Meet Macaroon

It turns out our prize Arabian broodmare, Khatalina Bey, is not pregnant. She had been confirmed pregnant last fall, but things can happen. So, only four foals this season.



As I mentioned in my last post, (VG Antazia) "Taza" was due on the 21st with her first foal. Well, she decided to give us a firecracker of a surprise by delivering on the morning of Fourth of July in the pasture! I was walking toward to barn to do morning chores when I noticed a tiny horse making its way around the pasture. I had turned Khat out with the herd, rather than sequestering her in the foaling stall, and I thought it was hers. Then I saw Khat eating in the back pasture and Taza came into view guarding her foal. I ran to the house, where Ian was still in bed with his morning coffee and hollered for his help. Ian joined me in the pasture in the same quizzical state of mind, “Taza?” I haltered Taza while Ian picked up the foal and we ushered both into the foaling stall.

Taza blessed us with a beautiful filly with no premature characteristics. She has face markings very similar to Renoir's and his same dark chestnut color and the four white socks must come from mommy. We have named her Macaroon.





Yesterday, we went to the annual Isanti County Rodeo. We watched bull riding, steer wrestling, bareback riding, tie down roping, saddle bronc riding, team roping and barrel racing. The working partnership between cowboy and horse is always amazing to see. There were cowboys from France and Australia on the circuit, as well as Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Mississippi and our five-state area; Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. The rodeo emcee noted this tour began in Wyoming in June and his comedic foil, the rodeo clown, quipped, “No wonder, the rodeo and divorce go hand-in-hand.”

E-I-E-I-O

Happy July

Happy Canada Day to our Canadian family and friends. Looking ahead to our own Independence holiday weekend, we will entertain guests with BBQs on July 3 and 4. The third is my mother’s 85th birthday and my brother Matthew and sister-in-law Connie will come from Minneapolis with Mom for the festivities.

My brother Mark, who lives in Maryland, visited the farm on June 22. We had a good visit and ate dinner together. Did I remember to take any pictures? No! Darn it.

I have a sneaking suspicion that our mare Khatalina Bey is not pregnant. Our breeding calculations had her due June 19, and she’s not delivered yet. Khat is a full-figure mare anyway, so her plumpness may just be her. That said, she looks pregnant, and we’ve watched for a variety of signs that she will deliver soon, but there are none. She was confirmed in foal last fall by our vet, but sometimes things happen. It’s not unheard of that a mare is two weeks or more overdue, but I think that window is closing. So, if Khat does not foal, we only have Taza due later this month, around the 21st.





Meanwhile, the other three colts are doing well. Only Memphis and Marrakech are pictured. Madrid would not cooperate - he just wanted to play hide-n-seek and my camera is not quick enough to catch him! They share a large paddock together with their mothers and spend the days playing with each other.



On the 23rd we took in Tucker, another miniature poodle. He came to us through our dog groomer, the same person we got Buddy from, and had been rescued after being abandoned inside a house for two weeks without food and water. Tucker was there with two larger dogs and several cats. The situation got so bad that when Animal Control entered the home, the cats had been eaten, and Tucker, found in the back of a closet, may have been next on the menu. He is 14 years old and moves much slower than our vibrant two-year-old poodle Buddy. He gets along well with both Buddy and Lady and there’s a kind of détente with Tiger the cat. As the days go by, Tucker’s feeling better and more assured that he’s landed in a good place.

E-I-E-I-O