July Update – Winter & Weaning!
Gosh…seems like months since I’ve uploaded anything and actually it has been. Our home internet has been down for six weeks but fortunately is now repaired.
What’s happening on the farm? Well, break of season finally came, late but welcome. Because it’s been late rains this year we have poor pasture and have had to buy in more hay. Not good. (Everyone’s finances are bad enough at the moment!)
Over the entire month of June however, we had only 3 fine days. The rest was rain, rain, rain, although we are still 300ml down on last year. The initial rains were torrential and washed away a lot of topsoil. Not good either.
Our 3rd year Murdoch vet student, Colin, was a great help and got to see country WA in it’s wildest and wettest form!
The horses have coped pretty well – brumbies and Walers always seem to – however we have had to wean the mighty Moonlight early. (She’s the part Earaheedy/Percheron Sporthorse filly we’ve donated to the WA Mounted Police.)
Moonlight is HUGE – only five months old but already almost as big as Memphis, another half Earaheedy filly who is nearly twice Moonlight’s age. Moonlight has been pulling everything off her Mum, Earaheedy Lorna. Lorna is also in foal again and was getting so thin (despite daily hard feeding), we were worried about losing her to exposure, so made the hard decision to pull Moonlight off her milk supply four weeks early.
It was, as it turns out, a good decision. As well as the fact that Moonlight is already tucking in to the hard feed, and loving it, the night after we had separated the two and rugged both mother and daughter, we had a massive storm. Freezing winds, rain, lightening, thunder, the works. I slept well knowing Lorna was protected against the elements.
We don’t normally rug except to rug the weanlings (for a time), any oldies and any who are underweight, like Lorna. The others just don’t need it and cope fine in the winter, holding their weight well.
Anyhow, Moonlight and Memphis are now weaned. Moonlight has also been halter broken now and is learning her human manners.
Next…weaning Wanda and Marlin, both Tom Thumb foals and already over six months old. We have two more vet students coming next week…they’ll certainly get their large animal handling skills honed!!
(Above) Moonlight at 3 months of age, with a young friend.
7 month old Memphis (out of Earaheedy Betsy x Redgum Malachi) enjoying her tucker.