Springing into Spring!

The yard are full of lovely, plump, and bouncy horses. They play all day long. That is what is so great about having so many young horses. The other day two came out of the barn, bucking and rearing and one fell and slid across the pasture and ended over and a landed with her rump landing on the electric fence, which immediately broke. Nice part of having a one strand of electric fence. I could have been a huge injury if I had anything else there.

Needless to say this filly got up and started playing again. She didn't even have a mark on her.

I love going to the barn at night, I never know which horse I might run into. I find it facinating to try to guess who is there in the dark. Lots to choose from!

We are all so happy for spring, both people and the horses. Coming soon, hopefully, time to upload some playful videos.

Happy New Year

Settled in for the winter now it is new with beautiful snow which glistens in the sun.

Update on "Sky"

I haven’t been able to update this blog for a bit, but I am back on line and have lots of pictures and words to write. Since the little man I wrote about last was born, so many changes have taken place with him. “Skylark” is growing into a handsome and loving young man. These pictures of him at two weeks old will blow your socks off. Soon I will add pictures more recent so you can see the difference in his color. He is proving to be a real dark chestnut currently, but that may all change in the spring. That is one of the things about a foal, we just are not quite certain what spring will bring.

Skylark is half Arabain-Morgan and he is for sale.

See who's new in our world-MEET SKYLARK

The sun didn't come out, it was dark and dank, but it brightened up quickly with the birth of Skylark.

His mother was standing in the door of the barn normal as could be and the next thing I realized my daughter joyfully exclaiming that "Rishy" had a foal. When we got to him he was still wet on his back, by up and going, vibrant and much alive!

We spent the next hour with him. We watched to be sure he had his dose of colostrum and we hugged him and did a once over imprinting and just let him be. It was a joy to watch the life getting stronger and stronger until he started to play.

It is hard to believe Sky is now two weeks old. We just touched him a little each day basically to say "hi". He was very independent and we let him be. A couple of days ago, I gathered him in between my arms and held him until he stood still and again he would struggle to go and as soon as he stood I released my hold. After three or four tries, he just stood. I rubbed his head and played with is mouth a bit and rubbed his back sides and under his belly. I then put on the halter. I let him go and basically he just stood and accepted the whole thing. We have been picking up his feet and now he loves being with us. We found his sweet spot by his tail and he goes crazy. Yesterday my daughter put the halter on him and he just stood and let her do it without a fuss.

I like to let the independent side of the foal develope a few days before putting a lot of time into subduing them. Just a few minutes a day is all that is needed to bring a trusting relationship. Here are a few of the newer pics. He is so adorable and sweet!!!

Spring is here!

Spring has sprung here in the adirondacks. The birds are chirping, the peepers, peeping, and the frogs are crocking into the night. There is still a chill in the air, but the tiny, heads of the green grass are beginning to pop. A lovely day of much needed showers has just spruced up the greenness of the baren land.

Along with this joyous miracle, are horses who definately think the grass is much greener on the other side. They are constantly pushing fences, and once one makes a hole, it seems the others follow just like magnets. There is always one or two who are persistant to find or make that hole. It is an on going battle until the grass in the pasture gets as green as the neighbors.

This is a time when the mares estrus cycle seems magnified many times. In our pasture, the geldings become very attentive and spend these days of the cycle with a certain mare. Relationships are constantly changing. It seems some of them have their own little harems until the mare goes out of heat. Then they find another to hang out with. I was once told, geldings are frustrated stallions, and I believe that, but ours seem to compensate for that.

The feel of spring on a cold March Morning

Isn't it great to wake up to day light earlier in the morning-that is until the clocks spring forward and we are back to dark at six a.m. On the other side of the day we begin to have longer evening hours of daylight to be outside and work with the horses.

The past few days have been some of the coldest all winter. Teens in the daytime, single numbers at night and extreme wind chill factors. But- Through it all, there was the spring warmth that shone through. There is something about that optomistic spring warmth that is there lurking that makes going out easier. I ran out this morning at a mere five degrees, with a "spring" in my step and less winter duds, to run the water in the tub. It felt so good. Of course Mr. sun is lurking right behind the clouds and in minutes he peeks out to warm us at an earlier hour of the day.

"Amazing Grace" after a long, cold winter!

Charlie, The Beagle

Beagles have never been noted for their herding instincts, but let me tell you, my guy Charlie, is best friend to my sheep.Charlie, now about to turn twelve this summer, keeps active on look out for preditors. My sheep start to travel off to pasture and Charlie runs to catch up and goes before them. He often sits on knoll above them looking around. It is like he sits on watch and looks everything over to see if it is alright, and then he comes back to the house. He often sleeps out with them at night. In the winter he will sleep on top of them. He cuddles himself down into the fuzzy, warm back and you will find him there come morning.There are many coyetes surrounding my property. They howl in packs and come quite close. Charlie goes immediately on alert and keeps them at bay by barking. I believe they would be right in my yard if not for Charlies' warning bark.Charlie is from Timberswamp bloodlines bred by my father-in-law. He comes down from the field trial winner, Timberswamp Tommy. I wanted to keep this bloodline, so I crossed Charlie with a miniature, blue tick female and now have a pair of the most beautiful pups. The youngest male, Albert, seems to be watching his father and I see he goes to the sheep and sits. Last winter, one cold sunny day, I found him laying on one of the sheep. He was so comfortable he just relaxed to the point he was hanging off. Charlies' sister also would sleep with the sheep. She used to herd baby goats back to the barn if they would sneak out the door. Charlie is the best dog I have ever owned. He has a happy personality, comes for attention, but never stays long, and goes about his business never underfoot. He likes to go with us when we go on trail rides. I think this is way of keeping watch over all of us here at ON A WING AND A PRAYER FARM!