The Massie Lodge Christmas Photos....

Yeah I know, the horses always get top billing in this joint, lol. Or, you could see it as saving the best for last! This year was the weirdest lead up to Christmas that we have ever had - what with it raining the weekend before; the telephone lines going down because the exchange got water in it (and for those of you who dont know, Evan and I must be the last living souls in Australia on dial up!).

Not only that, there were on going episodes of the power going off when we got some thunder (but of course, no rain!) - so, the photos got taken in plenty of time prior to Christmas, albeit the horses dirty from the rain (anyone who knows horses knows that even if there are 5 drops of rain they can find a muddy spot to roll in). So, the Christmas Newsletter is now a New Year's Newsletter.... lol

Anyway, we hope that you all had a lovely Christmas day wherever you were!

Vickie Does it Again!

Massie Lodge visitor, Vimala (aka Vickie) has done it again with another win on the trot in a Class 1 at Lismore on 18th December, 2009.

Heartfelt congratulations go to Vickie's owners - she done good guys (must of been her holiday!!!).

I See A Bad Moon Rising....

Massie Lodge Canines ...

It wouldnt be right to update the blog without including some photos of the Massie Lodge canines, who are part of the family. Matilda wouldnt cooperate at the time of taking the photos.. so she misses out!

Ruby

Pikey

Bessie Merle

Welcome!

To first time Massie Lodge resident - Possum (aka Passiona) who is here for a spell after a long first preparation.

Possum, who is by our favourite sire, Conatus out of the good mare, Interludes, is owned by Paul Batley who is a great racing enthusiast.

Possum had her first preparation with Brisbane trainer, Tony Crane where she had her first jump out and was none too shabby in the showing.

Possum, has found love at Massie Lodge with her paddockmate, Maz and the 2 of them are inseparable!

Maz with Possum - its love!

Vicki Breaks Her Maiden

Regular Massie Lodge resident, Vicki (aka Vimala) finally broke through to win her maiden a few weeks ago at Chinchilla. Woooo hooooo well done the girl!

P.S: For those of you who have asked, Wee Jimmy (aka Private James) is now on a well earned holiday after a great preparation for a couple of months... dont forget to send a postcard Jimbo!

Molly Rocks!

Good Golly Miss Molly How You Have Grown!!!

She is coming along in leaps and bounds and is the spit of her mother, Dirtiere in her mannerisms! She's just at that awkward age where she is changing colour, but she is really coming together as a nice filly - not only in looks but has a great temperament as well.

Finally ........

Southern (Another Southern) had her little boy on 27th November. "Northie" - while Southern was very good with the birth of her boy and had plenty of milk for him to drink - took a while to actually get the notion of what he was supposed to be doing. So, once again we intervened and fed him until the penny dropped and he started drinking.

We had a little problem with him on his first day, where some of his merconium became impacted and we had to call on Erick to come and give him a little enema - after which he was as right as rain.

Northie was a little premmie, even though Southern was over her due by date by about 10 days.

That about wraps it up for the Massie Lodge mares this year - although we are all champing at the bit to find out if Dirty is finally pregnant to Easy Rocking.

Its nice to be able to sleep all night once again!

I have a bit of a feeling about Dirty this time around .... ;-)

Favouritism....?

Absolutely! They're my gals... Miss Pix and Pip

Nottie Has Her Baby ....

The night was dark and stormy. Evan was fast asleep and I was on the last hour of foal watch before Evan took over. We were enjoying a night of consistent rain and I was crossing my fingers that Nottie was not going to have her foal in the rain.

I was wrong. Around midnight Nottie started to have her baby and what fun both Evan and I had with young "Buck Rogers" as this was not a match made in heaven - not at all.

Mum was mortified by the sight of Buck. Buck was trying to get up to mum and start having a drink and any help from us would end up with him bucking!

Nottie went into shock with the birth and both Evan and I had to feed him mum's colostrum. She was in so much shock that her milk supply dried right up.

Not a very good start for the young man as we had to feed him every hour - and you know how happy just born foals are to be hand fed! Not! (Not to mention how happy the humans became trying to feed him!).

To cut a very long story (and a very exhausting time for us) short - Nottie and Buck are now a very happy unit. Our apologies for lack of communication during this time.

Many thanks to our friend, Susie Black for her help during this crisis.... what a Godsend.

One more left to foal - Southern - not long now we hope :)

What I have Watched...

STAR TREK - THE MOVIE

I have to say that I was a bit hesitant about seeing this movie after having been a fan of The Original, Next Gen, DS9, Voyager and to a lesser extent Enterprise - but the thought of curling up on the lounge watching a dvd appealed greatly to me ... and being Star Trek even more so.

And my thoughts? I loved the movie and cant wait to see if there is a next one...

Ok, Ill admit it, Im a trekkie - you happy?

LOL :)

What Im Reading Now......

Actually Im not reading this book - An Echo in the Bone (the seventh in the Outlander series) im re-reading the 6th Book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes to get back into the story - well it has been a few years since the last book was released.

I have to tell you that as soon as I picked up the book (A Breath of Snow and Ashes) I remembered all the characters and became lost in the world of Jamie and Claire Fraser.

These books are fantastic!

What I have Just Read........

Gotta say that this is one of the best Aussie books that I have read in a long time... if you get the chance, pick up a Rachel Treasurebook, she writes a very good yarn.

Gossy Girl

Gossy (aka Local News) has had a bit of a tough time with all the babies being born as she has been wondering when its going to be her turn? Gossy, a natural mum, has taken to be "Aunty Goss" to Molly when Dirty has had enough.

We were pleased for Gossy when she was pronounced 45 days positive to Publishing this week.

Miss Molly

While the limelight has been temporarily shining on Miss Pixie, little Molly continues to grow up quietly with her mum, Dirtiere. Molly is the quietest little girl and loves to get stuck into the hay with her mum.

Im just wild about Harry....

While everyone has been admiring the baby of the family, Harry (Pix's older full brother) has been quietly growing up in the paddock. The brother and sister are as different as chalk and cheese, however they both have one thing in common - they adore cuddles.

Pip is very proud of her 2 kids and is very protective of Pixie. I am not looking forward to the day when we have to wean her off her mum.

Pip and Pix... our darling girls

Now who is mummy's favourite?

To us, a filly is born...

This time last week both Evan and I knew that something was afoot with Pip (Epiphany). She was restless, didnt want to come out and pick, couldnt get comfortable with her huge belly and she was running 14 days late.

I did the 'watch' until 1am and she was pretty quiet and acting normally in her yard, however, when Evan took over (which coincided with the Liverpool game on the tv), he said that he could tell that something was happening with her - she was pacing, and generally quite aggrivated.

At 3am Evan comes into our bedroom and says... "Do you want to come and watch your mare have her foal?"

I knew that that was the end of sleep for that night.

To say that I was nervous and anxious was an undertstatement as I wasnt sure just what the past 11 months and her leg injury had done to her baby.

You have to admire the older girls who have done it a few times before, they know the drill and how to move the little one along to being born.

When I saw her filly I couldnt believe my eyes ... not only was she a filly but she had the longest legs we had ever seen and getting her up and negotiating them was quite a task.

Both Evan and I are proud to introduce to all our readers of our blog "Pixie".

What a gal! We are blessed.

Ok Nottie, you're up next kid!

Miss Pixie, Pip and Evan - photo taken today

A few hours old

Woo Hoo Jimbo

Wee Jimmy (Private Agenda / Sweet Air) continues to do us proud after running 3rd at Gordonvale over 1350m. Drawn in the barrier closest to the car park, Jimmy sat 3 wide the whole trip. The word from the stable is that Jimmy is continuing to understand and get what he is supposed to do on the racetrack.

Word is that he is master of what to do in his stable - eat and dont lift your head out of the bowl until its all licked clean!!!

Many thanks to our photographer on the day, Jane Koch!

Well done the boy.

:)

Diary of a Broodmare ... Cont.

Hoof Date: Saturday 12th September, 2009

Boy, you're going to carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Boy, you're going to carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time

I never give you my pillow
I only send you my invitation
And in the middle of the celebrations
I break down

Boy, you're going to carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Boy, you're going to carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time

(Lennon / McCartney)

Do I need to say anymore? The milk's coming in ... I got this stomach to manage. Can I have some hay? AAArgh..............

Good Golly Miss Molly!

Talk about a sweet child! Miss Molly and her mum, Dirty are doing great guns and we're very pleased with how Miss Molly is coming along. Mum wont let her out of her sight for very long at all - except when she is eating! LOL

Diary of a Broodmare

HOOF DATE: 5th September, 2009.


Finally I get to use the computer - buggar Twitter: I have more to say that 160 keystokes.

It rained last night - I rolled and rolled until I was covered in the most glorious mud pack - needless to say the missus wasnt very amused this morning when she came to spy on my leg and could hardly find my eyes for the mud. In fact she was so insensed that she got a bucket of water (should I mention that it was cold?) and a cloth and washed my face. Is nothing sacred? It took me hours to complete the mud-pack look?

Then we went through the motions of her wanting to wash my leg (for something completely different) - I didnt want to move and stood my ground (some people call me stubborn but I dont know what they're talking about!) because Dirty was going to be let out of the stable with that darling little foal (*sigh*) and I didnt want to miss a minute of that - so I stood still and after I had seen darling little Molly I gave in and I let her lead me over to the side and jet my leg.

With my belly as big as it is, whats the use of fighting wth her?

So we go through the motions as she hoses my leg, sings to me songs from the 70s and 80s (which if the truth be known, I dont really mind - but I wouldnt tell her I just act indifferent) and then I get fed some hay.

*Sigh* One of the positives of being pregnant is the abundancy of hay. Gossy says that one of us needs to keep being pregnant so this continues. I know that she went off the other day to Publishing ... she wont tell me what happened or if she's .... you know.

The missus says I will be back to see the handsome hunk Conatus this year if I go ok. She says "Its up to you Miss Pip, we'll see how you go".

*Sigh* I can feel bubs moving .. not long to go now. Isnt it time to be fed?

Welcome to the World!

GOOD GOLLY, IT'S MISS MOLLY!

Wednesday night - both Evan and I were walking zombies after commencing foal watch. Evan had gone to bed at 7pm and I was doing my normal "shift" until 1am.

Dirty girl (Dirtiere) had started waxing up the day before and there had been some milk present Wednesday am so we knew that she was close. I was checking her every half an hour and at around 10pm Dirty went into labour. I have to say that Dirty's foaling-down was text book and even though she was a maiden, she took to it like a professional and got down to the business of delivering her first foal.

One of the things that fascinates me about nature is watching a mare deliver a foal, especially a maiden, and the look of unexpected horror when they see this "thing" sitting there after delivery.

One of the things that absolutely gets me every time is the beauty of mother nature at work as maiden mum gets to know this "thing" that she has delivered.

I have to say that it took Dirty an hour or so to come to terms with Molly. Once Molly was up and suckling, the penny dropped and Dirty knew what her job was and ever since she has been the best mother - very protective and very loving towards her new charge.

Well done Dirty, you are doing a great job for a first time mum!

Happy Birthday...

Happy Birthday Evan

May Your Day be Filled With Lots of Crownies

And Lots of Winners

Lots of Love from Helen and all the Massie Lodge Critters

(both Canine and Equine)

xxxxoooo