Well if Apples thought she was going to get Sunday off, she was in for a rude surprise! A full day of mustering and sorting cattle. But she really seemed to enjoy it! It is so good for the horses to get to do some ‘real’ work. To get an opportunity to put their training in to practice. And getting to feel good about having done a useful days work.
Pete and Leroy helping Floyd feel relaxed and comfortable about rolling up in to a canter.
Playing around with ‘baby’ Jazz today. She is clearly stressed about my scary bag!
I love looking back on the horses we have started over the years. I just came across this video of Pete roping off Josie, a very cool little pocket rocket we started in November 2021. Surely it can’t be that long ago!
Apples, working on being soft and round.
What better way to end a stinking hot day…
We had a really good morning yesterday with our Thursday group. You ladies need to come up with a name for your little group! This was their first session, so we spent a bit of time getting to know them and their horses, where they are at, what their interests are, and goals for the group. And then we spent some time on a couple of exercises, thinking about us doing less, and the horse doing more.
We dropped this little 3 day old guy home yesterday, and he sure was happy to stretch his legs! Especially since he had to have a short stay at Ovens Valley Equine post birth. We took a blood sample at 24 hours old to test his IgG (Immunoglobulin G) levels and they came back lower than desirable, so in to the vets for plasma he went.
IgG testing through Ovens Valley Equine is something we offer as part of our foaling down service. Basically it is testing for the passive transfer of antibodies from the mares colostrum to the foal in the first critical hours of feeding, as there is no placental transfer from the mare to the foal, it gets all its antibodies from the colostrum.
Foals don’t start producing their own antibodies until they are 3 - 4 months of age, so it is crucial they get adequate amounts from the mare’s colostrum to tide them over until they start producing their own. If they don’t get enough they are more susceptible to infection, and don’t have the resources to fight an infection if contracted. So the problems aren’t necessarily seen in the early stages, but the foal may get sick in a month or two.
We have had two foals this year who came back with low IgG, and needed plasma, and there was no signs that this was going to be the case. Both mares were in great condition, fed well through their pregnancy, had normal deliveries, and the foals reached their post delivery milestones and were bright and active babies who were nursing well and doing everything right.
So we think the small cost of doing an IgG test is well worth it, and could save a sick, or worse, foal down the track!
Two young horses learning in the great outdoors…
Edited to add… the blue roan is Pete’s 3 year old Mr Salty Blue Man gelding. He got on him twice a few months ago, then he went back in the paddock. We brought him in on Wednesday, saddled him up and had a walk around the arena. Yesterday, ride 4, saddled him at the shed, stepped up and rode out. Up the road. Through the creek. Not a worry in the world. We are just so impressed with the temperament of these horses.
#mrsaltyblueman
The yearlings and two year olds are all getting little blocks of handling at the moment.
Lucky we have a spring running through the arena so we don’t have too go far to practice crossing water! 😳😂
Having this happy little face March right up to greet me this morning makes two consecutive nights of no sleep so much more bearable!!
This gorgeous, friendly, inquisitive ’little’ (he’s huge! 😳) guy was born last night. And it seems he was as happy to see me in the daylight as me him!
#foalingdown #tularawarmbloods Tulara Warmbloods
