How is Copy?

Copy is large and cranky. Her due date isn't until the end of May. I actually videoed a brief, 30 second interview with her this past weekend, but I can't get it to load to Blogger and I've given up trying. She is mostly concerned by the fact that this third pregnancy has completely ruined her girlish figure and made her rump look wide.

Moody Mare

Copy rules the roost at our barn. She always has her stall door open with a stall guard across. Her turnout shift is all night, so all day she supervises. And makes her angry camel face. The only time she can be pleasant is when she thinks I have a snack. Or when I'm scratching her withers.

This expression was very difficult to capture on camera as she is so vain that as soon as she sees a camera she poses. The look was achieved by repeatedly blowing raspberries at her until she got fed up. Note the snarl wrinkles over the nostril.

Anyway, Copy lives to terrorise the geldings, and she does a good job. If you lead one past her open door, you have to walk between them and waggle your finger at her. Grey is terrified he's going to get his butt bitten and always scurries past. When she is turned out briefly during the day beside the barn to graze, we have to move Grey from that side of the barn because she will pester him endlessly through window. That's why she can't be allowed to graze over night, and is limited to the sacrifice pen on the other side which doesn't allow her to get right up to a window and act like a hussy.

This weekend, my mother was leading her for grass, and Face-Off, who is very jealous and opinionated, came to the fence nearby and threw one of his temper tantrums that involves standing in one spot, and kicking like a mule. What he was trying to say was "I am the most special horse ever, and I want to go out and eat grass too." When Mom headed back to the barn, she took a shortcut between the garden and the paddock, and stopped to visit with Face-Off. He reached over the fence and touched Copy. Copy blasted a board off the fence, hitting Face-Off in the knee and drawing blood. Face-Off was very upset and stood and cow kicked repeatedly in frustration. Copy feigned indifference.

She is covered in plushy winter fur, and her dapples are sort of like dimples.

The Hussy and the Jackass

**News from Copy’s new home**

They have discovered what a lovely thing she can be when she’s in heat. They A.I.ed her last week, and left a phone message that she was “a damned hussy”. Well.... can’t say we didn’t warn them.

Mom has had the opportunity to speak with them since the hussy message and had this story to relate. It begins a couple of years ago at their last farm on the opposite side of the county. They had recently moved there, in what can only be described as some of the prettiest, quietest rolling farmland in Pennsylvania. Shortly after their arrival, they discovered that a neighboring Amishman owned a jackass. And said jackass would bray repeatedly, especially when there was a mare in heat. Now anyone who has had the pleasure of living in the same neighborhood as a jack or a mule (even a miniature donkey) can tell you that braying, much like a barking dog, can get on your last nerve. That rusty heehaaaw can carry a good long ways. In fact, that was one of their few complaints about their new neighborhood. They were quite pleased when the Amishman sold the jack, and peace returned to the valley.

Fast forward to last week when Copy came into heat. They have since moved to a new farm, on the eastern side of the same county, but at least 20 miles as the crow flies. They were laying in bed one night when in the distance, they heard a familiar voice. “HeeHaaaaw-HeeHaaaw-Hee-Haaawwwww”. They would know that voice anywhere. It was that damned jackass. He now lives in this neighborhood. Terriffic.

When Wayne got up in the middle of the night (remember, he switches turnout groups at 2-3 a.m. so every one get’s fly free turnout) to get the mares… no mares. He went to the back of the pasture where Her Highness hides out. No mares. Copy had broken through the fence and taken her two mare friends with her on a love quest to find the Jackass. It once crossed my mind that I might like to breed Copy to a jackass to get a five gaited mule baby. I decided it would be in poor taste, and her previous owner said she thought Copy would be offended if the the foal was less attractive than her beautiful self. Apparently, she was wrong. Copy was on her way to find a suitor.

Fortunately, they live in rather rugged country, and Wayne found Copy and the mares at the foot of a steep gravel bank. Copy was dedicated to her mission, but a mountain stands between them, and it remains unrequited love. When Mom told the story to my step dad, his reply was… “doesn’t sound too out of the ordinary to me. Loose hussys get out and are bred by jackasses every day.” At least in our town.

Maternal Influence

Now that Copy has been gone for two weeks, we are starting to see a change in Ace’s personality. He’s settling down! Hooray! He’s still a mouthy egotistical teenage boy but it’s easier to get him to think. He isn’t constantly worried about what his mare is doing and where she’s doing it. Or with whom.

I’ve been trying to get him out and about more, so we’ve been doing more hand grazing. The other day on my last post I noticed a weird anxious behavior. When we would first bring him out, he would take a few bites of grass then paw impatiently. If you said “Ace… just eat” he would go right back to eating. It took me a couple of times to figure out where it was coming from. He paws impatiently when he eats grain. If there is a lot of activity outside when you take him to graze, he starts the pawing out of habit. Knucklehead! He hasn’t done it the last two times I’ve brought him out. He’s beginning to be ruled by his stomach rather than his nuts. That’s a good thing.

Today when I turned him loose in the outdoor arena, instead of the usual “I’m Free!” rocketing off, he immediately started grazing. Hmmmm… imagine that. After a little while, I walked to the other end to entice him into a little exercise. He immediately began galloping big loops. What impresses me most about this is that he has natural flying lead changes. Some Saddlebreds don’t because they are bred more to trot. My grey horse doesn’t have a flying change at all. Ace has a pretty good automatic change. I was impressed.

As he got hotter, and more tightly wound, he started sticking to the gate corner so I would call him out “Acey… C’mon.” and he would come trotting down the rail, knees popping, head up and eyes bright like a show horse. He’s pretty proud of himself when you call him and as he got bolder coming down to the far end where I was standing, I realized when he was about 15 feet away that he had no plan for stopping or going around me. I gave a yelp and jumped one way, and luckily he jumped the other. Had we both jumped in the same direction it wouldn’t have worked out well. But that bright happy “Here I Come” face was worth it.

When it was time to go in, he was easy to catch. Then you have to get him thinking again which takes a few minutes. Mom uses the whapper stick as a pacifier, but I’m trying to get him weaned off of it and the corresponding nipping and neck wrestling. Just outside the gate she gave it to him and I cried “don’t give it to him, he can’t think with that thing in his mouth” as he proceeded to walk over top of me. But a swish of the longe whip got his brain engaged, and he dropped the whapper and started to act like a horse again. He’s like a puppy with a chew toy. In fact, it's pretty hard to keep things out of his mputh still. He'll eat any old weed, and I'm constantly removing the ones I know he shouldn't eat.

He deals very well with biting flies. Some Saddlebreds can’t cope at all. The horse flies and deer flies are really nasty this year. He always has at least one welt on him from being bitten when he’s out over night. I ordered him a fly sheet and its on it’s way. In the mean time, he’s getting used to having Grey’s put on. The first time I tossed it across his back he was pretty worried. But he doesn’t freak out, he just studies my face frantically as if to say “is this OK? What are you trying to do to me? What am I supposed to do?”

He’s even managing to cross tie without the whapper to chew on. He doesn’t fidget with the ropes as much and he keeps his eyes glued on me. He loves being crosstied and fussed over more than anything in the world. He studies every move I make and just soaks it all up. He’s fun to groom. His coat is so fine, and his color so deep I could just polish it like fine mahogany all day.

Copy is doing well in her new home. She was bred by A.I. at home earlier this week. We’re waiting to find out how that went. We did get a phone message informing us that she is a “damned hussy”. Hey, we warned you. She’d walk over you to get in the trailer if she thought it was going to Sex Camp. She has bonded with her old friend Wayne. He’s such a dedicated horse husband. When he goes out at 2 a.m. to change the turnout group, he has to go all the way to the back of the pasture to get Copy.

Here’s a photo of her departure.

New Horizons

Ace’s mom Copy is off on a new adventure. Her adoption contract is being picked up by the woman who bred her, and she will be raising more babies. This year she will be bred back to Clint for a full brother or sister to Ace which will be fun to see. In fact, it was Ace’s quality that sealed the deal.

Since Copy really is an “extra” horse for us, and her female presence often causes unnecessary hubbub around here, we’ve been hoping to find someone else nearby who would want her for a broodmare and have been spreading the word. Of course having her go back to the program she came from is the perfect solution, and if that doesn’t work out, she can always come back here. But I think she is going back to where she really belongs and will be there for life.

The fun part is that after all these years she seemed to recognize the woman’s husband and wanted his attention. From an aloof old gal like her, that is really something. What can I say? She likes men… the floozy. And he isn’t even a horse person per say, just the most dedicated Horse Husband I’ve ever seen. Whenever we see them at a horse show, he is always running in her wake carrying towels and stretchy cuffs and just trying to keep up with her.

So Copy will be headed off to live with them. They got to work immediately building her a stall, and putting up fence so she could have her own turnout. It has been a flurry of activity, and we’re excited to be a part of it. They live just a short distance away so we will be able to visit and enjoy the breeding and foaling process with them. And of course, we will keep everyone abreast of how it goes. Mom has been helping with the breeding plan, getting contact numbers and working out the schedule. She's already all excited about the breeding, and as an extra bonus... this time she doesn't have to wean it.

Copy will probably be going back to her "maiden name" which is Fifi. That's short for Filly's filly. It cracks me up. Everytime I think of it I picture the old broad in a pink feather boa and fake eyelashes! Photos of the departure are promised.

Checking in with Mom

I'm glad someone is enjoying winter...

The End of Maternity Leave

Ace is weaned, and it's time for Copy to go back to work. When I put the saddle on her she gave me the awfullest sour pickle face you've ever seen, but I think she had fun. I haven't ridden her for over two years, but this mare's manners are impecable. I mounted her in front of the barn amidst the normal commotion of tractor, manure spreader, and dogs and she stood like a rock, not even calling back to Ace who was screaming his head off. Then she stuck her "view finder" all the way up (I swear this mare is the most high headed horse I've ever been on) and away we went.

I put hunt tack on her so I wouldn't have to pull my stirrup leathers, but I wished after I had put saddleseat tack on her since it would have been more fun. I only rode her up and down the shoulder of the road aways but she put up a really nice park trot for being barefooted and just off the broodmare shift. Please forgive the washed out color on the full body shot. My camera has had a few problems and is off to Canon for repairs, so I had to fade it a bit so she didn't look like a purple dinosaur.

Mare Maintenance

Through all of this, we have not forgotten about our trusty broodmare Copy. In fact, this week the focus has been on Copy's diet. She is the pickiest eater EVER. She will not eat wet food. She will not eat supplements. She will not eat anything she believes has been tampered with. She doesn't finish her meal when she's in a bad mood, most national holidays, every other Tuesday, and days with the letter U in them. Sometimes she just won't eat. Period. She does like pelleted Trotter, but it has to be dry, plain and unmessedaroundwith. She also has to be hungry. Unfortunately, she has a couple of issues that can be helped through supplements.

Primarily, she is a hormonal floozy. I decided to try her on Mare Magic despite the fact that Mom looked at the ingredients and stated "but it's just raspberry leaves." Who cares what it is, it works. This is the week after her heat cycle, normally a wild roller coaster of emotions. She has been noticeably steady and "normal". Success. Of course it didn't come easy. At first she would not eat the Mare Magic. Mom mixed it with applesauce and shot it in with a syringe. After a couple of days she got used to the look and smell of the leaves and decided to eat them. There was no way to sort them out, and she must have forgotten that her breakfast had been tampered with because she began to eat it again.

Secondly, although we feed hay in a net in the arena where she runs in and out, the floor is sand so I got her some Sand Clear as a precaution. Mom sort of forgot about the Sand Clear this week, and made a tactical error. Day 1 she went and got the SmartPak of Sand Clear, opened it in the stall and poured it on Copy's breakfast while Copy was already eating. Remember, Copy does not eat food that has been tampered with. Cinnamon did not help. She knew the cinnamon had been put there to disguise the tampering and she turned up her nose. Then she decided to skip breakfast altogether. Day 2 Mom tried mixing it with applesauce and shooting it in with a syringe. Copy spat it out in a blob. Mom has rescued the blob and mixed with beet pulp trying to get it into a palatable form for Miss Picky Pants. Of course Miss Picky Pants does not like beet pulp. Maybe if it's dry and she's very hungry and isn't daydreaming about something else entirely.

Thirdly, Copy has hay allergies. What has been an occasional shallow cough over the past couple of years has developed into a persistent shallow cough. The humidity and high mold/pollen count this year has made it worse. So, she is having her hay wet down. I asked Mom if she would like me to order a supplement to help her. I could almost hear the weary sigh through the email... Mom isn't game for supplement number three. I asked "can't you just switch her to beet pulp and hide stuff in there?" Mom's reply... "You ARE naive aren't you? Copy won't eat beet pulp. Maybe if it's dry and she's in the mood for beet pulp"

I also ordered her some Cosequin to help her creaky hocks because I would like to start riding her again this fall. I'm pretty sure Mom hasn't even tried that and my gelding will end up getting it. I think we now have enough joint supplement to last us until Easter. So what will she eat? Grass. And Hay, which makes her cough. Oh, and carrots and apples, but they have to be cut into bite size pieces or you can just keep your carrots. **sigh** There are 5 other horses in the barn banging on the walls and begging their hearts out for food (with or without smelly stuff mixed in it) and here we are trying to force feed Miss Picky Pants who is happy to have her pre-foal figure back, and truly is the glossiest trimmest creature on the place.

Days Three and Four

Over the weekend, we were able to get Ace and Copy out into the small indoor arena for exercise each day. He was very bold and inquisitive. He has proven to be right handed as he will run only right handed circles. He likes to come up to people and visit. When he gets tired and needs a break, he will find the nearest person and talk to them in little nickers and snorts.

Copy spends most of her time watching the open doors for marauders. I put a lead on her and walked her so she would get some exercise herself. Mostly she wanted to stand in the center and keep an eye on her colt which meant we had to spin in a circle. She got going very fast and once she got so far ahead of me I had to let go and catch her as she came around! After that experience, we went to the wall and walked while Ace rocketed around on the inside of our circle.

He got going so fast that he banked too sharply and wrecked. Luckily, the footing is soft sand and the only thing bruised was his ego. On each outing he was required to wear his halter even though we are not trying to lead him yet. He doesn't like that at all. I was able to get it on him easy enough, but there was no way he would let me adjust it. I got it to fit him better the second time. Until he learns the routine, I am just guiding him the 20 feet from his stall the the arena and it is working out well.

He is gaining strength everyday and unfolding into a strong correct little guy. He has his sire's head and just the right amount of white in his eye to show off when he gets fired up. Apart from being friendly on his own terms, he wants no part of being held or made to do anything. He does like his chest scratched and he will stretch his neck upright and flex at the throat in a perfect baby show horse headset.

I shot a lot of video on Saturday and have been working with my camera and computer to get some video posted but haven't gotten it accomplished yet. I promise I will take some still photos of him and get those posted soon.

Day Two ~ Freshening Up

Day One was all about Baby and catering to his needs as he developed a routine and learned the basics. How to Get Up, Where to Get Food, and the all important How to Get Back Down. Since he has now mastered that, and has apparently turned his attentions towards training himself for the upcoming Derby, I thought it was time to turn my attentions to giving Copy back a little of herself.

I arrived at the barn on my lunch break. Ace has already done several miles round and round his patient Mama and was napping in the middle of her lunch. I grabbed a curry and brush and began to clean up my disheveled mare. As I groomed Copy, she groomed Ace, wiggling her big ole lip up and down his neck. And Ace groomed his front legs. After the basic grooming, I got a towel and a pail of hot water and began to wash the milk and afterbirth residue from Copy's haunches and hind legs. After two years, I have come to understand her language. She is an aloof and stoic mare, a cynic by nature, and she tries to appear unimpressed with most of my behavior. But, she does enjoy her grooming time and if I watch her expressions, she will tell me how I'm doing.

Today she was extremely vocal. As soon as the hot towel came out, she completely forgot about her colt and focused completely on her spa treatment. Her communication was loud and clear.... low nasal groans for the tender spots, nickers of gleeful approval for the itchy spots followed by expressive airy wuffles of sincere gratitude as I found the spots that really needed attention. I dipped the towel again and started on her udder. She waved her long neck around, leaning and squatting as she took full advantage of the washing. We finished off with a good polishing all over her coat and she looked and felt like a Lady again.

In the meantime, Ace had noticed he was no longer the center of attention and was running laps and seeing how high he could buck. He is built on springs like a tigger. My mother thought he needed to be held a bit so he doesn't turn into a complete wild thing. She suggested putting a halter on Copy, since all the grooming had been accomplished without one, but I knew if I kept her colt against her and didn't get between them she wouldn't get too worried about my messing around with him. I caught him up with one arm in front of his chest and one behind his haunches. He struggled and nickered and tried to fight off his attacker, but I just held him gently and Copy talked to him, touching his face and telling him to "be still Little Boy everything is fine". He soon relented and relaxed into my arms, and Copy stepped forward and laid her head in my arms along his back and neck in a horsey hug.

When I left them, Ace was napping, worn out from his efforts, and Copy was watching over him. Her window faces North, and is covered with a layer of plastic left over from winter so she cannot see out of it. But she can hear the geldings in the paddock right outside so she keeps a close eye on it.

The vet came later in the afternoon for a check up. They got tetanus shots, and he drew some blood to take back and test to make sure Ace got enough antibodies from the colostrum. Tomorrow we plan on some exercise in the indoor arena. The paddock still needs a little harrowing and it rained all day yesterday making it muddy again.