Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Named That Mule!

I think I have found a name for my little dragon boy.  It is completely different from anything I had thought of .  It's a bit whimsical, a bit silly, a bit fierce, a bit exotic and I think it suits this guy because he is all of that and more.

I told you he made me think of dragons and I stumbled on this trying to find one I thought I remembered.  It is a Chinese dragon called the Qilin (pronounced Kee-Lin) that is also thought to be the Chinese Unicorn. 

The Qilin is a mythical creature that is said to bring joy, good fortune and peace with him.  He is a hybrid animal that is maybe a bit horse, a bit dragon, a bit unicorn...all mixed up with a bit of magic to make a Dragon/Unicorn hybrid.  Sounds like a mule to me:)

The Qilin is known for his long, slim legs, bright coloring and gentle disposition that can be roused to ferocity, but only in defense against evil.

The Qilin moves across the Earth so softly that he doesn't harm a single blade of grass (especially if he can't reach it:).

Welcome to the world little Qilin.  I hope you continue to bring as much joy and color to world as you have started out with.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Name that Mule

I'm liking my new cellphone camera, which I have taken to calling my not-phone because it does everything except make phone calls:)  It's a good thing I bought a good case for it since in its first week it got dropped, rained on, stepped on by a dog (twice in 1 minute), slobbered on by said dog, licked by a horse, covered in hay-chaff, splattered with pig slop (the rest of which went down my bra because - where else would it go when your best friend accidently throws a pan of pig food at you?), and smeared with birthing fluids.  Just a typical week in my world.

My friend Dave fixed a bunch of equipment for me and brought it back over yesterday.  He also brought a couple of round bales with him as a baby gift from him and his wife.  Now THAT is my kind of baby gift (or birthday, Christmas, random day in July...)  Thank you Dave and Glenda, it is much appreciated as is all the great work on my mower, it has never worked better.

The donkeys also send their thanks.

They have not gotten to meet the baby yet except over the fence and they have been relegated to the "sunroom" for the duration so they have been a bit miffed with me.  Not to mention jealous.   Nothing like a huge bale of food to cheer them up though.

As for Little Mr. Mule...I have been trying and trying to give him a name and nothing sticks to him yet.  I have a list of names I like, but I just can't seem to find the right one.  It seems to be getting harder and harder to name new animals in my life and I think it is a sign I am getting old.  I don't like to reuse names or use names associated with other people/animals/strong emotion....in a life filled with animals, that rules out a lot of names.   

I think too, that it is because this guy's personality is hard to read.  He mostly acts like a horse foal, but then there will be little flashes of pure donkey.  I am finding it very fascinating to see the differences in working with a hybrid vs. working with either a horse or a donkey (or calf, lamb, pig, etc. for that matter).  All animals are different, with distinct personality, but those distinctions fit inside the shape of the species. 

Little no-name here flits between horse, donkey and something that is uniquely both. All three make up a beautiful/silly/smart/sweet/friendly/shy/devilish baby mule.

Tessa and I are having a lot of fun with him.

I just can't figure out what to call him because this side says: Troubllllleeee...

....this side says: You could give me a kiss or scritches or I could run away and join the circus...

...and this one wants to know what you are doing, why you are doing it and what is the square root of Pi.  And what is Pi anyways?  Is it as good as MILK???

Some of the top name contenders at this moment are: Liam, Walker, Cade/en, Zephyr, Keiran (because he makes me think of dragons, but not Game of Thrones dragons, because I read most of those books and finally gave up because I just wanted to dope-slap the damned author.).

Want to vote?  It's OK if you don't like any of the names, but you have to offer a suggestion if you want to vote for something else:)





Friday, May 24, 2019

Best Mom Award Goes to....

Tess got serious about having her baby at about 7:40 last night and he was on the ground by 8:10.  Everything went perfect and I never felt the need to interfere.  Once both she and baby were standing, she even moved around to put him in just the right position to nurse and nudged him into place.  She broke all of the maiden-mare "rules" and did better than some old broodmares I've seen.  She has clearly been memorizing the Foaling and How-to-Raise-Baby textbooks. 

Tessa is double registered TWH/SSH, her pedigree name is Daisy's Irish Jig.  The sire is Clyde's Gallant Fox who you can see here:  http://www.clydesgallantfox.com/

It's a killer combination:)

(As a side note, I have to give a shout out to Clyde's (aka: Ted) trainer/handler Tabitha Holland of Signature Equine and my excellent vet, Dr. Laura Rath and the staff of Midstate Vet Clinic.  Breeding mares, especially using shipped semen, can be a stressful nightmare.  However, Tabitha was a real pleasure to work with.  She was knowledgeable, pleasant and provided clear, timely communication which is the key to success in getting babies made over long distances.  With her very competent handling of the stallion on her end and the help of Dr. Laura Rath and her colleagues on my end, everything went as seamlessly smooth as is possible.  Tess was knocked up so fast I barely had time to agonize over it😁😕)

Tessa is gaited and so is baby.  He is still getting his sea-legs, but I have already seen him do an amazing running walk.  From what I have seen so far, and from what Tess can do, this guy is going to be an absolute dream to ride.  When he gets around to it in a few years.

He has a long way to go to grow into those legs:)

The lighter colored spots on his belly just kill me.

He is super healthy and already making poor mom tired.  The vet was out this afternoon to give him a checkup and she declared him absolutely perfect.  She checked his IGG levels to make sure he got a good dose of immunity from mom and he was well over the 800 mark, which means Super-Mom Tess knocked that out of the park as well.

He has already discovered some of the great joys life has to offer....

...such as a good butt scratch.

Tomorrow, he is going out where he can really stretch those legs out and Tessa gets to eat GRASS.

I told her that while she is feeding baby she finally gets to eat all the grass she wants (as long as she doesn't gain any weight, but....ssshhhh....Let's not mention that to her unless we have to😉)

My vet wants to name him Sullivan, which I like, but I'm not so sure about Sully and we all know that would happen.  I've thought of several fancy pedigree names, but nothing has stuck to him yet. I had a girl's name all picked out (even though I was certain it would be a boy), but not a single boy's name.

 Something will stick to him eventually.  For now, he and Tessa are both healthy and happy!

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Mule BABY!!

It's a boy (again 😊), and he needs a name.  Suggestions??

I have video of the whole thing (if anyone want to see it), but my internet connection is terrible lately so that could be a while.  I was lucky to get these posted in between crashes.

For now, enjoy meeting this perfect little mule while I get some sleep.