Weekend on the Ranch

Sat: My weekend started with a mare foaling out in a foggy, windy, rainy, cold 38* pasture at 6 a.m. Got the mare into a closer trap, baby was wet and very cold so I had the towels and iodine in the car along with a foal blanket, then noticed the mare was shivering and wet too. I decided I needed to get the trailer and load the two up for some drier, warmer accommodations since the weather report was rain all weekend long. Wrestled the mare, foal and somehow managed to hold the trailer door open despite the wind blowing it closed, and lift the foal into the trailer. Mom followed along and seemed to be glad to be out of the wind. Drove the two to the barn, made a big stall and I was happy they were warm. Mack's first foal is a line back dun filly. Woo Hoo!

Sun: I had to brand and worm the colts. I did a couple of them when they were gelded but had to finish the rest. That meant roping and choking a couple of them. Twitched em, wormed em, clipped em and branded em. Moved a couple of larger yearlings into a bigger pen.

Mon: The new filly foal had bloody Hershey squirts and seemed listless so I called the vet to be sure the little thing was not trying to get sick on me. Blood drawn, vitamin shot and long acting antibiotics (and a $350 vet bill) and washed her poopy bottom with Murphy's Oil Soap. Her baby butt was chapped!

The 3 yr old blue roan stud didn't like his new neighbors in the larger pen and chased one over the fence, busting the top two boards. Fixed fence most of the afternoon...

Doctored the yearling blue roan colt's hind foot. Somehow he got a good size chunk torn out of it.

Need to ride but haven't found the time yet.. Life on the ranch is never dull..

IS IT SPRING YET?

With a wet spring snow every week and mud every where else, it is hard to imagine when Spring will arrive in the Rockies. We need the moisture but I am so tired of shoveling snow! The warmer weather is out there for sure, just wish it would get here. When it is 65 degrees one day and then 23 degrees the next, it is hard on the horses.

The mares are trying to shed the winter hair only to need it the next day. I only have one mare foaling this year, and she is due within the week. Hopefully she will wait until the next storm passes. The other mares were late foalers so they were left open. I doubt that they have even started to cycle yet with all the snow and rain.

I finally got out to ride Hank yesterday. For the first time in 6 yrs, Hankster had the winter off, and he sure did winter well! I had to dig out the hole punch to add two holes to his girth strap. The rear cinch was let out to the last one on one side and second to last one on the off side. But Hank was good and seemed to enjoy all the attention he was finally getting. He was blanketed all winter and I guess I thought I would be showing him but never did. Just got too busy with the new business, more on that later.

Rio on the other hand, still acts like a little kid at age 7. He rubs his halter off when tied, so he can wander where he wants to. He can open a chained gate and lets himself out. He is just such a character. Rio got cleaned up yesterday, too and he gets saddled today.

The 3 yr old dun Maverick gelding, Rocky, needs to get started. I haven't made it down to Texas with horses this year because Martin had just as much snow and bad weather in Sanger as we did in Colorado! I decided to hold on to this gelding for a while. He is really big, really pretty. Since his older brother, Topper, has turned out so nice, I wanted to keep Rocky. I don't have any Maverick geldings. The colts I do have I will keep as stallions for a bit longer before deciding to cut them.

As far as the new business goes, I truly feel it was a no brainer. You eat good food and make money. It was offered to my by my friend Libby Hurley. The Hurleys bred Maverick and when Libby called me about this opportunity, as first, I thought I don't need more on my plate right now (pun intended). As I learned more about this company, and the fact that it was first in the industry to deliver gourmet food to your doorstep, I was more and more intrigued. I actually drove 14 hrs to meet with the owners, to learn the business and to get started. Since last November, I have opened up Maine, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, with New Mexico and Nevada to follow soon. I am #5 in the company right now. If you want to make some extra money and eat good food, I will tell you all about it.

Hopefully you will be seeing some new photos of the colts soon. Just as soon as I can get the mats and mud off of them! Enjoy your Spring..