31 December 2007

Can't believe this is the last post for 2007. I have not been having a great time the past week hence the lack of posts and pics. I let the horses out today and they managed to coat themselves in mud but the had a ball. Here are some of them Piglette in front followed by Lori then Cat (B&W) and the other two are Dudette and Dawn.

I have also been going through old photos and making the ones I like into 6x4s for the web. I intend to get more stock uploaded to Alamy Image Bank and have been really slack with that, must get my butt into gear. These three flowers are called Four O'Clocks and come in a variety of colors, I think I have already posted one or two shots of them before.


The is also a very unusual plant, it is called Snow on the Mountain, such a beautiful name and it really is pretty, it grows in a bush
We had sun for the first time in days today, the stables are starting to deteriorate, I just cant keep up with them. It is expected to snow tonight early tomorrow and they preduct our coldest temps this year so far tonight. The coldest I have experienced was the two days after Blue injured his leg three years ago. The following morning was -5F (approx -20C) and the next morning which was christmas day it was -8F. I am not coping with this dull cold weather very well this year and could sit and cry each time I go into the barn and see how much work needs to be done and on top of it I have run out of sawdust and that is very hard to get hold of these days and when you can it is very expensive. I get mine from a local cabinet maker but I can sometimes wait months just for one load, but I am very grateful for that.

Well guys and gals, I hope you all have a wonderful New Year and if you are partying be careful and drive safely ((((Hugs)))) Here's to a better 2008 and a prosperous one too LOL.

Lori
xx

26 December 2007 (2nd post)

I just wanted to post a link to my blogging buddy MiKael's blog. She has a beautiful christmas story which warms the heart. Along with her horsy stories which will keep you riveted this is such a great blog to visit. It is called MiKael's Mania - Arabian Horses and I am posting this link through the Blog Village so that you can help her to boost her rankings. Be sure to enter her site through the link and then also to rate the site in the comments section.

Great reading.

http://blogvillage.gotop100.com/index.php

Enjoy and I will have more calendars and news tomorrow. We are expecting rain and snow tonight and tomorrow, a bit of a bummer after two beautiful sunny days int he upper 30sF.

((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

26 December 2007

A few people expressed a desire to purchase one of the calendars that I have been making. The way that I had them set up they were meant to be a giveaway to some of my regular clients and friends and family so I thought (Thanks MiKael for bringing this up) that a version where my advertising was not so prominent and perhaps the horses' names where I know them would be a nice idea. So here is the revised version of that first calendar. It will be a 13 month one because I am so late with getting this off the ground!!

I am still working on a few others, one with a variety of shots, not just horses and one with flowers. A lot of you won't have seen the ones I worked on last year so quite a few of the photos are the same because I never got them out for sale LOL. I am asking $7.50 plus postage, just need to find out how much they will cost to mail. Again feedback would be welcome. I will post the others as soon as they are ready. I am going to try to do them through my website http://prophotobylori.net because I have an order form there where you can pay via PayPal. Larry normally handles all of that stuff, I am not sure how it all works!!

We have had another beautiful sunny day today, temps in upper 30s and the horses are enjoying the sunshine.

Hope you are all well and have had a good holiday and recovered from all the good Christmas food. I hate the leftovers LOL so try not to make too much extra but there is always some left.

((((Hugs))))

Lori

25 December 2007

We had a glorious day, bright sunshine and temps around freezing but the first real sun in about a week so I put the herd out and they had a great day too. The "lake" at the bottom of the field has frozen and the ice is an inch or more thick. The horses did a bit of ice skating but I think generally enjoyed the fresh air and mud. The ground stayed pretty frozen so it wasnt too bad.

Cayenne trying her hand at ice skating. Ice was not quite thick enough and her hooves were breaking through LOL.

Dee decided that licking the ice and bit of snow on top of it was quite good, she pawed at it a bit to try to break it but it was shallow there so was solid.
Piglette, Daen and Dudette were hunting for tasty morsels.
Here are the 4 mares and Dosie doing a hunting exercise too and testing the ice. This is really the first time that Dosie has been out in this type of weather so it is a learning curve for him. I am really glad that I got Larry to have him gelded, he is such a happier horse now and gets on well with all the mares.

Just a quickie today. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day and enjoyed your meals and relaxed and had fun with family and friends.

((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

21 December 2007 (2nd Post)

I have been meaning to put together some calendars for months now and of course it is very late in the year and I am only just getting started. This is the first one that I have put together, I will be doing a few more versions in the next few days. They will be spiral bound and run from January 2008 to January 2009. I will keep you posted on the others as I do them.


Feedback would be appreciated.

Lori
xx

21 December 2007

No horse pics again today, I am trying to revive Friday's Catblogging trend. This is a shot I took a few years ago, it was my first entry in DP Challenge and didn't fare too well. The theme was Wooden, where wood had to be an important part of the composition. I didnt know how narrow minded they could be on that site at that time and I shot this on a day in the upper 80s low 90s with an actual wooden frame propped against the outside of our cabin and the co-operation of two of my cats. I thought it was so clever, unfortunately the DPCers didnt think so and most of them misread the challenge specs and thought that wood was meant to be the main focus. Oh well, I love the picture LOL. This is Huggy cat and a kitty which I have since lost to Feline Leukemia. I titled it "Living Portrait in a Wooden Frame"





My little dove was still under the bush this morning, looking much perkier and wary and later when I went out to see if I could see it again it was nowhere to be found. A bit later I looked out of the window and saw him eating again but havent seen him since. I hope that he has found a nice safe place to hide and will keep an eye open for it and keep putting corn and oats down. I will go shopping tomorrow and get proper bird seed.



It was a really dull dull dull day today, no sunshine at all but pretty warm, in the 40sF. By this evening a heavy fog had started moving in and we are expecting the low 50s tomorrow and then a sharp drop off in temps again and below freezing for Christmas day and after. The horses stayed in for the day, I dont see the point in putting them out when it is just so muddy and it takes forever to put out and bring in 11 horses as I do them one at a time.



Abraham do you think this is a Mourning Dove that I posted, it doesnt have the black mark on the side of its's neck. For everyone who loves animals you need to visit Abraham's blog , he and his wife Patty have led a very interesting and varied life and his stories and wealth of knowledge are worth a read.

MiKael's Blog is another must read if you love horses. She is an very talented story teller, raises Arabian horses and has experienced just about everything that a horse breeder can experience, good and bad. Be warned she likes cliff hangers!!!! When she tells her stories she normally leaves you hanging at the most crucial part LOL.

Well my herd are all well. I am coping so far but am so stoked that tomorrow is when the days start getting longer again!!!!!! Yaaaaaay!!! Have a great weekend everyone ((((Hugs))))

Lori
xx

20 December 2007

No horse pics today folks, I put the herd out and it was nice and sunny for most of the day but it is really a mixture of snow and mud at the moment and the horses aren't in a very active mood. They are glad to be out of the stables but not bouncing off the walls so they have bursts of enthusiasm and unless you are there and in the right place for those 30 seconds you miss it LOL. I walked down the drive/lane (like a sheet of ice today again) to get the mail and took my camera with me hoping to see a squirrel around one of those nests. No squirrels but on my way back I noticed a bird hopping along the ground and Piglette (Black mare) following it with her nose on the ground. I climbed through the fence and when I got over there I found this little Dove. It was very unsteady even hopping on the ground (although the ground is frozen and rutted from the horses hooves). I managed to catch it and brought it back up to the house. Got my 100mm macro lens and took it to the bush outside the kitchen window that all the birds love to sit in. I got it to hop onto a branch and it puffed itself out and stayed there for a few hours. While it was there I took the opportunity to get some pictures of it.


It eventually went down onto the ground again and was pecking around trying to find food so I put out some oats and crushed corn (which I dont normally give to birds) and it occupied itself with eating for the rest of the afternoon. It definitely can't fly so I am wondering what is wrong with it. I looked at it's wings and could see no damage but obviously there is something that is not visible to the eye. Well all I can do is hope that whatever ails it mends itself and that it will survive the cold. Poor little thing.

We should have one more dry day then the snowy rainy weather moves in again for the weekend. Nothing else exciting to report for the day, hope everyone is staying warm, dry and happy. ((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

19 December 2007

I managed to get the horses out for the day yesterday, it was sunny and got up to about 35F so the mud and slush is dreadful. There is still snow on the ground and now that it has partially defrosted and refrozen with the cold last night we have an ice rink outside in the drive and the lane. As a result I didn't get them out today, the field just gets torn up from their hooves, that is one problem with clay. Yuk. So here is the obligatory picture of Eb and Blaze doing mock battle and keeping an eye on me at the same time LOL. Little monsters. I put Taxes out with Blaze for a while too but again didnt get any pictures, it was so muddy outside the door that neither of them wanted to run in it so they just "played" in the aisleway. Taxes is an agressive little booger!!!! Man, he goes in there with both guns blazing, biting and jumping on Blaze and Blaze just ignores him and now and again will threaten to kick or squeal at him and he backs off. Poor boy he is such a great little horse.

I found out a few days ago that the "nests" that I can see at the tops of the trees in the forest across the road are actually made by squirrels. I was amazed because I always thought they used holes in trees and the like to live in. It turns out that they build these quite big nests out of leaves and twigs but they are very high up so I can't get a real idea of how they put them together. Today when I went to get the mail there was a squirrel running up the one tree, he ran up and on top of the nest and dissappeared!!!! I am going to have to wait for a nice sunny day and sit down there for a bit and see if I can get some shots with the squirrel in it. Of course the people driving by will think I am crazy LOL.

The icicles from the freezing rain started melting yesterday too. This is some of it on the metal roundpen bars. I caught one drip in mid drip, thought it looked pretty cool (pardon the pun).

That is about it for today. I am going to fetch 10 bales of straw for the three yearling fillies who live in the field with the tramp shed for shelter. It is turning into a dreadful mess inside the shed so I am going to throw a few bales of straw in there and hope that they wont eat it all and it will help to keep them clean and dry. Poor girls I hate seeing them looking in such a mess but there is very little I can do other than this.

Hope you are all well (((Hugs)))

Lori

xx

17 December 2007 (2nd post)

I forgot to answer the questions that Mike, Strawberry Lane and Abraham asked about the horses out in the cold and whether I blanket them or not. The problem with blanketing is if you start using one at the beginning of winter then you will have to continue using it the whole winter. I dont use them at all, the only time I do is when I have a new foal and it is really cold when they are first born.

The pictures above some of you may remember, they are of Taxes the morning he was born this last April 15th. It had snowed the day before and was raining and freezing so I blanketed him the minute he was born, he was still wet from the birth so I dried him the best I could and put the blanket on him. He only wore it for a few days, then it started warming up a bit so he was fine without it. Horses are very resiliant, they tend to grow a coat which is thick enough to keep them warm, in fact I can normally tell if it is going to be a really cold or warmer winter by how thick their coats get and how soon they start to grow them. The hair traps air underneath it and that is what keeps them warm (a short quick version of how it works LOL). Another problem with blanketing is that you have to be sure to remove the blanket at least once a day to check for rubbing and to groom or brush the horse. They can get really itchy and also the blanket flattens the hair so it cant work as it should do without it so they become reliant on the blanket. My horses are always in the barn at night or in a shelter and are also inside when the weather is really bad, some people who have their horses out 24 7 but have no shelters will put blankets on their horses too to protect them from the ice and rain. Of course you can also have the problem that your horse will rub holes in them because it is itching or will roll in the mud and displace the blanket and become tangled so I suppose it is a personal thing and depends on each persons circumstances with regard to climate and facilities.

So in short, no I dont blanket my horses because I have shelter for them in severe weather and they seem to cope fine. The other morning when it was 4F (about -14C or so) I went into the barn and some of the horses had frost on their coats and whiskers but they were quite happy. A horse will shiver when it is cold which actually is a reflex action that generates heat in its system, so although it looks terrible it is actually their way of keeping warm. I have only seen this happen once and that was when we first got Gee the thoroughbred mare off the track in November 2 years ago. She had been in a heated barn and had a short coat and after she had been with us a few days we had a very cold snap. We were loathe to start blanketing her for the reasons mentioned above and she only did it the one time. It is amazing how quickly their hair will grow, literally within days she had a good winter coat started and never looked back. I kept a close eye on her but she was fine.

Hope that all makes sense and sorry to be so long winded LOL

Lori

17 December 2007

It was very cold this morning, no more new snow but cold Brrr!!!

I didnt get the horses out today, the ground has finally frozen and is quite hard under the snow, yesterday it was still muddy under the snow and a thin layer of ice so I didnt have to worry about the horses slipping. I did get them out yesterday and took some pics of the yearling colts. You can still see the mud all over them from the last time they were out LOL. They havent rolled it off in the snow yet. Here is Dream having a nice gallop in the new enclosure. Mud and Snow looks kind of strange.

(Click on pictures to enlarge) Of course no photo shoot would be complete at the moment without Blaze and Eb being brats and biting each other, so here is Blaze biting Eb and then Eb biting Blaze LOL.

And last but not least another one of Dream with his ice blue eye.
I didnt get much done today, wasnt feeling so great, coupled with the cold it certainly wasnt a day that I wanted to spend outdoors any longer than I had to.

I also put Taxes out with Blaze for a while yesterday but didnt get any pictures. He is being so good with the brat considering all Taxes wants to do is jump on him and bite him. I will turn them out again tomorrow, I am glad that it is working out because he really needs to interact with other horses.

Well that is all folks, nothing exciting to report I am afraid. Hope everyone is keeping warm. See y'all tomorrow.

Lori

15 December 2007 (2nd post)

Thanks for the comments everyone. I suppose I should have clarified, the barn in the other post with the new doors is one of two barns that we have, I call it the "old barn" because it is the first one that Larry had built. It has three stalls on the one side and a "tramp shed" and "hay shed" on the other side. It is only 36' x 32'. The door that Stan has just built is 10' wide and 9' high or thereabouts so it is a much smaller building. The new barn has aluminum siding and is 40'x72'. That is where I house most of the horses. The hay mall (hay storage area) is above the stables. It has 5 stalls built (three one side and two on the other) which takes up half of the barn area including the feed/tackroom area and the other half is where I have built the temporary stalls for the winter. The sliding door is 12 foot high and twelve foot wide, one at each end of the barn. I can actually ride in this barn when there are no temp stalls there because the cross beams for the roof are 12 foot up. Here is a pic of the big barn taken last year after about 8 inches of snow one night. The old barn that I posted in the last post has a much lower roof.



Hope that clarifies the dilemma LOL.

Abraham in this weather the horses pretty much stay wet while they are out. They do dry and I dont normally worry about getting them dried before bringing them in, If they are very active they will dry but then they go and roll in the snow again LOL. Their coats work in a wonderful way to keep them warm. They will shiver when they are extremely cold and I have only seen that once so they are pretty resiliant. I have had occasion where there has been a terrible rain storm moving in and the wind is howling and rain lashing down and I am running around worrying about bringing them in only to find that they are happily down the other end of the field munching away like nothing is happening!! They are wood chewing machines unfortunately, this comes mainly from boredom, horses are grazing animals and if they are out in a pasture with good grazing that will keep them busy, when they are cooped up they do whatever they can to pass the time. I will definitely check out the link for Pioneer Woman, sounds intriguing. We have only had about an inch of snow so far today it has been slow but tonight after midnight we are expecting up to 14 inches up til mid Sunday. Time will tell I suppose, meteorologists arent always accurate, I joke that it has to be the only well paying job where you are paid even though you are consistently wrong LOL.

At the moment from their outing yesterday, the horses are all covered in dry mud still LOL. MiKael sorry about the rain, that is the pits.

Well just wanted to clarify that little dilemma. (((Hugs))))) here's hoping I can get out the front door tomorrow morning LOL.

Lori
xx

15 December 2007

Missed another couple of days. I have been battling the mud and had horses in for nearly a week but decided to put them out yesterday for a run despite the mud. They had a ball, Piglette (the black mare) went straight down to the pond that has formed in the bottom of our field as it always does when we have too much rain, lay down in the water and rolled in it!!!! Bear in mind that it was about 30F (just below freezing yesterday). She loves to do that and I have posted pics of her doing it earlier this year. I took a few shots of them all muddy and happy, that is one of the things they like to do, roll in the mud, it makes them happy so it makes me happy LOL. This first shot has all 11 of them, 10 mares and Dosie the gelding who is on the extreme left.

Stan finished my barn doors right on schedule and just in time. We are expecting up to 12 inches of snow between now and tomorrow!!! We have a few inches on the ground already, it started snowing mid morning here. This is a dreadful shot, you can see how the mares have chewed the barn to pieces, that is one of the next projects, to get siding onto the side of the barn that they have access to which will make it look a whole bunch better. So this isnt a very pretty picture but it shows my new doors, the wire mesh is what I have pulled off stalls to replace with bars, just need to find a home for it where it isnt in the way. It sure beats the tarp I have had to do battle with every year to keep the snow out. Oh yes, I wanted to add that that is a train passing behind the barn, shows how close it is. I didnt even notice it until I looked at the pics, we are so used to them, it is one of the busiest lines in this part of the world and we can sometimes see a train every 30 minutes.
This last shot is of Eb and Blaze playing yesterday. They do get pretty rough LOL. Learning to be young stallions is a difficult thing!!!

Well that is about it, not much going to happen until all this snow stops but I will keep you all posted. Keep safe everyone who is in the midst of these storms. I should be able to get some lovely horses in snow photos tomorrow if it turns out they way they predict. Stay warm.

(((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

11 December 2007

Sheesh it keeps getting worse, everywhere there is dreadful weather and disaster zones with fires, flooding, ice storms the works. We had a dreadful day today, foggy all day, raining, soggy and just depressing. My thoughts go out to everyone who is having hardships. We are expecting an ice storm tomorrow possibly, worse than the one we have already had and accumulating snow on Saturday again!!! I have posted a few photos I took of our Christmas Cactus which is one of our indoor plants and flowers around Thanksgiving and Christmas every year.


The horses are still cooped up inside and bouncing off the walls, the stables are getting unmanageable again because they need to be out and pooping outside LOL.

Stan came over and built the one door on our old barn and is going to do the other one tomorrow and possibly put up any siding that may be left on the side of the barn where the horses have chewed holes!!! It will certainly beat having to do battle with a tarpaulin put up over the doorway every winter. I wish they could be sliding doors but with the shape/slope of the roof it is not impossible but would be costly to do that so they will swing inwards.

Well that is about it for today, keep safe everyone ((((Hugs))))

Lori
xx

10 December 2007

It was a few degrees warmer today so the ice has slowly been melting all day and has left a muddy slushy mess. The first picture is some icicles that built up on some plants at the side of our house. The horses have been in again all day because it is just too unpleasant for them to be outside.


The second picture is of Gee on her second outing, we had a bit of sun the day after her first outing and I particularly like this one because she is being all frisky, rearing, jumping and shaking her head. She does this little squealy grunt before she lets off steam almost like a squeak and then she bursts into motion. Unfortunately I havent been able to get her out again because the mud is knee deep. She did have fun though and has calmed down a bit in her stall, she was really getting restless.
With all the flooding in Washington State and surrounds over the past week there are so many people who have lost their homes but we all tend to forget the animals. Many animals have lost their lives in these floods and storms and continue to be stranded and standing up to their bellies in water. The rescue efforts are enormous for both people and animals and when you think that because of all the displaced people, they wont be able to take their animals back because they have to find somewhere for themselves first. On one of the other blogs that I read the poster had a video of some horses standing in water and Abraham Lincoln said that he didnt want to watch it because it would upset him too much. He also questioned whether his deep compassion, love and concern for animals, even the small ones like birds and squirrels, in recent years was odd and uncommon and I have to say, definitely not, I cry over a dead bird, an injured animal and have such a deep love for my horses. Unfortunately there are many people who still look at animals as dumb and unfeeling and who can be abused in any way they like, but this could not be further from the truth. More and more people are being educated and hopefully we are winning the battle, if I can even change one person's view on a horse and how they are thinking, loving, feeling, compassionate creatures I will be happy. They may not function in exactly the same way as we humans do, but they do function. So in answer to Abraham's question, no you are not strange, you are a true human being and I am so glad that you have found such a great passion in your photography and surrounding haven.

I posted some more info on this flooding problem in yesterday's post with contact details for anyone who would like to support this effort in any way, every little bit helps.

That's it for today folks, I hope everyone had a good Monday. (((Hugs)))

Lori
xx

9 December 2007

It has been a miserable day today, hovering around freezing again all day and this morning until early afternoon we had freezing rain. I dont think we got as much as further south but it is bad enough, to walk around the property is like ice skating especially on the driveway where the snow had been packed down already by the cars, it is just like glass now. Started breaking up a bit this evening. Here are some pics of the ice covering the plants. Unfortunately the light was dull dull dull all day so I couldnt get any better shots, these are closeups and the focus isnt that great.
(Click on pics to enlarge)

So it was a pretty dull day. I tried to get a bit of stable cleaning done but the horses had to stay in today and probably will for the next few days and that makes the job just that much harder. Poor Taxes is looking depressed again this evening. The last time they all had to be in and he didnt get to let off steam for two days he just moped around, I was quite worried about him but I am sure he was depressed.

I have one request from you all with regards to the flooding in Washington state recently. If you read my fellow blogger's blog today she maps out the story of what is happening with the rescue of the animals in the area, they are in dire need and if any of you can help in any small way please contact them or her. Her blog is http://risingrainbow.blogspot.com/ . She was fortunate that they just missed the boundary of the flooding but not by much.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and at least managed to stay warm. (((Hugs)))).

8 December 2007

A short one today, it has been hovering around 28 and 32 all day and the freezing rain started at about 4pm this evening. I managed to get Gee out again today and she made a slightly longer excursion than yesterday but still stuck close to the barn for security. I am glad of that because that way she will get to know the lay of the land before she opens up and runs around like a mad thing. I have a few pics but havent edited them yet.

Below is a pic of Taxes today, he had Eb the B&W colt hot on his heels. I turned Blaze out with Taxes first and they seemed to be okay but didn't have my camera, Taxes went flying in biting and jumping on poor Blaze and give him credit he took it very well. After that worked pretty well I turned the other two out but they all seemed to be too much at one time for Taxes so I pulled him straight out. I think I will just put him with Blaze for the time being so that he can have company and learn about mixing with other horses, he is a little tyrant and needs to learn that another horse will retaliate when he bites or jumps on him/her. He was just so excited to have another horse with him. The second shot is a second after the first when Eb gave him a swift bite on the butt. No marks or damage fortunately. Eb has been a biter since he was born too, just plays rough, never left marks just a brat, I have tons of pics of him biting his siblings when he was born trying to get them to play with him. He frightened poor Taxes a bit as can be seen from his expression.

(Click on pics to enlarge)

The third pic is of Blaze and Eb having a rough and tumble after I had put Taxes back in his stable. I was amazed when I turned Taxes out with them that he is just about the same size as them and there is a year difference, Taxes just 8 months old on the 15th.


It is becoming evident that I am going to have to split all the stud colts up after winter if they arent gelded. What is play and acting out right now will become serious when there are mares around and they mature a bit more and it could spell trouble. Blaze would have been gelded at the same time as our older stud Dosie earlier this year but his one testicle had not dropped yet and still hasnt which could mean a surgery in a vet hospital to geld him because they will have to find the other one. In a normal gelding it can be done at the ranch with the horse under sedation/light anaesthesia with little risk of problems. Poor boys!!!!

Well that is it for today. Yukky weather the next few days. Stay warm everyone (((HUgs)))

Lori

xx

7 December 2007 (2nd post)

Wow every time I look at this baby I find it hard to believe that he is not even 8 months old yet. He is such a little monster LOL. He loves his time out and today I snapped a few shots of him in the snow. I had to put him in to put the other 3 stud colts out too and he wasnt very happy with me because he was just having so much fun. I am so tempted to turn him out with these 3 because they have access to each other all day and play at what MiKael calls Face Boxing all day over the rails but am scared that 4 ungelded stud colts may be a bit too much especially when there is a year difference in age, even if he is just about as big as them already. He wants someone to play with and it breaks my heart. He and Eb (the black and white colt) seem to spend the most time playing at the partitions so maybe I will try them together but then Eb is the colt we have sold and it is just a matter of time before he goes to his new home (Stan is building him a stable and pasture).



We had another 2 inches of snow last night so have 6-8 inches on the ground at the moment. It was a lot warmer today just around freezing and I put all the horses out after they had eaten their breakfast. It was cloudy all day so they werent as happy to be out as they were yesterday when it was sunny despite the fact that it was so cold yesterday.

Well that is about it for today. I find it very hard to spend time outside, the cold really drains me physically and the stables are gradually getting behind again. I am glad that they are able to spend time out though, it just makes it a little better.

((((Hugs))))) to everyone, have a great weekend.

Lori
xx

7 December 2007 (1st post)

Wow another day almost over. It is my Brother's birthday tomorrow 8th. I have not seen him or my Dad for such a long time and know I am really slack with keeping in touch with them. They are both in South Africa, brother in Johannesburg and Dad in Cape Town. So if either of you are reading this I love you lots. Today I got the hell in with Gee's owner (the thoroghbred mare I board). She is bouncing off the walls because she has nowhere to exercise now that I am using the bottom of the barn for stalls. I have been nagging at him to come over earlier before dark so we can try her out in the new field I have just fenced, partially for her benefit and he just never does so this morning I thought to heck with it I am just going to have to take a chance and I turned her out and kept a close watch. I did it before I had put any of the horses out so she just really wanted to stay close to the barn but she made a few excursions. These are some of the shots. We will repeat the process tomorrow, it went very well.


(click on pictures to enlarge)

I normally dont leave halters on my horses but I did as a precaution this morning because if she had gone through a fence or something stupid I would have been in big trouble if I didnt have something to get a hold of her with. I will do this for the next few excursions and when she knows the boundaries I will start taking it off. They kind of spoil the pictures but I still love them. I love this mare she has such a great attitude for a race horse and considering she has spent the past two years with virtually no out time she does really well.

I am going to end this post off for now and do a second one which will feature our Brat baby, the infamous Taxes. He also got his little bit of time out today and I snapped a few shots of him too.

Lori

6 December 2007

Once again I am behind on everything. In typical Indiana fashion we have gone from heat to cold in record time again. We had 4-5 inches of snow yesterday and I put the horses out which they really enjoyed. I had managed with the help of my helper to get the stables all sorted out on Tuesday so everything was clean and dry. Here are some of the mares out in the field yesterday.

I put the 3 stud colts out too in their new enclosure, and here is a pic of Dream breathing steam and of him and Blaze playing in the snow also shot yesterday.

(Click on pics to enlarge)

We woke up to 4F (for those of you in celcius, that is about -12C) this morning!!!! No wind thank heavens and beautiful blue skies and sunshine but just too cold to be out there. It is lunch time now and it is about 24F right now, expecting a high of 32 (right at freezing), but I havent been able to bring myself to do anything other than feed the horses and come back in because even with two layers of gloves my fingers are freezing by the time I get back in. I so want to get some pics in the snow with the lovely light but may wait until this afternoon sometime first. We are expecting another 3-4 inches or thereabouts tonight but it is not going to be as cold (when I say not so cold, I mean just below freezing but not like this morning).

I started with a sore throat yesterday and it is still feeling blaaah so I am not a happy camper today. Thought I would get this in early. I am hoping to have some pics of Taxes in the snow later, the last time it snowed was the day he was born and then it was wet slushy snow that turned into mud before he even got his first outing.

I am going to end for now. If I do get more I will post again later. (((Hugs)))

Lori
xxx