December has joined the herd at the ranch

December was born last December 1st to Thunder and Polka Dot and has been living with them on the property next door.  We brought over to this side of the fence on July 6th and she is slowly acclimating to the larger herd here.  She will probably get halter trained in the Fall when our awesome horse trainer returns - Karyn Shirley http://www.purplesageequine.com/

She is running up the hill at the ranch the first day here.

She has lovely markings.

The first few days she spent a lot of time by the fence visiting her parents

 on the other side. I think she has a lovely face.

I posted this photo of her when she was 24 hours old.  It is fun to compare her then and now!

We have a new Filly!

She was born on December 1st to Polka Dot and her name is December.  We think she could be the last foal born, see the post below about birth control for the mares.
She is a real sweetheart but shy with humans.  I have noticed over the years that the new colts are very curious and the new fillies are shy and cling to their mothers.

Here she is the day she was born - as you can see she is very alert, especially for a horse a few hours old.

These photos were taken yesterday, she is thirteen days old and this is her first time eating the feed.

The babies always put their feet in the trough!  She is eating with her mom.

"Mystery" is here!

We misjudged when Polka Dot got pregnant - we have been waiting for a new foal since September.
He finally arrived on December 9th.  He is a sweet little thing and we named him"Mystery" since his arrival date was so mysterious. Below are photos of him one day old.

Polka Dot watches her new baby proudly!

Being a day old is hard work, "Time for a rest."

Polka is a very good mom, she is checking on her baby.

Blue Eye

Several of the pintos have one blue eye. The two breeding mares, Polka Dot, and Mama,as well as Little One, Majestic and Otumwa, pictured above, have one blue eye. A wonderful friend to the pintos said he thought Otumwa with her thick white mane looks like a punk rock star!  Don't you agree?!

THE PINTOS IN WINTER

Happy New Year Everyone!

We have had a very wet and cold winter so far. The pintos have on their winter coats, but Thunder for some        reason never seems to develop a thick coat.

Little Lady, who will be two in May, looks pretty shaggy here. She is

a sweet horse with beautiful markings.

Luna is getting very big - she is the one on the left and she is eating with her 

parents, Moonbeam and Suki.  Her markings are very similar to her Dad's

and sometimes it is hard to tell them apart!  They certainly enjoy the

fresh hay we feed them.  Right now they are getting 3 way hay, alfalfa 

hay and Purina feed mixed with goodies to help prevent worms

 and ticks.

Luna

Polka Dot with her filly Otumwa who is just a few months old in this 

photo. Otumwa was born October 15th, 2012 and her dad is 

Thunder.She has one blue eye, the first of our black and whites to have

 a blue eye.  When we spend time with her, we get the feeling 

that there is something very special about her. 

Pintos and video

I have been wanting to shoot videos of the pintos for some time. Photography is my thing, not movies but I am experimenting with a video camera.  I have not set up editing software on my computer yet,  so here are   four short clips.  There is not a lot of action - just walking  horses.  Hopefully, as I learn more, the videos will improve!
The first one is of Chie, 6 months old,  walking with her mom, Polka Dot on a very windy day:

Some of the herd walking through Eucalyptus trees.

Suki, Sweetie, Moonbeam and her filly Ceilo Luna, three weeks old:

A short clip of Luna who is growing leaps and bounds:

A filly is born November 9th!

For many months we wondered whether or not Polka Dot was pregnant.  We had expected a birth around July  and since so many months went by we figured there would be no new foal as it is unusual for a horse to give birth so late in the season.  November 8th while feeding the herd I noticed that Polka Dot's udder was full of milk.  The next day a new filly arrived. We are so happy you are finally here! 

Her name is Chie (pronounced Chiyay) which means wisdom in Japanese.

She is about three days old in these photos. 

She looks so small here.

In the photos below she is five days old.

Chie  peeks behind her mother as the herd eats their grain.

It's A Girl!

Polka Dot had her foal on July 5th. She is a lovely frisky black and white filly and we have named her Splash. She is a doll and very curious...today is the first time she really let me touch her and she was very interested in the alpha squares and took some shavings off my fingers. She has also nibbled at the bowl's rim.

From day one Suki has been Splash's protector ( as well as Miss Moonbeam's). She has very similar markings as Suki (they are brother and sister) but her markings remind us of a giraff!

My favorite picture

This photo and other Splash and pinto images are for sale as greeting cards at the Four Eyed Frog Bookstore in Gualala or you can order them from me at pa@photographycreated.com

Update

It has been a few months since I have posted. My plan is/was to post more frequently but it has been an exceptionally busy time on many fronts.

The exciting news is that we have a new filly and the sadder news is that Little One was kicked out of the herd. Fortunately he has been found and is now being tended to.
The pintos in general have taken awhile to adjust to spending time over here and prefer to be over at their old home. Fortunately they have a guardian angel in our new neighbor who lets them be over on his land. Periodically I close the gate between the 2 properties so that they can acclimate to being here. Before the birth of the new filly the wind and the pintos managed to push open the gate and they spent almost 2 weeks at their old home. They finally started coming back here for treats after the filly was stronger.
Often we went over to check on everyone and to take photos. I am working on the pinto calendar for 2011 and a pinto book - many images that were taken during this time will be in them.
The horses were here for breakfast today and after they ate they ALL took a nap!

The arrow is pointing at the small filly, . On her left is her Mama, above the filly is Polka Dot and on the left is Thunder. Far right is Suki and far left are Sweetie and Lady.

Be sure to see the two new posts below about the new filly and Little One.

Polka Dot

Suki's mom looks pregnant again. Any guesses about how far along she might be? Horses gestate for 11 months. Suki was born the end of last July.

I had been wondering for awhile how to make a holiday card with the pintos and I knew I couldn't put a wreath on one of them, since they are wild. Low and behold one day Polka Dot shows up at the back door with this branch stuck to her! Thank you Polka Dot!

The Pintos and I wish you a wonderful New Year ahead and may it be filled with joy, peace and health for everyone!