Update: Cregga and Mago

Our next update is about Cregga and Mago! Then our final one will be about Dylan - it's the most in depth and will have videos and lots of pictures. 

Mago:

Wait who the heck is Mago!?

Well. I didn't *mean* to bring him home. He was a surprise. I didn't know I was bringing home another horse. I wasn't planning on it! 

At Haras Cup this year, the winners of all the divisions were put into a raffle to win an even bigger prize. The professional division winners were put into a raffle to win a $20,000 watch. The amateur division winners were put into a raffle to win a Haras bred 2016 Lusitano colt. This was a complete surprise to me - and an even bigger surprise when they pulled MY name out of the silver plate. They led the colt up right then and there, and handed me his lead rope! I'll have a full write up on Haras in Dylan's update. It was quite an experience!

So anyway, now I had this colt on the end of the lead rope, to my total surprise and delight. I technically had an open slot in my trailer, so... off we went home! Before we headed out, I was promised his papers and told his name - Mago. (Pronounced "Mah-go" which means magician in Spanish. Fitting since he just magically showed up on my trailer!) He loaded right onto my trailer and right off again easily when we got home, with no problems at all. Pretty much the first thing I did when I got him was geld him, and then the second he was ready he got kicked out into the mare field. It wasn't a second too soon either, considering Dylan was NOT taking to having a new set of cajones on the property and was attacking the fencelines with a savagery I've never seen out of him before (and hope to never again). 

He's been completely cool for the most part. A little weird with his feet, and not very nice to Cregga post-weaning, but he doesn't care about anything else. He stands tied for all kinds of grooming, and I can even walk out into the field with him loose and throw a blanket on him no problems. He will be two in March, so he's about to start learning about bridles, saddles, and life in general. I may not keep him forever, but I will get him going under saddle and see what he's capable of!

The winner is!

Coming home from Haras

Meeting new friends

Cregga:

Cregga turns 11 months old on the 20th. How did that even happen!?

She's been steadily growing and growing. When sticked last month, she was almost 14.2. Mago is 14.3 in front and 15 behind, so they're currently wearing the same size blankets. She's been in baby school like normal for her age - leading, tying, grooming, trimming, clipping, etc. 

Four days ago, we weaned her, and put her out with the top pasture herd. Unlike with Mago, who settled right in, Cregga is not assimilating well with her new friends. O and Dylan have already forgotten she exists, but she has not forgotten they exist. She has spent a lot of time walking the fence and refusing to eat, although she did play some with Pax today. Mago attacked her several times and for a minute I thought he was going to put her through the fence. She in return has not been friendly with any of them, and has been chasing them all away from her, or running from them. Things are slowly, slowly, slowly settling down but she has not figured out how to walk to the far side of the pasture to eat hay. This of course worries me to no end, so I can't help but drag some hay over to her so that she can at least eat *something*. It's been a very high stress weaning for everyone involved. Although admittedly I am not surprised... Cregga is her parents' child after all, and they're completely full of emotional diarrhea themselves. Raw talent and power, athleticism and ability.... aaaaaaand a little bit emotionally unstable. Hopefully they'll settle down soon. She's my baby, the one I'm super excited about, the one who is going to replace both of her parents, so I can't help but worry about her. 

These pictures are all from the past three months, so you'll see her in various sizes and colors of grey!

Soooooo awkward

Already outgrowing her 66"....

Meeting friends

Stubborn then, stubborn now!

Cregga from birth to 10 months!

First day of weaning... not a happy kid!

Playing with Pax

Not being friendly with Uma

Next.... DYLAN! 

SURPRISE REVEAL!

All right, I've taunted you enough!

Meet the new surprise!

Meet Trebuchet, my new project. 

(Yes, she DOES have kind of a Gogo face... obviously not the reason for getting her but interesting nonetheless!)

She is a 5 y/o Appendix mare, 15.1 hands of springloaded action. The girl is ATHLETIC.

So, why is she ending up with me? Just like with O and Immy, there is a story behind it and a reason I am picking her up for dirt cheap (i.e. a few hundred bucks). And just like with the others, it's a gamble and it may or may not pay off for my end goal. O is turning into a really cool little event horse, but Immy instead has turned into a really cool little companion! Unlike the other two, however, this mare's problems are not mental - they are physical. In some ways, this is both easier and harder to deal with.

So what happened to her? Her usual turnout at her old barn was flooded one day, so the barn owner decided to turn the horses out into a pasture that had a paved road in it. She took off, like you'd expect, and being steel shod.... boom. Wipeout. 

She has a small chip in one knee from the accident, with no joint involvement, that is now healed. She is currently sound but the trainer says she thinks she is a bit stiff behind still - the vet thinks this is probably a strength issue that will improve as she gets fit, but perhaps she'll need to be medicated. As for me, I can't see a lameness - or even that much of a stiffness, unless I am REALLY looking for one - and my vet and I see no reason to believe that this mare won't be 100% fine with a proper rehab. In his words, "if anyone can do it you can."

We're going to pick her up TOMORROW! It has been pouring literally for days and days, so she'll probably be up in a stall or in a tiny turnout for a few days, and then she'll go out with O. I'd rather her not go galloping around in the slop! (This weather is super, super gross... I have been feeling like a very bad horse mom because I didn't ride yesterday OR today... I could have gotten my lazy butt up and trailered to WD, but... I didn't want to. I wanted PJs and hot tea and BED, so I did that instead. I have guilt!)

Who's excited? I'm excited!!