Small Town, Big Drama.

Mesa has been home for a few days and is settling in well with her new herd of two geldings. She is with Banjo, and a roan named Willy.
Its funny; Willy immediately claimed her as "his" mare. Won't let Banjo near her! In turn, Mesa definitely has the confidence to push Banjo around.
Her freeze brand turned out perfect! She is now repping the Diamond Lazy H brand. Can't wait until its fully healed, the white hairs that grow in will really look sharp on her dark coat.

I was hoping to spend more time with her yesterday after work, but my little town had some big problems.
I went over to my parents place to pick up Jack (my dog), but no one was home. I called my dad who is in Edmonton to see if he knew where everyone was. As I was driving down the street to head over to the dog park to see if they were there, I said to my dad "haha there is a police car blocking our street!" my dad jokingly replied "what did you do!".
5 minutes later I returned back to my parents house only to find TONS of police cars surrounding the area, the SWAT team and their tank, and a helicopter circling above.
Turns out a high speed chase from Calgary ended up in my neighborhood. The suspects crashed down my parents back alley, and broke into a house a few doors down.

What I saw driving back to my parents house.

We locked the doors and stayed put until the ordeal was finished a few hours later, when the suspect agreed to the negotiations. Luckily, the family who lives in the house he broke into were not home when he did. Lots of excitement for our small rural town! Here is the link to the news story: https://www.westernwheel.com/article/high-river-standoff-ends-in-arrest-20190508

Between the snow and rain the last couple of days (yay moisture!) the ground is pretty gross. So today I just spent some time with Mesa grooming her. She is a lovely, lovely mare.

Love her big beautiful eyes!

Mane! 

Work is busy as always, so I'll close this post with some workplace captures.

Molly (front) tagged along with her sister Bella
for moral support!

Semen testing; see the sperm just to the right of center?
Double headed sperm (head defect) looks like a heart!

More Than a Sunday.

Currently, I work 3 jobs; my full time job at a mixed practice, a part time/Saturday job at the other  clinic in town, and some evenings at a car dealership as a receptionist.
This usually means I work Monday-Saturday, with Sunday's off (providing there are no emergencies!).
However! This week-end, I took some time to myself and had more than a Sunday. 3 whole days!

Banjo has been doing well in his training. He's becoming more soft and responsive.
I like to start working with any new colt in a round pen, see what they know, what they're unsure of, and what they plain just don't know.
My round pen work with Banjo showed me a couple things; one, he's very flighty, and doesn't seem to have much trust for humans. Second, he is very blocked on his right side.
It took a few round pen sessions to get to this point (him walking up to me), but you can see just how much he blocks me from that side.

Riding colts sure does make me appreciate my main mount!

In the mean time, preparations are in full swing for Mesa.
We had a handful of West Nile cases last year, so first order of business will be vaccinating her. Next will be finding some time to take her into my clinic to have her freeze branded with the Diamond Lazy H brand, and remove wolf teeth (if she has any).
Only 1 week until she's an Albertan!

An Introduction.

Hello!

My name is Shannon. I'm a 23 year old Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) working in a busy mixed animal clinic in rural southern Alberta.

Although I've always had a love for horses, my family did not share my passion. It wasn't until grade 8 that my now best friend moved here with her 8 horses, that I got started riding.
Fast forward a few years and at 16 years old I bought my first horse for $1.00 from a lady I worked for during the summer.

That horse: Bailey.

Eyed B Sassy, AKA "Bailey"

Bailey was a halter broke 3 year old when I got her, and there were reasons she was practically free.

I took her to 4-H with 30 rides on her, and through lots of learning and perseverance, the rest is history. Almost 8 years later she the best horse I could have ever imagined owning.

Although in the summers between my 3 years at Olds College I bought, started, and sold lots of horses, it has taken me 8 years to decide to buy one to keep.

That horse: Mesa.

Midnight Mesa AKA "Mesa"

Mesa had been for sale for a couple months I believe before I messaged Shirley, the owner of Diamond Lazy H Quarter Horses in southern BC. The family where I keep Bailey has 4 half siblings to Mesa (all sired by Isle Be Midnight), and they ALL have incredible minds and work ethic. I knew Mesa would be a good one.

After a 10 hour round trip to see Mesa, it was a done deal. She was perfect.

Mesa will be coming home in a couple of weeks, and while I build new fence on my property, she will be staying across the road from Bailey in exchange for riding a colt for the gentleman who lives on the property.

That horse: Banjo

Banjo is registered however the only thing I know is he has Hollywood Dunit on his papers; the owner could not get the papers from his now ex wife... I didn't ask too many questions ;)

He's 6 years old, and was "cowboy started" and essentially just tracked cows his whole life. I've put a few rides on him so far, and am pleased. He's a nervous nelly, but is SO willing to learn and work. I'm excited for what we can get accomplished this summer.

My goal with this blog is to have a place to document my progress with these horses, as well as life as a mixed animal RVT (because it is NEVER a dull moment!).

So, if you're squeamish, this blog probably isn't for you. If you get annoyed by lots of horse/dog/animals in general being posted; this blog probably isn't for you.

Otherwise, I look forward to having you follow along on this journey.