The Duns

This is Misty. She is a Red Dun. She looks fairly similar to Buck, except she has a red mane with blond streaks and a red tail. Her legs are red and her only marking is a white star on her forehead. She is bigger than Buck. I never noticed until I looked at these pics side by side how different their heads are! Misty has a very small, refined, feminine head. Her muzzle gets thinner as you get closer to her nose. Her cheek bones and eye orbits are refined and delicate.

Buck on the other hand, has chunky cheeks and prominant eye sockets. His muzzle does not thin out much towards his nose and has a more boxy shape to it. His bottom lip does not protrude as much as Misty's does. He is supposedly a buckskin, but I think he is actually a dun. He has dark legs, dark mane and tail with some blond highlights. His markings are brown or black not red like Misty's. Hence he is a dun and she is a red dun. Buck has more white markings...he has a star, a snip and one white foot. He had leg barring (like tiger stripes) on his legs. Both Buck and Misty have dorsal stripes on their backs.
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Its just interesting, how similar and yet different they are. I never noticed to what extent until I put these head shots side by side.

Snow Load

Buck and Cricket looking cute together standing on the hill. There was ALOT of snow last night, because 2 days ago I was riding Pheeny in the front yard....on GRASS!

Hahaha....Pheeny is so cute. She has snow on her ear...lol from the trees. She is getting big, it is exciting watching her belly grow....it will grow ALOT in the spring. I have been keeping a photo journal of her pregnancy, each month I take a pic of her and you can really see how her body is changing and her belly is growing. It is very exciting to look at. I am keeping one for Misty too.

Aw Acer! He is lovely. A little bit of a brat sometimes....he can pick on Jazz a bit and he loves to harass the big guys. He is 18 months old now and is growing into a big boy. He likes to run a lot, and loves to whip everyone up into a frenzy of running around the field.

Hehehehe! Ebony loves the snow! AFter watching the horses race around the field (Ebony and Kiwi stayed safe in their llama lounge) Ebony decided to kick up her heels too!

Ace tasting the trees. Silly, silly boy.

Buck Shows off for his Mares

What an amazing sight!!! Buck was really putting on a show today. I have never seen him like this before...it was both breathtaking and nervewracking. He seems to be jealous of our new little stallion Jazz and he put on quite the show for everyone. As you can see from the pics he was showing off and there was lots of snorting, blowing and weird growling noises to accompany all this.....I think Buck was gelded late, and thus he is kind of 'studdish' and thinks that Phoenix, Cricket and Misty are HIS mares...so he put on a show of dominance.
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In the above pic he is prancing, not something I have seen him do before, but something stallions (or geldings who think they are stallions) do to show off for their mares. Notice the arched neck.

Here is is just running full blast. Now all 6 of the horses were running around, but I mainly took pictures of Buck because of how he was showing off...it was something I will never forget.

This is Buck slamming on the breaks. He over shot his mares and so had to stop really fast.


Quick turn around and he is off again. Arched neck again.

Here he is rearing. He reared several times. I have never seen him rear before, but I suppose he has never felt he had to show off before. He is showing his dominance here. Awesome sight.

He stood on the hill very alert, notice his pose. He was snorting all this time and making weird growling type noises.

Standing on the hill again. Very alert, very tall. He is a magnificent boy. He is quite upset at Jazz and does bite him. I put another hay station out so hopefully they will keep away from each other more. Jazz is pretty laid back and just tries to go on his own way and eat. He is unaware that he is indeed a stallion. Buck is VERY aware of this fact.

Looking For a Foot of Snow

Pheeny and I went for a short ride around the driveway. She is getting big and she finds the cinch a little uncomfortable now, so for a short ride I did not bother with it. She is 170 days along in her pregnancy and is getting big.

We had some fun and it was great to be riding her again, we have not gone out for a ride in almost a month so it was nice. She can ride until February/March but Jan-March are usually the coldest, snowy months so she may get out of work sooner ;)

Jazz is doing really well! He is a really sweet boy and seems to be fitting in nicely. Ace and Jazz are not totally sure how to play together yet....Ace is much more rougher in his play than Jazz is and so sometimes they seem to have little miscommunications. LOL, the lives of horses!

It was so cute to look out and see Ace watching over Jazz that I had to grab my camera and head out to the horse field. It is a very good sign that Jazz is willing to lie down, he obviously feels secure enough to do so. And it was cute that Ace stood over him and kept him company. What sweet little boys.

Jazz just catching some rays!

Ace has turned into quite a handsome guy. Not the scrawny little fella he was when he arrived but very tall and imposing. He is more mischevious than Jazz is, but also very loving and likes to have all the attention he can get!

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We have been getting a lot or rain/snow mix and I hate it! I like the snow, but hate the rain. And when it rains and then drops a few degrees and turns to snow, then its a slippy, icy mess. I am looking forward to about 1 foot of snow. Right now Misty and Buck are sore because they are used to wearing shoes and their shoes were pulled off for the winter (so they do not slip and hurt themselves) and the mud is hard on the ground and that makes their feet tender. So a foot of snow will do us all good....softer footing for the horses.....and I will not have to worry about the mud in their hooves causing thrush.....and of course a little tobogganing never hurt anybody!

Jazz Arrives!

Well our little stallion Jazz (his call name) arrived safe and sound today. He had a 4 hour trailer ride to get here, but was in great spirits and very happy and healthy when he got off the trailer.
He is such a little doll. He is very friendly and happy to be with people and horses a like. He is not pushy or aggressive, but is assertive and will stand up for himself in the group if he is being pushed around.

Phoenix is the dominant mare and pregnant to boot so she was a little fussy when he arrived. She knows that he is a stallion, even though he does not know he is and is not in a breeding mode yet. She wants him to know she is the boss and she is pregnant..so stay away!

Cricket, who is not pregnant and is always nice to new horses got along well with him. She is very gentle and did not try to be pushy. Won't they have gorgeous foals together?

Ace was just so excited to have a buddy who is his age. Jazz is 1 month older than Ace, however Ace is already much taller and bigger than Amigo. It looks to me as if Ace and Jazz are planning some kind of mischief to get into already!!!!

Kiwi had to come by and see who the new guy is. They were both very gentle when meeting and it went very well. You never know how a horse will accept a llama, but Jazz was awesome!

Just running around the field, being a little guy! Misty sniffed him once and went on her way to go munch on the fresh hay we put out. She is a bit standoffish. She is pregnant too, so she was neither happy or sad to see a stud. Buckleberry pinned his ears, tried to bite once and then got over it. He generally is a laid back guy, and just wanted Jazz to know he is BELOW Buckleberry in the pecking order.

The New Guy....A Stallion

Here is Jazz, the new guy ;) He is an 18 month old Quarter Horse Stud Colt. We are keeping him as a stud, so he can be our breeding stallion. He has phenomenal bloodlines and is gorgeous. He is a well behaved young fellow who does not really realize that he is a boy yet ;) LOL he will in the spring though! (We call him Jazz, it just suits him much better;)

He is arriving tomorrow. These pictures are from his previous owner. He is bulkier and has a fuzzy winter coat now. He should throw colour....buckskins, palominos, grullas, greys, blacks etc... and I already have 4 people who want to breed to him next year and he is not even home yet! I am going to breed Cricket and Misty to him next year as well, get a couple of babies off him of my own ;)
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He is about the same size as Ace. It will be nice for both of these young guys to have each other to play with becauase the adults are BOOOOORING! lol. Ace loves to run around and be a little colt and now he will have another young fella to run with. Ace is a gelding, while Jazz is a stallion.

What A Messy Eater

Ebony took quite the mouthful of hay!! Ha ha, she makes me laugh so much sometimes. She is a messy eater, takes huge mouthful of hay and then drops most of it on the ground!

Hehehehe, what a cutie!

Kiwi and Ebony have been using their shelter. YAY! I am so happy, it took a lot of work, time and $$ to make them a shelter that was horse proof yet accesible to them....so I am very glad they are using it :) The exciting thing is that they are LAYING DOWN IN IT! This was the first time they have done that. They must be feeling very comfortable now, Cricket is even standing in front of the shelter.

The First Snow!

Well winter cometh!!! The first snow of the season fell today, and it was not just a few flurries but enough to settle on the horses and llamas as you can see from these pictures. I actually enjoy the snow..there are some challenges with snow and horses but there is lots of things about the snow I enjoy too. It is beautiful....the horses like to run in it....no bugs....no thrush....lol I have just always loved the snow from when I was a little kid.

Phoenix did not mind the snow one little bit...she just kept on eating. Buckleberry ran for the shelter at the first snowflake :) He really prefers the indoors to the outdoors.

Cricket, Misty and Ace just stood together and basically had a nap! I will be putting a blanket on Misty in the next day or two because she is thinner and pregnant and I do not want her to use up all her energy on keeping warm this winter. Plus she is not one who likes to go in the shelter, she seems to feel too confined.

Hehehehe, Ebony likes the snow, but did not enjoy the wind blowing it into her ears! She and her brother were very frisky when the snow first started, they jumped and played in it. Then Ebony decided she had enough and settled down for a rest by the hay.

It was quite a bit of snow for the first snow of the season, as in it did not melt as soon as it hit the ground....or animals. In other news, Misty and Ace (and the llamas) are now drinking out of the water tub (THANK GOODNESS). Phoenix and Buckleberry have been breaking the ice in the small pond and drinking from that....it will not last long though, soon the 'pond' will dry up and or freeze up and they will have to deal with the water tubs instead.

Its Hay Time!

Yesterday we put out the big round bales of hay for the first time this year :) It is quite remarkable that we have been able to hold off so long without having to put one out. We have given them some small square bales in the past few weeks, but even then normally the grass is dried up and useless in August! Everyone was over joyed at the new fresh hay ;)

Kiwi and Ebony have fit in well with the herd of horses, they are even eating hay out of the balers at the same time, right beside the horses. Kiwi and Ebony also recieve a flake of Alfalfa hay and some grain in their 'llama lounge" each day. Not that they totally need it, but it keeps them interested in their home.

Misty, Kiwi, Ebony, Ace and Buck enjoy the new hay!

Ebony and Cricket are eating at the tope bale alone for now. There is too many animals to share just one bale and Cricket does not like to be crowded, but she is fine with Ebony.

The heaters have been put into the water tanks and the horses are scared of them. They think they are snakes. So it takes a very long time for them to build up their courage to drink. I have covered the wire with a blakc tubing and blocked part of it with wood, so hopefully that will help. It rained so much the other day that a pool formed in the corner of the pasture....and all the horses are drinking out of it for the moment.......silly horses.

There Is Always Light

Well along with the exciting news about Misty's pregnancy we have had some sad news as well. Very sad news. Cricket (the paint) has only 1 eye. The other eye was removed a long time ago. Well the one eye she still has was leaking a lot and she kept it closed a lot so I had the very look at it and she has moon blindness. She is going blind in the one eye that she does have. We were very shocked by this information and very upset. Right now I am putting gel in it 4 times per day....moon blindness is kind of like a recurring infection and each time the infection comes back it damages the eye more, until eventually the horse loses the sight in the eye. Moon blindness also makes the eye sensitive to light. Normally with a horse who has another eye, you would cover the eye when there was an attack to keep the light out, but since she only has one eye that is not an option. Eventually she will have to live with just one other companion horse (who would be wearing a bell..so she can always hear where the other horse is) in a smaller paddock so that she is always aware of her surroundings, once she can no longer see.

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Then we learned that Misty has Navicular disease, which is another degenerative disease (like Moon blindness) but Navicular affects the feet. The horse foot has a Navicular bone and and Navicular Bursa which acts like a cusion for the Navicular bone to glide over the Cannon bone. With Navicular disease either the Navicular Bursa shifts or breaks down or their is a crack in the actual Navicualr bone, either way the horse is in a lot of pain and can no longer be ridden and in some cases can hardly walk and must be put to sleep. Misty is sore at times, and is now retired from riding. She gets along pretty well out in the field and with special shoes. She is sore when ridden and thus is retired. She is generally not lame at pasture and has joined the ranks of broodmare. She will become Crickets companion because neither of them eventually will be able to be ridden and they are both gentle, and as a bonus they seem to be getting along well :)

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Right now only Misty has been retired from riding, Cricket is still very rideable and will be ridden until her sight (or age) prevents it. We are hoping with diligent care we can keep her sight for 4 -5 more years at least.

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My girls have both been dealt hard blows but I will do everything in my power to make sure they live out thier lives healthy, happy and pain free. They will be cared for with compassion, dignity and respect and they are truly loved, and I know they both know they are loved and love us back.

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The light in this is the fact that Misty is expecting a little one next summer. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Flying Ace!

Ace had a lot of fun today racing around the field! He is a pretty fast guy and recently took to jumping over a 4 foot gate and escaping into the sheep field.....well I fixed that problem by putting an electric bungy gate above the existing metal gate and he no longer leaves the field :) He does however race around a lot which is great, fun to watch and good exercise for him.

He will be a lot of fun to ride, he has really nice movement. Very fluid.

Youngsters are so much fun to work with and to watch. Ace will be two next year and there is one foal due in May and one foal due in July so we will have lots of young ones in the summer. With any luck there will be 3 due the year after too ;) Next year Ace gets to begin his work under saddle and we will both have lots of fun doing it!

The Llamas Figure it Out!!

Well at first the llamas were nervous of their shelter, because in their opinion they thought maybe the horses would be able to corner and trap them in it. So they only went in it to get grain and spent their time outside, sleeping in the rain. So I decided to get them used to it by putting really nice alfalfa hay in it. (Note: the big buckets they are eating out of are full of the alfalfa hay...when I put it on the ground they fought over it, when I had two seperate piles they walked through it and this attracted the horses....the horses DO NOT get alfalfa hay).

So by putting the hay out for them I was able to get them into the shelter for a long period of time.....but how do you teach a llama that they are indeed safe in the shelter and that the horses cannot get in under the bar?!?!?!?! Incidently, the horses themselves taught the llamas this very important lesson!

The horses were attracted to the shelter because of the alfalfa hay.....so they hung around it....

At first this scared the llamas because they felt that they could not get out with the horses hovering in front of the shelter....

But those nifty llamas very quickly figured out that the horses COULD NOT get in past the bar! The horse (in the above pic Misty) would come up, look in, stand around for a few minutes, realize they cannot get in and leave. Well this taught the llamas that they were indeed safe!

"And stay out!" So after all the horses and llamas learned from each other. When I left for the day, the llamas were contentedly munching on their hay with their rears facing the horses who were croweded in front.....a big deal in itself.....a llama will not turn thier backs to a threat and definitely will not eat if it is scared....so the llamas must have been feeling pretty content in their llama lounge of luxury!