Warning picture overload!

Morwen Lissie (Holstein) with her Filly foal by Danilon at Ednovean Farm

Some more pictures from day one of Summertimes adventures...............................

A tired but happy Lizzie

The sheltered paddock behind the yearlings stables

Toffee Lizzie Sophie (Summertime) April and Belle

Day two and Belle who has been apoplectic at having to live just with Toffee, glowering at us from her nursery paddock, got to move back in with the group Phew happy face and had she mislaid the foal?!

Lizzie again just because she's blooming!

Lizzie and Belle




Day three and yippee it's pogo foal

Toffee Lizzie and Sophie

Toffee who managed to jump the post and rails yesterday much to the annoyance of the mares that I found earnest group looking at the miscreant colt happily eating the other side of the fence.

Our yearlings by Danilon were happily asleep in the dewy grass or should i say the night shift as they graze overnight and snooze in the stables by day allowing the mares to have "private time" in the back three fields

Charles armed with a trio of lead ropes waking the babies up as you can see Annie is now bigger than Charles!

Amie nearest the camera, then Archie and Annie

and that was yesterday at Ednovean Farm!

The first morning

Thank you Di and Claire for the good vibes - Lizzie and Sophie (Summertime) were able to travel to the field the next morning after their vet check. Lizzie soooooooooo loves her foal and Dani got quite a few brownie points too! We put best friend April in with them too and in typical best friend fashion she settled down to enjoy the new "luxury hotel" whilst keeping a careful eye on Lizzie. April had rather more work to do this afternoon when they were joined by Belle and her foal Toffee (Isn't that Tufty you may ask? but Charles had a change of heart to Toffee and I know it's official because he changed the Teasing chart too!) April jealously guarded Lizzie and her baby for the day ushering Belle away and generally making sure that the new mother and baby were undisturbed. This evening we brought Belle and Toffee in first and then returned for Lizzie and co - -watching the foal trot neatly along beside her mum, as I led April in as rear gunner, it was just amazing to think that the little creature was inside Lizzie such a short time ago. Summertime!! and now Diva's udder has started to fill - please don't let it be twins ( we had the twin scan but she is HUGE!!)

Gorgeous filly

AT 11.30 last night we checked the monitor to see Lizzie was preparing to foal...........ulp!! By the time I reached the stables Charles had the filly out and had already named her Summertime and I was only looking for my socks! The stables were in twilight as the bulb immediately over the box had failed two minutes into use so not many pictures but Lizzie was her usual efficient whirlwind - never mind vet checks Lizzie does them- all cord wash, feet trim, wash foal, bottom wash with particular attention to the root of the tail, manoeuvre to feed and then she was ready for a warm mash and coo over her new daughter with a newly filled haynet for afters


first moments - I didn't risk the flash




Dad Danni (Danilon) waiting for his tea last night - he's now gone back to bed curled up as usual for the morning for an "essential" snooze

Lizzie

Lizzie is preparing for her big event, her udder filling ready for the birth of her new foal by Danilon. Her belly stretched uncomfortably tight as she carries her foal for the last few days. She was restless in the field today one minute in one field near the lane the next she had plodded across the farm towards the footpath with her best friend April anxiously in attendance. Tonight may be the night but so we thought last night watching the monitor between naps as Lizzie snored happily in her stable supine in her cosy bed of fresh straw. It is an anxious time for us as we wit for her to give us our cue to help nickering affectionately to us each time we approach to check her..............but perhaps tonight will be the night??...............



Lizzie Holstein now almost wider than she is high




April is not straying from her friends side




Lizzie has that far away look - you can almost hear her saying "Love and Peace Man" hippy fashion at the moment

Lizzie above the village of Perranuthnoe - that's Diva in the distance who will be next to foal.

Time passes

Archie By Danilon out of April

Well time passes in a steady routine of our days and with the time the young colts grow, Archie into a long legged gangly youngster, Annie and Amie into elegant pretty fillies and Tufty (or to be precise Charles has now rechristened him Toffee) into a strapping colt foal. And then there is Dolly of course turning into a handsome well balanced filly with a canter like a show hack, she has always lived with the older mares and is expected to behave very well indeed by them!

Our daily routine remains much as every other day - each morning we feed and turn out the youngsters and brood mares and I muck out the stallion before we cook breakfast for our guest. And little by little our youngsters mature and our brood mares grow larger and more careful in their movements, almost without us realising it.

Lizzie will be the next to foal - our Holstein mare, deep bodied and powerful even she is now blowing as she trots past me for her super in the evening. She should foal in ten days or so, followed by Diva a big Thoroughbred mare. Diva will have a holiday after this foal and not return to the stallion until next year. April is enjoying her year off springing about the field with Dolly in her second childhood.

Amie nearest to the camera TB/Iberian and Annie Holstien/Iberian



Tuftee(Toffee) monitoring the footpath that separates him from the big boys - that's Archie!


Dani has spent the winter quietly exercising around the lanes, often meeting other horses and riders as he goes along his routes or stopping to be patted around the villages. Mostly I've hoped to lengthen his neck and stretch and round his back muscles this year; getting him to relax and drop his rib cage. I've worked on the hills to get him to push from behind going up and sit and drop his quarters, bending his hocks going down..............and I've looked over the hedges and enjoyed his company for the rest of the time! And in our daily routine time passes and the horses grow strong.