Itty Bitty Hooves

It’s A Girl—Again

Mark is definately the filly producing machine… but now he’s proving himself as a color maker too! Our final mare of the season foaled this morning. A beautiful, flashy silver dapple LOUD pinto. I knew Mark had it in him to throw flashy color. Last year all of his foals were solid except for socks, or maybe a small dot of color here or there. This year three of four were pintos. He had one solid with socks and a big star, one with high socks and just a few small spots, and now two very boldly marked pintos.

The weather is too yukky today to get pictures, and she’s just new and unfolding, but I’ll try hard to get some pics over the weekend of our newest flashy baby.

He Did It Again

Mark is on a roll I don’t ever want him to quit. Mark is our four year old Miniature Horse stallion.

As of this morning he is six for six–girls that is. Last year we’d bred him to three mares for his first year, and they delivered three gorgeous girls. This year we bred him to four mares and three of them so far have given us beautiful little girls! I have one mare left to foal.

Here is Dolly the first filly of the year born last month:

And here is Star, born last week:

From the front:

And here is our newest arrival at one hour old–Flash
It was hard to get a good shot of her because she kept on following me around and putting her face right in the camera. LOL. She’s a real ham:

Finally got her trying to grab a ‘drink’ from mom from behind:

I really don’t like taking shots right at birth because the babies haven’t really had a chance to unfold–but I had planned to get a pic of Star a few days later and it’s taken me until today to finally get a shot of her, so I figured as long as I was out there with the camera, I’d get Flash too.

I’m so happy with the babies Mark has been producing–well, of course my wonderful mares had something to do with it as well, but it’s the stallion that definately produces the sex.

New Baby!

Blue, my blue roan mare had her very first baby this morning in the wee hours of the dawn. I was watching the cameras and had about given up on her having the baby thinking maybe she was just being a pacing drama queen like some maidens are, but just as I was about to take a chance on a quick nap she laid down and started to push.

Mark is the proud daddy, and he’s 5 for 5 to girls. This new little addition is a spunky little bay filly with the biggest doe eyes and longest lashes you can imagine. LOL I’ll get a picture tomorrow. I like to give the new babies a chance to really get up on their feet, and unfolded a little bit before showing them off, although this little girl has done a pretty good job of that already.

I’ve been waiting a long time to see what Blue and Mark would have together. I kind of expected some paint markings but I don’t see any on this girl, she’s solid bay except for a HUGE blaze just like mamma. Best of all though is she’s healthy and spirited… and a girl.

Maiden mare Blue didn’t seem to want to let her milk down right at the start but after about an hour she did (to my great relief) and mommy and daughter are happily bonding. I turned them out into the sunshine to give the baby some nice fresh air. Tommorrow I’ll put them in the paddock again and get those pictures.

Gotta Run

Yesterday was one of those days that just never seemed to quit. I’d just come in from milking and feeding and the phone rang. It was my best friend Ellen. Her mare had her baby–I had to come see.

I did. What a beautiful BIG baby. Both parents are purebred Arabians and have had foals before together and they were always beautiful, but this baby is HUGE. He’s probably the prettiest one they’ve had as well and looks like he’ll be one heck of a sport horse. She was supposed to post a picture of him on her blog but she hasn’t yet or I would have copied it and posted it here. He’s a deep black/bay with a white ‘wild’ blaze and three white fetlocks… although I’m pretty sure mom’s gray gene is going to win out on this one just like it did on the last two she had.

JUST as I got back home and prepared to come on here and write a bit the phone rang again. (Wouldn’t you just love to sometimes rip that thing out by the wires?) It was beloved son… he had the day off work but needed to go to the bank and store could I come take him (he lost his license–long story) okay, I could later on… no no the bank closes at NOON… it was eleven oclock at the time he called…. argh. Okay, jump in the car and drive down to get him and take him on his errands. He did (with a little coaxing) give me gas money (hey, being a taxi is one thing, but with the price of gas now… not for free), and even rented me a cool movie since I was ’so nice’… lol yeah, he didn’t hear me grumbling all the way down there.

Finally I got back home and managed to have a really good work day online in spite of all the interuptions and running around.

I’d like to say that busy days like that make time fly and days more enjoyable… but I can’t, once in a while it’s nice to have a slow, nothing going on but chores and relaxing–they don’t come around too often though. Gotta run

Sympathy Pains

I feel for my friend, Kay. I really do. She has yet another maiden mare that’s being a ‘drama queen’ and acting for all the world like she’s going to foal any minute keeping Kay and her entire family on ‘full alert’–for WEEKS now.

I’m feeling sympathy pains for Kay. I’ve been there, done that for several years in a row.

Immy is my usual drama queen. One of the reasons I’m pretty sure she’s not bred this year. She’s not acting like she’s going to foal out ‘any minute’ yet and this is right about the time she would have started doing that. Sometimes ‘bad’ things (no pregnant mares) are really ‘blessings in disguise’. I have so much going on this spring that a bunch of drama queens would only drive me totally insane.

Kind of a Downer Day

Well today was kind of a downer. First off last week I got an email from a lady interested in the 2-yr-old colts I have for sale. I sent recent pictures and she was all excited. I even offered a discount for her because it was for her 4-h kids. She was going to come out this weekend. Now we’re talking about 20 emails over the course of a couple of days.

No word from her before the actual weekend so I dropped her a note that I wouldn’t be home until after noon on Saturday and she emailed me back that oops, she forgot to write me that she couldn’t make it this weekend, it would be next weekend.

No problem, I wrote that it was probably for the best. Then today she writes she bought a different horse.

Now this is par for the course with horse sales and it didn’t really bother me all that much this time. Even up until the email I was like ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’. But it really drove a point home I’d been discussing with a few others on a forum board on the aspect of ‘no deposit/no sale’. Another words, if someone else shows up in the meantime before you get there, if you haven’t put a deposit down, the animal will be sold to the first person who ponies up cash. It seems heartless until you realize that so many folks say, oh yeah, I’ll be there, and never show up. Often times they don’t even let you know they’re not coming.

A couple years ago I had someone I’d spoke to on the phone, and via email wanting to meet me at a certain place to pick up an animal. I took the horse there because I was going anyway so it wasn’t a huge deal, but the person never showed up.

Why are people so inconsiderate? I don’t know. At least this lady this weekend let me know and didn’t leave me hanging.

Then I was thinking today that none of the mares are bred for this year. They could be but they’re sure hiding it well. That’s probably for the best too, but it makes me wonder what my stallion was doing all summer. LOL Maybe he decided he needed a break too.

At least the weather is beautiful today. Had a gate to be repaired today but didn’t get around to it. Probably Tuesday if it’s not raining.