Weaning Day

Today was such a busy day. I went out at 7:00 am to feed, we have so many mares and foals here that it took longer than usual and I was almost late for our walk.  As we were crossing the dam a huge snapping turtle was also trying to cross the dam.

She had mud all over her back so it was obvious she had just laid her eggs. Bummer we don't like snappers in the ponds. They eat the goslings.
As soon as that was over it was time to drive to the Berean office. We had 4 of us working there this morning and easily got the 80 + Bibles requests entered and printed out then wrapped, labeled, and stamped. Cindy, Mary and MaryJane were the helpers today.

When we finished Mary and Mary Jane followed me home to see the mares, foals and stallions. After they left I ran down to the house for a quick lunch then took off for Middle Grove with the truck and trailer. Karin agreed to meet me there to help loading the foals. Weaning day isn't a fun day. We had Star, Hadassah, Lily and Lola haltered. The first mare and foal we put in the trailer was Lola. As soon as her filly EasterBonnet jumped in, Lola was pulled out leaving Karin and EasterBonnet inside the trailer. Karin was able to get her in the front and the divider was shut. Lola was tied outside to the front of the trailer so EasterBonnet would stay up there. Next mare and foal to load were Star and Elsa. We did the same routine and it worked just as well. Now we have 2 foals up front with 2 mares tied outside to the front of the trailer. Hadassah and Esther were next and again the loading and unloading of Hadassah went smoothly and then Karin made the mistake of saying, "this is all going so well!" Of course that meant when we put Lily and her colt Apollo in it didn't go as well. Lily is such a big mare that when she turned around to go out the gate we couldn't close it fast enough and Apollo followed her right out. Both took off running all the way back to where the rest of the herd was lounging in the shade. That meant a long hike for us and a change in plans. We decided to just bring Lily home with us. This time they were loaded up and the trailer gate shut and off we drove. Karin followed me home for the unloading. The trailer was backed between the 2 barns. The door to the arena was shut and only the side door of the stall barn was opened. Karin opened the trailer gates, I led Lily into the stall barn and into a stall followed by 4 weanlings. Lily was put in the stall across the aisle and the 4 weanlings left together. We were all done with this by 3:45 pm which was perfect as we had a mare coming in for breeding to Valiant at 4:00 pm. The monitors were turned on then out I went to check udders. Oksana's was for sure more filled with a drop of colostrum on each teat. That meant Lily was kicked out of the stall barn and the foaling stall given to Oksana for the night.

She does not look or act like she is in labor but I'm not taking any chances so she will be stalled each night from now until after the foal comes. The lady bringing Jazz, the mare to be bred, was late so I went down to the house and was watching the foals on the monitor when I realized Apollo, (Lily's colt) was causing havoc in the weanling stall. He was going around kicking at each filly and threatening them with his teeth. Back out I went and he was put in a single stall and  is now in solitary confinement. The 3 fillies were SO relieved to get him out and settled right down to eat.
Jazz arrived at 5:15 pm and was teased. She is not showing so was put in the paddock next to Evan's. Hopefully she will come in soon. I had a few minutes to jump in the shower before needing to leave for church. The picture below was taken Sunday but only downloaded off the phone tonight. Mike's grandchildren were there and so excited to sit with their grandpa.

A nice email came today from one of our visitors this morning MaryJane sent this with the picture below:
Judy, 
Thank you for showing us around and introducing us to your horses! It was a beautiful day. I especially loved watching Evan and Valiant showing us how they bow, sit, roll etc. It was so sweet how they interacted with you. Valiant was quite the guy when he looked over after he sat down to watch for our approval. 😊  It was also great to see your mares, fillies and colts in person. Thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule! 
Mary Jane