This Is Significant!

Do you see it here?

Or here?

It's January, and there's no snow to be seen, but that's not what I'm looking for.

There are tracks to follow...

What's that I see peeking around the corner?

There it is!

In spite of my not getting the garage built last summer, the horse trailer finally got a ROOF over it's head!

With my herd down to only four, I was able to move Misty's panel stall to the east end of the barn (once I used up a little bit of hay and moved a little more around).  With Pat's guidance, and a little maneuvering, I was able to back the trailer in, and on the second try, I was even able to maintain the aisle-way for tractor traffic/parking.

I have promised my shiny new (to me) equine taxi that I would get it under cover since I got it two years ago, but that cover the last two winters has been only a tarp.   It finally has a space to protect it from the weather, though I wouldn't be sad if we didn't have anything worse than we have so far. (However, that would mean darn little irrigation next summer...Oh well, I guess it can snow in the mountains.)

One of my goals for the new year is to get the garage up, with a pull through stall for the trailer, to eliminate the need to back up. Likewise, I'd like to put the last 16 foot wing of the barn up, so that my south-side run-in stalls can be a little more permanent, and maybe I can take on a couple of retirement boarders (a la Paradigm Farm).

We'll see what the new year brings!

 *****

Speaking of reducing my herd, Beth is doing well at Anita and Terry's.

They have changed her name, but just a bit:  Beth must have sounded just a little too old-lady-like to them, but they wanted to keep the same basic sound, especially the short "e."  They tried "Jet" for a day or two, then went back to the "B" and added and "s".

The little spitfire is now "Bets".

[photo*]

She's had a few medical set-backs, with the wound on her chin becoming nasty from time to time, which leads us to believe there may still have been a bone fragment or splinter of some kind hiding in there.  But a second and third round of anti-biotics seems to have cleared it up for now--here's hoping the nasty has worked it's way out unseen and everything can heal permanently now!  The spot on her jawbone that she actually broke the chunk off has healed completely.

[photo*]

The little Arab mare, Casey, who created such a stink about Bets being in her round pen the first few days, has now become her best friend forever.  They are inseparable.  Bets has also discovered BOYS!   She's fallen in love with all the geldings in the neighborhood (I guess RT wasn't a boy, he was just Uncle RT), so it seems like she's been in heat all fall.

[photo*]

Terry has been working a lot on the ground with Bets, and most of it has been real good--tho there have been a few peeks at the sassy side of her personality.  Terry is so mellow, he just steps out of range of whatever naughty she's doing, then puts her to work, to let her know that wasn't acceptable.

[*Anita brought me some snapshots of Bets that I wanted to include here, but my new computer is not currently talking to my old scanner, so you'll have to use your imagination... Suffice to say, she looks pretty settled in her new home.]