Return to Middle Grove

This morning when I fed, Evan didn't want to come into the paddock to eat but fussed around outside then finally realized I wasn't going to bring the grain out to him and very reluctantly and gingerly made his way from the field into the paddock. It was only after they were eating that I discovered why. When Valiant kicked the board off last night he caught the electric fence with it and tore it down into Evan's paddock. Evan must have gotten shocked while inside. Oksana and Evan were locked out into the field so I was able to unplug the fence and restring it. While they were locked out Mark helped move a round bale into their paddock. Just as I was taking the net wrap off  2 brothers and their families who drove down from the Chicago area arrived to look at Walter and Winston. They were shown where the colt's stall was then I finished helping Mark. By the time I got back to the stall they were in the stall with the colts loving on them. They asked to see Valiant and were very impressed then we brought the colts into the indoor to see them move. Both colts were very well behaved. By the time the colts were put away and the families drove away over an hour had passed. They are having a tough time making up their mind on which colt One of the brothers really wanted Walter but the other really wanted Winston. but honestly are not yet ready to buy.
Karin arrived to work horses shortly after but I was just too cold and needed to go inside to warm up so didn't watch. By the time I got back outside she was just finishing up with the last mare.
Mark wanted to work on the solar system today, carrying more of those 90 pound steel pipes from inside the big barn to the outside. This was a three person job today, luckily Karin offered to help. Thankful for that help. We tied the mares up while the job was done.

 They were all so good and of course I think they are all beautiful. Karin was thrilled with their response today. Above right to left is Indy, Ribbon, Ayanna, Zalena, Jenis and Eliza and below is Anna.

The temperature was cold but the sun was shining. Karin offered to help me take Winston and Walter back to the herd at Middle Grove and there was no way I would turn that offer down. When we arrived most of the herd was by the old gate grazing. They came running to see who we were bringing. Prissy and Sangria were thrilled to see their boys back. Prissy was quick to claim Winston then started warning all the others to STAY AWAY this is HER boy! to the right of Prissy is Ella's colt who came running up to see his friends.

 It didn't take long for them to settle down grazing.

We heard the sound of galloping hooves coming from over the hillside when Ripper showed up followed closely by Rosalie with Lily bringing up the rear slowly.

Funny how all of the horses want to see who arrived and who is in the trailer.

There was one thing to report and I believe this has been going on for a while. Lola and Whitney have claimed Whistler (Sheena's colt by Valiant).

 I actually noticed that Whistler was hanging around these two mares when we went to Middle Grove to bring back the Friesians but didn't think too much about it. Today it was obvious these 2 mares were keeping him between them making sure he was safe with all the commotion going on with the arrival of the two colts. Sheena is content to let them care for him, and both Whitney and Lola are very motherly.  Below is Hadassah, she was bred to Evan, confirmed in foal by ultrasound and due July 18th but doesn't look like she is pregnant. She will need to be brought back in March after the IL Horse Fair and preg checked.

The other 3 we will need to bring back right after the fair is Star who is due March 23rd,

Lily is due April 14th but has a history of going early, and Lola who is also due April 14th.

Rosalie was a pest today. I was trying to get a decent picture of her but she wouldn't stay far enough away. Finally I asked Karin to call her, ran away quickly and snapped the picture below as fast as possible just as she was turning her head to try to follow me. Rosalie turns 3 years old next month.

On the way back we saw something big and black by the side of the road. Our first reaction was, "what IS that?" When we got close enough this is what we saw.

Karin said she knew the dog, this was Chuck's dog out of Beth's female. Chuck was working in the area and must have let his dog come with him.  We had one more stop to make, Karin wanted to check out the progress on David's new to him house. The workers must have quit for the day when we arrived no one was there but we looked into the windows and were surprised at how much had been done. Two inside walls had been removed and lots torn out.

 This little house has a nice roomy fenced in back yard with a 2 stall garage. This will be a nice place for David and his dog. Rachel is trying to talk him into taking both dogs so Zero won't get lonely. 

I'm sure the neighbors were a little worried when we arrived with the horse trailer. Just exactly what kind of dogs was he bringing?
A blast of Arctic air will be arriving tonight, tomorrow's high is only going to reach single digits then drop below zero Sunday night. I'm glad all the horses have good big bales of hay and very glad all the automatic waterers are working well.