Jurista

Sangria and Sheena both had some filling in their udders this morning, not enough to believe either will go today but enough that we are sure they are progressing.
We had a great day at Berean, that must have been because of all the good help.

 Tiffany brought 2 of Lisa's boys. Eva Jean, Diane R, Roma and Chuck all came, sat down and started working.

 By the time we finished up those boys had 339 Bibles loaded into the car. So many that we couldn't fit all the boxes in and had to take some out to get the hatch back door shut.

We are SO thankful for anyone that is willing to donate time for this ministry. After dropping off the Bibles we ate lunch at Tyrones in Bartonville. After lunch Diane R took the others back to the shop while Diane and I drove home. Rhoda was there working horses. She had already worked Soul and Serenity. Serenity bucked under saddle for the first time since we owned her. Her previous owner warned us that she will do this without giving any warning. Good thing Rhoda is a great rider with amazing instincts. She usually can tell when a horse is going to misbehave and stop it before it happens. This buck was without warning but didn't unseat her. Serenity got lots of canter work after that. By the time I arrived she was working with Jurista. The camera was taken out to document everything Rhoda teaches this mare. She introduced the tarp today. Below is Jurista's reaction to this very scary item.

 Rhoda let her run as long as she wanted to but if she wanted to rest she needed to let Rhoda stand next to her with the tarp.

 The mare is smart. She figured out very quickly she wasn't going to have to work if she would accept what Rhoda was asking and within a few minutes was letting Rhoda drape it all over her then follow Rhoda around the arena with the tarp blowing in the wind hitting her sides.

 Next Rhoda put the tarp on the ground and let Jurista walk over it. This too was scary for her but again if she didn't want to work she had to stand on the tarp. Smart mare.

Next was the under saddle training but by the time the ground work is done that is the easy part for Rhoda.

 Jurista walked quietly back to the barn where she was untacked then given some trick training to end her session.

Prissy's colt has pretty bad diarrhea. They were brought into the barn. Rhoda helped clean him up then Emily arrived from her Middle Grove trip and helped give him the Bio-Sponge. Poor little guy, hope he is feeling better tomorrow. If not we will have to take him to the vet for fluids.
This morning Emily took Star and her filly out to Middle Grove. Mitchell went along as he had never been there. They had a great time riding first Mika and Sally then 2 of the other Walkers. They had 2 lake crossings. They brought back Ribbon and Rosalie. Ribbon is due May 13th but her udder is flat. Hope she is still expecting. Rosalie is here to get her wolf teeth removed so we can start her training. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get a few pictures of her. She is HUGE for a 2 year old.
Mark worked on the house siding and almost finished one side. I'm impressed with how it looks, very professional. The pictures below were taken this afternoon. The four fatties were drowsing away in the sunshine. Rhoda called to them and they all looked over.

They are left to right Eliza, Zalena, Sheena and Sangria. Eliza is due May 19th, Zalena is due May 17th, Sheena is 9 days over due and Sangria now is 10 days over due.

It's a BOY!

Rhonda drove by as we were walking to tell us that Tara was in labor and asked for prayers. Tara and Jay have 4 little girls so we were praying for a healthy baby but felt it would be nice for them to have a little boy. They didn't get a little boy, Tara had a whopping 10 pound baby boy!

I had to work at Berean today processing letters. I was able to get A through H finished but ran out of time for the G through Z. Oh well there is always tomorrow.
On the way home I stopped at Kroger for some milk and just as I was checking out Dr. Hoerr called to say he was on the way. I beat him to the farm but had to take the golf cart over to the cabin field to pick up Jurista and Dr. Hoerr was waiting at the barn door by the time I arrived with her. Jurista needed her teeth floated. She stood well to be sedated then when he started floating her teeth Serenity was brought in. She was next for the teeth floating. Once he started working on Serenity. Star and her filly were brought into the stall for an ultrasound. Star is now confirmed in foal due March 23rd, 2016. The sire of this foal is Valiant. After Dr. Hoerr left I started teasing mares. Lily is now in, Lola is still in and Jenis may be coming in.
Emily arrived shortly after the mares were all put away with a bunch of 50 pound bags of grain. Those were unloaded while she changed into her barn clothes then we got Lily covered by Valiant and Lola covered by Killian.
Emily decided to mow but the mower was out of diesel fuel so she took a quick trip to the gas station for 10 gallons while I cleaned stalls.
We had a guest come ride Lola today but no pictures we were getting ready to leave for church. Emily rode Oksana while Jennifer rode Lola on the death trails. Oksana did very well, even leading the way.
Willis had the service tonight.

Long Day

Well I overslept. Waking at 6:30 am, stumbling around trying to gulp down coffee so my brain could function enough to get out to feed was an experience in itself as coffee was spilled on the counter, then floor. Mark was kind enough to come out to help, either that or he wanted breakfast.
After the walk it was a rush again to get out the door in time to leave for the shop. Joan dropped off Hannah, Faith and Mackenson to help as she, mom and Diane were going to TAG. We had a lot of mail, Mackenson came in to TEMCO with me to help carry it all.

 There was a basket for each one of Joan's kids to carry in.

 I thought it would just be me, the kids and Eva Jean today

but was pleasantly surprised when Shirley walked in then thrilled when Kathy and Dave arrived to help.

 Then Rhoda arrived about the same time Emily came in.

 After TAG was over mom, Joan and Diane came to help for a few hours. Mom went to lunch with us while Joan and Diane worked through lunch then went garage saling in Morton.

 By 2:30 pm we had finally finished processing the studies. Below Shirley is stacking the last of the stuffed envelopes in the box to go out to the mail.

 The studies below were loaded into my car to take to church on Wednesday for grading. 

 We were not able to get to the letters. Kathy and Dave got them all read and sorted, Wednesday I'll head in to the shop to get them entered and ready for our Thursday workers. Darlene arrived from Sheridan Correctional Institution to pick up Bibles and more studies for that prison just as we were leaving for the day.

Emily picked up a pallet of bedding for the stalls this morning then after work used the skid steer with the pallet fork to unload them out of the trailer. Rhoda had a few hours to spare so came to see Darcy then work horses. The first horse to be worked was Jurista.

She remarked the hardest part of training this mare is getting off of her. Not because she is so fun to ride, she is, but Jurista kind of freaks out as one leans forward to get off. Rhoda practiced with that today. The propane truck arrived as she was being teased.

The driver filled both of the tanks out here. The barn tank took 362 gallons and the house took 202 gallons. Amazing that our small 500 gallon tanks can go a year and only use that amount. Did I mention how much we love our wood burner?

When Emily arrived she and Rhoda pulled out Ayanna and Kensie. These are full sisters both by Raven out of Lily. Ayanna is 5 years old and Kensie is 4. The girls were marveling how much alike they were, how they reacted to the same gravel pile, and how much fun they both were to ride.

 After the arena work they had a good gallop across the fields to the trails then took a leisurely ride through the death trails.

After the ride the girls got Lola covered by Valiant. So thankful for help that just see's what needs to be done and does it!

Joan picked up mom and I and drove to the fellowship hall for the all church shower for Jessica and Austin. We were served a nice meal and had an enjoyable time visiting while the many gifts were passed. It was dark by the time we got home but we still needed to move a round bale in for Lily's paddock. Thank goodness the tractor has lights. Emily drove that while I opened gates. 

Training Piper

After the walk it was time to tease mares. Lily said "no!" Indy said "no!" thankfully Piper said, "no!" but Lola and Whisper both said "yes!"
Sangria and Sheena were put out with Zalena and Eliza. I took a few pictures of them drowsing away in the sunshine. Below Sheena is taking a nap while the other 3 just rest standing up.

 Poor Evan is really wanting to go out to graze. Ever since we taught him to bow he knows how to graze sideways. We always let him graze after he covers a mare but I sure wish he could have his own pasture like the old days when he and Valiant were best friends. They had the big field to enjoy all summer long now they are both locked up except for special occasions.

 Below Zalena is in the lead followed by Eliza and behind Eliza is Sheena and last but not least is Sangria.

 Sheena is pictured below, she has a good sized  baby belly bump.

 Emma came over to the other side of the pond and found something wonderfully stinky to roll in. 

 Of course she got a bath this afternoon. Below Zalena is in front of Eliza and below that is Zalena's big belly baby bump.

 The flowering crab tree had a few big bumble bees buzzing around even though it was still very cool out, barely hitting 40 degrees this morning.

 The gander was keeping a close watch on the horses making sure they don't get too close to his mate's nest.

Emily arrived home from school and helped with the stallions.  We got Lola covered first by Valiant then Whisper by Evan. Next she worked horses.  I video'd her training session with Piper.

We will be able to schedule an ultrasound for her in 16 days. She rode Lola next and finished up the day with a good session on Serenity.
Mark worked on the house siding. Mom got a couple truck loads of gravel in for her drive. Too much was dumped at the bottom of the hill so Emily used the skid steer to distribute it more evenly. Tim worked on mom's mower, replacing the blades and fixing a flat tire. We had a beautiful busy sunny day but now it is time to rest.

Four Fatties

My morning started early. Sangria and Sheena were put out and stalls cleaned. Whisper was taken over to Evan to tease. She is still showing so was covered. While working with her I noticed Piper was also still showing but did not have time to get her covered.
We picked mom up for church. Mike Rieker had the first service while David Obgerfel had the second.
After church Piper was covered by Valiant. Zalena was moved out of Valiant's pasture. She is 3 weeks from her due date but more bagged up than either Sangria or Sheena. We can't go by that though as Zalena had a foal last year and neither Sangria or Sheena did. Zalena and Eliza were put in the pond pasture for the afternoon with the other 2 heavily pregnant mares.

Above is Zalena who is due May 17th but is already bagged up, and below is Sangria, Sangria decided to have a roll in the grass and barely made it back up. She is carrying a heavy load. She is now 6 days over her due date.

 Sheena loves the pond and went right in. Sangria splashed around a bit but was wise enough to realize if she barely made it upright on hard ground she was really going to have trouble in the pond.

Below is Eliza who is due May 19th of all the mares Eliza's udder looks like she is ready NOW.

 Below is Zalena and Eliza.

 The mares were left out while we went to the choir picnic at Myrna and Bob's house. That was a lot of fun, fellowship and great food. After dinner we sang for an hour then started the long trip home arriving shortly after 9:00 pm. I went to the barn to bring in the mares, mom let Molly out and just then some kids let off some huge loud fireworks. Molly took off in a panic down the road. We all started calling and searching up and down the driveways and even down the road to the neighbors. There was no sign of Molly. Around 10:00 pm we gave up and took mom home. Just as I plugged in the golf cart and started toward the house Molly arrived but was still pretty spooked. Mom was called and right away started calling her. Thank goodness Molly came to her. We are exhausted and heading to bed.