Update on the Un-Stable

Now it's officially an UN-Stable, there are 2 bovines residing in there. The 4H steers now live in the other big pen across from the stalls. Their names are, funnily enuf, Big Mac (who is big) and Happy Meal (who is little). Cowgirl and the new heifer, Little Red, reside with the other heifers in another barn. So begins another round of 4H adventures...
Sierra is doing fantastic, I switched her menu to be her same feed but as a hot mash, and warm her water so nothing cold goes into her. She has stopped needing a blanket or getting the shivers. She's also doing the same thing Pheonix did when she was younger, and that is calling when she hears our voices. Sierra is quite the talker lol. Her mane and tail are really growing out, as is her coat, and it's lifting off the scabs from rainrot. I really cant wait to finally brush her but to try now would torture the poor thing. I wormed her again, with Equevan this time, and her belly has slowly been going away and her condition looking better. I hope to get some new pics of her and see how they compare.
Had a good session with Pheonix last nite as well and got her all spiffy. She has the weirdest quirk I've yet seen in a horse, and that is an obsession with getting her face rubbed or touched. It's her favorite and she's always looking for it, and she just dozes off like it's heaven. She even likes to have her head cradled, wrapping an arm around her head and holding it against me like she's getting a noogie in her hair. She doesnt even care that her eyes are covered up. I have never run into a horse that trusting of thier head that they'll surrender it that far just to get petted. She's getting to be a big girl too, I can't wait for this summer. She's doesnt talk as much as she used to, but she's the puppy that follows you everywhere and meets you at the gate.
Tonite will be somebody else's turn to get brushed out...
Kajun is still cough-free and this winter she's even taken to bucking and rearing when playing, and initiating the play. She hasn't done that since before her surgery so to see that again is a miracle! I cant recommend Safe-Choice feed enuf, that is the only thing I did differently this year.
Cim has a case of cabin fever or winter blues-- he's being extremely naughty trying to escape his stall or break into the Un-Stable during the day when they're turned out. He just doesnt wanna wait to get his oats but the tackroom is Cimproof, so ha!
Buckley is herself, her shin had a bump and she favored it for awhile, but she's rambling around like she used to. She had this once before and I wondered if she didnt get kicked there or something.
Dusty- OMG Dusty. He isnt looking much like a pony anymore! I think there's more Arab in him than what was previously thought, cuz he is taller than Cim now and hasnt hit 3 yet (he will this summer) He was another case of skinny foal and seems to have hit a growth spurt. Still he is beautiful, but I'm thinking he's beyond what Jake could manage as a green horse. So Jake will haveta content with riding Buckley or riding double or being ponied. Dusty's going back to finish his driving training in the summer and from there either I'll send him out to ride or start ponying him on trailrides to get him used to all that before Jake gets to ride him. It's one thing to sit on and have me lead a horse, and another to ride it.
Twista is herself as well, I really wish the weather would cooperate on my days off to spend more time. I have a feeling she'd be squirrelly the first couople rides though lol.
Kazza has trained himself to stand in the same place everynite and pose to be haltered- he then gets his half-cup of oats and thinks he did a very clever thing tricking me like that ;). Yesterday he and Sierra were tearing around bucking, it was funny.
Awhile back I'd found one of my 'bucketlist' horses- it was a black overo filly, quiet and done-it-all for her age, mostly black with a bald face and white markings on the sides. (pretty much like Kajun only the filly was 'louder') She was perfect except for 2 things- she would be 2 this spring and she wasnt registered. Now I'm not one to pass up on grades, but being I wanna someday raise colts again, I prefer the bucket horses be papered cuz those colts sell better. Of course, getting chewed out by the owner that I couldnt make it to come see it on the day we'd hoped was kinda awkward, so I wrote it off that she was probably too mad about her plans changing that she wouldnt wanna bother trying to sell to me. So I apologized and wrote it off. In the meantime Sierra came and needed a buddy closer to her age and I was actively looking again. Out of the blue this lady calls and asks if I'd like to buy this filly half-price, otherwise she's taking her to the salebarn. Somebody there got a nice filly, but it wasn't me. It kinda chapped me- this lady just opened a new store so should KNOW basic salesman skills- and chewing out a potential customer is not how you sell things. I told her I was given a colt and my barn was full now. I didnt have the streak to tell her I dont pay people $ to chew me out- I get enuf of that for free lol. So any of you out there who are trying to sell horses- Dont cuss out the only (or any!) caller you get on that animal!
But it was all for the better, and I'm glad I passed up on it. Rhonda will be having some colts this spring and I know they'll be good. The rescues are Pheonix's mom and sister, and turned out to be bred to a perlino, So I'm really hoping they'll have girls! I think at this point color or pattern doesnt even matter, so long as they are like Pheonix and Sierra I know I'd have a winner. So please,please,please be girls!!

Un-Stable Update

January is off to a cold blustery start. Poor little Sierra has needed to wear a blanket the last few days cuz we had a cold snap and she just can't take it in her condition. Now today it's snowin and blowin and nobody wants to be outside. I think I'll do chores early when I go check on things this afternoon. I'm so ready for it to be spring!

The most wonderful time of the year...

Is actually summer when it's really 9* outside!!! I am ready for winter to be over now that Xmas has come. But it was a nice Xmas, and I'm armed with new info thanks to a couple new horse books from Jeff n the boys. One is about hoof care and the other explains the mystery of Farming with horses and all the hoo-haws of the harness. Which is awesome research for the mural I'm painting of "Old Time farming" so double score there ;). Critters are all doing great, except Buckley who's having trouble with her one foot again. At least she's good about treatment though, so that helps.
Sierra has progressed to picking up all feet, lead wherever, touch anywhere, and walk onto a blanket. (For some reason my tarp is missing...) but at least she has the concept down even if there's no noise yet. She also lets some of the cats (who have nothing better to do but figure out ways to stay warmer) ride around on her back as she wanders around. Lol, breaking her should be easy. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what she'd be like if she didnt have to catch up on so much, but the main thing is that she can now. But I get impatient cuz I know what lies beneath what all you see- she's in the caterpillar stage yet-- but the butterfly will come.
While looking at Breyer horses during Xmas shopping I found the perfect 2- One is a buckskin barrel horse that looks like Pheonix and the other is a set and comes with a cowgirl doll. What's so funny about that is the horse looks like Sierra, and someday she'll wear pink stuff too, so it'll be just like the Breyer. I just wish I was skinny like the doll lol! Jeff has gotten me a few over the years but these 2 are just awesome cuz they look like ones I have- and I've waited forever to find matching Breyers of my horses. But it isnt a high priority either when there's hay to buy for the real ones ;) ...

Highlights of 2009

Just sitting here thinking back on all the main events of my 2009 horse year...
What a year it was too. Saw the rise, my fall, and selling of Rohan, then first time ever sending a horse out to be trained by someone else- with Rohan it didnt work but with Twista it paid off; Learned to drive a trailer finally and found a whole new sense of independance with that; Took Twista out into the world and found adventure; and the latest event was the adoption of Sierra and getting her on the road to recovery. 2009 was a good year alright. 2010 brings adventures of Pheonix and Twista... and I am so looking forward to it.

my little diamond in the rough...read earlier posts

Her updated story follows the last few posts... but here's some cute pics of her :)

Before and during.....

Top photo: This is Sierra the day we got her rescued back to Rhonda's place. Poor little thing is lucky to even survive what that #@+&*^%$#^()&*^** Nikki put her through.

and here she is 3 weeks later. The lighting isnt the greatest so it's hard to see her real well, but I needed some pics of her to see the change, which seems slow in coming but it will. Winterizing the barn hasnt worked- this blizzard blew a bunch of snow inside through every nook and cranny. But at least the middle stayed pretty much snow-free, so Sierra and Kazza had only a bit down at the end of thier pen nearest the door and the tack/feed room was ok, but snow had come in all the stall doors. Alot of snow. So everyone else stayed in the freestall barn where it wasnt snowy and had cornstalk bedding to lay in instead of snow everywhere. Sigh. One of these years we'll be ready for anything ;) .
but in the meantime, here is Sierra in all her fuzzy teddy-bear cuteness lol. Yes I am partial ;).

Un-Stable update :)

Things in the Un-Stable ( my barn's name) have been winterized finally. All the horses have settled into the routine of going into thier stalls at night and turnout all day. Jeff has cut a new door on the side of the barn facing the pond so they can use the freestall barn as they wish. And with the blizzard that started today, that's where they were waiting once I got there.
We had a run -in with cattle the last 2 mornings where they knocked the gates down into the freestall shed, to get at the cornstalk bales stored there. Then of course, Jake lets all the horses out every morning and these mornings were no different. So horses went on a little feild trip into the cornfeilds and found every cockleburr along the fence, grr. so I have another job waiting, ugh. I REALLY hate cockleburrs.
Baby Sierra is doing wonderfully, she's putting weight on and actually feeling frisky-- tonite she was prancing around her pen waiting for supper. She looks like a little arab when she does that. Kazza, on the other hand, is getting cranky having to babysit. He's so chunky already that we have to restrict his grain for fear of founder, so he gets tied and only a half cup of oats to keep him busy while Sierra eats hers. But once he's let loose he shows what he thinks of that idea by tossing Sierra's rubber pan into the air several times cuz there's nothing left. He's good at dirty looks too. Once the blizzard's over I'll let him run around outside for awhile and see if that helps his mood lol. I need to take some new pics of Sierra, hopefully tomorrow works out.
Kajun is holding her weight very well and her cough hasnt appeared yet this winter. With any luck it wont show up at all. I switched her grain and she seems to be doing much better on it than her old stuff.
Cim is his usual roly-poly self using puppy eyes to get oats. It only works for a cupful though lol. He is a character though.
Twista is her same old loveable self, with any luck I'll get a chance to ride her sometime this winter when the weather's nice.
Dusty is really growing- I think there's more arab than pony in him-- he's already big enuf that I could ride him so that's cool. He turns 3 this coming summer so then it begins... :)
Buckley is her granny self as well. I still hold hope that she could be pregnant, so I guess time will tell. When Rhonda comes I'll have her test her and see if my hopes are valid.
And Pheonix is blossoming into quite the lady and losing her ganglyish 2year-old look. I cannot wait to finally ride her. She'll look so awesome as a cowgirl horse and an english horse. She's inheirited all the stuff I'd collected for Rohan and will be my new spokeshorse for breastcancer. Pink looks just as cute on her as it did Rohan, and she's got better confo anyway, not to mention brains.
So I cant wait to see what the professionals do with her, I know she'll come back as my one true love ;)...