Video Clip of Bernice’s Foal, Delilah

Delilah is quite a little character. She is not in the least bit shy. Yesterday when we took her out with her mama, she was quite indignant whenever I put my hand on her little butt. She did not want direction at all. Kept trying to kick me all the way out. Reared up and charged forward to get loose and galloped gleefully around the courtyard (with poor Bernice melting down totally of course). She’s not at all afraid of people, just very independent and confident.

She got a halter on last night after the boss brought her in (trying to kick him all the way). So this morning I should have a lot more influence on our progress.  That is going to make her mad I’ll bet 🙂

Here’s some video of her hijinks…

 

Loula

Well… Loula is the last mare we have to foal this year, and she is taking her own sweet time about it. The boss says he was up most of the night watching her because she was very restless. And I brought her back into the barn later in the morning when I saw her looking unhappy and pawing at the gate. Her pulse was quite elevated (60) and eventually she lay down in her stall and groaned for a long time. Linda and Ana were both there too, and we were probably way more concerned than Loula was. Linda paced madly. Ana kept her camera phone on high alert. Then Loula just got up and started eating calmly. Her pulse dropped back down too. So it was kind of a big letdown.

She still had no foal this evening when I went back to feed. I hope it arrives tonight while the boss is there. I much prefer arriving to find a lovely clean dry baby awaiting me in the morning. That way the boss does the work (well… okay, Loula does most of the work actually) and I take the photos  🙂

Video Clip of the Newborn Filly

Here’s a bit of footage of Dora’s new foal. This was taken this morning, a few hours after she was born.

Last I heard, they were thinking of calling her “Diva”.  Her mama is “Choir Practice” and her sire is “Strut the Stage”. So it kind of suits.

Dora’s New Filly

We had another foal arrive early this morning. This one is a very flashy little chestnut. Isn’t she pretty?

She is Dora’s first foal, and is by Strut the Stage.

Rowdy Yearlings

Reno and Albert have been separated from Esmerelda for a few days now. And they are having a grand time being BOYS. Well… Albert is anyway. Reno might possibly be getting a bit tired of Albert’s antics. And the boss is waiting with completely unconcealed impatience for the day in the very near future when he can schedule the vet to come in and perform brain surgery (ie. castration) on both boys (but Albert most particularly).

A few photos of their performance this morning… Albert is the chestnut, Reno is dark bay.

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Cold Windy Ride

After all the summery weather we’ve been having, it’s a bit of a shock to have a couple of days of normal March weather back. But I bundled up and kicked myself out to the barn to tack Dressy up. King is feeling mightily put out about the way he’s being ignored, and today he was quite grumpy. He tried to get my attention while I was working on her, pointing out that he was standing RIGHT HERE! And was in fact not chopped liver. I gave him a couple of treats and some hay which really didn’t mollify him much.

I checked Dressy’s back again today and it is definitely much better with the change of saddle pad. I was using a therapeutic pad with closed cell foam inserts and have switched her to the Christ pad, which is just a sheepskin pad with quilted cotton backing and no inserts. So it’s still cushy, but has much less bulk. Sometimes less really is more.

Dressy was very very forward today. But a lot less spooky. Even her walk was right around 4 mph. There was no dilly-dallying. We had a short but just beautiful canter at one point. A good 20 strides of perfectly balanced, slow, round canter! At the end of it I brought her back to a walk and admired her madly. Told her she was just wonderful, and she snorted and tossed her head a few times. Obviously quite quite pleased with her own magnificence.

Diego was very good for Misha. No antics today. He was surprisingly lazy in fact. Just ambling along after Dressy and having to canter a bit every now and then to catch up to her walk. At least until we turned for home. Then suddenly he remembered how to move out.

When we rode back up to the barn at the end, King was throwing a raging tantrum. Bucking, squealing, and galloping around wildly. Trying to kick Ares. Being a very bad boy. He was really very worked up. That bad boy needs exercise. Dunno how he’s going to get it though, since I’m not that eager to get ON him when he’s acting like that 🙂

 

Meet Baby Delilah!

Bernice had her foal last night. She’s a very alert, precocious little bay filly. Smart as can be, and very interested in people.

There’s a fencing company that shares space at the farm, and all the guys who work on the crews trooped through the barn to ooh and ahh over her, and take photos with their phones. One young guy, who was quite awestruck at how beautiful she was, offered a name suggestion… “Delilah”. I told him that I would ask the boss, and he was thrilled. The boss liked it, so Delilah she is.

Here are some photos…

 

It's been a really BIG DAY! Nap time....

Shameless Promotion Among Other Things

Another ride in the Vivian today. Misha and Diego came with us this time. The weather was lovely, and many people apparently had the same idea of getting out to the forest, because there were a lot of hikers and dogs. Even more than the last few rides. So many people and dogs in fact that there were a few traffic jams on trail. Luckily, no bad dogs today though.

I carried my crop, and Dressy was rather less spooky. I growl at her, and she thinks I’m more frightening than a tree stump, especially when she knows I have that crop. Which is wise of her, because I would likely get quite grumpy if she unloaded me ONTO a tree stump.

Diego was quite well behaved today. He drank when offered the opportunity. And Misha wanted photographic evidence of his accomplishment. Hence the photo below….

Diego drinking out of a small natural pond in the Vivian Forest

 

Dressy’s back was sore a couple of days ago, and I was getting worried about that. So today, after having a couple of days off, I changed her saddle pad to my good sheepskin Christ pad (which cost a fortune). And voila… no soreness. I think it was mainly the other pad causing the problem, not the saddle.  It has a tacky tack type of underside, and I think she was getting a friction burn. Though I’m still not ruling out saddle fit issues once we go a bit farther.

She wore her new boots again. They are working quite well so far. They are a nice tight fit on her feet, and she moves well in them. She’s always been ouchier on gravel than King (King couldn’t care less what he rattles over barefoot), so the boots make a difference to our speed.

We did 11 miles today. Which brings Dressy’s total for the last five days to around 35 miles. I’m pleased with that.

Once we got back to the parking lot, I tied Dressy to the trailer and started untacking. A young girl peeked around the front of the truck, obviously quite interested in the horses. I started chatting with her, and told her about Dressy and Diego. She asked a lot of questions and I finally wrote down the address of the OCTRA website and told her to go and have a look and see the sports the two horses compete in. And also told her that she could probably volunteer at rides if she was interested. She went off with a big smile.

By the time I got home, there was an email waiting for me from the girl. Apparently she hustled right home and looked up the site and found my email address… she is wanting to know more about volunteering. Really… I’m pretty shameless LOL!

Yoga

So, my friend Nancy, over at http://www.grayhorseyoga.com has started sending me a new yoga pose each week. I’ve just gotten my second one and I’m practicing diligently.

The first one, the Child’s Pose, has really been helping my lower back. I have an old sacroiliac injury that acts up a bit now and then. I’m finding that the Child’s Pose really helps to loosen the muscles and free it up.

I just got the second one (Butterfly Pose). And it’s a pose that I used to do a lot when I was younger, though I had no idea it was a yoga posture at the time.

It’s really just humiliating to try these at first though. Between losing flexibility over the years, and being stiffer from all my recent riding than I realized, it’s quite difficult to even sit down on a floor, much less sit on my heels or get my knees bent all the way. However, I’m determined to regain at least some faint shadow of that formerly limber self.

Rude Words From Dressy

Here is what Dressy said to me yesterday when I went out to catch her….

After a few minutes of this, I asked her if she was done. She took a deep breath and agreed that she was. And stood politely for the halter. Sometimes though, she just has to have her say first.