Monday 29 June 2009 - The Herd is Complete

I have finally managed to integrate everyone here into one field, for Blue it was the first time he had been with other horses since he was gelded earlier this year and for Goldie it was a first for her since coming home from Iowa.

Left to right BB (Big Butt!!!!), Wiggle, April (Front) Blue (Back) Cat and Goldie.

I used to have a series of names for BB while she was growing up, BB came about because she was a Blueroan Baby, then she became Bully Baby, Brat Baby, Bad baby, B***h Baby, Biting Baby or whatever fit the moment LOL.

We are having the most amazing weather, why couldnt it have been like this last week for the 4H Fair, it was lovely the week before the Fair and now the week after it is lovely again with pressure cooker temps in the 90s and humidity in between while we had to spend all that time at the Fair with the poor animals trying to keep them cool. Oh well that's how the cookie crumbles I guess.

Sonny and the baby (Herbie) are in the field next to these guys and hopefully I will eventually be able to have them all together so the baby learns to mingle with other horses. Sonny is an excellent mother and will guard him like a tiger but I dont want a repeat of the problems I had with Taxes when I had to try to get him integrated. I will post a pic of them tomorrow, not enough hours in the day.

Stan cut three fields yesterday and will turn them tomorrow with the rake and hopefully by the time he has turned the last one, the first one will be ready for baling. At least this time we wont be enduring those ludicrous temps while we are baling and loading the bales, I have to say that I did very litttle of it because I just dont have the stamina anymore, so I did the running, for water, spare parts etc. and a bit of the manual work but not much. Stan, Zack and Kami take all the credit for that.

Hope you all had a great weekend, I can't believe how fast the time is flying by, not enough hours in the day. (((Hugs)))) to all.

Lori
xx

Saturday 27 June 2009 - After the chaos

Well that was quite a week, dont know how Kendal and Michelle do it because they were out there in that heat showing one animal or another since Sunday last every day, I have been hiding at home a lot of that time with the airconditioner!!

I did spend Thursday at the horse show in 92F heat and I suffered a little after that, on top of which there was a storm that night and the apple tree took out my powerline so with a minimum of about 80 even through the night and no fans or anything was not a happy experience.

The pic above is of Kendal and BB. This particular shot was taken in Showmanship where she didn't place, lots of lessons learned in a class of 18 horses. The moment of glory was before this was taken, I will edit a pic and post it later, was when BB took Grand Champion Halter Horse at the show!!!! We were thrilled because she beat some really good horses. The rest of the classes were not too successful, she took a 4th and 5th in riding on April (walk/trot) and took a 3rd on April in Pony Halter.

We learned a lot over this past week about the dos and donts of showing horses LOL but overall Kendal did a fantastic job all week with all of her animals. A very hard working a dedicated 12 year old for sure and she deserved every bit of it. I have stacks of pics to go through and hopefully will get them up a few at a time on my blog over the next few days. With this extreme heat I am avoiding being outside as much as I can. In amongst all of this we baled hay and spent 2 days putting haybales in the barn (or should I say Stan and Zack and Kami did). I wasnt much help because I can't tolerate this heat. I have had heat stroke before and after you have had it once your tolerance is even lower and I have been feeling it.

Enough about me, this post is dedicated to Kendal, her mom Michelle, April and BB and all the other critters for a job well done!

(((((Hugs))))))
Lori
xx

Sunday 21 June 2009 - Show Day

Well show day has finally dawned. Michelle hasnt been in a show ring for nearly 30 years so she was thrilled to get a first in the color (Paint & Appaloosa) Class and a third out of 10 entries in the Open Halter with BB.

The two horses who beat her were great horses but what really made it special was when one of the older members of the family who showed those two horses came over to us and told us that he had picked us to be the winners!!!! Wow how great is that. Michelle was over the moon.

Kendal took a second in the Halter Pony class and a second in the walk trot riding class. I am so proud of them all because this was a first for the two horses and a first for Kendal and a first for Michelle in a very long time and they sure did us proud.

I just picked two pictures from the day, it was VERY hot. Poor Kendall had to go on to show her Chickens and she has Goats and shows a dog in agility, so the week will be very busy.

Of course I came home after the horse show and collapsed in a heap, the stress was just too much LOL but I am very proud of all four of them. We learned a lot of lessons along the way, especially Kendal which I am glad we learned at this show because that will make her performance at the 4H Fair Show on Thursday just that much better.

Wish us luck. (((((HUgs)))))))

Lori

xx

Friday 19 June 2009 - Herbie Tests His Legs

I have had a much better 24 hours and have to say the relief of having this baby on the ground has really shown. I feel a whole lot more relaxed.

I had to wait until yesterday evening to let Sonny and Herbie out to stretch their legs and even then because of all the mosquitos she wasnt too charmed. Sonny hates the flies and bugs and would rather stay in the barn in front of the fan which is where they are now because we are expecting a heat index of 103 today. The cooler weather couldnt have held on for just one more week, it had hung on thus far and then the County Fair would have been over.

So we are starting with BB and April going with Michelle and Kendal to an open show on Sunday, which will be a test drive for the 4H show at the fair on Thursday. The horses are looking wonderful, having horses with lots of white has its drawbacks and we are trying to keep them clean but they will always find that one wet or poopy spot to lay in and then have yellowish stains on them at the last minute!!! Here are a few pics of Sonny and Herbie last night (I had to bribe her out with food) and Kendal, she is smittten with the new arrival and they make a good pair because his coat should turn the same color as his mommas which is the same color as Kendal's hair, red!

Just showing that he knows where to put all those long limbs if he needs to. He is a very sweet baby and is going to be spoiled rotten. He doesnt have the same arrogant attitude that Taxes had so I think he will be much easier and safer to be around LOL.

It looks as if we are going to have a dry spell from Saturday afternoon for 5 days so we are going to be making lots of hay if that forecast stays. We have 4 or 5 big fields lined up and are going to have our work cut out for us so if you dont hear much from me in the next week, I am still around will just be baling hay from the time the dew is dry in the am until dark at 9.30pm to get as much in as possible. Wish us luck.

Hope you all have a good weekend, think of us at the horse show on Sunday and keep fingers and toes crossed that the little darlings dont embarass us LOL. ((((Hugs))))

Lori

xx

Thursday 18 June 2009 - It's a Boy

Relief, I can stop worrying, for about 2 seconds LOL. Sonny had her baby sometime in the early hours of this morning. It is a little boy and it is raining so I have them in the old barn which is pretty dark so havent been able to ascertain if both eyes are blue or just one. We are going to call him Herbie as his barn name and he is a little cutie pie.

Everything that is working is working great so I can relax for a bit. When I can get them out to take some decent pics of him I will but this will have to suffice for now, taking a nap in the straw. This will be my last baby and it is unfortunate that there is only one again this year because they so do need to have other little ones to learn from and older horses too, so I will probably not keep him and momma separated like I did with Taxes and her and the other horses, because I want him to be more sociable. Needless to say I will be asking the vet to make him a gelding at the first opportunity which will be far less traumatic for him now than later when the surgery is more involved.

((((Hugs)))))

Lori
xx

12 June 2009 - A Tribute

I am still really in pain about the decision I had to make with this filly but wanted to do this little tribute for her. She was instantly friendly the minute she saw me and even though she was only with us for half a day she has forever left an impact on me and will have a very special place in my heart.

When I told my friend that she had been born and that she had hints of black pigment which I hoped meant she was not a lethal white I was overjoyed and Michelle immediately named her, without even having seen her. So even though she will not be registered we have named her DBB Blue's Angel, little did we know that within a few hours that is exactly what she would be. She looked so much like her Daddy when he was born it was uncanny.

My friend Lisa came over when I first phoned her to tell her the baby had been born but by the time she had arrived things had deteriorated rapidly and I told her to get photos because there was a good chance this would be our only opportunity. I have very few pictures of me with my horses and I dont think I have any with even one of my 20 odd foals that I have bred and raised so these photos are going to be amongst my most treasured memories. I edited two of them, one with momma, me and baby in it and one with just me and Angel.

She must be an awesome sight running in those green pastures with her long legs and I hope that she and Larry meet up. I know that to most of you this sounds all dramatic and melancholy but this little horse and all of my animals deeply touch my heart and I love them all like my children so it feels to me like I have lost a child.

I have a feeling that the other baby might arrive tonight, don't know why because I cant see any obvious signs but it is just a feeling.

My leg is feeling a bit better. I am still not sleeping well and experiencing a lot of pain at night where the muscles have torn so battle to get any sleep but it is improving so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks everyone for your messages. ((((Hugs))))) and have a great weekend.

Lori
xx

Monday 8 June - I Must Be Cursed

This morning I woke, late as usual and looked out the kitchen window to see four little legs on the other side of my B&W mare who was expecting any day. I held my breath as they moved hoping to see some black spots or any colored spots for that matter and from there I could see nothing. This is not a good sign with paint horses as some of them mainly the Overo strain carry a genetic defect called Lethal White Gene which causes the babys to develop normally but when they are born their colon and intestines are not connected and they cannot poop so if they are not euthenased immediately they are usually dead within 2 days which ever way you go.

To cut a very long day and story short, the vet had to euthenase her this evening as it was evident that there was nothing we could do for her. We were going to call her DBB BLUE'S ANGEL. I did get a few pictures of her before I brought her inside and she started getting so ill, nothing exceptional but here is one of them.

Cutting it short tonight. Say a prayer for her.

Lori
xx

Thursday 4th June 2009

Another quickie today, this is a picture of my friend Judy's two dogs. The Chihauhau is only 8 weeks old and is an absolute cutie pie!! He is called eM and travells with her in her semi around the country until he is sold, then his momma will probably take that role back until she has her next litter of pups.

Hope everyone is good and c u tomorrow. (((((Hugs))))))

Lori
xx

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Just a quickie, pretty much holed up inside today as it rained most of the day and my leg was really paining me so I put it up to rest it and did some computer work. Hoping to be able to start cutting grass tomorrow for hay baling.

This is a pic of Kendal again which I shot on Sunday evening.

See y'all 2morrow

Lori
xx

Tuesday 2 June 2009

Today has special significance for me in many ways but I wont go into them. Sorry I have been away so long. I hope some of you are still out there. Lots of changes and responsibilities been happpening over the past 2 months and I am slowly muddling through them all.

I am going to try to post a picture every day, I have stacks that I have shot and not even edited or looked at but am starting to get the urge again, so here we go again, I am giving it another try.

Todays pictures are of an 8 year old mare that was a foal when I first arrived here in the USA and her new owner Kendal. The mare was born on 1st April and her name is DB April Dawn. She spent two weeks with a trainer when she was a 4 year old being broke to ride then went to Iowa and lived in a huge pasture 365 days of year with our other mares to have babies. She only had one baby in 3 years and came back when I went to fetch the horses last October with my new Palomino baby.

Kendal and her Mom Michelle have been long time friends of Larry and Michelle used to ride for Larry and her daughter has her natural talent with horses. April can be a bit of a handfull and have a real attitude but basically she is a wonderful mare. Kendall is showing her and BB the big Blue Roan mare in 4H this year and these were taken last night at a 4H clinic at the Fair grounds and I am so proud of them both. This was the first time for both of them in an arena with other horses and they were fabulous and considering that she has never really ridden and the horse has hardly ever been ridden, makes it even more special.

I will keep updating this story as we go.

I will try to keep this up again so hope you will all hang in there with me. Don't forget to check out my Etsy shop, there is a link on this blog, might just be something you can't live without LOL, I have made a few sales Woohoo!!

(((((Hugs))))) to you all and thanks for hanging in there with me.

Lori
xx