedding her winter coat and I have been dutifully brushing her almost every day. She enjoys being groomed (her one pleasure, besides eating) and nearly falls asleep as I go about my chores. I find it very relaxing to brush her and use that time to work through issues on the job etc. I get so relaxed that I am sure that someday Audrey and Grace will come find Friday and me laying in the paddock side by side, sawing logs....



Telling her paddock mate to keep her distance



It is hard to believe we will have a little foal in the next several weeks. We watch the other mares and foals at the barn playing and I try to picture ours.



A new colt. He is too small for his legs!



















Valentine and her mom



Valentine Goes To School

It was an exciting day at the barn! Audrey had a chance to work with the new baby. She was teaching her how to lead with a halter. Grace took the pictures, I held the mare (mommy), and Terry (from the barn) helped Audrey learn how to work the ropes. Audrey is going to be very ready to work with our new baby.

Audrey helping Valentine get used to a halter



Audrey looks so big next to this baby!




Now what was it you wanted me to do?

All is well with Friday. She is huge but is still prancing around like she owns the place. Three weeks to go!



First Baby of the Year is Here!

This cutie was born on the 15th about 3 hours before I saw her at the barn. They are calling her Valentine. I took Audrey and Grace to see her the next day and they were thrilled. Audrey really couldn't believe how small she is. Valentine looks healthy and happy, although her mother is not real eager for her to get close to anyone. The girls are even more excited to see our baby!

Gettin Big

                                          
Friday is fit and happy, although a bit muddy. I worried about her in the cold, but she came through fine. Audrey wouldn't stand for her being moved to the barn. There has been a respiratory virus in the barn and Audrey was worried our girl would get sick. She did fine outside.

I calculated her potential birthing dates. Horses have a lot of variation in gestation. She could foal anytime between February 19th and April 16th. Usually the mare will wait longer if her foal is due early in the year. I'm thinking end of March will probably be about right (it has something to do with the longer light in spring and summer).                 

She is pretty big now and seems uncomfortable more of the time. She kind of sways back and forth when she walks.

The baby tends to sit on one side or the other most of the time, which makes her walk even seem more lopsided. She doesn't let it bother her too much. She still runs if there is food involved! She enjoys her occasional rolls in the dirt.

Taking a load off.

Aaahhh! That feels good!

 

Almost all the way over.....

 

.

Just can't quite make it!