Gunner - March 30 visit

Then it was Gunner's turn. What a little man he is. So well put together it is almost scary. LOL

Jason was tacking up at his new trailer today as it wasn't unloaded yet from the clinic. He tied Gunner up and Gunner saw himself in the trailer wall. He started to "huff" at himself (guess he will like little sorrel mares hey?). Jason got after him quite hard as that behaviour is just not allowed. I was also told that Chrissy (Jason's wife) will not feed or clean Gunner's stall as Gunner has developed the habit of rearing up when someone enters his stall - no matter who it is. I told Chrissy to just carry a stick or a crop or something and smack his legs. She said she can't because she doesn't want to hurt him.

Anyways. After the studdy issues at the trailer, Gunner continued to be full of piss and vinegar when Jason started to work with him in the arena (still doing the ground work (limbering - circles - bending etc.) before getting on. Once on, Jason had to work at getting Gunner's attention and I thought I was going to see a rodeo. man...he is going to be something else for me to try to handle I think. EEPS



Once the attitude was calmer, Jason put him into a good lope and just rode him around. He sure is a powerhouse in his stops and turns.

Then it was time for the cows. Gunner isn't as "flowy" as Hyde...he likes to just blow through everything. But man...he sure looks fancy when he does it. The ground shakes when he turns and it sounds like he is a clydesdale. He is very keen on the cows...rates them great...and is very attentive to everything Jason is asking of him once he has settled. Gunner's first show will be in June sometime.





We measured Gunner when we got back into the barn. He is 13.1 at the withers and 13.3 at the hip.

Jason also told me to rethink my budget for the boys. To take away some of the funds from Hyde and put it on Gunner as Gunner will be able to make more money and will probably be the better show horse. He also wants to take Gunner to more prep shows than we had planned on just because of his studdy/explosive behaviours. LOL Doyle and I are thinking about how we can do all this...I think with careful planning and, with any luck, the sale of what we have to sell, we will be able to add in a couple more prep shows for Gunner and add another futurity...and maybe we won't have to short Hyde on his one and only show year.

Hyde - March 30 visit

Hyde was first on the agenda. He measured him and he is a full 14hh at the withers and almost 14.2 at the hip. And he looks like an adult horse finally. He looks absolutely beautiful. Jason has switched his grain mixture and WOW.

Hyde is moving just beautifully. He loves to work the cows at full steam. After a short warm up - in which I saw some fantastic powerful stops - it was on to the cows. Jason brings in a small bunch of weaner calves (around 500 lbs) and works them from the center of the arena. He has a 4 legged helper with them (his border collie). Hyde still "bulls" up into the bridle when Jason is resetting him after a stop where he has gone too far ahead of the cow...but Jason will allow him to go after the cow immediately after feeling even the slightest bit of relaxation in Hyde. It is great to see. All in all, Jason is very pleased with Hyde's progress.

Hyde also travelled with Jason yesterday to a cutting clinic. He was loped around all the other horses and didn't cause a ruckus. Jason said he was very happy with him. Hyde's first show in in Lloydminster on May 10/11. I can hardly wait.

What I saw that I really liked was that Hyde was willing to work and listen to Jason even going at a good rate of speed. And it was all on a loose rein for the most part. He is really really starting to look like a "full fledged cutting horse" in a lot of his stances!!


Chrissy, Jason's wife, manned the video recorder and I took pictures with the new camera on the "multi-burst" setting. I took over 350 pics of the two boys. Lots of series of shots. Here is a sequence of three shots that I really like because they really show how well Hyde is working now - at least to me.





At the end of the session with Hyde, Jason did some fast spins with him...said he could also make a bit of a reiner. When I mentioned that to Paige (who I bought him from) she said it made sense as his dam has some siblings that are reiners - and she thinks that one may have been the world champion. That is cool. I will try to get some pics and video of him doing that next time I visit.

I am sooo out of order

with my posts. LOL

Please remember to bear with me...I have just too much to update my blog with to remember what order everything happened.

So the newest posts all happened in either March or April. LOL

Sorry

Wooly girl

Considering Lucky wore a blanket for most of the winter - and at times two - she kept lots of her long long winter coat.

The blanket did rub her but she also shed out in weird places - in front of her flanks...along the shoulder and up both sides of her tail bone to her hips. The skin in those spots was very dry and flaky.

I had the vet look at them and she said that given her age it is probably Cushings and just a combination of that, the wearing of the blankets, and the type of winter we had. She said to just "use elbow grease" and get all the hair off...use a soft rubber brush and when warm enough give her a good bath or two.

I also had the vet look at Lucky's tumor on her side as it is getting bigger and bigger - and seems to be growing faster and faster. This is the same vet that was out in the fall so has a little bit of knowledge of Lucky. She said it still is nothing to be overly concerned about...is still soft and pliable...and doesn't seem to bother Lucky when you examine it. So I guess we will leave it at that.



The vet's overall opinion of Lucky was that, considering her age (32), she is in really good shape. A little thin but that should recover once the green grass comes in. She also said to ensure that we up Lucky's senior ration as well as we had cut her back not really knowing about her leg. She also said that if Lucky continues to do well, that there should be no reason to think anything other than she could be around for years to come.

Visiting Phoenix

The week after Phoenix was born, I stopped in to check on them and to see how he was doing. It was still pretty cold out so I was happy that they were in a good barn while he got his legs under him.



We had hoped for some nice weather so that he could get out and stretch his little legs but mother nature had other things in store for us - cold - wet - snow.

Dolly took everything in stride as best she could with all the commotion of a busy barn and people and horses coming and going all the time but she got pretty restless at times.



Phoenix on the other hand just took it all in...loved all the attention and pats.



Phoenix also got to meet other barn inhabitants. This is Jam, the cat. After he got a good sniffing all over from Phoenix and the interest was gone, Dolly decided that the cat had to go and BIT him. Poor kitty.

Lucky's hurt

Well, our YEARS of injury free luck ran out this spring. I got home one night from work and noticed that Lucky stumbled. The area around the hay bale was a bit lumpy, icy etc. from the winter so didn’t really think much of it…until Shayne came to me and said “Lucky was limping really bad today.”

So I went out and caught her…took her into the barn. Her front left fetlock was hot and swollen. So she was immediately on stall rest.

I started hosing the leg right away 2 x per day…and putting liniment on it. That seemed to help a little bit but not enough to make me happy with how it was getting better so after a week, the vet was called out.

Diagnosis – slight tear of the tendon in the fetlock.
Prognosis – good – but 5 weeks stall rest with leg wraps and hosing.

Well, as we all know, Lucky is the consummate “range pony” – hating anything to do with being kept indoors. We moved her to the “inside outside pen” and just put a piece of plywood across the doorway to keep her inside. She can see out all she wants.

The learning curve went in to full steam with me online trying to find a website that showed how to wrap a leg. I found one that showed it step by step. I then went into the city and bought quilted pads and stable wraps...and went to work.

The first couple days didn't go so well...but I have gotten lots better. It also helps that Lucky will now stand with her foot flat on the floor instead of holding it up...which, accidentally, made me wrap it with the fetlock bent instead of straight. OOPS



I made sure to take pics and sent them to friends to ask their advice on how I was doing and was told to take the wraps and move them down onto her hoof and start wrapping at the bottom and go up. So I did that and it worked lots better and Lucky was happier. Here is the next pic of my "new" wrapping technique.

More Cruise jinx

I did up my package for my parents. I bought them each a t-shirt in Aruba and bought my mom a package of spices from Grenada. Made them a cd of all the pictures we took on our vacation…and sent a write-up of daily events to go along with the pictures.

In addition to the holiday stuff, I also sent them a dvd of Hyde and Gunner in training.

I specifically sent the parcel by Express post to get it there faster as well as have a way to track it.

Well, guess what…it was LOST by the post office. Was sent to a totally different city all together, even though I had all the address info correct.

They tried for 5 days to track it with no luck so they are paying me out the insurance I had on it as well as re-imbursing me for the postage.

Good lord…nothing is safe that went on the cruise!!!

Breeding Debate

With the horse market the way it is...we are debating on breeding Dolly. She is 13 this year...can not be ridden due to injuries suffered as a youngster. So her only recourse is to be a broodmare.

Phoenix is her 5th baby for us in the 6 years we have owned her. She is a great mom...nice pedigree...tosses really well put together foals.

Our debate is whether to let her stay open again or to breed her to someone.

Phoenix's sire, Gresham, is one option...and cross our fingers for color this time. I also found a palomino tovero who I really like build and color wise (he is actually almost 85% white). They have a color guarantee on him...so thinking he is homozygous tobiano (??).

Our other option is to breed her to Molson...which would definately not cost us a thing and would give us a 50% chance of a dun - of some sort or another.

I am stumped.

Some restitution

We received, after a lot of phone calls, a long letter written and faxed, some restitution on our horrible luggage dilemna from United Airlines.

They sent us $200 travel vouchers. One for each of us.

Hyde - March 2nd visit

Melissa took the pics when we went to see Hyde and Gunner at the end of February. I stood in one corner of the arena and took video of the boys working the flag. It was very neat to watch.

The two boys are getting more comfortable working with Jason and are definately working hard and enjoying themselves.




Hyde is sure maturing. No longer looks like a youngster. Is getting thicker...jowls are becoming more prominent. He is sure a looker.

Jason is thrilled with him too - which is fantastic. Loves his work ethic and his willingness to please. Only thing he wishes he could change would be the power in his stop...but he said he may be able to work with that

Gunner - March 2nd visit

Boy - I am really not doing well with the order of things.

Meissa and I went to see Hyde and Gunner at the beginning of March. They are both doing great.

Jason said that Gunner is one "hard stopping son of a gun". LOL Said it is really nice to have something so young be so aggressive on the flag and he can hardly wait to get him back on cattle.





The only thing he would change about him is his neck - wishes it could have been another 2 inches longer to help him in his turn backs with the cow but that he didn't seem to think that it would hold him back any from what he has been able to tell in training so far.

He also has been through the "High Brow" buck-a-thon with Gunner. Jason went away to get married - so Gunner had 10 days off. Then after a week back, Jason had to take another week away to go and pick up his new horse trailer. When he got back to business with the boys after that trip, Gunner decided to BLOW UP. Jason's comment to me was "Gunner TRIED to toss me the other day. key word was TRIED." And then he chuckled.

Gunner now has to do some serious ground work - flex stuff etc. - before Jason gets on.

Luggage update

Well, our luggage finally made it home. Not quite safe and sound though.

2 of the 3 bags were really badly damaged. One of them was missing the entire front pocket - which was where the Petro Canada insignia was. Maybe that is why they could never find that bag???

We went through them and nothing seemed to be missing...but wow...it had been a month since we had packed them so who knows.

Getting them here was a hassle. We continually contacted all the airlines...to no avail. No one really knew anything.

Then one day we got a call...after we had lost it on 2 of the airlines guest relations people...from an Air Canada rep here in Edmonton. They had our bags. They had been sitting at Customs in Edmonton for over a WEEK. No one knew what they were to do with them...despite the fact that they had "RUSH TO EDMONTON" tags on them...along with our names and phone numbers (including Doyle's work number).

Can we all say "incompetence"???

Dolly foaled - March 30

Our big excitement for the month was waiting for Dolly to have her foal. We were sooo excited for this one. It would be her first foal for us not sired by Sonny. I specifically chose a colored stallion (palomino) in the hopes that she would toss her black and agouti gene and he would toss his cream gene and I would get my buckskin.

Dolly went over to Sharon and Roy's a week before she foaled. We told them all about her "habits" and true to form...she foaled very close to her due date (2 days late). She also followed all her other "signs"...leaking milk 48 hrs before...pouring milk 24 hrs prior.

I got the phone call from Roy on Sunday morning and all he said was "it's here". And out the door we went. When we got there...Roy asked me again what I wanted...I re-iterated "a buckskin filly".

But I was to be disappointed once again because Dolly foaled a chromed up SORREL COLT.



In keeping with the theme of “city/country” names for her foals, we finally decided to call him Phoenix. As for a registered name, with the number of people who told me that his blaze looks like a candle burning, we have come up with “IMA MAJOR FLAME”.

This little man is for sale…either in partnership with Dolly…or on his own at weaning

Bailey turns 12

Bailey's birthday was March 11. She turned 12 - into the terrible tween's.

She had a sleep over party this year which made things much easier on me.

She got some good gifts from everyone including a "Hannah Montana/Myley Cyrus" cd, an aquarium (and all the fixings), and of course, the ever popular money!!!

With her birthday money, she bought herself 5 goldfish and a bunch of clothes.

March

was pretty uneventful.

We finally did get the farrier out and everyone got their feet done. That was a huge relief for me as it had been forever since he had been out.

Dolly's due date was fast approaching and we just didn't have time to get the foaling stall finished in our own barn so I called a friend of mine who owns a riding stable and we hauled Dolly there a week prior to her due date.

Sorry all

that it has taken me so long to get back to working on my blog.

Things here are very hectic with spring attempting to arrive...clean up starting...foal season done and over with...etc...etc...etc.

Work is moving along like normal. We are all getting tired so things here at home (meaning website and blog stuff) are taking a backseat.

Hoping thing will improve.

Now please indulge me while I go back many months and try to put things into the blog in the order they really happened.