Barrel Racing Cow Horse!

Buck is quite the horse. He is very well broke, I know that. He rides really nicely, fast but nice. I emailed his previous owner the other day just looking for a bit of background on my boy. I was just curious as to what Buck did when he was younger because he is a very interesting fellow.

I found out he is quite the guy! He was used extensively to train racehorses for the track. He trained young colts barrel racing and he worked cows. He has lived a very active and interesting life! He has a phenomenal pedigree and a lot of speed. He watches the sheep move about a lot, more than any of the other horses, I suppose because of his previous cow work...sheep are kinda like cows I guess to a horse!

A Pregnancy Mystery....That Drives Me Crazy!

This is Cricket on Feb 25th of this year. About a month and a half after I bought her. She is a very lovely, very pretty horse. She has had 11 foals and is 16.5 years old.

She was sent to the stud farm and the first time she was bred she came back into heat so we bred her again. Now we had her checked after the second breeding and the vet said that she was not pregnant. I accepted this as a fact and planned on breeding her for a last time next year before she retires. I did not think much of it after that. However, as I have been watching her over these past few months and also watching Phoenix because she was bred at the same time too, I have noticed Phoenix growing a baby belly (as noted in a post below) and incidently I am noticing that Cricket seems to be gowing one too?!?

This is Cricket a few weeks ago....Look how big her belly is getting. It would not be huge yet, as she would only be about 3.5 months along...but am I wrong? is she not beginning to look pregnant???

This is Cricket last week. She would be almost 4 months along. Her belly is taking on a noticeably round shape to it.....If you look at the first picture of her and look at this one she definitely looks pregnant. The stud owner believes she is indeed pregnant...she is so sure that she entered Cricket into the stud books for this year. I find it hard to decided if she has just gained weight or if she is indeed pregnant. Usually if they are just gaining weight and getting fat they gain it all over, just not in a round belly. And when they do have fat bellies its not ususally so round and low.....
Above is Phoenix and Cricket. Phoenix is 19 days along in her pregnancy. And Cricket has not been bred yet.

This is Phoenix about 125 days into her pregnancy and you can definitely see a baby belly on her. The picture of Cricket would be about 110 post-breeding and does she not look remarkably similar to Phoenix???

Boys

After we went on a lovely trail ride and I spent lots of time grooming him and making him shine, Buck decided to roll in the dirt!

Ace followed suit and now both boys are dirty! Ace rolled in a llama mud bath, so esentially a big hole filled with dirt!

My LIttle Boy is Growing Up!

Here is my little Ace man now. He is 16 months old and growing into quite a handsome guy. Now that winter is on its way and he is growing his winter coat he is turning a beautiful deep sorrel color :)
The other day we were having some fun in one of our training sessions and I had the saddle on Ace for a bit. He looked good so I took some pictures. When I loaded the pictures on the camera and compared them to a picture I took of him with the saddle on when he was almost 13 months I could really see how much my little guy has grown!

The saddle almost swarmed him here, but above he looks good and it looks like it fits him! He is going to be a handsome trail horse.

The Llama Lounge

Kiwi and Ebony are spending the winter out with the horses in the horse field as I have said before. Well we had to build them a shelter becauase the horse one is just not big enough for everyone to fit comfortably...HAHAHAHAHA isn't the little llama shelter so cute next to the giant horse one!?!?! The boards across the horse shelter is to keep the llamas out so they learn to use their own shelter. The horses are not in the field yet.

We added boards across the front, even more since this pic was taken, so that it is too low for the horses to get in. We thought it might be hard to teach the llamas to duck, but they figured it out in no time...."Give us food, we will duck"

Kiwi has no problem using his shelter. Llamas are very clean animals and they pick a spot in the field to use as a communal toilet and never foul up their living space....they shelter will be so claen in the spring...unlike the horse one!

Ebony survey's her surroundings. The llamas are fairly new to this field, they were in it for a few weeks in April but have spent the past 6 months down below.
"Hey where you going? WE WANT MORE CANDY!"

OOPS!

Well at some point the horses got a little rowdy and someone ran into or was pushed into the fnce and knocked part of it down. Actually the post was broken right through. That would have hurt whomever it was that hit the fence. Now I have my suspicions, I think Misty hit the fence, because she seems stiff today, but I think one of the others, namely Phoenix or Buck chased her into it..... Other than some stiffness, Misty has no cuts or marks and neither does anyone else.

The fence that was knocked down is an interior fence...it just divides up the walk way from the fields where they all graze, so even though they knocked the fence down, no one was able to escape.....lets hope they don't make knocking fences down a habit!

Cujo's Farm Adventures

Cujo came out to the farm to visit while we built the winter llama run in. He had so much fun. He was very busy and scooted all over the place. He was not sure about all the different animals though....he whined and barked at them and was too nervous of the horses to even get close enough for a picture.

He spent a lot of time looking at the goats. They were not fearful of him...maybe because of the horns?!?!?! and just stood there looking back at him. Once we had a breach in the fence and Cujo got out and went over to the goats....he waited until we we all up on the roof and could not get to him before he breached the fence....sneaky guy!!! He did not bark or do anything to them and we called him back and he came.

Kiwi and Ebony spotted the intruder as soon as we got close to the fields.....don't they just look like they are walking up with a purpose?!?

They were not too sure what to make of the little yappy thing...lol. They sniffed at him a bit which of course made him nervous so he barked louder. All this rukus brought the horses thundering up which sent Cujo scampering to hide under the truck.....he would not go near the horses, hence no pictures of Cujo with horses.

Kiwi was very intrigued but Cujo and would have liked to really sniff him well but Cujo was having none of that!

There was lots of space in the winter horse/llama field for Cujo to chase the ball to his hearts desire! He had a lot of fun racing around the fields. I am sure he is going to ask Santa Clause for a big back yard like this one!

After all the running around chasing toys, barking at all the animals and just following his nose Cujo needed to take a much deserved rest in the shade of the truck.

Doesn't he look so impressed!?! Of course after a long day at the farm its time for a bath! Normally he loves water but after his day at the farm he was so exhausted he just wanted to sleep! It is 10:10 am the next day as I write this and the little Cuj is still sounds asleep on my bed ;)

Just Hacking Around

Buck and I went for a nice little ride yesterday around the area. We ran into a couple of scary, loud dogs but Buck was good, he looked but kept going. Phoenix would have freaked out!

The fall colours are gorgeous, and this is my favorite time to be out riding, its not too hot or too cold, the bugs are pretty much non-existent and the colours are awesome. Buck is great on the roads, he is very secure and not nervous. Cricket is ok but nervous at times. Phoenix freaks out big time and Misty is good.

We had paparazzi following us!

I love this picture. It looks very serene and peaceful.

Phoenix and I went for a short ride in the fields the other day. She will be out of comission in December as she will be in the later stages of her pregnancy. Plus we do not do a whole heck of a lot of riding in the winter anyways, so for trail rides, we need to get em in now! Because next summer she will have her baby....so really after this season she will not be ridden for about a year because by the time her baby is weaned its winter all over again! I really need an indoor arena...!

She is such a funny little mare. I cherish her. She makes me laugh with her antics.

Misty and I went for a very, very, very short bareback ride today. She is getting much better and I am hopeful that in a week or two she will be good to go and well enough to go on some trail rides. She is a lovely girl and is feeling better each day.

Ace and Misty Return!

Go Ace Go! Today I put Ace and Misty back into the same pasture as Cricket, Phoenix, Buck and the llamas and as soon as I released them everyone started to run around. No one was mean, they were just all really excited and hyper. It was truly awesome to watch and it sounded neat too with all those hooves racing around.

I like this one because all his feet are off the ground and his mane and tail are flying!

Here are a few shots of all of them racing around the fields. They all ran around for about 10 minutes in total. Then the older ones settled and began to eat, but little Ace had so much fun he kept racing around.

There they go! Kiwi and Ebony were running aorund too but never really got close enough for me to get them in the pictures.

Here they come! They certianly seemed like they were having lots of fun. Tommorrow should prove intresting as Cujo the Boston Terrier is gonig to accompany me to the farm again....!

Also I am planning on go for a couple rides on some of these guys as it is supposed to be a nice day and who knows how many more great riding days we have left. I ride a little in the winter, just to keep the horses in shape and tuned up but I of course enjoy riding in the fall so much more.

My Guy

Name: Cujo
Nicknames: The Cuj, Cujer, Little Guy, Buddy

Age: 7 years

Breed: Boston Terrier

Job: Mischevious Little Devil, Awesome Little Companion

In the posts below I have introduced both the farm itself and the animals that reside on it. I now would like to introduce my greatest little buddy ever, Cujo!

I have had Cujo since he was 9 weeks old. He just celebrated his 7th birthday in July. He is the funniest little guy ever. He always makes me laugh. He is gentle for the most part (but he does not like other male dogs) and is dominated by my two cats.

I've taken Cujo all over the place with me...from a spontaneous road trip to Montreal (several, several, several hours in the car) to obedience classes, the beach and the farm. He is not used to the farm because he did not grow up in a rural setting so he tends to get very excited and at times barks at the animals. I think he will be fine if I take him out there more to get used to them...its just that he is so little and the llamas are guardians who have a natural hate for the canine species that worries me a little.....

Cujo is a big suck and loves nothing more than sneaking up onto the bed for a rest or to play with his toys.....I guess he figures if the cats are allowed why not him?!?!

He loves to snuggle up in the blankets to keep nice and toasty warm. I often find him completely covered in blankets and if you don't look closely enough you would never know he was even in there!

Cujo adores water! Obsessed with it is more accurate. He cannot stand to bea near water without going for a swim. He is my little water dog. This surprised me actaully because he is so little I did not think he would like it and I thought he would get too cold. My parents have a big husky/german shepard dog and she hates water with a passion.....Cujo on the other hand adores it and loves his bath times!

Welcome To Acres Of Grace

Welcome to Acres of Grace! It occured to me (with a few hints:) that I have never really introduced anyone to the wonder that is Acres of Grace, nor have I made proper introductions of the animals who reside here. Acres of Grace and the animals that inhabit it rests on 150 acres of hay fields, gently rolling hills, forest and marsh land. There are trails cut into some of the forest for horseback riding, my passion. The above picture is one of my favorite. This is the weeping willow tree in the front yard. So gorgeous in the winter isn't it? Reminds me of a winter wonderland...

This is one of the back hay fields, adjacent to the summer horse fields. I ride through these fields on a regular basis and they are beautiful, especially in the fall when all the trees have turned a multitude of colours.

In the summer months the horses get their water from the pond via a pump. I do not allow them access to the pond itself, but pump their water from it to a tub they can reach. The pond is beautiful and full of many different species of wildlife, both in it and around it. It is a main water source for numerous wild animals that abound on the land.

This is the natural habitat that my horses and llamas live and thrive in. They just look so peaceful being able to be in a natural setting. I know that I am very lucky to be able to give my crew this kind of living situation and I am definitely not knocking barns, stalls or boarding stables. I have used all of those and at times miss them. Stalls are a definite advantage to reducing some illnesses such as mudfever and rainrot. I am a nature buff at heart and truly love the outdoors, the trees, the flowers and wildlife. I am happy to be able to watch my horses in such a setting, as thay have taken on the dynamics of a wild herd.

Some of the other residents of the farm. My uncle owns and breed sheep and goats. They have a doneky as their trusty guard. I do not have much to do with this aspect of the farm, however I do help out with deworming, ear tagging and anything else that needs to be done. I do love the lambing season, those baby lambs are so cute!

In the posts below you will have a chance to be properly introduced to my crew of horses and llamas and to get some little tidbits of information to help you get to know these wonderful friends of mine.