Finoa, our first foal of 2009 is born to Urenskje

We were blanketed with 9" of snow over 2 days! Luckily, the temperature wasn't too bad. Almost all of the snow was gone within 4 days. We certainly needed it for irrigating in the summer. The girls are looking very pregnant; the first one, Hilda, is due 4/1. Cleaning the foaling stalls, getting ready for foaling, breeding and show season has us all pretty busy. Nothing to complain about, though. It's just so beautiful here; the horses, along with the beautiful Carson Valley sunrises, greet us every morning. Our colt, Biscotti, is becoming a little stallion, so we had to move him away from his girlfriends. He's a gorgeous boy and we'll be bringing him to a keuring as a 3 year old. He's still very well behaved. As soon as we get our new pastures finished, we'll be putting him with one of our mellow geldings; at least for this year. Time flies when you're having fun!

Aires and Bolero headed to their new home today. They were really well behaved leading to the trailer and getting in. Aires was a little nervous; kept trying to turn to see Bolero. The most nervous was Biscotti! He's staying and he couldn't figure out why his 'brothers' went to a new pasture, then left! I put Rainey and Welmoed with him (1.5 year old fillies) and that made him happy. Rainey and Welmoed are best friends, Rainey being slightly the alpha. Rainey wouldn't let Biscuit share her hay and chased him around a little. We might put a gelding with him on Monday, but these girls will make great company for him. Our pony, Princess, was chased all day by our quarter horse, Dolly. That's never happened before. It was nice to see both of them get a little exercise and it wasn't anything aggressive at all. Here's some pics of the boys right before they left. I'm really going to miss watching them play. They play together constantly, rearing, chasing, bucking, kicking...not at each other, just having so much fun....It's really hard to see them go. They are so affectionate and have given me so much joy...I'm glad they're together! Here's 2 videos...one is the 3 boys before Aires and Bolero left. The other was taken about 2 months ago, before Apollo was adopted. This was before my dog learned not to chase horses. He knows better now! I don't know who it is that tries to get a kick off, but he definitely gave Mac the message not to chase!

The job on the ranch that takes the most of my time is manure vacuuming! I'm the only one who seems to enjoy it. It gives me a chance to spend time with the horses, and leaves them a spotless pasture...If you've never seen a poop vac, here's a picture of me. The manufacturer is Greystone. We throw the manure in a dumpster that's picked up every 2 weeks and recycled. We empty our 'fly catcher bottles' on the dumpster between pick ups, so we have minimal fly problems in the summer. Yes, people make fun of me when they hear that I spend the time doing this. But, it doesn't take much more time than dragging the fields and it makes a huge difference in the fly population...just nicer all the way around. Now the small, little mower I drive to pull the vac gives me a back ache if I'm on it for too long...That's only if I miss 2-3 days...then it's 4 hours on the vac to catch up...or, if it's below freezing thru the day...then the vac can't pick it up....I know there have been mixed reviews on the manure vac. I don't use it for the stalls...too loud and it gets clogged too easily with shavings. But, for the pastures, it's great! I only wear the face mask when it's dry...the dust can irritate your lungs and the ear protection is a must...

I've just returned from CSU's foaling class. The part of the class I wanted most (since I've foaled many horses already) is the wet lab on what to do if the foal is 'stuck'! This has been a big fear of mine. The 'uterus' was a specially made bag, which held an unborn foal...which was really a stillborn calf. This is the 3rd class I've taken at CSU...AI and cooled semen (including collection) were the first two. I highly recommend their courses. It's great to be back home, as always. While we were in Colorado, we stopped to visit the owner of 2 of my foals. It was great to see them...they are super beautiful and bring the owner much joy. She's a new horse person who is doing super, and she has a trainer helping her. I keep in touch with most people who buy horses from me. It's great to see the horses and their people really enjoying each other. Well, time to get out there and spend some time with the 'children'. Just one thought about today....the inauguration was so heart warming. Hopefully, we are all up to the challange and take this opportunity to share and care.