otter-creek-stables

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❖ Youngster herd!

Skip has been at his first vet visit at the clinic. While it wasnt the big x-ray and spine check (the apointment is still a month away, cause the clinic seems very booked at the moment), we got a first sensitivity and behavior check to particularly note down what hos symtoms are.

He particularly seems to have issues coordinating his hindlegs in normal movement, anything faster than a casual walk. However he has no sensation loss and reacts well to tickling, poking/manipulation from hips all the way down to hooves, which tells us that the nerves are mostly fine, maybe inflamed at best. So it points towards some sort of bone/vertebrae issue that potentially squeezes the nerves but doesnt fully block them.

Vision and hearing as well as other senses see no problems at all so its most definitely no brain infection/issues either. Lots of these things point towards Wobblers or general spine issues.

Until the appointment in a month, I have decided to merge Skip and Boony with Prism. They are all about 3 years of age, so I thought a Youngster herd is a fitting thing to do. I can keep a watch on Skips behavior while none of the three is truly alone and I can let them develope their body together until 4-5 years old before I start them under saddle.

They are weary of each other, but slowly warming up. I have them on a small pasture atm so I can quickly intervene if theres issues, but I have a good feeling about the Trio.

[otter-creek-stables]

❖ Mustang makeover!

Today we had a gorgeous newcomer on the ranch!

I am partaking in a Mustang Makeover of Europe from Equidae-Exclusive and after quarantine I was able to pick up this wild mare and bring her home.

Now, I signed up for the Makeover before Skip and Boony had to return and after we finalized desicions of selling Smokey and Lola once her filly is weaned, knowing we would have more time. Backing out of it did not feel right. I want to give a Mustang a chance and fullfil my dream to partake in an MMO once in my life.

Tag 5453, Palomino Tovero mare, seemed decently confused and disoriented arriving in our roundpen. I've been pre-warned that she doesnt reacht when coming on her right side, often spooking late when she gets you in vision. They have hinted that she might have eye problems, but without training we wont be able to get her seen by the vet.

So that will most likely be the main focus for me for now. Gaining her trust and handleable and be able to get her the vetcare she potentially needs. Only after that I will focus on more specific training and handling and see what is possible for her MMO progress.

I am not sure what to nickname her still, that probably comes down to the next days, or maybe someone has any suggestions?

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❖ Baby-Pictures for the Soul!

With the last two bit more sadder news, here is some cute foals for inbetween. They are growing like weeds at the moment and I can already see that I will soon miss the small-ness of these two, just how I did when Boony and Skip grew out of their cute foalfaces.

Wendigo and Ginny are inseparable. With 5 months we are encroaching towards weaning time, but they both still look very attached to their moms, so maybe I push it further back to mid/end autumn instead.

You cant makes this up how synched these two foals are tho, you'll not see them scratch alone, always together, including naps, zoomies and any other thing you can think about.

We have also finally made a decision on Lola. While dad enjoys riding her, hes not sure he is dedicated enough to justify keeping her and he much rather borrows Iota for a short ride. We also looked at the possibility that Florian takes her on since hes parting with Smokey, but since Lola doesnt show much cowsense or interest in cowwork either, we are now settled that once Ginny is weaned, that Lola will be for sale and we will be trying to find her a good home.

But thats a topic that will come up again once Ginny is weaned, until then Lola enjoys pasture time and absolute freedom from work.

[otter-creek-stables]

❖ Unexpected returns!

Another unexpected (but also a bit welcome) change: Boony and Skip have returned, earlier than planned.

They were supposed to stay at the Trainer til 4 years old and get a good groundwork and behavior training so I can start them under saddle afterwards. Now they returned a year early, with 3 years.

They spent this summer in the youngster herd (they always have training in winter/spring and 3 months of pasture in the whole of summer to give their body development time). When checking on the herd, they found Skip with very unusal movements.

Hes been tumbling around, looking rather lame. But when checking he didnt show any signs of pain, not in any leg, hip or spine area. So unsure what to do we agreed on taking both home again (I wouldnt want to leave Boony behind as they are one soul, so we had both come home).

The first checkup with the vet 2 weeks ago was, potentially, Wobblers. He has difficulties controlling his hindquarters, making him look very insecure running around. Since he isnt reacting to any outside pressure with any pain signs, it could be nerve-damage somewhere in his spine. We can only know for sure tho, when we bring him in next week to get X-Rays and tests done to see how his spine looks.

I am afraid, I hope it wont be Wobblers, I sincerely hope my little unicorn will have something that we can treat and he will be back to his happy self. But only time will tell.

[otter-creek-stables]

❖ Parting ways!

The past three months were super busy at OCS and I had no time to update much for the blog. Last week I posted the poppy photoshoot with the horses (and Bodi), so I had time to prep a few of the update news that will come the next bunch of posts. Some of them are dating back months or so, but I didnt want to not post them since they are important changes.

The first note: Smokey and Florian will part ways from each other. Not an easy choice Florian made, cause he loves this horse. But over the past 2 years he had to realize that Smokey isnt the best when it comes to working with cattle. And that is the way Florian wanted to go further into. Now, Smokey is super good with Reining and probably makes a good Trail horse too, so we have been looking for a local person to take him over. And we may have found someone for that too, so the roan gelding will soon-ish leave OCS. Its a sad conclusion, Florian has learned A LOT the past 2 years with this horse, but in the end its important that both have the right partner to work with and better their skills.

Now, that means Florian is back on the look for a new partner, one with a good cowsense to finetune his own training and skills. We dont know how long that may take, but until then he can always grab Mango too, who has a good cowsense and cattle-work pedigree. Who knows, maybe he takes over Wendigo or Ginny when they are old enough to begin training.

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❖ Summer Photoshoot! (7/7)

And a Bonus of my Dog Bodaway.

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❖ Summer Photoshoot! (6/7)

OCS Iota Chic Shine and colt OCS Big White Lies

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❖ Summer Photoshoot! (5/7)

OCS Too Sweet and filly OCS Dont Gimme That

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❖ Summer Photoshoot! (4/7)

OCS Little Miss Mango

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❖ Summer Photoshoot! (3/7)

LZ Crowned In Color

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❖ Summer Photoshoot! (2/7)

ЯWE​ Tiny Smokey

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❖ Summer Photoshoot! (1/7)

Shimmering Horizon VT

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❖ Birthday Beach-Ride!

When your birthday falls into the hottest days of june, what better way to celebrate than to take a trail ride to the nearby beach and go swimming!

We are in the middle of a heatwave and besides some light training in the indoor arena, we just take the days lazy as they come. The horses are enjoying the big summer pasture all together and only get spoadically picked up for a round of riding or hosing down.

So for my birthday, we picked the horses and went through the dunes to the nearby beach. Living in the Netherlands is amazing, when the beach is just a 15 minute ride away. We grabbed Mango and Lola and Florian and Sandra joined with their horses and headed out. We had Ginny on lead with us, one foal ponying is easier than two for sure, even tho I really wanted to ride Iota again. But Wendigo had to stay home, hes too much of a troublemaker to pony him with his mom. Ginny is a little angel in comparison, also up to some fun, but stays close to her mom and follows well.

And yall, I mentioned how theres still no real plan for Lola as she isnt mellow enough for the riding school. Turns out after this ride my dad actually found her really pleasant. So he might get back into hobby riding and call her his own. Makes me happy to see the old man enjoying the horseback again!

[otter-creek-stables]

❖ Happy (early) Birthday!

Guys, I cant believe it! My dad is amazing!

My birthday is in a few days and this year I basically said I wont celebrate cause we are busy enough on the Ranch. But dad kept poking about my wishes and interests and the like. I never had any ideas, cause I am happy the way everything is now, so it was really hard to even think of anything but a day off from work, jokingly.

About two months ago he became rather silent and didnt ask me any more. I wasnt sure if he gave up, or if he was plotting. And when I entered the barn this morning (I allowed myself to sleep in for once, cause dad mentioned he'd help out for the morning routine), THIS was standing in the hallway!

"Happy Birthday!" with a wide grin on this old mans face as he handed me the papers to a gorgeous young mare! Its a god damn Presley (LZ The King) filly and her name is LZ Crowned In Color.

She arrived a week ago by plane and was out of quarantine today, so dad and Florian went to pick her up to surprise me. Admittedly a bit early for my birthday, but travel times and all are always a bit of a mystery. He mentioned how he was asking holes into Florian and Sandra after he had given up on me and of course they knew how often I swooned over this lovely stallion from Lazy Acres, but never knew if importing and owning a foal of his would be something I could afford. So dad took it into his own hands when he found some of the last public foals off of LZ The King for sale recently!

I am over the moon. A Presley foal has always been a dream of mine, and this lady is looking so amazing! Shes about half a year older than Skip and Boony, so they all fit well together with 3-4 years, when the two return this winter. This girl can enjoy a summer just relaxing out with the rest of the herd once shes introduced, and next year Spring I can start her and my other two babies under saddle when we are reunited!

Thanks so much Dad! And thanks for this amazing opportunity Clarke Dawson! Shes an amazing looking mare! <3

She really enjoyed the new treats that Sandra had gifted the whole stall for my early birthday celebration. Just why must they be so difficult to eat? xD

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❖ Rain Weekend!

Its been raining for 5 minutes, but the mares are looking at me with judging eyes. How dare I abuse them by not bringing them indoors 10 minutes ago when it was brightest sunshine still!? :D

No, but seriously we are fine and happy. They actually did not want to go inside, cause it would have meant walking through the rain again. So we just left them under the cover. The whole weekend was riddled with rain and wind and we made good use of the indoor arena.

[otter-creek-stables]

❖ A breather in busy Times!

For once I had a less busy day, for once I was able to just take Mango out for a ride. No training, no plans, just clearing the mind.

This year is extremely busy and I have to admit that I probably have made some desicions the past two years that got me into this mess in the first place. But I am super thankful for all the help that Florian and Sandra brought to the Ranch. Without them I would probably not have made it all so well.

Raising foals, training youngsters and managing a whole Ranch is a lot more work than I ever imagined. And I took my fair share of experience from it all. I am very glad that my younsters are in a training facility at the moment, even tho I had hoped to train them myself and it makes me a bit sad.

But i surely would not have been able to handle them all and I am glad I found a good trainer for the next two years for them.

So today I can just take a breather and enjoy nature...

[otter-creek-stables]

❖ Blooming friendship!

Sandra has been hard working with Shimmer. Last week we had the saddler over to adjust the newly bought tack to the mare. A warmblood back is different from a classic stock horse type after all and it needed a lot of adjustments.

Since then, Sandra has had the mare in the roundpen daily and gotten her ussed to the tack. They also do a lot of groundwork on our trail arena and all I can say is, that these two fit so well together.

Sandra is very happy to have joined the OCS team, shes enjoying the calmer and individual work-time with the horses much more than the stressfull and packed training schedules of the big facility she worked at before. Not that we dont have a training schedule, but the Ranch size makes the difference and we have more room for recreation and bonding. Together with Shimmer, these two really seem to grow in confidence and experience.