Jubilation

 

Main Entry: ju·bi·la·tion

Pronunciation: \ˌjü-bə-ˈlā-shən\

Function: noun

Date: 14th century

1 : an act of rejoicing : the state of being jubilant
2 : an expression of great joy

3 : See Riley

 

That picture was taken when he was just a few hours old.  The following video was taken this evening.  It takes him a bit to wind up for his run.  Which is what he does on and off the whole hour and a half that he’s turned out.  Run.  Buck.  Jump on mom.  I can’t wait until he and Tootsie are allowed to play together.  That will be some show!

 

 

Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten you Tootsie fans.

 

If I had that kind of energy I could get my chores done in half the time and maybe have some time to ride!

Sleeping In

I wish I could.  Every morning when I arrive at the quarantine farm I’m greeted by something like this.  The horses don’t even bother to rise until they see me come in the gate.

 

Approaching them with the camera doesn’t even wake some of them up.

 

Awake, but not ready to roll out of “bed” yet.

 

Apollo was not amused at having his slumber in the sun disturbed. 

 

Matlida and Sierra jumped up as soon as they saw me get out of the truck.  THE FOOD LADY IS HERE!!!!

 

Matilda is getting so much better!  I no longer have to trap her in a corner with a bucket of food in my hand just to catch her.  Tonight she lost her halter and followed me around the pasture while I looked for it.  When I found it, she let me put it back on her then followed me back to the barn for dinner!  Progress!  And… the big news… Matilda has been in serious heat the past couple of days, which means she’s probably NOT preggers!    I say “probably not” because when Semi was pregnant with Kita she still acted like she was in season whenever something upset her.  So I’m not getting my hopes too high yet, but I am optimistic.  She’s been trying desperately to get Chester to “help” her out, but the poor guy doesn’t have a clue what to do for her. 

Their quarantine period will be over next weekend so these five will be moving here to the farm.  Dahlia and Matilda will be going into the quarantine paddock after I move Willow and Kita back in with the main herd.  Willow’s foal will also be a month old next weekend (and I still haven’t blogged about her… so sorry!), so she should be more than ready to assimilate into the herd.  Apollo, Chester, and Sierra will also go in with the main herd. 

Molly, Lakota, and Genesis should be headed off to their new homes soon and have I mentioned the really bad news?  I mean, the horribly awful news that I don’t even want to discuss?  Maverick has a new home waiting for him to go on a couple of trail rides, which is why he wasn’t on the list of potential horses to take to Farm Days.  The day he leaves, I’ll be holding a sob fest here on the farm if you’d like to attend.  Free admission, just BYOK (Bring Your Own Kleenex).

I need you

Remember Farm Days at Tractor Supply last year?  We’ve been invited to participate again, this time in the Spring version on May 8th.   And since I really have nothing else to do, I said sure, I’ll be there.  With bells on. 

Would someone please shoot me now?

The first thing I had to do was find someone to feed the quarantine farm the morning of the 8th.   That was easier than I thought it would be.  Thanks, Michelle!

The second thing was to get Anne working on the flyers and handouts.   That was also easy.

Now comes the hard part… deciding which horses to take!  I only want to take horses that still need a home and I don’t want to take any of the Fairmont horses since there’s a chance they may still go back to the asshat that starved them.

So here’s a list of the potentials to take to Farm Days this year.  I’ve narrowed it down, but need help in making the final decision.   Traveler, Thunder, Mick, Quill, Cinnamon, Milo, or Maggie.  I can only take two, and I think I REALLY want to take Mick.  He’s turned in to such a hunk and I just love him like crazy.

Mick – 3yr old Quarterhorse gelding.  Can be sweet, but still a little shy.

 

Traveler – approx. 2yr old gelding mutt.  Absolute pocket pony who loves attention (and cookies).

 

Cinnamon – 8(ish) Arabian mare.  Very shy, but warms up to people quickly when cookies are present.

 

Thunder – 8yo TNW cross gelding.  He’s very friendly, but was only castrated five months ago and still thinks he’s a stud.  He’s very herd bound and may be an idiot when taken away to a strange place without Lakota.

 

Maggie – 2yr old QH filly.   She can be rather rude and I’m not sure I trust her not to bite little fingers when faced with so many cookies in one day.   And geesh, talk about a growth spurt!

 

Quill – 2yr old TB/Arab cross… maybe?  Very sweet and mannerly and would undoubtedly adore every little human that came to see him.

 

Milo – 3yr old QH gelding.  Sweet, mannerly, and not likely to take anyone’s fingers off.

 

So tell me… who should I take??  Please make my decision for me, I am completely incapable at this time. :)

Baby #2

Blondie had her foal early this morning in her stall.  I was late getting to the quarantine farm due to issues on my farm, so Michelle beat me over there and she got to be the first to rub his little furry butt.  Dang it. 

 

 

I bring the big horses off the grass and into the barn at feeding time so that the pregnant and no longer pregnant mares can go out for awhile to graze.

 

 

I was going to leave Blondie and baby in for a day or two to recover, but that little guy is a pistol!  He was full of energy and raring to go.

 

 

His feet are also very long, just like Tootsie’s were when she was born, but he’s not as dropped in the pasterns as she was. 

 

He’s also as big as Tootsie is now after a week of growing.

 

Poor Shortcake.  Always a bridesmaid, never the bride.  Poor little thing had better have a foal soon before she explodes.

More Updates on the Fairmont Horses

Anne’s daughter, Emily, came over and took some pictures of everyone on Saturday and you know how I like to share. 

Don Juan is very much bald at this point but his hair is beginning to grow back and he feels as soft as velvet right now.   He’s upset about being apart from his women, but he’ll just have to get over it. 

 

Once I started grooming Chester the hair came out in great greasy gobs.  The poor guy was such a mess from the lice that he scratched himself bloody in places.  His hair is just now starting to grow back and he’d stand still for hours if someone would just rub and scratch him.

 

Sierra has done a complete 180 degree turn since yesterday.  It’s like someone just flipped a switch on her and now she seeks out attention and loves to just stand there and be petted.  She’s gained a lot of weight since being separated from Don Juan and is looking great.  I had thought she was a younger horse but I got a look at her teeth tonight and she looks to be around 15. 

 

Matilda is also learning to trust and spent a good 15 minutes being petted and adored by teeny boppers tonight.  At first her eyes were wide and she was as tense as a board, but after the first twenty or so cookies she began to relax, lower her head, and willingly get closer to people for more cookies. 

 

Peppermint and Tootsie… because how could I not include those two?  Peppermint is slowly gaining weight on Equine Senior feed and is now producing more milk for the munchkin.  Tootsie is growing up fast and has become quite the character!  She’s so small that she loses mom easily when coming or going out of the barn.  She just sees a set of legs and follows them… even if they belong to humans or the big horses!  She loves people and will often stray from mom to play with the humans. 

 

Shortcake has still not foaled and she’s not producing milk at all.  However, Blondie’s bag was HUGE today so she may foal before Shortcake.

And this… this is how you tell your Ivermectin is working as it should.  See all those little red things in there?  Those would be worms. 

  

For days after worming everyone with the first dose of Ivermectin, the “land mines” were FULL of bot larvae and threadworms.   I wormed a second time yesterday and I've only seen a few worms so far.  I’ll worm again in a month with Safeguard, as Doc suggested.

Fraggle

Well, I didn’t exactly tackle him and beat him with a shedding blade, but it was still an adventure!  

Lucky for me, the run-in shed in his paddock has a gate on it.  He let himself in while I was filling up the trough, so I closed the gate on him and went to get a bucket of feed and a lead rope.  The way we initially caught him was to hook the lead rope to itself to make a loop, then hold the loop around the bucket of feed.  As he put his head in the bucket, I quickly slipped the loop over his neck.  There were a few seconds of struggle, but I talked to him in a low voice and kept my eyes on the ground.  Once I was able to approach him and rub his neck, I slipped the halter on. 

I put the bucket of feed on the ground for him and got to work on those fur balls.  He quickly figured out that it felt good to be groomed and didn’t put up a fuss until I got to those clumps on his belly.  They didn’t want to come out easily and it was hurting him when I pulled on them.  Since I wanted this to be a positive interaction, I let them stay. 

 

Remember how he looked before?

 

Introducing the new and improved Fraggle!

 

 

He still has a lot of shedding out to do, but at least he doesn’t look like a shag carpet anymore!  As reward for him being patient with me yanking on his hair, I took him out to the tall grass for twenty minutes of grazing.   He’s still very leery of me and any fast movement makes him jump away, but he’s getting better.

 

Sadly, like Dagwood and Rusty, Fraggle also has a cataract.   While many horses are just fine after losing sight in one eye, it’s still frustrating to see it happen to one so young.   And to happen to so many in one herd!  It makes me wonder if it’s a genetic defect (although I seriously doubt Fraggle is related to Dagwood or Rusty) or environmental.   We’ll probably never know!

Tootsie Roll

I have so much to show you.  Like the starving donkey that arrived back on the 11th and Willow’s foal that was born on the 13th.  But I’m tired.   A nice hot shower even sounds like too much effort right now. 

 

But since I know you’re wondering, I’ll tell you what Doc said about Tootsie tonight.  He thins the legs will straighten with trimming and exercise, but she has a little conjunctivitis in the left eye, which could mean cataracts down the road.  Since both Rusty and Dagwood have a small cataract, we can make a fairly safe assumption that one of those boys is the father.

 

 

Otherwise, she and Peppermint got a clean bill of health today.  He also examined Blondie and Shortcake.  Blondie should foal within the next three weeks and Shortcake will probably foal by the weekend.  That poor girl looks so uncomfortable!!

 

 

Peppermint and Tootsie had a grand time being hand-grazed in the tall grass today.   They both laid down for a long nap when they got back to their stall.  Little Tootsie is way too cute for words!

Baby #1

I don’t have much time, but I had to share right away!  Peppermint, who I had no idea was so close to popping, had her baby this morning!  I thought for sure Shortcake would be the first to pop out a foal – just goes to show what I know.

 

 

 

Mom and baby girl both seem to be doing ok, but baby’s feet are way too long and need some help ASAP so she grows straight.  Doc is coming out tomorrow afternoon to check both girls over and I’m headed to town to get some straw so I can bed down a stall so mom and baby can be alone for a bit.  The rest of the herd has been very gentle with her and everyone has been very curious about the little tyke.

I need name suggestions!  I was thinking Tootsie Roll, but haven’t really decided if I like that or not.  She’s black now, but will probably grey out as she gets older.

Introductions – Everyone else

I think this is everyone else, but don’t quote me on that. 

Casper isn’t a mini, but he is a very small pony.  Maybe Welsh?  He’s very skittish and doesn’t think humans are necessary, but he’s coming around slowly.

 

Jubilee is also a small pony, and is very pregnant.  She’s a sweetie who discovered quickly that humans = treats and being petted doesn’t hurt.

 

Peppermint is a cute little mare, a little on the large side to be a mini so may be a small pony.  I’m no expert, so you tell me.  She’s also becoming friendly very quickly and loves to have her head rubbed.

 

 

Daphne is very shy and tends to stay by herself.  She doesn’t really have any buddies that she hangs with and is always the last one in to eat.  I haven’t seen anyone picking on her, I just think she prefers solitude.  She did take a liking to a little boy that came to visit today and walked right up to him and allowed him to pet her.  She just doesn’t have a use for the big humans.  I can’t really blame her.

 

Frankie is a cute little blue-eyed girl that was one of the first to become friendly towards us. 

 

Dagwood is one of the five mini studs in dire need of castration.  He’s become enamored with people and treats, but chases poor Casper around constantly.

 

Blondie is Dagwood’s girl and is probably carrying his baby.  She looks like she’s about to pop any time and her udder is starting to bag up.

 

Opie never leaves Blondie’s side and seems to be very young, so I’m assuming he’s her last offspring from a year or two ago.  He’s very shy, but figured out what treats were tonight and let me rub his head just a bit.

 

Possum is stealing everyone’s heart!  He’s the smallest mini in the herd and also one of the friendliest. 

 

Peanut is a mare that actually doesn’t seem to be pregnant, or at least not very far along.  She’s shy and hasn’t come close enough to discover treats yet, but it shouldn’t take too much longer.

 

River is Chip’s main girl and the two of them are rarely apart.  And of course she’s pregnant.

 

Sorry for the picture overload tonight, but I just can’t wait to tell you about the two new arrivals to the farm that happened earlier this week.  More on that tomorrow! :)

Introductions – the sequel

Matilda is a Percheron or Percheron cross mare and looks like she’s preggers.  Of course.  She’s also terrified of humans, but we were able to catch her tonight and get her wormed.  Then Glenn took her out and hand grazed her in the grass for awhile and she seemed to calm down a bit.    She’s a bit on the thin side, with very little muscle along her top line, and is also covered in lice.  She’s rubbed herself bloody in places, so we also got her dusted with powder tonight.  She thought the canister of lice powder was going to eat her, but we got the job done eventually.

 

Kincaid was the last to be caught and put on the trailer.  He was also the toughest!  We thought he was going to break his leg at one point when he reared up and got it caught in a cattle panel.  It was bent at the knee with the sole of his hoof facing up.  He couldn’t move far since he was pinned against the fence, but every time one of the deputies tried to reach in and cut the cattle panel with bolt cutters, he’d try to bite them. 

 

Chip is one of the mini studs.  He’s very much in charge of the mini herd and was doing battle with Don Juan before we got them rustled up and in the trailer.  He seems to think he’s 10 foot tall and bullet proof when it comes to the bigger stallion. 

 

Little Rusty is also a stud.  He’s also the one that wants to play, play, and play some more!  He’s getting friendlier every day and he just wanted me to scratch is neck for hours tonight. 

 

Ginger is just a cutie patootie.  She really wants to be friendly, but just can’t make up her mind.  She’s fine as long as she’s getting treats or food, but without incentive she really doesn’t want to have much to do with us.

 

 

This little pregnant cutie has got to be one of my favorites.  I call her Shortcake.  She’s another that doesn’t think humans are worth the attention unless there’s food to be had.

 

More to come tomorrow.  Time for a nice hot shower, some Tylenol PM, and hopefully, some very deep and uninterrupted sleep!