Sunday, June 27, 2010

Stardust's curly smokey filly is two weeks old!




Just like her mom, Stardust, this little girl has energy! I had turned her and her mom out in the pasture for an hour, then would put them up. The second day, I led Stardust into her pen, hoping the little filly would follow like she had done the first day. She stopped outside the gate and would not come in! When I came out to shoo her into the pen with her mom, she used that as an excuse to take off! After a fling around the pasture, she came back outside the gate, and stood there. I picked up a rubber feed bucket and threw it behind her! Startled , she jumped forward through the gate! Captured!
The next day-- same thing. When her grazing time was up, she refused to come through the gate-- rubber bucket-- pop into the pen!
Day three-- she had it figured out! Instead of jumping forward when the rubber feed bucket plopped behind her, she darted to the side and ran a victory lap around the pasture, tail flying high! She won! I have left the two in the pasture permanently!

Monday, June 14, 2010

"Princess" x "Gypsy's Yellow Major L." horse colt-- 1day




June 12, 2010 was a very GOOD HORSE DAY!






So this weekend it was stormy-- cold and rainy all day long! My significant other, Morlin, is out of town, helping Kara and Chad move:> So Sat. night about 10 p.m. I went out to put my 2 mares with babies inboard in clean corrals. "Princess" is due in 1 week, and "Stardust" in 2 weeks-- her first foal and MO Foxtrotters' first foal sired by our stallion "Dallas". ---I'm like yeah with my luck we'll have foals tonight! It was dark, so I opened "Stardust's" gate and I am like-- wow she is peeing alot---- then it is like--YIKES! It was her water breaking and the foal was coming! So I calmly (Yeah) lead her into the clean corral next to her and then ran to get some grass hay to throw down in the pen.
On my way up to the barn I grabbed "Princess" who I knew was going to foal that night, and put her in a stall under the barn. I run down the hill, throw the grass down for Stardust (and YES! she plopped down on the pile of clean, dry grass,) then run to the house to get towels, navel dip and vitamin shots. On my way down the hill, as I pass the barn ( by the way---Stardust is major claustrophobic, that is why she is out in a pasture, I REALLY DO LOVE this mare!) I hear gruntings coming from "Princess's" stall. I run up to look-- she is in labor! Since she has had foals before, I leave her to herself!
By now "Stardust" has delivered! I let mom and foal have some time, then dry the baby off. This is MO Foxtrotters first foal out of our stallion "ZGC Dallas". Because it is so dark and the foal is wet, I have no idea what it is or looks like. After drying the foal off I can see--YES! IT IS CURLY! Gorgeous rings of curls circling a perfect star on the foals forehead!
Then I race up the hill-- "Princess" has delivered. I help dry the foal with a big head off. Then I run back down the hill, and treat the navel and give a vitamin shot to our new CURLY FILLY! Then it is back up the hill, and I treat the navel of the horse COLT and give him a vitamin shot. I decide he is BIG all over!
As I watch "Stardust"'s mom instincts kick in-- she is awesome!- I hear the stall walls being bashed. I run up the hill to check it out. The BIG colt is having as hard time standing on the mats with the slippery grass hay . By now Morlin is home and he helps me carry the colt out of the stall. The colt has contracted tendons on his front fetlocks, making it hard to stand. He finally stands and trys to nurse. He keeps falling over. I run down the hill and check on the new curly filly. She is standing and nursing. She looks like she is a smokey black! How did I get that out of a buckskin mare and a chestnut stud? WOW!
I check the colt again, he is laying down. By now it is midnight, I try to go to sleep, but I kept checking the BIG colt -- he finally nursed well and his legs were getting better. By morning his fetlocks were going the right direction. He is the DITTO image of his mom, a sooty buckskin with 4 white socks. One pretty colt! And YEAH! I am keeping the curly filly! GOOD NITE!