Mid-winter pregnancy

Chico

 



Stormy

 



 Cody

 

Catlow

 

 

You cannot imagine how excited I am to see these babies.  Yes, Catlow is expecting too.  I was afraid to tell you because I know the internet can run wild with people's opinions on breeding horses, especially mustangs.  But there is no way I am going to be able to only show Cody's foal and leave Catlow's secret just to avoid other people's opinions. 

 

 

To be honest, I think Catlow's foal will be nicer than Cody's, but I guess we'll see.  If Catlow has a colt, her foal will probably be placed with a close friend, otherwise, it is mine forever!  I love Catlow to pieces and I want a piece of her to carry on.  I have plans for these foals.  I am so excited!!!!!

 

Cody is due beginning of May.  Catlow is due mid-late May.  Expect more foaling updates as the time progresses.  Right now the girls are right around 7 months along.  We are getting closer!  And I think my barn will be finished just in time to get them accustomed to their new stalls for foaling.  I'll show pictures of it at a later date.  The new barn is more than I ever imagined I'd have in a barn for my horses.  We are all so spoiled.

 

Stormy says she doesn't get why the other girls are getting spoiled and she's getting left out....she doesn't like it one bit.

Actually, they all get fed supplements together and so Stormy isn't actually left out at all, but after everyone else walks away when they are done, Stormy sticks around hoping to beg more out of us.

 

Someone is happy to oblige.  While I feed the horses, my daughter is busy concocting her own mixes of salt, rice bran, and alfalfa pellets.  Mostly it is salt, but as long as their are a few pellets in it, Stormy will eat it happily.

 

My supplements right now consist of beet pulp, a little rice bran pellets, alfalfa pellets, Purina Enrich Plus pellets, and top dressed with salt.  Sometimes I mix in a little hoof supplement for the biotin, but not every day.  I am hoping that Catlow will not lose any weight this winter, because she can't...she needs to work on growing a healthy foal.  Her teeth were addressed last spring (nothing wrong with them), and I'm doing more free choice hay rather than rationing them this year.  Chico of course doesn't need that, but I don't want to separate him from everyone else.  And so far, this winter has not been as cold or snowing as last winter.  Last winter was extremely harsh and is why all my horses lost a little weight, but Catlow the most.  But this winter is not over yet...so I shouldn't make any predictions yet.



I can't believe it, I'm down to 3!

I'm sorry I haven't posted lately and I didn't even follow up on the nutrient deficiency post.

I can tell you that my hay when fed alone is deficient in Manganese, Copper and Zinc (average hay was only deficient in Zinc).  So my hay is lower in Copper and Manganese than the average hay values I was using previously.  Thankfully, the deficiency in those nutrients were not very great, so even my old mineral was meeting Copper and Manganese and my new mineral covers everything, so I'm happy there.

Calcium:Phosphorus ratio is 2.7:1 with the current hay and mineral supplement.  I think this is okay for my current herd at maintenance.

Interestingly, the protein content is lower than I would have thought (a little lower than the average grass hay values I was using) - adjusted crude protein is 8.99%, though the protein needs for my horses are easily met by their consumption rate currently.  If I was limiting their hay and only feeding the lower hay rate (1% of body weight), that protein content might be an issue.  I don't think it is an issue currently.

Fat was 2.98%, which was higher than the average I was using. 

And sugar content (ESC) was 9.25%.  This seems fairly average.  Not high and not low.

So my assessment is I definitely need a good mineral mix and I shouldn't limit my hay too much during the winter.  I'd like to get my grass analyzed once it grows in well this summer.  I think my pasture is also quite deficient, especially given that in the past, the main pasture has had several inches of quality topsoil removed and sold to a nearby construction project.

Okay, back to current issues.

I haven't wanted to post anything because there has been so much brewing here with trying to decrease my herd size and I haven't wanted to jinx anything!  I felt like in the past, whenever I had someone interested in a horse, then told someone how excited I was getting, that interested person totally lost interest.  So, this time around I've been keeping quiet about developments, but I can now finally divulge!

Both Griffin and Kachina have left my herd!  Kachina left back in the beginning of January, and Griffin just left this last Friday.  I am so excited for Griffin.  His new owner of course knows his whole story (she read my blog too) and she is going to work with a trainer with Griffin.  She has reported to me how he's been doing the last couple days and he is really bonding with her and settling in really well to his new home.  I'm SO SO SO happy.  At first I had a lot of anxiety and was really missing my former herd members but it is such a relief to be down to the ones that I can move forward with, given the limited time that I have to spend with them.  AND to know that Griffin is finally placed where he will be given every chance to become the horse I know he can be really makes me contented.

Here are a couple pictures of Griffin's last weekend with my herd.  We have SO much snow this year!  Griffin enjoyed his last days with us, but I know he's happy where he is at now too.  I've already gotten reports that he's been playing gelding bitey-face games with his new owners other gelding.

He is charging after the cat in this picture.

When he failed to stomp the cat, he bucked, farted, then took off back for the others.