A Huge Thank You and What In The World Do I Do With Her

Thank you guys for all of your kind comments about my baby. They mean so much to me. Blogger wouldn't let me tell you how much they meant, but they did.

Ok here's what happened on Day 5. On day 3. she was entranced with the big girls in the pasture next to hers.  They are three year old fillies and they put on quite the show when they saw her for the first time. So what did my little monkey do, today? She figured out how to crawl under the fence and get in with them. My poor mama horse was, as usual these days, having a hissey fit. My five day old baby was playing with the big girls and having a ball. The big girls were loving her up. Go figure.

Oh yes, the barn manager told me that five day old Jolie was figuring out being led and was a really good girl about it. So much for my lead line lessons.  The assistant manager told me that she was so bright, I should consider dressage or "eventing." What oh what do I do with her to help her reach her full potential.  I'm at a loss here folks. So help me.

Bringing Up Baby Day 3 - Out We Go

Today we let them out in the pasture. What can I say, Jolie found her own and poor Kitt had a nervous meltdown. They say a picture tells a thousand words so here they are.

Our First Offer

My baby is two days old and we've had our first offer. I didn't tell you this in the last post. Some pony clubbing mother asked me how much when she is weaned, and I said, politely, "not for sale."  And to myself, I said "Over my dead body." My little peak a boo, will never go to a thirteen year old pony clubber, to be past to the next thirteen year old and so on until she's sold at auction for dog food.

Here's why I call her "Peak a Boo."  I decided to dumb down the Parrelli friendly game for a foal. So when she comes up to me stops, get's her pat and runs behind Kitt.  I put my hands over my eyes and call out, "Peak a Boo." And open up my fingers. When I can look into her eyes, I call out, "I can see you," and then she comes running. So, instead of thinking about her as Jolie or Raven or whatever, to me she is now Peak a Boo.

Bringing Up Baby Day 2 - Much Better

Photos will be coming tomorrow, promise. She's still in her stall. Tomorrow, she goes out. Today went very well.  I can now touch her face, her ears, stroke her neck and her back.  We played a game, she came up, I touched her and then she ran away.  She'd come to a dead stop, peak around Kitt and then come running up again, come to a stop and let me touch her. When she was lieing down, she let me stroke her ears, neck and back.  I don't do it for long, I don't want her to feel overwhelmed.  I play with her for about 1/2 an hour, then go sit under a tree with my book for an hour, then back I go.

I was really proud of her.  The feed truck came lumbering up, making all kinds of noise, with two guys, yelling and throwing feed sacks to the ground.  This was right next to her stall.  She did not panic, or go crazy, she just stood there, peaking out of the gate, seeing what was going on.  I guess it helped that Kitt was just as calm as she could be during the whole thing.

We had our first little showdown, which I won.  I put her halter on her and she did not like it one little bit.  She had a temper tantrum.  I just stood there and said calmly, "you can pitch any kind of fit you like, but that halter is not coming off. She was not happy with it or me, but a few hours later, she had relaxed was back to playing the freindly game. I like to end any training session, even at this young age, on happy note.

Here's what she looks like, as you'll see tomorrow.  She's a palamino, with four white socks and a white blaze. Her confirmation is very correct and her pasterns are straight.  She also has dark blue eyes. I don't know if they will change over time, but right now they're blue.

Pictures tomorrow.

Bringing Up Baby Day 1 The Good and the Bad

Well, here we are on day 1. My normal vet is on vacation, so the replacement vet arrives.  Now I want you to remember my baby stood up all by herself in less then 1/2 an hour.  She found the nipples all by herself. She was running around the stall, bucking and having a grand old time.

She takes one look at her, and says "she tiny, hello no she isn't. Why is she so small? She's toxic. Well I want you to know that I've seen toxic foals and this little girl, doesn't fit the description. She looks at the placenta and says, "well this is why she's toxic, this placenta is way too small. 

Well at this point, I jump in with, her mother is 15 hands and her father is 14.2, just what do you mean by too small? Too small as compared to a 16 hand warmblood who's been bred to a 16+ hand Thoroughbred.  Well not to be dismayed, she has to take blood to determine just how toxic poor little Jolie is. Also the poop I've seen her do is not quite good enough, so the poor little filly has to endour two enemas. What a horrible first day of life. Oh yes, did I mention the poor little girl has to get two shots everyday for five days to counteract how "toxic" she is.

Well guess what? the vet who's standing outside her stall, calls me to tell me her blood work is perfect. And watching her jump around the stall, she decides the antibiotics are already kicking in and then here's the kicker (sorry for the double kicker), she tells me little Jolie is probably the fanciest foal she has ever seen and I have to train her to do something.  An animal as beautiful and bright as she is should not be a trail horse.
Well guess what, she will be, and it won't be to do dressage or eventing.  Her mother is the fastest horse, I've ever ridden and she can turn on a dime and her father is making a name for himself in the cutting world.

Somehow I have to get her over this hideous day, and trust me I will.

She's Here

She was born at 8:00 tonight and was standing 1/2 an hour later.  Tommy filmed the whole standing up so as soon as I can process it, you'll see it. When we left, I figured Kitt was getting nervous about us continuing to stand around flashing camera's and petty the baby, she had pretty much figured out the nursing.  She appears to be strong, smart and healthy. Knock wood. 

Her name was going to be Shiner's Jolie Dancer, but Tom and the teenager who delivered her, decided that she should be called Shiner's Jolie Raven. Oh yes, I had to go home at 7:00, I figured she's never have her, if I continued to sit under the tree, pretending not to stare.

Oh yes, on her father's side she's a direct descendent of Doc Bar and obviously Shiner and on her mother's, she's a direct descendent of Old Tom Cat and AQHA Grand Champion, so I can hardly wait to get started with her.  But the most important thing is that she's here and she's seems to be healthy.  Now let's all keep our fingers crossed that she inherited her mother's dear disposition, because in the end that's all that counts.

"I Don't Believe We're on the Eve of Destruction"

Well folks here we are on May 20th, the supposed day before the end of the world.  I don't know about you, but I have plans for Sunday that don't include sitting out an earthquake, or whatever fire and brimstone these fear mongers have predicted.  I understand the megamind behind all of this nonsense has based it on mathematical calculations beginning with the day Jesus died.  Unless he has access to archaeological records that the rest of the world does not, I'd be curious to know where he got his information as to the exact date.

Also, unless he has access to biological information that the rest of us do not, the only way for the soul to leave the body is for the body to die. So, I guess he's predicting a mass die off.  Well I suppose that's one way to end the overpopulation crisis.

Now don't get me wrong. I do have a firm believe in God, and having read the Bible in the original Greek, which I'd be willing to bet he has not, a love of Jesus and what he really said, not what we've been told he did.  I also believe that Plato was accurate when  he said, there are three beliefs necessary for faith. 

1.  There is only one God.
2.  You have a soul
3.  The soul is immortal.

I wonder what those folks spreading the fear are going to do on Sunday, when they're still here?  Stay tuned this could get interesting.

PS:  Foal watch starts this weekend.

I'm Back

Sorry I haven't been post much lately, but guys I didn't know what to say. There was always, I'm working six days a week and that sucks.  Or maybe I could have posted, golly gee it's raining again, whooptie do. Or I could have posted about the hairball clean up detail, I seemed to always be on.  But it's finally spring and Kitt is about two weeks away from her due date and the light is wonderful. So I think I'll just leave you with some of my favorite shots from the past week.