The Horsemeister Blog: Weaning Day

I needed to put more toilet paper in the barn so took it over before the walk. I was putting some in each bathroom when I realized it was 7:30 am. I quickly ran outside to the golf cart so I wouldn't be a minute late but ended up stopping to take the picture below of the sun peeking through the trees before taking the path to mom's..

That made me a minute late but thankfully the other walkers had not left yet. When we turned the corner to the retention pond another picture had to be taken. Fall really has arrived and the trees are turning.

After breakfast the dreaded horsemeister check book needed to be reconciled as we hadn't done it for a couple months and Diane is leaving for Gulf Shores in a couple days. She has now moved completely from the Hanna City office to her house. That made this trip very easy, that and the fact there were only 2 transactions for 2 months. The water bill out at Middle Grove. I climbed up to the loft to find all the hundreds of toys are now gone and a complete office set up there.

Diane said the last time the grandchildren were over they climbed up and were shocked. Now just so you know her youngest grandchild is Crew and he was hired this summer to help Mike with all the heavy equipment (I think he is a teenager). It took longer to turn on the computers and open the files then it did to actually reconcile the check book. I don't even dread it anymore. As soon as I got home from Diane's it was time to help Mark organize the indoor arena, pull the Alumina trailer out and move the 3 pallets of ceiling tile off of that and store them with the other boxes of ceiling tile. The truck was backed into the barn and Mark hooked up the trailer. The picture below is of the the view from my dash as he was hooking it up. I sure appreciate the back up camera in this truck.

I need to stop calling it the new truck, it is a 2015. So much has happened with the horse business in the last 10 years. When Covid hit and all the shows and fairs were shut down we stopped performing, stopped practicing, the horses were hauled to Middle Grove and left until it was foaling time. The 2 big living quarter horse trailers were sold and the barn built. Below we have already moved one pallet and needed to get a chain on the next one to pull it close enough for the fork lifts to reach.

This worked for the remaining 2 pallets.

We used the front right corner to store the pallets until needed. They are in the way of tacking up the horses but still enough room to tack one at a time.

Below is a short video of moving the first pallet.

Once the trailer was emptied it was moved to the other side of the manure spreader giving me plenty of room to maneuver horse trailers, skid steers and tractors. Mark put the bale spear on the skid steer and brought out one of the alfalfa bales for the last paddock.

He is leaving the fork lift on the tractor for when he needs to attach the cage for the garage siding project.

Once the bale was in place he helped hook the stock trailer up to the truck and I took off for Middle Grove. Today was weaning day for the 4 older foals. Diane and Mike were already out there getting the cabin and lakes ready for the winter and they left the gate open so I could just drive in. The horses were in the woods. I just drove into the big fields, they heard the trailer coming and by the time I parked and got out most had already arrived. Oh the burrs!

Weaning day is not a fun day. Somehow we were going to have to get four foals into the trailer then leave without their mom's. As Blueberry and her filly Roseberry were right there we decided to start with them. Mike led Blueberry into the trailer, Roseberry got a little spooked with the banging sound of the trailer and ran around the trailer, Blueberry realized her filly was not in with her, threw herself backward and broke the lead rope. Mike had to get back in the trailer and hold her and then Roseberry walked right in. Mike got a halter on her and both were tied. Next was Rosalie. I started leading her in but instead of her filly following, Dancer's colt walk into the trailer. This is unheard of, a 5 month old colt leaving his dam to walk into a spooky trailer. Rosalie's filly just decided to follow him in. That was 3 down without any drama. Sheena and her filly had left the trailer and walked a ways under a tree. Diane was left at the back door of the trailer, Mike was left in the trailer with 3 foals and one mare while I went for Sheena. She and her filly Shadow were taken to the back door. Diane opened the door and Shadow walked in. I told Diane, "quick shut the door, we don't want Sheena to get in too." That quickly we had all 4 foals loaded. We just decided to take Blueberry with us all all of them were standing quietly in the trailer. Diane rode with me back to the gate while Mike fed the mares carrots. None of the mothers followed the trailer. Diane opened the gate and I left for home while she waited for Mike to pick her up with the 4 wheeler. The truck was getting low on gas so I stopped in Farmington to fill that and checked on the foals. They were still standing quietly. When we got back to the farm the trailer was backed between the building and the paddock. The gate opened, halters put on the last 2 foals and then were herded into the paddock. We left the broken lead rope on Dahlia, Rosalie's filly. Below are the 3, Roseberry and Blueberry are already eating on the round bale and not pictured below.

We were marveling on how well this went and commenting on what a good crop of quality foals we have this year. The blue halter is Dancer's colt Disco, the purple halter is Dahlia, Rosalie's filly and the red halter is Sheena's filly Shadow.

Shadow is just half Friesian the other 2 are 7/8ths Friesian.

Shadow is in front behind is Roseberry wearing a blue halter standing next to her (not pictured dam).

We congratulated each other then all of us left. I put the trailer back where it belonged then went in to shower and get ready for church. At 5:45 pm I was dressed for church when Joan called, "you have 3 babies out running around." I took off in my Sunday clothes on the golf cart, Joan and Berlica were also in their Sunday clothes and we 3 got them back in the paddock. There were no broken boards and no gates open so it was a mystery how they got out. Only Blueberry and Roseberry were still in the paddock. Mike and Diane came over on the 4 wheeler and we were all checking fences when we the foals decided they were going to go searching for their mon's and started climbing THROUGH the fence. At that point we knew they must be stalled. Blueberry and Roseberry were taken in first then the 3 of us worked hard to get these 3 foals that have not been handled much and do not know how to lead into the stall barn and into the stalls (again in Sunday/well Wednesday night clothes). By the time they were all safely in it was 6:10 pm. Mike decided to go to TSC to get electric fence, Diane hauled hay and water and I went in to brush off the clothes. I should have checked my shoes but forgot. They were just dusty, thankfully I had not stepped into any fresh piles I only have one pair of Sunday shoes. We were not late for church. Tim Roecker had the message on 1 Kings 19 and St John 19. To listen to this message click HERE.

I had a market place message after church of someone wanting to come at 9:30 pm to buy the extra mattress I had posted. That still gave us time to go to Culvers for a late dinner. We dropped Berlica off and were heading home to change when the man coming to buy the mattress sent a message that he was early and just going through Hanna City. We turned back, drove to the barn, Mark brought the mattress down stairs and turned the gym lights on I used my flashlight on the phone to show the man where to turn, he walked in, bought it, carried the box out to his car and drove off. That took all of 5 minutes. We turned off the barn lights, drove home, changed clothes and I went back to the barn to bring in another wheelbarrow load of hay for the weanlings. Diane and Mike had given Blueberry and Roseberry hay and 2 buckets of water and filled 3 buckets of water for the foals. While they were eating hay from the wheel barrow I removed burrs from trails and manes. Well from 2 of them and started on the 3rd but it was after 10:00 pm when I decided this could wait until tomorrow, took a few pictures and left for my oh so comfortable bed. Check out those tails! The left side is Dahlia and the right side is Disco.