I took Indy to the vet clinic for her scan today. The vet couldn't find an embryo, and suggested re-scanning in 4 days (Sunday), in case Indy took a day or two to ovulate and the embryo is still too small to be seen. They are usually only able to be detected from 14 days, and today was just barely 15 days since insemination (technically not even 15 days, as she was inseminated at about 8.45pm, and today's scan was at 1pm).
Keep those dark-filly-with-bling jingles going for another few days! If there isn't anything on Sunday, we will have to PG and try again. At this stage, giving a PG injection could cause abortion, if there is an embryo, so it is safer to wait a few more days until the embryo will definitely be large enough to detect.
The vet who scanned Indy was also the vet who helped save Scarlett when she coliced a few weeks ago, so it was nice to be able to tell her Scarlett had recovered and was looking as good as ever! Bright moment in the otherwise fairly dismal day.
On that slightly melancholic note, I hope your New Year's Eve is filled with fun, laughter and love. Roll on 2015!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Hay and a new friend
We had approx 8-10 ac of grass cut for hay around 11am on 24 Dec. It wasn't turned until this morning (27 Dec) but looks set for baling tonight. I've had the horses in the driveway because I was expecting tractors, but the contractor didn't want to pay stat holiday rates to his staff so didn't send anyone to turn it on 25 or 26 Dec... Would have been nice of him to tell us that in advance!!!
In any case, the driveway grass was getting quite long and was overdue for the horses to spend a weekend in there.
Today I picked up our new temporary grazer. It is a new client's horse who is really not doing well on the grass where it has been grazed to date (very spooky and staggery) so we'll see if it does any better on our place. Indy is busy telling the newbie the rules - "No, you cannot speak to me." "No, you cannot speak to Scarlett." "No, you cannot come over here." So far it's been ugly faces and ears back only, and I hope it doesn't escalate to anything more harmful! After the hay is baled they can all go into the vineyard paddock where there is tons of space to move around and get out of each others way.
I best go have a nap so I am alive for hay baling! I expect we will get well over 500 bales (we had 500 last year and I've had two more acres locked up this year; though it hasn't been growing for quite as long, it's pretty thick). At least it won't be super hot at 6pm, and we'll have a decent amount of light to pull the hay in. I will take 100 bales and we also need to take in 100-150 for the neighbour. In theory the rest has been spoken for (6-8 people wanting an average of 50 bales each). It isn't supposed to rain/shower until after lunch tomorrow so we should also have time to clean up tomorrow morning if we get stuck tonight.
In any case, the driveway grass was getting quite long and was overdue for the horses to spend a weekend in there.
Today I picked up our new temporary grazer. It is a new client's horse who is really not doing well on the grass where it has been grazed to date (very spooky and staggery) so we'll see if it does any better on our place. Indy is busy telling the newbie the rules - "No, you cannot speak to me." "No, you cannot speak to Scarlett." "No, you cannot come over here." So far it's been ugly faces and ears back only, and I hope it doesn't escalate to anything more harmful! After the hay is baled they can all go into the vineyard paddock where there is tons of space to move around and get out of each others way.
I best go have a nap so I am alive for hay baling! I expect we will get well over 500 bales (we had 500 last year and I've had two more acres locked up this year; though it hasn't been growing for quite as long, it's pretty thick). At least it won't be super hot at 6pm, and we'll have a decent amount of light to pull the hay in. I will take 100 bales and we also need to take in 100-150 for the neighbour. In theory the rest has been spoken for (6-8 people wanting an average of 50 bales each). It isn't supposed to rain/shower until after lunch tomorrow so we should also have time to clean up tomorrow morning if we get stuck tonight.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Progress - but first, a palaver
At Indy's initial scan, the vet suggested waiting 5 days for PG then another 5 days to scan. We revised that and gave the PG at 6 days (last Friday evening) then followed up with a scan on Monday around midday, so that we didn't miss her ovulating. On Monday the vet said she's good to go, so we ordered the semen for Tuesday.
Campion was due to be collected in time for the shipment to make a 10am flight from New Plymouth to Auckland, and would get to Hamilton from Auckland at 4pm... Well... What a palaver it ended up being!
First, Hannah was called to say "we will get it on an earlier flight to Hamilton, it'll arrive at 12.30," so she rescheduled the vet for 3pm. Then "oops, the NP flight was late, it'll arrive at 4pm as planned originally as it didn't make the 12pm." Vet rescheduled for original time of 4.30pm.
Then at 4.15pm.... Oh, guess what, it was forgotten at Auckland and will be on the next flight to Hamilton. Unfortunately I only got THAT message after I'd raced home from work early and taken the float straight to Hannah's to be there in time for the vet! FRUSTRATING! I unhitched the float and went home, as it was too long to bother waiting there (if it had been an hour I would have done some groundwork with her, but thought I could go home and ride Scarlett instead).
At 6.40 I checked the flight schedule and realised there was no flight from Auckland at that time... Rang several numbers to get hold of the airport people. Of course, there was nearly no one around as it was after normal working hours. The people who WERE around could only find out that there was no parcel in Hamilton... And let me know they'd get back to us with the details of where it was, when it was located.
We were all incredibly frustrated and annoyed at this point, especially considering the vet had said "must be inseminated TODAY" but trying not to be grumpy at the poor airport staff who weren't the ones who had caused the problem in the first place.
In the end, the semen was on the 7.40pm flight from Auckland that was scheduled to arrive in Hamilton at 8.05pm. I raced down and.... the flight was nearly 10 minutes late! I also had to wait for ALL the baggage to clear then the now-infamous shipment to be brought out to the front desk. I rang Hannah to call the vet and drove there with the Very Important Parcel safely on the front seat (more than 4 hours after we should have collected it!).
Thankfully we did not have to wait long for the vet. It was a very uneventful process to put Indy into the crush and inseminate her, yakked to Hannah for a bit then went home. Scarlett was VERY happy to see her bestie again, and I am sure Indy was happy to be home, though I bet she wished we could have taken Hannah's teaser stallion "Lucky" home with us. She spent the whole time she was there talking to him, trying to convince him to jump out of his paddock and into hers! Hannah said the other horses can't stand him, but Indy was besotted with him which was quite hilarious!
So, a quick pat and "no orange colt, thanks" request before I could finally go inside, no longer worrying where the damn swimmers were and if they would arrive at all.
All the "dark bay filly with bling" jingles you want to send our way will be greatly appreciated!
Her 15-day scan will be done on 31 Dec. I've got my fingers crossed for a better reason to celebrate than simply ringing in the new year :D
Campion was due to be collected in time for the shipment to make a 10am flight from New Plymouth to Auckland, and would get to Hamilton from Auckland at 4pm... Well... What a palaver it ended up being!
First, Hannah was called to say "we will get it on an earlier flight to Hamilton, it'll arrive at 12.30," so she rescheduled the vet for 3pm. Then "oops, the NP flight was late, it'll arrive at 4pm as planned originally as it didn't make the 12pm." Vet rescheduled for original time of 4.30pm.
Then at 4.15pm.... Oh, guess what, it was forgotten at Auckland and will be on the next flight to Hamilton. Unfortunately I only got THAT message after I'd raced home from work early and taken the float straight to Hannah's to be there in time for the vet! FRUSTRATING! I unhitched the float and went home, as it was too long to bother waiting there (if it had been an hour I would have done some groundwork with her, but thought I could go home and ride Scarlett instead).
At 6.40 I checked the flight schedule and realised there was no flight from Auckland at that time... Rang several numbers to get hold of the airport people. Of course, there was nearly no one around as it was after normal working hours. The people who WERE around could only find out that there was no parcel in Hamilton... And let me know they'd get back to us with the details of where it was, when it was located.
We were all incredibly frustrated and annoyed at this point, especially considering the vet had said "must be inseminated TODAY" but trying not to be grumpy at the poor airport staff who weren't the ones who had caused the problem in the first place.
In the end, the semen was on the 7.40pm flight from Auckland that was scheduled to arrive in Hamilton at 8.05pm. I raced down and.... the flight was nearly 10 minutes late! I also had to wait for ALL the baggage to clear then the now-infamous shipment to be brought out to the front desk. I rang Hannah to call the vet and drove there with the Very Important Parcel safely on the front seat (more than 4 hours after we should have collected it!).
Thankfully we did not have to wait long for the vet. It was a very uneventful process to put Indy into the crush and inseminate her, yakked to Hannah for a bit then went home. Scarlett was VERY happy to see her bestie again, and I am sure Indy was happy to be home, though I bet she wished we could have taken Hannah's teaser stallion "Lucky" home with us. She spent the whole time she was there talking to him, trying to convince him to jump out of his paddock and into hers! Hannah said the other horses can't stand him, but Indy was besotted with him which was quite hilarious!
So, a quick pat and "no orange colt, thanks" request before I could finally go inside, no longer worrying where the damn swimmers were and if they would arrive at all.
All the "dark bay filly with bling" jingles you want to send our way will be greatly appreciated!
Her 15-day scan will be done on 31 Dec. I've got my fingers crossed for a better reason to celebrate than simply ringing in the new year :D
Monday, December 8, 2014
Long, long time, no post!
It's been... erm... a long time. A very long time indeed!
I'd like to say I've been busy (I have, promise!) but I've also been a bit slack on taking photos and making any sort of record about progress with Indy.
We've had a few ups and a few downs along the way. Overall, she has come a long, long way since I last posted anything on this blog.
The newest development is that I somehow won a service to the gorgeous Holstein stallion "Campion". I never expected to win when I entered the competition, then i did, and so, this is him! I cruised over to WEC to watch him compete in test 5D, and prior to his test I stalked him in the warmup. Isn't he purdy?
I have stolen, erm, borrowed these photos from his facebook page, because they show him off nicely For reference, here is his page, with lots of information about him and the first few of his offspring: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Campion/152913788179892?fref=photo
He is 10yo and has done lots already in life. His has a few offspring, the oldest are 4 years old and starting to be broken in.
I got to meet him after his test and he was a real "pony" presence: a bit roly-pony in shape (and I mean nice and round, not fat!!!). He was busy searching for his post-ride cookie when his saddle was taken off, before anything else! He appeared to be really well socialised: not bothered in the slightest by any of the other horses around. I could tell he loved his job as he was so chilled about everything and happy to do anything asked of him without fuss. He moved nicely, and best of all he liked cuddles.... That's my kind of horse!!
So, Miss Indy is off to be a mama. She had her first scan the other day which showed she had plenty of eggs and had ovulated two days prior. The plan is to administer a PG injection on Thursday afternoon, which will be 5 days after the scan, then scan again another 5 days after that, and order the semen that day. Perfect timing really as Campion's collection 'season' starts on the 15th which is about when we'll be ordering it, then we have a month to get her in foal before he is back competing over summer. I'm lucky to have a very good vet on the job who comes highly recommended.
In about 10 days I'll be looking for "dark bay filly with bling" vibes, thanks very much ;)
I'd like to say I've been busy (I have, promise!) but I've also been a bit slack on taking photos and making any sort of record about progress with Indy.
We've had a few ups and a few downs along the way. Overall, she has come a long, long way since I last posted anything on this blog.
The newest development is that I somehow won a service to the gorgeous Holstein stallion "Campion". I never expected to win when I entered the competition, then i did, and so, this is him! I cruised over to WEC to watch him compete in test 5D, and prior to his test I stalked him in the warmup. Isn't he purdy?
I have stolen, erm, borrowed these photos from his facebook page, because they show him off nicely For reference, here is his page, with lots of information about him and the first few of his offspring: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Campion/152913788179892?fref=photo
He is 10yo and has done lots already in life. His has a few offspring, the oldest are 4 years old and starting to be broken in.
I got to meet him after his test and he was a real "pony" presence: a bit roly-pony in shape (and I mean nice and round, not fat!!!). He was busy searching for his post-ride cookie when his saddle was taken off, before anything else! He appeared to be really well socialised: not bothered in the slightest by any of the other horses around. I could tell he loved his job as he was so chilled about everything and happy to do anything asked of him without fuss. He moved nicely, and best of all he liked cuddles.... That's my kind of horse!!
So, Miss Indy is off to be a mama. She had her first scan the other day which showed she had plenty of eggs and had ovulated two days prior. The plan is to administer a PG injection on Thursday afternoon, which will be 5 days after the scan, then scan again another 5 days after that, and order the semen that day. Perfect timing really as Campion's collection 'season' starts on the 15th which is about when we'll be ordering it, then we have a month to get her in foal before he is back competing over summer. I'm lucky to have a very good vet on the job who comes highly recommended.
In about 10 days I'll be looking for "dark bay filly with bling" vibes, thanks very much ;)
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sleepy Sunday morning
I happened to look out of the kitchen window on Sunday and noticed this...
So I crept outside with the camera...
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Rinse and repeat
I've been lucky enough to get to ride in a local arena while it's owner is away, and my friends are 'horse sitting,' so we have been down Friday and today, with plans to go again tomorrow morning, too.
It is easiest to float Indy down, and we decided it would work to collect Pav, Teri and Liz on the way. I think it is a great training exercise to travel with another horse, not Scarlett all the time. Scarlett's floating idiosyncrasies mean she is always the second loaded, so Indy always goes in first (I need to find a way to work on that).
This trip, I switched Indy to the left side of the float, as it was such a short journey with no bad or twisting roads; I believe my horses should cope travelling on both sides of the float, but don't get many opportunities to put Indy on the left, mainly due to her size. One never knows when one might need to float another larger horse or one who needs the right side (I've had a right-side-only pony so know how frustrating that can be! never mind trying to travel two right-handers!); or if I ever travel in someone else's float and my horse has to go in the available space. In any case, I take any opportunity to mix it up to vary and solidify their travelling experiences.
Once there, we tied the horses up and ferried our gear over to the tie-ups. Teri usually takes Pav out for some groundwork to begin, while I groom and tack up; Indy does her groundwork fully kitted out.
Pav got to play over some of the smaller jumps and through the huge water puddle in one corner. He was very funny watching the crispy crackly leaves being collected by the long line on the ground - who could resist a pale palomino with flaxen mane and tail, making faces at leaves on the ground. Too cute!
Indy also got to walk through the big puddle, on the ground and under saddle. She didn't play as much as Pav, but we definitely need to make some time to head down to play with the facilities at LVF in the near future to get them doing more in the water.
After pre-flight checks were complete, we got on. I didn't do much with Indy; just walk, trot, halt; rinse and repeat. Changes of direction, walking around the various jumps and other obstacles, around the scary corner, through the water, back to the scary corner - all without issues. Pav and Teri were doing their thing, we did our thing... everyone was brilliant! It's like I have a new horse, and I love it. She feels green, which is to be expected, but she feels safe. The limited work she has had, seems to have held her in good stead: she is soft and responsive. She listens to my aids for speed and direction. We can have a conversation about "yes, we will keep going" or "no we are stopping now" which used to be completely out of the question - Indy did what Indy did, for reasons unbeknownst to both of us I think, and I was but a passenger. She thinks, rather than just reacting, or just moving her feet.
Yesterday I thought if someone wanted to buy her, they'd need to come up with a large sum of money, because she's turning into an amazing horse.
It is easiest to float Indy down, and we decided it would work to collect Pav, Teri and Liz on the way. I think it is a great training exercise to travel with another horse, not Scarlett all the time. Scarlett's floating idiosyncrasies mean she is always the second loaded, so Indy always goes in first (I need to find a way to work on that).
This trip, I switched Indy to the left side of the float, as it was such a short journey with no bad or twisting roads; I believe my horses should cope travelling on both sides of the float, but don't get many opportunities to put Indy on the left, mainly due to her size. One never knows when one might need to float another larger horse or one who needs the right side (I've had a right-side-only pony so know how frustrating that can be! never mind trying to travel two right-handers!); or if I ever travel in someone else's float and my horse has to go in the available space. In any case, I take any opportunity to mix it up to vary and solidify their travelling experiences.
Once there, we tied the horses up and ferried our gear over to the tie-ups. Teri usually takes Pav out for some groundwork to begin, while I groom and tack up; Indy does her groundwork fully kitted out.
Pav got to play over some of the smaller jumps and through the huge water puddle in one corner. He was very funny watching the crispy crackly leaves being collected by the long line on the ground - who could resist a pale palomino with flaxen mane and tail, making faces at leaves on the ground. Too cute!
Indy also got to walk through the big puddle, on the ground and under saddle. She didn't play as much as Pav, but we definitely need to make some time to head down to play with the facilities at LVF in the near future to get them doing more in the water.
After pre-flight checks were complete, we got on. I didn't do much with Indy; just walk, trot, halt; rinse and repeat. Changes of direction, walking around the various jumps and other obstacles, around the scary corner, through the water, back to the scary corner - all without issues. Pav and Teri were doing their thing, we did our thing... everyone was brilliant! It's like I have a new horse, and I love it. She feels green, which is to be expected, but she feels safe. The limited work she has had, seems to have held her in good stead: she is soft and responsive. She listens to my aids for speed and direction. We can have a conversation about "yes, we will keep going" or "no we are stopping now" which used to be completely out of the question - Indy did what Indy did, for reasons unbeknownst to both of us I think, and I was but a passenger. She thinks, rather than just reacting, or just moving her feet.
Yesterday I thought if someone wanted to buy her, they'd need to come up with a large sum of money, because she's turning into an amazing horse.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Reformed, in pictures
Because a picture says a thousand words, here are several that might start describing how much I appreciate Indy right now.
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