Lots of stuff to tell this week... Carla and I have been riding several times, Thursday we took Ziegy and Dolly (that's Carla on Zieg past Dolly's ears), Friday was Tapper and Dolly (Carla rode Dolly) and today was Jazzy and Scotty. All the horses have been very good, just a little silly which is normal in the spring. Tapper's feet were kind of ouchy so we didn't ride far. Ken comes Friday and will put shoes on Tapper and Zieg.

I've moved some of the horses around, so now at night, Jazz and Scotty stay out in the paddock with the smaller run-in and Ziegy and Dolly stay in the paddock with the bigger run-in. I tried feeding Dolly and Zieg in the run-in but that didn't work well so with some help from Jim I rigged up temporary feeding stalls outside for them in the barnyard. They come in to eat in the morning and evening and then go right back out. I know in the pic it looks like Ziegy's stall is smaller but that's just the angle of the pic, it's really the same size as Dolly's.

Michael stopped by to visit one day last week. He's coming back to do water buckets for me! He'll be coming Tuesday afternoons - it will be nice to have him back, Rosy and I have missed him!

Speaking of Rosy.... she was the first one to be lunged in the round pen this year!!! Doesn't she free lunge nicely??? Since Rosy christened it, Gail has been using the round pen with Autumn and has ridden both her girls a couple of times.

The horses have all been either really tired or really in love! Ziegy was loving on Mattie, then Scooby took over with her, then Ziegy was with Deja, and now he's paying a lot of attention to Cami! Mattie has been going out with the group in the big paddock, Scooby, Ziegy, Deja and Cami. Deja loves it because Mattie is lower than her in the pecking order!

Now.....

the BIGGEST news of the week......

Sparkie came home!!!!!

And he brought his girlfriend with him!!!!!

They are sharing one of the run-in stalls, and for now they are in there 24/7 (they can go in and out in the run). Sparkie looks great, Carla and I taped him today and he weighs 945 lbs, a good weight for him. His LITTLE girlfriend is named Blackberry (Michael says "Berry" for short). She's a rescued pony and is only 11 hands tall! We taped her today too and she weighs 477 lbs. She is kind of shy and timid and I don't think she'd do well with the bigger horses - maybe someday. She's a little skittish around adults but she loves kids and has been a lesson pony for small children. Hopefully she'll learn to trust us and know that we'll never hurt her. Sparkie is so cute because he bosses her around - gently - but he also protects her.

Mattie

We have a new boarder! Her name is Mattie and she belongs to Jenn. She's a very cute breeding stock paint and (so far) she's been really sweet. She arrived Sunday afternoon and has been making friends with the other horses over the fence for now. She settled right in and even felt comfortable enough to lie down and nap yesterday. Of course, it was a sleepy day for everyone as you'll see from the photos below. There is also a photo of Tootsie outside - a definite sign of spring!!!

It's Spring!!! (sort of)

Dancing Horse Farm in the Mist

Hello. There has been a lot going on since my last post. Let's see.... Heather came out and gave everyone their spring shots/checkup. They were ALL very well behaved!!! Even Ziegy and Cami! Whoo Hoo!!! Heather will be back to do teeth and other things later this spring, but for right now - we're done!

The weather has been crazy, we've had snow, rain, warm sunny days, sleet, fog, and even a thunderstorm. Right now we still have snow and ice on the ground, but it's mixed with a lot of mud - such a lovely time of year in VT! Above is Scooby in the snow and Dolly in the mist.

I had 500 bales of hay delivered this week, we were almost out but that should easily get us to hay season this year. Some day there may even be some grass for the horses to eat! There are a lot of fences to fix, paddocks to clean, etc, etc, all the normal spring chores. Unfortunately nothing can be done until the ice and snow and mud go away so it will be a while yet.

Carla and I had our first ride of the year on Thursday!!! It was a beautiful day, and we took the boys - Jazzy and Scotty. They were rather full of themselves but did really well. We just did the Dutton Road loop - we won't be able to get into the woods for quite some time yet. Neither one of the boys has shoes but the road was kind of soft and they didn't have any trouble.