Catching up - spring news

Upcoming Events



Coming up in July:


OPEN BARN - July 17th



What's that, you say?


Well, we're having an Open Barn event to thank all the people who helped us in so many ways to get on our feet again after the barn fire last December.



There will be music (possibly by Dog & Pony Sound, Ottawa's top karaoke company), a barbeque, and informative tables and demonstrations by local equine professionals. Some of the participating people include Saddle Ridge Stables, Dr. Jeff Sleeth, and Andrew Droppo will demonstrate his Hay Steamers.



We'll also have a silent auction to raise money for the horse rescue.



Watch for more information right here and on FaceBook.




Spooktacular Fun Show


Mark your calendars now! Our second annual Spooktacular Fun Show will be on Sunday, October 31. There will be leadline and mounted classes, games, a potluck lunch (Mom's making her chili again), and of course, a costume class.





News


Forever Green Stables held their first AERSO dressage show on June 12th. Porto and I did well, achieving scores of 65.65% and 65.36% in our two classes. We brought home first, second and reserve champion ribbons! Our next AERSO show is in St. Lazare on June 26th.




The rain stopped in time for the classes and it was nice and cool for showing.


We're still waiting for Donna and Daisy to foal. Donna looks like she'll foal sometime this week. It would be nice if it happened tonight as I'm off tomorrow.


Classy (Classy Bingo Bar) is sold. He's being picked up tomorrow from Forever Green Stables where Christine was trying to start him under saddle. He's just not interested in being a riding horse, so I felt it was best to find him a new home where he could just stand at stud. His new owner is pleased with her purchase and has agreed to allow us to breed Donna and perhaps Delilah to him next year, as well as honour the breeding contract for Little Girl, Lori's pony.


Shawn (Dreaming in Technicolour - Delilah's colt) and Spot (Spot My Dream) were gelded on Friday, June 11. Both are recovering well. That means that Spook (Cool Blue Dream) is now the only stallion on the property. He's only available for breeding by artificial insemination (AI) and lives in the paddock with the cows.


Aggie and Cooba are both expected to calve soon. We check their paddock regularly to see if there are any new additions.


Dreamscapes Delilah is now a Canadian Sport Horse approved mare!!! She took Second Premium with a score of 71%, with a score of 9.5 out of 10 on her trot. We are thrilled! Thank you very much to Julie and Elisha for arranging and hosting the inspection.




Delilah was exceptionally well behaved throughout the whole experience. She's quite a different horse now than she was a couple of years ago when we rescued her off the meat truck.

Doesn't she look good with her trimmed feet and beautiful red ribbon?
Pebbles (Beauty's colt) and Shawn are both growing well and getting bigger every day. Both colts are handled daily. Shawn will be registered as part Canadian Sport Horse now that Delilah is an approved CSH brood mare. Pebbles will be registered ISHR. They're both for sale, too.








Pebbles and Shawn play together every day. Pebbles is much faster, though, and very nimble. Shawn can't scoot under any of the mares' bellies anymore: he's too tall.



Perfekt Song, the Selle Francais mare that Elisha and Julie adopted, had a beautiful filly. Her name is Muzik. She's very sweet. We're very happy that Song has a great home with wonderful people.






EastWind Pony Club news

Miella participated in the D Rally at Kemptville College on the long weekend in May. She did her D level test and got excellent marks! Congratulations, Miella! Miella's team also placed first in the Stable Management competition. Great job, Miella and Kiana (United Counties Pony Club)! I'm glad to know Sneakers was in good hands all weekend.


We have raffle tickets for sale for the SLOV raffle. Tickets are $2 each, or 3 for $5. Pony Club parents have tickets to sell, or you can email our DC for some. The prize is a handmade tack trunk filled with all sorts of goodies, including brushes, bandages and a saddle bag. The draw is in October.



Two more potential members hope to come to our next meeting. If they join, that will push our membership up to six - the biggest number of members so far.

More November news

Elisha came today and adopted Squish (Perfekt Song)! She's gone off to her new home in North Gower - we hope that she settles in well and enjoys the "princess" treatment. Squish will have a stall as well as regular turnout there, and hopefully, provide Elisha with a foal in 2010.

Elisha dressed Squish in shipping boots and her winter blanket before walking her into the trailer.

Elisha's friend adopted River, the female kitten, when they came out to see Squish last week. River is now an adored and loved house cat.

Whisper and Stripe are busy chasing bugs and mice in the barn. They're both boys, so they can stay. They'll be neutered as soon as they're old enough so that they don't stray looking for the ladies. They know their job and have already caught a mouse or two even though they're only 10 weeks old. Good kitties!!

Whisper has more black on his head and Stripe has a white bib under his chin. Whisper had a collar on, but managed to lose it within a day.

Many thanks to Jennifer G. for cleaning out her garage and donating all her horse stuff! It is very much appreciated - and all of it will be put to good use. Jennifer was out today and brought Delilah in and groomed her thoroughly - Thanks, Jennifer! I'm sure Delilah enjoyed the brushing, and it's really good for her to be handled regularly.

Kirsten, the lady who leased Gilligan when he was here, was out today and rode Nikki. She brought her dog, Sky, and took all three dogs with her when she went out for a hack. Jasper is tired out after running with Sky and Daisy - he's sound asleep now.

Jennifer N. would like to find someone to part lease Maggie. She's found that money and time don't stretch as far as she'd like now that she has children, hubby and job to squeeze in as well as "horse time". If you, or someone you know, would like to part lease Maggie, please let me know and I'll pass on the information.

If you part lease, that means that you pay part of Maggie's board, farrier and vet expenses in exchange for riding privileges. The cost would be negotiated between you and Jennifer N.

Kittens for adoption

Some inconsiderate, irresponsible pet owner tossed a cardbox box of kittens in the ditch out front earlier this week. The kittens were filthy and encrusted with feces when I caught them walking up the driveway. Six hours later, all four were clean and dry - and I only got one small scratch!

We've named them Eeney, Mini, Miney and Moe for now. Two are male and the other two female. Mini had a dislocated hip, so he's already run up a $90 vet bill and Miney is on antibiotics to clear her eye infection. All have been dewormed and are litter trained.

If you'd like to adopt a cute little kitten, please let me know. They all have long fur, so they're not suitable for barn cats. I'd like to find good homes for all of them - and Jasper would like them to get out of his cage (they're in there so I know where they are).

Bart-allo-Mew is missing
Barty-cat disappeared a couple of weeks ago. He's gone exploring before and been away from home for a day or two, but never this long. We walked all over the property calling and listening for him (he got stuck in a tree once), but didn't find him.

He may have found someone who let him in, fed him and turned him into a full-time house cat. Bart delighted in lounging on the bed and couch, so I hope that's where he's gone.

We miss him, but hope that he's happy wherever he is.

The chickens now have a heat lamp in the coop to keep their water from freezing. Please make sure the big door stays closed so the heat stays in - the chickens come out during the day and go back in at dusk. We still have eleven chickens - Mama hen still protects them from Jasper and any other perceived threat. We haven't found any eggs yet, but they may start laying in the spring since we don't keep them in the coop all the time.

Correction: We new have 10 chickens. Fluffy (black and white with yellow legs) refused to be caught and didn't go in the coop last night. He died of exposure. RIP, Fluffy.

Alexandria, who sponsors Grandma Reba, runs a pet service to help raise her sponsorship money. It's called Pet's Matter, and she offers walking, feeding, and visiting services in her neighbourhood in Orleans. You can see Alex's website here. If you need a responsible pet sitter and you live in Orleans, why not contact Alex?

Monday posts - wrapping up the weekend

On Saturday, Mom went to the Oxford Downs Pony Club Used Tack Sale at Rooney's Feed and Seed in South Gower. She picked up a nice 64" winter blanket that will do for S'Heir or perhaps Spook this winter, some pink gaming reins and a matching curb chain, a few bits, and a battered (but cheap and still usable) leather halter.

The weather was dark, dreary and wet. Natasha was disappointed - she wanted to ride. Chores seemed to take a long time, as did putting on rain sheets.

As it was Natasha's birthday, she got to pick what to have for dinner. She chose Mom's spaghetti and garlic bread - perfect food for a cold, damp day.

Dessert was birthday cake: a white, green and purple cake!

As you can see in the photos, Natasha was pleased. There was a purple swirl on the inside. Green and white chocolate ponies decorated the edge and a few more decorated the top. Green and purple are Natasha's favorite colours.

Natasha says THANK YOU!!! for all the lovely presents. She really appreciates your thoughtfulness!

On Sunday, we went to look at a possible house for Mom near Embrun. Lori came to see it, too, arriving just as we finished up looking at the barn. We headed home for lunch and Lori came back after her tour to visit for a bit.

Despite the forecast, Sunday turned out to be sunny and warm (14C - about 60F). We'd already postponed the Halloween Fun Day based on the forecast (it was supposed to be the same dreary weather as Saturday), so we introduced Mom to Squish.

Alexandria and the rest of the Clarke family came out to visit Levi and help out with the chores. Thank you!

Otis was busy stuffing himself with hay - he's settled right in and seems pretty happy here. There's lots of food, so life is good.

Jasper is seven months old now. He's still growing - just look how big his feet are! At least his tail doesn't drag on the ground anymore.

The chicks are starting to look like chickens now. Momma hen still rounds them all up at the slightest threat (Tink got too close - she was curious). It's amazing how different the chicks are - it's quite obvious that they're not all from the same parents.

The chickens like their new coop. You can see the ramp to the door at the edge of the last picture. They'll be snug and warm this winter - the coop is fully insulated. Jasper likes to help round up the chickens at night when it's time for them to go inside.

Natasha is glad she wears her helmet every time she rides. Dash spooked when something big and brown moved in the bush (the resident moose, perhaps?) when she was on her trail ride. Natasha came off - and Dash's hoof clipped her helmet. She's okay - a bit bruised from the fall - and her helmet did its job and protected her head. She needs a new helmet (always replace your helmet after a fall - helmets can be bought, but no one sells replacement heads), but that's a small price to pay to be safe. Dash is okay, too.

This afternoon, Natasha and I went down to Saddle Ridge Stable to see Delilah. She's progressing well and Reuben and Karina really like her. On our way back, we saw one of Star's (Call Me Starmaker) babies - a pretty little filly. Unfortunately, the camera batteries died, so I can't post a photo. She sure looks like her daddy - what a cutie! I can't wait to see Beauty's foal in the spring.