March onwards ...

We have a new resident - Chubby Cheeks, an Angora-type rabbit, donated by Jennifer N.

He's very friendly and is turning into a big puffball as we brush him. Pictures will be posted this weekend.

Jeff Sleeth of Dundas Veterinary was out on Tuesday to give some of the horses their shots. He gave Neala and Gwen a thorough check up, too. Jeff will be back later in the month to do the rest of the horses.

Mom came out to lend a hand herding Neala into the barn while I led Gwen. Neala appears to be learning that leading isn't all bad. Yay!

All of the horses in Soul and Reba's paddock got their shots, as did Spook, Neala, Gwen, and most of the boys in the bachelor paddock.

Last night was the third session at Kemptville College for the free OVLAC seminars. This one was on parasites and pasture management.

Melanie Barnam, DVM, recommended that horse owners use the different types of dewormers in rotation, something we do already, to ensure that parasites don't become immune to the wormers. She warned against using daily wormers (currently only available in the US) as they may produce more resistant parasites.

If you suspect a horse may have a heavy parasite load (some of our rescues have not been dewormed regularly or properly), Melanie recommended a fecal test where the number of eggs and larvae can be counted. Once you know how bad the infestation is, you can work with your vet to plan a safe procedure for reducing the load.

She also recommended that paddocks be dragged to break up the manure and spread it out so that the sun can kill off any larvae and eggs. Pasture rotation helps, too, as do our cold winters.

We drag and bush hog pastures regularly in the summer to keep weeds under control and to control parasites and rotate the horses out of the "winter paddocks" once the ground starts to dry up. That helps reduce the reinfection rate, too.

As part of the clinic, we had an opportunity to have a free "float" fecal test done, so Mom took in a piece of Sneakers' manure and Tash and I took in one from Gwen. Since it's still wintery, neither showed much in the way of parasite eggs. Gwen and Neala will get a full test done in April before we deworm them, just to be sure.

You can read more about parasites and their lifecycle in horses here: http://www.myhorse.com/assets/Health/Natural-Holistic/asset_upload_file589_11959.pdf

Caution: Graphic images of worms - not for the squeamish!

You can find lots of interesting articles on horses and horse health here: http://www.thehorse.com/. You'll have to sign up for a free account to read some of the articles. Many of them are written by vets, and verified by other vets.

Dreamscape Acres is starting a herd health program for worming that will be administered by our vet. Deworming costs will not increase because of this - but it will ensure that we give the right wormers at the best possible time to get rid of parasites.

Holiday celebration - Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful - no snow in the forecast, not too cold to be outside, and best of all, no rain.

The previously postponed holiday gathering began as promised at noon when Katherine and Michael arrived, followed shortly by Alex, Sam and Greg. Laura (our new volunteer) and Natasha had almost finished cleaning the barn, Serge had the hay wagon hitched to the tractor, and I had a fire started in the freshly dug out fire pit.


After a bit of play with kittens and dogs and ponies, we all piled on the hay wagon for a trip around the track. Serge drove the tractor past the barn and the winter paddocks.


Jasper ran alongside the hay wagon in the deep snow, loving every minute. About halfway around the track, we stopped to pick up sticks for the fire (remnants of the last freezing rain storm) and put them on the hay wagon.



Once we'd loaded a bunch of branches, including a large log that Michael found and Serge and I dug up, we headed back the house. Daisy ran alongside the wagon, Jasper ran ahead of the tractor, and Tinkerbelle rode on the hay wagon with Mom and all the kids.













I had everyone pose for a picture at the end of the wagon ride, then after they unloaded the sticks and log, we had hot chocolate, milk, tea, cookies and treats in the house to warm up.

Katherine and Michael had to leave as they had another commitment that afternoon, but the others saddled up the ponies and went for a ride around the track.

Sam and Serge rode Grandma Reba partway around the track, then Serge led Reba the rest of the way.

Natasha rode Dash, Alex rode Sneakers, Laura rode Otis, and Serge led Sam on Grandma Reba. Everyone came back with big smiles!

Alex, Sneakers, and Jasper.

Laura and Otis.

Serge took Reba around the track again after everyone else was back at the barn - she wanted to go faster than was safe with the whole gang.

I know that we enjoyed the company of our boarders, sponsors and volunteers on Sunday - I hope you all had fun, too!

Thank you to all of you for your help in the past year; the horses, ponies, chickens, cows, kittens, and dogs all appreciate your visits!

Thank you!

Belated thank yous to John R. for all his help with the electrical in the barn (and the wonderful lights in the riding ring) in 2008, and to Ray M. for his help early in the summer in the barn and in the garden.

Thank you to Joanne for the shredded paper - and the promise of more! We use it to supplement the shavings in the stalls.

Thank you to Jennifer S. for donating a bridle, reins and a bit to the farm.

Thank you to Andre L. for his help with the shelter in Grandma Reba's field - it was a lot easier to put up with two people!

Thank you to Sam for sponsoring the chickens. They got a bunch of live crickets from the pet store as a holiday treat. The chickens give us an egg or two almost every day now.

Welcome a new volunteer!

Please welcome Laura to the farm. Laura volunteers one day each weekend (work permitting) and helps with barn chores.

Roosters available for adoption

We have four roosters available for adoption as pets. They're not ever going to be big enough to be meat birds. All four are friendly and fairly well handled, but they're starting to peck each other in the close quarters of the coop in winter.

If you know of anyone who has room for a new rooster or who would like one as a pet, please let us know.

School volunteer hours

You can volunteer at Dreamscape Acres for your volunteer hours for high school. We have lots of different chores that can be done, from grooming horses to repairing fencing to building shelters. Call or email to arrange a volunteer position!

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?

More changes...

Classy is here! I picked him up last Thursday. He's in quarantine in the riding ring right now (let me know if you want to ride in there and I'll move him) and has settled in just fine.

This month we sadly say good bye to Gilligan. His owner, Natalie, sold him and he went to his new home on the weekend. We wish him well and hope that his new owner loves him as much as we did - he's a sweet guy.

Roxy is also leaving. She's going off for training for the winter. Natasha is pretty disappointed - she'd hoped to show her next spring and summer. There are other horses here for Natasha to ride, as well as her pony, Dash, so she'll be okay.

That means that we have two spaces available for outdoor board immediately.

Delilah comes back from Saddle Ridge tomorrow. She's been there a month already - and has made a lot of progress. Reuben and Karina got her to the point of accepting a saddle on her back. She's not ready to be ridden yet, but with lots of patient handling, she will continue to improve. If you go to the Saddle Ridge blog, you can see photos of Reuben and Delilah working with the saddle.

Many thanks to Dan Angell of Animal Care Solutions - he gave us a great discount on the ANIVAC System that should arrive here on Friday. This system will allow us to wash horses even in the winter without leaving them soaking wet or leaving huge puddles in the barn or yard. It'll save water, too - that's important when all our water comes from a well. It's a portable unit, so you can even use it outside (not in the depths of winter, though, the water in it would freeze). We'll make sure everyone knows how to use it safely.

Natasha, Mom and I spent the weekend in Toronto at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. We spent all day Saturday (from 8:30 am until 10:30 pm) and most of Sunday there. We rode the mechanical horses, shopped (I bought two more winter blankets, and Natasha and I both bought new helmets), handed out business cards, watched the horse shows, and collected free stuff.

Although our hotel room was tiny, it was clean, and we had a microwave and fridge. A continental breakfast (muffins, coffee, juice, waffles, apples) came with our room, too, so that saved us money on food. We had a great time, but we were still pretty happy to be home and to sleep in our own beds again.

Serge did a great job of holding down the fort at home. He took care of Mom's dog, Tinkerbelle, as well as our dogs, Jasper and Daisy, the three new kittens, all the horses, the cows, and nursed Stew (the Jersey steer) back to health after an episode of bloat (another vet bill). Serge seemed pretty happy that I was home when he got home from work on Monday!

It's Friday!

Once chores are done today, Natasha and I will be heading off to North Gower to pick up Squish (aka Perfekt Song), a 20-year old Selle Francais mare. We'll settle her in here, then head off to Jen L.'s place to show off Mackenzie for a potential buyer.

Tonight is the Think Pink for Deb fundraiser at the Lucky 7 in Embrun. There will be a draw for 2 VIP seats for a Senators' game - come on out and buy a ticket or two!! All the money raised goes to help Deb with her cancer treatment. Click on the pink link to get details.

First thing tomorrow, we're off to the Oxford Downs Used Tack Sale in Rooney's in South Gower. I was a member of Oxford Downs for a long time - mom was the District Commissioner and the secretary at various times - so I think it's important to support the sale and it's great to see the new Pony Clubbers. They should have their new calendars on sale, too, so if you have a horse-crazy child in your house, this could be a perfect stocking stuffer!

Saturday evening, we'll celebrate Natasha's birthday with spaghetti and garlic bread and birthday cake. Yummy! I'm pretty sure there will be presents, too. You can leave a comment here to wish Natasha happy birthday if you don't get to say it in person - I'll make sure they get passed along to her.

Delilah is doing well at Saddle Ridge Stables. Karina updated her blog with a paragraph about Delilah's progress. We're very happy that she's progressing. If you're looking for a well-started horse, check out the Saddle Ridge blog - Karina and Reuben have a couple for sale that have at least 30 days of professional training.

On Sunday, weather permitting, we'll have our Halloween Fun Day. We're having a costume class for kids with the ponies and horses - Mom will be the judge - with ribbons for first and second prize as well as games. There will be loot bags for everyone and a barbeque and bonfire. We'll post pictures of the costumes here. I'm looking forward to it, that's for sure.

It's hard to believe

But tomorrow's forecast includes the possibility of snow flurries! I'm not ready - are you?

The ponies have good winter coats of fur - and warm blankets in the tack room just in case.

Gillgan appears to enjoy the fall weather in this photo. He's found some grass and some sunshine and a beautiful spot to relax by himself in the boys' paddock.

We had a busy weekend.

On Saturday, we went to Kemptville College to watch the Canadian Sport Horse (CSH) Mare Inspection. Natasha, Mom and I met up there and watched four mares go through the inspection process. The inspectors described how each mare met the criteria to become an approved brood mare. That was very informative. We hope to bring Delilah to an inspection next spring. We already know she makes great babies!

After that, we had lunch at Broadway in Kemptville, then went down to visit Delilah at Saddle Ridge Stables where Reuben and Karina are working with her to get her to be more comfortable with humans. Reuben let us watch him work with Delilah - she joined up with him really well and let him pat her all over and even run his hands down her legs. She's still a bit anxious about his hands on her legs, but we could see the improvement.

Then it was home to do chores.

On Sunday, we had a lot of wonderful visitors. Jen L. asked us to post Roxy on Equistation and several people called or emailed about buying her within minutes of posting her photo in the ad.

Lynn V. came to see Roxy and bought her!!

Congratulations on your beautiful new horse, Lynn!

Welcome to the barn as a boarder, too!

Yes, Roxy will be staying here as a boarder, and we're thrilled. Natasha looks forward to showing Roxy next spring and summer, too.

Lynn V. has also decided to sponsor Otis. Thank you, Lynn, for your generosity!

Alexandria Clarke came to visit the farm with her parents and decided that she wants to sponsor Levi. Thank you very much to the Clarke family, and especially to Alexandria. We look forward to your visits.

Two more of the chicks have names: Fluffy and Rosy. That means that six out of our eleven chickens now have names. If you'd like to name a chick, we'll tell you which ones are which and you can name one of the last five. So far, we have Fluffy, Rosy, Chip, Harry, Nemo, Red, and Mama. They live in the coop by the barn - they'll be part of our fly control program next spring and summer. We hope that they'll lay eggs for us over the winter, too.

Otis is a bit of a ham. Natasha took this picture as he appeared to laugh as Mom tickled him on his neck. Standing still is one of his best tricks, so it's easy to get photos of him. (Sorry, Natasha, it's hard to tell who took which picture when we all use Mom's camera.)

Despite his short stature, he's happy to have one or two children or an adult on his back for as long as they want to be here. He's got really good ground manners, so he's a pleasure to lead, too.

Fire is growing up. She's a year and a half old now.

Mom listed Dreams Firecracker (aka Fire) for adoption for $500 on Used Ottawa. I know she'd rather not sell her, but I think she'd make a wonderful child's hunter pony. She's about 13 hh now and should finish about 14 hh - not too tall for a child. Beauty, Fire's mom, is due to foal again in April. Mom doesn't really need five ponies - with Beauty's new foal, she would have six. Someone has to go.

We'll make sure Fire gets a good home and we'll ask them to keep us up to date on her progress and send pictures.

Bart, the beautiful black barn cat who thinks he should be a house cat, brought me a salamander the other day. It's a Blue Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale). Blue spotted salamanders have a range that covers most of North America. Mom found a lot of references to variants of blue spotted salamanders all over Eastern Canada and down into the United States.

The salamander had an injury to his tail, so I put him in the aquarium with some rocks and some water to let him heal. He's all better now, so I released him in the woods so that he has time to burrow or find a den for the winter. You can see the notch in his tail in the photo that I took. The picture that Mom took through the side of the aquarium shows his blue spots.

It's a plastic aquarium designed to hold a Beta fish, so it was tough to get a clear picture. We didn't want to stress him by picking him up repeatedly, though, so Mom did the best she could.

Congratulations to Amelia on her engagement! We wish you all the best and hope your beau loves Scrappy as much as you do.

Serge finished the run-in shed in the cow field. I think he did a marvellous job - take a look and be sure to tell him how great it looks. Spook, Aggie, Belinda and Stew will enjoy it this winter. We hope to build some new run-in sheds in the other fields soon, too. If anyone has a few money tree seeds to spare, we have lots of room to plant them and good fertilizer, too!

Reminder: The Halloween Fun Day is this Sunday. Be sure to bring costume stuff for your horse or pony - if you don't have one of your own, you can borrow one of ours.

This weekend coming will be a busy one, too. We plan to attend a Breast Cancer Benefit for a friend of Mom's on Friday at the Lucky 7 in Embrun. Saturday is Natasha's birthday (Happy Birthday, Natasha!!) and the Oxford Downs Pony Club Used Tack Sale at Rooneys in South Gower, and of course, Sunday is the Fun Day.

October updates - wishing for warm weather

First, I'd like to thank the treat fairy who stopped by with carrots for the horses on Sunday - and cleaned the stall that Natasha used for Dash! What a wonderful surprise when we went down to the barn after staying most of the day at the Metcalfe Fair.

Don't forget to RSVP for the Fun Day coming up on October 26th. We'd like to hear from everyone by Sunday, October 12 so we can plan activities for the right age groups.


Cool weather means that Autumn and Dreamer spend more time inside - at least until we get a blanket that fits Autumn.

The person who part leases Gilligan came by this week, bringing her dog, Sky. For a moment or two, I thought Mom must be visiting. He is almost identical to Tinkerbelle! He is a bit smaller and has a touch of brown that Tink doesn't have, but he is just as cute. Jasper enjoyed his visit immensely. Where Tink is a bit afraid, Sky is happy to run and leap and play with Jasper.

The pictures of Autumn below are ones Mom took (and cropped) on Sept. 28 - hard to believe, but she's only 6 days old in these ones.





Whee!






Keep up, Mom!

What's that??




Yippee! I can leap into the air!






Run, Mom! It's fun!

Let's run again!

Oops! Mud is slippery when I'm going too fast!

This funny green stuff is a long way down and tickles my nose!

Someone asked me to post a new picture of Sneakers (aka Gone with the Wind) on the blog - here's one of him at SuperEx in August. Mom will try to get some new photos of all the horses on the weekend to update their pictures now that they're growing their winter fur and, in some cases, changing colour.

This one was taken the last morning of SuperEx in August before it opened to the public at noon. We rode both our horses (Reba and Sneakers for the first couple of days, then Nikki and Sneakers for the remainder) every morning to give them a chance to stretch their legs.

The stalls are large enough for the horses to move around, but all of our horses are used to daily turnout in large paddocks, so a stretch is welcome. Sneakers wears a hackamore (bitless bridle.


Elaine Kenney, author of Guide to Riding in Ottawa and Surrounding Area, has a new project on the go. She's compiling a database of horse related links and advertising on Ottawa Kiosk. If you know of a local, provincial or national horse organization that isn't listed, send Elaine an email with their contact information so they can be added to the list. Contact Elaine, too, if you'd like to list your horse-related business (for a fee).

Delilah will be at Saddle Ridge Stable in Mountain for training for a month starting on Thanksgiving Monday. Reuben and Karina will work with her to try to overcome some of her fears and insecurity around humans. We don't expect them to make her into a safe and sane riding horse in one month, though.

Mom and I visited Saddle Ridge Stable to meet Reuben and Karina and to watch them work with their horses. We like their style. Both of them are calm and confident around horses and don't use any force in their training methods.

It's the last week of September!

Blame it on a busy mind. I typed Amelia instead of Abby when I wrote about who was interested in buying Autumn already. I edited the other post today.

Daisy went home to Jenn. L's place on Thursday. She'll be turned out for the fall and winter with Jenn's thoroughbreds. Jenn may get a lot of exercise trying to catch her in a big field - she's not keen on being caught, although once you catch her, she's pretty good. Spot is back in with the boys and misses Daisy.

Levis is home again. He has new aluminum navicular shoes on his front feet. The farrier warned that they may come off easily, so if you're in the field with Levis, check to see that he still has both of them. Mike, Jenn L's farrier, donated the shoes. Thanks, Mike!!

Caution: Reba is loose on the property to eat grass around the racetrack. She goes in at night. We're trying to fatten her up for the winter. If you see her in the front yard on the lawn, please lead her back to the racetrack. She scares the drivers on the highway when she grazes on the front lawn.

She's thin because she's old - the vet estimated that she's probably over 30 now. Her back teeth are really worn down and they don't grind her food very well, so that affects her ability to digest it. She gets grain and extruded feed (more digestible) every day to supplement whatever grass she eats.

If you're riding out on the track or trails and find her annoying you, feel free to put her in a field.

We're looking for wood to build shelters and volunteers to build and erect them. We'd like to make sure each winter paddock has a solid shed this year - and perhaps even put a large shed in the big field in the racetrack. If you'd like to help, please let us know.

You can book your place now for breeding next spring to either Spot My Dream (POA-type pony aka Spot, soon to be registered as an International Spotted Horse) or Cool Blue Dream (Paint stallion - aka Spook). Send us an email soon.

More September news

Busy, busy, busy! Lots of things happen every single day on the farm.

Yesterday, Mac and Levis headed off to Jenn. L.'s place. Mac is staying there for the winter so he can hang out with other thoroughbreds and enjoy "fat camp". He'll gain weight on Jenn's grain and extruded feed ration plan and have a stall and blankets and all the extras. Jenn's mom may ride Mac, too, if she feels comfortable on a 16 hh horse. Mac is very quiet and very good for everyone.

Levis will be back at Dreamscape Acres on Thursday after he has his feet looked at. He may just need his shoes pulled for the winter - but we'll let Jenn's farrier give his expert opinion on Levis' lameness.

We have a new horse on the farm: Roxy - a 2004 registered APHA mare - is here for the winter for training and to get a few miles on her. Her registered name is Strike Me Magnificent and she's a (very rare) blue roan and white overo Paint. Roxy belongs to Jenn L. She's lightly started under saddle, but needs some more work. She's for sale for $3000. Once we have some photos and a video or two, we'll post her for sale on Equistation.

Elmer picked Gypsy up today. The vet didn't make it out yesterday, so she didn't get her pregnancy check. It was great to see Elmer and he made a big fuss over Gypsy and gave us all the news about Queenie. Queenie is happy and healthy and ridden about three times a week on the trails on Elmer's 200 acre property. Although mom is sad that Gypsy was adopted, she's glad Gypsy has a good home.

The vet came today and checked Nikki. She's not pregnant. Darn! Oh well, we'll try again next spring.

Autumn got the once-over from the vet and he gave her a shot to relax her tendons a bit so that she can put her tiny hooves flat on the ground. He said that tight tendons are pretty normal for foals and that it is unlikely to affect her in the future. Abby J. is in love with her and may buy her before she's registered.

Mom will take more photos of Autumn on the weekend. She gets to go outside with Dreamer every day while the weather is nice. She delights in cantering around the paddock and leaping and bucking to burn off some energy while she's out. Dreamer gets a bit worried when Autumn gets too far away, so she's getting her exercise, too!

While Jeff (our vet from Dundas Veterinary Clinic) was at the farm, he took a look at Maggie's eye. Maggie has uveitis, as does Scrappy. Uveitis is sort of like glaucoma in humans - sometimes early medical intervention can stop the damage, but other times, the disease progresses very quickly and there's little you can do to stop it. Uveitis can be triggered by an injury, bacterial infection or allergies. No one knows what triggered Maggie's uveitis.

Unfortunately, it looks as though Maggie will lose her eye as the disease has progressed too far for drugs to help. Removing her eye sounds harsh, but she can't see out of it at all, and if the pressure continues to build, it could rupture and cause excrutiating pain. She's got some drops to help for now, but she'll have to have surgery soon.

Scrappy's uveitis means that she's blind and needs occasional steriod treatments, but it hasn't slowed her down much.

Horses with uveitis are often extremely light sensitive, so both Maggie and Scrappy wear their fly masks all year round - they can have them off at night and when it's raining or overcast. Bright light can make the iris go into spasm - and as you can imagine, that hurts. Their flymasks act sort of like sunglasses and cut down on the amount of light that gets to their eyes.

Natasha came out on Monday to see Autumn and she'll be back tonight to ride Dash. We like Natasha and enjoy her visits! She's doing really well in school this year - she knows that if she lets her homework slip, she won't be able to come out to visit as often.

September days

Well, things are looking up. All of the indoor board spaces are filled - or are booked and will be by mid month. We can bring in one, possible two, more horse(s) on outdoor board. Call soon, or there won't be any room left.

Jennifer L. and I picked up a new pony at the Lachute Auction on Tuesday. Daisy is a sweet little pinto mare - a bit chubby - that will be a girlfriend for Spot (mom's little POA-type stallion) after her quarantine period is over. Once she's bred, she'll go to Jennifer's place for the winter and to be used as a lead line pony for her sons. Daisy (the pony) will come back when she comes close to her foaling date next August and stay until her foal is ready to wean.

Jasper gets bigger every day! He just about fills the big Lazyboy chair in the living room now. He likes to go for walks around the half mile track and play with Tink when she comes out to the farm. Daisy (the dog) is still top dog, though, and she doesn't hesitate to tell him when he's out of line.

Mom's working on figuring out how to put the website back up. A friend generously donated space on his server (http://www.canadianisp.com/ and http://www.pennypinchernewspaper.com/) so the website should be live again soon. Once we figure out FTP and whatever else we need to know, we'll update the photos and other information on the site - and keep it that way.

We have lights in the riding ring now! That means that we can ride in the ring after dark safely.

Natasha is out for the weekend again and giving every horse (especially her pony, Dash) a little loving and some riding time. Thanks, Natasha!

Mom photographed a neat spider when she was out last week. It appears to be a female Banded Garden Spider, Argiope trifasciata. It has a white, yellow and black striped body and is living in the cucumber plants. Despite her size (she's about an inch and a half long and about an inch across - and that doesn't include her legs), she doesn't seem inclined to bite. She's hiding under the leaves of the cucumber plant, perfectly camoflaged by the shade and bright spots caused by the sun shining on the leaves.

Last day of August - oh my goodness!

Thank you to the Johnston family for their generous loan of a round pen for the last year. We hope to buy it from them by the end of the month (where is that darn money tree??).

It's been invaluable when we bring home rescues and need to quarantine them for a week or two until the vet says they're ready to join other horses in a paddock. The adjustable panels mean we can create a safe place for an injured horse on stall rest to get some fresh air (and grass) rather than being cooped up in a stall for weeks at a time.

Thank you very much for the hen and chicks, Ruth! They now have a moveable chicken run outside in the back yard with a shelter full of straw for the hen to brood the chicks. There's one broody hen and ten chicks, all colours, including cream, chipmunk-striped, black, yellow, and spotted. We can't wait to see what colours they'll be when they get their adult feathers.

The original sale of Sly fell through - the purchaser didn't have the money. Sly will be vetted by a student of Carol Miller (Willowbank Stables in Treadwell, near Plantagenet - therapeutic riding) shortly and should be sold by the end of next week. We'll be sad to see him sold, but know he'll be in good hands. He'll continue his career as a dressage and therapeutic riding horse there.

Natasha is out to stay for the weekend and help with barn chores. She rode Dash, Mac and Sneakers, and groomed Spot and the calves, Belinda and Stew on Saturday. She plans to do more riding today and tomorrow. We appreciate your help, Natasha!!

Next weekend is the Russell Fair and the Carp Fair is at the end of September. The Metcalfe Fair, the last one of the season, is at the beginning of October. We haven't decided to enter horses in the shows yet - or even which ones. We'll post in the blog when we know!

Summer's almost over

Wow! It's hard to believe that Labour Day is on Monday.

That means that fall is on its way and summer is virtually over. I hope the warm days and cool nights last well into the fall this year - we still have so much more to do!

A friend offered me a spare straw of semen from Outrageous Fortune, a chestnut frame overo Canadian Sport Horse stallion http://www.baystarfarms.ca/outrageousfortune.htm, so we gave Nikki (Maaks Nikki - a solid registered Paint mare) a hot shot to bring her into season and an ovulation shot, then had the vet come out and do the artificial insemination (AI). We'll have the vet back again next month to see if she caught. We've got our fingers crossed!

One stall is now rented for the winter, so there's only one left. We have room for one or two more horses on outside board, too.

Gypsy, aka Bugs Blue Chip (a registered Appy mare) is coming back to us. She was adopted by a family in the summer, but the teenagers' interests have changed and they're giving her back to us. The next time the vet is out, we'll have her checked to see if she's pregnant by Star and then decide if we're going to put her up for adoption again right away. We visited her today and brought a hen and eight chicks home with us.

We have a new mare coming to the farm mid September. Her name is Dreamer, aka Dreaming of Willy. She's a registered Paint mare, in foal to a cremello Quarter Horse-type stallion. Her foal is for sale in utereo for $300 and is due sometime between November and January. Since Dreamer is a strawberry roan overo Paint with a blonde mane and tail, there's a good chance that her foal will be a palomino Paint. Dreamer will be bred to Spook (Cool Blue Dream) next summer by AI.

Finn is settling in happily at his new home with Leisa near Smiths Falls. Delilah is happy again and regaining some of her weight - nursing Finn was taking too much out of her.

August activities

August is a busy month on the farm and away. It's fall fair season, and some of our horses travel to fairs to participate in therapeutic riding demonstrations with Willowbank Stables of Treadwell, On. That means trailering and that takes one of us away from the farm with horses fairly often. Sneakers, Reba and Nikki all spent some time at Ottawa Central Canadian Exhibition (SuperEx) this week.

Finn will be leaving us shortly. He started the weaning process and will be heading off to his new home before the end of the month. Delilah doesn't seem to mind the daily separation time at all. Finn has been eating hay and drinking water from the troughs and a bucket for over a month. He's growing so fast that Delilah is shedding too much weight even with unlimited hay and twice a day grain rations trying to nurse him. His curly black foal coat is shedding out gray (but still curly). He's going to be a handsome fellow! At 3 months, he's already close to 13 hh high. He sure loves his daily scratches and attention.

Natasha works with Dash regularly. She rides him and free lunges him - and introduced him to jumping while free lunging. He loves it and has great form. Dash accepted the harness and showed us that he understands driving as well as riding.

Natasha also rides Nikki and Mackenzie when she has time - and is learning to drive. We hitched Sneakers up and drove him all the way to the Tim Hortons in Casselman and back one day - Sneakers was pleased as punch. Several people stopped to pat him and tell him how handsome he is along the way, too.

Nikki didn't catch when we bred her to Beau, so we're looking for another stud for her. Since she's a registered Paint, that would be our preference. If we don't find the right one for her soon, we'll wait until next year and breed her to Cool Blue Dream, aka Spook.

Firecracker finally shed out her foal/winter coat and is a beautiful bay pony. She's about 12 2 hh now and should finish close to 14 hh. It's hard to believe that she's a year old already. Her mom, Beauty, is definitely in foal to Star and due in April, 2009.

Jesse and Deer are moving to another farm this month. It's been a long drive for their owner to come and see them. Hopefully their new home will be closer and their owner will be able to spend more time with them. We wish them well.

We have a couple of places open for indoor or outdoor board for September. Contact us for rates and terms at dreamscapeacres@yahoo.ca.