Cooba had her calf yesterday! It was a bit surprise - she wasn't expected to calve until September. Chuck, her new bull calf, appears to be a full-term calf, so I guess she had fun with the bull earlier than recorded. Cooba and Chuck are in the barn now, but will probably go back outside in the next couple of days.
Natasha and Miella represented EastWind Pony Club at the Regional Prince Philip Games (PPGs) at Pony Express Stables on Canada Day. Miella rode Sneakers in a mixed team with members from United Counties Pony Club. Natasha was her helper and led Sneakers. Miella and her C-level PPG team placed second! Congratulations, Miella!
Natasha rode Fancy in her Masters level PPG team. She did really well handling Fancy at a new venue with all the excitement. Not only did their team place first in the Masters division, they also won against the A-level team. Natasha's team had riders from United Counties and Rideau Pony Clubs - and even though they never managed to practice together, they played well. Congratulations, Natasha!
Natasha finished her school year and is busy working on the farm and planning her next ride on Fancy, Dash, or one of the other horses. Exams are over, and I'm sure she did well. UPDATE: Natasha passed with flying colours! She has excellent marks on her report card! We're all very proud of her (okay, even more proud than before)!
Natasha is going to a C-level Pony Club rally at Hawkridge in July. She'll be on a team with girls from United Counties Pony Club. The C-level rally is a teaching rally, so Natasha will have a chance to ride on the flat, do stadium jumps, and cross-country. Hawkridge has palatial accomodations for the horses (beautiful box stalls), but the kids get to sleep in tents. I'm sure it will be lots of fun and learning. As with the D-level rally, there will be a stable management competition as well as other learning opportunities.
Many thanks to Lawrence for donating round bales of hay! The horses are enjoying it. Another farmer down the road donated his 10 acres of hay, too. We just have to cut and bale it. Yay! Every little bit helps!
Natasha has a new pony! Her name is Dreams Fancy Pants, aka Fancy. I bought her from Marie at Rosewood Stables so that Natasha would have a larger pony who could take her further than Dash or Coconut. Fancy is an Appy pony and loves to play PPGs.
Kathrine rode Otis while Natasha worked with Fancy out in the back part of the race track.
After Kathrine rode Otis, Mom rode him in the riding ring.
We have two new additions after the Galetta auction in June: Ash, a 4-year old Arabian gelding that belongs to Jennifer G., and Tabby, a 9-year old Paint mare (may be in foal) that belongs to Lori M. Both horses have settled in well already, but were confined to the riding ring (quarantine) for two weeks. They're now in the paddock beside Delilah's field.
Spot has a girlfriend in the round pen with him. Miss Daisy, a pinto pony co-owned by Jennifer L. and me. She's not really interested in Spot - she keeps looking longingly at Classy in the big field. Hopefully she'll decide that Spot is good enough and give us a foal next year.
Buddy, Jennifer N.'s Springer Spaniel stud, came to stay with us for a couple of weeks while their other dog went through her heat cycle. She had a litter of pups in the spring and they didn't want to accidently rebreed her this early. Natasha took good care of Buddy and he had lots of fun with Jasper and Daisy.
Warning!
Sneakers and Reba are loose on the property. There are a few binder twine "fences" to keep them on the racetrack and in the unfenced field at the back. Be careful if you plan to ride or walk out on the track - some of the strands of binder twine are hard to see. Reba and Sneakers are mowing the grass on the track and looking good.
Sneakers is on special ulcer medication and gaining his weight back.
Mom brought Annie, her neighbour's puppy, out to play with Jasper. Both Annie and Jasper had a great time playing in the water-filled ditches at the end of May. Both dogs were soaked - Jasper dried off outside, but Annie's fine fur needed a rinse. Annie got along with all the dogs (Daisy, Jasper and Tink) once she figured out that Jasper was the one who wanted to play the most! She was one tired puppy when she went home.
S'Heir has gone to Lisa L.'s place (just down the road) to keep Levi company for the summer. Lisa's sister Gina took her horse off to camp with her, and Lisa and her parents asked if they could foster a horse for the summer to keep Levi company. Natasha rode S'Heir (Lisa led S'Heir as she still doesn't understand the leg) to show how quiet she is. S'Heir is thrilled to be "chosen" and saddled up - and thinks she should stand absolutely still. I hope that she gets lots of love and attention this summer!
Lisa adopted Levi from us last year.
Breezy is growing like a weed! She's just 2 months old now and absolutely adorable.
Adoptions
Nikki has gone to her new home. We'll miss her, but know that she'll be well looked after. Her new owner says that she's doing very well.
Coconut and Maggie have been adopted and gone to their new home, too. Coconut is doing well as a lesson pony and Maggie will have surgery on her eye (she has glaucoma in the eye with uveitus and it needs to come out). Once she's healed, she'll become a lesson horse, too. Both Coconut and Maggie already have admirers and new friends at their new home.
Other news
Laura and Linda decided to move Gwen to DB Farms in Vars. We wish them well and hope that they let us know how Gwen progresses with her training.
All of the ponies had their feet trimmed in the last month except Delilah. Everyone is now up to date on shots and worming, too.
The chickens have a new run. Serge's brother donated a chainlink dog run which we've connected to the coop. That means that the chickens aren't out all over the farm (and the neighbour's) anymore. We're back to getting 3-4 eggs a day now that Lori has the chicks at her farm. We're looking for a few new hens (unrelated to Roo) to add to the flock.
The chickens really enjoy the flaxseed that I buy for them at the Bulk Barn - our eggs should be full of Omega 3 and other healthy components.
Mom bought tomato, pepper, cucumber (we hope - the labels in some pots had been removed or switched) and herb plants. Most of them are now planted in the garden by Classy's paddock with the cucumbers planted in the raised bed by the riding ring. We're looking for some raspberry or blackberry canes to plant, so if you know of anyone who has some who might be willing to share, please let us know.
Serge hung a gate at the end of the driveway (thanks, Kim and Randy). We'll be able to close it to keep out trespassers and to keep horses in. Brett helped Serge put in the fence posts across the front yard and I put the boards up with Natasha's help, so our property is now completely fenced along the road.
Kim F. and Brett came out to see Classy and the other horses. They plan to donate a gate and some cedar posts to us. They rescue Great Danes (and occasionally other large dogs) from "death row" all over North America. They also have a few horses and are thinking about breeding their mare, Lark, to Classy. Mom collects blankets, sheets and towels for their Great Dane rescue. If you have any old linens that you would like to donate, you can drop them off at the farm and we'll pass them along.
Classy and Dreamer have a sturdy fence around their paddock now, thanks to Kim and Randy in Simcoe. Kim and Randy of Jericho Stud donated the steel pipes and PVC pipes that we used for the fence, as well as the gate. After Serge and I put in the posts, Mom, Natasha and I attached the pipes and strung the electric wire. Now we just need to build a shelter in there and Classy will be all set for the rest of the summer.
Serge cut and raked some of the hay over on the property that we're renting. It's now dry and baled, and in the loft! The horses think it's yummy - lovely and green and very tasty. We still have more to cut, though. Hopefully it will stop raining soon and we'll be able to cut and rake the other part, too.
The swimming pool that Lori M. gave us last fall was up and filled. The water started to warm up, but then a combination of wind and water pressure (the ground wasn't quite level in spots) collapsed one side. We have to start over and relevel the ground before we can put more water in it.
