Long time no write!
Well, it's been a while since I posted anything; we have been so busy!!!! Even now there are other things I should be doing. But I feel like doing this; priorities, ya know, =-)
The Big Spottie Girls have arrived at last! They got here 4 hours before the fence was finished. On the Saturday they arrived we had some very good friends, Gina and Travis and the kids come over and help. Also our friend James, and also my Dad and friend Linda. Maria also made it over, and brought her hard working son Richard.
The women-folk worked on the house, moving boxes (can you believe we are still not unpacked?!? said with much sarcasm,...) putting up pictures, cleaning; and the men-folk worked on finishing the fences and taking down stuff on the back porch. Later on, we ladies had the arduous job of holding the mares (which involved sitting on them, petting them, and feeding them treats; very taxing work,...) while Dad, Travis, and Richard finished the fences. By 8 we were able to turn the ladies loose, so they could explore. They were so glad to be done with traveling. Much rolling in gooey Florida primordial mud was involved.
Eric cooked a wonderful supper, burgers, potato salad, Guinness. He also made sure we had a really good lunch, and made sure everyone was drinking and taking proper breaks. Heat stroke is not fun,...
After all the hugs and everyone had left, I kept peeking out the door to see how they were doing. Around 2:30, Blanche started a mild case of colic. I watched her for about an hour, but it wasn't getting any better, so I shoved 5 Pepcid into her face. 20 min later, she was all good. She was so tired, I think her belly had been bothering her all day, but she was so excited to be in a new place that it didn't show untill everything was quiet. So after the Pepcid calmed her tummy, (it was a 5 day trip from California) she laid right down, and took a good hard nap for about 15 min. Feet 'walking' and ears wiggling. Guess horses chase rabbits too, =-) Did this off and on all night. As long as she wasn't rolling, pinning her ears and switching her nubbin-tail, I didn't care. Sun morn, she was all refreshed and ready to eat!
Stella and Blanche are World Class Eaters!!! They will eat anything. They each get 7 lbs of 12% pellets for breakfast, and again for supper, with 1/2 cup of corn oil mixed in. On Wed night, they get their Big Bucket O Bran,... dry,... with nothing else. Well, maybe a little corn oil. But everything gets eaten. They like to eat.
But they are polite eaters. Aside from the kicking and squealing at each other when the feed is making it's way to their tubs, they take forever to eat, eat slowly, don't steal each other's feed, and eat what ever ya put in front of them. It's a first for me, =-) I remember hiding all sorts of stuff in molasses or peanut butter to trick a horse into eating something,...
I've ridden Stella once, then the doc had to come out and re-do her caslik. I've ridden Blanche once as well. Both are a little herd bound, but they have worked as a matched team all their lives, so I can't fault them for it. Blanche side passes to the left beautifully, I don't know why. I plan to ask Mike Muir, their breeder, if it has something to do with the hitching process. Stella goes quietly away from the house, but must get back Right Now! and Blanche sees every horse eating monster (we call them cows) on the way out, but takes her time going home. Very interesting,... It's best to have someone to ride with so both ladies go out together. They are very attached to each other, =-)
The deer are doing their thing,... The buck, Dick went into rut. Stinky!!!! Half as bad as a billy goat! He liked to strike his Hartford poses. Just knew all the girly-does were much impressed! Spike, the younger buck, spent a lot of time keeping the trees between himself and the old man. Everyone was pretty nervous for a while, darting and running about whenever Dick moved into their area. But he doesn't smell any more, has stopped 'barking', and is eating again, so I suspect he will be dropping his antlers soon.
Rose, my favorite deer, is still a sweetheart, and will let you pet and scratch her, if you have food, =-) Eric has been feeing the deer for the last two months as Dick was sort of scary. A buck in rut has very little respect or temper control, but he respects Eric!!!!
We bred Kisses in Sept for early Nov pups, but it didn't seem to take. She was due Monday, and no pups. Her belly is still flat, and she has absolutely no milk! We are all very sad, she wanted squeeky babies to lick, Eric wanted fuzzy blue bundles to cuddle and I wanted to bank mad cash back into the animal funds. We will try again in Feb or March,...
Crown List is this weekend ( see www.trimaris.org for info on my "kingdom" and our hobby, check out 'calendar' and MMM) but we will day trip. It will be a really busy day! As a matter of fact, I am supposed to be sewing garb (something Turkish or Persian) planning a meeting (I am the Kingdom Equestrian Officer) and printing some cards,... But tonight, I'm not,....
Well, I will try to be better about up-dating. And maybe add pictures, =-)
G'night kids!
Cheri'
The Big Spottie Girls have arrived at last! They got here 4 hours before the fence was finished. On the Saturday they arrived we had some very good friends, Gina and Travis and the kids come over and help. Also our friend James, and also my Dad and friend Linda. Maria also made it over, and brought her hard working son Richard.
The women-folk worked on the house, moving boxes (can you believe we are still not unpacked?!? said with much sarcasm,...) putting up pictures, cleaning; and the men-folk worked on finishing the fences and taking down stuff on the back porch. Later on, we ladies had the arduous job of holding the mares (which involved sitting on them, petting them, and feeding them treats; very taxing work,...) while Dad, Travis, and Richard finished the fences. By 8 we were able to turn the ladies loose, so they could explore. They were so glad to be done with traveling. Much rolling in gooey Florida primordial mud was involved.
Eric cooked a wonderful supper, burgers, potato salad, Guinness. He also made sure we had a really good lunch, and made sure everyone was drinking and taking proper breaks. Heat stroke is not fun,...
After all the hugs and everyone had left, I kept peeking out the door to see how they were doing. Around 2:30, Blanche started a mild case of colic. I watched her for about an hour, but it wasn't getting any better, so I shoved 5 Pepcid into her face. 20 min later, she was all good. She was so tired, I think her belly had been bothering her all day, but she was so excited to be in a new place that it didn't show untill everything was quiet. So after the Pepcid calmed her tummy, (it was a 5 day trip from California) she laid right down, and took a good hard nap for about 15 min. Feet 'walking' and ears wiggling. Guess horses chase rabbits too, =-) Did this off and on all night. As long as she wasn't rolling, pinning her ears and switching her nubbin-tail, I didn't care. Sun morn, she was all refreshed and ready to eat!
Stella and Blanche are World Class Eaters!!! They will eat anything. They each get 7 lbs of 12% pellets for breakfast, and again for supper, with 1/2 cup of corn oil mixed in. On Wed night, they get their Big Bucket O Bran,... dry,... with nothing else. Well, maybe a little corn oil. But everything gets eaten. They like to eat.
But they are polite eaters. Aside from the kicking and squealing at each other when the feed is making it's way to their tubs, they take forever to eat, eat slowly, don't steal each other's feed, and eat what ever ya put in front of them. It's a first for me, =-) I remember hiding all sorts of stuff in molasses or peanut butter to trick a horse into eating something,...
I've ridden Stella once, then the doc had to come out and re-do her caslik. I've ridden Blanche once as well. Both are a little herd bound, but they have worked as a matched team all their lives, so I can't fault them for it. Blanche side passes to the left beautifully, I don't know why. I plan to ask Mike Muir, their breeder, if it has something to do with the hitching process. Stella goes quietly away from the house, but must get back Right Now! and Blanche sees every horse eating monster (we call them cows) on the way out, but takes her time going home. Very interesting,... It's best to have someone to ride with so both ladies go out together. They are very attached to each other, =-)
The deer are doing their thing,... The buck, Dick went into rut. Stinky!!!! Half as bad as a billy goat! He liked to strike his Hartford poses. Just knew all the girly-does were much impressed! Spike, the younger buck, spent a lot of time keeping the trees between himself and the old man. Everyone was pretty nervous for a while, darting and running about whenever Dick moved into their area. But he doesn't smell any more, has stopped 'barking', and is eating again, so I suspect he will be dropping his antlers soon.
Rose, my favorite deer, is still a sweetheart, and will let you pet and scratch her, if you have food, =-) Eric has been feeing the deer for the last two months as Dick was sort of scary. A buck in rut has very little respect or temper control, but he respects Eric!!!!
We bred Kisses in Sept for early Nov pups, but it didn't seem to take. She was due Monday, and no pups. Her belly is still flat, and she has absolutely no milk! We are all very sad, she wanted squeeky babies to lick, Eric wanted fuzzy blue bundles to cuddle and I wanted to bank mad cash back into the animal funds. We will try again in Feb or March,...
Crown List is this weekend ( see www.trimaris.org for info on my "kingdom" and our hobby, check out 'calendar' and MMM) but we will day trip. It will be a really busy day! As a matter of fact, I am supposed to be sewing garb (something Turkish or Persian) planning a meeting (I am the Kingdom Equestrian Officer) and printing some cards,... But tonight, I'm not,....
Well, I will try to be better about up-dating. And maybe add pictures, =-)
G'night kids!
Cheri'
posted by Cheri' | 9:50 PM
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3 comments
