The foaling season has definitly started!!!

Finally - after keeping me waiting for weeks and weeks - Nancy had her foal late last night!
Once again a stunning colt and I was lucky enough to be there and observe the birth!

He is black with 3 white socks and his daddy is our stallion Ickie.
I also snapped lots of photo and I thought I`d share some of them with you :)

So meet our first boy of the season - Vestlandsbandens Viggo!

The first meeting between mare and foal.......

Mummy taking care of her newborn making sure he is getting clean...
...all over his body.

Tired from the hard experience a birth is.

Trying to get up and stand on four legs for the first time...

...it is not easy, but he gets there:)

What are you doing mummy?

Mmmmmmm, milk......

Finally I can get some rest.

What - more photos?

I`ll get up....

Do I look okay like this? Say cheeeeeeeese!

~ Elisabeth ~

Meet Betty Boop!

FINALY!!!!!! This morning my husband came inn early and woke me up. Normaly I'd be quit grumpy - but today I jumped out of bed. Thinka had her foal early this morning. She was already walking arround - when I arrived.
Her father is an unknown gypsey/tinker stallion. She is just so adorable. Already so trusty, wanted to talk to me and loved when I gave here a pat.

- Mona -

No foals yet...

So I just have to make a blog post.. moarning and complaining. No foals in sight. And I've been waiting for weeks. At least it feels like it. Rosie was due the 8 th this month, but it still seems like it will take a couple of more days. And Thinka, well I was told she was due in march... The only comfort is that two of Elisabeth's mares is due the same day as Rosie, and they are making her waite for it to.
Spring is such a marvelous time... but waiting for the first foal - It is almoust paifull!!!

Well - no blog post without a picture...
I spend my days waiting.. and while I'm waiting I do som work at the new stable. Slow progres.. and mabye a bit difficult to imagine the result from these photos - I'll put them up anyway. The largest half of the stable. It will have 4 induvidual horse stables, a tack room and a smal feed rom. The horses in the large stable will put theire heads thru the wall in the middle - and get thire feed on the floor. It's the front of the induvidual stables laying at the floor at the photo.
The stable part where the horses may walk inn and out as they want.
Two of the induvidual stables has a door that goes outside. I'll make them a smaal paddock - thinking theese will be nice for the horses I need to take from the heard to keep an eye on.

Hopfully we will get started on the roof next week... I'm som not looking forwards to it. I'm not happy in a ladder 5 meeters over the ground.

a picture report

The days are getting longer and longer - and I swear tha the grass had started to grow. And then, one morning we woke up, and it was all white outside!!! I pulled my head underneat my blanket, hoping it woud dissaper... but no - it still is all white - one week later!!! The snow also managed to distroy my thelepone line - so I've been witout internett for a week!!!
I got to take som photos of the horses thou.

Corny is back home - spending his time with Sinclair. The use a lot of thiere time to play. I'm not shure, but it seems like Cony is the boss - even thou Sinclair is one year older.
Playing...

Sinclair has his summer coat already - but look at his mustasje:) In May he is going to a new home. Fist he has to be gelded and ridden.

My little Penny girl. She has the moust amazing colour. Will be one year this year.

My pretty Thinka girl. She is the fist one to foal this year - I'm guessing it will be witin 14 days. She is so heavy now - and I'm so excited

And Rosie, my por special Rosie. She is still very sceptical to things humans do - but in the heard she is the calmest. I wouder what se has experienced to be like this. She is expecting her foal with Ickie april 8.
Rosie is two years - Her eyes facinates me!
And then Nerfetiti - she is setteling nicly in the heard. Still not 100% acsepted, but she is workin on it:)

My girls

Finally - after months of bad weather - we had a beautiful day with sunshine!

I had to snap some pics of my little "girls" (sorry - they are really dirty.... *blush*

It is not easy keeping them clean in all the rain and mud we`ve had.... )

But here they are talking a walk in the forest :)

Lilo and Irina - two little teddybears!

They will be 1 year this summer - and it will not be long before they will have brand new sisters and brothers now !

I can hardly wait for this years foals to be born :)

And here`s Olivia - my little sweetheart. She`s turning 2 this summer.

~ Elisabeth ~

I've forgotten to share...

Say hello to Nerfetiti.. my new mare. Last weekend we visited a horse dealer.. Off course the purpouse of the wisit was to say hello, and to get a free cup og coffe. Actualy I promisen my husband not to by anything as he agreed to drop by.
Well, som one knows us as crazy mummy maniacs.... This pretty and small little girl was standing there, telleing me that she wanted to go home with me. How can a husband ressist that?? Mine can for shure not. He needed a couple of houers to think, but I guess he knew he had to give in at the moment we saw here.
As you can see she is a silver dapple one. I just love her colour. She is also the smaller kind. I guess her to be about 135 cm tall!! And then the is the big tummy... I wounder if the is someone inside - it shoure seems like it!! The dealer didn'n know what she is breed to. I guess we just have to wait and see.
She is setteling nicely in with the other horses, and it seems like she is well ridden and handled. My 5 years old daugter had a ride on her, and it went wery vell. She claims that it is her mare - so ther is my dillemma. I promised my husband that she was to be put out for sale - okay so she is for sale - at least for as long as it takes my daugthe to convins her father that the mare belong to her. I wounder where she did learn all that.. again "crazy mummy maniacs"

Woho - stallion of the day!!!!!!

This weekend we brought Ickie and Corny (Camella Boy Warrior) to the stallion approval.

And we are so proud to tell you that Ickie was approved as the best stallion at the show!!!

We are also very, very proud of the fact that he got the highest score ever given to a tinker here in Norway!!! :)

The jugdes liked him very much and said about him:

A stallion of really good type with a nice and harmonic body, beautiful head, nicely shaped neck and back. Well muscled body with good feet/bones and nicely feathered. Good movements and very well tempered.

The vet found nothing wrong with him at all and therefor he got a full score there too :)

And here he is - our pride and joy!

Do I look okay like this?

Ahh, I`m gettting a little impatient where are the other ones?

Mikal and Ickie

Corny and Ickie "talking".....

Corny felt safe when "uncle" Ickie was there to protect him from all the other big fellows at the show :)

Two happy boys!

Corny was not approved this year.

He is not fully developed yet and needs more time to become the stallion we think - and hope - is hiding inside him.

But he was clean at x-ray and did a really good driving test -

we are very happy and proud of our little baby! :)

When does this end?????? I`m sooooo tired........

Corny and Mona during their driving test - they did the best test among the Tinkers - way to go!!!!!

He is a really nice driving horse - so sweet an calm - and he is always eager to please us :)

Let`s dance!

Sorry, I know you all must be tired of our favourite object Ickie now - but I just had to snap some pictures of him playing in the field today.

We are taking him to the stallion approval next weekend and we are very excited to hear what the judges think about him now....

Well, here he is - trying his best to impress me with his acrobatic stunts!

Enjoy :)

~Elisabeth ~