Foal Friday

 I'm going back in time for a bit to get caught up.  

These pics take me back to the day Rip and his dam came home from the fancy maternity barn.  We brought them home on Feb 27 (I think) despite there being a nasty snow storm in the morning.  We checked the weather and it looked like it was clearing out by the time we left with the trailer.  Luckily the plows were out in full force, so the highway was in decent shape.

Rip and Lucy loaded up no problem and then we were on our way back home. I have to tell you, I was super nervous having a foal in my barn. I've never handled a foal that much and now I was responsible for one!  Yikes!  Lol. I think that first night I went out every 4 hours to make sure Rip and Lucy were ok!

Night check the first night - everyone is fine!

The next morning, I was texting my friend to tell her they were fine.  I shared every detail important to a horse person: eating, pooping, drinking.

Rip wondering who the human is that is looking in his stall every 5 minutes 

 

And most importantly, Rip was nursing no problem.

My friend came out later on day 2 and we wrestled Rip into a dog blanket and a halter. Lol Why a dog blanket you ask?  Well, my friend owns a pet store and she had these dog blankets with velcro straps and no clips.  We did have an actual foal blanket, but it was too big and we didn't like the clips on the straps. The velcro on the dog blanket would let go easily if Rip got stuck.

Who are you people and why am I wearing this outfit? Rip, probably

The barn was a bit cold in March, but with these 2 and Spunky, it never went below freezing inside, so that was good.  After the first week, I was starting to relax and only go out to the barn 4x a day instead of every few hours.  Lol. 

We also put up a board to divide the two stalls, so Rip could go over to his side and pick at some foal starter grain/vitamins.  We did this to a) not have to deal with the creep feeder that his dam was licking the pellets from and b) it gave him much more room to move around.

Ok. One Foal Friday post ready! I can do this!  It is fun going back through my pictures too!

Horses here, there and everywhere!

 Wow - can you believe I've got another update here?   I've had the meat of the post ready for a while, but haven't had the pics to go with it.  I'm working on getting caught up and then hopefully I'll be able to stay current-ish with posts.

The last year has seen a lot of changes in my little herd. The collective herd is now NOT little, with 8 horses between my friend and I.  We co-own 3: Rip, Ivy and a new broodmare, Momma Mia.  I own Fred and Copper and she has Spunky and Lucy. My friend boards a mare for her sister, which makes 8! The reason I include all of these horses in “my” herd is that I help train and handle most of them! 

Ivy and Fred this spring. Fred looks teeny in this pic. Lol

My friend moved back to her childhood farm this May and by early June, all but Fred and Copper had moved to her place.  I am ok with just the two boys here for now, as I had a full house all winter, with horses inside, outside and Fred boarded to get some training.

We found a new broodmare this spring – I don’t want to say we “rescued” her, but we rehomed her for a very low price.  The lady that owned her had a big herd and was having some life issues and was downsizing.    We had a bit of vet work to do to get her back to what I consider the basics – teeth, vaccines, hoof trims, etc.   She is a registered QH with some decent older bloodlines.  She has good bone, great feet (despite a bit of neglect) and a fantastic temperament.

Ivy on the left, Mamma Mia on the right.

The mare is sweet as pie and has loved all the attention we’ve been giving her (and grain, let’s be honest!). Well, accept for the farrier… We had to use meds to sedate her so we could get her trimmed.   Her feet hadn’t been trimmed in over a year (!) so that was important to do.  The good thing is that despite not being up to date on vet/farrier work, she was in good shape. 

She approaches you cautiously, then comes in for scratches and attention.

We were able to get her all checked out and then we bred her in June to a nice local red roan QH stallion owned by an acquaintance.    We did the 45 day ultrasound and all looks good, so cross your fingers for a foal next May!

Momma Mia will stand here and quietly nicker until you give her a treat.

I boarded my friend’s sister’s mare, Tilly here for a couple of months this spring while my friend moved and settled in.  I put a few rides on the mare to see how broke she was.  Long story short: she is broke w/t/c and whoa. She doesn’t have any fancy buttons, but seems to be a solid equine citizen.  I’m still helping with this horse as her owner has major fear issues. 

Tilly is nice and quiet and should be good for my friend in time.  Tilly is a cute grey APHA mare and is not in foal, despite looking a bit round in the pic below!

Tilly - the grey (not in foal!!) mare

Ivy and Mamma Mia on the left

I don't have any pics of me riding, but I have been in the saddle a few times this summer.  I can't say that I'm loving riding at the moment (WEIRD!!) so not sure what is going on there. Something to unpack over the fall and winter maybe??

Still here - long overdue catch up post!

I was hoping to be more regular with updates, but that small goal has clearly fallen by the wayside.

zoom!

I have lots of fun pictures of Rip to post but will get to that over the next few weeks… I'm still trying to archive and edit photos, but work has been busy, so I don’t always feel like more screen time at the end of the day.

Rip was getting out in the round pen a fair bit, then graduated to the small paddock

Rip is at my friend's farm for now and it has been a bit harder to get out there as much as I'd like.  I've been so spoiled having horses at home, that I'm not used to driving to see my horse!!

Here is a quick catch up and I'll work on more detailed posts (hopefully!).

In good news:

• I’ve had both vaccines, our vaccine rates are really high here and things are slowly reopening.

• I got a promotion at work, so more $$ for horse stuff!

• I am still working from home, with no word of going back full time

• I got to visit my family (twice)!

• A few western horse shows are starting up – not sure I’ll make it to one, but at least they are happening

• I may have done a little “treat yo’ self” splurging this summer – more to come

• My friend and I bought another broodmare this spring (see pic of Mia below) and she is confirmed in foal. Woohoo! More on this in another post…

• Rip continues to grow and be adorable

• Another friend has been helping me with Rip and it has been such a great thing as I need all the help I can get!  ;-)

• Rip was getting turnout in the round pen, then graduated to the small paddock close to the barn

Rip loves his Uncle Spunky - they play and bite each other's faces. Boys.

Rip is learning to eat a bit of grass and to greet other horses. I think he is learning that the mares are a bit different from his Uncle Spunky.  Lol  It is nice that my friend's paddock set up allows him to meet the mares across a fence, so we minimize the risk of him getting kicked or something.

Rip meeting Mia - she has a wonderful sweet temperament, but not a fan of young geldings. lol

In not-so-great news:

• Ivy was bred in April, confirmed in foal, then something happened and the pregnancy was absorbed. Boo to that. Very disappointing, but always a chance to learn to apply to next year.

More updates to come; I’m not ready to give up on the blog just yet!

Rip - Weeks 2-6

 Well, I was sort of getting caught up here, then things went south again. Lol   Well, to be fair, work was pretty rough last week.   Even though I'm still working from home, I pulled several late nights last week dealing with lots of things that made the news. Sigh.  In good news, things are slooowwwllly starting to open up here now that more people are getting vaccinated. I had my first shot a month ago, which is way ahead of what was predicted.

OK - on to foal pics!  I guess this is a better late than never sort of thing at this point?  Lol

This brings us back to late Jan/early Feb. Rip was born on Janurary 17 and stayed at the fancy maternity barn until the end of Feb, when he and his dam came to my place.

Cute little man!

Rip, like most foals grew (and still is growing) like a weed! Around the 3-4 week mark, a creep feeder was put in the stall to start giving him some foal starter pellets.  The only catch, is that his dam outsmarted all of us and was able to lick some of the pellets out of the feeder!  Lol

I will crack this puzzle.  Lucy, probably.

The barn owner also handled Rip for us as well, since we weren't able to get there that often. He haltered him, picked up his feet and led him around the barn a bit.  He also got some turnout in the arena when stalls were cleaned.

The cutest wee halter!

He got to meet some of his neighbours as well!

I think this guy is a half brother (same stud)

As the end of February approached, I started to get excited and nervous as Rip was due to come home.  I've never worked with a foal before, so I had a lot to learn.

Hopefully it won't take me so long for the next post! 

The big move and Rip gets weaned

I'm working on updates...I promise! I have a mountain of cute  foal pics to post, but I have to download and edit those, so I'll be jumping back and forth in time as I attempt to get caught up!

If you remember, my good friend (and Rip's co-owner) sold her farm and bought back her childhood farm.  The only catch with all of that, is that the closing dates for the two properties didn't line up.  She just moved into her new (old) farm three weeks ago, so her horses were at my place all winter.

She owns Spunky, the big halter gelding and Lucy, Rip's Mom.  After some renos were done on her new (old, built by her Dad who passed away a few years ago) barn, my friend was ready to take Spunky, Lucy and Rip home.

Following the trailer to the farm to help unload

I have to say I miss the horses, but don't miss the workload!  Her  gelding Spunky is on stall rest, so he was quite a bit of work.  Good thing he is so handsome though!  He and Rip enjoyed playing a bit when possible. Often, while cleaning stalls, I would let Rip wander around to get used to the barn and be away from his Mom a bit.  

Uncle Spunky playing with Rip.  Ignore the dirty floor - the farrier had just left and I was cleaning stalls!

All three horses trailered well and settled into their new spots.  Well, except Rip.  The poor guy got separated from his Mom that day!  He did settle though and within 72 hours was doing much, much better.

Mmmmoooommmmmmm???? Rip, probably.

I have had a friend helping me work with Rip the past couple of weeks to get him ready for weaning and to be better with having his feet picked up.  He is not a fan of having his feet touched.  He has been trimmed once by the farrier and was due again last week.  (Note: sorry for the blue faces - don't want to post other people here if I can help it). We were able to get his fronts trimmed this time, but there was a lot going on in the barn, so his hinds will get addressed next visit.

Fronts are better than the hinds - making progress though

He was also checked by vet and given his first vaccines.  She also confirmed that he is ready to be gelded, so we booked that for later in June.  Woohoo!  Lol  I'm sure Rip won't feel the same way.

Rip looks slightly concerned here...lol

It is cool and a teeny bit sad to see Rip grow up so fast!  I'm super excited to see how he looks as he grows up though, so it is mostly good!

Rip - The first week(ish)

 Ok - more Rip updates are coming!  I'm going back in time here to keep things sort of chronological where I can.

Rip was born on Jan 17 and we were able to see him the same day, at about 3hrs old.  Our next visit was on Jan 21, which put him at 5 days old.  There was certainly a difference in just a few days. It is kind of mind boggling how fast foals grow and develop.

So cute...

Most of my pics are just of him and Mom in the stall at this point. The barn owner did start turning Mom and foal out in the arena for a few minutes a day later that same week.

Eating is good...

He is curious and friendly, but only if Mom is there to hide behind if things get to be too much!

After we were there for a while, he got to be a bit more brave. He would come over for a sniff and let me scratch him all over.  I sort of fell in love that day.  Lol

scritches plz?

And of course, it didn't take long before he needed a nap.  So cute.  The cuteness overload was almost too much to take! Lol. As much as I was ga-ga over the cuteness, this experience has shown me how much work mares and foals are.  I mean, horses are a lot of work - we all know that - but a mare and foal is a bit on a different level, I have discovered these past few weeks. 

Ready for a nap

What a better way to rest with Mom standing guard. Mom's side eye game is next level too.  ;-)

A few days later, the barn owner sent me a video of the two of them out in the arena.  

More to come this week as I get my pictures and video organized!!!

I'm still here!

I think I'm currently the world's worst blogger!!! Lol  I didn't meant to take a break, since I've been busy with horse stuff!   Work was super busy over the winter and is just starting to ease up now, so I feel like I can breathe a bit and do some other things!

A few quick updates:

Spring is coming - woohoo!

Rip is fine and growing like a weed! Mom is doing well too.  I have a lot of pictures and video, so will try and get myself organized and post some chronological updates.  I really want to have a record of things with this first (adorable but a bit bitey) foal. 

Mom was enjoying some cookies and Rip can now see over the door!

Fred is fine (mostly) and learning to work under saddle. He has some minor-ish hoof issues that I'll talk about later, once I get myself organized and gets some updates sorted out!  I also have some video of him working under saddle so that is a first that I have some actual media! Lol

Fred is doing well and is cantering under saddle a bit now!

I have a foal!!!!!

I'm sooooo excited!!! The foal has arrived!!!!!!

It is a little colt and his name is Rip.  Anyone a fan of Yellowstone?  ;-) I haven't decided on a registered name yet - I still have time to sort that out before sending in his papers.

This is the first pic that I was sent from the farm where she is boarded to foal out.  He was born at 12:36pm.  Apparently this mare likes to foal during the day and not at night!  This is her 4th foal in 3 pregnancies.  Her last was 3 years ago and she had twins (both survived and are doing well now).  Luckily there was only one this time.

My friend that co-owns the mare and foal with me called and I could barely make out what she was saying since she was so excited! lol. After a minute, I figured out that she was on her way to my house to pick me up so we could go see him. Unfortunately the barn is about 1.5 hours away, but worth it for the care Mom and baby are receiving.

Being smol is tiring!

The little guy was about 3 hrs old when we got there.  He was up and trying to nurse and figure things out.  He has a nice big blaze and at least 2 socks - I was looking at pictures again today and can't quite tell (he was in straw and shavings) if he has more white on his little legs!  

I got to pet his wee little muzzle, so that made my day.  :-)  Is there anything better than soft foal (horse, pony) muzzles?  Not really, in my opinion!

He is just the cutest little guy - his colour is quite light right now - but I expect he will get darker over the coming weeks. Mare and stud are both dark sorrel, so I expect that is where he will land eventually.  We did wonder with the little dorsal stripe you can see in this pic if he would stay this light (red dun?) but I don't think that is possible genetics-wise.  

The barn owners sent this pic this morning - sooo cute!  

I'm clearly gaga for this little guy - #sorrynotsorry!

I'm going back to see him again on Thursday, so I'll have more pics to share.

I also have a good update on Fred, but he will have to wait. He's been upstaged by his little brother!

A chestnut mare - what was I thinking?

Internet update: I've had internet since last Thursday evening. That is 4 days straight. Amazing!

*********

I've been meaning to post an update on Ivy for a while, but there wasn't much exciting news to report.  The first couple of weeks were a bit stressful, as the little herd shuffled the dynamics and they all had to adapt to the newcomer.  Fred quickly fell in love and the two of them are often quite close.

I was second-guessing myself on her a bit the first month - her heats were atrocious - messy and dramatic with lots of pinned ears and squealing.  Her heat was like that at her previous owners, as we went to see her the first time in the middle of her heat cycle.  

side eye level - expert

I had an acquaintance out to try her under saddle  during that first month to see what we were dealing with.    That didn't go well, as she hadn't yet had her teeth done and was clearly uncomfortable with a bit.  She was also reallllly attached to the herd and didn't want to be too far from the boys.  We decided not to push the mare and have a bad experience under saddle. We determined she was only green broke at best and left it at that. It then got blazing hot for weeks and I was not motivated to do much!  And sorry no photos - I do have a couple of the rider on board, but was too lazy to photoshop out her face!  LOL  (bad blogger!)  

In addition to the other small problems, she was also very difficult to catch in the field.  I could let her into her stall from the paddock no problem, but if you went out with a halter, she was like, "nope BYEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"

Actual photo of me during the first month with Ivy...lol

After her teeth were done, I noticed her settling in a bit more.  On the advice of my friend, I started her on a herbal supplement for her heat, which I was very skeptical of at first.   By the time her next heat rolled around, it was waaaaayy less messy and she was much sweeter and approachable. I was all of a sudden able to catch her and had less problems handling her overall.  This made me heave a sigh of relief, as I really don't want to deal with a nasty, ill-behaved creature out in the field.  

I'm not sure how much of that is due to the supplement and how much is due to her settling in and relaxing a bit. We'll never know...lol  I'm keeping her on the supplement until the fall when she should stop coming into heat as the days get shorter. 

Heading out to the pasture...

This past week, my friend (who co-owns the mare) found a local trainer, who I'll refer to as the Cowboy from now on.  She knows people who have worked with this guy and had good things to say.  I had him out here on Sunday to assess Ivy AND Fred (yes, Fred had a rider on board again!).  He did a lot of work with her and though she would come along quickly with a few more rides.  She is basically green broke, but willing to try.    My friend and I decided to send her to his place for two weeks, instead of having him come here 1x a week or something. It just seemed to make more sense that he could accomplish more if he worked with her more often.  

And guess what? I was out with the horses and the trainer for almost 3 hours and did not take one. single. picture.  Gosh, this blogging thing would be easier with some media!  lol    I'll do a separate post with an update on Fred...spoiler alert: he is kind and calm, but stubborn AF!

A new face at the farm

And no, it isn't a corgi puppy!  lol

The last week has brought a new equine face to my little farm!  

So cute...

Ivy is a 13yo reg'd paint mare, owned by a friend of mine.   My friend would like to eventually breed this mare, but for now, she is living at my place and I'm going to help ride her and see if we can get her going decently under saddle.

New girl on the left. Notice Copper hiding behind Fred. lol I'm in love with this picture - I might have to get it blown up and printed or something.

She has been good to handle so far and has adapted to my routine without much trouble.  She and Copper had a bit of a rough start for some reason, but she is ok with him now.

Not much grass left and it's only June!

All we know about her under saddle training is that she is a) broke to ride and b) the previous owner saddled her up and went on trail rides.  Not a lot to work with!  lol  Another friend might come over and help if I run into any major issues.

She gets an A+ for standing in the cross ties and for being groomed

 We actually know more about her early and  most recent years, with a big gap in the middle.  She was bred and shown in halter by an acquaintance, so we were able to track down some cute foal and show pics!

The picture for her registration papers 

Weanling Ivy - at a futurity in the US

She was sold and then bought by another acquaintance several years later and he used her as a broodmare and had 3 foals off her.  He sold her last fall to a lady a couple of hours from here and my friend bought her just last week.

Ivy on the far right with a neck ribbon

I had the farrier out on Monday as she was in desperate need of a trim.  That alone made her look better and move better.  The vet will be out in a couple of weeks to get her caught up on shots/dental, etc. as I have no record of her history.

She is in need of some TLC and some good feed, but other than that she is a nice little mare. I might actually have a "between the ears" pic sometime soon...  I'm normally a gelding person, but there is always time to change and try something new, right?  lol

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Yahooo!!!!!

This:

Plus this:

Equals this:

Yasssss!!!!

And now we wait and cross our fingers that all goes well.  I'm not good at waiting.  

via GIPHY