Bath Day

Tonight is the steers last night at the 4Rs.  Tuesday they head  for the check in then show on Wednesday.

 So today was bath day.  This will be the first of about 3 baths they will get before the show.  We hauled them from the old barn lot to the new barn because we have running water here now.

 Dawn dish detergent does wonders at removing dirt and grime.

 It's important to rinse all the soap out so they don't get itchy and roll around in the mud again.

J helps with the cattle projects and I do the horse ones.  Don't let his complaining fool you, I think he secretly enjoys it still.

Senior Prom

V had a good time at her senior prom Friday night  It was an all day affair getting ready.  Apparently, it takes much more effort than when I was in school.  Or maybe I just didn't know better back then.  She got the dress a couple of months ago but it needed some alterations.  It only took about 3 hours the sew on loose stones, take in side seams and shorten straps and hem it.  (I was not with her when she bought it or we would have gotten one that fit to start with)  She went for a spray tan the day before, then a manicure and professional hairdo. 

 A guess it was worth it.  She was beautiful,

 and got the hang out with her good friends,

and feel very special for the evening.
J got talked into helping with After Prom 12-5 am.  I think he has finally recovered.

New Home

We usually sell our billy goat every spring and buy a new one to breed the nannies in the fall.  Billy goats are getting expensive so we thought we would try to keep this one over the summer but we don't want him breeding the nannies until the end of November.  J caught him a few days ago and put him in the bull lot but apparently that is not goat proof and he got back out.  So on to plan B.

 The goats had hung out in the barn over night so the billy was easy to catch again.

 Then J loaded him into the pickup for a short ride.

 Emma takes every opportunity available to "help" out.

 J said he's going to have the billy goat halter broke and ready to show at this rate.

He's now in the new lot at the horse barn.  We'll see now if it's goat proof.

Friday's Fences

Thought I would join up with Friday's Fences again.  Thanks for all of the nice comments on last week's fence pictures.  I guess it wasn't clear to me at first that the link would be fence pictures every week so I already used most of my good pictures.  Anyway, I thought these were good.  V took them of her show steers while I was filling their water bucket. 

I think these will look good in her 4-H Steer Project Book.

For more fences check out Life According to Jan and Jez

Barn Yard Shuffle

We have a visitor in the barn lot for a couple of weeks. 

 My sister's horse Ali foundered.  You can see she got a little fat.  That, in combination with the early spring with lush grass and L working late in the evenings because of tax season, created a problem.

So now she's completely off grass and taking bute for pain.  I'll take radiographs this weekend to see how bad things are.  Hopefully, some weight loss, a grazing muzzle and light exercise will get her back.

The Spring Game

V won the Wendy's High School Heisman Scholarship Athletics Citizenship award for her school.  The award included a trip to the Virginia Tech Spring Game.

 J and I got to go with her and she had an extra ticket for Grandma.  Aren't Grandma's azaleas beautiful.

 V got her picture with the Hokie Bird,

 and the Heisman trophy was on display.

 Head Coach Frank Beamer gave a short talk.

 The stadium started to fill up while the team was warming up.

 We got to watch about 15 minuets of the warm-up before....

 a major thunderstorm rolled in.

 The stadium was evacuated.

 We were in one of the box seat areas.  They started to evacuate us but then decided we could stay.  We hung around for an hour while the officials decided if the game would be played.  We had some good food and snacks to keep us entertained.

But then they cancelled the game.  Finial score 21-0.  The white team (second team) had been spotted 21 points before the start of the game.  Very disappointing to be in such a well appointed box and no game.

Cool Clear Water, Water

The show steers are temporarily shut out of the part of the barn lot that has the water trough (post for another day).  So yesterday I took one of our multipurpose 12 gallon tubs, scrubbed it and cleaned it with bleach, secured it to the fence and filled it with water for them. 

 "Boy I'm thirsty."

 "There was water here yesterday I'm sure."

 "I know there's water over there."

 I don't think Kmart anticipated 2 1100+ pound steers to be using their tub.

 Now they have a tub that a cattle protein supplement came in.  We'll see how long that lasts.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about."
A quote from J's ex boss, "They're like a bull in a china shop.  What they don't break they s*** on."

Friday's Fences Blog Hop

I found another blog hop I thought I might try.  This one said to post a picture of a fence or through a fence. Apparently, I have an obsession with fences.  I found several pictures in my archives.  Here are a few. 

I think I have so many fence pictures because we have so many fences on the farm.  The only problem is that that means a lot of gate to open and shut any time you want to go anywhere.  Hanks a pretty tall horse to get on and off that many times.
Check out more fences at Life according to Jan and Jez

Sleepy Head

I went to catch Otoelene and she was laying down.  I rubbed on her, sat on her and put the halter on.  She still didn't get up but laid over flat.  I checked her gum color and heart rate.  Everything seemed ok.  She sat back up and I pulled on the lead rope.  She laid back over.  

I finally gave up and just sat down to wait for her to wake up.  She acted very sleepy.  When she was ready she hopped right up and was ready to go.  Horses are funny.

High on Hank

J had an open cow at the farm up the road that he couldn't get up by himself. 

 So Hank to the rescue.

 J is always prepared so he set up a temporary lane to make it easier to get the cows up.

 There she is hiding in the middle.  The red one with the split ear is open.

 With J on foot and me on Hank the cows didn't stand a chance.

 We then moved the herd to new pasture but this little one didn't seem to want to go.

 With a little encouragement he finally made it up the hill.

That's why I'm High on Hank.  J's new show name idea is I'm a Handsome Hank.  Which name should we try?

Small Ride

Our 4-H club had a small trail ride Sunday.

 The weather was beautiful.   E rode Hank the Wonder Horse, I rode Thumper and J rode Jessica. V had to work so she wasn't able to join us.  She has a job as hostess at Cracker Barrel.

 E however, says Hank is not a wonder horse.  His walk was rough and he tossed he's head when he wanted to go faster (and his rein broke which obviously was not his fault).  I said he is more of a wonder horse than Pep because at least he's sound.  Pep has another abscess after a year and a half of being abscess free.  Of course this happens a week before we plan on riding her.

 Katlyn was the only other 4-Her.  It is so discouraging trying to build up the club.  I can't understand why kids and parents aren't lining up to participate.

Everyone's horses acted great.  We rode for about 2 1/2 hours mostly walking some light trotting.  Next month's meeting will be at the arena.

More Excellent Help

Saturday it was the fall calving herd's turn to be worked. 

 J already had them in a smaller lot the night before so they were no trouble to get up.

 We weren't doing anything to the cows so we cut them all out at the start.

 Then it was just the chore of working the calves.

 Of course, no improvements have been made to the pens since the last time so J had to move the panels around to some strategic spots.

 E was great help.

 She did the deworming

 kept up with the ear tags and provided wonderful company.

There were two calves to dehorn.  I always do a lidocaine nerve block and trim the hair away first. 

J did the implanting and ear tagging.  Everything worked smoothly again.  It's nice to find good help right at home.