This month we celebrated Canada Day with a big barbeque potluck dinner. We had hot dogs, hamburgers, salads and lots of strawberries for dessert. All the boarders and their families as well as our families were invited - not everyone could come and stay for the day and the fireworks later in the evening, but it was a very pleasant way to spend the day.
After dinner, we all walked around the track to burn off a few calories and tire out the dogs. As we waited for it to be dark enough for the fireworks, we sat around the fire pit and lit sparklers and watched for fireflies. The fireworks lasted about 20 minutes - a perfect amount of time - and we all enjoyed the display. Everyone headed for home about 10:30 pm - the perfect end to a wonderful day of celebrating Canada Day.
Lori moved Little Girl and Toby over to Summerset Stables so she can work with them when she works with her other horses, Maverick and Vanity. Her daughter was thrilled with her pony, Little Girl, when mom surprised her with an early birthday present at the end of school (after she got her report card.) Little Girl worn a big ribbon and bow (kinda hard to wrap the whole pony) for the occasion.
UPDATE: Dash now belongs to Natasha - and both Dash and Natasha are thrilled! Dash, another of Lori's ponies, is still at Dreamscape Acres as he's for sale.
Natasha, a high school student working on volunteer hours, is working with Dash three days a week; picking up all his feet, brushing him thoroughly, and working with him on the lunge line. He really enjoys work, especially the free jumping. He's 11 3 hh, but can easily jump 2' 6" neatly and cleanly.
Nikki (Maack's Nikki - a registered Paint mare) came home from Winchester Springs at the end of June. She seems happy to be home again. This week, she went off to be bred to a nice Quarter Horse stallion, Beau, in Osgoode. The breeding was payment for trailering Jenidy to her new home there. If she catches, Nikki will have her first foal in June 2009.
Gypsy (Bugs Blue Chip - a registered Appy mare - age 22) was sold to a lovely family in Winchester Springs. They have another aged Appy mare and Gypsy will keep her company as well as be ridden by the three teenage girls there. The family raises an assortment of miniature horses, spotted mini donkeys, chickens, turkeys, emus - you name it, they probably have it - for pet stores and private sales. Every animal appeared to be healthy and well-cared for, so we're sure Gypsy has a good home. Gypsy spent much of the last month that she was here with Star, our Appy stallion, so we hope she will have a foal for us next May.Jenidy, a lovely pintabian mare that came to us from a farm in Beachburg to be part of our breeding program, is now in a new home in Osgoode. She'll be bred to Beau as well. Jenidy foundered several years ago, but the vet says she's healthy enough to learn to be a working horse as well as a brood mare as long as she doesn't gain too much weight.
Scrappy arrived at the end of June. She has uveitus and is blind in one eye and only partially sighted in the other. When she came, her left eye was swollen and she couldn't see at all. With good care, the flare in her disease has slowed and she regained partial sight in that eye. She's turned out in the paddock now with the cows, Soul and Jesse, and has no problem keeping everyone in line. Soul wears a little bell on her halter so Scrappy can hear where she is at all times.
There are a couple of new calves on the farm now: Stew, a Jersey bull calf (soon to be a steer) came from a farm not too far away, Cassie, a Holstein cross, came from Leo's Livestock auction in Greely (she was born at the auction that day, so she's really young), and Belinda, a one-month old calf, arrived yesterday from the farm where Jenidy and Beau live.Spot (aka Spot My Dream), the little POA-type stallion that mom bought is turned out now with Malachi and Dash in the big field behind the barn. Mal taught Spot pretty quickly that he's not really a stallion and that even thinking about mares is likely to get him chased around the field. That's a good thing!
We have a new puppy, Jasper! He's a Husky and Bernese Mountain Dog cross - and he's going to be huge when he grows up. He's almost as big as Daisy now, at 4 months old. He's already neutered and up to date on his shots. He likes other dogs, but found out really quickly that Bart, the cat, is the Top Dog.Three chickens now live on the farm. They're miniature Bantums; two hens and a rooster. They came from the Lachute Auction on July 15th. Their job is to eat bugs and weeds and perhaps produce an egg or two.
Finn and Delilah are doing well. They're turned out in one of the big fields in the racetrack with Mac, Reba and Spook. Finn gets bigger every day - we keep making his halter bigger, but he's going to need a new one soon. He's still curly and still jet black - and still loves people, although he's more attached to Delilah than to humans now.
Beauty, mom's pony mare, is definitely pregnant. If she carries to term, she'll have a Star baby next April. Sneakers is her best buddy and they spend a lot of time grooming each other. I think Sneakers hopes that it's his baby, not Star's - unfortunately, Sneakers is a gelding.
