Babies are growing.  A lot.  Will have to take more pictures soon.   Been working on Shimmer.  She is doing great!  I rode her in a "mini show" (basically just schooling show) last weekend.

Happy 1st Birthday Charlie Ann!

I think weaning is over, finally!

I turned the mares back out with the whole herd today.  They'd been in an adjacent pasture.  The babies always seemed so interested in them and still are, but I think the mares are finally over the baby thing.  Neither mare let their babies nurse today and both kicked at them.  I thought Cody might still let Charlie, but she actually kicked her and made contact!  Catlow mostly just threatened.  The babies only tried that initial meeting and now they are all fine.  I haven't even seen them try again all day.  Everyone is happy.

Shimmer is such a beautiful filly.  Inside and out.

Charlie has finally officially caught up to Shimmer!  Yearling versus 3 year old.

I put Chico's grazing muzzle back on for the "summer".  It's been warm enough that the pastures are coming in and Chico is really fat already.  He's the only fat one.  Denny doesn't understand what's on Chico's face!  Isn't this boy going to be a handsome horse?

Flaxen mane!

Making baby mouth!  Trying to understand what is up with Chico!  Chico just wants this thing off his face.

Charlie is still shedding her coat.  Her winter hairs are dull and brown.  But she is shiny and black in the few places she has nicks or bite marks, giving a taste of what's to come!

Working with Shimmer

Weaning babies is still ongoing.  They still try to nurse every time they get with their mamas and the mamas for the most part would let them, so I'm being very careful.  I've got Charlie with Chico, Shimmer and Catlow.  Denny is in a separate pasture with Cody and Stormy.  Charlie tries to sneak in and nurse on Catlow, but she won't let her.  The mares are finally drying up.  Cody and Charlie still whinny for eachother though.  They are so dependent!  So close!

I've been working with Shimmer.  Today with did some ground driving for the first time and she was amazing.  It started out a little rough, but she really figured it out.  And I also sat on her for the first time!  I can't wait to work with her again.  She is a fast learner and is really going to be a great kids horse someday.  Nothing really bothers her and she is just a good girl!

Freedom!!!!!!

The babies have been   in the mustang pen for the last week.  They are not happy about being separated from the herd, but they have eachother.  And the whole herd comes down a couple times a day to drink from the automatic waterer that is shared between the mustang pen and their pasture.  So they see their mothers regularily.  On Sunday, I decided to put the mares in the barn, then open the gate and let the babies out of the mustang pen (the barn and the mustang pen are separated by a hill, so they can't see eachother when the herd is in my new barn).  Of course, the babies were pacing in the back of the pen, toward where the rest of the herd went, then they ran out toward the front of the pen...Denny immediately saw that the gate was open and exited, whereas Charlie was so focused on where the others went that she did not see the wide open gate right in front of her face and instead ran to the side and paced at the panels.  Denny immediately took off over the hill for the herd, while Charlie ran back into the back of the pen FREAKING out!  Now she was alone!!!!

She paced the back of the pen for at least 30 minutes.  She had just lost her mind!  She ran out front 4 times, and each time she missed the wide open gate in front of her face and instead ran to the side of the pen toward where the others went, completely missing it.

I was so frustrated with how frantic she was that after watching her for half an hour, I shut the gate, thinking that maybe it wasn't a good lesson for her to get out and find relief by running back to the her after she'd been so crazed.  I went and got Catlow out of the barn and put her in with Charlie.  As soon as Catlow as there, Charlie was much calmer!  Now she had someone to follow, but she still paced the pen and whinnied for her mom.  I was so frustrated with Charlie...she exhibited the same behaviors as when I led her out of the barn away from the herd.  She just loses all rational thought and practically runs me over.  I'm not sure what to do to get her over this, other than leave her with a horse she can be comfortable with and just let her mature...her baby brain just can't handle this.  Unfortunately, she gets the pacing and ridiculousness from her mom.  Except that I've worked with Cody enough that if I am there, she respects me and will not run me over and will stand calm if I'm handling her.

Denny continued to run around and enjoy his freedom after I let him out of the pen.  And suddenly Denny looks like a horse rather than a baby.  I swear it just happened overnight.

Midst of weaning

The babies have not nursed from their mommas in a few days now.  When they are with the herd, they are quite relaxed, but still come to the barn door to whinny to their mommas on occasion.  When they are in the barn without their mommas, for the most part they are fairly calm, but Charlie paces and really wants to get back out.  When their mommas come in but they are in a stall and can't get near them, they just get frantic!  Especially when the mares then leave the barn.  I know it will take time and it is natural for them to be afraid of being without the herd, but they are so good in every other way that I forget that.  And it catches me off guard when they get so frantic that they are practically running me over!  Charlie is the worst of the two.  But I'm not surprised.  She's just like her mom.

Both babies have lost just a little bit of weight in this whole process.  It seems to be mostly belly weight, cuz they are not too thin anywhere else.  Charlie is also just so refined compared to Denny...but if you saw them together, Charlie has such a wider body and hip...so it is difficult to call her more refined than Denny.  It's the legs!!!  Her legs make her seem dainty.

Last weekend the weather was extremely nice - 65 degrees!!!!!  I went for a road ride with a few friends.  I rode Cody.  The snow was melting rapidly and the ground was too soft for trails.  It was a good time.