Itty Bitty Hooves

Here are the pictures of the new filly we had on Friday finally. It was Mark’s last baby of the year but he sure saved a hum-dinger for the last one.

I still haven’t come up with a name I really like for her. If you have any suggestions let me know. One thought is calling her PC for Country Haven’s Party Colors.

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.

Time Really Flies

My goodness it’s been days since I wrote on here. Several very busy days.

On Monday Beemer came home. The sale didn’t work out and the buyer decided she couldn’t afford to continue the contract so she shipped him home.

She used Montana Express shipping and let me tell you, this is a company definately on my rollodex. (okay, I don’t have one, but it’s in my links and I saved the phone number.)

What wonderful folks they are. Beemer arrived at 9:30 pm on Monday night. I’d waited all day even thought they weren’t supposed to get here until around 7 pm or so. I was just worried they might show up early and I’d miss them so I anxiously awaited their arrival and it ended up being several hours later. haha BUT the drivers were fantastic and said Beemer regaled all at every stop with his fantastic personality and charm–he’s full of it. heehee. He really is. He is such a little bitty love bug. And cute as a bug too.

So he’s back home for a bit although I do need to find him a home. I have no mares for him and I still want to cut back so that the minis I have left are ‘fun’ to own again instead of simply a business to run.

I got a phone call yesterday though that the person interested in buying Mirri and Dolly together decided definately to do it, so technically, although the deposit isn’t here yet (she said she’d mail it today) I guess I can consider them sold. They’ll be going to Oklahoma in a few weeks.

I still have Sparky to sell, and of course, like I said above, Beemer, but I think that will about do it for awhile in my downsizing of the minis.

Pistol Packin’ Mama

Little Dolly is a real pistol. She’s the only baby here on the ranch so far this year and she want to play! The older mares aren’t much interested in her childish antics, but she doesn’t care. She charges around the paddock like hell on wheels, running circles around her poor mother who simply stands in the middle of it watching her to make sure she stays safe, but long since tired of trying to keep up with her.

She’s hilarious to watch.

Minor Glitches

I’m still experiencing a few minor glitches with the files here on this blog so if you occassionally come here and something seems off, or as in the last case, only half the page loads… please come back, it’s a temporary problem until I fix whatever it was causing the snafu.

Those aren’t the only little glitches I’ve been having though–today we went to a farm swap (large sale for farm animals, and crafts held at the Kankakee Fair Grounds on the first Sunday of every month from April through October) and sold two colts… now that doesn’t sound like a glitch until I tell you that while I was SUPPOSED to have my ‘eyes closed’ I still happened to come home with two more goats. LOL

I picked up two Boer/Spanish cross does. They didn’t really cost me anything–not really. Actually I only sold ONE horse for cash. The other I traded for the goats. The goats came with an added incentive though–they’re bred to a full-blood Boer buck and due to kid in four months. So hey, Bonus. Hubby says I don’t understand the concept of selling to make a profit. haha He’s probably right. But it’s fun.

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.

It’s Spring!

It’s officially the first day of spring. What a first day it has been so far too. Drizzly rain this morning, but warm enough, then a beautiful sunny warm afternoon. It’s been quite windy, but that’s fine with me so long as it’s warm air it’s blowing in, not cold.

Along with all the other stuff, I spent my first spring day mending fences. Goats and horses are the consumate fence tester. Want to know if your fence is secure? Get a horse, or a goat–if it’s not they’ll find out where.