In hand

Last night, I brought the herd in from the big field because I had soaked some beet pulp and I didn't want it to spoil. When I took Scout and Annie in from the field, Yalla! and Nadia went crazy, running and neighing. I was afraid Yalla! would hurt herself on the barbed wire since she's never been around it before so I hurried the two-in-hand to the barn so that I could go back and bring the other two home before they got hurt.

When I got to the field, Nadia and Yalla! had settled down somewhat so I haltered them and we walked back to the barn. We met up with some dogs which, thankfully, the neighbor called in to the house so they didn't bother us.

I put them in their stalls and even though they had been eating all day long they were neighing for the beet pulp mash. They all love it. I give Annie and Nadia most of it but I give some to Scout and Yalla! too.

After they had eaten, I could tell they were tired and happy to be back at the barn so I gave them hay (??) and said goodnight.

I thought about my walking the pairs to and from the field and decided that I would try to walk all four at once. I've seen lots of photos of stable hands walking four and six broodmares together so I thought, 'yes, I can do it! I will go slow and I'll actually get done faster than if I walk the pairs. It'll be safer too, because they won't be having herd anxiety.'

So, that's what I did. It was very challenging, to say the least, to get started. I haltered each one and kind of threw the rope over the barn doors until I had all of them in the aisle. Then I took Yalla! and Annie by their halters and let Nadia and Scout trail behind at the end of their lead ropes. Once we were through the gate- challenging- and out in the fields we walked pretty well. Once Yalla! balked and then moved right on again when she realized the whole herd wasn't stopping. Another time, Annie gave a little rear which surprised me and I'm not sure why. I was too busy juggling ropes. Most of the time, Nadia's lead rope was across Yalla!s neck and back. Anyway, I have to say that it went better than I really expected. Sorry, no photos, hands were FULL!! i think the hardest part was getting them all into the field and closing the gate. I didn't really want to let anyone go ahead of time with halters and leadropes trailing and I couldn't maneuver them to get close enough to the gate to shut it. Finally, I let Nadia loose and of course, she tried to wander out through the gate, so I had to walk the other three around her and herd her back. Anyway, I got them all in, shut the gate, pulled off their halters as quickly as I could and they calmly walked about ten feet away and began munching. It seems that they know where they are going and are quite willing to forsake grazing along the way to just pleasantly walk along with me.

Tonight, I decided to try it again. Yalla! is walking better, hardly pulling anymore, ahead or behind if i keep a short lead on her, and Annie is very light on the lead as long as I keep the rope short as well. I let Scout trail behind, holding only the end of the rope, and he seems happy to follow right along. Tonight, Nadia led the group part of the time, a full lead rope ahead of Yalla!, me, and Annie, and part of the time walked on the outside of Yalla! to my left. Annie will travel on either side of me and now it seems that Yalla! will too. I am very proud of my little herd and the way I can walk them all together now.

I left them in the barn again tonight and I plan on walking the four of them out together in the morning. Wish me luck!

In hand - song: You Belong in Rock 'n Roll, artist: Tin Machine featuring David Bowie, album: Tin Machine II

And then I'll lead her on the ground

I am working on halter and lead training my little filly, Yalla! She has doubled in size since birth so I need for her to be extremely manageable because I don't want to get hurt by her. She is still a little resistant about haltering, but every time I put it on, I see improvement. She throws her head up and down right when I am getting the halter on and, because it's so heavy, I worry about the brass fittings hitting her. I guess the more I do it, the better she'll accept it. I have had to adjust the halter out two holes now since I first started putting it on her.

When I have a butt rope on her, she leads like a charm, even if I don't use it, but if I take it off, she refuses to budge! Any ideas? Hopefully, this will work itself out. Meanwhile, I guess I'll lead her two handed. lol

This photo was a few weeks ago, before she really started darkening up on her back.

My how she's changed since that photo! Yalla! is almost two months old! She's over two hundred pounds now and her upper body is turning chocolate brown. She's getting wild markings now- goggles around her eyes and her muzzle is all bare. Every scrape mark grows in with black or chocolate brown hair. Even her belly is turning chocolatey. Her dorsal stripe is blending more into her coat too. Notice the blackish tint to her backside and forearms in the next photo? She has a fifty percent chance of being gray or not gray and right now I'm betting on her being a dark horse.

Isn't she funny looking though? Now I know why they shave the foal's head and neck to the chest, so that it blends in better. I think her scraped knees are funny too, just like a kid!

I decided to bling up Annie's and Yalla!'s halters. I bought some rhinestone Christmas ribbon and glued it to their halters. I only put the ribbon across the nose and on the cheek pieces because of the adjustable straps on the poll, throat, and under the nose. It was so easy but I think it turned out kind of neat.

Notice how Yalla's mane is still standing straight up with a just few curls here and there. You can see in this picture how she needs her halter adjusted down again. Just think, I wondered if she'd ever grow big enough to wear it! hahaha!

Hmmm, Annie has dark bald spots on her face just like Yalla! Crazy! Her halter is decorated with the same ribbon as Yalla!'s but the rhinestones catch the light differently all the time. Here's a photo from last week. She pulled the fly mask off a few minutes later. Oh well! But you can just about make out how much she's nicked up and changing colors.I don't see Yalla! napping so much any more but I did catch her laying down today. She has always preferred to lay in manure piles and she's still doing it. She thought about getting up when I walked up to her but I sat down next to her (not in the manure, though) and gently pulled her head down. She closed her eyes and slept with her head in my lap.

And then I'll lead her on the ground -song: Don't bring me down, artist: David Bowie covering The Pretty Things, album: Pinups