dancing horses

dancing horses

Saturday, January 21, 2017

A Couple Updates and Some News

There's not a lot of excitement around here- January is not the most exciting time to live in Canada. Unless you ski. Except that you can't ski here - there's hardly any snow.

With all the thaw and then freezing Irish developed an abscess.

handsome but high maintenance
He likes to run around and I think he probably bruised his foot. You may think I'm a horrible owner but I did nothing to try to 'help'. Irish has had many abscesses over the years (he's prone to them) and I've tried poulticing, soaking etc and nothing has ever made a difference. Now I turn him out and let the walking help it to burst. He's on a daily dose of previcox and can't have any more painkillers. Anyway, he's better now. He spent a lot of time dramatically showing me his foot and how sore he was. I told him to stop running around like a fool over nothing and he was insulted.

Both horses have a hay rack in their stalls. Since I installed it, Irish won't eat the hay that falls to the floor of his stall. When it builds up I take it and put it outside in the paddock. Irish immediately goes over and starts eating it.

Horse logic.

Carmen is minding the lack of being worked. Now, after her supper she wants me to stand at her stall and scratch her. I'm enjoying that she's missing the work but I suspect that it won't carry over to actually wanting to work.
I miss this view

Ed and I are looking at replacing the flooring in our upstairs bathroom. It's quite worn and stained - it's been like that since we moved in but it wasn't high on our priority list. Now it's time. It's fun to go and look at flooring and then paint colours. 

And now for my news. I knew that we were going to get another dog but wanted to give us time to come to terms with losing Belle. I did a lot of thinking on what kind of dog I wanted. I love Border Collies but two seems like too much. I wanted a dog with intelligence, drive and energy. And one with protective instincts. There are a number of dogs who suit that bill and I settled on German Shepherds. Then it was to find a puppy. I looked at older dogs through rescues but they all said something along the lines of no other dogs, or cats or children. I can't risk d'Arcy nor my cats or horses. I can raise a puppy to fit into our family. I did some research and sent a ton of emails. FYI dog people are a lot like horse people in not returning inquiries. However, I found a breeder who was very responsive and answered all my questions patiently. 

So in a few weeks one of these little brown bundles will be coming home to Oakfield Farm: 



41 comments:

  1. Exciting news about the puppy! Boy or girl? I wish you the best of times with your pup!

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    1. It will be a boy (the girls were spoken for). I was really interested in a dog like Bess but I thought she might be too big for my small house.

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    2. Bess is big, but she has always been very, very calm. She likes to sleep outside at night, but I let her in whenever she wants, and I never notice her because she is so quiet and calm. She has a very special way with cats in addition to all livestock. That being said, I have always admired German Shepherds. They are smart and loyal, and more apt to pay attention to your commands than a Maremma. Maremmas do what they want to do, for the most part, and luckily that is almost always what I want her to do! I think a German Shepherd would be more like a Border collie. Again, I wish you the best.

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  2. We have had 3 German Shepherds and they have all been wonderful dogs that are good with people and other animals, best wishes with the new puppy.

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  3. I treat Jackson's abscesses exactly the same way. Do you know if you are getting a girl or a boy? Are you thinking about names (I know you are)? I love border collies but I worry about their herding instinct with the horses, donkeys and goats. I think a German Shepherd is an excellent choice.

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    1. it will be a boy. I have just started to think of names but it's hard without having him here and getting his personality. :)

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  4. Congratulations on you upcoming pupster. I showed and bred at one time, cardigan Welsh Corgis. I'm a people & animal person. A lot of dog people, probably like horse people aren't people people and have a difficult time communicating for sure.

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    1. LOL- I love Corgis and they are on the list for sure. I couldn't find a local breeder (by local I mean within 3 provinces).

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  5. German Shepherds are the BEST! So exciting!!

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  6. Oh, so cute. If we were to ever get another dog, German shepherds would be at the top of my list too. Can't wait to see yours!

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    1. I'm getting exciting. Thank heavens I saved some vacation so I can have 'puppy leave'.

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  7. Congratulations on your new puppy! We have had so many Germn Sheperds over the years and they are great dogs. I almost got another one but then we got Ginger instead. She was a leftover puppy from my husbands cousin who is the breeder we had gotten our previous Aussies from. I'm still thinking about a Sheperd though. I've never had less than two dogs and Ginger could use the company. Good luck with your new pup. O adorable.

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    1. I've heard really good things about the breed! And yes, Ginger should get a companion!

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  8. Glad Irish is fine!! Charlie is very dramatic about ouchy feet too haha. So exciting about the puppy tho - yay!!

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  9. I can't wait to see your new puppy! Eeee!

    Also, I am a terrible horse owner and don't "help" with abscesses either.

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    1. Phew- people look at me when I tell them I do nothing!
      I can't wait either.

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  10. I hope Irish heals up soon. I've been paranoid about the wet ground, because that leads to thrush, which lead to abscesses. When the farrier was here, I kept asking if he'd seen any thrush in any of the horses' hooves yet, and he got annoyed with me. He snapped at me and said that my horses would never get thrush, because I take such good care of them and their environment. The very next hoof he cleaned had thrush in it. That wasn't exactly a told-you-so moment I wanted to have, but I'm very experienced in all that crap.

    My friend has an adolescent German Shepherd she raised from a puppy, and that is the most obedient dog I've ever seen. It even does highly choreographed tricks.

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    1. I never thought that Thrush would be an issue in the desert!

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  11. Good dog choice, I love German shepherds. I had a female that came to our house in Los Angeles and we never found the owener so kept her for 12 years. Best dog ever, protective and serious when needed, but so playful and so much fun into old age. I hope you will post a lot about your new puppy when it arrives. I named mine Angel and that she was.

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  12. The best way to treat an abscess is to avert your gaze:) Congrats on the new puppy. A friend just got a shepherd and he is thrilled with him. I hope you will be too.

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    1. Thanks- I'm glad to hear your opinion! I think I will be happy- except for the days that puppy antics drive me a bit nutty.

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  13. Awesome. Congrats on your soon-to-be new puppy. I love GSDs so I'm a bit jealous. We have a GSD mix but he looks more like his other mix of Rottweiler. We used to have white GSDs when we lived in Washington.

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    1. Thank you! I've never seen a white GSD- I wonder how rare they are!

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  14. Congratulations on the puppy!!!

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  15. PUPPY. My friend's GSD just had a litter also, apparently it's that time of year.

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    1. Must be! I keep going around thinking PUPPY! :D

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  16. Going to need to see a lot of puppy pics when they get here ;)

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  17. I hear you on January's in Canada being boring, lol!

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  18. Puppies! My boss had GSDs that came to the office every day and they were awesome dogs.

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    1. Puppies are adorable. It's been a long time since I had one (12 years to be exact)

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