Happy Birthday Scout!

It was around 4:30 in the morning on June 13, 1995, still dark outside, and I couldn't sleep.  I had heard Beighley pacing around in her pen much of the previous night and was anxious to see if her surprise had been delivered. I went outside and in the predawn light I saw a long shooting star go across the sky. I thought, 'that's a good sign.'

As I neared Beighley's pen, I could just make out a little shape at her side. The little fella was dry and running around her when I went over to them. I thought to myself, 'what a gorgeous blanket!' I saw a red foal with a perfect white blanket, big white blaze, and white stockings. Then I noticed more white on the belly and neck. Oh my, that's a colorful horse!

I love his unique coloring, although he is certainly not registerable in any breed. And he never grew very big, topping barely 14.2 on his best days.

He's goofy and loveable and he's the token "boy" in the barn.

Happy Birthday, my boy, Scout!!!

We bought da wrong horse!

This is a great video from an insurance company!

It's so Slashed and Torn, part 5

I was taking some photos of the horses the other evening and I was excited to notice that Annie's ripped ear doesn't look too bad.  It's the left one, FYI.

It's still fully split down about an inch and a half but the ear stays together pretty well, don't you think? If you recall, I had the horses out in the big field last summer and Annie ripped her ear open, probably on a barbed wire fence. Here's what it looked like then. If you want to read more about it, go here, here, here and here.

I didn't call the vet right away because when I found out about it, it was already too late to stitch up.
However, I did have the vet come out when it looked like it might have gotten infected to give her antibiotics and clean it up. He said the infection was minimal and it would have been hard to stitch up even right away. As it turned out, all the work he did on her ear was for naught. A few days after he cleaned and treated it, her ear was all dirty and crusty again. In the end, it healed by itself because I couldn't get close enough to treat it without giving her a sedative.

it's so slashed and torn - song: Under Pressure, artist: David Bowie and Freddie Mercury

Happy Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Boy!

It was 13 years ago today, that Renegade Scout was born in the wee hours of the morning. Here's his very pregnant Mama, Beighley, an Arab Appaloosa with my six year old daughter astride.Unfortunately, we missed seeing his birth. When we went out to check on Beighley around 4:30 in the morning, he was already up and dry. I saw a falling star on my way to the barn so I knew he'd be special.

This is Sparkler, Scout's Daddy. He was named Sparkler because he was born on the 4th of July. Just look at all his color!Don't ask me what they were thinking when they bred those two! When I bought Beighley, she was already pregnant. What a mixed up mess Scout is! However, I love my one-of-a-kind horse! And I think he finally grew into his ears.

Happy Birthday Scout!

Ha ha, fooled ya! You thought this was going to be about Annie's foal, didn't ya?

Well, hopefully, the next post I make is going to be about a brand new little purebred Arabian foal with only a few white markings.

Annie must be getting close, right?

Roll in the daylight

The other day I let the horses wander around the barn to eat the few grass sprouts that were growing.

Scout took a few minutes from his grazing time to have a good roll.

Doesn't he look satisfied?

Roll in the daylight - song: How Lucky You Are, artist: David Bowie, album: Deram songs

I'm stepping through the door

Last weekend, I took Lisa on a short, impromptu road trip. We planted her letterbox and visited the tinkertown museum and then I wanted to see where my favorite windmill was. I'm planning on placing a letterbox there. Anyway, we drove and drove until we came to it just outside of Santa Fe. I swear I didn't realize it was that far! Along the way, we found some interesting rock formations

and a very interesting gateway.

I would love to place a letterbox there!

We drove past a little place called the Kickin Ass Ranch

and we drove through Madrid. Here is the general store, a converted boarding house. They have the best homemade cinnamon rolls!

There are lots of artisans living in Madrid. And they really like their art.Here is a giant ball of yarn with too many needles.

By now, it was getting dark so we stopped at a gas station for refreshments. This little gas station and store was on the way home.

We were surprised to see a horse standing out front of the little mini mart, ground tied on a loose rein. This means that basically, he wasn't even tied up, he only had a rein hanging down to the ground. The cowboy came out and led him away but not before I got some pictures. You know you are rural when you see this!

I'm stepping through the door - song: Space Oddity, artist: David Bowie, album: Space Oddity