Ares is the youngest 2024 foal out of Sequoia. He won't be heading home until late November but in the interest of getting as many tests out of the way as possible at this week's vet check we brought him up to the barn to get Coggins drawn with the others. The cool , rainy weather has everyone feeling frisky and he is no exception!
A fun clip of AKH Bia (Paprika) going above and beyond in her session with our foal trainer! This awesome lady is sired by TF Red Chief and out of Cherry. She'll be heading to her new home along with brother Perseus (Basil) later this week.
This is the first I've seen our goats and foals interacting. Looks like they are becoming good friends!
When they hear the dinner whistle ;)
Totally unrelated but we sure could use some rain. This spring I'm not sure anyone thought we'd ever be saying that again but such is the life of a farmer....
We've been a little quiet on the farm side of things just because we have a ton of family in town and that's been the focus lately (along with another round of hay, but I'll let Dehan share about that!) But this morning I had fun doing some photos and video of Dill for someone who is interested in him. Enjoy this short clip of our sweet boy chilling and appreciating some loving :)
This morning we ran an IgG test on our newest foal. The test measures how well the foal has absorbed the antibodies in their mother's colostrum. Because foals are born with no natural immunity, getting that colostrum in them is critical to protecting them early in life until they can build their own antibodies. We test IgG levels at around 12-18 hours after birth. If the results are low we still have time to supplement with stored colostrum before the 24 hour mark. After that point the only way to get the antibodies into the foal is through a plasma transfusion.
#akhbred #horsebreeding #foal #horsecare #healthyfoals
Elwynn is getting to be quite the farm hand! He's figured the basics for the skid steer and only took out the barn once or twice ;) Good thing daddy is on hand to help keep things running smoothly ...
Ash (Brabant) and Jack (Gypsy Vanner) getting re-acquainted
***Quick note for those concerned about the safety of these studs... Stallions on our farm live together in a herd, far away from the mares. Yes, stallions can be dramatic and introducing (or re-introducing) a new stud to the herd makes for some crazy noise and antics like you see here. However, note that aside from sniffing there's no actual physical contact going on. Ash and Jack know each other well and after about 5 minutes of yelling at each other they're off to do their own things. Yes, injuries can happen (I've nursed my share of battle wounds) BUT that's true for any horse, in any herd and knowing our boys and their history together we believe that the benefits of life in a herd setting, with friends, outweighs the challenge of an occasional scuffle, bite mark, or squealing. Many stallions live their lives all alone but knowing our horses and having plenty of room for everyone this system works for us. You're welcome to ask questions and we're happy to share more, but please keep any negative or rude comments to yourself as just because it's unconventional doesn't mean it's wrong!***
It's always an adventure when we put the stallions back together after time apart. Ash and Jack don't always get along the greatest but Jack is coming off a hoof abscess and is a little slower than usual so we figured now was as good a time as any to try to keep the drama to a minimum. This was actually pretty good, believe it or not! No actual violence, just a lot of yelling and showing off....
We're back to an insane amount of rain so no new photos. But enjoy this one of Quizzy celebrating some out-of-stall time earlier this week. She's a peppy one!
We finally saw the sun today! And it is much warmer this week so the babies got to go out and stretch their legs. It was fun to see them bouncing around the field. They are super hard to capture on video but we got what we could ;) and by this afternoon they had worn themselves out and were ready for a good nap... Love seeing the youngsters enjoying life together
Elwynn is enjoying getting to know the baby ponies. They're just the right size for him ;)
The Brabants are officially on the books for 2024. Chestnut gave us a lovely bay roan filly this morning at 9 am! Oh, how I love daylight babies ;) This spunky lady was eager to get going and was on her feet and nursing with no issues. She needs some time for those long legs to unfold but I bet she'll be a stunner. Now to see who decides to follow along next....
