He's arrived!!!

Congratulations Coalman's Touch (RID) and Wynyard Night Owl (IDSH) and welcome to the world little 'Rory'. Turns out that my bay filly is in fact a chestnut colt but, he's perfect so I really cannot complain! Another trouble free foaling (always an extra worry when the mare is a maiden) and Hooty has taken to motherhood like a duck to water - she was definitely born to be a mum!

Rory was born within a few minutes of Hooty going down and her waters breaking - I was out with her talking to her as she was very agitated, when ready, and she quietly dropped to my feet and started to push.

Rory was on his feet after one massive effort and up he stayed! I don't know if we have ever had a foal stand and stay up without taking at least one or two tumbles but not Rory he was up and away and hasn't looked back.

I have some photos and a short video to share. I hope you enjoy.

Clever photoshop

I love playing with photoshop. I don't really know what I am doing and profess that my cloning skills need a lot of work but I like this pic of Hamish but didn't like the background so, I had a go and changing that. Now, if anyone knows how to give him a unicorn horn, please sing out! I would LOVE to do that, especially if I could put him in a really fantastical setting - but, I have NO clue how to do that. Halp!

Now you see it...

Now you don't!

Rehabilitating the pregnant mare

When I bought Reilly's mum, he was in utero. I have blogged her story already but a recent thread on an online noticeboard has prompted me to blog the photos I took of Lark's progress after she came to us. To me there is no excuse for a pregnant mare to be thin, especially not if she is fed effectively and it is not rocket science putting weight on an underweight horse, nor does it have to cost the earth. Lark was fed boiled barley, chaff, sugarbeet and oil in small feeds 3-5 times a day for approximately 2 months and then twice a day for the final month until foaling.

Lark the day after we collected her Lark after a week at home

Lark after 3 weeks at home


Lark after 5 weeks

Lark after 6 weeks at home (note, no grass)


Lark after 7 weeks at home

Lark after 10 weeks at home and a few days pre foaling

It's amazing what feeding and love can do. I may have lost Lark but I have her stunning son and a very beautiful grand daughter - I will forever miss Lark but I will always be grateful for the experience of having her in my life.

Spring worming

It's that time of the year (again!) so today I went to Farmlands and bought a 250ml bottle of equitak excel and a litre of bomatak-c. As a few of the horses were last drenched with equitak excel (broodmares pre-foal drench and stallions), I will use the bomatak on them but the rest of the crew get their bi annual mega worm.

I wormed Hamish, Maxi, Portia and Strawberry on Monday with my remaining EE and today it was Reilly, Maude and Aine's turn. I have just started feeding Reilly to help ensure he is well prepped nutritionally pre serving and he was getting Bomatak-c so I just dropped 60ml in his feed, which he duly gobbled up. He weight taped at 500kg. He's looking good!

Maude weight taped at 600kg so got 70ml and Aine got a 20ml dose (I didn't put her through the added stress of a weigh tape). It surprises me how well foals take their wormer, although I guess she had no idea what was about to happen and by the time she realised, it was over!

I like to allow for a little more than the weight tape estimate. Out of interest (as both were wormed a month ago) I weight taped Hooty and Debi. Hoots came out at about 575kg whereas Debi was closer to 700kg. I usually worm the clydies for 800kg to be extra sure that I am not under dosing so think that is pretty spot on.

I popped in to my wonderful vet at lunch time for a chat about a few things, including Hooty's milk loss. I cleaned her legs today as they were covered in sticky milk residue. He said that things should be fine and she should still have enough colostrum for baby and, although it is definitely not usual, esp. in maiden mares, it does happen and, if she is well in herself then there is very little chance that there is anything wrong with the foal. She would be pretty sick by now if there was. This helped settle my worries a little although I have to admit to being very nervous about this foal. The milk she is now dripping is white, sweet and sticky - surely she must be close!! I have bandaged her tail in eager expectation but, she has a very swishy tail and I have crap bandaging skills so I fully expect it to be dropped out in the paddock when I next go out!

Nick and I have discussed the colostrum issue and decided to steal some colostrum off Debi once she has foaled so we can store it in the freezer in case of emergency!

Welcome Millie and Rosie

Millie and Rosie are two little TB mares who visited with Robbie last season. This season they have returned to have their babies here. Both are looking great! Their official DD's are 22nd and 28th October so countdown is on!

Millie Rosie
Best mates

Still no foal so photos of some of the horses instead!

It was SUCH a beautiful day today! I got sun burnt and am sitting here with a very nice warm glow about my person. Summer must be on its way! Hamish had his annual bath (but I don't have glow white shampoo so he's not quite as clean looking as he good be). He's such a good boy though and considering he has met Mr Hose, Miss Sponge and Mrs Bucket about 5 times in his entire life, he's quite incredible about it. I don't trim his feather these days as there is no point and, well, he's a crossbred horse with plenty of substance and his feather is part of who he is. I took the chance to take some more pix of him as I have been asked if he could be a poster boy for a very well known NZ stock food company so thought I should have a crack at taking some photos!

Also snapped off a couple of Bree, Twinkle and Meg today. Sadly I am almost certain that Bree must have slipped her foal after her 42 day scan as she really is showing no signs of being in foal. Such a disappointment for me and for her owner. She was carrying Reilly's other foal for the season so I am very sad to think that we won't get to see another Reilly foal this spring.

Bree & Amy

Time for a pedicure
Hamish in the yards

What's that?! (answer, that's Amy, lol!)
Posing again
Kingcroft Tickled Pink or Twinky Dink to her friends
Meg and 'umans
Meg over the gate
Good grief!

And a quick video ...

of Hamish hangin' out and havin' some fun. He's definitely my one in a million l'il dude. Just love him!

Hamish

I have managed to keep the weight off Hamish so far this spring. Not sure how exactly although sticking him in the 'wood' with a couple of slices of hay a day and not much else to eat for a month may have something to do with it, lol! He's looking good and feeling great and more than ready, he thinks, to start playing with the layyydies! Not long now Hamish!

Cantering Hamish

With his mate Amy
Uphill
Racin'
You called?
Over exposed hoon
Such a pretty face!

She won't

OK, so last blog entry was entitled 'Will she, won't she?' so this entry answers that question with a big fat emphatic 'she won't!'. 'She' being Hooty and what she is not doing is foaling! Despite being waxed and primed for over a week and now leaking milk, she is still not foaling. Ugh! Maiden mares, who'd 'av 'em? I've tried taking Amy to the movies and going out to friends for a movie and dessert but still, she has not taken the hint and foaled. Of course she is absolutely fine and happy as Larry and has eaten her way through her first foaling paddock so is now out in paddock number two with her new room mate, Miss Debi.

Debi was due the day before Hooty but we all know Debi does not believe in foaling on time and it may be weeks before we see a foal from her - or, the two of them will decide to both foal on the same day/night. We'll just have to wait and see on that count I guess. Today's photos are of the two single mums in waiting.

Deb 'n Hoots 'Gday!'

Hoots
Hoots
Debi
Deb 'n Hoots - room with a view
Pair 'o wide loads