Welcome Secret

Is it bad that I'm cringing a little with a sheepish grin while writing this? I have a friend, a dear, beloved, wonderful friend, who is going to heave a huge sigh, roll her eyes, call me a bleeding heart, and whap me over the head with a newspaper once she finds out. You know who you are...

Though I honestly have no idea if she actually reads my blog. I imagine she does. Guess I'll find out now, won't I?

Without further adieu . . .

Welcome to K-n-S Farm, Secret.


Yup, I took in a rescue. *Hides from said friend.*

"Secret" (hehheh) is a 7-8 month old Welsh filly. She was run through an auction and went for pennies. A friend who pulls nice looking QH-esque horses from the auction, handles them, and resells as a small hobby, saw her right before leaving and managed to fit her in the trailer.

Knowing my affection for ponies and my patience for youngsters, she recommended I take in the little filly. And how could I say no? I'm a bleeding heart, remember?

We kept it quiet, partly because I didn't feel like getting beat over the head with a newspaper (quite yet), and partly because I love to tease my husband. He has no idea about this. Some of us are taking bets on how long until he notices her. Seeing as she's now standing right outside my back door, I can't imagine it will be too long.

For those wondering . . . no, my husband will not be angry or upset. He might pretend to be, for a space of ten minutes, before he's out there petting the new baby. The farm and livestock are my responsibility and he fully supports whatever I choose to do with it. So don't fret! It's all in good fun.

Anyhow. Secret is here. She's thin and a little frightened and confused, but she has a gentle eye and did not fuss too much about anything I did to her. She loaded and unloaded my friend's trailer without ordeal. I've settled her in with some hay and water and she seems alright.

Apple is ignoring her, although the goats are, of course, terribly curious.

The plan is to fix her up, put work into her, and perhaps when she's been started under saddle in a few years, resell as a good riding pony. It appears she's going to be a decent sized pony, larger than I had first anticipated when agreeing to take her.

What's one more mouth to feed around here, right? ;)

Ponies and More

As usual, I've just about forgotten to update my blog. Blah. I keep trying to stay on top of it but it just seems to slip through my mind from time to time.

Saturday we went and picked up my ponies! A seven year old Welsh mare and her yearling Welsh/Shetland filly. I was told the mare was well broke, and the filly was thrown in free after I'd agreed to take in the mare.

Well when we get there, we find the filly lassoed and tied to a tree while they struggle with her. She'd never even had a halter on before. Joy. Our trailer shows up along with a new friend of mine who is doing us the favor of hauling, and we watch them fuss with this poor yearling before stepping in finally. We got mama pony loaded fairly easily, but the yearling was a nightmare. Finally we put Steven, my very big and strong husband, at the end of the lead rope and drug her into the trailer. Poor girl.

They made it back safely, though I wasn't too amused by the project in front of me. Not that I really minded.

Wasn't too pleased when the mare turned out to be NOT well broke, or at least spoiled. She refused to move forward and if you put pressure on her, bucks and rears. She unseated me the first time but not the second time. So we're going back to square one. She had an attitude adjustment session the other day on the lunge line and it went well. Today she moved out really nicely for me. I think she just needs time.

Yearling filly is coming along really great, she is even leading without balking most of the time. But both are a bit buddy sour. They need to be separated, and will be soon. My good friend and neighbor fell in love with the yearling and is trading me three very nice does for her. So it works out well.

On other news, we lost our Great Pyrenees, Rogue. She came down with Parvo Virus and it destroyed her at a shocking rate. Despite me staying up all night forcing fluids into her every way possible, she gave up while I was on the phone with the vet trying to get in. It was a devastating blow to the entire family.
Parvo is not a joke. Even vaccinated puppies sometimes catch it. It can be spread simply by walking through where an infected dog has defecated, and then carrying it home on your shoes. There is no cure for it, and it kills your puppy by destroying the intestinal wall and track, dehydrating the dog until it dies. Symptoms include lethargy, lack of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, elevated temperature, and a very unique smell. 80% of puppies who contract Parvo die.

The virus cannot be killed by normal cleaners. I bleached down everywhere Rogue had been recently, though I could not bleach the goat pen. Which now means no dogs can be inside of it for at least six months, as the virus can live in the soil that long.

I must have caught her symptoms too late...and for that I will eternally be sorry.
On that note I will end this posting. I pray that next time it will be not so depressing.

Indiana

Today my friend dropped off a little doeling named Indy, in exchange for a future kid.

Sweetest little doeling you ever laid eyes on. She freshened her first time with triplets, so I'm really looking forward to putting her with Roadhouse Blue and seeing what she produces.

But the really interesting part of this is that I didn't tell hubby! Hahaha!

I know, it's bad of me, but I'm doing a sort of experiment here. I want to see how long it takes Steven to notice there is an extra goat in the pen!
Steven does go out from time to time to pet the goats and give them treats, so I guess it just depends on how much he's paying attention.

A few friends of mine and I have a betting pool going on how long it takes him. I was very pessimistic and locked in at a week or more! What do you guys think?

On a very positive note, I will be bringing home a dream next month. It's taken some searching and some working, but I will be bringing home a Welsh pony on May 8th. A pony of my very own. What a joy.

I hope and plan to share this joy with some young girls in the neighborhood, daughters of my friends, who are at that age where they really could use someone they can confide in. When I was their age, I would have given anything for a friend who had a pony I could love on, so I will be doing my best to share this gift with them.

Keep checking back for more updates on this situation, and to hear when Steven notices Indy's in the pen!