Recent content by Debby

I have not read her books. BP is on a biotin and methionine supplement. And she is on a "ration balancer" which contains magnesium, although I don't know if Pat Colby would consider it enough. She has entered the phase where the corrective shoeing begins to bring the coffin bone back to it's...

This is a hard update to write, but I want to. On May 2nd my mare had a filly without much difficulty and easily passed a normal placenta. But by the following day she was running a fever and had to be treated with IV fluids, banamine, gentocin, penicillin, and antibiotic uterine flushes...

Nice to hear from another AMD owner. Where did you get your heifers? Are you going to milk them? How would you describe your farming efforts? Are you a "real" farmer? Hobby farmer? Homesteader? I'm curious what you will do with your heifers, because now I have two cows, two...

HAPPY EASTER! And a gorgeous day it is. The sun is shining and the air is warm. My family will gather for lunch and that procrastinating mare is perfectly happy with the situation. She is now officially overdue by two weeks. If the juices of Spring are urging her to contribute to Earth’s...

Thank you both. I'm leaning toward the Indian runners.

I took a herding lesson this morning. The instructor was very good and has a wonderful set up with an indoor arena. Her sheep are very well behaved and she seemed to know just what Becca needed to become more interested in the sheep. Now I want to get some ducks to practice on. Do some of...

Good choice! Don't feel bad, Jack the bull, lots better have been up staged by babies.

Thank you, Taylorm17

If you have the vet out, he or she can palpate to see if there are any follicles--if she is cycling--or if she is (secretly) bred. The longer she is with the bull, the more likely the vet can palpate a pregnancy. IIRC it is about 30 days that they can be pretty accurate with a pregnancy...

Thank you, Jake. They are pretty level headed animals and she is great on the trail. Pionneer, she is a maiden mare. And my dog is an Aussie. You're right on.

That's late. My heifer was showing very "noisy" heats by eight or nine months. My experience has been that the young ones have more obvious heats. But when they are with a bull, I never saw the cow's heat as much. They were more expressive when there was no one there to give them...

THANK YOU ALL, SO MUCH! I'm going to take all of your suggestions. Can't wait to go home and watch the Ted Hope videos. I've trained for obedience and tracking and I love them both. This is all new to me. Can't wait! I might have to get some ducks, because my cows will chase her and the...

Thanks, Mike. I will look into a book. There is one local trainer, too. But she works with droving dogs, German Shepherds. I'm not sure, but I think that might be a little different.

"BP" is my 15 hh, 16 year old, Connemara mare. I've had her since she was two and I'm very proud that I managed to train her myself. (Mistakes and all!) I've only had this one, but I would recommend a Connemara for anyone who wants a quiet, reliable horse to play with. They make great...

I have a very good Australian shepherd. She is always obedient and also interested in the cattle and chickens. Does anyone have experience with starting these dogs? She wants to help, but often gets the herd scattered or turned in the wrong direction. If I could just put a few commands...