Where does the time go?

So, somehow a month and a half has slipped by since my last post!  Oops!  I keep meaning to write something here, but time just gets away from me.  Which is weird, since I'm actually at home 99% of the time.  I've been moving computers around to accommodate WFH (which has no signs of ending anytime soon) and my personal computer is on the verge of death, so maybe that is part of it?  Who knows?

Since my last post, a few things have happened.  I got a delivery of 10 big square bales to get me through the next few months.  The hay isn't the greatest, but it extremely hard to find this year and it is only October. That is kind of scary for late winter/early spring.  I think I have a source for some round bales too, so fingers crossed I am ok for hay.

In exciting news, my good friend sold her house and was able to buy back the farm she grew up on.  How exciting is that?  I think it is amazing.  Even more exciting is that she will only be about 20 mins away from me.  :-)  That is especially important, since we co-own Ivy and the foal that is due in 2.5 months!

She can't move until May 1 2021, so I have her horses here.  The mare, Lucy, on the left in the pic below is our broodmare.  She was here for two weeks and then she moved to the barn where she will have her foal.  The horse on the right is Spunky, a 10yr old QH gelding. I showed Spunky back in 2016.

They settled in pretty well, considering the hooligans that were outside staring in their windows all the time! LOL  Fred and Ivy were pretty excited with the new guests and spent a lot of time at the windows until everyone settled in.  I ended up keeping Fred and Ivy outside for the 2 weeks Lucy was here, since a) I only have 3 stalls and 5 horses and b) I didn't want anything to happen to Lucy, since is very preggers.  

After Lucy left for the maternity barn, I worked on integrating the other horses with Spunky.   I have been keeping Copper in with Spunky and Fred and Ivy have been staying outside, except for their am/pm grain.   Spunky stays in a lot because, well, he has issues.  lol  He had a horrific tendon injury a couple of years ago and my friend rehabbed him, got him barefoot and on limited turnout in a round pen.  She is aiming to have him on more turnout when she moves to her new (old) farm in the spring.  So, we aren't rocking the boat here and just doing what he is capable of. 

Spunky - so handsome!

Spunky has been going out for 2-3 hours a day in his round pen (lent to me by my friend!). My goal is to get him up to 5-6 hours outside during the winter. Apparently he loves the cold weather, so this is the perfect time to have him here.  Fred and Ivy seem to be fine with all of this and there is a lot of time spent biting each other's faces over the round pen and maybe some squealing from Ivy (she is in love).

Ivy and Spunky are BFFs.  Fred feels slightly left out. 

All in all, things are going well.  The horses are settling and I'm getting ready for winter.  Working from home has been so nice, since I can get out to the barn in daylight and do the bulk of my chores without a flashlight/headlamp!

A chestnut mare - what was I thinking?

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

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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