Windy Hill ~~ Duchess

[jessj]

Here is my last mare due to foal, Magic. I bought her as possible in foal. She delivered a mule baby on July 22 last year and was put with the same leopard stallion that Duchess is in foal to about a week later. She was with him until I bought her. They never saw her come back into heat so I am assuming that she probably bred during her foal heat. I am using Aug 1st 2012 as a breeding date. That would make her 200days today. She was a little thin when she got here, but her topline is filling in and she is coming along nicely. She is VERY shy. She will come eat from my hand, but that is the closest that I can get. I have been trying to go slow and easy, but I think I am going to have to push her into a stall and at least put a halter on her...she is overdue for a trim. I am excited about this baby. Magic is from almost pure appy lines...in her 5gen pedigree there is one known pinto...everything else is appy! She is bred to the same black leopard stallion as Duchess. From this breeding I am hoping for a nice and leggy black fewspot filly. She should be 300days on May 28 and 330days on june 27th. AND last year she only started bagging up a week ahead. Here is Magic.

 

[lexischase]

Both girls are very pretty!! Duchess has the cutest little head/face

 

[jessj]

Thanks! I love Duchess' face too...but her head alway looks huge in pics! It is really very nice in person!

I don't have any good new pics of Rocket. Here is a quick one that I snapped of him...doesnt show much of him, I just thought it was a pretty background. Izzie has relaxed ALOT and Rocket is getting very friendly. He will come up and take treats from me. Will let me scratch his face a little bit too. He LOVES my girl Pippa and follows her around constantly. She is a pocket pet, so that is really helping with getting Rocket used to me.

I also attached a pic of Magic grazing in the dog yard (cant wait to see what is under all that winter coat!) I did get a halter on her. I put a little bit of alfalfa pellets in a stall and she went in easily enough. Once she realized she couldnt get away she was easy to catch...lol. And a pic of my sweet Ferrari. He is by himself and lonely...at least he has ladies sharing two fence lines. Magic isnt due until later in the summer so I may try him with her. He is so gentle, I really dont think it will be a problem, but will wait until I can be home all day with them.

I will get new Duchess pics today or tomorrow.

 

[countrymini]

Lovely photos. What kinda of fencing do you have dividing Ferrari and his girls?

 

[jessj]

Two sides of his fence are chain link and the other two are field fence. The only mare that he absolutey has to be seperated from is my 2yr old filly Pippa. Probably by the end of this month I will move them so there are at least two fences between them! Thinking about running an electric fence along the top of the existing fence too.. Just in case. He is usually pretty content as long as he has at least one of his girls with him.

 

[jessj]

Thanks miss diane. He was chubby last winter! I changed his food and he is looking alot better...has put on a little over this winter but not too much. We are going to start ground driving this spring. I got a cart and can't wait to drive. It will be good for him to have a job too. He really is a gentleman... I know that he is a stallion and I take extra precautions with him but he never given me any reason to worry. He is very loving with me but stand offish with new people (wich I love because I don't let strangers pet him... one of my precautions!) He is usually very gentle with the girls too. If they get of line or start to forget that he is the boss they may get a small nip. But over all a gentlman... I am so grateful for the opportunity to own such a wonderful horse. Can you tell that he is my favorite...lol?

 

[jessj]

Here are a few more Duchess udder pics. I am only checking every 3-4days. (usually on saturday and wednesday, but I wont have time this afternoon so I took these yesterday afternoon) When I first pulled theses up I thought "Wow! Progress!" but then I went back and looked at some from a few weeks ago...and I'm not so sure. What do ya'll think? All of these are from yesterday.

 

[countrymini]

Hard to tell, but maybe possibly wider than last shots?

 

[jessj]

Duchess' udder looks the same. I have new pics but they look the same as the last pics...silly mare.

I have made some improvement with Magic. Since the day that I caught her and put a halter on I have pretty much just left her alone. Duchess is still pastured with her for now and I go in at least once a day to check on them. I would just ignord Magic, and concentrate on Duchess. After several days of this I noticed that magic would follow me around just out of reach. So I started talking to her... I would sit on the ground in their pasture and talk to her while she stayed close by and talk

 

[jessj]

Duchess' udder looks the same. I have new pics but they look the same as the last pics...silly mare.

I have made some improvement with Magic. Since the day that I caught her and put a halter on I have pretty much just left her alone. Duchess is still pastured with her for now and I go in several times a day to check on them. I would just ignore Magic, and concentrate on Duchess. After several days of this I noticed that magic would follow me around just out of reach. So I started talking to her... I would sit on the ground in their pasture and talk to her while she stood close by. This afternoon when I went out Magic was on far end of the pasture but as soon as she saw me she came running! She still only comes close enough to touch when I have a treat in my hand, but we are making progress!

 

[jessj]

Well...Duchess still looks EXACTLY the same in the udder department. Her tummy seems to have dropped and possibly moved forward some. Here are a few pics of her. Rocket update in the next post...

 

[jessj]

I moved Duchess and Magic into the pasture with Izzie and Rocket. They had been sharing a fence for a while and there was no fuss or ruckus about it. Izzie actually seems to enjoy having baby sitters for Rocket. He LOVES Magic and spends alot of time with her. Since Izz has mellowed out with him he is coming around. He still doesnt want me to love on him and pet him all over, but he is very much in my business. Every time I go out to the pasture he comes running and follows me around. I don't have any GOOD new pics of him because they all end up like the ones below...lol (in the second one I was actually trying to take pics of Duchess and he decided that he wasnt getting enough attention) I talked to my vet today and I think we are going to geld him next month.

 

[jessj]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share some new pics of Rocket! I can't believe that he is almost 3 months old already! He got his first haircut this past weekend, he was such a good boy. He clipped out really dark like his dad, but he has alot of white hairs mixed in especially on his face and neck. He and Izz are with the rest of the herd now and they all love him. In the first pic he is pestering his auntie Magic, and his dad (Ferrari) is the other horse in the rest of the pics with him.

 

[countrymini]

Wow, a lot darker. Still gorgeous!

 

[Jade10]

Wow hes grown so much, still adorable though

 

Well welcome back, Stranger! I wondered what happened to you!

How's Duchess?

Little Rocket is still a gorgeous boy!!!!

 

[cassie]

Rocket is looking fantastic! thanks for the pics can't believe how big he is! gorgeous boy!!

 

[Gone_Riding]

My gosh, they grow so quick! I like the darker color of him, he sure looks good!

 

[Never2Mini]

Rocket is so cute ! Can't wait to see Dutchess wee one.

 

[jessj]

Thanks everyone! I have been around lurking. I try to keep up with the threads as much as possible, but don't have much time to post. I don't know what is going on with Duchess...still no udder progress. Her tummy looks like it has dropped some. I will try to get new pics soon! Since she was bought as "possibly pasture bred" I'm not sure when to expect her...silly mare!