|
BLOG 2008 and Prior
12/21/08 We took Honey to Halifax. Man she was a cool little girl. She walked on the truck no problem and enjoyed looking around and seeing what was going on. This was her second time going for a truck ride. She was out the day before with her mom to Charlottetown. We stopped in Borden and she was cool as a cucumber and drew a crowd. We stopped again in Masstown and she drew an even bigger crowd and decided to show off. She took Kim's zipper on her coat and pulled it up and down and then decided to pull it all the way up and then looked at everyone like "I bet you didn't think I knew how to do that." She's just WAY too smart for her own good. She was trying to get me tied around her little hoof I think. We met in Halifax and she was happy to go with her new owners. It was like she knew where she was going and just loved it.
12/09/08 Snow Snow Snow Rain Rain Rain Seems like we are going to have another winter like last year :( We have some new stalls made for our babies. :) They are enjoying their new home. We saw April and Charlie on the week-end and they are both doing incredibly well. :) Zeve is quiet the little boy. Cute as a button and of course got me wrapped around his hoof. The chickens are doing well and are enjoying setting in the straw during this cold weather.
11/23/08 April has undergone 3 weeks of cart training. This was not every day due to weather work and other committments. However, being out on a friday night at 10:15 in the rain, wind and cold got me thinking if there was something wrong with me. Anyway, for a 13 year old broodmare who didn't have any previous training she has come along lovely and has a wonderful attentive soft mouth and is very flexible and the most wonderful trot. Her new owner I am sure will be very pleased with her and we will be finishing up her training in her new home with her new owner to make sure both horse and owner get the most benefit from any additional training. I am down a total of 3 horses making our new total 9!!
April is enjoying her new home and is stabled with Charlie her son. We got to visit with Charlie and drove over to visit with Ruler at his new spot. Both of them are doing fine in their new homes and have their owners wrapped around their fingers already. April took the place like she was always there.
10/26/08 Charlier and Ruler went to their new home yesterday. We miss them but they have went to excellent homes and Megan & Emily enjoyed them immensely leading them around the field. Zafire and Duchess have rejoined their moms.
10/19/08 Yesterday was a RESOUNDING success!!!! To top it off Mrs Black hatched a chick. Lots of Thanks to Brandon and Madison and their mom Virginia for helping get everything ready. We woke up and basically were on the go from then till 8 at night. We guestimate 300-400 people were here. Everyone had a wonderful time. Lots of smiles and fun. 150 people through the Spooky Barn and $677.50 raised by donations for United Way alone. $23.00 for the 50-50.
10/15/08 We are having a trial run tonight for the Spooky Barn. Planning to wash some horses tonight as well. It should be fun to have 8 horses washed tonight and ready for Saturday. Brandon and Madison are going to be helping out tonight so that will be a big help. Tequila's baby is still small. I have a new computer and need to install my camera software to get the photos uploaded.
10/07/08 Man there is a lot to get ready for!! Tonight we are planning to get some more done on the Spooky Barn and get items and games organized. I hope to have the display done for the horses by tommorow night. I also have to go through the list of volunteers and see who is doing what. We'll have to get the horses prettied up washed and trimmed next week.
10/06/08 Plans have been underway for the Spooktacular. I am not sure who is more excited; me or my neighbors who are helping out. It is going to be an amazing time. My friends are lending me lots of decorations and spooky stuff. Take 30 for the Family is going to have a table and we are thinking of how to make this the best fun day yet. We need to make sure to have lots of volunteers to help make they day go smoothly. If anyone reads this and is interested please let me know.
We are planning to have an interactive chicken station where kids and adults can feed or pet some of my chickens. They like to eat out of the dish when I hold it for them and are very tame. There will be information on hatching chickens and examples of their feed and other items which they require. Also some photos and information on various breeds of chickens such as Frizzles, ones with backwards feathers. Really cool looking. Keep an eye out here. When I get a chance to update stuff I will put it here.
For the kids carnival type games we are planning to have some little prizes for the kids if they just play but don't win and then a "larger prize" if they do win. I am thinking to make it fair to all if they want a certain prize then let them trade up after a couple of tries??? There will be coupons given to the kids so they can try what ever games they want. Everyone will get a coupon for the Spooky barn. One warning for the spooky barn is that it will be dark and anyone with allergies should know that there will be dust, feathers, horse hair, dog hair, straw, hay and sawdust around. It will be clean but it is a working barn with hay and staw in storage and horses, dogs and chickens occuping it so some of the particles may be around.
09/27/08 Today was the first day out for Tequila's baby boy. He spent most of his time sleeping on the grass while Tequila grazed. Rosie's little baby is too smart for her own good. Just 2 and 1/2 weeks old we saw her get out of the pen and then get back into it too. Instead of going forward she backed in by stepping over the first rope with her back legs then put her head under the other rope and then took her front feet back in. That is just too cute.
09/21/08 Tequila had a baby boy today. A beautiful baby boy who is going to remain tiny. He is a solid red bay with black mane and tail. No white what so ever and his daddy is a pintaloosa and Tequila has lots of white markings and a blue eye. Go figure!!! lol The boy is solid, well put together and only the lenght of my forarm. Him and his sister are going to be up for sale. I reluctantly have to reduce my herd and we are having a sale on Oct 18, along with a fun/demo day.
09/19/08 Rosie had her baby on Sept 9 this year and it is a beautiful dun filly with very correct conformation and is just a doll. I hope to have photos of her up shortly. Both mom and baby are doing fine.
08/02/08 We had a great time at the parade in O'Leary for the Potato Blossom Festival and then we did a demo at the O'Leary Race track. It was a sweltering day but we had fun. We were going to hitch the team to the cart but the pole was changed to fit the wagon and we didn't check it before we left and it didn't fix. Then on Sunday we went to the Novice Miniature Horse Show at M & M stables and had a blast. There was a limited turn out of exhibitors but the kids had a wonderful time and there were lots of spectators to watch.
06/23/08 On the week-end the Dundas show went well although we were not there. Our chickens are doing well and running around the barn. Cleo is very protective of them and will attach the dog but the dog leaves them alone. Tonight we had riding lessons again and we had a ball. It was a great time. Max is doing well and I am very impressed with him.
06/20/08 I find time is flying by and there is no time to do anything. The mini show in Dundas is tommorow and I am not going since I have so much work which hasn't been done yet. Tommorow is the day to get the roundpen and riding areana finished. Then some other odds and ends which everyone has to do this time of year. (ie grass cutting and tidying up from winter and gardening). The crew is doing well.
I noticed I didn't mention the new announcement. The Duke of Riverdale is pround to announce the arrival of his sister. My uncles mare Mini had a wonderful dark chestnut foal 2 saturdays ago which is taller than what Duke was when he was born. She is by Larry Banman's stalion Wrangler and out of Mini Explosion. Both mom and baby are doing wonderful. Duke had his first experience loading in a trailer for a 2 hour haul and did wonderful. He was sent up to keep Badger company while Mini and her foal had a chance to bond and get used to the field settings. Currently she is being called "legs" since he is so tall and leggy.
The swallows have decided to leave and make their nest elsewhere. I guess they figured it was too busy for their liking. Perhaps they will show back up but I have my doubts. Cleopatra has hatched out 11 chickens and Mrs. Black has hatched out another 4.
We will be starting out Train N Plays for 2008 shortly and we have 2 new kids who will be joining in the fun with another 2 tenatively making the total from last year 3-4 to 3-8. So it should be a good time. We are also thinking about changing the format and making it more fun, challenging and just plain interesting. Keep an eye on EVENTS & HAPPENINGS for dates and times if you are interested.
06/03/08 Last night we had riding lessons and they went extreemely well. It was Max's first time under saddle since last year and he did great. We have 2 new bird additions in our barn. Two swallows have decided to make their home in the horse section of the barn. They are green with white belly and red around the neck.
05/28/08 Mrs Black hatched out 2 more chickens. Cleo is setting on a clutch of eggs and should have some hatched out in 3 more weeks.
05/21/08 I was planning to work outside and get my riding arena, round pen completed and grass cut however, as luck would have it is is raining. It never fails. Instead I spent some time trimming up Charlie's bad shave job and getting April and her baby tidied up a bit in time for the sale this Saturday.
05/17/08 The Poultry show in Charlottetown was excellent. It was really well organized and everyone had fun. Mrs. Buff placed first and received a trophy for best of breed so she won over about 14 birds. I was quite impressed with her. One of her sons sold at the bird show and I had a few offers for her but she was already spoken for.
05/15/08 Shaved Charlie last night to get him ready for the sale.
05/09/08 Buttercup had her foal at the Inman's. It was a beautiful fine boned dun with white legs and a white snip. We were over to see him and he is gorgous. Montana his 2 year old stallion is looking incredibly sharp. We have a total of 13 baby chicks now which our black chicken has hatched out. I have been keeping quite busy with work and trying to get the place ready for summer. The roundpen is in progress and the goal is to have it and the riding areana completed by this week-end.
04/25/08 Pycho was taken to the vet today and it turns out the lump on her belly is nothing but a deposit of FAT from all the food she demands to be allowed to eat. Mom was thinking it may be cancer so it is a relief that is not. April had her baby when I got home this night. It was a beautiful palomino with large white blaze and 2 blues eyes.
04/24/08 Another OEG born today. It appears our new standard rooster looks like a Dominque as he has a rose comb and is barred coloring. Snowy today.
04/23/08 Man am I ever being late at updating my website. :( I told myself I would like to keep it up-to-date with at least 2-3 updates per week and I have been a slacker. Anyway, Mrs. Black hatched out a Buff this morning and I left it under her to continue to dry off as it was still wet. We got 3 more birds on Friday. A gorgous young barred rooster for the larger ladies and a little old english game rooster and hen. April is still holding on to her baby. She was due April 14 but I was told horses can go up to a month over. She is eating and looks fine. She doesn't seem uncomfortable but she is wider than she is tall so I would assume she should be uncomfortable but she is taking her sweet old time.
04/12/08 Today Meg went home and we picked up Tequila and took her home. April is due any day now.
04/10/08 Today Lulu had a baby .boy. Both mom and boy are doing fine. He is a bay with no white and very pretty. We also had 3 chicks hatched from Mrs. Black.
04/09/08 Today Charlie turned 1 years old.
04/06/08 It was a beautiful day today. The sun was out but the wind still had a little chill to it. I was able to clean up around the barn outside a bit. The hay that collects under the snow and ice durning winter is crazy. Charlie came home today. He was up in Malpeque so we went and picked him up and brought him back down to Bonshaw. He walked up the ramp no problem into the back of the truck. That would be his first time travelling by himself. Zafire and Duchess are still up there and enjoying the Malpeque time and water view.
04/02/08 Now we have rain. You never know around here what you will wake up to. The chickens are doing fine. Mrs. Black is sitting on some of Cheese's eggs so we shall see what we get. Mrs Buff is sitting on some of hers and again we will see how it goes. We're going to try to get some hatched out of the big gals and Cleo later on.
04/01/08 Another day of snow.:o( I can not wait for summer. I think the horses are looking forward to it as well. Anyway, on a sad note my friends horse had to be put to sleep due to colic. :o( I was thinking that I have to be really happy for all the manure that provide. At least it indicates they are healthy. I know some times when having to shovel manure on a regular basis it gets tiring but if they do not pass it then it means they are sick and may not be around. So, Manure is a good thing!!!! It means a healthy horse, some fertilizer and best of all some exercise for the owners. lol
03/26/08 I was out to Alberta for a week and it was actually nicer out there than it was here. The animals are doing well. April and Lulu look like they are about to pop. April is due any day now as her due date was the 26th if she caught on the first breeding but we shall see. Last year the poor gal was as wide as she was tall. Lulu is in the same vote but due a little later this year.
K and Rosie had some fun last night with some training. Rosie is really doing well but still on the shy side but she's coming more and more out of her shell.
The chickens are doing well. The little black hen started sitting on some eggs from Cheese and Bacon??? I think that's the new rooster's name but can not be sure. Cheese is a sweet heart. She actually likes to be held and see people. Cleo is fitting in with the new crew as well.
We're all waiting for summer when we can get the riding areana and round pen finished and have some nice ground for driving, riding and training.
03/09/08 Wonderful Poultry show at Alliston hosted by James and Donna Bulter. It was very fun and I learned a lot. Mr and Mrs Buff were bet by their two young fellow Marco and Rico. I learned how to take the spurs off a rooster and Mrs Buff had the fun of being carried around for a while roosting on my hand. She was so cute and quiet. It was a wonderful time with over 100 entries and a great day was had by all. The next show in in April will be for Bantams and Pigeons only. I "Chickened" out and did not give them a bath prior to the show. I ended up giving them a bath today and the poor chickens looked much better with their feet especially but they looked like drowned rats.
03/03/08 After a snowy day on Sunday we ended up with another warm day today and the snow started melting again. The Buffs are getting ready for the show on Saturday. Hopefully it will be nice so we can go. Mr and Mrs Buffs are pros at showing with Mr Buff having been a champion at a previous show but it will be Rico and Marco's first show and my first poultry show that I have entries in so it should be fun. I have posted some photos of Rico and Marco on the hatchery page or you can click on this line to go to the link.
02/29/08 Another cold but sunny day. The horses are doing well. Meg decided tonight to run around and buck in the field so she was feeling pretty good. I was holding the water dish up with some fresh water for Cleopatra and Cheese was on the other side of the pen decided she wanted some so she flew over and landed on the edge of the water dish.
02/23/08 A gorgeous day today. The chickens are doing well and Mrs Buff is quite the girl. I changed them from regular grain to laying mash. She had grain in her dish but must have smelled the laying mash because she wouldn't eat the grain and watched me while I poured it into the storage container and waited for me to give her some.
02/11/08 Another snow storm today. There was suppose to be 10 cm overnight but I think it was more like 10 inches. Walking to the barn this morning the snow was up to my knees. We have cleaned the main part of the barn and created a hen condo which the new hens really enjoy. I hope to get some photos of them on the site shortly. The 4 new hens also need some naming. Cleo is getting along well with them and they have 6 nests in the condo.
02/02/08 I don't think any ground hogs would have seen their shadow this morning. The morning there was more freezing rain. As if we needed any more!!! It will be nice to have a normal winter with snow only but summer is fast approaching. The horses all stayed in the morning but enjoyed the outside in the afternoon once the rain cleared up. Everything started melting again. I got 4 new chickens and 1 rooster. A boyfriend for Cheese my cousin's old english game and the other girls are for laying eggs and hopefully hatching out some eggs later this season. A broody hen is the best incubator they say and I agree. I will have to get some photos. There is a larger white one with black on her neck who has a wonderful outgoing personality. She is suppose to be purebreed but I forget the breed and don't have my breed book nearby. A little black one who apparently hatched out 12 chicks in Novemeber even though her old owner tried to keep all the eggs from her. A standard size red and black one and another red one who is really wild looking. She has a huge chin or lots of feather under her chin and not much of a crown. They are enjoying their new place so far but I have to get another pen fixed up for them in the heated part of the barn and fix up some nests for them so they can enjoy the heat. Cleo isnt' too happy with the new "competition".
01/26/08 Winter is a little quieter horse wise. The horses are happy in their winter blankets. They enjoy going outside even in this cold weather. It is funny to watch them. Duke and Max will be at the feeder while Jay and his two chicks Cheyenne and Misty remain under the big tree in the runway. Then you look out again and they have totally switched places. Here's a neat website about Horse Therapy http://kindredspiritfarm.com/childrenlearning.html .
01/19/08 It was a busy week and the week-end is now here. Another crazy bit of weather here on PEI friday afternoon-night. It was snow and sleet which turned to rain and in the morning the roads were nothing but sheets of ice. All the critters are doing well. I took some photos of the large crew hanging around the hay feeder this morning and hope to post them in the near future. I was able to update some of the web-site and plan to clean up some of the pages so that this coming Spring we can add more.
01/16/08 FINALLY I have high speed!!!!!! Yippie!!!! Now that I have high speed I am sure I will be on here more often. Christmas and New Years were great but quiet. New Year's Eve was a huge snow storm so I ended up staying home and changing the house around. All the horses are doing well. Meg has taken up with K-Boy and no longer is trying to kill him if they are together. When they are out together he sniffs her and she just squeals once (sometimes) and that's pretty much it. Rosie is jealous! She figures she should be with K and not Meg. Too funny. Other than shovel snow ... more snow and then shovel snow again before shoveling manure has been getting pretty old. It would be nice if we would get the snow and clean it up and then stay like that. Mrs S enjoyed today playing on the couch. She has a blanket which she goes under and treats like a burrow.
12/19/07 It's another chilly day today and everyone is doing well. I still have a few presents to get and would like to make some fudge and cookies but I am far far behind on everything. I have no idea where the time is going but it is flying by. Rosie is learning some new tricks and is picking them up extreemely quick. It is quite amazing. I just have to put the cues on to the bit now and practise some more and then we are all set and I will have to video it and put it on the site for fun.
12/17/07 Well, I guess winter is here. The island mini horse club party was cancelled due to storm. It was cold, snowy and windy last night then it warmed up and was raining this morning only to freeze again later in the day. :o( We never had a real winter for the past 15-20 years so it looks like we're due for one. It seems like Feburary already and it isn't even Christmas yet. The horses are doing well and the chickens are having fun too. Everyone is getting ready for Christmas and the horses are thinking about putting up a tree in the barn this year.
12/08/07 I have to admit I got out of the habit of updating my site. I plan to start updating on a regular basis again. I updated the notice of Tequila and Jennie winning awards this year at Island Horse Council Miniature Horse Association. Dadoole's Tequila Sunrise of K won Outstanding Horse of the Year. Check out the link on the main page. The part where she can even take your clothes off is true as well. lol In the jumping class in Egmont Bay I was loosing my pants while going around the course. lol She was very easy to start in cart and along the way several kids and newbie adults had the enjoyment of driving and showing her.
11/15/07 Well I am not getting much better at writing daily in my blog. It appears life has been getting much busier lately :o( Anyway, the ducks are gone to get ready for dinner and our chickens are adjusting to their new quarters. The weather has be really warm with a few cold days thrown in for good measure. For November here that is rare. I still don't have my round pen finished nor riding areana and am hoping for another nice week-end or 2 so I can work on them and get them ready for next spring.
I know I will be busy next week so don't count on there being any updates to the website durning this period. Actually you are probably used to there not being any updates on a regular basis. (Subconsciously I must have been planning for this and started not updating the site as much. lol)
11/08/07 This week we got rid of 6 more old english game chickens to a loving home. We're down to 7 chickens and 4 ducks. Everyone that comes over LOVES the chickens. The horses have been enjoying apples and getting fuzzier by the second. We're almost ready for winter but winter may already be here.
11/04/07 Today is Buddy's birthday. He is a yellow lab who turns 2 today. Last night we had the end of hurricane Noel. The wind blew down a tree behind my place and knocked out our power. :o( We took all the horses in last night so they would be in from the wind and the rain.
Friday night our Train and Play went well. Julie brought Barry and Dawson over to participate as well. We did some clicker training with the horses and Jennie learned the principals of the targeting and practised on Lulu to have her touch her nose to the target stick. It was quite fun. Martha and Emily practised the clicker with April and Rosie to get April to lift her front legs. Barry and Dawson also had a chance to practise the clicker and enjoyed it quite well. Afterwards we get ready for the storm and put everything inside which might blow away. The barn is quite full right now.
The three babies are doing very well up in Malpeque. Zafire, Charlie and Duchess are enjoying having the field to themselves. Charlie missed Rosie more than Duchess did even through Rosie was Duchesses mom she did let him nurse occassionally.
10/31/07 Last night we watched the Lippizzaner Stallions and they were incredible. If you ever get a chance to see them it is well worth it. Man it has gotten chilly the last few days. I guess winter is here and I still need to finish some work outside. My riding areana and round pen need to be finished and some tidying in the yard. The horses are all doing well and are growing a nice heavy long coat for the coming winter. The minis especially are little wooly mamoths.lol It's Halloween today but I haven't seen any spooks yet.
All the critters have been doing well. Tommorow 5 chickens have an appointment with Wadell's and then the freeze so hopefully that will go over well. Then the 4 ducks need to get an appointment made as well however, I have to see if I can find someone closer than Alberton or Montague to do them up. Then I will be duckless!!!! They are wonderful creatures to watch and incredibly cute but terribly messy unless you have a pond and area where you don't have to clean up after them.
10/28/07 I guess I have become a slacker. It's been 7 days since I last updated my blog. There are photos of the mini demo day under events and happenings with a page for each main horse participating. This week we took Tequila to get rebred to Bobby Jingles and brought Meg down to get bred to K-Boy. Rosie was bred on the week-end so hopefully she will not lose her foal this time. We think last time she was kicked by another mare so we will keep her away from that mare. So, hopefully next fall we will have 2 babies and in the spring we are expecting April to foal. I can't wait to see what she has. Not much else has been going on other than work and get home and work again. lol
We went to the flea market today in North River and had lots of interest in the folk art and some people interested in the Eqyss products. After that we attended the Island Miniature Horse meeting and found out that there will be a fundraiser on Saturday Nov 3 from 1-3 held at Superstore parking lot in Summerside. I will be starting another page under our products or market place section. Hey I think I will change the name of the title and change the webpage a little more.
Oh on a neat note I have been tying the minis outside on my lawn so they can get some new grass and I won't have to cut my lawn. I will try to get a photo since it is quite cute to see all the little horses scattered around the lawn. I am also going to try to not wait too long to update the blog in the future.
10/21/07 I would like to thank everyone who made this day possible and everyone who came to watch. Pictures will be following shortly. I hope everyone had a wonderful time and perhaps learned a little bit about miniature horses. The weather was rainy in the morning but cleared off and stayed nice all afternoon. Everyone I spoke with said they really enjoyed their time. Several kids were over to see the horses and the birds and got to go for a ride at the end. For our first time trying this and without much practise everyone did very well. Tequila decided she didn't want to jump. Mary and Katie came down from up West Alberton and Tignish area and brought Bar with them to participate. Amy did a great job announcing. Emily, Martha, Jennie and Mary did excellent demonstrating while Coralie was great in assisting in getting harnessed up and other odds and ends. Katie was a wonderful sport and was the judge for halter class and did a great job. Joel did the recording while Cliff cooked and Mom assisted in the canteen and everything else. We'll have to have a get together again and have a post- mortum and see what could be improved upon for next year.
If you have any suggestions or comments feel free to e-mail us at info@dadoole.com
10/18/07 Kohl our new puppy arrived last, Actually he's not really a puppy, he's a 8 year old lab mix dog.
10/15/07 Another wonderful busy week-end and some more animal fun. This morning there was a scratching noise coming from INSIDE the furnace at the barn. I was not impressed!! I was thinking of the rat, mouse, squirrel or bird that was in there and that it was going to die and how would I get it out. As luck and patience would have it ... the critter made it's way to the vent and when I pushed on the vent to open it a head popped out. It was a little black bird. :o) It made it's way out and flew around the barn before ducking out the door. I am very happy that it was able to get out and is still alive. Also no worry about a fire due to a poor animal dying in the furnace ducts.
Another interesting occurance. May not be for someone reading this but was for me and mom. I gave Psycho and Sir worm medicine. Well, Sir the 15 pounder who is gentle as a lamb actually gave us more trouble than Psycho. I think it was that we were better prepared and had Psycho wrapped really tight in a towel. When we let her go she didn't bolt to her room instead she stuck around and ate some moist cat food. It surprised us both since she normally HATES anytime you even touch her.
10/12/07 It has been a busy week. Saturday I took 7 ducks up to my friends brother in Tignish. A breeding pair of muscovies and of rouens along with Casper's (the muscovy) 3 babies. Then I brought down 3 wild turkeys and dropped them off at my neighbors. Buddy had a wonderful time trying to get the feathers off them through the dog crates. We had a turkey dinner on Sunday and on Saturday.
I finally got started on my round pen and packed the posts. I also started putting the rails up on it but needed to borrow a drill with a cord. My cordless drill just didn't have the strength to drill the screws through the post. Outside is starting to look a lot better. We also put in another 125 bales of hay and 80 bales of straw. I started painting the riding areana fence and it is looking pretty nice. I still have to put another 1 1/2 gallons of stain on it and then get rid of some weeds around here along with finishing the round pen. After that there is still some more painting to be done on the house and barn.
10/05/07 More about the twin cats. Sir was a wharf cat for a while. He was down at the Malpeque wharf and we got him from there. He purred the whole way home. Now that he is home he does NOT want to go outside at all. He will sit by the door and stare at flies or millers but he will not go outside when the door is opened. He is quite content to laze around the house. Psycho on the other hand we got from people who had her as a indoor/outdoor house pet and she DEMANDS to go outside then DEMANDS to come inside as she desires. She jumps on the screen door to make a knocking sound so we can let her in or she will sit by the window outside and meow if you are near by. She is quite a demanding cat. If she is inside and wants out she will meow at you and go to the door.
Bed time Sir has my side of the house and my bed room. If I close the door and don't let him in he will not shut his mouth. He gives a loud merrrop sound and will continue until you let him in. He even does this when I am in bed and the door is opened if he is in the hall wall. I think he believes I should carry him to bed. Then he decides to come to bed and plunks himself right on top of me. Psycho has slightly differnt habits and decided she liked the other end of the house and bedroom much better. She's more mom's cat. She tends to curl up on mom's bed and/or find a nest in her closet to call home.
10/04/07 Hmm what can I write about today. Well, our cat Psycho (aka Puss) was sucking up to mom and then decided to bite her. So, you can guess where she got her name from. She is the weirdest cat I have ever seen. She will come up to you and meow and purr and for the first 3 pets she is fine and still purring then out of nowhere the hissing comes and she takes off. I really think she is possessed or something. She is a great mouse catcher though but likes to run the show around home. Sir on the other hand is more like a dog. He is a lot bigger than her and just loves to sit on top of you and purr while you pet him. I am not sure if he would even know what to do with a mouse if he saw one but he loves catching flies. The funny thing is we got both cats as 3 year olds from different ends of the island but they both are the same color. They almost look like twins, both grey with white face and legs. However, Sir has a pink nose (white fur all around) and Psycho has a black nose (white fur all around) and Sir's tails is totally grey where Psyc has a white tip. Sometimes from the side it is hard to tell them apart even through there is a bit of a difference in size.
09/30/07 This past week-end not a whole lot went on. The closing date for the contest was today. There were no correct entries. However, there were several incorrect ones which are going to have their names entered into a draw for a prize. Winners will be announced shortly along with the answers to the contest.
09/27/07 I got some bad news last night. Chick and whitely (she had a new name but I forget what it is) were 2 english games that had the greatest home a chicken could ever want with kids that loved them. Apparently Chick was so friendly he even jumped on their dogs back and the dog would walk around with him on his back. Anyway, apparently a racoon got into the barn and killed the poor chickens. The owners were very upset to say the least and are planning to make sure the pen is racoon proof and are going to adopt a few more games and Foggy and his lady friend Mildred.
Yesterday was incredibly warm for September and we broke the record tempature when it hit 26 Celcium. The Canadian dollar is also even with the American dollar so it's great for people wanting to travel to the US but bad for tourism here.
This morning when I went into the bird section in the barn Cheese and her mate (Chik's son) 's door was open and they were sitting on top of it. Cheese bit at me and the rooster decided to be a little bad as well. So, I took the male for a walk around the barn and set him on the horses back. He wasn't quite sure what to think then nor did the horses. If I do that enough it should help despook the horses a little bit.
Well September is almost gone and I still have to finish packing some post holes for my round pen and hitching post. I guess I should stick around home instead of chasing the roads with the horses on the week-end.
09/25/07 My mom's birthday today. Hard to believe!! Where does the time fly? They were mentioning on the radio it's only 90 days until Christmas. Well, I am sure it will be here and gone before we know it.Before then we have the Demo day I guess it going to be the 21st or the 28th of October. Plans are underway to get the event in place for the first annual Mini Horse and Combined Driving Demo at my place. The past few years I had a barn party and had neighbors, co-workers, relatives and friends over for a huge pot-luck barn party with entertainment as well for adults (singing) and kids (Animals for petting and rides on the horses). However, this year we did not hold one so we will instead have the demo day. I need to upload some newer photos to the website.
Three rouens and 2 muscovy ducks found a new home in Wellington. Adam, Eve, and Mallory were the lucky trio and the two baby muscovies. Hard to believe I still have about 40 poultry after all that have found new homes. I don't know how many have been through my place this summer.
Oh Yeah I guess they are voting on the KROCK Show Us Your KROCK contest so if you want to check out the entries and vote on your favorite log on to their site at www.krock1055.com and if you really want you could e-mail and vote for my miniature horse entry. The e-mail address is showus@krock1055.com. Apparently they are going to narrow it down to the top 10 before deciding further.
09/23/07 It was quite a busy week. I notice I didn't even update my blog since last Sunday. :o( Train N Play Friday night went well. We went over the quick release knot, how to properly harness the horses, some pivoting and of course an introduction to combined driving with a dressage pattern and cones.
Saturday morning Tequila, Zafire and I went to the Farmer's Market in Charlottetown. I tried to be there around 8:30 but of course I normally run late so I wasn't there until 8:45 or 9:00. The first hour was a little slow but after that lots of people stopped by to say hello and pet the gals. The gals were very happy and got lots of treats (carrots and apples) they had fun cleaning up the grass as well. Some people saw them while driving by and had to some and see them. We like to thank everyone who stopped by. I explained why we had the K-Rock signs up and was mentioning to people to ask the question: "Are you the K-Rock 105 5 ten thousand dollar fugative?"
By about noon I was tired to the point I didn't know what I was saying. We got home around 3:30 and the gals got to relax and stretch in their paddock. Darren took me out for supper and we just relaxed the rest of the day.
We need to start getting ready for the demo in October. The areana needs to get a gate added and the weeds removed. The round pen needs to be finished as well. I also need to put together some documentation for the announcer to read, track down a bull horn, get some information for hand outs and the sign for people to know where to come. Everyone will pitch in and do something so I am sure it will go over well. The horses and girls already know what to do so it's just to put it all together and keep it interesting for people watching and make it informative as well.
For people who don't know me very well when I was in high school we put on a show in the summer with the minis. Back then it was very basic and we had it to music and information regarding the horses with some black and white hand outs. It was a lot of fun and my brothers and neighbors were great at showing and helping out. So, we're gonna try for something like this again only more informative and detailed.
09/16/07 What a week-end Saturday we went to the Eastern Kings Exhibition and it was windy as could be. Zafire won the Reserve champion for the minis which is quite a feat for a foal!!! I am quite proud of her. Kim and I put on a demo with the combined driving, a dressage test and a cones obstacle. I also had the team hooked up promoting the KROCK Show us your KRock. Everyone loved the minis and took lots of photos. We had a little problem with the wagon and broke the team pole. :o( Darren had quite the job Saturday night to make a new pole so we could take them on the town Sunday.
Sunday the muscovy Casper hatched out 8 ducks. She is quite a proud mother. We were attempting to be down town to hook up around 11:30 but ran behind. Our help also was running behind which made it great. So, we did get them hooked up and took them downtown Ch'town. Everyone loved seeing them. They were a hit. Everywhere we went people wanted to take photos of them and pet them. Tequila and Lulu behaved rather well and it was their first time dealing with stop signs and red lights. They were a little confused about me getting them to walk and then stop very quickly but they took it all in stride. I will be posting some photos shortly.
09/13/07 Today Zafire and Tequila paraded around the back of Canadian Tire Parking lot in Charlottetown. They drew lots of attention and several people stopped to pet the horses and/or ask what we were doing. One person even stopped by specifically because she heard it on the radio. Lots of people waved and honked their horn. I was originally planning to take them there on Friday but something came up so I has to switch to Thursday night.
Earlier today I was with Kim and we worked on the combined driving demo which we are doing at Eastern Kings Exhibition on Saturday. Anyone interested in this sport keep an eye on my site or contact me or Kim for more information. It is an extreemly fun sport that ANY equine can compete in. Ponies, Miniatures, Horses, Drafts, Warmbloods and even Mules are allowed to compete. Hitches of single, pairs, team, tandum are allowed and there are various levels with increasing difficulty.
This is similiar to the three day eventing with riding horses. It involves a driving dressage test, marathon with obstacles and cones.
09/12/07 Monday Duchess and Charlie felt they couldn't let Zafire have all the attention so they wanted to go on the town. We took them to Kensington in the Baking Donuts parking lot right across from Frosty Treat on Route 2. Everyone LOVED seeing them and they enjoyed getting out and strutting their stuff. Lots of people honked horns and waved and others stopped and came to pet the horses and get photos taken with them.
The Website changed how photos are uploaded so I have to figure that out. Once I do there will be some more photos for you to look at.
Buddy my boyfriend's lab got sprayed by a skunk at 6:00 this morning. He wanted to go outside so he took him out and he found a smelly friend. So, Buddy had a bath in the barn this morning. Apparently coke worked really good at taking the smell out. However, my barn now stinks of skunk. I will have to air it out tonight. Other than that we are planning some excitement for this week-end.
09/08/07 It was an extreemly hot day today for September. Here the The themometer read was 26C at one point. We packed the posts and fence for our riding areana.
09/07/07 Zafire and Tequila were on the town tonight. Jennie and I had a blast taking them down the street. We parked at Peake's Quay and walked up to KROCK 1055. I didn't think we would get out of the parking lot since everyone wanted to see the horses. It took a lot longer than we originally thought but we had fun and the gals enjoyed it too. At first Zafire didn't know what the painted lines were and didn't want to step on them and tried to jump over them. Near the end she decided that it was ok to walk over them. We met lots of very nice people durning our walk and had several great chats. Thanks to everyone we met!! The cutest was when we met a lady with 3 young boys who just loved the horses. One of them said when they had to go I want to see the Krock horses. LOL I thought that was too cute. I have a few photos which I will post as soon as I can. Our next outting will be at the exhibition in Souris. There is a line and cart class. We will also be hitching the team in the wagon and giving a Driving demo to promote combined driving.
I also want to update my website as it is currently not laid out as well as I would like. Keep an eye for updates. Between the dial up and everything else it may take some time to rearrange the site as I would like.
09/05/07 Man it was a chilly one last night. Down to 2C this morning but warmed up to 18. Zafire had to stay inside since she doesn't have a full coat right now. Charlie is now weaned. He's in Malpeque with his sister Duchess and her mom Rosie. We're planning to go on the town again in the near future. We're thinking tommorow night might be a good time to go and have some fun. The first placing at Egmont Bay went to Zafire's head and she now wants to go on the town and give out photos to her fans. lol lol
09/03/07 We had a blast today!!!! We visited KROCK 105.5 today to show off and introduce Zafire to the crew at the radio station. We're planning to take them on the town perhaps in Summerside and Charlottetown on the week-ends. Keep an eye out for the three red wild rocking minis. I am going to try to get some more pics up but with dial-up it takes a while. Click here to check out KRock 1055 website and tune in to this rocking station.
Yes, I am one of the few unlucky people on PEI who still have dial up. The Bonshaw area has NO high speed and I can't even get wireless. Everyone around here is in the same boat. SOoooo I apologize if I don't get the pics up as quick or as many as I would like but this is the reason.
09/02/07 Yahoo!!!! What a busy last 2 days. Saturday we spent most of the day cleaning harness, horses and getting ready for the show Sunday at Egmont Bay. I was up until 1:30 in the morning working on my costume and man did it go over well.
All the girls did excellent both 4 legged and 2 legged. Jennie showed Lulu and Emily Tequila and everyone's skill level is improving. Martha did a wonderful job assisting everyone. Next year we'll make sure she has insurance so she can be showing as well. Darren showed Lulu and did an extremely good job for his second time showing. We'll make a pro out of him yet.
I am very proud of the girls Tequila and Lulu they did a temendous job showing in both youth and adult. It's actually called Junior and Senior but hey I'm not a Senior yet!!!!! The gals also showed in team and were amazing considering we only had them hooked the day before in team. They were nipping at one another like little rats.
They were hooked in team about a year ago for 1 or two times. Now we have AWESOME wagon made by my boyfriend and his father. He started it about two weeks ago and it was the first one they made. I always wanted a wagon like this and now I have one. They enjoyed making it and if anyone is interested in one please contact me and I'll hook ya up!!!
The costume class was terrific. Dadoole's Zafire donned a KROCK 105.5 radio box. With a Rocking bandanna and ear phones to match. I had my rocker hair, sign, and radio. Zafire really hammed it up and played along "dancing" to the music. In her case jumping and leaping through the air.
I am half- asleep writing this so if it doesn't make too much sense that might be why. I have some photos to upload and changes to make to the site but that is not for now. Keep an eye out for the next little while.
8/29/07 Last night was a blast. We did showmanship with our judge again and we're all learning. We had a huge "class" of 5. We each did the pattern with our horse and we had Joel tape it so we could replay it to see how we did. Lots of comments came up on how to improve along with what each of us was doing well. We all have to work on 2 main areas; setting the horse up square and pivoting so, we'll shoot on working on those areas next time.
Then we hooked Tequila and Lulu in cart and the kids practised driving them through obstacles and the drive through. This is another thing we normally gets us when driving so we have to practise and get the width down to the minimal.
08/28/07 I forgot to mention that 4 buff brahams found a new home. 2 hens and 2 roosters have moved to the Wellington area and are planned to be shown in 4-H next season. I was research some information on clicker training last night and found that they actually do clicker training with Chickens. There was someone who even gave a 5 day class on this. Apparently working with the chickens helps improve your co-ordination and timing. Check it out at the following link by Melissa Alexandra -Diary of a chicken trainer.
08/27/07 Dundas Miniature horse show at the Dundas exhibition was a huge success. It was organized by Velma and Roxanne and they did a lovely job.
The girls had a great time. It was Emily's first show in cart and she did excellent in the novice division place 1st in most classes. Lulu was an excellent partner for her in the driving. Jennie did an extreemely well job in the youth division in both cart and halter. Everyone is continually improving.
I showed Tequila in the cart for Roadster, Obstacle, and Pleasure. Roadster was never her class as she still has to learn to extend so we ended up placing 5th but had lots of fun. I need to get off my butt and teach her to extend. The obstacle which she normally aces she decided to be a little rat. At the mail box she didn't stand instead insisted on turning 90 degrees. When it came time to trot around the cones she decided she wanted to gallop and then not to turn. I got her straighted around and the rest of the class went pretty well. I guess you can not expect too much when she wasn't driven for a while and was missing her baby. She was at my boyfriends most of the summer and this was her first foal.
Pride and Zafire were along for the ride. Pride missed his mom April as this was his first day away from her. Considering this he did extreemely well.
After that we took her for a nice long drive, walking, trotting, extended trot and did lots of turns and circles. Then for pleasure she was a little more cool headed and performed much better. She ended up placing 1st in this class. So, we were quite proud of her. She did what she was suppose to do when she needed to do it.
This was our debute display of the Eqyss line and it went very well. Thanks to everyone who purchased this excellent product. Which reminds me I still have to add to the Eqyss side of my website.
Egmont Bay is coming up this week-end. Tequila and Lulu will be there in both youth and adult classes for cart and halter. Zafire and Duchess will also be competing in the show ring for foal and Pilon will be doing the hand work with Jennie. His second show this year. We plan on having our team as well so watch for us next Sunday at Egmont Bay.
08/22/07 Train N Play was fun again. We had two dogs attend tonight to start the basic healing, humping etc. We had a fun showmanship class where competitors were judged on their performance. Nothing too serious of course and lots of tips on improving were discussed. Jumping, obstacle and driving again took the highlight of the night. April was ground drove for her 3rd time and was starting to really yield to the bit.
I heard that Whitey, Chic, Waddles and her buddy are loving their new home. The kids are playing with the chickens and taking them everywhere which is great to hear.
I had Foggy out running around with the other chickens for a while. He is soooo much larger than them. He decided he wanted to see Cleopatra but she didn't want anything to do with him so there was a little race (about 6 feet) until she got under something he couldn't get at her. He weighs I would say close to 20 pounds (at least 15 for sure) and she only weighs maybe 4-5.
08/21/07 Big show coming up this week-end in Dundas. We're planning on training a bit tommorow night (Wednesday). We had to seperate Fog Horn Leg horn from Mildred since he was picking on her so much she didn't have many feathers left. He is such a sweatheart of a bird. He doesn't pick at anyone and is like a dog. He's on our front page with Zafire when he was heavier than her. How many people can say they have a chicken heavier than a horse? lol
08/19/07 The other night we had fun with the horses again. Friday afternoon we went riding with Jay and Misty. Misty was being a little witch when we got back. She wanted to go to the barn. So, we kept walking her away from the barn until she started to settle down and stopped being so Bull headed. We had her jumping again. Two crested ducks and 2 games (Chick N Whitey) found a new pet home. Waddles was one of the crested ducks. She was the only 1 out of 40 eggs to hatch out of the incubator and ended up hatching 5 days after she was supposed to. Then she fought for her life for the first 6 days. She now has a wonderful home with kids to give her lots of attention.
08/14/07 Mrs. Buff hatched another game last night. We now have 13 new chicks. I have some photos from our last Train N Play which I am going to try to post when I get a chance. As well, I hope this week-end to have some time to add some more information regarding the EQyss products on here. Don't forget to enter the contest. So, far we have a few entries but no correct answers yet. Try your luck you have 4 chances to get it right and each time you are entered in the contest and may win.
The Old Home Week 8 horse hitch was magnificant.
08/13/07 Thursday's Train and Play was another blast. We had a showmanship "Class" with a judge, ring steward and 3 entries. Then we hooked Lulu up and all the kids had fun. The kids learned how to stack the horses and followed the rules and pattern in the showmanship. The horses were making it a challenge since they are not used to stacking and pivoting (especially properly).
Saturday morning Cora Lee and I went riding with Jay and Misty. Misty had a treat awaiting her when we got home. We had her jump a few more jumps. Of course they were only about 1 foot high. The highest jump was the height of a 5 gallon can. She actually jumped with me on her back and I didn't fall off. LOL Apparently when she was at camp people tried to get her to jump and she wouldn't even jump a log. It was a blast.
Cleo had 7 chicks ealier which I took from her and put under a heat lamp. Mrs Buff hatched out 5 games on the week-end. When I was cleaning the barn on the week-end Chick and Cleo near drove me crazy so I had to let them run around. Once they were outside running around they were fine and kept their mouth quiet.
I sold the remaining 8 young ducks I wanted to sell and still have an older trio of Rouens to try to sell to someone wanting to breed next year or have for a pond.
The barn is starting to look much better after the cleaning. It still needs some work but should be done soon.
Oh yeah a really interesting or somewhat bad but actually good thing happened when I was home in the morning. I was feeding the horses in their part of the barn when I heard this incredibly loud noise as if someone just turned on a skill or power saw beside me. It was coming from the main barn and I was wondering who on earth was here and what the hay were they doing. Well, I ran into the room and saw FIRE from behind the freezer. The electric cord had caught fire behind the freezer. I ran to unplug it but by the time I got to it the fire was already out. I am glad I was there and very thankful it didn't keep burning. I always make sure that there were no papers, straw or anything flammable fall behind the freezer or anything else for that matter and I think it paid off.
Here is what happened. When the barn was originally built I wanted the Feed room to slope toward the drain hole in the middle of the room. Well, it didn't work out that way and the water runs to the walls. Which drives me up the wall. If anyone knows of any way to make it so the water can not get to the walls but also keeps the walls behind dry please let me know.
When washing the horses we take them to the feed room which has running hot and cold water and wash them there. So, the last show we washed them and tried to clean up the water the best we could. The freezer was located on the wall beside the feed room so the water leaked under the freezer as well even though we tried our best to keep the water away from the walls. The freezer cord was not long enough to reach the plug in so I had an extension cord on it to make it long enough. Normally I made sure the cord was always off the floor. I obviously forgot and the connection between the cord and the extension cord got water in it and shorted out. I was LUCKY, Please make sure that the cords are always hung up and away from water. I was shocked at how loud this electrical fire was and very shook up but also very thankful nothing caught fire. I do have 2 fire extinguishers hanging by each door of the barn so if it didn't stop after unplugging it I was going to go for them. But I am SOOOO thankful I was home when this happened and am going to be even more careful from now on. Make sure when using extension cords there is no water laying around.
08/07/07 I have been on vacation and I see I have been slacking off. I do have the information for the contest and if everything goes well tonight will have it started. Our Buff has hatched her first game chick and a few more are due.
Our Train N play on Thursday was a blast. Everyone had fun and the horses learned a little. We had a pole race and barrel race in cart with Lulu. The large horses watched while we played with the minis.
We lost 2 ducks and 1 goose. I am still not sure exactly what happened but we had them in an outside pen and 1 would disappear then 2 days after another one would disappear. Someone metioned it was probably a fox. I always thought a fox would kill them all but apparently not. So, we put them in different pens so nothing can get at them and put the older ducks in the chain link with a couple of horses.
Here's a neat article on a blind horse competing in dressage competitions. http://www.valianttrust.org/quest.html
08/01/07 It's cooling off here. Not too much to write about the pass few days. I have some photos of Cleo's Crew I need to upload to this site. The 7 games chicks are doing well. Cleo is extreemely protective of them. They run around the nest and eat with her. No more heat lamps around here. The white rock and buffs are scared of her. My friend told me that the best incubator was a bantam hen. Well, I would have to agree. The incubators some times only hatched 1 out of 40 eggs :o( but Cleo hatched 4 out of 4 duck eggs and 7 out of 7 game eggs. Less work, mess and time spent just throwing the eggs under her and leaving them. The only problem is she can only take so many eggs.
Duchess is going to be getting a clipping this week. Her hair was too thick to be able to trim with the clippers and the clippers too dull. So the scissors worked to trim her down. Now, when we get the clippers sharpened she is going to look like a brand new horse.
I have started the idea for the contest but have to add a few things before putting it live. I hope to have it started by the end of this week.
07/28/07 Another hot day today. The Train N Play last night was a blast. Everyone had fun and the horses learned as well.
07/27/07 By the water it is only 31 C which is about 88 C. It is suppose to be 40 C in land today. Did you know that 40 C = 104 F? That is just crazy. http://www.albireo.ch/temperatureconverter/
Tonight is our first Train N Play. Hopefully it will cool off by tonight.
Here's some neat sweaters for mini lovers. http://www.felixsfinds.com/horse_gifts.htm#MiniPerson
07/26/07 The heat is crazy here about 26 C already at 10:30 in the morning. The post holes are all now completed. We just need to put the posts in and pack them. Should be lots of fun in this heat. Cleo hatched out 7 more game hens!! They were not due until Sunday.
07/25/07 Our post holes are getting dug today!!!!! YIPPIE!!!!! Island Bobcat is over and digging the holes so we can get our round pen up and some hitching posts. As well they are going to dig the remaining holes for the riding areana. Last year when we tried digging the holes with the single man post hole digger we hit rock and could not. Now the machine can do it. Or at least we hope!!
07/24/07 The ducks are loving their new outside pen still. 5 crested made their way to a new pet home. My mom told me since Cleo was allowed her own page that she should have one too. Well, I guess I better listen. So here it is.... I'll have to get her to tell me what to put on it though. New information as well. Contest to be starting shortly keep an eye on the main site.
07/22/07 New pen made for the young ducks so they can now be outside all the time. They certainly enjoyed waddling around in the grass. It took a little work to make it safe for them from hawks and eagles around here. The traffic was horrible in town this week-end thanks to the Arrowsmith concert. The lineup for the bridge on Sunday was about 1 1/2 hours long. It was crazy the amount of people on the island.
07/19/07 Our first "Training" night and we were so tired we didn't do a whole lot. Lulu was hooked to cart and took several people for rides. A few newbies (people who never drove before) had the opportunity to try her around the barrels. Pylon had a chance to lunge and Pride had some more halter training. April was learning how to stand square for halter class. I think we need a LOT more work on that. 9 more ducks found a new home (6 muscovies and 3 Rouen).
07/18/07 We put in another 101 bales of hay tonight. The loft could hold over 800 bales and some other items. I didn't realize the barn was that huge!!!! It's only 30X36 with a hip roof. It must be the hip roof which gives the extra room.
07/17/07 In 4 hours we put in 690 bales of hay we put in the barn which includes our down time and breaks. 4 wagon loads of hay. The escalator was a great help. Last year without we would have only been able to put in 1/2 that and be twice as tired. Everyone was saying the escalator was worth it's weight in gold. We should of had one much earlier. Now for our next project; getting the holes dug for the round pen and the remaining holes for the riding arena. We're also planning on a fun Training night 1 day of the week and having some kids come over to "play" with the Minis. It will be Wednesday nights but this week we are going on Thursday due to the work schedule.
07/15/07 Today went really well. We started the morning with Rosie in open bridle to get her calmed down a bit. Then jumping was the first class. Rosie ended up refusing one jump due to her handler (me) not doing her job. Lulu decided she was going to have some fun with Darren. Tequila cleared the jumps with ease. Roadster class went well. Rosie wasn't as spooked as yesterday so the training this morning worked. She broke stride a few times but didn't put on a rodeo show today ((thankfully)). Late morning, the "wait and see" race was a HOOT. It was a 3 legged race with 1 person leading a horse. See picture Click here.
07/14/07 Whoa!!! What a day. Washing horses until 11:30 last night and getting everything ready. 3 mares and 3 foals then up at 6 to load up and get to the show site for 7:45. Anyone involved with shows knows the work that goes into it before and after. Rosie, April and Tequila were in the first class and their babies in the second one. Rosie got a 3rd, April 4th and Tequila 5th. The foals cames next. The Wooly "sheep" as she is now known by everyone at the show Duchess got a 3rd, Pride 4th and Zafire 5th. Then we had a break until after lunch. After lunch the obstacle in hand went well. Obstacle driving was also a blast.
Pleasure Driving Tequila and Lulu did their normal routine but need some more work. Tequila was missing her baby and Lulu was being a little lazy. Rosie on the other hand decide to try a bucking bronco. In the pleasure driving class on one side of the ring she didn't like something and started bucking. I got her stopped and then she trotted fine. Then at the exact same place she did it again. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Someone thought it might be the belly girth, too tight or the crupper but they were both fine. I could slide my hand easily under both. Actually if anything the crupper was too loose. After the barrel class I got to figure out what it was. I took her around the arena again and asking her for short turns the whole time. Around the same place she tensed up but didn't take off. I am pretty sure it was the open door at the side of the building and when we passed to the place which she could no longer see it due to blinders. She thought it would attack her!! For her 5th time in cart she did great. We need to step back and show her that nothing is going to attack her if she can not see it. We're planning to work with an open bridle and more sacking out. The thing with Rosie is she is quieter than a statue if she can see what's happening around her. Hopefully going in open bridle she'll learn what all the sounds are and then in closed bridle will be fine. Showing we need the closed bridle otherwise we wouldn't worry about it.
07/13/07Waldo and Abigail moved next door to my neightbors. He already has 5 geese and a huge pond. They love their new quarters. Especially the pond.
07/11/07 Not much going on the past few days. Abigail is done sitting so there are no more Geese coming. Abigail and Waldo are now out in the pen with the horses and are enjoying their larger enclosurer. K-Boy doesn't even bother with them. Need to get ready for the big show this week-end and wash 6 horses but with working full time and having the other stuff to do it's going to be interesting to get it all done. Rosie hasn't been out yet but I do have an open bridle for her now.
07/09/07 Found a neat game on the net. It was on the bottom of my hotmail. It has chickens and eggs and it will help improve your spelling and has hints to assist you with guessing certain words. However the BEST part of the game is it has CHICKENS!!!!! Yippie Chickens Rule!!!
"Don't get caught with egg on your face. Play Chicktionary! http://club.live.com/chicktionary.aspx?icid=chick_hotmailtextlink2 "
07/06/07 This week-end there is the PEI Schutzhund trial going on in Cornwall. Dogs are trained and compete in training, obedience and protection. Just follow the signs with "PEISC" in Cornwall. Come Saturday around 11 to watch these magnificant canines in action and Sunday morning you can view some training.
07/05/07 Cleopatra hatched her first DUCK!!! Check it out here. This morning it was a crested. I checked her first thing before I feed up and the beak had peaked out. Then about 10:30 I went to take a photo of the beak peaking out but I was too late the little crested duck was here. Much faster than the incubator it appears. Last night we hooked up the horses and played around the obstacle course and barrels and poles. Lulu was being lazy when it came to some jumps.
07/02/07 We had 3 crested and 1 Rouen hatch out from the incubator. Abigail is still awaiting some more. Eve and Mallory the Roens are sitting on eggs as well.
07/01/07 Abigail FINALLY hatched out her first gosling. A little grey and white. She still has a few eggs left and we will see how she gets along. 17 ducks and 6 chickens found a new home.
06/30/07 The last day of the spring season for lobster fishing. I was able to help on the hauling in day.Click here to see photos
06/28/07 Casper our lady Muscovy hatched out 12 little ducks this morning. She still has a few eggs left under her so we will see by tommorow if she hatches them or not. Our total ducks is now ??????? Abigail is still waiting to hatch out her 6 eggs which are due this Saturday. She is our saddleback mix goose. Our incubator is due tommorow with some more (we didn't have much luck with the incubators so we will see what we get).
I was creating some new pages on my web site and thought about starting a little page on the basics of horse training since some people ask me about it. Mainly novices as I really consider myself a long way off from any type of pro. However, it changed to how I got into Miniatures and my experiences with them. I will try to add to it as time permits. If you are intersted in some reading which is sure to put you to sleep please check out this link. HOW IT ALL BEGAN
06/27/07 More ducks arrived. 5 pekins, 6 muscovies and 6 Rouen day old. Pictures to follow soon (probably Sunday or Monday)
06/23/07 Dundas show today was a huge success. Mary and Stan did an incredible job organizing this wonderful event. There were numerous entries in both youth and adult. Jennie had a ball with Pylon and Lulu. Rosie was incredible for her 4th time in cart. For her size (30.5") she had no trouble keeping up with the larger (36") horses. I was quite impressed with her. We still have a lot of work to do. See some photos of the Dundas Spring Show. Rosie is extremely pretty to watch. I am going to show her at Freetown at the Extravanza since she is still a little green. After that if she does well she will be Darren's show horse for the remainder of the summer. Jennie is going to show Tequila in cart and Darren will show Lulu. I was thinking of showing April in the rising star classes at Freetown but am not sure if between now and then I will have time to get her started. She was only ground drove once last year and I still have to put some more work on Rosie for the next show.
06/22/07 Tommorow is the big show day at Dundas. Rosie has been hooked in cart and drove 3 times so it should be interesting in the cart classes. Jennie will be taking Lulu in all the classes and Pylon in the in hand classes.
06/18/07 12 more ducks hatched this week-end 4 rouen and 8 crested. Mrs. Buff had a total of 6 chicks hatched out.
06/14/07 After 3 years of putting hay in the barn and carrying them up the stairs we Finally got a hay escalator!!!!! 600 bales up a flight a stairs is no fun when you only have 2-3 people. Buffy our Bantam Buff chicken hatched out 3 chicks this morning. She is quite proud of her little babies. Took her 22 days to get them to hatch. Check out what happened last September in Egmont Bay.
06/10/07 Abigal Gabble our lady goose decided earlier this week to start sitting on her eggs. YIPPIE!!! Hopefully she will have better luck than the incubators. Hopefully in about 25 days from now we will have some little goslings. I still need to get a name for Tequila's baby.She follows you around outside like crazy and if you sit down she comes over and wants to sit with you. She may have 4 white socks after all.
In an effort to keep this site entertaining I am going to occassional add some new information or links which I find interesting and hopefully others will to. Did you know that miniature horses are being trained for see-eye horses for blind people? Check out the guide horse foundation site. http://www.guidehorse.org/training.htm
06/09/07 Rosie hooked in cart again. This time I sat in the cart and we went for a little drive with Coralie and Lulu. She is a quick learner but we have to focus some more on flexing and getting her smoother with her trot and various speeds. Of course June 23 we plan to come in last in the classes since we just started driving but as long as we have fun and Rosie is great.
Jennie, Coralie, and I took Misty, J and Max for a ride through the woods. Max I think was the only horse to cross the stream the way he did. I just wish we had a video camera. He would not cross it so I backed him to it and then instead of continuing backing through like last time. He decided to flip around to cross it. What a horse!
06/07/07 Rosie's first time in cart. She did very well with no mishaps. We shaved her baby Duchess and she is looking very beautiful.
06/06/07 Rosie is driving pretty good. Cleopatra hatched out 3 game chickens. Photos to follow shortly. 3 crested ducks have found a new home with a lovely swimming pool.
06/03/07 Rosie's first time ground driving. She did really well once she figured out that walk meant to move forward and whoa meant to stop and stand still.
05/27/07 The week-end driving clinic was incredible. K started to calm down and drive much better on Sunday. Of course the fact it is breeding season and he was only hooked once in the past three years didn't really help him for Saturday. By sunday he decided to give in and listen most of the time. He and Lulu we hooked in team on Sunday and I did not get a photo but they did look good in Cart. Kim did an excellent job teaching and I would highly recommend anyone interested in driving or minis to go next year if she comes again.
05/25/07 April and Pride are now in Malpeque and Rosie and her baby are now at my place again. K was really excited over his "new" Mare to attend to.
05/23/07 This was too good not to share "If you like horses, you will love this clip, you'll even forget it's a horse! Even if you don't, this is amazing stuff. This video is of Andreas Helgstrand and his 9 year-old mare, Matinee, at the World Equestrian Games. It is the Musical Freestyle Dressage competition, and they pretty much wiped the floor with everyone. Turn up the sound and watch this mare dance...she knows where the beat is.
LINK to YOU-TUBE DANCING HORSE "
April Pride made the news. Check it out by clicking here.
05/22/07 One crested duck appeared in our incubator this morning. We actually had some snow fall today but none stayed.
05/21/07 April and Pride were at Victoria park today. Watch the newspapers for their photos. Kids enjoyed petting and seeing them.
05/19/07 Bird show was great. Lots of neat and interesting bird breeds all in one place. Cheese our 3 week old game bird went missing out of the pen. We finally found her sitting on top of a bag of Chicken starter. (lol- she knew where to go lol)
05/17/07 Wonderful suprise this morning. Cleopatra our silkieXNew Hamshire Cross hatched out her first 3 eggs. Three little wonderful game hens since we don't have a rooster for her.
05/10/07 Tequila had her foal early this morning. It is a wonderful red colored probably turning grey with age and hopefully some spots. We have some little crested ducks which are looking for some new homes if anyone is interested. I have to get the photos up and put them on the site.
05/09/07 I have been meaning to get the site up and going for a while now and finally I have started. We have 2 wonderful miniature horses foals and one on the way which I would like to show off and several
ducks and chickens with more on the way.....
|
