Birthdays and an eastbound colt

This winter has been challenging. The weather has cycled between quite cold and then warm over the course of a few days. We’ve seen -30 to -40 C and then in just a few days it’s above freezing. We’ve found it hard to deal with, but the animals have it far worse. They have needed more feed this winter than if it was consistently in the -20s and 30s C. They just have no chance to adjust to the cold.

On Jan. 12 we celebrated Anna’s first birthday. It was feeling quite frigid at -27 C after being +1 C three days prior — but it was nowhere near the -42.9 C her godfather recorded on the day she was born. We went to mass in the morning and then had Phil and Tish Ulrich, her godparents, over for brunch. They spoiled her as usual. Anna is starting to get the hang of walking and she is very interactive with her brothers. She and Ian are especially close. They spend most of the day playing with each other and sharing snacks, while Joseph and James work on their schoolwork. On the 16th, we celebrated John’s 79th birthday with a cake and supper. It was an enjoyable day and the temperatures were on the warmer side.

On the 19th, Gregory’s Auntie Norma and Uncle Neal stopped in at John and Barb’s for brunch on their way home to Estevan. Auntie Norma is Ian’s godmother. All the kids enjoyed visiting with both Auntie Norma and Uncle Neal. We don’t see them very often, so it’s especially nice to visit with them, even if it is for a short time. We had the opportunity to sell one of our 2024 colts to a family in southern Ontario this year. The weather wasn’t very co-operative, with freezing rain and horrible snowstorms. We had an issue with one hauler and had to find another one, but finally the colt was able to get on the trailer on Jan. 23.

We try to raise family-friendly colts, but this colt was even better than we had hoped he would be. He was always very social and absolutely loved people. Gregory and I spent some time with him before he got on the trailer and we said our goodbyes. It was dark when the trailer arrived but he loaded like he’d done it many times before. At the other end, the receiving family was trying to be patient as they waited for the trailer’s arrival. There were more snowstorms and bad roads, but on the 28th the hauler delivered him safe and sound to his new home. Amanda surprised the kids with him the next day after school. They were quite excited, especially her little girl.

It is so rewarding to work with good people who appreciate the horses we breed and raise. When we can find a home that is absolutely perfect for the horse and the people, it is very encouraging and we greatly enjoy the joy the horses bring to their new family. We have two more 2024 colts and we hope to find them the perfect families as well someday. We are trying to put together a trip to the U.S. before calving starts. We hope to visit Michelle and Lacey in their homes and even make it down to see Uncle Mike in his home. It’ll be a new adventure for us: they’ve all made the trip to come and see us in our home and we hope to finally have the chance to see them in theirs. Unfortunately we will miss seeing Aunt Heidi as she will be coming home from a trip to Scotland, but hopefully we can see her next time.